August 19, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest 



39 1 



tenderest among them (and said to be the best in quality), is only 

 a little discolored in its new wood by our worst winters. I 

 should call it as hardy as the Fameuse Apple. Lutovka, a 

 Polish Pear, said to closely resemble Flemish Beauty, is of 

 about the same hardiness. 



Bessemianka takes the lead of the whole list as a hardy 

 and vigorous tree. My oldest specimen, from Professor 

 Budd, is now over twenty feet high, and with three others, 

 which he sent me the next' year, is bearing some fruit, having 

 bloomed for two seasons 'before. Merely as an ornamental 

 tree the Bessemianka is well worth planting. Its remarkably 

 rapid upright growth, its large, thick, glossy leaves, apparently 

 impregnable both to insects and fungi, seem to indicate close 

 relationship to the Chinese Pears ; but Mr. Gibb thought the 

 fruit to be of the Bergamot type. We shall learn more on 

 those points hereafter. As this Pear (as its name, both in Rus- 

 sian and also in German, Samenlose, or Kernlose, indicates) 

 has rarely any perfect seeds, I have feared in regard to its 

 setting any fruit until other varieties bloom near it, though the 

 flowers seem perfect. We shall know more about this here- 

 after. Certainly it can set some fruit unaided. Its season is 

 from September to October. 



Lutovka is a Pear whose fruiting I await with much inter- 

 est. Though said to be like Flemish Beauty in fruit, it does 

 not resemble it in growth. It makes but. few branches, and 

 hardly needs any pruning, but still it makes a good annual 

 increase of woods. 



Sapienganka is a straggling, strong-growing tree, quite no- 

 ticeable for the bright red petioles of its leaves, which are so 

 distinct as to impart a character to the tree. It is probably the 

 tenderest of the Budd-Gibb importation, and is condemned for 

 the north-west as lacking hardiness, but I think it will do for 

 northern New England. It is said to be a native of Lithuania, 

 and to be generally planted there and in Poland. When well 

 started it grows nearly as fast as Bessemianka, but much more 

 slowly and unshapely in the nursery. It is said to be very pro- 

 ductive — the fruit in form like a Bergamot (that is, roundish 

 ovate), and might be mistaken for the Summer Bergamot. 

 The flesh is described as yellowish white, juicy, and finely 

 flavored, and it is said to be a good market pear. Season in 

 Poland, August and September. 



Tonkovietka. — This seems to be a very slow-growing va- 

 riety in the nursery and when at first transplanted, but after 

 getting under way it makes a good growth ; yet at eight 

 years old it is not half as high as Bessemianka. It is hard to 

 get a straight shoot from it when young. Mr. Gibbs speaks of 

 it (Eighth Report Montreal Horticultural Society, p. 53) as '* the 

 hardiest Pear I know which bears an edible fruit— hardier even 

 than Bessemianka." The name means "slender stalk." A 

 fairly good eating pear, but not equal to Bessemianka. 



Gakovskaya is a strong-growing, very hardy Pear, reported 

 by Professor Budd to be somewhat like our old Pound Pear, 

 and suited only for cooking. Season, October. 



Besides these, there are several Russian Bergamot Pears, 

 varying in season, that are hardy here, and grow well. 



Newport, Vt. T. H. Ho skills. 



Mistakes in Growing Strawberries. 



FOR a number of years my beds averaged over 200 bushels 

 of berries per acre. Many acres within the last ten years 

 have yielded not less than 10,000 boxes per acre. This year 

 the average yield has been about 6,000 boxes or quarts per 

 acre. An account of my mistakes may be worth more than 

 one of my success. 



In the spring of 1890 we set our plants for this season's crop. 

 After they had been set, early Peas, Beans, Onions, etc., were 

 planted between the rows. In this way a crop can be obtained 

 from the land the first season, and be out of the way by the 

 time the runners need it. Our plants between the rows yielded 

 well. The vines and refuse were taken off and added to the 

 compost-heap. But the weeds — how they did grow ! We 

 were driven with work until we hardly knew what to do first. 

 It seemed very difficult to get help, and I kept thinking that by 

 " to-morrow" we would be able to finish cleaning out the 

 Strawberry-beds, and so matters went on until something like 

 half an acre was overgrown with weeds. Finally, it actually 

 -cost me more to clear away the weeds when at last I did it, 

 than it would, had I done it before they had caused any dam- 

 age. I cannot tell just what that neglect has cost me ; but 

 Nature charged it up against me, and has taken full pay out of 

 the crop. It was certainly more than $100, and, I believe, it 

 was nearer $150. 



One more mistake: We are passing through the driest sea- 

 son I have known for thirty years. The Strawberry crop about 



here was almost an entire failure, except where it was carried 

 through by artificial watering, and we are almost the only 

 growers in the county who have facilities for so doing. The 

 drought commenced early in the spring, and I noticed that my 

 Strawberry-plants scarcely started even after the growing 

 weather had come. I knew that they were in need of water, 

 but kept thinking that rain would surely come within a day or 

 two, and then they would soon catch up. Rain did not come, 

 and after waiting too long I started the water-pipes upon them. 

 They were kept well watered from this time to the close of 

 the season, but they had been damaged in a way I had not an- 

 ticipated. They came out with as great an amount of bloom 

 as I had ever seen ; but the foliage to carry such a crop was 

 not there. The result was that the berries were not of their 

 usual size, neither did the late sets fill out as they should have 

 done. — J. M. Smith, in Rural New-Yorker. 



Rose Notes. 



HTHE large-flowered Roses, now so popular, are highly 

 -*■ ornamental, yet some of the smaller-flowered varieties 

 are equally useful in their way, and, for certain purposes, are 

 most appropriate. Among these Bon Silene continues to hold 

 high rank, and is still the most satisfactory small pink Rose 

 for in-door use, while Douglas, an old Rose of the Bengal 

 class, producing crimson buds of about the same size, is its 

 worthy companion. Both of these are among the sturdiest of 

 growers, and will give a succession of bloom through the 

 whole season, the flowers being much improved in substance 

 when grown cool. Duchesse de Brabant is also a good pink, 

 though, when growing strongly, the flowers are often pro- 

 duced, in clusters. These three Roses may be grown for 

 several years without replanting if they are placed in a. solid 

 bed, the Bon Silene, particularly, giving better flowers the 

 second season than the first. It. is also benefited by moder- 

 ately hard pruning. 



Young Roses of recent planting should now be growing away 

 freely in order to be in good condition for the winter, and 

 some care in watering is quite necessary during the muggy 

 days that often prevail in August, for the roots will not have 

 spread very far, as yet, in the new soil, and they are easily dis- 

 couraged by too much moisture at their new roots. Thorough 

 ventilation is essential, not only in the day, but also at night, 

 for long, sappy growth is generally undesirable. 



If space can be spared for such purpose, a strong plant of 

 Marechal Niel, trained on wires attached to the roof of the 

 greenhouse, may be made to produce large crops of flowers, 

 if its roots are under control so that the plant can be given a 

 season of rest. It seems almost a pity that this Rose is a 

 cropper in blooming, though its immense golden flowers are 

 of such beauty as to be well worth waiting for, even though 

 they have the disadvantage of having very weak stems. 



Another old Rose that is seldom seen of late years is 

 Caroline, a Tea Rose of very good form and fair size. It is light 

 pink in color, the buds being long and pointed, while in habit 

 it resembles Niphetos, and, like the latter, will give the best 

 satisfaction when grafted on Lamarque. 



Among the Hybrid Perpetuals for early spring-flowering in 

 pots, Eugenie Verdier should not be overlooked, its silvery 

 pink flowers being peculiarly attractive ; in fact, it is one of the 

 best of the Verdier type. 



Some discussion has been carried on among Rose-growers 

 as to the necessity or advisability of packing the soil tightly in 

 the benches in which Roses are planted, and the correct 

 method seems to depend upon the character of the soil. In 

 some localities the soil is more liable to become too hard than 

 too loose, and consequently it does not need very much press- 

 ure in planting, while in other instances it may be an improve- 

 ment to compact the soil by pressure with a brick or block of 

 wood after planting. 



The application of fertilizers to young Roses should be made 

 with caution, for if overdone the soil may become soured, to 

 the serious injury of the crop, but, as much depends on the 

 character of the soil used, the question of manuring must be 

 decided by the circumstances of the individual grower. 



Among the newer Roses we find still another Duchess that 

 is very highly recommended, namely, Duchess of Leeds, a 

 Hybrid Perpetual, described as "a highly colored La France," 

 but said to be quite distinct from Duchess of Albany. It is 

 claimed for this Rose, too, that it lasts well when cut ; but as 

 this new-comer has not yet been tested to any extent in this 

 country it is too soon to pass upon its merits. 



A new Tea, Mrs. James Wilson, is also well spoken of in 

 England. Its color is pale lemon-yellow, with rosy margins, 



