Sept. 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



125 



the following sentences? You say, "It 

 being a scedliug of tlie Bcu Davis is a suffi- 

 cient guaranty," &c. We say, " The tree is so 

 icieutical in all its habits with tlie Ben Davis 

 which is a sufBcient guaranty," &c. You 

 malie tlie hardiness of the tree depend upon 

 its being a SL'edliug of the BeJi Davis. 



We do not make the hardiness depend 

 upon its ijeing a seedling of any particular 

 variety, and might substitute in the place of 

 Ben Davis, Winesap, Oldenburg or any 

 other well known hardy variety, that the 

 Kansas Queen would be an exact type of- 

 We named Beu Davis, not because the 

 Kansas Queen is a seedling of it, but because 

 the Ben Davis is a well known and recog- 

 nized hardy tree, we therefore compared it 

 to that variety. In our description of the 

 Kansas Queen, we wished to be concise and 

 expressed in defiuite language tliat it was 

 "Itealthy and hardy" but as an additional 

 evidence, we wished to show that it was an 

 exact type of the Ben Davis, which would 

 be a sufficient guaranty to those who knew 

 that variet}', without any further comment 

 by us. We hope this is explicit and suffi- 

 cient upon tliis subject. 



J. S., AssT. ED. 

 ♦-♦-♦ 



Blight and Red Rust- 

 According to a correspondent of the Coun 

 try Qentleman, the blight and red rust are 

 making sad work among the apple and pear 

 trees in the region of Champaign, 111. If 

 this writer is the same one who wrote not 

 long since from the same locality, limiting 

 the lives of fruit trees upon prairie soil to 

 ten years or so, no great apprehension need 

 be felt from any thing he may have to say 

 about blight, rust, or any other calamity. 

 He says : 



"Blight is developing in dimensions into a 

 public cjilamity. Half the pear trees are 

 carying a black flag, and nearly half the ap- 

 ple" trees a brown one, both showing death 

 or danger behind. Few orchards either of 

 pears or apples escflpe. The attack is so 

 gemrnl, that nobody has an oportunity of 

 Virag^ing over his neighbor, and it is this 

 cirtaimstance, I conclude, which keeps almost 

 every one silent on the matter. South for 

 eighty miles, eye-witnesses tell me, it is not 

 only general, but almost universal. Half 

 tlie pear trees are dead already, but only a 

 small proportion of the apple trees, and only 

 those of the latest set in orchards. Nobudy 

 omes forward to explain the cause, and no- 

 body that I know of shows how to cure the 

 diseasi-. I have made uj) my mind that we 

 shall lose half or three-quarters of our pear 

 trees, but I cannot yet believe it will be fatal 

 to a majority of the apple trees. The blight 

 seems to be contagious to a surprising degree, 

 the virus seemingly being carried by the 

 wind, birds or insects. Where orchards 

 connected with nurseries are attached tlie 

 bliflht fastens on young trees anil old ones 

 alike, and by young nurser_y stock, has been, 

 or may be spread over the countr}', as well as 

 by a thousand other wa3's and nu-ans. It is 

 a grave matter and deserves the immediate 

 attention of those public officers who are 

 salaried to attend to such things. 



In addition to the fruit tree blight, the red 

 runt has appeared on the black cap raspber- 

 ries, but only here and there ; and ou the 



blackberry, but rarely. Houghton Seedling 



Gooseberry, hitherto always yielding great 

 crops, when properly thinned, is nearly bar- 

 ren this season, though blooming full. It 

 appears to bo going the away common to the 

 imported kinds; the leaves are drying up 

 and the whole plant looking weak and sick- 

 ly. Currants remain healthy andgrapestoo, 

 so far as I have see, or learned ; but it is not 

 quite time for the mildew and grai^ie rot. 

 We shall have to make a laborious investi- 

 gation of the causes which are destroying 

 our fruit trees and shrubs and hereafter con- 

 duct our fruit culture with scientific care 

 and method, or fruits will become as scarce 

 here as they were before the prairies were 



cultivated. 



♦ * » 



The Pine Apple. 



There is perhaps no production of the 

 tropics which is so generally and deservedly 

 esteemed by the people of the North as the 

 pineapple ; yet of none have they such vague 

 ideas as to its manner of growth. Not un- 

 til frequently have we heard it expressed as 

 being the fruit of a tree ; associating it with 

 the cone-bearing treesof own country. The 

 pine apple plant (Ananassa saliva) is a 

 native of tropical America, growing wild in 

 the forests, but is also largely cultivated in 

 those regions as well as to some considerable 

 extent in the West Indies and on the eastern 

 continent. 



It has fifteen or more long, serrated, 

 ridged, sharp-pointed leaves springing from 

 the root, resembling in its general aspect the 

 century plant, but much smaller in size. In 

 the center of this cluster of thick, succulent 

 leaves, springs up a short stalk bearing a 

 spike of beautiful flowers, which in time pro- 

 duces a single pine apple. On the summit 

 of the fruit is a tuft of small leaves, capable 

 of becoming a new plant, which together 

 with suckers, are the means by which it is 

 propagated, as the cultivated plant seldom 

 produces seeds. It flourishes best in a moist 

 and warm climate, bui is able to survive a 

 long drouth and extreme heat. 



Tliere are several varieties of the pine 

 apple, difiering in their leaves being more or 

 less spiny on their edges, and in the shape 

 and color of the fruit. Great care is requis- 

 ite in its cultivation, otherwise it will become 

 coarse and fibrous, with but little sweetness. 

 Nothing cau surpass the rich and delicate 

 flavor of the pine apple which has been prop- 

 erly grown, or of the wild fruit of the for- 

 est, which we always find equal, if not supe- 

 rior, to the cultivated ones. 



A word as to the manner of preparing a 

 pine apple for eating, may not be out of 

 place here. Let the rough exterior first be 

 removed to a sufficient depth, then slice the 

 fruit longitudinally with the core, and not 

 across the hard center as is generally done 

 with us. As soon sliould an ear of corn be 

 divided in sections when the kernels must 

 be pulled from the cob, as a pine apple 

 across the core, instead of nicely slicing the 

 fruit from its adherents. The delieiousness 

 of a jiine apple when freshly picked from 

 the plant and prepared in the above man- 

 ner cannot be siirpassed. — Cur. Scientific 



Amer. 



•-•-» 



A correspondent of the West^im Farmer 



says that he dustrd one-fourth acre of pota- 



toi-s infested with bugs, with Paris green, 



and has not seen one since. He put half a 



pound of the green into an old salt sack, and 



gave this a slight shake over the vines. 



Peaches in Southern Illinois-— The 

 Jmirnid of Agriculture says the peach crop at 

 Centralia promises to be the largest ever 

 raised there. Three years ago .300,000 boxes 

 were shipped from that region, and it is esti- 

 mated that the sum total will reach as high 

 as 400,000 this year. 



Flowering Shrubs. 



A selection may be made from those that 

 will give flowers nearly all the season. 

 Among Wigelias what a diversity of color — 

 pure white, deep and light rose, and almost 

 purple! Dcutzias, greatly improved by the 

 iutroductiou of several new varieties, some 

 producing flowers equal to any of the high- 

 priced greenhouse plants. tSyriiigas or Li- 

 laics as they are more commonly called; 

 what a ho.st of these now to select from! 

 A catalogue, before us, describes no less than 

 thirty five kinds, embracing every variety 

 of color, from pure white to deep purple, 

 and extending over a long period of flower- 

 ing. We will omit several very handsome 

 things in the way of these, and come along 

 to the Spircas, now almost an endless variety 

 and greatly imjiroved by the introduction of 

 many new ones. These begin to flower 

 early in the season and are generally the 

 last to leave us in the Fall. They embrace 

 almost every shadoof color, and a great va- 

 riety of firm. All are very beautiful, and 

 ought to be in every garden no matter how 

 large or small. They grow in almost any 

 soit, and need but little care and attention. 

 We might continne to enumerate many more 

 of this class of shrubs but, for many of our 

 readers, we may have enough. Those who 

 have plenty of room to plant, and means to 

 obtain them, will find an endless variety in 

 any respectable Nurseryman's catalogue. 



We are not penning these few lines for 

 any professional man — they are for our fiirm 

 er readers — for those who live far away from 

 where these things are to be had in abun- 

 dance — simply as a few suggestions to help 

 them, as it were, to fix up and beautify their 

 homes, and make them attractive. Many 

 have but little idea how much a few flowers 

 and flowering shrubs will do for their homes. 

 In passing along the highway it is easy to 

 point out the man of taste, for around his 

 home you will see fruits and flowers in 

 abundance. — T. B. J., Experiinenial Farm 

 Journal. 



Flower Seed in Pots. 



A few general rules are applicable to all 

 seeds sown in pots, 



1. All pots and pans used for seed sowing 

 shcuikl be well drained in the ordinary way 

 and, as fine soil is much emijlo_yed in seed 

 sowing, a layer of dry moss or of roughish 

 soil sliould separate the drainage and the 

 soil above. 



2. 'Ihe soil on the top-surface of all pots, 

 pans, etc., used for seed-sowing, should be 

 finely pulverized by sifting. 



3. Good sandy loam maj"^ be taken as the 

 basis of all soils used for seed-growing, but 

 it should always have at least half its bulk of 

 finely pulverized leaf mould, peat or some 

 vegetalile soil in it, and fully one-fourth of 

 the whole should be .sand. 



4. The soil should be made perfectly fine 

 and firm in the pots, particularly in the case 

 of small seeds. 



5. All seeds sown in pots, frames or houses 

 reqvirc shading during sunshine, and it is 

 parlicnlarly necessary for the smaller seeds 

 ou the surface. 



Peaks fob Western Michigan. — At the 

 late Convention of Fruit Growers for West- 

 ern Michigan, the following pears were 

 recommended as best adapted to that region : 

 Bartlett, Bloodgood, Seckel, Flemish Beauty, 

 Vicar of Winkfield, Sheldon, Howell, Law- 

 rence, Clapp's favorite. 



Increase of Insects. — At a late meeting 

 of the Alton, (111.) Horticultural Society, it 

 was said that each year was proving it true 

 " as we increase the products the insects in- 

 crease." 



