70 



TROPICAL FRUITS. 



THE CUSTARD APPLE. 



This family furnishes some of the most 

 luscious tropical fruits. The Atta of Brazil, 

 the fruit of A nana squamosa, is about the 

 size of a small Apple, covered with project- 

 ing scales of a glaucous green color, which 

 inclose the large black seeds, bedded in a 

 white, sweet pulp. Opinions differ as to this 

 fruit. ; some people are very fond of it, while 

 it is too sweet for others. In Para it does 

 not succeed well, but in Santarem, four hun- 

 dred miles up the Amazon, it grows in great 

 perfection. The Bereba is the fruit of a tall 

 tree, A. reticulata ; it is scaly, bright-yellow 

 when ripe, somewhat cone-shaped, and full j 

 of a rich, yellowish-white pulp, coarser and I 

 not as sweet as the Atta. In Brazil this 

 fruit does not attain a great size, but in 

 Peru we have seen them as large as small ! 

 Pineapples. Another tree of this family (A. 

 muricata), the Sour-sap, bears a fruit, in our 

 opinion, the best in Brazil. It has a thin, 

 greenish skin, covered with soft, curved j 

 freckles. The pulp is white, a delicious 

 combination of sweet and sour, and is most 

 refreshing. 



Another fruit of this family is called 

 Friita de conde liza. It is smooth outside, 

 heart-shaped, with yellow flesh, seeds like 

 the Atta, and of a sickish-sweet taste. The 

 Cherimoyer of Peru, which has the reputa- 

 tion of being the most delicious fruit in the 

 world — most undeservedly, in our opinion 

 — is heart-shaped, and in taste somewhat 

 resembles the Atta. It is the fruit of A. 

 Vherimolia, and, though cultivated in many 

 tropical countries, is not, so far as we have 

 seen, found in the Brazilian part of the 

 Amazon Valley. 



EtTGENIAS AND MYRTLES. 



Of the genus Eugenia, belonging to the 

 Myrtle family, there are several species 

 which produce an edible fruit. In green- 

 houses there is often seen in the United 

 States a representative, E. Ugni, from Chili, 

 which, even when very small, bears blackish, 

 sweet, edible fruits. In Brazil these Eugenias 

 attain the dignity of small trees, which, both in 

 growth and foliage, are very beautiful. The 

 most common of these is the " Grumixameira" 

 (Eugenia Brasiliensis), which bears a fruit 

 resembling in color, size, and taste- a flat- 

 tened black Tartarian Cherry. The fruit of 

 K. Michelii somewhat resembles the last, but 

 is red, smaller, and of little flavor. E. edulis 

 is called Canbuca, and E. tomentosa, Cabel- 

 luda, but neither commend themselves to 

 the foreign taste. The Rose Apples, which 

 are very beautiful, are produced by E. Jam- 

 bos and malaccensis ; but, in spite of their 

 delicate color and attractive appearance, 

 they are very insipid. The best fruit of the 

 family is the Jabuticaba, produced by E. 

 cauliflora. It is about the size of a Plum, 

 and, like many fruits here, is borne upon 

 the trunk of the tree. In Para it does not 

 succeed, but in Southern Brazil it is con- 

 sidered one of the most delicious fruits. We 

 have classed all these plants as Eugenias, 

 though the Rose Apples are in some cata- 

 logues known as Jambosa, and the Jabuti- 

 caba as a Myrtus. E. S. Rand, Jr. 



\[isH k llaiieous. 



MID- WINTER FLORAL BEAUTIES. 



In the bustling village of Lee, Mass., near 

 the banks of the Housatonic River and sur- 

 rounded by the Berkshire Hills, of whose 

 summer gayeties and glories so much has been 

 said and sung, there is a charmingly made 

 nest of neat and tastefully appointed green- 

 houses, inside of which no signs of winter's 

 reign are at hand, notwithstanding the fact 

 that bleak winds sometimes blow and merci- 

 less thermometers plentifully abound all 

 around them. 



These are the treasured possessions' of Mr. 

 De Witt S. Smith, of the celebrated Smith 

 Paper Company firm of x>aper-makers, which 

 contain some of the most precious of his 

 household gods. Mr. and Mrs. Smith being 

 extravagantly fond of flowers, both spend 

 freely of their time, and of their abundance 

 of this world's goods as well, in the work of 

 flower cultivation. The cluster of some half- 

 dozen greenhouses, which in their conduct 

 and management afford his family, his 

 friends, and himself so much exquisite en- 

 joyment throughout the entire year, but 

 more especially in the winter season, are 

 marvels of neatness throughout. The choicest 

 of flowers have here been in full bloom dur- 

 ing all the days of the passing winter. Roses 

 have come and gone and are coming still, in 

 great profusion ; bushes of Heliotrope have 

 laden the air with their delicate perfume; 

 Pinks of white, of red, and variegated hues 

 have drooped low in their budding and blos- 

 soming beauties ; Azaleas spread out their 

 snow-white presence and flaming brilliance ; 

 Cyclamens, with their rich and rare shadings, 

 claim close attention ; Cinerarias, in their 

 deep-dyed perfection of color and flower, 

 thrive and throw off their brilliant glories 

 among their closely packed neighbors. 

 Abutilons, Fuchsias, Geraniums, Primroses, 

 Begonias, Mahernias, and so on to the end of 

 the chapter, blossom in beds fringed with 

 Sweet Alyssum, carpeted beneath with 

 thriftily grown Lyeopodium, through which 

 the walks and ways are beautiful indeed. 



But the crowning glory of the place is the 

 fine collection of Orchids — one of the finest 

 in the country. In the cultivation of these 

 Mr. Smith has been very successful, and it 

 may well be so, as they are the special pride 

 and pets of both heads of the family. The 

 East Indies, Central and South America, and 

 wide reaches of country encompassing many 

 tropical localities and including high reaches 

 of the Andes as well, have been laid under 

 contribution and drawn upon with a liberal 

 hand, in the ingathering work of collecting 

 choice specimens of Orchids. A novice in 

 Orchid cultivation upon looking at the un- 

 gainly branches, which in many instances 

 look more like dried and barkless tree-limbs, 

 or like coarse and thickly jointed reeds, 

 would be quite likely to toss them out of the 

 window or into the fire, as being unfit for 

 preservation or worthy of notice, even. But if 

 that novice will stroll through the narrow path- 

 ways of the Lee greenhouses, in February or 

 March, he or she will have an opportunity to 

 see a wealth of floral brilliance and beauty 

 swinging from these ungainly stems, not 

 soon to be forgotten. 



Mr. Smith has over two hundred different 



species of Orchids, and has had one hun- 

 dred and seventy of these in beautiful bloom 

 at one time. From the first of October until 

 the first of May, these floral beauties are to 

 be seen in more or less profusion ; but the 

 height of the season is compressed into the 

 . six or eight weeks which take the heart out 

 of the days of February and March. 



All the best and most beautiful species 

 are well represented, and at the time of our 

 visit there were in flower Cattleya Exonien- 

 sis, hibiata, Percivalliana, speciosissima, Tri- 

 a.nei, Warscewiczii delicata, and virgivalis ; 

 Cypripedium Harrissiamim, msigne, with two 

 hundred and thirty-seven flowers ; villoswm; 

 Dendrobium Ainsworthii, biggibum, chryso- 

 toxum, crassinodum, Barber ianum, Japoiii- 

 cum, mobile, n. ccerulescens, with two hundred 

 flowers at one time ; Wallichi, with one hun- 

 dred and sixty-seven flowers ; Pierardi, gi- 

 gantcum, thyrsifiorum, Wardianum ; Lcelia 

 albida, L. anceps, with one hundred flowers, 

 and L. autnmnalis, with fifty-six flowers ; 

 Masdevallia Veitehiana, Odontoglossum Alex- 

 andra!, Bietoniense, grande, cordatu-n, glori- 

 osum, odoratum, Pescatorei, roseum, Rossi 

 majus, triumphans ; Oncidium papilio majvs ; 

 Phalamopsis amabilis, grandiflora, Schilleri- 

 ana ; Vanda ccerulescens. 



But why attempt to enumerate ? A well- 

 filled catalogue could only give all the titles 

 of the many beautiful specimens of the 

 plants of this collection. A written descrip- 

 tion of their specific beauties would be 

 impossible ; words may not describe the 

 delicacy of color, exquisite shadings, and 

 singular forms of the flowers, but personal 

 study of these, of a brief hour even, will tell 

 to a lover of the marvelous and the beau- 

 tiful, in the floral world, how firm a hold 

 they may soon get upon the affections. It is 

 well worth the going of many and many a 

 mile to see such a rare exhibition of beauti- 

 ful flowers as are to be found in the cluster 

 of greenhouses nestled so picturesquely 

 down on the banks of the Housatonic River, 

 in the bustling village of Lee, surrounded 

 by the far-famed Berkshire Hills. And these 

 hills, though full of sublimity and grandeur, 

 both in summer and winter, have nothing 

 more exquisitely beautiful, more fascinating 

 to the eye, than this rare collection of 

 Orchids, which a half day proved all too 

 short to appreciatively look upon and ad- 

 mire. 



Clark W. Bryan. 



HOPS AND THEIR CULTURE, 



Any land suitable for growing Corn is 

 adapted to Hops, but it should not be so low 

 as to be overflowed or liable to have the 

 water settle in pools on it . The ground should 

 be prepared for the Hops by thorough plow- 

 ing and harrowing as soon in the spring as it 

 will admit. After plowing and harrowing, it 

 should be marked out into furrows seven by 

 eight feet apart. At these crosses the Hops 

 should be planted. Two sets in a hill are 

 ample if they are strong, but more are gen- 

 erally put in, in order to insure a good hill. 

 The sets should be covered an inch and a 

 half deep, and the ground pressed firmly 

 down over them. Each set contains two 

 eyes, and they are cut from three to five 

 inches long. They should be cut with a 

 straight and smooth cut, so as not to split the 

 ends, or they will not grow. 



Between the hills of Hops ea»h way, a hill 



