The Canadian Hortiailturist. 



353 



(just as it changed from green to 

 white and pink) leaving a portion of 

 the stem attached. In the bottom 

 of the box 1 placed a thick layer of 

 sand ; then on this a layer of toma- 

 toes (the flat ends down, and taking 

 care they did not touch each other 

 in any way), and then another layer 

 of sand, so thick as to entirely cover 

 the tomatoes and stems, and so on 

 until tlie box is filled. Nail up and 

 place in a dark, dry place. 



The attachment of the stem seems 

 to be very essential for perfection in 

 ripening, as those tried without have 

 a shriveled appearance. 



Woolly Baldwins. 



Mr. Rivers, Vice-President of the 

 British Fruit Growers' Association, 

 in a speech before that Association 

 quite recently, said that he hoped 

 before long their markets would be 

 so well supplied with apples of such 

 good quality that their very good 

 friends, the Americans, would be com- 

 pelled to consume their flat, tasteless, 

 and woolly Baldwins amongst them- 

 selves. They should not want tliem 

 here. There is no doubt that the 

 productiveness of the Baldwin, 

 and its fine color, have united in caus- 

 ing it to be planted in much larger 

 quantities than its quality will war- 

 rant. But if this is so, what shall we 



say of the Ben Uavis, the great market 

 apple of the west, which, even accord- 

 ing to its best Canadian friend, Mr. 

 Dempsey, of Trenton, needs flavoring 

 with lemon juice to make it palatable. 



Edible Fungi. 



Mr. p. Weathers writes in the 

 Gardeners Chronicle on this subject, 

 and gives a list of four species of 

 Agnrici, including of course Agaricus 

 campestris, the common mushroom, 

 and the following in addition: Copr'i- 

 ni(S comatns, Marasmiiis orcadcs, 

 Boletus edulis, and Lycoperdon gigan- 

 teiini, all of which are edible at cer- 

 tain stages of growth, at least, and 

 counted great delicacies by some. 



The last mentioned, Lycoperdon 

 gigauteiim, is the giant puff-ball, often 

 looked upon by us in Canada as 

 poisonous. He says of it: "For cook- 

 ing the puft"-ball should be gathered 

 while young and snow-white color, 

 finely sliced, and fried with butter, 

 with a flavoring of pepper and salt ; 

 when cooked in this manner the dish 

 will compare favorably with many of 

 our most expensive dishes. This 

 fungus has other qualities besides 

 that of being edible; the spongy por- 

 tion of it can be made into tinder, 

 which, when burned, is used as a 

 narcotic, and the dust of it is very 

 useful for healing wounds. 



QUESTION DRAW^ER 



Varieties of Small Fruits. 



86. Will you kindly inform me which is 

 the best sort of strawberries, also currants 

 and raspberries for market purposes. — S. 

 Kemp, Haiolcubury. 



It is not easy to give advice con- 

 cerning the varieties best suited to a 

 distant locality ; but would commend 

 the Tyler, Ohio and Gregg for black 

 raspberries ; and Marlboro and 

 Turner for red. Of currants, for 

 market the Fay and the Cherry are 



the most profitable, both on account 

 of ease in picking anil the ready sale 

 which these varieties command. 



In strawberries, in spite of the 

 many new and wonderful varieties 

 being introduced, we are not yet able 

 to say whether any •' have come to 

 stay " or not. In the mean time 

 plant for market Crescent on sand, 

 anil \\'ilson in clay loam, and plant 

 enough of the new varieties for experi- 

 ment. 



