1882.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



139 



BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED. 



Montreal Horticultural Society and Fruit- 

 Growers' Association of the Province of Oue- 

 bec— List of Premiums, open to the Province of 

 Quebec. Exhibition to be held in Montreal, in 

 September. Date not stated. 



Horticultural Reports.— By the kindness of 

 Mr. M. Crawford, of Ohio, wo have received re- 

 ports of the summer meetings of the Portage 

 County, Summit County, and Stark County, Hor- 

 ticultural Societies. All three contain interesting 

 information, and show a lively interest among 

 the members of these societies, well worthy of 

 emulation. 



New York State Agricultural Society, Bul- 

 letin No. 5.— Giving the replies to a circular 

 issued July 22d. The Hay crop throughout the 

 State is reported much better than last year. 

 Potatoes and Corn are suffering severely for want 

 of rain. Fruits, Apples especially, are iu many 

 sections an entire failure. 



Tenth Cincinnati Industrial Exposition.- 

 National Exhibition of Art and Industry. Opens 

 September 6th, closes October 7th. Prospectus 

 and classification of the articles to be exhibited. 

 These exhibitions have become larger and more 

 successful with every year, so that they are now 

 second to no similar exhibition iu the country. 



Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society and 

 Pittsburg Exposition Society.— List of Prem- 

 iums of the combined Exhibitions to be held at 

 Pittsburg, September 7th to 20th. This promises 

 to be a grand exhibition. Forty-one thousand 

 dollars are offered as prizes in the various 

 classes. 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture.— Quar- 

 terly Report for the quarter ending June 30th, con- 

 taining special papers on Education for Farmers, 

 the holding of Farmers' Institutes, Practical 

 Botany, Fish Culture, and the raising and man- 

 agement of Sheep iu North-western Kansas, to- 

 gether with reports as to condition and yield of 

 crops, condition of fruits, farm animals, meteoro- 

 logical data, public lauds, etc. 



South Australia Report, on the progress 

 and condition of the Botanic Garden and Govern- 

 ment Plantations, by Director Dr. R. Schomburgk. 

 This highly interesting pamphlet contains the 

 results of a great number of experiments with 

 most of the new plants introduced from Europe 

 and America. Special attention was given to 

 Wheat, Fodder-Plants, and Grasses, Medical 

 Plants, Flower-farming, etc. The large and well- 

 stocked Plant-houses are noted, as well as the 

 additions to the Museums, Herbarium, Library, 

 and Zoiilogical Garden. 



It seems surprising that so much can be accom- 

 plished in a climate of such wide extremes. 

 Severe frosts during June and July had a most 

 disastrous effect upon the tropical and sub-trop- 

 ical trees in the garden. During six months only 

 two and a half inches of rain fell. January set in 

 very hot, the heat rising considerably, and reach- 

 ing its culminating point on the 18th; the maxi- 

 mum temperature, registered at 3 p. St., was one 

 hundred and twelve degrees in the shade and one 

 hundred and eighty degrees in the sun, the latter 

 being, without exception, the highest hitherto 

 recorded. The highest temperature before reg- 

 istered in the sun was on the 20th of January, 

 1879, when it rose to one hundred and thirteen 

 degrees iu the shade and one hundred and 

 seventy-two in the sun. As the boiling-point is 

 two hundred and twelve degrees, it will be seen 

 that the heat in the sun, on the 18th of January, 

 was within thirty-two degrees of that tempera- 

 ture. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 

 J. G. Burrow-, FisJiMU, N. Y.— Descriptive 

 Price List of Small Fruits. Primo Strawberry 

 and Jefferson Grape specialties. 



Kllwanger & Barry, Mount Hope Nurseries, 

 Rochester, N. Y. — Abridged catalogue of select 

 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Grape-vines, Small 

 Fruits, Shrubs, Eoses, etc. 



George S. Josselyn, Fredonia, N. Y. — Descrip- 

 tive circular, with large plate of the celebrated 

 Fay's Prolific Currant. Also, Small Fruits in 

 great variety. 



Mapes' Complete Manure— "A" Brand.— A 

 great number of reports from farmers in New 

 Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, all speaking 

 of the great value of this fertilizer for Fall Crops. 



"Win. Parry, Parry, N. J— Kieffer's Hybrid 

 Pear. A descriptive circular, with price list, of 

 this peculiar variety, a descendant of the Chinese 

 Sand Pear, which is claimed to be free from 

 blight. 



E. P. Roe, CornwalLon-the-Hudson, N. Y.— 

 Catalogue of Small Fruits and Grape-vines for 

 the summer and fall, 1882. A handsome and care- 

 fully prepared catalogue of all the best varieties, 

 giving clear descriptions and practical directions 

 for cultivation. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, 

 Lily Culture.— Mrs. T. A., Pittsfldd, Mass.— The 

 American Garden of October, 1881, contains an 

 excellent article on Lilies, with practical and 

 concise directions for their cultivation. If a 

 more elaborate work is wanted, we would recom- 

 mend E. S. Band's Bulbs. 



Guinea Fowls.— Mrs. J. B., Cambridge, Md — 

 Guineas are strictly monogamous, and must 

 therefore be kept paired off. They are good 

 layers, but poor setters, and the eggs should be 

 set under an ordinary hen. The young birds 

 must be kept from dampness and cold, and lie 

 well cared for generally. 



Plant for Naine.-I.l. If., New Madrid, Mo.— 

 Tradeseantia Virginiea is the name of the beauti- 

 ful blue flower, popularly called Spiderwort. It 

 grows wild in moist woods throughout the Middle 

 and Southern States, and is often found cultivated 

 in old gardens. The flowers are normally bright 

 blue, but vary sometimes to purple and white. 



Rabbits.— C. N. li., Kinsley, Ku.—Wo do not 

 know of any better method to destroy Rabbits 

 than trapping or shooting. In some parts of 

 Australia they have become such an unbearable 

 pest that the government offers a bounty for 

 their destruction. From present appearances 

 something similar will soon have to be done in 

 some of our Western States. 



Sorghum Syrup. — N. A. C, Lincolnton, Git.— 

 Ordinary syrup can l ie made by simply expressing 

 the juice from the canes, boiling and skimming 

 off the feculent matter. To produce clear, pure 

 syrup, however, requires a Sorghum-mill and 

 evaporator. In either case, it is important to cut 

 the cane before the seed ripens, and before frost, 

 else much of the saccharine matter becomes lost. 



"Western Exposure for House-Plants. — Mrs. 

 L. D. E., Dansville, N. Y. — Next to a window fac- 

 ing north, one with western exposure is the least 

 favorable. Yet, if the plants are healthy, and are 

 not watered more than is good for them, they 

 may be wintered in this way. Geraniums, Car- 

 nations, Roses, Calla, and all kinds of Dutch 

 bulbs, are suitable for a cool room with western 

 exposure. 



Squashes not Bearing.— Several Readers.— 

 There is always some uncertainty about the early 

 bearing of Squashes; why they should bear less 

 this season than usual is more thau we can ex- 

 plain. The best means to promote fruitfulness is 



The Perfect Gem Squash, especially, needs this 

 treatment, as it grows so rampantly that it for- 

 gets to set fruit, unless thus reminded of it. 



Condition of Crops in Georgia. — N. A. (■'., Lin- 

 colnton, 67a., writes : All crops are splendid here 

 so far,— Cotton, Corn, Peas, Oats, Wheat, Sweet and 

 Irish Potatoes, Apples, Peaches, Grapes, and all 

 the Small Fruits, except Strawberries, which have 

 not done well. I have the Wilson's Albany. 

 What variety stands the hot, dry weather best ? 

 [Would recommend a trial of Sharpless, Bidwell, 

 and Kentucky.] 



Grapes for Maryland.— Dr. A. E. — A grav elly, 

 sandy soil, with clay sub-soil, if not too near the 

 surface, is favorable for Grapes. We would not 

 advise the planting of one variety only, as every 

 locality has its peculiarities, which have to be 

 studied. Concord, Delaware, Brighton, Catawba, 

 Goethe, Lindley, Massasoit, Merrimack, Wilder, 

 Duchess, Wordeu, Martha, Moore's Early, Pock- 

 lington, do well in Maryland. If wine making is 



contemplated, Norton's Virginia, Ives, and Clinton 

 should be tried. For complete directions in Grape 

 Culture there is no better work than Fuller's 

 Grape Oullurist. 



Plant for Name.— Miss M. I. F., OlaveracTc, 

 N. Y.— The flower sent is probably a species of 

 Achimenes. It is not always possible to name a 

 plant correctly from a single dried flower and 

 leaf. It is not a native of Germany, however. 

 Most species of Achimenes are indigenous to 

 Mexico and Central America, The. tubers should 

 be preserved entirely dry during winter, and in 

 early spring potted in light loam and leaf-mould. 

 They delight in heat, moisture, and shade wbile 

 growing, but in a. cooler temperature when in 

 bloom. 



We are pleased to hear that our directions as to 

 the treatment of your house-plants have proved 

 so satisfactory. 



OUR EXHIBITION TABLE. 

 Gloxinias, from Henri/ A. Dreer, Philadelphia. 

 — The large box full of these magnificent flowers, 

 which arrived iu good condition, bore convincing 

 testimony that American growers do not intend 

 to remain behind their English brethren in the 

 improvement of Gloxinias. The flowers were of 

 the richest and most gorgeous colors imaginable, 

 of good shape and very large size. They attracted 

 marked attention from all visitors. 



Extra Early Purple-Top Munich Turnip.— 



"Incognito," who left a handsome bunch on our 

 table, considers this variety the earliest Turnip 

 grown. These had been sown on July 1st, and 

 were pulled on July 31st, when they were suffi- 

 ciently large enough for market, producing a 

 marketable crop within the remarkably short 

 time of one month. They are of good, uniform 

 shape, with handsome purple tops and white bot- 

 toms, with small mouse-tail roots. 



Extra Early Lima Beans. — M. A. P., Corona, 

 N. J., exhibits an inviting dish of this new vari- 

 ety, with the following comments: "I planted 

 thirty-five poles each Extra. Early and Dreer's Im- 

 perial Lima Beans on the same day, and gathered 

 the Extra Early twelve days before the Dreers 

 were large enough to pick ; and when the Dreers 

 were ready for table, the few poles of the former I 

 left for seed had dry pods on. The Extra Early is 

 not only two weeks ahead of any other, but is also 

 the most prolific Lima I ever saw grown, and far 

 superior to any in flavor. I live in what is known 

 as a Lima Bean country, where some of the 

 largest growers for the New York market can be 

 found. A neighbor had about two acres of the 

 common kind ready for the first hoeing when mine 

 were planted. Notwithstanding the difference in 

 the time of planting, the Extra Early were ready 

 for the table first. 



MISCELLANEOUS, 

 Prolific Vegetables.— C7is. L. Jr., writes, August 

 13th, from Georgia: The Russian Cucumbers 

 began bearing May 10th, and the same plants 

 are still bearing good fruit. The Netted Gem 

 Melons were unusually fine. From six hills I 

 have gathered fifty-six Melons of most excellent 

 quality, and the same hills are now full of young 

 and thrifty fruit. Their excellence cannot be 

 surpassed. 



James Vick is the nam.' given to the. latest 

 novelty in Strawberries. We have not yet seen 

 plants nor berries, but the variety is highly 

 spoken of by W. C. Barry, P. C. Reynolds, John 

 Charlton, Geo. S. Wales, and other well-kuown 

 pomologists, and the fact that it is introduced by 

 so experienced a fruit-grower as Chas. A Green, 

 Clifton, N. Y., is sufficient guarantee for its pos- 

 sessing superior merit. 



New York Horticultural Society.— The First 

 Autumn meeting of this society will b.e held on 

 Tuesday, September 5th, at Republican Hall, 55 

 West 33d Street, at 2 p. m. A liberal list of pre- 

 miums is offered for Orchids, Cut Flowers, and 

 Grapes. Mr. John Thorpe will read a paper on 

 "Bulbs in Houses," which will no doubt be of 

 great value to all interested in the subject. All 

 I are cordially invited to attend. 



