o 



30 



Garden and Forest. 



[July 



quality is very good. It con:i pares favorably in all respects 

 with the Jessie. The Jessie may possibly produce a few larger 

 berries, from a tendency to irregularity not shown by the Pearl, 

 but, in other respects, it shows no superiority here. It shows, 

 also, a tendency to uneven ripening not seen in the Pearl. 

 Both have a liability to blight to some extent, but I shall retain 

 them as leaders for another season. Prince (Durand's) is 

 the standard of e.xcellence for quality by which others are 

 judged. It is not quite as productive as is desirable, but it 

 makes up in quality for its shyness in bearing. It rusts some, 

 but I hope this tendency will not be so apparent when its 

 more susceptible neighbors have been discarded. Jersey 

 Queen, the Prince's twin-sister, is more vigorous and robust 

 in habit and produces larger berries, more of them, and of 

 more acid Havor. It rusts somewhat, but I shall keep it a 

 little longer. 



Sharpless, the largest of all and the most deformed, is not 

 very productive, and rusts and rots so badly that it must go. 



article is looked upon as an extortion. The fraudulent bas- 

 kets, five of which will hardly hold four honest quarts, have 

 also an influence in depressing prices, for not one buyer out 

 of ten observes the scant measure. The way to get the high- 

 est satisfaction out of this luscious fruit is to grow it well at 

 home. If that is not possible, then buy only freshly-picked 

 berries grown near at hand. 



Montclair, N.J. E. WilUaillS. 



Some Hardy Ferns. 



OF the many sj^ecies and varieties of Ferns (over forty) in 

 New England, nearly all are desirable for cultivation. 

 All are hardy, that is, against cold weather, and many of 

 them may be grown as easily as any of the hardy plants. The 

 beauty of their foliage, which lasts with most of them, from 

 early spring imtil it is killed by frosts in autumn, and even 

 through the winter with a few which are evergreen makes them 

 invaluable as hardy, ornamental plants. There are, about most 



Belinmit. — See page 326. 



Davis, a reproduction of Sharpless, shares the same fate. 

 Jewell, which made such a splendid record with Mr. Augur, 

 its originator, and promised well here, rusts so badly that an- 

 other season closes its career with me. Gold, Dewey and 

 Acme are discarded this season from the same cause. Atlan- 

 tic follows, and the worthless Cahansey. I have petted and 

 coaxed these varieties in vain attempts to develop their good 

 qualities and they utterly fail to respond. 



Belmont proves unproductive here and ripens imevenly, 

 otherwise it would be a very desirable kind, as it possesses 

 size, quality and good looks. I shall retain it in place of Sharp- 

 less, another season, at least. Cumberland Triumph is a good- 

 enough family berry, but its capricious fruiting and liability to 

 blight renders it uncertain. Burt, sent out last year as likely 

 to supersede the Wilson, proves more healthy and desirable 

 than that old variety ever did with me. It remains healthy so 

 far, liut seems lacking in productiveness. The fruit is of fair 

 size, solid, and so acid that it makes an unusual demand upon 

 the sugar-bowl. Ohio looks and tastes so much like the Cham- 

 pion as to suggest the suspicion that it is the old variety re- 

 christened or reproduced. Louise, sent out last season, lias 

 thus far shown no quality that encourages a hope that it will 

 prove an acquisition on my soil. 



The most promising of the new varieties I have yet tried is 

 the Bubach. The berries are large, bright, smooth and hand- 

 some. It appears to be both vigorous and productive — two 

 desirable features in a Strawberry — and the c;[uality is fair to 

 good. 



If quantity and vigor alone were wanted I should name the 

 Crescent as a most satisfactory variety, but amateurs generally 

 want somethingalittle better. Strawberries, owingto their deli- 

 cate texture, ought to be grown very near the point of consump- 

 tion, and consumers who would secure the very finest flavor 

 should never buy a berry that has been carried far or picked 

 long. While our markets are supplied with stale fruit grown 

 hundreds of miles away, bruised by transportation, and so far 

 on the road to decay that it must be sold at once, it will be dif- 

 ficult for local-grown fruit to command prices that will afford 

 profit to the producer. Consumers have become so used to 

 low prices that two or three cents' advance for a fresh, superior 



country homes, bare shaded corners, too shady for grass to 

 grow, where these Wild Ferns would thrive and might be per- 

 manently established. One of the most desirable species is 

 the Ostrich Fern {Onoclea Strntkiopteris). The plant varies 

 much in size, according to location. The finest specimens 

 we have seen were growing in the bottom of a cool, half- 

 shaded ravine. The fronds were fully live feet in length l)y 

 ten inches wide, and of a beautiful light-green color. It is an 

 easy plant to grow in either sun or shade if in moist soil, and it 

 may be planted in spring or autmnn. Another valuable Fern 

 often found with the Ostrich Fern, but a rarer kind, is 

 Aspidiuin Goldianiun. This beautiful Fern grows nearly as 

 tall as the former, with broader fronds, often a foot or more 

 in width and of a darker green color. It is usually found in the 

 shade and likes a moist, sandy or gravelly soil. 



The Cinnamon Fern l^Osmunda cinnamoinea) and Osmunda 

 Claytoniana are both valuable species, with large, broad fronds, 

 often over live feet high. They are not difficult to grow in 

 moist soil and will' thrive in either shade or sun. 



The Royal or Flowering Fern ((9. regalis) is the prettiest of 

 the three with finer, and more divided foliage, quite distinct 

 from the others in its general appearance. Its height is from 

 two to four feet. We have in Vermont a finer form with 

 narrower foliage which English dealers sell as O. gracilis. 



Phcgopteris hcxagonoptera, one of the Beech Ferns, is a 

 small plant six to ten inches high, with triangular fronds of a 

 light-green color. It is an easy Fern, to grow in half-shaded 

 corners. Pliegoptcris polypodioides is somewhat like the 

 preceding, with smaller and darker fronds and grows in dense 

 tufts. It is readily established in moist, shady ground. P. 

 Dryopteris the most common of the Beech Ferns, is a delicate 

 little plant seldom over six inches high with triangular fronds 

 four to six inches wide. It does best in peaty soil along the 

 boarders of swamps, but it can be grown in any moist and 

 shady corner. 



Woodsia Ilvensis is a little low Fern growing in tufts seldom 

 more than six inches high. The fronds are chaffy and hardly 

 an inch wide. It is generally found on exposed rocks, but may 

 be grown in moist, shaded soil. It is a valuable Fern for the 

 rockery. 



