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FRUIT NOTES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. 



leaves uncurl and hang down like branches, and others, 

 curled quite as tightly, take their places. This the plant 

 keeps up until, with a dozen or more great leaves spread 

 out, it begins to look quite tree-like. But the trunk is 

 not hard wood like the oak or pine ; it is nothing but 

 leaf-stems, so sheathed and folded and hardened to- 

 gether as to sustain the great weight above. 



At the end of nine months a deep purple bud appears 

 in the center of the leaves. As it lengthens and droops 

 downward, it looks like a great purple heart. When 

 this opens, it shows within a number of rings of bright 

 little buds arranged around the stem, and by and by 

 each little bud bursts into a yellow blossom. Gradually 

 the fruit develops, from the cluster of tiny green pods 

 to the bunch frequently weighing one hundred pounds. 



After bearing fruit the old plant dies, and from the 

 new shoots which spring up from its roots, young plants 

 are started. 



At Trinidad, in the West Indies, bananas are dried 

 and shipped in large quantities. 



The variety which yields the best result in drying is 

 the " Gros Michel." There is every reason to believe 

 that dried bananas will soon be an important item in 

 the trade of the West Indies. This article can be con- 

 veyed to market from remote districts over bad roads 

 without injury, and the risks of handling and sea voy- 

 ages are small. 



The banana is one of the most productive of fruits. 

 Its yield is estimated at 44 times that of the potato, or 

 131 times that of wheat. 



There are almost as many kinds of bananas as there 

 are of apples ; big ones, a foot long ; thick ones, almost 

 like small muskmelons ; and little "fig" bananas that 

 are the best in quality. 



For cooking, bananas are taken while yet green, and 

 may be fried, roasted, baked, or broiled. If taken 

 when fully ripe, they are too soft and sweet for cooking. 

 In whatever way they may be cooked, be sure and serve 

 them hot, for as soon as they begin to coolt hey become 

 tough. A common sight along the Amazon river is the 

 camp-fire surrounded by groups of half-clad natives 

 roasting bananas among the embers ; this is really the 

 most delightful way in which to cook them. 



North Carolina. L. Greenlee. 



A SPECIAL USE FOR THE BUFFUM PEAR. 



I wish everyone could know how very fine the Buffum 

 pear tree is for special planting. It is not valuable as 

 an orchard pear to compete with such varieties as 

 Sheldon, Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc, but it has two pecu- 

 liar qualities : (i) it is nearly as upright and spire- 

 like in growth as an erect arbor-vitae, or an erect juni- 

 per ; (2) it takes on in October incomparably the finest 

 shade of purplish-crimson that is ever seen on the 

 lawns or in the orchards. It is, therefore, almost in- 

 valuable as an upright-growing tree, to be interspersed 

 among spreading trees, or to form a small group. It 

 serves equally well as an avenue tree to border a drive. 

 T'he trees can be set ten feet apart, and then will only 



touch each other when well grown. The pear also is 

 fairly good, and admirable for pickling. It bears 

 enormously and annually. But the chief glory of 

 the Buffum is its autumn coloring. I wish all lovers 

 of fine color would plant a few of these trees. 



Oneida, Co., N. Y. E. P. Powell. 



TRICKS OF THE TRADE. 



Some years ago I purchased a dozen Early Harvest 

 blackberry plants. When the bushes had attained bear- 

 ing age, the thermometer one winter went down to seven 

 below zero, and in the spring the bushes appeared to be 

 killed to the ground and were thus reported to the 

 nurseryman. But afterwards some of them put forth 

 leaves and buds, and something of a crop was secured. 

 In a fit of remorse I sent another note to the nursery- 

 man, stating the more favorable facts. Much to my 

 surprise, my last note appears in his last two catalogues. 

 The variety is not one which pleases me, but how many 

 people have been induced to buy it through my agency 

 would be hard to tell. My note was put to a use for 

 which it was not intended, and I take the present oppor- 

 tunity to put the matter in its proper light. 



On another occasion I ordered 2,000 Wilson straw- 

 berry plants, as my neighbors wanted that variety for 

 canning. I had plenty of others for them, but none 

 would suit but Wilson. Moreover, I had been told 

 that the Triomphe de Gand would always do its best 

 when fertilized by the Wilson, and I wished to try the 

 experiment. After I had waited two weeks the plants 

 came, in poor condition. Having heeled them in pre- 

 paratory to planting, I found a label showing that 1 had 

 2,000 Crescents. I had already discarded that variety for 

 several reasons. Thus my plan for supplying berries for 

 canning was frustrated. I stated my objections to the 

 nurseryman, but there was no redress. The plants had 

 been paid for and they are rotting where they were heeled 

 in, as I preferred to get Wilson elsewhere rather than ta 

 use the Crescent. Of course the nurseryman has pro- 

 tected himself against all claims by the " substitution " 

 clause in his catalogue, which reads ; " It is our custom 

 should the supply of a variety be exhausted (which will 

 occasionally occur in all nurseries) to substitute in its 

 stead a sort of the same season of ripening, and similar 

 in other respects, or to give the value of another grade 

 of the variety named. When it is desired that we 

 should not do this, it should be stated in the order." 



Having lost, we will say, $5, by the adverse working 

 of this rule, I am naturally tempted to object to it, which 

 I do, most emphatically. 



I think this rule of substitution is merely a trap to 

 catch the unwary. Among these thousands of cus- 

 tomers, one-half are not looking out for traps, and in the 

 hurry of planting-time most likely forget the "substi- 

 tution clause." In these and many other respects the 

 ways of the nursery trade need mending, and I hope 

 my suggestions may do their part toward hastening the 

 remedy. 



Ontario, Canada. W. J. Seymour. 



