1876.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



333 



they may be well colored by the 10th of Septem- 

 ber, and if they are, I can bring some of them to 

 the Exliibition, in case, only, it should be worth 

 while to expose them to view ; for a fortnight more 

 upon the vine will be needed to enable any one 

 to form a correct opinion of their qualities. 



I shall try to send an assortment of thirty to fifty 

 varieties about October 1st, and regret that the 

 members of the American Pomological Society 

 cannot examine them when mature. 



I will remark that during the last five years I 

 have sent some ten or a dozen varieties to the 

 most prominent horticulturists in this country, 

 and last autumn I sent ten varieties to Dr. Robt. 

 Hogg, of London, the highest authority in such 

 matters in Great Britain ; and all to whom they 

 were sent have expressed the opinion that they 

 possessed desirable qualities. If this opinion is 

 correct, it is a public misfortune that they are 

 not known and distributed in all parts of the 

 country. 



[We may explain to our readers tliat Mr. 

 Haskell's position is that, as the raiser of a de- 

 sirable fruit, he should have his reward by a pat- 

 ent right. But why wait for that ? They who 

 have good articles raise large nambers, and then 

 advertise them for sale. It maj- be said that 

 every person who raises a good fruit does not 

 want to go into the nursery business. In that 

 case, sell the stock to one who is. But again it 

 maybe objected, "but they will not give near 

 what we think it is worth." This may be quite 

 true, and yet we do not see how a patent right 

 would help it. As a nurseryman the writer of 

 this would not give one cent more for a " patent 

 right," with a new plant, or fruit, than he would 

 give for the whole stock itself; nor do we know- 

 of any one who would. — Ed G. M.] 



THE STRAWBERRY GRUB. 



BY G. WRIGHT, ROCK FALLS, WHITESIDE CO., ILL. 



We are much troubled here with "grubs," 

 w'hich eat the roots of strawberry plants in cer- 

 tain localities, whether the ground has been ma- 

 nured or not ; and I think the larvae found in ma- 

 nure heaps is entirelj' distinct from that which 

 destroys our strawberries and other roots. The 

 latter is more slender and hairy than the other, 

 and does not increase in size so rapidly ; besides 

 I have never found the young ones earlier than 

 the middle of July, w^hile full grown grubs are 

 found in the manure in June. If the smallest 



grub touches a root of strawberry the leaves 

 wilt in the sun, and we search the rascal out and 

 save the plant. 



I have a plot of ground two rods wide and ten 

 long, which I have been salting in March for 

 several years, using a bushel of salt broad-cast 

 on the strawberries, and have no trouble with 

 " grubs." The next plot, separated by a row of 

 peach trees, has only been salted twice, and I 

 have taken out with the aid of the chickens, over 

 a thousand grubs, while the next plot is literally 

 filled with grubs, and I have scarcely saved a 

 plant for two years. None of this ground was 

 ever manured, but has been a garden since the 

 prairie sod was turned. Salt does not kill 

 the larvae, for I have kept them in brine for ten 

 minutes, and they crawled away as smart as ever; 

 but I think it must be unhealthy for the little 

 ones. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Analysis of the Onion. — By Messrs. Welling- 

 ton & Bragg, under the direction of Prof Goess- 

 man, at the Massachusetts Agricultural College 

 chemical laboratory, being the first authentic 

 analysis of this plant on record. 



1,000 parts, air dry, contain : 



Water, 892.000 Lime, 0.3-54 



Organic matter, 103.638 Magnesia, 0.159 



Nitrogen, 2 120 Iron(Fe2 03), 0.027 



Total ash, 4.362 Phosphoric acid, 0.689 



Potash, 1.680 Sulphuric acid, 1.153 



Soda, 0.083 .''iliea, 0.145 



— Scientific Fannei-. 



American Grapes in Europe. — At a recent 

 meeting of the French Acclimatization Society 

 there was an interesting discussion on the value 

 and prospects of the American varieties of 

 Grapes which have been largely planted in some 

 of the districts where the ravages of the Phyllox- 

 era have been greatest. In the Herault alone 

 some fifteen million American Vines have been 

 planted, and great hopes of success are enter- 

 tained. The variety called the Clinton has been 

 extensively planted, and, whilst some members 

 stated their experience with it as a shy bearer, it 

 was stated that as manj- as 180 bunches had been 

 gathered from one cane. The wine produced by 

 it is said to be highly colored, and without the 

 unpleasant flavor commonly attributed to it, and 

 almost as rich in alcohol as Roussillon. The 

 unanimous opinion was that the American var- 



