DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



short lived, and would not pay the cost,) and 

 they have succeeded well ; borne early and pro- 

 fusely until the last summer, and dwarf pears 

 have now become popular, and are much sought 

 for here. Out of about three hundred trees, I 

 have lost forty-five, thrifty and full of fruit, by 

 blight. "What is the cause, and what the reme- 

 dy? I have not seen anything satisfactory on 

 the subject. My plum trees are very produc- 

 tive, for the benefit and ravages of the curcu- 

 lio only ; covering with gauze, salt, lime, and 

 mulching, have entirely failed. My next ex- 

 periment will be with pigs and chickens. Very 

 respectfully yours. Lewis Eaton. Buffalo, 

 N. Y., Jan. 12, 1851. 



[The cause, in brief, of your pear blight, is 

 the tenderness of the sap vessels of the foreign 

 pears, whereby they suffer in the heat and cold 

 changes of our variable climate. The remedy 

 is to wind straw ropes round the stem and lar- 

 ger branches of your dwarf trees, and mulch 

 the surface of the ground over the roots. A 

 cultivator of our acquaintance, who lives in a 

 blight district, and who made wry faces for 

 years, over the blight, has become a cheerful 

 and happy man, since he has practiced this 

 simple method. It is useless to go into long 

 arguments — there is no end to them on this 

 subject — but " a word to the wise," etc. Ed.] 



A Budget of Queries. — .^. /. Downing, 

 Esq : May I trespass on your kindness by 

 soliciting answers to the following queries: — 



1st. What is the best way of composting the 

 leaves of the forest for manure? [By treating 

 them with the lime and salt mixture described 

 in Hort. Vol. iv. p. 202.] 



2d. Will unleached ashes or lime most readi- 

 ly promote the decomposition of leaves? [Ei- 

 ther — but the latter will act most speedily.] 



3d. Which in "your opinion" are the four 

 best pears for market cultivation, (2 of them 

 on quince and 2 on pear roots,) out of all the 

 old and new varieties? I mean four most suited 

 for this eastern climate and this naturally poor 

 gravelly soil — four out of the vast collection — 

 .of a thrifty and vigorous growth. I know and 

 appreciate the qualities of the Bartlett and 

 Loivise Bonne de Jersey, but would not a culti- 

 vator be at his wit's end to keep up the prices 

 300 bushels of either the above named 

 ies, provided these sorts continue to be 



cultivated by "every body?" [No fear of an 

 overstock of fine pears — no one will see it in our 

 day. Your question is difficult. We should 

 say Bartlett, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Vicar 

 of Winkfield, and (if it answers on your soil) 

 Black pear of Worcester.] 



4tli. Wliich is the best Kaspberry for market 

 cultivation, taking into consideration tender- 

 ness, firmness, and productiveness? [The true 

 Red Antwerp.] 



5th. How near may be planted the different 

 varieties of squashes and melons without fear 

 of mixing. For instance I have a two acre 

 field, one-half of which I should like to devote 

 to squashes next summer, and the other half to 

 melons. Would the quality of each be dete- 

 riorated by so doing? [Will mix if nearer than 

 100 feet.] 



6th. If the flavor of melons should become 

 injured (a little squashy) the first year, would 

 the 2d crop, planted with the seeds of the first, 

 be liable to a further deterioration? [Of course, 

 but so far as we have observed the fruit is not 

 affected the first year, only the seed. The 

 second year the mixture becomes apparent in 

 the fruit.] 



7th. Which is the best water-melon and the 

 best winter squash ? [The Spanish water melon 

 and the Autumnal Marrow squash, are two very 

 superior sorts.] 



8th. Can plum trees be grafted in the spring 

 with success, instead of the usual way of bud- 

 ding? [Yes, very easily, if by wiiip-grafting— 

 but cleft-grafting requires more skill in tlie 

 plum than in other fruit trees.] 



9th. Does it injure apple pomace to be ex- 

 posed to frosts, before planting in the spring? 

 [How " in the spring?" The seeds should be 

 freed from pomace as soon as possible in the 

 fill!.] 



10th. Is it necessary that pits and seeds of 

 fruit be buried in the ground to suffer the action 

 of the frost, if planting be delayed till spring? 

 [The action of the frost is not needed. What 

 is needed, is that the seeds be kept moist in 

 damp earth during the winter, and if the earth 

 is not froze at all, so much the better. If the 

 seeds have become dry it will be necessary to 

 soak them for half an hour in hot water — not 

 quite boiling — before planting.] 



11th. Can you give me any information in 



