334 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GAEDENER. 



1871 



in those of lighter texture. In every 'orchard 

 ■which has come under our notice, we invariably 

 found pear trees thrive best in the most compact 

 clayey parts, providing the land was well drained 

 and well prepared. 



2d. That Hale's Early peach is not suited to the 

 sea coast belt. We have before us most conclusive 

 proofs of what we advance, and our advice would 

 be twt to plant this variety where the influence of 

 sea breezes is felt. 



Concord & Clinton — Hardiness. — A corres- 

 pondent of the Country Gentleman thinks hardy 

 grapes do best unprotected in winter. He secures 

 his vines on the trellis in the fall as wished for the 

 following season's growth, and prunes in fall or 

 spring as best suits his convenience. Says his Con- 

 corn and Clinton have defied 25 degrees below zero, 

 and changes of 40 degrees in twelve hours. In lay- 

 ing down tender vines for the winter he never 

 bends the vine one side or the other, but puts it 

 down in the form of a bow. 



Choice Peaches.— F. R. Elliott says, in the 

 Cleveland Herald, that he is pleased to record that 

 among all the scores of new seedling peaches, 

 exhibited at the various Fairs he has attended this 

 autumn, not one has come up to the standard of 

 Crawford's Late Free or Tippecanoe Cling, so that 

 peach growers need not delay in making selections 

 for planting, from fear of there being some new 

 sort of superior size and merit. 



Wintering Apples.— It should be understood 

 that apples decay more from being kept too close and 

 warm in winter than all other causes put together. 

 Apples should be kept in a cellar where the air cir- 

 culates freely and the temperature just below the 

 freezing point. In fact to be kept in the best pos- 

 sible condition they should be stored in a cellar too 

 cool for keeping potatoes in. Apples should be 

 kept from contact with the walls of the cellar, but 

 near the middle, up from the bottom, as near the 

 ceiling as possible where there is a better circula- 

 tion of air. 



The Bartlett and Seckel. — At the meeting 

 of the American Pomological Society in 1848 a 

 select list of pears was recommended for cultiva- 

 tion. In its preparation the Bartlett and Seckel 

 were the only sorts unanimously agreed upon for 

 general cultivation. The Bartlett still maintains 

 its prestige of twenty years ago among pears, for 

 at the late meeting of the Society it was re-indorsed 

 without a dissenting voice. 



Great Beet Crop. — Near Castroville, Cal., 

 from nine acres of seeding four hundred tons of 

 sugar beets have been gathered and used for feed- 

 ing hogs, with about fifty tons more to gather. 



Skinner's Seedling Apple. — Where can I get a 

 fewcions of the Skinner (Cal.) Seedling Apple spo- 

 ken of in a late number of the Pomologist ? If some 

 brother horticulturist in California, will send me a 

 few 'cions, I will endeavor to reciprocate such 

 favor. I am not a nurseryman. I grow trees 

 only for my own orchard and not all of those. 



P. M. Gideon. 



Excelsior, Minn. 



Common Sense Pruning. — At a meeting of the 

 Keene, (N. H.) Farmers' Club, the subject of pru- 

 ning was di.scussed. One member said his practice 

 had been to trim trees from time to time as they 

 were growing, taking off the young shoots not 

 wanted to form a good top. Another member said, 

 — " the best time to prune a tree is when it needs 

 it." That's it exactly — prune a tree just when it 

 needs it, and then only. 



Clipping Strawberry Plants. — A correspond- 

 ent of " Our Home Journal " tried the experiment 

 of clipping the leaves from a portion of his plants. 

 The result was a total loss of the plants, while ad- 

 joining rows let alone made fine growth. Thinks it 

 taught him a good lesson, though it cost him some- 

 thing in learning it. 



The "Lady" Crab. — D. W. Adams, Waukon, 

 has favored us with specimens of the " Lady " crab 

 apple. It is a very handsome fruit, round, and a 

 deep rich red. Mr. A. does not claim it as anything 

 new — says "it is an old fruit about which no fuss 

 has been made." We think it quite as good if not 

 better than some other crabs, concerning which, a 

 very great " fuss " is being made. 



A New Oregon Pear. — The Willamette Farmer 

 says that R. C. Geer has a seedling pear that took 

 the premium over all others at the Fair. It resem- 

 bles the Winter Nellis in flavor, and ripens about 

 the first of October, at a time when no other pear 

 is in its prime. The Farmer expects to see the time 

 when Geer's Seedling will be one of the favorite 

 pears of the country. 



Culture op Blackberries. — A prominent- 

 grower of small fruits in New Jersey, says : " After" 

 carefully cultivating and testing twenty -six differ- 

 ent varieties, in addition to a large number of seed- 

 lings which were no better than parent stock, I 

 have retained four, which are all valuable as field 

 crops for market. They are Wilson's Early, the 

 Dorchester, the Kittatinny and the New Rochelle. 



^ 



Wintering Apples. — An Ohio orchardist uses 

 bushel boxes made square for storing his apples. 

 The advantage of such boxes over barrels or large 

 boxes are : The boxes are easily handled, will pack 

 in the cellar without any waste space. 



