of Rural Art and Taste. 



275 



ous grower and quite productive ; berries firm, 

 and with a slight bloom", ripening with the 

 medium or late sorts. 



" Elsie " is said to be a seedling of the 

 last, but is so near like its parent, if not 

 identical, that a distinct name is unnecessary. 

 The older sorts still hold their own among 

 the newer claimants for favor, and a man would 

 have lost but little, except in prolonging the 

 season, if he had never gone beyond the first 

 sort introduced to notice, viz., — Doolittle, or 

 American Improved Black Cap. 



Among the red raspberries there is really a 

 less number of novelties than among the 

 Black Caps. The Brandywine, which has of 

 late attracted considerable attention, is a 

 rather dwarf-growing native sort, with me- 

 dium size bright red or scarlet berries, quite 

 productive and plants very hardy — an ex- 

 cellent variety for localities where the foreign 

 sorts will not thrive. The Baldwin, a new 

 sort from Illinois, is hardy, moderately pro- 

 ductive, but scarcely sufiiciently distinct from 

 the wild varieties to be found in the woods all 

 through our Northern States. I have quite 

 a number of what are known as " Herstine's 

 Seedlings," but none appear to possess any 

 special merit making them worthy of ex- 

 tended culture. 



Of course I hope no one will consider Mr. 

 Downing in any way responsible for my 

 opinion as expressed above, because he 

 happened to be with me during an examina- 

 tion of these fruits to-day, for probably both 

 of us are too decidedly independent to allow 

 another's taste or opinion to warp our own. 



Although Mr. Downing has been a close 

 student of pomology for a half century or 

 more, he is as eager and ready to learn to-day 

 as when he first begun, showing that egotism 

 or self-conceit in regard to knowledge of any 

 one subject has never as yet entered his 

 mind. Fifty years is a long time to look 

 forward to, but a very short period to look 

 back over ; hence the failure to accomplish 

 much by those who are negligent or waste 

 time while young, and the wisdom of those 

 who are industrious even during an ordinary 

 lifetime, --=i?MraZ New Yorker. 



Peach Culture in Delaware. 



Dr. David .Steivtirt's Hystetn of l^enrlt culture, 

 as set forth in letters to the Chnirtiitni of the 

 ICjcecutive Committee of the Central Delatvfire 

 Frtiit Growers' Association, 



JPlanUng — He prefers fall planting, in 

 rows twenty feet each way. Advises that 

 the plow shall run twice in each furrow, and 

 throws up subsoil from the crossing. Fills 

 the hole with top soil slightly above the level 

 of the field. Places the tree upon this mound 

 and piles the top soil a foot over the roots; 

 during the winter it will settle to a level with 

 the surface. 



Cutting Back. — Cut off the tree to the 

 height of a walking cane, after it has put 

 forth in the spring, but do not wound or de- 

 press its vitality while struggling for exis- 

 tence ; allow it to get a start, and new roots 

 to form, before subjecting it to the shock of, 

 decapitation. He applies a shovel full of 

 strong ashes close around each tree every 

 spring until the third or fourth year ; also, as 

 much more to the hills of corn between the 

 trees, which crop by this treatment improves 

 annually, whereas, by the usual practice, the 

 corn crop deteriorates, and the trees are 

 robbed, but do not manifest it until the 

 fruiting season demands a special effort. 



He has observed that the ashes produce no 

 sensible effect upon the trees until the second 

 year ; but its effect upon the corn is distinct 

 in a few days. 



Soda refuse is worthless as a substitute for 

 this purpose, and unless the ashes yield 12 

 per cent, of salts of potash — more should be 

 used. Some that he has tested only yielded 

 4-llths of 1 per cent, 



3Iulch. — He mulches his trees with cparse 

 manure close around the trunk in the spring. 

 Applying it in April af^er the buds swell and 

 blossoms appear, but before the peach moth 

 deposits its eggs. Immediately thereafter it 

 should be "tied" to the tree by throwing a 

 furrow towards the tree on two opposite sides ; 

 or, by shoveling the surface soil, sp that the 

 mulch embraces the stem a foot above the 

 level of the ground. The peach moth, finding 

 its way to the soft bark belovy tlje surface of 



