302 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[October, 



Fruit and Vegetable Gardening. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



INSECTS IN CABBAGE ROOTS. 



BY VV. F. GALE. 



On page 239 "J. R.," Elizabethtown, N. J., in- 

 quires how to get rid of the maggot that destroys 

 cabbage by boring the root. I have been troubled 

 very much with the same pest in my cauliflower. 

 My remedy is to remove the soil from about the 

 plant and thoroughly clean out the maggots, then 

 put in fresh soil with a liberal quantity of super- 

 phosphate of lime mixed in. I have not lost one 

 plant in fifty treated this way. To rid the ground 

 of the pests I would recommend to plough in the 

 fall, and scatter on eighty bushels of salt to the 

 acre, well harrowed in. 1 think that air slacked 

 lime, say about ten barrels to the acre, would also 

 be of great benefit. Springfield, Mass. 



[A large number of species of Vaccinium are 

 known under the general name of Blueberry. The 

 Huckleberry and Billberry are species of Vac- 

 cinium. The kind referred to by our correspon- 

 dent is probably the Vaccinium corymbosum, or 

 possibly V. I'ennsylvanicum — kinds with rather 

 large fruit. In the Eastern States these berries 

 are so abundant in wild places, and are gathered 

 so cheaply by children, that no attempt to culti- 

 vate them would be profitable. In localities far 

 away it would be well worth while, and our cor- 

 respondent's article is very useful and suggestive. 

 Any soil that is cool and damp and yet not water- 

 logged, would suit them. On heavy clay soils 

 they would no doubt prove a failure. — Ed. G. M.] 



CULTURE OF THE BLUEBERRY. 



BY DELOS STAPLES. 



The Blueberry is a valuable fruit, and is the 

 only reliable fruit to grow in the extreme northern 

 latitude where most other fruits winter-kill. It is 

 perfectly hardy ; stood 40° below zero the past 

 winter without showing any injury to the topmost 

 buds. The fruit ripens in this latitude about the 

 1st of July, and is borne in clusters like currants, 

 and are about the size of the wild gooseberry ; 

 shape, round ; color, a bluish black when fully 

 ripe. The flavor is equal to the raspberry, a very 

 mild, rich subacid, pronounced by most people 

 delicious. It may be served with sugar and 

 cream or cooked sauce, and is splendid for pies 

 and canned for winter use. The plant seems to 

 flourish in all soils, and is very productive, will 

 yield 100 bushels per acre under ordinary cultiva- 

 tion. It makes a beautiful hedge, the shining 

 dark green leaves and the blue fruit make a 

 pleasing contrast. They commence bearing the 

 first year after setting out, same as raspberries. It 

 is propagated from suckers and root cuttings ; for 

 garden culture plants should be set 2 or 3 feet 

 apart in the rows and 4 or 5 feet between the 

 rows ; for field culture 6x6 so the cane can be 

 thoroughly cultivated both ways with a horse hoe. 

 West Sebewa, Ionia co., Mich. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Short Crop of Strawberries Though 



in many places there was a full crop, in numerous 

 instances there were scarcely any flowers on the 

 plant, and curiosity is rife as to the cause. Some 

 say the flowers were "winter killed," but in the 

 cases brought to our attention clearly the autumn 

 buds had made no flowers to kill. It is a clear 

 case of neglect to make flower buds. 



Pear, William Fuller. — D. Lee & Son, 

 Madison, O., send samples, which were eaten the 

 first week in August. It is a greenish yellow pear, 

 about the size, form, and season of ripening, as 

 Giffard, coarser flesh, rather sweeter, but on the 

 whole we think not so good as a perfect Giffard. 

 But the Giffard is not in favor with pear lovers, 

 because it is a poor grower, liable to crack or 

 something or another. It is claimed for the Fuller 

 that it has superior characters in these lines, and 

 may therefore reasonably expect to become popular. 



Fig Culture in Florid.\. — Major Russell, of 

 Baker County, has set out twenty acres of figs, 

 but whether with the view of trying to dry them, 

 or for use in the fresh state, is not noted. 



Cherries from California. — The freight 

 from California to the East is bearing hard on 

 California fruit growers. Of one car containing 

 1,660 boxes, large consignments were forwarded 

 to Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, 



