THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[January, 



however, tbat this contains all that are indi- 

 genous to the Pacific Coast, as there are as 

 many more which have not yet been "worliecl 

 up." "We append a list of the edible species, 

 and suggest that a descriptive work on these, 

 accurately illustrated, is wliat is wanting on 

 the subject at the present time. 

 Lepiota excoriatws, Paxillus (jiganteus, 



" illanitus, ITygrophoiies ebuineus, 



" procerus, Lactarius dcUciosns, 



" rachodes, " insnleax, 



Armillaria melleus, " 2 piperahis, 



CUtocybedealhatus, " volenms, 



" geotropm. Rnssula adjusta, 



" }iebu!aris, " alutacea, 



" odorua, " heterophyla, 



Collybia esculentus, " lepida, 



" fucipes, Cantharillns cibarius, 



" longipnx, Marasmiux oreades, 



" radicatus, Polyim-as snlphnrea, 



OmphaUa oniscus, Hydunum repandum, 



Plurotus ostreatus, Clavaria crUtata, 



" pometis " fastigiata, 



" ubiKicinm, " flora, 



VohaTia leomlycinui:, Tremella meianterica, 



CUtopihis orcella, Mdangaster variagatus, 



" sotda, '5 LycoperdoK gipanteum, 



Photiata mntabilis, 4 Morehella esmhnta, 



" sqamosus, " conica, 



*Psamoia arvensu, Oyrometia esculenta, 



" campcstris, JTelvella ealifornica, 



" eretaceus, " crUpa, 



" pratensis, 5 Boletus luteus, 



" sUvatica, " versipelles, 



Caprinus atramentarius, " scaber, 



" \comatus, " granulates, 



Dermocybe cinnamomeus, " bovinus. 



Of course, it is presumed that the edible 

 species must generally attain such a size as 

 to make their possession an object ; but many 

 of those of the general list must be very small, 

 or found in the form of moulds, smuts, rusts, 

 etc., but even the smaller species, micro- 

 scopically considered, are very pretty and in- 

 teresting objects ; and, as the cause, or the 

 result, of animal and vegetable disease, they 

 occupy a prominent position in their relations 

 to the interests of the human family. As the 

 population of a country increases, and ad- 

 vances in taste and culture, its culinary 

 preparations will be correspondingly developed 

 as a domestic necessity, and many of the pro- 

 ducts of nature will liecome objects of culti- 

 vation that had been hitherto considered use- 

 less. The cultivation of 31ushrooms, Morells, 

 Trufflts, and other species of fumji, has long 

 been a source of considerable revenue to 

 European nations, and may become so in 

 America. 



»In an addenda to the list -ne finti the single species of 

 Agaricus tridens, and that is a new one. What has 

 usually been included in tliis genus (the various Mush- 

 rooms) will be found in the gcnns Psalliola. 



1. This is the species to whicli we refer in the above 

 description, and we may mention here that it was tlie 

 only individual we have ever noticed on our premises, 

 or elsewhere. Of course, had we been looking forll, we 

 probably might have found it long ago. ^ 



2. Can this be the species to wliich we have referred 

 as the "pipe stem ?" We have not seen one for at least 

 five and forty years. 



3. This species has been frequently found in the 

 county of Lancaster. A specimen is now m the Museum 

 of the Linnajan Society that mensures flftcen inches in 

 diameter, and developed in one night in the eity of Lan- 

 caster. They commonly take the name of "puft' balls." 



4. This is the popular "Mauriele" of Lancaster county . 

 and is more or less abundant in many localiiies every 

 summer, being frequently to be found in our markets. 



5. Species of this genus are abundant in Lancaster 

 county, but we are not aware that any of them are edi- 

 ble. They are usually found on trees, logs, stumps, etc., 

 and some of them are very pretty. 



Contributions. 



For The Lanc.\ster Farmer. 

 HYBRIDISING FRUITS AND FLOWERS. 



December 28, 1881. 



3Ir. Editor— Dear Sir : If I were a young 

 man, as you know I am not— I would go 

 strongly into this interesting operation. What 

 a number of new and superior grapes, pears, 

 peaches and flow, rs have been already produced 

 by this truly interesting process ! But great 

 improvements are yet to be made. I well re- 

 member Van Mon's experiment in producing 

 many new pears, yet he only made progress 

 by raising seedlings, and grafting the seed- 

 lings on older trees, thus causing them to 

 bear in advance of the seadlings— then again 

 planting the seeds of these and going tin ongh 

 the same operation, until the sixth and 

 seventh generation, each generation an im- 

 provement on the original— thus producing 

 many superior pears. But we do not know 

 tbat Van Mons practiced crossing his fruits, 

 and so far as we know, Mr. Rogers, of Salem, 

 Mass., was the first who practically proved 

 that the grape could by thus crossing 

 the grape, during its flowering, transferr- 

 the pollen from one flower to anotlier— 

 and in this way he has originated over fifty 

 new varieties 1 Yet many good botanists, at 

 the time, denied that the Rogers grapes were 

 crosses. But though they were all seedlings 

 of a Fox grape and crossed with a pollen 

 from the exotic, or vinefera species— these 

 grapes all lost their foxiness, and are now 

 among our best grapes— vigorous, healthy, 

 hardy aud great bearers of delicious grapes, 

 half native and half foreign. 



Since Mr. Rogers successful experiments, 

 many others have tried the same, with more 

 or less success. Notably Mr. Campbell of Ohio, 

 Mr. Ricketts of Newburgh, New York and 

 Dr. Wylie, of Chester, South Carolina. 



There is yet plenty of room aud time for 

 our young horticulturists to "go and do like- 

 wise !" All fruits and flowers may be changed 

 in this way, and if carefully performed, the 

 seedlings will be different and some very 

 superior varieties may be thus produced. 



As stated above, if I yet had the hope of 

 living many years (which of course I have 

 not) what an interest and pleasure it would 

 be, to thus spend my leisure time producing 

 new fruits, vegetables and flowers. J. B. G. 



For The Lancaster Farmhr. 

 PERSIMMONS. 



December 29lh, 1881. 



Editor of the Farmer— Bear Sir : In the De- 

 cember No. of the Farmer, page 184, L. S. 

 R. speaks highly of our native Persimmons 

 and says "he has some very superior varie- 

 ties," which is interesting to lovers of that 

 fruit. I fully agree with him, so far as our 

 natives are concerned. But when he says "it 

 is useless to waste our time, trying the Japa- 

 nese varieties, it reminds me of the story of 

 the "Fox and the grapes." Poor Reynard 

 saw some very fine grapes on a high tree, and 

 as he could not get them, he passed along, 

 saying "they were only sour (/j'cyjcs, " so he 

 did not want them. 



1 am fully of the opinion, that if L. S. R. 

 would once get a taste of these Japan varie- 



ties, he would change his opinion. 'Tis true, 

 they are not in the northwest what they call 

 iron dads, but even our natives are frequent- 

 ly injured by severe cold winters. My own 

 trees, some half a dozen — ajjparently not in- 

 jured by the last severe winter, yet they, the 

 trees, must have suffered some, as none of ray 

 trees bore any fruit this last season. The 

 same happened with all my Chinese and hy- 

 brid pears — as none of the trees had a single 

 fruit— while last year, two trees had over a 

 bushel; yet these Chinese varieties are re- 

 markable for bearing large crops every year; 

 the trees appear all right, but the flowerbuds 

 must have sufiered. I have had the "Shalea," 

 or Cliinese sand pear near fifty years, oft" and 

 on. Somtimes the trees were killed by severe 

 winters, but I always got grafts again from 

 friends to whom I had given grafts. These va- 

 rieties of pears always produce heavy crops of 

 large and showey pears, as do also the Kiefer 

 hybrid, and several others no doubt would also 

 be crossed by bees and insects. No blight on 

 these pears. 



But the Japan persimmons are very diffe- 

 rent from our natives; even before fully ripe, 

 they have none of that astringency so peculiar 

 to our natives. The fruit is larger and I be 

 lieve they will in time be acclimated in om- 

 middle States. A friend tells me he had seve- 

 ral varieties, and the trees froze down to the 

 •now line, but all sprouted up again and a 

 graft on top of a native was not injured. 



By planting the trees on high ground, they 

 might live; but as many people grow orange 

 and lemon trees in tubs, or boxes, these Ja- 

 pan persimmon trees can easily be grown in 

 the same way. J. B. G. 



Selections. 



FARMING ABOUT THE ROCKY MOUN- 

 TAIN.S. 



Those of us who have become habituated to 

 green fields and shady woods — who have been 

 helped by the rainfall and have done little of 

 our own to water the crops — could not easily 

 bring ourselves to think much of those dry 

 regions where little but cactus and other suc- 

 culent plants grow naturally ; where all is 

 gray and cheerless, and artificial watering 

 alone produces all a human being is to eat. 

 Yet these apparently inhospitable places are 

 paradises for some people, and in many re- 

 spects have advantages which we do not en- 

 joy. 



In the ages of the past we look to Egypt as 

 the pioneer in work of civilization ; and yet 

 her vast agriculture was solely artificial. 

 There was little rain, and the mighty Nile 

 river, as the poet says, had to bleed through 

 a thousand pores in order to make the grain 

 and the grass to grow. Dependent solely on 

 their own resources, they always had bread 

 to eat ; w-hile the countries supposed to be 

 more favored of Nature often left their people • 

 to starve. Joseph's brethren heard the good 

 news that there was corn in Egypt, when 

 famine stalked all over their own fair laud. 



There is no danger in these days of rail- 

 roads and electric telegraphs that the stories 

 of ancient famines will ever be repeated, as 

 " history repeats itself " in our lands. The 

 day after the Mississippi overflows, Massaphu- 



