&'V->- > 
having such plants fur sale the use of our ad¬ 
vertising columns, which are devoted ex 
pressly to such purposes. 
E. Anderson has fifty acres of berries, 
mostly Wilsons; also, one field of the Burr’s 
Mammoth coming in bearing this season, 
which he thinks will soon be the leading 
harry in that locality. Beside the above- 
named gentlemen, were a large number of 
other growers that I did not have lime to 
visit. 
Fruit in Delaware. 
On my return I visited Delaware, and 
found the berries there coming in bloom, and 
the earlier varieties of peach trees blossom¬ 
ing with an indication of a full crop of both 
kinds of fruit. At Dover I visited the farm 
of Williams Bno., which was looking finely, 
with a good prospect for a profitable crop of 
email fruits. Among the prominent growers 
of that locality are Messrs. Wilson, Todd, 
Wat.kf.u and Richardson <fe Robbins. 
In Camden, Messrs. Carey, Bancroft, 
Dager and Bamako arc among the princi¬ 
ple growers. On Mr. Carey’s farm I met the 
old veteran Grafter, Carey, who is well 
known among the prominent fruit growers 
of this country. Grafting with him is a 
science, and a branch of business that he is 
very much attached to. It is very interesting 
to hear his ideas in regard to the growth of 
wood and flow of sap in t rees. 
At Laurel, 118 miles below Philadelphia, I 
found berry growing in its infancy, the largest 
of growers having only about six acres. 
Among the most prominent growers were 
Messrs. Heaunn, Tooks, Doshikl and 
SMITH. The soil in this section is quite 
light, but well adapted to growing peaches, 
which is the principal crop. 
Now and Then. 
Arboriculture 
it is simply this:—Some of our merchants 
are so closely confined at home, that they 
have no opportunity to travel in order to 
secure the desired trade, and they prefer es¬ 
tablishing agencies throughout the country 
to solicit for them, paying those agents a 
stipulated price for their service, which is 
generally a proportion of the commission. 
This is a strictly legitimate and honorable 
mode of conducting business. 
In regard to Madam Rumor’s talk, I pay 
but little attention to it, for she is such a 
garrulous old jade that, whenever and wher¬ 
ever she can find sympathising listeners, she 
is ever ready to retail her scandal and slan¬ 
der to those who will listen, caring nothing 
for the character or feelings of those whom 
she is defaming, 
l can only say, on that point, that I never 
heard of such a transaction. The fact is, 
that if a dealer wished to cheat, he could 
do it in a much easier way, and just as 
effectively. 
In regard to the handling of grapes by the 
Express Companies, it is but justice to them 
to say that they do it as well as could he ex¬ 
pected of them, and very little loss arises 
from that cause. 
Does the above article contain light enough 
to enable “Recorder” to understand? If 
not, I will be pleased to give him all the in¬ 
formation that I possess on the subject.— 
c. w. i. 
ortirulture 
outbcrn 
Apple CIoim Received.—We have received a 
few apple cions from J. P. Lewis, but they were 
as dry and brittle as pipe stems, and dead. 
WEEPING ELM. 
(Ulinug iiionlanu pcndula.) 
VIRGINIA AND DELAWARE, 
Wliat Fruit Grower* nre Doing, and How 
They Do It. 
On the morning of April 8d, I landed at 
Portsmouth, Va., with the intention of look¬ 
ing around among the Fruit Growers of that 
section, and the adjacent city of Norfolk. 1 
found the season far advanced; the flowers 
were in lull bloom, the berry blossoms very 
abundant, and all fruit trees showing a good 
prospect for an abundant crop. Farmers 
were all busy with their crops, and felt much 
encouraged with the prospect. 
j. E. IliUier’n Fruit Farm. 
Feeling n considerable interest in the suc¬ 
cess of grape culture in that section. I called 
on J. E. Baker, living about eight miles 
from the lauding. Mr. B. is yet a young man, 
possessing ft large amountof practical knowl¬ 
edge, and is full of zeal and love for fruit 
growing. In 1806 he settled on his present 
farm, which was then in its native state, pre¬ 
ferring that to the old farms adjoining. He 
cleared the whole of it, preparing it for the 
cultivation of small fruits. The situation is 
thirteen feet above high water, has a slightly 
rolling surface, well underdrained. The soil 
is a light sand, about six inches deep, with a 
mixture of clay and sand for a subsoil. His 
principal crops are strawberries and grapes. 
Of the former he has six acres, which were 
in full bloom, the plants being very healthy. 
11c has now fi,000 Concords, 4,000 Hartford* 
and 5,000 Delaware vinca,beside about 1,000 
of other varieties with which he is now ex¬ 
perimenting. He says that ho is confident 
that with proper care, the Concord will 
yield a regular and profitable crop. He has 
Imited hut a few Delawares, and says he is 
well pleased with thorn. The vines grow 
slowly and are hardy; have a strong fiber, 
and do well under a hot sun. The young 
sprouts resist the strong winds that prevail in 
that locality much better than the Concord. 
Of the new varieties he says the Ives lias 
many points of excellence, ripens even and 
shows no signs of disease. He thinks the 
Martha will prove a good hearer and will 
reach a higher point of excellence than at 
the North. 
Ollier Places. 
Mr. Cannon 1ms sixty acres of Concords 
growing near Portsmouth which had a large 
crop on them last season. 
J. W. J ames owns a large trucking farm. 
Among his varieties of vegetables are four 
acres of radishes from which he had been 
marketing for more than a week. He in¬ 
formed me that he planted ten pounds of 
seed to the acre, costing 55 cents per pound. 
The cost per acre for seed, guano, and labor 
is about $25. Preparing the land, about 
the same as for grain; pulling and prepar¬ 
ing them for market, 35 cents per barrel of 
125 bunches each, lie has six acres of Wil¬ 
son’s strawberries growing. 
On the Norfolk side of the river 1 visited 
quite a number of berry growers, some of 
whom arc growing a new variety which they 
call the 
Burr's Mammoth. 
Some twelve years since ti stranger from 
Ohio visited Norfolk and stated that he had 
n few plants of a new variety of strawberry 
which were something very choice, well 
worthy of cultivation. 'The Messrs. Ste¬ 
vens Bros, bought them and planted them in 
their gardens for their own family use. The 
berry proved to be as represented, and Mr. 
Stevens was so well pleased with them that 
he induced some farmers to plant them and 
see what field culture would do for them 
ns the garden had developed such fine speci¬ 
mens, some of them measuring five and a- 
ltalf inches in circumference, and fifty-two 
of them filling a quart measure. The per¬ 
son who sold them wrote the name on a slip 
of paper for Mr. Stevens, hut lie unfortu¬ 
nately lost it; but on referring to a work on 
berries they found that the description of ihe 
“ Burr’s” came nearer to it than any other, 
consequently called it after that variety. 
James Graham is now growing about ten 
acres of this variety, and speaks very favor¬ 
able of them; says they arc a week earlier 
than the Wilson’s Albany, much larger and 
sweeter, and maintain their size much better 
through the season, and do not depreciate 
by cultivation. 
H. Talbott is growing twenty-five acres 
of the same variety, and endorses all that 
Mr. G. says of them. 1 le also adds that they 
will not yield as many quarts to the acre as 
the Wilson, but will return more dollars, 
and are a far better marketing berry, lie is 
also growing fifteen acres of the Stewart’s 
Early, but no Wilsons, as be thinks they are 
not. so profitable as either of the former 
varieties. 
H. C. Qrinnell, now living on the John¬ 
son farm, mentioned in a former article, is 
growing thirty-five acres of strawberries, 
besides a large number of the Wilson black¬ 
berry, and has quite a large pear orchard. 
J. R. Young & Co. have forty acres of 
strawberries, in fine condition ; Mr. Camp 
eighteen acres, and Mr. Kemp ten acres. 
Unique forms among trees are sought for 
with far more eagerness at the present time 
than formerly. The arboriculturist is con¬ 
stantly looking for freaks of nature, which 
shall give him something different from the 
general type of every well-known genus. A 
peculiar shade in the color of a leaf, or its 
form; a tortuous branch, or any other de¬ 
parture from the natural line of demarkation, 
raises his hopes of producing or fixing a nov¬ 
elty. Variations from natural forms are con¬ 
stantly occurring, and it is only those who 
GRAPE GRAFTING. 
There has been within the last year or 
two much written on the subject of Grape 
Grafting, and both amateur and professional 
cultivators have experimented with more or 
less success. I wish to add to the general 
stock my own experience. I have beencu- 
GRAPE GRAFTING, AGAIN. 
In theH urat. New-Yorker of ApriI 22d, 
Mr. Langworthy expresses a regret that in 
my article on Wagener’s method of grape 
grafting, 1 had failed to state “how the 
cions were secured,—whether tied, wired or 
waxed.” 
In answer, I would say—neither. If the 
work is properly done, no fastening is neces¬ 
sary. Saw oif the vine at, or a little below, 
the surface, and instead of splitting the stock 
as in old fashioned cleft grafting, a portion is 
taken out of the side of the vine and the cion 
filled by an instrument for the purpose, so 
nicely that it is held in place without any 
other support, than what it gets from the 
stock. The operation should he performed 
just below ground, and the whole nicely cov¬ 
ered with flesh earth, anil so mulched with 
saw dust, old tan, or something that will 
prevent the earth from drying out, or the 
surface from becoming hard and crusty. 
There is another important benefit in this 
mulch. It prevents weeds from springing 
up, and the vintner can see at a glance where 
his graft is, so that no injury from the hoe 
need occur. The process is simple, and the 
success so certain, that vincyurdisls may well 
look upon it as an important invention. 
. T. M. Younglove. 
FAILURE OF APPLES AND PLUMS. 
My apple orchard, which was set out 
about twelve or thirteen years since, with 
great care, has not yielded anything like a 
crop, while trees set out perhaps two or 
three years earlier on an adjoining farm have 
been yielding largely for a number of years. 
My trees were planted in bones and have 
been well trained and pruned. Neighbors 
attribute the failure to this fact, and advise 
me to restrict their growth. Do you approve 
of the plan, and wliat course should 1 pur¬ 
sue? My plum orchard has likewise proved 
a failure for several years. Before the fruit 
matures n small insects slings it, when it im¬ 
mediately commences to drop until the 
ground is covered. What course should I 
pursue to prevent this ?—A. T. M., S(. Clairs- 
ville, Ohio. 
To give advice, with only such an incom¬ 
plete description of circumstances ns the 
above for ft guide, is certainly a hazardous 
business. It is quite probable that your 
neighbors arc right in recommending a total 
neglect of culture and pruning, for there is 
such a thing as overdoing both of these usu¬ 
ally very necessary operations. Apple trees 
may be kept growing so rapidly that few or 
no fruit spurs will he formed until they are 
many years old ; and we have also known 
men to prune off nearly or quite all of the 
fruit spurs and bearing branches, and then 
express their surprise at theunfruitfblness of 
the trees. If trees of twelve or thirteen 
years of age would not hear a good crop of 
fruit under the influence of good culture and 
pruning, we should certainly try the let- 
alone system, and see what effect that would 
have upon them. 
The failure of your plums is probably ow¬ 
ing to the attacks of curculios. This insect 
commences depositing its eggs in the young 
fruit as soon a9 the blossoms drop, and con¬ 
tinues until it is nearly nr quite of full size. 
Many different methods have been suggested 
for destroying these pests, but where they 
nre very plentiful, it will cost, more to save 
Ihe fruit than it is likely to be worth. Jar¬ 
ring the trees and catching the curculios 
upon sheets, or other contrivances made for 
this purpose, is the only sure way we know 
of for saving even a partial crop; and even 
this plan is not always a successful or 
economical one. Sec page 108, Rural New- 
Yorker, Feb. 18, for engravings of curculio 
catcher. 
WEEPING ICIjMI.—(U lmus m cm tan a p end. vita.) 
rivaling the grape for about thirty-five years 
and the past fifteen years making them a 
specialty, for twenty-one years a subscriber 
to the Rural New-Yorker, and being by 
my subscription of age and old enough to 
speak for myself. 1 have experimented and 
failed, tried it over with another failure, and 
the third time met with no belter results, 
and tried all plans suggested by others and 
many that were not; after a while success 
was achieved in perhaps four out of twelve 
cions, which to me was encouraging, hut for 
the past three years 1 have been us success¬ 
ful with grapes as with apples or anything 
else. 1 am sure any person who can graft 
an apple can, with equal care, succeed with 
the grape. It is both simple and easy. There 
is no hocus pocus about it- Vines that are 
raised from cuttings are more easily grafted 
than when raised from buds, because better 
slocks will he found below the surface. 
Clear away the earth until below the col¬ 
lar, take the stock as near straight as you 
can, saw it off square across, at least three 
inches below the surface. Clean off the old, 
loose bark; then for slitting, use a fine back 
saw, without any set in it, aud snw length¬ 
wise down the stock about two inches; in¬ 
sert a wedge, set the cions with two buds in 
each, being careful to match the inner bark ; 
takeout t lie wedge; bind with strips of coarse 
factory cloth, about one and one-half inches 
wide; place one strip over the top, between 
the cions, and bring the ends down the sides; 
wind another round the stock, covering the 
wound as you would a cut finger, and tie it 
with bass matting. This dressing keeps all 
dirt out, and allows the surplus sap to pass 
off. Then carefully cover, with fine earth, 
the stock entirely, and if liable to bake or 
become hard, use sand, aud mulch with grass 
or tanbark, and keep oft’ all suckers. One 
man can graft as fast, as one can clear away 
the earth and saw oft’ vines. Keep grafting, 
if yon have vineyard enough, from departure 
of frost until the buds burst. Ciotis should 
be cut in the fall, and buried in sand in the 
winter. I grafted hundreds on mv own vine- 
van! in the spring of 1869-70, with perfect 
success,and am grafting hundreds this spring. 
Newell Httngerford. 
Tompkins Co., N. Y., April, 1871. 
arbour 
HOW I RAISE MELONS, 
As many people think they cannot raise 
melons, and as I have seen numerous articles 
written on the subject, I concluded to give 
my experience, which limy benefit some one, 
as I have always been successful. Many 
gardeners think it necessary to dig a hole 
about two feet deep and two or three feet in 
diameter and fill it nearly full with manure, 
then place a few inches of dirt on top and 
plant the seed. This, I claim, is all non¬ 
sense. I simply give the ground a good 
coat of fine manure, thoroughly dig or plow 
the ground, then level with a rake or other¬ 
wise. I then make a marker, by taking any 
piece of wood that will not bend, eight feet 
long, fasten two pegs to this, seven feet 
apart, nail a handle in the center, bracing it 
both ways. I then draw a tight line for the 
first mark, drawing the marker the first time 
through with one peg against the line; the 
next time through, hill one peg run in the 
last mark ; then you get all straight. Mark 
across these in the same manner, then place 
on each corner or hill two shovelfulls of well 
rotted manure ; taken digging fink and mix 
with the soil thoroughly to the depth of the 
fork tines. After this take a rake and rake 
the soil on the lop of this to the depth of 
three inches, which makes the hill a little 
higher than the surface of the ground. 
The seed should not be planted until the 
ground gets thoroughly warm—say the hist 
of May or first of June in this section. Too 
early planting is one cause of failure. Then 
1 stick nine seeds in each hill. As soon as 
they come up, sprinkle a little plaster on the 
plants while the dew is on, to keep the bugs 
off; do this as often as the plaster gels off, 
until the plants get to be of good size ; then 
thin out to four plants in a hill. When 
these begin to run nicely, pinch off the tip 
end of the runners, which will cause them 
to throw out side runners; pinch these in 
the same manner; keep the ground well cul¬ 
tivated and free from weeds till the vines 
take possession. Mine, treated in this man¬ 
ner, cover the ground completely, and we 
had last year from a small patch, water¬ 
melons by the hundred, while others lost all 
ARB0RI0ULTURAL NOTES. 
I’Innrtus' 1*1 ii m '.tei'd. 
D. W. B., Geneva, N. Y., recommends, as 
a means of preventing the ravages of the 
Curculio, the planting of trees after the 
mode hitherto given by Dr Undkiuiill. 
“ If nil who have a stream running through 
I heir premises, or a pond where water re¬ 
mains through the. early summer, will dock 
il up on one or both sides with stones or 
wood and fill in above high water mark with 
good earth and some old rotten manure to¬ 
ward the top, then set out their plum and 
apricot trees leaning over the water, (the 
more they lean the better, as they naturally 
want to grow upright,) they will have no 
trouble with Curculio, as the old hug is too 
wise to deposit its eggs where they will drop 
into the water after they hatch, and the worm 
causes the fruit to drop. It may he u little 
more trouble to gather the fruit; but people 
don’t mind that if they have it, I notice. 
This kind of place is not worth much, ns the 
trees do not shade the land to the detriment 
of other crops. In going through the coun¬ 
try I notice hundreds of places that are near¬ 
ly ready for the trees, and with very little 
labor would be complete. It will not cast 
much for every farmer to try this and know 
the fact.” 
Will it work ?—[Eds. Rural. 
P0M0L0GI0AL GOSSIP. 
The Cnniula licit Apple 
is said by a Weathersfield, Vt., correspond¬ 
ent of the Rural New-Yorker, to he one 
of the best apples for that locality. 
The White 8ccdliug Cline, 
is said, by a correspondent of the Rural 
Press, to be the latest peach in California. 
It does not ripen until November and De¬ 
cember. What its qualities are when ripe, 
we are not informed. 
MARKETING GRAPES, 
In reply to the inquiry of “ Recorder,” in 
Rural New-Yorker, April 22, on “ Mark¬ 
eting Grapes,” I would state that be has 
mistaken the article from which he professes 
to quote, for there was no reference to the 
loss on the transportation in it. In regard 
to the connection of the grocer with the 
commission merchant in the grape business, 
Recipe lor Grafting; Wnx. 
H. B. Whitcomb, Green Co., N. Y., sends 
the Rural New-Yorker liis recipe for 
making grafting wax .—Resin, six pounds ; 
beeswax, one pound; raw linseed oil, one 
pint. He adds:—“We think it cannot be 
excelled in our latitude.” 
Variegated Leaved Oaks. 
Several of our correspondents are anx¬ 
ious to know where the variegated leaved 
oaks, described in the Rural New-Yorker, 
can be obtained. We might give the re¬ 
quired iutormatiou, but prefer to allow those 
