1872 The Western Pomologist and Gardener. 25 



Arsenic and tbe Wbite of Eggs for Rabbits. 



A correspondent of the Rural World saves his trees from rabbits by the use of arsenic 

 mixed with the -white of eggs. He takes the limbs or twigs of trees, smears them with 

 the egg and arsenic mixture, and lays them about among the trees. The rabbits prefer 

 the tender bark and buds to the harder bark on the stems of the trees, and one meal 

 suffices for all time. " It kills them sure." No doubt this plan is a good one, for we know 

 that the simple distribution upon the ground of tender brushwood about the orchard or nur- 

 sery is a great protection to the standing trees. We think rabbits prefer the bark of 

 the apple tree to that of any othei. A little of this kind of cheap feed may be spared 

 from the tops of any orchard just as well as not, and may save many dollars worth of trees 



Wbat are Sbrubs aud tbeir use? 



Shrubs are defined as plants with woody stems, perennial in their nature, and which do 

 not grow to any great height — ten to fifteen feet being about the dividing line between 

 what may properly be called a .shrub and a tree. No garden or front yard is nearer com- 

 pletion without shrubberj', than is the dwelling house without furniture. Of late years 

 ornamental gardening has received greatly increased attention; and equally with other 

 branches of ornamental gardening, the list of shrubs is largely on the increase. To prop- 

 erly arrange shrubbery so as to present the most pleasing effect, the usual hight and hab- 

 its of growth of the shrubs employed must be carefully studied. 



Fruit and Intemperance. — The Pall Mall Gazette (London) says : " Perhaps one of 

 the chief reasons why there is so much intemperance in this country, is to be found in 

 the difficulty of obtaining any good fruit at a reasonable price. How small a percentage 

 of the inhabitants of London have ever tasted a peach, for instance ! Grapes are a lux- 

 ury only within the reach of the wealthy, and except sour apples and oranges, the poorer 

 classes have no fruit which they may call their own. For some reason or other, fruit 

 appears to become more scarce each year in this country. Nectarines and apricots, once 

 common, are now rarely seen, and in a few years will probably disappear entirely." 



Pruning the Vine — Effects on the Fruit. — A correspondent of the Florist and 

 Pomologist says : " According to my experience, tested over and over again, the spur 

 yields a larger but less compact bunch, more likely to shank than the hard produce of the 

 wood closer home, which yields a more compact, neat and serviceable bunch, and gener- 

 ally with larger berries and stiffer foot-stalks than the larger buds further up the shoot. 

 I hold it to be wrong to judge of the produce of a vine by the size of the bunch. The 

 aim of the family grape grower is fine berries, and compact moderate sized bunches in 

 great numbers. Tested by family usefulness, and commercially by the demand of the mar- 

 ket, the smaller and compact bunch takes precedence of the big bunch. If serviceable 

 bunches are wanted, prune back to one bud ; but if larger, looser, and less serviceable 

 bunches, then cut to the fourth or fifth bud." 



A Beautiful Flower— The Holt Spirit.— The Pacific Rural Press says: "That 

 rare flower, Espirita Santa or Holy Spirit, in the south-west conservatory at Woodward's 

 Gardens, in this city, is now in bloom for the second time. This, we believe, is the only 

 specimen which has ever flowered in this city. The plant grows from a bulb as a lily, aud 

 bears a round white flower like an inverted cujj ; the bottom of the cuj) is like the head 

 and beak of a dove, with the wings projected in front of the body, as in the descent of the 

 Holy Ghost represented in churches. 



Peaches for the Whole Nation.— It is said that " to our credit the United States 

 is the only country in the world that, either in ancient or modern times, has produced 

 peaches in sufficient quantities to allow them to become a common marketable commodity; 

 so cheap, that the poor, as well as the rich, may regale themselves and their families with 

 one of the most wholesome and delicious of fruits at a very small expense, and with every 

 prospect that they will be still more abundant and cheap." 



