AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
leaves at the top of each, begin to turn from 
green to purple; then the newer heads and the 
stems assume the same hue, and finally the 
whole top of the plant takes on a dark pur¬ 
ple color, that is exceedingly rich, and pleasant 
to look upon. It is too generally the fault of 
annuals that they do not last, but these heads, 
as we write, have been in perfection for some 
weeks, and will apparently remain so until 
frost puts an end to them. The engraving 
shows a portion of the upper part of a plant, 
below the natural size, the full grown heads 
being three inches long, and though it lacks 
the rich color, it gives a good idea of the form. 
It remains to be seen how long these heads, 
simply dried or sulphured, will retain their 
color. Even if they fade, they will, from their 
peculiar form, be desirable in making winter 
bouquets, and we think that decorative florists 
would find them useful in the recent state, to 
work up into some of their designs. 
Mr. R. J. Black, Bremen, Ohio, sent us at the end 
of July last, a specimen, which was to all external 
appearance a pear, but which grew upon an apple 
tree of the Sops of Wine variety. Accompanying 
the pear-shaped fruit was a small apple, which 
grew close to that, both being produced from the 
same cluster of flowers. We give outline engrav¬ 
ings of both specimens, a little smaller than the 
natural size.' So closely does the larger fruit re¬ 
semble a pear, that Mr. Black suggested that it 
might have resulted from hybridization, and that 
the apple blossom might have been fertilized by 
pollen from a pear-flower, as might well have hap¬ 
pened, for there was a pear tree growing within the 
distance of a rod of the apple. Upon cutting into 
the supposed pear hybrid, it was at once evident 
from the feeling and sound, that it was an apple, 
and not a pear that we had in hand ; the whole ap¬ 
pearance of the interior, as well as the texture and 
flavor of the fruit, were those of an apple. A care¬ 
ful examination with the microscope, failed to show 
any of the indurated cells, which are so common 
in the pear, and which make so many pears “grit¬ 
ty,” especially near the core. Upon comparing the 
flesh of this and that of an undoubted apple from 
the same tree, no difference was to be distinguished 
in the ultimate cells of the two. It is hardly sup- 
posable that hybridization, had it occured, would 
show itself in one particular only—external shape, 
and we feel safe in saying that this interesting 
specimen was a malformed apple. A few years ago 
we saw several 
pear-like fruits 
taken from an 
apple tree, the 
branches of 
which interlock¬ 
ed with those of 
a pear, and for 
which it was 
claimed that 
they were hy¬ 
brids ; we were 
not permitted to 
make a thorough 
examination in 
Fig. 2. APPLE FROM SAME bbanch. that'case, but the 
fruit now in question throws much doubt upon the 
hybrid origin of those. Such freaks are always in¬ 
teresting, as they often throw light upon doubtful 
points, and we hope that our friends will call our 
attention to such as they may come across. 
As one of the duties of the Centennial year, we 
recently paid a visit to the original Pinneo pear 
tree, it being among the oldest inhabitants of the 
Nutmeg State. It still lives in a green old age, 
upon the farm of Edward M. Clark, in the town of 
Columbia, and is reputed to be about 140 years old. 
The stem of the tree is two^eet or more in diame¬ 
ter, and still boars fruit. It is quite widely dis¬ 
tributed through Columbia and the adjacent towns, 
and has had a good local reputation for a century 
or more. Notwithstanding the introduction of new 
varieties through the influence of our horticultural 
societies and publications, it still maintains its place 
as a first rate summer fruit. The history of this 
excellent pear shows the great progress we have 
made in horticultural matters. It lay buried in 
Connecticut for a whole century, before it was 
made known to the public. It was grown in such 
abundance, that the farmers sent their surplus fruit 
to Hartford, and from that city it was sent to Bos¬ 
ton, where the people know what fine fruit is. C. 
M. Hovey got hold of it in 1843, exhibited it, graft¬ 
ed it, and introduced it to nurserymen and fruit¬ 
growers as the “ Boston ” pear. Fiftyyears before, 
Edmund Yeomans, a discriminating nurseryman of 
Columbia, and familiarly known as Uncle Ned Yeo¬ 
mans, had propagated and sold the same variety, 
named after the elder Deacon Pinneo, who found 
the seedling in the woods and transplanted it to his 
garden. It is unquestionably a seedling, for the 
suckers from the roots, when transplanted, as many 
of them have been, bear the same fruit as the tree. 
At the present day, with our horticultural and agri¬ 
cultural journals, our fruit exhibitions, in al¬ 
most every county in the older States, and the 
American Pomological Society, to gatherup results, 
and winnow the chaff from the wheat, such a his¬ 
tory as this would be quite impossible. The world 
does move. Connecticut. 
The Fringed Gentian.—A correspondent, who 
justly admires this, one of the most beautiful of 
our wild flowers, speaks of the difficulties of cul¬ 
tivating it, and suggests that specimens be marked 
when in bloom, to be removed to the garden before 
the ground freezes. Our friend overlooks the fact 
that the plant is an annual, and that this procedure 
would be useless. Having heard that this could 
not be raised from seed, and could not be cultivat¬ 
ed, we procured some seed last fall for trial. A 
part of the seed was sown in a box in a cool green¬ 
house, and a part outside upon a slight snow. In 
both cases the young plants came up in the great¬ 
est abundance, and those in the box, when large 
enough to handle, were pricked out into a bed out¬ 
side. The unprecedented drouth disposed of both 
lots, but we arc quite sure that had the season been 
an ordinary one, we should now be enjoying the 
Fringed Gentian in our own garden. Our corre¬ 
spondent says that this “ will only grow in the soil 
and companionship it loves.” Our experience with 
tiie Cardinal-flower, (Lobelia), and other natives of 
moist localities, indicates that one cannot tell what 
a plant will do in the garden until it is tried, and 
our success in getting a start with the Fringed 
Gentian, is such as to induce another trial in, what 
we hope may prove to be, a more favorable season. 
-—«*> .©. -— 
Flowering Hyacinths in Moss. 
BY PETER HENDERSON. 
Most of the readers of the American Agriculturist 
who have cultivated Hyacinths and other Dutch 
bulbs, know how to manage them when grown in 
ordinary soil in pots, or in glasses in water, but few 
are aware that they can be grown better in moss, 
{Sphagnum), than in either. This moss is found in 
many of our swamps, and is largely used by florists 
and nurserymen for packing plants to send to a dis¬ 
tance by mail or otherwise. Its light sponge-like 
qualities are such as the roots of Hyacinths and 
other bulbs delight to revel in, and iu which they 
grow luxuriantly. The moss may be either used to 
fill pots, window-boxes, or wire, or other baskets. 
A wire basket in which four or five different varie¬ 
ties of Hyacinths are planted, presents a very at¬ 
tractive appearance when suspended in a window 
or other part of the room. In filling the moss into 
the pots, boxes, or baskets, it should be pressed 
moderately firm, and the Hyacinths planted with 
one-third of their thickness above the surface. 
After planting, the moss should be watered suffi¬ 
ciently to thoroughly saturate it, and after the sur¬ 
plus water has run off, the baskets or other recepta¬ 
cles are to be placed away in some dark cool place, 
such as a cellar, or dark closet, where the tempera¬ 
ture does not exceed 50°. In five or six weeks 
after planting, the moss will be found to be filled 
with roots, and the bulbs may then be taken from 
their dark quarters into the light; and if kept in 
a temperature of 60° or 70°, they will flower abun¬ 
dantly in three or four weeks after; the moss 
must be kept moist at all times. The flowers of the 
Hyacinths will be greatly increased in size and 
brightness of coloring, if they are watered with 
guano water once a week. This should be very 
weak ; one pound of guano to 15 or 20 gallons of 
water, or a pound of sulphate of ammonia may be 
used instead of the guano, in the same quantity of 
water. The advantage of using moss for Hyacinths, 
etc., is in its lightness and cleanliness in handling. 
The wire baskets, especially when filled with moss, 
present a much more pleasing appearance than 
they would if filled with soil. The bulbs may be 
planted from October to January, and by planting 
at intervals of two or three weeks, a succession 
of bloom may be had from January to May. 
-- *»-* ———© psn -- 
The Horned-Poppy as a Bedding Plant. 
In many of the ornamental beds at the Centen¬ 
nial Exhibition, in those planted by the Commis¬ 
sion, as well as those of exhibitors, Centaurea gym - 
'nocarpa has been largely used for a white or gray. 
This was an unfortunate selection ; though no plant 
is more desirable for its color, or more graceful in 
habit, it has an unpleasant way of dying suddenly, 
without any apparent cause. In many of the beds 
referred to, this was used as an outer line, and 
where perfect nothing could be more beautiful, but 
in most cases the sudden defalcation of a plant 
here and there, left unsightly gaps, and no plants 
being in reserve to fill them, the effect was sadly 
marred. Quite the most satisfactory of the plants 
with gray feliage was the Horned-Poppy. This 
was introduced several years ago as Glaucium cor- 
niculatum. In Feb. 1872, we gave an excellent en¬ 
graving of the foliage under this name, but when 
the plant flowered with us, we found that it could 
not be that species, and we judge from the descrip¬ 
tion, that it is G. luteum, a plant common on the 
sea coast of Europe, and introduced in a few places 
in this country. While its foliage is much coarser 
than the Centaurea referred to, and not nearly so 
pleasing a color, yet it has a robust character and 
A Pear-like Apple. 
The Pinneo Pear Tree. 
