THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[July, 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Silk Worm Mulberry. — The mulberry 

 has male and female flowers in separate flowers 

 on the same plant. But different trees vary in 

 the proportions of each— some trees having 

 wholly male flowers. Morus multicaulis is a 

 variety of Morus alba, almost always with male 

 flowers — always, for anything we know. Hence 

 it never seeds, but is propagated wholly by cut- 

 tings. Some years ago it became infested with 

 a disease similar, if not nearly the same as in- 

 fests the American Plane or Sycamore, and this 

 disease continues to this da3\ Silk worms fed 

 on these leaves become diseased. This was the 

 chief reason of the failure of the old '' Multi- 

 caulis" scheme. The seedlings of Morus alba 

 are usually free from disease, and make healthy 

 food for the silk worm. A.lthough Morus alba 

 signifies white mulberry, the fruit is sometimes 

 black or amber color. Morus Morettii is but a 

 variety of this species, as also is the Russian 

 or Mennonite mulberry of the West. The dan- 

 ger is that in propagating these from cuttings or 

 layers, some disease may be also propagated. 

 We should recommend those having the inter- 

 ests of silk culture at heart, to rely chiefly on 

 seedling white mulberry. 



Concord Grape South. — Mr. T. V. Munson 

 says the Concord Grape is useless in the South. 

 It soon withers and dies. 



Bacteria in Fruit Diseases. — Mr. T. V. Mun- 

 son suggests that species of the "stink bug" 

 (Sinea) may carry bacteria from decayed fruit 

 (and perhaps the decayed matter with the bac- 

 teria), to health}' branches, puncturing which 

 the pear blight and other troubles may origi- 

 nate, as artificially produced by Prof. Burrill. 



Table Grapes in the South. — The South ex- 

 cels in table grapes, but Mr. T. V. Munson 

 thinks has not produced one that will compare 

 with the best Northern varieties. If this is the 

 general impression South, we think little nmst 

 be known of Dr. Wylie's eflforts. To our mind 

 some of his seedlings rank with the best in the 

 North. This modest, patient South Carolina 

 worker has scarcely received the good tributes 

 to his memory, his eminent services to Pomol 

 ogy while living, deserve. 



A Promising Native Grape to Improve. — 

 Mr. T. V. Munson says : " There is a wild grape 

 growing in the sandy ravines of the Texas "Pan- 



handle" and elsewhere in the West which pro- 

 duces heavy crops of fair-sized, well-flavored 

 fruit without rot, foxiness or hard pulp, which 

 grows upright like a bu.sh, without tendrils or 

 support. Botanists term it Rupestris. From 

 this, fine varieties might be obtained by hybrid- 

 izing with such varieties as Black E;igle or other 

 upright fine kinds, which would give us a valua- 

 ble tribe, requiring no stakes or trellises." 



Windsor Cherry. — This variety, raised some 

 years ago by Mr. Jam.es Dougall, of Windsor, 

 still maintains the reputation of being an excel- 

 lent late cherry. 



Caroline Raspberry. — This is a yellow variety 

 of the ordinary black-cap. None of the light 

 colored kinds in this class have proved perma- 

 nently popular. It remains t© be seen how this 

 will stand. 



Raising Seedlings. — Most of our best grapes 

 are accidental seedlings. Deliberate attempts to 

 raise seedlings have not been encouraging. The 

 late Dr. Miner had 1,500 seedlings, and selected 

 some of the best. The selections have good 

 points, but this is about all. 



Miner Plum. — Prof. Budd believes that under 

 some conditions of culture the Miner Plum may 

 be deficient in stamens, and comparatively un- 

 productive — when a more staminate variety in 

 the orchard would assist the fertilization. 



Hovey's Seedling Strawberry. — From ac- 

 counts we see in various quarters, this famous 

 old variety is yet under culture in some places, 

 producing admirable crops and positively re- 

 fusing to " run out." 



Best Soil for the Raspberry.— Many reports 

 of the failure of this or that variety comes from 

 bad culture. The raspberry is a native of moun- 

 tains, or cool. Northern climates. Hot, dry soil 

 is its abomination, and it is always on the alert 

 to " run out" in these situations. 



The Codling Moth.— The greatest enemy to 

 apple culture is the Codling Moth. Mr, W. C. 

 Raymond, of Dickinson's Landing, contributes 

 the following useful hint to the Canadian Horti- 

 culturist: "I set twq traps on the 20th of last 

 August and caught over one thousand moths in 

 one night. T.ie trap is a glass lantern set in a 

 tin pan of water an inch or more deep. The 

 light attracts the moths and they fly around the 

 lantern, and when they strike the water they 



