50 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[February, 



fectly safe when covered with earth. It is safe, 

 therefore, to say with "Mystic," that it is both 

 mildew and frost that destroys the grape wood. 

 It is worthy of further remark that all me- 

 thods of culture seem to have their peculiar 

 diseases. It has been noted that grape shoots 

 trained or growing near the ground, are less lia- 

 ble to mildew than when growing higher up — but 

 on the other hand the fruit maturing in these 

 lower vines are more liable to the disease known 

 as the grape rot. This has been often observed, 

 and it came again particularly under our notice 

 at Mr. Bassett's vineyard, at Hammonton, last 

 year.— Ed. G. M.] 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Fruiting of Hickory Tubes. — It does not take 

 so long for nut trees to come into bearing as 

 many suppose. Mr. Manning of Reading, Mass., 

 has had a hickory to boar in fifteen years from 

 planting. 



Preserving Grapes for Winter Use. — We 

 have on various occa.sions noted that the English 

 preserve their fine hot-house grapes for winter 

 ase, by cutting them witli pieces of the branch, 

 and inserting in a vial of water. So popular is 

 the plan, that contrivances for holding bottles are 

 numerous. 



Planting Hickories. — The Hon. Leverett Sal- 

 tonstall, of Massachusetts, rcport«s that he finds 

 no more difficulty in transplanting hickories than 

 any other trees, if they have been transplanted 

 when young, and this is the experience of nursery- 

 men. 



Good Old Strawberries. — It is a remarkable 

 fact that while in this country the Hovey's Seed- 

 ling now and then turns up, conquering all 

 popular favorites, Myatt's Briti.sh Queen often 

 docs the same in the old world, though now near 

 forty years old. The very old favorite. Keen's 

 Seedling, seems, however, to have gone out en- 

 tirely. Its name is never heard. 



The Wilder Pear.— This one of Fox's new 

 California Seedlings, and described in our Maga- 

 zine, was referred to by Mr. Saul at the American 

 Pomological Society's meeting in Chicago, as an 

 excellent variety, which he had eaten in good 

 condition on the 19th of April. 



Trained Gooseberries.— The Florist and Pomol- 

 ogial tella us of the great skill of Mr. Henderson, 



the gardener at Moresby Park, in England, in 

 raising fruits. Among other things, he has a 

 wall twelve feet high, the northern fence of which 

 is covered by gooseberries, all trained artistically, 

 and fiistened to the wall. The branches are all 

 trained vertically, each four inches from the 

 other. Tlie increase in the number and quality 

 of the fe-uits on this plan is represented to be 

 enormous. Independently of this, it must be 

 worth going miles to see. 



The Eiropean Sparrow and the Fruit Buds. — 

 We have given our opinion in these pages, that 

 the sparrow does not injure fruit buds. Thij 

 was the result of our own observations in connec- 

 tion with such evidence as we could gather from 

 other sources. It is but proper to note that the 

 editor of the Gardeners' Chronicle, whose oppor- 

 tunity for observation is much better than any 

 one'.s here, is of opinion that they do cat buds. 

 He speaks of it as a well ascertained fact that 

 "sparrows and bullfinches injure fruit buds to a 

 serious extent, even to the destruction of the crop 

 sometimes." 



The Three Earliest Peaches. — The experi- 

 ence of this season confirms the opinion I had 

 I)reviously formed on the respective merits of 

 Air. Rivers' three earliest seedlings. As the mat- 

 ter concerns growers for the market, iis well as 

 amateurs, it Ls worth recording. Early Beatrice, 

 I see others recommend as the best early. I 

 cannot think so after six years of careful observ- 

 ation, made on about a dozen trees, trained 

 variously and exposed differently — under glass I 

 mean. It is a fine Peach ; carries a splendid color, 

 and is of good fiavor, but it is generally too small 

 here. If others had mentioned the circumference 

 we might have compared notes. Early Rivers 

 has so far been the very earliest ; this season it 

 ripened without fire-heat, on diagonal cordons, 

 by June 14. It is a very fine Peach, of large size, 

 exquisite flavor, prolific, and to be relied on as a 

 setter. All these are cardinal virtues in the Peach 

 for the purpose of sale, and it is for market grow- 

 ers that this notice is intended. But the stone 

 too often decays within, allowing passage to. in- 

 sects. This defect is owing to some tenderness of 

 habit, or some imperfection in the fructification, 

 which is inexplicable to me, considering its 

 healthy foliage and general vigor. Some artifi- 

 cial means might be adopted ; these might well 

 form the subject of consideration, for the Peach 

 is a most valuable one. Early Louise is the 

 third of the very early Peaches, and on the whole, 



