THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[December, 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



Winter Protection. — The amount of resist- 

 ance which a plant offers against cold can- 

 not be accurately stated in thermoinetric 

 degrees. The same variety may in one year 

 withstand a temperature considerably below 

 zero, while the following season it perishes 

 in a temperature several degrees warmer. It 

 is with plants very much as with ourselves ; 

 we may take a severe cold, leading perhaps 

 to a fatal termination, under a degree of ex- 

 posure which we have previously endured 

 with impunity. All depends upon the tem- 

 porary amount of resisting power within us. 

 When we are in good physical condition our 

 resisting power is greater than when we are 

 worn out or our digestion or other functions 

 are impaired. In a similar manner has well- 

 matured wood more cold-resisting elements 

 than that which is green and unripe. The 

 more sap there is in a plant the sooner will 

 it suffer from frost. 



Thus it will be seen that the primary pre- 

 ventive against winter-killing consists in 

 good cultivation during summer, and the 

 employment of all possible means for the 

 development of health, vigor, and early ma- 

 turity of our plants. 



Raspberries. — Up to within a compara- 

 tively recent date nearly all our cultivated 

 Raspberries were half-hardy foreign varieties 

 which required winter protection. With the 

 introduction of several excellent native vari- 

 eties, however, this safeguard is not as im- 

 perative as formerly ; yet in some exposed 

 localities, and especially where the ground is 

 not usually covered with snow during winter, 

 some means for protection maybe employed 

 to considerable advantage. The easiest way 

 to do this is to gather together the canes of 

 a stool, bend them down lengthwise with 

 the row, and throw a shovelful of soil upon 

 the ends, enough to hold the canes down ; 

 when the entire row is prepared in this way, 

 more soil is thrown on, so as to cover all the 

 canes. In field culture a plow is run along 

 both sides of the rows, throwing the soil 

 over the canes. If the ground is already 

 frozen, rails may be used for holding the 

 canes down, and leaves and cornstalks as 

 mulching material. 



Cleaning Cider Barrels. — How to clean old 

 cider barrels is one of the queries on hand. 

 Rinsing them out with lime, ashes, or soil 

 and boiling water are the means generally 

 employed ; still better is to take out one of 

 the heads and scrub the inside thoroughly 

 with sand, and replace the head. But the 

 fact is, a barrel which needs cleaning is not 

 fit for storage of good cider, to begin with. 

 Those who understand the making of good 

 cider never have unclean barrels. Every 

 cask used for cider should be thoroughly 

 washed inside and outside, with hot water, 

 immediately after its contents have been 

 racked off, and stored for future use, in a dry, 

 open place, not in a damp cellar. There is 

 no method by which musty barrels can be 

 made as good as new ones. A careful cider 

 maker would no more think of putting cider 

 in a musty cask, no matter how carefully 

 cleaned, as a good dairy man would of pack- 

 ing butter in a petroleum barrel. 



THE NEWER GRAPES. 



Soil, aspect, culture, elevation, mode of 

 pruning, -training, and, in short, all the 

 various surroundings in Grape culture are 

 so important in the production of large and 

 handsome clusters, that one is often at a 

 loss what kinds to select for a short list of 

 varieties best suited to our wants. The list of 

 promising and really good Grapes is already 

 large, so that in the limited space which the 

 editor places at my disposal I can only name 

 those possessing the greatest merit. 



WHITE GRAPES. 



Fockiington,- seedling of Concord, strong, 

 vigorous grower, hardy ; bunch, after five or 

 six years' fruiting, very large ; berry very 

 large ; color golden-yellow — hence some- ; 

 times called Golden Pocklington ; flavor ; 

 sweet, though rather foxy. Succeeds best on j 

 strong, heavy clay. Vine said to be iron- 

 clad so far as cold is concerned. Largest 

 size berries of any Grape. 



Km pi re State. — One of the best of Mr. j 

 Riekett's seedlings. Parentage, Clinton and J 

 Hartford; color, greenish-white; flavor, simi- ; 

 larto Muscat Hamburg; bunch large, shoul- 

 dered ; growth and foliage good. Though not 

 disseminated to any great extent as yet, still 

 it is well worthy of trial. Season a week 

 before Concord. 



Hayes, or Francis B. Hayes. — Seedling of 

 John B. Moore, Concord, Mass. Bunch me- 

 dium, short, compact, slightly shouldered ; 

 berry medium or below ; round, yellow-amber 

 in color, with slight whitest bloom ; juicy, 

 sweet ; ripens a little before Concord ; espe- 

 cially valuable for the New England States. 



Duchess. — This is a Grape of excellent 

 quality ; free from pulp ; greenish-yellow, 

 sometimes golden-yellow, when mature; vine, 

 a very vigorous grower and productive. In 

 some locations and seasons it rots ; still, the 

 quality of the fruit is too good to neglect its 

 culture. 



Lady Washington. — One of the most showy 

 Grapes grown ; pale yellow, with a tinge of 

 pink where exposed to the sun ; flesh soft, 

 tender, juicy, sweet ; a very good Grape. 

 Vine vigorous and hardy. Ripens about 

 the time of Concord. 



RED GRAPES. 



Brighton. — This is one of the best of the 

 early Grapes. Bunch medium to large ; 

 berries medium to large ; bright red at first, 

 changing to dark crimson at maturity. It 

 has its best flavor when first ripe, afterward 

 loses its sprightly flavor. Ripens nearly as 

 early as Hartford Prolific. Vine, a rapid, 

 vigorous grower. 



Jefferson.— Seedling of Concord and Iona. 

 Vine vigorous and productive ; bunch large, 

 often double-shouldered ; berry, medium to 

 large ; color, light red, with a lilac bloom ; 

 flesh meaty, tender, and rich. It maintains 

 its freshness a long time after being picked. 

 Ripens late — about time of Catawba. 



Vergennes. — A strong, rapid grower; bunch 

 medium ; berry, medium to large ; color, red ; 

 flavor goo%. Ripens about with Concord. 



Wyommg Fed. — This, though not exactly 

 new, is one of the earliest, ripening about 

 with the Champion. Leaf and wood similar 

 to Delaware, but much more vigorous, and 

 fruit darker in color; very foxy. A good 

 keeper and bearer. Think it would be espe- 

 cially valuable in locations where the season 

 is too short for Concords to ripen. 



BLACK GRAPES. 



Early Dawn (Dr. Culbert), from Muscat, 

 Hamburg and Isabella. Next to Champion 

 in earliness. Black, bunch long, loose, occa- 

 sionally double-shouldered ; skin tough ; vine 

 vigorous ; flavor good. 



Early Victor. — Has not been fruited to any 

 great extent ; vigorous grower ; bunch me- 

 dium ; quality very good and pure. A few 

 days later than Moore's Early. 



Moore's Early. — Ripens about a week be- 

 fore the Concord. Bunches shorter and 

 thicker; berries larger and in quality about 

 the same as Concord. 



Worden. — A seedling of the Concord, ear- 

 lier than that variety, and in all respects 

 superior to it. It is rapidly growing in popu- 

 lar favor. In fact, no Grape is making a bet- 

 ter record. In bunch and size of berry larger 

 than Concord and much sweeter. Its only 

 drawback is its thin skin. 



Herbert (Rogers No. 44). — Bunch medium ; 

 berries large size; black; flesh very sweet 

 and tender ; early and productive. 



J. B. Rogers. 



CHANGING THE BEARING TEAR. 



Commenting on the imcertainties of suc- 

 cess in this regard, J. C. Plumb says in the 

 Western Farmer : A year ago last spring I 

 made the attempt to change the bearing 

 year of a few Apple-trees. Accordingly, the 

 blossoms were carefully removed by hand 

 from a Siberian Crab, a Walbridge, a Tetof- 

 sky, and a Fall Stripe tree, four in all. 

 Trees besides these of the same varieties 

 were all heavily loaded with fruit last season 

 except the Siberians, which failed to per- 

 fect their fruit. And what is the result ? 

 The wind blew down the Walbridge tree, 

 and not an apple will we get from any 

 of the others. So much for the first trial 

 of changing the bearing year. Scarcely an 

 apple set on any of the trees, and those that 

 did were wormy and knotty, and soon fell 

 off. Causes wholly outside the tree are an im- 

 portant factor in the question, and until we 

 can modify the weather and hold insects in 

 abeyance I doubt if we will get our apples 

 any more regularly in the future than in the 

 past. Still it should always be borne in 

 mind that one experiment proves nothing. 



THE LARGEST APPLE-TREE, 



On the farm of Delos Hotchkiss, Marion, 

 Conn., is an Apple-tree which is larger than 

 any we have ever heard of. H. C. Hovey 

 gives its measurement in the Scientific Ameri- 

 can : Circumference of the trunk near the 

 ground, 1 5 feet 8 inches ; at the fork, 1 6 

 feet 2 inches ; height of tree, 60 feet ; dia- 

 meter of tree-top, 104 feet. 



A peculiarity of this tree is, says Mr. 

 Hovey, that five limbs have borne one year 

 and four the next. The usual yield from 

 five limbs is about 85 bushels, although in 

 a single instance it reached 110 bushels; 

 and the four limbs vary from 35 to 40 

 bushels. 



The age of this venerable Apple-tree is 

 estimated at about 175 to 180 years. Curi- 

 ously enough the patriotic old tree marked 

 the centennial year by bearing fruit on all its 

 branches. Signs of decay appear in many 

 places, and it is thought that this noble 

 specimen of Fyrus mains will soon be num- 

 bered among the things of the past. 



