298 Notes and Gleanings. 



ison with other varieties. Yet tlie Philadelphia is so hardy and prolific that it 

 has a value for the family that requires qiiantity as the first condition. Cata- 

 wissa, on the other hand, is one of the most tender and high-flavored of any on 

 the list, and by proper treatment can be made to yield such a bountiful crop in 

 September, when all other small fruits are gone, that it deserves a place in every 

 garden. For a fall crop, the canes should be cut back nearly to the ground in 

 April, and the late crop will be upon the new growth. But what can we say for 

 the Black Caps? In good conscience, not much. They are hardy, they are 

 very productive, they are shining black and very pretty, they have an agreeable 

 wild flavor. But they are small, seedy, dry — they are almost beyond the power 

 of sugar and cream to help them. The open market is a rough, but it is a 

 pretty sure, test of value, and our Boston market refuses to take the Black Caps. 

 We speak the more decidedly in regard to this fruit because of the extravagant 

 praise which the so-called Doolittle's Improved has received in the Middle 

 States. We have had on our tables white, or yellow, varieties of the Black Cap ; 

 but they are not an improvement, either in quality or color. Davidson's Thorn- 

 less is an improvement in the respect of being comparatively free from thorns. 

 We have not fruited the Mammoth Cluster, in this section, and we can only hope 

 that it will so far fulfil the descriptions of size and juiciness as to redeem the 

 class. 



[We think the summary of fruit culture in Massachusetts during the last year, 

 contained in Mr. Strong's report, of even more than usual interest. We shall 

 give the remaining portion next month. — Ed.] 



The Brittle Sweet Apple. — This apple is of unknown origin, and but 

 little cultivated. Mr. Downing says it is very valuable, and deserves more at- 

 tention, being in beauty and quality among the first. The tree is moderately 

 vigorous, but very productive. The fruit is above medium size, roundish, ap- 

 proaching conical ; color pale yellow, nearly covered with shades, splashes, and 

 marblings of light and dark crimson red, and having also many small gray and 

 white dots. Flesh yellowish, crisp, juicy, tender, with a peculiar honeyed sweet 

 and slightly aromatic. Ripe in October and November. Quality very good. 



The Cranberry as an Ornamental Plant. — I do not see how any 

 one, who has ever noticed the delicate foliage and flowers of the cranberry, even 

 when wild and uncultivated, could fail to be struck with its beauty. But my 

 object now is to call the attention of your readers to its value when cultivated in 

 pots, in the house, or, still better, in hanging baskets. When thus grown, the 

 long, slender stems, drooping from the basket, together with the rich fruit, form 

 a most beautiful oliject. Let those who mourn that they cannot aflTord to pur- 

 chase foreign novelties, make a rustic basket, and put a few cranberry plants in 

 it, and hang it in the window, and they will say they never saw anything more 

 beautiful. O. A. 



The Mechanics' and Agricultural Fair Association of Louisiana will please 

 accept our thanks for a card of admission to the Fourth Grand State Fair. 



