146 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[May, 



" Sterling. — This is a berry somewhat after the 

 atyle of Golden Seeded, or a full colored, well 

 ripened Triomphe de Gand. It is of size of Tri- 

 omphe de Gand but more uniformly conical or 

 obovate conical ; of a rich glossy vermilion red, 

 thickly studded with golden yellow seed on the 

 surface; the flesh is quite firm, of vermilion red, 

 having a white rim around the cone, which is in 

 some, not all, partially hollow ; it is rich, 

 sprightly and brisk, but a little acid. The calyx 

 ifi large. It has all the points of a good and de- 

 sirable market sort if it prove abundantly pro- 

 dvictive. The leaf is broad, almost round, with 

 broad yet sharp-cut lobes. 



" Mr. Crawford writes me : ' It has taken two 

 first premiums — one for the best seedling, and 

 the other for the best flavored berry.' 



" I have no knowledge of who the committee 

 were that gave the premiums. I wrote from the 

 specimens sent me. F. R. Elliott." 



The Pear Slug. — " Waverly," Baltimore Co., 

 Md. — " My Pear trees were attacked last June by 

 a slug about a quarter of an inch long, he has a 

 broad flat head, body tapering to a point at the 

 tail. They left my trees in a very unsightly con- 

 dition. Please let me know in the next number 

 of the Gardener's Monthly how to prevent or des- 

 troy them." 



{^Qulck lime powdered, not slacked lime, will 

 finish them. Have a culinder on a long pole, 

 and sift it over them. — Ed. G. M.] 



Fruit Prospects in Kentucky. — A. N.,Breck- 

 enridge Co., Ky., under date of March 21st, tells 

 us : " Our early-blooming cherries, peaches and 

 plums were in full bloom two weeks ago, but we 

 have had winter for about one week ; freezing 

 nights last week, snow on Friday, and nearly all 

 gone b}"^ 12 M. Sunday, and at dusk on Sunday 

 snowing commenced and continued 24 hours, or 

 until a fall of about one foot of snow, and thia 

 morning it is cold, and a west wind. Heavy 

 west winds most part of last week. Some farm- 

 ers have their oats sown and they were up and 

 the frost cut them down. Tobacco plants that 

 were up, or sprouted, were killed by the frost, 

 before the snow of last week. Leaves on the 

 apple trees and cherry trees that were out look 

 black and dried this morning. I enclose you 

 bloom of the pear that you may see how disap- 

 pointed we are for Bloodgoods, also of leaves of 

 the gooseberry. You can judge how forward our 

 season has been up to the last set-in of winter of 

 hist week. The last fall of snow continued for 

 about 24 hours. I fear many of the fruit trees 

 are injured by the condition which the sap wa« 

 in at the time thia cold spell set in." 



FORESTRY. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. 



THE CORK OAK IN WEST VIRGINIA. 



BY JOSEPH HARRIS, MOUNDSVILLE, W. VA. 



I see by the Gardener's Monthly you desire in- 

 formation about the cork oak. I think about 

 1868 I obtained a can of cork oak acorns through 

 the Patent Office, with the understanding that 

 they came from France. 



I planted them and they grew pretty well. I 

 protected them the first winter, after that lot 

 them take their chance with a covering of pine 

 branches over them. They were killed a little at 

 ^e tops. I kept them for three or four winters, 

 but the subsequent winters injured them so mucb 

 ttiat tliey died at last. 



My place was near St. Clairsville, Belmont Co., 

 Ohio, in latitude about 42°, altitude 495 feet 

 above low water mark, on the Ohio river, the 

 ground a strong limestone. I think this is too 

 for north for the cork oak to grow — that it can- 

 not be protected in the winter on the high lands 

 of this place. I have no doubt from the descrip- 

 tion given in the Monthly that I had the true 

 cork oak. 



[Mr. Harris had the true cork oak. It belongs 

 to the evergreen section, none of which flourish 

 where the winters are cold and dry. A good rule 

 for the cork oak is that it will flourish wherever 

 the live oak (Quercus virens) flourishes, and no 

 where else to any advantage. It is a tree for the 

 South only.— Ed. G. M.] 



