62 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
table, and those who -wish to indulge iu their 
fiery pungency crush them with their knives, or 
in the more primitive method of rubbing be- 
tween the thumb and fingers. 
The Shockley Apple. 
We are indebted to Mr. P. J. Berckmans, the 
eminent pomologist of Augusta, 6a., for speci- 
mens of the Shockley, an apple of great repute 
in the Southern States for its keeping qualities. 
This variety originated in Jackson Co., Go., and 
the tree is said to be very vigorous, and to pro- 
duce large crops of fruit regularly. It will be 
seen from the outline of au average specimen, 
that it is rather small in size and somewhat con- 
ical in form. The fruit is one of great beauty, 
its surface being very regular, brightly colored, 
and of a waxen appearance. The ground color 
is a warm yellow, overlaid with marblings of 
scarlet and crimson. The flavor is sub-acid, 
and too sweet and lacking in character to take 
the first rank as to quality, but this deficiency 
is compensated for by its remarkable keeping 
qualities. Mr. B. informs ns that the Shockley 
is easily kept until early summer apples ap- 
pear. It is a variety well worthy the attention 
of Northern orchardists. 
Roses.— The Class to Plant. 
BT PETER HENDERSON. 
Every year's experience in the cultivation of 
the Rose confirms me in the opinion that the 
tender or monthly varieties — embraced under 
the heads of Tea, Bourbon, Bengal, and Noi- 
sette — are such as are best suited for our hot 
summers. The hardy varieties, known as Hy- 
brid Perpetuals, although the flowers are gene- 
rally finer in their first and almost onhy bloom 
in June, are entirely wanting in the "perpetual" 
character that their name indicates. In fact, 
the term "perpetual" applied to that class is, 
for us, a complete misnomer, and one which 
brings upon us florists no little odium. Then 
~hy give it that term, or why hold to it ? may be 
asked. The term is an English one, and may 
be applied properly enough in England, for in 
their lower summer temperature and humid 
climate the Hybrid Perpetual class of Roses 
grow without check from June to October, and 
consequently bloom as they grow. Here iu our 
tropical summer the bloom in June is suc- 
ceeded usually by a dry atmosphere, and a tem- 
perature running from 75 = to 95° in the shade 
for two months, and to which, so to speak, the 
cold-blooded nature of the " Hybrid Perpetual " 
refuses to respond, and stagnates less or more 
until the more congenial days of autumn arrive. 
So with us it is far from being perpetual, as it 
gives us only one full blooming in June, with a 
few straggling flowers in September or October. 
But the Perpetual class being the favorite in 
Europe, the great majority of new roses we 
import are from that class. Thus we keep on 
year after year pandering to this "perpetual" 
story, first partly deceiving ourselves, and then 
wholly deceiving our customers. Our patrons 
in the Northern States usually ask us for a 
hardy rose that will bloom monthly, but let it 
be fully understood that there is no ever-bloom- 
ing rose that in ordinary conditions of shelter 
will stand in any section where the thermometer 
falls down to zero, unless protected. This pro- 
tection is a very simple matter — any mulching 
of leaves, sawdust, tan-bark, or such material, 
placed six inches deep around the roots of tiie 
plants, will keep enough of them alive to give 
splendid plants the next season. The important 
point is that it should not be done too early in 
this section ; it need notbedone until the middle 
of December. If done too early, it would rot 
the stems. 
Hardiness in any rose in the Northern 
States can only be had at the expense of ever- 
blooming, or, iu other words, all plants, roses 
or others, that will endure our winters with- 
out protection, with few trifling exceptions, 
bloom fully only once in the season. True, 
there may be cases, as we have before said, ow- 
ing to special conditions of soil or shelter, where 
some of the true monthly roses will stand year 
after year and be hardy, but these exceptions 
are rare ones. A knowledge of this fact would 
prevent much disappointment among the lovers 
of flowers, and save us who are dealers a world 
of time iu explanations. 
Apropos of this subject, a well-known German 
florist related to me the other day, in a high 
state of irritation, his troubles in this wa}\ He 
said: "I have so much drouble with the ladies 
when dej' comes to buy mine rose; dey wants 
him hardy, dey wants him doubles, dey wants 
him moondly, dey wants him fragrand, dey 
wants him nice gouler, dey wants him ebery- 
dings in one rose. I hopes I am not what you 
calls one uncallant man, but I have somedimes 
to say to dat ladies : Madam, I never often sees 
dat ladies dat was beautiful, dat was rich, dat 
was good tember, dat was youngs, dat was 
clever, dat was perfection in oue ladies. I sees 
her much not!" 
«-• m .-«. 
Fruit in Nebraska. — It seems strange to 
be able to record as one of our best fruit- 
growing States one which only a few years ago 
had no existence on our maps. The soil and 
climate of Nebraska seem wonderfully well 
adapted to fruit culture, and the exhibition of 
fruit at the last State Fair has been spoken of 
by all who saw it as something almost without 
parallel. Hon. Robert W. Furnas, Pres. of the 
State Board of Agriculture, kindly sends us 
some stereoscopic views of the fruit-tables at 
the Exhibition. These shadows are enough to 
make one wish that he had seen the reality. 
Crawfish and Cranberries. 
The following comes from a cranberry culti- 
vator in "Wisconsin : 
" Three elements," says an experienced cran- 
berry culturist, " are necessary to grow cranber- 
ries. Muck or peat, sand, and water, the first 
two in proper proportions, and the latter under 
perfect control." The peat swamps in the Mid- 
dle and Eastern States are deficient iu silex, be- 
ing composed of clear vegetable matter depos- 
ited from each annual growth through a long 
series of years. To adapt such land to the 
growth of cranberries, the Eastern cultivators 
cover their marshes with about four inches of 
sand, carted from the neighboring banks. 
The average cost of this operation is esti- 
mated at about §40 per acre. A thorough ex- 
amination of the marshes and peat-swamps of 
Wisconsin shows a large percentage of sand 
mixed with the peat throughout, and in the 
spring, when the snow-water goes off, the sur- 
face is often traced with sand deposited by the 
receding water. That these natural sanded 
marshes are well adapted to the growth of 
cranberries is evinced by the spontaneous crop 
that crimsons the ground every autumn in lo- 
cations spared by the devastating fires that 
sweep that country every dry season. 
How these marshes in Wisconsin have be- 
come sanded, and even the surface-water 
freighted with a silicious sediment, is a question 
oue would naturally refer to the geologist, but 
the zoologist must here claim the field. The 
little animal familiarly known as the "Craw- 
fish," a miniature lobster in appearance, is the 
sole engineer and operator in this work. 
Digging a perpendicular hole or well until he 
strikes water, be it 2 or 20 feet deep, this little 
creature brings to the surface a large amount of 
dirt, and as saud underlies all of these marshes, 
the amount brought to the surface each time he 
repairs his home or changes his location is con- 
siderable. Thus, longbefore the white man trod 
these wilds, this little crustacean was quietly 
preparing these lands for future use, and the 
actual value to the land that will be brought 
into cranberry culture can scarcely be estimated, 
saving an expense of about $40 per acre to 
each. Cranberry Ctlturist. 
Vegetables— A Few Select Kinds. 
BT r-ETER HENDERSON. 
As spring approaches, I begin to receive num- 
bers of letters inquiring about the relative value 
of the different kinds ofvegetables, and although 
what we recommend as the best, will doubtless 
not apply to every section of the country, or ac- 
cord with the views of all, yet we believe the 
list given below, with a few exceptions, will 
suit well, either for private use or for market- 
garden culture. The several varieties are named 
in the order of their earliness : 
Asparagus. — Van Sickleu's Colossal. 
Beans, Dwarf or Bush. — Early Valentine, 
Early Mohawk, Refugee, Black-wax. 
Beans, Pole. — Large Lima and Scarlet Run- 
ner. 
Beet. — Egyptian, Dewing's Blood-Turnip, 
Short-Top Round, Long Smooth Red. 
Broceoli. — White Cape and Purple Cape. 
Brussels Sprouts. — Roseberry. 
Borecole or Kale. — Dwarf Curled, Scotch 
Greens. 
Cabbage. — Early Jersey Wakefield, Early Ox- 
heart, Early Winningstadt, Fottler's Brunswick, 
Premium Flat Dutch, Large Bergen, Marble- 
head Mammoth, Drumhead Savoy. 
Carrot. — French Forcing, Early Horn, Long 
Orange. 
Cauliflower. — Extra Earl)- Erfurt, Early Paris, 
Dwarf Mammoth. 
Celery. — Sandringham Dwarf White, "White 
Solid, Hood's Dwarf Red, Dwarf Crimson. 
Corn, Sweet. — Early Narragansett, Crosby's 
Early Sugar, Stowell's Evergreen, Mammoth 
Sugar. 
Cucumber. — Improved White Spine, Long 
Green. 
Cucumber— Frame or Forcing. — Sion House, 
Favorite, Cuthill's Black Spine, Marquis of 
Lome. 
Egg-Plant. — New York Improved, Black 
Pekin. 
Endive. — Green and White Curled, French 
Moss. 
Kohl B/ibi. — White and Purple Vienna. 
Leek. — Musselburgh, Large London Flag. 
Lettuce. — All the Year Round, Early Simp- 
son, Boston Market, Butter, Drumhead or Malta, 
Curled India. 
Melon (Musk). — Nutmeg, Green Citron, 
Skillman. 
