Pomological Gossip. 315 



Prospects of the Fruit Crop. In our last we alluded 

 to the prospect of an abundant fruit crop, believing that after 

 such a prolific blossom, unattended with frost, that no other 

 casualty could possibly affect the trees. Everything prom- 

 ised well, until just at the period when the blossoms began 

 to fall ; a long and continued spell of rain, accompanied with 

 an easterly wind, appeared to bruise and shatter the flowers, 

 but did not seem to injure them ; but as soon as the petals 

 began to drop, and some of them did so prematurely, we ob- 

 served that much of the fruit had not set at all, and a great 

 portion of that remaining was spotted with mildew as if it 

 had been injured by the damp weather. Up to this time 

 the fruit has continued to fall to such an extent, indeed, that 

 in some instances, on trees which were one sheet of flowers, 

 not a solitary pear remains. This effect has been, we be- 

 lieve, produced throughout the State ; at least, our friends in 

 Springfield inform us the pears have suffered so there. 

 What the real cause is, of such a failure, we should be glad 

 to know. Our supposition is, that the long continued rain, 

 accompanied with a raw easterly wind, and a complete satu- 

 ration of the soil with water, from the excessive quantity of 

 rain which fell in April and May, prevented the trees from 

 making a free growth and throwing off" the superabundance 

 of sap which they had accumulated by the moisture of the 

 earth. We should be glad to hear from our correspondents 

 on this subject. 



The Northern Sweet Apple. In our January number, 

 (p. 36,) we noticed this apple, which was exhibited at the 

 Pomological Congress last fall. Mr. Barry, in the Genesee 

 Farmer, pronounces it identical with the Munson Sweeting, 

 a well-known sweet apple, cultivated in the western part of 

 Massachusetts. In regard to the correctness of Mr. Barry's 

 opinion we have had no opportunity of knowing, but Mr. 

 Battey, in a recent letter to us, makes the following remarks 

 respecting the identity of the two sorts : — 



" As to the identity of the ' Northern Sweet,' with the 

 ' Munson Sweeting,' I think that friend Barry of the Genesee 

 Farmer, and his ' friends of Western Massachusetts,' are 

 alike in error. 



