Progress of Horticulture for 1845. 3 



cultivators cannot be too careful in regard to calling every 

 new variety a seedling, where there is so much chance of its 

 proving an old and well known kind, carried West by the 

 early settlers of that country. The Detroit, Putnam Russet 

 and other apples, have so proved, and we suspect the Stone 

 pear to be only a well known Eastern variety. 



The blight of the West still continues its ravages, and no 

 satisfactory cause has yet been assigned for it. Mr. Down- 

 ing, we notice, adopts the theory of some western writers, 

 that it is owing to the freezing of the sap. vessels, before the 

 wood is fully ripe. We yet need more information, before 

 we can believe in this doctrine, and we trust some of our 

 correspondents in the West will give us the results of their 

 experience upon the subject. 



Root pruning, and summer pruning of the branches, are 

 subjects which occupied much of our attention in the pre- 

 vious volume, and some useful hints in connection therewith 

 will be found in the Notes of our Foreign Tour, and in our 

 General Notices. We are making experiments ourselves, 

 and we trust we may be enabled to add some useful informa- 

 tion in the course of the present or another volume. In the 

 mean time, we recommend a reference to the able articles 

 already published, which will be a safe guide to the judicious 

 and careful cultivator. 



The application of guano, is attracting increased attention, 

 and, since the last year, the importation of several cargoes 

 from Ichiboe, has reduced the price to a reasonable standard. 

 Sufficient time has not yet transpired to form any very defi- 

 nite opinion of the results of this manure; but, from what 

 experiments have come under our eye, we think highly 

 of its importance to the cultivator of choice fruits. Mr. 

 Teschemacher's opinion we have quoted at page 431 of the 

 last volume, and we agree with him in regard to its fertiliz- 

 ing properties. In our climate, guano cannot be applied 

 with much advantage upon the surface of the soil, except 

 very early in the spring, when the early rains will wash it 

 into the earth ; later m the year, it should invariably be dug 

 into the soil, when its volatile qualities will be retained. 



Our Pomological Notices, owing to the space required for 

 our notes, have not been as miscellaneous as in previous 



