AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
391 
(ifimtlfral gepriweni 
Brooklyn Horticultural Society. —This 
Society is making extensive preparations for 
their regular Fall Exhibition, on the 19th 
and 20th days of September. A full and very 
complete list of premiums is announced in 
our advertising columns, to which we invite 
special attention. From what we know of 
the past of this Society, of the men engaged 
in the enterprise, and of the efforts now be¬ 
ing put forth, we feel confident that the forth¬ 
coming exhibition will be a magnificent one, 
well worthy the attention, not only of the 
citizens of Brooklyn, New-York, and the 
cities and towns in the immediate vicinity, 
but also of horticultural gentlemen at a 
distance. 
RAISING ROSES FROM SEED. 
BY AN OLD PRACTITIONER. 
In recent numbers of the Floricultural 
Cabinet, I have with pleasure noticed the ob¬ 
servations On hybridizing various plants, 
with a view to the increased improvements 
of the various genera of ornamental plants. 
I have for several years directed my atten¬ 
tion to raising Roses from seed, and my ef¬ 
forts have been successful in raising some of 
the finest new Roses which now grace our 
best collections. 
During the months of September and Oc¬ 
tober, I repaired to several first-rate nur¬ 
sery collections of Roses, in order to see 
which kinds, in each class of Roses, bore 
fruit the most freely, and ripened the earliest; 
and I then procured several of each class, 
which 1 planted at the proper season. These 
bloomed the following summer, and having 
a very extensive collection of nearly all the 
finest double Roses, I carefully selected fari¬ 
na from the best of the double flowers, and 
impregnated the fruit-bearing kinds there¬ 
with. The fruit-bearing flowers are gener¬ 
ally not quite double, and I found it to be of 
use to thin out the larger trusses of flowers, 
so as to leave about half a dozen in a head 
of the plumpest buds. 
In the process of impregnation, just as the 
flowers to be impregnated are expanding, I 
cut away the antherstherein by means of a 
small pointed penknife or scissors, this pre¬ 
vents natural seedlings being produced from 
the kind. Where I had a specific design in 
the impregnation of any two kinds, after the 
operation had been effected, I tied apiece of 
fine gauze over the head of bloom, to pre¬ 
vent access of bees, etc. 
In autumn, as soon as the seed was ripe, 
1 had it gathered and placed in gauze bags, 
and so kept in the seed-vessel till required 
for sowing. Early in spring I sow the seed 
thinly in boxes, and place them in a gentle 
heat in a common frame, keeping the soil 
moist, not wet, till that portion which then 
pushes appears to have done entirely for that 
season. When the plants can be safely 
transplanted I have them carefully taken up, 
and planted in a rich soil and warm situa¬ 
tion in the open garden, where they remain 
to bloom. The general quantity of the seed 
does not come up the first season, but re¬ 
mains to the second. 1 therefore have the 
boxes kept just moist, till the end of the sum¬ 
mer, and then remove them into a dry place 
during winter. Early in spring place them 
in a gentle heat, and all the good seeds soon 
push forth plants, which are treated as be¬ 
fore named. Seed may be quite successfully 
treated by sowing in the open border, having 
it in a warm situation, and keeping it moist 
by covering the bed over with moss, etc. 
Two years are required here, as in the for¬ 
mer named instance, to get up the whole. 
During winter I usually spread dry leaves 
between the plants that come up, and remain 
in the seed bed, so they are secured from in¬ 
jury by frost, being yet tender ; this protec¬ 
tion is removed at the spring. Moss or tan¬ 
ners’ bark may be substituted for dry leaves, 
where the latter are objected to. 
I have paid particular attention to crossing 
the most distant classes, as well as to obtain 
kinds which will bloom the longest period, and 
to get fine-colored, fragrant, and very double 
Roses.—London Floricultural Cabinet. 
HINTS ON GRAPE GATHERING. 
BY A COUNTRY GARDENER. 
The grapes once ripe some care must be 
bestowed in keeping them in good condition, 
that is, free from damp, which would soon 
cause the berries to turn moldy and decay; 
take means, therefore, to prevent this. A 
low temperature at this stage will not hurt 
the grapes, and therefore large quantities of 
air can safely be admitted ; but while air 
may thus be given freely, rain must be ex¬ 
cluded ; and therefore, if not already pro¬ 
vided with ventilators at the back wall of the 
vinery, or false lights over the sliding sashes 
(see page 281 of last year’s Florist), you 
must adopt some such plan, as by such rain 
will be effectually excluded, and at the same 
time the current of air which is continually 
passing through the house will tend most 
materially to preserve the atmosphere dry 
and airy—both essential conditions for keep¬ 
ing grapes ; indeed, I consider this so im¬ 
portant, both for the vines when growing 
and for preserving the fruit when ripe, that I 
have again alluded to it, and strongly recom¬ 
mend its adoption. In very damp or wet 
weather a little fire should be put on by day, 
especially if the grapes are required to be 
kept for any time. By these means Ham- 
burghs will keep fresh and plump till after 
Christmas, and St. Peter’s and Muscats till 
February ; but these latter will require more 
fire heat at the period of ripening, and alto¬ 
gether a warmer temperature to preserve 
them, particularly the Muscats ; in other re¬ 
spects the same precautions of well ventilat¬ 
ing the house and excluding damp are ne¬ 
cessary. 
As it often happens that one decayed berry 
will damage the whole bunch, they should 
be looked over two or three times weekly 
for the purpose of removing any berries 
which show indications of decay with the 
thinning scissors, and as the leaves change 
color remove them when you find them 
break off easily when touched ; this will ad¬ 
mit more light in the house, and help to 
keep the air drier. I observed that a low 
temperature would not injure grapes when 
ripe, a temperature so low as only a degree 
or two above the freezing point may there¬ 
fore be allowed without entertaining any 
fear about them ; but generally speaking 
from 40° to 45° or thereabouts is the safest 
point, as they are much more liable to damp 
at a very low temperature than the medium 
one laid down, and Muscats will certainly 
shrink and not keep by any means well in a 
low temperature—I should say not less than 
45° to 50°. 
The grapes cut, pruning should take place 
immediately afterwards, cutting each spur 
back to the lowest eye, when the same rou¬ 
tine must be followed as I have laid down for 
the present season’s culture.— Florist. 
Raspberry Vinegar. —To every pint of 
vinegar put three pints of raspberries. Let 
them lie together two or three days; then 
mash up and put them in a bag to strain. 
To every pint, when strained, put a pound 
of crushed sugar. Boil it twenty minutes, 
and skim it. Bottle it when cold. 
THE CULTIVATION OF PEAR TREES. 
Having been for a few weeks among the 
fruit growers of Massachusetts, I notice that 
an error prevails among them in the treat¬ 
ment of their dwarf pear trees, particularly 
in planting them, and to so great an extent 
that many persons have almost abandoned 
their culture ; although they are really the 
most valuable trees. 
In planting, it should be borne in mind 
that the Anger’s Quince will not endure the 
winters of New-England, and that it is the 
only variety on which the pear succeeds ; 
in all Quinces the borers work, and this va 
riety is even more subject to them than the 
fruit bearing kinds, but if the trees are plant¬ 
ed deeper than the place of grafting, these 
difficulties are all obviated, and another ad¬ 
vantage attained, which is all important : that 
is, the production of fibers above the place 
of grafting which will spread plentifully 
through the ground, and sustain the tree to 
a great number of years, even if the Quince 
roots were entirely removed, and will give 
them a more vigorous growth and double 
or treble the amount of their production. 
The proper depth of planting is about three 
inches deeper than the place of grafting. A 
mound of earth thrown around the tree will 
not be of any avail, as it loses its own moist¬ 
ure from the roots underneath, and a mound 
will not often bring out the roots from the 
pear. Another matter almost always over¬ 
looked is the cutting back of trees ; when 
first planted they should be cut back to three 
or four buds of the last year’s growth, and 
this continued for three years, by which a 
stocky tree of good form is obtained, which 
will often produce more fruit, and of better 
quality, than standard trees. 
The ground for pears is never too rich, and 
two bushels of coarse stable manure put 
about the tree each spring, and left to decay 
through the summer and dug in, and repeat¬ 
ed the next spring, will not, on many of the 
best varieties, fail to bring forth an abundant 
crop of melting buttery fruit, of honeyed 
sweetness, and of size and beauty that would 
feast the eye and palate of an epicure.—M. 
W. Stevens, in Boston Journal. 
Salt River. —Salt River, where it de¬ 
bouches into the Ohio River, is not more 
than fifty or sixty yards in breadth, but very 
deep. It is never fordable, even in the 
dryest seasons; and, being navigable for 
fourteen miles above its mouth, has not been 
bridged at this point. We decended its steep 
and difficult banks, embarked our carriage 
upon a flat ferry-boat, and were conveyed 
across. The view looking up the river was 
very beautiful. Tall elms and sycamores 
clothed the banks, dropping their boughs 
almost to the water, forming a vista of foliage 
through which the stream curved out of 
sight between wooded hills. I longed to be 
rowed up it. While on the spot, I took 
occasion to inquire the derivation of the slang 
political phrase, “ Rowed up Salt river,” 
and succeeded in discovering it. Formerly 
there were extensive salt-works on the river, 
a short distance from its mouth. The. la¬ 
borers employed in them were a set of 
athletic, belligerent fellows, who soon 
became noted far and wide for their achieve¬ 
ments in the pugilistic line. Hence it became 
a common thing among the boatmen on the 
Ohio, when one of their number was refrac¬ 
tory, to say to him, “ We’ll row you up Salt 
River”—where of course the bully salt-men 
would have the handling of him. By natural 
figure of speech, the expression was applied 
to political candidates, first, I believe, in the 
Presidential campaign of’40.— Bay'd Taylor 
