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TIlb Horticulturist and Journal 



Baraboo in the State. Fails on sandy land, 

 and is worthless there. A good nursery tree, 

 and where it succeeds, one of the most profit- 

 able orchard trees. 



Dutchess of Oldenburg — hardy on most soils 

 but suffers considerably from drouth on sandy 

 soils. Needs a clay or loam, and will do well 

 where it is too cool and moist for the Golden 

 Russett. Very liable to send up water sprouts 

 from the roots on account of early maturity of 

 growth of top before roots naturally would. 



Alexander is very hardy, but liable to fire 

 blight. Thrives best on clay loam soil, and 

 blights most on sandy soils and hot exposures. 



Yellow Belleflower has not proven produc- 

 tive or profitable as far as we have seen it, 

 and is not hardy enough to endure well here. 

 Respectfully, 



A. L. Hatch. 



Ithaca^ Richland Co., Wis. 



Orange Culture in Florida, 

 Improved. 



BY OLIVER TAYLOR. 



A FEW inaccuracies, I imagine, occur in an 

 article on Orange culture in Florida, in 

 the October number, that should be corrected, 

 viz. : Budding orange trees is not a failure in 

 Florida, but will have to be resorted to by all 

 careful cultivators who wish uniformity in 

 results. 



Dummit's grove is not inferior to Hart's 

 because they are budded trees, but because 

 Dummit's trees are not as well supplied with 

 rich soil and abundant showers as Hart's 

 grove is. 



The close, warm air of the St. Johns favors 

 the sweet fruit. Seeds from budded trees do 

 not produce sour fruit because of the trees 

 being budded. That is too shallow for science, 

 and never proven by facts. The mixing of 

 the pollen and the effects of culture alone can 

 vary the quality of the seedling. The sap of 

 the stock can in no wise change the peculiar 

 character of the graft on it. 



Larger or smaller fruit may be the result of 

 strong or weak stocks, but never have I seen 

 in the least degree a sweet fruit affected by a 



sour stock, yet I have tried to do so by put- 

 ting very sweet apples on very sour trees, but 

 never could see any change whatever. 



The orange trees of this place are all sweet 

 seedlings, and a more varied and indifferent 

 collection I have not seen in the State. I just 

 now tried to eat one orange, the ripest a lady 

 friend could find on her trees of more than 

 1,000 specimens, yet I could not eat all that 

 orange, it was so sour ; yet there is not a single 

 sour tree known here, as I have been trying 

 to get the seed. I find the best way to get 

 good trees all over the State is to get thrifty 

 sour seedlings and bud them low, and let 

 them branch low, and put them in deep, rich, 

 well-drained land, well surrounded with other 

 trees. The best time to reset is just as soon 

 as they commence to grow after the winter's 

 check, and this applies to all evergreen trees ; 

 but care should be taken not to do so till the 

 weather is warm enough to ensure growth. 

 All the trees I can see set out here last Au- 

 gust look badly now, and but few lived. 

 Moving in August is more practiced in South 

 Florida, as the climate is more moist there ; 

 yet there are failures frequently from that 

 practice, and several persons who tried both 

 times told me they had better success in spring 

 planting in every case. At Sand Point they 

 are fast learning better than to transplant a 

 tree in midsummer just because it can be done 

 sometimes. 



To succeed in orange growing in Florida, it 

 will be necessary to drain deeper and plant 

 more shelter than has been done, or the re- 

 sults will be as now — but few fruits to many 

 trees. 



A Humorous Pruning Scene. 



A HUMOROUS scene occurred one day in 

 ^ April at nurseries of Ellwanger & Barry, 

 Rochester,which is good enough to stir up a little 

 humor among the most staid of Horticulturists. 

 It is thus told by the Rochester Express, with 

 the title, '■'■A Pacific Pru?ung Prodigy.'^ 



In the large and beautiful laid out grounds 

 of Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, the famous 

 nurserymen on Mount Hope avenue, stand 

 about a dozen large sized California trees 



