344 TKANSACTIONS OF THE 



June potatoes, very poor ; sweet potatoes, middling ,' melons, cucumbers, 

 squashes, good, but not equal to Rhode Island sweet pumpkins ; last year, 

 tomatoes* Lima beans, beets, turnips, salsify, all good ; rhubarb and onions, 

 poor. 



As we have no apples in this vicinity, we are obliged tcF depend upon 

 vegetables for pies and sauce. I had three vines of the Japan apple 

 melon, which, after shortening in a great deal, covered a space of four 

 square rods, and produced eight or ten small melons, the largest of which 

 did not exceed ten pounds in weight. Of some eight or ten kinds of toma- 

 toes raised, I prefer the large yellow variety ; it is a great bearer. I have 

 raised the purple fig tomato (which, by-the-by, is not a very appropriate 

 name for it, as it does not resemble the tomato in the least) ; also, what 

 we call the Globe (another inappropriate name) ; the fruit of this is about 

 the size of a hen's egg, and only slightly tinged with purple, and much 

 more acid than the fig tomato. Also, two kinds of ground cherries which 

 come up from the root, all over my garden, early in the spring. The fruit 

 ia about the size of a cherry, and quite acid, though pleasant to the taste. 

 Early frosts have no efi'ect on this plant, but with me they are nearly all 

 destroyed by worms and blight. Is there any way ta prevent it ? The 

 other kind is an annual, and bears profusely — fruit not very acid, and falls 

 ofi" when ripe. This plant is very tender, and sensitive to the frost. The 

 fruit of both kinds is encased in a husk. Currants, gooseberries, and 

 raspberries do well, but fruit trees are a failure. The trees shrivel and 

 dry up at the first cold weather in autumn. How can I prevent them ? 



Grape vines, with me, are a failure. I cannot get them to grow. I have 

 one two years old, which is almost fifteen inches high \ I raised several 

 from layers last year, which grew to the hight of six inches, or less I I 

 have a bed of strawberries containing plants of six varieties : Honey Seed- 

 ling, Burr's New Pine, Moyamensing, Early Scarlet, Monroe Scarlet, and 

 Hooker's Black, all mixed together. They were set out in the spring of 

 1858, but nearly froze out the following winter, and did not fruit last sum- 

 mer, but grew finely. 



The questions which I wish to ask are these ; 



1st. What kind of manure is best adapted to the soil described ? (I 

 have thought of planting potatoes in drills, very deep, and covering first 

 lightly with soil, then with coarse stable manure, then with soil.) 



2d. How shall I raise rhubarb on such dry sand ? 



3d. Is there not some more appropriate name for the Fig tomato and 

 Globe ? 



4th. Can I prevent the ravages of the worm in the perennial ground 

 cherry? 



5th. Can I guard my young fruit trees from winter, or rather autumn, 

 killing ? 



6th. Can I expect any fruit from my bed of mixed strawberry plants? 



7th. What shall I da with my grape vines 1 



