Chrysanthemum, Boule De Neige

Pure white chrysanthemums are common, but the English growers think they have a good thing for all in Snowball. The flower is perfectly round, about 3 1/2 inches over, and the broadly ovate petals placed so regularly over one another, that one might regard it as a camellia if the petals were broader. It was raised in France, where it goes under the French name, Boule de Neige.

The Mildews Of The Grape Vine

The Rural New Yorker, of January 30th and February 6th, gives a complete illustrated chapter on this subject by Prof. C. V. Riley. The powdery mildew is caused by a minute fungus called Uncinula spiralis, which flourishes best in a dry atmosphere. The foreign grape easily suffers, except when growing in the moist atmosphere of a grapery. The downy grape mildew is Peronospora viticola, which flourish best in moist surroundings.

Phylloxera In France

Prof. C. V. Riley, in his annual address before the Entomological Society of Washington, says that the French have grown almost indifferent to the ravages of this insect, since the introduction of the American vine for stocks for their own varieties. Hundreds of square miles are planted with grapes grafted on the resistant American stock. Yet they continue their absurd Phylloxera laws prohibiting imports of all kinds of plants from America for fear of introducing the insect.

Some Remarkable Russian Apples

Prof. Regel, in the Gartenflora, describes some very remarkable Caucasian apples, one of them larger and finer than the well-known Alexander. They were cultivated by a gardener named Ramm, at an elevation of over 3,000 feet, even in that cool country. He calls them Ramm's Caucasian Ram-bour-Reinette, Ramm's Borschom Reinette, and Ramm's Susser Aport.

American Peaches In England

Alexander and Hale's Early, a correspondent of the Garden says, are undoubtedly the best for affording the earliest supplies of fruit, whether in heated or un-heated houses, these being extra early and of good size and quality. True, the flowers are deficient in pollen, but we experience no difficulty in setting heavy crops, which make surprising progress.

Parnell's Peach Orchard

Mr. Parnell's Georgia peach orchard is said to have cost $12,000 for the land, and to contain 150,000 trees. We suppose there are few, if any, as large in America.

The Seckel Pear In England

Mr. William Ingram tells the Garden that this variety, so indispensable to an American, "passes away too rapidly, often turning soft before ripening," in England.