1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
51 
— 
ably well. It is certainly late in coming into 
bearing, and it does not show all its good quali¬ 
ties at the first fruiting. It continues to im¬ 
prove with age. In some localities, however, 
and on poor soil, it often proves quite refrac¬ 
tory, and on this account it has not received the 
universal commendation, which an apple of 
such fine appearance, and agreeable, sprightly 
favor would appear to deserve. 
Experience with Peach Trees. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist. 
Ten years ago I bought and transplanted two 
hundred peach trees, which netted me two years 
ago, $200. The soil was too rich, and they are 
now nearly all dead. Four years ago, I bought 
an orchard of 900 peach trees, and 300 apple 
trees set between them. These trees are now 
10 years transplanted, and last September they 
netted me $500. They were set on thinner 
soil than the first lot, except in one corner 
where they have all died. I am satisfied that 
peaches require the same kind of soil that po¬ 
tatoes do, to prevent their rotting—thin, or 
poor upland. Cultivation is necessary to fruit- 
bearing. If the orchard be seeded, you need not 
expect many peaches. The kinds I like best, 
are: old Mixon, Crawford’s Early, Crawford’s 
Late, Melocoton, Smock, and Morris White. 
The peach borer is an inveterate enemy, but 
the “ yellows” is the great destroyer. Perhaps 
this disease is superinduced by rich soil and 
common farm yard manure. I think mineral 
manures only are necessary, and little of them 
if the land is properly cultivated by raising po¬ 
tatoes, or other low crops—or without crops. 
Fairfield Co ., Conn . G . W". 33. 
Fruit Growers Meetings. 
Excepting during the holidays, these meetings 
have been kept up regularly, and are increasing¬ 
ly interesting. They are held at 1 o’clock P. M. 
each Thursday, and all interested in fruits and 
kindred subjects, are invited to attend. A stand¬ 
ing committee consisting of Chas. Downing, S. 
13. Parsons, W. S. Carpenter, A. S. Fuller, and 
Dr. I. P. Trimble, has been appointed for nam¬ 
ing new fruits, identifying old sorts, and inves¬ 
tigating whatever is about being sent out with 
high sounding names and large claims upon the 
credulity of the community. This will guard 
against imposition and fraud. After the adop¬ 
tion of a list of 20 varieties of pears recommend¬ 
ed for planting, as published on page 17, Janu¬ 
ary Agriculturist , a committee was appointed to 
bring forward lists of the 6 best grapes for out¬ 
door cultivation. Several discussions have been 
had over the grape question, and sundry lists 
have been presented, but no selection has yet 
been adopted: the decision will soon be made 
and published in ample season for Spring plant¬ 
ing. A similar committee to bring forward ap¬ 
ple lists has also been appointed, and will agree 
upon a report in a week or two. The list will 
probably be adopted in season for publica¬ 
tion in our next number. 
A great many winter pears have been sent in 
from time to time, among which the Vicar ot 
Winkfield is most abundant. When well grown 
and ripened with care, they are really good; 
some members expect to have them until Feb¬ 
ruary 1st. The Lawrence, however, is pro¬ 
nounced to be among Winter pears what the 
Seckel is among the Autumn varieties. It was 
advised to plant it on the pear stock. The 
specimens of the Glout Morccau, frequently 
brought before the meeting, proved very fine. 
Though this variety is proverbially slow in 
coming into bearing, one member reported a 
barrel of fruit picked from a standard tree 
planted nine years ago. 
W. S. Carpenter questioned whether the so- 
called dwarf trees retain any of the quince roots 
after being planted a few years. Nurserymen 
universally advised to plant dwarfs a little be¬ 
low the junction of the pear with the quince, 
so that the pear might put out roots of its own. 
These roots soon become the leading ones, and 
and from disuse and deep planting the quince 
roots soon decay. Out of a large number of 
dwarfs planted some years ago, and recently 
moved, only one tree-retained any qumce roots. 
Prevention of Sap Blight. 
John Grable, Doniphan Co., Kansas, writes 
to the American Agriculturist on this subject as 
follows: “Heart and Bigarreau cherries, that 
have been planted in north-western Missouri 
for 15 years past, have come to nothing, Avhile 
Morellos do well. This is owing to their being 
killed by sap blight, which I have noticed to 
occur in February. It is caused by sudden 
thaws, followed by hard freezing, which loosens 
the bark on the tree, except a little on the north 
side. A tree under these circumstances will 
survive for a while, but when the blight extends 
around the trunk, it is ‘ done for.’ This hap¬ 
pens, on an average, every four or five years. 
As far as my experience goes, the best remedy 
is, to prune the trees to low heads, and wrap 
the trunks with strips of old drab-colored 
cloth, which preserves them from sap blight, 
and from rabbits. Two years ago, I planted 23 
apple trees in October, and thirteen of them 
were ruined by sap-blight in February. This 
seemed to prove to me, that Fall planting was 
more critical than Spring planting, as there 
were many trees of about the same size, planted 
in the same locality in the Spring previous, and 
not one of them suffered from the blight.” 
notation in the Garden. 
Probably many readers of the Agriculturist 
are puzzled when they sec a plant spoken of as 
belonging to a certain family. By this is meant 
that different plants, though unlike in many par¬ 
ticulars, have some points in common, and have, 
as it were, a family relationship. Those who 
make an especial study of plants, group all that 
are known, into a not very large number of 
families; their reasons for doing so are some¬ 
times drawn from something in the flower or 
fruit which persons in general would not no¬ 
tice, and again upon resemblances which are 
sufficiently striking to be observed by every 
one. Thus, the bean and the pea are so nearly 
alike in flower and fruit that we naturally sup¬ 
pose them to be related, while carrots and cel¬ 
ery do not seem to go together so readily, be¬ 
cause we are not accustomed to see the flower 
and fruit. Plants of the same family, being 
made on the same general plan, are commonly 
very much alike in their properties, and take 
up very nearly the same substances from the 
soil. In the rotation of crops it is desirable that 
the soil should be occupied not only by a dif¬ 
ferent plant, but by one of another family from 
that which it previously bore. In farm crop¬ 
ping, the number of kinds are so few, that there 
is no difficulty in fulfilling this condition ; but 
in the garden, where a number of sorts are 
grown, the arrangement of a proper rotation 
requires some forethought. The following 
grouping of the common garden vegetables 
will assist in making out a proper system of 
succession. Turnips, cabbages, cauliflowers, 
borecole, broccoli and radishes belong to one 
family—parsnips, carrots, parsley and celery, to 
another—and so with lettuce, endive, salsify and 
scorzouera—beets and spinach — cucumbers, 
watermelons, and muskmelons—potatoes, egg¬ 
plant and- tomatoes—beaus and peas—onions, 
leeks and shallots. Onions are an exception 
to the rule of relations, and are successfully 
grown year after year upon the same soil. Root 
crops, which grow mainly in the soil, should 
be followed by some crop cultivated for its 
leaves, etc. To illustrate—in the aboye enumera¬ 
tion, it will be seen' that carrots should not fol¬ 
low or be succeeded by parsnips, parsley or 
celery, as they belong to the same family, nor 
by beets and other root crops—but may precede 
or follow anything else. Where circumstances 
render it necessary to plant a' crop successively 
upon the same ground, the soil should be well 
manured and deeply and thoroughly worked. 
Garden Walks for Exercise. 
A friend writes us that, in his large grounds, 
he has laid out a series of walks so arranged that 
by going over one track a certain number of 
times, the extent is a mile. Against a wall he 
has affixed an iron strap pierced with holes, by 
the side of which is a pin suspended by a small 
chain, so that the pedestrian, by moving the 
pin from one hole to another every time he pass¬ 
es it, knows exactly the extent of his walk. 
This is all very well, when one can’t do bet¬ 
ter. We have known persons exercising by the 
clock in their rooms, or pacing back and forth 
over a few rods of pavement, and amid the same 
scenes, by the hour. But it strikes us that when 
one wishes a smart walk, he had better launch 
forth from his garden, and perambulate the pub¬ 
lic street, so that he may see new faces and new 
scenes. Or, if there is work to be done, put on 
the garden outfit, and with hoe and water-pot or 
other implement, he will soon get pleasant health¬ 
ful exercise. This is the writer’s experience. 
Grape Vines. 
When the demand for choice grape vines is 
greater than can be supplied by the ordinary 
modes of propagation, some nurserymen multi¬ 
ply them by cuttings of the green wood. It is 
the experience of many of the best cultivators 
that vines propagated year after year in this 
way deteriorate and become less hardy. The 
Delaware is cited as having especially suffered 
from this mode of treatment. It seems very 
likely that continued propagation from unripe 
shoots would produce weak plants. We should 
not think of sowing from seed so immature that 
it is just capable of germinating; a feeble plant 
would be produced—and, though the circum¬ 
stances are not precisely the same with cuttings, 
there is no doubt that strong well-ripened wood 
will give plants of greater vigor than can be 
raised from green cuttings. 
Lilies for City Gardens.— These showy 
flowers are worthy an occasional place in even 
small collections of plants; but all are not well 
adapted to growth in the smoky city atmos- 
