Coleus, Empress. 287 



in the hill-country of South Illinois is the premature shedding of the 

 leaves to which many varieties are subject. Blight destroys a few trees, 

 while some others may die from other causes. But these difficulties can be 

 met calmly by a brave man ; but when half the trees in our orchards stand 

 naked in midsummer, bearing a heavy burden of half-grown fruit, and this 

 for successive years, it becomes a matter for very serious inquiry. In be- 

 half of many deeply-interested men, I ask for the experience and observa- 

 tion of pear-growers in other portions of the country as to causes and 

 remedy. Is it a fault of soil or climate ? 



From my own orchard, I make the following notes for this season : — 

 Bartlett, Lawrence, Beurre d'Anjou, Urbaniste, Dix, Ott, Kingsessing, 

 Belle Lucrative, Howell, Beurre Easter, Belle Williams, Van Mons, Leon 

 le Clerc, Ananas d'£te, Dana's Hovey, and Heathcot have held their leaves 

 very perfectly, or quite sufficient for ripening their fruit and to mature fruit- 

 buds. Among those that have done only moderately well are Buffum, 

 Boussock, Beurre Bosc, Sheldon, Dearborn, Tyson, Seckel, Doyenne d'A- 

 len9on. The worst tree in the orchard is Flemish Beauty ; while Glout 

 Morceau, Beurre Diel, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Julienne, Rostiezer, Jose- 

 phine de Malines, are all naked as in winter. These trees all stand in good 

 strong clay loam, and have been well cultivated. 



Let us hear from other growers. P. E. 



South Pass, III, Sept. 20, 1868. 



COLEUS, EMPRESS. 



The sensational plant, as we may justly call it, of the season, has been 

 the coleus. The announcement that a set of twelve, raised in the Horti- 

 cultural Society's Gardens, were to be offered by public auction, set the 

 gardening world on the qui vive ; and the high prices at which they were 

 bought, amounting to nearly ;!^4oo, showed how much had been thought of 

 them ; while at the same time other growers, notably Mr. Bull of Chelsea, 

 had been following the same course in hybridizing, and with equally suc- 

 cessful results. — Floral Magazine. 



