8o 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[March, 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



The Cut-leaved English Blackberry. — A 

 Lansing, Leavenworth county, Kan., correspon- 

 dent writes : " I am a grower of small fruit and 

 vegetables for market. I obtained through a friend 

 (who has traveled extensively in the far West) a 

 blackberry plant from the Sierra Nevada moun- 

 tain slope in Nevada, in the autumn of 1871 ; 

 planted it and have tested it thoroughly, and find 

 it to be ' the hardiest ' 1 ever knew ; a very heavy 

 bearer, fruit large and luscious, inclined to a long 

 or thimble shape, ripening with me from July 10 

 to August 1 5, and a few berries up into Septem- 

 ber. We call it the Nevada blackberry." 



[Here we have again our old friend the cut- 

 leaved English blackberry ; not, as we have said, a 

 native of this continent, but an introduction from 



the Old World. There will be no excuse for nam- 

 ing it over again — Nevada blackberry or anything 

 else. The native blackberry of the Pacific coast 

 is Rubus ursinus, and of little account as a fruit. 



It is however very interesting to know that this 

 old English variety is doing so well in the West- 

 ern portions of the new world. — Ed. G. M.] 



Vine Culture in America. — A New England 

 correspondent says : " Born amongst the vine- 

 yards of the French part of Switzerland I have al- 

 ways taken an interest in vine culture. I did start 

 even here once with that view, but found soon 

 that, in the hard climate of New England, I could 

 not compete with the low prices of Western grape 

 growers, so had to give it up ; but have still kept 

 an interest in it, and have great hopes of its suc- 

 cess, especially in California, which has a great 

 future before it." 



Forestry. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



FACTS IN FORESTRY. 



BY AVERY P. SLADE. 



• Zebulon Pratt of Bridgewater, purchased twenty- 

 five acres of wornout land in North Middleborough 

 for $25 per acre, and in the spring of 1863 had it 

 set to white pines, at an expense of about ^200. 

 Tne plants were from six to eighteen inches high 

 and were set in rows ten feet apart each way. In 

 December, 1883, they were from twelve to sixteen 

 inches in diameter and in a thrifty condition, and 

 Mr. Pratt has been awarded premiums by the 

 Plymouth County Agricultural Society for the 

 best plantation of pines. The lot is now taxed for 

 $800, which is based on a two thirds valuation, 

 and, as towns are inclined to favor such experi- 

 ments, it is fair to presume that this is not too high 

 a valuation, and that the cash value of the lot is 

 S1200. The cost of the land (S225), setting the 

 trees ($195) and taxes for twenty years, aggregate 

 $540, which, in twenty years, at compound interest 

 at five per cent., amounts to ,5143', or 8:231 more 

 than its supposed value. But Mr. Pratt says he 

 did not embark in this enterprise for profit, but to 



benefit the inhabitants of the village, and that he 

 might be remembered pleasantly by those coming 

 after him. Had he planted with a sole view to 

 profit he would have put the trees 10 feet by 6, in- 

 stead of 10 by 10, thus having 726 trees to the acre, 



I instead of 425. It is pretty generally conceded that 



I pines 6 feet by 10 will make a growth of more value 

 than at a greater distance apart. 



At 10 feet by 10, there is a greater growth of 

 branches, which are of little value, and less 

 growth of body than when planted nearer. Now, 

 if 425 trees to the acre brings the value of the lot 

 up to $1200, 726 trees to the acre would be worth 

 the round sum of ,?2ooo, which is S272 more than 

 the whole outlay would have amounted to_at six 

 per cent, compound interest for twenty years. 

 This plantation, Mr. Slade reported from personal 



i observation, covers a sterile ridge of sand and 

 gravelly loam. What surprised him most was the 

 number and extent of the branches; beginning 



\ near the ground, each tree seemed to vie with its 

 neighbor in throwing them out horizontally in 

 every direction, from five to fifteen feet in length, 

 interlocking so as to form in many places an abso- 

 lutely impenetrable jungle. The conviction was 

 irresistible that had the trees been properly 



