THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
WILD FRUITS IN THE ROCKIES. 
Perhaps the greatest drawback to the nurseryman 
attempting to do business in the vicinity of the Rocky 
mountains, is the great abundance of natural fruits of de¬ 
cidedly superior quality. The people have been accus¬ 
tomed to securing their fruit supplies from the mountains, 
just as did the freighter overland in the early days expect 
to obtain his fuel supply from the buffalo chips that 
covered the plains. These wild fruits consist of rasp¬ 
berries, both red and black ; gooseberries, currants, red, 
black and yellow ; strawberries, some as large as walnuts ; 
service berries, or, as is known to the trade, June berries, 
both of the tree and dwarf varieties ; choke cherries, buf¬ 
falo berries, red and yellow ; huckleberries, wild plums 
and in some of the favored valleys, wild grapes. The 
plums when in their best state have been pronounced of 
excellent quality by competent authority. In some valleys 
there are also wild olives that appear to be fully as 
promising as the Russian olives. Of these the strawberiy, 
raspberry, gooseberry, service berry, buffalo berry and the 
mountain huckleberry will well repay experimentation, as 
we are convinced the quality originally is well worth cul¬ 
tivation, leaving out of account the advantage to be de¬ 
rived from the improvement that is the usual result of 
civilization and cultivation .—Field and Farm. 
CHESTNUT CULTURE. 
J. W. Kerr, of Denton, Md., says in the Rural New 
Yorker : American nut culturists are vigilantly looking 
about for the most profitable variety of chestnut for com¬ 
mercial purposes. Size and quality of the nuts alone 
considered, there are already several introductions that 
to a large extent meet that want ; notably the Paragon, 
which has extra size, great productiveness, vigorous 
growth, precocious bearing, and fair quality to commend 
it. Yet in two important particulars, it fails t;o meet the 
requirements for a commercial chestnut. Its season of 
ripening is too late (but here it is earlier than either 
Numbo or Ridgely). Its season possibly may, to some 
extent at least, be the cause of the second effect, which 
is its liability to injury from the chestnut weevil. Out of 
lOO nuts, taken as an average sample of a bushel, 14 
were defective from this cause. While on the other 
hand, those of the Japan type, were entirely exempt from 
such injury, due, as I believe, more to season of ripening, 
than to burr formation or any other cause. They ripen 
very early (in September here): but for eating out of 
hand, they are not satisfactory ; this, however, would not 
serve to rule them out as commercial nuts, if they are 
satisfactory when cooked. In several trials, of both boil¬ 
ed and roasted nuts, I found them to be equally palatable 
with the pure American. In my opinion, the chestnut for 
commercial growing in this country, will be one of the 
Japanese strain. I base this opinion on its fieedom from 
weevil injury as compared with the improved kinds of the 
Spanish strain. It is a reasonable presumption that as 
>65 
more chestnuts are grown—if of a strain that breeds 
weevils—difficulties will increase. Experience in a gen¬ 
eral way demonstrates that injurious insects waste no 
opportunities—presented by fruit growers—to multiply 
and reproduce their kind. 
APPLES IN SCOTLAND. 
A correspondent in Glasgow writes Stark Brothers as 
follows: “Fruit here is rarely eaten by the common 
people, except when some brave youth has risked being 
jailed and, under the cover of night, stolen a pillow-slip 
full. The orchards are watched like a jeweler’s store in 
America, and the pains and penalties for picking even a 
fallen apple are excessively severe. Our apples are gen¬ 
erally good and retail at from 7 to 15 cents per pound. 
Those from the United States are always most in demand 
and bring the highest prices. Notwithstanding the great 
increase in imports from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, 
and other places, fruit is exceedingly scarce, and the com¬ 
mon people never eat it, except on special occasions. It 
is exceedingly interesting to go down to the wharf (the 
Broomielaw) when the [great ships come in with their 
heavy freights of American fruit. I boarded a vessel one 
day last week and inquired how many barrels were on 
board, and the purser showed me the manifest for 5,150. 
RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 
A catalogue of novelties and si^ecialties has been issued by A. Jllanc 
& Co., Pbiladelpliia; also a pamphlet describing scaline, the new forage 
plant wdiich has proved of great value in France. 
A valuable agricultural publication is the annual hand-book or bulletin 
containing tbe papers and discussions of the farm institutes of the year 
held ill various places in Wisconsin A. 1). Barnes, nurseryman, of 
Waupaca, Wis., is a prominent institute lecturer. 
The twelfth annual report of the Board of Control of the New York 
Agricultural Experiment station, at Geneva, N. Y. of which William 
C. Barry, of Ellwanger A Barry, is president, contains the usual com¬ 
prehensive and interesting account of the work of this jirogressive 
station. It is illustrated with half-tone eagravings which add much to 
the interest of the report. The carefully prepared tables and lists arc 
of great value. 
Meehan's Monthly is one of the most meritorious publications of its 
kind. It appeals to the most intelligent taste in horticulture, botany 
and rural topics, and it is recogni/.ed as authority upon any subject of 
which it treats. It is a pleasure to note that this publication is to be 
increased in size four pages. This move will give the publishers oppor¬ 
tunity to broaden the scope of the wmrk somewhat. A feature of each 
issue is the lithograph which forms the frontispiece. Germantown, Pa. 
—Thomas Meehan A Sons. 
“The Book of the Fair ” increases in interest and value. Part 1(5 
concludes the chapter on transp( rtation and contains chapters 19 and 20 
on the live stock department and the departments of anthropology and 
ethnology. Each of these features is handsomely illustrated with the 
excellent half-tone engravings for wdiich this wmrk is noted. The high 
standard set up by the publishers at the start has been maintained 
throughout each number. “ The Book of the Fair ’ is the only publi¬ 
cation of its kind wmrthy of the highest commendation. A valuable 
contribution to the artistic literature of the day it preserves in the most 
beautiful and realistic form the wmnders of the greatest exhibition ot 
any age. It is an appropriate addition to the long line of works which 
have made its publishers universally known. Cdiicago : The Banc koet 
Company. 
