AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
353 
KEEPING SALSIFY. 
This root, called also Vegetable Oyster, 
ought to be better known. When properly 
cooked, .there are few vegetables more deli¬ 
cious. It is very seldom seen in our mark¬ 
ets, and not even known by one in a thou¬ 
sand. In Europe, however, and especially in 
France, it is esteemed a luxury; and so we 
regard it. It is as easily grown as the car¬ 
rot ; and if we had to choose between the 
carrot and the salsify, we should be content 
with the latter. Even those who do grow 
it, seem to know little about cooking it, and 
still less about keeping it during the W'inter, 
when it is chiefly in season. It is so hardy 
that it will keep in the ground without cov¬ 
ering ; but it will begin to grow in the Spring 
with the first warm weather, and soon be¬ 
comes unfit for the table. The roots will 
keep well as follows : Put three or four 
inches of light mold, or sand, in the bottom 
of a barrel; then a layer of the roots ; next 
a layer of mold, and so on till the barrel is 
filled. It may then be placed in a cool room 
or cellar, and the roots used as they may 
be wanted.—E». 
KEEPING WINTER PEARS, 
Much has been written as to the best meth 
od of keeping and. ripening fall and winter 
pears, and much more will have to be writ¬ 
ten before the problem receives a satisfacto¬ 
ry solution. We have had theories ad libi¬ 
tum, and learned nonsense ad nauseam. 
Plain practical men have been bewildered by 
these discordant and discrepant views. 
Most of the expensive structures recom¬ 
mended as fruit houses, are little else than 
philosophical toys on a large scale. We 
have never yet seen one that answered the 
purpose as well as a cool dry cellar. The 
subject has lately taken a new direction. 
Mr. Hovey states that he has tried the ex¬ 
periment of keeping his winter pears as he 
keeps his apples—in barrels in the cellar— 
and succeeded well. We note this with sat¬ 
isfaction, because it accords with our own 
experience latterly. We ripen our fall pears, 
in the tool house. The fruit is placed in tin 
boxes with lids, (wooden ones will do as 
well where there are no rats and mice with 
pomological tastes,) and the process of ripen¬ 
ing goes on satisfactorily. None but sound 
specimens, of course, are put in, and these 
are handled as carefully as eggs. Winter 
pears will generally “ sweat ” after the box¬ 
es have been filled a few days ; they should 
be taken out and wiped dry. When the 
weather becomes cold, the boxes are re¬ 
moved to a cool dry cellar. Specimens of 
some late varieties, that do not ripen kindly, 
from time to time are placed in a dark closet, 
opening into a warm room, and usually ma¬ 
ture well. We are convinced that pears 
will ripen better in the dark than in the light, 
and hence prefer a closet or drawer to an 
open room. It will be perceived that this 
process agrees mainly with Mr. Hovey’s ; 
the pears in both cases ar& kept in mass, 
and placed ih the cellar. We Have tried 
spre'adiiig 'o’d’t the'fritil, 'brief also wrhpfiffig 
it in cotton, &c.; but it generally shrivels 
badly and loses flavor. The above plan is 
susceptible of modification and improve¬ 
ment ; most of our readers probably have 
the means of giving it a trial. We hope they 
will do so, and report the results; for we 
shall be glad to learn that the trouble and 
expense of ripening winter pears have been 
greatly overestimated. Let us have the 
facts, real facts, and perhaps we shall after¬ 
wards be able to find some theory to suit 
them.— [Ed. 
EXTRAVAGANT PRICE OF FRUIT.! 
Apples and pears are retailed in this city at enor¬ 
mous prices, considering the case with which 
they can be raised. On Broadway at the fruit 
stores, delicious Sicily and West India oranges 
can be purchased much lower than apples and 
pears, grown almost within sight of New-York ! 
Good apples sell readily at 4 and 6 cents each, and 
pears range from 3 to 25 cents apiece ! This 
ought not to be.—N. Y. Evangelist. 
Yes ; and last spring the best of Golden 
Russet apples, Newtown Pippins, and Spitz- 
erbgs, were selling in Fulton Market for 
two dollars a barrel, and peddling out of 
baskets in Broadway fora cent apiece ! The 
fruit-dealers, and the farmers who produced 
those delicious apples, then thought as the 
Evangelist now thinks, “ that ought not to 
be.” The solution of both facts is, that last 
year was one of the most abundant of our 
fruit years, and this one of the most defi¬ 
cient—a feast and a famine, in the fruit line. 
Thousands of bushels of the choicest winter 
apples in Western New-York were fed out 
to thehogs'and cattle last spring, for want of 
their usual market, while this/a/7 many of 
our large orchardists have not had apples 
enough to make their Thanksgiving pies. 
Another year will probably bring apples to 
their usual price. 
As to pears and the prices they bring, the 
finer varieties are a capricious fruit always. 
There is no fruit tree we cultivate which is 
liable to so many casualities of blight, mil¬ 
dew, insects and atmospheric influences, as 
the pear, and the most fatal of them thus far 
beyond the reach of human ingenuity, skill, 
or prevention. A. furor has for the past few 
years been got up by the Pomologists on the 
value of the quince stock for pear growing; 
but this, like many other things, has 
proved a failure. Except for a few varie¬ 
ties, and then only for the most elaborate 
garden culture, choice pears always have 
been a scarce and dear fruit, everywhere, 
and so we opine they will continue to be, in 
market particularly. Still, every one who 
cultivates a garden should strive to grow his 
own pears. Our valuable contributor, Dr. 
L. E. B., takes a different view of the cer¬ 
tainty of the pear crop. We hope he may 
be right and we wrong. Our experiences dif¬ 
fer. He makes a business of pear-growing, 
and succeeds. We shall be glad to lbarn 
the art of growing peats without dishearten¬ 
ing failures, and wb hope many of our read¬ 
ers will do the same. Let no one omit to 
read his chapters on pears. 
P. S.—A reliable cOrrespondehV just in¬ 
forms us that on November 24th, he savv 50 
dozen Vicar ftf Wfnkfield Peals', ibholdstithd to - 
a fruit dealer in Boston, for $200 !—[Ed. 
THE FUCHSIA. 
In our Calendar we have directed Fuchsias 
(Ladies’ Ear Drops,) to be pruned, repotted, 
and cuttings to be put down. This, we 
know,is not consistent with the d irections uni¬ 
versally given viz.: to place them on the dry 
shelf or under the stage till about February ; 
but it accords with our own practice. Our 
aim is to make the house as gay and cheer¬ 
ful as possible during the winter, and we 
have most of our Fuchsias in full bloom by 
February, and not a few of them a month 
sooner; and we experience no difficulty in 
doing it. At this time (Nov. 22) our young 
plants are in rapid growth- Our plan is 
briefly as follows : 
The latter part of June begin to dry the 
plants off, and keep them back till Septem¬ 
ber, when begin to prune in and repot. 
Shake off all the earth that will come away 
freely, and pot in a compost made of equal 
parts of clean old manure, loam, and leaf 
mold ; but care must be taken not to let the 
plants suffer for water. The pots must be 
well drained. Place the plants in the house, 
water regularly, (once a week with a solu¬ 
tion of guano,) and they will soon break into 
a strong growth. When a couple of inches 
long, select the most vigorous shoots for 
cuttings, which will soon root in sand under 
a glass. As soon as rooted, pot off in a com¬ 
post made of rotted sod, loam, leaf mold, 
and old manure. If large specimen plants 
are wanted, shift often and give plenty of 
pot room. If medium-sized plants and early 
bloom be desired, place them in the warm¬ 
est part of the house, near the glass ; shift 
regularly up to pots six inches in diameter, 
and there slop ; and they will soon become 
pot-bound and break into flower. At each 
shift, however, allow the pots to become 
well filled with roots. If plants are wanted 
for the border in summer, cuttings maybe 
put down in March. 
In our estimation, there are few, if any, 
plants more lovely than the Fuchsia, and we 
are not satisfied that it should lie under the 
stage in unsightly nakedness, when it might 
be cheering us, clothed in all its native beau¬ 
ty; and this, too, at a season of the year 
when the green-house and conservatory do 
not present their gayest aspect. In conclu¬ 
sion, we give a list of a dozen of the best va¬ 
rieties : 
Dark colored flowers : Prince Albert, Omar 
Pacha, Banks’s Glory, Aspasia, Clapton He¬ 
ro, Nonsuch. 
Light colored flowers: England’s Glory, 
Duchess of Lancaster, Jeanne d’Arc, Lady 
Franklin, Prince Arthur, Empress. f 
Of those with a white corolla, (a n^w and 
interesting clasps,) Eugenia and Victoria are 
th^ i b i q^t..vyeh?ive grown,.— [Ed. 
We have>offered some thoughts on this 
subject.,- on another pager From several 
communicatibps,' we extract the- following •: 
Mr. : Wm^'Rous^,’ of Stone Mills, N. Y-., 
recommends pouring water into the 1 holes 
i^Tife’re’ they ‘ are aetiia!lly : dugV -AOifig; tTifs'An 
a cold day at the beginning of Winter. He 
