1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



113 



and beauty, that I think they are worthy of be- 

 ing noticed in the pages of our Journal. 



Easter Beurr6, 1 lb. 1 oz.; Beurr^ Superfine, 1 lb. 

 2 oz.; Durandeau, 14j ozs.; Beurr6 d'Anjou, 12ozs. 

 Marie Louise, 12^ ozs. ; Winter Nelis, lOJ ozs.; 

 Gansel's Seckle, 8 ozs.; Zephirin Gregoire, 6| ozs.; 

 Do^'enne du Cornice, 1 lb. 61 ozs. 



This last magnificent specimen measured 13 J 

 inches every way. These pear trees were not 

 delicately nurtured under glass in an orchard 

 house and fed with stimulants, but they grew in 

 the open air, and carried full crops of fruit. 

 The Marie Louise last year produced upwards of 

 640 fruit, and has j-ielded another very large crop 

 this year. 



NEW FRUITS ^ VEGETABLES. 



Thwack Raspberry. — A Louisiana,Mo., corres- 

 pondent says : " This berry so far is only locally 

 known, for I have purposely held it back till I 

 could propagate a good supply of plants, and 

 thoroughly test in ordinary field culture with- 

 out jirotection. The upright cane sorts, Turner, 

 Herstine,Brandywine and Philadelphia, killed to 

 the ground last winter, while the Thwack leaved 

 out to the very tips, and bore an enormous crop 

 of fruit last summer. These other sorts have 

 usually been hardy, but last winter with us was 

 unusually hard on small fruits,and they all foiled. 

 The Thwack is a cross between the Herstine 

 and Brandywine. 



The Sterling Strawberry. — Mr. Bateham 

 sends us a private letter, evidentlj- not intended 

 for publication, but in which he says he is an- 

 noyed by parties writing to him about it, and he 

 desires us to say to all without any further cor- 

 respondence, that he regards it a first-class va- 

 riety, superior in many respects to the Jucunda 

 from which it may, perhaps, be a seedling. He 

 gives the following account of its origin, which 

 we think he will have no objection to our ex- 

 tracting : — 



" The Sterling, with several other seedling 

 strawberries, was first exhibited to the j^ublic at a 

 fruit and flower show at East Cleveland, in June 

 1870, when I was present, and in common with 

 other fruit growers was very favorably impressed 

 with this variety. I learned that it was grown 

 from seed by Matthew Crawford, a market berry- 

 grower of that place. The seeds taken from 

 several large varieties, including Jucunda and 



Triomphe de Gand. About this time, Mr. F. R. 

 Elliott had fruit of the Sterling presented to him, 

 and wrote a flattering notice of it for the Rural 

 Neiv Yorker and the Cleveland Herald. 



QUERIES. 



HuisrAN Hair as a Fertilizer. — A New York 

 correspondent says : " Do me the kindness to 

 inform me what you would think of the applica- 

 tion of human hair as a special manure to pear 

 and plum trees in orchards. It occurred to me 

 to-day that it must be full of the phosphates, 

 and might have some value. Will it decompose 

 readily without the use of some acid with it ? 

 Any light you can give will be gratefully re- 

 ceived. 



[Clippings of barbers' shops are found to be 

 verj^ indestructible unless treated first to a dose 

 of sulphuiic acid. We should suppose it would 

 be an excellent fertilizer so treated. — Ed. G. M.] 



Gas Lime. — D. D. & Sons, Allegheny City. 

 " Will you please inform us if lime, after being 

 used in the gas works, is better than fresh lime 

 for land for cabbage? " 



[Gas lime is no better than other lime, but is 

 cheaper. Sometimes it is dangerous from the 

 amount of creosote it contains. Ed. G. M.] 



Hardy Market Raspberry. — "A subscriber, 

 J. S." near Crosswicks, N. J., " about to commence 

 the cultivation of raspberries for market," asks, 

 "What is the best kind for the purpose, and 

 whether the best kind for market is hardy or re- 

 quires any special treatment?" 



[So far no better kind for the purpose indicated 

 has beeft found than the Philadelphia. It is the 

 only kind not needing any special treatment, 

 though somewhat inferior in quality to others 

 which have to be covered by earth in winter. 

 Ed. G. M.] 



Do Persimmons change by Grafting? — 

 E. H. C, Shepherdstown, Pa., saj-s : "Your ad- 

 vice to a correspondent in regard to propagating 

 the persimmon has suggested this question. 



"More than twenty years ago I procured 

 grafts from an adjoining county of a large and 

 almost seedless variety, and grafted them on a 

 non-bearer. The result has been large, fine fruit 

 but very seedy. I have heard of similar 

 'freaks' in grafting this fruit. Wlio can tell 

 more about it?" 



[This is an extremely interesting fact, and 



