October 28, 1891.] 



Garden and forest. 



513 



handsome grasses are indispensable. The variety Zebrina, 

 probably the handsomest of all, was once considered doubt- 

 fully hardy, but here it stands the winter well, without any pro- 

 tection beyond its own dead leaves, which are burned to the 

 ground in early spring. One of the most effective beds in the 

 English garden at the place of Mr. H. H. Hunnewell is made 

 up of tall-foliaged plants, in which this Eulalia forms part of 

 the group, and it is especially effective in lighting up heavy- 

 foliaged Cannas, Caladiums, and similar plants. The newer 

 E. univittata, though not quite so rank a grower as the pre- 

 ceding, is a valuable addition to a not over-large selection of 

 tall grasses. It is quite distinct, and particularly graceful as a 

 lawn specimen. These Eulalias bear handsome plumes late 

 in the autumn, for which alone these plants are cultivated in 

 some parts of the country. 



Shrubby Calceolarias. — Though very seldom grown now, as 

 they have been displaced by the showy large-flowered herba- 

 ceous varieties, these are, nevertheless, worth a place where 

 handsome pot-plants are required during the early spring 

 months. Though the flowers are smaller, they make up in 

 the quantity produced. They will endure rough treatment, 

 and our plants are shipped to the city during winter, a distance 

 of fifteen miles. Cuttings are struck during the summer, 

 which usually require about two months for the process. 

 These are gradually shifted into eight or ten-inch pots, where 

 they bloom. The flowers vary in color between yellow, red 

 and crimson. Many years ago these were common bedding- 

 plants, but now they are seldom used. 



Wellesley, Mass. T, . D. Hatfield. 



Correspondence. 

 A New Way to Preserve Fruit. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir,— In the progress of my experiments in applying heat to 

 the conversion of food-material into nutritious food by the use 

 of the Aladdin oven I have perhaps discovered a new method 

 of dealing with fruit which may be applied even without the 

 oven, although it can more safely and completely be applied 

 in the oven, for the reason that we have in the oven and lamp 

 combined complete control over the heat. After a little expe- 

 rience in the adjustment of the flame of the lamp and of the 

 size of the oven, we may put the heat at not exceeding 200 de- 

 grees, Fahrenheit, and maintain it at that point for any length 

 of time. It is due to this complete control, without attention 

 for a number of hours, that we have been able to do the work 

 which I will now describe : 



On the afternoon of the 3d of July a large quantity of cur- 

 rants were stemmed and placed in glass jars of the type known 

 as the Mason butter-jars, a jar which holds about a quart, with 

 a very wide mouth, surmounted by a glass cover resting on a 

 rubber ring, and held down by an outer metallic rim which is 

 screwed upon the lip of the jar. After filling the jar with cur- 

 rants the interstices were then filled up with cold water. Eight 

 jars each were then put into two pans which fitted closely in 

 the inner oven, one above the other. These pans were then 

 one-half filled with cold water. The glass cover was placed 

 loosely upon the jars without the rubber rings. The two jars 

 were placed in the oven in the evening, the oven closed, a 

 lamp of moderate power lighted at nine P. M., which gave, ac- 

 cording to a registering thermometer, a heat of 200 degrees, 

 Fahrenheit, a simmering, and not a boiling, heat, which has 

 proved to be sufficient to kill any ferment or spores that might 

 have been in the fruit, in the water or in the air. 



There was a slight expansion during the night, with a little 

 overflow from the jars into the pan. The pans were then taken 

 out separately in the morning, and while everything was still 

 hot, and had to be handled with gloves, the covers were quickly 

 removed, the rubber rings put on, and then the metallic ring 

 was screwed down. Everything was then left to cool slowly. 

 The process took but a very few minutes. 



These currants are now perfectly sound after passing through 

 the dog-days in the store-closet ; they have shrunk a little, but 

 evidently no spores have got in, even though the jars are not 

 completely full. When opened they have a finer flavor and as 

 much freshness as if they had been cooked right from the 

 bushes. 



On the same day we put up a few strawberries with a little 

 sugar, which kept well, but were so good that they have long 

 since been consumed. I also put up a considerable quantity 

 of cherries with a little sugar, and a few days later a large lot 

 of blueberries and gooseberries. Later we have put up peaches 

 with a little sugar, and tomatoes in their own juice. 



In only one or two instances in eight dozen jars has there 



been any appearance even of mold. In one jar of cherries a 

 little spot of mold appeared upon the surface, but there had 

 been no fermentation ; the contents were perfectly sound. 



I was led to these experiments by the success of one of my 

 correspondents in making jellies and jams in practically the 

 same way. The fruit was simmered all night with a little 

 sugar, strained in the morning and put up in the jelly jars with- 

 out any further work being done on it, thus saving the stirring 

 and the discomfort of doing the work over a hot stove. 



We have since then put up a large amount of grape jelly 

 and Beach-plum jelly in the same way in my own household. 

 This process saves a great deal of work, a great deal of time 

 and a great deal of discomfort. By not subjecting the fruit to 

 a high degree of heat the natural flavors are not only retained 

 but even developed to a higher degree than common. 



I can conceive that this work may be done in other appara- 

 tus than the Aladdin oven, but it may require a little more 

 attention in the process, as there does not seem to be any 

 other cooking apparatus in which the heat can be brought to 

 a given point and there maintained for a long period without 

 close attention. 



Two of these ovens have been made especially for surgeons, 

 set at three hundred degrees, Fahrenheit, for the purpose of 

 sterilizing surgical instruments, bandages, etc., for which pur- 

 pose they serve with complete success. 



It is possible that this method of dealing with fruit may 

 enable us to secure from tropical countries some of those 

 fruits, in nearly their natural conditions, which, in their ripe 

 condition, will not bear transportation and cannot be preserved 

 in the ordinary way with sugar. A correspondent in Porto 

 Rico is about to try some experiments in this line. I can con- 

 ceive that absolutely ripe pine-apples, served in this way, might 

 give us a taste of the pine that we do not ordinarily secure in 

 the specimens that we receive from the tropics. 



Eoston. Edward Atkinson. 



The Southern Interstate Exposition. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — This exposition, now in progress at Raleigh, North 

 Carolina, has some features of special interest to stu- 

 dents of Horticulture and Forestry. From a number of 

 states the exhibits of woods are good, North Carolina natu- 

 rally leading in this respect. Some enormous sections of tree- 

 trunks from the western mountains well illustrate the great 

 wealth of that region in hard woods, while many articles of 

 furniture show the beauty of the Maples, Walnuts, Ashes, 

 Sycamores, Cherry and other woods. Among the exhibits 

 from Florida are many products characteristic of that state. 

 Among these a large number of pine-apples, fruited in pots, 

 attract attention. In the North Carolina Agricultural Depart- 

 ment there are shown two products illustrating the wide range 

 of climate in the state. Two Palmetto-trees from Columbus 

 County guard the entrance, and between them stands a Balsam 

 Fir, from one of the high peaks of the west. The Palmettos 

 were, unfortunately, simply cut down with an axe, instead of 

 being dug up entire. They are, however, held in an upright 

 position, and show trunks about eight feet high and a foot in 

 diameter, while the beautiful crowns of leaves on their long 

 stalks make the full height over eighteen feet. One who 

 knows the slow growth of these trees cannot help regretting 

 their destruction for a paltry five dollars each. The Florida 

 people could hardly believe that Palmettos grew to such size in 

 so high a northern latitude. Two of the North Carolina 

 counties exhibited alligator skulls larger than anything in the 

 Florida exhibit. 



Northern visitors are attracted by the size and beauty of the 

 apples from the western mountain country. The fact is 

 rapidly becoming recognized that western North Carolina is 

 peculiarly the apple region of the United States, and the 

 time is not far distant when the lands of that beautiful region 

 will be sought after by orchardists from other sections. The 

 Scuppernong grape and other varieties of the Rotundifolia 

 class are well represented at the exposition. Several new 

 seedlings are shown. The fact is curious that seedlings from 

 the Scuppernong, which is a russety green grape, are almost 

 invariably black in color. The two leading seedlings are the 

 James and the Alliance grapes. The James is a large black 

 grape, with a thinner skin than the old Scuppernong, and 

 rather sweeter. It makes larger clusters too, sometimes as 

 many as fifteen berries. The individual berries average over 

 an inch in diameter, many being over an inch and a half. One 

 gentleman reported three bushels from four-year-old vines. 

 Baskets of these grapes look like large Damson plums. The 

 Alliance is shown for the first time. It comes from Wayne 



