Notes and Gleanings. 163 



assertion is based on an experience of more tlian thirty years. Perhaps my 

 want of success may be the result of a want of skill ; but can a majority of 

 those who have confined themselves to strictly open culture show a better 

 record ? 



More Notes on Strawberries, and by Charles Downing. — I sympathize with 

 Mr. Downing in the changes which have driven him from his former home and 

 grounds ; but the opportunity which he now has and employs of examining the 

 "cultures" (as the French say) of others is of the greatest benefit to horticul- 

 turists, and here we have the result of his observation of strawberries in four 

 different places ; and every one knows that his statements are most careful and 

 conscientious, and may be relied on to the fullest extent. I iiope we may hear 

 from him often in the pages of the Journal, and that you may have many more 

 correspondents who will imitate his example of painstaking accuracy. 



Could not Mr. Manning, without plagiarism, have appended to his article on 

 " New Varieties of Fruit from Seed," the closing remarks of the brief notice of 

 the Romeyn Strawberry ? What a lesson the whole would make, not simply to 

 be read, but studied, by the young. Limit ! why, my dear sir, there is no such 

 thing. The finest of our fruits, the brightest and most perfect of our flowers, 

 and the choicest of our vegetables, are only typical of the rare beauty and excel- 

 lence which the future will witness : indeed, they only befit the porch of the 

 great temple into which our children's children will some day enter. We are 

 looking forward and upward, and marching steadily on. Not a retrograde step 

 in horticulture is chronicled on the pages of history ; and so long as we find 

 in human souls the hope and courage — that is the word — which can cheer and 

 support the heart through the trials and reverses of thirty years, thank Heaven ! 

 there never will be. With singleness of purpose, and listening to no compro- 

 mise, our noble-minded horticulturists — would I had space to name them ! — lay 

 hold upon and wrestle with Nature as did Jacob with the angel, refusing to yield 

 until the blessing sought has been bestowed. 



Too much Fruit. — You remember the time, Mr. Editor, when a dollar a 

 dozen was thought a good price for the finest autumn pears ? Just let me tell 

 you, that the late B. V. French, Esq., stated in an after-dinner speech, that for 

 many years in the early part of his business-life in Boston, the choicest St. 

 Michael Pears were common in the market at one cent each ; and, when the 

 price was advanced to two cents, the fruit became a luxury too costly for the 

 poor, and was sparingly indulged in even by the rich. Now, place, if you will, 

 beside this, the remark made with regard to the prices of to-day, — " Six dollars 

 a dozen," and " rates advancing," and the actual difference in value is before 

 you. But, my dear sir, though this looks very encouraging for the cultivator, 

 allow me to ask if it exhibits the real facts .-' There is a seller's side of the pic- 

 ture which I wish to present, if you will promise not to set me down as a "con- 

 stitutional grumbler," or connect me with the class of "gentlemen croakers ; " 

 for with such 1 have no fellowship. But I have an orchard, embracing many 

 of the popular varieties of the apple now in cultivation ; and in fruitful seasons, 

 have usually a quantity to dispose of in the market. Referring to my record, I 

 find, that, within the hist ten years, 1 have sold the finest of autumn and winter 



