Notes and Gleanings. 341 



Culture of Fruit Trees. — We think it would be difficult to state the 

 truth in regard to the "grass question " in the cultivation of fruit trees better or 

 more concisely than the following excellent remarks from the Country Gentle- 

 man : — 



" In the recent admirable address of President Wilder, at Richmond, Virginia, 

 before the American Pomological Society, we perceive that he fully sustains, as 

 the result of continued experience, the importance of good clean culture, as 

 opposed to the old practice of allowing young orchards to grow to grass. He 

 remarks, ' it seems scarcely necessary in this presence to say that thorough prep- 

 aration and enrichnent of such soils as are rjot already rich, is essential. Or- 

 dinary farm culture will not produce the highest class of fruits ; they must have 

 garden culture, and with this they never fail. After this thorough preparation, 

 the cleaner the culture the better, at least in the older States, where the soils 

 have been depleted by cropping.' This is the practice which we have repeated- 

 ly urged, especially for young orchards, for more than thirty years ; yet even 

 now, many fine newly-set young orchards are injured or ruined by being set out 

 and allowed to stand in grass. There are a few instances at the East, and fre- 

 quent ones at the West, where the soils are so rich naturally that after a few 

 years' growth, it is well to check the luxuriance by seeding to grass — always 

 observing as a guide or index in the course of treatment to be adopted, the 

 le7tgth of growth of the annual shoots. This index serves as a better guide 

 than all the disquisitions and arguments, pro and con, that would fill a volume, 

 'without it. Grass in full grown orchards (especially if cropped short and top- 

 dressed by sheep running in them), which does not prevent the trees from grow- 

 ing a foot or two annually, may be admitted ; but if the growth is feeble, keep 

 the surface clean." 



The Autumn Foliage this year, and in this neighborhood, has been unusu- 

 ally beautiful, and the leaves have taken on their brilliant colors unusually early. 

 We have never seen the fruit trees, especially the pears, so brilliant. We noted 

 particularly Leopold ist, Bergamotte Fortunee, and Florimond Parent, as bril- 

 liant crimson, Philadelphia very similar, but with a Magenta tint, the old Col- 

 mar and the Golden Beurre varying from orange to crimson, and Theodore Van 

 Mons from yellow to orange. 



Vegetable Planting in Autumn. — Now is a good time to plant, not only 

 hardy flower roots, but perennial vegetables, especially those which, Hke aspara- 

 gus and rhubarb, commence growing early in spring. They will not only thrive 

 better, but you will be glad, when you come to the short, hurrying spring, that 

 you haven't it to do then. 



The Delaware Peach Crop. — Delaware has the past season shipped 

 78,904,800 pounds of peaches. The number of baskets is 2,649,173. 



An old Grape Vine. — F. P. Hutchins, of Oxford, Mass., lias a grape 

 vine nearly two hundred years old, which has just ripened four bushels of fruit. 



