and Pacific States, will be commenced. Tlic 
facilities now enjoyed through railroads and 
telegraphs for rapid communication will, in 
a great measure, lessen the difficulties that 
seemed to stand in the way, and I hope to 
see in less than five years the American 
Catalogue of fruits complete—a most im¬ 
portant national work. But let it be well 
done; no fruit should be placed in the col¬ 
umns of that catalogue except upon first-rale 
authority. Up to the present time great 
caution has been exercised. It has been as¬ 
serted that in a few cases varieties were in¬ 
serted or indications made at the suggestion 
of a single individual. I do not know bow 
this is; it may have been so in one or two 
instances by a mere accident. The plan lias 
been to make additions or alterations only 
upon the strength of reliable reports of So¬ 
cieties or Committees. 
^rbartroltnrr. 
C ANN AS. 
Tots family of plants is the most useful 
of all the various plants that have been of 
late years introduced into our gardens for 
what is called sub-tropical gardening. They 
arc natives of warm climates, principally 
of South America and the West Indies, 
although a few are found in the East. Indies 
and China, and one species is found in South 
Carolina. 
The fleshy cormus of some species are 
said to be used as food in South America, 
and one species yields the farinaceous sub¬ 
stance known in the West Indies as touts les 
mots, a sort of arrow-root; and the seeds of 
THE NEWVILLE AJ’Plilfi. 
f.lowologmtl. 
NEWVILLE APPLE. 
Tms apple was shown at the last winter 
meeting of the Pennsylvania Emit Growers’ 
Society, by S. W. Sharp, Newville, Frank¬ 
lin Co., Pa., who has, at our request, fur¬ 
nished us the following history of it: 
“ From what 1 know of this apple and learn 
from those who live in the neighborhood of 
the tree, it was not known away from home 
until I purchased the farm in 1862, of' Air. 
Wm. Ramp, a very old man. In referring 
to Air. Ramp’s deed, he purchased two hun¬ 
dred and twenty-nine acres of Air. Cako- 
tiikh’h estate from Fruit). Watts, adminis¬ 
trator, hi the year 1839. Mr. Ramp’s son in¬ 
forms me that all the trees are seedling, and 
that the tree from which you have the apple 
was as large, when his father purchased the 
farm, as it is now, and has been a good bear¬ 
er. The past year fifteen bushels measured 
apples were taken off of it. The tree stands 
beside the road and burn; the roots are 
tramped bare by cattle; lias never been ma¬ 
nured to my knowledge, nor has ft been 
pruned, except as I cut grafts for friends. It 
has but few of them now, but I will be pleased 
to send you some. 
I will try and get some of the apples from 
my tenant (who got all the fruit from the old 
trees) and send you a box by express, so that 
you cau see what they are in April and Alay, 
as they arc a good keeper. 
You say that there is now a Sharp’s apple. 
1 cannot think it is the same, as I sent no 
grafts to friends who could have them in 
bearing yet. 1 sent some to friends in Illi¬ 
nois and called them Sharp’s Seedling when 
I sent them ; as you think it may not do to 
call it Sharp’s Seedling, I will suggest it 
Sharp’s Mountain, Cumberland Valley, or 
Newville, as you may think best. I have 
no trees for sale nor grafts, as I grow fruit for 
my own pastime. 1 have never grown trees 
for sale, but purchase all trees myself; have 
grafted tins variety on my own grounds." 
Mr. Elliott, to whom we sent specimens 
of this fruit obtained at the meeting above 
named, lias sent us t he accompanying sketch 
and outline of it, and the following de¬ 
scription :—Fruit large, roundish to roundish 
oblate, flattened at, ends; light greenish yel¬ 
low, with dull, pale purplish ml blush where 
fully exposed to the sun ; dots small, brown¬ 
ish, and apparently raised on the yellow, but 
in the red showing whitish; stem medium 
as to length and size; cavity broad, open, 
regular and smooth ; calyx large, open, with 
five broad, divided segments; basin broad, 
open, deep, slightly corrugated at base; 
flesh yellowish white, loose, half spongy, 
tender, very mild sub-acid, only moderately 
juicy; good to very good , core large, open, 
hollow at center; seeds long,acute pointed; 
season, December to February. It is very 
much of the Fallawater style, but better in 
quality, handsomer, and every way its su¬ 
perior as a fruit. 
- +++ -- 
CATALOGUE OF FRUITS 
Of I lie American l'oiniilogiciil Society. 
I think it is agreat pity that this valuable 
work is not put into moregeneral circulation. 
Thus far it has only been printed for the use 
of members of the Society. Would it not 
have been well to print a small edition and 
place it iu the hands of t he Agriculture and 
Horticulture hook trade? The officers of 
the Society will do well to consider this. It 
gives an alphabetical list of 175 varieties of 
apples; 1J7 of pears; 39 of cherries; 51 of 
peaches; 0 of nectarines ; 12 of apricots; 36 
of plums ; 4 of quinces; 37 of native grapes; 
22 of foreign grapes; 20 of currants; 13 of 
gooseberries; 18 of raspberries; 4 of black¬ 
berries ; 25 of strawberries. 
All these fruits are arranged in tabular 
form, showing where each is most success¬ 
fully grown through twenty-six different 
States, besides the Canadas. Some of Ihese 
States are divided into two and some into 
three districts, making in all thirty-five "dis¬ 
tricts. This statement is sufficient to show 
the scope and value of this catalogue. 
The English Gardener’s Chronicle, the 
leading horticultural journal of Europe, in 
making notice of the proceedings of the last 
session of the Society, says: 
“ Everything would appear to he done on 
a gigantic scale iu America, hundreds of 
new varieties of fruits, native and foreign, 
being yearly submitted for the opinion of 
the Committees of this Society; and we feel 
bound to say that they appear all to be dealt 
with iu a very careful and candid manuer, 
and none but those well proven to he meri¬ 
torious are admitted to the catalogue of 
fruits, which is, indeed, a model one, con¬ 
sidering the great expanse of territory for 
which the different varieties are recom¬ 
mended.” 
Tliis is well deserved praise, yet it is but 
the beginning, I hope, of our American 
Fruit Catalogue. After the holding of the 
next session in Richmond, the second divis¬ 
ion, consisting of the Southern, Southwestern 
Some time ago a suggestion was made in 
the Hearth and Home by W. C. Flagg, 
Alton, 111., a very well informed fruitgrower, 
that the work of arranging the catalogue 
might be simplified by grouping the States 
together instead of giving a column to each. 
This suggestion is worthy of consideration. 
1 have thought that the subdivision of States 
at the West was carried to an unnecessary 
extent; yet it may have some advantages. 
In the present catalogue the State of Indiana 
is divided into two districts—North and 
South; Illinois into three; Michigan into 
two; New York two; Pennsylvania into 
three; all the others form one district. 
In apples, the Early Harvest and Red As- 
trachan are the most popular summer varie¬ 
ties, and Baldwins, it. I. Greening and Rox- 
bury Russet for winter. 
The twelve most popular pears appear to 
be: Bartlett., Beurre d’Anjou, Butfam, Flem¬ 
ish Beauty, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Seckel, 
Belle Lucrative, Duchesse d’Angouleme, 
Doyenne d'Etc, Lawrence and Vicar of 
Winkficld. 
Mr. Robinson, the author of “Parks, 
Promenades and Gardens of Paris,” enumer¬ 
ates the following as the most popular pears 
in France:—Easter Beurre, Duchesse d’An¬ 
gouleme, Bartlett, Louise Bonne de Jersey, 
Doyenne d’Alencon. These are all popular 
here. The last named is but partially known, 
but is destined to rank high among winter- 
pears. 
frqit growing- countries. 
I may resume this subject on a future oc¬ 
casion. b. 
P. S.—I presume that any one wishing to 
procure this catalogue can do so by address¬ 
ing the President of the Society, Hon. Mar¬ 
shall P. Wilder, Boston, Mass., or the 
Secretary, F. R. Elliot, Esq., Cleveland, O. 
C. Mica, or Indian shot, have been used as 
a substitute for coffee, and a purple dye has 
also been extracted from them. 
Owing to their strongly-marked and well- 
developed foliage, and their picturesque and 
hold habit of growth, they are particularly 
useful in forming a harmonious connecting 
link between the dwarfer plants of our 
(lower beds a- ie taller growth of the ad¬ 
joining trees an 1 shrubs. In large gardens, 
on lawns, large masses or groups of them 
become very striking objects; but in smaller 
gardens, if planted in masses, they are liable 
to produce a sameness of appearance, and 
to suggest the idea of their being an agri¬ 
cultural crop. It is, therefore, better to in¬ 
troduce them among other plants as single 
specimens, or in small groups of not more 
than three or five plants each. 
They withstand, or rather delight in, our 
summer heats and throw up their spikes of 
flowers which in many species are very ele¬ 
gant, during the whole summer season, the 
different species varying in their time of 
flowering. They retain their foliage in 
great perfection, and beauty until the equi¬ 
noctial gales of autumn or until cut, down 
by frost. The roots may then be dug up 
and placed in a box, with just, sufficient 
earth or sand to cover them, and placed 
under the stage of the green-house or in a 
warm dry cellar in the same way as dahlias, 
and being kept but moderately moist, can 
again he planted out the ensuing season. 
Alany of them are comparatively hardy, 
some will stand out all winter in France 
without protection, and they have been 
known to stand out iu the neighborhood of 
London when protected by a covering of 
litter. 
They are also useful for planting iu vases 
or large pots, for the decoration of terraces 
and similar positions; imparting quite a 
tropical aspect, and generally harmonizing, 
architecturally, with adjoining buildings. 
They should be planted out towards the end 
of Alay and beginning of June, in any good 
rich garden soil, and will readily take care 
of themselves after that Seeds of them are 
to be obtained of any of our leading seeds¬ 
men, at a cost of from five to twenty-five 
cents per packet, or plants can he had of our 
principal florists, at prices varying from 
twenty-five to fifty cents each. 
The seeds arc very hard, and require to 
be soaked for twelve hours previous to be¬ 
ing sown, hi water at 125 or thereabouts. 
Established roots can he divided in the 
spring previous to being planted out. 
Twenty or thirty species and varieties are 
found in the seedsmen’s catalogues, hut the 
following species are among the best and 
most useful, for general purposes : 
C. Ainimi; with orange red or salmon- 
colored flowers and glaucous foliage. This 
is a hybrid variety, and produces but few 
fertile seeds. It is a very free bloomer, with 
fine foliage, and of very vigorous growth, 
strong plants attaining a height of six or 
seven feet It is very suitable lor the center 
of a group. 
U. muxafolia, or Banana-leaved; with red 
flowers; grows from two to three feet high. 
C.limhata ; flowers bright scarlet, edged 
with yellow, from three to four feet high. 
C. gigantea; a very strong growing spe¬ 
cies, from eight to ten feet, high, with very 
large leaves. There are two varieties of this, 
one with scarlet, and the other with yellow 
flowers. 
C. Zcbrina. The foliage of this species is 
finely striped; it grows from five to six feet 
high. 
C. Warsemzcic; flowers purplish red; a 
very early bloomer, from two and a-lialf to 
three feet high. A moat excellent species 
for masses. The foliage is variegated. 
C. nigricans is a tall-growing, free-bloom¬ 
ing variety, with dark leaves with shaded 
margin; a variety known as 
C. atro-nigricam has the foliage of a deep 
blackish green color, and is very effective. 
G. angustifolui nana pallida is a dwarf va¬ 
riety, growing from t welve to sixteen inches 
high, with light red flowers. 
Borne of the European cultivators have 
been very successful in hybridizing or cross¬ 
ing the different species one with the other. 
AI. Annke of France has been very fortu¬ 
nate in raising varieties remarkable for their 
magnificent foliage, bronzed, copper-shaded, 
purple and zoned, and also free and early 
blooming varieties, with flowers of sndi size 
and colors as to warrant the belief that we 
may yet have Gannas with flowers rivaling 
the Gladiolus in beauty. 
Gin (barbftut*. 
CULTURE OF LIMA BEANS. 
A correspondent at Lexington, Ill., 
writes:—“ I would like to know if Lima 
beans can be profitably grown in the lati¬ 
tude of Springfield, Ill., what kind of soil is 
best, what is the best method of cultiva¬ 
tion, and what would the expenses be per 
acre ?” 
There are very few sect ions of the country 
in which Lima beans cannot be grown, 
though to make them profitable, as a market 
crop, a long season is necessary. We have 
never failed of obtaining a fair crop in AVcst- 
ern New York but once, when they were 
cut off by an unusually early and severe 
frost in September. They are grown readily 
in Pennsylvania, and large crops are ma¬ 
tured without difficulty in the Maumee Val¬ 
ley, contiguous to Toledo, O. Judging from 
the latitude and usual seasons, they should 
be grown without difficulty, and at a profit, 
in the vicinity of Springfield, Ill. 
Where the season is short, or lreans are 
desired for marketing early, in a green state, 
gardeners start them in hot-beds, in small 
pots, or, which is preferable, on inverted 
sods cut in squares from a rich pasture. 
Placing the sod in a hot-bed, a hill of beans 
is planted on it, and after all danger of frost 
has passed, the hill is removed to the garden 
in position, as though originally planted. 
Two weeks may thus be gained. For field 
planting, the best success has been found in 
not planting until late in May or the first of 
June. The ground is then warm, they come 
up readily and are stronger than when 
planted at an earlier date. No bean rots as 
easily in the ground, or overcomes bad plant¬ 
ing with as much difficulty as the Lima. En¬ 
countering a hard lump of earth, small stone 
or chip in coming up is often fatal to the 
young bean, as it usually rots off’ under such 
circumstances. 
The soft for Lima beans should be richer 
than for the dwarfs, as they are strong feed¬ 
ers. A shovelful of rich light compost 
mixed with the earth in each hill, will be the 
best fertilizer. Sandy or gravelly soils are 
much to be preferred, as clay lands are sub¬ 
ject to become hard and retard their growth. 
Hills should not be less than four feet apart 
each way, as upon an abundance of room 
will, in a measure, depend the amount of 
crop. Our practice has been to make the 
soil of the bills very fine, select the best 
beans, and stick them at regular intervals, 
with the eye down, and cover not over two 
inches. It is some labor, but insures a good 
growth and early germination, frequently 
coming up iu four to six days, and growing 
vigorously. Poles should be set at time of 
planting, or as soon as the beans are well 
up. These should be not less than ten feet 
long, well set in the ground, to prevent being 
blown down by wind, or overturned by the 
weight of the vine. They may be best set 
by driving a short hard wood stake to the 
depth desired, into which hole, after remo¬ 
val, the pole may be inserted securely. 
These beans are indifferent climbers, and 
round poles of medium size will be found 
best. Some care will be required to get 
them started right, after which they climb 
readily. Three strong vines to a pole are 
preferable, and where more grow, either re¬ 
move all over four or set a second pole. 
After the vines have reached the top of 
the pole, our practice has been to clip the 
ends ; whether beneficial or not is an unset¬ 
tled question. Some growers omit poles 
and clip the vines into a round hill, but this 
method has not been a success with us. 
The Lima is a prolific bearer, and when 
marketed green should be picked as fast as 
large enough, that the force of the vine may 
be spent iu perfecting those remaining. 
The profit of the crop will depend very 
much upon nearness to market, or whether 
sold green or in a dry state. An acre, planted 
four feet by four feet, would contain 2,722 
hills, each of which, in a good season, should 
furnish near a quart of beans, which, at 
twenty-five cents per quart, green, would 
pay over $500 per acre. In the Philadelphia 
and some other markets, they have a practice 
of soaking the dry beans over night in clean 
water, and selling them for immediate use in 
that state, and when carefully cooked they 
are little if any inferior to fresh beans. Good 
dry beans are worth, in New York market, 
from five to seven dollars per bushel, accord¬ 
ing to quality, and the market is not often 
overstocked. 
-- 
GARDEN NOTES. 
Asparagus Irani Seed. 
The Gardener's Monthly says:—“It lias 
been argued that asparagus will not come 
true from seed, but, like rhubarb, it can be 
propagated 1 rue only by division of the 
roots. There is no reason why varieties of 
asparagus may not do as well from seed as 
peas or beans.” 
Potatoes nod Peas. 
One of our successful farmers says lie 
plants peas with potatoes in the same hill, 
and thus has great success. The writer has 
often planted peas with corn, and from three 
or four pea vines, and say two stalks of corn 
in a hill, has gathered peas much later in 
the season than when the peas were more 
openly exposed, or in other words planted by 
themselves. 
A Vine Protector. 
To those of our gardening readers who 
have been inquiring for something to protect 
their vines from the depredations of bugs, 
we can now say, the protector shown in the 
engraving promises more than anything 
with which we have heretofore met. The 
four corner’s or posts are each two thin strips 
of wood nailed with the netting inclosed be¬ 
tween them, and fastened together at the 
apex by light strips ol'leather. The four trian¬ 
gular pieces arc cut from mosquito, or any 
other light netting. Crowding the posts 
into the ground until the net touches the 
soil, will not only keep off the depredators, 
but act as a protection against light frosts. 
W hen not in use they may be compactly 
folded, and in that form cost of transporta¬ 
tion will be light. Our engraving is fur¬ 
nished by R. U. Allen & Co., seedsmen, 
N. Y. City, who claim to furnish, cheaper 
than any one can afford to make them. 
-- 
Of Cabbages — Varieties. — r tried the Early 
Schweinforth Cabbage last season, and think 
highly of it. Every plant makes a bead. Though 
not so solid as some, yet it is not so loose as to be 
an objection. For tenderness,sweetness and rich¬ 
ness of flavor, it is not excelled by any cabbage 
grown. Stone Mason, as a late variety, la good, 
firm, and of fine flavor.—EL H, Spicer. 
Garden Inquiries.—M. B. asks if uuleacked 
ashes will benefit pie-plant on sandy soil.—R. O. 
P. wishes correspondents would give their ex¬ 
perience with and opinion of different varieties 
of tomatoes—A mos Sunderland, where he can 
obtain water cress to plant, and having it, where 
he should plant it.—M ary Ames, how long vege¬ 
table oysters should be left in the ground in 
spring. Ans — Till they begin to grow. 
THE NEWVILLE APPLE — OUTLINE. 
The pear varies less than the apple. Cer¬ 
tain varieties seem to take the lead in all 
