192 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



Aug. 



HORTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT, 



EDITED BY P. BARRY. 



NEW SEEDLING STRAWBERRIES. — PRODUCTION 

 OF SEEDLINGS, 



Public attention is so generally turned to fruit cul- 

 ture, that great improvements must be made in ev- 

 ery department. The Strawberry, the most impor- 

 tant of all the small fruits, will undoubtedly, in 

 common with other things, undergo a great im- 

 provement. A few years ago the Messrs. Hovey, 

 of Boston, produced two seedlings of great merit; 

 and they were disseminated with astonishing ra- 

 pidity. In three or four years from the time they 

 were first announced for sale, hardly a respectable 

 garden in the country, but had its Hovey s Seed- 

 ling and "Boston Pine." Next Mr. Burr, of Colum- 

 bus, Ohio, is fortunate in obtaining from seed a 

 few fine sorts. We see them at once spread over 

 the country, so that in two years from the time of 

 sending out, they are reported on the tables of all 

 the Horticultural Societies in the country. Mean- 

 time, large numbers of European Sorts, of high 

 character, are imported and tested. This shows 

 trj£ estimation in which the strawberry is held, and 

 the degree off attention bestowed upon it by Amer- 

 ican cultivators. This is not surprising, for the 

 healthiness and delicacy of this fruit render it the 

 favorite of all ages, classes, and conditions of peo- 

 ple who can get it. 



It is needless for us to say that among all the for- 

 eign sorts, not one has yet been found well adapt- 

 ed for marketing. The Swainstone, the British 

 Queen, Black Prince, &lc, are large and delicious, 

 but the crops are small and uncertain, and they are 

 entitled to a place only in the collection of amateurs, 

 and there they ought to be. 



The large Early Scarlet in Western New York, 

 is yet the staple sort for market. It, however, must, 

 soon give place, we think, to better sorts. A few 

 years ago, we thought of trying our luck in raising 

 seedlings. We had an idea that something might 

 be produced as prolific as the Early Scarlet, and with 

 larger size, and better flavor. We took seed from 

 "•Hovey,s Seedling,'" Ross' Phctnix, Large Early 

 Scarlet, Duke of Kent and Austrian Scarlet, and 

 Boston Pine, that were all grown in adjoining beds, 

 and from this seed we raised in 1847, several thou- 

 sand plants. These we put out in beds, and in 

 1848 they bore, and we selected some twenty-four 

 plants that we considered well worthy another trial. 

 The crop of fruit on some of them was enormous, 

 and the plants combined with this great vigor and 

 hardiness. We planted these 24 selected plants out 

 and again this year they have borne — some of them 

 so profusely as not to be equalled by any we have 

 seen this season. This has been the opinion, 

 too, of others who have seen them. They re- 

 ceived no extra culture; indeed, the culture was 

 not so good as it ought to have been. The ground 

 was an old rasberry bed, worn out. The plants 

 were dug up on the first of July, last year, and the 

 ground manured and spaded — and on the 3d or 4th 

 the strawberry plants were planted in it, and since 

 then have only been kept clean of weeds. Every 

 runner has been allowed to grow so that the ground 

 around the plants has not been stirred. We have 



selected five varieties that we believe will rank 

 at least among the best and most prolific varieties 

 now grown. [See the report of the Committee,who 

 have examined their merits carefully.] We are con- 

 tinuing our experiments. We have immense num- 

 bers of seedlings coming in, and we venture to an- 

 ticipate something fine. 



We are glad to learn that others are engaging in 

 similar experiments.* There is something so de- 

 lightful, so exciting about the raising of seedlings, 

 whether of fruits or flowers, that one finds ample 

 compensation, if they succeed in raising one good 

 thing among a thousand poor ones. Last year we 

 raised some of the finest verbenas now cultivated, 

 among them two or three real novelties — striped and 

 clouded. We also obtained some very pretty Petu- 

 nias, equal to any of the best English sorts we have 

 seen. At this moment we have in full bloom a bed 

 of seedling picatees that are scattering their odor 

 over all the garden, and delight all who see them, 

 with their gay and varied colors. Of pansies we 

 are always getting something new and pretty from 

 seed. The following article responds so faithfully 

 to our own feelings on this subject, that we cannot 

 refrain from hanging it to our own remarks : 



The Gratifcation Derived from Raising Sf.edlinos. 

 — All nature has an inclination to vary; even the acorn 

 from the evergreen oak, which we shall take for our lirst 

 subject, yields us fifty differently formed leaves, although 

 we could see no difference in the seed. If we sow a thou- 

 sand acorns from the evergreen oak, we shall not have two 

 plants with foliage strictly alike, but many will differ so 

 much that they fur more nearly resemble holly than oak; 

 we have seen a number of varieties so striking, that we 

 have determined on working each distinctly and separately 

 and so perpetuating about ten of the oddest looking leaves 

 we ever saw. There is hardly any thing more gratifying, 

 certainly nothing more interesting, than the sowing of 

 seeds, if we but take the pains to examine the results. — 

 Wo have seen a seedling oak with round leaves, with 

 prickles all around, like those of the holly, but in form, 

 the leaf is as unlike both oak and holly as if it were a sep- 

 arate genus. In a quantity of seedling berberries there is a 

 most extraordinary diversity of form and color. In a patch 

 of laburnums some of the racemes of flowers are as long 

 again as others; in half a dozen walnut trees not two bear 

 nuts alike; and if we were to watch any thing that comes 

 from seed, we should often discover a thing worth saving 

 but which, for want of observation, is lost altogether. — 

 Take ciro of things raised from seed; we once picked out 

 half a dozen Rhododendrons, from a lot of seedling Ca- 

 tawbiense, and they proved to be worth grafting, an 1 are 

 now figuring among the most popular by some half-dozen 

 names. We have not alluded to seed raised by crossing or 

 artificial impregnation, but raised in the ordinary way; and 

 if that will, as we know it will, yield great variety occa- 

 sionally, how much more would seed do so when saved 

 from particular sorts associated together for the purpose, and 

 those of so opposite a character as to present every charm.? 

 We wish all who sow seed would look more to the result. 



PROGRESS OF ERUPT CULTURE. 



We are happy ot note the steady and rapid in- 

 crease of choice fruits in this vicinity. Last year 

 we had the pleasure of reporting great improvement 

 in Strawberry culture, and this year has brought that 

 branch of cultivation to a state of advancement that 

 compares favorably with any other part of the country. 



The varieties recently produced by Mr. Burr, of 

 Columbus, Ohio, have been produced in large quan- 

 tities by M. G. Warner, Eaq.. who has from the 

 beginning, cultivated these varieties with great 



* Wo noticed, a few days ago. a bed of strawberry seeds just 

 planted by Messrs. Bigscll, Hooker &. Sloane. 



