1884.j 
AMERICA]^ AGRIOITETURTST, 
423 
Fruit-Ripening and Decay. 
Fall or Holland Bulbs. 
That class of jjlants known as Fall or Holland 
Bulbs, includes hyacinths, crdcuses, jonquils, 
tulips, narcissuses, snow-drops, and several less 
known kinds. These bulbs are grown in Holland 
in immense quantities, the soil and climate of that 
country being peculiarly favorable to them, and 
they are annually imported into this country in 
great numbers. Autumn is the time to set them 
out; any time from the first of 
October to the middle of De¬ 
cember. Tulips, jonquils, nar¬ 
cissuses,and hyacinths, should 
be planted four inches deep, 
and eight inches apart each 
way ; the snow-drops and cro¬ 
cuses two inches deep, and six 
inches apart. All of the above 
named bulbs are entirely 
hardy, and will stand in the 
ground without any surface 
protection through the sever¬ 
est winters. S'^me go to the 
trouble of covering the sur¬ 
face with leaves or other litter 
for protection, but this is en¬ 
tirely unnecessary. A very 
pretty effect may be had where 
one has a large number of 
bulbs, by selecting the differ¬ 
ent colors and plantitig each 
color in a row by itself, so that 
when they blossom, there will 
be ribbon-lines of red, white, 
blue, or yellow', as the case 
maj' be. Or, if one has a large 
number of beds of different 
shapes, cut so as to form a 
design of some kind, each sec¬ 
tion may he planted with a 
ditl'erent color (hyacinths are 
the best for this work), and 
when all come into bloom in 
April, the effect will bo most 
charming. We tried this 
“ massing ” of the differently 
colored bulbs one year, in a 
“ design ’’ of one hundred dif¬ 
ferent sections of all conceiv¬ 
able shapes, ])lanting the bulbs 
so that when in blossom, the 
whole w'ould present a har¬ 
monious cllect. It would be 
hard to conceive of a more at¬ 
tractive sight than that pre¬ 
sented by all those bulbs in 
full bloom in early Ajjril, when 
every thing else looked barren 
and cheerless. They were ad¬ 
mired by every one who saw 
them. Bulbs of this character 
bloom and pass away in season 
to allow room for other plants 
to be set out. These may be 
set between the rows of bulbs, 
and not disturb them in the 
least. Any of the above named 
bulbs are especially desirable 
for house culture in winter. 
Make an oblong box, say four feet in length, 
fifteen inches wide, and twelve deep, fill this 
with fine, rich loam, then plant a row of hya¬ 
cinths in the centre, and on each side of this plant 
a row of either snow-drops or crocuses, water thor¬ 
oughly, and set away in a dark, cool place. In 
three weeks remove the box into the full light, 
water freely, and they will grow and bloom through¬ 
out the winter. If the box can be set near a front 
window, the flowers will make a pretty display. 
These bulbs can be started in pots, or glasses 
filled with water, and treated in the same manner 
as stated above. Place a single bulb of hyacinth 
in each pot or glass. Four-inch pots filled nearly 
to the top with soil, and the bulb set in and pressed 
down, so that nothing but the crown is above 
ground, is all that is necessary. The same bulbs 
can be used a number of years, but they are not so 
good as fresh ones, which should be obtained each 
year if possible. After the bulbs are through 
blooming, they may be left in the soil until spring. 
De Lancey's Pine. 
Among the noted trees in the vicinity of New 
York City is DeLancey’s Pine. In view of the prob- 
.able rapid increase of the city in the near future, a 
commission was appointed by the State Legislature 
After a fruit has attained its full size, and received 
from the tree all the nutriment that can conduce 
to its perfection, it is fully mature and then makes 
preparation for dropping. This is especially seen 
in the pear, in which the hold upon the tree, so to 
speak, is lessened, and if the fruit be gently raised 
to a horizontal position, the stem parts from the 
tree by a clean fracture. In the peach and some 
other fruits, decay soon follows maturity, while in 
the Russet apples it does not 
occur until at the end of sev- 
erak months. Among apples 
and pears we find a great dif¬ 
ference in the rapidity with 
which decay takes place. In 
some it occurs in a few days 
after maturity, and it is use¬ 
less to try to keep these. They 
are called early varieties, and 
must be disposed of as soon 
as possible after they are ma¬ 
ture. The late varieties of ap¬ 
ples and pears afford no ex¬ 
ception to the statement that 
fruits commence to decay soon 
after they are mature. This 
decay is very slow, but not 
the less certain. In keeping 
such fruits we endeavor to 
retard and prolong the process 
as much as possible. There is 
a certain point in the process 
of decay at which these fruits 
are best suited for use. We 
call it ripeness or mellowness, 
and say that the , fruit is in 
“eating condition.” When 
fruit reaches this condition, 
destructive decay or rotting 
soon follows. After late ap¬ 
ples are stoi ed for the winter, 
the gradual decay, of which 
we have spoken, commences. 
Important changes arc going 
on within the fruit. It ab¬ 
sorbs oxygen from the air of 
the room, and gives off car¬ 
bonic acid gas. Another 
change results in the forma¬ 
tion of water, which is given 
off as moisture. The taking 
up of oxygen by the fruit, 
and the giving off of carbonic 
acid, in a short lime so vitiate 
the atmosphere of the room in 
which the fruit is kept, that 
it will at once extinguish a 
candle, and destroy animal 
life. An atmosphere of this 
kind tends to preserve the 
fruit. There being little or no 
oxygen left in the air of the 
room, the process of decay is 
arrested. Hence it is desira¬ 
ble that the room be air-tight, 
in order to maintain such an 
atmosphere. The production 
of carbonic acid shows that 
the cellar in a dwelling is an 
improper place for storing fruit. When the gas is 
present in the air in sufficient proportion, it causes 
death, and a very small quantity will cause head¬ 
ache, listlessness, and other unpleasant effects. 
No doubt that many of the troubles attributed to 
malaria, are due to the gases from vegetables and 
fruits stored in the cellar. A fruit cellar should be 
underneath some other building than the dwel¬ 
ling, or a fruit house may be built entirely above 
ground. A house to keep fruit properly must be 
built upon the principle of a refrigerator. Its walls, 
floor, and ceiling, should be double, and the space 
between them filled with saw-dust. The doors and 
windows should be double, and as light is undesir¬ 
able, the windows are to be provided with shutters. 
There should be a small stove for use, if needed, 
to keep a proper temperature in severe weather. 
Engraved for the American. Agriculturist. 
to select lands for public parks well in advance of 
the time when these pleasure grounds should be 
required. Among other lands selected were those 
bordering on the river Bronx. This is a tract, a 
large portion of which in its native wildness rivals 
the Adirondack region. Here was the home of De 
Lancey, whose house was occupied by Washington. 
Though the house has been burned, there still 
“ Stands high in solitary state. 
De Lancey's ancient i)ine.'’ 
The tree has long, naked branches usually seen 
in the White Pine when of great age, giving it the 
aspect shown in the engr.aving, reproduced from 
drawings made forthe ParkCommissioners. Itis for¬ 
tunate that the conversion of this tract into a park 
will preserve this tree to be admired by future 
generations, as it has been by those of the past. 
