AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
17 
who does not, label his plants : he is a sloven, 
and unworthy of his profession.—[E d. 
AMERICAN P0M0L0G1CAL SOCIETY-FRUITS 
RECOMMENDED, &c. 
We have already alluded to the recent ses¬ 
sion of this Society, and have waited pa¬ 
tiently for the official report of its proceed¬ 
ings ; but as it may be some time yet before 
this is published, we present a list of the 
ruits adopted and recommended. There 
may possibly be some omissions, but we have 
made it as perfect as we could with the re¬ 
sources at hand 
Pears. —Of Pears on their own stock we be¬ 
lieve but few additions were made to the 
list heretofore adopted for general cultiva¬ 
tion. After Beurre d’Aremberg, the words 
“ high cultivation !’ were added. Fulton was 
in danger of being stricken off. The fol¬ 
lowing were added : Howell, Doyenne Bous- 
sock and Duchess of Orleans, 
The following were added to the list of 
those which “ promise wellPhiladelphia, 
Niles, Shencks, Richards, Fondante du 
Comice, Beurre Kennes, Emile d’Heyst, 
Counseilleut de la Cour, Comtesse d’Alost, 
Beurre Langlier, Bergomot d’Esperin, Doy¬ 
enne d’Alenson, Delices d’Hardenpont, D’Al- 
bret, Delice, d’Hardenpont of Belgium, Ex- 
eellentissima, Osband’s Summer, Beurr6 
Nantais and Dix. 
Of the “ rejected list,” Bellissime d'Et6 
was added to it, and Bleecker’s Meadow and 
Passans du Portugal, were taken from it.. 
Of Pears on Quince stock, Beurre d’Arem¬ 
berg and Triomph de Jodoigne, were stricken 
from the list. The following were recom¬ 
mended by Berckmans, Wilder, Hovey, 
Reid, and others : Brandywine, BeunASu- 
perfin, Jalousie de Fontenay, Beurr6 Gris 
d’Hiver, Doyenne d’Alengon, Passe Colmar, 
Belle Epine Dumas, Buffum, Seckel, Tyson, 
Beurr6 Sterckman, Theodore Van Mons, 
Kirtland. 
Apples. —The following were placed on 
the list for general cultivation. Primate, 
Benoni, Hawley, Rambo, High-top Sweet¬ 
ing, Jonathan. The following were placed 
under the head of those that “promise well 
King, Caroline June, June Sweeting,Wagen- 
er, Smith’s Cider, Winter Sweet Paradise, 
Fallawater, Broadwell. White Seek-no-fur- 
ther was removed from the list. 
Peaches. —Of Peaches , Early Crawford 
and Old Mixon Cling were recommended for 
general cultivation. Susquehannah, Made¬ 
leine de Courson, Hative de Neigs, Hill’s 
Chili, and Gergas, were added to the list of 
those promising well. 
Cherries. —Coe’s Transparent, Early Pur¬ 
ple Guigne, Belle d’Orleans, Governor Wood, 
Reine Hortense, and Rockport Bigarreau, 
were recommended forgeneral cultivation. 
Napoleon Bigarreau was recommended for 
special cultivation. Downton was removed 
from the list. 
Plums. —Prince’s Yellow Gage and Lom¬ 
bard were placed on the list for general cul¬ 
tivation. Pond’s Seedling, General Hand, 
Bradshaw, German Prune, Duane’s Purple, 
Fellenberg, and White Damson, were placed 
on the list promising well. 
Grapes, (native).—The following promise 
well: Rebecca, Delaware, To Kalon, Con¬ 
cord. The Hartford Prolific and Northern 
Muscadine, were thought unworthy of culti¬ 
vation. 
Raspberries. —French, Cope, American 
Red, Ohio Everbearing and Catawissa, were 
recommended as “ promising well.” 
Blackberries. —The Improved High Bush 
and New Rochelle or Lawton, were recom¬ 
mended forgeneral cultivation. 
Strawberries. — McAvoy’s Superior, 
Hooker, Victoria, Le Baron, Longworth’s 
Prolific, Genesee and Scarlet Magnate, were 
recommended as promising well. 
We are a little surprised at the position 
occupied by some fruits in the above lists, 
but trust that the official list may show them 
to be in error, and we reserve our comments 
for another article.—[E d. 
RHUBARB OR PIE PLANT. 
It is pleasant, in this wintry season of the 
year, to look forward to the labors and en¬ 
joyments of another Spring. Our own 
thoughts have been directed, for the past 
hour, to the spot on which our eyes have 
rested, viz.: the kitchen garden, and to that 
corner of it which contains our beds of rhu¬ 
barb. We have thought of its huge pink 
crowns, thrusting themselves up through 
the rich mold, almost before the swallow 
dares to appear, and looking, in their own 
way, as beautiful as the daintiest hyacinths 
of the flower garden. We have thought of 
its leaves rapidly expanding, larger than the 
palm trees foliage, putting to shame the 
more conservative vegetables, and furnish¬ 
ing the housewife with invaluable material 
for pies, tarts, jams, jellies and sauces, at a 
time when the last year’s fruits have'per¬ 
ished or become insipid, and before other 
fruits have come forward to take their place. 
And these pleasant thoughts have induced 
us to make a few notes on the culture and 
the best varieties of this plant, without 
which, no garden is complete. 
It can be raised from seed, though the 
plants so obtained are not of uniform excel¬ 
lence. Choose a warm, dry aspect; pulve¬ 
rize the soil well, as early in the Spring as 
it can be worked, and sow in drills an inch 
deep and one foot apart. An occasional 
watering in dry weather, faithful cultivation 
with the hoe, keeping down all weeds, and 
thinning out the plants until they are six 
inches apart, is all the care they require for 
the first season. In the latter part of Sum¬ 
mer, prepare a bed for their permanent oc¬ 
cupation. This should be in a dry and shel¬ 
tered part of the garden, for the health of 
the plants, and to favor their early growth 
in Spring. If the soil is a stiff clay, a little 
sand should be added, and the whole heavily 
manured with well-rotted dung, and spaded 
up at least eighteen inches deep. When the 
beds have become settled, remove the plants 
to their new quarters,-setting them three 
feet apart in the row, and the rows four feet 
apart. The crowns of the plants should be 
set two inches below the surface, and should 
be covered, late in the Fall, with several 
inches of coarse litter. This will protect 
the roots from hard frosts in the ensuing 
Winter, and give them a vigorous start in 
the Spring. 
Rhubarb is propagated also by division of 
the roots ; and this mode is preferable, where 
only a few plants are needed, as it. is then 
ready for use the first year after planting. 
If raised from seed, it should not be cut until 
the third year. The roots can be divided in 
the Fall, or very early in the Spring. Eight 
or ten plants arc enough for an ordinary 
family ; the market gardener will adapt the 
size of his plantation to the number of his 
customers. A single crown, or eye, is all 
that is needed to form an independent plant. 
Care should be taken, in dividing the old 
stools, not to mutilate the roots. The ground 
should be well prepared for their reception ; 
for, though they will manage to grow as 
readily as a burdock, yet, like the burdock, 
they have a great liking for the best soils. 
It is an excellent practice of some, to give 
each plant, several shovels full of manure 
every Fall. The stalks may be cut for the 
table when the leaf is only half grown, and 
they may be used nearly all Summer, 
though it is best to give the plant, a resting 
spell in Summer, to mature its leaves and 
strengthen its roots. 
Rhubarb may be brought, forward very 
early in Spring, in several ways. It is the 
practice of some to place an old barrel or 
box (with the bottom and head out) over one 
or more plants, early in April, and to sur¬ 
round the whole with fresh horse manure, a 
foot in depth. This stimulates the plant 
into growth, and the barrel shading the 
leaves, causes them to shoot, up long and 
rapidly. The stalks are more tender and 
less acid than when grown in the open air. 
An amateur of our acquaintance takes up a 
few roots of rhubarb every Fall, and placing 
them in tubs of dirt, sets them into his cel¬ 
lar to enjoy a nap of about three months, 
and then brings them into a warm closet be¬ 
hind his fire-place. Opening the window 
blinds in this closet, and giving his plants a 
free watering, they soon begin to grow, and 
furnish his family with a healthful and deli¬ 
cious desert, while yet the garden without 
is covered with snow. We have known 
others to bring forward rhubarb in green¬ 
houses and other warm buildings. Others, 
again, set out several plants near the stable 
yard, and in the Fall place barrels over 
them, having holes in the top, and cover the 
whole with leaves or coarse litter. In the 
latter part of February, they remove the 
litter, and surround the barrels with warm 
manure, a foot in depth, and add to the same 
from week to week, as the leaves extend. 
The manure warms the roots, and gives al¬ 
most a Summer atmosohere within the bar¬ 
rel, so that in about a month’s time the bar¬ 
rel is full of leaves finely blanched, tender 
and crisp, which can be used until the other 
plants have come forward in the garden. 
The market gardener who forces his plants 
in this way is sure of a recompense for his 
trouble. In New-York market alone, many 
thousand dollars worth are sold every 
Spring. But if any one has not the time or 
means to pursue either of the above methods, 
let him set his plants in a sunny aspect, and 
