AND HORTICULTURIST. 



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The European, however, working at thirty to 

 forty cents per day, produces seeds which in the 

 eyes of some merchants have the merit of being 

 cheap, and accordingly large quantities are brought 

 to this country and sold by dealers who masquer- 

 ade as American merchants. They always forget 

 however, to tell their customers the origin of their 

 stocks. 



To a market gardener the quality of seeds he 

 buys is of the utmost importance. The stock from 

 which they are grown must be of acclimatized 

 habit, must be judiciously selected of best individ- 

 ual types, thoroughly culled of all sports of root, 

 leaf, or seed, properly harvested to insure the 

 highest percentage of germination, and properly 

 stored and labeled to guard against subsequent 

 error in nomenclature. All these and others, are of 

 vital necessity, as the trucker cannot afford to 

 plant, manure, and cultivate crops which, if bad, 

 only prove bad after months of patient labor and 

 large expense. 



Native American grown seeds unquestionably 

 do best under our American sun — foreign stocks 

 do not bear our tropical heat. Under these 

 circumstances the most satisfactory way is to buy 

 American grown seed, and to get it from the 

 producer — those who can say themselves that they 

 grow the stocks they have for sale. 



Among the Philadelphia seed firms is one which 

 stands out boldly as a producer of native seeds. 

 Its reputation has been made upon American 

 stock, and it continues still, as it has been for one 

 hundred years, the largest producer on this conti- 

 nent. Such a reputation is to be envied — such a 

 wide acknowledgement of merit is the outgrowth 

 of practical business management, technical abil- 

 ity and honest dealing. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Success in Business. — There can be no doubt 

 but much of the failures in making fruit growing 

 profitable, as well as in making profitable the 

 various departments of the farm and garden, 

 arises from the indifference to excellence so many 

 exhibit. At the recent meeting of the Western 

 New York State Horticultural Society, Mr. Barry 

 reviewed the nursery business. Let the struggle 

 be as to who will grow the best, not the cheapest. 

 Above all, let nurserymen do all in their power to 

 free the profession from these foul excrescences, 

 the fraudulent, irresponsible agents, peddlers, or 

 whatever names they may be known by. The 



cultivation of exotic plants, flowers and plants for 

 house and lawn decoration is not improving as it 

 should, considering the increase, of wealth and 

 taste among our people. The cheapening process 

 has been carried on to such an extent that it is 

 almost impossible to get well-grown, vigorous 

 plants. In regard to the sending of plants through 

 the mails the speaker said : " On the whole I am in- 

 clined to think that the sending of puny little plants 

 a few days or weeks old, with scarcely the breath 

 of life in them, through the mail bags does more 

 harm than good." It is not the mail plants only 

 that are poor and unsatisfactory, but the tendency 

 is to fill the markets with a class of plants so poor 

 as to be dear at any price. 



Peaches in California. — Yellow peaches 

 thrive much better than the white variety, the trees 

 of the latter kind being troubled a good deal with 

 curled leaf. 



The Californian Walnut. — Attempts to culti- 

 vate this at Philadelphia have proved futile. It 

 lives through some mild winters, but dies under 

 the severer ones. Some grafted on the black 

 walnut did better, but finally succumbed to the 

 severe climate. In its own country attention is 

 being turned to its merits. In the country between 

 Gait and Sacramento, farmers and others are plant- 

 ing a great many California walnuts, which make 

 much the best shade trees. They are a nut-bearing 

 tree, and the wood is valuable for fuel as well 

 as for various manufacturing purposes. The wal- 

 nuts grow finely in this section, and trees bear in 

 three or four years. 



Variations in Pears. — The Mt. Vernon pear 

 was "brought out" by the Gardeners' Monthly. 

 There could not possibly be fruit of superior 

 quahty than those submitted to the editor at that 

 time. Yet there was the saine experience as with 

 the Kieffer, some wondering how the editor should 

 even have called it a first-class pear. At the recent 

 meeting of the Western N. Y. Horticultural Society 

 [ Mr. W. F. Barry said : " A pleasant surprise was 

 experienced the past season with Mt. Vernon. 

 Heretofore the fruit seemed to be only of medium 

 quality. In November, when the specimens ripened, 

 they were remarkably fine. The peculiarly spiced, 

 vinous flavor was particularly agreeable, and 

 could this pear always be obtained in like perfec- 

 tion we would rank it among the richest flavored 

 pears." 



Apples as Food. — In a recent lecture. Dr. 

 Nichols gave some results of analysis of apples, 

 with a view to ascertain their great value as food. 



