AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 295 
cut off, or should be killed by winter frost, it 
is all the better for the crop, and if all other 
fruits should fail from the effects of spring 
frost, we should have this to rely upon during 
the fall month, as its fruit is produced on 
the shoots made from the ground the same 
year. Another great advantage is, that from, 
a small space of a few yai-ds of ground, a 
daily dessert for a small family would al¬ 
ways be at hand during the autumnal months. 
Hovey's Magazine. 
FINE FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE. 
When we consider the influence the culti¬ 
vation of fruit exercises on the health and 
morals of a country, as well as on the 
wealth and luxury of the people, it may be 
truly said that he who devotes his life to the 
contribution and advancement of such influ¬ 
ences, confers as great a benefit upon them, 
and follows as honorable a calling as the 
man who defends his country in time of war, 
or falls by the bullet or the sword. A pro¬ 
ductive orchard or a fruit garden is not only 
a luxury and a source of enjoyment to the 
farmer or man of wealth, but is essential to 
the health, comfort, and well-being of indi¬ 
viduals, of every class. It affords an amuse¬ 
ment or occupation to be coveted beyond all 
others, and leads to nothing but good—to 
nothing sensual or vicious. It can give rise 
to no bad habits ; but, on the contrary, will 
serve to protect a man from the allurements 
of dissipation and consequent evils. 
Our orchard and garden fruits have fol¬ 
lowed man from the earliest periods of civil¬ 
ization, and perhaps have been more studied, 
and consequently better known, than any 
other plants. There are two characteristics, 
however, concerning their cultivation, which 
are of great importance to cultivators. First, 
the liability of almost every sort to “sport” 
and produce varieties differing, in many 
cases, more from one another than they dif¬ 
fer from other species. But let it be con¬ 
sidered that when these varieties take place, 
they may not always tend to deteriorate the 
fruit, but may often result in an exchange of 
one good quality for another, or perhaps 
even exhibit an improvement in the qualities. 
For instance, we may, at least, expect to 
obtain early fruit from the seeds of that 
which is early, and from those of late fruit 
the reverse ; and by parity of reason, from 
large or small, from sweet or sour, from 
juicy or dry fruit, we may also expect to ob¬ 
tain seedlings that will, in a greater or less 
degree, correspond to their origin—a result 
which it may often be an object for the pru¬ 
dent cultivator to secure. The second 
characteristic is, that nearly every class of 
fruit is remarkably subject to the attacks of 
insects and of diseases ; for trees, like ani¬ 
mals have their inherent diseases, or a sus¬ 
ceptibility to receive those peculiar to their 
species. Although insects are the direct 
source of many injuries to trees and their 
fruit, they are frequently met with in morbid 
parts, feculent or putrefying from previous 
malady, and may be regarded as the effects 
rather than the causes of disease ; and ac¬ 
cordingly should be treated in reference to 
these facts. 
It may not be without interest to compare 
the valuation of orchard fruits cultivated 
in this country at different periods within the 
last fifteen years. In 1840, according to the 
census of that year, the value of orchard 
products was $7,256,904, besides 124,734 
gallons of .domestic wine. The census ot 
1850 gives $7,723,186 worth of orchard pro¬ 
ducts, and 221,249 gallons of wine, showing 
only an increase of 466,282 in value of 
fruit, and 96,515 gallons in the production of 
wine ; both of which are unquestionably too 
low. The amount of domestic wine made 
in the United States in 1853 may be safely 
estimated at 2,000,000 gallons, which, at $1, 
would be worth $2,000,000. Add to this 
$18,000,000 worth of strawberries, black¬ 
berries, raspberries, cranberries, and orchard 
products, the value of fruit, cider, vinegar, 
and wine, of domestic growth and manufac¬ 
ture, would amount to $20,000,000.— Patent 
Office Report, of 1853. 
- — ———tm - 
CULTURE OF SUCCORY AS A WINTER SALAD. 
While we see around us abundant evidence 
of the fostering care of Horticultural Socie¬ 
ties in the improved appearance of our 
grounds, and the increasing attention to the 
cultivation of the finest kinds of fruits, we 
regret that so little has been done to im¬ 
prove culinary vegetables. Our zealous 
amateurs and enterprizing commercial gar¬ 
deners keep us well posted up in the novel¬ 
ties suitable for the pleasure ground and 
flower garden. We have select lists of fruits 
adapted to every section of country, pre¬ 
sented to us in the valuable reports of the 
Pomological Society. Greenhouse plants 
and their culture, have prominent positions 
in our gardening periodicals. But we look 
in vain for an essay on Cabbage culture, or 
even for a reliable and respectable list of the 
best varieties of vegetables. We think that 
one of the principal objects of Horticultural 
Societies ought to be the improvement of 
edible vegetables, and although this depart¬ 
ment of Horticulture is by no means neg¬ 
lected, still it occupies a subordinate posi¬ 
tion in the schedules of most societies. 
Many of our cultivated vegetables have run 
into numerous varieties, some of them quite 
inferior and unworthy of cultivation; we 
hope some of our competent vegetable grow¬ 
ers will favor us with a select list of the 
most esteemed sorts. 
This is a long preface to a few remarks 
we have to make relative to the introduction 
of a new ingredient for a winter salad, which 
can be had in profusion, at trifling cost, with¬ 
in the reach of every one, and pronounced 
by connoisseurs in these matters as being a 
very superior article. It consists of the 
blanched leaves of Succory or wild Endive, 
now become a common and in many cases a 
troublesome weed in the fields and road sides 
in this neighborhood. 
The Succory, Chiccory, or wild Endive, 
(Cichorium Intybus), has long been cultiva¬ 
ted on the continent of Europe, the leaves 
as food for cattle, and the roots cut in pieces, 
dried and ground, mixed with coffee; the 
leaves blanched, that is, grown in the dark, 
is a favorite salad ingredient in France,known 
as Barbe de Capucin, and its use in this lat¬ 
ter form we desire to make more extensive¬ 
ly known, as we feel assured it will be ap¬ 
preciated by all who like a good salad in 
winter. 
Summer Treatment. —To procure good 
plants, seeds must be sown annually about 
the first or second week in July, if sown 
much earlier they will run to seed, which 
materially deteriorates the roots for the pur¬ 
pose in question. The soil being deeply 
spaded and moderately enriched, sow the 
seeds in shallow drills eighteen inches apart. 
As they proceed in growth thin out the plants 
to stand ten or twelve inches apart; the 
usual operations of weeding and hoeing 
must not be neglected, and should the 
weather prove very dry the soil between the 
rows may be forked over to keep it loose and 
mellow, and preserve an uninterrupted 
growth, that the plants may gain strength 
without running to seed. Towards the end 
of October, the plants should be carefully 
lifted, and all the leaves cut off; it is now 
ready for its winter quarters. 
Winter Treatment. —To those familiar with 
gardening operations, it would be sufficient 
to state that the roots are now gently ex¬ 
cited to growth, and the leaves blanched ; 
but to many it may be necessary to enter 
slightly into details. Those who are in pos¬ 
session of a greenhouse, will find the floor 
underneath the plant stage, an admirable sit¬ 
uation for its growth, while those who have 
no such convenience, will find a warm dry 
cellar equally suitable. Procure some com¬ 
mon inch boards and construct a rough box 
similar to a garden frame. The sides should 
be eighteen inches deep all round. Fill in 
nine or ten inches of soil, tramp it firm, and 
plant the roots in rows nine inches apart all 
over the surface. Water must be carefully 
applied; very little will suffice, and none 
until the plants are growing freely. The 
box should be kept constantly covered with 
boards ; unless light is completely excluded, 
the blanching operation is imperfect. 
In gathering the leaves, those on the out¬ 
side should be pulled singly off. Cutting with 
a knife is liable to injure the heart which 
should not be disturbed. A frame six feet 
by four, will afford a daily salad for nine or 
twelve weeks, sufficient for any ordinary 
family. 
In order to save seeds a few roots should 
be left out in the fall, or the best planted out 
of the box in spring ; the plant is a hardy 
perennial and seeds profusely.— Horticul¬ 
turist. 
Meanness. —Almost every one has in his 
mind’s eye, a case which he may have been 
cognizant of, indicative of a meanness of 
disposition. One or two have just been 
brought to the writer’s memory, of which the 
following is a sample : 
A certain young man in Northern Ohio, 
invited a couple of young ladies to ride with 
him one evening. They called at a store 
while out, and he had the liberality to buy 
three sticks of candy, one of which he di¬ 
vided among his companions, and kept the 
two for his private eating. That was very 
small, but the next is smaller, if possible. 
Old H. had been in town one day, and on 
his return, had clubbed a quart of chestnuts 
from a tree by the roadside. Soon after, 
meeting a neighbor, and who happened to be 
the owner of the tree, he inquired of the latter 
if he wanted some. Of course he did, and 
holding his hand, old H. deposited therein 
three, remarking at the same time, “ Perhaps 
you would like to buy a quart 1” 
The following was related to me by a friend 
who witnessed the performance. A party 
of some six or eight couple from a neigh¬ 
boring town, had been sleigh-riding one after¬ 
noon, and had brought up about 3 o’clock at the 
hotel in which our friend was boarding. 
They ordered their horses baited on hay, and 
instead of calling for supper, the young gents 
walked down town and invested some change 
in gingerbread and candy, which they brought 
back and distributed among the ladies, and 
had a good time generally. About dark they 
called for their teams, and that each of the 
company might bear his proportion of the 
expense, the whole amount of monies ex¬ 
pended in horse-feed, candies and ginger¬ 
bread, was averaged and apportioned; but, 
owing to a scarcity of small change, one of 
the party found himself out of pocket just 
three cents. This was more than he was 
willing to bear, and several ineffectual at¬ 
tempts were made to set matters right. At 
last an old stage-driver, who had overheard 
the whole, helped them out of their difficul¬ 
ties by giving the sufferer three coppers, 
which he pocketed with much satisfaction, 
and then the party drove off.— Pioneer Mag. 
A Great Traveler. —On the last trip of the 
steamship Atlantic, Oapt. West completed 
his two hundred and thirty-sixth voyage, 
which is about equal to 708,000 miles of 
ocean travel. 
