1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



81 



The Wild Goose Plum. — ^It is very hard to 

 get at what is meant by the true " Wild Goose 

 Hum." We had some sent to us for our opinion 

 last summer, some from Delaware, and some 

 from Lebanon, in Pennsylvania, as the true and 

 genuine kind. On these we gave our opinion at 

 the time. We thought them fair cooking plums. 

 Referring to these lately, the editor was told that 

 the genuine kind was as large as a black walnut. 

 If so we have certainly never seen a true one. 

 Kow comes the meeting of the Western New 

 York Horticultural Society, and it seemed to be 

 by general consent regarded that Mr. Willard had 

 the true " Wild Goose," and he describes it as a 

 very good thing " an inch wide and an inch and a 

 half long." Now this is an oval plum, and no 

 larger than the ordinary copper plum, and very 

 different from a black walnut in size. To make 

 our troubles worse come Messrs. Hance of Red 

 Bank and they tell us the true Wild Goose is per- 

 fectly round, and a whole two inches in diameter ; 

 now here we get near the black walnut. 



As to the quality, the meeting of the fruit grow- 

 ers referred to developed various opinions. A 

 Cincinnati gentleman who seemed to be very fa- 

 miliar with the " right " kind, thought it good 

 when, like a persimon, it was taken at the right 

 time, otherwise, still like a persimon, it was bit- 

 ter and astringent.'' J. J. Thomas' experience 

 was that it was pretty good to his taste. As re- 

 ported, however, there is a mystery about his 

 opinion. He seems to have fruiting trees, " not 

 grafted." "fruit thin skinned, but the curculio 

 failed to sting them ; " but the fruit on which he 

 based his opinion were not these, "but came 

 from Georgia." We know how brief reports do 

 injustice to speakers, and it is doubtless the case 

 here. In the meantime we are confounded with 

 this wild goose chase. We have 'an idea that 

 there is a real bird somewhere, but whether its 

 merits are a " matter of taste," or something on 

 which there can be no difference of opinion, we 

 do not know. 



The Profit of Filbert Nuts. — A correspon- 

 dent of the Garden says : 



" If, in America, an enterprising man were to 

 get the grant of 1,000 acres, and at once clear and 

 plant it with Cob Filberts, he would find it one of 

 the most remunerative transactions of his life — 

 their transit to this market is easy, and they are 

 not injured from being two or three months in 

 tubs, a circumstance which renders them as easy 

 of carriage by land or sea, as flour." 



It shows how ill calculated one at a distance is 



to offer advice; though we can appreciate the 

 good intention which moves the suggestion. Our 

 good friend is evidently unaware that this bush is 

 extremely liable here to a terribly destructive fun- 

 gus, which would sweep off a whole thousand 

 acres in two or three years. We would rather 

 take our chances on a thousand acres of plums 

 than a thousand acres of filberts, and every 

 American knows what that means. 



Fertility resisting Frost. — We have repeat- 

 edly called attention to the fact that a half starved 

 tree, or one dried out in summer, is the first to 

 die in a severe winter. An abundance of rich 

 nutritious food is favorable to hardiness. 



Under the heading of this note a correspondent 

 of the Country Gentleman has an excellent article 

 confirming this position . Clover and grass where 

 well manured were green and healthy long after 

 those under poorer circumstances wei-e killed. 



Early Cabbages and Tomatoes. — A "practical 

 gardener of many years experience," hailing from 

 Janesville, Wisconsin, is issuing a circular in 

 which we are told that the tomato, except in few 

 instances, does not ripen in that latitude till Sep- 

 tember, but he possesses a " secret " by which he 

 can have them ripe by the 4th of July, which is 

 Independence day. By his "secret," cabbages 

 will mature "from two to four weeks earlier" than 

 any body else's cabbage. By virtue of " said 

 process," these " two important articles of food," 

 cabbages and tomatoes, may be had " in bloom," 

 when " the proper weather arrives for their trans- 

 fer " from the hot beds. 



What special advantage there is in having a 

 cabbage in bloom we do not know, but this we 

 suppose is part of the " secret," which we are told, 

 " is not patented," and therefore can only be dis- 

 posed of for a "valuable consideration." We are 

 further told that " the method applies to nursery 

 stock as well," which, we suppose is to be made 

 to produce fruit on the fourth of July. 



We do not know that any of our readers will 

 be particularly anxious to "go in," on these "se- 

 crets," but if there are, there can be no objection, 

 provided they pay all their debts first. It is their 

 own business. 



Late Apples. — There ought to be a good 

 field for the exporter, with our late keeping ap- 

 ples, to England. The London Garden says that 

 early in January their two best keepers, Ribston 

 Pippin and Cox's Orange Pippin, are beginning to 

 decay. We could certainly keep the English mar- 

 ket in apples till the strawberry season comes in. 



