This vine, the history of which is a study, and the progress of which speaks most emphatically in behalf of the extension system where circum-stances favor its adoption, is so remarkable an instance of success in grape-growing, that, although it has been frequently noticed by the horticultural press, it deserves a special record in our pages. We find so circumstantial an account of it in the new edition of Mr. Thomson's excellent treatise on the Vine, that we quote his description all the more readily, since it would appear that Mr. Thomson was himself in some degree instrumental in inducing Mr. Kay to plant it. The account given is as follows :

"In the year 1838 I became acquainted with the late Mr. Kay, of Finchley, near London, and up to the date of his melancholy death I continued to discuss with him, verbally and by letter, every question that bore on the culture of the vine. He always maintained the great importance of what he called 'carrying a large amount of foliage on the vine' as the only sure way of keeping up its stamina, and acted on this himself. I used to reply, that practically it was not expedient to allow more than two leaves to grow beyond the bunch. This, with the sub-laterals stopped at one leaf, I considered sufficient, and pointed to the example of the Oak Hill vines, near Barnet, then and for twenty years so ably managed by Mr. Davis, who produced splendid crops of grapes, ripe in March and April, for many years in succession from the same vines, and which he pruned to one eye, and left only one leaf beyond the bunch. I thought the system I adopted, of leaving two leaves, sufficient; Mr. Kay thought otherwise, and left from four to five.

" Carrying his ideas still farther, he said he believed that better would be the plan of planting only one vine in a large house. This I urged him to do, and in 1855 he built a span-roofed house 89 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 9 feet 6 inches in height to the apex. In this house he planted a single Black Hamburgh vine in March, 1856, the roots all outside, and the borer prepared 89 feet in length by 15 broad. Beyond this border are the border?* of other houses, giving it scope for its roots little if at all under a quarter of an acre. The vine is trained with a leading stem from the center of the north side wall up to the apex, and down to the south wall, for the house runs east and west. From this main stem five laterals are trained toward each end of the house - one at the apex, the others equidistant between the apex and the walls. The last time I saw it in company with Mr. Kay was in 1862. I saw it again in 1864, when it had a full crop of excellent grapes, weighing, as I have since learned, 476 ll>s. In 1865 it bore 400 lbs. of grapes; in 1866, three hundred bunches, some of them weighing 5 lbs. It took seven years to furnish the house with bearing wood. The girth of the stem where it enters the house is at this date, May, 1867, 14 inches.

Mr. Osborne, an old pupil of Mr. Kay's, has ably carried out his preceptor's mode of managing this noble vine; and I trust it may long remain in robust health, a fitting monument to one who had few equals as an enthusiastic cultivator of the vine, and one who stands alone as having built a large house, and planted it with a single vine, to test a theory which some writers of the present day are starting as a new one." - Florist and Pomologist

The fruit exhibitions of the past autumn have been attended by the usual crowds of people anxious and curious to see the monster apples, pears, etc., and at the same time an evident disposition to inquiry as to the names of varieties, and the soils, manner of cultivation, etc. As a rule, the numbers of varieties shown have been less than usual, and only in apples and grapes has the appearance of the fruit been up to former years.

A very large number of seedlings have, as usual, appeared, but among them very few so good as to even claim from their exhibitor a desire to plant freely of them. A really desirable new pear we have not seen or heard of; and of grapes, out of dozens shown, but four or five give any promise of value. Two or three good new peaches, and a half dozen apples of good character in their own locality make up up the record. A less number of blunders in nomenclature, however, than usual, give us evidence that growers as well as dealers are becoming more and more acquainted with the appearance of fruits, as well as learning that correctness in naming is a necessary requisite if knowledge is to be conveyed as to cultivation, or success desired in the business of tree dealing.

We have gathered samples and made drawings of all the new sorts of which we have heard, and shall from time to time, as fast as possible, present them in our pages, intending, as heretofore, to make the Horticulturist the leading journal in imparting such knowledge.

Bright Bank, Ulster Co., N. Y., Oct. 5, 1867.

Editors of Horticulturist: Permit me to send you a few notes on fruit in this vicinity.

Grapes - Delaware, Rebecca, and To Kalen badly mildewed; vines all full, but none have fully ripened to this date except Hartford Prolific and Concord - both very fine - but these ripened full two weeks later than usual.

Plums - For the first time since I lived in the country, were a failure.

Pears - Quantity fair, but not large; almost every pear had a worm-hole, which I think caused premature ripening. Can you inform me the cause and cure of this ? My trees show no evidence of worms till they are' discovered in the fruit.

Apples - None, except on a few common trees.

Peaches - These gave great promise of a full crop, but when the leaves pushed out they began to curl up, and a large portion of the young fruit fell, and the trees looked blighted. From this they recovered and have made a vigorous growth, and yielded a small quantity of fruit of best quality.

Please explain the cause of the above. I could discover no worm at the root nor insect in the leaf.

These observations are true of all the peaches in our vicinity. J. B. S.

[The worm in the pear is doubtless the codling moth. Wrapping the bodies of the trees early in the season with wisps or bands of hay is claimed to be a preventive; gathering all the fruit carefully and removing it is another. We have had a similar cause and effect among our own pears this season. The curl in the leaf of your peach-trees is one of the troubles which nearly all peach growers have to contend with. It is now pretty generally regarded as sporadic, and caused by cold, chilly, damp weather. There seems to be no remedy except to have the trees in good soil and healthy, in order that they may soon throw off the diseased foliage and replace with new. Unthrifty trees are sometimes entirely destroyed by it. In our observation this past season, the class of yellow-fleshed peaches suffered the least, while the white-fleshed, like Hales' Early, Early York, etc., suffered most. Late ripening sorts of the white-fleshed also did better than the early varieties.]