NOTES ON STRAWBERRIES, GRAPES AND PLUMS. 



BY N. LOKGWORTH, CINCINNATI, O 



There is a communication in your last number, headed " Staminate Strawberries pro- 

 ductive," and refers to Hovey's Seedling, Methven Scarlet, and Burr's New Pine. I have 

 much to learn, if these are staminates. I say they are all pistillates, and wholly defective 

 in stamens. He reports me as saying that neither will produce half a crop, or bear per- 

 fect berries, if separated from all others. Here he again errs. I say that neither variety, 

 separated from others, will bear one-tioentieth of a crop of even defective berries, and I 

 have never yet seen them bear a single perfect one. This is not the first instance of a fair 

 crop from pistillates, separated from all others. Mr. Lock, of our vicinity, had a fair 

 crop of Hovey's Seedlings with no other variety within 100 yards, and so notified our soci- 

 ety. The next season, when his plants were in bloom, a committee went to his garden, 

 and were astounded, for not a staminate blossom was to be seen, and the stems and leaves 

 proved all the plants to be the true Hovey. When about to leave, one of the committee, 

 who did not believe in spiritual knockings, looked under a currant bush, and found a few 

 staminates in full bloom. They were pulled up, and the next season Mr. Lock had not a 

 single fruit, and so reported to the society. 



Another gentleman was equally fortunate with your correspondent. He bought a pis- 

 tillate variety and planted a large patch, and had a full crop for three years, and so report- 

 od to the members of our society. His garden was visited by the members of the society 

 when his plants were in blossom, and they found the staminates were increasing so fast 

 from runners, that they would soon destroy all the pistillates. Nurserymen generally 

 cultivate many varieties on the same border, and it is rare to buy them without a mix- 

 ture. Even if the varieties are kept far apart, a seedling staminate ma}^ come up, and be- 

 foi'e he is noticed, ungraciously crowd most of his companions out of the bed. The gen- 

 tleman errs in saying Burr's New Pine produces fruit of the largest kind. It requires 

 but little sugar, is bj' many admired for its flavor, and is superior to most others when 

 eaten from the stem. But I deem acid strawberries, where sugar is plenty, superior to 

 all others, and among these the Old Hudson has no superior. If the hermaphrodite seed- 

 ling of Mr. ScnNiKE, in the Garden of Eden, shall in future bear as full a crop as it has 

 done for four years, we shall have but little cause to quarrel about the sexual character 

 of the strawberry plant — for it will do what no plant in England has done, where we hear 

 of hermaphrodites only — bear a full crop of extra large fruit, and of good flavor. Mc- 

 Avoy's and Schnike's Garden of Eden pistillate seedlings, at our late exhibition, sur- 

 passed all others in size, and to one of McAvot's, "was awarded the prize of ^100, as a 

 pistillate superior to the Hovey in size. Mr. Hovey's has for many years surpassed all 

 others in size, and to be entitled to the premium, it was required the sei.dling should sur- 

 pass it in size. This, three of McAvot's and two of Schnike's seedlings, had done 

 for three years, on exhibition before the society. We ignore your concurrence in the 

 opinion of your correspondent, Mr. Editor, *' that pistillates or staminates change their 

 character." 



My experience in cultivating the foreign grape, does not correspond with that of your 



North Carolina correspondent. Against my high garden wall, I have 100 foreign grape 



vines, consisting of many varieties, and several kinds of native grapes. The natives slioot 



early in the spring as the foreign, and this spring we had a late frost that 



f the young shoots in our vineyards. Against my walls, the young shoots 



