Notes and Gleanings. 1 1 7 



or capable of being brought under the control of human agency. But the 

 inquiry naturally presents itself, Are there not safer and surer modes of propa- 

 gation than those practised, and by which better results may be secured ? 



All varieties are produced originally from the seed. In the language of Scrip- 

 ture, each tree was ordained to bear fruit after its kind. This I take in its lit- 

 eral sense, and liave little doubt that such is the law governing production ; 

 from which there would be no deviation, were it not for external and acci- 

 dental causes. The winds and the insects are doubtless the chief instrumental- 

 ities by which, so to say, this law is rendered a dead letter. These scatter 

 the fructifying element from flower to flower, and from tree to tree ; and thus 

 mingle and diversify qualities which had else been transmitted continually in a 

 direct line. 



It would seem to be impossible, while these accidental causes are allowed to 

 operate, for the law to be carried out. But is it so? Can there be noway 

 devised by which this law of Nature may be assisted in its operation ? 



Whether or not these influences cin ever be successfully counteracted, it 

 would seem wise in us to direct our attention to the production of new seedlings. 

 Take the peach, for example. This fine fruit is notoriously tender when propa- 

 gated by artificial means i:i all localities where I have seen it grow. Some of 

 its sorts are known to be governed in their growth by this original law of pro- 

 duction, and to resist all counteracting external influences. Investigation may 

 lead to the discovery of the cause of this difference : at any rate, observation 

 will enable us to make selection of the proven sorts, and propagate them from 

 the seed, and thus gradually do away with the artificial modes. 



To my mind, there is here open a very interesting field for investigation ; one 

 which, if entered in a true spirit of philosophic inquiry, will produce a rich 

 harvest. Earnest laborers are now doubtless quietly doing duty in it. unknown 

 and unobserved of the world. But they are few in number. It is to urge others 

 to enter, and assist in the labor, that this article is written. Th. Gregg. 



Hamilton, III. 



Pine- Apples are now imported to England from the Azores. The fruit is not 

 only large and of excellent quality, but is conveyed in a fresh and perfect state. 

 The first batch brought into Liverpool in the pots in which the plants had been 

 grown was so fine, that the lot, upwards of fifty, was sold wholesale to one pur- 

 chaser at 30J-. each. Since then, some smaller lots have been sent to Liverpool 

 and Hull ; the last consignment realizing, according to size, from \2s. to 25^-. each. 

 Such fruit must, especially in the winter season, enter into formidable competi- 

 tion with our home-grown produce. Those not imported in pots were separately 

 packed, each in a cradle ; that is, the stem was made fast in a hole in the centre 

 of a board of sufficient diameter to clear the circumference of the fruit : a cor- 

 responding piece was placed above the crown, and the two were connected to- 

 gether by thin laths, placed sufficiently far apart to allow a free circulation of air, 

 and yet so as to prevent the fruit from being bruised. Thus packed, they came 

 to hand in capital condition, though not so good as those which had been brought 

 upon the plants. — Florist and Pomologist. 



