259 
ground. •'vcnuanypooi.ic.vn! 
only from one to ton !„„i'! " 
no money to bny nioro laml i„, V 
persons onnnot do bettor tlmn i o 
ground uidlroly with .stviiwho 
make the most ol' 
. ■Snell 
ooeiipy tlio 
Serrlos or BlaoUborrioa, makin.M',J 
rich. Usually there 
are ohlld 
gather the I'rnit, and (,ho lalior on 
and very 
roll to iioi'p 
perforimxl by the owner, if he'h!,!; 
husinoss to oeeupy his attention. Tlie i.,. . 
success is usnally secured by per,sons of 11 , 
class, all the proceeds ap,,earini.' to count • s 
prollt, as they incur no outside'expenditure 
Not having a large amount of any species of 
fruit they disiiose of it ail, they can pick in 
the best possible condition, and get the ld<.-li 
est prices, thus competing sncccssfnllv with 
the large grower, and often inalcing more 
money than tlte latter. Strawlicrries espe¬ 
cially I consider the poor man’s berry, from 
the fact tliat any poor man wlio lias from a 
quarter to an acre of soil, may by industry 
and skill grow enough fruit to assist materi¬ 
ally in maintaining himself and family. 
CiiAiti.Ks A. Gi!ki.:x. 
Bochester, jS\ y. 
UNDEEDEAINAGE. 
Uuderdraiuagc may be a good thing for 
the market gardener, but it is of doubtful 
value to the fruitgrower; and notwithstand¬ 
ing the claims made for it, the natural drain¬ 
age of a high, rolling spot should always be 
preferred. 
Underdraiuage ecpializes the amount of 
moisture in the ground. If there is an ex¬ 
cess, the drains carry it oli; while they 
have such an ellect upon the soil that it re¬ 
tains more moisture in a dry time. Hence 
underdraiuage indii-eetly reduces drought 
and du’ectly reduces excessive moisture. It 
follows that it makes more equable the tem¬ 
perature of the soil. AVater is of a more 
equable temperatui-e than earth, receiving 
heat more slowly and giving it oil' less readi¬ 
ly. Hence whatever equalizes tlie water in 
the ground also makes more equable tlie 
temperature of tlie ground. So far under¬ 
draining is beneficial to plant growth. It is 
beneficial, also, by reason of tlie efiect it has 
upon the soil—deepening it and lining it, 
thus increasing the amount of plant food 
and making it more readily available, i be 
well-known efl'ect of imderdrainage upon the 
season of gi-owth—to begin earlier ni the 
spring and continue later in tlie fall, <uic 
caused by the change made in tlie texture, 
temperature and liuniidit}' of the giouiii .mc^ 
therefore in the temperature and liuimc i} 
of the air above this ground is also a\ 
able to greater yields. . 
Taking up the efiects ,of . 
one by one, it is easy to see 
">ai'l{cl''a,‘,M a vogetablcs eai-licr to 
supplied to a 
■ U inlhcfa". 'I’hougiuiic gardener 
wbicl is 7;'"’ 
umiei., ! "^ 'vill very likely find 
the soil'. l''''’titablo; for it will deepen 
the ■.■|■mvV," 'ts texture, loiigtiicn 
of bell " ami make it productive 
U.m di -i'^i^ate drought, 
""■’taalof it to carry oll^n 
foiv.<.i n 7 '''^' ' oa'''*cnor should never 
•IS well '■*' '""'‘‘''^'''aniage mitigates drought 
as yell as.Mood. 'I'bis fact is too often over- 
'-I 'y niany wlio .siqiposc tliat the effect 
drams upon tlic soil is only to carry off' a 
snip 11 s. 1 iiey i-ctain moisture in adroiiffiitv 
period as well. ^ 
Ibit it is cei tain tliat imderdrainage does 
not do so mucl, fo,- the fruit grower as it 
( oes for till' gardener, and it may well be 
( oubted if it i.s of any real benefit to the 
pomologist at all. In .so much as it improves 
the condition of the soil and makes its ])lant 
food more readily available, and so far as it 
makes the seasons more favorable to growth, 
it i.s of undoubted benefit; .and, unless the 
matter were cousklercd in all its ph.ases, a 
person would be led to siqipose tliat its effect 
iqion tlie temperature and liiimidity of tlie 
soil and air would be a great benefit to the 
fruit grower. But a little investigation will 
sliow tliat instead of this being a benefit it is 
a positive injury. AVe see that one result of 
it is to leugtiien tlie growing season b}^ mak¬ 
ing it begin earlier in tlie spring and con¬ 
tinue till later in tlie fall. It affects to a cer¬ 
tain extent tlie temperature locally, keeping 
off frosts later, liiit it cannot have any ap¬ 
preciable ell’eet upon strong tendencies to 
oliange on tlie jiart of the air, nor cau it 
ward off those cold waves wliieh lower the 
temperature 30° <>r 50° in a few hours. 
What is tlie result'? Tlie fi-iiit trees, berry 
canes, and Grape l ines .are coaxed to grow 
till late in the fall; tlicy are full of sap, and 
tender; and tliey are caiiglit by a cold w.ave and 
injured far more than they would have been 
had their growth decliued earlier. In all 
parts of the country great damage is done to 
fruit trees, shrubs and vines, by the growing 
season being terminated by sudden and se¬ 
vere cold. In tlie ATest, at least, this de¬ 
stroys more fruit trees thau all other causes 
combined. Tlicre is so much sap iu the 
trees that its expaiisiou by freezing bursts 
the bark loose from tlie trunk and larger 
brandies, and in some cases splits the trunk. 
Underdrainage, by coaxing the trees to grow 
later in the fall and yet being unable to ward 
cold waves, increases the evil; and this 
that they miiy 
Ijle to reasonably suppose that, sai e 
ceptional cases, they would do 
Such land will be more free from frost than 
low land well underdrained; and upon it the 
trees are not led to grow too late in tlie fall 
or to begin growth too early in the spring. 
Jons M. Stahj,. 
oil 
THE LAEGEST GSAPEVINE, 
Though the lai-gest Grapevine in the world 
is claimed to be at Hampton Court, England 
(a vinifira variety), and another i.s claimed 
by .Santa Bai'bara, Cal. (a Mission Grapevine), 
yet I believe tlie farm of Jesse Tarlton, 
seven miles from Lexington, Ify., has the 
best right to tlie honor of possessing the 
lai-gest Grapevine, at least in size of body. 
I measured it at six feet from the ground 
and found it GG inches in circumference. It 
is of tlie cordifoUtt (Fi'ost or AVinter Grape) 
s]jede.s, and is probably 200 or more years 
old. It i.s supported by an Elm nearly three 
feet iu diameter, which it entirely covers, 
and shows vigorous growth in many branches, 
though partly dead on one side near the 
ground, caused by exposure to tlie sun and 
trampling of stock. 
A vine of the .same .species, reported In 
newspapers of Fla. a few years ago, having 
a circumference of CO indies, has always 
been regarded bj' botanists as a “fish story,” 
so Kentucky must now bear the palm till 
good autliority from elsewhere shows a cir¬ 
cumference of body over 66 inches, six feet 
or more from the ground. 
T. Y. Muxsox. 
NOETHEEH EXTENSION OF AGTIS AESTIVALIS. 
During my recent visit to Kentucky and 
Alichigan, writes Prof. T. A’. Munson of Den¬ 
ison, Texas, I found that the lestivaUs spe¬ 
cies of Grapes—of which Norton’s A'irginia 
is an example—extends to about 45° in ADch- 
Igan, which is some 3° or 4° further north 
tliau in anjf other section known, and hence 
the early ripening varieties of this- species, 
of which several fine ones have receiitl}'' 
been found, are likely to succeed well in 
Alichigan. 
It also appears th.at in a limited section 
near Lake Alichigau, m Michigan, the La- 
lirusca species has been found native, the 
only place west of the Alleghanies. 
SHOET CUTTINGS. 
Rot has destroyed the greater part of the 
Kelly Island Grape crop tills year. 
•lice imderdrainage of doubt- 
localities. 
are frequently de- 
be of benefit to the gardener, 
A 
I'espectable part of the pi'ofit of 
depends upon early growth, ^yptoh 
tables first iu the market are rthiiitv to 
bring the highest prices, and 
prolong the. growing season 
advantage. Other couclit igj.fii-aiaed 
®onie, the gardener who has ij 
. bis land -will make more money ‘ ^ more, 
Avbo has not, for he can not only n 
alone would ni: 
fill value in ninny 
vo-iin our fruit crops 
striked ’by bard frosts after the leaf and 
^ ? ic m,ve swelled and perhaps opened.. 
I emiierature has been warm enough 
'I he 00 a expand and then a cold 
to coax t Uiiderdrainage by 
wave dcs .1 .1 ^ t,,e 
coaxing increase the chances of the 
gp,„,g, v ould tjnderdrainage not 
loss of ‘'bb/ , . .ges i 3 ut their fruitful- 
oiily •'broo 0“ passed through the 
““•'“SS's. 
Cranberries are a short crop this year. In 
Burlington and Ocean Counties, the great 
Cranberry center of New Jersey, the fruit is 
badly scalded, and the jdeld will not be over 
twenty per cent of the average. 
The largest Orange trees found in Florida 
are in Hillsborough, and are said to have 
been planted by settlers who took advantage 
of what was known as the “armed occupa¬ 
tion” laws. Some of these trees have for 
j'ears produced 10,000 Oranges. 
The climate of AVashington Territory of¬ 
fers excellent facilities for fi-uit growing. 
Some specimens of Early Crawford Peaches 
received from C. AAL Shane, Toledo, AVash. 
Ty., were as fine as any we ever saw of this 
variety. 
