1863. 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEE. 



the marks of small size and scnbbiness which 

 ini"-iit be expected from nttcr neglect. One col- 

 lection should be marked "riitiiT raised uxder the 

 EYE OE iXDUSTKT AND VIGILANCE," and the Other la- 

 belled, "Fruit allowed to raise itself. '_' 



Pruning should not be omitted as an important 

 requisite, but so far as its influence on the fruit is 

 concerned, it comes under the the same head as 

 thinning, and is indeed a useful auxiliary to the lat- 

 ter. A peach tree may generally have its fruit 

 readily and easily thinned by cutting back ; and 

 an apple tree that' is pruned at the top by thinning 

 in from the outside, (instead of trimming and thin- 

 ning up from below, and leaving the outside as 

 thick as ever) may have the proper number of spec- 

 imens easily controlled. 



Orchardists have got to take hold of this matter. 

 Orchards are increasing in number, competition 

 will arise, purchasers are improving in discrimina- 

 tion, and will not be satisfied to pay much for poor 

 stuff'. Shrewd orchardists, who know how to se- 

 cure a permanent demand for their products, as 

 well as to obtain the highest prices, will be first to 

 adopt these modes of manufacturing the finest ar- 

 ticle, and unless others fall in they will be left in 

 the lurch. The next twenty years, if the world 

 moves on as it has done, will witness a.n astonish- 

 ing: education in the masses, in a knowledge -of ex- 

 cellent fruit, and in the discrimination between a 

 poor and a fine article. If they can be supplied 

 with the latter, they will buy and consume ; if 

 nothing but the former can be had, they v.ill re- 

 j(;ct it with disdain. Tills will become true to a 

 great extent, sooner or later, and the raisers of 

 fruit for market must trim their sails accordingly. 



Curl in the Peach. 



Among the pests to wdiich the peach is liable, 

 the "curl," though not by most persons considered 

 of mucli consequence, is, I think, worthy of more 

 careful observation, to ascertain, if possible, its 

 cause and the cure. 



It has been attributed to frost by many, and by 

 others to insects ; but whether of these is the 

 cause, or whether indeed it is not owing to some 

 constitutional defect of certain varieties^ I cannot 

 now determine, though, the fact that some varie- 

 ties suiTer more from the curl, or are more liable 

 to havoit than others, leads me towards the last 

 conclusion. I have now about forty varieties, 

 most of which are bearing fruit this vcar. Some 

 that were the fullest of blossoms in the spring, lost 

 afterwards every leaf bv the curi. and dav bv dav 

 the young fruit fell, until at last there was'not a 

 peach left. The variety which suffered least from 

 the curi, and of which everv tree is now loaded 

 with peaches, is one which I received 'a few vears 

 ago as Druid Hill. It also did best hist year. " The 

 next best are Groose Mignonne, Smock. Snow, 

 Ward's Late Free, Morris White, Old Mixon Free 

 and Crawford's Early. ' 



George 4th, Royal George, Lagrange, Honey 

 Red Rareripe, Stump the Worid, Susquehanna', 

 and New York Rareripe, have lost almost every 

 peach, though very full in the spring. 



In reading the Monthly, which I have done from 

 its commencement, I have always prized those ar- 

 ticle which had been contributed by observing 

 working men, and if every man who plants, would" 

 as he looks over his tree's, or as he walks among 



his flowers, note any peculiarity, and from time to 

 time give the readers of the Monilily the benefit of 

 his observations, we would, in time, have a vast 

 fund of information. 



[It seems to be certain that tlie curi is owing to 

 cold ; whether tlse injury is received while in the 

 bud, or whether it is the consequence of cold af- 

 X-:v th.e leaves huve expanded is not clear. This 

 could easily be tested by putting a tree liable to 

 curl after it has been out all winter, and kce])ing 

 it in a greenhouse before the leaves expand. It is 

 to be regretted tliat those who liave time and con- 

 venience for experimenting, do not settle these 

 question^, for us. After the war is over, we hope 

 to see a National Experimental Garden establish- 

 ed, where these things may be tested for the bene- 

 fit of the whole horticultural community. — Ed. 

 Gardener'' s J[o7dhIi/.^ 



Remedy for Diptheria. — A Pennsylvania cor- 

 respondent writes us that the Diptheria is very 

 prevalent in some parts of that State, and says that 

 we would confer a great favor upon the sufferers 

 by re-publishing the remedy given about a year 

 ago. With this request we comply. It is as fol- 

 lows : "Make two small bags tliat will reach from 

 ear to ear, and fill them with ashes and salt ; dip 

 them in hot water and wring them out so they will 

 not drip, and apply them to the throat ; cover up 

 the whole with a flannel cloth and change tlicm as 

 often as they become cool, until the throat be- 

 comes irritated — near blistering. For children it 

 is necesi«ary to put flannel cloths between the ash- 

 es and the throat, to prevent blistering. .When 

 the ashes have been on a sufficient time, take a 

 wet flannel cloth and rub it with castile.soap until 

 it is covered with a thick l:;ther; dip it in hot wa- 

 ter, and apply it to the throat, and change as they 

 eool ; at the same time use a gargle made of one 

 teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one of salt, one of 

 molasses, in a teacupful of hot water, and when 

 cool, add tme-fourth as nmch cider vinegar, and 

 gargle every fifteen minutes until the patient re- 

 quires sleep. A gargle made of castile soap is 

 good to be used part of the time." A correspond- 

 ent in Maine, in sending the above remedy, says 

 there had been a number of deatlis from Diptheria 

 until this remedj' was used, since when all had re- 

 covered. 



Most Food to the Acre. — Humboldt estimates 

 that an acre of ground planted with bananas, is 

 sufficient to support fifty men, while the same ex- 

 tent of hind in wheat would barely supply the 

 wants of three. If the climate of the Valley of 

 the Mississippi would admit of the cultivation of 

 the banana, at the above rate, as there is said to 

 be land enough for eight millions of farms, of one 

 hundred and sixty acres each, one half or four mil- 

 lions, would sustain a population of thirty -two 

 thousand millions, which is more than thirty times 

 the present population of our globe. 



|^"A correspondent, describing a portion of 

 the coast of Texas, says : "Now you see a wind 

 mill and then an old woman with prunes to sell ; 

 sometimes a house on piles with outside arrange, 

 ments about as picturesque as a bio wed steamboat." 





