376 



spontaneous ; one of the former when eaten in any 

 considerable quantity will produce an effect similar 

 to Madeira or Port Wine. — History ofAntaugu Co. , 

 Alcu 



Prunus Padus as a Stock for Peaches.— I 

 lived when a boy in a district where the Bird Cher- 

 ry (Prunus padus) abounded, and used to wonder 

 why it was called a cherry, when it seemed to have 

 no resemblance of any kind to a cherry, but iti leaf 

 and smell was not very unlike a peach. So, when 

 eight years ago I settled in Yorkshire, and found 

 the Bird Cherry again indigenous to my district, I 

 thought it would be worth while trying it for a 

 stock in order to find oat its affinity, but it was not 

 until last year and the present that I was able to 

 put my wish into practice. Curiously enough, when, 

 in the Autumn of 1865,1 went to look for some young 

 specimens of the Prunus fit for my purpose, all ihe 

 peach trees in the district were smothered with a 

 sudden blight of aphides, and on arriving at the 

 glen where the Prunus was growing, I found the 

 same aphis in the same abundance. This so far 

 favored my old notion. 



On removing the stocks, I planted some in the 

 open ground, and some in pots. All, however, suf- 

 fered a very severe check, and when I tried to bud 

 them last autumn, the bark would not run, so that 

 I set no value upon the results of h'st year. Those 

 in pots were placed in gentlelheat in February, along 

 with an equal number of BlackDamask plum stocks, 

 and when the sap was fairly active all were grafted 

 — the Prunus padus with plums, cherries, apricots 

 and peaches. In some cases all four sorts were 

 worked on the same stock, and the cherries were 

 either May Duke or Morrello. The result was, 

 that in almost every case the peaches grew on the 

 Prunus padus, the cherries grew for a time, and 

 then stopped, the others gave little hope of suc- 

 ceeding. Of those worked on the Black Damask 

 plum about half succeeded. These were worked 

 only with plum and peaches, and were used merely 

 to compare the stocks under the same treatment, 

 which was by no means the best for the purpose, as 

 I had no proper material for plunging the plants 

 after being grafted, and they were in consequence 

 not plunged in any thing. 



As soon as the growth of the scions and Primus 

 was sufficient to show which would thrive and 

 which would not, they were cut down ai,^ain and 

 regrafted, putting cherries and plums on the stocks 



where the peach had succeeded, and peaches on 

 those on which other fruits had failed. The only 

 scions which grew after this severe treatment were 

 the peaches, which again succeeded in almost every 

 case. Pew, however, are now growing, through 

 their having been exposed to the frequent action of 

 crinoline. One (Dr. Hogg) I was careful to keep 

 securely, and it was regularly stopped, and finally 

 repotted a month ago, and is now a very promising 

 tree, with well-developed buds, having been allowed 

 to attain a height of about 4 feet, and with laterals 

 li" foot long at the bottom. 



It now remains to be seen how far the Prunus 

 padus, which elaborates so much prussic acid, will 

 effect the flavor of the fruit. Next year will I hope, 

 enable me to give an opinion upon this question 

 that will be of value. My present belief is, that 

 unless some amount of foliage is allowed to grow on 

 the stock, the flavor of the fruit is only influenced 

 so far as the growth of the scion is healthy or other- 

 wise. I once by mistake grafted an apple on the 

 quince, and the two trees so worked grew most 

 vigorously for one season, and then became un- 

 healthy. In one case I allowed the quince to put 

 out about a dozen leaves below the scion, ard the 

 next season the apple so treated grew again, and 

 the other died. It is most probable that in this 

 case the sap sent from the quince roots was suited 

 to the apple ; but that the sap sent down from the 

 apple leaves did not suit the root of the quince. 

 This is, however, just one of those questions that 

 require a careful set of experiments to furnish a 

 correct answer. — W. KiNGSLEY, in English Jour- 

 nal of Horticulture. . 



New Bedding (tERANIUMS.— The English flor- 

 ists continue the improvement of this first-class 

 American bedding plant, as the following list shows : 



Banneret, — Flowers scarlet, crimson and purple- 

 shaded, very bright and beautiful. A hybrid Nose- 

 gay- 



Faii-y Queen.— Ko?<y purple. A large smooth 

 flower ; very distinct and efi'ective. 



Minstrel.— A. peculiar and pleasing shade of sal- 

 mon. Something in the way of 'Lord Palmerston,' 

 but brighter in color, and broader in the petals. 



Monte i?o.9a.— Dark rosy purple — pleasing color; 

 large truss. Very fine. 



iYmrocZ.— Orange -scarlet, white eye ; large flower 

 and truss ; foliage and habit fine. 



Phoenix. — In the way of 'Stella,' in habit and 

 general character; the color flammiferous scarlet. 



Prince of Orange.— Orange scarlet, very bright, 

 great substance ; good habit; prodigious bloomer. 



5) 



