Notes and Gleanings. 177 



Chufa, or Earth Almond {Cyperus esculciitiis). — .'\. perennial plant, 

 from the south of Europe. The roots are long and fibrous, and produce at their 

 extremities numerous small, rounded or oblong, jointed, pale-brown tubers, of 

 the size of a filbert. The flesh of these roots, or tubers, is of a yellowish color, 

 tender, and of a pleasant, sweet, and nut-like flavor. The leaves are rush-like, 

 about eighteen inches high, a little rough, and sharply pointed. The flower- 

 stalks are nearly of the same height as the leaves, three-cornered, hard, and 

 leafless, with the exception of five or six leaf-like bracts at the top, from the 

 midst of which are produced the spikelets of flowers, which are of a pale-yellow 

 color. 



Propagation and Culture. — It is propagated by [Dlanting the tubers in April 

 or May, two inches deep, in drills two feet apart, and six inches apart in the 

 drills. They will be ready for harvesting in October. In warm climates, the 

 plant, when once introduced into the garden, spreads with great rapidity, and is 

 exterminated with much difficulty. In the Nortliern and Middle States, the 

 tubers remaining in the open ground are almost invariably destroyed by the 

 winter. 



Use. — It is cultivated for its small, almond-like tubers, which, when dried, 

 have somewhat the taste of the almond, and keep a long period. They are 

 eaten either raw or roasted. 



When dried and pulverized, they are said to impart to water the color and 

 richness of milk. — F. Burr, Jiin. 



Castle-Kenneby Fig. — We find in " L'lllustration llorticole" a fine rep- 

 resentation of this excellent and popular variety. This fruit has existed at 

 Castle Kennedy, Scotland, for more than a century ; and its origin is unknown. 



Its great value is its earliness, and the facility with which it can be forced. It 

 is, under similar treatment, a fortnight earlier than the White Marseilles, — the 

 earliest variety of any value, — three weeks earlier than the Brown Turkey, and 

 more than a month earlier than t!ie Brunswick. The fruit is thus described : — 



Of the largest size, turbinate or somewhat obovate ; the skin of a pale dingy 

 brown on the half nearest the eye, and of a greenish yellow on the half towards 

 the stalk, the brown part being mottled with ashy-gray specks. The flesh, 

 when fully ripe, is of a dull opaline color, with the slightest tinge of red towards 

 the eye ; very melting, and of good flavor. 



When within a few days of being ripe, a clear, honey-like substance, of ex- 

 quisite flavor, begins to drop from the eye of each fruit. When quite ripe, this 

 substance becomes somewhat viscid, hanging like an elongated dewdrop from 

 half an inch to three-quarters in length, giving a very remarkable appearance to 

 the fruit. 



The Annual Exhibition of the Lake-shore Grape-growers' Association, Ohio, 

 will be held at Elyria, Oct. 15, 16, and 17. Mr. Bateham, the secretary, says, 

 " The prospects of the coming grape-crop are reported as very favorable in all 

 parts of the county ; and a very hopeful feeling exists in regard to the future of 

 grape-culture, especially in the Lake-shore region." 



VOL. II. 3? 



