September 5, 188S. ] 



Garden and Forest. 



331 



well, notwithstanding- tlie tact that thev are quite dr\' and liave 

 few or no roots when sold. 



hi digging- up Ferns a stout trowel is good, a dull, stout, 

 broad-bladed knife is Ijetter, and best is a tool sold in London 

 shops, but easily made bv any n-ietal worker. It is a gouge- 

 shaped piece of steel riveted firmlv to a hard wood handle ; 

 the tool is eleven inches long and one and one-half inches 

 broad. It is invaluable in collecting wild plants, as it is strong 

 and narrow, so that it is easih- inserted into crevices ; it is 

 half knife, half trowel. A sharp spade and a hatchet or strong 

 knife are of value in collecting roots of some large Ferns. 

 Boston. Robert 7. Jackson. 



Earl\' Apples. 



A BOUT thirty years ago I purchased a nuniljerof trees of 

 -'*- the leading kinds of Apples in or(,ler to study their (piali- 

 ties and their adaptability to mv soil. 



dations. Although a tart fruit, and one which mav with pro- 

 priety be called a Sour Harvest Apple, it will not compare in 

 size or cpiality with the apple generally known b\' that name 

 in this state, which is the Primate. Tliis, in perfection, is un- 

 questionably the best earlv apple we have. Its season is in 

 July and August, and it lasts four or five weeks. Its defects are 

 e.\treme liability to insect attacks and its tendency to beconie 

 watery. Its crisp, tender tlesh and tine Havor, added to its 

 earliness, render it a great favorite in spite of the above objec- 

 tions. If there are locations where it is e.\empt from these 

 drawbacks it cannot fail to satisfv the most fastidious. It is 

 also an early and regular bearer. 



The Red June is a very handsome fruit, and the tree a fine, 

 erect grower, but the apple lacks the tender crispness of the 

 others, and is subject to the apple-scab, which sometimes 

 mars a great portion of its surface. This year, however, they 

 were finer and more beautiful than ever. The Duchess of 

 Oldenburg is a large, fine-looking fruit, a little later than anv of 





-Spii'it'a pubescens. — See page 330. 



An-iong the early kinds planted there were Red Astrachan, 

 Early Harvest, Early Joe, Summer Rose, Keswick's Codlin, 

 Duchess of Oldenburg, Carolina Red June, Primate and Saint 

 Lawrence. These trees are all alive to-day, and a failure to get 

 Apples every season from sonie of them has never occurred. 

 Of the above named, the Codlin is the least desirable, though a 

 prolific biennial bearer. The fruit is too acid and low in qualitv 

 either for dessert or for cooking. Astrachan is also quite sour, 

 but a far better Apple to eat than the Codlin — earlier, hand- 

 somer and Ijetter in everv wav. Its chief demerits are its 

 liability to rot early, and its haliit of growing in clusters, which 

 affords a fine nesting- place for the codling moth and other in- 

 sects. If they coidd be thinned till single Apples took the 

 place of clusters, it would no doubt obviate this difficultv to 

 a great e.xtent, and, perhaps, when spraying the trees with 

 arsenites becomes general, we shall have less to fear from 

 these insects. Early Harvest comes in at the same time, and 

 though less acid, is smaller, and not so liable to insect depre- 



the preceding, and though not so desirable as a dessert fruit, 

 is an admirable Apple to follow these for cooking purposes. 

 It generallv grows very smooth, much more so than .Astra- 

 chan, Codlin or Pi-imate. It ought to be a good n-iarket fruit, 

 owing to its fine size and attractive appearance. The Primate 

 is too tender in this respect, and needs to be handled more 

 carefully tlian eggs; the least pressure mars the delicate skin 

 anil injiu'es its appearance. 



The Saint Lawrence is in season at the same time as the Old- 

 enburg, and is a lietter Apple, being crisper, mikler and more 

 highly (favored. The Hesh is white and tender, often streaked 

 or veined with red. Its season is in August, just afti'r Sum- 

 nier Rose is ripe. It is an aljundant biennial bearer. The 

 only objection I have everf<)und against it is that it does not 

 last long enough. 



Early Joe proved to l)e Siunmer Rose, a small to medium 

 sized Apple of fine quality and handsome appearance, the 

 largest specimen reaching a diameter of two to two aiul a 



