March 10, 1892. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
187 
free flowering and compact habit of growth, and the further advantage 
that it does not throw out runners. The Hon. Mrs. Boscawen also sent 
some very fine blooms of Violets for comparison. A discussion followed 
the reading of the paper, Messrs. J. Weeks, T. E. Bartlett, G. B. Carlile, 
J, McCormick, Tucker (Ebford), apd the Chairman giving their experi¬ 
ences of different methods of treatment. The usual votes of thanks 
terminated the meeting. 
SPRAYED FRUIT. 
At its recent meeting the Western New York Horticultural Society 
appointed a Committee to prepare an article for publication on the 
healthfulness of fruit sprayed, while in process of growth, with certain 
solutions. The object of the publication is to combat, as far as possible, 
the evil effects of the scare created by the New York Board of Health 
last summer, which has been used by foreign producers to create a 
prejudice against American fruits abroad, so skilfully that the export 
trade of the United States in even dried and canned fruit is likely to 
be seriously affected. Below is given the paper prepared by the 
Committee. 
“At the thirty-seventh meeting of the Western New York Horticul¬ 
tural Society held in Rochester recently the action of the New York 
Board of Health in the seizure and condemnation of sprayed Grapes was 
discussed at some length. 
“ D. G. Fairchild of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
who visited the Hudson River region in company with the Assistant 
Chemist of the Board of Health shortly after the ‘ scare ’ of last 
September, read a paper bearing directly upon the subject. While the 
object of the paper was to show the absolute harmlessness of the minute 
quantities of copper found upon sprayed Grapes, the hasty action of 
the Board of Health was incidentally criticised as showing plainly a 
lack of due deliberation and lack of appreciation of the injury to fruit 
growers such a hasty action might produce. 
“ The paper presented was an exposition of the latest opinions and 
results of experiments in Germany, France, Italy, and America bearing 
upon the question of the poisonous nature of small quantities of copper 
when absorbed with foods. Among other noteworthy matters were 
mentioned the presence of copper in waters of mineral springs in all 
primordial rocks and soils derived from them, in many plants growing 
upon such soils, in several of the common food stuffs, especially in beef’s 
liver, which, according to recent investigations, contains from eight to 
nine times the quantity present on sprayed Grapes, and finally in the 
ash of Grapes which have never been treated by any of the copper 
mixtures. These results lead to the conclusion that the poisonous nature 
of small quantities of copper has been greatly exaggerated, and, not only 
not proven, but denied by eminent authority whose denials are supported 
by a large amount of valuable evidence, and further that the extremely 
inconsiderable amounts of copper in the shape of an insoluble salt upon 
the stems and pedicels of the Grape cannot possibly be injurious to the 
health of the consumer, falling as it does below the amount present in 
many of the ordinary food stuffs eaten with impunity. 
“ The analysis made at the Department of Agriculture of Grapes sent 
from the Hudson River district will appear in a forthcoming bulletin, 
but the maximum amount of copper found present did not exceed one- 
fifth of a grain per pound of fruit, 
“ The report upon analyses made at the New York experiment station, 
of Grapes gathered by Dr, E. J. Lederlie, of the Board of Health and 
Mr. Fairchild, in the latter part of September, was given by Dr. L. L. 
Van Slyke, chemist of the New York Agricultural experiment station, 
and is of especial interest, as the samples submitted were from vineyards 
from which the condemned Grapes came and w'ere the worst sprayed 
bunches obtainable from these vineyards. 
“ On account of the unusual importance of these analyses as bearing 
directly upon the question, we give more fully the general results. 
“ In some instances the copper compourds could be seen upon the 
berries, but it could be seen to be more plentiful upon the stems. The 
berries were separated from the stems, and the amount of copper deter¬ 
mined separately on each. The analyses were made by Dr. Van Slyke 
and his first assistant, C. G. Jenter. The results may be summarised as 
follows 
“ First, The amount of copper, calculated as metallic copper, found 
on the berries, was very constant in the different samples, averaging 
l-120th of a grain for each pound of fruit (berries and stems). 
“ The amount of copper calculated as metallic copper found on the 
stems varied from l-90th to l-14th of a grain for each pound of fruit 
(berries and stems), and averaged l-30th of a grain. 
“ Second. If the copper were on the berries in the form of sulphate 
of copper, each pound of berries would contain about l-30th of a grain 
of copper sulphate. When copper sulphate is prescribed by physicians 
as a tonic or astringent, the dose is from ^ to 2 grains. Hence if 
a person were to eat and swallow the Grape skins as well as the pulp 
of the fruit, it would be necessary to eat from 7^ lbs. to 30 lbs. of 
Grapes, skins and all, in order to get a tonic dose of copper sulphate, 
Or, if one were to eat berries and stems, they would need to eat from 
2 to 8 lbs. to get a tonic dose of copper sulphate. 
“ To get an amount of copper tUat would be regarded as serious, one 
would need to eat 3000 lbs. of Grapes, skin and all, and it is safe to say 
that if an attempt were mads to get a dangerous dose of copper into the 
body in this way in a short time a person would be in a dangerous con¬ 
dition many times from the Grapes alone before running any risk from 
the copper. 
“ Third. As a matter of fact, copper when found upon sprayed 
Grapes in New York State exists not in the form of a sulphate, but in 
the form of carbonate or hydroxide, both of which forms are not readily 
soluble, and which would, therefore, be even less dangerous than if 
present in the form of sulphate of copper. Most of the copper found 
was on the stems which people do not eat, and the rest of the copper 
wag on the skin of the berries, which most people do not eat. 
“Fourth. The results obtained from analysing the Grapes, which 
were selected as being the worst that could be found, therefore seem to 
justify the assertion that it is simply an absolute impossibility for a 
person to get enough copper from eating Grapes to exercise upon the 
health any injurious effect whatever .”—{^Rochester (iV, Y.) Chronicle.') 
PEAR NOUVELLE FULVIE. 
This variety hardly receives enough attention in the current literature 
pertaining to a fruit on which so much, yet not too'much, is written, 
for the Pear is beyond question the most important of ftll hardy dessert 
FIG. 28.— PEAR NOHVELIiE FULVIE. 
fruits. Although Nouvelle Fulvie is not one of the most handsome of 
Pears, it is nevertheless one of the best of its season, February March« 
We have fruit of it lipe now, and it is of delicious quality. Like 
most other late Pears the trees need the shelter of walls ; it is only in 
the southern counties that satisfactory fruit is produced on trees in the 
open garden. A Pear of such excellence is worthy of a place amongst 
late Pears, and hence we give it more prominence than it has hitherto 
The following is a description of this good Pear :—Fruit medium¬ 
sized, pyriform. Skin green, changing to yellow, and thickly dotted 
all over with russet; when fully exposed and in a warm climate it has 
a red erimson cheek, which is bright when the fruit is at maturity. 
Eye half open, with dry horny segments, rather deeply set. ^ Stalk 
about three-quarters of an inch long, occasionally fleshy, and united to 
the fruit by some fleshy folds. Flesh fine-grained, melting, very juicy, 
with a rich and exquisite flavour. It was raised by M. Grbgoire, of 
Jodoigne, in Belgium, in 1854, and named by him after one of the 
members of his family. Our figure has been engraved from a 
characteristic sketch by Miss May Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth. 
