100 
'[March, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
the visitor, and may be made to indicate the taste 
and refinement of the occupant of a farm house, 
as well as that of the millionaire’s mansion. As 
no two places are exactly alike, so no two en¬ 
trance ways will need to be treated the same. In 
the sketch, (figure 1), I have shown how a foot¬ 
path to a house situated some 200 feet from the 
COUNTRY RESIDENCE. 
public road, may be treated with pleasing ef¬ 
fect. The tree at the left is a cut-leaved weep¬ 
ing birch, while the group of shrubs at the left, 
consists of Weigelas of different kinds, a per¬ 
fectly hardy shrub continuing long in flower, 
and to be procured at a very moderate price. 
On the right is a Sycamore maple, and the bed 
at the right is planted with Remontant (Hybrid 
Perpetual) roses; but as these are in full flower 
onty in spring, some fine double hollyhocks 
are intermingled, to give flowers later in the 
season. There is nothing here but what may 
be accomplished at a small expense, yet at the 
entrance to a house, no matter how humble it 
may be, will be unpretending, in good taste 
and effective. Between the entrance and the 
house, it is assumed there is an expanse of 
lawn, which may be broken or not, as the taste 
of the owner may decide, by occasional clumps 
of shrubs, or beds of flowers cut in the lawn; 
but an entrance thus decorated, may lead up 
through a plain, well kept lawn, to a house well 
ornamented with climbers, and be in good taste, 
without any intervening ornamentation. In 
the second sketch, (figure 2), I have shown how 
advantage may be taken of a natural eminence; 
it often occurs that there is a bold rocky prom¬ 
inence, which needs only a little labor to trans¬ 
form, what might otherwise be an unpleasant 
feature, into one of beauty. Upon a bluff of 
this kind is an appropriate place for a summer¬ 
house ; if there are scattering rocks, they may 
be gathered here, and by placing earth among 
them, a foot-hold maybe given to plants which 
will drape the rocks with verdure and flowers. 
In such situations our beautiful Virginia creeper 
will be seen to great advantage, as will the 
smaller leaved Ampelopsis tricuspidata, or 
VeitcMi ; the various hardy species of clematis 
will show with fine effect, and the grotesque 
forms of sedums and sempervivums, make 
themselves perfectly at home. Such an emi¬ 
nence may overlook a smooth pasture bounded 
by hills, or it may look out upon a sheet of 
water. But lakes are not for every one, while 
a level pasture is both beautiful and useful. 
The Basset Apple. 
The Basset apple is one of those highly pop¬ 
ular winter fruits, that one often comes upon in 
the State of Connecticut, so highly esteemed 
that the more widely known winter apples on 
the nursery lists have not been able to displace 
them. We re- 
ceived the 
sample from 
which the il¬ 
lustration was 
made, from W. 
D. Hall, of 
New Haven 
Co.,Ct.,one of 
the best fruit 
growers in the 
State. The 
Basset is a 
good deal cul¬ 
tivated in his 
vicinity, and is 
ij preferred by 
! himself to all 
other winter 
apples. It be 
longs to the 
Pearmain fam¬ 
ily, and re¬ 
sembles the 
Cogswell ap¬ 
ple in general 
appearance, 
except that it is smaller. The engravings on the 
next page are taken from a small specimen. 
The size is about medium, roundish oblate, 
regular. Stem rather short, slender, inserted in 
a large russeted cavity. Calyx small, delicate, 
open, set in a rather shallow basin. Skin rich 
yellow, nearly covered -with red, marked and 
streaked with bright red. Flesh white, com¬ 
pact, tender, juicy, scarcely sub-acid, with a 
rich refreshing flavor. Core small. Seeds rath¬ 
er small and delicate. Ripe December to Feb¬ 
ruary. A handsome dessert fruit of good 
quality. The 
tree is said to 
be a good 
bearer. It has 
never been 
sent out by the 
nurserymen. 
The above 
comes from 
our correspon¬ 
dent, “ Con¬ 
necticut,” who 
is not only a 
successful 
grower of 
choice fruit, 
but has long 
been a close 
observer, and 
has given espe- 
cial attention 
tolocaland lit¬ 
tle known va¬ 
rieties. When 
a description 
of a new fruit 
comes to us, 
especially a new apple, we are in doubt whether 
to publish it or not. If published it adds one 
more to the upwards of 2,300 described apples, 
and if not published, we withhold information 
that may be of interest to many. The fact is, 
there are in every one of the older states scores, 
if not hundreds, of apples that have never been 
carried far from the neighborhood where they 
originated, and of which no record has ever 
been made. These in their own localities are 
held in high esteem, but whether they would 
be worth anything beyond there is quite un¬ 
known. While it seems a pity to ignore a va¬ 
riety quite as good, if not better than hundreds, 
of those already in the books, it also seems in¬ 
judicious to give a “ local habitation and a 
name ” to a fruit, while there are in the books 
hundreds quite as good, if not better. In con¬ 
versation not long ago with well-known po- 
mologists, Mr. Charles Downing, who was of 
the group, asked : “ What shall we do with all 
these local varieties that are springing up ev¬ 
erywhere in such numbers ? ” And it is, to 
editors, a very Important question. Shall 
we refuse to notice a fruit that is not in some 
respects better for a given section of country* 
than any we now have, or shall we place on 
record every well marked variety of good 
quality ? This accumulation of names has be¬ 
come a serious matter, and it is likely to in¬ 
crease as the love for fruit-culture extends. It 
seems to us that this is a subject worthy of the 
consideration of the American Pomological 
Society. These local varieties of fruit exist; 
they will, if “ good ” or only “ fair,” be dissem¬ 
inated in their own township, the county, or 
the State, and the question of Mr. Downing* 
“ what shall we do with them,” becomes yearly 
more pertinent, especialty to editors. 
The Colorado Potato Beetle, the gen¬ 
uine “bug” having appeared last year in 
parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and in 
other Eastern localities not before visited, its 
appearance in full force may be looked for the 
coming season. The first beetles will come 
from chrysalids, which have been in the 
ground all winter. These will lay eggs, and 
the larvae from these change to beetles in 
about a month; this first brood will produce a 
second, and that a third, which will remain in 
the ground to furnish a stock for 1876. The 
vitally important thing to do, is to watch for 
Fig. 2.— THE USE OF A NATURAL BLUFF, OR ELEVATION. 
the first beetles with the appearance of the 
first potato tops, and not wait until the 
ravages of hordes call for active measures. 
Vigilance, whether they appeared last year 
or not, is the one essential thing. Search , 
catch , and kill , in the beginning. We will 
talk about poisons and other aids another time.. 
