A. J. DOWNING, Esq. - Your list of Fruits for the South, ma recent Horticulturist, has induced me to end you the following rough -notes upon our apples, as they may be of some interest to those of your readers dwelling in about the same latitude, sis: 83°, 58'.

Our soil is a stiff red clay, formed of decomposed granite-Hind our elevation 780 feet shove the sea The surface soil is generally pretty free jfrom stone, and by culture and manuring, becomes a dark loam. Its proportion of lime is scarcely appreciable, by analysis not over one-tenth of one per cent. It is of but moderate fertility, and is naturally pretty well timbered with pine, chestnut, tulip tree, sweet gum, and several species of oak.

With us, the apple is, I think, comparatively with most sections, a difficult fruit to cultivate. A full grown, healthy apple tree, one which is entirely free from disease, is, in this section, a rarity. Occasionally, they suddenly "die and leave no sign" at all - appear thriving as usual in autumn, and in spring are dead, with no assignable cause. Some die gradually, like a peach tree with the yellows, exhibiting for a long time a kind of general debility, which I know not to what to attribute, unless to the too intense action of the sun upon the soil and roots - or perhaps to the deficiency of lime in the soil. We have also the bark louse, and the borer and the caterpillar, but these are no worse than with you. Again, many of our trees have the bark of the trunk blistered, and soon decay, where they are exposed to the rays of the early afternoon sun. Then, worse than all, is that pestilent fellow, the wooly aphis, rightly named the American blight. Here, I believe, he is indigenous, as he is found on the wild crab, as well as on the cultivated varieties, and in situations where one would hardly think he had been introduced.

He must be a vigilant watcher, the branches of whose trees this aphis does not " pull the wool over," or cover their roots with the warts produced by his minute lacerations.

Now, these are serious difficulties in the way of the fruit grower, but still the worst of them may be overcome. Bark lice, caterpillars, and borers, a little care in season will destroy as effectually here as anywhere. The sun-burned trunk can be prevented by planting maiden trees, (one year's growth from the bud,) and shortening them in, so, when planted, that branches may be thrown out near the earth. The thick foliage will thus shield the trunk from the sun, and also keeping the roots shaded, will do much to correct the debility we have before noticed. The lime, or whatever other constituents the soil may lack, can from time to time be also supplied, at no very serious trouble or expense.

The aphis is more troublesome. If they are on a single tree of the garden, the wind will soon convey them, enveloped in their down, from one end to the other. Each tree, before planting, must be thoroughly worked, and its roots soaked in strong soap suds from the laundry. Ton will thus be free from the rascal to begin with. But this is not all. Vigilant attention is afterwards required. Every place where they appear, before they have time to seek the roots of the tree, must be coated with a paint composed of soap suds, thickened to the right consistence for application, with quick lime. This is an effectual remedy, and besides a beneficial application to the tree.

In selecting varieties for cultivation here, as it is a matter of some difficulty to raise a good supply of apples at all, the apple being a northern fruit, we are obliged to guard against over refinement. In regard to a fruit, it is not our first question, is it of the very highest quality? but, is the tree sufficiently hardy and productive to bear fruit at all? Will it produce enough to be worth cultivating? When we find a tree to be hardy, and at least moderately productive, it is then quite early enough to inquire which of those, having these indispensable good qualities, and ripening at the same season, are of the highest flavor for the desert or kitchen, and from these to make our selection.

As the peach and pear, are both more easily cultivated than the apple in this section, to say nothing of figs, grapes, Ac., which a little care may place abundantly on every table, a very large list of summer apples is not desirable. Of these we have enough kinds already. We need good autumn and winter varieties, and for these we must look at home, as all our fine northern winter apples have usually ripened and decayed, the lew years they have been cultivated, before middle of September, at a time when peaches and pears, and other Anita are so abundant, that we care little for the choicest apples. We come now to the description.

1. Early May

Fruit - quite small, roundish, sometimes slightly oblong; skin - thin, yellowish green when ripe, with occasionally a brownish cheek towards the sun; stem - short, in a shallow cavity; calyx - small, closed, and set in a shallow basin; flesh - yellowish white, tender, of a mild acid, and rather pleasant flavor; begins to ripen from the 15th to the 20th of May. Earliest of apples, which is its only merit. The fruit is generally smaller than the drawing.

2. Early Harveet

This fine early fruit is a poor bearer on young trees, but on large, well grown trees, it is, if anything, too productive. It is always of good quality, unless injured by overbearing. For description see " Fruits and Fruit-Trees of America." Ripens here about the 25th of May, and continues some time. Indispensable.

3. Red June

Fruit - medium size, generally somewhat oblong, occasionally flat, and always irregular; skin - smooth, green in the shade, but changes rapidly at maturity, to a fine dark crimson; stem - one and a half to three-fourths of an inch long, inserted in a moderately deep cavity; calyx - set in a shallow basin; flesh - white, very tender, mellow and digestible, fine grained, slightly acid, moderately juicy, but not rich; a good apple, and comparatively a hardy tree. Remarkable for diversity of shape on the same tree, varying from conical to quite flat, and is easily distinguished from all others, by turning within three days of ripening, from a dull green to a rich crimson, and as it ripens very gradually, the contrast of colors on the same branch is quite striking. A full grown tree will often show not over a dozen or two of the crimson fruit, the rest being perfectly green. Seeds often white when the fruit is pefectly ripe. A very productive and pleasant apple for the dessert - lacks acid for culinary purposes. Tree bears young; attains a good size, and is a constant bearer.