mM 
.7* • 
HppgMfll 
rels shipped is 249,595, distributed among 
the towns or points of shipment, as follows: 
Holley, 46,854 barrels.; llnlberton, 11,217; 
Brockville, 7,000; Hinrlsbnrgh, 750; Bid 
well’s Bridge, 6,500; Albion, 68,380; Lai tin's 
Bridge, 850; Guinea? Basin, 3,000; Eagle 
Harbor, 25,244; Knowlesville, 45,200; Me- I To give even a brief epitome of the va- 
dina, (estimated,) 35,000. The excess of the rious systems of pruning grape vines that 
that in some few instances a slight change 
was, or appeared to be, necessary, and were 
made accordingly; but at least nine-tenths 
of the whole number were started by theo¬ 
retical or non-praclical men. For instance, 
Speectily, who was no doubt a successful 
grower of grapes under glass, thought his 
book would not lie complete without a chap¬ 
ter on vineyards, (of which he acknowledged 
that be knew nothing,) and knowing further 
that the long rod and spur system adopted 
in the grapery would not answer in t he open 
air, he therefore gave us what has since been 
known as Hie “ alternate renewal system.” 
From Spekohly’s time(1789) down to the 
present, this peculiarly fascinating system 
has been a great stumbling block to ama¬ 
teurs who seem in some instances to prefer 
spending their time in trying impossibilities 
than practicing known possibilities. Al¬ 
though almost every form and modification 
of this system has proved a failure, yet there 
are always a few more grape growers left, 
who will give it a trial; and what is still more 
singular, that each and every advocate be¬ 
lieves himself to be the inventor. About 
every decade we arc treated with a revival 
of the alternate renewals. Bkiuht in I860 
gave us Ins system, which proved a failure, 
and lately Mr. Edwin M. Underhill has 
given another called the Byington system. 
See vol. 21 of Run at. New-Yorker, pages 
252,268 and 284. Of this system we shall 
speak more fully next week. 
the State crop, thus completely supplying 
the local demand, the surplus being actually 
sent to New York to relieve the home mar¬ 
kets, instead of sending to us for their sup¬ 
ply, as in former years. 
Monday, September 5th, there was a large 
arrival of State Delawares; the demand be¬ 
ing light, prices mled low, the dealers being 
at the mercy of the buyers, the latter paying 
from 8c. to 10c,; and 7c. was not refused for 
a large lot, in 5 lb. boxes, ns there was but 
little or no demand for them. I think that 
it is generally conceded by dealers that this 
has been the poorest year for this variety 
ever known in this market. 
The latter part, of September Catawhas 
came in freely, and prices ranged from 8c. 
to 9c. per Hi. Then a heavy rain storm 
came on, which caused the arrivals to de¬ 
crease very much, when prices stiffened to 
9c.; then thej 7 went to 10c., at which price 
they remained until a few days before 
Thanksgiving, when they again advanced 
until 13c. and even 15c. was realized for 
some choice marks, fresh packed. After 
that date prices receded, and grapes sold 
from 12c. to 14c. per lb. 
Previous to the storm above-named, Isa¬ 
bellas sold from Go. to 7c. per lb,; hut the 
storm also caused them to advance to 8c., 
with light arrivals, at which price they re¬ 
mained until the middle of the month, when 
a weakness in the market was observed, and 
prices fell to 7c., and even 6c. This was 
really the breaking of the market on this 
variety; for I he grocers soon stopped buy¬ 
ing, and the shipping trade was about over. 
The above arrivals of fruit are those that 
I have been able to make note of while 
transacting a large trade in them; I presume 
there are other noticeable arrivals of inter¬ 
est that 1 have not been able to gather. Yet 
In looking over the past, i nus t admit 
that it has been a year of low prices, and 
full of variations in experiences; and many 
new features of the business have been de¬ 
veloped which were instructive, and con¬ 
vince me more than ever that no one can 
predict with any certainty the correct pros¬ 
pect of a coming season. But I am fully 
satisfied that the fruit growing business of 
this country is steadily settling down on a 
more solid and profitable basis, both for 
growers and dealers. And there are two 
points that all growers should hear in mind : 
Quality before quantity, and a belter and 
cheaper mode of transportation. 
Now and Then. 
New York, January, 1871. 
fJcrwalogrnd 
SYSTEM OF PRUNING, 
FRUITS RECEIVED. 
BY F. R. ELLIOTT. 
Fiirnnn Apple. 
From Col. R. W. Furnas, Brownsville, 
Nebraska, I have sample of a new apple 
which, by the Colonel’s friends, has been 
named the “ Furnas.” it. is of full medium 
size, roundish oblate conical, slightly oblique 
—pale,yellow ground, marbled and blotched 
in sun with Vermillion, red dots, scat¬ 
tering; many of them sunken, as it were, 
with a dull cast as of bitter rot. Stem set 
in a regular deep, yet open cavity. Calyx 
half closed, with pointed, half-recufved seg¬ 
ments. Basin, irregular, abrupt, and moder¬ 
ately deep and smooth. Flesh whitish, half 
coarse, with a spongy grain; a sharp sub¬ 
acid, and void of aroma. Good to almost 
very good. Core medium; decay at outer 
line; seeds abundant. 
Col. Furnas writes that, “this season we 
have no fruit, yet the “ Furnas" is well laden. 
On the ground of production, when no 
others fruit, it may he a valuable sort, other¬ 
wise I can see no good in it, as compared 
with many old sorts known too well in Ne¬ 
braska. 
Wtaite««on l'vev. 
John Saul, Washington, D. C., sends an 
apple under the name of “ Whitescarvcr,” 
which is entirely new to me. It is of large 
size, with a smooth surface, only blurred or 
marred by the peculiar green mold which 
belongs to all our Southern grown apples, 
and which L have shown in the shaded 
figure. In quality it is just of that, crispy, 
breaking, tender, mild, juicy, subacid flesh 
which generally pleases nil; and while it is 
too tender for shipping long distances, is a 
desirable acquisition for the amateur, or for 
a local market. Of its history Mr. Saul 
writes that “ it originated in the grounds of 
a gentleman by name of Whttescauveu, in 
Rappahannock Co., Vn., and was named 
after him. The tree is a good grower and 
bearer.” Fruit large; form,oblate roundish; 
color, pale yellow green, with a few scatter¬ 
ing specks, or dots, irregular in size, which 
on the sun-exposed side are carmine, and on 
the shade side dark green, with a sulTuscd 
while surrounding; stem short; cavity nar¬ 
row; calyx small, closed ; segments usually 
erect, sometimes slightly recurved ; basin 
moderately deep; broad at base; flesh yel¬ 
lowish-white, moderately fine-grained, crisp, 
tender, juicy, pleasant, snlmeUl; very good, 
almost, best; core large, open, hollow cen¬ 
ter ; seeds quite pointed ; season, November 
and December. 
THE GRAPE TRADE OF 1870, 
THE WH1TE8CARVEB APPLE. 
have been described in horticultural books 
and periodicals, would require an octavo 
volume of at least 1,000 pages. Yineculture 
is ns old us civilization, and systems of prun¬ 
ing were probably adopted in the first, vine¬ 
yard ever planted by man, for the brain that 
could foresee the benefits likely to be derived 
from planting, would scarcely overlook 
those of pruning. In all our researches into 
the history and progress of grape culture, 
we have found that the people who paid 
most attelilIon to pruning always produced 
the best and most uniform good results, 
whether it was in grapes for the table or for 
wine. Climate and soil have certainly much 
to do in producing good or had grapes, hut 
a proper system of culture is positively ne¬ 
cessary even under the most favorable con¬ 
dition. That all cultivated grape vines re¬ 
quire pruning to produce the best results, is 
almost universally admitted; but how, and 
when it should he done, is about as far from 
being a settled question as it was in tbedays 
of Virgil or Columella. # It is, however, 
equally true that vineyardisis who give due 
care to studying the structure ofjhe vine 
ami the natural laws or principles that gov¬ 
ern its growth, vary but little either in their 
theories or practice. The system of culture, 
Including pruning, transplanting, layering 
and the t ime for doing the same ns practiced 
by the Romans 2,000 years ago is almost 
identical with that now in vogue in the host 
vineyards, in Europe, the Atlantic States, 
and on the Pacific Slope. 
Columella, who wrote his great work on 
Husbandry more than eighteen hundred 
years ago, gives us a clear idea of the condi¬ 
tion of the. vineyards of his day; also of the 
methods of pruning and training; and there 
is scarcely a principle laid down in any of 
our standard ivories of to-day that has not its 
Counterpart in this ancient author, He 
recommends fall planting, if the soil pre¬ 
pared for the reception of the vines is dry; 
if not, defer the operation until spring, lie 
also tells us that if a high trellis or stake is 
to be covered with a vine, it, must be clone 
gradually, and through several successive 
years, and not attempted in one Benson, 
which conforms with the practice of all good 
vineyardisis. The old Roman system of 
grape culture is far superior to many of the. 
new ones of our day. 
The question may be asked why is it that, 
so many new systems of pruning have been 
invented and new theories advanced, if the 
old ones were so perfect. Our answer is, 
Among the first arrival of grapes in this 
market were some Hartford Prolifics, grown 
by Roberts & Campbell in North Caro¬ 
lina. They were received in good condition 
on the 1st of August, packed in the Fair- 
child boxes, and sold for 20c. per lb., two 
firms receiving each a small lot. The prices 
realized were the same ; August 4lb another 
lot arrived, being consigned to three firms, 
and selling from 15c. to 19c. per lb. August 
6t.li a third Jot varied from 13c. to 18c. August 
12lh a lot of very fair Concords were re¬ 
ceived from the same parties, which sold lor 
about 13c. per lb. From this date large 
quantities were received from the Southern 
States, and prices declined to very unsatis- 
Tlie Cliaiiiptou Pent'. 
A recent Boston Journal contains the 
followingHon. Marshall P, Wilder has re¬ 
ceived the champion pear from California 
and exhibited it at the Horticultural Rooms 
Saturday. It is a Belle Allgevine—our com¬ 
mon Pound Pear—and weighs four pounds 
nine ounces. It measures lengthwise twen¬ 
ty-one inches, and around if eighteen and 
one half inches. Col. Wilder says the heav¬ 
ies'! pear he ever saw before this one weigh¬ 
ed lour pounds three ounces. This was 
c ( 5 itrbciur 
GARDEN NOTES AND QUERIES. 
P 0 M 0 L 0 GI 0 AL GOSSIP. 
A Ititr Stimuli. 
Charles Ballou, Cattaraugus county, 
N. Y., planted a squash seed in a compost 
heap, and the result ivas four ripe squashes, 
the combined weight of which was 447 
pounds. 
To Ci't l.nrire Onions. 
A writer upon onion culture in England 
says the best way to get large onions is to 
tramp and roll beds firmly; tbe seed is then 
sown on the compact surface and covered 
with a rich compost the usual depth. 
Tlio Mount Vernon ami Jleurro d’Albvet 
Pears. 
1 find in the Rural New-Yorker of 
last, week some discussion respecting these 
varieties. They are very unlike when you 
bring them together. Both have a russet 
skin, hut the Mount Vernon is more of a 
golden or cinnamon russet than the d’AI- 
bret, which is greenish or dull brown. The 
Mount. Vernon is also a later pear by at least 
a month, I think. About forms and outlines 
let me say that Leroy's outline of d’Albret 
would not represent one in ten thousand 
grown in this country. I have outlines of 
this pear in my album of several years ; all 
vary somewhat, but none come near Le¬ 
roy’s. In taking outlines from year to year. 
1 find frequently as much difference between 
specimens of the same variety ns between 
two different varieties. This shows that 
outlines, though of some value in giving a 
general idea of size and form, are but poor 
aids in identification.—P. B., Rochester, N, Y, 
From the discussions in the Rural New- 
Yorker, there seems to he a difference of 
opinion between W. 8. Little and your¬ 
selves in relation to the Mount Vernon and 
Beurre d’Albret pears, which, I think, arises 
from the difference in the form of the Mount 
Vernon this year and those of two years 
since, which were nearly of a roundish form, 
while those that 1 have seen this season were 
very much more elongated and acute than 
any Beurre d’Albret I have ever seen. There 
is also a slight difference in the flavor. The 
Beurre d’Albret is more vinous and less su¬ 
gary, and wanting in the aromatic flavor of 
the Mount Vernon. The two pears are cer¬ 
tainly distinct, both in the tree and fruit. I 
have noticed, for some years, that, many 
kinds of new seedling pears the first years 
of their bearing are shorter in form, have 
shorter aud stouter steins, than when the 
tree attains some age, when the form of the 
fruit is more regular, the stems longer, more 
slender, and more generally in a cavity in¬ 
stead of a depression hv a lip when from 
young trees.— ('has, Downing. 
Fir,, i—A n Tty Scurry. 
raised in the orchard of Smith A Co., Sacra¬ 
mento, and at the lime of the flood three 
years ago their orchard was covered with 
about three Icet, of sand and remains in that 
condition to-day. Col. Wilder saw 7 the 
pears growing on it on the great excursion 
last June. _ 
An Apple for Nnme. 
Isaac Hemstreet, East Aurora, N. Y., 
sends us an apple which he asks us to name 
if it has one; if it is new he will write 
more particulars, and adds, “ if it is an old 
variety, it is of no account.” We sub¬ 
mitted the apple to Ciiari.es Downing, 
who writes “ I don’t recognize it, although 
I think 1 have seen it, before. It belongs to 
the class of‘very good’ apples, and has a 
peculiar qninco-Hke flavor and slightly vi¬ 
nous. Its value, depends upon the growth, 
bearing qualities, fairness of the fruit, and 
keeping qualities. It is impossible to decide 
if a new apple or not.; and it, would not be 
safe to insert it as such unless the parties 
know that it is certainly a seedling.” 
Fig. 2-Leaf of h. Margin at a Cra.ndis. 
factory figures. Messrs. R. A C. were among 
the largest shippers, and one among many 
firms who thoroughly understand the pack¬ 
ing of grapes in the Southern States. 
August 23d some choice Hartl'ords were 
received from Lockport, N. Y., which sold 
for 10c.; also one case of Catawhas from 
Rochester, N. Y ; hut I could not ascertain 
at what price they were sold. August 25th, 
a case of Delawares from Vine Valley, N. 
Y., arrived, and sold for 23c. per lb.; also 
ft ur cases of Ives Seedlings from the Keuka 
vi icyard, Wayne county, N. Y., were re¬ 
ceived, and sold for 10c. per lb. On the 
29il, a case of Delawares from Haium onds- 
porl, N. Y., came, but not being well ripen¬ 
ed gild for 15c. per lb.; and a few cases of 
Hart-fords sold for 9c. per lb. 
The reader will bear in mind that during 
this time large quantities of grapes were 
coming in from North Carolina, Virginia, 
Maryland, and Delaware, prices ranging at 
about 8c. per lb, for black ones, in good 
order. A few Delawares from Virginia sold 
at 20c., these being in good condition and 
well ripened, but not possessing that bright, 
lively color that the same variety possesses 
grown in the Northern States. In fact, I 
think this is characteristic of the Southern 
fruit. 
The “ river” counties began to send about 
the 1st of September, their crop being very 
large, and of a fair quality, the choice fruit 
selling at the highest rates, ivhile the com¬ 
mon grades were jobbed off at a few cents 
per pound. 
New Jersey opened her vineyards about 
the same time, and tons of Concords arrived 
to compete with their more Northern neigh¬ 
bors; and as the fruit was good and prices 
low, it sold remarkably lively, so that I 
think it a safe calculation to make that the 
consumption of grapes in this city and vicini¬ 
ty was ten times larger than any previous 
year. 
The crop in the Eastern States was also 
very large, the fruit fine, aud it ripened with 
Wlmt Causes Cucumbers to Die. 
A correspondent asks what causes en¬ 
cumber vines to die when they begin to 
bear; also a remedy. The cause is often the 
lame of an insect about which we shall have 
more space to speak of hereafter. 
A Watermelon Aslted For. 
A. J. A., North Liberty,Iowa, asks where 
he can get tbe seed of a variety of water¬ 
melon which he used to raise, the fruit of 
which weighed from 50 to 60 pounds. He 
does not know the name of the variety. Last 
year it avos so wet he failed to get seed. lie 
does not tell us the color, shape, and charac¬ 
ter of the flesh, nor of the seeds, as he should 
to enable us to identify it. 
Asparagus Plain* from a Pound of Seed. 
T. Ayerill, Castleton, N. Y., writes the 
Farmers’ Club:—“If one wants to know 
how many asparagus plants lie might rea¬ 
sonably hope to get from a given quantity 
of seed, he finds, on consulting the varans, 
that he must still exercise his Yankee in¬ 
genuity at guessing. Peter Henderson, 
in his ‘ Gardening for Profit,’ says, * One 
pound of seed will produce about 3,000 
plants.’ Another Peter, surname9 Quinn, 
in his article on asparagus, says, ‘ One pound 
of seed, if fresh, will give about 15,000 
plants.’ Now, which is nearest correct ? It 
is presumed that Mr. Henderson would 
sow no seed other than * fresh.’ Will either 
of the Peters explain this discrepancy?” 
Dr. Hexamkr said that n pound of aspara¬ 
gus seed contains 15,000 seeds, and he had 
produced 15,000 plants from a pound. If 
the seed is good, the number of plants a 
pound will produce will not vary more than 
1,000 to 3,000 from 15,000. 
Orleans Co.. N. Y.« Apple Crop. 
John Baker sends us a statement of the 
apples shipped the past season, as furnished 
by James Bailey, to the county paper, 
(name not given.) The total number of bar- 
