310 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
as soon as the Tillotson and Early York peaches, or, in 
other words, the difference in climate does not so much 
affect its time of maturity. 
Destroying Rosebugs. 
I have got my Cultivator for August, and am not a 
little amused with “ Hampden’s” mode of killing rose 
bugs with “ an old warming pan ” filled with live coals. 
He would get tired of such a tool if he were working 
in a vineyard by the acre. He will find an easier mode 
of destroying them given on page 254 of the 2d vol. 
(new series) of the Cultivator ,—but a better yet I 
think I have discovered during the past year; which is 
to cover the ground with straw or refuse vegetable mat¬ 
ter. I covered about a third of my vineyard with drift 
stuff from the river shore—leaves, reed-grass and chip 
dirt, spread about three inches deep on the ground, and 
where that was done, there was not one-tenth as many 
bugs as in the rest of the vineyard. If it had been well 
filled in with ashes, it might have been better yet, but 
my object in putting it on, was the hope of benefitting 
the vines. The effect on the bugs was unexpected. 
Yr’s, H. W S. Cleveland. Burlington , N. J. 
Thoughtlessness. 
A gentleman of our acquaintance in the country, 
built a few years since, a large and fine house, costing 
three thousand dollars. He subsequently was occupied 
in laying out and planting the grounds, and we ventur¬ 
ed to suggest to him the propriety of setting out fifty 
or a hundred ornamental trees or shrubs, tastefully ar¬ 
ranged about his dwelling. u O, he could not afford 
it!” His grounds were to be wholly planted with fruit 
trees , all in rows, particularly the front of his house. 
Now, we know nothing more pleasant than an abun¬ 
dant supply of fruit—but the inconsistency was the ex¬ 
penditure of from three to five hundred dollars to give 
an ostentatious finish to his house, and then declining 
to pay one hundred in purchasing, planting and tilling 
its immediate environs, in a manner somewhat in ac¬ 
cordance with the rest of his operations. Why is so 
much reliance placed on building—so little on tasteful 
planting ? A retrenchment of a sixth part of the cost 
of the house, ($500,) would scarcely have been felt or 
noticed;—the application of one-sixth of this fraction 
($83)in judicious planting, would have made almost a 
little paradise around it, and contributed more to an 
air of comfort, respectability and beauty, than any 
amount of architecture without it, or with only four 
straight rows of plum trees. 
The Best Hardy Grapes. 
It would appear that the grape is peculiarly liable to 
changes of quality with country and locality. In the 
Catalogue of the London Horticultural Society, our fin¬ 
est native varieties do not receive much commendation. 
The Bland, the Elsinbnrgh, the Isabella, and Catawba, 
are all pronounced ic bad;” nor is any other American 
sort more highly commended. Now we all know that 
these identical varieties, when well ripened in this 
country, are generally regarded as delicious; and when 
the facility of their cultivation, in comparison with most 
of the exotic varieties, is taken into consideration, it is 
not surprising that they are taking the lead of the lat¬ 
ter in general use. 
The two favorite sorts are the Catawba and Isabella. 
Both are hardy, and are exceedingly productive. The 
Isabella has been generally introduced throughout the 
state of New-York, and is almost as familiarly known 
as the Spitzenburgh apple. It ripens, except in unfavo¬ 
rable seasons, but is too often eaten when half matured, 
and before its fine flavor is developed. The Catawba 
is hardly so early in ripening as the Isabella, but it suc¬ 
ceeds finely in warm situations. In beauty of appear¬ 
ance, in excellency of flavor, and in productiveness, 
Oct- 
combined, it may be considered as taking the first rank 
among all hardy grapes, wherever the climate will ad¬ 
mit its ripening. In growth, it closely resembles the 
Isabella, but may be easily distinguished by the rusty 
or brown tinge of the pubescence of its young leaves. 
N. Longworth of Cincinnatti, states that he has had a 
bunch at one of his vineyards weighing pounds. 
The York Madeira, (totally distinct from the Alex¬ 
ander,) resembles the Isabella, but is free from the pul¬ 
py core of the Isabella, and ripens earlier, and hence 
would succeed further north. In size, it is a medium 
betweeen the Isabella and Edinburgh; it is remarkable 
for the shortness of it joints. It appears to be but lit¬ 
tle known, and is not described in Downing’s work on 
Fruits, the York Madeira being there placed as a sy¬ 
nonym of the Alexander, an austere variety, not worth 
cultivating. It is not so rich, but is preferred by some 
to the Isabella. 
The Ohio and Lenoir have been much cultivated near 
Cincinnati, and are estimated as fine for the table, pos¬ 
sessing no pulp, and believed to be, at least in part, of 
foreign origin. At Boston and Albany, the Ohio is too 
tender and is of little value. The Herbemont strongly 
resembles the Lenoir, but differs, according to Long- 
worth, in its less vigorous growth, darker colored wood, 
and the brownish cast of its terminal leaves, those of 
the Lenoir being green. 
Horticultural Humbugs. 
There are a number of these which take periodical 
journeys in the papers, and are thus “rescued,” as th© 
Prairie Farmer says, u from drowning.” Among 
them are, that the insertion of apple grafts in a potato 
before planting in the earth, insures their growth; that 
covering asparagus stalks with a bottle, the stalk will 
soon swell prodigiously and fill the bottle; that the ex¬ 
clusion of grubs from cabbage may be effected by a cir¬ 
cle of salt; that transplanting evergreens is successful 
at midsummer; that by grafting or budding the peach 
on the willow, the fruit, u when ” it grows, will have 
no stones; that plucking potato balls will cause a great 
increase in the tubers; that peach and apple seeds, 
planted in the fruit, will infallibly re-produce the same 
variety; that the escape of sap, by pruning the grape 
in spring, will destroy the vine; that the growth of ve¬ 
getables or weeds, will prevent the soil from drying by 
affording shade, &c. 
Ripening Pears. 
Those who have new varieties of pears ripening this 
year, must bear in mind that many of them will never 
exhibit their excellent qualities, unless picked just be¬ 
fore maturity, and the ripening completed in the house. 
Not only must all those liable to core-rot be treated in 
this way, but many others. In some cases, certain va¬ 
rieties should be gathered two or three weeks before 
ripe, to prevent insipidity. We suspect the low esti¬ 
mate placed upon the Onondaga or Swan’s Orange pear 
last Autumn at Boston, was in consequence of its not hav¬ 
ing been taken early enough from the tree, in a peculiar 
season, as specimens in the possession of the writer, 
picked three weeks before mellowing, were found fully 
equal in flavor, when tasted side by side, to the Dix 
and Louise Bonne of Jersey. 
Errata.— Two typographical errors of a serious 
character, occured in the second column of the article 
in our last number on “ The Nursery Business .” One, 
where the cost of ten acres of nursery for a year is put 
down as $1,000, instead of $2,000; and the other 
where the number of good saleable trees on 2\ acres 
is erroneously printed one thousand, instead of ten 
thousand. These errors, uncorrected, almost destroy 
the value of the article. 
