TREES IN KANSAS. 30 of this country, and is probably next to it in abundance. It is used for everything from furniture to fence-rails. It grows large and quite as straight as in the Eastern States. It is found most plentiful in the neighborhood of the larger streams. The oak, in its several varieties, is found here; but although I have seen a few fine specimens, it has not done well as a natural production. But the trouble has been that in the only places where it could flourish—the high open ground—no trees could get in for the prairie fires. As a cultivated tree, the oak will do well here. I have seen some hickory down near the Missouri, and some ash. Away out on the plains, far beyond Fort Harker, the ash grows large and straight, and is a valuable tree. There are no chestnuts. Wild fruit-trees are very abundant, especially plums, haws, paw- paws, gooseberries, and wild grapes. Beyond Salina, far out in the buffalo grass region, the plums are said to be very fine. I saw some of these native plums in the garden of Judge Smith, of this city, which were very beautiful both as trees and fruit. The plums hang in clusters like large, open bunches of grapes. He said they are very good when ripe. I have never seen apple-trees and peach-trees flourish as they do here, and this year the fruit crop is abundant in proportion to the number of trees. There are not as many fruit-trees as there ought to be. Iam told that in the early settlement of the State it was given out as a settled fact that fruit would not succeed in Kansas. Proba- bly the thing was said more to justify improvidence and neglect than anything else; but it seems that the croakers had it their own way for a time, and the introduction of fine fruit was retarded. Now, however, the tide appears to have turned the other way, as numerous flourishing young orchards attest. Grapes do admirably here. I meta Mr. Burns at Manhattan, twenty miles east of Fort Riley, who is well known in Pittsburgh. He has located himself a few miles distant from that beautiful town, and devoted his time, his labor and talent exclusively to the culture of the vine. He has many varieties, all of which do well. As he is a lite- rary man, his publications on that subject are valuable, and his labors will doubtless result ere long in clothing many of these beautiful slopes in vineyards. I measured a grape-leaf in Judge Smith's garden. It was twelve and a half inches wide, and twelve from head to point. The locust grows here with great vigor, but the borer is severe upon them. I think crude petroleum, applied to the bole and larger