172 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
May, 
Kuikimanore, from the Sandwich Islands. During 
the season, he would let them loose at night and 
they would return in the morning, each pair de¬ 
stroying, as was estimated, some four thousand May- 
bugs. In Malta, small birds are kept to free the 
house of flies during the summer, and are found ve¬ 
ry effective. ” 
his strawberries to take a cold bath from the well 
at mid-day in the face of a hot summer’s sun with- 
out shrinking. In a dry hot time he will give, 
twice a day, every four or six feet square of his 
strawberry bed, a pailful of clear cold water.” 
Varieties of the Garden Pea. 
Strawberry Culture. 
An intelligent friend, residing at Palmyra, N. Y., 
has furnished us the few following notes of a visit to 
one of his neighbors, remarkable for his success in 
the cultivation of the Strawberry, and celebrated 
for the enormous size and productiveness to which 
he has brought different sorts as they have succes¬ 
sively passed under his hand. Whatever may be 
thought of the utility of large doses of cold spring 
water, one thing is certain, he has far outstripped 
all other gardeners in his vicinity, in his large, 
thickly trussed fruit: 
“A very rainy day suggested to me to drop in and 
spend an hour this afternoon with him and his social 
wife, who together live almost excluded from the 
world without, except by books and papers. For 
many years he has been remarkably successful with 
strawberries, and although he has cultivated one 
kind for two or three years, and then replaced them 
by another kind, and then again by another and still 
another, yet somehow he manages every year, no 
matter what kind he has in cultivation, to astonish 
us all by his enormous crops of fruit. 
“During the past three years he has given his al¬ 
most sole attention to the cultivation of Hovey’s 
Seedling, yet contrary to usual theory and practice, 
he firmly refuses to allow a single staminate plant 
to remain in their vicinity. Besides, the last sea¬ 
son, he allowed all his strawberries to cover the 
ground completely with runners, and yet from the 
many neighbors and others abroad, who visited his 
garden during the fruiting season, not a man could 
be found who had ever seen it excelled either in the 
extraordinary size or quantity of fruit, in any kind 
of strawberries. Not a foot of ground, or appa¬ 
rently a single plant, that was not covered with 
large and perfect fruit. Some days he picked two 
or three bushels, and could have picked much more. 
“ One bed was on the lower end of his garden, 
where I should think it might be a deep soil; but a 
smaller bed near his house, is on about six or eight 
inches of good soil over a stiff hard-pan, yet this 
bed has borne during the past two years, at least as 
large fruit and as great quantity, as the most favor¬ 
ed portions on the deeper soil below. 
“Now it may be curious perhaps to inquire, what 
is the secret of all this? for I have been ver}' careful 
to state only such things as I know to be facts. In 
answer, I would say after a close observation for a 
number of years, I am convinced it can be summed 
up in a single line, to wit ,—Select good plants ,— 
give them clean culture.—and plenty of cold hard 
water. 
“ The importance of clean culture every one un¬ 
derstands, but my friend is a little peculiar in his 
hydropathic views. He believes, from the careful 
-observation and experience of half a century, that 
hard water is far better for plants than soft water 
—that the lime held in solution is evidently useful 
to them*—and also that plants may be trained to 
receive cold water at all hours—hence he accustoms 
* If the mineral substances held in solul ion possess fertilizing pow¬ 
er, the experiment may succeed quite differently, so far as these af¬ 
fect its results, in different regions of country, where, on account of 
geological distinctions, these dissolved manures may be very unlike. 
—Ed' 
Last year experiments were made in the garden 
of the London Horticultural Society, on many va¬ 
rieties of the pea, obtained from different cultivators. 
for the purpose of comparison, and testing their re¬ 
lative merits. The results have been published at 
length, which we here present in a condensed form, 
embracing the principal facts. The sorts were all 
sown on the 21st day of 3d month (March.) The 
color refers to the peas when dry. 
Thompson's Early Dwarf— fit for use, June 28—height 2 ft.—pods, 
small, round, with 4 to 6 peas—white. Tolerably prolific. 
Bishop's New Long Pod— June 28—2 feel—straight, cylindrical—6 
to 7. Excellent, early, prolific. Far superior to Bishop's Early 
Dwarf. 
Prince Albert —June 20—3 feet. Resembles Early Kent and Early 
Frame, but one week later. Early Warwick and Early Race- 
Horse, generally proved to be Early Frame. 
Lady's Finger— July 4—5£ to 6 ft.—long, cylindrical—6 to 7—white 
Good, moderately productive 
Early Hero —July 6—5 to ft.—slightly curved—6 to 7—white. 
Peas medium size, good. 
Shilling's Grotto —June 27—4^ to 5 ft.—thick, short, badly filled—4 to 
6—white. Bad bearer. 
Dwarf Branching Marrow —July 2—2 ft.—nearly straight, flattish— 
6— white. Moderate bearer. Stalk strong, short-jointed, leaflets 
broad, flowers large, cream-colored, peduncles short. Grim- 
stone’s Egyptian, found in an ancient Egyptian vase, (?) proved 
identical with Dwarf Branching Marrow. 
Queen of Dwarfs —July 20—18 inches—large, flat—4 to 6—large, 
white. Moderate bearer. 
Bellamy's Early Green Marrow —June 30—4£ to 5 ft.—long, straight, 
cylindrical—6 to 7—green or white. Good bearer, excellent. 
Sutton's Superb Green Marrow —July 14—5£ to 6 ft —flattish, nearly 
straight—6—large, green. Slightly harsh, moderate bearer. 
New indented Green Marrow —July 18—5 feet—(resembles Knight’s 
Green Marrow.) A good pea. 
Victoria Marrow —July 24—6 to 6£ ft.—nearly 4 inches long—gene¬ 
rally in pairs, straight, roundish—6 to 8—green. Good. 
Flack's New Large Victoria —July 2—2£ to 3 ft.—flattish, nearly 
straight—about 6—blue or partly white. Peas large, pods me¬ 
dium. A good, dwarf, prolific variety. 
Bedman's Imperial— July 14—2£ to 3 ft.—slightly curved, roundish— 
6 to 7—large, blue. Valuable, prolific. 
New Imperial —June 20—3£ feet—small, cylindrical—blue. Infe¬ 
rior to many. 
McLean's Seedling —July 3—2 feet—large, nearly straight—very 
large, bluish. Excellent, prolific. 
British Queen —July 23—5 feet—large, straight, nearly round—about 
7— light green. Peas very large, good bearer. 
Gros Vert Normand —July 20—6 feet—slightly curved, flattish—7 to 8 
—bluish. Sugary, excellent, very productive. 
Fairbeard's Champion of England —June 30—5 feet—long, slightly 
curved—7 to 8—bluish. Sugary, very productive, excellent. 
Successful Treatment of Young Trees. 
As I promised to furnish you with an account of 
my management of fruit trees, I give you the fol¬ 
lowing : 
The soil on which I am forming my orchard, is 
gravelly, with some sand, and clay intermixed. A 
part is very fine gravel, and works easily; apart is 
coarser and stronger and will grow good corn. In 
the spring of 1848, I set out about one hundred trees, 
(mostly apple,) in the following manner: Large 
holes were dug, and a large farm wheel-barrow load 
of chip dirt, well rotted , put into each hole. The 
tree was then set by myself, carefully spreading out 
the roots with the hand, after having cut off the 
bruised parts with a sharp knife, and shortened back 
the top. A pail of water was dashed in as the earth 
was thrown in to settle it about the roots. 
The ground was planted with potatoes before the 
trees came,(which were received late in the season ;) 
the trees were carefull} r hoed during the summer, 
and now for the results:—All lived and grew finely 
but one cherry tree; many grew a foot the first sea¬ 
son. In the fall, the ground received a heavy top- 
