274 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September 
time, and tlie berries have been much enlarged: 
in their sweetness probably there was no gain. 
Mulching has been found very useful. 
To the above hints applicable especially to 
garden culture, we add, for the field, the advice 
of a large grower, Daniel Hughes, of Ifaver- 
straw, N. Y. He says: “ A deep, alluvial soil, 
rich in vegetable mold, will require a light dres¬ 
sing of well rotted stable manure, with a top¬ 
dressing of ashes immediately after planting, 
employing from ten to thirty bushels to the acre. 
For a light sand or loam, a more liberal dres¬ 
sing should be given: to four loads of vegeta¬ 
ble muck, add one load of rich barn manure, 
and from four to eight bushels of unleaclied 
ashes; and if lime is cheap, it may be advan¬ 
tageously used to twice the amount of ashes, 
together with salt-lye, which is the best addition 
to the compost that can be used for this fruit. 
Mulch the roots well, to keep the ground free 
from weeds; but the grand point to be insisted 
on, is depth of culture.” 
Spring is the best season for planting, though 
Fall will answer, if the roots are well protected 
in the Winter following. Set them in rows four 
feet wide. Some growers place them also in 
hills, three or four canes to a hill, for conveni¬ 
ence of tying up to a central stake. A good 
way of supporting the vines, is to set stout, well 
braced posts at each end of the rows, also to 
drive in stakes firmly at every thirty feet in the 
row, and then to stretch wires from post to post, 
at about three and a half feet from the ground: 
the wires also to be fastened to the intermediate 
stakes. Some persons use two wires. The canes 
are to be tied up to the wires with bass-matting 
or soft twine. 
In the Fall of each year, the canes should be 
bent to the ground, fastened down by short 
stakes, and then covered with a little litter or 
dirt. The tenderer sorts absolutely require this 
protection, and all (unless we except the Native 
Black Cap, and Allen’s,) are benefited by it. 
In the Fall, also, dress the whole ground with 
manure, to be forked in next Spring. Some ad¬ 
vise a mixture of spent tan-bark and the chip- 
pings of leather to compost with the barn ma¬ 
nure. In the Spring, after hard frosts are over, 
uncover the plants, and tie up the canes to the 
stakes or. wires. Where the canes are very 
long, clip their extremities. 
Varieties : Tastes differ here as glsewliere, 
but the Red Antwerp , the Hudson River Antwerp, 
and the Brinckle's Orange, are universal favorites. 
The Franconia is a good market berry, resem¬ 
bling the Antwerp, but firmer, and ripening a 
week later. Enevet's Giant is large, very pro¬ 
ductive, and particularly fine for preserving. 
The Yellow Antwerp is delicately flavored and 
sweeter than many others, but not a profuse 
bearer. Allen's is inferior in quality to the fore¬ 
going, but is very hardy. Fastolf, an English 
variety, resembles Red Antwerp, but is a little 
richer and softer. 
Notes oi» Varieties oi‘ Raspberries. 
To the above, written by an associate, who 
has had considerable experience in the growth 
of small fruits, we will add from our memoran¬ 
dum book some notes made in July, while our 
raspberries were in bearing. The vines referred 
to were set in the Spring of 1800, in the open 
ground, all on the same soil, and having had 
the same treatment: 
Franconia .—Canes vigorous; yield well; fruit 
.aigo, dark red, and of firm flesh and good flavor. 
October Yellow .—Canes moderately strong; 
fruit a beautiful yellow or orange color, of 
mediumsize, and second or third rate in flavor. 
Bagley's Ever-hearing .—Grows very vigorously, 
rather too much so; fruit not abundant, small, 
red, not very good flavor; only recommendation 
is the vigor and hardiness of the plants, and the 
long continuance of yielding—we find now ripe 
fruit, flowers, and flower buds. 
Catawissa. —Very free grower, and pretty free 
bearer; fruit medium or small size, dark colored, 
flavor not the best. Somewhat superior, on the 
whole, to the common wild black cap. 
Merville de 4 Seasons .—Fair grower and bear¬ 
er ; fruit large, light color, soft, and flavor rather 
insipid. 
Red Antwerp (pure .)—Canes vigorous; free 
bearer; fruit fair size or full medium, solid, and 
good flavor. 
President Cope .—Moderately vigorous; bears 
moderately; fruit large, red, tender, flavor noth¬ 
ing extra. 
Fastolf. —Decidedly a favorite; a free grower 
and bearer; fruit large and flavor superior, 
rather too tender to carry to a distant market, 
but one of the best for home use, and for a near 
market. 
Brinckle's Orange .—Very good; free grower 
and bearer; fruit good size, beautiful orange 
color, somewhat solid, flavor superior. 
Victoria , or Belle de Fontenay .—A free grower, 
very hardy, and free bearer; fruit large, red, 
solid, good flavor—perhaps not quite equal to 
the Fastolf. This is a new variety, imported, 
we believe. They chanced to be left entirely 
unprotected during the last cold Winter, and 
suffered not the least, but are bearing abundant¬ 
ly, and have fruit just setting for a continuance 
of the bearing season; it is apparently one of 
the most promising for general culture. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Can Fruit be grown in Minnesota? 
Trials with Grapes, Pears, Cherries, Blackberries, etc. 
I think that the people of Minnesota general¬ 
ly are too ready to accept the opinion that fruit 
can not be grown here, without sufficiently ex¬ 
perimenting. I came to Minnesota four years 
ago, from Connecticut, where fruit is plenty, and 
I was not satisfied to believe that fruit could 
not be grown here, until I had made the experi¬ 
ment. I have, during that time, ripened three 
varieties of grapes—amounting to over a bushel 
in all. They were the Isabella, Catawba, and 
Diana; I have trained the Isabella upon trel¬ 
lises, and they have grown annually a length of 
twenty feet—requiring cutting back in the Au¬ 
tumn, of course. The othei varieties I train 
upon the renewal system. 1 have also under 
cultivation the Delaware, Hartford Prolific, 
Anna, Rebecca, Chappala, Clinton, Arkansas, 
and some seedlings I am experimenting with, 
all of which are flourishing finely. I was told 
that they would die the first Winter, but I have 
bound them in dry straw, and laid them down, 
and they have come out fresh and bright every 
Spring. 
I have also a number of fine pear and cherry 
trees growing, all of which I find no trouble in 
preserving by binding the trunk with straw rope. 
I have two rows of New-Rochellc blackberries 
70 feet long, from which I picked a bushel of 
berries last year, it being the second year of 
their growth. They require protection during 
Winter. My course with them is as follows: In 
the Autumn, after cutting them back sufficient¬ 
ly to allow them to harden, I disconnect them 
from the wire to which they have been trained, 
and remove the earth from the base sufficiently 
to allow them to bend without breaking; then 
bend them down close to the ground, and 
throw some straw over them; a few shovelfuls 
of dirt upon this completes the work. They 
should be left to stand as long as possible, in or¬ 
der that the wood may harden, yet care should 
be taken not to work at them when frozen, as 
there is great danger of breaking the lateral 
branches, wdiich are to produce the fruit the 
next season. 
As I have but two acres of ground for all my 
gardening and fruit-growing purposes, my ex¬ 
periments with trees are necessarily confined to 
dwarfs. They have all, thus far, been highly 
satisfactory, and I think with care fruit can be 
grown with good success in Minnesota. In a 
recent trip through the country I noticed many 
fine orchards started, which promise well. I was 
also highly pleased to find in not a few farm¬ 
houses in Minnesota my old friend and constant 
companion, counselor and guide, the American 
Agriculturist. J, F. 
■-• «- ■q -O- w* "- > » - 
Mushrooms for the Table. 
Many persons refrain from eating the mush¬ 
room, through fear of its poisonous qualities, 
and others through ignorance of its value 
for culinary purposes. The true mushroom, 
(agaricus campestris,) is not poisonous. But there 
are several species of fungi resembling it, popu¬ 
larly called toad-stools, which are hurtful. The 
true article may be distinguished from the false, 
by its small, round, brownish cap, stem from 
two to three inches high, and its gills a fine pink 
hue; while the toad-stool is simply dark, dingy- 
colored, five or six inches high, is slimy to the 
touch, and has rather a disagreeable odor. The 
toad-stool grows generally in the forest, while 
the mushroom is always found in rich, open 
pasture lands. 
Of the true mushroom, Fessenden says there 
are about three hundred species native to Great 
Britain. The months in which it most abounds 
are August and September; but it is grown ar¬ 
tificially, both in England and this country, all 
the year round, and forms a lucrative crop to 
the market-gardener. In its taste, it approaches 
the nearest to animal matter of any vegetable 
production. It makes an excellent catchup, is 
highly esteemed as a pickle, and when stewed 
in rich gravies, makes a fine relish. 
As the mushroom is not found wild, except 
for a short period, we will give our readers the 
common mode of domestic cultivation. It is 
propagated by what the gardeners term spaiun. 
This is a white, thready substance, found in the 
Summer in old pastures where the mushroom is 
wont to grow, in masses of rotten horse dung, 
sometimes under stable-floors, and in the re¬ 
mains of spent liot-beds. Only a small quantity 
is needed to begin with. Prepare a compost, of 
equal parts of fresh horse manure, cow dung, 
loam, and cut straw. When mashed well to¬ 
gether, and partly dried, cut them into square 
blocks, like bricks, and then insert two or three 
pieces of old spawn, say of the size of a walnut, 
into different parts of each brick. The bricks 
may then be left a few days to dry. After this, 
place them in a gentle hot-bed, which will cause 
the spawn to penetrate and cover each block. 
These blocks will preserve their vegetative 
powers for several years. These blocks can be 
pm based ready for use, at many of the leading 
agricultural and horticultural establishments. 
We are now provided with material for grow¬ 
ing mushrooms the year round. Suppose we 
wish to raise a crop this Fall. Prepare a bed 
for the purpose under a shed or in a dry cellar 
