Notes and Gleanings. 149 



Large Premium for Fruits. — The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, 

 incited by the success which attended their exhibition in connection with the 

 meeting of the American Pomological Society in 1869, for which they made such 

 ample provision, are now making extraordinary exertions for their annual exhibi- 

 tion in September next, with the purpose of giving it a national character, by 

 offering premiums designed to draw forth contributions of fruit from all parts 

 of the country. With this view they have solicited individuals to provide funds 

 for special objects, and among others the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, President 

 of the American Pomological Society, has been invited to repeat his lecture on 

 " California and its resources," for the benefit of the Pennsylvania Horticultural 

 Society, and has consented to do so on the I3tli of April. From the anticipated 

 proceeds of this lecture, the society have already offered one premium of " one 

 hundred dollars for the best collection of fruits, from any state, society, or indi- 

 vidual, comprising Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, and Grapes, three specimens 

 of each variety to be shown at the annual exhibition, September 12, 1871." 



The Currant Worm. — We are informed by Dr. E. Worcester, of Waltham, 

 Mass., that the currant worm, so destructive to a favorite fruit, may be fully and 

 almost immediately destroyed by the use of carbolate of lime. The doctor tried 

 the powder in many instances during the past summer, and found that while it 

 was fully as effective as hellebore, it was less disagreeable, less costly, and per- 

 fectly safe. The method of using it is to sprinkle it over the vines as soon as 

 the worm makes its appearance, bringing it well in contact with the leaves, and 

 soon the insect is destroyed. It will need but two or three applications, and the 

 work is done. In this way, for a few cents, lar^e quantities of currant bushes 

 may be saved, and the fruit allowed to mature, and no danger whatever incurred. 

 Neither the foliage nor the fruit is in any way injured by the carbolate of lime. 



Jotinial of Chemistry. 



[A friend who tried carbolate of lime last season, tells us that he found it quite 

 effectual as long as the worms were young, but not after they had attained their 

 full growth, while the hellebore seemed to be certainly fatal in all cases. He 

 found that it was not necessary for the hellebore to come in contact with the 

 worms, but when some was placed on the upper surface of a leaf, it not only 

 caused the worms on the under side to fall off, but killed \\i&xa.. Still, we should 

 prefer to use the carbolate of lime, and we advise our readers to destroy all the 

 worms with it before they get large. — Ed.] 



The Best Potatoes. — Dr. F. M. Hexamer, in the American Agricultural 

 Annual, recommends as the best six varieties of 1870, Early Rose, Peerless, 

 Lapstone Kidney, Excelsior, Peachblow, and Gleason. They are arranged in 

 the order of their ripening. 



The Iona Grape as a Keeper. — The editor of the Grape Culturist ac- 

 knowledges the receipt of a box of Iona grapes, sent him on the 23d of Feb- 

 ruary, by " H. E. B.," of South Haven, Mich., which were remarkably fresh and 

 fine, and greatly relished. 



