182 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[May, 
Croton and Senasqua grapes are vastly more like 
their pollen-bearing exotic parents than the 
native Delaware and Concord which served as 
the mother-plants. Another point of interest to 
those who work at improvement of flowers is 
the infrequency of any really remunerative re¬ 
sults. In flowering Pelargoniums, Dr. D. is 
satisfied if he gets on an average one good vari¬ 
ety out of four hundred seedlings, and five or 
six others that are fair improvements over their 
parents. He is satisfied, nevertheless, that the 
only way that even slow progress can be made 
is by cross-fertilization, and states that out of a 
bed of several seedlings in flower, raised from 
seed from the best varieties, but which had been 
produced without artificial fertilization, there 
was not in the whole bed a single plant worth 
selecting for propagation. 
Will Evergreen Screens Protect Pruit- 
Trees ? 
Mr. J. Day, of Dayton, Ohio, writes an article 
to show that shelters and wind-breaks of ever¬ 
greens and oilier trees will not, as commonly 
believed, afford protection to orchards. Ilis 
argument rests upon observations made upon 
peach and cherry trees. On the cold New Year 
of 1864 the thermometer fell about 50° in a few 
hours, and in the morning stood at 14° below 
zero. Our correspondent found that the buds 
and twigs of peach and cherry trees were as 
thoroughly killed in orchards surrounded by 
dense forest of miles in extent, as they were in 
the open country. Several other instances are 
cited, in which the buds were killed by extreme 
cold, notwithstanding the trees were surrounded 
by forests. The drift of Mr. D.’s argument is, 
that forests and evergreen belts are of “ no pro¬ 
tection against the severe freezing of fruit-buds.” 
As we never claimed that they were, we can not 
spare space for a long article to show that they 
are not. We never knew any one to assume, as 
Mr. D. seems to think has been done, that it was 
possible to fence out the cold by means of ever¬ 
green or any other trees. Mr. D. will admit 
that a board fence or a screen of trees of any 
kind will break the force of the wind more or 
less, as the shelter is close and high or other¬ 
wise. This is all we have ever claimed or have 
have ever known to be claimed for a protecting 
belt around an orchard. We are ready to admit 
that no amount of shelter will protect the fruit- 
buds, when the thermometer is 20° below zero. 
Our correspondent makes the mistake of sup¬ 
posing that it is only the severe cold that injures 
fruit trees. When the mercury falls to a certain 
point, we are quite sure that peach-buds will be 
killed, but this severe freezing is not the only 
thing that interferes with the productiveness of 
the trees. The winds of early spring are often 
very dry winds, and if they have an unob¬ 
structed sweep over the trees, the vitality of 
whicli has just awakened, they can produce 
great injury, simply in drying outthe just swell¬ 
ing buds and young twigs. A wind carries 
away the heat from a body very rapidly. A still 
day, with the thermometer at 32°, is not uncom¬ 
fortable, but if the wind is violent, we find it 
very inconvenient, even while the thermometer 
remains the same. We have known persons to 
perish from cold in a Texas “ norther,” when 
the temperature was above freezing. The con¬ 
stant wind cooled the person so rapidly, that 
they sank from the effects of cold, without being 
frozen. If the buds escape death from severe 
cold, we are not sure of a crop of fruit. The 
critical period of blossoming must be passed 
before we can feel safe, and it is well known that 
long-continued rains and violent wind storms 
can seriously affect the fertilization of the flowers 
and the setting of the fruit. At this time a long- 
cold wind has a most untoward effect, and it is 
then that the shelter is of great use. If our 
friend will leave extremely low temperatures 
out of the question, and observe protected and 
unprotected orchards without reference to ex¬ 
ceptional winters, he may modify his views. At 
all events we can point him out places where 
fruit-trees have not only been benefited by shelter 
belts, but where their existence was actually im¬ 
possible until the tree belts were planted. 
The Matthews Apple. 
BY Dli. J. STAYMAN, LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS. 
This is an apple of great promise, being very 
beautiful and perfect. 
It originated in Nelson Co., Virginia, on the 
farm of Mr. Matthews, and was first introduced 
to the public by Tyree Dollies, of Albemarle Co., 
Va., from whom we received specimens at the 
meeting of the American Pomological Society 
at Richmond, Va., September last. 
Tree a stout, upright grower, with light- 
colored bark. 
Fruit medium to average; weight from 6 to 
10 ounces; form round, slightly conic; skin 
smooth, rich wmxen yellow; dots, large, scat¬ 
tered, whitish or gray; stem medium, slender; 
cavity wide, deep, green; eye small, closed; 
basin rather narrow and shallow, furrowed; 
core large, round, open; carpels large, hollow ; 
seeds medium, ovate, plump, dark; flesh yel¬ 
lowish, very tender, juicy, pleasant sub-acid; 
quality good to very good; season October to 
February. (See outline on page 184.) 
- 
Raising Garden Seeds—Carrots. 
With the multiplicity of books upon garden¬ 
ing, we have had none that gave any satis¬ 
factory directions for growing seeds. This 
gap in our horticultural literature is now well 
filled by Mr. Francis Brill’s “ Farm-Gardening 
and Seed-Growing,” just issued by Orange 
Judd & Company. To give a specimen of 
the work as well as to answer several inquiries 
about carrot seed, we quote what Mr. Brill 
says upon raising it. Presuming that at the 
digging in the fall, a selection has been made 
of the finest roots for the purpose of growing 
seed, and that these have been successfully 
wintered in a pit or cellar, the work to be done 
this spring is thus described by Mr. Brill: 
“ The seed does best in a rather strong loam, 
moderately rich. After plowing and harrow¬ 
ing, make rows three feet apart with the marker, 
along which with a crowbar make holes eigh¬ 
teen inches apart; place the roots therein, the 
crowns level with the surface, fastening the 
earth firmly against them with a dibble. They 
should be set out about the middle of April or 
as soon as all danger of severe freezing is past. 
“ The after-culture is the same as for beets, ex¬ 
cept that ridging is unnecessary. Planting every 
fifth row with potatoes will facilitate the gath¬ 
ering of the seed. The seeds are produced in 
heads or clusters at the extremities of the 
branches, and ripen unevenly, hence they re¬ 
quire repeated cuttings. When ripe, which 
may be known by the seed changing to a brown 
color and the branches commencing to dry, the 
heads must be cut with shears, gathered into a 
barrel, carried to the loft, and spread over the 
floor. When the crop has all been gathered 
and the whole become thoroughly dry, the 
heads can be removed to the thrashing floor, 
and thrashed with a flail, only hard enough to 
separate the seed from the small sticks which 
support them, and avoid as much as possible 
breaking these sticks, in order to make the 
cleaning more easy. When thrashed, separate 
the coarser sticks from the seed with a No. 4, 
and again with a No. 6 sieve, rubbing the larger 
seeds through with the hand; place the seed 
thinly on a large cloth, exposed to the sun, and 
after it has lain so for five or six hours, set a 
barrel in the center; on this place a No. 8 sieve, 
through which pass the seed by rubbing with 
the hand, throwing out the sticks as they accu¬ 
mulate in the sieve. Repeat this operation the 
following day, this time using No. 10 sieve, 
which will remove the furze or beard, when it 
may be finally cleaned by passing twice through 
the fan-mill, and finished by No. 24 sieve. But 
a very few years ago it was believed that the 
removal of the furze injured the seed, and it 
was carefully picked out by hand, but experi¬ 
ence has proved to the contrary, and now not a 
pound of seed is sold in any seed-store in this 
country but that which is rubbed clean, in 
which condition it is more easily handled and 
can be more easily and evenly sown.” 
Uotes from the Pines. 
In the natural course of events I should have 
been able to report progress, but now the first 
week of April has gone, and we are about 
wdiere we were the first week in December. 
What a winter the past has been ! and what a 
spring this is!! Winter shut down so suddenly, 
that my next neighbor had a large share of his 
potatoes and cabbages frozen fast in the field, with 
never a thaw to loosen them until April. I was 
so fortunate as to get everything up in time ex¬ 
cept a single row of cabbages. For the past week 
thawing has gone on during the day, making 
the soil too soft to tread upon, and each night it 
has frozen hard enough to form a firm crust. 
Coniferous Evergreens have had a most 
trying time of it. I shall lose a large number 
of rare species. Some sorts ordinarily hardy 
now present a sad array of dead and whitening 
leaves. It is too early yet to know the precise 
extent of the damage. All those evergreens 
which have passed the winter unscathed may 
be set down as perfectly hardy. 
The Golden Yew. —I have before said a 
word in favor of this tree, and this spring I sjun 
more than ever impressed with its merits. It 
not only has shown no signs of winter-killing, 
but with the first bright days the tips of its 
branches begin to turn yellow, and give promise 
of that golden glow which shall shortly make 
this a conspicuous object upon the law’n. 
Broad-leaved Evergreens.— If the conifers 
have fared badly, it lias gone much worse with 
the broad-leaved evergreens. The evergreen 
barberries, Mahonias as they are called, show 
no signs of life. Their leaves are of the color 
of sole-leather, and appear to be past resuscita¬ 
tion. But the rhododendrons! These all through 
the winter have been interesting objects, as their 
leaves have served as rude indicators of the 
temperature. In extreme cold weather the 
leaves would curl into a roll and hang pendent 
by their stalks. When the weather was less 
severe, they would assume a more or less hori¬ 
zontal position, and when there was any ap¬ 
proach to mildness the leaves would uncurl and 
assume nearly their summer appearance. Dur¬ 
ing the winter we daily watched these changes 
