JULY <4 
THE BUBAL 
the present season, several of which are not 
yet offered to the public, more than half are 
pisti’late. 
The time was when the fact of the existence 
of strawberries with imperfect or pistillate 
bloom was, at least, not recognized; and wheu 
afterward recognized, the number of such was 
comparatively small. More recently, however? 
these have been increasing upon us at a rapid 
late, till we are impelled to ask the question 
—why is this ? 
To such question there is one natural, direct 
and obvious answer—that the failure of the 
stamens is an imperfection; and that, in plants, 
as in animals, imperfection perpetuates itself 
in the process of reproduction. This has so 
long been recognized as a fact not to be over¬ 
looked in the propagation, not of animals 
only but of plants in general also, that it 
would seem to be a matter of surprise that 
with the steady increase of this tendency 
among our American varieties, we have not 
long since been led to ask ourselves t he reason 
why our varieties are thus imperfect; while 
those bred in Europe are invariably perfect in 
bloom. 
I will state, by way of illustrating and en¬ 
forcing my assumption, that Mi - Hathaway, 
of Michigan, the originator of the Bid well. de‘ 
rived it trom a pistillate parent; and although 
the Bid well is a bisexual he has now, by con¬ 
tinuing the same process, in the same direction 
and with the same parent, originated a uew 
batch of seedlings—three of t he most promising 
of which have bloomed with me—two of them 
proving pistillates, while the third also is 
nearly so. The Daniel Boone and the Mrs 
Garfield, now just coming before the public, 
are both pistillates. 
Much is now being said about pedigree seeds 
and plants, and 1 fancy that the disciples of 
this theory, and, in fact, all who believe in the 
now popular notion that "blood will tell, 1 
will, especially if engaged in the work of 
hybridizing the strawberry, consider it worth 
their w hil e to practically settle the truth or 
falsity of the idea herein put forth. 
T, T. I,YON. 
[A week or so ago we alluded to a plot of 
strawberries in which pistillate flowers pre¬ 
dominated over bisexual, or perfect, flowers as 
ten to one. This season the plot has fruited 
abundantly. Is it possible that one hermaphro¬ 
dite plant furnishes enough pollen for ten pis - 
Dilates ? Some believe (and their belief has in 
several cases been strengthened by experiment) 
that the growth of the receptacle (forming in 
the strawberry all but the seeds, which are in 
fact the true fruit,) i.- uot dependent upon any 
fertilization of the ovules at all. In this case 
of course, the “seed” would be false or in. 
fertile. Ed.] 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
Every season the inquiry is made, what 
manure is most suitable for the garden? 1 
prefer good stable manure that has been 
turned once or twice to any Other, and if some 
bone-dust has been mixed with it in turning, 
so much the better. If good ashes can be ob¬ 
tained so much the better, us a handful or so 
applied to the hill or spread along the row 
and worked into the soil when hoeing, will 
prove of great benefit to the crop. Commer¬ 
cial fertilizers are much praised by some, but 
my experience with them has been rather 
variable. In wet seasons, on good ground, 
they produce very satisfactory results; but iu 
the event of severe drought the result is 
quite variable 
But no matter how much or what 
kind of manure is applied, it is useless to 
expect satisfactory crops, unless they are 
properly attended to and cared for, thor¬ 
ough, deep and clean cultivation being also a 
most essential point. 
lE your grape-vines, pear or apple trees 
show a lack of vigor, give them a good dress¬ 
ing of well-rotted manure and work it under 
with the hoe or fork. Do not spread it in a 
small circle around the stem of the plant, but 
at a considerable distance beyond. No man¬ 
ure eau be much better for this purpose than 
that from a well-decayed compost heap, aud 
do not forget your currants, gooseberries and 
raspberries at the same tine. 
The asparagus bed will also be considerably 
benefited by an application of this compost; 
or, if this is not at hand, scrapings of rich 
earth from the barnyard or from where a 
manure heap has stood will answer as well, 
if spread on from three to four inches (or 
more) in depth. 
Those of us who have cultivated the Ever¬ 
lasting or Eternal Flowers,as they are popu¬ 
larly called, are familiar with Acroclinium 
roseum and album. Now one of the novelties 
of the present season is a double form of the 
rose-colored variety. It, is said to come trd ’ 
from seed, aud the flowers are described as being 
a little larger than those of the single form. 
Mr. John Thorpe, of the firm of Hallock it 
Thorpe, thinks it is deserving of all that can 
be said in its praise. 
Yes. Dr. Hoskins, the Lemon-scented Ver¬ 
bena and fig can be easily wintered in a cool 
cellar, and there are numerous other plants 
that can be wintered as easily. For instance, 
I will name, the different varieties of Pampas 
Grass (Gynerhmi argentemo); the beautiful 
Crape Myrtle, (Lagerstrurmu 1 udicu.) and its 
varieties; the different species and varieties 
of Pomegranate; the beautiful Hydrangea 
Thos, Hogg; Aucuba Japonien and its varie¬ 
ties, to say nothing of the many beautiful and 
useful bulbous and tuberous-rooted plauts 
that cau be wintered therein. 
■-- 
In addition to the above, many other varie¬ 
ties ol plants can be wintered iu a cool, dry 
cellar, if one is willing to bestow a little 
attention ou them, viz.; Oranges Lem¬ 
ons. Oestrums, Laurastinuses, Solanums anti 
many others. 
- 
1 am quite surprised that the Perfect Gem 
squash does not do well with Dr. Hoskins. 
Why is this? In this vicinity we consider it 
the best of all the squashes for garden cultiva¬ 
tion, and use it as either a Summer or Winter 
variety. It is enormously productive too. 
Yes, Mr. Editor, the Yellow-Weod iCla- 
drastis tinctoria or Virgilia lutea) is one of the 
finest of lawn varieties, aud, strange to say, 
it is but little know n. It is a tree of vigorous, 
upright, healthy growth, and one that is per¬ 
fectly free from all insect pests. 1 should 
like to show nil a specimen over 00 feet in 
bight, when in lull bloom. But w hy are such 
beautiful trees so little known aud so rarely 
planted? I think it would pay our local nur¬ 
serymen and flutists to cultivate specimens of 
the most, beautiful and least known of all our 
sttrubs and ornamental trees, as in this way 
only can their merits be made known. 
Queens, L. I. C. E. Parnell. 
♦ « ■ >- 
IMPROVING THE HUCKLEBERRY. 
A SUGGESTION. 
In a recent number of the Rural, 1 noticed 
some remarks relating to the improvement of 
the huckleberry, I have been making some 
experiments iu this direction, and while T 
have no positive results to offer. 1 think 1 have 
learned two important facts, viz,, that the 
plants will endure transplanting from their 
native soil to a rich, cultivated, clay soil, and 
live; and, second, that the seeds when properly 
treated, will germinate freely - . 
I have not yet had time to judge whether 
the plants will bear fruit or not iu their new 
home, as they were set, only last Spring, and 
under uot very favorable circumstances: for 
they were old, when transplanted and were 
set so late, that I had scarcely a hope that any 
of them would survive. 1 was rather surprised 
therefore til notiee that a fair proportion of 
them leafed out this Spring. Others set out 
this season have both leafed out and bloomed. 
Last Summer 1 procured a quantity of the 
finest berries I could obtain, mashed them up 
in sand, placed the latter iu flower pots, and 
buried the pots about a foot peep in a shady 
place. On Nov. 24th, I dug up tbe pots, uud 
sowed the sand containing the seeds, iu shal¬ 
low' seed boxes, previously filled with a mix¬ 
ture of equal parts swamp muck aud sand; 
covered the seeds with a thin layer of the 
same mixture, over which 1 sprinkled a thin 
coating of pulverized dry moss. 1 kept the 
boxes in the green-house, where the tempera¬ 
ture ranged from 45 to 70 degTees. On .Tau. ". 
a few' plants appeared, and shortly altcrw ai ds 
young plants appeared thickly iu the boxes. 
These have grown very slowly, aud the* hug¬ 
est ones now show unLy six leaves, but they 
do not appear to be very tender, for they have 
passed safely tlrrough some vicissitudes of 
heat and dryness. 
Thus much for experience. 1 now wish to 
offer a suggestion to the readers of the Rural, 
who reside near to the native habitat ol the 
huckleberry; viz: to select a few thrifty 
planus iu their native ground, aud try the ef¬ 
fect of cultivation. The culture should uot, 
of course, be so det?p as to disturb the roots, 
but only enough to keep down other plants, 
and to keep the surface soil pulverized. r l his 
ought probably to be continued more tliuu 
one season, to give a correct idea of its effect 
upon the plants. If it is found that they can 
endure cultivation, manuring will be next in 
order. 
I leuru by reference to botany, that iu the 
huckleberry blossom, the pollen is contained 
within the anther, and comes out only through 
a minute orifice at the top. While 1 do not 
write as a botanist, it would seem from this 
fact (which I believe I have verified), that 
the chances of cross-fertilization of the flowers 
by insects are rendered very much less than 
would be the ease if the pollen were deposited 
on the outside of the anther. Indeed, so far 
as my observation goes (I do not state this as 
a fact), I am inclined to think that the stigma 
is fertilized before the corolla opens. If this 
is tme, natural cross-fertilization is rendered 
next to impossible. At any rate, I thiuk we 
have hardly a reason to wonder why the 
plant does not vary more iu its wild state, 
for 1 do not see how either cross-fertilization 
or the germination of t he seeds cau be a com¬ 
mon occurrence in the state of nature. 
The amateur has certainly an interesting 
field iu trying the effects of cross-fertilization 
of different plants and different species of the 
huckleberry. From what information I have 
been able to gather on this whole subject, I 
do not belive that, we know enough about it yet, 
to justify one iu taking strong sides either for 
or against the possibilities of improving this 
fruit. It is unexplored ground. “Elm.” 
KALMIA LATIFOLIA. 
11. HENDRICKS. 
This most charming American shrub l'amil. 
iarly known as Mountain Laurel, is just now 
iu the bight of its beauty, aud the mountains 
aud wooded hills are crowned with its glory- 
A recent ramble in the Catskills has served to 
intensify aud freshen my admiration for 
these lovely flowers. No one cau fully know 
how pretty they are until he has visited the 
blooming shrub in its native habitat, surround¬ 
ed by the rocks ami bow lders among which it 
so often grows. Like many other species of 
w ild plauts, it does not take kindly to the gar¬ 
den, although it is grown with much apparent 
suecass in many English gardens where the 
the proper effort is made to imitate its native 
soil and culture. But here in the spurs and 
slopes of the southwestern Catskills, and 
am ong the foot-hills aud along the ra\ ines 
und gorges it- seems to thrive most luxuriantly. 
In my stroll alluded to above, Juue 19th, I 
found one spot iu particular where I stopped 
for a time to admire aud appreciate the 
charming beauty of this wild wood flower; aud 
1 never saw anything like it before. 1 had 
ascended part way up the mountain from a 
neat and busy little village iu the valley be¬ 
low, and suddenly came upon an acre or more 
which was covered with tbe Kaluiia, most of 
it in full bloom; a mass of pink aud white 
floral beauty which I have never seen equaled. 
A few low-growing trees and some huge 
bowlders were all that shared with the flori- 
ferous plants in the possession of the place, if 
I except the aromatic wild strawberry and the 
fresh young winter greens (Gaultheria procum- 
bensjw'hic j here and there covered the ground- 
The shrubs were from three to six feet higb t 
stocky and well branched, and every bush was 
a complete mass of bloom from which the 
dark-green, leathery foliage struggled hard to 
appear. Every twig had its corymb of flowers 
which seemed to be crowding its neighbor* 
But on examination 1 found it not so Nature 
never does any crowding, aud surely uot iu 
this kingdom of delicate grace aud beauty. I 
found corymbs that measured over five inches 
in diameter, and the average flower was an 
inch across. In color the flowers were all the 
way from pure white to deep pink aud rose. 
The former was the purest white 1 ever saw 
aud quite rare. 1 found it here in the most 
secluded and sharly places, the shrub growing 
lower and the branches being longer and more 
tlexiious than iu the pink varieties. The ser¬ 
rated line at the top of the tube of the floret 
iu this white species is brilliant carmine most 
distinctly outlined on the marble white of the 
flower itself. This with the light green at the 
base of the anthers, or ovary, and the delicate 
white recurved filaments, or stems of the an¬ 
thers which support the latter, each with its 
light brown pollen resting in its little pocket, 
which has its delicate little splash of the car¬ 
mine, combine to form one of the prettiestaud 
most delicate little corollas 1 have ever stopped 
to examine. 
The process of fertilization in the 
Kalmia is interesting, and those who have 
attributed a share in this wonderful operation 
ol‘ nature to bees and other insects may easily 
learn their mistake by a little watching. [We 
first called attention to this mistake of botan¬ 
ists four years ago during a visit to South 
Carolina in March,when we had ample oppor¬ 
tunity to watch the expanding corollas aud to 
see tliut the anthers were released without the 
aid of the insects. That- keen observer, Dr. 
Beal is as we believe, the first to have stated 
that the stigmas were dependent for polleuatiou 
upon insects which by' pressing upon the lilu- 
ments released the anthers from the pockets 
of the corolla. This was accepted by Dr. Asu 
Gray. Ed ] As the flower unfolds, the corol¬ 
la finally expands far enough to release the 
anthers from their little pockets, uud the 
recurved filaments spring backward-upward, 
thus projecting the pollen of the anthers upon 
the stigma of the pistil. 
I have often read of the beauty aud robust 
growth of the Kalmia in the Surrey bills of 
England, but I wish English gardeners could 
see it here in the Catskills. It certainly is the 
finest flowering overgreen shrub we have in 
America to-day; and although florists have 
produced numerous varieties, K, latifolia is 
still the finest of the race. Ou my return 
home I brought as many of these beautiful 
flowers as I could conveniently carry, being 
careful to gather those which were in bud aud 
not fully expanded. I find the sprays keep 
remarkably' fresh in water for a number of 
days, tbe buds opening nicely. This of itself 
is a valuable feature. On comparing m.y 
flowers with the colored plate of Kalmia is¬ 
sued by r the London Garden about a year ago 
I find the latter remarkably accurate and 
truthful in color aud drawing. 
DEFECTS OF THE CHARLES DOWNING. 
In a recent issue of the Rural you say the 
more you see and hear of the Charles Down¬ 
ing Strawberry' the more you are inclined to 
regard it as, all things considered, the best 
strawberry in cultivation. Now I admire 
your courage in attempting to grapple with 
this great question, and know something of 
the perplexing complications which must have 
arisen in your mind pending the maturity of 
this decision. Nor do I cure to dispute your 
decision, having far less practical knowledge 
on the subject; than you possess. There will, 
doubtless, bo plenty to do that. I only* write to 
say that this variety has not behaved very 
well in my garden for a few years past, al¬ 
though kept under good, kindly treatment. 
The plant is short-lived and not vigorous, 
leaves liable to sun-Scald, berries also. Fruit 
sets abuudaut.ly, but ripens under protest, be¬ 
ing much subject to rot, vary slow to color, es¬ 
pecially' ou tbe under side, fruit s-talks slender 
and unable to support the berries from the 
ground; fruit always soft. My plauts are geu_ 
uiue. 1 keep them in hills, culture clean, soil 
rich, low, dai Kloam. When well ripened, Hike 
the Downing very' much and hence regret the 
above defects tile more. For these reasons 1 
could not with one stroke of the pen call it the 
best strawberry iu cultivation. 1 have about 
20 sorts, embracing t he leading ones of value 
new aud old. From these 1 would select sevl 
eral iu preference to the Downing, all things 
considered, as the result of my' own experi¬ 
ence aud observation. And yet I see defects 
and failures in all of them at times, aud the 
scales of my judgment are not sensitive 
enough to award the highest merit to any sin¬ 
gle variety; there are so muny conditions to 
be considered. But I am glad you have done 
it. Now, let’s see how the growers will re 
eeive the decision. 
I may add that the Manchester and Bidwell 
are doing nicely' here this season. The former 
is a very handsome berry aud I thiuk, also, 
very good, though scarcely* as productive as 
was claimed at first. Bidwell fruits very 
heavily, beyond its power of ripening I fear, 
in my ease; large, but lacks uniformity' in 
shape. My Pioneers are very nice; so is the 
Glendale—its wild-wood appearance and fla¬ 
vor please me. Captain Jack comes inline 
later: and 1 still regard President Lincoln as 
among the best l have, except, perhaps, for 
great productiveness. H. Hendricks. 
Dutchess Co., N. Y. 
Remarks. —We should have said that, alj 
things considered, we believe the Charles 
Downing to be the best variety of strawberry 
jn cultivation ns tee hn iv seen it. Probably 
over 250 kimls have been tested at the Rural 
Grounds from first to last, and if we were now 
setting out a bed for our own use Charles Down¬ 
ing would be thought of first. We did not in¬ 
tend to iutimate that it succeeds as well every’ 
where as it does here uud wherever we have 
seen it. The Bidwell is nearly a failure here. The 
Manchester did not stand the Winter well and 
fruits sparingly this season. The Glendale is 
with us unproductive. We tried Captain Jack 
when first introduced and rejected it as worth, 
lets for our climate und soil. President Lin¬ 
coln is with us a feeble grower and has been 
given up after two careful trials. 
(£timjwKac. 
A ROCHESTER NURSERYMAN IN 
DAKOTA. 
On my pleasure trip here I met a man who 
married a Rochester, N. Y., girl, and who 
began by puddling fanning mills, und is now 
worth $500,000, and is yet quite a young man. 
People here are mostly from the Eastern States ; 
They pity 1 heir Eastern brethren who arc 
pulling along in the old-time fashion, espe¬ 
cially the Eastern fanners, who do truly ap¬ 
pear to get along at a snail’s pace in compar¬ 
ison with the pace of the Dakota farmera. An 
investment in lands here is expected to yield 
(and will do so in most cases), by leasing to 
others, ten per cent, annually «« the invest- 
