Cytisus Canariensis is the name of that yel 
low broom so much grown as thick little bush¬ 
es in pots by the florists, A variety of it 
called raoeiuosa, ia usually regarded as an 
improvement upon the old form, but, really, 
so thick and bushy does the old form grow, 
and such a dense profusion of blossoms does 
it bear, that it has, in the meantime at any 
rate, eclipsed in public favor the newer form 
which is of bolder habit and brighter color. 
Still I like racemosa better than the old one. 
Both are good house plants. Grow them on 
in pots in fibrous, rich, loamy soil; plunge the 
pots iu the ground in the garden during the 
Summer months, and winter them indoors. 
They will winter well enough in a light, frost¬ 
proof cellar, providing the earth in the pots 
is never allowed to become dry. They do 
not like a high temperature or a dry atmos" 
phere. 
a tall belt of evergreens 50 feet east of them, 
that entirely protected them from the sun’s 
rays till 10 o’clock in the forenoon. They lost 
their leaves, and six inches of the points of 
some of the limbs are frost-killed, but they are 
now growing vigorously, demonstrating the 
practicability of raising oranges anywhere in 
the great valley of interior California which 
is colder, and more frosty than the foot-hill 
regions, by simply protecting themjfrom the 
rays of the morning sun after severe freezing. 
Fresno Co., Cal. W. A. 8a.ni>icrs. 
THE NIAGARA GRAPE AND ITS 
CRITICS. 
In the Rural of March 18th, appears an 
article by Mr. Geo. W. Campbell on “Some of 
the Newer Grapes” in which he speaks of the 
“ Niagara ” in such a way as to show that he 
intends to “ damn it with faint praise.” 
If this was the only instance in which he 
had Baid unkind things of it, with the same 
evident intention, no notice would have been 
taken, but as he never misses an opportunity 
to give it a “ stab in the back,” in justice to 
the sterling merits of the Niagara, and in 
justice to the American grape growers, and 
8. B. PARSONS. 
This orange has a well sustained reputa¬ 
tion as the finest in the world. Travelers 
I argue iu this way :—If with that old hoe 
a man can do but four-fifths as much work in 
a day as he can with a new one, labor costing 
$1.50 per day and anew hoe 05 cents, at the 
end of two-aud-a-balf duys' work I am a loser 
by using the old hoe, even if it did not cost 
me anything. If you would have good work 
and quick work, have good tools and keep 
them clean. 
Mr. Williams, page 213, thinks I may be 
mistaken regarding the hardiness here of the 
Bermuda Grass. I have it here. I keep a 
piece of it in the greenhouse in the Winter, 
and plant it in Spring, It grows very fast 
and thick and spreads into a broad patch. In 
the Fall I lift a piece as before to winter in 
t ie greenhouse, and leave the big patch to 
the mercy of tho season, and iu the Spring 1 
have never been able to find a living morsel 
of the grass in the outside patch. Our se¬ 
verest weather is about 10 ° below zero, but 
our Winters are long ; our land is heavy and 
clayey. Last August I beheld at St. Louis, 
Bermuda Grass that lived out there over 
winter, and their previous Winter was more 
intensely cold than was ours, but ours much 
the longer. Leon. 
fWe are very glad to get the above bit of 
information respecting Bermuda Grass. Our 
patch left out at the Rural Farm is quite 
dead iu so far as we can discover.— Eds.1 
ORANGE AND LEMON GROWING IN 
CALIFORNIA. 
The Riverside Navel Orange. 
* 
This orange takes its name from the peculiar 
indentation of the calyx or blossom end of 
the fruit. It is entirely seedless. The core, 
or what is the core in other oranges, usually 
found in the center of the fruit, and contain¬ 
ing the seed, is, in the Navel, attached to the 
rind at the blossom end of the fruit. It con¬ 
tains no seeds, ami is so firmly attached to the 
skin as always to peel off with it, leaving a 
small cut in the end of the peeled orange. 
The picture shows the fruit rather smaller 
than it is usually seen here. It is of uniform¬ 
ly large size, of beautifully even color, re¬ 
fined surface, rich, very juicy ; fine-flavored 
flesh, in short, the best orange grown in our 
very fruitful State. 
Orange Culture. 
I am writing from the geographical center 
of California, a dozen miles from the foot¬ 
hills out on the level plain of the Valley. 
Oranges are grown east of herein the lower 
foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada as easily as 
apples or peaches; indeod, there are many 
orchards in our foot-hills where apples, 
peaches, pears, nectarines, apricots, pome¬ 
granates, prunes, plums, sweet cherries, with 
a choice collection of berries of different kinds, 
and a vineyard of raisin grapes are growing 
beside the dense-foliaged orange and lemon 
trees, with their broad, bright evergreen, 
leaves, and golden fruits, making one of the 
grandest pictures of beauty and Eden-like 
arrays of products that can be imagined. 
Citrus Fruits and Frosts. 
California has been slow to develop its 
capacity for producing cirus fruits. We 
formerly supposed that they could be grown 
only in localities entirely frostless. Then, 
when the great value realized from their pro¬ 
duction became known, we depended on cover¬ 
ing the trees in Autumn 
nave not oeen aoie to obtain this grape upon 
any conditions consistent with decent self- 
respect, consequently 1 dou’t think much of it.” 
Now the public should know that Mr. Camj>- 
bell is first of all a grower und seller of grape¬ 
vines, and, very naturally and properly, de¬ 
sires to obtain a stock of all the new varieties, 
that he may grow plants and sell them, thus 
making money out of their dissemination. 
With this we shall find no fault, but when he 
writes for the public and sigus Secfy after his 
name, he should not let his interest in the 
least affect his likes or dislikes, yet in the 
[ quotation it will be seen that in this instance 
he does let tho fact that he can’t get the 
Niagara influence him to say things which are 
sure to injure the reputation of the grape, and 
damage the owners, and which if not true, 
are calculated to mislead the public and injure 
grape growers by inducing them to reject a 
truly valuable grape. 
If any one will take the pains to read a few 
of Mr. Campbell’s many articles he will be 
convinced that Mr. C. persistently “ grinds his 
own hatchet ” at the public expense, aud that 
this is not by any means the first instance. 
In other words, he praises what he has to sell 
in unstinted measure, and rarely speaks a good 
word for what he has not an interest in. As 
an instance, I cite the Lady Grape which was 
owned and brought out by him. No new 
fruit was ever more continuously or loudly 
praised than this variety by him; early and 
late, in season and out of season, in every 
article written by him, and in every address 
made by him of which grapes were the subject, 
he was unstinted in his praiaa of the Lady, until 
the public came to think perfection had been 
reached, and many were induced to invest in 
it at large prices; and yet, candidly, and I say 
it carefully, no variety, not the Champion 
even, has so greatly disappointed the grower. 
What is the “ decent self-respect ” that one 
must sacrifice to get tho Niagara? The owners 
put it out, and wait for 115 per cent, of the pay 
for it until produced by one half the net pro. 
ceeds of sales of fruit. 
The Navel Orange, —Our illustration of 
the Navel orange is merely intended to show 
the singular feature of the fruit which gives 
it its name. This seems to be owing to an 
abnormal growth of the stigma forming a 
part of the rind, as accurately shown. Those 
who have examined the growth of the fruit 
from the blossom can tell us if this explana¬ 
tion is correct. We were indebted to Mr. B. 
K. Bliss for the orange from which our draw¬ 
ing was made. It was grown in California, 
picked before it was fully ripe and it is 
smaller than the average size. 
now we know that 
they require only shade from the rays of the 
morning sun. Let the trees thaw out in the 
shade aud they’ll stand 20 c Fab. below the 
freezing point. The past Winter was the 
coldest I have ever known in California. 
We had 103 frosty nights, beginning at 
middle of October und ending in middle of 
March. Once the thermometer was down to 
11° Fab. and seven times down to 12° Fah 
—yet I’m now looking upon a group of orange 
trees that have had no other protection than 
Of course, they ask the 
planter to take good care of vines and fruit, 
