THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



83 



those produced the demand is good, and 

 the price rules high, good samples 

 readily bringing from $2.00 to $3.00 per 

 bushel, according to quality. We are 

 mostly satisfied with the old standard 

 varieties as Bartlett, Flemish Beauty 

 and Bon de Jersey, as we can hear of 

 nothing better. And it may be some- 

 time before anything better is produced. 

 Clapp's Favorite, so largely disseminated 

 by our society some few years ago, is 

 now beginning to come intofruitfulness, 

 and thus upsetting the popular objec- 

 tion against j)ear pbinting, that you 

 must wait a lifetime before they come 

 into bearing, this fallacy is now being 

 timely exploded. Well, the fruit of this 

 pear is fine, large, handsome and good, 

 but very soft at matui-ity. The destruc- 

 tive blight of the pear tree so bad in 

 some sections, is scarcely known here, 

 even in those orchards that have been 

 some time planted. We think suitable 

 soil and careful preparation and drain- 

 age, with good culture, will largely 

 overcome this diflSculty in the culture 

 of this a fine popular fruit. 



PLUMS. 



As far as soil and climate are con- 

 cerned, this whole region is well adapt- 

 ed to the culture of fine plums; but it 

 is very rarely that such is ever seen of 

 late years. "What is the matter ?" you 

 ask. Oh, the same old disheartening 

 story, "The Curculio takes them all;" 

 and really this is the fact, scarcely a 

 sample being left to show us what they 

 would be like. Years ago we used to 

 find a large, handsome and relishable 

 plum on our rich creek bottoms in the 

 woods, but like many other good things 

 of olden time they have fled witli the 

 Indians, and now their place knows 

 them no more for ever. What native 

 varieties are left are few and far be- 

 tween and ai*e small and astringent. 

 This season a large nursery firm. Par- 

 sons & Co., New York, sent to us for a 

 large quantity of native plums, to be 



used solely for their seed, supposing we 

 had any quantity here ; but we had ta 

 report in answer, "No plums to be had." 

 The sorts we attempt mostly are Blue 

 Orleans and another blue plum, but 

 much smaller, and in some favored sec- 

 tions Lombard, but in the main plum 

 growing is at a discount among us. I 

 may say in passing, that Black Knot is 

 also very commonly seen on old fruit- 

 less plum trees in our fence corners and 

 other places. 



CHERRIES. 



I am very sorry to report that we are 

 not by any means so successful in grow- 

 ing cherries as we are in growing some 

 other fruits. As a matter of conse- 

 quence a country that is famed for fine 

 apples, pears and i)lums, cannot be 

 equally noted for fine and beautiful 

 cherries. The fruits in their very 

 nature require different conditions of 

 soil and climate. In our forests are 

 some of the finest samples of cherry 

 trees that eyes ever looked upon, and 

 yet their fruit is not the beautiful, 

 luscious, European cherry, but a small 

 jet black fruit, strung on their stems 

 like a cluster of red currants. We 

 have frequently tried to plant the trees 

 of those beautiful foreign sorts, we used 

 to have in such plentiful abundance 

 when we were at home, but in most 

 cases we have sadly failed. Last 

 winter made sad havoc among our fine 

 trees, 15 or 20 feet high, and 6 or 8 

 years' growth, that we were fondly plac- 

 ing our expectations upon. Now they 

 are lifeless spectres, that we can only 

 uproot as so many cumberei-s of the 

 ground. This experience is not uncom- 

 mon, and is very discouraging indeed to 

 us of so sensitive nature, llie soi-ts 

 mostly attempted are Black Eagle, 

 Black Tai*tarian, for this color, and for 

 red, May Duke, and early Richmond. 

 The late Richmond or common sour 

 cherry, as it is called, is largely grown 

 and easily propagated, and gives on the 



