246 
the) strawberry plant.—farming and crops in the west. 
others, never bore a perfect fruit. I saw a like bed 
ot it in this place, with many defective berries, but 
not a single perfect fruit. I have seen this the case 
on the banks of the Ohio, where there were one-and- 
a-half acres of this variety. The bed had been set 
out the fall previous, and a press of business had 
prevented the gardener from putting out male plants. 
Had he done so in the fall, even 1 to 20, they would 
have had possession of near half his ground. The 
elder, Mr. Prince, more than 20 years since, convers¬ 
ed with me on this subject. He was aware of the 
existence of barren plants, which he designated as 
blind plants, and the necessity of having one blind, 
to 10 or 12 bearing plants; but the blind plants so 
speedily rooted out the bearing vines, that he was 
impressed with the belief, that the bearing vines pro¬ 
duced a portion of blind plants in running. In rais¬ 
ing seedlings, it is a matter of great importance to be 
able to distinguish the staminate from the pistillate 
plant, before running; to cut them out, as they will 
before the plants are fruited, root most of the pistil¬ 
late plants out. Is not Mr. Downing under a mis¬ 
take in describing the Hudson as a necked fruit ? This 
is one of our largest, best flavored, and most produc¬ 
tive strawberries, where male plants are interspersed. 
I have known it well for 50 years, in New Jersey, 
Philadelphia, and Ohio, but never saw one with a 
neck. On the contrary, the stem and hull is so 
much imbedded in the fruit, that it is difficult to sepa¬ 
rate the fruit with the fingers. The strawberry 
cultivated in England under this name, and said to 
have been received from New York, is described as 
a necked fruit, and I presume Mr. Downing has taken 
the description from English works, and not personal 
observation. I wish to draw his attention to it, that 
he may correct the error, if he be in error; for where 
its pistillate character is understood, it is the most 
valuable to cultivate for market. In the spring of 
1844, a single wild staminate plant was brought me, 
from a field in Kentucky. This spring, I sent it to 
our Horticultural Society, with 200 perfect fruit. 
Separate from staminate plants, it would not have 
produced even an imperfect berry. 
In justice to Mr. Downing’s views, I should say, 
I have never met with an English or Scotch gar¬ 
dener who would even admit the existence of plants 
not producing a full crop of fruit, from a defect of 
organs. When I have in their own gardens pointed 
out ten staminate to one pistillate blossom, the former 
all barren, and the latter with perfect fruit, they gave 
a shrug of the shoulders—said, they had never before 
noticed the difference in the character of the blossom, 
and that no such difference existed in Europe. Mr. 
Buist, the intelligent horticulturist of Philadelphia, 
denied my principle, certainly so far as Kean's seed¬ 
ling was concerned, as it yearly never failed to pro¬ 
duce a full crop of large fruit. He showed me a full 
bed, then opening its blossoms, which were all pis¬ 
tillate plants, and not the true Kean, which is a sta¬ 
minate plant, and so figured in their publications, and 
so seen by me at Mr. Cushing’s, I told him they 
could not produce any perfect fruit. He assured me 
they had never failed. A few feet distant, I found 
another bed, in which nearly all were staminate 
plants, and which he told me was the Hudson. I 
pointed out to him in that bed, male plants, amply 
sufficient to impregnate all his Kean. He then ob¬ 
served, to be certain, he had planted a bed of them, 
separate from all others. These I examined, and we 
agreed to be bound by the result. He wrote me one 
month thereafter, that the fruit in the first bed shown 
me, was all perfect, whilst the separate bed had no* 
a single perfect fruit. 
I imported the same variety from England, under 
the name of Kean’s seedling. It is a hardy vine, a 
great bearer, the fruit large and well flavored. It is a 
much more valuable variety, than the genuine sta¬ 
minate Kean, which produces a partial crop only, of 
large fine fruit; and a late English writer says it is 
now but little cultivated, being found unproductive. 
It is a valuable kind for forcing, but of little value for 
general culture. 
Newark , N. J., July 10,1845. N. Longworth. 
FARMING AND CROPS AT THE WEST. 
You ask me for the results of my observations on 
agricultural matters, in my late trip to the West. My 
range of observation was limited in two respects : 
First, on account of the route, which was mostly by 
water, or through such parts of Illinois and Wiscon¬ 
sin as were but little settled; and second, the object of 
my excursion was so foreign from agricultural affairs, 
as to leave me but little time to make inquiries re¬ 
lating to them. 
Our first permanent landing place, after leaving 
Lake Erie, was Chicago, which, in its rapid growth 
(already numbering some 10 or 12,000 inhabitants, al¬ 
though but 13 years ago it contained scarcely 100); 
its numerous large stores and houses, all well filled; 
its activity and the extent of its business, gives con¬ 
clusive evidence of a flourishing agriculture in the 
country which is tributary to it. The trade with 
Chicago is purely agricultural, excepting some minor 
branches of the mechanic arts, and the slightly arti¬ 
ficial stimulus afforded by the previous artificial ex¬ 
penditure on the Illinois and Michigan canal; which 
is again to be resumed this season, to be completed 
probably in the course of another year. The best 
indication of the highly favorable condition of the 
agriculture of northern Illinois, is perhaps to be 
learned from the prosperity of its capital; as the 
country which now contributes to build up and sus¬ 
tain it was but a wilderness, while Chicago was only 
an Indian trading post. 
While there, 1 frequently had the pleasure of meet¬ 
ing our friend, Mr. Wright, the zealous and indefati¬ 
gable editor of the Prairie Farmer, from whom I was 
pleased to learn that his paper is gaining rapidly in 
circulation, and doing much good by introducing and 
sustaining modern views and improvements in the 
science and practice of agriculture. 
We made an excursion of some 80 miles into the 
interior, passing down on the west side of the Des 
Plaines river, and crossing over at Lockport; thence 
on to Joliet (as it ought to be written in honor of the 
devoted old French Jesuit who made it his missionary 
home among the savages, 100 years ago) ; and from 
thence along Hickory Creek, the Yankee settlement, 
and northeastwardly to Chicago. Much of this route 
was sparsely settled and indifferently enough farmed; 
and much of it was thickly studded with houses and 
farm buildings, and under a good ( western sort of\ 
cultivation. The cattle had all their new coats on, 
and looked well, for Illinois everywhere produces a 
good kind of natural grass, in tolerable profusion, the 
