8 SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. 



ascertained and established, that will be in demand. 

 There has been altogether too much puffing of new or 

 supposed to be new sorts, before their merits or identity 

 had become fully ascertained. In many instances varieties 

 have been announced as something wonderful, and en- 

 dorsed by scores of ministers, doctors, lawyers, and other 

 prominent gentlemen neighbors of the originators, not 

 one of whom perhaps ever had any experience in fruit- 

 culture, or could tell a "Wilson" Strawberry from a 

 "Hovey" or a " Chas. Downing." Instances of this 

 kind of worthless endorsement of new or old sorts, are 

 becoming more and more frequent and annoying to the 

 horticulturist and the public at large. The old " Belle de 

 Fontenay" Easpberry was recently brought out as some- 

 thing new under the name of Amazon, and the man who 

 claimed to have produced it, procured the endorsement 

 of some half a score of ministers as to his own honesty, 

 and the great and valuable merits of his bantling. The 

 said ministers may be very good men, and know some- 

 thing of their parishioner's character, and still, as proved 

 in this case, know very little about Easpberries. In other 

 instances the Mayor of a city, or some noted politician, 

 is called upon to endorse the statement of the raiser of a 

 new variety, while there are plenty of good horticulturists 

 near at hand, whose word in such cases would carry some 

 weight among fruit-growers generally. All persons 

 interested in fruit growing sbould unite in condemning 

 this species of quackery in horticulture. 



The facilities for disseminating plants of all kinds, have 

 largely increased during the past few years, our railroads 

 having penetrated almost every part of the country, from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific, affording safe and rapid 

 facilities for transmission of plants to the most distant 

 localities. Added to this, the Post-office Department per- 

 mits the sending of plants through the mails, but I regret 

 to say at rates of postage far in excess of what they should 



