1817. 
225 
THE CULTIVATOR 
and has been, I fear, sadly neglected amongst us. F. 
K. Phoenix. Delavan, Wisconsin, March 25, 1847. 
Failure in Budding. — I have been, during twenty 
years past, more or less engaged in budding, grafting, 
kc. Last year, about the middle of the season of bud¬ 
ding, I inserted some buds of the Mayduke, Napoleon 
Bigarreau, and two or three other varieties of cherries, 
with almost perfect success, except with the Napoleon 
Bigarreau. In the case of these, the gum commenced 
exuding after two or three days, the bark failed to unite 
with the stock, and every hud failed. This was the re¬ 
sult with buds set at three different times, at intervals of 
three or four days. The trees were growing in five 
different gardens —were all apparently perfectly healthy 
and vigorous, and are now mostly dead. 
The few that are living look as if they were in “ the 
last end of a hard winter.” I know of one other in¬ 
stance in this neighborhood almost precisely similar. 
What caused the failure of all the buds of this particular 
variety, and the death of the trees ? Bailey. Bing¬ 
hamton, May 31, 1847. 
Origin of the Baldwin Apple. —This fine fruit, 
so much esteemed where it is known, originated in 
Wilmington, Massachusetts. Its history was given 
somewhat in detail, several years ago, in th e New Eng¬ 
land Farmer ; but an abridged and somewhat improved 
edition was given in the Horticulturist for January last, 
by B. V. French, Esq., Vice-President of the Mass. 
Hort. Society. 
” The original tree,” says Mr. F., grew on the farm 
of a Mr. Butters, and was known for a time as the But¬ 
ters apple. This tree was frequented and pecked by the 
wood-peckers, and Mr. Butters called it the wood-pecker 
apple. This fruit must have been known about .a cen¬ 
tury. From Col. Baldwin, of Woburn, and his family, 
who introduced it largely into public notice, it took the 
name of 1 Baldwin/ by which the fruit is now every¬ 
where known. I am informed that Col. Samuel Jaques, 
of Somerville, eminent as an agriculturist, breeder, and 
horticulturist, as well as a public benefactor of his age, 
now owns that part of the farm on which the original 
Baldwin tree grew, and has placed a monument on the 
site where it once flourished.” 
The principal facts as above given, we have more 
than once learned from Col. Jaques himself. In a let¬ 
ter lately received from him, he says—“ Whenever I go 
to the spot on my farm where this memorable tree once 
stood, I am carried back in agreeable recollection, to 
1784, when I went with Col. Loammi Baldwin, of Wo¬ 
burn, and my father, and saw them take scions from this 
tree. When Col. Baldwin’s scions bore fruit, he sent 
some barrels of it to a particular friend in England, 
where it created so much excitement that letters came 
to this country inquiring for the ‘ Baldwin pippin,' as it 
was there called; hence the name Baldwin apple.” 
Early Potatoes. —The very superior early potato, 
sometimes called “ Hall’s early June,” has been known 
in this vicinity for eight or ten years past, as “ Ross’s 
early,” their true name. They originated in Scotland, 
and were brought to this country about ten years since, 
together with thirty other varieties, by Mr. James Wil¬ 
son, the well-known nurseryman of this city. He pro¬ 
cured them of Mr. Lawson, of Edinburgh, the seeds¬ 
man of the Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland. 
After sufficient trial of all the varieties, Mr. Wilson 
selected the Ross’s early, as the best very early variety. 
He also selected two other kinds—the Shaw’s early, 
and the Stafford Hall—the latter a late potato of very 
fine quality. The others he found no better than many 
old varieties common all over the country, and conse¬ 
quently not worth extending. 
The Shaw’s early, are a very desirable variety. 
They are what are commonly called “ second early,” 
ripening about fourteen days after the Ross’s, and are 
much better for a general crop, as they are very uni¬ 
form in size, and very prolific, when grown in good 
soil. They are oblong; the Ross’s round. 
I have called attention^to the above facts because I 
think it high time a check be given to the multiplica¬ 
tion of names in vegetables, fruits, See. It is an evil 
which is rapidly extending itself, and the consequence 
is, confusion to all who are not on the quivive in detect¬ 
ing it. Herman Wendell. Albany, June, 1847. 
[The kind of potato which our correspondent thinks 
is “ Ross’s early,” was brought to our notice by Prof. 
Hall, of this city, and was first spoken of in the Culti¬ 
vator for 1844, page 302, under the name of Early 
June. There was, however, in that notice a little mis¬ 
take in regard to its shape. It was described as round, 
whereas it has a tendency to the oblong form,—espe¬ 
cially when grown on favorable soil, or when the tubers 
attain a large size. Our description was given from the 
first specimen shown to us, which happened not to 
exactly represent the variety. The larger they grow, 
the more they deviate from the round form. As to their 
“ true name,” we are inclined to doubt whether it is 
that given by our correspondent We shall compare 
it this season with Ross’s early, and endeavor to learn 
its history, that it may receive its true name, if it can 
be ascertained. . 
Extensive Fruit Cultivation. —A large ©slab 
lishment for supplying the Philadelphia market with 
peaches, sold, in 1845, 25,000 bushels, from 16 cents 
to $2 per bushel, averaging 50 cents per bushel. For 
several weeks, two sloops and one steamboat were re¬ 
quired to carry the fruit to market. One of the proprie¬ 
tors has just commenced an orchard in Ohio , beginning 
with setting out 10,000 trees. 
Enormous Grape Vine. —A correspondent of the 
Horticulturist states that there is a native staminate 
grape vine, growing two miles from Burlington, New- 
Jersey, on a farm called West Hill, which at three feet 
from the ground, measures six feet one inch round the 
trunk, and at ten feet high, is three feet in circumfe¬ 
rence. It is still healthy, and its giant folds run over 
and cover four trees, one of which is a full sized white- 
oak, and the others quite large. 
Watermelons. —Another correspondent of the same 
journal, says, “ The most successful grower of water¬ 
melons that I ever knew, was a person who every year 
turned under apiece of sod, in a good meadow soil, and 
planted his crop thereon. He counted his crop by 
wagon loads, when his neighbors did theirs, raised on 
good, but old garden soil, by tens and scores only. 
Experiment with Asparagus. —The London Gar¬ 
deners’ Chronicle mentions the following method of 
growing asparagus at Nice. Perhaps it does not partake 
of the character of the marvellous, and it may be very 
easily tried. “Take a quart wine bottle, invert it over an 
asparagus root, just rising from the ground, and secure 
it to its place by three sticks. The asparagus will 
grow up into the interior of the bottle, and being stimu¬ 
lated by the unusual heat and moisture, will speedily 
fill it. As soon as this has taken place, the bottle must 
be broken, when the asparagus will be found to have 
formed a thick head of tender, delicate shoots, all eata¬ 
ble, and as compact as a cauliflower.” 
Dried Strawberries. —A London paper states an 
experiment in drying strawberries, by attaching threads 
to their stalks, after a little over-ripe, and hanging up 
to dry. The result is stated to be entirely satisfactory, 
“ that sweet, refreshing acid, peculiar to the straw¬ 
berry, being in full perfection,—the flavor of the fruit 
without any watery taste, delicious,—and dissolving in 
the mouth as slowly as a lozenge.” 
