50 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



December, 



profession. But few men have had the 

 opportunities that Mr. Falconer has had. 

 Mr. Dana most heartily .seconds and en- 

 courages him, and his own thorough know- 

 ledge not only of the nomenclature but of 

 the nature of the collection forming his 

 grand arboretum, is such that he can fully 

 appreciate the work that Mr. F.doesso well. 

 That the indulgence in such fancies must 

 be costly to the owner, there can be no 

 question, for it is kept 

 solely for the pleasure 

 it gives to himself and 

 his friends, but that it 

 "pays" few can doubt 

 that ever saw Mr. Dana 

 amongst his treasures. His 

 ela.stic step, erect and mus- 

 cular form give him the 

 appearance of an English 

 hunting squire rather than 

 a man engaged in literary 

 work — much of which is 

 undoubtedly due to his 

 interest in rural atf airs that 

 necessitates his presence 

 in the pure air and sun- 

 shine of his grounds at 

 Glen Cove. The wonder is 

 that so few gentlemen own- 

 ing country seats take so 

 little personal interest in 

 their grounds. Depend 

 upon it, the man or woman 

 either that has made a 

 study of horticultural 

 work, so as to give him or 

 her sufficient interest to 

 be some portion of the day 

 amongst it, will be well 

 repaid not alone from the 

 pleasure derived from it, 

 but from the physical and 

 mental vigor as well. No 

 occupation is more con- 

 ducive to health; there is 

 just exercise enough in the 

 work without being op- 

 pressive to the body, and 

 the never-ending variety of 

 nature's productions in the 

 garden or grounds, which 

 can best be seen in the open 

 air and sunshine gives a 

 soothing and healhty toneto 

 the mind that no product of art under roof- 

 covering can give. 



freezing and burning has much 'the same 

 effect on most things, so that we may not 

 account for the sudden attacks of blight on 

 Pear trees in summer, to excessive heat, 

 when the atmosphere is very humid. It is 

 much like scalding in that case. Not one- 

 fourth of a mile from these trees so dam- 

 aged, and at an elevation of about 200 feet, 

 fifty Pear trees, about the same age of these 

 here, and nearly the same varieties, escaped 



Judge Miller's Fruit Notes and 

 Review. 



Now that another season has gone by, the 

 question arises among us horticulturists, 

 what have we learned within this year? 

 How many new fruits have proven to be 

 equal to what was claimed for them? What 

 knowledge have we gained? 



Effects of Frost. One thing I have 

 learned to my sorrow, Is what terrible work 

 a frost, at the time when the young Pears 

 were the size of ordinary Cherries, could do 



DAHLIA BARKERI/E. See "History r,f the Dahlia,'' page 



the frost, and also remained free from blight, 

 with the exception of one Bartlett tree at 

 the southwest corner of the orchard, and 

 where the forest ends that borders the 

 orchard on the north and west. I forgot to 

 mention that a tree of the Garber Pear, in 

 the orchard here, fully exposed, was not 

 effected by frost nor blight. 



The Chinese Peaks. The three new 

 Pears, Kieffer, Garber, and Le Conte are in 

 my opinion first cousins, and while the two 

 first-named are valuable here, I think they 

 are the foundation for a more hardy and 

 healthy class of Pears than the ordinary 

 run. That the Le Conte blights too bad 



among fruit and foliage on the trees here i here to warrant its planting is a fact, so far 



on the river bottom, or rather in a little 

 vale one hundred yards from the river bank. 

 This frost made my Pear trees look as though 

 a fire had passed through irregularly. 



Many limbs, as large as a broom handle, 

 never sent out a fresh leaf, others made a 

 feeble attempt to recover, but in the end 

 failed. On the same footing the trees were 

 very differently affected. One Bartlett, one 

 Clapp'sFavorite, three Doyenne d' etes, have 

 gone under, dead to the ground. While the 

 Bloodgood, Kieffer, Easter Beurre, Seckels 

 were scarcely affected. One large Sheldon, 

 one Bartlett; and Beurre Clairgeau were 

 somewhat hurt, but may recover. I 



Now, if that frost was not the cause of all 

 this trouble, I would like if some one can 

 tell what else it was. We all know that I 



as I have been able to learn; but if it does so 

 well in the south, and they can ship the fruit 

 north when it commands a paying price; 

 there is the place to grow them. 



The Kieffer is roundly condemned as unfit 

 to eat by many, for which we should extend 

 charity, but for my own use I deem it about 

 as valuable a Pear as we have. That it is 

 not quite equal to a Bartlett or Seckel all 

 will admit, but if 1 had the three in prime 

 at the same time, believe I would eat about 

 as many Kieffers as of the others. Wheu 

 this latter is in its prime, it has a sprightli- 

 ness and a flavor that is refreshing, and for 

 preserving or making jelly there is none to 

 equal it. Garber is a month earlier and is, 

 to my taste, a little better, larger, and a 

 most beautiful fruit. 



I A Pear that will sell readily at 50 cents 

 per dozen, right in the Pear season, is worth 

 i growing, particularly when a young tree 

 bears four full crops in succession, as mine 

 has done. I have no Pear trees to sell, hence 

 no axe to grind in thus lauding these new 

 ones, but wish to see Pear trees plenty that 

 can take care of themselves, and are not 

 sub.iect to blight, which is the great draw- 

 back to this fruit's successful culture. It 

 is a variety that will give 

 yoti Pears. 



Seedlings from these 

 varieties might bring out 

 somethinggrand, now why 

 don't .some younger men 

 than I plant their seeds 

 and try it? A lot of Kieffer 

 seedlings of the past sum- 

 mer that have grown nice- 

 ly, and free from leaf rust, 

 which usually ruined all 

 my Pear seedlings, are 

 budded with Idaho. It is 

 destined to make its mark 

 in the world. I have eaten 

 the fruit twice, and consider 

 it a treasure. Trees grow- 

 ing here two years have 

 shown no signs of blight. 



Grape Rot. The grow- 

 ing of Grapes here has just 

 come to this.that if we want 

 Grapes to ripen, the bunch- 

 es must be put in paper 

 sacks as soon as the berries 

 are fully formed. The solu- 

 tions recommended for 

 spraying the trees and fruit, 

 have, in several instances, 

 here failed, and in several 

 other cases the foliage of 

 the vines was injured. 

 Even if I can keep the rot 

 off, the fruit is in danger 

 from insects and birds. 

 Among the former a species 

 of Curculio is nearly as bad 

 on the Grapes here as on 

 the Plums. My Marsalas 

 that never rotted before, I 

 thought were rotting this 

 season, when a close ex- 

 amination found that 

 every berry that had 

 turned the wrong color had a worm in 

 it. Sacking is proof against all these 

 enemies, and will keep the fruit safe on the 

 vines weeks after they are fully ripe, and 

 would spoil it exposed to the weather. Some 

 say that Grapes thus hidden in sacks do not 

 color up well and that they are deficient 

 in flavor, which however, I have not yet 

 experienced. 



Curculio. Is there any cure for this vill- 

 ians attack? Only one sure remedy and that 

 is to catch them, by jarring the trees, having 

 a cloth under the trees to catch them, an,d 

 kill them. It is not hard to smoke the trees, 

 or spray with something that will drive 

 them off until a rain comes and washes the 

 remedy off. Then they will come back 

 again. I have tried the latter plans, but 

 found that it must be repeated so often that 

 one is sure to neglect it, sooner or later. 



If a whole community would join in the 

 warfare, in a few years the enemy might be 

 so near exterminated that raising Plums 

 would be easy. Last spring I did nothing 

 to my Plum trees: hence had no Plums 

 except Wild Goose, which is a big nothing 

 with us. Bushels rot under the trees. The 

 Express Companies make it unprofitable to 

 ship them. Letting hogs and poultry run 

 in the Plum orchard will help to destroy the 

 Curculios, but it cannot be depended upon. 

 That there is a Curculio-proof Plum I know, 

 the Golden Beauty, but the marks they 

 make on the fruit mars its beauty. 



6.3. 



