1885.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



303 



St. Paul, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Mem- 

 phis and other places. The cherries brought from 

 17U' to 25 cents per pound, according to grade, 

 and were being sold by retailers at from 30 to 40 

 cents per pound. 



There is very little margin left for growers at 

 the above figures unless freights are lowered ; but 

 the probability is that if the freights were lowered, 

 the prices would fall lower than those quoted 

 above. It is the disposition to cut under one's 

 neighbor that everywhere prevails, that lowers 

 profits quite as much as high freight rates. 



Alpha Peach. — This ripened this year in Ger- 

 mantown, on the 28th of July. Alexander has 

 ripened in other years in the same place at dates 

 varying from the 20th to the 26th of July. It is 

 about the same size and geneial appearance with 

 Alexander, but not having this season an Alexan- 

 der for comparison, we cannot state the exact 

 difference. The flavor and general qualities were, 

 however, excellent, and all that a first-class peach 



should be. 



a ■ » 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Running out of Varieties of Fruit A 



Virginia correspondent says: "Referring to your 

 notes on decay of varieties of strawberries (page 

 271), why is the spread of fungus troubles 

 'more fairly to be attributed to climatic causes' 

 than to a combination of soil and climate? Do 

 not soil and climate mutually re-act upon and 

 affect each other? Or, do you hold to the theory 

 that varieties have a limited existence and their 

 descendants decay about the time the parent 

 plant should wear out?" 



[There is no evidence that we know of that 

 varieties "run out" in the general acceptation of 

 that term, which is that a tree or plant is but an 

 individual, and that a cutting or graft from it does 

 not extend the time that the individual was ap- 

 pointed to live. But horticulturists do know that 

 when varieties are moved to soil or climate, or 

 both, unfavorable to health, they do wear out, run 

 out, or in some way become unhealthy and finally 

 disappear. For instance, a strawberry or goose- 

 berry in a cool moist summer climate just adapted 

 to its constitution by nature, will not get the 

 spot on the leaf of the one or mildew on leaf and 

 fruit in the other. There is no known reason why 

 a variety there should not last several hundred 

 years. In hot dry summer climate these fungous 

 diseases rapidly develop, and the variety soon 

 gets poor. Hence we have to be repeatedly in- 



troducing varieties that will be " free from mil- 

 dew" and "thoroughly hardy," till a few years 

 under the enervating influences make them as 

 bad as their predecessors. In the North where 

 the summer climate is moist we do not hear of 

 strawberries running out, though they grow in 

 many varied soils. Hence it is a fair inference 

 that soil has much less to do with the failure than 

 climate. Still our correspondent's point that un- 

 favorable soil may sometimes be a factor in the 



unfavorable result is undoubtedly correct Ed. 



G. M.] 



Grapes in Valley of Virginia. ^ "Max," 

 Staunton, Va., under date 5th Sept. says: — "For 

 once the Vineyardist has nothing of which to com- 

 plain — no rot, mildew nor any other ill, to which 

 the grape is heir, troubled him this season, if we 

 except the bees. 



"At this point, Brighton ripened first, making 

 handsome bunches and yielding well — fully two- 

 thirds as freely as the Concord. Began cutting 

 them August 27th, but the bees had anticipated us 

 and claimed a large share. Moral, plant Brighton 

 for its vigor, fecundity and quality, but if there are 

 bees in the neighborhood use paper bags. 



"Salem and Wilder ripened next, both doing 

 well — cut these Sept. 1st. Heretofore the rot has 

 injured Salem and Catawba very materially but 

 both escaped this year. Concord and Delaware 

 followed, both maturing sufficiently for table use 

 by Sept. 5th, and yielding heavily ; Catawba, Clin- 

 ton, Norton, Geothe are all promising ; the Clin- 

 ton coloring rather slowly and irregularly. Re- 

 ports from other portions of the Valley and eastern 

 slopes of the Blue Ridge, are to the same general 

 purport. Tell us, Mr. Editor, to what causes 

 climatic or other this is due. An exceedingly dry 

 summer and autumn, succeeded by a fairly, though 

 not excessively, moist spring and summer, are the 

 conditions. For years past Catawba and Salem 

 have rotted in both wet and dry seasons. The 

 culture and pruning have been the same. Annual 

 applications of stable manure and close pruning 

 in the winter. No summer pruning whatever. 

 Western exposure. Gravelly, limestone soil." 



[It has always been noted that exceedingly dry 

 summers or exceedingly dry soil, is favorable to 

 heathfulness in the grape, and for this reason it is 

 quite common to find localities so hilly that corn 

 would turn its leaves to shavings in summer, 

 given up to grape culture. Just why this is can 

 only be answered hypothetically for we do not 

 know that the reason has been actually demon- 

 strated. 



