THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



143 



But we have not space to mention all 

 the names Mr. Gibb describes in his 

 report. It is to be hoped that a num- 

 ber of them will be found adapted to 

 our severe northern sections. He also 

 found some varieties of pear sufficiently 

 hardy to endure the climate of latitude 

 54 on the Volga, yet we are inclined to 

 believe they are both small in size and 

 of inferior quality as compared with 

 the pears to which we are accustomed. 

 He found cherries of a hardy variety 

 that were grown in great abundance ; 

 that in the cherry districts of Vladimer 

 there are many orchards comprising 

 15,000 trees each, and that entire trains 

 of cars are sometimes loaded with the 

 fruit and sent to the markets ; that in- 

 deed the chief industry of this section 

 is cherry culture. The trees are bush 

 form, and when they become too old to 

 bear profitably, the old parts are cut 

 away and the sprouts allowed to take 

 their places. When ripe the flesh of 

 the cherry is a purplish red, the skin a 

 reddish black, and the flavor a rich 

 mingling of sweet and acid. Mr. Gibb 

 sees no reason why these cherries may 

 not be profitably grown in the Province 

 of Quebec. He also found plums in 

 central Russia, chiefly of the prune 

 family. These plum trees, like the 

 cherry, are very dwarfish in habit, more 

 like bushes than trees. They are usu- 

 ally grown from suckers. From what 

 we can gather, after examination of the 

 report, we are inclined to believe that 

 we may hope to find both apple and 

 cherry in Russia that will be adapted 

 to our colder parts of Canada, but that 

 in pears and plums they have little to 

 ofier us. 



The Fruit-Growers Friend. — We 

 are in receipt of a little pamphlet of 

 some thirty pages, by R. H. Haines, of 

 Moorestown, N. J., which treats of the 

 raising of fruits for pleasure or profit ; 

 about eight pages are devoted to the 

 growing of strawberries, containing di- 



rections for planting, distance for 

 planting, cultivation, mulching, winter 

 protection, picking, marketing. The 

 remainder of the treatise is filled with 

 similar information with regard to 

 raspberries, blackberries, currants, 

 gooseberries, grapes, and fruit trees. A 

 large and practical amount of informa- 

 tion is brought together in small 

 compass, and we commend the work to 

 the attention of our readers. 



Transactions of the Indiana Hor- 

 tictltural Society for 1882. — We 

 are indebted to Mr. W. H. Ragan for 

 a copy of this report, which contains 

 the proceedings of the 22nd annual 

 meeting, together with the several re- 

 ports made thereat, and the discussions 

 thereon, all of which are interesting to 

 those engaged in horticultural pursuits. 



Hints on Fruit Cultivation (by 

 Chas. A. Green, fruit-grower, Roches- 

 ter N. Y.) contains a handsome colored 

 plate of the Jeflferson Grape, and over 

 thirty illustrations of fruits. It de- 

 scribes many valuable new fruits and 

 directions how to jjlant and cultivate 

 them. It is sent free to all applicants. 



Our Own Fireside. — Is the title of 

 a family magazine published at Whitby, 

 Ontario, at 25c. a year. 



How TO Succeed With Very Small 

 Seeds. — A correspondent of the Garden- 

 ers Monthly says : " I find it a good plan 

 to SOW small seeds like begonia, etc. , on a 

 very soft brick, dug out enough to hold 

 say one-quarter of an inch of soil. Place 

 the brick in a pan of water. The brick 

 draws moisture enough to keep the soil in 

 a nice condition." To this the editor 

 adds : " This is also a capital way to raise 

 ferns, orchids and other tine seeds. Sown 

 on a shallow brick, set in a pan of water, 

 they will be almost sure to grow, the only 

 care required being to see that the water 

 is always kept in the pan. When done in 

 the usual way, these fine seeds are sure to 

 be washed away by the watering pot, no 

 matter how carefully the watering is 

 tended." 



