The grape crop here in New England has been in some respects exceptionally good. Our warm and dry October has ripened up many varieties to an unusual excellence, and made us appreciate them more highly than ever before. And yet the amount of our crop, in some cases at least, sadly diminished by the unprecedented number of rose-bugs. Never, in all my experience, have I seen such swarms of them before. I have repeatedly taken from one to two dozen from a single cluster. The consequence was that, notwithstanding my utmost efforts, some of my vines were entirely stripped. Some large vines did not ripen a single berry, while on others I succeeded in saving from a tenth to a half of what they would have borne but for the bugs. How shall we get relief?

Miner's New Seedlings - It has been known for some time past, that Mr. T. B. Miner, of Linden, N. J., has several white seedlings of Concord, which have been pronounced, by those who have seen the vines and tasted the fruit, exceedingly promising. If I am not mistaken, Mr. Andrew S. Fuller has commended them quite warmly in the N. Y. Tribune. Mr. M. sent me a box of the fruit for exhibition at our Massachusetts Horticultural display in September, but they reached me in such impaired condition as to be utterly unfit to place upon the tables. I could, however, get some idea of the quality of the fruit. The berries that I tasted were very sweet and delicious, but not so free from toughness of pulp as is desirable. But I ought to add that I had no such specimens of fruit to test as were adapted to do the variety justice.