Jan. 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



11 



Growing Peppermint. 



A Rochester (N. Y.) piipor says few peo- 

 ple are aware that more peppermint is grown 

 iu the ndjoiniug county of Wayne, N. Y., and 

 more of the essential oil of i)ei)permint 

 manufactured ia that locality than at any 

 other place on the globe. The growth of 

 the peppermint and the manufacture of the 

 oil, is a vast source of revenue to Wayne 

 county. The valley of the Clyde river con- 

 tains many acres devoted to the culture of 

 this plant. The mode of culture is some- 

 what similar to the cultivation of the rice 

 crop in South Carolina. The plants arc 

 usually set upon low ground bordering the 

 river, which is liable to be covered with 

 water during the si)ring inundations. The 

 plant derives great benefit from the annual 

 overflow. , 



The ground to receive the plants is usually 

 prepared with great care, and is carefully 

 cultivated the first year. The crop reaches 

 its most vigorous growth and abundant yield 

 the second year. The third season it has 

 nearly covered the ground, and the yield is 

 much less. At the end of this season the 

 old roots are taken out, and it is replanted 

 in the spring. This process of cultivation 

 requires a vast amount of labor, and is, we 

 are informed, about to give way to a new 

 process, which requires less labor, and makes 

 the crop much more productive. An exten- 

 sive cultivator plows over his peppermint 

 field in the autumn, leaving all the roots in 

 the ground, and the next season the plants 

 start early, giving a fine, luxuriant gi-owth, 

 almost free from grass and weeds. This pro- 

 cess can be repeated year after j'ear, and it 

 is thought will supersede all other modes of 

 cultivation. 



No doubt overfiowing will benetit the 

 peppermint crop, for the plant flourishes 

 best iu moist ground, but it is not an abso- 

 lutely requisite. We have seeu it flourish for 

 years on the same ground without either 

 overflowing or re-planting. 



California Table and Wine Grapes. 



California has gained a world-wide re- 

 nown for her great abundance and variety 

 of pomological productions, and their mam- 

 moth size. The most prominent attraction 

 amid her horticultural products is to be 

 found in the abundance, variety and long- 

 continued supply of the .grape crop. All 

 the foreign grapes thi-ive there in the open 

 air. The San Frdnrism Alta thus speaks of 

 the comparative merits of California grapes 

 for the desert and wine : 



" The Muscat of Alexandria is more prized 

 here than any other grape, on account of its 

 large size and rich spicy flavor. It does best 

 on a gravel loam, mixed with a little clay, 

 and bears very jioorly in rich clay loam 

 without sand or gravel. The most product- 

 ive Muscat vines are on the Sonoma Valley. 

 In good years it yields 9,000 pounds to the 

 acre, and an average wholesale price is seven 

 cents per pound, making a grape yield of 



$030 per acre, of which $50 may be counted 

 for cultivation, picking and .sending to mar- 

 ket. One of the chief objections of this prape 

 is, that it does not "set" well in manj' pla- 

 ces, and then the only wa}- to secure a good 

 crop is to pull oft' some of the blossoms and 

 shake the pollen over other blossoms which 

 are left to bear. The vine generally starts 

 out to produce two crops every season, but 

 the careful vigneron plucks off" the second 

 set of blossoms, for otherwise nsither crop 

 would ripen properly. The Alexandrian 

 Muscat is the only grape that is good for 

 wine and first rate for the table, for rasins 

 and for long transportation. 



The Flame Tokay is prized for its fine ap- 

 pearance and for its excellent keeping qual- 

 ities, but it is useless for wine and has little 

 flavor. It bears more than the Muscat of 

 Alexandria, and has hitherto commanded the 

 same price in the market. It may come into 

 demand in the Eastern States. The Queen 

 of Nice differs so little from the Flame Tokay 

 that by man_y is regarded as the .same grape. 



The Rose of Peru is a large, firm grape, 

 of fine flavor, yielding in good years 12,000 

 pounds to tile acre. The price is about six 

 cents per pound, but the inferior price is 

 compensated by the superior yield as com- 

 jmred with the varieties jireviously mention- 

 ed. The Black Hamburg is large, fine in 

 flavor, and well suited to transportation, but 

 it is inferior to the Rose of Peru. The Isa- 

 abella and Catawba vines produce little, and 

 the grapes do not bear tran.sportation. There 

 are .several Muscatels and some varieties of 

 the Cliasselas that are good for the table, but 

 they do not bear .shipment well. The Zi:i- 

 findcl, Malvoisie, Riessling, Black Burgundy 

 and Traminer are excellent for wine, but are 

 not in demand for the table. The Mission 

 grape, especially when grown in the Los 

 Angeles di.strict, is very rich in sugar if 

 plucked soon after ripening, and if left on 

 the vine till November, the sugar changes to 

 spirit, so that it becomes highly vinous, and 

 is for that reason preferred by some persons, 

 but it could not be transported from the 

 Southern coast to the Mississippi valley with 

 profit, although it could be obtained in an}' 

 quantity at two or three cents per pound. 

 Many of the Mission vines will be grafted 

 next winter, mostly with the varieties pre- 

 ferred for wine." 



Apples Now and Then. — Twenty years 

 ago the a|)|ile-nrehar<ls iu Western New York 

 wrr not Considered of any iiarticular value 

 to their owni'rs, as the very best varieties 

 could be imrehased for twelve cents per 

 liushel, and cider would seldom bring more 

 than a dolliu' per barrel at the press. Now 

 it nnist be ajjparent that ajijile-culture at 

 that time was not a very profitable busines.s. 

 But tlie times have changed, and the increase 

 of population and facilities for transportation 

 have caused an increase in demand, unlil tlie 

 farmers in that section have no ditlicnlty iu 

 obtaining four or five times as much as th"y 

 did a few years ago ; consp(|Uently, the cul- 

 tivation of this fruit with them "is now a 

 profitable business. — HortituHunil Record. 



Mulch for "Winter Protection— Mice. 



There arc many varieties of wliat are 

 termed hardy bulbs, that will bloom much 

 better than ihey usually do if protected in 

 winter. A few inches of coarse litter, such 

 as straw, hay, or corn-stalks, will answer the 

 purjiose very well ; but when these are aji- 

 plied before the ground freezes they help to 

 keep the frost out, consequently mice and 

 ground moles find a very convenient harbor 

 among the bulbs. — Ex. 



It is a very bad practice to apply any 

 mulch to bulbs, strawberries, or to any other 

 hardy or half hardy bulbs or plants before 

 the ground freezes. No such aitplicjttion is 

 advisable until the ground becomes frozen to 

 the depth of four to six inches. Mulching 

 for winter protection is not so much for pro- 

 tection against frost as against the alterna- 

 tions of freezing and thawing. The desider- 

 atum sought is, to retain the frost in the 

 ground and thereby secure to the roots of 

 plants a uniform equilibrium of temperature. 

 If the mitlch be applied too early there is 

 imminent danger of smothering the plants. 

 There is no surer protection against mice, 

 than frost and straw, if properly regulated. 



S1I.4.DING BY WHITENING THE GLASS. — The 



details are probably these : We have found 

 no mode more simple than skim-milk, with 

 a little powdered whitening mixed with it 

 (say as much whitening a.s the size of a wal- 

 nut), reduced to a fine powder, and thor- 

 oughly mixed with two or three quarts of 

 milk. We would advise those trj'ing the 

 scheme to do a piece of glass first. Let it 

 dry, and add to the milk or whitening as 

 they require less or mcu'e shading. If it be 

 put on quickly and thinly by one man with 

 a brush, and another follow with a dry 

 duster-brush, merely daubing it quickly with 

 the dry brush, the shading will have the 

 appearance of shaded ground glass, and look 

 neat. — A Journal of Horticulture. 



Effect op Tempera tube on the Gkape. 

 — J. Pearson, iu Cottage Oardencr, says: 

 "When I was a boy I remember seeing a 

 vine which was trained across three houses; 

 it was in flower in one house, the grapes 

 were half grown iu the second, and quite 

 ripe in the third. I believe it was planted 

 in the middle house and trained right and 

 left, but of this I am not quite sure, nor is it 

 important. These flowers, and green and 

 ripe grapes, all grew on the root, showing, I 

 think, that the temperature of the atmosphere 

 has more efl'ect on a growing vine thau the 

 temperature of the soil. 



— Fruit retains its color and flavor best 

 when cooked but a short time in sirup, but 

 it is less likely to ferment when boiled a 

 long time. 



— Uniform temperature and a constant 

 supply of moisture, are the prime elements 

 of success in fruit culture. Mulching enables 

 us to accomplish this. 



