1885. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



145 



duced last year by M. Boucher of Paris, and 

 besides being ten days earlier than the Amsden, 

 has a wholly free stone. So far the objection to all 

 these early peaches has been that the stones are 

 partially clingy. 



A First-class Pea. — According to English 

 authorities a first-class pea should yield 12 peas 

 in one pod. Of course quality will come in as one 

 good point, and an abundance of pods is essential. 



American Blackberries in England. — It has 

 at length been discovered by the Old World folks 

 that there is something in American blackberries, 

 and Wilson Junior is being pushed with great 

 spirit there. 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Japan Quince for Preserves. — Dr. Green 

 writes: " A contributor to your Monthly lauds 

 the Japanese quince as a cooking fruit. I had a 

 thorough test made of its cooking qualities many 

 years ago, and found the product tough, and hav- 

 ing the taste of varnish. But it is probable that 

 the Japan quince has several varieties of fruit; 

 and it is certain that in point of size the fruit is 

 quite various, if we compare different tastes." 



[Undoubtedly there are varieties, as there 

 would be among apples, pears, or other cousins of 

 this Japan quince. — Ed G. M.] 



Forestry. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



OLD AND LARGE TREES. 

 BY REV. L. J. TEMPLIN. 



There is something awe-inspiring in the presence 

 of a tree of great age and colossal dimensions. 

 There is an elevating grandeur in the view of the 

 lofty mountain whose storm-furrowed summit 

 penetrates the very regions of the clouds, and 

 which wears a perpetual crown of glistening snow. 

 But the impresssions in such a presence are those 

 of stupendous power and enduring existence. 

 But when we stand in the shadow of a monarch 

 of the vegetable world, and look up to its spreading 

 branches, and waving leaves, the feeling inspired 

 is not so much of awe and grandeur, as of ad- 

 miration and reverence. A tree is a living being, 

 and to look upon one that has wrestled with the 

 storms, drank in the dews, and waved its green j 

 leaves in the sunlight of centuries, or even thou- 

 sands of years, awakens feelings akin to sympathy 

 and admiration. And if it be one of these 

 patriarchs that have survived the generations of 

 trees as well as men ; one in whose shade the aged ^ 

 people of a score of generations have talked of the 

 past, the vigorous have talked and planned of the | 

 future, and the children have played regardless of 

 all but the present enjoyment, an undefinable con- 

 viction steals into our hearts that we are standing 



in the presence of the embodied past. We feel 

 like taking off our hat in reverence to these illus- 

 trious examples of vegetable longevity. Such 

 being the case it does not seem strange when we 

 are told that, "The groves were God's first tem- 

 ples ;" and that the ancient idolators were wont to 

 build their altars in sacred groves, and that even in 

 more recent times the Druids should have chosen 

 the grand oak forests for the performance of their 

 religious rites. 



Some of these ancient oaks under which the 

 priests of this mysterious religion probably wor- 

 shiped and offered up their bloody sacrifices, are 

 still standing and enjoying a venerable, but green 

 old age. An oak tree that stands in Clipson Park 

 is over 1,500 years old, having been known before 

 the Norman Conquest. The Shire oak, whtise 

 shadow falls on three different shires, covers with 

 its foliage 780 square yards. The largest oak in 

 England is at Calthorpe in Yorkshire. It measures 

 at the base 78 feet in circumference. France 

 boasts of some very large oaks ; one of which is 

 found near the village of Champrasay, and is 18 

 feet in circumference. The oak of Allanville is 30 

 feet in circumference and over 900 years old. But 

 these are mere saplings compared with the oak of 

 Mantravail, which is certainly 1,500, but most 

 likely 2,000 years old. It has a diameter of 30 

 feet and a circumference of more than 90 feet. 



