276 Notes and Gleanings. 



Notes from Vineland. — The prospect for a good show of late summer 

 and autumn fruits here was good until Sunday, July 16, when a thunder-shower, 

 accompanied by a tremendous gale, suddenly changed the prospect, at least as 

 relates to pears and apples. Hardly less than three fourths of these crops were 

 in a few moments blown from the trees. Bartlett pears, and some earlier sorts, 

 may not be a total loss, but the Duchesse d'Angouleme, on which we specially 

 pride ourselves, are worthless, except to feed to the hogs. Quite a number of 

 pear trees were blown over or broken off. The superiority of standards over 

 dwarfs to stand up unharmed against a high wind was once more made manifest. 

 I hear of no standards ruined ; the harm was all to dwarfs. Many peach trees 

 were damaged, but the peach crop perhaps not materially injured, as most trees 

 needed thinning. Grape vines, particularly those trained to stakes or to poor 

 trellises, fared badly. There was a magnificent grape crop in prospect some 

 weeks ago, and we may have a good one yet ; but the rot has made its appear- 

 ance, and considerable anxiety is felt as to the result. Some growers over a 

 week ago estimated the damage already at twenty-five per cent. ; and there is 

 since no special improvement in the weather to note. Peaches are plenty ; but 

 so they are in Delaware, and per consequence, we do not count much profit on 

 them. The blackberry crop is just closing out, at least of the Wilson, and has 

 been satisfactory — the yield good and prices fair. Raspberries hardly did as well, 

 though prices were better than last year. Three late frosts, and then a drought, 

 with unusually hot weather while the crop was maturing, made the yield of straw- 

 berries light as compared with other years, and bad handling on the way to mar- 

 ket still further extended the disappointment in some cases ; but prices for fruit 

 reaching market in good cpndition were splendid, so that a short crop in many 

 cases was worth more than a full one in past years. Farm crops are looking 

 well, — never better, — particularly corn and potatoes. The second growth of 

 clover is better than the first, owing to the rains since June 18. Fruit trees, 

 where cultivated through the drought, have made a fine growth. The Vineland 

 Railway is now completed to Vineland (will soon be open to the Bay), and an- 

 other year we hope for better marketing facilities, as well as a dearth of gales. 

 The force of this last one, as should have been stated, was sufficient not only to 

 damage orchards, but it blew down and demolished a church (Trinity, Episcopal), 

 several dwellings, the new Vineland Railway car-house, unroofed various build- 

 ings, and on the whole, surpassed in violence any gale ever known here. 



Vineland, N. J., July 26, 1S71. Philip Snyder. 



Iron for Pear Tree Blight. — A correspondent of the "^ural Messenger 

 had a very fine Flemish Beauty pear tree that became affected by blight, first in 

 one limb, which he removed, and then another was atfected in the same way, 

 until a considerable portion of the top of the tree was removed. Early the next 

 spring he procured some scrap iron, removed the soil from the roots carefully, 

 deposited the iron between them, and replaced the earth. There was no further 

 progress in the blight, the tree continued to grow that season, and the next leaves 

 and blossoms came out vigorously, no black spots appeared on the leaves, the 

 tree bore finely, and no appearance of disease was seen on the tree afterwards. 

 Others of his friends have used iron with similar advantage. 



