238 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
July, 
tural Society, urges the importance of raising seeds 
for new varieties of the pear by crossing, regularly 
and systematically conducted; no country having 
probably produced so many good varieties of this 
fruit, in proportion to the number of seedlings 
fruited, as the United States. He proposes to have 
two good varieties, growing side by side of each 
other, distant from any other sorts. By way of il¬ 
lustration, he suggests that the following varieties 
be made use of for this purpose:— 
No. 1, Bloodgood, f To be grown side by side to pro- 
“ 2, Williams’ Bon Chretien, { duce seed for summer varieties. 
No. 3, Seckel, i To be grown side by side lo pro- 
“ 4, Louise Bonne of Jersey, {duce seed for autumn varieties. 
No. 5, Dix, | To be grown side by side to pro- 
“ 6, Beurre d’Aremberg, { duce seed for ivinter varieties. 
“The trees to be grown at three different loca¬ 
tions, at least one-fourth of a mile apart, and out 
of the influence of any other pear trees. 
“The seeds of all the varieties should be taken 
from the fruit when fully ripe, kept separately, and 
labelled as follows, viz:— 
££ No. 1, Bloodgood, fertilized by Williams’ Bon Chretien. 
“ No. 2, Williams’ Bon Chretien, fertilized by Bloodgood. 
“No. 3, Seckel, fertilized by Louise Bonne of Jersey. 
“ No. 4, Louise Bonne of Jersey, fertilized by Seckel. 
“ No. 5, Dix, fertilized by Beurre d’Aremberg. 
£ No. 6, Beurre d’Aremberg, fertilized by Dix. 
Seeds thus raised and carefully labelled, I think, 
would command a good price. I would rather give 
five dollars for a paper of one hundred pear seeds 
fertilized as above, to raise pear seedlings from, 
than I would to pay one dollar for a bushel of seeds, 
collected indiscriminately.” 
Varieties of Fruit for the South. 
M. W. Phillips, of Edwards, Miss., after trying 
a great number of sorts, is satisfied that the best 
varieties now cultivated at the north, are at present 
the best that can be planted in the southern states. 
He says “if there be a single peach to excel Early 
Tillotson, or Early York (serrate,) or Crawford’s 
Early, or some others, that are natives, I never saw 
them,” although he has 150 varieties from all lati¬ 
tudes, in bearing. 
He gives the following list, “ripening for 75 days, 
from the 20th of June to Sept. 1st,” and remarks, 
“ if there are indigenous peaches, from Mason & 
Dixon’s Line to the Rio Grande, ripening in suc¬ 
cession, superior to those, I will give 100 dollars for 
them, that is for a tree of each sort:”— 
Early Tillotson, 
Early York, (serrate,) 
George IV, 
Hoffman’s Favorite, 
Crawford’s Early, 
Poll’s Melocoton, 
Early Red Rareripe, 
Bellegarde, 
Oldmixon Cling, 
N. Y. White Cling, 
Buist’s Yellow, 
Red Cheek Melocoton, 
Brevoort’s Morris, 
Bergen’s Yellow, 
Crawford’s Late, 
Druid Hill, 
Monstrous Pavie, 
Smock Late. 
How to Cultivate the Apricot. 
A sound practical article from the editor, recom¬ 
mends as the chief requisite for success, and to pre¬ 
vent the frequent loss of the trees fromvarious causes, 
1* To keep the trees low, and to head back the shoots 
in spring, avoiding the practice of trimming up to a 
naked stem, anti thus exposing the bark to the action 
of the hot sun. 2. To provide a deep, well drained 
soil, well fertilized with wood ashes. 3. To plant 
in a cool aspect, to prevent the too early swelling 
of the buds, and their consequent danger from 
spring frosts. 4. To prevent the loss of the young 
crop by daily jarring down the curculio on spread 
sheets. “Where only half a dozen trees are culti¬ 
vated, there is no mode of making war upon this in¬ 
sect so sure and reliable, jarring the trees daily du¬ 
ring the month of May, with a pounder, (sheathed 
at the end with india-rubber,) gathering the insects 
upon the sheets, and destroying them.” The expe¬ 
rience of a correspondent is added, that though pre¬ 
viously unable to depend on his trees for a single 
apricot, after putting the jarring system into prac¬ 
tice he actually obtained three thousand most beau¬ 
tiful and luscious apricots the first season of trial, 
from five trees. 
Long Catalogues. 
We are glad to perceive by an article copied from 
the Gardener’s Chronicle, that Prof. Lindley has 
made a severe assault upon the long lists of many 
nurserymen, which have long led to such endless 
confusion. He remarks, “ We have heard of one 
gentleman who numbered 1200 roses in his list, 
among which were about 350 wild briars, some of 
which had a little hair on their leaves, and some 
had none, some had double teeth, some had single, 
one sort had ovate hips and another oval, and so on. 
There exists we believe to this day a collection of 
Pseonies formed upon the same enlightened principle ; 
and we have no doubt that similar collections of 
Daffodils, Michaelmas Daisies, or Catmints, may be 
found in some sequestered garden. 
“ This harmless folly, like many other crotchets, 
destitute of all elements of longevity, could scarce¬ 
ly exist, one would think, in this utilitarian age. 
We are therefore witnessing at the present day col¬ 
lections giving way to selection; ‘hard pruning’ ap¬ 
plied in all directions to those old bushes of barren, 
half dead wood ; and a few select plants, thoroughly 
well grown, replacing the empty pots and moribund 
sticks which invariably characterised the collections 
of our worthy forefathers and their ancient sons as 
long as they remained among us. It is therefore 
not a little curious to find a race of worthy men still 
unconscious of the change in public feeling, and con¬ 
tinuing to publish interminable lists of this and that, 
as if the rage for collections was as fresh as ever 
“ Some recent lists of nurserymen and seedsmen 
afford amusing examples of this. One grower of 
roses offers 607 sorts of that flower; another, 850; 
a potato salesman’s catalogue has 160 sorts; a Dah¬ 
lia-grower’s 3 or 400; a Geranium-grower’s, as ma¬ 
ny; a seedsman invites attention to his 38 sorts of 
cabbage and 61 sorts of peas!” 
Strawberries. 
An Albany correspondent furnishes some excel¬ 
lent practical hints on the culture of this fruit, and 
strongly recommends a moist soil. He informs us 
that “a gentleman who is a good fruit-grower, in¬ 
formed the writer that the largest and finest straw¬ 
berries he had ever seen were grown upon a terrace, 
from the slope above which issued a small spring, 
the water finding its way over the surface where the 
plants grew, and keeping it constantly wet.” 
Paint and Sand. 
“Wheejler s durable paint for outside work, is 
made as follows:-—Take 50 pounds best white lead, 
10 quarts linseed oil; \ lb. dryers; 50 lbs. finely 
sifted clean white sand; 2 lbs. raw umber. Tho¬ 
roughly mix and dilute the whole with the oil, adding 
a very little (say half a pint) of turpentine. A 
wire brush is used, which does not eut through with 
the sand.” - 
Destroying Plant Lice. 
The following simple and safe remedy is given. 
“Pour one quart of boiling water upon one ounce 
of shag tobacco; let it stand until cold, and then 
strain and bottle it for use; it will keep good a year 
if not wanted. One sprinkling of this will destroy 
