1873.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
303 
to prevent a too high temperature. In spring 
these plants are found in good condition, and 
are pricked out. The boxes are then put back 
in the frame, and in most cases'there comes an¬ 
other crop of young plants from seeds that 
failed to germinate the autumn before. So in 
the frame in which seeds are sown in spring I 
find it well to be patient. I find that several 
boxes sown in March, and from which those 
seedlings that came quickly have been removed, 
show now in July several rows just breaking 
ground. One of the great troubles of those who 
fail in raising trees and shrubs from seeds is the 
inability to wait. For all seed-sowing in the 
small way too much can not be said in favor of 
Shallow Seed-Boxes, which have been fre- 
-quently mentioned in these columns. A com¬ 
mon soap-box will make three, as the soil need 
not be over two or three inches deep. Seeds 
■that are long in germinating can get in these 
what they will rarely receive in the open 
ground—thorough weeding. If tender seed¬ 
lings come, and find the soil already occupied 
by vigorous w r eeds, they have not the heart to 
•enter into the “struggle for existence,” and 
quietly disappear, while the seedsman is blamed 
for selling poor stock. 
The Rhododendron Show. 
Though the great show of Rhododendrons 
held in Boston in June is now a thing of the 
past, it is well to place it on record as a most 
important horticultural event. It was notice¬ 
able in the first place as it allowed people to see 
of what the Rhododendron is capable, as the 
plants were sliowm in large and small masses of 
shrubs varying in height from one to six feet; and 
besides these, single specimens, perfectly trained, 
showed what could be done with only one shrub. 
Secondly, it gave us an idea of what a flower- 
show should be. The large area inclosed by a 
monster tent was laid out in beds and borders 
of various forms, neatly edged with turf, and in 
these the plants were set in groups or as single 
specimens. The superiority of this method 
over the usual one of showing plants is so great 
that it should be adopted wherever practicable. 
Thirdly, it showed what a liberal and public- 
spirited man can do when he sets about it. 
Although the show was held under the auspices 
of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the 
public are indebted to Mr. H. H. Ilunnewell, of 
Wellesley, who conceived the idea, assumed the 
expense, and furnished the plants. Mr. Huune- 
well was ably seconded by Prof. Clias. S. 
Sargent, of the Bussey Institute, who did a 
great amount of hard work. These two gen¬ 
tlemen, especially, are deserving the thanks of 
the community foi\the finest floral display ever 
seen in this country. This exhibition can not 
fail to give a new impetus to Rhododendron cul¬ 
ture, and to make thousands of people ac¬ 
quainted with these most valuable shrubs. 
While the finest specimen plants exhibited at 
the show were of kinds not quite hardy at the 
North, still so many of them are perfectly 
hardy that one can get a satisfactory variety of 
colors from among those that have shown 
themselves capable of enduring our severest 
winters. The climate and the vicinity of Bos¬ 
ton is much more severe than that of New 
York, and plauts that will winter there with 
safety will probably be hardy with the great 
majority of our readers. At our request, Prof. 
Sargent has indicated six varieties of Rhodo¬ 
dendrons, giving the greatest variety of color, 
that have stood the severest of New England 
winters. These are: Album elegans, Album 
grandiflorum, Deilicatissimum, Everstianum, 
Purpurenm elegans, and Roseum elegans. 
Blackberry and Raspberry Rust. 
Whether it is due to the unusually early 
drouth or not, rust upon the species of Rubus 
appears to be unusually abundant this season. 
Some of the Western horticultural societies are 
discussing the matter in a tone that shows it to 
be so serious as to threaten the destruction of 
the blackberry. In some of these discussions 
the trouble is spoken of as rust, and the speak¬ 
ers are evidently in the dark as to its nature, 
and seem to look upon it as something that has 
recently come upon the crop. They seem to 
find it confined to the blackberry, and ask if 
the raspberry is ever attacked. This rust is no 
novelty. It makes its appearance upon the un¬ 
derside of the leaves as small, oval, orange- 
colored spots, which at length become so 
numerous that they run together, lose their 
identity, and form a shapeless mass of orange 
color that often covers the whole lower surface 
of the leaf. This rust is a regular plant, of the 
immense order of fungi, that lives in and upon 
the tissues of the leaf, and usually destroys it. 
When abundant, it so exhausts the plant that 
the wood fails to ripen. It occurs upon both 
the blackberry and raspberry, whether wild or 
cultivated. It does not seem to spread very 
rapidly, as upon a neighbor’s place there is a 
patch of wild blackberry bushes, the leaves of 
which have been badly infested with it for 
several years in succession; these bushes are 
but a few rods distant from our own cultivated 
ones, upon which no sign of the rust has yet 
appeared. Had we control of these wild bushes 
we should cut and burn them, as they are un¬ 
safe neighbors. The remedies we have seen 
proposed are salt and lime, cultivators claiming 
that they have arrested the rust by the use of 
either of these. Should it appear upon our 
own vines, we should apply sulphur with a 
bellows, just as we do for grape mildew. Any 
remedy, to be effective, should be applied at the 
very first appearance of the rust, as when it 
has gained such a foothold as to exhaust the 
plant the best way is to cut and burn. 
Seedling Strawberries. 
There have been more new seedlings brought 
forward this season than for the past two or 
three years. The raising of seedlings is a very 
easy matter, and we hope that cultivators and 
amateurs will persevere in the work until they 
produce a fruit that has all the good qualities 
of the Wilson, with none of its bad ones. The 
Wilson is red long before it is ripe, and the 
fruit as found in the market, though fine-look¬ 
ing, is sour and hard. It may be doubted if we 
shall ever find a strawberry firm enough to 
carry a long distance after it is fully ripe, unless 
it be some juiceless variety like the Lady-finger. 
Among those presented to our notice this spring 
is a berry raised by Mr. Springstead, of West¬ 
chester Co., N. Y., a berry of excellent flavor; 
but as the specimens we saw were grown under 
glass we can say but little about it. 
Mr. Geo. H. Hite, Morrisania, N. Y., has 
raised a very promising seedling. The berries 
are very large, rather rough surface, and from 
the clusters brought us appear to be very pro¬ 
ductive. Mr. Hite is a skilled horticulturist, 
and knows the requirements of a good berry. 
W. Somers, of East Bridgeport, Ct., has also 
a seedling. It apparently has some of the Pea¬ 
body blood in it, as it has the long smooth neck 
characteristic of the Agriculturist and other 
crosses of the Peabody. 
Mr. E. W. Durand, of Irvington, N. J., is an 
amateur who has been remarkably successful 
with seedlings. His Black Defiance, Late Pro¬ 
lific, and others have taken place with our 
standard sorts. This year lie shows another, 
which he calls the “ Star of 1873.” It is a very 
large and showy variety, and has the richness 
of flavor that characterize his other seedlings. 
“ The Duchess ” is another new variety, a 
basket of which was sent us by Dr. F. M. 
Hexamer, of Newcastle, Duchess Co., N. Y. 
He writes us that it is three days earlier than 
Downer’s Prolific, which will make it our earli¬ 
est variety. It is much sweeter and better 
flavored than the Downer, and is, like that, a 
round, very bright, light scarlet berry. It has, 
as we are informed by the Doctor and others, 
superior carrying qualities, and it promises 
well as a market variety. The Duchess was 
raised by Mr. D. H. Barnes, of Poughkeepsie, 
N. Y., who also raised Barnes’s Mammoth. 
Several other's have sent us seedlings, but in 
too poor condition for us to mention them. 
The American Pomological Society. 
The coming meeting of the American Pomo¬ 
logical Society, which commences on Septem¬ 
ber lOlh, will celebrate the 25th anniversary of 
its existence. That we consider this meeting of 
more than usual importance is shown by the 
prominence we .give to this notice. We have 
freely expressed our dissatisfaction with the 
conduct of its secretary, but the misdeeds of 
one who is unfortunately in a position where 
he can do mischief does not abate our interest 
in the cause. The Pomological Society is the 
only one in the world that brings together cul¬ 
tivators from such widely separated localities 
for a biennial comparison of experiences. It 
embodies the best pomological knowledge of 
all parts of the country, and its aims being 
national it should have the countenance and 
support of every grower of fruit from every 
section of the country. The terms of member¬ 
ship are low, and the fee is quite offset by the 
value of the report which each member re¬ 
ceives. We hope that those from a distance 
will make a special effort to attend this meeting, 
as they will derive new inspiration from the 
gathering at a place where horticulture lias, so 
to speak, taken a deeper root than anywhere 
else in the country. It is not that there are 
here and there eminent fruit-growers and culti 
vators in other branches of horticulture, bu> 
there is a horticultural atmosphere iti Bostom 
The people sympathize with and believe in 
pomology and its related branches, and manifest 
this feeling by their active support. Where 
else will be found such an expression of this 
feeling as that magnificent temple to Pomona 
and Flora, the Horticultural Hall, presents ? 
It will encourage those who are working 
at a distance and in isolated localities to go 
to Boston and see how a community may 
in time be educated to appreciate pomo¬ 
logical labors, and to see what a welcome 
these “granite and ice” men can give to all 
fellow-workers from every quarter. It is hoped 
that every state, territory, and province will be 
represented by fruit-growers, who will come 
prepared to contribute each his mite to the great 
national catalogue. Through the liberality 
