1853 . 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
249 
of a Duke, a brighter red than the May Duke, and 
greatly exceeding in productiveness the Late 
Duke, the fruit hanging in thick clusters along 
the branches. It is obtuse heart-shaped, very re¬ 
gular, and bright, rich red in color, tender, close¬ 
ly resembling the May Duke in flavor. 
Roberts’ Red-Heart— Although not a very 
new cherry, the 
merits of this valu¬ 
able sort were not 
well known till 
lately. Although 
neither large nor 
showy, its excel¬ 
lence, great and 
uniform produc¬ 
tiveness, and free¬ 
dom from rot, place 
it high on the list 
of cherries. It ori¬ 
ginated at Salem, 
Mass.; it is medium 
size, roundish heart 
Roberts' Red-Heart. shaped, pale red or 
amber, mottled deeper: suture distinct, flesh white, 
sweet, with a fine flavor; season medium. 
Black Knot on the Plum. 
It is curious to perceive the different conflicting 
opinions, adopted from single observations by dif¬ 
ferent cultivators, or from several observations, 
all under the same particular local influences, in 
relation this disease of the plum tree. A'corres¬ 
pondent of the New-England Farmer has discov¬ 
ered, as he thinks, beyond the chance for a mis¬ 
take, that these excrescences are the work of in¬ 
sects, as he has uniformly found two different 
species to inhabit them. One was the curculio; 
the other a small moth about the fifth of an inch 
in length. He was puzzled for a time to know 
which was the real culprit; but as the excrescences 
appeared a month after the curculio disappeared, 
he concluded that the mischief came from the work 
of the moth. Now, what will he say when we in¬ 
form him that the present season feme of our 
trees have been profusely covered with fresh ex¬ 
crescences almost by the first day of the summer 
months, and before the curculios had fairly got 
their cutting tools ready? Again, how are we to 
account for the circumstance, that in no instance 
whatever, on our own grounds, have we ever 
found the slightest trace of an insect in the ex¬ 
crescences, until months after they had formed? If 
insects are the cause, they must be the cause al¬ 
ways, and in all places; but if half the plum trees 
affected have none at all, it seems hard to convince 
the insect theorists that their opinions are fallacies. 
The last number of the Horticulturist contains a 
communication favoring the opinion that the ex¬ 
crescences are caused by still another insect, the 
Membracis bubalus, a tree hopper, or hemipterous 
insect of the Cicada tribe, which punctures the 
wood and deposits its eggs in rows in the young 
twigs. The same difficulty exists here as with the 
other insects, namely, the knots generally appear 
(in other localities,) where the closest scrutiny 
has failed to detect any insect whatever; nor is 
this all—wp have repeatedly observed these rows 
of deposited eggs in the shoots of the plum and 
cherry, which remained for several years, with no 
other result than the scars left by the punctures; 
and although we have repeatedly seen these marks, 
and have also been sufficiently troubled with the 
black knot, it so happens that the two never came 
together on the same tree. 
Watering Trees and Plants. 
Many cultivators have very indefinite and vague 
notions on the subject of watering plants; and 
hence we often see water given when it is not 
wanted, and again, when most needed, it is not 
unfrequently applied in such a manner as to pro¬ 
duce no benefit, sometimes positive injury. The 
great secret of success in watering, consists in fur¬ 
nishing just such an amount of artificial supply as 
the plant needs, without flooding on the one hand, 
nor stinting on the other. This must be judged 
of by the actual condition of the plant at the time. 
If, for example, it should be in a nearly dormant 
state, when it throws off scarcely any moisture, 
very little water is needed. Young trees, for in¬ 
stance, which are set out in spring, sometimes re- I 
main several weeks without growing, and to flood | 
them at this period, would tend more to cause ( 
decay than growth. It sometimes happens that I 
such trees dry up at the top or branches while the | 
roots are kept deluged, in consequence of the 
want of circulation from the absence of leaves. In 
these instances it is better not to apply much wa¬ 
ter, except to the stem and branches themselves; 
and this, if often repeated, will directly impart 
moisture to the tree, and not unfrequently stimu¬ 
late it into a growing state, when other means 
would entirely fail; because in the absence of cir¬ 
culation, the moisture is applied precisely where it 
is wanted. 
We have known cases where young trees have 
been actually destroyed by injudicious watering. 
Again, we have seen trees perish for want of wa¬ 
tering. In the latter instances, growth bad already 
commenced, and the young leaves were rapidly 
pumping the water from the soil up through the 
roots and stem, and a larger supply was needed 
than could be obtained. A plant in a state of rapid 
vegetation will consume or throw off into the air 
more than ten times as much water as a dormant 
plant. 
When artificial watering is given, the operator 
should ascertain whether the supply descends suffi¬ 
ciently to reach the roots for which the benefit was 
intended. It is by no means an uncommon error 
to pour water on a hard and baked surface, with¬ 
out descending even a single inch below, nor with¬ 
in half a foot of the roots of the plant. Such wa¬ 
terings will of course do more harm than good. 
It would afford instruction to such superficial 
operators, to throw up a little of the soil, and 
witness the dry. ashy earth beneath the thin 
moistened crust. Water will penetrate freely into 
a mellow and well cultivated surface; but the re¬ 
moval of a few inches, to be again replaced aftbr 
watering, will be advisable in most casses where 
the roots lie deep in the soil. 
A hint as to the best time of day for watering, 
may be derived from an observation of the condi¬ 
tion in-which natural watering by rain is given. 
One reason why this penetrates the soil so effectu. 
