i86 



CURRENT GARDEN LORE. 



easy access to the dwelling ; also many of the later fall 

 and winter varieties. All together give notable reward 

 in a financial way ; as farm-ornamentation they are 

 unique and cheerful, and they afford to the passer-by the 

 opportunity to test the eating-qualities of fruit so con- 

 veniently near. — Irving D. Cook,i7iNe2v York Tribune. 



The Conference Pear.— This variety is a seedling 

 submitted to the committee of the National Pear Confer- 

 ence in 1885. Fruit large and pyriform ; skin bright 

 yellow for about one inch below the stalk, beyond which 

 it is yellow covered with bright russet ; stalk one inch 

 long, inserted without depression ; eye open ; sepals 

 erect, placed in a shallow basin ; flesh salmon-colored, 

 by which the pear may be readily distinguished. Rich, 

 melting, very juicy and buttery. This is a dessert pear 

 of first-rate quality, equally vigorous on the pear or 

 quince-stocks ; on the pear-stock it begins to bear fruit 



The Confere.nce Pear — A New English Variety, 

 three years from the graft, and is therefore well-adapted 

 for orchard and garden culture. It is a vigorous grower 

 and an abundant and regular bearer, and likely to take 

 rank as a standard pear in England. — Gardeners' Chron. 



Peat-Sifter. — This sifting-machine is shaped like a 

 drum, with ends made of wood. Three iron bars con- 



nect these ends, while the 



outer circumference is com- 

 ! V; --^^ posed of fine wire netting, 



an aperture of the same ma- 

 terial being provided to open 

 and shut like a door for fill- 

 ing and extracting. The 

 peat placed inside is tossed 

 about in a ruthless fashion 

 by driving a handle much 

 the same as driving a revolv- 



pE.\l-bIl-TEK. . , ^ . . 



ing churn. It is ingenious 

 and useful, and at the same time is simplicity itself. — 

 Gardening World. 



Market-Gardening near Boston. — There has been 

 a marked tendency of late for people to buy up the old 

 farms in the vicinity of Boston and carry on market- 

 gardening extensively. People who want to farm find 

 that they can do it as well near Boston as in the west, 

 besides getting all the benefits of living in the east. 

 Since the collapse of the endowment orders there has 

 been a healthier feeling in regard to investments, and 

 many people are desirous of securing country homes for 

 themselves. This accounts for the fact that the sale of 

 farms has not been this season so dull as other depart- 

 ments of the real-estate \x^A&.— Boston Transcript. 



A New Turf-Cutter. — Where large breadths of turf 

 require to be cut it has hitherto been a tedious process, 

 and it is also difficult to cut the turfs to an equal'depth, 

 and perfectly square. The cutting part of this machine 

 is a round steel disc, with 

 a socket for inserting into 

 the handle ; this disc is 

 made to shift by a screw 

 to cut any depth from 

 one to three inches. The 

 guiding-wheels are at- 

 tached to the casting at 

 a convenient distance on 

 either side of the disc, 

 and when it is cutting, 

 these wheels keep the 

 disc in proper cutting 

 condition. The main 

 casting is so constructed 

 as to give the required 

 weight needed for mak- 

 ing the disc cut the grass 

 freely. In cutting a turf 

 a line is laid down from 

 end to end, the disc in- 1 1, 

 serted on the line, and 

 the machine moves along 

 quite freely. The sides of the turf are cut perfectly 

 square and at an equal depth, which insures perfect ac- 

 curacy, say for a tennis-green. The machine can be 

 worked easily at a walking pace. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



A New Turf-Cutter. 



