240 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



May 



ripen before the last of September. Here, 

 nineteen miles south-west of Boston, and about 

 one hundred feet higher than that plaee, Isa- 

 bella grapes are not fit to gather lor market 

 before the time I have mentioned. Within a 

 few rods of where I am writing this, a vine of 

 that variety trained on the south of a building. 

 and having, by estimate, two hundred and ili'ty 

 pounds of fruit on it, was struck with frost to 

 the destruction of its fruit three weeks alter my 

 Hartford ProliRc, and two weeks after my 

 Concord grnpes had been completely ripened 

 and sold in Boston ; and these were grown in an 

 open garden on a trellis. I wish friend Chani- 

 berlin would try one of each of the varieties I 

 have named, to see how soon in the season 

 they would ripen at his place ; if he will, as I 

 am coming to Manchester in April, I shall be 

 happy to make lilm a present of some vines. 

 I think they will ripen their fruit in his fields 

 as soon as his Isabellas will ripen theirs on 

 the barn. 



I do hope he will accept my small gift as a 

 token of my confidence in his ability to care 

 for the vines properly ; and also, because I am 

 satislicd that he would then recommend Hart- 

 ford Proliiic and Concord to his neighbors 

 who may not have such a good place as his to 

 raise L-abella grapes. 



Will not some others give their experience, 

 and thus encourage the growth of a fruit, which 

 I and friend Chamberlin have found to be so 

 prolitable. John Fleming. 



Sherhorn, Mass., March, 18G7. 



VAEIETIES OF STRAWBEEEIES. 

 As chairman of the INIassachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society's Committee on Fruits, J. F. C. 

 Hyde, Esq., gives the following brief review 

 of the present estimation in which the various 

 kinds of strawberries are held by the practical 

 cultivators of this fruit in the vicinity of Bos- 

 ton : — 



"IIovey''s Seedling is still the best variety 

 of its seai-(in. Jenny Lind is a favorite early 

 sort. La Constante has been gaining friends, 

 though we i'ear that for ordinary field ci\lture it 

 will not succeed: Brighton Pine still holds 

 its i)lac(', especially among market frardcners. 

 The Bulliilo Seedling and Ilusseirs Proliiic are 

 not valualiie varieties. The French Seedling 

 is soft and poor, and of no value as a market 

 fruit. Some line specimens of the Agricultu- 

 rist were shown by E. A. Bi-ackett, of Win- 

 chester, who has been quite successful with 

 this variety. In point of (luality, it Is not up 

 to our well known varieties, but may, like the 

 Wilson, to which it is superior, be grown 

 for marUet. It is a good grower and bearer. 

 The Monitor is a solt and worthless variety. 

 The Brooklyn Scarlet is acid, small or medi- 

 um size, and of poor (quality." 



From Macmillan's Magazine. 

 SEASONS. 



BT CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI. 



O tlie cheerful budding-time 1 



When tborn-hedgeB turn to green, 

 When new leaves of elm and lime 



Cleave and shed their winter screen; 

 Tender lambs are born and "b-.ir," 



North wind finds no 8nov>f to bring, 

 Vigorous Nature laughs "Ila, ha," 



In the miracle of spring. 



O the gorgeous Blossoms-days I 



When broad flag-flowers drink and blow, 

 In and out in smnmer blaze 



Dragon-flies flash to and fro; 

 Ashen branches hang out keys. 



Oaks put forth the rosy shoot, 

 Wandering herds wax sleek at ease, 



Lovely blossoms end in fruit. 



O the shouting Harvest-weeks I 



Motlier eartli grown fat with sheaveS 

 Tljiifty gleaner finds who seeks; 



liusset-golden pomp of leaves 

 Crowns the woods, to fill at length; 



Bracing winds are felt to stir, 

 Ocean gathers up her strength, 



Beasts renew their dwindled fur. 



O the starving Winter-lapse I 



Ice-bound, Iiunger-pinched and dim; 

 Dormant roots recall their saps, 



Empty nests show black and grim. 

 Short-lived sunshine gives no heat, 



Undue buds are nipped by frost, 

 Snow sets forth a winding-sheet, 



And all hope of life seems lost. 



Wool. — The manufacture of knit woolen 

 goods has been greatly stimidated in this coun- 

 try by the high cost of importation since the 

 war, and it is now estimated that 40U sets of 

 machinery and 40,000 hancb are employed in 

 this branch of industry in the United States, 

 producing goods to the value of about $:^0- 

 000,000 per year. The New England and 

 Middle States nearly monopolize this business, 

 New York taking the lead with the extensive 

 mills at Cohoes. 



Pure Italian Bees are not plenty in this 

 country. None are absolutely pure whose 

 workers have less than three yellow bands. 

 (i>ueens and drones from motiiers of undoubted 

 purltv, sport in color and are not relied on as 

 a test of purity. But queens bred from pure 

 mothers must produce workers with three }el- 

 low hands, to be pure. This is the test of pu- 

 rity now adopted by the best bee-keepers, not 

 only of this country, but in Europe. — liural 

 New Yorker. 



Fruit Prospects. — A correspondent of a 

 New Jersey paper writes that he has made a 

 wide circuit among the peach orcliards, and 

 finds the prospect good in most of them, though 

 some are nmch injured. He finds strawberries 

 raspberries and l)iackbcrries in first rate condi- 

 tion, and promising well lor the season. Ap- 

 ples and pears are also good. 



