278 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Sept, 
Selection of Good Fruits. 
We extract the following interesting remarks on fruit 
culture and selection of varieties, by that experienced 
New-Engl and cultivator, Samuel Walker, Esq., of 
Roxbury, now President of the Massachusetts Horticul¬ 
tural Society, from the Report of the American Insti¬ 
tute.— Horticulturist. 
In submitting the following list of the best American 
varieties of apples, pears, and plums in juxtaposition 
with the best European varieties, it is not my intention 
to make any invidious comparison; on trial,—the truth, 
the whole truth, will be amply sufficient for any pur¬ 
pose. I shall, therefore, leave the result in the hands 
of the best judges—the cultivators—simply stating that 
I shall select the best varieties from the catalogues of 
the New and the Old World. 
American Varieties. 
1 Early Harvest, 
2. Williams’ Apple, 
3. Benoni, 
4. Porter, 
5. Pomme de Neige, 
6. Baldwin, 
7. Yellow Belle Fleur, 
9. Newtown Pippin, (green) 
9. Rhode Island Greening, 
10. American Golden Russet. 
I will not carry out the c< 
European Varieties. 
1. Early Red Margaret, 
2. Red Astradian, 
3. 8ops of Wine, 
4 Gravenstein, 
5. Ross Nonpareil, 
6 Dutch Mig'nonne 
7. Cornish GilSiflower, 
8. Ribston Pippin, 
9. Herefordshire Pcarmain, 
10. English Golden Russet. 
iparisons further, but submit 
a. list of American varieties, all of which are deserving 
©,f extensive cultivation, viz: 
Large Yellow Bough, Chandler, Fall Harvey, Jona¬ 
than, Minister, Hubbardston Nonsuch, Rambo, River, 
St. Lawrence, (Corse's,) Northern Spy, Esopus Spitzen- 
burgh, Summer Queen, and Ladies’ Sweeting. 
Pears. 
American Varieties 
1. Bloodgood, 
2. Dearborn’s Seedling, 
4. Knight’s Seedling, 
5. Tyson, 
6. Seckel, 
7. Cushing, 
8. Heathcot, 
9. Andrews, 
10. Buffuin, 
11. Dix, 
12. Lawrence, 
13. Columbia. 
European Varieties . 
1. Citron des Carmes, 
2. Passans du Portugal, 
3. Williams’ B'lichretien, 
4. Flemish Beauty, 
5. Rostiezer, 
6. Fondante d’Automne, 
7. Bezi de la Motte, 
8. Doyenne Blanc, 
9. Louise Bonne de Jersey, 
10. Doyenne Gris, 
11. Beurre Diel, 
12. Duchesse d’Angouleme, 
13. Glout Morceau. 
By the foregoing statement it will be perceived that 
among the well established apples and plums in this 
country, a majority are the product of America. Of 
pears and cherries, the greater number have been im¬ 
ported from Europe. 
I will now proceed to the second part of my subject, 
and notwithstanding my esteemed friend, Thomas 
Bridgman, Esq., has with ability and good judgment, 
brought the subject of seedlings under the notice of the 
managers, yet I shall not refrain to state all I intended 
to do before I received Mr. Bridgman’s able report. 
I am aware when a word of caution is to be spoken, 
or an error pointed out, that it should be done with can¬ 
dor and kindness; in that spirit the following remarks 
are submitted: 
Seedling Fruits. —My object is to point out an er¬ 
ror, may I not rather say, a weakness, on the part of 
some cultivators of fruits, to overrate their own pro- 
duetious, more especially so when they raise a seedling 
apple, pear, plum, peach or cherry, having any preten¬ 
sion to merit. If their production is of the best quality, 
and possesses but a single point of superiority, say on¬ 
ly a shade of color, or a slight increase of size, in ad¬ 
dition to the good qualities of the most choice variety 
of that class of fruit in the present catalogues, that 
alone will commend it to other persons, and they will 
mete out its praise in due season. 
No seedling should be recommended for extensive 
cultivation until it shall have been proved to be supe¬ 
rior in some respects to the variety it most resembles. 
For instance, if any person shall raise a seedling plum 
one-fourth larger, and equal or superior in flavor, more 
beautiful in its appearance, and more productive than 
the Green Gage, then the new variety would soon And 
its way into every good collection of plums. The same 
remarks will apply to the Newtown Pippin apple. The 
person who shall be so fortunate as to raise a seedling 
apple of equal flavor, better color, and a tree more thrif¬ 
ty and productive than the green Newtown Pippin, will 
have accomplished something worthy of record and a 
name. But cultivators, like young fond mothers, are apt 
to consider their production to be a u non-suchtime, 
alas ! often convinces them of their mistake; and when 
too late, they find they have only deceived themselves. 
In addition to the above, I will add a list of Euro¬ 
pean varieties of great merit, viz: 
Beurre d’Aremberg, Beurre d’Anjou, Beurre Bose, 
Eyewood, Henry IV, Van Mons Leon Le Clerc, Marie 
Louise, Winter Nelis, Paradise d’Automne, Passe Col¬ 
mar, St. Ghislain, Yiear of Winkfield. Urbaniste, and 
Echasserie. For baking, Belmont, Black Worcester, 
Catillac, and Uvedale’s St. Germain. 
Plums. 
American Varieties. I European Varieties. 
1. Jefferson, I 1. Green Gage, 
2. Columbia, I 2. Purple Gage, 
3. Washington. | 3. Coe’s Golden Drop. 
To this lot of plums, I will add the following Ameri¬ 
can varieties as worthy of a place in every good collec¬ 
tion, viz: 
Purple Favorite, Huling’s Superb, Imperial Gage, 
Lawrence Favorite, Bleecker’s Gage, and Bingham. 
Cherries. —The best varieties of American and 
European cherries are very dissimilar. I shall there¬ 
fore submit a list of such varieties as I consider of the 
best quality, viz: 
American varieties. —Sparhawk’s Honey, Downer’s 
Late, Sweet Montmorency, Manning’s Mottled, Down¬ 
ing’s Red Cheek. 
European varieties. —Black Eagle, Black Heart, 
Black Tartarian, Downton, Knight’s Early Black, Bi- 
garreau, Bigarreau Holland, Elton, Florence, Belle de 
Choisy, May Duke, and the Late Duke. 
Raising Fruit in Russia.. 
In the intensely cold climate of St. Petersburg, where 
nearly all our common fruit trees perish under ordinary 
circumstances, fine crops of apples, plums, and cherries 
have been obtained, by training the branches on a trel¬ 
lis only about a foot from the ground. The heavy 
snows entirely cover them, and completely protect 
them. Large crops of apples have thus been obtained 
for successive years, even after winters which have de¬ 
stroyed other trees when double matted. The Green 
Gage and Orleans plum have ripened before mid-au¬ 
tumn. Morello cherries have borne good crops. Whea 
the fruit ripens, it does not bruise in falling. 
Mulching. 
This excellent mode of treating newly transplanted 
trees, has been found eminently beneficial during the 
present very dry summer. A row of young apple trees 
had been set on a piece of ground, where cultivation 
could not easily be given. In the early part of sum¬ 
mer, they entirely ceased growing, and on a large por¬ 
tion the foliage began to assume a yellow appearance, 
and their loss was strongly apprehended. Coarse litter 
was then applied co them, to a depth of several inches 
and extending some feet about them. So beneficial has 
been the result, in retaining the moisture of the soil, 
that although several weeks have elapsed since with 
