688 



BUDS, BLOSSOMS, FRUHS. 



as the ordinary Melia Azedarach, they are so well fixed 

 a variety as to come invariably true from seed. The fine 

 foliage and handsome, sweet flowers make this variety 

 well worthy of conservatory culture in the north. I 

 have known the ordinary form of the China-tree to stand 

 a zero temperature. — W. F. Massey. 



Simple Insect-Catcher. — (Page 607.) The drawing 

 annexed should have appeared in last month's issue in 



connection with the notes from the editor's grounds. The 

 merit of this device is that it is easily made from a waste 

 newspaper, and held under trees and shrubs when gath- 

 ering caterpillars from webs or colonies. When the in- 

 sects are gathered the holder can be folded in from the 

 end, and the insects destroyed by treading on them. 



Tea-Culture in the Carolinas. — (Page 196 ) Not- 

 ing what Mr. Saunders says in regard to tea-culture in 

 the Carolinas, and his intimation that our rainfall is de- 

 ficient, I would ask if 55 to 60 inches of rainfall in this 

 latitude is not as efficient as 90 on the equator. The fact 

 is annually becoming more evident that tea of extra-fine 

 quality and m paying quantity can and is being grown 

 in the Carolinas. Furthermore, the negro laborers of 

 the south, trained in the cotton-fields, make better tea- 

 pickers than the coolies of India. They receive more 

 for their labor than do the coolies, but they work harder 

 and lose less time. If Dr. Shepherd, of South Carolina, 

 could be induced t,.) give the readers of American Gar- 

 dening his experience in tea-manufacture this season, 

 his notes would be of great interest to many readers. — 

 W. F. Massey, .^' C. 



Nesting-Sites. — (Page 421.) The similarity in the 

 nests of birds of the same species is not restricted to 

 form, material and manner of building, but extends, 

 within certain limits, to their location also, and though 

 they may be found in diflerent kinds of trees, the sur- 

 roundings are nearly always similar. Of course, some 

 individuals may violate general rules of position to a 

 greater or lesser extent, but most species of birds prefer 

 particular kinds of trees for nesting purposes. During 

 the last few years I have been noting bird's nests and the 

 trees in which they were built, and give below a sum- 

 mary of my notes : 



Mourniyig Dove {Ze>iaidura), 31 nests; 8 in live- 

 oak, 8 in hack-berry, 6 in peach, 5 in mesquite, 3 in 

 post-oak trees, and one on the top of a rail fence. 



Scissor-tailed Fly-catcher ( AIUvulus ), 35 nests ; 27 

 in hack-berry, 3 in live-oak, 2 in plum, i in peach, i in 

 willow, and one on a beam in the grand stand at the base- 

 ball grounds. 



Orchard-Oriole (Icterus), 34 nests ; 16 in hack-berry, 

 14 in mesquite, 3 in live-oak, and one in plum. 



Bronzed Crackle (Qiiiscalus), 36 nests; 18 in post- 

 oak, 8 in elm, 7 in willow, and 3 in live-oak. 



Western-lark Sparro-M [Chondestes), 23 nests; 6 

 in hack-berry, 5 in chaparral (Berberis trifoliata), 3 in 

 cedar, 2 in scrub-oak, 2 in elm, and 3 on the ground. 



Cardinal {Cardinalis ), 20 nests ; 5 in elm, 5 in mes- 

 quite, 4 in post-oak, 3 in cedar, and 3 in stretchberry 

 vines. 



Painted Bunting (Passerina), 23 nests ; 12 in me- 

 squite, 6 in hack-berry. 3 in scrub-oak, and 2 in post-oak. 



Bell's Vireo, 34 nests; 24 in mesquite, 6 in hack-berry, 

 2 in elm, i in weeping-willow and i fastened to the up- 

 right stem in a dense cluster of blood-weed. This nest 

 contained one egg, and was deserted. 



Mocking-Bird [iMimus), 29 nests; 5 in elm, 4 in live- 

 oak, 3 in mesquite, 3 in hack-berry, 3 in chaparral, 3 in 

 yucca, 2 in cedar, 2 in gum, i in the corner of a rail 

 fence, and one in a cactus (opuntia). 



In all but one species the nests, with the exception of 

 one or two unusual instances, had nearly the same type 

 of surroundings. This single exception, the mocking- 

 bird, shows more individuality in its choice of nesting- 

 sites than any other bird I know, — J. H. Tallichet. 



The Strawberry Aftermath. — (Page 540 ) My 

 strawbery notes for 1892 are not so full as usual, for my 

 gardens were not in the usual good order, owing to a 

 necessity for plowing out old beds a year sooner than I 

 intended. I still hold to Mrs. Cleveland as one of the 

 best of the later sorts ; it ought not to drop out of sight. 

 We have had a rush of new sorts crowding each other 

 out before any are fairly tested. Pearl is another berry 

 that should be retained. This and Mrs. Cleveland are 

 as fine in foliage as in fruit ; both are finely colored ber- 

 ries, and of good flavor. We certainly have been hasty 

 in letting Lida drop off our lists of prime sorts. The 

 berry is very large, of excellent flavor, and a heavy crop- 

 per. Parker Earle is, with me, the only sort that has 

 rusted. I cannot give up Bubach and Haverland yet. 

 The former rarely fails to meet all the requirements of a 

 good berry. Haverland in wet seasons is soft and flavor- 

 less, but it has some wonderfully good points. Of the 

 very old sorts I keep only two, Sharpless and Cumber- 

 land. These I expect to cultivate for many another 

 year. Cumberland never fails to do the fair thing by us. 

 It is handsome, good and large. For a home berry it is 

 as good a sort as we have. Of new strawberries that 

 have not yet fruited. Standard makes only moderate 

 growth, Barton fine. Leader moderate, Beverly fine, 

 Gillespie fine. I believe all of these are worth planting. 

 Yale is not a wonderful berry in any respect, but I have 

 quite a liking for it. Gypsy I retain for its superb 

 quality ; it is only of moderate size. Crawford I keep 

 because it is above the average in quality and generally 

 large. The main point we need to notein strawberry- 

 culture is that it is uniformly successful only when we 

 prepare for irrigation during drouths. — E. P. Powell, 

 N. Y. 



