THE Y SA Y. 



The St. Valery Apple. — The accounts given of the 

 " bloomless apple" in the January Garden, remind me 

 of what Darwin says of the famous St. Valery Apple. 

 "The flower," he tells us, "has a double calyx, with 

 10 divisions and 14 styles, surmounted by conspicuous, 

 oblique stigmas ; but is destitute of stamens or corolla. 

 The fruit is constricted round the middle and is formed 

 of iive seed cells, surmounted by nine other cells." Of 

 course, the tree requires artificial fertilization, and the 

 girls of St. Valery ar>nually go to "faii-e ses pommes" 

 (make their apples), each marking her own tree with 

 a ribbon. — L., Cliarlcston, S. C. 



California Grape Syrup. — A very healthful article 

 of diet may be prepared by ordinary boiling of the 

 juice or must of the grapes. Cheaper syrup may be ob- 

 tained by this means than by any other. Many years 

 ago when grapes were very low, growers found an im- 

 portant outlet by this means ; the same being sold 

 through the trade in jars and kegs for family and do- 

 mestic use. Large quantities of this product are an- 

 nually consumed in sweetening ports, sherries, angeli- 

 cas, etc. — J. H. Wheeler. 



Glazing Vineries. — -A few years ago a novel system 

 of glazing cold vineries was advocated in which, instead 

 of the usual lapping of the glass, the edges are left apart 

 half an inch or less. This gives the same ventilation 

 that is effected by leaving the ventilators open night and 

 day, which I have found by long use to give better re- 

 sults in growth and color of fruit, as well as the saving 

 of labor and care of the daily opening and closing. This 

 manner of glazing would also allow the rain to fall on 

 the inside borders, saving watering by hand, which is al- 

 ways neglected by amateurs, and it would be less expen- 

 sive to build. Who has had experience with this sys- 

 tem ? — Fletcher Williams. 



Prices of Quinces. — In the October Garden I saw 

 quinces quoted at $2 to $3 a barrel. We pay $5 a 

 bushel for them, but at any price not many of them are 

 used, simply because the cooking of them is not under- 

 stood. The nicest cooking fruit we have goes begging 

 when offered for $2 to $3 a barrel. — S. D. Pond, Boslon. 



Pineapples in Florida. — I am sure there will never 

 be an over-production of pineapples. I have made wine 

 from the fruit, which proved excellent and had a fine 

 bouquet. I also make cider from it. The acid of the 

 pine is one of the best for the stomach. Vinegar is also 

 made from the juice, which discounts Northern vinegar. 

 I think a good article of brandy could be made from 

 pineapples, as there is a great amount of saccharine 

 matter in them. They are also canned, so that all can 

 be used. I have a few new varieties of pineapples, 

 some being much better than the standard sorts. The 

 Egyptian Queen is a better fruit for most purposes, but 

 it is not good canned. The large pines, such as the 

 Trinidad, are shy bearers and a rather coarse fruit, but 

 they are very handsome and bring a good price — from a 

 dollar to a dollar and a half per apple. — Thomas E. 

 Richards. 



New Races of Peaches for the South. — A Lou- 

 isianian regards the Japan Blood peach as " a decided 

 improvement in everyway to the early peaches, such as 

 Beatrice and Alexander. He further declares that the 

 "Japanese, Spanish and Southern China varieties of 

 peaches will undoubtedly supplant all others, at least in 

 the Southern States, as they seem to do well and bear 

 abundantly. Thus far there are some twenty-five va- 

 rieties, many of which are very superior." 



The Shirk Apple is a new late sweet a^ple which 

 originated with John C. Shirk, of Brookville, Indiana. 

 Mr. Van Deman, United States Pomologist, speaks as 

 follows concerning it; " It is quite large and hand- 

 somely colored, being distinctly striped with red. The 

 flavor is very sweet and pleasant. It ripens in October 

 in Central Indiana, and among the fall apples it is a very 

 good one, and I am informed by Mr. Shirk that the tree 

 is an excellent bearer. In my opinion it surpasses 

 nearly all the sweet apples ripening at this season. 



Decapitating Trees. — When an expert arboricul- 

 turist transplants ornamental trees from the forest, such 

 as maple, elm, or basswood, he saws off the entire top, 

 leaving only a bare stem, like a hop-pole. Why does he 

 cut back a tree to such a damaging extent ? Simply to 

 maintain the balance, or equilibrium between the 

 amount of roots and the quantity of branches and twigs. 

 When a tree is dug up, a large proportion of the root is 

 left in the ground, and the top must be cut off in pro- 

 portion. The great practical lesson to be learned from 

 this fact, is to watch every tree that does not grow as 

 rapidly as it should, and cut away one-fourth, or half, 

 or even all of the t6p, sometimes leaving nothing but a 

 bare stub. As soon as the roots begin to take a vital 

 hold on the soil, there will be sufficient sap to develop 

 good twigs and buds A person who does not under- 

 stand this subject correctly will lack courage to cut off 

 a tree-top. I have cut many fruit trees from April until 

 August, before I could remove enough of the top to in- 

 duce the tree to send out new buds and to grow vigor- 

 ously. When a tree does not grow well, I saw the top 

 squarely off a few feet from the ground, and cover the 

 wound with grafting wax. Many trees die or become 

 feeble because they carry too much top. — Ess. E. Tee. 



Morning Glories. — In looking for beautiful plants 

 for the window garden, in winter, or at any time, for 

 that matter, do not overlook the importance of this little 

 old, well-known, and ever beautiful annual, the morn- 

 ing glory. It seems especially adapted for a house 

 plant ; in pots it loses its rampant growing habit, adapt- 

 ing itself to the situation with commendable propriety. 

 We have just seen at the house of a friend, a four-inch 

 pot, in which there are half-a-dozen plants growing, 

 yielding each day their beautiful flowers, the most re- 

 markable peculiarity being that when grown in pots, 

 they flower when not more than four inches in height. 

 The flower remains open throughout the day. The 

 first flowers appear with the second part of leaves. 

 Make the morning glory as rare as an orchid, and as 

 expensive, and it would have the preference. 



