1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



175 



from frost, their forests having been destroyed, 

 have been scourged by drouth and frost till the for- 

 ests were restored, when they once more become 

 fruitful ; or, if the inhabitants would not restore 

 their protecting forests, the stern hand of famine 

 threatened to wipe out a race that would not 

 reverence tlic order of nature. 



Thus the Cape de Verde Islands, so named from 

 their greenness, have been stripped of their forests 

 by their improvident inhabitants, since wliich 

 time they sutler terribly from periodical drouths, 

 sometimes no rain falling for three years at a time, 

 and .30,000 inhabitants, or one-third of the popula- 

 tion, have perished. Thus famine cuts down the 

 inhabitants as pitilessly as they cut down the pro- 

 tecting trees. It has been proposed to re-plant 

 forests, yet little has been done towards restoration, 

 and it is probable that the entire race may be cut 

 olT, to l)e replaced by those who have learned that 

 the " tree of the tield is man's life." 



More about Cranberry Culture. 



In the transactions of the Middlesex (Mass.) Ag- 

 ricultural Society lor 1855, a paper on cranberry 

 culture appears from Addison Flint, of North Read- 

 ing. Mr. Flint details his practical experience 

 which will be found of special value to new begin- 

 ners in the business, as his mode of culture em- 

 braces the planting of the seeds, the transplanting 

 of the vines, and the cultivation of the wild plants 

 spontaneously growing in his swamp. He first 

 erected a dam across his grounds, by which he 

 raised a pond, and left it in that State for three 

 years. In August, 1840, he let off the water, and 

 the October following burned over the swamp prep- 

 aratory to its cultivation. After letting off the wa- 

 ter he found a few native vines, and these he let re- 

 main as they stood. He planted about half an acre 

 of the swamp in October, the same fall, with the 

 seed, or rather the cranberries, crushing each berry 

 between his thumb and finger, and placing it just 

 under the mud, one in a hill, three feet and a half 

 apart. The following spring he sowed several 

 busliels broadcast. On the part thus planted and 

 sowed, but few vines appeared first, and it was not 

 till 1853, or six years afterward that they began to 

 produce fruit. In the remainder of the swamp Mr. 

 F. set plants from a neigliboring swamp, cut up 

 with a sharp hoe or shovel, in bunches about the 

 size of a quart measure, placing them in hills, three 

 and a half feet apart. The result was, in 1852, lie 

 gathered about one hundred bushels, sixty from the 

 transplanted vines, and forty from the native plants. 

 In 1855 he gathered fifty barrels, and " t!ie incrense 

 was prinnpaUy from tlie trannplanted m?ies." 



__ 'Look out for the summer tent caterpillar. 

 Roll up the web at once and destroy it. 



Comparison of Climates.— Interesting Facts In 

 Fruit Culture. 



In the Report of the Secretary of the Sate Agri- 

 cultural Society of Iowa, for 1870, we find the fol- 

 lowing statement : 



" The early part of the season. May, June, and 

 July is noticeable for a remarkable drouth which 

 literally burned up the pastures and di.ssipated the 

 hopes of all, in apples and pears and the smaller 

 fruits. Never was there a greater luxuriance of 

 bloom to be followed by a general failure of fruits. 

 The drouth greatly diminished the hay cro]i, but it 

 is of surpassing excellence." 



Notwithstanding this statement, and which, from 

 our recollection, was confirmed by the facts, as re- 

 ported by the press of that State at the time ; the 

 same report gives a table of rain fall during 

 those same months, from which we learn that in 

 the month of May, for that year, the rain fall was 

 3.18 inches, for June it was 1.07 inches, and for 

 July 3.72 inches ; the aggregate for the three months 

 being 7.97, or very nearly eight inches. 



From the same table we learn that the rain fall in 

 that State, from January to September of that year 

 was 26.27 inches. And yet the drouth was so severe 

 as to destro3' all the fruit crop and literally to burn 

 up the pastures. 



In California, this year, the whole rain fall in all 

 the central portion of the State up to this time, has 

 not reached eight inches ; and yet our fruit crop, 

 including apples, pears, and all other kinds of fruit 

 bids fair to be one of the most abundant and the 

 most excellent we have ever had, and this too in 

 the dryest portion of our State, and upon our dry- 

 cst lands. 



Here is a fact we would like to have some of our 

 scientific scholars explain. It may be said tliat our 

 fruit is fed and sustained in its growth from the at- 

 mosphere. This is undoubtedly true to a great ex- 

 tent ; but then it must be remembered that our at- 

 mosphere is much dryer tlian that of Iowa, and the 

 question arises, why is not the fruit in Iowa fed and 

 sustained in its growth, as well as in California? 

 We would like some of our meteorologists to ex- 

 plain this climatic problem. 



The same peculiarity is noticeable in the growth 



and maturity of all our agricultural products. Our 



grain of all kinds matures and comes to the great- 



e.st perfection with a much less amount of rain 



than is necessary to secure a much less perfect crop 



in the Atlantic States. Why is it? — Pacific Exmd 



Press. 



— « » « 



Keeping Flowers Fresh. It is said that a few 



iron nails placed in a vase with flowers will keep 



the water sweet and the flowers fresh. This result 



arises from the fact tliat as fiist as tlie sulphur is 



eliminated from the plants, it is taken up by the 



iron, in.stead of entering into other combinations, 



and forming deleterious and offensive masses. 



