364 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



{December, 



the belief that a man's own independent pro- 

 ductions were not public, but his own private 

 property, at least until he saw fit to donate it to 

 the public. 



" My ' little sort of a patent medicine kind of 

 a pamphlet ' was gotten up very hurriedly 

 when I was suffering from malaria, and I am 

 not at all proud of it as a literary venture, but 

 in its sixteen pages of closely printed matter it 

 gives the result of twenty years close study of 

 the cherry in this climate, with some facts that 

 may be of general interest." 



[We have stricken out some parts of this let- 

 ter as personal to Mr. Glenn, because there was 

 nothing in Mr. Glenn's communication to war- 

 rant them. Mr. Wier stated that something 

 Avas done which Mr. Glenn found was not done, 

 and he said so. Mr. Weir shows very good 

 reason why it was not done, but Mr. Glenn could 

 not know this, and was therefore quite justified 

 in his remarks or we should not have allowed 

 them to pass. Mr. Weir is entitled to show 

 why, what he thought was done had failed, and 

 we cheerfully grant him this hearing.— Ed. G. M.] 



Hothouse Grapes.— Every now and then 

 we come across some nice specimens of native 

 grapes, which make us wonder what people 

 want with the foreign kinds from under glass. 

 But when such nice things are received like 

 some before us from Mr. Huidekoper, it is clear 

 we have to live a long while before we can dis- 

 pense with good hot house grapes. The notes 

 made by Mr. Huidekoper on the merits of the 

 different kinds meet our own views : 



" 1. Buckland Sweetwater. This with its 

 golden clusters of compact fruit is the handsom- 

 est of all the vines in the grapery. 2. Golden 

 Hamburg— said to be a hybrid of same parent- 

 age, is very like the above. It exhibits occa- 

 sionally a soft berry or two in an otherwise per- 

 fect bunch without an apparent reason for it. 

 3. Black Hamburgh. 4. Fintindo, a variety I 

 take it of B. Hamburgh ; ripens about the same 

 time. 5. Golden Champion,— probably the larg- 

 est in berry of all the grapes. I^ot a clear 

 amber when ripe ; bunch large and stout. Fruit 

 with me cracks some, but this may be owing to 

 rain affecting at times the corner of the vinery 

 where it grows. 6. Dutchess of Buccleugh. A 

 rich Frontignac-flavored variety, clusters a foot or 

 more long, slender, and not always filled out well 

 with fruit: cloudy amber colored; hangs well. 

 7. loanec ; rather small white fruited variety, 



introduced by Mr. Campbell ; ripens among the 

 earliest ; not much flavor, crisp, and hangs well. 

 8. Muscat of Alexandria. 9. Due of Malakoff ; 

 amber colored, somewhat tough; large bunches 

 with long shoulders. 10. Gros Coxilard ; a white 

 grape introduced by the late Mr. Prince ; very 

 early to ripen; medium size, not as large fruited 

 as 'gros' would imply. 11. Seedling; pretty 

 and pulpless, probably of Buckland ; color white. 

 12. Rose Chasselas." 



Late Peaches. — It is a matter of surprise 

 that those who live in cities do not turn their 

 attention to the culture of a few peach trees 

 oftener than they do. We know of no kind that 

 deserves so well the appellation of a city fruit, 

 as the peach. We are moved to these remarks 

 by the following, from Mr. Lorin Blodgett, who 

 has already done so much to make known the 

 pleasure city people may enjoy by peach culture 

 in small places : 



Philadelphia, Oct. 17, 1879. 



" I picked the last basket of peaches this morn- 

 ing, leaving my peach forest of thirty trees as 

 green as it was in August, yet having yielded the 

 heaviest crop I have yet grown, — sixty bushels at 

 least, — and giving us more than we could use con- 

 stantly since August 15, over two months. 

 The protracted heat of every day since Oct. 1st, 

 has injured the rich yellow clings of this month ; 

 but I send you three or four of each of the two 

 latter. The best were taken two weeks ago from 

 a tree thirty feet high, on the top of which were 

 peaches weighing six to seven ounces. I picked 

 a few with a sack on the end of a pole, — myself 

 on a fourteen foot ladder, — and sent them as a 

 greeting to Hon. W. Puleston, M. P., and sample 

 of American fruit growing. Of the ten full suc- 

 cessive crops of my older trees, the only differ- 

 ence has been to make the last crop the largest 

 and best, and of a half dozen new seedlings 

 bearing fruit this year I find all good, though 

 none superior to the larger trees. I believe in 

 breeding peaches as much as I do in breeding 

 Durham cattle or Merino sheep, and having fol- 

 lowed it faithfully now for more than forty years, 

 or since 1838, and always with at least reason- 

 able success, I beg to recommend it to others ; 

 particularly in this marvelously rich and prolific 

 climate. Select stones of the best peaches and 

 fruit them in groups, selecting the best, and 

 planting again as often as possible. And feed 

 your peach trees as you would fine cattle, or fine 

 horses." 



