FIRST F R b I TS 



627 



Moore's Early. It is as hardy as Concord, a vigorous 

 grower and very productive." Specimens were receiv- 

 ed on Sept. 4 in fair condition. Berries black, with 

 bloom, of medium size, round and clinging to the stem 

 well; bunches small to medium, not shouldered or but 

 slightly so ; skin about like Concord, a trifle firmer ; 

 pulp half tender with some acidity. It is not a grape 

 of high quality in comparison with other sorts. 



A New Plum. — I sent you samples of a plum, on Au, 

 gust ig, that originated with me about eight years ago. 

 They are pronounced by good judges here to be the most 

 magnificent plums they have ever seen. Truly they are 

 a sight to behold as they hang upon the tree — they are so 

 large and showy. Tree a strong, healthy grower, of good 

 shape and wonderful bearer. The plums are covered 

 with a very beautiful bloom. Please report in what 

 shape they reached you, and what you think of them. — 

 D. BuNDY, Colerain, Ohio. 



[These plums were large — nearly or quite two inches 

 in their longest diameter — with a firm skin and tender, 

 juicy flesh, of exquisite flavor. They arrived in excellent 

 condition, with their beautiful bloom still upon them. — 

 Ed.] 



Some Good Pears. — General William H. Noble, 

 Bridgeport, Conn, sends a box of handsome pears, 

 which are correctly named according to Downing. 

 Canandaigua was delicious in flavor and very juicy. 

 Amanalis is coarse fleshed, very juicy, not so buttery as 

 Bartlett and of lower quality in general. Dunmore is 

 a very juicy pear, with a tender white flesh, somewhat 

 spicy in flavor, perhaps not quite up to Bartlett in 

 general quality. Hericart has a perfumed juice, of 

 medium size, flesh white and fine grained, buttery but 

 not rich. The strongest point with all these pears is 

 their earliness. General Noble considers the Hericart 

 one of the finest of early pears in texture, keeping quali- 

 ties and delicate aroma, believing that no soft pear ex- 

 cels it. The confinement in a close package may have 

 injured the quality of the specimens received. 



Greenhouse Heating. — In this season of greenhouse 

 construction, the following letter from the well known 

 Herendeen Manufacturing Company, will be appreciat- 

 ed : "In our new book on heating by water and steam, 

 we advocate a different method of figuring greenhouses 

 than heretofore employed, namely, by exposure ; that is 

 counting in the entire exterior surface, glass, sides and 

 ends. The old method was simply the glass surface alone, 

 and was liable to error through varying differences in 

 construction and location of the sides and ends. We 

 also have prepared a table which is conservative, and 

 based on a large number of actual trials showing the 

 amount of square feet of pipe necessary to heat any 

 given number of square feet of exposure to a maximum 

 night temperature of 50 degrees, and also what will be 



necessary to heat the same amount of exposure to a 

 higher temperature of 60 degrees. This latter is the 

 highest temperature that florists commonly want. 



"In computing the total exposure of the greenhouse, 

 we add to the actual square feet of glass, one-third of 

 the square feet of the ends and exposed outside wall 

 surface, All this you will see worked out in the table 

 given on page 11. After finding the number of square 

 feet of piping that will be necessary to heat the house 

 to the given temperature, then it is a very easy thing to 

 transfer the square feet of pipe into lineal feet of what- 

 ever sized pipe may be chosen by referring to the table 

 shown on page 9 of the catalogue. 



"We have also given a resume of the different 

 methods of piping greenhouses for steam or hot-water, 

 and for hot-water both the old and the new way of 

 piping. As to the relative merits of the two systems of 

 heating, we find that many leading florists have varying 

 views, but at present the bulk of testimonials seems to 

 be in favor of hot-water piped in the new way, that is 

 with small pipes, as compared with the old fashioned 

 way of using large four-inch pipes." 



The Horticultural Department of the World's 

 Columbian Exposition, to be held in Chicago in 1893, 

 is expected to excel anything heretofore attempted. The 

 magnificent proportions and architectural beauty of the 

 buildings designed for this department are upon a scale 

 of unequaled grandeur, and will be located immediately 

 south of the entrance to Jackson Park in the main por- 

 tion of the World's Fair grounds. This building is 

 1,000 feet long, with an extreme width of 286 feet. The 

 plan is a central pavilion with two end pavilions, each 

 connected to the center pavilion by front and rear cur- 

 tains, forming two interior courts, each 88 by 270 feet. 

 These courts are beautifully decorated in color, and 

 planted with ornamental shrubs and flowers. The main 

 feature, or central pavilion, is roofed by a crystal dome 

 iSyfeet in diameter and 113 feet in height, under which 

 will be exhibited the tallest palms, bamboos, and tree 

 ferns that can be procured. There is a gallery in each 

 of the pavilions. The galleries of the end pavilions are 

 designed for cafes, the situation and surroundings being 

 particularly well adapted to recreation and refreshment,, 

 and from the arcades, which surround them, charming 

 views of the grounds can be obtained. Proper provi- 

 sion will be made for h sating and ventilating, and every 

 detail carried out to perfection. The contracts for the 

 building have been let, and the cost is estimated at 

 $400, 000. 



May we hope to enlist your co-operation in any man- 

 ner you may deem proper in furtherance of the object 

 of the managers to make this department especially in- 

 teresting and attractive ? Any suggestions you may be 

 pleased to make will be duly appreciated and acknowl- 

 edged. 



The Society of American Florists, at their recent In- 

 ternational convention held in Toronto, manifested 



