336 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[November, 



and we know of no intelligent fruit-grower who 

 thinks otherwise. 



In like manner we are prepared to say from 

 similar analogies with all we know practically of 

 vegetable life, that the fire blight can only be by 

 fungoid agency ; vmless there is some entirely 

 new agency at work in the world of which no 

 one has yet had a suspicion. But this new 

 agent is not ndcessary, because fungoid growths 

 are quite equal to the emergency, and do simi- 

 lar things in hosts of instances. — Ed. G. M.] 



Elvira Grape. — Messrs. Bush & Son send us 

 the following from Bushberg, Jefferson Co., Mo., 

 dated Septembr 9th : " We send you to-day by 

 mail a sample of our Elvira grape. It is hardly 

 ripe enough, but we thought it would carry bet- 

 ter thus. We shall be pleased to hear your opin- 

 ion of it." 



[Our western friends make a difference be- 

 tween wine grapes and table grapes. It is, per- 

 haps, as of the former cla.ss that this is es- 

 teemed. The true test of a wine grape is in the 

 ultimate product, — we can only say that this has 

 characters which we suppose entitle it to distin- 

 guished consideration. — Ed. G. M.] 



Fruiting of Pyrus Japonica. — T. S. & M., 

 Nashville, Tenn., write : " We send you to-day 

 by mail a specimen of the fruit of ' Pyrus Japon- 

 ica ' grown on our grounds. The ' bush ' bore 

 two of this size and shape, and five smaller speci- 

 mens about the size and shape of a small-sized 

 nectarine, bearing no resemblance in shape to the 

 one sent you." 



[This has come to hand. They were pro- 

 bably sent to note their size, as the fact of this 

 plant fruiting often is generally known. It 

 might be worth while to select the largest and 

 best in other respects. It is possible an im- 

 proved and useful fruit might be obtained. The 

 perfume is delicious; if only the fruit was not 

 quite so tough it might be useful. — Ed. G. M.] 



Moth in a Grapery.— Mr. H. Hannam, Wil- 

 mington, Del., writes : "Through the columns of 

 the Gardener's Monthly or otherwise you would 

 greatly oblige me, also my employer, if you could 

 afford us some information regarding the moth 

 and grub I enclose in a small box, mailed at 

 same time with this letter. The pest is in our 

 graperies, and has prevailed for three years, but 

 this year to an alarming extent, occupying one- 

 third of the time every day, while there is foli- 

 age on the vines, killing by hand, grubs and 



moths, and with all the time and labor bestowed 

 on them, we cannot begin to keep them under. 

 The moth makes its appearance in the spring, in- 

 serts a germ on the foliage, from which comes 

 the grub, which curls the leaf around it more 

 and more as it grows in size, till it quite cripples 

 the leaf, and if not attended to by killing, the 

 pest would ruin every leaf on the vines before 

 they had ripened their fruit. I have fumigated 

 with tobacco (strong), syringed with Quassia 

 chips, Geshurst's compound, and Paris green, 

 but all to no purpose. The motti^ and grubs 

 this season increase by thousands every day. 

 I never saw the pest till we had it here, and it is 

 not prevalent around here. 



" I hope you will be able to advise us with re- 

 spect to extirminating the pest." 



[This seems to be a new enemy. Send sam- 

 ples to Prof. Eiley, St. Louis, Mo., who will pro- 

 bably be glad to see it, and to tell our readers all 

 about it.— Ed. G. M.] 



The Earliest Peach. — A correspondent of 

 Palmetto, Ga., who is fond as an amateur in ex- 

 perim^ting with all the peaches he can get, 

 says he "shall not be suprised to find from 

 present api^carances that, all things considered, 

 the Alexander will prove the best early peaoh 

 for that section." 



Brighton Grape. — lender date of September 

 0th, which is early for Rochester, Mr. Hooker 

 writes us with a bunch of Brighton grapes. It is 

 impossible to judge in these days of the compara- 

 tive merits of grapes, when good ones are so 

 numerous. But we can say that the Brighton 

 is an excellent grape, and will, we think, satisfy 

 the demands of even persons of taste in the art 

 of grape culture. 



Japan Persimmon. — 0., Bucks Co., Pa., writes : 

 " Some ten or fifteen years ago I read in some 

 periodical a description by a traveller in Japan 

 of a fruit resembling very much our persimmon, 

 which he described as being very good, but have 

 not heard anything of it since. This week I 

 attended the Centennial, and saw some fruit 

 made of wax in the Japanese department which 

 looks very much like our persimmon. There are 

 specimens in their different stages of growth. I 

 tried to learn more about it, but had very poor 

 success. No doubt j'ou might be more success- 

 ful than I would be. I was strange, and it did 

 seem as if they did not care to bother with me. 

 Is there no way that I could get a few grafts at a 



