HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 220 



growth, indeed the latter is little inferior to the Black Hamburgh, 

 from which it is said to have originated. I have also the B. Ham- 

 burgh out of doors some seasons ; I gather tolerable fruit, but in 

 general it is rendered useless by mildew. So far the present sea- 

 son they are perfectly clean. Herbemont's Cluster is a good fruit, 

 regular and abundant bearer. The Catawba seems very suscepti- 

 ble of cold and wet while setting its fruit, and in some seasons the 

 bunches are rather thin. Altogether it seems less robust in its con- 

 stitution than the Isabella, On this account the northern growers 

 prefer the latter, while in the south the Catawba is more generally 

 planted. 



Strawberries. — In preparing the soil for these I am particularly 

 careful in having it well broken up to a depth of 18 inches, putting 

 plenty of manure on it, and also digging in a heavy dressing an- 

 nually in the fall; my object being to produce superior fruit rather 

 than a large number, I generally thin them out after the fruit is 

 set, taking care to leave fruit of all ages, in order to keep them 

 ripening in succession; by this means every berry is a specimen. I 

 have tried various systems of management with regard to winter 

 aad summer covering, and prefer short grass or cut straw for this 

 purpose. From the high encomiums given to tan bark I was in- 

 duced to make trials of it, I think it has a bad effect on the soil, 

 and no particular good effect on the fruit, Hovey's seedling is my 

 standard bearer, although there are many others of great merit. 

 Black Prince makes a beautiful variety on the fruit table on ac- 

 count of its colour, but the flavor is simple and watery. Ross' 

 Phoenix, Keen's Seedling and British Queen, give very superior 

 flavored fruit, although not so very prolific. It seems to me that 

 amateurs will prefer these sorts before those whose only recom- 

 mendation is a numerous crop. McAvoy's Superior has done very 

 well, 1 have not been able to discover its superiority, although it is 

 far from an inferior fruit. With regard to the result of mixing the 

 sexes I have nothing difinite to note. As I have already remarked 

 the soil is made very rich, and although I always have both pistill- 

 ate and staminate varieties in my grounds, no car© is taken to mix 



