446 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



manures is deluding too many incxperienoed cul- 

 tivators, and that practical men know too much 

 to be taken in by such one ideas,''' I am set 

 all aback. " Who shall decide when Doctors dis- 

 aiirce?" Very truly yours, C. T. Cherry Grove, 

 Buffalo, Jan. 16, 1849. 



Touching the special manures, we venture to 

 correct our correspondent's quotation, by making 

 it read " Who shall decide when" Hovey " disa- 

 grees?" — as we do not know of a single experien- 

 ced cultivator besides, who doubts the value of spe- 

 cial manure at the present time. Here friend Ho- 

 VEV considers it " quackery," but he is so fond 

 of disagreeing that we cannot but think it one of 

 his pleasant jokes. His position is what the French 

 call the " extreme left," and if Sir Isaac New- 

 ton were alive now, and had just propounded the 

 theory of gravitation, H. would, very likely, in his 

 lively and amusing way, pronounce it a " delu- 

 sion." Ed. 



The Frost Gage Plum. — Sir: As some con- 

 siderable animosity has of late shoAvn itself from 

 a certain quarter against this variety, I should be 

 glad to say a few words to the readers of the Hor- 

 ticulturist on the subject. It was selected as one, 

 among the small list recommended by the Ameri- 

 can Congress of Fruit Growers, as worthy of ge- 

 neral cultivation, and in your work on Fruits you 

 say of it, "Scarcely j'iclding to any other late va- 

 riety, in the excellence of its flavor." While I 

 think, that when preserved in a proper manner it 

 surpasses all others, either late or early, in thesw- 

 periority of its flavor. And of this I intend, if 

 spared again, to meet with the Pomological con- 

 vention, to give all the members an opportunity of 

 judging for themselves. But certain persons, ei- 

 ther because they cannot grow it well in their light 

 sandy soil, or because, as they say, " It groius in 

 large quantities about Newburgh from suckers," 

 would be willing to annihilate it altogether, or to 

 place it in a Rejected list. A strong evidence of 

 its great value is given in the fact that it is grown 

 in large quantities in the very neighborhood where 

 it is best known and most highly valued, and 

 where large numbers of bearing trees must be pos- 

 sessed in order to obtaiH suckers in large quanti- 

 ties. Indeed, its merits are so well known, in one 

 of the best plum districts, that I have about eight 

 thousand of diflerent sizes, in my nursery, and not 

 half that quantity of any one other variety. Ano- 

 ther objection is made from the statement that it 

 knots so badly. So indeed, will many others of 

 the best kinds, if totally neglected ; and I could 

 show you on my own grounds, and in the immedi- 

 ate vicinity, many large trees of the Frost Gage, 

 as smooth, and apparently as healthy and free 

 from knots as any others ; and where over $300 

 loere obtained the past fall from the fruit from 

 less than one-fourth of an acre, while some others 

 much younger or smaller at least, are badly knot- 

 ted and almost worthless. The cause, however, 

 is plain enough; it is simply neglect. 



Now in order to cultivate this tree understand 



ingly, it is necessary for us to know, that it doe^ 

 best in a rich and quite moist clayey soil ; that it 

 does not bear heavy crops while young, but is a 

 long-lived tree. Standard trees growing along 

 side of my late residence, and supposed to be from 

 thirty to forty years of age, bear good crops and 

 bid fair to live for many years. 



A neighbor of mine planted a plum orchard of about 

 1400 trees of this variety alone, in the fall of 1847. 

 And certainly we know their real worth in this 

 place, where some thousands of dollars are received 

 annually by the inhabitants of a small district, for 

 the fruit of this one variety only ; and where one 

 man sold about seventy b arrels the past autumn, 

 which commanded over $5 per barrel. And let 

 me ask whether, with all these facts, establishing 

 its value beyond controversy, shall we attempt 

 the princely operation of rejecting it. Very re- 

 spectfully yours, Chas. Hamilton. Canterbury, 

 Orange Co., N. Y., Jan. 1849. 



[Mr. Hamilton does not overrate the Frost 

 Gage, and those who have failed with it, have 

 failed chiefly from having grown it on too light a 

 soil. — Ed.] .... 



Errata. — By some error of our proof reader, 

 the writer of the excellent review of Mr. Allen's 

 work on the grape, in our last number, is made to 

 speak of himself sometimes in the singular, at oth- 

 ers in the plural number. The error is a very ob- 

 vious one, and we only beg leave to correct it by 

 saying that wherever "we" occurs, it should read 



"i." 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Nectarines. — jI.H. (New- York.) The Down- 

 ton nectarine has fruited abundantly in our gar- 

 den, and we estimate it more highly for ordinary 

 culture than any other variety. The fruit does 

 not drop ofTjust before maturing, like most other 

 sorts. The Elruge is the most popular sort gi'owu 

 in this countiy. 



Mortar Floors. — James Alves, (Henderson, 

 Ky.) The following mode gives a good floor for 

 basement rooms ar cellars. The bottom being 

 well drained, cover it six or eight inches deep 

 with small stones, laid snugly and closely together. 

 Cover them four inches deep with a coarse mor- 

 tar made of gravel and newly slacked lime ; this 

 should be well beaten, and made perfectly level. 

 As soon as it becomes quite firm, (which will take 

 several days,) cover it an inch deep with a mortar 

 composed of lime, sand, and fresh brick dust from 

 a brick kiln; or, if that is not easily obtained, use 

 wood ashes. Mix the mortar and add the brick 

 dust or ashes (as most convenient, just before tem- 

 pering each hod of mortar for laying it down. It 

 should be made as smooth as possible with the 

 back of a spade, followed by a trowel, and will 

 soon become perfectly hard. About one-third in 

 bulk of brick-dust or ashes should be used in pro- 

 portion to the whole mass of mortar. A little 



