1879.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
185 
ous, and should not, therefore, be taken as a 
fair sample of what the tree may be expected 
to do. A specimen before me, cut from a tree 
which grew on the banks of the Ohio, in Kentucky, 
is eleven inches in diameter, and has fifty-three 
annual layers of growth, or an average increase of 
less than one-fifth of an inch, a rate of growth 
which is probably much nearer the average ordi¬ 
narily attained by this tree than that of the Hud¬ 
son River specimen. The Kentucky Coffee-Tree is 
■easily raised from seed, or from cuttings made 
from pieces of the root, which grow very readily, 
if planted like potatoes ; and young plants will be 
found hardier and more capable of withstanding 
ill usage than seedlings of many other trees em¬ 
ployed in forest planting. 
But is the wood of this tree valuable enough to 
warrant its more general cultivation ? The younger 
Michaux, a French botanist, who travelled exten¬ 
sively in this country, in the early part of the 
century, and afterwards published the history 
of North American Trees, which is still the stan¬ 
dard authority on the subject, examined the 
wood of the Kentucky Coffee-Tree, and formed so 
high an opinion of its value that he recommended 
its general introduction into Europe as a timber 
tree. Subsequent writers on our trees have fol¬ 
lowed Michaux, often in his own words, in prais¬ 
ing the tree, but without, perhaps, always very 
critically examining its real merits. So that now, 
while there is a general impression among those 
who interest themselves in such matters, that 
the tree is of great ecenomic value, there 
is very little exact information attainable, I 
find, on many points in regard to the wood 
of this tree. I have had its specific gravity 
calculated, as the specific gravity of a wood ap¬ 
pears, on the whole, the best test of its strength 
and value. That of this wood is .609 ; of Ailanthus, 
.614; and of White Oak, .662. So that, in spite of 
its slow growth, even the fast growing Ailanthus 
produces more valuable wood, while White Oak is 
considerably ahead of it. It is, however, in its 
turn, superior to Black Walnut, Cherry, and many 
other woods largely used in cabinet-making. But 
the specific gravityis no test as to the durability of a 
wood, for the lightest woods, like Catalpa, are often 
the most durable ; and nothing but actual trial can 
determine how any wood will behave when exposed 
to alternating dry and wet. If proved to be really 
durable, this will be an admirable wood for railway 
ties, fence-posts, and out-door construction ; and if 
any reader of the Amei'ican Agriculturist has any 
personal knowledge of its having been used for 
such purposes,- or for furniture, or otherwise, he 
will confer a favor on the writer of this article by 
communicating with him on the subject. The 
specimens of this wood which I have examined 
are close-grained, compact, very tough, and re¬ 
markably free from sap-wood. The heart-wood is 
of a bright, cheerful, rosy color, susceptible of a 
high polish, and when cut transversely, shows nu¬ 
merous satiny “silver rays.” The great drawback 
to this wood for cabinet-making is its cross-grained 
nature, which makes it very hard to season prop¬ 
erly; but once seasoned, it will prove, although 
difficult to work, a valuable addition to the list of 
hard woods now so much used. 
There are, then, undoubtedly some reasons why 
this tree should not be generally planted. It does 
not grow very rapidly, and will require, even in the 
best soil, at least a century of growth to attain its 
full size; nor, so far as is now known, does the w r ood 
of Gymnocladus possess qualities which render it su¬ 
perior to that of many other faster-growing trees. 
Still, when the practice of planting artificial forests 
becomes a more general one in this country than it 
is to-day, the rule of mixed plantations , which nature 
has established, will be found the wisest to follow ; 
aDd in mixed plantations the Kentucky Coffee-Tree 
will find its proper place with the Ashes, Walnuts, 
Hickories, Maples, and Oaks. As an ornamental 
tree, the Gymnocladus deserves much more atten¬ 
tion than it has yet received. For street-planting 
it is particularly suited. It puts out its leaves very 
late, and so does not cast a dense shade early in the 
season, when too much shade is an objection. Its 
habit of growth, too, with its upright, not spread¬ 
ing, branches, adapts this tree to narrow streets or 
country roads, where trees with a spreading habit 
of growth could not find space in which to de¬ 
velop. Its freedom from the attacks of all in¬ 
sects, so far as I have been able to learn, is an¬ 
other advantage, and not a slight one, in favor 
of the Kentucky Coffee-Tree for street-planting. 
The Grape Vine Raspberry. 
It is often the case that we feel sure that a thing 
is a fraud long before we can prove it to be so. 
This has been the case with the “ GrapeVine Rasp¬ 
berry,” the very name of which is calculated to 
excite suspicion, and we had inquiries concerning 
it for some time before we could get at its history. 
One Holland, of Plymouth, Ind., sent out a special 
circular, headed: “A New and Rare Plant, Grape 
Vine Raspberry.” He says : “ A raspberry that 
resembles the grape vine in wood and leaves. It is 
purely thornless, and the wood is jointed like a 
grape vine * * * a very large, sweet, lucious 
berry; measuring 1 inch in diameter. * * * It 
is a new seedling raspberry, and makes a rare and 
very pretty ornamental bush on account of its large 
leaves, singular appearance, and the beauty of its 
flowers when in blossom. I control the entire 
stock ”—which he offers at 81 the plant. It is not 
our custom to advertise nurserymen gratis, but we 
make Holland an exception, and we advise all who 
wish to purchase a real genuine “ Grape Vine Rasp¬ 
berry,” to go to the man who controls “ the entire 
stock,” though we do not think that the demand 
will be large after we have told the whole story. 
“ The Evergreen,” a nursery paper, published at 
Green Bay, Wis., stated that Holland purchased of 
Pinney & Co., of that place, a lot of “Nootka 
Sound Raspberry Plants, (Bubus Nutkanus ), which 
grow native and wild there,” and was selling them 
as a seedling, and the editor proposed to furnish 
the same plants that Holland was offering at 81 
each, for 88 a hundred ! Messrs. A. Hance & Son, 
Red Bank, N. J., who have a sharp eye for novel¬ 
ties, procured plants of the genuine “Grape Vine 
Raspberry ” from Hammond, and plants of the 
“ Nootka Sound Raspberry ” from Pinney & Co., 
of Sturgeon Bay, Wis. In due time both these 
flowered and fruited at Red Bank, and they both 
turned out to be the same thing—not Balms 
Nutkanus at all, and not to be distinguished from 
the old “ Flowering Raspberry,” Rubus odoratus. 
We would not imply that there was any intentional 
wrong on the part of Pinney & Co.,—they merely 
mistook one native plant for another very closely 
resembling it—a thing which may readily happen. 
This “ Flowering Raspberry ” is common from 
Canada to Georgia, and even grows—or did not long 
ago—within the limits of New York City. As an 
ornamental shrub we have often commended it, as it 
has pleasing foliage and large, purple flowers. As 
to its fruit, Holland is right in saying it is “large,” 
and it is often “ 1 inch in diameter,” but being 
shaped like a saucer it is all breadth and no depth. 
It may be “ luscious ” to Hammond—but tastes 
differ. If one had an acre of plants, he might get 
a quart of berries at a picking—then again he 
might not. We have seen many bushes, but never 
many berries. Messrs. Hance & Son think that 
the “Grape Vine ” plants seem to be rather larger 
in the leaves and flower than in the Eastern form of 
“ Flowering Raspberry ”—but that the berries are 
not more numerous or better in quality. Those who 
wish to grow the “Flowering Raspberry” as an 
ornamental shrub, can get it at almost any nursery 
for 25c. If they wish to purchase the same thing 
under the name of “Grape Vine Raspberry” at 
81 apiece, they will now know where to send. 
Salt as a Fertilizer. —There is a mistaken 
idea prevalent that it is contrary to law to use salt 
as a fertilizer. This is a relic of the war of 1812, 
when this use of salt, then an imported article, 
was forbidden as an improvident waste, tending to 
make it scarce aud dear. The tradition still sur¬ 
vives, and is occasionally heard of from all parts 
of the country. There is no law to prevent any 
use we may wish to make of salt, and as a fertil¬ 
izer it is not only largely used, but it is very bene¬ 
ficial to some crops. For mangels and field beets, 
excepting the sweet varieties, and for field crops 
of cabbages, 300 lbs. per acre may be generally used 
with benefit, scattered on the soil as the young 
plants make their first appearance, or are first set 
out. Salt is frequently useful when mixed with an 
equal weight of plaster and applied at the rate of 
200 lbs. per acre to clover or grass early in May. 
A Covered Well for Pumps. 
Mr. “ W. J. W.,” of Staten Island, sends a sketch 
of the mauner in which he arranged his well. 
This was dug 13feet deep and 5 feet in diameter; 
stoning up left the well 3 feet clear on the inside. 
Over the wall he placed a flag-stone with a circular 
hole at one side, and from this he carried a 4-ineh tile 
pipe up to the surface of the ground. A pipe to 
COVERED WELL AND PUMP. 
connect with a pump at the house, and another to 
connect with a pump at the well, were passed 
through the tile pipe, and all above the flag¬ 
stone filled in with earth, as shown in the en¬ 
graving, which gives a sectional view of the well. 
This has the advantage that it keeps out all sur¬ 
face water and other impurities, but it would 
make it rather troublesome when it became ne¬ 
cessary to clean the well, from sand, etc. 
Jute and its Culture. 
Probably no other fibre can be made to serve so 
many different purposes as that afforded by the 
Jute plant, and probably no other can be produced 
so cheaply. Then again, the demand for it seems 
almost unlimited ; our imports over ten years ago 
exceeded 85,000,000 annually, but now they must be 
very much larger. It can be cultivated in all the 
States south of Virginia. The limit of its profit¬ 
able culture is not yet ascertained, but perhaps it 
will be further north than here indicated. There 
is no apparent reason why we should not raise every 
pound of jute used in this country, and its culture 
has been commenced with greater promise of suc¬ 
cess than has attended the introduction of any 
other crop new to our Agriculture. This is due 
largely to the fact that there are factories already 
in operation for the manufacture of the imported 
raw material, and one great obstacle to the intro¬ 
duction of a new crop—want of a market—is re¬ 
moved. Then the Agricultural Society of South 
Carolina has taken an active part in the matter, 
and encouraged its members to undertake the cul¬ 
ture by supplying seeds and giving instruction as 
to growing and treating the crop. Jute is a native 
of Asia ; its botanical name is Corchorus capsvlaris, 
and it belongs to the Tilia family, which is repre¬ 
sented with us by the Basswood, or Linden, a tree 
well known for its tough bark. The Jute plant is 
annual, with a stem 8 to 12 feet high, an inch or 
more through at the base, and branching only at 
the summit. The form of the leaves, of the small 
yellow flowers and seed capsules, is shown on the 
next page. The plant is cut when in flower, tied 
