8 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[Jahttaky, 
A ]J*OBaa.ol«gi«!il Mecilisig’.—The commit¬ 
tee on the Greeley Prizes, tlie action of uliicli is noticed 
elsewhere, met on Dec. 1-tIi at tlie residence of \Vm. S. 
Carpenter, Esq, Several professional and amateur hor¬ 
ticulturists were invited to join tlie committee after their 
official business had been disposed of, and the arrange¬ 
ment resulted in an exceedingly pleasant pomological 
soiree. There was upon the tables an exhibition of win¬ 
ter pears, which for extent and perfection of specimens, 
has seldom been equaled. Much attention is deservedly 
being paid by poinologists to tlie late keeping pears, and 
this collection of over 50 kinds sliowsthat there is alarge 
list to select from. Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, Ro¬ 
chester, ,N. Y., exhibited 30 varieties. Messrs, llovey & 
Co., Boston, 27. W. L. Ferris, Throg’s Neck, N. Y., 1. 
I. D. Wolf, oi the same place, 3. Geo. Bancroft, New¬ 
port, R. I., 2. I. Buchanan, Astoria, N. Y., 1. There 
was a fine display of apples, among the most noticeable 
of which were the Tompkins Co. King, from Havana, 
N. Y., and Northern Spy from Battle Creek, Midi. 
Among the pears eliciting special commendation, were 
Dana’s Hovey and Augustus Dana. Several specimen's 
of native wines from Ohio vineyards, presented by Dr. 
Warder, included a remarkably fine sample of Delaware. 
Tlae Agricaaltoai’ist Sii-awlaen-y. — 
We did not intend to publish anymore reports at present 
concerning the plants we have sent out, but here is one 
from 0. Hunter, Clinton Co., Iowa, which, sliows so 
great an increase tliat we give it as something remarka¬ 
ble :—“ I received one strawberry plant on the 15th day 
of last April ; the dant looked pirle and out of health. I 
gave it a good wetting, buried it root and branch in moist 
earth for the space of 5 or 6 hours, and then carefully set 
it out in black loam, manured with well rotted barn-yard 
manure.—In about one week it started to grow, and now 
I have 452 well rooted plants.” 
l£iispl»erry Queries.—“P. V. P.” It is 
not easy to tell raspberries from a bit of stem. Y^ours 
looks like the Purple Cane.—11. C. Burdick. The Black 
Cap is propagateil by bending down the branches in Sep¬ 
tember, and burying their tips, which will strike root. 
Sassafras Sproaats in am ©rcliard.— 
W. A. W. is troubled with sassafras sprouting up in his 
orchard. Thorough grubbing after plowing will clean 
it out and do the orchard good, and if none of the sprouts 
are allowed to grow after plowing and harrowing, the 
sprouts will soon die out. Sheep feed down such brushy 
growths very well, and a flock, turned in occasionally, 
and kept there only until they have fed off the grass and 
sprouts, will not bark the' trees. 
Everolsearimg' Mailfecri'y,—I. A. Pike, 
Worcester Co., Mass. This variety usually produces 
stamlnate flowers enough lo fertilize the pistitlate ones, 
and the fact that your tree produces a few berries would 
go to show that some staminate flowers were present. 
Our own tree of this variety is not worth the space it 
occupies, and we shall cut it down. The English mul¬ 
berry gives a decent crop of better fruit, and is done 
with it, while this dribbles through a long season, and is 
not very good ■when obtained. 
ISooIc<$ oit Criirrtemimsf.—D. Buffington. 
We know of no work especially devoted to market 
gardening. Watson’s Home Garden 's one of the best 
for general directions in cultivation. The seciei.s of 
successful market gardening are in getting the t.irliesc 
possible crops, and to so arrange the rotation of crs as 
to get'the most from the land. An article by Mr liiili, 
in October last, will give an idea of the way s'ow 
ers manage with Cabbages, Cauliflower, and Le.luce 
Tomatoes, Egg-plants, etc., r.ro started early in .xiem 
sive hot-beds. 
'fi'lic CiSreeley IPrizesi, l>cci^ion os* 
Apples and IPears.—It will be recolleeto' ti at in 
1864 the Hon. Horace Greeley offered prizes ol i.uOee. h, 
for the best apple, pear and grape for general ciiltu..., 
referring the decision to the Horticulturai Department of 
the American Inslitiite. At an 'exhibition held in the 
autumn of that year, the comniiltee on apifles and nears' 
thought (lie time allowed was too brief, and they uiu .n.i 
make an award. The committee on grajies awarded to 
the Iona, but the prize was declined by Dr. Grant, and 
the whole matter was passed over to another year, and 
referred to a larger corninittee, comprising several gentle¬ 
men from abroad. Three opportunities were presented- 
lor exhibiting fruit for competition in the Autumn of 18115, 
the last of which was on Deo. I'l. The committee had 
great difftculty in coming to a decision, as they had lo 
consider the healthiness of the Iren or vine, and its adap¬ 
tation t^ i wide range of localities as well as the quality 
oi the Iruit. in October'they decided not to award the 
preraiuiu on grajies for the reason that, in tlieir opinion, 
no variety now before the public had fully proved itself 
as meeting the requirements that had been fixed upon, 
and this prize is still open for competition. On Dec. 12th 
last, the committee, after a long consultation, decided to 
award the premium lor the best apple for general cultiva¬ 
tion to the Baldwin, and for the best pear for general 
cultivation to the Bartlett, on pear stock. The best 
bushel of each was exhibited by W. R. Ward, of Newark, 
N. J., and the prizes go to him. While this decision 
probably will not satisfy every one, we think that, taking 
all the circumstances into con.sideration, the committees 
have made the best possible selection. 
Asi iDoaporttsiiit Select Emit Eist.— 
The committee on the Greeley prizes at their la^t meeting 
fixed upon two varieties each, of summer, fall -and win¬ 
ter apples and pears, to recommend for general cultiva¬ 
tion. .Although this they consider as extra official, we 
are very glad that It has been done, and our readers will 
attach much importance toil when they know that it is 
the result of the deliberations of pomologists of such Idrge 
experience as Chas. Downing, C. M. Hovey, Dr. J. A. 
Warder, Dr. I. M. Ward, Wm. S. Carpenter, and others : 
Apples. —Summer : Primate and Red Astrachan. 
Autumn: Porter and Gravenstein. 
Winter: Hubbardston Nonsuch and Northern Spy. 
Pears.— Simmer : Rostiezer and Manning’s Elizabeth. 
Autumn: Seckel and Sheldon. 
Winter : Lawrence and Dana’s Hovey. 
<woosel>erry Eitersitiire.—A friend has 
shown us a little book which is interesting as an index 
1,1 how much is made, in England, of some specialities. 
■Phere gooseberry culture is a favorite pursuit among the 
working classes, and the cultivators resort to all possible 
means to bring their berries to the largest size. This 
book of 214 pages is called the “ Gooseberry Grower’s 
Register,” and gives a detailed account of the different 
Gooseberry Shows held in Lancasnire and five other 
shires in the year 1865. It gives a tabular vievv of the 
number of prizes obtained by each sort of berry, and is 
embellished by a portrait of the “ London,” which was 
the heaviest red berry, weighing 33 dwts., 13 grs. (nearly 
1% oz.) The growers of Patterson, N. J., formerly held 
gooseberry show's,but we have heard nothing of them for a 
year or two. ' It continued, we hope to hear about them. 
5®ropag'atiii^ Eilies.—Mrs. L. Hall, Cum¬ 
berland Co., N. J. The florists grow them from the scales 
of the bulb. The outside scales are taken off and stuck 
in boxes of sand or sandy earth, just as if they were cut¬ 
tings, the scale being set with the lower end down and 
about half covered. It is done in a propagating house, 
where there is a gentle bottom heat. The experiment 
may be tried in the dwelling and may possibly succeed, 
though we have never seen it done. A few of the outer 
scales may be removed without materially injuring the 
bulb for flowering. The little bulbs require two years 
to become strong enough to flower. 
Plunts named.—“C. C. T. S. R. D.,” Tren¬ 
ton, N. J. Not a seed at all, but a portion of the seed 
pod of Honesty, tLunaria biennis) _Irene Cole, White 
Co., Ind. Lamium maculatum. Spotted Deadiiettle_ 
C. H. Randall, Worcester Co., Mass., sends Sedum acre, 
Stonecrop, which is in some places used for garden 
edgings — L. M. Carter, Hendricks Co., Ind. Celastrus 
. ticandens, Wax-work, or False Biitersweet, already de¬ 
scribed and figured:...G. Frank Alvord, Hampshire Co., 
Mass. The grass is Eragrostis poceoides, for which we 
know no common name. It usually grows in sandy 
places, and is considered as worthless.,. .Philip Ritz, 
Walla Walla, W. T. The grasses were over ripe w hen 
gathered and came in fragments. There appear to be 
two forms of Koeleria cristata, Crested Kceleiia. The 
coarser grass of the three is one we have had several 
times from the Pacific coast, and'think it it variety of 
Triticum repens, or Couch-grass_M. R. Allen, Y’ork 
Co., Me. No. 1. Pyrola elliptica, Shin-Leaf. No. 2. 
Too spoiled a fragment to make out. No. 3. Erigeron 
strigosum, Daisy Fleabane. 
ToppiMft- ” Apples an*l Marlcet 
Sfrsiit,—Putting the best insight is practised by most 
tradesmen and fruit dealers are .no exception to the lule. 
" •' Citizen” writes us regarding the .manner in which 
he J I S suffered ” I can ie.^iify to the clevateil standard 
of III,; Agriculturist and to the excellent advice it gives 
to farmers and others producing articles of food forsale', 
and I am therefore the more surprised that some of our 
apple growers sliould practice such deception in putting 
up their fruit for the market, as may be seen in-nine bar¬ 
rels out of ten, particularly this year. I had occasion 
lately lo purchase 75 bhis. of Newtown Pippins for ex- 
porlation lo England, every apidc in w-hich had neces¬ 
sarily to be sepa-'ately handled, and if fit, w-rapped in pa¬ 
per ; and out of the entire number there were but four 
barrels where tlie fruit was as good at bottom and middle 
as at the top. City men are called ‘sharp,’ but if a 
merchant here were to sell his goods falsely packed as 
some of our Country friends do, they would be called 
CAeats, and deserve the name ! If this thing continues, 
the old title of honest farmer w ill become a misnomer.” 
If “Citizen” has read the Agriculturist for some 
years he must have noticed that we have reprehended 
this practice and that in our “Notes and Suggestions” 
we have many times advised grow-ers to pack fairly. The 
fault is not so much the farmer’s, as.lhal of fruit dealers, 
who go about the country and buy the fruit in the orchard 
and pack it themselves. Our correspondent must not. 
give up his faith in farmers without good cause. 
Pelarg’oinii'oims aiitl Amaryllis. — Mrs. 
M. T. Brett, Worcester Co., Mass. Keep Pelargoniums 
at rest during the winter in a cool room, and give but 
little water ; alight cellar w-ill do if dry and safe from 
frost. In early spring, repot and cut them back severely ; 
they -will stand any amount of pruning. Amaryllis formo- 
sissima should have been taken up for the winter. The 
blooming of this, as of other buibs, depends upon its 
having made a vigorous growth of leaves the year before. 
Give it a rich and loose soil in planting next spring. 
Eargc Ssal>ella Cirrapes.—At onr Grape 
Show two years ago, some Isabellas were presented by 
Mr. E. Fitch, of Coxsackie, N. Y”. The grapes were of 
remarkable size, arid as they presented every appearance 
of fruit unusually developed by ringing, the committee 
excluded them from competition. This year Mr. Chas. 
Starr sends us similar specimens from the same vine, 
.with the assurance that no trick had been practised to 
increase the size of the fruit. He says that one vine out 
of several thousands has for several years borne these 
large berries upon a portion of it, w hile upon the other 
part only ordinary fruit w-as produced. It would be in¬ 
teresting to see how far this peculiarity was retained in 
vines propagated from the large fruiting portion, and the 
matter throws considerable light upon the great variabil¬ 
ity presented by the Isabella in different locations. 
Aeslalo CJrape. — T. H. Grayson, C. W. 
We believe that this failed to fruit the past year. 
The year before, we saw a partially ripened cluster and 
it seemed something like the Delaware, w ith a looser and 
. longer bunch. Our season is probably too short for it. 
Bloolc Ota 4wrajiie Culture.—Subscriber, 
Carlinsville, Ill. Fuller’s Grape Culturist gives full di¬ 
rections for training and pruning by the arm and spin- 
method. Price $1.50. See the Book List elsewhere. 
I*roi»aR'attiiis’ tlie Slaltlia.—J. Brulandj 
Iowa. If the roots were taken up last autumn and are 
kept in a dry and warm cellar, you can multiply them in 
the spring by dividing the root. Our notes for the month 
will tell how, at the proper time. 
I*o4atoes sand. CUestmits. — In answer 
to numerous inquiries about Mr. Harrison’s potatoes, 
mentioned in December, we state that he informs us that 
he has no more for sale. Neither have we any of the 
chestnuts figured in December. We had only a few, and 
they were disposed of long ago. 
A Eiii-g-e BSifiiiiis.—Mr. C. F. Erhard, 
Hunter’s Point, L. I., sent us astern of Ricinus sangui¬ 
neus, one of the ornamental vhiieties of the Castor Oil 
Plant, which measured nearly a foot in circumference 
at the base ; a remarkable growth for an annual plant. 
ToBMatoc.s.—“Reader,”.N. H. A light rich 
soil, w-ithout much fresh manure is best for tomatoes. 
The plants ma>' be made stocky, when grown in the 
green-house, by the use of pots and by pinching. 
Sug-ai* BSects und Sisg'ni" I*r««lwC” 
tioii.—Dan’l Lanirnan, Macoupin Co., III. Sugar beets 
grow excellently well upon the prairies, as we have 
seen. They contain a large percentage of sugar, and 
after grinding and extracting the juice, the pulp is 
nearly as valuable for feeding and fattening beeves and 
hogsras the roots unground. The only trouble is that 
it will require a capital of about $100,000 to set up a beet- 
sugar house and make it pay. Capital invested in this 
w-ay, if judiciously managed, will, we think, pay a larger 
profit than in almost any other legitimately managed 
business witli which we are acquainted. 
Millc Stools. —TIioso<-nsed by T. F. Haynes, 
Ha’rtford Co., Conn., arc 2 feet 3 inches long, U inche.s 
high, (probably 8 inches wide), three-legged, with mor¬ 
tice holes in (he middle to carry them by. They are 
