.The Canadian Horticulturist. 397 



beauty in gardens by ignoring things like the hop because they are "common." 

 Nothing is common if it is capable of giving the delight the hop of the field will 

 when set in a place it can clothe with a luxuriant and rich green vegetation. I 

 remember a gnarled apple tree on the fringe of a beautiful pleasure-ground, over 

 which the hop had spread its vigorous shoots, and it would have been difficult 

 to discover a prettier bit of free and picturesque growth. As with the ivy, it 

 makes a happy contrast to clematis Jackmanni and its varieties, the mass of 

 deep green leaves intensifying the color of the rich abundance of deep blue 

 flowers. Nor is its charm confined merely to summer, but as autumn approaches 

 the plant then carries its rich clusters of golden yellow hops, and receives 

 additional beauty of no mean kind. We can judge of the rich beauty that a 

 common climber can give when once it has become established by a glance at 

 the illustration. There is another kind called the Japanese hop, which has been 

 much used for covering arbors and trellises. The growth made is surprisingly 

 rapid. Those who have not yet heard of it should give it a trial, and though 

 resembling the common type, it has no commercial value whatever. The 

 bunches of flowers are larger, and, therefore, the plant has an advantage for the 

 garden. 



Money in Plums. — It is beginning to pay to raise plums where the 

 improved varieties are set and cared for. The Japanese plums are especially 

 attracting attention. I have examined specimens of the Abundance plum from 

 several localities, some as far north as Connecticut, where it seems hardy. It 

 matures well, and nurserymen should give it a fair test. The Ogon has been 

 sent me from Connecticut, also from the West, and I believe it will prove hardy 

 all over the United States. Kelsey is large, sometimes three inches in diameter, 

 but it is not hardy north of Tennessee. Burbank is a Japanese plum well worth 

 attention. It is not much larger than the Wild Goose, but brilliant crimson- 

 purple in color and rich in flavor. Satsuma is hardy in the Middle States, and, 

 together with Ogon, grows well in New York. The latter is generally a poor 

 grower, but Abundance is a good one. Simoni, Wolf and Pottawattamie are of 

 little value and seem like wild plums. Satsuma is nearly round, dark without 

 and cherry-red within and has a very small stone. Clyman originated in Cali 

 fornia and ripens as early as Wild Goose. It is an excellent shipper, reddish- 

 purple, covered with a rich blue bloom, is a free stone and the size of the Peach 

 plum. The tree is an enormous bearer, and planted in early localities nothing 

 could be more profitable. — Green's Fruit Grower. 



Proud Father : "Welcome back to the old farm, my boy. So you got 

 through college all right ? " Farmer's Son : " Yes, father." Proud Father : 

 "Ye know I told ye to study up on chemistry and things so you'd know best 

 what to do with different kinds of lands. What do you think of that flat medder 

 there, for instance?" Farmer's Son (joyfully): " Cracky, what a place for a 

 ball < r ame ! " — Vermont Watchman. 



