THE J SA y 



115 



bercut, when the lemon is green in appearance and not 

 fully ripe. Lemons of this cut are most highly prized. 

 They possess remarkable keeping qualities, and are ad- 

 mirably preserved in boxes, in warehouses from Novem- 

 ber until March, and sometimes as late as May, and then 

 shipped. The second cut occurs in December and 

 January. Lemons of the January cut must be shipped 

 three weeks after gathering. At this date the lemon has 

 acquired a yellowish appearance. The third cut oc- 

 curs in March and April. The fruit is shipped as soon 

 as gathered, spring prices being always high. The uni- 

 formity in size of lemons, as we meet them in the trade, 

 is due to their monthly harvestings from October to 

 March. No sizer is used or even known here. 



Bastard lemons present well characterized peculiari- 

 ties in shape and appearance. The inner skin is fine 

 and adheres tenaciously to the meat. They are hard, 

 rich in acid and seedless. The bastard lemon produced 

 from the bloom of June ist is still green the following 

 April, and ripens only toward the end of July. It re- 

 mains on the tree over a year and sells well in summer. 

 Besides the March and June bastards, there are yet 

 others that remain on the tree from twelve to eighteen 

 months. The true lemon can be left on the tree until 

 the end of May or the first week in June, but it inter- 

 feres with the new crops, drops off from over-maturity, 

 and is liable to be attacked by insects. The bastards, 

 on the contrary, withstand bad weather and parasites, 

 and they mature from June to October. It is estimated 

 that four times more oranges than lemons are lost in the 

 groves and warehouses. 



Coral-flower. — Following up the efforts of The 

 American Garden to straighten out the confusion aris- 

 ing from the want of authority as to which common 

 name should be selected for general adoption when a 

 number of species are known by the same name, I have 

 thought it would be as well occasionally to note such 

 cases, and to suggest which one is the oldest and should 

 be retained. " Coral-flower" has long been applied to 

 Erythrina Crista-galli. More recently Cupliea platy- 

 centra has become coral-flower. In some sections in still 

 more recent times Russelia jiincea is coral-flower. 

 Should a florist receive an order for coral-flower with 

 no means of distinguishing which of the three his cus- 

 tomer required, I suppose he would be justified in 

 sending the erythrina. By the way, v/hat a glorious or- 

 nament to the garden, as a tub-plant, the erythrina 

 makes. I have seen old specimens ten feet high and as 

 much broad, a perfect blaze of beauty in August and 

 September. They transplant so easily that some set in 

 the open ground every spring and keep in a cellar during 

 winter. — Thomas Meehan. 



Estimate of Potatoes in 1826. — Our present esti- 

 mate of the value of potatoes was but little shared by 

 Cobbett, a celebrated political writer of England, who 

 was compelled, for political reasons, to take up a resi- 

 dence in this country, and who wrote a book at Hemp- 

 stead, L. I., entitled the "American Gardener," who 

 said, in writing of the crops in England, in 1826, of the 



potato: " I do not preceive that they have many /f A?- 

 toijs, but what they have of this base rool seem to look 

 well enough. It was one of the greatest villains upon 

 earth (Sir Walter Raleigh) who (they say) first brought 

 this root in England. What a pity, since he was to be 

 beheaded, the execution did not take place before he be- 

 came such a mischievous devil !" 



The Larger Grape-Leaf Hopper. — The interesting 

 insect, represented somewhat enlarged in the engraving. 



frequently puzzles grape 

 growers by its peculiar ap- 

 pearance and habits. It is 

 a cylindrical jumping insect 

 about half an inch long, 

 slate-blue or gray above and 

 reddish-yellow beneath. It 

 is known to entomologists as 

 OncoDii-topia tiiidata . It lays 

 its eggs in single rows in the 

 wood of the canes, and is 

 said not only to attack the 

 leaves, but also to puncture 

 with its beak the stems of 

 bunches of grapes, causing them to fall to the ground. 

 " Sometimes it pumps out the sap so vigorously from the 

 succulent branches that the drops fall in quick succes- 

 sion from its body." — C. M. W. 



Another International Exhibition. — The Imperial 

 Royal Agricultureal Society of Vienna will hold, during 

 the coming season, a "General Forestal and Agricul- 

 tural Exhibition," in which all countries are invited to 

 participate. It will take place in the rotunda and the 

 adjoining park grounds of the Prater, May 15th to 

 October 15th, perhaps to November ist. The aim is to 

 exhibit a complete picture of the present standing of al' 

 branches of agriculture and forestry. The programme 

 issued by the management contains the following divi- 

 sions intended for international participation : 



"Machines and implements for agriculture and for- 

 estry ; for horticulture, orcharding, vinticulture and 

 hop-culture : for the breeding of poultry and bees and 

 the keeping of silk-worms ; for dogs and the art of hunt- 

 ing and fishing. Auxiliary means employed for farm- 

 ing, viz. , artificial manures, food produced for the mar- 

 kets, animal products, etc. Models, plans, drawings and 

 statistical dates." 



Substitutes for Parsley. — It is well known that 

 parsley is a slow-growing though a useful culinary gar- 

 den herb and universally used. It can be kept green in 

 the ground all through the winter by proper care, but 

 few give it the attention required. I have known great 

 anxiety to be exhibited in the spring in waiting for the 

 parsley to become fit for use. 



It does not seem to be generally known that Chervil 

 [ClucropJiylluiit sativiiiii), which is another umbeliferous 

 plant and belongs to the same natural family, may be 

 used instead of parsley. It is a very quick-growing 

 plant and should be more generally known. It should 

 be sown in shallow drills as soon as the ground is fit to 



