564 



THEY SA V. 



The New Red Raspberry, Gladstone. — The Glad- 

 stone raspberry originated with the veteran and well- 

 known horticulturist Charles Carpenter of Kelleys 

 Island, Ohio. He sent us plants to test four years ago. 

 They were given no particular culture, and almost for- 

 gotton, until fruiting time, when passing that way I was 

 attracted by a buzzing of bees. Looking towards the 

 source of the music of the busy insects I noticed the 

 plants of Gladstone, the strong canes bowed down with 



their burden of ripe fruit, and yet blossoming freely, 

 the blossoms being covered with honey bees. 



The points that struck me most forcibly about this 

 new raspberry were : ist, perpetual fruiting, beginning 

 July 15, and continuing through August, September and 

 October, after other raspberries have disappeared ; 2nd, 

 bearing full crops the same season planted, the fruit ap- 

 pearing on the canes^of the present year's growth, as 

 well as on the canes of the past season's growth ; 3rd. 

 the great vigor and hardiness of the plant, the canes 

 growing often 5 to 6 feet high, and the foliage never 

 scalding ; 4th, the quality of the fruit, which is far 

 above the average of red raspberry ; 5th, the produc- 

 tiveness of the plants — I have seen no variety of this 

 class that will produce so many berries. The color is a 

 dark red, a little too dark for best display. The size, 

 while not the largest, is above the average red raspberry 

 as seen in our markets. It is propagated from the root, 

 like most of the other red varieties. — Charles A. 

 Green, Rocliestcr, New York. 



Mr. Carpenter writes as follows concerning it: "It 

 is a chance seedling that came up in my garden some 10 

 or 12 years ago where I had a number of kinds, among 

 them the Catawissa. I think it a very good berry for 



family use. It may not be so desirable for market, 

 as it matures its crop gradually during the whole season 

 so that there is never a very large picking at any one 

 time, I think it is better to cut the canes close to the 

 ground every spring ; by doing this you do not get any 

 fruit in spring, but a better fall crop which lasts from 

 about August until frost." 



Pears East and West. — D. B. Wier, in the Peta- 

 luina (California), Courier, calls attention to Mr. Pow- 

 ell's pear notes in the June American Garden, (p. 331), 

 and says that California growers cannot make the pear 

 more profitable than Mr. Powell does. Our Pacific 

 friends are behind in the use of arsenical and copper 

 sprays. This is largely because they have not needed 

 to use them, but they must introduce them soon or 

 suffer. Mr. Wier declares eastern pears are " better in 

 quality than it is possible for us to grow here. We can 

 only beat them in beauty and size, and possibly not even 

 these, when all of the enemies to the east are imported 

 here. " 



Tomatoes in 115 Days. — Professor Massey doubts 

 (July issue, p. 434) the possibility of any one being 

 able to fruit the tomato within 115 days from seed, and 

 states that he has yet to see the tomato that will yield 

 ripe fruit in less than four months ; but it is certain the 

 thing can be done in this latitude in much less time and 

 without the aid of glass or any other protection. 



At the experiment station here 48 varieties were sown 

 in open ground on March 28th. Every variety germin- 

 ated in less than a week, but the plants were not moved 

 until April 28, when they were set out in their fruiting 

 quarters. The first ripe fruits were gathered from 

 Little Gem, a small-fruited variety, on June ig. This 

 was 84 days after sowing the seed, and 53 days from the 

 time of transplanting. On June 24th ripe tomatoes 

 were gathered from every variety, and this was 88 days 

 after sowing the seed. Dwarf Champion grows only 

 moderately here, but the fruit is of fair size. Prelude is 

 about two days earlier than Dwarf Champion. The 

 fruit is smaller than the latter, but otherwise much 

 similar. — H. W. Smith, Baton Rouge, La. 



To Tell Ripe Melons. — In my young days I was 

 laughed at so much for pulling green melons (for I 

 could not decide when ripe by thumping) that I put my 

 wits to work to decide in some other way ; and after ex- 

 perimenting for years I at last learned to tell very 

 easily, and will give the results of my experiments for 

 the benefit of any who may ever be in a like dilemma. 

 My plan is this : I draw my thumbnail over the 

 melon, scraping off the thin green skin. If the edges 

 of the skin on each side of the scar are left ragged 

 or granulated, and the rind under the scar is smooth, 

 firm and white, and has something of a glassy appear- 

 ance, the melon is ripe. But if the edges of the scar 

 are smooth and even, and the thumbnail has dug into 

 the rind in places, and the skin does not come off clean, 

 then the melon is green. You can easily learn on two 

 melons, one ripe and the other green (after they have 

 been cut open), and noting the difference. — Ex. 



