excellence, but this could do no good, as I am 
not offering any for sale yet. 
Best Three Early Strawberries: Crescent, 
Wilson, Phelps or (Old Iron-Clad). 
Best Three Later Strawberries: Downing 
Miner, Capt. Jack. 
Raspberries: Turner, Cuthbert, Gregg, 
Doolittle. 
Blackberries: Early Harvest, Brunton 
(if fertilized), Kittatinny. 
Gooseberries: None profitable in the South¬ 
west. Houghton, Downing or Smith’s, gives 
a feeble return in favorable places. 
Currants: I can name none but the Western 
Golden Currant,(Ribes aureum) that will pro¬ 
duce any fruit. All red currants perish in 
the South in one or two years after planting. 
I have named a list which I think best for 
market and home use, as I consider the qual¬ 
ities requii'ed in both cases are inseparable. 
The better a variety is for home, the better 
also it is for market, as all who buy like good 
fruit as well as or better than those who raise 
them, and all who raise them want such as 
will be profitable in the market so that a sur¬ 
plus can be disposed of to the best advantage. 
FROM PETER M. GIDEON, MINNESOTA. 
Winter apples that will stand our climate 
are few, and those of real worth are Wealthy, 
Peter and Gideon—crossbred seedlings of my 
own growing. The three best fall apples that 
I have seen fruited here are Excelsior,Martha 
and September, also my seedlings. The three 
best summer apples are Low, August and 
Duchess. We have some other fine seedlings 
and some Russians that promise finely for 
summer and fall; but they are not fully tested 
yet. 
Of peaches I can say more another year. I 
have some 80 varieties just coming into bear¬ 
ing. Plums I will let pass until I beat the cur- 
culio off. Of raspberries we have a great 
many on trial, but of those fully tested the 
Cuthbert and Turner are the best. Of cur¬ 
rants Victoria, White Grape and Red Dutch 
have done the best with us. Other species 
have not been fully tested. 
FROM SECRETARY E. WILLIAMS, NEW JERSEY. 
Commencing with winter apples, it is very 
easy to name the first, which is Baldwin. 
Apples have done so poorly here for a number 
of years past that it is not so easy to name the 
other two. From a limited trial, I think 
Wagener will have to take second place. In 
quality it suits me quite as well as Northern 
Bpy. Though not so large, it is fairer and not 
so liable to rot, and it is an earlier bearer. 
For third place I think 1 would risk Smith’s 
Cider. Though inferior to the others in qual¬ 
ity, it would be very likely to make regular 
and abundant dividends, a very redeeming 
feature in any fruit. 
Fall Apples: Orange,St..Lawrence, Graven- 
stein. 
Summer apples are not inquired about; but 
I think them of primary importance for 
general cultivation, as they come at a season 
when they are fully appreciated. For these I 
name Summer Rose, Primate and Duchess of 
Oldenburg. 
Summer Pears: Doyenn<5 d’Et<5, Giffard, 
Clapp’s Favorite, or Tyson. The Clapp is 
earlier aud larger than Tyson and an earlier 
bearer, but the latter is a richer and better 
pear. 
For Fall varieties, the Bartlett, of course, 
must occupy first place; second, Sheldon or 
Bose; third, Anjou. 
Of peaches, Mouutain Rose, Oldmixon, 
Stump the World and Crawford’s Late will 
probably fill the bill as well as any. 
Of plums I cannot speak confidently. Brad¬ 
shaw, Lombard, Jefferson, Coe's Golden Drop, 
Quackenboss and De Bavay are probably as 
good as any of the improved kinds. The lat¬ 
ter have borne so heavily as to break down 
the trees, but of late years plums have been a 
very uncertain and unsatisfactory crop. If 
we get them at all we have to gather them be¬ 
fore maturity and can them. If left to ripen 
rot takes them surely. This season it took the 
whole crop long before maturity. Owing to 
the uncertainty of this fruit in this locality it 
looks as though our only dependence was on 
some of the native varieties, numbers of which 
have been and are being boomed extensively 
by interested parties. Of these the so-called 
Wild Goose has been tested longest, and the 
best sent out under that name do not amount 
to much. A great improvement on it is the 
Reed, a seedling of the Chickasaw, I believe, 
raised by a gentleman of the name of Reed at 
Hightstown, N. J., some years ago. I have a 
young tree that has borne splendid crops of 
beautiful fruit for three years past. It stands 
in the midst of a dozen or more trees of the 
choicer varieties and the past season it gave 
its usual crop, while the others failed to fur¬ 
nish a single specimen. It will be observed 
that these natives will not compare in quality 
with the foreign kinds, but as canned fruit | 
for dessert or pies the Reed proves an admira¬ 
ble, reliable substitute 
Of grapes, I name Niagara, Empire State, 
and Martha, for white; Brighton, Massasoit 
and Lindley forred; Worden, Wilder, Barry 
or Herbert for black. The Delaware might 
appropriately take second place as a bed one if 
it were a stronger grower. 
Strawberries, early: Crescent, May King 
and Cumberland. 
Late: Downing, Jersey Queen, Prince or 
Jewell. 
Raspberries: Caroline (yellow), Cuthbert 
(red), Souhegan (black). 
Blackberries: Kittatinny and Early Cluster. 
Gooseberries: Triumph and Downing. 
Currants: Fay’s Prolific, Versaillaise; White 
Grape. 
I could duplicate some portions of the list 
Sweet Paradise and Peck’s Pleasant, (or Am. 
Golden Russet for dyspeptics’ use). 
Three Fall Apples: Porter, Blenheim Pip¬ 
pin (or Smokehouse), Mother. 
Three Summer Pears: Summer Doyenmi 
for very early. Clapp’s, Bartlett. 
Three Fall Pears: Boussock, Seckel, Shel¬ 
don. 
Three Plums: Lombard, Richland. Miner. 
Three Peaches: Oldmixon Free, Hill’s 
Madeira, Crawford’s Late. 
Three White Grapes: Niagara,Pocklington, 
Lady. 
Three Red Grapes: Brighton, Salem, Aga¬ 
wam. 
Three Black Grapes: Worden, Concord, 
W ilder. 
Three Strawberries: Cumberland, Chas. 
Downing, Indiana. 
THE BEST RIB ROAST. From Nature. Fig. 8. (See first page.) 
and still come within the Rural’s require¬ 
ments, yet I imagine among all the responses 
it will find a wide diversion of opinions, so 
that in its attempt to draw satisfactory con¬ 
clusions from these various lists, the result will 
be curious and interesting. 
FROM MRS. ANNIE L. JACK, PROVINCE OF 
QUEBEC. 
For the Province of Quebec, I claim that, 
the three best apples are: 
Fall: Fameuse, Alexander, St. Lawrence: 
Winter: Wealthy, Baldwin, Pomme Grise 
(table.) 
Pears: Flemish Beauty, Clapp’s Favorite, 
aud a wild variety are all that are successful. 
Grapes, white: Duchess, Niagara, Lady. 
Grapes, red: Delaware, Brighton, Ver- 
gennes. 
Grapes, black: Herbert, Wilder, Concord. 
Strawberries, early: Cumberland, Miner, 
Duchess. 
Late: Jersey Queen, Kirkwood, Sharpless. 
Raspberries: Golden Queen, Cuthbert, 
Clarke. 
Gooseberries: Downing, Smith’s Improved, 
Houghton. 
Three Raspberries: Marlboro, Shaffer, 
Gregg. 
Three Gooseberries: Downing’s (or Smith’s), 
Industry, Dougal No. 10. 
Three Currants: Fay, White Grape,Wilder, 
(or Lee’s Prolific, if a black is wanted.) 
Three Blackberries: Kittatinny (if rust is 
suppressed) Taylor. Lacretia. The Gage 
Plums rot here. Peaches are but little grown. 
THE FARMER’S GARDEN IN WINTER. 
WILLIAM FALCONER. 
CHOICE EVERGREENS FOR TIIE GARDEN. 
Farmers look out upon your gardens now. 
What have you there that’s bright and pretty ? 
No, I don’t expect to see the shrubs a-blooming 
nor roses bursting into flower. But I know of 
no good reason why you should not have a 
variety of cheerful evergreens around your 
doors—trees and shrubs of many forms and 
POOR RIB ROAST. From Nature. Fig. 9. (See first page.) 
Blackberries: Taylor’s Prolific, Wilson. 
Currants: Fay’s Prolific, Cherry (red) 
Lee’s Prolific (black.) 
Province of Quebec, Ca. 
FROM W. G. WARING, PENN. 
It is so difficult to decide what are the three 
decided favorites among the varieties of dif¬ 
ferent fruits that even in one family one finds 
conflicting opinions. After some time given to 
the question, I name those preferred most for 
home use in Central Pennsylvania, taking 
yield and soundness into consideration as well 
as both dessert aud kitchen use; but not re¬ 
garding much the market requirements of size 
aud good looks. 
Three Winter Apples; Marston, Winter 
shades of color. You can have them if you 
wish, and they are just as easy to grow as are 
scrub pines or red cedar. First of all 
if you will have a pretty garden, either in the 
summer or winter, you must not use it as a 
paddock for your stock; then, if you will 
have nice plants you must afford them shel¬ 
tered quarters. Perhaps the ground is well 
sheltered naturally or by neighboring trees, 
hedges, fences or buildings; if this is so all is 
well and good; but if the ground is not shel¬ 
tered then you cannot reasonably expect to 
grow nice evergreens. 
Nothing can surpass the deep, glossy green 
of the Nordman’s fir or the silvery lining of 
Alcock’s spruce. The steel-blue Colorado 
spruce is handsomer aud hardier than a Nor¬ 
way spruce, aud Sargent’s Weeping Hemlock 
is one of the prettiest of evergreens. The 
Oriental arbor-vitaes that were pillars of gold¬ 
en color in summer, have now assumed a 
bronze-brown hue, and so too have Standish’s 
arbor-vitaes and Douglas’s golden juniper. 
But the American arbor-vitaes of which 
George Peabody is a good example, have 
deepened in their golden tint, and Columbia 
becomes whiter. Retinisporas afford us 
bronze m Ericoides, yellow and white mark¬ 
ings in Plumosa, the deepest green and most 
elegant in forms in Obtusa. In Japanese 
juniper, tree box and hardy yew (Taxus cus- 
pidata), we have useful plants that we can 
mould into almost any form assumed by com¬ 
pact bushes. And the Japanese Umbrella 
Pine and the Swiss Stone Pine are of columnar 
habit. 
Rhododendrons, Azalea amcena, mountain 
laurels (kalmia) and andromedas, whose chief 
attraction is their flowers in spring and sum¬ 
mer, are, nevertheless, evergreens, and can be 
so used as to be included in the good looks of 
Our gardens in midwinter. And include the 
red-barked dogwoods aud the white-barked 
birch. I might include the yellow ash, but it 
has a sickly look about it that I do not like. 
Also add the common yucca. 
Bright-berried plants in winter would have 
a telling effect among the evergreens around 
our doors, but there are very few that we can 
use. Thunberg’s barberry is the best of all. 
It is of dense, bushy habit, usually two to 
three feet high, and bears a heavy crop of 
bright scarlet berries that hang on to the 
bushes almost all winter. Next comes the 
common winter-berry so frequent in our 
swamps, but which also grows and fruits quite 
well on upland. 
Then we have another race of plants we 
should strive to introduce where they would 
show to the best advantage and at the same 
time enjoy conditions suitable to their perma¬ 
nent welfare. I mean the trees and shrubs 
that bloom early in the spring and before their 
leaves come out. Among trees the red maple 
is conspicuous. Among shrubs mezereon comes 
first. One form has red, another white flow¬ 
ers. Plant it only where it will enjoy the full 
sunshine in summer. We then have the Cor¬ 
nelian cherry, buffalo berry, leather-wood, 
shrub yellow-root, spice bush, and corylopsis. 
Most of these too enjoy open, sunny quarters, 
providing they are growing in good soil; but 
full sunshine is not imperative. Forsythia, 
gayer than any of them, might be added. For 
very early plant it in the warmest and sun¬ 
niest exposure possible. The fragrant bush 
honeysuckle is the earliest of its race. 
Now, this is the proper time to note these 
things and to mark out where we would like 
to have this, that, and the other, so as to make 
our gardens look pretty and cosy in winter. 
Kings Co., N. Y. 
PAINTING.—III. 
BY AN EXPERIENCED PAINTER. 
EFFECTS OF CLIMATE ON COLORS AND 
FASHIONS IN PAINTING. 
Nature suggests bright colors in Southern 
latitudes; duller colors natural to colder 
regions; colors favored by the first Ameri¬ 
can colonists; increase of refinement brings 
change of fashion; the cottage style of 
buildings affords great opportunities for 
artistic painting; American climate espe¬ 
cially favorable to fine coloration. 
Climate has a strong influence on the taste 
aud fashions in coloring buildings. In the 
Southern parts of Europe, North Africa and 
the warmer parts of Asia, subject to strong, 
sunny light and clear skies, strong colors per¬ 
vade nature, and through nature bright colors 
are suggested to art, even on the outside as 
well as the inside of buildings. In some of the 
East Indian cities brilliant colors are seen in 
all directions with beautiful effect on every 
kind of building. This is a natural sequence. 
Wheu we come to colder countries dull colors 
prevail, as we see.in all the North of Europe, 
suggested by the surroundings of nature. 
In America, although we have much cold as 
well as heat, we still have sunny skies to a 
great extent, and would naturally have a taste 
for strong colors. The primitive races of In¬ 
dians, true to nature, showed this natural ef¬ 
fect of bright skies and grand scenery in their 
fondness for bright-colored trappings; but our 
first colonists came with the fashions of North¬ 
ern Europe strongly predominating and were 
slow to trust themselves to any new ideas or 
sentiments. Thus it was that white paint out¬ 
side was general with green blinds. Canary 
yellow was used for stoop floors, some inside 
walls, etc. Occasionally gi'een on a wall,or blue 
