SEPT 2 
turks are very tender, delicate and easily 
chilled by cold storms, yet when grown they 
will pass the night out of doors iu the top of a 
tree until late in the Fall, and yet not suffer 
seriously. 
Their feed may be bread crumbs, chopped 
meat, meal mixed up with thick milk, buck¬ 
wheat and the like. Oue thing is to be borne 
in mind in this connection, which is, that 
variety in food is essential. In this respect 
young turkeys are quite particular and often 
refuse to eat when offered the same kind of 
food day after day. Be careful to give them 
nothing salt. 
One need look no farther than the Bronze 
Turkey, for the best breed. Birds of this 
kind are no more difficult to rear than other 
varieties, and our best poultrymen claim that 
they will make 25 per cent, more weight at a 
marketable age. One of these turkeys—a gob¬ 
bler—was exhibited at Lancaster, Pa,, last 
Winter, Mr. C. S. Cooper writes me, that 
weighed rising 36 pounds. He thinks that all 
things combined, the Brouze are superior to 
any other breed he has ever seen. j. w. d. 
CAN ASPARAGUS BE CROSSED? 
Is it a Polygamous Plant? Is the Flower 
ever Perfect! Does the Male Take 
Any Part in Pollenation? 
A LETTER FROM JOHN B. MOORE. 
En. Rural New Yorker In regard to 
your question, how our asparagus has been 
crossed, I have to say that our New Cross¬ 
bred asparagus was obtained in the follow¬ 
ing manner Having made selection of two 
plants, each of different varieties (male and 
female), and possessing such distinct points as 
were thought the most desirable to imprint on 
the offspring, they were allowed to grow up 
side by side, bloom, fruit, and perfect the 
seed. We claim that one of these plants did 
perfect seed, and there being no other aspara¬ 
gus plants allowed to grow and flower within 
the immediate vicinity of these plants, until 
long after they had set their fruit, that it was 
impossible for tbe result obtained therefrom 
to be other than a cross (the plants being male 
and female), and further, the acres which 
have been raised from plants treated thus 
have long since convinced us (from tbe fact 
of the offspring showing certain character¬ 
istics pertaining to botn of the parents from 
which it came) that asparagus can be crossed 
without doubt, and that the crossing of dis¬ 
tinct varieties of the same species will pro¬ 
duce a third variety, which is an intermediate 
between the two, and strictly speaking a 
cross breed, 
I am well aware that it is claimed by some 
horticulturists that asparagus cannot be 
crossed ; but in no instance where such a 
claim is made have I known to be produced 
any proof whatever to justify the assertion 
Asparagus officinalis is what is called polyg- 
amo-dkeeious ; t’. <?., on one or tbe other sort 
of plants it produces some perfect flowers—or 
seemingly perfect. My own observation leads 
me to believe that the so-called perfect flow¬ 
ers, however, are really on ly seemingly so, or 
are of the kind incapable of self-fertilization, 
and another year I shall commence some 
careful experiments, both under glass and 
otherwise, for tbe purpose of determining this 
point. It is claimed by some horticulturists 
that, because the asparagus is dioecious, it 
therefore becomes impossible to produce any 
distinct variety by crossing or otherwise, and 
that even if a distinct variety could be pro¬ 
duced it would be impossible to perpetuate 
the same by seeds. In regard to the first 
point, it has no foundation in lad, because 
it must be evident to all that the fact that the 
sexes are on different plants would necessitate 
cross fertilization between distinct individuals 
for the production of seed, and if individuals 
of one variety eau cross it is certaiu that indi¬ 
viduals of different varieties belonging to the 
same species eau also cross. Plants bearing 
perfect flowers as a rule cun be crossed, and 
with dioecious plants it is all the easier. 
The second point about the perpetuation of 
varieties by seed is, perhaps, to a certaiu ex¬ 
tent well taken. It can be shown, however, 
by scientific authorities that the rule does not 
always hold good, and I have very stroug 
doubts whether such can be 3hown to be the 
case in regard to asparagus, I have oue cross¬ 
bred variety in the second generation, and 
there is no variation, so far as I can perceive, 
either in color, size or general form, from the 
first generation; nevertheless, I will not 
assert positively that there cannot be some 
slight variations in future generations, al¬ 
though the results so far do not show any 
probabilities of it, and, moreover, from its 
careful breeding there seems little likelihood 
that such will be the case. The offspring of 
cross-fertilization between individuals of the 
same variety, belonging to the same species, 
whether they be unisexual or bisexual, is not a 
new variety. Crossing like with tike pro¬ 
duces like, and the offspring of cross-fertiliza¬ 
tion of individuals of the same variety is a 
continuation of that variety, and , strictly 
speaking, the same variety. There may be 
occasional variations in tbe character, etc., of 
products of the same variety, as sometimes 
occurs iu the same breed of cattle, even when 
the most careful line of breeding is followed; 
but can any one say from that that the breed 
was not a distinct breed ? 
I should be glad to hear what particular 
reason you have for thinking that asparagus 
caunot be crossed, because, as you know, we 
are very much interested in this subject. 
Concord, Mass. J. B. Moore & Son. 
Remarks. —We are much obliged to Mr. 
Moore for his views as above expressed Onr 
reason for thinking that asparagus cannot be 
crossed is that we have failed to find a female 
flower, while the bisexual flowers set their fruit 
(i. e., tbe ovules are fertilized) before tbe flow¬ 
ers open. Our investigations were begun dur- 
ing tbe season of 1880, and have continued 
since. Upon the Rural Farm asparagus 
grows wild ia almost every hedge and pasture 
field or meadow. As soon as the plants began 
to bloom we marked upwards of 100—those 
we supposed to be males with a white rag or 
tape, the others with black. Iu not one case 
did any plant we had marked for a male bear 
a fruit; in every case the plants marked as 
females did bear fruit, and that abundantly. 
The males proved to be distinctly males, and 
they are very easily determined even in tbe 
bud, which is perhaps twice as large as the 
female bud. The anthers are also large and 
the pistils have neither styles nor stigmas, 
consisting of an ovary only. But there are 
no female (pistillate) plants. All plants not 
distinctly malas are bisexual or hermaphro¬ 
dite. There are no polygamous plants—no 
gynodioecious or androdicccious plants, to use 
th« more specific terms of Darwin. The bi¬ 
sexual flowers are much smaller than the 
males, and the stamens are small aud appar¬ 
ently impotent, though only apparently so, of 
course, for, so far as we could determine by 
our careful observations, these alone were of 
service in pollenation and fertilization, tbe 
male asparagus plant having no part to per¬ 
form in the seminal perpetuation of its kind. 
Here is some proof : A single small-flowered 
plant was found in a meadow with no other 
plants within 200 feet. Every flower, so far 
as we could see, bore fruit. Again, a small- 
flowered plant was found near the middle of 
an oat field of five acres, the only plant in the 
field. This, too, fruited abundantly. We 
think also that upon examination Mr. Moore 
will see that the fruit is well set before the 
tiny flowers are opened. It would seem to us 
a \ hysical impossibility to open such buds, 
remove tbe mites of anthers and introduce 
foreign pollen while the stigmas are recep¬ 
tive. 
If our observations have been correct, it 
will at once appear to Mr. Moore that his 
asparagus is not cross-bred and that there is 
no such thing as a cross-bred asparagus, 
known at present to be such. Let Major 
Moore or Dr. Sturtevant or Prof. Beal or any 
other person interested in this interesting 
matter, remove the asparagus sexes to differ¬ 
ent apartments of a greenhouse and observe 
if the males are net distinctly males, the oth¬ 
ers distinctly and solely bisexual. It may be 
that in different soils and climates the sexual 
character of the asparagus plant varies the 
same as it varies in color. We have Moore’s 
Cross-bred, the Red Giant Dutch and Argen- 
teuil upon which our observations have been 
made iu New Jersey, as well as the wild plants 
growing at the Rural Farm on Loug Island. 
-- 
RAYS. 
When in Boston the other day I stepped 
into Horticultural Hall to see what was on 
exhibition there. Good specimens of Boston 
Market, Canada Victor, Emery, General 
Grant and Acme Tomatoes were exhibited. 
At one time the Boston Market was a highly 
esteemed tomato, and although a good one 
still, it is being gradually superseded by other 
favorites. Canada Victor is very early and 
good, but of somewhat ungainly form. Gen¬ 
eral Grant is early, very good, and a general 
favorite; but Acme, except for its peculiar 
color, is reckoned to be one of the very best 
of tomatoes. Emery ia a well-formed red to¬ 
mato, said to be good and desirable. Mr. 
Winter, of Mansfield, Mass., who makes a 
specialty of forcing early tomatoes for mar¬ 
ket tells me that he has found that the Can¬ 
ada Victor does not “force” well; Acme 
“forces” splendidly, but the public object to 
it because of its color—they prefer a bright 
red tomato. For many years he confined 
himself entirely to the Early Essex, and by 
careful selection of seed aud propagation by 
cuttings he continued to hold an exceptional 
strain of this variety. It forces well, bears 
well, ripens well and sella well. But Mr. 
Winter tells me that Livingston’s Perfection— 
a somewhat new tomato—is the best variety 
he knows of, either for out-door use or for 
forcing; he grows it and is satisfied of its su¬ 
periority. 
I am very fond of tomatoes, and grow a 
nice patch every year, but for my own fam¬ 
ily use only. Last year my crop consisted 
entirely of tbe Early Essex; it was early, of 
excellent quality, and bore heavily. I was 
well pleased with it. This year my crop is all 
of Livingston’s Perfection, and it promises 
well. 
Mr. Winter showed two bunches of hot¬ 
house grapes of the Black Hamburgh variety; 
they weighed respectively four pounds one 
ounce and three pounds two ounces. Mr. W, 
tells me he has good success with his grapes 
and that, too, without much trouble, but he 
does not attempt to put the finish on them he 
would if he were growing them for private 
use; he wants to get them ripened quickly 
and cut as soon as they are ripe. His border 
is eight feet wide, and composed of the 
natural yellow loam without any mixture. 
Since the vines were first planted, years ago, 
he has never disturbed the soil, but he top- 
dresses it heavily every year in this manner: 
In the Fail he removes the mulching clean 
away to the loam, then adds another in the 
way of a little artificial dressing, then a four- 
inch-thick coating of cow manure, and over 
that a heavy coating of leaves with a little 
straw above them to keep them in place. This 
mulching is thus left undisturbed till next 
Fall, when it too is removed in favor of a 
fresh oue of the same sort. 
He does quite a business in very early 
forced grapes. The vines are established in 
16-inch pots, and he cuts his earliest fruit 
from them in January. He starts them into 
growth about this time. 
Mr. Hayes, the president of the Society, 
showed me a fine pair of clusters of that fickle, 
hat when well grown, superb Black Muscat hot¬ 
house grape—Mtiddresfield Court. It almost 
needs a house to itself, so that its comfort can 
be humored without interfering with the 
tastes of the other members of the family. 
The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder showed a 
bunch of hardy grapes called Triumph, which 
was sent to him from D. V. Munson, Denni¬ 
son, in Northern Texas. The bunch was of 
good size and compact; the berries were 
round, gteen and pleasantly flavored; skin 
thin; pulp tender, it was regarded generally 
as a grape of considerable promise. 
Doyenne d'etk pears were very good: so 
were La Versaillaise Red Currants and Dor¬ 
chester Blackberries, and I war much pleased 
with the gooseberries. Downing’s Seedling 
was there in good condition, but when it came 
to Bang-up, Wellington’s Glory and Wood¬ 
ward’s Whitesmith; they were excellent. 
They were shown by my good friend Mr. B. 
G. Smith (the treasurer of the American 
Pomological Society), a happy circumstance 
forme, for straightway I went to Mr. Smith’s 
home at Mount Auburn to see his gooseber¬ 
ries growing: yes. and taste them, too. Well, 
there they were in the garden among a host 
of other things, neat little bushes suffering 
from the heat aud drought, as was every¬ 
thing else around them; but not a sign of 
mildew was apparent on any of the bushes. 
The soil is a deep, rich, strong clayey loam, 
underdrained and sub-soiled, and annually 
well manured with cow manure; the garden 
is ou high ground, but well sheltered ou all 
sides by buildings aud trees. The goose¬ 
berry bushes aro well sheltered, near-by, and 
perhaps a trifle shaded by some apple trees, 
and a few yards on the north. 
Although Mr. Smith’s garden is on high, 
rolling land, he gr^ws all the blueberries in it 
he wants. The hushes are some four feet 
high, and growing on the east side of a high 
board fence. They are in well-favored thrift 
and bear heavily every year. In preparing 
the soil for them, years ago, he introduced 
into it a good deal of composted swamp peat 
muck. Iu his garden he has also a belt of 
wild June-Berry hushes that bear well every 
year, aud I was pleased to see a lot of black 
currant bushes in fruit. Mr. S. says he likes 
the fruit, and he makes preserves and also an 
excellent wine from it. Among white cur¬ 
rants he has a French variety of Transparent, 
which he considers the best of all for table 
use. A goodly bed of Sharpless Strawberries 
shows the kind that is appreciated in Boston. 
Cuthbert Raspberries do well, but the Fran¬ 
conia is the favorite. 
Mr Smith is an enthusiastic amateur horti¬ 
culturist, who has a beautiful suburban home, 
containing som» two acres of land. He was 
oue of Boston’s merchants, but retired from 
active busiuoss in 1865, and he assures me he 
has had more real enjoyment since then quietly 
§03 
at home with his family and among his fruits 
and flowers than in his busy life before. Leon- 
£axm (Topics, 
NOTES ON BACK NUMBERS. 
T. H. HOSKINS, M.D. 
The Rural of July 22d.— I am right glad 
to see that the editor of the Rural is 
brought by experience to agree with the 
opinion expressed by me in its columns 
some years ago regarding the American 
Wonder Pea. Not being a skilled hybridist, I 
would not like to express a doubt regarding 
tbe Editor’s judgment to the hybridity of 
the Wonder, and certainly it is hard to think 
that the gigantic Champion of England could 
be oue of its parents. Unquestionably vast 
variations are established in peas without 
crossing, aud in my hands tbe Little Gem has 
so varied as to give me two very distinct 
sorts, under selection. One of them is quite 
as early as American Wonder, but a little 
stronger in growth and holding out in dry 
weather at least a week longer. This variety 
is intensely wrinkled. The other is a smooth, 
blue pea, extremely productive, two weeks 
later, and with tbe tightly-fitting pods seen 
in 60 me strains of Dan O’Rourke. 
I see the Rural strongly endorses the 
Telephone Pea. I have it for the first time 
this season. Its great bladdery pods are very 
striking, though but one grows on a stem. 
The peas themselves, however, are not a bit 
larger than Little Gem—in pods not half as 
big. It may prove a good market pea, as so 
many purchasers strike at a “ big thing,” but 
they will be disappointed on shelling them. 
The quality, however, is excellent. 
Hovey’s Seedling Strawberry is the most 
tender variety, as regards winter-killing, of 
the more than a hundred kinds I have tested. 
It is as impossible to grow in Northern New 
England as the peach. I trust the Manches¬ 
ter may prove far different in this r* spect. 
It is a singular thing that no fruit originating 
in Massachusetts has ever proved hardy 
against cold in Northeastern Vermont. Hun¬ 
dreds have been tried, and all are failures. 
The Apple leaf Aphis, referred to by Mr. 
Ritter, has its times and seasons, but never 
does half the damage we expect from it until 
we have had experience. The only remedy I 
have used successfully Is dipping the ends of 
the young growth (where they swarm) in 
soapy tobacco-water, made by boiling to¬ 
bacco stems—a bushel of stems to a barrel of 
water. After taking out the stems add two 
gallons of soft-soup, and mix well. This 
answers every purpose in the nursery and 
young orchard. In older orchards harm is 
seldom done by the aphis. 
Col. Curtis says truly that Eng ish breed¬ 
ers (and not in sheep or pigs alone) do 
not hesitate about taking a dash of blood 
from elsewhere. They are not by any means 
as hide-bound as our leading cattle breeders 
and speculators are about “ out-crosses.” It 
is well, perhaps, to caution inexperienced per¬ 
sons about attempting such thiugs ; but the 
skilled breeder is a law to himself. It is a 
pity that stupid prejudices, encouraged often 
for interested ends, should compel the skilled 
breed r to concealment and denial in regard 
to such operations. If stock were judged 
strictly on their merits, as profitable beasts, 
that would noi> be fie case. 
Mr. Brown’s recollections of hog-driving 
are truly interesting, and must be greatly 
enjoyed by many who, like myself, have 
shared in that labor in the “ good old times 
before the war.” Mr. Brown drove his hogs 
to the Cincinnati market, the writer to that 
of Louisvill L But the work, the fun, and the 
profit (if any) were the same, 
It is a good thing to see “ Stockman ” em¬ 
phasize the fact (which seems unknown to 
fancy farmers with more cash than expe¬ 
rience) that famous cows are never the 
ancestresses of remarkable herds. According 
to my observation, quite the contrary. Their 
merit dies with them—“ a bright, peculiar 
flower." 
I do not find pot-grown strawberry plants 
superior (except iu price) to layers when sent 
long distances by mail or express. Home¬ 
grown (as I have practiced for nearly twenty 
years), they are a great help to the amateur, 
or to the dealer who is iu a hurry to show 
a new kiud in fruit. I regard this as a 
“boom” which will soon shrink to its natural 
size. [That is the way the Rural has re¬ 
garded potted plants from the star!. Unless 
the ball of earth is held together by the roots 
little is gained. We received a lot of potted 
plants from Michigau a week or so ago. 
They were sent too soon, and were imper. 
