176 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 216. 



Fameuse and other Canadian Apples. 



THE article which follows was prepared for Garden 

 AND Forest by the late Dr. T. Sterry Hunt a few days 

 before his death, and it has been sent to us by his friend, 

 Mr. George lies : 



Apples, we learn from antiquarian examination, were used 

 for food by the prehistoric dwellers in the lake habitations of 

 Switzerland. Early records of western civilization give con- 

 stant testimony of the value attached to that precious fruit. 

 The influence of soil and climate on the quality of the grape 

 has been very thoroughly investigated, and we have every 

 reason to believe that similar conditions are not less important 

 factors in the cultivation of the Apple, although the subject has 

 scarcely received the attention which it merits from pomolo- 

 gisfs. For illustration of this we might mention an apple in 

 the St. Lawrence valley, known as the Fameuse, which is 

 greatly prized for its texture and flavor, and commands a high 

 price for exportation. It is worthy of notice that this apple at- 

 tains its perfection only in certain soils which come from the 

 slopes of the small hills in the St. Lawrence valley. Mount 

 Royal, St. Hilaire and Rigaud. It is in well-drained soils de- 

 rived from the crumbling volcanic rocks that the Fameuse 

 thrives best. Fruit of this same variety grown on the clay soil 

 of the valleys near by is readily distinguished, alike in flavor 

 and color, Irom that grown on the more favored soils. 



Disregard of the needful conditions has led to many disap- 

 pointments in the planting of orchards in this region. It is 

 worthy of notice that the Fameuse trees are not quite hardy, 

 and a certain portion of them are destroyed by frost before they 

 attain the age of bearing. A seedling of the Fameuse grown 

 in the upper Mississippi valley, where it has been named the 

 Wealthy, resists the extreme cold of that region and of the Ot- 

 tawa valley, but this hardiness has been attained at the expense 

 of the flavor of the apple, which in the Fameuse is very deli- 

 cate. It may be well here to mention some varieties of Cana- 

 dian apples which have not received the attention they merit : 



The St. Lawrence is an apple of rare quality and texture, 

 which was a chance seedling in Montreal — the original tree 

 still stands in Montreal, though mutilated, to make room for 

 building purposes. The Russian Alexander, which is much 

 finer in quality than either of the two Canadian varieties of the 

 Alexander, is also becoming somewhat rare. The Golden 

 Russet and Pomme Grise aresmall, but of unrivaled flavorand 

 careful of preservation till the month of June. The Bourassa, 

 a large reddish russet of extreme beauty and rare quality, 

 originated in the vicinity of Montreal, but is, we fear, lost sight 

 of. All these apples are worthy of careful attention by po- 

 mologists. 



An interesting fact in relation to the Rhode Island Greening 

 is worth noting. This apple, which, in my boyhood, was a 

 great favorite in eastern New England, seems in late years to 

 have fallen into comparative neglect there, and in some dis- 

 tricts its cultivation has been abandoned. I was therefore 

 pleased to find it a few years since in the irrigated soils in 

 the vicinity of Salt Lake, Utah, where this fine apple seems to 

 have recovered the flavor and the texture which made it 

 originally such a favorite in the east. 



Violets. 



■pASHION can never interfere with the popularity of the 

 ■'- Violet. Since the introduction of the Parma and Marie 

 Louise forms of the Neapolitan, the type is grown much less 

 than it once was. Though, on the whole, inferior, both from 

 a decorative and commercial point of view, to the newer va- 

 rieties, it nevertheless has a conspicuous and in some ways 

 superior merit. From my acquaintance I should say it was 

 not quite so early as the others, but is more floriferous and 

 is less liable to disease, and in this way makes up for lack of 

 size and color. Some attempt was recently made to intro- 

 duce the Parma, so extensively grown for the Paris market, as 

 a rival to the Marie Louise, the general favorite of England 

 and America, but so far without success. The French va- 

 riety bears abundant lavender-blue flowers, without any trace 

 of purple, and has not the white markings at the base of the 

 centre florets, which, it is contended, is against the Marie 

 Louise. The fact that the latter is not a perfectly double 

 flower, but often comes with a flat, malformed centre, is, I 

 think, an objection of greater weight. The Parma has, more- 

 over, proved more susceptible to both the leaf and root dis- 

 ease than any other variety. Lady Campbell, a blue form of 

 the Neapolitan imported last season, promised, judging from 

 half a dozen plants here, to be a decided acquisition. The 



flowers are superior in form to any of this section. The petals 

 are long, and the flower is quite double to the centre. It is 

 recommended as being a continuous and heavy bloomer^ 

 which seems probable. Comte de Brazza, the white Neapol- 

 itan, a handsome double-flowered variety of goodconstitution^ 

 has not won popular favor. It is nevertheless worn by a few 

 ladies, and highly prized by them for evening dress. 



After close comparison between the Russian Violets and the 

 typical V. odorata, I have failed to find any considerable struc- 

 tural difference. Certainly the Giant Czar, the most distinct 

 form of the Russian class, does not differ more from tlie type 

 than does the Neapolitan ; and some of the smaller Russian,, 

 such as London and Rawson's White, have a very close resem- 

 blance. The Giant Czar and its deeper-colored forms, Wells- 

 iana and Lee's Victoria, are the best of all the single varieties. 

 They force remarkably well, and as many as three crops have 

 been taken out of one house during one season. This neces- 

 sitates a large stock of plants, which, however, is easy in the 

 case of this variety, as it multiplies rapidly. The plan requires 

 a low, well-lighted house, kept at about fifty-frve degrees, 

 Fahrenheit, night temperature. A batch can be forced into 

 bloom and cleared out in six weeks, ready for another crop. 



There is a variety of V. odorata growing wild in the south- 

 ern states, particularly in Florida, which is said to have been 

 imported from England. It is probably somewhat changed 

 through acclimatization. The southern variety under cultiva- 

 tion here blooms very early, being at its best during the last 

 three months of the year. Mrs. J. L. Gardiner, of Brookline, 

 Massachusetts, found a form of this southern variety near St. 

 Augustine, Florida, which has been called the St. Augustine, 

 and it well deserves a distinctive title. It is evidently very free 

 from fertile flowers, and blooms profusely the whole winter. The 

 flowers are not large, but abundant and very sweet. The 

 Schonbrun is another variety of V. odorata, which has been 

 confounded with the southern one. It is quite hardy here,, 

 and after the first few briglit days in spring is a perfect sheet 

 of bloom. 



There is much diversity of opinion as to the best method of 

 outdoor cultivation for violets. To my knowledge, good Vio- 

 lets have been grown between Raspberries, under Pear-trees, 

 in light soil, clayey soil, with and without manure, and in full 

 sun. My experience has shown that they luxuriate in rich soil,, 

 plenty of moisture and full exposure. Some growers take 

 their stock plants in winter, try rooting the runners, which is 

 a good plan when there is danger of disease, but generally 

 old plants are divided into two or three crowns. Until last 

 year I had kept all runners clear off during summer, but I 

 found where a few had been left, when transplanted into the- 

 flowering-bed, 'along with the old plant, they bloomed well, 

 and will make very good plants for outdoors this season. 



A multitude of remedies has been suggested for the Violet 

 disease, but few have stood the test of time. There is no doubt 

 that copper sulphates will stay the disease, but even if the 

 plants recover it is not probable that they will yield many 

 flowers. My Violets certainly were healthy last autumn and 

 have remained so, and bloomed well all the winter. When 

 fairly established, I dusted them with a mixture of black 

 sulphur and guano, which was watered in. I also have given 

 them two waterings with manure-drainings ; whether or not 

 this has acted as a preventive of the disease I cannot say ;, it cer- 

 tainly has increased the vigor and healthfulness of the plants. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



The Spring Garden. 



"IVrOTHING in nature is more impressive than the annual 

 -'■^ change from winter to spring. This phenomenon, as 

 old as the world, one never ceases to witness with inter- 

 est, or to wonder that one clear perfect day of winter should 

 insensibly change in a few hours into an equally perfect day 

 of balmy spring. The atmosphere seems no clearer, the sun 

 shines no more brightly, yet some subtle change has come to 

 earth and air which we at once recognize but cannot de- 

 scribe. If one were otherwise insensible to the change, the 

 myriad small denizens of the fields and woods would by their 

 various shrill noises make the fact quickly known. A few 

 hours, also, will show a great awakening of vegetation, and 

 sometimes, as in the present season, the change is almost as 

 sudden as the revolution from rest to flower, which we read 

 of in the Arctic zone. The first of the present month brought 

 the spring change, which passed as rapidly into an unseason- 

 able summer temperature. This is always somewhat unfor- 

 tunate from a gardener's point of view. The small early 

 flowers suffer from the great heat and rapidly decline, while 

 the Narcissi, which have been quietly making growth, come 



