AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
smaller, and I am almost sure that the root lives 
in the ground all Winter. 1 have found them in 
flower when the P. viscosa had scarcely begun to 
show itself, and then its root appeared strong and 
woody. I have met with this in Pennsylvania, 
and in all parts of western Canada, even above 
the 44th paralel. It loves warm, sunny hanks. In 
Pennsylvania (where I spent part of my boyhood) 
we had this and another kind, a greater favorite 
with the hoys on account of its more plentiful 
and more acid fruit. It was a low trailing plant, 
lying on the ground, the leaf a canker green and 
more smooth and small than the P. viscosa. 
But I have seen and eaten yet another kind, 
which is. I think, better than any or all that you 
or 1 have written about. I met with it about 
twenty years ago, while employed as a sort of as¬ 
sistant engineer in running out a road between 
the west end of Lake Simcoe and the south end of 
the Georgian Bay, Lake Huron—the country then, 
an unbroken forest. Part of it was a burnt re¬ 
gion, burned about three years before we were 
there. Here, in the month of July, we found a 
plant strange to us, what first drew our attention 
to it was that the deer had browsed it off close to 
the ground. In coming to the same place in the 
latter end of July, we found it in lull flower. We 
then classed it with the potato, and thought, in¬ 
deed, that we had discovered a Canadian variety 
of the wild potato. We hunted for tubers, find 
ing none, hut found a large, woody, fibrous root. 
In September 1 visited the spot again, and found 
thundance of fruit, larger than cherries, a bright 
yellow, with a very rich, somewhat acid and 
sweet taste. Each plant bore from one to two 
juaris, though shaded by the trees and plants 
aiound them. The plant grew from ono '.6 two 
ieet in bight, and quite branching. I have never 
seen the same kind growing elsewhere. My ac¬ 
quaintance with them continued for two seasons. 
I then left that part of the country, and have 
never visited it since. It is now settled. But I 
lave often since proposed taking a journey 
thither, in order to procure seed, and introduce 
them into notice. I now purpose doing so next 
Autumn (if spared.) I am sure they are the best 
I ever met with. 
Remarks. —We hope Mr. Williams will carry 
out his intention. We are becoming more and 
more interested in this plant. We, of course, 
can have no sellLh end to further in recommend¬ 
ing it. From among many statements received 
from persons in various parts of the country, 
we will select only the following of recent date, 
from an intelligent gentleman in a high position. 
He says: “_We tried the Winter Cherry 
seed you distribuied last Spring, and are much 
pleased with the results. This is one of the most 
promising things lately “brought out.” People 
can get Iruit from them,when all other kinds fail, 
and they get it in a few months from planting, 
that is the same season. I never ate better pies 
than those we have had the past summer made 
of Winter cherries and some lemon added. 
Without the lemon or some other tart they are 
rather insipid, but with this addition they are 
very excellent, having a pleasant taste with a kind 
of pine apple flavor.” 
There are doubtless many varieties of the Phy- 
sahs growing wild in different parts of the coun¬ 
try, and it is desirable to find the best. We be¬ 
lieve this plant will soon help to fill up a gap in 
the fruit line with a multitude of families, es¬ 
pecially at the West, where tree fruits are not 
yet planted, or have not corne into bearing. 
We have seed enough of ow own raising, to 
tfistribute about 15,000 small parcels, of 50 to 75 
or more seeds in each, but we shall be glad to 
learn where we can purchase a further supply, in 
case our own stock runs short. If seed is offered 
for sale, we shall desire to see specimens of the 
fruit from which it is obtained, and also learn re¬ 
liable particulars as to the variety, habit of 
growth, etc. 
Fix the Garden for Winter- 
Go through the whole county at this season, 
and you will find ninety-nine gardens out of every 
hundred, the most unsightly spots on the farm 
and about the village dwellings, and so they will 
be all through the Winter. Here are standing mu¬ 
tilated stalks of plants—too many of their, weed 
stalks—there is a mass of potato vines, literally 
“ lying around loose.” Here are cabbage-leaves, 
corn-stubs, onion-tops, etc.; there are hills and 
mounds of earth, produced in digging beets, car¬ 
rots, and other roots. Only a deep snow will 
cover the garbage, and give a pleasant look 
to the spot which was so attractive during the re¬ 
cent growing season. In the Spring all this 
trash will he gathered, the ground leveled and 
raked, and the gardens will look cheerful again, 
though not a plant or leaf has yet appeared. 
But why not do the “cleaning-up” now? It 
will take no more time than in Spring, and how 
much better the garden will appear all through 
the cheerless winter. Just try the effect of gath¬ 
ering the rubbish and putting it in a heap ?. an 
out of the way corner; or laying it evenly -»*er 
strawberry or asparagus plots ; rake off the sur¬ 
face of the beds smooth and level, unless you 
ridge the ground, as recommended elsewhere; 
fix up the walks or alleys a little, and leave the 
whole with the appearance of having been re¬ 
cently prepared and planted. A few hour’s work 
of this kind, done now, will save so much time in 
the Spring; the ground will dry out earlier, than 
if pattially covered up with leaves and rubbish ; 
and the cultivated look will, even in Winter, con¬ 
stantly afford a kind of pleasure, similar to that 
experienced when one has finished making garden 
in the Spring, and is looking for the coming 
crops. 
----a>-S-a°——- 
Try Ridging your Garden. 
There is not the slightest doubt that it pays 
well for the trouble, to throw almost any garden 
soil into high narrow ridges, in the Fall or early 
Winter. The frost will penetrate deeper at the 
bottom of the intervening furrows, and vastly im¬ 
prove the subsoil for the roots of plants. The soil 
in the ridges will also freeze and thaw more thor¬ 
oughly, and thus become finer and mellower, and 
of course be rendered more fertile thereby. This 
is especially the case with clay or heavy soils. 
Ground thus thrown into ridges and furrows will 
dry out sooner in the Spring and be ready for 
much earlier working. 
Another decided advantage is, that grubs, 
worms, and insects generally, which burrow be¬ 
low the frost, or are protected by the soil from 
sudden thawing and freezing, will be mostly killed, 
if their retreats are disturbed and they exposed to 
severer cold. Many of the roots of perennial 
weeds, will also be destroyed. 
If you have not faith enough in this theory, and 
in the experience of those who have practiced 
upon it, to induce you to treat your whole gar¬ 
den thus, try at least a small plot and mark the 
effects next season. Dig the ground deeply, 
making the ridges as narrow and high as possible- 
If it ordinarily freezes a foot deep, then by mak¬ 
ing the furrows to that depth the frost will pene¬ 
trate nearly as much further down. A good 
3G9 
freezing is equal, as a pulverizer, to any number 
of mechanical diggings with a spade. 
For the good appearance of the garden during 
Winter, it is well to make the ridges and furrows 
straight, and uniform in size and bight. 
-r-*-* —C3 O—-- 
Covering Raspberries for Winter. 
Most of the improved newer varieties of Rasp¬ 
berries need protection during Winter, such, for 
example,as the Fastolff, Antwerp, and 13ritickle’s 
Orange. Some or ail of these will sometimes 
live through, but if they do this, they will be less 
vigorous, and fruit much less than if covered, it 
is not so much the hard freezing that injures 
them, as the alternate sudden freezing and thaw¬ 
ing they receive in the open air. Two inches of 
soil thrown over the canes bent down, prevents a 
sudden change of temperature, and is quite as 
good as a deeper covering. Prcbably most per¬ 
sons will have attended to it before reading 
this, but if not, it should be done at once, or at 
the first moment when the ground is unfrozen. 
Raspberries may be covered with straw, salt 
hay, boards, and earth. A covering of earth has 
always been found the best. Many people make 
unnecessary labor—bending down and covering 
cane by cane. We rapidly protect ours as follows : 
Commencing at one end of a row, bend all the 
canes towards the other end, packing them in 
closely, so that they form a compact line of plants 
requiring but little earth to cover them. We pre¬ 
fer the fork spade as less liable to injure them. 
Run the spade under the hill and gently incline 
it to the side you wish to lay it down. Without 
this tipping the canes liable to break off at 
the surface. Having bent over the first hill 
and thrown just earth enough over some part oi 
it to hold it there, go on to the second hill, and 
follow the same course to ihe end of the row 
Next ilirow on sufficient earth, from between the 
rows, to cover them from two to three inches 
deep, or just sufficient to prevent the winter rains 
from washing them bare, and they are in the very 
best winter quarters, with ditches between the 
rows to pass off surplus water. Remove them 
in the Spring as soon as severe freezing is over. 
--* --- 
Cement for Glass under Water- 
In response to the inquiry for a cement for 
glass under water, as in aquariums, J. B. Sewall, 
of Lynn, Mass., writes, that after various trials he 
found the following excellent, for which he is in¬ 
debted to a chemical friend: Take by weight , 
twelve parts of resin ; four parts gum shellac ; 
two parts common beeswax ; one part Spanish 
brown ; and two parts of Plaster of Paris or fine 
brick dust, say enough to make the cement tol¬ 
erably thick while melted. After being applied, it 
can be smoothed with a hot iron. If a leak should 
happen from any cause it can be mended with the 
hot iron in a trice—the water being first removed 
of course. This cement does not crack, and is 
perfectly insoluble in water. 
H. A. Sheldon, Middlebury, Yt., writes that in 
constructing an aquarium, lie was obliged to in¬ 
vent a cement, and he finds the use of the follow¬ 
ing perfecily successful: Dissolve two ounces 
of gum shellac in six ounces of alcohol, mix with 
clean clay dried and powdered. To use, dilute 
with alcohol and app’y with a brush. It effectu¬ 
ally prevents any rusting of the iron. 
—--«■ ----- 
Nature sometimes makes a fool, but a coxcomb 
is always of his own manufacture. 
