October, 1890. 
/ ORGHRRDfcTiRRD E N \ 
W''/'Vv>.ViWVW^AA/VAafiAMA/WVV N ^WNA/^J 
m 
A Chat on Varieties. 
v When one concludes to plant some small 
fruits for his home supply he is very prop- 
erly desirous of selecting those varieties that 
are of good quality, whilst at the same time 
productive and of easy culture.* On the 
other hand quality does not enter at all into 
the demands of the market grower, who 
looks only for firmness, size, and good 
bearing. The long list of strawberries 
renders a proper selection a matter of some 
difficulty and no little bewilderment to the 
novice, but among other small fruits the 
number of varieties is not so large. For 
family use, therefore, we readily select from 
among the red raspberries, Turner, Cuth- 
bert, and Shaffer’s Colossal, all good> 
well-tried, hardy sorts that will yield good 
fruit in plenty, The fruit of the latter is 
not handsome to look at, being of a dirty 
purplish-brown, but it is very good to eat, 
^ large, sweet, and juicy, and is produced in 
great abundance. The best yellow raspberry 
is Golden Queen, a yellow sport from 
Cuth bert, and virtually the same except in 
color of fruit. It has entirely superceded 
Brinckle’s Orange, which, delicious though 
it is, succeeds only in locations and under 
conditions which one is not always able to 
provide. There is nothing better, perhaps, 
for a supply of blackcaps than Souhegan, 
followed by Gregg. Ohio bears abundantly, 
but is not so large as Gregg. Among the 
newer sorts the best is Progress or Pioneer. 
Blackberries are easily grown and do not 
require rich soil ; there should be no diffi- 
culty in furnishing a goodly supply. The 
fruit is usuallv picked too soon, as the 
berries turn black some time before they 
are fully ripe, and they are then acid and 
hard at the core. To enjoy them at their 
best they should not be picked until ready 
to drop from the cane, and they are then 
soft and delicious. We once knew an old 
gentleman who kept the soil of his black- 
_ berry patch well mulched with clean straw 
pressed down evenly, and it was his custom 
to go over the patch daily, whilst the berries 
were ripe, striking the canes sharply with a 
stick, which caused the ripe berries to fall 
to the ground, and in this way he gathered 
his daily supply of dead ripe blackberries 
for his table. It is worth imitating in the 
home garden. The best sort for general 
early use is Erie, a large and productive 
variety, and we would also mention Early 
King in connection with it, which, though 
the berry is of only medium size, is of 
exquisite quality. To follow these there is 
nothing better than Kittatinny when it 
does not rust too badly, for it is very sus- 
ceptible to that disease. It is not extra- 
ordinarily hardy either, and is not to be 
advised fer very far northern planting unless 
winter protection by covering is to be given. 
For extremely cold localities the best that 
may be planted, all things considered, are 
/ Snyder, early, and Taylor’s Prolific, medium 
to late, both of fine quality and very pro- 
ductive, The fruit of neither of them; 
however, is as large as the Erie or Kittatinny, 
but they make up for these in their 
additional hardiness. 
It is not difficult to make a choice among 
currants for home use. Fay’s Prolific, Red 
Dutch, Victoria, and White Grape cover a 
long season, and if the list is too long the 
first named may be dropped. It is inferior 
in quality to the others, but possesses other 
qualities which render it far more valuable 
for market. The old-fashioned Red Dutch 
currant has been despised and abused con- 
siderably for its small fruit, but it seldom 
gets a fair show in competition with other 
sorts. Give it the same soil, culture, and 
general treatment that the progressive 
market grower gives to his Cherry or Fay’s 
currants, and the Red Dutch will be found 
very little behind them in size, and ahead in 
productiveness, excelling the Cherry in the 
fact that it is a regular annual bearer, which 
that variety is not. In the matter of quality 
there is no comparison. Victoria is always 
useful, for its late ripening, whether it be 
for market or home use, and its quality, 
too, is very good. There are two or three 
Early King Blackberry. Fig. 187. 
distinct varieties sold under the name of 
Victoria ; the true sort maybe known by its 
rather long bunches and pale red color. 
Gooseberries are not so easily grown in 
this country, but the Downing is the most 
satisfactory, and is a reliable bearer. The 
fruit is of fair size, quite abundant, and 
seldom mildews. Houghton is too small to 
bother with. Industry has done fairly in 
many localities, and failed utterly in others. 
It does better, however, in the United States 
than any of the other English varieties, 
which all mildew abominably here. If 
given favorable conditions at the North, 
such as a moist, rich soil kept cool by an 
abundant mulch, and a northern exposure, 
or in partial shade, it will give some very 
fine fruit and not mildew to any great 
extent. Surely it is worth taking special 
pains to obtain such snperb berries as the 
Industry is capable of yielding. Hence we 
add Industry to Downing and recommend 
them both for the home garden. 
There are two small fruits we have not 
yet mentioned, and they should not be 
omitted from the assortment of a good sized 
garden. These are the Lucretia dewberry 
and Success Juneberry. The former ripens 
just before the earliest blackberry, and is 
larger than any blackberry we have seen. 
The quality is good and the plant is hardy. 
The Success is the latest and greatest im- 
provement of the dwarf Juneberry. The 
fruit is larger than the whortleberry, purp- 
lish-black, and borne in clusters like the 
currant. Not everyone will like its flavor 
at first, but to our taste it is quite good and 
excellent for canning. A few plants of each 
of them in the garden will be interesting, if 
nothing more. 
We have refrained from naming varieties 
of strawberries for the reason that there are 
so many really good varieties, and moreover 
there is no fruit of any sort that is so 
materially affected by soil and location as 
is the strawberry, hence it is almost impos- 
sible to name with certainty varieties of 
strawberries that will behave equally well 
in all localities. We know only two varie- 
ties that possess this in any very great 
degree, and they are good, old-fashioned 
sorts — Chas. Downing and Kentucky — both 
of which succeed in light soil as well as 
in that which is heavy, and are old favorites 
pretty generally all over the country, espec- 
ially for home use, for their fine quality is 
one of their strong points. 
Conducted by F. J. Niswander, 
Agricultural College, Ingham Co, Mich. 
Currant Insects. 
During the past season the Michigan 
Agricultural Experiment Station has paid 
particular attention to insects attacking 
garden fruits and vegetables. Especial at- 
tention has been paid to currants, and many 
new facts noted. 
The currant span worm, Enfitchia ribearia 
Fitch, has been found quite frequently. It 
can be easily distinguished from the currant 
slug by its color — yellow dotted with black, 
while the currant slug is green dotted with 
black — and its method of locomotion, arch- 
ing its back in the form of a loop at every 
step. This is a characteristic of all the 
members of the family Geometridce. From 
this habit they are called Geometers, span- 
worms, and measuring worms. They may 
be destroyed by the application of hellibore 
or Paris green, and London purple, 
Agrotis C. nigrum Linn, is one of the most 
common Agrotions found in this State 
(Michigan). This year the larvae of this 
moth were found feeding on the currant, 
and moths reared from them. This is per- 
haps the first instance of this species being 
found on currants, but did not occur in 
sufficient numbers to do any damage. 
Mamestria pictu Harris, was captured 
feeding on currants, and the moth reared 
from the larvae. While the larvae feed 
on cabbages and cauliflowers I can find no 
