1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARDENER. 



217 



Black's Extra Early Peacb. 



By the Associate Editob. 



Fruit large , form round, with a slight point ; suture distinct, shallow all around ; color, clear rose 

 pink, shaded maroon and slightly mottled with light yellow, very handsome; flesh stained red to the 

 seed, to which it slightly adheres; juicy, ten- 

 der, with rich sub -acid; excellent. Stone 

 small, short, light red ; quality the very best ; 

 season, July the 4th to the 15th. Tree good 

 grower, hardy and productive. An acci- 

 dental seedling found amongst a lot of trees 

 set out on our farm, 1867. 



This is the earliest peach we are acquainted 

 with, ripening this season before the 4th of 

 July, being from ten to twelve days before 

 Hale's Early, and it is of larger size and bet- 

 ter quality. 



Its extreme earliness, great beauty and fine 

 quality will always make it command he 

 very highest price in the market. 



We have sold four times as many of it a 

 Early York, and at double the price at the 

 same time, 14th of July, this season. 



Injury of Fruit Blossoms by Frost. — 

 A correspondent of the London Journal of 

 Horticulture says : The most tender portion 

 of the flower or fruit is the style of pistil, 

 and that is the vital part ; when that is injured in any way, however slight, the uses of the flower are 

 at an end. The stamens are almost as hardy as the leaves, and are very rarely injured. Tlie petals, also, 

 wliich are the beauteous part, stand a good deal of rough usage. They are, however, of no benefit to 

 the fruit. To discover when apples or pears are killed by frost, simply look to the pistil, which very 

 soon shows the eftect ; if it is green it is well ; if black, then it is dead ; and for further satisfaction, cut 

 transversely through the young fruit, and experience will soon teach, even with the faii'cst flower, the 

 value of a black heart." 



Pear Growing.— Fourteen Years Experience.— 

 Tlie Quince as a Stock. 



By Tuk ConRESPONDiNG Editor. 



Aside from the causes of the blight, there is no 

 one point in pear culture, upon which there is a 

 greater diversity of opinion among fruit growers, 

 than the comparative merits of the quince and the 

 pear as a stock. 



We propose, therefore, to give some of the rea- 

 sons which incline us to prefer the quince, especially 

 ill certain localities. When we shall have given 

 our reasons for this preference, we will give some 

 of our own experience, botli with the quince and 

 the pear. 



1. The quince causes the pear to fruit much ear- 

 lier than when worked upon its own root. Such 

 varieties as unite kindly with the quince, as the 

 Duchess d'Angolemc, Louise Bon d' Jersey, White 

 Doyenne, and others, will generally bear at the 

 fourth year from the bud, and under favorable cir- 

 cumstances will continue to bear regularly until 

 they cease from old age. This we conceive to be a 



very satisfactory argument in favor of the quince, 

 since the pear on its own roots does not usually 

 bear in less time than from eight to fifteen years. 

 When we speak of the quince as a stock for the 

 pear, we always mean the Angeres Quince, the most 

 thrifty growing variety now known. 



2. The quality of the fruit in many varieties, as 

 Beurre Laugher, Soldat Labourer, Duchesed'Angou- 

 leme, Easter Beurre, Glout Moreceau, Lcmiee Bon 

 d' Jersey, and Vicar of Winkfleld, and others, is very 

 con.siderably improved. This is another reason why 

 the quince stock should be used, especially when 

 applied to the.se varieties. 



3. Trees grown on the quince are much more 

 successfully transplanted tlian when grown on the 

 pear ; since the quince roots much more readily 

 than the pear, being raised easilj' from the cuttings, 

 while the pear will scarcely grow at all from the 

 cutting. It is only when the trees are frequently 

 transplanted while quite young, that they can be 

 satisfactorily set at suitable age for final transplant- 

 ing on the pear root. 



