This section is from the book "The Gardener's Monthly And Horticulturist V28", by Thomas Meehan. See also: Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long.
We do not know that there has been placed on record, figures regarding the largest Tomatoes ever raised. Mr. Jacob Prin-cing, gardener to Fairmount Park Commissioner Fitler, raised one 2 lbs. 1 oz. Can anyone beat this record?
M. Van Hulle counsels us if we would preserve the flavor of our vegetables, not to wash them before cooking, if it can be avoided. The vegetables, whether leaves, beans, or roots, should have the dirt removed with a brush or a cloth, or if washing be indispensable, it should be done rapidly, immediately before placing them in the saucepan. - Gardeners' Chronicle.
The Black Aphis on Young Cherry Trees. It is confidently asserted in England that one quart of tobacco juice to two gallons of water is certain death to the Black Aphis. Our nurserymen who suffer so much from this pest should devise some easy method of syringing this decoction over trees that are badly infested with it.
A correspondent from Emporia writes : " I have been much interested in studying the Fire blight which has attacked quite generally and severely our apple trees through this State. Our orchards have been such an attractive feature that we look with grave alarm at the ravages of this disease. I have been investigating with my microscope, and notice the presence of "Bacteri," which, according to Prof. Burrill, of the Illinois University, is the cause of the blight".
" Allan," Richmond, Va., writes: " Tell your correspondent of August issue that the Quince can be budded on White Thorn, but don't succeed at all in this section. Trees five years old are not larger than a bush two years should be, and show no vigor".
The Tulip tree, or Liriodendron, thrives very well in some parts of the Old World. There are some beautiful specimens on the grounds of the Chateau d'Eau, in Normandy, the chief residence of the Comte de Paris, before his expulsion from France, and which were introduced from America by his grandfather, King Louis Phillipe. In England there are specimens 80 feet high and 12 feet in circumference, notably at Taplow Court.
Timber is soaked for several seasons in salt water, but the proportions of salt to water have to be very exact.
The United States Department of Agriculture desires information as to the extent of the injury done to the rice crop by the Bobolink, and the Red-winged Blackbird.
 
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