1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
331 
She ffjortkultixral Department. 
CONDUCTED BY J. J. THOMAS. 
Selecting Fruit for a continued Supply. 
There are two reasons why home-raised fruit is 
better than that purchased in market. First, fully 
ripe fruit, plump with melting richness, may be ta¬ 
ken fresh from the tree for immediate use, instead 
of being plucked while yet hard for two or three 
days of carriage and exposure in market. Secondly , 
where fruit is raised in one’s own garden, the ten- 
derest and most delicious may be selected; while 
that which is to be offered in market is usually of 
such sorts as have a showy exterior, or yield the 
largest crops. Everyman, therefore, who possesses 
a rood of land, should endeavor, as far as possible, 
to furnish his own table. There can scarcely be 
conceived a better combination of the elements of 
comfort, independence and economy, than in a suc¬ 
cession of the very best home grown fresh fruit for 
the use of a family for the twelve months of the 
year. 
The time for autumn transplanting is now at hand. 
In selecting the varieties, there are several considera¬ 
tions to be borne in mind. 1. As a general rule, it 
is safest to adhere to those sorts which have proved 
best with the best cultivators in each particular re¬ 
gion. New and unproved sorts, no matter how high¬ 
ly they may be recommended, should be introduced 
sparingly. 2. A supply may be relied on at all 
times and through all seasons with greater certain- 
ty, by a rather extensive than meagre list. Some 
fruits succeed best in one season, and others in other 
seasons. For example, in one year nearly all the 
early cherries rotted but the Kentish , which in other 
years was passed as second rate. We had the pre¬ 
sent summer three fine sorts of early peaches ripen¬ 
ing at about the same period, namely, Fay’s Early 
Ann, the Tillotson and Serrate Early York. The 
two latter bore but few specimens; the former by 
a profuse crop supplied the deficiency. One year 
may be noted for its abundant crop of strawberries, 
another for its bountiful supply of raspberries, a 
third for its grapes, and a fourth for its pears. 
Hence a wide selection, provided the very best are 
taken, will prove most satisfactory. 
We have repeatedly given select lists of fruits in 
former numbers of the Cultivator. It may perhaps 
bo interesting here to mention only a few of the 
best or most noted for particular purposes. The 
season of fruit begins in the northern States by the 
first of summer, with cherries and strawberries. 
The earliest stawberries, really worth raising, are 
Large Early Scarlet, Burr's New Pine, and Boston 
Pine ; the later sorts are Old Hudson, Hovey’s Seed¬ 
ling, and Dundee. The earliest cherries are Early 
Purple Guigne and the Doctor ; the later are Elton, 
Downton and Downer’s late. Holland Bigarreau 
and Black Tartarian are fine cherries, and also 
productive for market. Belle Magnifique and Plum- 
stone Morello are excellent late cherries. These 
two sorts coming in thisyear, after the rotting season, 
were beautiful, sound and perfect. Apricots, ripening 
by midsummer, immediately follow cherries. Un¬ 
less they are planted on a soil with a naturally dry 
or well drained sub-soil, they are liable to perish long 
before reaching old age. Low heads are thought best, 
but are not proof against this disaster. The hardiest 
apricot, not of the highest quality, but well worth 
raising, and as hardy as a sugar maple, is the Black. 
Of the others, the Golden or Fishkill and the Breda 
are the most reliable. The Large Early and the 
Moorpark are less certain and productive, althougn 
of fine quality and large size 
The Primordian plum, a rather tender and slowly 
growing variety, but profusely productive, ripens 
with the earliest apricots, and is for this reason 
very valuable. Early Royal and Imperial Otto¬ 
man succeed the Primordian, the Green Gage and 
Lawrence Favorite ; these are followed by Wash¬ 
ington and Jefferson ; Purple Gouge is rather late, 
and the Frost Gage quite late, and a profuse bear¬ 
ing market variety. The Lombard or Bleecker’s 
Red, and the Imperial Gage are well adapted to 
light soils. Coe’s Golden Drop is a fine large late 
sort, not always ripening at the north. 
The three best very early peaches we have already 
mentioned. They are followed successively by Cole’s 
Early Red, Coolidge’s Favorite, Large Early 
York, GeorgeIV, Crawford's Early, Morris White, 
Nivette, Oldmixon Free and Crawford’s Late. 
The best early pear is the Madeleine. Afterwards 
we have those delicious summer varieties, the Ros- 
tiezer and Tyson; then the Barlett and Washing¬ 
ton. both free growers, and great and early bearers ; 
these are succeeded by the Seckel, unequalled for 
high flavor, by Louise Bonne of Jersey, unsurpassed 
for productiveness, and by the Flemish Beauty for 
its free growth, large size and fine quality. The 
White and Gray Doyenne, on soils adapted to them, 
are scarcely equalled among late autumn pears. 
Among late autumn and early winter sorts, the 
Aremberg, Winkfield and Winter Nelis are regard¬ 
ed generally as the best. The Easter Beurre if 
fully ripened and well kept, is a very desirable late 
winter and spring pear. The new variety, the 
Autumn Paradise, is likely to prove a pear of great 
value for mid-autumn. Onondaga or Swan’s Orange 
and Beure Diel, as well as Bartlett, Flemish Beauty 
and Winkfield, are desirable for market from their 
size and beauty, to which may be added the Golden 
Bilboa, although but little above medium in size. 
It is scarcely necessary to point out those varieties 
of the apple which will give us fresh fruit through 
autumn and winter, and till the early summer fruits 
appear the succeeding year, the best sorts being so 
well known. 
Materials for Potting Plants. 
According to the Gardener’s Chronicle, the best 
materials for the cultivation of plants ia pots, are 
the following:— 
Loam —the best is procured from very old pas¬ 
tures or commons—the surface to be pared off not 
more than two inches—to be laid in a heap to de¬ 
compose for 8 or 10 months. A heavier and a lighter 
will be found of great convenience, for plants of 
different habits. 
Peat —in choosing this, it should be procured from 
a dry rather than wet locality. If coarse from fern 
roots, it should decompose in a heap. Peat is of 
great value in keeping composts open, and assisting 
drainage. In this country, where it cannot always 
be easily had, leaf-mould, from the woods, is a 
good substitute. 
Manure —stable dung, quite rotted, is perhaps as ' 
good as any thing. It should never undergo fer¬ 
mentation. For some kinds of plants, cow-dung 
three or four years old, will prove very useful. 
Sand, of a pure white kind, is the most desirable— 
the nearer it approaches pounded silica, the better. 
To attempt any thing beyond mediocrity, with¬ 
out being possessed of the above materials, will be 
found a waste of labor. These materials should be 
always kept within reach of the potting bench, in a 
