62 Editors'' Lcttcr-Dox. 



top, as some kinds are, might be advantageously sliortened in, and with other 

 varieties, when a hmb grows faster than the others, and threatens to produce an 

 ill-balanced tree, it may well be shortened. In regard to the season for performing 

 the operation, if it is desired to check the growth of the tree, we would shorten 

 early in summer, otherwise early in spring. But we would not recommend an 

 indiscriminate shortening in at any time, and we advise our correspondent to ask 

 himself what advantage he expects to gain by the operation, and not to begin 

 until he can give a definite answer to his question. 



Can you or any of your correspondents tell what is the cause of the peculiar 

 change in the texture of sweet apples known as watercore ? O. A. 



Have any of the readers of the Journal had any experience in the cultivation 

 of the Shallot ? In common with the onion, is it equally liable to the attacks of 

 the maggot, or could it be successfully grown in localities where, from the abun- 

 dance of these pests of the garden, the onion is annually destroyed ? How does 

 it compare with the onion in size, quality, and productiveness .'* G. R. 



Keeping Cauliflowers. — N. B. The cauliflower is an annual plant, while 

 the cabbage is a biennial, and the former is therefore much more difficult to 

 keep, and with the utmost care cannot be kept as well as the cabbage. It is also 

 only half-hardy, much less hardy than the cabbage. While the heads are 

 but slightly affected by frost, they are injured or destroyed if exposed to a very 

 low temperature. A common practice is to take them up in November, with as 

 much earth as possible about their roots, and after gathering the leaves carefully 

 over the heads, reset them in earth in a light, dry cellar, or in any other light 

 and dry location secure from freezing. A cold frame, if at hand, might be very 

 advantageously employed for the purpose. 



R. V. D., Thompsonville, Conn. — You will find in our last volume, at pages 

 125 and 189, some hints which will answer most of your questions about the cul- 

 tivation of the quince. 



If you wish to cultivate cleanly and neatly, and have a handsome orchard, you 

 must prune your trees to single stems, and by no means permit them to sucker. 

 You will find in Thomas's Fruit Culturist an illustration of the difference be- 

 tween a tree pruned as it should be and one with the suckers allowed to grow, 

 and you will see the difficulty or impossibility of eradicating borers from the latter. 

 Any good manure will suit them ; a light annual dressing, applied as soon as the 

 ground is in good condition to work in the spring, is better than heavy but less 

 frequent manuring. We would use a cultivator to till the ground, stirring it just 

 deep enough to cover the manure, and no more. A slight coating of salt is 

 thought to be beneficial, especially in old gardens, destroying weeds and insects, 

 and absorbing moisture from the air. It requires caution in applying ; more 

 may safely be given when the trees are dormant than when they are growing. 

 We would apply say ten bushels to the acre, early in sjiring. We know of no 

 work especially devoted to the quince ; but the varieties are described and direc- 

 tions for its cultivation given in all works on fruit trees. In a rich soil, twelve 



