MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER 
overcome in a very satisfactory manner in 
the garden of Miss Hope, of Wardie Lodge, 
near Edinburgh, where the plant used was 
Saxifraga umbroea, or an allied spscies, 
which formed a perfect carpet under the 
trees. It is occasionally cut over, which in¬ 
duces the plants to throw out offsets, and 
keeps them of a neat" habit.—Gardener’s 
Chronicle. 
Amorphophallus Rivteri as a Bedding 
Plant .—In the sub-tropical garden at Batter¬ 
sea [Park, Mr. Roger has successfully tried 
PEAR BLIGHT 
This disease is more extensive and virulent 
in this vicinity than it has ever been before. 
Hardly any variety wholly escapes this in¬ 
comprehensible disease. 
Probably it is safe to estimate a loss of at 
least one halt of the pear trees in this (Onon¬ 
daga) County. In one orchard of four acres, 
near this city, not a single tree is entirely 
free from it. Nearly all must go under. 
Where is the *' coming man ” who can 
give us the cause and remedy ? At present, 
pear growing looks very discouraging. 
Being of the opinion that the freezing of 
unripe wood was one cause of the blight, 
I bad my own trees cut back severely before 
the sap began to flow, and very little blight 
has made its aopearance, while all about me 
are thus affected. Out of some two hundred 
trees I shall probably lose none. I should not 
be willing to recommend this as an unfailing 
preventive in all cases, although it appears 
to have worked well in this particular in¬ 
stance. The blight probably comes from a 
variety of causes; but who is wise enough 
to explain them all ? 
Cutting below the parts affected, (even if 
it Is necessary to cut down to the ground,) 
seems to be the only remedy. Many are not 
willing to do this, and will, consequently, lose 
their trees. Said a person to me when I was 
recommending this practice: “I would as 
soon lose my trees as to have them haggled 
in that manner and lose them he surely 
will. 
It is somewhat surprising to see people, 
often at great expense, set out fruit trees, 
and then allow them to die without an effort 
to save them : but so it is in many cases. 
Nine out of every ten persons will pay fancy 
prices for trees, and often take great pains 
iu planting them, and, when this Is done, 
fondly imagnie there is no more to do, ex¬ 
cept to gather and enjoy the fruit. How 
grievously will they be disappointed i 
Syracuse, N. Y. Nelson Ritter. 
ERYTHRINA CRISTA-GALLI 
RIPENING OF WINTER PEARS, 
Among the very old-fashioned plants that 
have long been pining for that revolution of 
time that should again bring them under 
popular notice is Erythrina Crinta-gulli, 
sometimes familiarly culled Cock’s-comb, as 
its Latin specific name suggests, sometimes 
the Coral Flower. Either name Is quite ap¬ 
propriate. It resembles the cock’s-comb in 
the color, fleshy texture and upright position 
of the standard petal, and the coral in the 
buds, as well as in the soft, coral-colored, 
unrelieved parts of the developed flower. 
The flowers, which bloom from the middle 
of August until frost, are axillary iu three3 
and consist, like most other papilionaceous 
blossoms, of a vexiUum or banner, the largest 
petal, the nine or wings and the Carina or 
keel. The keel is the smallest petal in the 
cut, as the wings are so dwarfed as to be in¬ 
conspicuous. In this respect Erythrina 
seems to be intermediate between those 
“ pea-shaped ” flowers that develop the sev¬ 
eral parts perfectly and those which develop 
but the standard alone, as in the False Indigo 
shrub (Amoryha frutiaosa), which consists, 
therefore, of but a single petal. 
The leaves are innately compound, more 
leathery than those of the Lemon, more 
Justerless than those of the Rhododendron 
and of a lighter color than either. The 
stems make a growth of about four feet in a 
season and attain a circumference .of five 
incites at the base. Straight, cane-like, armed 
with ugly thorns that exist even upon the 
backs of the mid-veins of the leaves, the 
branches spread out sulflciontly to necessi¬ 
tate for the shrub a circular space at least 
four feet in diamater. The buds, flower and 
tiree-foliate leaf, as shown in our illustra¬ 
tion, arc sketched from life, the last a little 
smaller than the average, the others of life 
size. 
( rtstu-gatti is a native of Brazil and hardy 
in our ScuLliern States, where it makes a 
more arborescent growth and is a far more 
attractive shrub. Bat in the North it is un¬ 
safe to trust it out, even with all the protec- 
tlou we can give it, and the roots Bhould be 
disposed of for ihe winter the same as those 
of the Canna and Dahlia. The plant pos- 
se^nes a decided character of its own, but— 
speaking for ourselves—it is not destined to 
inspire a very scorching flame, and we should 
be willing, after a first season among stars of 
the first magnitude, to consign it to the com¬ 
panionship of those of lesser light, e. s. c. 
Good, well ripened dessert pears late in 
autumn and winter are usually a scarce ar¬ 
ticle. This is due not so much to the scarci¬ 
ty of good varieties which ripen late in the 
season, as to the want of proper care in gath¬ 
ering and bringing to perfection. 
MARYLAND PEACH ORCHARDS 
A monu the numerous large peach orchards 
in Maryland the Centreville (Queen Anne 
County) Record mentions the following, be¬ 
longing to Mr. John Harris, of that county, 
and called the “ Round Top Peach Farm.” 
The Record says: “ The farm lies on the 
Queen Anne’s side of the Cheater river, about 
three miles above Chester town, and contains 
1,013 acres, all of which is planted in peach 
trees with the exception of the seven or 
eight acres upon which the packing houses, 
storehouses, dwellings, cottages, &c., stand. 
There are a sufficient number of these latter 
to aecommodate over one thousand persons. 
The orchard originally contained 165,000 
trees, but Mr. Harris thinks that not over 
130,000 are now standing and In bearing. He 
estimates his crop this season at about 125,000 
boxes, about half of which he expects to pick. 
Arrangements have been made with the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company to 
ship the other half from Locust Point to Cin¬ 
cinnati, Ohieago and other western cities. A 
large steamer, with a capacity of four thou¬ 
sand boxes, will be run daily between the 
Round Top wharf and Locust Point, at 
which place the fruit will be transferred to 
the Baltimore and Ohio cars and dispatched 
at lightning speed to the West, where the 
crop is small this year, Mr. Harris expects 
to give employment to eight hundred men, 
women and children this season. Col. Wil¬ 
kins, of Kent county, has nearly, if not quite, 
as many peach trees as Mr. Harris, although 
they are not in one solid orchard.” 
cock’s-comb — ERYTHRINA orysta-galli, 
We know that many of our pomologists 
scout the idea that the Vicar of Winkfield 
cau be made anything better than a fair 
cooking pea, and while we admit that it is 
not a variety to be classed as best in quality, 
Btill, when well grown and fully ripened, it 
is a good dessert fruit. In fact, there are 
very few of our own late pears, which will 
come out in good order unless ripened in a 
proper manner. They will not bear the 
rough usage generally bestowed upon apples, 
or ripen well if exposed to light and strong 
currents of air. 
Late varieties of pears should be gathered 
before touched by frost—not shaken from the 
trees, but taken off by hand, carefully laid 
into baskets, and then placed in a cool room 
for a day or two to allow all surfuce mois¬ 
ture to pass off before packing uwuy. Some 
kinds will ripen well if merely packed in bar 
rels, or boxes, and set away in a cool place ; 
but when one has really superior fruit he can 
afford to do more than this, and wrap each 
specimen in paper before packing 
the AinorphophalluH Rivieri as a summer 
bedding plant. The plants are arranged out¬ 
side of a circular bed of QrevilUa robusta , 
and are carpeted underneath with Pe.largi'+ 
Ilium Crystal Paluce Gem, and AUernan- 
theras. The effect is striking.— Gardener's 
Chronicle, 
A FLORAL GUIDE 
When we state that James Vick’s last is¬ 
sue of the Floral Guide is one of the most 
entertaining, elegant and instructive cat¬ 
alogues we have ever seen, we state what, 
from having glanced over its pages, seems to 
us the exact truth. Mr. Vice’s heart is evi¬ 
dently in his business, and he write upon 
floricultural topics with a contagious fresh¬ 
ness and enthusiasm that should germinate 
a love of flowers whenever in the soul of tUe 
reader a slumbering embryo is found to ex¬ 
ist. A new feature, and a pleasing one, is 
that of treating each genus seperately in the 
first part of the book ; whde in the second 
part the species, varieties, price, etc., are 
! detailed in the usual catalogue form. 
In Vick’s Catalogue it is as • onspicuous as 
it is praiseworthy that the descriptions of 
flowers are written so as to guide the ama- 
leur in his selections, and not by indiscrim¬ 
inately superlative terms to place Caleeolaria 
and annual Phlox in the same category. 
Many people, if they meet with a reasonable 
success in their first efforts in seed cultiva¬ 
tion, await with great impatience auotlier 
summer in which to continue a pursuit so 
favorably begun. If, on the other hand, 
two-thirds of the seeds they purchase at 
considerable expense and plant with great 
care—though in a manner to insure their 
failure—never appear, they would incliue to 
abandon floral pursuits os difficult, or us re¬ 
quiring appliances, soils, etc., beyond their 
reach. Thus, the catalogue can not be too 
explicit in cautioning the inexperienced pur¬ 
chaser to select only those seeds which are 
adapted to his skill and means of culture ; 
and in this important respect Vick’s instruc¬ 
tions are scrupulously comprehensive. 
We take pleasure in recommencing this 
Floral Guide to the readers of the Rural 
New-Yorker. 
FLORICULTURAL NOTES 
Cundurango .—Many of our readers will 
recall the interest excited three or four years 
ago by the announcement that a positive 
euro had been discovered for cancer in a 
medicine called Cundurango. In fact, many 
extraordinary cures had already been ef¬ 
fected, and its virtues were then, as we re¬ 
member, being tested by a medical commie 
sion—with what result we have never heard. 
Mr. \V. Bull, in his late catalogue, adver¬ 
tises Gonolobus cundurango “the plant 
which acquired so much notoriety in Now 
Granada and the Central American States, 
as a therapeutic agent and an alleged remedy 
for cancer.” He represents it as a “twining 
plant, growing to a considerable bight, with 
milky stems, which, as well as the petioles, 
are clothed with grayish, pubescence.” The 
leaves are long-stalked, and in mature plunts 
six inches in length and about the same 
width, while the flowers are small and grow 
in umbels. 
Fuchsia Sunray.— The Gardener’s Chroni¬ 
cle says the origin of this finely variegated 
and useful decorative plant, which is believed 
by many to have originated as a sport, shows 
that it w r as a seedling. 
away. 
This will prevent bruising to some extent, 
and insure a higher color when fully ripe. 
The ripening process should proceed slowly, 
in order to produce a fine, buttery texture, 
so much admired iu our first-rate pears. A 
Cool, dry room isprefc-.rubleto a warm cellar, 
and the packages, whether boxes or barrels, 
should be kept closed, in order that the tem¬ 
perature of the air within should not be sub¬ 
jected to constant variations. 
An examination of the fruit from time to 
to time will show when it is near ripening, 
and then it should be brought into a warmer 
apartment, but not removed from the vessel 
in which it was stored, unless only a part of 
the contents is w 7 anted at one time. In such 
oases the specimen may be taken out and put 
into a dark but warm closet, and there al¬ 
lowed to ripen up fdllj T . For family use 
small boxes, holding a half bushel, are pre¬ 
ferable to larger ones, as they are easily 
handled and can be brought out from the 
fruit room without unpacking and placed in 
a convenient closet. The ordinary round 
cheese box make9 a very good receptacle for 
late pears and it is not expensive. 
If any of oar readers have heretofore 
failed to ripen their Duchsse d’Angoulemes or 
Beurre d'Anjou, Lawrence or even Vicar- of 
Winkfield, we advise them to try the above 
method, of “ making haste slowly,” and see 
if the quality is not sufficiently improved to 
pay for the extra labor and expense. 
SELECT VARIETIES OF FRUIT, 
The following list of choice fruits is pre¬ 
pared by J. B Jones of Rochester, N. Y., 
who is excellent authority : 
My own'ohoiee for spring planting in pears 
is Tyson, Clapp’s Favorite, Bartlett, Butfum, 
Howell, Sheldon, Heckel. Belle Lucrative, 
Lawrence, and liourre d’Anjou, with a few 
Josephine de Malines. Beurre Clairgeau, and 
Alt. .Vernon for standard*, and Duchesse, 
Beurre d’Aujou and Louise Bonne, for dwarf. 
Cherries. —I would only plant Black Tar- 
tarians, Black Eagle, Reme Hortense, Early 
Richmond and English Morello. 
Plums.— I would plant mostiy of the late 
varieties, as Coe’s Golden Drop, Reine Claude, 
Damson, German Prune, and on trial Copper, 
Wild Goose, Frost Gage and Quackenboss. 
Peaches.— Early and Late Crawford, Old- 
mixon Free, Kensington, Salway, Snow, and 
moderately of Foster, Richmond, Hale b 
E arly, &c. , . 
I find that but few varieties of fall apples 
pay for handling. Those most sought for are 
Duehes 3 of Oldenburg, Maiden’s Blush and 
20 ounce. Among winter apples we have no 
new sort that can compete with the Baldwin, 
although I think the Ben Davis has more 
popular merits than any other at present, 
and is worthy of trial. 
it was raised from 
the vuriegated Cloth of Gold, fertilized with 
pollen from a single Fuchsia having a white 
tube and sepals and a red corolla, by Mi-. 
George Rudd, Undercliff, Bradford, who 
has also produced some fine Fuchsias, 
which have been named and put into com¬ 
merce. Several seedlings came from the 
cross, but Air. Rudd observed a spot of white 
on a leaf of one of them, and finding it to be 
a promise of variegation, he, in the autumn, 
cut the plant back to this particular leaf. 
Tile following spring it broke into the beau- 
til ul variegated form it has never lost. Mr , 
Rudd is now blooming some very promising 
hybrids obtained from F. fulgens, E. corym- 
biflora, and others, some of which wifi no 
doubt be heard of in course of time. 
Saxifraga Umbrosafor Shade .—It is often 
difficult i u get plants to do well under the j 
ghadeof trees. We lately saw the difficulty 
Mb. Barr, an English florist, increases 
lilies by means of cuttings made of the tops 
taken off before flowering. Some last year 
inserted in pots plunged in a gentle bottom- 
heat in frames have rooted well, and have 
now formed nice bulbs. 
The best show of fruits at the Pomological 
Convention at Chicago was from Alichigan. 
