1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



47 



newly erected buildings. Now we see by a Texas 

 paper it has a population of 7,000, and is the seat 

 of numerous industries. Of gardening it is said 

 that " within five years the annual revenue from 

 fruits, wine and vegetables, shipped from Denison, 

 will reach at least a half million dollars a year ; 

 125,000 packages of peaches, apples and plums 

 have been shipped this year, besides twenty or 

 thirty thousand quarts of blackberries, sweet and 

 Irish potatoes, and other vegetables in large quan- 

 tities ; 20,000 pounds of grapes have been shipped 

 since May 18. Early in the season, the shipments 

 go North ; later, they go to Southern and South- 

 western Texas. A great many melons are also 

 shipped North from Denison. In short, the fruit 

 interests of Denison are simply immense, and it is 

 just now getting fairly started." 



Our correspondent, Mr. T. V. Munson, is 

 credited, in the paper from which we quote, with 

 having much to do with this great gardening pros- 

 perity. 



Autumn-bearing Raspberries. — The literature 

 of fruit culture has become so thoroughly occupied 

 by the market growers, that we are apt to forget 

 that there are other delicious things in the world 

 besides those which have good carrying properties, 

 and that autumn bearing raspberries are among 

 these good things. To grow them well they must 

 be cut down to the ground in spring, and the 

 suckers kept down. They bear from the end of 

 the young wood. We notice that the English mag- 

 azines regard the Belle de Fontenay, and the 

 Marvel of Four Seasons as different. This is not 

 American experience. 



American Apples in England. — The Garden 

 says : " The prospects were never more favorable 

 for shipments from America to England than they 

 are this year. The American apple trade, formerly 

 monopolized by Liverpool, has during the last few 

 years (in consequence of direct steam communica- 

 tion), been gradually diverted to London, which 

 market now competes favorably with that of Liver- 

 pool. 



The Primo Strawberry. — This variety is re- 

 ceiving praise in various quarters for its behavior 

 the past season. 



The White-fruited Versaillaise Currant. 

 — Under this name a new variety has appeared in 

 France, raised by M. Bertin, of Versailles. It is 

 said to resemble the original in every respect, ex- 

 cept that the fruit is a little less acid than that. 



The Waste Bones of a Large City. — At a 

 recent meeting of the Franklin Institute of Phila- 



delphia, Baugh & Sons presented the Institute with 

 samples of products from animal bones made at 

 the Delaware River Chemical Works. They stated 

 that Philadelphia produced daily from 80,000 to 

 100,000 pounds of bones, all of which, by the art 

 of the chemist, are converted into useful materials. 

 Bone oils, ammoniacal liquor, bone black, carbon- 

 ate, sulphate, nitrate and muriate of ammonia, fer- 

 tilizers and sizing glues are among the products, 

 samples of which were exhibited. 



Substitute for Cotton. — Mr. Thomas Christy, 

 Fellow of the Linneean Society, kindly sends us an 

 account of some new commercial drugs and plants, 

 which have achieved some note in England — the 

 account printed on some very beautiful paper pre- 

 pared from the fibre of the " white fir " (Abies), 

 which is probably what is known in this country as 

 the silver fir (Abies pectinata). This wood, he says, 

 can be delivered in England, enough to make a ton 

 of pulp, for $20, while a ton from the famed Es- 

 parto grass costs |8o. Cotton costs over $100 per 

 ton. Cotton machinery will do to spin fibre from 

 fir as well as from flax and other fibres. These 

 are separable into fine film by a new chemical 

 process. We fancy the great difficulty would be in 

 keeping up a cheap supply of fir fibre. It may be 

 cheaper than cotton now, but it takes many years 

 to grow as much fir wood as we could grow cotton 

 in one year, from the same acreage, and this must 

 tend to increase the price to the. continuous de- 

 mand, while cotton is already at its highest price. 



Dandelion Rum. — As is generally known the 

 product of fermented sugar is rum. By mixing 

 sugar with chips, old leather, potatoes, parsnips, 

 currants, rhubarb, cabbage, the rum is flavored, 

 and we get as many varieties of " domestic wines " 

 in that way as one can desire. The dandelion is 

 the latest addition to the list of these flavored rums, 

 and is prepared as follows, according to the Lon- 

 don Journal of Horticulture : 



" To make four gallons, pour four gallons of boil- 

 ing water over the heads of one gallon of dande- 

 lion flowers, let it stand till cold, then strain off ; 

 add three pounds of loaf sugar with half of the 

 peel of four lemons and four Seville or sweet 

 oranges ; boil half an hour the other half of the 

 peel with the oranges and lemons sliced put in at 

 new-milk heat with a little yeast ; let it stand three 

 or four days to ferment ; then place it in the cask. 

 In a week add half a pint of brandy and stop up 

 the cask. In six months either bottle or draw from 

 the wood, and if it is desired, add a few more dan- 

 delions." 



Large Celery, — G. D. Moore, of Arlington, 

 Mass., raised a stalk of celery the past autumn, 



