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LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

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This book may be kept out

TWO WEEKS

only, and is subject to a fine of TWO
CENTS a day thereafter. It will be due on
the day indicated below.

jy 3 1895

MAR 1 3 1332

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W. G. p. BUmCKLOE, Printer,
No. 23 NORTH SIXTH STREET, PHILADELPHIA,

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DEVOTED TO

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THOMAS MEEHAN, Editor. JANUARY, 1861.

VOL. III.— NO. 1.

Ijinh for ^anuerg*

As we are commencing the year with a largely
increased list of subscribers, it may be as well to
again observe that we do not in these hints jiropose
to give exact monthly directions for what should be
done in the garden. Our subscribers are about equally
distributed over the whole continent, and rules for
work would thus manifestly be inapplicable to the
largest portion of them. Our object is to give general
hints, principles and practices, that are little known or li-
able to be forgotten^ and that may be useful to every
reader in any part of the country. Our friends have
been pleased to express considerable interest for this
department of our journal heretofore, wiiich we shall
endeavor still to sustain.

FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

In the north, with the great body of vegetation
still shrouded in snow and the usual habiliments of
winter, little can be done in this department ; but in
the Southern States gardening operations will be
about commencing actively. Pruning should be
completed as soon as possible. Some judgment is
required in pruning flowering shrubs, Roses, &c.,
although it is usual to act as if it were one of the most
common-place operations. One of the most clumsy
of the hands is commonly set with a shears, and he
"goes through" the whole place, clipping off every
thing indiscriminately. Distinction should be made
between t Hose flowering shrubs that make a vigor-
ous growth, and those which grow weakly ; and
between those which flower on the old wood of last
year, and those which flower on the new growth of
next season, as the eflect of pruning is to force a
strong and vigorous growth. Those specimefis that
already grow too strong to flower well, should be

only lightly pruned- and, in the same individual,
the weakest shoots snould be cut in more severely
than the stronger ones. Some things like the Mock
Oranges, Lilacs and others, flower on the wood of
last year — to prune these much now, therefore, de-
stroys the flowering : while such as Altheas, which
flower on the j''oung wood, cannot be too severely cut
in, looking to that operation alone. We give below a
full list of the shrubs in most common cultivation, of
the different classes.

Ornamental shrubs that flower chiefly from the
wood of the preceding year: Snowy Mespilus, Dwarf
Almond, the different kinds of Andromedas, Azalias,
Kalmias, Rhododendrons, Calycanthus, Corchorus,
Cornelian Cherry and the other Dogwoods; Phila-
delphuses, Deutzias, Mezereon, Leather wood,
Fothergilla, Golden Bell, Hydrangeas, Itea Virginica,
Jasmines, Privet, Upright Fly and Tartarian Honey-
suckles, Pyrus japonica ; the Missouri and other
ornamental Currants; most of the early flowering
Spiroeas, Dwarf Pavias, Snow Berries, Guelder Rose,
Wiegelia rosea, Persian and other Lilacs, Annual
Roses.

Shrubs that flower from the present season's
growth: Antorpha fruticosa, Ceanothus Americana,
Bladder Senna, Coronillas, Burning Bushes,
Genistas, Scotch Broom, Althcea; Hjiiericums, such
as Kalmianum, prolificum, &c. ; Green-fringe, Flow-
ering Locusts; the Fall-flowering Spiroeas, Tamarix,
Vitex agniscastus, «fcc. These lists also embrace the
most desirable of ornamental shrubs in cultivation,
from which the amateur may select Avlien the plant-
ing season arrives.

In pruning roses, the Fall-blooming kinds, which
flower on the new growth, may be pruned as severely
as we wish — in fact, the ' ' harder' ' they are cut in
the better. In this class are the Noisette, Bourbon,
Tea, China, and Hybrid Perpetual, and Perpetual
Moss. Without considerable experience it is difficult
for the amateur to distinguish these classes; the best
way to get over the difficulty is to obtain the cata-
logues of the principal rose-growers, in which each
kind is usually classified. Amateurs should pay
more attention to the scientific — if we may so term
it — study of the rose, and its classification and gene-
ral management; no class of flowers is more easily

M$, (Hardliner's Pontltlg.

understood, and no one affords so rich a fund of

perpetual interest.

«••«*

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

South of the Savannah Kiver, most kinds of the
hardier garden crops may be planted this month:
Radishes, Peas, Cabbages, Turnips, Beets and Car-
rots, Spinage, Parsley, Lettuce, Onions, &c. North
of this point, but little can be done but prepare for
the next and following months. Manure, compost,
poles, stakes, ttc, will be had in readiness; tools
ground, fixed and brightened seeds of the best
quality made into lists and even ordered, for it should
not be forgotten that when the busy time comes, the
seedsman is as much hurried as the rest of mankind,
and holds a grateful feeling towards those, who, in
addition to otlier commercial "fiivors," are conside-
rate towards him.

This is one of the most trying periods of the year
to cauliflowers in frames; if they have a lively bottom
heat, and from the severity of the external atmos-
phere cannot have much air allowed them, they will
be very likely to "button," as gardeners call it. No
opportunity of admitting air safely should be lost.
Cabbage and lettuce preserved in frames for planting
out in Spring, should also have all the fresh air the

weather will permit.

4*««»

PLANTS AND PLANT HOUSES.

No one can fail to admire the innumerable beauties
in the way of handsome flowers, that uncultivated
nature everywhere scatters so abimdantly around us.
Beauty is the same wherever it exists, — in the parlor
or drawing-room; in the green-house or conser-
vatory; in the hut of poverty; in the "Barcan des-
ert," or the most unfrequented and wQ^est spot. —
No one we think can admire wild flowers more than
the writer : he traverses many a mile in search of
them, and if but one new feature in the fair face of
Flora is discovered in each trip he feels well reward-
ed. But with all his faith in the immutable principles
of beauty, and all the love amounting to a species of
veneration he holds for beautiful wild floAvers, he
cannot agree with a very common view that they
are equally deserving of cultivation with the collected
treasures of foreign lauds, or the improved beauties
of our own.

To view a well filled conserv^atory, or well culti-
vated stock of plants in a tasteful greenhouse, excites
at this season diff'erent sensations than even the most
lovely prairie, or beautiful Alpine Flora ever does.
"VVe feel that choiceness is there, and the hand and
power of man overcoming the obstacles and adverse
circumstances of nature, is a never failing source of
pleasure and delight. It is part of the nature of man
to revolt at useless labor. Even the sterness of hun-
ger, will scarcely compel a man to work unless some

useful object is accomplished. The late Stephen
Girard, with all his eccentricities, was a very charit-
able man. No ones necessities went unrelieved. —
But he had his own way of doing good. He held
that no able-bodied man should eat, till he had first
earned his meal, and so he seldom gave money but
he would always give work. However that it might
not be supposed that actual charity was not his object,
he did not care to profit by the labor of the poor; but
kept a pile of stones on the wharf, and applicants for
reUef were set to remove them first from one side of
the wharf to the other, and back again, till the allotted
time had expired. It is related that but a small moiety
of those asking for and willing to work, would labor
at this objectless and profitless task, preferring rather
to take their chances for less certain, harder, or more
laborious employment. It is precisely thus with the
cultivation of wild flowers. It seems so profitless to
dig up, remove a few hundred yards from the woods to
our flower border, and weed, tie up, cultivate, and la-
bor to eflect what nature does for us just as well. That
the idea wiU never become popular. Greenhouses,
and choice flowers, and foreign luxuries in the floral
line, win ever be the object of the Horticultural im-
portunate, and we shall never regret our share in
ministering to this feeling.

At this season particularly can we "sing" of the
charms of this branch of our art. He who has no
greenhouse or plant cabinet of some kind, is as we
said in our last issue, a species of the human genus
to be pitied. Australia, the Cape of Good Hope,
China, the East Indies, South America, and the
tropics of both hemispheres, are now in their glory,
and for the next two months at least will afford us
all the variety and interest we want.

The Cineraria, or Star flower as it is being popu-
larly called, is about to flower now. Those kinds
that grow naturally tall and lean are going out of
fashion, kinds with good semi-circular heads, and
dwarf habit of growth are the favorites. In saving
seed select such plants as come nearest to these points
for that purpose. Some very Dwarf ones have re-
cently appeared in England that scarcely exceed one
foot in height under very favorable conditions of
growth. Calceolarias should be particularly kept
near the glass. Auriculas, Polyanthus, and primroses
and violets like a cool moist atmosphere. Heaths,
Epacris, Correas, and delicate New Holland plants
must be continually examined to ascertain whether
their roots are in a healthy state of growth. Hya-
cinths in glasses should have the water changed
about once a week, rain water or thawed snow is
the best, and a few pieces of guano about the size of
a pea helps considerably. Correas and Coronillas,
are amongst the easiest of delicate ornamental plants
to grow. Amaryllis and cape bulbs when grown well

ih^ Pardoner's Jilontlik

are amongst the handsomest of plants. They are
now about to grow, and consequently it is the time
to re-pot them. Amongst the new flowers do not
forget the merits of old ones, and particularly stock
gilHes and double Wall-flower. Old Fuchsias cut
down make very strong and noble specimen plants
when they shoot up again. For propagation old
plants should now be forced a little, and the sprouts
taken off and struck. Begonias many of them are
commencing groAvth and may be re-potted, they do
not do well in very large pots.

{Jommunirfltions*

SKETCHES of PHILADELPHIA BOTANISTS

(Concluded.)
BY li., HADDONFIELD, N. J.

VII.— MUHLENBERG.

The student of the grasses will remember Dr.
Heurj- Ernst Muhlenberg. This thorough classical
and oriental scholar was born in Montgomery Co.,
Pa., in, 1753, and was sent, at the age of ten years,
with his two older brothers, to complete his general
education, and study theology at Halle, in Prussia.
He returned in 1770, and was ordained at the early
age of seventeen, and became assistant to his father
in the Lutheran Church at Philadelphia.

During the occupation of the city b}^ the British,
he commenced the study of botany in his retirement
in the country, and attained to eminence in his fa-
vorite pursuit. He was elected a member of the
American Philosophical Society, and soon after be-
came a member of the leading associations of a
similar character in Germany and the north of
Europe, and enjoyed a correspondence with the
leading scientific men of the day.

His chief publication — "Descriptio uberior grami-
num," published by Solomon W. Conrad in 1817,
who himself became, in 1829, Professor of Botany
iu the University of Pennsylvania, and a highly
popular lecturer on the science. S. W. Conrad
deceased in Philadelphia in 1831, aged fifty-two
years, leaving an example of serenity, and even
cheerfulness, under the dispensations of Providence,
precious in the recollection of many who both re-
spected and loved him.

Dr. Muhlenberg was one of the chief contributors
to the early volumes of the Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society. His "Flora Lan-
castriensis," and a number of papers on botany,
theology, &c., rtynain in manuscript. His herba-
rium was purchased and presented to the American
Philosophical Society by Zaccheus Collins, Dr.
Wistar, Dr. James, and other friends of science.

In 1780 Dr. Muhlenberg accepted a call to Lan-
caster, where the remainder of his life was passed in
the discharge of his pastoral duties, and where, in
181.'5, he closed a career marked by distinguished
talent, piety, and usefulness at the age of sixtj^-
three.

"Muhlenbergia," a genus of the Gramineoe, was
happily named in honor of him who successfully
brought the resources of German industry and pa-
tience to the study of the difficult subject of the
grasses.

Our limited space forbids enlargement; and, with
regret, we can but name our distinguished fellow-
citizens. Dr. Darlington and Dr. Pickering; the
former of whom has largely aided in popularizing
botanical science, and has made us his debtors by
his edition of the Correspondence of Collinson and
Bartram, and kindred publications; the latter a de
voted botanist and ethnologist, who, having accom-
panied the Wilkes' Exploring Expedition, gave to
the world an interesting volume, the results of ob-
servations on the various races of mankind, a most
valuable contribution to a study of great and grow-
ing interest.

Philadelphia, the favorite home of botany in olden
time has not been left without able and enthusiastic
admirers and students of "the amiable science" in
the present day. A Kennedy, an Enuis, and a
Coultas sustain the reputation of days gone by, and
nowhere is a deeper and more intelligent interest
felt and exhibited in the subject and its kindred hor-
ticulture, than among the cultivated citizens of
Philadelphia.

This hurried notice of some of the worthy ones
whom science "has delighted to honor" has al-
ready been extended beyond my original intent. !
well remember my boyish pleasure in observing that
many eminent botanists had been commemorated in
genera bearing their names, while I longed to learn
something of their lives and fortunes, and have been
instigated to compile these simple sketches from the
belief that they may be more interesting to some
inquirers seeking, as I did, for such information.

[We are sorry to come to the end of these inter-
esting sketches, and we are sure all our young read-
ers share our regrets. We hope our scientific friends
of other cities will send us notes of the many other
honored names in American botanical history. —
Elliot, Clayton, Pursh, Bigelow, Schweinitz, Bald-
win, &c. The list is a long way from being ex-
hausted.— Ed.]

REMEDY FOR THE PEACH-BORER

BY J. VAN BUEEN, CLAEKSVILLE, GA.

As frequent complaints are made of the de};
tions of the peach-tree borer, and a great number

'S^

^-<§^A

£j)^ 6iirdntcfs UtontjjljT.

remedies, most of -v^Jiich are worthless, and others
troublest me or impnicticable, are from time to time
published, Avill you, tlirough the medium of your
serial, publish the following, which, we have httle
doubt, will prove effectual, as well, be of such easy
application as to suit the laziest subscriber on your
list.

Take about a half pint of common salt, and sew
it up in a small bag of strong cotton cloth, such as
common Osnaburg will answer all purposes; tie this
in the fork of the tree, where let it remain until the
salt is dissolved by the rains that fall, which will be
in the course of two years, and the work is done.

The brine that runs down the trunk of the trees

will kill both worms and eggs as they are deposited;

besides, it proves a benefit to the tree. Should there

have accumulated a hardening of gum at the surface

of the ground, as is sometimes the case, it should be

removed so that the solution may reach the worms.

It is equally as applicable for the apple-tree borer

and aphis at the roots.

— «»■>»

HINTS.

A CHAPTER OF

BY C.

Dk. Hayes' article quite satisfies me. Now let us
both unite in endeavoring to give to your readers
every little information we meet with, in our read-
ings, intercourse with others, &c.; and as some
knowledge with chemistry will enable us to tell
others the value of many of the now various animal
and mineral manures, and how much would be in-
jurious, and how much beneficial, let us do it in
as plain English as possible. If Mr. Bright has
found watering his grape-vines with tartrates give
them more vigor, and brighter green, and finer fruit,
no doubt but it is a useful fact to be pursued by others.
Dr. Uhler suggested and tried aloes in solution;
tion and glue in his spent-tan beds. Useful facts,—
let us try them; and so on throughout your maga-
zine in the editorials and monthly work, which are
full of suggestions and experimental knowledge.
Let us receive all these things and experiment on
them, giving you the results. For my part, the
more I experimentally and practically study horti-
culture in all its branches, the more I find the want
of these little facts,— sometimes only "hints,"— and
if we store them up for use, we shall by-and-by reap
fruit. There is no use or good in a chemical dispu-
tation. What are theories or hypotheses, or the
reasoning of a laboratory to the gardener or fruit-
grower? Liebig, at one time wrote, he would
soon be able to carry in his waistcoat-pocket manure
for an acre of ground. Mary years have passed,
and yet he has not reduced it to the bushel. Facts
ever so small and simple may be valuable, and I
ould call on you and your many correspondents to

fill some of your pages with them. Much may be
conveyed in a few lines, and may lead to valuable
results. We have many things to combat, — adverse
soil, drought and heat, moisture and frost, insects
and fungi. Every practicing gardener has met with
all these, and no doubt wars against them some way.
Let him keep notes of results, and a vast deal of in-
formation will be acquired. In reading somewhere,
a few days back, I met a suggestion, that if plum
trees were planted on an eminence, say a suitable
hill, it would escape the curcuMo. If I do not mis-
take, the writer said he had tried it, and the result
was favorable. We know that many of these small
insects will not fly high, and that low atmospheres
are more attractive to their habits. The cabbage-fly
will not infest the young plant, if seed be set in boxes
and raised a few inches above the level. I tried
watering my young cabbage this year with a solu-
tion of aloes in water, and found the seedlings I had
used it in nearly free, while those in the neighbor-
hood were infested. I also steeped the seed in the
solution ; but I found that a couple of waterings
saved my plants. To try this is not expensive, and,
if useful in lessening the pest, is valuable. I have
no doubt but many solutions of salts and gums, if
tried, might render the leaves disagreeable to these
parasites. We must keep up a perpetual war against
them, or we can have no crops. Has Dr. Uhler re-
ported to you his experiment of watering his plum
trees with aloes-water earlier this season than last.
It would interest to know if he has. M. Mercieul, in
a letter to the French Academy of Science, gives an
account of a new mode of applying sulphur to
diseased vines. He selected a number of last year's
diseased plants, Avhich he planted in two groups.
On August 16th last, when indications of the oidium
appeared, he dug up the earth round the roots and
stems of one group, and laid round the roots and
stems a handful of flour of sulphur. On September
20th the vines thus treated were quite free from
disease, and in excellent condition; while the other
group, left to itself, was in a wretched state through
the rapid progress of the disease. Mr. M. is thus
led to conclude that the malady of the vine is a gen-
eral affection, and must consequently require general
treatment.

If you think such little notices as these worth your
sending forth, and that they will be any way useful
to an end, I will, now and then, as I meet them,
send them. Many diseases appearing in the leaves
of plants may be a general affection. Some of our
finest roses, that mildew in all situations and under
all weather, may be entirely cawed by a general
affection, and not the direct action of season on the
externals, though it is then it becomes apparent.
[We had already noted the observations of M.

't

TBP

;J)

ili^ iartlfiitr's ^M]\k.

^lercieul, and thej^ will be found commented on in another portion of our paper. The hints and facts
C. alludes to are just the matter we like to get. — Ed.]

■ — ■»»»•*

ENTOMOLOGICAL ESSAY.

Eead h^ore the Fruit-Growers' Association of Eastern Pennsylvania at Us Meeting in West Chester, on the \3th day of Jane, 1860.
BY S. S. RATHVON, ENTOMOLOGIST OF THE ASSOCIATION.

(^Continued from page 329.)
INJURIOUS INSECTS.

The catalogue of tree-boring Coleopterous insects, however, does not terminate here. There is a lar»e
f-AmUy of Serri-cormans or "saw-horned" beetles, that are similar in their habits in their larva state to
the Capricorns, and quite as injurious also. The larva of these insects are easily distinguishable- from
those of the Capricorns by the anterior portion of the body of some of them being much produced, giving
them something the appearance of a tadpole, and others being cylindrical.

l'2\h. Chrysoboihris femoraia, Fab. Or "Thick-legged Apple-tree borer." Plate II. fig. 8. Length?
about half an inch ; color, greenish black, with a brassy polish ; two very distinct metallic spots on each
wing-cover; eyes prominent, head broad, and antennae short; the thighs of the hind legs are somewhat
thickened and dilated. This insect makes its appearance from the end of May until the middle or en'd of
July, and in addition to the apple tree, it also infests the peach tree and the white oak, the latter of which
is doubtless its native tree, and to which its operations perhaps would have been confined had not other
circumstances invited it to our orchards and domestic trees.

13th. Dicerea rfimricato. Say, or "Wild Cherry-tree borer." Plate II, fig. 6. Length, seven to nine-
tenths of an inch ; color coppery ; thickly covered with small punctures; wing-covers taper much behind
and (firarfca/e or stand a little apart at the ends; thorax marked with fine elevated lines. These insects
are found in and during the months of June, July and August, upon the wild cherry, also upou the limbs of
the peach and domestic cherry trees, and their grubs maybe found where the gum exudes from the limbs of
those trees, among others of similar habits.

14th. Diccrea Zwri'fa, Fab., or "Hickory-tree borer." Plate II, fig. 7. Length about the same as D
dimricata; color, lurid or dull brassy, bright coppery beneath; thickly punctured all over; impressed lines
and spots on the wing-covers. This insect is one of several borers that infest the hickory tree, and it is
only introduced here because it is so nearly allied to the former insect noticed, and there can scarcely be a
doubt that in proportion as its natural habitation and its natural enemies are destroyed, it will have recourse
to domestic trees.

15th. Calcophora virginica, Drury. A "Pine-tree Borer." Plate II, fig. 5. Length, from one inch to
an inch and a quarter; form oblong; color, brassy or coppery, but sometimes with hardly any metallic re-
fleetion; the upper side of the body roughly punctured and indented; on the thorax are three elevated
polished lines; on the wing-covers are also irregular polished lines; appears in May and June. As our
pine forests fall before the axe of the lumberman and the agriculturist, this insect must be driven in towards
the borders of domestic cultivation, and although comparatively a stranger now, yet, from its habits, and
from its analogy of form and structure to the one that already infests the apple tree, there are those now
living who may become acquainted with it in a manner by no means agreeable. This is our largest Ame-
rican species.

16th. Bupresiis faciatus, Fab. Plate II, fig. 9. Length, half an inch; color, deep metallic green; a
yellow or brassy band and spot on each of the wing-covers. This insect I have received from Maine,
Maryland and Missouri, and I have also found it in Pennsylvania. It is a beautiful insect, and probably
has a wide distribution. Not much of its habits is specifically known to me, any more than that it is a
wood borer. I have captured it on apple trees in proximity to the forest, in York county, opposite Marietta.
From its general appearance, in comparison with the foregoing Buprestans, we may infer its character. The
foregoing Serricornians belong to the old Linnean genus Buprestes, and are therefore called Bupresiidce to
distinguish them from the Elateridce which are allied to them in general form and structure as well as in
their habits. These latter are known under different common names in different localities; they are best
known in some places as the "Click-beetle," in others, as " Snapping-beetle" or "Spring-beetles" or "Skip-
Jacks"— as in England, or "Schnell-kaefer"— as in Germany; I have also heard the name of "hammer-
head" applied to them. The larva of these beetles differ much in shape from the Buprestans, being long
and cylindrical, with a hard, smooth yellowish skin, bearing some resemblance to our meal worm. Some
of these larva are wood borers, but a large number of them live upon the roots of herbaceous plants.

■^

^

ih^ (Bmimtn Itontljlg.

17th. AlaiiB occulatus, Lin. " Big-eyed Spring-beetle." Plate II. Fis. 1. Length, from an inch and a
quarter to an inch and three-quarters; color, black, and covered with minute whitish spots or dots, giving
the insect a finely-speckled appearance ; the thorax is about one-third the length of the body,^and has
two large velvety black spots, with white margins or rings around them,— something like owls' eyes,—
from whence the name occulalus ; found on trees and fences in June and July. The larva is a yellowish
grub, sometimes measuring two inches in length, and proportionately broader and flatter than others of
the same family ; the caudal segment terminating with two sharp-pointed warts. See Fig. 14. This is the
largest species of these Spring-beetles known in this country, the larva of which bores into different kinds
of trees; and, as the insect is becoming more common among us than formerly, we may infer that our
fruit trees will not be long exempt from its operations. Some of the European Elaters are known to remain
in the larva state five years; and, although I cannot tell how long the one under consideration remains
so, yet, from analogous reasoning, we may suppose that it does not differ materially from the former. Dr.
Harris and others have found it in old apple trees, and I have found it in an old locust tree.

ISth. Cratonychus brevicolles, Hbst. "Brown Click Beetle." Plate IL Fig. 4. Length, from three-
eighths to half an inch ; color, pale brown ; the larva are cylindrical and smooth, approximating in form
to the " meal-worm." This insect is quite common, and I have very frequently found it and its larva
under the bark of old and decaying stumps and logs, without regard to the particular kind. As the mature
insect is also frequently found upon fruit trees, it is not at all unlikely it may have been bred in some
decayed parts of the tree, if not in the living. I am, however, inclined to the opinion that the whole
family of Elaters are partial to dead wood.

\U\i. Ludius antennaim, Say. « Large-winged Click Beetle." Plate II. Fig. 3. Length, from seven-
eighths to one inch; color, dark brown; wing-covers, tapering, from the base to the extremity, to a point,
which are sometimes black. Rather rare, and only found in the most secluded regions yet. I obtained
them from under the bark of oak trees, and this individual is only introduced here as being nearly allied to
the immediately foregoing one.

20th. Jpkanobius infnscatus, Germ. J. sordidus of Melsheimer. " Pale-Brown Spring Beetle.' Plate
II. Fig. 2. Length, one inch and a quarter; color, rusty brown; covered all over the upper side with
minut'e hairs. This insect is, perhaps, more frequently found north of us than in Pennsylvania. I have
merely introduced it here from its resemblance to Fig. 3, and in order to familiarize the reader with certain
insect forms by which he may immediately know whether they are friends or enemies. Among the
serricornians he will observe there are two general forms of the larva, differing more or less, according to
family and genus. Fig. 13 of Plate II. represents the Bupreslidm, but some of them have the anterior
segments more developed, and the body not so long. Fig. 14 represents the Elateridce, but some of them are
shorter and thicker, and others longer and more cylindrical. These insects may be destroyed by the same
means that I have suggested for the destruction of the Capricorn beetles. But I have very little confidence
in any other remedies than those found in a personal inspection of trees and plants, and a destruction by
manual means of those insects we know to be injurious, or leaving them to the tender mercies of the birds,
and bats, and moles, and skunks, who, although indiscriminate, are still the best cure, on the score of
prevention. There is a family of small cylindrical beetles, which bore diametrically into the limbs and
bodies of forest trees, and some of them also infest the pear and the apple trees, confining themselves,
however mainly to the smaller branches. I can only notice two or three species of them at this time.

21st. Bostrichus sphericollis, Germ. " Blight Beetle." Plate II. Fig. 11. dorsal and lateral view. Length,
the eighth of an inch; color, brown; roughly punctured, especially on the thorax, which is very bulging
in front, and the head drawn under. This insect is by no means a rare one, and has a wide distribution ;
for, in addition to those which were obtained in this locality, I received a proportionately large number of
them in collections from California and Missouri. A writer in the Prairie Farmer describes an allied
species {B. bicaudatus, Say) as very injurious to the apple trees in Illinois. They form a burrow in the
heart of the bearing twigs, entering at the axil of a fruit-spur or bud, and bore downwards. Although
this species is not yet very common here, yet there it is represented as being very abundant. Mr. Say found
them rather rare twenty-five years ago about the mouth of the Ohio River.

23d. Toviicvspyri, Peck. Or, " Pear-twig Borer." Plate II. Fig. 12. dorsal and lateral view. Length,
aboutone-tenth of an inch; color, light brown, sometimes a deep brown; thorax, short and very convex;
the wing-covers are minutely punctured in rows, and slope off suddenly and obliquely behind. This insect
is similar in its form and its habits to the one last mentioned, and in a similar manner attacks the pear
tree It is recommended to examine apple and pear trees daily during the month of June, and where any

©he (Slarkutr'j) Hloutljlj.

blight takes place from these insects, the twigs should be cut off a little distance below the blight and
burned. The leaves wilt and change their color on the infected branches, and may readily be seen, and as
the insects are so small, it would be difHcult to destroy them by any other means. The Bostrichans have,
in times past, been exceedingly destructive in Europe — large districts of forest having b<^en laid waste by
them, and consequently their natural organization and habits comprise an element of destruction, that
only requires time and circumstances to develope.

22d. Bosirichus bicornis, Say, " Horned Blight-beetle." Plate II, fig. 10, dorsal and lateral view.
Length, a quarter of an inch ; form, cylindrical ; color, dark brown or nearly black ; thorax bulging in front,
and head very much sunk, hardly visible from the top; two short spines or horns projecting from the front
of the thorax, whence its specific name. This is also a wood-boring insect in its larva state, and is
injurious to oak and walnut trees. During warm days in June and July they are very active, and on the
wing all day; flying also into houses through open windows where there is a light in the evening. Like
the former species named, they are liable to attack fruit trees, and it is advocated by some that these insects
and allied species are the cause of the "yellows" in peach trees; but I do not think this is to be inferred
from having once found them in such trees. The yellows is a disease in the peach tree, which it is exceed-
ingly difficult to identify with the presence of insects, as a superinducing cause, although various kinds of
insects may often be found in them. In my opinion, diseased trees are sought by insects as the most favor-
able to their purpose, on account of the feeble organic action of such trees.

ST. LOUIS BOTANICAL GARDEN.

BYK., KOXBOROUGH, PA.

Having recently visited St. Louis on business, I seized a few leisure moments to drive out to this
establishment, which owes its existence to the munificence and fondness for scientific pursuits of Henrj'
Shaw, Esq., of that city.

Being provided with a note from Mr. Shaw to the superintendent, I met with much attention, and was
afforded eveiy facility for examining the different departments. The garden is situated about three
miles from the centre of the city, in a beautiful part of the country. It contains in all about two hundred
acres, a considerable portion of which is already improved. The entrance to the grounds is through
a massive and tasteful gatewaj', built of a gray stone; a drawing of which I inclose.

A large portion of the grounds are already enclosed with a solid wall of the eame kind of stone as that in
the gateway; where it borders on the road it is suniiounted with an iron railing. The first enclosure
or department that you enter is the botanic garden; it contains about ten acres, and is already very neatly
laid out with fine broad walks, most substantially constructed and bedded in stone, and well supplied
with surface drains. Here it is intended to keep specimens of indigenous and hardy exotic herbaceovg
plants and shrubs, classified according to the natural system.

On one side of this enclosure is a fine building, about 40 X 75 feet, intended as a museum, librarj-
and lecture-room; it is of pressed brick, faced with marble, and is very neat and chaste. You enter the
building through a noble doorway, most elaborately ornamented with marble, and find yourself in the
museum, which occupies the greater part of the principal floor of the building. The ceiling of tlus

£h^ ®arkm*s Ulanthljj.

room is most artistically and appropriately decorated
with frescoes of oriental plants, in their natural
colors and all of them in their foUage and flowers,
not only in the highest degree heautiful, but also
botanically correct. Among them I noticed the
banana, dracosnas, palms, marantas, cacti, and even
our own gorgeous helianthus or sun-flower. The
floor of the building is paved with encaustic tiles,
and light iron galleries encir.cle the walls so as to
afford access to the upper cases of specimens. Imme-
diately under the museum, in a kind of basement,
although entirely above ground, is the library in
which is already placed the magnificent herbarium
recently purchased by Mr. Shaw, of the heirs of the
late Prof. Bernardi, of Erfurt, Germany. It con-
tains twenty thousand species and one hundred thou-
sand specimens! An excellent German botanist is
now engaged in re-arranging it.

Adjoining the botanic garden on the opposite side
to the museum and library are the green and hot-
houses, pits and frames. The former are erected in
the most substantial manner; those already com-
pleted are about 150 feet long and divided into four
compartments, viz: dry stove, moist stove, inter-
mediate and cold greenhouse; they are already filled
with a choice collection. The roof of this range of
houses is on the ridge and furrow principle, but at an
inclination of nearly 45 degrees, being a lean to
against a back wall. The frames and pits are en-
closed with a high wall, which, at the same time
shelters and hides them. The pits, and hot and green-
houses are heated with hot water, and are provided
with double front or upright sash. In the moist-
stove the hot water pipes are provided with saddle-
shaped tin pans to supply evaporation. Immediately
in the rear of the plant houses is a range of neat
lodging rooms for the men employed in the establish-
ment.

Adjoining the botanic garden on the left of the
library or museum is the large enclosure which is to
be devoted to an experimental fruit garden, specimen
orchard, or fruticetum, pinetum and arboretum; this
department will be in time the most useful and inte-
resting, and the fovinder has devoted to it some 150
acres, a considerable portion of which is already
planted; one part of it as a maze or labyrinth; an-
other, as a vineyard with many of the vines trained
on trellisses.

Mr. Shaw is ably assisted in this and the other
departments by the head gardener, Mr. James C.
Smith. I omitted to state that the soil appears to
be well adapted to the purpose, having been heavily
manured and well trenched; everything that has
been done here appears to be thorouffhly done; in
short, the entire establishment, even in its present
unfinished state, reflects the greatest credit on the

noble-hearted founder and his able assistants. I am
glad to find the goo J work so auspiciously begun,
and hope this example will be followed until not only
our large cities but even our country villages will
each have its park and botanic garden.

BOTANICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE
NURSERY BUSINESS.

BY ORCHIS.

For the love of science, Mr. Editor, as well as of
good taste, please allow an unpretending votary of
Botany the liberty of calling the attention of nursery-
men to a fact that greatly needs reforming.

The unpardonable faults almost daily committed
by the trade in compiling their catalogues, has been
for a long time to me a source of much astonish-
ment, that a class of business men proverbial for
intefligence and progression, should so overlook the
most important, if not the primary step in the orna-
mental department of their business. Why is it the
case that scarcely an exception out of the large
quantity of catalogues annually sent out should be so
deficient in this particular ? The answer is plainly
to be seen — for the purpose of avoiding trouble on
the part of the compilers ; their lists, together with
the misnomers are accurately copied from their ex-
changes, thus entailing the errors so frequently seen;
when they could so easily be avoided by a slight
knowledge of Botany; or even searching personally
from the works of the authorities on the subject.

The young botanist has to encounter a host of
diflSculties before attaining perfection, or indeed a
mediocre of the requisite knowledge of the science ;
but instead of discouraging, it should be an addi-
tional stimulus to urge him on. He will have to
brave the ridicule of the ignorant, and overcome the
difficulty in understanding as well as pronouncing
the names and terms used. It will also require a
diligent application to the proper classification of
specimens into genera and orders, but after overcom-
ing the first obstructions, he will be surprised how
easy the task to become proficient, and with what
zeal he will enter upon the practical part of the
study,which embraces the delightful rambles through
the woods, along the shaded streams, and in
"special localities;" none but a naturahst can ap-
preciate the pleasiu-e. During his daily walks,
whether on business, or in pursuit of pleasure, each
tree and plant are as old acquaintances to him ; alike
the gaudy flower and the homely weed he sees beau-
ties in them all, and knowing each, combines to form
one grand harmonious whole, and shows the vast
conception of the Great Supreme.

The botanist's love for the science ends but with
life itself; and when in the "sear and yellow leaf"
the recollection of the manifold pleasures enjoyed

2thi[ ®ardi!ncr'» JKoiithlj.

in the pursuit, enables him fully to appreciate the ex-
quisite lines of Sprague —

" I breatlie the snmnier air !

I wander in the woodhiud paths ouce more!

Again the copse, the dell, the meadow, wear

The loveliness of yore."

[The last paragraph of our correspondent's com-
munication is worthy of being reflected on hy all who
expect to grow old. A love of the natural sciences,
entered into when young, and pursued with enthu-
siasm at the meridian of life, affords a source of re-
markable enjoj'ments at the period of the decline of
our existence. The hope of leisure to enjoy life, — to
retire from active business when we grow towards
old age, is the dream of every youthful soldier in the
battle of commercial strife ; most often, too often,
ending only in a dream ; for the active mind finding
ennui rebels at this violence to its nature, and it is
an every day occurrence to find men who have
"retired," returning again to active life, sick of
"nothing to do."

It seems a wise provision of nature, that all her
processes should never be known ; she has always
something left to be discovered, and in the pursuit
of this knowledge the longest life is insufficient to
terminate its hopes of success. "I have been fifty
years a botanist," recently said Dr. Lindley, "and
now feel that I am but on the threshold of the
science." The majority of scientific men live to a
ripe old age — hale and vigorous to the last — happy
in themselves and at peace with all the world.]

INTRODUCTION OF THE LOIVIBARDY:
POFLAR INTO AMERICA.

BY COL. R. CARR.

I have the pleasure of responding to your inquiry
relative to the introduction of the Lombardj"^ Poplar,
and am happy to have it in my power to give you
the desired information.

Soon after the close of the American Revolution,
Cin 1783 j), Mr. William Hamilton, of the Woodlands,
near Philadelphia, Cnow Woodlands Cemetery),
visited England and France, and on his return,
brought with him a large collection of hothouse and
greenhouse plants, and also a variety of trees and
ornamental shrubs, not then perhaps in this country.
My uncle, Mr.AVilliam Bartram, who saw the boxes
unpacked, informed me that the Lombardy Poplar
was one of the trees, and that he then believed it
was the first brought to this country. I believe he
brought the Salisburia adiantifolia, and the European
Sycamore Maple (.deer pseudo-platanus), at the same
time. He afterwards received the Ailantus, with
many other exotics. And, indeed, until his death
(in 1812), very frequently received boxes of rare
plants from his friends in Europe and America.

His extensive hothouses and greenhouses were filled
with the rarest and finest plants, and his grounds
were the best laid out and finest in the country.

Mr. H. was a good botanist and passionately fond
of flowers ; he always kept the best gardeners that
could be procured, Lyons and Pursh were for some
time with him, and the elder Michaux supplied him
with American trees.

I will add an anecdote of him, related to me by
Mr. Bartram, who was a witness of the scene : —

About the year 1800, ("or perhaps earlier,) Mr. H.
had received the first plants of the double white Camel-
lia^ and one fine flower was just expanded. Mr. H.
had a number of friends, Mr. Merry, Dr. Park, and
other eminent gentlemen, to dine with him, and had
directed his gardener to place the camellia on the
centre of the dinner-table when dinner was ready.
Conversing with Mr. Bartram about some plants
just received from Dr. Muhlenberg, of Lancaster, he
requested Mr. B. to go with him to the greenhouse
to look at them. On their way there they met Mrs.

M , a lady who was very intimate with the

family, and a particular favorite with Mr. H. — when
lo, and behold, in her hand she held the flower of
the camellia, ("which was the only one open), and
approaching Mr. H. she laughingly observed, "oh!
Mr. H. I found this most beautiful flower in your
greenhouse and took the liberty of cutting it."*
Mr. H. stopped, horrified; and lifting his hands,
stamped on the ground, and exclaimed in great
anger — "-fiy heavens ' Madam, I would sooner have given
you fifty guineas !" However, the gardener contrived
to attach the flower to the plant with a little wire, so
as to have it exhibited on the dinner-table.

I would add some other notices, but am inter-
rupted, and will conclude with the remark that I am
much pleased with your remarks on the subject of
the street trees, and the impolicy of waging war with
the trees instead of destroying the insects.

[We hope our good friend will often favor the
Gardeners^ Monthly with such fragments of our earlier
horticultural history as may occur to him. As the
last living representative of the great Bartram family
of botanists, and perhaps the oldest American horti-
culturist now alive, he could tell us much that will
otherwise be perplexing to our posterity. — Ed.]

*This is a "liberty" which has always been taken hy some
ladies.

CRITIQUE ON THE DECEMBER NUMBER.

BY WALTER ELDER, PHILA.

The remarks of J. N. Jones, upon Mildew, are
correct and just to the point ; the subject has been
stoutly discussed in the Society of Progressive Gar-
deners, of this city, and the views of Mr. Jones have
triumphed over all others ; and, as the Society is to

10

ih^ barter's ||lontI%

publish its yearly discussions in January, in cheap
book-form, it will do Mr. Jones good to procure a
copy at tweuty-five cents ; and there he will see his
remarks fully confirmed.

E. A. Riehl is also correct about heavy dews upon
grape vines, they cause mildew and rot, where-
as dry air and sunshine prevent both, and arrest their
destructive doings even after they have commenced
their ravages.

Your remarks upon "Surface-manuring," areas
airy as that upon the "Digging-fork." A child may
beheve in surface-manuring because his mother
spreads butter outside his piece, but when grandma
tastes the slice and digs in the melting;butter, as soon
as he tastes that, he goes in for mixing the manures
with the soils; tell him that his mother's piece be-
comes like grandma's by mastication before he
swallows it, and he is fully converted.

One of my pupils was so much affected by your
digging-fork story, that he did not want to use a
spade any more ; so I gave lum, and another of his
age, a tree apiece to plant, he with the digging-fork,
and the other with a spade ; the latter soon had his
hole dug and tree planted. Says I, "Johnny, what
are you doing?" Says he, "this fork does not lift
the dirt out of the hole, and Tom wont lend me his
spade." Says I, "do you not see the folly of throw-
ing away the spade?" The young tulip at once
gave in, with this exclamation : " I thought that the
editor knew more than other folks, and it was all
true what they said, but now I wont believe him."

Moral. — There are bounds to all things. Editors
beware! as you wield a mighty influence upon untutored
minds.

[Additional story bt>he Editor. — Once upon
a time, a certain gentleman had a gardener named
Johnny, who always prided himself on having every
thing particularly early and especially before any of
his brethren, and one day he said to his employer, —
"Sir, I will promise you a mess of ripe strawberries
for desert on Christmas day;" whereat, Johnny's
employer was exceedingly glad ; and a large party of
friends were gathered together to enjoy the Christ-
mas feast. True to his promise, Johnny's straw-
berries, amounting to six specimens, duly ripened,
were gathered and sent in. The employer was
mortified. "With twenty persons at the table, no one
would touch a berry through consideration of respect
for his neighbor, and none were eaten.

Anticipating praise, the next day Johnny met his
employer with a smihng face, but the gentleman said
nothing. This did not satisfy him, so he asked for
the praise — "how. Sir, did you like the strawberries
I sent in yesterday?" ""Why, John, the straw-
berries were very well, but don't send in any more
until there is at least a taste all round.

Two weeks afterwards the employer wondering
why no more strawberries came, went to the forcing
house, and lo ! there were strawberries lying rotting
around in every direction. "John," says he, "why
don't j^ou send in these strawberries?" " Did you
not tell me," was Johnny's answer, "not to send in
any more strawberries till there was plenty all
round?" Johnny's "untutored" answer caused his
dismissal.

Additional moral by the Editor. — Some "untutored''^
people can't see the difference between singing and splitting
their ihroats.l

A NEW THEORY OP FRUIT FORCING.

BY A MASSACHUSETTS GARDENER.

Some time last year I read your views in the
Monthly^ on the importance of direct sunlight on
plants, which, though I have been many years in the
business, I had never seen so presented to me before.
I have alwaj^s known that we could never get too
much light, of course, as every real gardener does;
but that the positive sunlight was so essential as you
thought, I did not suppose. I have, however, Mr.
Editor, given your views a fair testing, and am now
convinced you are right, and am prepared to argue
that every minute of direct sunlight, from sunrise to
sunset, is a positive gain to the gardener. I arrived
at my opinions by taking two plants, in everything
alike, and after putting them at equal distances from
the glass, let one have all the sunlight it could get,
and the other all the light it could have without the
sunlight, and it is really astonishing to see the differ-
ence in the sunlighted one.

But I want to say, Mr. Editor, something that you
have not thought of, and I have thought it is only
fair, as you wrote the first idea to set me thinking of
it, that I should return the favor, if you should think
it one, to offer it to you for publication.

You, and all my brother gardeners, who have had
any experience in forcing, know how difficult it is
to get Peaches, Apricots, Plums, Nectarines and
Cherries to set their fruit. Cherries in particular are
very hard. Hundreds of flowers open for every fruit
that is set. I have often thought that I saw into the
the whole secret: not enough air perhaps, or too
much- too high or too low a temperature; too much
or too' little water; but yet, for all, when I have been
the most careful to profit by what I thought I
learned the season before, I have often had no better

luck.

Now, why don't these things set regularly and
well ? I will tell you Sir, what I think it is, and
where is the fault. I have never found much good
result in keeping up a high night temperature,
though I think, if I have read your magazine right,
you do not agree with this. Whatever growth is

^A^

titer s

11

made in the night, I think, it is weak and succulent,
and no good ; and I now think it is want of sunlight
that causes this. I would only care to make growth
M'hcn there is light at any time, but now I want to
say that I think it would be best to grow only when
there is sun light, and that the foilure of our fruits to
set in the forcing house is because we continue
forcing whether there is sunlight or not. I think, if
we force a fruit into flower when there is no. sun-
light, there is a something wanting, without which
the flower cannot mature, and it withers away with-
out setting a [fruit. If this is correct, which I am
nearly sure it is, we shall have to have a new theory
to work on ; hitherto I have made a difference of
twenty degrees between night temperature and day
temperature, and now I shall want to make a differ-
ence between a cloudy day and a simlight day. I
shall not think it safe to have much heat when there
is no sun ; but when the orb of day shines clearly I
shall not care how much heat to apply to aid it in
what I believe its fructifying work.

In my present place I have not so good a chance
to try my new theory as I had two years ago, but I
have a few trees to operate on in the greenhouse,
and shall watch the result with confidence that my
opinions will prove facts. I want to say further,
that I hope such of my brother gardeners who may
have a better chance to try it than I, will do so and
report the result.

This is my first attempt at writing for the press,
and I hope you will excuse errors. If you ever come
this way and give me a call, I will try to shoAV you
better results from instruments of gardening I am
more used to.

[Our friend rather mistakes us in the matter of
night temperatures. We have always advocated a
lower night temperature than the day, but objected
to the extreme low temperature some of our fellow
gardeners approve of. However, we can forgive
this slight misunderstanding, in view of the excel-
lency of the rest of the article, which is undoubtedly
one of the most valuable contributions that has ever
been made to our pages, and will receive attentive
consideration from practical men. — Ed. ]

CULTURE CF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM.

BY MR. JAJIES EADIE, PHILADELPHIA.

Agreeably to request, I send you my modus ope-
randi of growing chrysanthemums. I take off cut-
tings about the middle of April, root them in sand,
and, when well rooted, select pots of the size I in-
tend to flower them in. Place a few crocks in the
bottom, then a few rough pieces of loam ; add two
good handsful of guano, Avith some cow-manure ;
then fill up the pot with good rich loam. I then

plant a dozen rooted cuttings in a pot, pinching off
the points, using a rose on the pot at the first wa-
tering to settle the soil. Leave them in the green-
house for a week (a frame would be better where
there is that convenience;); then place out of doors,
full in the sun. Place the stakes in the pots as soon
as convenient, tying the shoots out as they grow,
pinching out the points every three weeks, until the
last week of July, and watering with manure-water
twice a week, taking care never to let them suffer
for water, or they will lose their lower leaves, which
gives them a starved appearance. By following
these simple directions, you will have plants which
will be an ornament to any place, and amply repay
your trouble.

P.S.— I send you a few sketches of an article for
carrying large pot-plants, the invention of Mr.
Shephard, which is really a useful article, and is a
great saving of muscle, besides being of great safety
to the plants, which are apt to be broke with the
breast, especially if very wide.

[A very simple and ingenious implement, which
we sliall engrave and give in our next. — Ed.]

COCCULUS CAROLINUS.

BY A. W. CORSOX, PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA.

I OBSERVE in the last Monthly a notice and figure
of Cocculus carolinus. I have had a staminate plant
probably thirty years, obtained from the Bartram
Gardens as Wendlandia populifolia, which I have ex-
amined carefully when in leaf with the colored
figure of Cissampelos smilacina in the folio edition of
'"catesby's Carolina," pubhshed in 1776, and find
them to agree in vine and leaf; also agreeing with
De Candolle's description of Cocculus carolinus, so
far as could be compared ; and I do not doubt that
the figure in the Monthly is of the same plant. What
I wish to say it, that in my garden, twelve miles
west-north-west from Philadelphia, it has continued
in the open ground without covering or particular
care ; the winter kilhng the ends of the vines to
near the ground, say from two to five feet, but grow-
ing freely, attaining a length of ten feet average,
Cand would probably attain a greater length if well
supported by high treUises or poles,; flowering
freely, I judge about August, but having staminate
flowers only; produces no fruit. I have had it
twice dug under in the sprmg ; but each time it came
up again late in the season. It has the habit of the
Menispermum canadense, of sending up many shoots
from the root, by which it can easily be increased.
It is a handsome vine, and even the barren plant is
worthy of cultivation as a curious, rare, and orna-
mental vine. Much more so would the fertile plant be
if our seasons should be suflaciently long and warm

12

ih^ iardtiter's JI014I5.

to perfect the fruit. So far as the vine only is con-
cerned, there will be no difficulty. I have long de-
sired to obtain the fertile plant, and hope for its
being introduced shortly.

[Since publishing our last notice, we have learned
from Mr. Nelson that he will put the fertile plant
under propagation. — Ed.]

THE CHRTSANTHEMUra.

BY W. KEATING, BAYOU SARA, LA.

To some of those interested in the above beautiful
flower, Cfor surely beautiful it is when well cultiva-
ted,) a few suggestions on a successful mode of
growing them will, I doubt not, please many of
its admirers. I have seen some of the leading
Chrysanthemum Exhibitions in Europe, and I have
seen them in a high state of cultivation in pots, and
as border plants ; but never have I seen any to sur-
pass, or perhaps equal, in health and abundance of
bloom, those I now have the pleasure of daily seeing.
My employer, W. J. Fort, and especially Mrs. Fort,
are particularly fond of them, owing to which cir-
cumstance they have a good collection, chiefly Ane-
mone and Pompone varieties. Now, when it is
remembered how cheap, and at the same time easy
of culture, they are, one begins to wonder how it is
people with gardens and greenhouses have not got
them well filled with those lovely winter-flowering
plants. I fancy the reason is, few see them growing
otherwise than lanky, long, badly-flowered, half-
starved, naked things. They do not see them in
good condition. Dwarf, with a dark green foliage,
covered with perfect flowers of every shade and
color. This, then, is one reason ; and perhaps I
might hit on another. Some will say, such and such
people have them, and they look, as I described
them, naked. And surely if they cannot grow them,
we can't. All this I know to be too true ; for mis-
erable, indeed, they do look in the hands of some.
But let me ask, what will look well or nice if one
day it be gorged with food, and then for four or
more days left to perish of hunger! Others,
perhaps, will say, "It's all well enough to write
about their beauty ; but making them look beautiful
is quite another thing." And others, again, will
say, "We tried, but cannot grow them in this dry,
warm climate." To all of you I say. Yes, you can ;
and I'll now try and lay down a very simple me-
thod, easy of doing, and if done, success will crown
your efforts.

If you have none, get two or three dozen of good
sorts, say one dozen of each. Anemone, Pompone,
and Large-flowering. This, then, will put you in
a fair way to start. And as, no doubt, they will be
in small pots, you must re-pot into larger, using a

stiff, rather rich compost. After a little time, they
will show signs of growing, when they must be
evenly stopped by pinching. After this, keep them
dry till they begin to push forth, when water may
be supplied ; and if the pots are full of roots, shift
into their flowering-pots or plant out { in either
case, do not lose the ball. I will suppose they are
to be flowered in pots. Therefore, after their final
shift, plunge the pots in coal-ash, or in the soil, giv-
ing them plenty of room. And in the extreme heat
of summer, if more cover is added, little, if any,
water will be wanted. Now, staking is the next
point. This done, little else will be required till the
time comes for bringing them to their places of
flowering. And whether this be a greenhouse, con-
servatory, or verandah, you will be repaid tenfold ;
to prove which, only it may be too far, I would in-
vite you here to see, with your own eyes, this truly

grand display of chrysanthemums.

<•••* ■

FRUIT-GROWERS' SOCIETY OF EASTERN

PENNSYLVANIA.

REPORT ON RASPBERRIES.

In their Report on Raspberries in the November
number of your Monthly, the Committee for Philadel-
phia Co. allude to the Allen Raspberry and to some
"errors in its disseviination." In your December
number Mr. Allen, in reply, apparently assumes the
ground that the Committee intended to charge or
insinuate "deception towards the public" on his
part. Deprecating, and desirous of avoiding, as far
as possible, all personal discussions, ("which are the
bane of good feeling and true progress, J) the Com-
mittee, with the sole object of putting both Mr.
Allen and themselves right before your readers, ask
a brief space for a reply.

And first, let us correct our language, which either
Mr. Allen or your tjrpes, friend Median, have mis-
quoted. We say, "a good deal of confusion and
disappointment has resulted from errors in the dis-
semination of this plant. Mr. L. F. Allen, of Black
Rock, N. Y., originally introduced to public notice
two varieties, the Allen and Red Prolific, which are
entirely distinct sorts. Parties here, however, have
received direct from Mr. Allen, as these two varie-
ties, plants nearly identical in every respect, neither
of which corresponded with the description given
in his circular, nor with that generally grown, among
our nurserymen here, as the AUen Raspberry." The
italicised words, the latter of which changes the sense
very essentially, are omitted in Mr. Allen's quota-
tion.

But for the '■'■disappointment''^ resulting to some
cultivators in our county, Cto which district all their
remarks were mainly confined, J the Committee
would not have mentioned Mr. Allen's name at all.

W^

=^

Sflt^ ^ardaur's cP^ontltlg.

nor did they intend to charge wil/ul errors upon
him, but to state a simple fact in explanation of the
disappointment experienced. They are authorized
to name, among others, P. R. Freas, Esq., editpr
of the Gennantown Telegraph, who showed to one
of the Committee, Cthe writer of this article and of
the report, ) who carefully examined them, the two
varieties referred to, neither of which, to a certainty,
was the Allen. Major Freas stated that he had re-
ceived these direct from Mr. Allen, and that, after
two years' fruiting, he had dug them up as totally
unproductive. They would not, nor did they intend
to charge upon a veteran horticulturist of Mr. Al-
len's experience and high character, any intentional
deception or wrong. Having given the evidence
and authority for their statement, they would here
dismiss that portion of the subject. They would
add a few words, upon the action of the American
Pomological Convention, in the rejection of this
truh' valuable variety, which action they deem hasty,
and not founded upon sufficient trial and knowledge
of its peculiarities. Its pistillate, or perhaps we
might say, weakly staminate, character was very
fully explained in the Convention by Mr. William
Parr}-, of Cinnaminson, N. J., who had previously
written an able article thereon in the Country Gentle-
man. But even this characteristic seems to vary
with varying soils, as we have found instances of
its high productiveness, when growing at a distance
from any other sorts. As well might Hovey's Seed-
ling, and all the pistillate strawberries, be "rejected"
from the Society's list, for their almost universal
unproductiveness when unimpregnated by stami-
nates, as the Allen Raspberry. Indeed, with many,
its pistillate character would constitute one of its
chief excellencies ?

A word as to its "thorough hardiness." Last
winter, in the grounds of the writer, out of some
twenty-five varieties of old, well-grown, strong
bushes, six of each of the following kinds were
purposely left unprotected, to test their hardiness :
Allen, Knevett's Giant, Cashing, Cutbush's Prince
of Wales, Rivers' Monthly, Catawissa, Imperiale.
Save only one CataAvissa, which retained about one
foot of live cane, all were destroyed to the ground. All
the other varieties, well protected, survived the
Avinter, and gave large crops of fruit the present
season.

J. E. Mitchell,
R. Cornelius,
A. W. Harrison.

BELLE DE FONTENAY RASPBERRY.

BY JOHN T. HARRIS, BEL1,EVUE, NEAR PHILADELPHIA.

I WAS pleased, on looking over the Report of the
Philadelphia County Committee of the Fruit-Grow-

ers' Society of Eastern Pennsylvania, published in
the November number of the Gardener's Monthly, to
read such a favorable notice of the Belle de Fonte-
nay Raspberry. I believe it was decided by the
Pomological Society to call it that name ; but, Mr.
Editor, I was very loth to part with my more favor-
ite name of Mervaille des Quatre Saisons, believing it
to be correct. I received it under that name from a
celebrated nursery, it being described in their cata-
logue as the best of its class. It certainly was, and
is to me, the most marvellous raspberry I know of;
but why the Fruit-Growers' Society of Eastern
Pennsylvania should say that their Belle de Foute-
uay, which is the same as my Mervaille des Quatre
Saisons, is of smaller growth, I do not know. Hav-
ing grown the two A^arieties side by side these three
years past, convinces me the re\'erse is correct. I
can show noAV, and have exhibited at the store of
Mr. J. Daniels, in Market Street, canes of the one
five fsiet high, and very strong, while the other is
Aveak and spindhng. Indeed, among some ten or
twelve varieties which I have under cultivation, I
consider it to be the strongest of them all, and I
doubt if there is a better for general cultivation, cer-
tainl}^ not for amateurs. It is quite hardy, having
stood Avithout the least protection these three last
winters,

[A general impression prevailed, a year or tAvo
ago, that under the two names of Belle de Fonte-
nay and Mervaille des Quatre Saisons, or Marvel of
the Four Seasons, there was but one kind, — and
they have been, unfortunately, sent out under one
or other of the names, just as it suited the humor
of the sender. But it is now decided that there are
two kinds; and, hke Solomon's two babies, it is
now a puzzle to know to which of the two each
name rightfully belongs, and we do not believe the
Avise old king himself could decide it as easily as
he did that baby question. The only way we knoAV
will be to get plants again direct from the original
raisers. Perhaps some of our importers yet have
the original direct stocks, and will favor us with
authentic descriptions next season. — Ed.]

LANDSCAPE GARDENING.

BY GEO. E. WOODWARD, NEW YORK.

I am a subscriber to your paper and have been
since its commencement and it is prompt and wel-
come every month. I notice that when your sub-
scribers Avant any information they ask for it. The
matter with me this month is to get some further
information on Landscape Gardening, a subject
sometimes alluded to in your columns. Do not you
think a great point would be gained if it could be de-
cided Avhcther Landscape Gardening is an art or a

^^^

trade ? There is sucl> a wide difference of opinion on
tliis subject. Tlius one of your correspondents as-
sumes that one might as well ask how to become a
portrait painter, or a poet, as to ask how to become
a Landscape Gardener, and another tells us indi-
rectly that pulling weeds, forking manure and rais-
ing string beans is just the thing to teach the princi-
ples of design, the harmony of color, and the art of
construction, all tell us or infer that every one else
but themselves are ignorant pretenders. But not
one of them defines the duties, acquirements, or abil-
ities of a Landscape Gardener.

Starting with the presumption that Landscape
Gardening in its highest range is a gift, this being the
burden of nearly every article we have seen on the
subject, are we to suppose it is a gift only, to one
particular business or caUing ? or that because one
is so unfortunate as not to have been born and brought
up in a garden, that he is counted out in the distri-
bution of such endowments ?

Mr. Copeland, in his valuable work and your cor-
respondent J. M. C. are of the opinion that if a man
happens to be an architect, an artist, civil engineer,
a surveyor, or a draughtsman, it is one of the most
unfortunate things that could befall him ; too much
knowledge of any one of these professions must
necessarily lock the gate to success in Landscape
Gardening, a little smatter of all is what they recom-
mend, though others tells us —

" A little learning is a dangerous thing."

Thus, J. M. C. says ' the architect builds too much.'
The "surveyor levels too much," &c., &c., to be
Landscape-gardeners. May we not inquire if the
Frenchman does not eat too much, the German
drink too much, the New Yorker talk too much, ever
to presume on success. Is there any one thing the
gardener does too much of, or does perfection mark
his work ? ' ' The true Landscape-gardener must be a
gardener, practically and theoretically," this remark
of J. M. C, we in common with all others admit,
and during our apprenticeship in the garden were
taught to believe it. Now what else must a gar-
dener do before he can prefix landscape to gardener ;
what course of experiments must he pursue to find
out if he has a gift ? and then what degree of smat-
ter must he acquire in other arts and sciences to
qualify himself to pursue the refined and elegant art
of Landscape adornment ? or must we infer that it is
impossible for a man to be good at more than one
thing, that he cannot learn gardening because he is
an artist, that he cannot be an engineer because he is
an architect, and that he cannot be a Landscape-
gardener because he knows too much of something
else.

With a most remarkable disposition to believe what
carries reason Avith it, and a curious desire to get

posted on what constitutes Landscape-gardening,
we are led to ask for further information on this sub-
ject. We would like to see discussed by your able
coriDS of correspondents — such statements as these
advanced by Mr. Copeland, and endorsed by J. M. C :

An artist cannot be a Landscape Gardener, but a
Landscape Gardener must be an artist, and the same
with architect, civil engineer, surveyor, draughts-
man, and other professions, thus making Landscape-
gardening most absurdly inaccessible, and granting
its professor unlimited powers of acquisition.

In the present advancing condition of rural art
there is a growing want of information on all sub-
jects relating to it, too little is written or said when
so much is needed, if we look back ten or twenty
years, and then compare the general standard of
rural taste with that of the present day, we shall see
both an astonishing and gratifying difference. If
we look for works or literature connected with rural
art or taste, we shall find it of the most meagre de-
scription. If professional men are afraid to write
because their opinions may be disputed, then their
opinions must be poor ones. Very few men agree
on the same subject, that however may not lesson
the value of their opinions, a proper and fair discus-
sion of the subject of Landscape-gardening would
show it up on all sides, and might elicit some facts
that would lie buried.

[We should be pleased to have from Mr. Copeland,
J. M. C, or other of our leading Landscape Gar^
deners, their views of the science.

To us it does not seem that any of our correspond-
ents differ much in their principles, but merely in
the extent to which they would carry them. As a
man may be a thorough builder, and at the same
time but an indifferent architect, so may another be
an excellent practical horticulturist, and yet be utterly
unworthy of the title of a Landscape Gardener.
There can be no difference of opinion on this point.

It is also an admitted fact, that the best architect
is he who unites with a correct and educated taste
a thorough knowledge of the builders art, and the
same will hold good in Landscape-gardening.

Landscape-gardening, apart from its application,
is a science, having its theories and deductions, and
depending for its existence, as any other science
does, vipon what has been done or discovered. In
this sense any one may be a landscape gardener, and
it is in this sense that we have advised every lover
of rural life to educate himself, so that when he
wishes to have the science reduced to an art, he may
be able to distinguish the empirical pretender from
the man of substantial talents. •

When the science is to be embodied by the hands
of art, and thus brought from the abstract to a com-
bined existence with other things, we presume it

m^ filartocr'a JHonthl^.

15

will not be denied that too much cannot be known
of any branch that may however remotely have any
connection with the details that go to make up the
realization.

We hope our remarks will not prevent the desired
interchange of ideas. We have only made them to
give a direction to the movement, as the great ad-
vantage in all discussions is to have a clear starting

point. — Ed.]

*•••»

CUTTING DOWN OLD CANES IN THE
VINERY.

IMPEEATIVE NECESSITY OF IT.

BY WILIIAM BRIGHT, PniLADELPHIA.

Ever since I proposed my renewal system of
grape culture, Cviz : the cutting down of the entire
cane alter every fruitmg season, j the experience of
others, as well as myself, has been constantly tend-
ing to show that my advice in this respect was good,
and grape-growers in England and America have
been rapidly adopting a similar practice. In the last
number of the Gardener's Monthly we are told that
Mr. John Ellis, ("Fox Meadow,") finding his vines
gradually declining in fruiting capacity under hard
forcing, had decided to renew them by cutting down
the canes after three years of spur pruning, in order
to re-invigorate the vines. Now, if it is good
practice to cut down the canes after they are exhausted,
and when their power of producing good cane, as
well as good fruit, is seriously impaired, would it
not be better practice to cut them down after every
fruiting season, while they are in perfect health and
vigor, and still able to throw up another strong and
perfect fruiting rod ? Why push the fruiting powers
of the vine to utter exhaustion before renewal?
You would not drive a good horse thus.

But the most significant and valuable testimony in
favor of my renewal plan may be found in the Lon-
don Gardener's Chronicle, edited by Dr. Lindlej^ No-
vember 24th, in an aiticle headed "How Strong
Vines become Weak," evidentlj^ from the accom-
plished pen of the editor himself. The writer notices
the generally -acknowledged fact that vines, in nearly
all instances, in culture under glass, begin to decline
in fruiting capacity as soon as the canes reach the
top of the house. The cause of this, he says, is not
generally old age, nor heavy cropping, nor the state
of the soil, nor want of good management ; but it
is to be found in the fact that when the cane ceases
to extend and to produce fresh masses of foliage, the
amount of sap elaborated by the leaves is not suffi-
cient to form a new layer of j'oung wood over the
surface of the old cane and roots, and at the same
time to produce vigorous young shoots and a good
crop of grapes.

Dr. Lindley being an admitted authority in vege-
table physiology, I think his views will command

much attention. To my mind, his reasoning is very
conclusive and satisfactory. In commenting upon
the condition of a vine after it has reached the top of
the house, and can be extended no further, he says :

" Whilst the amount of fuliage continues to bo every year about
the same, an equal quantity of sap will be annually elaborated.
But the thickening of the stem and roots is progressive; and it is
evident that as their thickness increases, the layers of young wood
must annually become thinner and thinner. A stem two inches in
circumference, and ten feet in length, has two hundred and forty
square-inches of surface; but this in a stem six inches in circum-
ference is seven hundred and twenty square-inches, or three times
as much as in the former case ; therefore, with the same quantity
of elaborated sap fiu' its formation, the layer of new wood cannot be
more than one-third of the thickness of that deposited on the less
surface.

"Besides the quantity required to overlay the greater thickness
of stem measured at a regular part, there are large spur protube-
rances to cover, and likewise wounds from pruning. All these go
far towards doubling the surface over which the new matter pre-
pared by the leaves has annually to be spread ; and as the latter
cannot be increased, the further increase of foliage being limited,
whilst the demand is continually on the increase, it follows that the
layer of new wood must necessarily be very thin; and when that is
the case, the shoots cannot be otherwise than exceedingly weak, and
the bunches small in a corresponding degree.

"Having thus endeavored to point out a cause which uniformly
tends to reduce vines to a state of weakness, it remains to indicate
the remedy. This is very simple ; for we have only to remove the
old wood by cutting back as near to the ground as can properly be
done. The result of this will be a vigorous growth of young rods,
which will bear as vines ought to bear."

Here is my renewal sj^stem, precisely. As soon
as the -vine has reached the top of the house, and
can extend no further, it must decline, and hence
should be cut down if we wish to maintain its full
fruiting capacity. Now, as every good vine is ca-
pable of making a good fruiting cane as long as it is
desirable to fruit in one season, it follows that it
may be cut down with advantage the next season
after it has been fruited. But you may say that it
may be worked upon the spur system for two or
three years before it reaches the top of the house,
and hence, even on Dr. Lindley' s theory, it is not
necessary to cut it down oftener than once in three
years. I grant that the vine may be so spurred and
fruited and so renewed, with fair results ; but I
assert that I can obtain better crops and better fruit
from shorter canes, renewed after every fruiting
season, and that vines so treated will not only re-
main in undiminished health and vigor for ah unlim-
ited number of years, but that they will, likewise,
gain additional vigor and capacity every time they
are cut down.

I am further of opinion that when root-pruning is
performed simultaneously with the cutting down of
the canes, that a new set of roots will be obtained
of as much value, in respect to the fruiting power of
the vine, as the new wood. This last idea, how-
ever, is only an opinion ; I have not yet put it into
practice, but shall do so very soon, especially in our
inside borders.

SCIt^ ®artoer'8 JtontMg.

Cj)e ^aitener's P^oit

PHILADELPHIA, JANUARY 1, 1861.

33= All Communications for the Editor should be addressed
"Thomas Meehan, Gormantown, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gardener's Monthly
Box 406 Philadelphia."

TO ADVERTISERS.

JdCS^ Copies of Advertisements, when they occiqty an entire page of
this paper, will be furnished to the advertiser, printed on good paper,
for private distribution, at the low price of Three Dollars per thou-
sand. Nurserymen will find this an economical way of getting their
Wholesale Lists and Abstract of Catalogues printed.

TO ADVERTISERS.

Nurserymen, Seedsmen, Florists and others
should bear in mind that the season has arrived when
their advertisements should be inserted. As we
have a large Southern circulation, and as their plant-
ing season commences early in February, it will be
seen that no time is to be lost. In preparing adver-
tisements, the directions on the first page of the
"Advertiser," should be carefully observed.

TO SUBSCRIBERS.

Tins number commences the Third volume of the
Gardener's Monthly, and we take the opportunity to
remind our readers, that we have been able to make
the journal a success at so small a sum as one dollar a
year, solely by conducting it on the Cash principle.
This requires no complicated system of book-keeping
demanding a staff of clerks, nor a force of collectors
to gather in the subscriptions. All this money we
save by the cash method and spe7id it on the paper.

Last season a few friends who, as they did not re-
new their subscriptions, we discontinued sending
the paper to them, wrote indignantly to inquire
whether w^e could not "trust them a few months for
a dollar." "We are pleased to say, that only in a
very few instances last year were our reasons in this
respect misunderstood , but we deem it right if there
were but one such instance to explain why we are
compelled strictly to act on the rule of payment in
advance each year.

— *mm9* ■

FRUNII^G EVERGREENS.

It is a pleasure to see sound doctrines win their
way to popular favdr. It is not many years since
one dared to prune a tree at transplanting. Before
that he was sure to get the pity of the knowing ones;
now he who does not prune, is the one who gets
pitied.

By understanding that trees die after transplantipg
from evaporation, and that pruning is one of the chief

modes of lessening the demand on the mutilated roots
for moisture, the re-planting of deciduous trees has
become a pretty certain operation. The digging of
trees is often entrusted to careless or unskilful hands.
One is never certain how his tree will be taken up ;
Iput should it be handed him in a dangerous condi-
tion, he knows at least how by pruning the head, to
save its life.

These facts now constitute a general rule of action
in the case of deciduous trees. Evergreens are pop-
ularly supposed to be an exception. It is said that
the "ijeopleare seldom in error, and are never so
long ' ' and we hope for their interest it will prove so
here.

Evergreens are as thankful for the knifes' good
offices, as a deciduous tree. The same laws govern
them, and the same practice follows. Indeed, the
laws of evaporation bear harder on the evergreen. —
It has a larger surface of foliage ; more extended
channels for evaporation. In winter Avhen evapora-
tion bears the hardest on a transplanted tree, that of
the deciduous section has only its branches exposed.
All the moisture it loses passes out through them. —
But the Evergreen has in addition a large mass of
foliage, through which itsjuices are continually being
drained, till by spring it becomes as a squeezed orange
to the Ice King, and is cast away as worthless.

It is a fortunate cii'cumstance that while a greater
necessity is shown for application of the principle,
experience shows the Evergreen to like it. The an-
ticipated happiness of a w^ant fulfilled, is seldom in-
deed so well experienced in its realization ; for the
Evergreen absolutely luxuriates in a good pruning.
We are not sure that it can have too much. Judi-
ciously performed we have never seen it over-done.

"Judiciously performed" has a deep meaning
when writing of evergreens. We have of course ref-
erence to Pines, Spruces, and Firs. These consti-
tute what maybe termed the border line between
the two great divisions of the vegetable kingdom. —
The Endogen, such as the Palm, that increases from
he centre, has an erect tendency, and a disposition
to have none, or to lose what few side branches it
may have ; and the exogen, which increase from the
outside, and has a bushy spreading-headed habit. —
It is this intermediate position that gives Pines their
upright appearance, in which they approach the en-
dogen ; and their branching habit, which allies them
to the exogen. In our practical treatment of them,
we have to comibine what we would do separately.

If we cut off the head of a true endogen it will not
make another leader, but throws all its strength into
its side branches, which usually take the form of
suckers from near the surface of the ground. The
Cocoa nut, and plantain are familiar examples. Tlieir
stems have to be cut down to the ground when thej^

YS

k

ih^ (Sardcni^r's cPantltIg,

17

once lose their heads. lu a decided exogen, a maple
for instance, the cutting off of a leading shoot only
makes it the more doterminately seek to furnish
another to supply its place, and this it does at the
expense of the side branches, which become weaker
and finer, till if the heading-off is repeated, they often
die entirely away.

We have thus to reverse the modes of prmiing. —
To make an evergreen bushy the surest way is to cut
out its central shoot. It does not like to make anoth-
er, and so all its growth is forced into the lower
branches, which thus become very dense, and of
sm-prising luxuriance. Very often when old plants
are operated on, they will utterly refuse to make
another leader, in which case the nearest side branch
must be carefully tied up to a stake, secured to the
main stem for the purpose. This makes for a couple
of years an ugly ciu've, after that it becomes gradu-
ally absorbed in the thickening of the trunk, and is
scarcely Aisible eventually. If, however, the termi-
nal shoot is pinched off with the finger and thumb,
while it is young and succulent, in June, when it is
elongating, the^rowth will be just as much checked,
while you have the advantage of the formation of a
lot of new buds, which will of themselves form lead-
ers another year. We have never knoAvn any kind
of Pine to fail in making these buds in the shoots of
present season's growth, when they will do so but
very unwillingly from older wood.

The Scotch Pine, usually so rugged and art-for-
saken in appearance, make beautiful objects under
this treatment. The top buds, and buds of shoots
round about the central shoot, may be freely opera-
ted on, but the lowest buds should never be touched.
This last rule is essential.

All that we have said has been to illustrate the
principle in an every-day view. In transplant-
ing more is useful than to merely pick out central buds ;
whole portions of branches may be freely cut away.
Top branches be it still remembered. In all this a
neat eye will be required to keep a good shape to the
tree. Of course they will not be cut off so as to
leave the branches standing out like the stubs of
a worn out broom ; each branch should be taken
out close down to where another diverges. —
Fortunately in Pine and Spruces this can be pret-
tily done by taking out the central shoot in each
branch. We saw a friend recently take out one
hundred cuttings from a five year old Pinus excelsa
and no passing eye could notice that the knife had
been used at all, or see any thing but a most mag-
nificent specimen which this yearly treatment had
rendered it.

We have a weakness for facts. We know how
theories deceive, and often none more so than those
who originate them. We have shown how ever-

greens ought to be benefitted by pruning,— have ex-
plained theoretical rt'asons why this kind should in-
jure them, and that benefit them. But after all we
teel how^ inconclusive it is against a sight of what
actually has been done in this way. No one who
visits Northern Philadelphia, ever leaves it without
being struck with the appearance of the younger
evergreens growing about it. Much of this has been
owing to the genius of Mr. Bright, m'Iio, while most
of his neighbors were laughing at his theory, was
like a horticultural Garibaldi, unswerving in his pur-
pose, and has marched on to victory— a victory not
only of principle, but we believe a golden victory,
which after all is one of the most weighty of argu-
ments in favor of any theory.

The pruning of evergreens at transplanting has
only one objection. The interior leaves and shoots
are usually tender from long and close confinement,
and, on cutting away the outside ones, these pro-
tected ones suffer from sudden exposure. Judgment
will be required as to where, when, and how to cut.
With experience the objection will soon be found
to vanish.

VINS MILDEW AND INSECTS.

In one of our earlier numbers our valued corres-
pondent Dr. Uhler, gave us a translation from the
French of Raspails' experiment in watering plants
with a solution of aloes, in order to render the
plants themselves distasteful to insects. E.xperiments
we believe have been tried with it so far as the cur-
culio is concerned, and found to be unavailing ; but
when we consider that not only is the fruit of a
plant composed of a more elaborated form of the
sap, in which we might naturally look for less of the
"aloe" or any other "flavor" employed in the plants
nutrition ; and in this point alone less Hkely to be
effective than when employed externally to keep the
plants clear of insects, — we have also to con-
sider that it is the egg depositing principle of the
curculio that injures the plum fruit, and not its feed-
ing propensity, and consequently no nauseous ele-
ment whether externally or internally applied is likely
to be proof against "him." But it is a well ascer-
tained fact that vegetation, as well as animal sub-
stances do not entirely change the nature of the
combinations they absorb into their systems by the
process of nutrition. The flavor of the tuniip and
garlic can be tasted in the milk of the cow, and as
some trace of coffee and tobacco have been found in
the flesh of the subjects who have been partial in
their life-time to the weed, and "Arabian-berry's
sober juice ; " some German PJiysiologists have
concluded that "nicotiane" and "caffeine" are es-
sential elements in the human system ! Radishes in
early spring, forced near large cities to an early and

18

l\t §mi\{mu Jflcnilil]}.

monstrous maturity, have a well known disagreeable
taste of the powerful stimulants employed in their
production, — and a pasture -field is usually thickly
studded with hillocks formed by grass, which owing
to the accident of having an abundant supply of
rank manure cast in its immediate vicinity, has be-
come so impregnated with disagreeable matter that
cattle will starve rather than touch them.

This all goes to show that the principle Dr. Uhler
presented for our readers consideration is worth
much more careful experiment. We find that the
French are still pursuing their investigations, and
widening the field of inquiry. In a recent number of the
" Comptes iJenrfMs," a French scientific journal, is the
report of a paper by M. Mercieul, read before the
Academy of Natural Sciences, at Paris, detailing an
application of the principle to the prevention of
Vine Mildew. "He selected a number of stocks of
diseased Vines, wliich the previous year liad been so
seriously attacked by the Oidium that not a single
Grape could be gathered. He divided them into
two equal groups. The one he submitted to treat-
ment, and the other he left for the sake of compari-
son. In the beginning of August the Oidium began
to appear on both groups. On the 16th he submitted
tlie first group to tlie following treatment: he re-
moved the earth around the stems of the Vines a
distance of about a foot, and of a depth to lay bare
the small rootlets. Into each excavation thus made
he put a large handful of flowers of sulphur, heaping
it up around the stems. This being done he replaced
the earth and watched the Vines daily. On the 20th
of September the Vines of the first group were in
excellent condition, and the Grapes presented a fine
appearance. Tlie mycelium CfungusJ had not dis-
appeared from the berries which were attacked at
the time the sulphur was applied, but they were not
farther diseased, and he had every reason to believe
that they would come to perfection. He particularly
observed that none of the other benies became dis-
eased. The second group was in a most pitiable
condition. The Oidium had made rapid progress,
and there appeared every reason to fear that not a
single Grape woidd be saved. "

Of course we cannot say that there is a satisfactory
solution of the Vine Mildew trouble in this single
experiment ; but it is plausible from the facts we
have stated already. We know a cultivator of the
Dwarf Pear, whose White Doyennes were worthless
by cracks, and others injured by leaf blight to a great
extent, — diseases which are now well ascertained to
be connected with a small form of almost invisible
mildew. He gave the roots a strong dressing of
potash, and the orchard is now one of the healthiest
we know. If one mineral in the form of potash
wjII eradicate a form of mildew from the Pear, sul-

phur another mineral is quite as likely to perform
the same good service for the Grape vine.

The subject is comparatively new and promises
great results. We hope to hear more of it hence-
forth.

CUR NEW CRESS.
Our Journal appears this month in new type, for
which our readers are indebted to tlie skill and taste
of the Type Founders, Messrs. Collins & McLeester,
of this city, who have furnished us with a bold, clear
and beautiful type, without in the least diminishing
our usual amount of reading matter.

^rrep nnh <^nm%.

Pruning, &c. — In pruning vines, how do you
distinguish the shoots that have fruited from those
that are to fruit next year ? As I imderstand it from
the works on the subject, the shoots that have
fruited are cut down to one or two buds, and the
others to six or eight feet lengths ; but I can not tell
one from the other. (1)

What are the distinguishing characteristics of the
leaf, fruit, and wood buds in pear, peach and plum
trees ? I wish to pnme my own trees, but not being
able to tell one bud from the other, I am almost
afraid to make the attempt. (2)

Is the month of March or April a proper time to
prune all fruit trees ? (3)

My Camellia buds are very small ; is it owing to
the nature of the soil ? What is the proper soil ? Is
the month of March or August a proper time to shift
Camellias. (4l) — 4 Subscriber, Phlla.

(1) Simple as our correspondent's questions seem,
they are difiicult to explain briefly. Any shoot that
has sprung from the old or main stems of a vine the
previous year are or should be bearing shoots, and
are what are referred to in works as "to be cut back
to two or three eyes."

(2) Fruit buds are rounder, fuller and plumper
than leaf buds. The difference can be detected only
on careful comparison one with another, but an ex-
perienced eye soon learns the diS'erence at a glance.

(%) If they need pruning, any time in the winter
to April is good. If growmg very vigorously, trees
may not need pruning.

("4^ If the pots are comparatively small and full of
matted roots, have not been repotted for years, and
though growing freely and healthily, have but a weak
growth, they may want re-potting. Just before they
show indications of growth is the proper time ; and
any porous, open soil that wiU not become hard or
heavy, will grow them well.

Trees akd Shrubs of Tenkessee, i?., Obion Co,
Tenn. — In my travels about the "Bend," I find a
number of vines and trees that are quite new to me.
I liavc collected leaves of most of these varieties and
pressed them into service. I would very much like to
ascertain the name of each as I am no botanist ; be-
sides, I wish to write an article or two for j^our
valuable jom-nal when I have obtained the names of
these specimens :

1. This I got in South-western Missouri. It grew
on a shrubby tree, say 10 feet high.

2. Produces a flower like the trumpet vines ; des-
cribed bj' me in the August number, page 230.

3. Green brier vine, with black berries in clusters;
it climbs up fifty feet.

4. Is a vine that bears clusters of black glossy
berries about the size of a large pokeberry. It makes
a beautiful arbor on small trees.

5. Is a dehcate vine that wiU run up a tree 80 or
40 feet sometimes. The berries are the size of a
mediimi currant, grows in small close bunches, two
or three inches apart on the vine, and the berries are
tender and the color of red coral ; it is very beautiful.

G. The thornless thorn tree.

7. A common flower.

8. A smaU vine that runs straight up a tree and puts
out pretty leaves.

9. Bears an orange berry ; the hull opens out and
displays a red beriy ; runs 40 or 50 feet sometimes.

10. Alder; mentioned in August number.

11. A small tree, with a coral berry size of a me-
dium cuiTant ; the bunches sometimes are so full that
there seems no room for leaves ; showy.

12. Large dark Muscadine Grape, from Missouri.

13. A blue-eyed flower.

14. A small tree, or bush, with black soft berries,
from Missouri.

15. A small tree with oblong dark berry.

16. do do or bush with small white berries
in upright clusters.

17. Vine with oblong dark purjDle berries grown in
thick clusters.

18. Vine growing on small trees, with white
berry.

19. From a forest tree with trunk something like
the beech tree.

I hope you will not get out of patience naming the
above ; but if you do, I will attribute it to the im-
perfect specimens.

[The specimens were a little too small to dis-
tinguish well. Friends who sends us specimens for
name should send flower and leaves both, if possible.
The leaves of very diflerent plants are often alike.

1. Staphyllea trifolia.

2. Bignouia capreolata.

3. Smilax rotundifolia.

4. Ampelopsis bipinnata

5. Cocculus Carolinus.

6. Gleditschia inermis.

7. Cassia choemacrista.

8. ?

9. Celastrus scandens.

10. ?

11. Ilex decidua?

12. Appears to be a

Grape.

13. Comelyna communis.

14. Rhamnus Caroliniensis.

15. Bumelia lycoides.

16. Cornus paniculata.

17. Berchermia volubilis.

18. Vitis cordifolia.

19. Carpinus Americana.

form of the Scuppemoni

Naivies of Plants, B. Losee, Coburg, C. TF.— Your
specimen was ground into snufF when it reached us,
but we judge by the smell that it belonged to Prinos
verticeUatus. You must be mistaken in the bud of the
other plant being a Canadian Annual ; it belongs to
some species of Hehchrysum, from the Cape of
Good Hope, but we cannot tell which species without
the leaves.

Names of Correspondents. — A great number
of letters have reached us for the name of the gentle-
man to whom we alluded as having the very early
Seedling Peach. As the letter was private, we had
no authority to give the name, but are assured the
gentleman will do so himself after he has tested it
fully another season. He is not one to keep all the
good things to himself when proved to be really
useful.

Forcing Vegetables in the Field. — I under-
stand that peas and other vegetables are forced by
hot air drains running under the field, in Delaware
County, Pa. WiU not some of your coiTespondents
furnish the readers of the Gardeners' Monthly with the
mode of constructing sucb hot air drains ? and also
give the practical results ? — E. R. M. St. Louis, Mo.

[There were no details given in the article from
whence we extracted. Our correspondent, Mr.
Elder, can perhaps furnish them, and oblige us.
—Ed.]

Barbarossa and Prince Albert Grapes. — We
are pleased that some of our correspondents are get-
ting into the habit of sending us short facts for pub-
lication as well as the usual amount of valuable
essays and articles. One of our most reliable grape-
growers writes that he has fruited both these grapes,
and finds they are distinct ; the latter ripening four
weeks before the other.

New White Egg Plant — Abraham Collins^
York. — In the October number I notice a description

.—I

20

ilj^ §milmtf% cPontljIg*

of "New White Egg Plant." I am anxious to cul-
tivate it, and will be much obliged to you for some
information, how and when I can procure the seed ?

[We presume our principal Seedsmen will have
it for sale the next season. — Ed.]

Orange Trees.— Can you inform me where I can
get a few budded Orange and Lemon Trees ?

[Most of the larger Florist Establishments have
them for sale. — Ed.]

CiiENAKGO Strawberry Apple. — Wm. Collins,
Smy7-na, N. Y. — "I find you have made some mistakes
in pubhshing my last communication. My name is
printed N. Collins, instead of W. Collins. I received
this morning a communication addressed N. Colhns.
Being a nurseryman, it is of some importance to me
that it should be corrected. In publishing my letter
you make me say that the shoots of the Strawberry
are light yellow white ; those of the other are much
darker, and more nearly green. It was written for
intended to bej), the shoots of the Strawberry are
light yellow, while those of the other are darker,
and more nearly green."

[We plead guilty to the charge of error in the
type making an N. out of a W. ; but the other is not
the "type's" fault. The manuscript was not punc-
tuated, and the printer's had to stick in the stops
wherever seemed reasonable, and in crossing the t in
"those" Mr. C. run his pen into the I in the word
before it ; transforming it into a t. We are happy
to make the correction, no matter whose is the fault,
and go into particulars only to show how careful
oiu- friends should be to "dot their i's,'' "cross their
i's," and not cross their Vs. — Ed.]

Buckingham Apple.— In Mr. Van Buren's article
"emigrated" should read originated^ and in fifth line
from the bottom "clubbed" should read dubbed.

Pooh, (Jfifalogups, %-n

Third Annual Report op the Board op Com-
missioners OF THE Central Park, New York.
1860.

By the kindness of Andrew H. Green, Esq.,
Comptroller of the Board of Commissioners, we re-
ceived this document some time back ; but it is so
replete with valuable facts and statistical informa-
tion, that we have held it over for more than a cur-
sory examination. And we regret, that we can now
do little more than give a faint abstract of its contents.
The principal part of the operations performed the
past year have been in road and bridge-making. Of
roads, 7233 feet of McAdamized, 9838 of Telford,
and 200 of gravel, have been finished. Mr. Olmsted

has himself referred, in the first volume of our jour-
nal, to the experiments here of these two kinds of
roads, and we have been anxious to see them on a
fair trial, as we know of no instance w^here any
satisfactory comparative experiment of the Telford
road has been made in this country. Its chief prin-
ciple is that "Upon the prepared road-bed a pave-
ment of quarry stones is set by hand, the stones
being from seven to ten inches deep, three to six
inches thick, and generally not of greater length
than twice their depth, the aim being to use stones
of as nearly a uniform size as possible, and parallel
sided. The stones are laid lengthwise across the
road, with the broadest edges down. After being
set closely together, they are firmly wedged by in-
serting and driving down, in all possible places,
stones of the same depth, until every stone is bound
and clamped in its proper position.

"The projecting points of the stones on the top
of the pavement are next clipped off with a light
hammer, and the spalls and chips at the same time
worked into the interstices not already filled by the
process of wedging. By this operation the pave-
ment is reduced to an even surface and to a depth of
seven to eight inches.

"The pavement or substratum of the road is then
ready Cafter laying the gutters) for the reception of
the finishing material of the road.

"Broken stone of the ordinary McAdam size (to
pass through a two and a half inch ring) are spread
evenly over the pavement in successive layers, and
rolled down until the full depth is about five inches.
The first rolling is done with a light roller, to avoid
disturbing the paving stones.

"On the top of the broken stone, about one and a
half inches in depth of gravel is evenly spread, and
the whole is thoroughly rolled down with a heavy
roller, weighing six and a half tons. Both stone
and gravel are kept moistened by sprinkling carts,
while the rolling is going on, the gravel working
down into the interstices of the stone under the
roller, consohdating and binding the whole material.
When completed the whole depth of pavement,
stone and gravel, is twelve to thirteen inches."

Nothing appears in the Report to indicate which
of these systems is likely to prove the best, and we
shall look for some reference to this subject in future
Reports with interest.

One point seems proved in the Park experiments,
namely, that one of the main objects of heavy ston-
ing of r ads— the preserving the road-bed from frost,
is sc-icely ever effected in this coimtry. The Report
sr.ys :

"The samples of these roads that were first con-
structed (m. 1858J had a depth of fifteen inches of
road material. Recent examinations show, that the

mA ©artttnw'a Jttonthlg.

m

21

frost, during the present winter, has penetrated the ground from six to fifteen inches below the road
material on the roads of twelve inches depth."
In this respect, we should judge the Telford road will be inferior to the McAdamized, as the greater

porosity of the latter will be unfavorable to the rapid conduction of heat.

Vitrified pipe is employed for the construction of drains under the road-bed, to carry oflF the water

^i

■^"S^

C(j4 #arkittr's ||l0nflj{j»

from the surface of the road. In order to prevent
their becoming choked by gravel from thr washings
of heavy storms, silt basins are constructv'd. These
are small shallow wells, formed of brick or vitrified
stone-ware, sunk some feet below the level of the
pipe at the mouths of the drains ; the heavy matter
sinks into this, and the water only rises to the level
of the drains, down which it has to pass.

"When no silt-basins are used, the dirt is depos-
ited along a considerable length of the drain, and
may obstruct it at any point where, from roughness,
or from some other imperfection of the tile, or from
an alteration in the grade, and consequently in the
velocity of the current, it is most readily deposited."
After each heavy rain, these silt-basins are cleaned out.
For material to cover the stone in the road-beds,
that will bind well in all seasons, and be objection-
able in none, nothing has been found entirely satis-
factory,— and the field of invention of something useful
is still here open for some enterprizing genius.

Under the head of bridges we cannot derive much
statistical information that can be generally applied.
The Report is illustrated with several very pretty
engravings, giving specimens of the various styles
employed. The one we give is a representation of a
bridge over a foot-patli, sustaining a general traffic
road, by which the outside public traverse the Park,
without seemingly entering it.

We consider it a combination of two distinct ob-
jects, in a very happy way, in which the useful and
the beautiful are well blended. Bridges will be a
great feature in the Park. Eighteen are either com-
pleted or are in progress, — and, judging from the
plan, they are but a small portion of the number
projected.
At the time of our visit to the Park, in 1859,
s"i', ; no person could make such

large trees, as had recently been planted there, live
without heavy pruning, and predicted that the
majority of these, being unpruned, would certainly
die. The Report tells us that this has been the case.
"On the promenade, where the principal planta-
tion of large trees has been made, numbering about
one hundred and fifty, a large per centage have
failed. They were set by contract, guaranteed by
the contractor, and have been mainly replaced at his
expense."

We have been informed that the contractor has
learned wisdom from experience, and the last
planted were heavily pruned-in, and hence have
been apparently more successful. We say "appar-
ently," because we feel that the Commissioners will
at a future day be sorry that they ever allowed the
experiment. Our climate is against the successful
removal of very large trees. Even in the compara-
tively moister and more regular climate of France,

from whence we are accustomed to hear the most
flattering results of large tree-planting, they have to
keep the tru.nks and larger branches continually
swathed in hay bandages, and invent contrivances
to have water continually running down the branches
to retain life in them. It is, perhaps, as well that
the Commissioners allowed the experiment, after
all. It is hard to kick against the prejudices of the
public. This obstinate embodiment of a tyrannical
personality is bound to declare that "it can't wait for
those little things to grow," and the Commission-
ers would, perhaps, have had to endure a storm of
indignation if they had not afforded a practical les-
son, that they have to wait. Nine-tenths of large
trees, in our climate, with the best of skill employed
on them, will assuredly fail in transplanting.

One of the most valuable portions of the Report
is that by Mr. Waring, on the Drainage of the Cen-
tral Park. The statistical table of the operations of
the drains affords data for some calculations that we
have never been able to get at before. It appears
that, from July 13th to November 18th, 286,000
gallons of rain-water fell on one acre of ground.

During a great jDart of the time, — the exceptions
being only when, from dry weather, the discharge
from the drains seemed uniform, — the quantity pass-
ing through the drains was measured daily, and an
approximate quantity for the next twenty -four hours
obtained. The total sum of the quantity measured
is about 112,000 gallons. We have formed an esti-
mate of the quantity that flowed on the daj^s not
measured, making the whole amount of water flow-
ing through the drains, say 160,000 gallons, against
286,000 gallons of rain that feU in the same time.
The Commissioners say that this ground was natu-
rally a bog; it is, therefore, fair to consider that
perhaps 60,000 gallons of this discharge came from
the natural fountains of water in the land, leaving
nearly 200,000 gallons of water unaccounted for. It
would be very interesting to know whether all this
amount was carried over the surface to the creeks
and streams, or what portion sunk in the earth be-
neath the operation of the drains. If these facts
could be even approximately arrived at, and we
think,- with some slight alteration in the conduction
of the observations they could, the data might afford
some considerable assistance in the study of the
science of draining,

Buist's Almanac and Garden Manual for 1861,
for gratuitous distribution, is an improvement on that
of last year, though we were compelled to speak
well of it. Its chief feature is the select Msts of the
various classes of plants given. The following is
Mr. Buist's choice of roses :

"Hybrid Perpetual or Remontant.. — Augusta Mie,

Jules Margottln, Giant of the Battle, Sydonie,
^Madame Rivers, Pius IX., Queen Victoria, Robert
Burns, Lord Raglan, Enfant de Mt. Carmel, General
Jacqueminot.

'■'■Tea (Indica odorata.) — Dcvoniensis, Gloirc de
Dijon, Goubalt, Souvenir d'un Amie, Madame
Roussell, Etienne ("pure wliitej). La Reine, Triomplie
de Luxembourg.

"Bourbons. — Hermosa, Sir Joseph Paxton, Appo-
line, Queen, Levison Gower, Dr. Lcprestre, Sou-
venir Malmaison, Blanche Lafitte.

"iVoise^/e.^Fellenberg, Caroline l^Larniesse, LaPac-
tole, Du Luxembourg, Chromatella, Perfecta.

'■'■Bengal or Daily. — Jacques Plantier, Agrippina,
Abbe Moiland, Vesuvius, Cels, Sombreuil.

"Hybrid China. — Coupe d'Hebe, Fulgens, Charles
LaTVSon, Paul Ricaut, Mad. Plantier, Vivid.

" SIoss. — Comtcsse de Murinais, Princess Ade-
laide, Alice Le Roy, Luxembourg, Perpetual Moss
Salet, Purple Moss.

"Prairie. — Queen of the Prairies, Baltimore Belle.

"Miscellaneous. — Persian Yellow, White Micro-
pliylla. Fortune's Yellow, Madame Hardy, Provence
Cabbage, Pink Microphylla. "

All good kinds and reliable, though some are not
included we would not like to spare. In the Noisette
class, for instance, we would certainly add Triomplie
de la Duchere and Pentland's Woodland Margaret,
a hardy free-blooming white kind that has not yet
had justice done it. Of Strawberries for general
cultivation, Mr. Buist's choice is:

"Wilson's Albany, Princess Royal, Prince's Mag-
nate, Imperial Scarlet, Hovey's Seedling, Feast's
Fillmore, Hooker, May Queen Cearly)."

The following extract gives an idea of the general
tenor of the "almanac :"

"Heating greenhouses and hotbeds by hot water
is daily being more practicable and economical. In
our last edition we pointed out how to overcome a
dip in hot water pipes at the boiler. We now con-
firm this fact, and intimate another, — that four-inch
pipes, for conducting hot water through greenhouses
and other buildings, can be obtained at about twenty
cents per lineal foot. They can be joined by any
workman with a few rounds of packing-rope, then
a round of putty, then a few thin rounds of rope,
hammeriiag it home with a thin chisel, and finish the
joint with putty. The putty is made of about the
following parts : one-third glaziers' putty, one-third
white-lead, one-third dry red-lead, all carefully
mixed together and rolled up into the consistency of
glaziers' stiff putty. Our laborer makes a joint in
ten minutes. We, however, pay about foily dollars
for a boiler, but will not endure it any longer ; the
same article may be made for half the money. —
Wherever a greenhouse extends beyond sixty feet

in length and twenty in width, it is economical to
use hot water."

The Agricultural Pjiess. — Few persons esti-
mate sufficiently high the value of their local agri-
cultural papers. However valuable may be a journal
like ours, which, aiming at a cosmopolitan sphere of
usefulness, has necessarily to deal Avith principles
rather than special details of local practice, one's
local paper should never lack his strenuous support.
There are always local circumstances and special
influences, that will modify frequently the soundest
scientific deductions, and in no way can these pecu-
liar results be so well brought out as in the columns
of one's local journal. Sometimes one may diff'er
as to the manner in which his local paper should be
conducted. He may think that this should be no-
ticed, or that should have been left out ; but in suc'i
cases the spirit of concession should prevail, and
support for the good it does is its rightful due.

With these views we have ever thought it our
duty, as horticultural propagandists, to keep our
readers posted on the merits and existence of the
agricultural journals of our country. Whenever
there has not been too great a pressure on our ad-
vertising columns, we have inserted lists of them,
with their publishers and prices. We shall continue
to do this through the next year, and shall be pleased
to receive specimens of new ones that may arise ; or
that we may not have included in our list.

Almost every country paper has now its agricul-
tural column; but amongst those which may be
called strictly agricultural, — uniting horticulture and
the kindred branches, — Ave may name :

The Genesee Farmer. Published by Joseph
Harris, Rochester, N. Y. It has been thirty years
in existence, has done immense service to agricul-
ture and agriculturists, and is published at 50 cents
per year. ,

The American Farmer. By Worthington &
Lewis, Baltimore, Md. Another monthly, at $1
per year. The oldest in the country, and bearing a
high character for sound scientific teachings.

Rural New Yorker. By D. D. T, Moore,
Rochester, N. Y. A weekly, at $2 per year. Is
one of the most popular sheets published, and, in
every sense, well sustained.

The Farmer's Journal. By De Montigney &
Co., Montreal, Canada. $1 per ann'im. Though
we have but recently seen a number for the first
time, it has been thii-teen years in existence. We
greatly admire its motto, " The Soil— it is our Coun-
try. By improving the one, we serve the other."

The Ohio Cultivator. By S. D. Harris, Co-
lumbus, O. Thirteen years published ; has always

«-— 1

®Ije iiarhnxr's Slontljlj.

1^

been popular at ^1 per year; but to make it still
niore so, will, in future, be only half that price.

The Country Gentleman. By Luther Tucker
& Son, Albany, N. Y. A weekly, at |2 per year,
is so well known and appreciated, that we need add
nothing.

The American Euralist. By J. R. Dodge,
Springfield, Ohio. "We believe, a monthly, at $2 per
year. We have heard it highly spoken of; but as
we are not sure that any number has ever been re-
ceived at our office, we cannot speak from expe-
rience.

The Wisconsin Farmer. By J. D. Powers &
Co., Madison, Wisconsin. A monthly journal, at
$1 per year, of the merits of which our columns
have before spoken appreciatively.

The Indiana Farmer. By J. N. Ray and H.
C. Gray, Indianapolis. Monthly, $1 ; weekly, $2
per year. Is one of our favorite exchanges.

The Northwestern Farmer. By Miller &
Drayton, Dubuque, Iowa. Monthly, at $1 per year.
Is now in its sixth year, and is well sustained in all
its departments.

The Wool-Grower gives monthly information
on the growth and sale of wool, and is pubUshed at
Cleveland, Ohio, for 50 cents per year.

The Ohio Farmer. By Thomas Brown, Cleve-
land, Ohio. A weekly, at $2 per year. Is gene-
rally received as one of standard authority in its
line.

New Hampshire Journal op Agriculture.
By W. H. Gilmore, Manchester, New Hampshire,
at $1.50 per year. Is the only one in that State,
and deserves the united support of the New Hamp-
shire agriculturists.

Rural Register. By S. Sands & Miller, Balti-
more, Md. Bi-monthly, at $1 per year. We regard
it as one of the wonders of the day, even though so
much for so little is of common occurrence.

The Southern Cultivator. By D. Redmond
& C. W. Howard, Augusta, Ga. Monthly, at |1
per year. Nineteen years established, and stands
amongst the first in ability and popularity.

The House and Garden. By Thos. Brown,
Cleveland, O. A monthly, at 50 cents per year.
We have recently noticed it.

The Prairie Farmer. By Emory & Co., Chi-
cago, Ills. Estabhshed in 1841. The horticultural
department is, we believe, under the control of Dr.
Kennicott, and the journal itself has an extended
and enviable reputation. It is a weekly, at $2 per
annum.

The New England Farmer. By Nourse, Eaton
& Tolman, Boston, Mass. Weekly, $2 ; monthly,

$1. Does not often reach our table. What we have
seen of it has been of the highest excellence.

Kentucky Farmer. A. G. Hedges & Co., Frank-
fort, Ky. Monthly, $1 per year. Is the only one
in Kentucky, and should be energetically supported.
The Homestead. Mason C. Weld, Hartford,
Conn. A weekly, at $2 per annum. Is well appre-
ciated through the community, not only for its
quality, but for its neatness also.

The Southern Homestead. By L. P. Williams
& Co., Nashville, Tenn. A weekly of eight pages,
and the only illustrated journal published South.
$2 per year.

There are many other useful and valuable journals,
which we will notice on some future occasion. Those
we now refer to we have taken up in the order they
run in our last month's advertising columns, where
full particulars of each journal may be found.

Though not under the head of "agricultural"
journals, the advertisement of Hovey's Magazine also
appears in our last ; and so may also be noticed
here. As our elder brother in Horticultural litera-
ture, having been twenty-seven years in existence,
it would look presumptuous in us to speak of
its merits. That its subscription-list continues to
increase largely, as it does, is one of the best proofs
of popular appreciation.

The Minnesota Farmer and Gardener. Pub-
lished by Messrs. Ford & Stevens, of St. Paul. We
have received the first number of this journal, which
exhibits signs of future energy and usefulness. We
select the following Minnesota Jads for our readers'
information :

Minnesota Sweet Potatoes. — The Nansemond variety
has been found, the past season, to be a successful
crop at St. Paul.

Onions in Minnesota. — Mr. Daniel Hopkins, of
Groveland, Min., has raised four hundred bushels of
the Weathersfield Red to the acre.

Grapes in Minnesota. — Dr. Ford, of Winona, ri-
pened the Anna, Clinton, and Catawba there last
season.

Minnesota Agricultural Society's Horticultural Com-
mittee.— Dr. A. E. Ames, Minneapolis; Alex. Bu-
chanan, St. Paul; Richard Chute, St. Anthony;
Miss Sarah Cox, St. Paul ; Mrs. W. L. Ames, St.
Paul.

The First Minnesota Grapery is on the grounds of
the late Dr. C. W. Borup, near St. Paul. It was
erected in 1859. The Doctor was foremost in intro-
ducing new fruits and flowers, and his gardener, Mr.
W. Masters, is highly spoken of for his skill in
adapting his knowledge to that peculiar climate.
.Apples in Minnesota have not, as yet, done well.

J^JO^

^k §mh\\txs MonthliT

i^5i'»

though Mr. Snow, of Red Wing, says some have
lived and bonie fruit at Prescott. Hon. Eli Robin-
son, of Niuinger, in Dacotah County, has also had
trees to produce a few fruit.

The Dahlia in Minnesota is said to succeed remark-
ably well, and is likely to become one of their most
popular florists' flowers.

Peaches in Minnesota. — Mr. Masterton, of St. Pauls,
had several ripe peaches on his trained trees this fall.
We believe they were protected.

The Siberian Crab Apple in Minnesota does well. ]\Ir.
P. W. Nickots, of St. Pauls, had two and a half
bushels from one tree, which sold for fifty cents per
peck.

Alocasia metallica. — A foliage plant of the
Arum family from Borneo and will probably require
a hothouse to bring it to perfection. Sir W. Hooker
says in the Botanical Magazine^ "that no pencil can
do justice to its great beauty." He adds, that "no
one in Europe but Mr. Low possesses it." We be-
lieve we are not mistaken in saying that it is already
in Mr. Buist's collection, who with commendable
enterprise keeps up with the novelties of Europe.

Acacia DRXurMONDii. — Figured in Botanical Maga-
zine. A pretty pinnate-leaved species from Swan
River, New Holland, nearly alhed to the well-known
A. pulchella.

Callixene poltphylla. — A half shrubby vine,
something like in habit to our smilax, to which
family it belongs; with very pretty white flowers
drooi^ing hke the lily of the valley. It will be a
pretty greenhouse plant.

OxcibiUM LONGiPES. — A Very pretty variety of
orchideous plant recently received from Rio Janeiro.

Pteris cretica. — A variegated variety of this has
been received in England, that will be popular. It
resembles very much the P. serrulata of our green-
houses in general appearance, but there is a white
band down along the centre of each division of the
frond. It will doubtless require the temperature of
a greenhouse. It has eleven other synonyms ; figu-
red in Hooker's Magazine.

Methoxica stjperba. — A liliaceous plant, scarcely
different from the well-known Gloriosa superba, but
yet a plant of great beauty for hothouse collections.
A native of Fernando Po.

Cissus vELUTiNus. — Is a new species from the
3Ialay Islands ; nearly allied to C. discolor, the leaves
not quite so interesting, but the flowers larger.

AxcECTOcniLXJS ixoRXATUS. — From Ceylon. A

variety of and not quite so handsome perhaps as A.
setaceus.

Salvia scabios<efolia. — A species from Russia,
with tall spikes of greenish pink flowers, and wiU
perhaps make an interesting addition to our hardy
herbaceous plants.

PiiALCENOPsis ROSEA. — We liavc before described
in our journal. A recent figure in the Botanical Maga-
zine shows that it is not so beautiful as the old P.
amabilis, but it is a good addition to the orchideous
collection.

The New Double-flowered Zinnia. — Bj- favor
of M. Vilmorin, of Paris, we have been favored with
an engraving of this new candidate for popular favor.
Every one knows the structure and form of flower
of the common Zinnia. Its head is a mass of small
flowers, but the lower ones have the petals developed
into long radiating strap shaped forms, giving the
head the appearance of but one flower with a row of
petals about the base.

In the present improvement the petals of the
central flowers have also been developed into the
ligulate shape, and the result is, as in the Dahlia,
what we call a double flower. There is no doubt
but that it will be extremely popular. Though it is
of the same species as the one in cultivation, M.
Vilmorin says he has never succeeded in obtaining
seedlings with more than two rows of petals. He
received the first seeds two years ago from M.
Grazan, gardener, at Bagneres, who had them sent
him from India.

MM^

-jr^

^t §:mkim'B lIont|t]|,

Seedlings from these double zinnias do not all
come double, but M. Vilmorin says more than 50 per
cent, will ; they come of all colors, from rose to
violet amaranth, but he has not yet seen a double
white or yellow, though there are single ones of that
class.

New Garden Ferns. — 40. Gymnogramma Weten-
halliuna, Moore. — Fronds dwarfish, ramose, the
branches as well as pinnse corymbosely multifid-
crisped at the apex, bippinate; pinnules oblong-
obtuse, deeply pinnatifid, with small rather distant
toothed segments ; imder surface pale sulphur-
colored.

This plant was shown at the meeting of the Floral
Committee of the Horticultural Society on the 13th
of September last, and was awarded a first-class cer-
tificate as a very beautiful and distinct new crested
Fern. It was exhibited by Mr. P. Kelly, gardener
to Mrs. Ridgway, of Ridgmont, Bolton-le-moors,
Lancashire, by whom it was raised ; and had been
obtained, according to information furnished by Mr.
Kelly, from spores taken from a slightly crested
branch accidentally produced by a plant of G. Peru-
viana, which plant had been growing in company
with G, sulphurea. Whether or not the contiguity of
these two plants had any effect on the produce, it is
certain that the new form, though stated to have
been raised from Peruviana has more of the general
character of sulphurea, and that the ceraceous powder
which gives the color to the under-surface, is inter-
mediate in color between that found on these two
well known species. The conclusion seems inevi-
table, that the plant is either a sport from sulphurea,
the spores of the two kinds having become accident-
ally intermixed before sowing, ("which might happen
by the natural process of dispersion J, or that it is of
the nature of a hybrid. It is a remarkable fact that
where two or more kinds of Gymnogramma are
grown near together, intermediate forms not unfre-
quently occur among the seedlings obtained from
them, and these have given some countenance to
the opinion that hybrids occur among ferns.

The Gymnogramma now under notice, forms a
dwarf spreading tuft, the fronds arching outwards
from the crown, and becoming borne down over the
pot-rim by the weight of the tassels, while those
occupying a more central position again arch over
these in successive tiers. The fronds are about a foot
in length, variously branched in the stripes or rachis,
as well as divided into a large spreading corymbose
tassel at the end. In one of the larger fronds now
before us the stripes is thus divided, and one of the
divisions again divided near its base, so that there
are three separate branches, each divided at the apex
into a tassel, which when spread out measures 3 to
4 inches across ; these tassels are densely multifid-

crisped towards the extremities, and furnished below
with small pinnule-like segments. The pinnae are
again pinnate at the base, tapering to a slender rib,
which is almost leafless, and then spreading out into
a dense fan-shaped tuft, of an inch more or less in
breadth. The larger pinnules are oblong, half an
inch long or upwards, distant, blunt-ended, deeply
pinnatifid, the segments being small, distant, wedge-
shaped or obovate, and rather strongly toothed.
The color of the under surface is a very pale sulphur,
almost white. The color of the rachis is a light
chestnut brown, becoming deeper-colored in the
stripes. It is a very elegant dwarf-tasselled fern, and
is stated to be less affected than other gymuograms
by cold and damp. The name is given in compli-
ment to a relative of Mr. Kelly's employer. T. M. —
Gardener's Chronicle.

Double white Clarkia elegans. — What shall
we not have double ? Vilmorins now offer a double
white Clarkia. There has been a double rose before.
Only a portion of the stamens are transformed into
petals, so that enough pollen is produced to fertilize
the stigma and enable the double variety to reproduce
itself from seed. The seed should be sown in the
open border early in April.

New Golden Striped Arborvit^, Thuja Ver-
vaeneana. — Raised by Vervaene, of Ghent.

Governor Charter's Seedling Apple. — It is
of medium size, slightly and in some instances quite
conical; a light yellow skin blushed with bright
crimson, and covered with well defined yellow or
yellowish dots. Some of [the samples are slightly
ribbed, Stem short, slender, deeply set in a deep
narrow regular cavity, in some instances slightly
nissetted. Calyx closed ; basin moderately deep,
slightly furrowed, and open ; core small, fleshy ;
seeds plump, small, dark brown, ovate, roundish;
flesh white, cuts firmly, fine grained, tender, mild
and pleasant, juicy, scarcely acid, slightly aromatic,
exceedingly eatable, perfectly palatable, and at this
writing, the last of October, just in good eating con-
dition to be relishable. The beauty as well as the
quality of this fruit leads us to commend it to the
attention of orchardists as a market fruit. It is
sought for in the market where known, and it is
hardy and productive. — Prairie Farmer.

Dracut Amber Grape — Manning in New Eng-
land Farmer. — This is a New grape, but little dis-
seminated; origin, Dracut, Mass., from seed. It

M^ §m'&mtf% dHontMg,

27

ripened this season, the week before the great frost,
October 1st, -which destroyed most of the best class
of grapes for table use. The fact of its ripening ten
days earlier than the Concord grape, is sufRcient
proof of merit. It is a strong grower, hardj^ great
bearer, color amber, or reddish tinge, cluster largo,
generally compact, but sometimes loose, berries large,
and slightly oval ; hold on the cluster very well. It
possesses the foxy character to a moderate extent.
It is a good eating grape, but not equal to a well-
ripened Concord or Isabella.

Mount Vernon Pear. — Size, above medium,
from 3 inches by 2 7-lG, to 2f by 2| ; form, obvate
inclining to pyriform ; skin apparently a warm rus-
set, but on a closer examination profusely mottled
with russet net work on a yellow ground, sometimes
with an orange cheek ; stem one-half an inch long
by three-sixteenths thick, inserted usually by a lip,
with a little or no depression ; calyx open, set in a
narrow, superficial basin ; core, rather large ; seed,
above medium, acuminate, plump, pale cinnamon
color, with an angle on the inner edge of the blunt
end ; flesh, greenish-white, granular, melting ; flavor,
rich and -sinous, with a delicate aroma; quality,
"very good;" maturity, last of October and begin-
ning of November.

This fine Pear is probably a natural cross between
the Beurre Gris andFigue d'Alencon.

The above description and outline of two varying

specimens we owe to the kindness of Dr. "W. D.

I Brinckle, who, in a private note, agrees with us in

considering it probably the best Pear of the season.
It is the one we referred to last month as ha^'ing been
raised by the Hon. S. "Walker, Roxbury, Mass.

The Moore's Pear. — Has been fruited by Messrs.
Ilovey's and is spoken of by Hovey's Magazine as
larger than Doyenne Boussock, and as one of the
most valuable of all varieties. It was cultivated six-
teen years ago by Sinclair & Co., Baltimore. The
following is the description : — Minute greenish
specks ; stem rather short, about half an inch long,
moderately stout, straight and inserted without any
cavity ; eyes large, open, and but little depressed in
a rather small, furrowed, imeven basin ; segments
of the calyx short, broad, connected ; flesh j^ellowish
white, fine, melting, and very juicy; flavor brisk,
slightly vinous, exceedingly rich, with a pleasant
aroma ; core medium size ; seeds small. Ripe in
September, and keeps a long time.

The Oporto Grape. — Has been recently des-
cribed in the Country Gentleman and Horticulturist as
a new kind of merit. The last named journal says
of it: "The bunch is small, slightly shouldered;
berries small, black, round, with a dark purple
coloring matter under the skin ; pulp firm and mu-
cilaginous, resembles the Marion. Not a good table
grape, but may do for wine."

A New Fruit from China. — Has been intro-
duced by Mi*. Fortune into England. It is a scarlet
fruit, rough on the exterior like the fruit ball of the
buttonwood ; a stone like a plum in the centre. It
is called Yang-mae by the Chinese, and supposed to
be a species of Myrica.

Cuyahoga Grape. — In our volume for 1859 we
stated that specimens which we had received of this
variety proved, so far as flavor was concerned, of the
highest excellence. It seems to be well thought of
in other localities. We annex the following des-
cription ;

Bunch oblong obvate, blunt pointed, averaging
four inches long, and three wide. Berries yellowish
white, usually about one-half inch in diameter ; skin
thin and transparent ; flesh sweet and pulpless. —
Leaves very small, mostly three lobed, the lobes some-
what straight ; the leaves very thick and leathery,
and with a smooth and glossy upper surface.

It has the most distinctly marked foliage of any
native grape we know.

BoniFsHr InMlfiqFnrF*

Cratcegus cordata. — Of the beauty of this kind
when grown as an ornamental tree, a correspondent
writes as follows. It is commonly called "Washington
Thorn : "The Cordata Thorn wiU, I think, be among

^

28

ih^ iardjncr's 3llon«%

the most ornamental trees in fruit in this section of
country, CNorthern Pennsylvania^. Tree very up-
right, 15 to 20 feet high; berries very bright and
hold on longer here than the Coccinea, which on our
mountains is very splendid in fruit, but here has at
this time lost leaves and fruit."

A Special Manure — Not Patented. — At the Wood-
bury plowing match, Mr. John Daw told the follow-
ing anecdote :

Having drained a field where nothing had ever
grown before, I was standing near looking at a crop
I had there, when a neighboring farmer came up.
We had one or two loose farmers in our neighbor-
hood ; one of them, in fact, came from Woodbury,
[laughter] ; but that is not the man I am speaking
of He came up and said to me :

"That is a bootiful crop! How did he get it,
sir?"

I replied : ' ' Brains. ' ' [Laughter. ]

"What! manure the field wi'brains?" [More
laughter. ]

" Yes. " [Renewed laughter. ]

He replied : ' ' Goodness, yer honor, where did
you get um?" [Roars of laughter.]

Pear Stocks. — Mr. Phoenix says in the Prairie
Farmer: — Without having tried it Cthough we mean
to this winter^ we give the following as the practice
of a New York man experienced in handling pear
stocks: When pear stocks arrive, dig a trench
about a foot deep and two feet wide. Heel the
stocks m bottom of this trench, having a space of
eight inches between top of earth in trench and sur-
face of ground. Cover whole trench with boards
and then earth to a suitable depth to keep from
freezing. Soon as warm weather is like to come in
Spring, graft them, tying joint with fiax or soft bass
bark, and never let theyn dry in ike least degree, using a
short root and long scion, and planting out immedi-
ately in open ground.

He also advises to plant pear stocks or grafts over
trenches dug 20 inches deep, and a spade or so in
width — the trenches being filled full of best smface
soil, made rich with rotten manure.

Raspberries. — Experience of Rev. Mr. Knox, of
Pittsburg, Pa : —

He has ten acres, very densely planted with over
twenty varieties. The FastolfiF, Red Antwerj}, and
Hudson River Antwerp, do well with him, but his
three favorite varieties are Brinckle's Orange, Fran-
conia, and Improved American Black Cap. Bilnck-
le's Orange, Mr. Knox considers the finest flavored,
of large size, beautiful color, unvarying productive-
ness, and delicious flavor. The Franconia berry is

not so highly flavored, but is very large. Its size
and color render it attractive, and ever procure for
it a ready market. It is enormously productive, and
continues a long time in bearing. The Improved
American Black Cap is much superior to the com-
mon Black Cap. The fruit is sweet and juicy, and
very large — sometimes measuring three quarters of an
inch in diameter.

Experimental Gardens. — We are glad to see
that the suggestions we made in our last October
issue is receiving attention. We hope some of
of our readers will send us their ideas about their
practical management. We may have something
to say also on the subject, at a future time. The
following is from Life Illustrated: —

What shall we Plant ? — The article with this title,
copied in our rural department from the Gardener's
Monthly, is worthy of especial attention. We com-
mend its perusal to our readers, and that portion
thereof which refers to experimental gardens to the
notice of the managers of the American Institute.

We believe it was the intention of the founders of
the Institute to have had something of this kind
connected therewith, and we think it is about time
to be about it. Fairs, judging from the success of
the past two years, are "played out." Let us have
an hundred-acre garden on the Long Island Barrens,
and that, too, without delay. It will pay in more
ways than one.

Ivy and Damp Walls. — Our local papers tell us
that the oldest specimen of the Evergreen English
Ivy in Philadelphia, a noble specimen, covering
many hundreds of square feet, has been cut away
by the owner, because "it made the walls damp. "
Sometimes people seem strangely infatuated. Ivy
renders walls dry. The leaves prevent heavy rains
from getting to the wall, and what little dampness
finds a place there, is immediately absorbed by the
millions of little rootlets, by which the branches
adhere to the wall. The dampness no doubt origi-
nated from choked spouts, and we presume the
sacrifice of the ivy will make little difierence. -

The First Ohio Vineyard, was planted by Mr.
Ammen, for Mr. Longworth, with the Schuylkill
Grape, four miles from Cincinnati, in 1843. It is
still bearing well. Vineyards of foreign vines were
planted long before, but were all failures.

Introduction of the Catawba Grape. — Major
Adlum, of Georgetown, D. C, sent it to Mr. Long-
worth in 1825, when Mr. L. introduced it for vinery
and culture in Cincinnati.

S^Ijc ^arhntr's S^autljlg.

Apples fob Geokgia. — 3Ir. Van Buren says in
Southern Field and Fireside^ that the Sumerour,
Shocklej-, Home, Mountain Belle, Camack's Sweet,
have so resisted the heat of last summer, that while
northern varieties have long been eaten, these are
Centl of Nov. ) now soimcl.

Soil and Climate of Central Minnesota — A
correspondent at Minneapolis, writing Nov. 16th,
says: — "I have been ploughing to-day a field of
common hazel prairie, which appeared to be not less
than two feet of black sandy loam, and so abundant
in mould that the plough would not clean.

The heat of the summer sun is moderated by the
cool breezes, which are nearly always to be felt."

The First Indiana Vineyards were planted with
Schuylkill Grape by the Swiss, at Vevay, in 1805.

^pfipps g ^ruih i '^pgpfflMps.

Baked Beans. — Few people know the luxury of
baked beans, simply because few cooks properly pre-
pare them. Beans, generally, are not cooked half
long enough. This is a sure method : Two quarts
of middling-sized white beans, two pounds of salt
pork, and one spoonful of molasses ; pick the beans
over carefullj', wash them, and add a gallon of boil-
ing hot soft water ; let them soak in it over night ;
in the morning, put them in fresh water, and boil
gently till the sldn is very tender and about to break,
adding a teaspoonful of saleratus ; take them up dry,
put them in your dish, stir in the molasses ; gash the
pork and put it down in the dish, so as to have the
beans cover all but the upper surface ; turn in boiling
water till the top is just covered ; bake them with a
steady fire, four or five hom-s ; watch them and add
more water from time to time as it dries away. —
Ohio Farmer.

Apple Custard. — To make the cheapest and
best every-day farmer's apple custard, take sweet
apples that will cook; pare, cut, and stew them ;
when well done, stir till the pieces are broken ; when
cool, thin with milk to a proper consistency, and
bake with one crust, like a pumpkin pie. Eggs may
be prepared and added with milk, if handy, though
it will do without. No sweetening is necessary. It
may be seasoned with any kind of spice to suit the
taste ; the less the better.

Spinach in Consomme. — Boil the spinach in the
_. , usual manner, then roll it up into balls, and stew it

4i

briskly in veal broth weU seasoned, adding enough

of nutmeg, in powder, to cover a sixpence, and a
teaspoonful of Chili vinegar. Spinach dressed in
this manner is an applicable accompaniment to veal
or boiled mutton ; with roast meat it is advisable to
serve it plain. — Flor. Cab.

I^orpign InfpIfigFnrp,

Fairchild, after whom so many of our old fruits
and plants were named, was a gardener near London,
and distinguished as the Author of the " City Gar-
dener," a work published there in 1772.

Mulching. — The early part of the past summer
was so dry in France and Belgium, that the Market
Gardeners very generally resorted to the practice of
mulching with straw, kept damp by occasional wat-
erings. This hint may be of service to some of our
California readers.

Grafting the Carnation. — Fine double varieties
of the Carnation are easily propagated by cleft or
side grafting, on common or single stocks, they can
also be grafted on the Saponaria officinalis^ the ' Boun-
cing Betsy" of American door-j^ards, Ijy taking pieces
of the root about one inch long, and from one-third
to one -half an inch in diameter, presei-ving as many
of the fibres as possible. Then take a branch or
shoot of the Carnation about six or eight inches long
and graft it by side grafting on the side of the piece
of root at the upper end. The best time for doing
this is about the middle of May. Plant them close
together and cover with a bell glass. No bottom
heat is required. — Guide du Jardivier Jleurist.

Severe Frosts in San Jose. — Frosts have been
unusually severe in this section the present year,
more so than they have been for the past eleven
years. On the 7th September it was so cold that ice
made to the thickness of half a dollar. The cold
continued three days and nights. As an evidence
the mercury fell to 38° inside a greenhouse. — Califor-
nia Farmer.

Double Convolvulus. — Mr. Beaton says in Lon-
don Cottage Gardener^ that Calystegia pubescens is the
only double variety of Convolvulaceous plant known.

This is a mistake, Messrs. Loddiges, of Hack-
ney, near London, once had in their collection a
double variety of Ipomoea panduratus, and the
same variety still exists in some American collec-
tions.

• (S\(^

Ferns. — " They are destitute of flowers and fruit

(Il

and yet they please; there is nothing brilliant or
dazzling about them and yet they charm, we admire
them as we do a modest virgin, who hides her charms
under the veil of innocence. — L' HoriicuUeur Praticien.

Culture of Solanum Capsicastrum.— The fol-
lowing detail of my success in cultivating this beau-
tiful biennial plant may be useful to many of your
correspondents.

In January last I sowed the seeds in pans, placed
them in bottom heat, and kept them there till the
plants were large enough to be removed into thumb-
pots. After this they were placed in a warm pit,
kept near the glass to keep them from drawing up
till they had filled their pots with roots. I then
shifted them to four-inch pots, plunged them into
sawdust up to the rims of the pots : they soon made
very vigorous growth. I applied water by the
syringe daily, as I find this plant very subject to the
attacks of the red spider.

At the beginning of April I was obliged to re-pot
the plants again into six-inch pots, plunging as
above, and still keeping the syringe at work till the
plants showed well for blooming, which was in
June. While in bloom I kept them free from
syringing, and at a much higher temperature till
they had set their fruit. I then re-potted them in
eight-inch pots, in good, rich turfy loam, with plenty
of leaf mould and sand, and kept them watered with
weak hquid manure, and well watering them with
the syringe morning and evening till the berries
began to color. I then removed them to a warm
greenhouse, stopping all the points except the lead-
ing shoot. The plants are now nearly eighteen
inches high and fourteen inches across, with from
forty to fifty berries on them, and by the end of next
month I hope to see all the berries quite ripe. They
will then have a beautiful appearance. I know no
plant, with the exception of the Ardisias for decora-
ting purposes, that has so seasonable an appearance
at Christmas time as the Solanum capsicastrum.—
Thos. Rawbohe, Gardener, Barlaston Hall. — Cottage
Gardener.

Thirty Thousand Apples on a Single Tree. —
Wm. R. May, of Pomfret, (Ct.,) picked forty
bushels of apples from one tree. He had the curi-
osity to count the number of apples in one peck,
and found 190, making 760 in one bushel, and 30,400
apples grew upon the tree.

Hot House Grapes.— Mr. Ayers, a distinguished
British gardener, says in the London Gardener's
Chronicle : —

Looking through the Grapes at present in cultiva-

tion, it appears that all purposes of a regular sup-
ply will be attained with the following varieties :—
White— White Frontignan, Golden Hamburgh, and
Charlsworth Tokay. Black— Black Frontignan,
Welbeck Black Tripoli, Muscat Hamburgh, Mill
Hill; and for late work, Lady Downe's Seedling,
Oldaker's St., Peter, and Burchardt's Prince. If
more Vines were required I should rather duplicate
with some of the best of the preceding than plant
a larger number of kinds.

New Paper Plant — Hibiscus Esculenius. — The
French have found the fibre of this equal to hemp
for course linens, and are introducing it extensively
into Algiers. This is the okra of our gardens, and
it might at any rate be worthy of notice by our
paper manufacturers. Many of our swamp species
might be turned to useful account.

Gazania rigens, and G. splendens are highly
spoken of in English journals, as bedding-plants. If
our summers do not prove too dry for them, as we
think probable, they will prove very showy acquisi-
tions. The two kinds are often confounded, but
are very different, the forme^' has incised or toothed
leaves, the last quite entire.

Profit and Durability op Pot Vines. — A
writer of the London Florist writes on Early Grapes,
in which the writer states that as, according to the
general practice of fruiting Vines in pots, whereby
a fresh supply of fruiting plants is required yearly,
pot growing is not at all an economical system,
whatever other advantages it may possess. "I de-
termined, therefore," says he, "some years back to
see how long I could fruit my Vines so as to pay, in
the same pot; and having succeeded much better
than I anticipated, I beg to state my practice."
This consists in taking the plants in August for next
year's fruiting, shift them from twelve to eighteen-
inch pots ; some in eighteen-inch square boxes also,
and allowed to grow on the rest of the season.
Nothing is done differing materially from the ordi-
nary routine of forcing. When the fruit is cut, the
Vines are allowed to remain a few weeks in the
house, keeping the plants and fohage clean by
syringing, &c., and giving manure water occasion-
ally. By these means ("taking the Grapes to be cut
by the commencement of May), the wood is weU
ripened, by the middle of the month the boxes are
placed out under a south wall or paling, where they
remain till the end of August, after which they are
shifted under a north wall for wintering ; and they
are allowed to receive the rain, &c. By the end of
October they are transferred to a dung pit, in order
to swell the buds, and in November taken into the

""^sr

"Tap

SiHi iartocr's Ponthlg.

fruiting-liouse, the wood being previously pruned
back to good proniineut eyes. Such Vines are
found to break much more freely the second year,
and produce larger berries and bunches, ripening
also near a month earlier. When placed in the
fruiting-housc, a little top-dressing of fresh compost
is given, and a thick turf put beneath each pot, into
which the roots afterwards find their way. The
Vines produce on an average nine or ten half-pound
bunches of first-class grapes, which, at the end of
March, is no bad work. As they cannot safely be
removed from the house earlier than the end of May,
they have all the air they can, and are sj-ringed daily,
to keep the foliage clean. When removed, the roots
sent into the turf are cut clean away, and manure
water is given through the summer. The third sea-
son's practice is the same as the preceding. By
pruning to good plump buds, a crop of good quality
is certain, which colors well, and is free from shank-
ing. The Sweetwater, Muscadine, Chasselas Musque,
and Froutignan, are generally worn out by the
third year. Hamburghs will occasionally last four
or five years, but then a good deal of soil will re-
quire to be renewed. Keeping plants beyond the
third year is not, however, advocated.

FoRcrNG Asparagus in the open ground. — M.
Joigneaux in his excellent treatises on Culture marai-
chere or market gardening, gives the following very
simple mode of forcing asparagus :

"Dig a trench about two feet wide and about twen-
ty inches deep around your old asparagus bed, fill it
with liot stable manure with some oak leaves mixed
with it ; the manure should be heaped up about six
or eight inches and well trampled, then place boards
on edge all around the bed outside the trenches, se-
curing them with stakes driven in the ground. These
boards should 'be about the same height as the ma-
nm-e, forming a kind of curb all around the bed, then
lay across the bed, resting on the boards on edge
and on the manure, some old boards, doors or rails
and on these straw, litter, leaves orpine "shatters"
to keep out the frost. In fifteen days the asparagus
shoots will make their appearance.

Asparagus can in this way be forced at any time
during the winter, but it is less injurious to the plants
or roots to defer it until about the first to the middle
of February, so that when the crop is cut the bed
can be uncovered and the plants to have an oppor-
tunity of completing their growth.

The Green Rose. — The Bengal verte or green
Rose, according to the Gardener'' s Chronicle is one of
the lastest novelties in England. It says it "was
first introduced to the world " in 185G, by Pere &

Clement of Lyons, France." We do not know who
originated the green China, but it has been in the
collections of most American Rose-Growers the past
twelve years at least. The Chronicle suggests that it
might make a good breeder. If scarlet and yellow
could be introduced with the green, it would be val-
uable.

m^

The Japan Burdock is the name of a new veg-
etable introduced from Japan by M. Siebold. Its
roots resemble in taste the Artichoke, and attain a
weight of a cj[uarter of a pound. — L'Hort. Praticien.

Black Currant Wine. — Under the name of
Liguer de Cassis, is being produced to a vast extent,
superceding the vine in many districts of France.
There are between one and two million plants cul-
tivated for wine-making near Dijon, producing
from this town alone near two thousand gallons of
wine annually.

Hot-houses by the Acre is the newest idea
started in England. It is proposed to cover whole
vegetable and fruit gardens, with glass, one single
mammoth house, the roof to be on the ridge and
furrow principle.

New English Work on Fruit, by Dr. Robert
Hogg, the Fruit Manual, is highly spoken of by the
English papers as a work of great excellence.

CuPRESSUS Macrocarpa and C. Lambcrtiana,
Beaton says, in Cottage Gardener has been raised in
Kew from the same seed, and are of course to be
considered, therefore, as mere varieties of each other.

Office of the Seed op Plants. — Dr. Daubeny,
a distinguished English Philosopher, supposes that
the oflice of the seed is not to ensure the perpetuity
of the race, but to provide for endless variety. He
contends that one of the simplest modes of insuring
continuity of individual forms would be by buds and
ofisetts naturally, as we increase the Weeping Wil-
low by cuttings ; but by sexual contact of individual
plants with one another, no two broods result ex-
actly alike.

A better means of disseminating the species, and
of producing endless variety of form, he considers
the true ofBce of the seed, and not that it is peculiar-
ly "the most natural mode of propagation."

Horticulture in France. — The Scottish Gar-
dener says, so great is the attention the French Gov-
ernment has bestowed on horticulture, that it be-
lieves at no distant day France will become the gar-
den of Europe.

"cw

32

2Ifii[ ®arftacr*» (PtontWg*

NEW HAVEN LECTUEES.

Horticultural lectures to commence Tuesday, February 5th, and
continue throughout the week.

American Pomology, M. P. WILDER.

Pears, P- B. MEAD.

Grapes, Dr. GRANT.

Ornamental and Exotic Gardening, . . S. B. PARSONS.

Pruning and Transplanting P. BARRY.

Propagation, THOS. HOGG.

R. G. PARDEE,

Fruit and Flowers in City Yards, .
Other subjectB by other lecturers.
Second^Week . . . '.

Third "

Fourth "

During the fourth week, four lectures on the subjugation and ed-
u;ation of the horse, with demonstrations on two living animals.
For further particulars address, JOHN A. PORTER, New Haven.

SCIENCES.
AGRICULTURE,
DOMESTIC ANIMALS

MAURY CO. (TENN.) HORTICTTLTUEAL
SOCIETY.

We have received the Annual Address of M. S. Frierson, Esq.,
President of the Society, from which we learn that the enthusiasm
manifested at the commencement of the Society's existence has
cooled somewhat. The President, however, is determined that
" there shall be no such word as fail" in its ultimate success, and
after reminding Tennesseans that of the many popular fruits raised
in the North, the South and West, not one has tlie honor of having
originated in Tennessee, he makes the following liberal proposition:

"As an evidence of my earnest solicitude for this enterprise, I
place under the control of the Society, whenever necessary, the sum
of one hundred dollars, to be awarded as premiums.

"1st. Twenty-five dollars for the best new seedling Peach, of su-
perior quality and flavor to any now grown in the State, and of
large size.

"2nd. Fifteen dollars for the best new seedling Apricot of superior
quality and flavor to any now cultivated in tlie State, and to be at
least of medium size.

"3rd. Fifteen dollars for the best new hardy seedling Grape of
like quality and flavor, of fair size, and fit for out-door cultivation.

'•4th. Ten dollars each for the best seedling Currant and Goose-
berry, adapted to cultivation in this latitude and of fair size.

"5th. Ten dollars each for the best new seedling Raspberry and
Strawberry, of superior quality, flavor and size, to any now in cul-
tivation.

" 0th. Five dollars for the best new seedling Rose of merit.

" These premiums are to be awarded to members of the society,
or to those who may become such by the first of May next. Presi-
dent and Directors, or such judges as they shall select, shall award
said premiums, after allowing ample time for growing trees and
maturing the fruits and flowers."

We hope Mr. Friereon's public spirit will be warmly seconded,
and that other parts of Tennessee will find imitators in the laudable
ambition to elevate the horticultural character of the State.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AT
HANNIBAL, MO.

We learn that the preliminary steps have been taken for a Horti-
cultural Society as above. Both the fruit-growers and fruit-con-
sumers of that enterprising city will find such a Society, properly
conducted, greatly conducive to their interests, and all should take
a lively interest in it.

FRUIT-GROWERS' SOCIETY OF EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA.

The Executive Committee of our Society met, a few days since,
and decided to hold the next meeting of the Fruit-Growers' Society
of Eastern Pennsylvania in Reading, Pa., on the FIRST WEDNES-
DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1861, which will be the Second Annual Meet-
ing.

Jos. B. Gray, Secretary.

POMOLOGICAL CONVENTION.

NOTE BY MR. LYON.
With the constant noise from the street, and the consequent
difficulty we all had in understanding properly during the recent
Pomological Meeting in your city, it is not surprising that errors

should occur in your report of its proceedings. Permit me, while
■writing, to make a few corrections that occur to me:

At the foot of page 6, I am made to say of Cogswell or Forn-
walder, — " My trees bear well, and the fruit is coming into great
favor in our State ; they are in demand and are sold at good
prices." This I could not have said, as my acquaintance with
neither of the varieties would warrant such a remark. I think
something of this kind was said by another person.

On page 10 you say " Early Joe was not added ;" while by look-
ing to the list on page 36 we find it among the recent additions,
which accords with my impressions,

On page 10, (second column), I am made to say, in speaking of
the Bouum Apple, "Specimens I saw two years ago were very
beanfiful." What I said was, " that the specimens I then saw were
much larger than these."

On page 11, 1 am made to say " I received, &c., (see report.) The
fact as stated was that I recently received specimens of an apple
from Southern Michigan which was apparently the same as this,
and which came to this State some years since from Kentucky, by
way of Indiana.

On page 14, " Pound Royal" should be Pomme Royal, as Pound
Royal is another and a distinct variety.

On page 20, Gooseberries " Martin's Seedling," should be Moun-
tain Seedling of Lebanon.

On page 22, second column, my closing remark should be — Its
correctness to name could not, of course, be vouched for. This
remark applies to the Clara grape. On the same page, in speaking
of To Kalon, as to its liability to mildew, I merely said I had seen
no signs of mildew.

On page 2.i, in speaking of the Emily grape, I stated that I had
received a plant which proved lobe worthless instead of " worthy."

On page 27, in speaking of the flavor of the Sterling Pear, my re-
mark was that it was too sweet for many tastes, or words to that
effect.

I send you the above corrections, in accordance with your sug-
gestions, but I am by no means strenuous as to their publication.
Most of the errors are of such a nature that readers will readily
infer that they must be such. You will therefore exercise your
own discretion as to their insertion.

[The above reached us too late for our last summary. We differ
with our friend as to the importance of correcting the " trifling
errors." We wish to claim for our work the reputation of standard
accuracy, which can only be obtained by careful corrections of
"trifles." We are obliged by the trouble he has taken to set us
right.— Ed.]

MEETING OF THE OHIO POMOLOGICAL
SOCIETY.

AT CINCINNATI, JANUARY 16th AND 17th, 1861.

The past season having been unusually favorable for fruit crops,
has awakened fresh interest in the public mind on the subject of
Pomology. It has been a year of real progress in liorticulture;
much new and valuable experience has been gained, and many
new fruits have been tested for the first time. It is important,
therefore, that we .'should come together and freely communicate
to each other, and to the public, the results of our observations and
experiments.

"The meeting has been appointed at a season of comparative
leisure, and in the midst of a community of much intelligence and
zeal in horticultural pursuits ; so that a large attendance and
much interesting discussion may be confidently Tixpected. A cor-
dial invitation is extended to fruit-growers, nurserymen, amateurs
and all interested residents of other States, as well as of Ohio, to
meet with us and participate in the discussions.

Specimens of choice fruits are also solicited for exhibition at the
meeting — especially of winter pears and such apples as are not
generally known. Packages of fruit for this purpose, may be for-
warded by express, care S, W. Haseltine & Co., Walnut Street,
Cincinnati. The meeting will be held in the Room of the Horti-
cultural Society, corner of Sixth and Walnut Street. By order of
the Committee: M. B. BATEHAM, Se&y. Columbus, 1860.

5^

HINTS FOR FRUIT GROWERS' SOCIETIES.

BY J. B. GARBER, COLUMBIA, PA.

As the Second Annual Session of the " Fruit Growers' Associa-
tion of Pennsylvania," will be held at Reading, on the first
Wednesday of February, 1S61, (Feb. 6th.). I desire to throw out
a suggestion, and would be pleased to see it acted on. Last Febru-
ary, at Lancaster, your friend, Mr. Crans, of Mount Airy, near Ger-
mantown, set a precedent well worthy of imitation, and to be con-
tinued ! He brought with him a large lot of " eyes" for gratuitous
distribution, of a very promising new Grape — the " Maxatawny."
I would like to see so noble and worthy an example, generally
followed by the member and visitors, who may have any val-
uable new varieties of fruits in their possession. At least those
who do not care about making a speculation out of it.

[We have headed Mr. Garber's communication with a general
application, as we consider the suggestion in every way a happy
one. — Ed.]

THr

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,\ ill ifl 111 • -.AAA^iAA.

•GSftND IDHIEIBLE PE&OH.

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DEVOTED TO

THOMAS MEEHAN, Editor. FEBRUARY, 1861.

VOL. iii.--]sro 2.

^inh for l^p&ruera*

FLOWER

PLEASURE

(M

GARDEN AND
GROUND.

Those who are skilled in what we would term the
science of Landscape Gardening, tell us that the effect
of any effort in the art is to be judged by its expres-
sion. As this is particularly the season of the year
when improvements are in progress, it should not be
forgotten that,

"To him who in the love of nature holds
Communion with her visible forms, she speaks
A various language."

and also, one which he well knoAvs how to inteipret
and understand. Whatever the improver does will
speak not only for or against his taste, but will be per-
petually talking to him in his various moods, and ex-
pressing thoughts and opinions to others of which,
perhaps, even he himself had never dreamed. "Ye
may know a man by his garden;" not only what he is
but also what he is not, and what he might have
been.

We have in our eye a pleasant spot, at least one
which might be a pleasant one. As you pass along
the highroad you see a splendid lawn, noble trees,
and through them you occasionally get a glimpse of
a fine old mansion, appearing finer than it really is
by the full view being partially broken bj^ the trees.
But though the well kept lawn demands your ap-
plause, and the grand evergreens and deciduous
trees cannot fail to win your veneration, — there is
no warmth of feeling experienced for the place as a
whole. Something is wanting. There is no expres-
sion of life ; you can with difficulty reafize that any
one lives there, or if the house contradicts 3^our feel-
ings, it must be that it is inhabited by some hermit,
who in disgust withthe world and the "rest of man-
kind," has shut himself up to meditate on his own sins
and unworthiness, and tells you that he desires none of
your company. All this results from having the
carriage-road on a bye lane, because "we must not
think of cutting up our beautiful green front." It is
a great mistake. The carriage-road, or at least its
entrance, should be the most prominent object of
approach. No place is complete without it, and the

sacrifice of a portion of our friend's "green front"
to affect it, would be a greater proportionate gain to
the whole effect.

In our last we gave some suggestions for road
making from the experience of the New York Central
Park, which is worth referring to. The operation
of water on roads requires careful study on the part
of the inexperienced. As much as possible of sur-
face water should be carried over the surface,
wherever it is possible by turn outs, and wherever there
is danger of heavy washing ; otherwise it may be
carried under the surface by drains, with silt basins
attached to collect the materials washed in by rains,
that would otherwise choke the drains. Broken
stone should be laid as close to the surface as possi-
ble, and no more gravel employed than will fairly
cover the stones.

In all permanent improvements attempted on
groundSjdraining should occupy a prominent position .

Drains are laid often in so that they cannot act, or
soon become inoperative, when the report arises that
"so-and-so expended vast sums on draining, and it
has done no good." The bottom of the trench pre-
pared for the drain — tiles, bricks or stones — should
j be dug to one regular grade. If one part of the drain
be on a lower grade than the rest below it, dirt will
lodge there and choke it ; water will rise to its own
level, and aU escape, except what is in the low grade,
but the earthy matter will not — it will all stay there.
The eye can never be depended on in a grade : gra-
ding pegs should always be employed ; after the drain
is laid, shavings, or something like it, should be pla-
ced thickly over it to prevent the soil from working
its way in. By the time that rots the soil will have
become compact. A drain like that will do good and
be lasting.

Very few places reafize as much pleasure as they
might, by the absence of flower-beds. In proper
positions they have a grand effect. Masses of flower-
beds appear to best advantage when they are
looked down upon either from a mound-terrace, or
elevated Avindow. The following is a sketch of one,
in which the writer has set out many a flower in his
boyish days, and it was always looked upon as a very
pretty design.

The centre is made liiglier than the sides, and in
the case we alUule to, had a sun dial in the centre,
though we think it was out of place, and a basket
or vase of flowers, or a circular flower-bed would
have a better effect. The walks or spaces between
the beds were made of small pebbles, about the size
of hen eggs, and for borders pieces of slate set on
edge were employed, rising about half an inch above
the pebbles. The whole mass of beds, outside of
the imperfect circle which they form, was set in
grass. In the design which we give, there are but
four beds, but any number can be made on the same
principle, 5, 6, 8, etc., according to the space to be
occupied. Every bed should have but one kind of
plant to look well, and the colors should be care-
fully matched. In the days we speak of, we had
but two verbenas, the Scarlet Mehudres, and tlie
White Teucroides, but now a splendid selection of
colors might be made of verbenas alone. We com-
mend the subject of selecting classes of colors of
verbenas for such purposes to Mr. Snow, the ver-
bena man.

While care is bestowed on preparing beds for
flowers in masses, we would not have our friends for-
get the borders for hardy herbaceous plants. Besides
the merit of taking care of themselves, for they re-
quire no further care than taking up every second
year or so, and replanting, they afford a varying in-
terest with every month in the year. We give a
list of six good ones, for flowering near each
of the months annexed. April— Iberis sempervi-

I' rens. Double Daisy, Phlox, subulata, Dicentra,
spectabilis. Snowdrop. The Forget-me-not or
Myosotis palustris. May— Polemonium reptans,
Omphalodes verna, Funkia abbe. Geranium sanguin-
eum, Fraxinellas, Aquilegia Canadensis. June —
Achillea Tomentosa, Dodecathon Meadia, Funkia
cerulea. Iris of sorts. Lychnis fulgens, Pentstemon

rosea. July — Zauchneria Cahfornica, Wahlenber-
gia grandiflora, Spircea Japonica, Potentilla atro-
sanguinea. Lychnis Chalcedonica, Campanula persi-
cifoMa alba. August — Achillea Ptarmica, Clematis
revoluta, Chelome barbata. Delphinium formo-
sum, Lythrvim salicaria, Liatris spicata. Septem-
ber— Sedum popufolium. Double Dwarf Sunflower,
Anemone Japonica, The Lilies, Dracocephalum Vir-
gineum, Asters. There are besides a great many
other beautiful species, and which others might
think even more beautiful than those we have named,
but these will at any rate form the nucleus of a good
collection.

FRUIT GARDEN.

In those latitudes where aU danger of frost is over,
grafting of trees will be in order. There have been
few if any new ideas or improvements advanced on
this head for years past, that would call for special
note from us. We might perhaps suggest that
where branches are wanting to make perfect trees,
the vacancy may be filled by a graft. If, however,
this be low down in the tree, there may be a difficulty
in getting the shoot to push vigorously, through the
stronger top branches robbing it of its proper supply
of nourishment. Cutting a notch above the graft,
into the old wood, is the best way of ensuring the
strong breakage desired. Very often indeed, this
notching is all that is required to force a bud to grow.
In selecting scions for grafting, be very careful that
the scions have not been injured through the win-
ter. Many failures, in Cherries especially, result
from this cause. Most parties cut off their scions
before severe weather sets in, and are safe ; where
this cannot be done, or has not been done, choose
the lower parts of the shoot of last season's growth
for the scion, rejecting the extreme points; these
always suffer most. The operation is rendered safer.
Short scions are better than longer ones ; it is best,
however, to have two buds to each, in case of acci-
dent to one ; where the bud is required to make a
straight leader, one must be taken out as soon as it
is clear that the one left is secure from ordinary dan-
ger. In grafting, it is the cells at the extremities of
what are termed the medullary rays, which termi-
nate with the wood growth of last season, that most
readily unite. These two portions or as it is some-
times said the "inner bark" must consequently al-
together coincide to be certain of success. The
layers of wood of last year's growth are often much
larger or smaller than that of the stock, and to make
the connection of the proper parts the more certain, it
has been found beneficial in practice to lean the
scion a little from the peri^endicular, so that the
base is a little in, and the top of the scion a little
out from the line of the stock ; a very little is enough

''m

^\i^ ©ardnier's ^Ponthlg.

35

by this a portion of the two parts are certain to
cross each other.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

There is nothing so acceptable as early vegetables,
and one of the most useful aids to this is a hotbed.
Every amateur shoidd have one, as every well regu-
lated horticultural establishment regards it as one
of its most essential features. Not only is heat gen-
erated by manm-e more fiivorable to vegetation than
that from any other kind of heat usually applied, but
the manure itself, after being so employed, seems
better than that preserved any other way. We would
sooner have one load of hotbed manure for horticul-
tural purposes, especially for pot plants generally,
than two of the same kind of manure that had not
been so employed.

To make a hotbed, long stable manure should be
used, and if it can be turned a couple of times,
before heating violently each time, before perma-
nently using, the more regular will be the heat in
the bed and the longer will it last.

A south-eastern aspect is best for a hotbed, and it
should be well sheltered from winds on the cold
quarter.

If the ground is dry, the soil may be dug out about
a foot in depth, but for very early forcing it is best
to have the whole above ground, as when sunk, the
cold rains or thawing snow collects in the pit and
cools the materials.

The foundation for the hotbed should be about
eighteen inches wider than the frame to be set on it
when finished, and the manure regularly laid on till
about the height of three feet has been obtained,
when the frame may be set on. It is not well to
tramp the manure too heavily, or the heat Avill be
too violent. Sometimes the manure is very "strawj^,"
in which case it shoidd be watered with drainage
from the m^anure heap, or the heat will be "a good
time coming," when it would be very inconvenient
to "wait a little longer."

When the manure and frame are both fixed, a half
inch of soil should be thrown over the manure under
the sash to absorb the gross gases that would else be
too strong. For a few days after, the heat will be
too violent, but when the thermometer indicates a
temperature of 90^, operations may begin ; but the
usual aim is 70°. When the bed shows signs of
getting below this, linings of stable manure must be
applied round the frames, one and a half feet thick,
and if boards, shutters, mats, or any similar material
can be spread over these linings, the heat will be
maintained much longer.

Having secured the hotbed. Dahlias, Annuals, Cu-
cumbers, Tomatoes, Peppers, Egg-plants, and many
other interesting things can be started, hy which

we may get several weeks ahead of our neighbors in
the enjoyments of vegetable luxuries, and when done
with the bed in May, it will be the very place for
gloxinias, achimenes, and many other beautiful house
plants which delight in a warm moist heat.

A great deal of difliculty is often experienced in
keeping up a sufficiency of heat in cold weather, —
and every care should be taken to prevent a loss of
heat. Straw mats, and bast mats, and other con-
trivances, are employed to throw over the glass dur-
ing the night, and even warm manure, when a
night of extra sharpness is anticipated. There is
nothing that requires more skill than to conduct a
hotbed well, and yet nothing that is perhaps more
satisfactory than it is when entirely successful.

PLANTS AND PLANT HOUSES.

The beauty of the Pelargonium is to have it
dwarf and stocky, with thick-set shoots, and bold
healthy foliage. To our mind there is not a more
beautiful object than a really well grown Pelargonium.
To be kept near the glass— to never be allowed to
get drj^— to be kept clear of insects, and to have a
rich soil, plenty of it, and manure water occasion-
ally, is the real secret. Calceolarias are also fine
objects in good hands. They also must be kept
near the glass, and manure water helps them after
they have once began to grow freely. Chinese
Primroses must not be over potted, unless very
healthy, or they will be liable to damp away al-
together. Gloxineas and Achimenes may be potted
for the earliest blooming plants. Fuchsias should
be cut down, and started if fine specimens arc
wanted ; and after they have pushed a little, shaken
out of their pots, the old balls reduced, and encour-
aged again to grow with new soil.

Where very vigorous plants are not required, they
may have only the side branches cut in. Lantanas
are becoming popular pot plants, and should be
headed in — the same manner as Fuchsias. Any
Ferns that may seem to be approaching their
fruiting season, which is known by the ripening
of the spores on the back of the fronds, should be
repotted into new soil for a fresh growth. We need
scarcely observe that partial shade and moisture are
essential to the fern tribe. Where no hotbeds are
at hand, the next best thing for flowers is to sow in
pans a few Phlox, Mignionette, and other things
that it is desirable to have earlj'- in the greenhouse,
by the end of the month. Camellias and Azaleas
are about commencing growth, and now is the time
to prune and re-pot them if they require it, which
starved and stunted growth usually indicates. As to
the proper soil for pot ting ; we can only say in a
general way, that it is best for the amateur to use

^

36

®I^ §mi\mtfB ^ontMj*

the soft spongy soil, full of dense masses of fibrous
roots, that usually forms the surface of old
■woods, as the basis of all his potting operations.
Skill and observation only will teach him how he
can improve it by special agents, till at length he can
tell what degrees of various soils he can employ to
make a compound or compost, that shall exactly
suit any of his floral pets. After that he may get
up bins in his potting shed, and have as many
various soils ready for mixing as there are drugs in
a Doctor's shop. These horticultural apothecaries
are often laughed at by the generalizers of the art ;
but we must do them the justice to say that we
never knew one of them who was very successful
with any particular thing he grew, and had achieved
fame and reputation therefor, that could not tell
you to a pound, the various soils he had separately
mixed together to form his compound.

they were spread, could scarcely have afforded them
anything but water, and they were, in my opinion,
mere absorbents of water.

Our vines never seem to suffer from drought, and
I have an idea that in our soil these absorbent roots
penetrate till they reach water. The excavation was
made in August. It is possible that one signal bene-
fit accruing to the vine, from the very deep trenching
so strongly insisted on by grape cultivators, is due to
the ease with which the roots penetrate the soil
deeply in quest of moisture.

SEFAKATE OFFICES OP TAP ROOTS
AND SURFACE ROOTS.

BY H. C. B., PAINESVILLE, LAKE CO., OHIO.

In Gardener's Monthly for December, page 374, you
remark, "It has even been suspected and with much
reason, that all roots of any considerable depth be-
neath the surface do little else than supply moisture."

I fully believe the remark is true. Let me give
you a fact which suggested the idea that there were
roots whose sole or principal office is the absorption
of water. This village is situated on one of the
ridges which extend along Lake Erie parallel with
its shore. On all these ridges the soil is a warm,
friable sandy loam of very fair fertility, not at all re-
tentive of water, and very easily penetrated even by
the most delicate roots. Grapes succeed here admi-
rably without underdraiuing or subsoihng.

Our soil is underlaid at a depth varying from two
to six feet by gravel, which extends downwards to
the clay from twelve to twenty feet.

The water of our wells is from the stratum of
clean gravel lying next above the clay. My own
well is eleven feet deep with two feet of water, bring-
in «• living water within some nine feet of the surface
of the ground.

Five years since, I constructed a cistern, for which
I made an excavation nine feet deep ; near one side
of this excavation stood a well-established Catawba
grape vine, and at eight feet below the surface the
workman noticed, in the wet gravel, almost within
reach of permanent water an abundance of white, ten-
der, porous roots which I traced upwards towards the
vine, to which they unquestionably belonged. The
gravel, clean and wet, as if washed, among which

SHEPHARD'S POT CARRIER.

BY MR. JAMES EADIE, PHILA.

This is a very simple contrivance to carry large
pots of flowers or plants. It consists of two common
hand spikes, in this case about 6 feet long, 1^ inches
thick, and 3^ inches wide, with a slit or mortice in
the centre through the side to receive freely the cross
or tie pieces, and two — ^what I will call the pieces,
being boards 1 inch thick and wide enough to be
strong, with one end fastened with a pin or bolt so
as to work on a pivot in the mortise of the hand-
spoke ; the other end made with a bevel of about 40
degrees, or enough to close the tie pieces as fast as
the hand-spikes are closed; then a pin on the

A/o3

outside of the hand spike put through a hole in the
tie-piece fasten the whole together ; the end of the

^

mortise is made to fit the bevel of the tie piece so
that the pressure of the pot cannot push it back. To
take it off of the pot you draw out the pin from the
hole on the outside of the hand-spike and draAV the
tie piece out of the mortise. The pins are fiistened
to the hand-spike by a string or chain so that they
cannot get lost. The curve or circle in the tie pieces
need not fit the circle of the pot exactlj'', but may be
about a medium of what is intended to carry ; if in-
tended to carry from ten to eighteen inch pots, the
curve might be seven inches wide or fourteen inches
diameter.

DESCRIPTION OP FOREGOING CUT :

No. 1 shows the manner the tie pieces lie in the
mortise ; a. a. are the two ties ; b. b, are the mortices ;
c. c. are the permanent pins ; d. d. are the pin holes to
hold it together ; e. e. are the closing slides.

No. 2 is a side view of the hand-spike showing the
size of the mortise.

No. 3 is a cross view showing the manner of
catching the pot ; /./. are the two pins holding the
hand-spikes together.

THE ALLEN RASPBERRY AGAIN.

BY L. F. ALLEN, BUFFALO, N. Y.

In your January paper, the Committee of the East-
em Pennsylvania Fruit Growers' Society say they
meant no personality or charge of deception — that is
the gist of it — on my part, but simply an ' ' error' ' in
sending out other plants than the "Allen" raspberry
to the public. In my remarks in the December
number, I did not mean to say that they had charged
me with "deception." But whether my plants were
wrong through error on my part, or intended decep-
tion, the consequence to the receiver of them would
be the same, to wit : A different thing from that or
those which he expected to receive instead of the
genuine.

My reply that I did not cultivate any otlier rasp-
berry plants than the "Allen" and "Red Prolific,"
and therefore could not and did not send out any
other varieties, which I here repeat, ought to be suf-
ficient, so far as I am concerned. But "the Com-
mittee" now meet that disclaimer, with the assertion
of Mr. Freas, of the Germantown Telegraph, that he
got plants from me for those two varieties, neither of
which were the "Allen," and that after proving them
so, and worthless, to boot, he threw them out. Now
is not Mr. Freas mistaken as to the identity of his
plants ?

If I am not mistaken, a pomologist in one of the in-
terior counties of Pennsylvania, soon after my plants
went into the vicinity of Philadelphia, asserted in the
Germantown Telegraph, that he had the "Allen," oi
a raspberry like it, in cultivation, which had been in
his grounds for some years, and proposed growing

them side by side to compare them, or something of
the sort. I did not keep the copy of the Telegraph
containing this notice, which Mr. Freas was kind
enough to send me, and cannot now state the least
particulars. I simply wish to ask "the Committee"
the question, whether or not, Mr. Freas had any
other raspberry plants from any other person, and
cultivated them at the time he had the "Allen" in liis
grounds ? If so, could he not have got them inter-
mixed or confused, one for the other ?

The "writer" of the committee's report says, ' that
he examined the two varieties of raspberry plant
which Mr. Freas received from me, and that neither
of them was the Allen, 'to a certainty.' " Here is a
contradiction— point blank — no mistake about it, so
far as the committee and Mr. Freas are concerned on
one hand, and myself on the other. "A question of
veracity," as gentlemen of punctilio would have it.
How is the fact to be settled ? Either Mr. Freas must
have been mistaken as to the identity of the plants
he received from me, or the gentleman of the com-
mittee who examined them was not an accurate
judge of what the "Allen" raspberry is, or I com-
mitted an error in sending out a variety of plant
which I did not grow and did not have in my pos-
session, and which it was impossible for me to send
out, as I sent out no others than the two varieties
which I did grow ; or, further, the package got
changed on the way to Philadelphia.

I intend no personalities towards any gentleman ;
on the other hand, the parties are personally un-
known to me, and I can entertain no other senti-
ment towards them than those of entire respect, such
as their position in the community entitles them to.
Thus I leave the whole subject.

As to the "hardiness" of the "Allen" variety, and
the Red Prolific also, I have had several thousand
plants of them both standing in my grounds, unpro-
tected through the winter, for eight or ten years past,
and never, to my knowledge, lost a single cane by
the frost or cold weather ; my latitude is a few minutes
less than 43^ north. Black Rock, February 1, 1861.

LANDSCAPE-GARDENING.-Contractinsr.

BY GEORGE WOODWARD, NEW YORK.

The execution of landscape work by contract is
one of those subjects that will bear further discus-
sion. Though it has been pretty well handled on
all sides, yet, so far, without a satisfactory conclu-
sion, the arguments advanced against such a manner
of doing work, to our mind, have no apjilication
whatever.

It seems to be a necessary requirement among
many who cannot give their whole attention to the
improvement of their country homes, that, as a
matter of economy to themselves, the contract ays-

%\t §Mihfitxs S^fiiithlj,

(M

tem should be, to some extent, adopted. Like
every thing else, it has its defects ; but it has also
some strong recommendations.

The laborer working by the day has no ambition
or study above earning his v^'ages witli the least
amount of work. No matter what may be his abil-
ity or intelligence as compared with his fellow -work-
men, he is ranked as low as the dullest and slowest
of them all. It is presumed they are equal in all
respects ; but such is, by no means, the fact. There
is no doubt but that a very much larger quantity of
work might be done in a given time, if the incen-
tive to do it was governed by the amount to be
done. A man will work harder for himself than he
will for another ; and if his intelligence and ambi-
tion are excited, there is to him a new interest in his
pursuit.

The supposition, however, that any man can be a
contractor, is an erroneous one, — it is a calling that
requires intelligence and experience. The contrac-
tor who proposes to execute landscape work should
be educated to his business. Those who contract
for masonry or carpenter work are those who fully
understand what they are about.

The prevailing notion that the lowest bidder is
the cheapest is scarcely realized in practice. Those
who expect to get work done beloAV its fair value,
will reap some disappointments. Those who pro-
pose to do it for less than it is worth, intend in some
manner to deceive. Contractors' prices may vary,
however, from many circumstances. One may have
better facihties in the way of horses, carts, men,
means of living, capital, «fcc., and thus be able to
work cheaper, or when times are dull may take work
at a loss, in order to make the loss less on his unem-
ployed horses and time.

As a general rule, however, the most satisfactory
contract work that is done is that which is let at a
fair price to competent men who place a high value
on their reputation. Irresponsible men should not
be entrusted with much work at once. The condi-
tions of getting more should depend upon doing
that well.

The execution of landscape work by contract is a
subject of discussion, — the conclusions thus far
drawn being against it ; but the hypothesis being
erroneous, the conclusions must be so too. If the
ground be taken that a contractor should be able to
bid on effects, then the system fails ; but why should
he be expected to bid on effects in landscape scenery
any more than he should in a church-spire ? Is
architecture any less a fine art than landscape-gar-
dening? But what has a contractor to do with
I effects or results ? His business is to execute a cer-
tain specified piece of work in accordance with a
certain plan, and under the superintendence of the

designer or his assistant. If the form be ugly, or
its effect bad, it is nought to him. Has an artist no
conception of the beauty in surface? or doe^ he
only know that it is beautiful when he sees it ? Sup-
pose digging and dumping is done, and no beautiful
effect is produced, must it be done again and again ?
and when an effect is produced, by what process
shall we know that it is the most beautiful that could
have been found? If " it is impossible for^any land-
scape-gardener to say how much digging and dump-
ing will be necessary to produce the effect he seeks,"
why not have him educated up to that point where
he shall know ? Are we to suppose that Powers
watched the marble, uncertain whether it would
produce the Greek Slave or a "what is it?" or that
Sir Christopher Wren piled stone upon stone to find
the effect he wanted ?

Proposing to make a park by contract is not con-
tracting for effects. Plans and specifications do not
imply that a contractor shall be responsible for har-
mony, proportion, or beauty, and no estimate of
them by the foot or pound is indicated or expected.
If a landscape-gardener cannot plan and specify the
improvement of ground, he is deficient in his pro-
fessional education. If he can plan and specify his
work, it is a subject of contract. There is a certain
point in all works of art where the hand of the artist
is required ; and it is that point where his genius
rises above the machinery of the bone and muscle
around him. It cannot be presumed that the heavy
and laborious work attendant upon works of art is
executed by the controlling mind that designs them.
The marble statue is finished, to unprofessional
eyes, when the artist takes it. The bulk of the work
on large paintings is done by inferior hands. Why
should a skilful artist employ his time and talents on
mechanical details, his work begins where the
medium skill of others end ? His practice lies in the
higher walks of art and design. Composition and
effect are his great forts. There is a very wide dif-
ference between contracting for the execution of any
class of work, and contracting for the impression it
shall produce upon the mind. This last hypothesis,
including a presumption that a landscape-gardener
cannot know his business, is the basis of all argu-
ment against the possibility of executing landscape
work by contract, — a very specious mode of arriving
at results.

Before proceeding farther, we should state, that
that part of the creation of landscape scenery which
applies to the formation of surfaces, construction of
roads and walks, ornamental water, terracing, bridg-
ing, drainage, &c., &c., should be considered imder
a different head from that which treats of grass,
trees, or shrubbery. The first implies a knowledge
of civil and topographical engineering, but which

i

'1^ <jfAg)*

ilh^ fiardun^r's ^tonthlj.

we designate as landscape-engineering, as it must
combine results, not only useful and practical, but a
development of the artistical and beautiful. The
second implies a knowledge of gardening, of the
habits and future forms of trees, «S:c., the best man-
ner of transplanting, arranging and nursing them,
the character of the soil, exposures, &c., together
Avith a knowledge of the harmony of color, and the
effects of atrial and linear perspective.

It is a well-known fact, that the resources of civil
engineering will give the necessary information re-
quired to perfect any design in earth-work, and to
plan and specify it ; and we therefore conclude that
it is a subject of contract, always reserving that the
finish of the surface should be done under the per-
sonal superintendence of the designer. The result
of our convictions arising from a series of actual ex-
periments, and a thorough investigation of similar
operations in the hands of others, have satisfied us
that the contract system is applicable to landscape
work, but that it involves a high degree of skill in
landscape-engineering, and the employment of hon-
orable and skilful contractors.

The policy of doing work of this class by con-
tract may require further consideration. Economy
may dictate it, because the equii^ment and organiza-
tion of contractors' forces enable him to execute
work at a less rate and make more money. What
is business to him are experiments to others; and
system will make available the full power of a gang
of men, while others would waste a third. The
employment of superintendents who are well posted
m all the processes of grading is by too many con-
sidered expensive practice. Our experience has
taught us that the employment of the best talent
that could be found was, in the end, the cheapest
and most satisfactory. — cheap men, like cheap
houses, being the most costly; and there are too
many who love to see the folly of oft-repeated ex-
periments, not content to begin where others leave
ofi", but prefer to follow in the same track to en-
counter and repeat the same faults. Landscape-
gardening is progressive, and the amateur of to-day
commits a mistake when he fails to post himself up
on the results of all experiments that have already
been demonstrated.

IS IT IMPERATIVELY NECESSARY TO
CUT DOWN THE OLD CANES IN THE
VINERY?

BY H. E. CniTTY, NEW LOKDON, CONK.

I HAVE read, with much interest, the remarks
which have appeared, from time to time, in the
Monthly, upon grape-culture, especially the articles
rom the pen of Mr. Bright upon The Renewal Sys-
tem of Pruning. But I think Mr. Bright takes

WH,i

very strong ground when he declares, in the last
number, the imperative necessity of cutting down
the old canes. Now, in the first place, what does
Mr. Bright style an old cane? I have under my
charge a span-roofed vinery, eighty feet long, half
of which was built three years ago. The border
was well made, and the vines planted four feet
apart on both sides. The other forty feet were
added last winter, the border made, and young vines
planted in the spring. Last summer was the third
season of the first-mentioned vines. Each vine
produced, on the average, as many grapes as was
consistent with the age of the vines. They were
beautiful, and the admiration of every person who
saw them. The wood ripened well. They were
spur-pruned in November, cleaned, layed down and
covered with dry sea-weed for winter. And they
are at this moment every thing that could be desired
in vines of that age. Now, I wish to ask Mr.
Bright if he would consider these as old vines?
And if, to insure their future productiveness, it is
imperatively necessary that they should be cut down
to within a foot or so of the ground?

I would also ask Mr. Bright, if he could consci-
entiously recommend and advise my employer to
sacrifice those vines at once to the the long-cane
renewal system. Just after my apprenticeship was
finished, I lived two years with Edward Mitchell, of
Brighton, England. Mr. Mitchell, long previously,
had been noted as one of the leading grape-growers
in England ; and he sustained that reputation long
after I left him. He generally took the first pre-
miums in the market-growers' class at Chiswick and
Regent's Park, had the first grapes in market, and
commanded the highest prices for his productions.
Mr. Mitchell, while I remained with him, was fruit-
ing vines that had been regularly spurred for sixteen
or eighteen years, and the grapes still were of the
very finest description. The vines were smooth and
healthy looking, though very thick ; the leaves were
also perfect. And when the grape-mildew first
made such dreadful ravages in England, Mr.
Mitchell suffered with the rest, but those old vines
were the only ones which resisted the mildew suffi-
ciently to ripen the crop. I have often heard Mr.
Mitchell say that they were his best vines. He used,
however, to adopt Mr. Bright' s long-cane renewal
system occasionally when the crops failed to set
good, or the canes became vmsightly. I have also
seen it practiced at the Duke of Norfolk's, at Arun-
del Castle ; at Hampton Court Palace Gardens ; at
Wilmot's, of Islewortlx, and various other places.
I have also, long ago, practised it myself. I, how-
ever, have no wish to dispute Mr. Bright' s claim to
the originality of the system, though it was un-
doubtedly practised in England many years before

either Mr. Bright or myself saw the light; probably
as long as the vine has been cultivated there. The
chief novelty of Mr. Bright' s system consists in his
exertions to make a rule of what has heretofore been
the exception, — a practice universal, which, in some
cases and under some circumstances, may be advan-
tageously adopted. Here is a case to the point.
Last winter two of the canes in one of our vineries
became exposed during the severe weather, so that
in spring I found it necessary to cut them down.
They started again, and made line new canes clear
to the top of the house, and are every thing which
could be desired in one year's canes. But my em-
ployer only estimates their value at one-fourth that
of the other vines which were not cut down.

Here, then, is an instance of the long-cane re-
newal system, dictated by purely accidental causes,
which, in a measure, proved successful. I have under
my management two vineries, the vines in which
are of two years' growth, since planted out, and I
think no argument Mr. Bright could emi)loy could
convince me of the advantage of cutting them alter-
nately down. But I am acquainted with vineries
not a thousand miles from where I write, on which
the renewal system might be employed to advantage,
provided they could be judiciously managed after-
wards. In fact, two years ago a gentleman asked
me what was best for him to do with his vines. I
advised him to cut them down and get new canes
from the roots. "Whether my advice was acted on
or not, I am not able to say ; but this, as well as the
instance cited above, was long before I saAV Mr.
Bright' s views in print.

Again, Mr. Bright refers to the fact of Mr. Ellis
finding it beneficial to cut down some of his vines,
as materially assisting his theory. Now, to me the
article referred to in the December Monthly has a
very different signification. Mr. Ellis is an intelli-
gent man, ready and willing to employ the means
at his disposal, which in this case must result to his
advantage. It clearly shows, however, that Mr.
Ellis has long been familiar with the result, and ad-
vantages of the practice in certain cases, although
his faith in it as a system may have been strength-
ened by Mr. Bright' s writings.

But the context shows that Mr. Ellis is not will-
ing to adopt Mr. Bright' s practice in toto. He does
not intend fruiting the canes the entire length of the
rafter the first season, but to gradually fruit and
spur it according to circumstances. Thus we see
that Mr. Ellis, as well as all other practical men, are
impelled by force of circumstances to adopt mea-
sures of the greatest practical utility and economy
temporarily, which, as a rule, would be extreme.
How prone are gardeners to go to extremes in
theory ! If a dwarf pear becomes broken down,

and we find, after cutting it off" smooth, that it
throws up a strong shoot, and eventually makes a
handsome, thrifty tree, should we be justified in
advocating the indiscriminate breaking and cutting
down of all dwarf pear or other trees ?

Mr. Bright finds, from experience, that, for pot-
culture, and in some other cases, the annual re-
newal system is best, and declares the imperative
necessity of cutting down all old grape vines, and
actually reducing the grape vines, in all cases, to a
mere annual or biennial plant. I could mention
plenty of instances Avhere it would not only be ex-
tremely injudicious, but absolutely at variance with
my ideas of common-sense, to adopt Mr. Bright' s
system as a regular ijractice.

Mr. Bright, in quoting the article from the Gar-
dener''s Chronicle, says: — "To my mind, the Doc-
tor's reasoning is very conclusive and satisfactory."
Mr. Bright is more easily satisfied with what may
have a bearing on his darling theory than what I
would be. While I am perfectly ready to admit
the Doctor's eminent skill as a botanist and
physiologist, I am afraid he would make a poor
show as a practical gardener, and very much doubt
whether he could produce a house of grapes of even
ordinary excellence from his own management,
with the very best of tools and materials to work
with. For my part, I faii to see the conclusiveness
and real practical bearing on the subject of any sen-
tence in that quotation. But allow me to ask Mr.
Bright one question, then I am done for the present.
Allowed that the roots of a vine elaborate each
year a given amount of sap, what will be the diff'er-
ence to those root? whether the same amount of sap
adds a new layer of wood to the old cane, or goes
to the formation of an entirely new cane ?

[Dr. Lindley's argument is very clear. No mat-
ter how many roots a plant may have, their action is
secondary to the amount of healthy leaves, which
"elaborate" or prepare the sap, which the roots
merely absorb, not "elaborate," though there is a
mutual influence on root and leaf. Healthy leaves
induce healthv root-growth; and healthy root-
growth induces, in like manner, a healthy growth
of leaves.

In reduced terms. Dr. Lindley's argument may
be stated : — The quantity of wood formed depends
on the quantity of leaves. The trunk or stem of a
tree requires an increased proportion of wood each
successive year. If the proportion of leaves is not
increased, the proportion of wood cannot increase ;
therefore the stem or trunk does not get what it
requires. This seems sound.

We think the question of pruning becomes one rath-
er of profit and loss, than of science and logic. The lat-

(94 (< -«-

ihi| iiirdnicr's Pantl%

41

tcr can be made to partially support both views ; but
the tbrnicr "svill suit the masses best.

We should like to see the question put in this
shape : Bj'- planting a double number of vines than
is usuaI, and cutting down each one alternately an-
nually ; can a greater weight of fruit be produced
in an equal space, in an equal period, and at an equal
expense ?

Science has done her part for Mr. Bright' s view,
— facts and figures we are anxiouslj- awaiting. Ex-
cellent results ha'^-e followed the old system, and
Mr. Chitty well presents them. We should our-
selves adopt the old system, trjdng Mr. Bright' s,
however, on a small scale wherever practicable,
until time had struck the balance of results for or
against it. — Ed.]

AGE.

BY JOSEPH AMRAM.

Spring is coming. With the return of sap in
vegetation, with the re-awakening of nature, there
returns and re-awakens in man's soul the desire to
do and to act. Improvements appear before his desire.
The air gets just balmy enough to invite him out of
doors, and is still bracing enough to fan him into
brisk activity. He wanders about the farm, the
park, the garden ; and, in running over the ground,
he runs over, in his mind, the schemes of last j^ear
to correct this or that, or he forms new ones on the
spot.

Whatever he may undertake, let him try for the
appearance of age. The newness of things is dis-
tasteful. To be comfortable in mind and body, we
want our house to be old, — not decaying, — ^but worn
by and fitting its inmates, every nook and corner with
its use and its tale. Old wine, old love, old trees, old
friends, old faith, — they are always fresh in their
age, and very little good in their youth. Indeed, if
I look round creation, I discover but one thing
which must be new and young for me ; and that —
why not say it ? — is a baby. Nobody likes an old
baby.

To steer now to the point. In improving ground,
had we better not avoid all look of newness ? For
my part, I rather carry my new road or walk a little
out of the way to get near old trees or an old bank
of brambles, than be obliged to plant it along with
young stuff. It will not fit to the rest if I do.

I also have to paint the woodwork of my house
afresh. But I will not paint staring zinc white, —
that failing of our American country-houses. White
is no color, — is but an intensity of light which hurts
the eyes, the brain, the soul, and looks well only in
long distances, e.g., when, a mile off. you get a peep
of a white house on a green-wooded knoll. There
the white is broken by the green, and is no more

actual white, the distance and the clouds having
shaded it down already into grey tints.

AVhat, then, shall I i.aint? I will take sober
colors in soft contrast with things round. But no
one color will suffice for my eye, if there is not at
least one more of the same tint, lighter or darker,
going along with it as the shade goes naturally with
the light. Frames, panels, columns, and their caps
and bases can thus alone get their value. But even
the sober tints are too new and fresh to me for the
first few months. I know the house newly painted
will chafe a little on me like new boots, or a new
coat not broke in.

" A fop, a poodle, and a bran new coat,
That's what's in every line he wrote."

However, there are creepers on the wall, and
there are pillars hid under roses, and they will soften
the harshness of new paint. Who will teach me to
lay on paint so as to look old ?

My barn, too, wants whitewashing; but here,
happily, I have an arcanum. My whitewash is
greywash, bluish grey. It will be splashed on,
rather than washed on. The stones are uneven ; it
will, consequently, look uneven ; and what with the
ogive windows, and the small panes, and the trum-
pet-vine hanging from the top of the roof, seeking
the denied support, my barn will look old enough to
my taste. If it does not, I shall try, and by kin-
dling wet brush against it, shall smoke it to make
sure of age.

What an absurdity this will appear to many ! I
appeal to good taste, of the approbation of which I
feel confident. Newness borders on show and vul-
garity. Newness as often expresses an intention,
rather than a power. Age alone is character. New-
ness is a misfortune, which either years must over-
come or our double-distihed ingenuity. And who-
ever will be good enough to state his recipes for age
in this our Gardener's Monthly^ will earn the thanks
of a grateful gardening and improving public.

[Our good friend seems to be inspired to write to
us only once a year, and that about spring-time.
We do wish spring came to him every month. —
Ed.]

BELTED PARES.

BY WALTER ELDER, PHILADELPHIA.

It is surprising that among our boasted rural im-
provements, our wealthy citizens do not adopt the
sensible plan of adorning and sheltering their parks
or country-seats with belts of trees. A belt even
along the wayside, with an ornamental gate and
lodge at its side, gives the place an air of magnifi-
cence and seclusion, that nothing else could, and
which are considered the first marks of refinement,
and convey the idea to the mind of the passer

— C

■^C)

42

ih^ iardaer's ^antlj%

that all must be beauty and splendor within, and
glimpses of the interior in passing the gateway and
thi-ough the openings of the belt. The sod looks
greener, the avenue brighter, the trees on the lawn
more massive, and the buildings larger and more
noble. It is the belted park that imparts that pic-
turesque beauty to the landscape which is so highly
admired in other lands. Nor are these all. It has
been proved that the extremes of summer and win-
ter are several degrees less in belted parks than in
open fields; and surely our extremes and sudden
changes of weather are greater than that of any
other country of the same latitude. Our summer
hurricanes and winter tempests sweep over the open
plains in wild, untamed velocity, carrying havoc
and destruction in their courses, unroofing buildings,
blowing some down, and others off their stands, and
almost withering up man and beast unless they get
timely shelter; but no such desolations occur in
well-belted parks. The resisting power of the trees
cheats the violence of the storm, and stays the rage
of the winds, and breaks their force into fragments
as they whistle through the belts and loudly moan
over their own destruction, and pass over the park
in a subdued mood. Indeed, trees are a divine gift,
to give shade and shelter to the world. It is high
time that we, in the Eastern and Middle States,
should stay the stroke of the woodman's axe, and
employ the ploughman and delver to prepare the
soils and plant out trees. Many of our finer fruits
have become precarious crops for want of shelter
from the sudden changes and violent freaks of our
climate. And some cultivators go so far as to say
that our climate is changed ; but those kinds of fruits
which are now uncertain crops in open farmers'
fields will be of easy and successful culture in belted
parks. The same may be said of some culinary
vegetables, — they will be earlier and last longer.

The great drawback to planting out trees with us
is, that so many improper persons are employed to
do the work. Many of our wealthy citizens are to
blame for this. The first and main questions asked
are. How much do you charge per day ? How much
will you charge to plant so many trees ? It is not.
How well will you do so ? Now, there is as much
difference of men as of merchandise in their value.
The great greed and hurry to get great quantities of
work done cheap is the true cause of disappointment
and bane in gardening. In preparing the soil for
belts of trees, give a deep subsoil-ploughing early in
spring, and sow it down with oats ; harroAV and roll
it down, and when the crop is a foot tall, plough it
under, and, after lying a fortnight, sow it thickly
with buckwheat ; harrow and roll it in, and when it
is coming into bloom, plough it under, and the be-
ginning of October harrow and roll again, and open

WBi

furrows, by running the plough both ways in "the
same furrows, say seven or eight feet apart, and
plant the evergreens in them at once. The begin-
ning of November plant out the deciduous trees,
say eight or ten feet apart in the furrows, breaking
the openings in each furrow. Trees six to eight feet
tall are large enough, and a sixth part of them should
be evergreens ; and the first year the weeds should
be kept down with hoe and cultivator, and the se-
cond year cut them off once a month, with hook or
scythe, to prevent their seeding. After that they
will need no care but topping-off the deciduous trees
occasionally to make them branch below, but let
evergreens run up.

Do I hear some one say, "The belts of trees pre-
vent a free circulation of air passing through the
place" ? I answer, They check the speed of the air,
but refine it fitting for the lungs. The life-giving
part, oxygen, is heaviest, and falls down, and you get
it. Trees sift the air, and separate the ' ' wheat from
the chaff," and you get the grains. Strong currents
of air are injurious to health, especially evening
currents to matrons and maidens who have been
shut up in close and dark rooms during the day.
Any one can obtain a current of air by walking,
running, and riding through it. In that case, it is
the exercise, and not the quantity of air, that gives
strength. It is a well-known fact, that those Avho
live in belted parks in Great Britain are longer-lived
than those who live out of them. But the belted
parks give shelter to large tracts of the country.
The breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, &c., have im-
proved with the increased number of belted parks
there. Indeed, it has been proved that the yield of
ten cows in a belted park is equal to that of fifteen
in an open farmer's field, all other things being
equal. The same may be said of fruit trees and cul-
inary vegetables. [Neither fruit trees nor vegetable
garden should be within, at least, a hundred yards
of trees.]

Another says, "The trees will hide the view of
the landscape around us." I answer, that the larger
kinds of trees in the belts can be so arranged as to
suit that, and an observatory can be made upon
the house-top to view the landscape ; but the fashion
of taking visitors up there to see the landscape
around, and carry their eyes off our own places, is
imprudent. Better make beauties upon the place,
and show them to our friends, and when they de-
part they will speak of the place and all they saw
upon it. And to show them the landscape, take
them to a height in the distance, from where our
own place will show to advantage, and be a particu-
lar striking beauty in the scene ; for nothing can be
more beautiful in the landscape than a finely -belted
park.

EFFECT OP DEW ON PRODUCING ROT
AND MILDEW.

BY A. A. MULLET, GLEKDALE, O.

As no one lias responded to the invitation for more
light on the culture of the grape on Kelly's Island, I
consider the subject of sufficient public importance
to make a few remarks on Mr. Batcham's article.

Undoubtedly, great success has attended the cul-
ture of the grape in that region ; but I do not think
the evidence warrants the conclusion that it is due to
the absence of dews and fogs. Let us examine the
points laid down in Mr. Bateham's communication.

First, "That the mode of training and pruning
differs materially from that practiced around Cincin-
nati, cspcciallj' in allowing the vines more wood and
leaf."

Secondly, "The vines are planted 6 feet by 8."

Thirdly, "The soil of the Island is naturally well
adapted to the grape, consisting of friable, deep,
calcareous loam, resting on shale or lime rock having
deep fissures which afford natural drainage."

The first and second of these positions is simply
stated in that report, and little value is attributed to
the last, for the main secret is believed to be due to the
absence of dews and fogs.

Now a large number of vineyards around Cincin-
nati is comparatively as free from fogs on account of
their high elevation as Kelly's Island, and yet they
are subject to mildew, nay, the crops have been
entirely destroyed. We therefore must look to other
causes for the success, and I believe those causes are
clearly pointed out in these valuable positions as
stated above. Let us carefully examine these three
important facts, set before us in that communication,
and which I consider to be its true value and the real
cause of success, viz. : the distance of planting; the
method of pruning ; the preparation and drainage of
the soil.

Mr. Bateham is fully aware of the general method
of planting and pruning adopted in^ the vicinity of
Cincinnati, for he speaks of the material difference,
especially in allowing the vines m.ore wood and leaf; and
knows something of the controversies that have
taken place in the Cincinnati ^Horticultural Society,
on the long and short system of pruning, for he is a
constant reader of its weekly reports, and has, no
doubt, read some of the reports of special committees
appointed by that society to investigate the causes of
the failure of the grape crop. Perhaps an extract
from a report that I, as chairman of a special com-
mittee, read to the Society on November 15th, 1858,
may not be amiss here :

"That the most judiciously planted vineyard that
I had visited belonged to a member of this society.
His \ines are planted wider than usual, and every
fifth or sixth row he left a space wide enough for a

■^arf

wagon to pass ; thus giving the vines a greater supply
of sun and air. ' ' And Mr. Buchanan, one of our most
successful cultivators, immediately named Mr. Hodge
as the person referred to. The usual distance of
planting has hitherto been 3 to 4, or 4 by 5, but few
could now be found to plant closer than 5 by 6, and
some would even prefer 5 by 8. The Catawba and
Isabella are the principal varieties grown on the
Island, as at Cincinnati and elsewhere. Native va-
rieties are said by Mr. Longworth, Mr. Garber, Mr.
Prince, and a host of others, to be well adapted to
our climate ; and these authorities have repudiated
all foreign varieties as not suitable to our climate, and
some have gone so far as to reject even seedlings
from foreign varieties. I do not beheve this theory
of fog and dews could be assented to without repu-
diating what has been said by those experienced cul-
tivators as to the fitness ef our native vines for our cli-
mate. If we examine the method that has been
generally adopted in the Winter or Spring priming
of our native vines, we shall find that it is according
to the German method, whose vines are compara-
tively of a feebler growth when compared to our
robust and luxuriant growers — the Isabella or
Catawba ; both of which are capable of maturing,
under favorable circumstances, over five hundred of
well developed bunches. And here is one of the
material points noticed in Mr. Bateham's report-
" especially allowing the vines more wood and leaf." If
Dr Hales' statement be correct, he found that a
cabbage emitted nearly half its weight of moisture in
tweny-four hours. This watery expiration takes
place chiefly during the day, and is checked by rains
and reduction of temperature, and every nurseryman
is fully aware of the immense expiration that takes
place through the leaves; for, if they take a spray
from a tree for the purpose of budding, they invari-
ably cut off all the leaves to retain the moisture.

Let us noAV apply the principles to the culture of
the vine, especially in ill-drained and clay subsoils
retentive of moisture, and see if cause sufficient can-
not be found in the short system of pruning to ac-
count for the principal cause of the mildew. And if
so, we have at hand a practical and scientific remedy.

Should there be, in the month of June, much rain,
followed by a hot sun, we may expect the mildew ;
for the soil being well filled with moisture, and the
hot sun causing an excessive flow of sap. For a
want of sufficient leaves to evaporate the excess, the
tender cells of the young berries become ruptured,
thus producing the mildew,which is entirely avoided
on Kelly's Island by the especial allowance of more
wood and leaf. I well recollect in a discussion that

took place in the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, a -.
remark made by Dr. S. Mosher, "that the French f
Oidium diS"ered from the American ; the former was

-:=^}

Sfj^ ^arbnitr's Hloittljlj.

from without, while the latter was from within."
This, at the time, I considered a concession to the
advocates of long pruning. But I see by a recent
report to the Cincinnati Horticultural Society by Dr.
S. Mosher, R. Buchanan and J. E. Mottier, some of
our best and most successful wine growers, condemn
the erroneous system of short Summer-pruning,
having found it detrimental to the ripening of the
fruit, and I doubt not that the short system of Win-
ter or Spring pruning will before long receive also
its just condemnation.

It is seldom or ever that the mildew attacks vines
until after the fourth year, for in the same vineyards
and under the same atmospheric influence, the vines
of three and four years old have had a full crop,
while those of six years and upwai'ds were entirely
destroyed by mildew. I had a proof sufficient to
convince me of the correctness of this theory in 1858.
I visited a vineyard of about six acres, the crop of
which had been entirely destroyed by mildew, with
the exception of a few vines that had run up some
cherry trees; these had a fair crop, and one row
which had all the roots cut off" on one side of the
row for the purpose of making a drain for a cellar,
and Jhat one row had a full crop of well-matured
grapes. The owner had root-pruned that row, and
hence the success.

The roots of the Catawba have been traced over
twenty feet, and yet these native and luxuriant
vines have been subjected to the same short and
murderous system practiced by the Germans on their
vines, which are of a feeble growth. Mr. Bateham
speaks of the influence of the lake in rijiening the
fruit ; if those grapes exhibited at Cincinnati be taken
as fair samples, they are not to be compared to those
I saw in Mr. Mottier' s vineyard, either in color or
quality. I thought them exceedingly deflcient in
grape sugar, consequently not well adapted for wine.
But Mr. Mottier does not practice Summer-pruning,
but believes that the leaves have important functions
to perform ; and while others cut off the tops of the
vines to let the sun in to ripen the fruit, he lets the
leaves accomplish this, and the richness of his grapes
both in color and quality, proves the correctness of
his practice. If any one doubt the correctness of
this system they can satisfy themselves by visiting
his vineyard at the proper season, or his wine cellars
at any season, and I am satisfied they will fully en-
dorse my judgment that his grapes and wine are hard
to beat by those of Kelly's Island or elsewhere, and
should they be fortunate enough to get a glass of his
"United States Fair Premium "Wine," they will, no
doubt, approve the committee's decision, and per-
haps secure a box of the same for their use. I have
digressed a little from my subject, and having ex-
tended this article beyond the hmits I intended, I

shall conclude by stating that if I am not mistaken
in the signs of the times, that not only the Summer
pruning will be generally discontinued, but that the
short system of Winter-pruning and close system of
planting will soon be superseded by wider planting,
better drainage and especially allowing the vines
more wood, as so forcibly stated by Mr. Bateham in
his communication.

[Around the Lakes and in Canada, where the ex-
tremes of moisture in the atmosphere are not sudden
and violent, the foreign grape is entirely free from
mildew. On Kelly's Island, where, by the absence
of dews and fogs, the climate is proved to be in a like
regular condition, Mr. Bateham notices the same
success in the culture of the native grape. When
we come to a dryer and more changeable climate,
the foreign grape fails. Its tender leaves and spongy
wood part with moisture too rapidly, and mildew
ensues. So the cultivator builds a cold vinery over
the grapes, which insures the moist and regular cli-
mate of the Lakes, and mildew is in a measure con-
quered. Mr. Muflett's experience is similar in its
results.

In drained ground, where heat and moisture are
more regular; in wider planted vineyards, where
the plants cannot rob each other so easily in a dry
time ; in less Summer-pruned vines where the well-
known effect is to produce harder and less spongy
wood ; and in vines running over trees where the
partial shade checks evaporation; the same efiects
are produced that nature efi'ects on the atmosphere of
Kelly's Island, and the foreign grape grower does in
his vinery. The whole series of experiences shows
a striking coincidence of causes from the most oppo-
site views to one point. It is highly probable that it
will become an admitted principle that "an over dry
or suddenly dried atmosphere is the most common
cause of the mildew and rot in grapes, causmg a
greater evaporation than the plant can healthily
supply." AU this can be partially remedied by cor-
rect pruning, draining, shading, or locality, as well
as the selection of kinds with thick leathery foliage,
that will not easily wilt under any common sun.

We should be glad to receive from other of our
correspondents any additional observations, confir-
matory or otherwise, of these views. — Ed.]

PACKING FRUIT.

BY "CLAUDE," LODI, N. J.

May not the decay of the large Duchesse d' An-
gouleme pear, sent from Wayne County to Phila-
delphia, (as mentioned in the December Monihbj),
be as attributable to their enormous size as to the
eftects of their transit ?

I have noticed, this last season, many large fruit
of this variety quite diseased in the flesh, whilst the

outside was to all appearance quite sound ; and this
too, in the case of fruit that had been gathered and
brought into the fruit room carefully. If, however,
such large fruit are sent to any distance in barrels, [
great care indeed would be required in the packing j
to insure their safe arrival. The barrels should be
di^ided into two or three compartments, according i
to the size or substance of the fruit, by portable
divisions — false-bottom like — which will not only
lessen the weight and pressure of the fruit on one
another, but will also prevent the springing or yielding
in the sides of the barrels ; to prevent which, and
also to pack the fruit so as to prevent shaking or
shifting in the smallest degree, are the two main
points to be attended to in the packing of all kinds
of fruit for a journey. Even a short journey is suf-
ficient to injure them if not put up with some sort of
care. As an instance, a bushel basket of Duchesse's
was sent from this place to New York this last sea-
son, and though it is scarcely an hour's ride, they
were reported as having come to hand in " smash."
On the other hand, some boxes of the same sort
were sent to Canada, and they were acknowledged
as having arrived quite safe ; ' ' Not so much as an
injured fruit being among them." They were
packed in kiln-dried sawdust, and care was taken to
shake it in well through each layer of fruit, and press
it^own round the sides of the boxes. The fruit was
placed stalk upwards, and each layer occupied the
hollow spaces formed by the one under it, the saw-
dust preventing the fruit from touching each other.
Each box was finished off with a good layer of the
sawdust, pressed down, and left rather fuller than
the sides so that when the lid was pressed on it the
dust formed a slight convex surface, which made up
for any shrinking that might take place on the jour-
ney. The fruit, to be sure, Avere not such monsters
as those grown by Mr. Yeomans, but were con-
sidered good representatives of the Duchesse d'
Angouleme. There were from 7 to 8 dozens in each
box.

Fruit of such a size as Mr. Yeoman's should be
each wrapt in paper, and particular care taken to
keep the ripest, regardless of size, on the top. Boxes
are preferable to barrels, and should be made stout
in proportion to their size.

I may mention as another instance of success of
the above mode of packing, that a box of choice
pears was sent from this place to England, about four
years ago, which arrived in perfect condition, and
were much prized for their very superior flaA^or and
texture. They were kept in the ice house of the
ship during the voyage.

Permit me also to mention, as an instance that
firm packing holds good in the case of the softest
fruits, that some years since, in the "old country,"

I had occasion to send all the forced peaches a dis-
tance of seventy miles, but they got more jolting and
delays for that distance than on a thousand miles of
rail. They were generally two, and in more than
one instance three days on the road, owing to mis-
takes, and in no one instance did they arrive in a
damaged condition. They were all packed with
perfectly dry moss in stout boxes. Figs, plums and
grapes were sent at the same time with perfect safety.
The figs, like the peaches, were first wrapped in
paper; the plums without paper were packed in the
moss ; the grapes were packed in their oAvn leaves ;
a few holes being bored in the tops of the sides of
the boxes to prevent heating. In all cases the fruit
was perfectly ripe at the time of gathering them.

I am aware there is nothing new in all this ; but
that most gardeners have practiced it, and are fre-
quently called upon to practice it in most places, pri-
vate or public ; but as the growth of choice fruits is
becoming more extended, the knowledge of the best
mode of packing them must be also of increasing
importance ; I have, therefore, given you a hurried
outline of mine, and would be glad to see and profit
by the experience of others, recorded in your very

valuable journal.

«•«•••

PRUNING EVERGREENS.

BY WILLIAM BRIGHT, PniLADELPIIIA.

Lord Chesterfield, in his advice to his son,
instructed him, when his vanity was assailed by
flattery, never to permit himself to be "giggled" out
of the return compliment. In accordance with this
sage advice, I will say to the Editor of the Gar-
dener's Monthly, Cpolitely lifting my chapeauj, that if
there has been a Garibaldi in horticulture, there has
also been an Editorial good Kuig Emanuel, under
whose wise and benignant sway the aid of Garibaldi
is no longer necessary to the public.

Still, I must confess, that praise of my evergreens
touches me in a vulnerable point. I believe I have
produced some good specimen trees, and with your
permission, I will state some of the rules which I
have adopted in pruning and training them.

In the first place, it may be set down as a fiict,
that our principal evergreens will bear the use of the
knife in pruning as well as the Osage Orange, the
Buckthorn, or the Honey Locust, and a great deal
better than the plum, the cherry, or apricot.

Evergreens naturally form beautiful trees, but their
primitive beauty is often destroyed by close planting
in nursery rows, by injuries received in cultivating
them with plough and hoe; by packing them for
shipment like bales of hay, and by other causes. If
you have one of these deformed seedlings just trans-
planted to your grounds, with its roots abridged and
mangled, it is of no use to prune it when first planted

46

(B\t §mi\nm's P0ntljli),

I do not think that you can aid a sickly evergreen by
priming ; indeed, it is my practice never to prune an
evergreen at all when transplanting, as we do de-
ciduous trees, but to wait till it is well established
before I undertake to improve its form with the
knife. If you treat an evergreen so badly in trans-
planting that it is likely to die, pruning with a view
to lessen evaporation, will not save it. On the con-
trary the shock occasioned by pruning will increase
its debility and hasten its death ; at least this is my
opinion. I rarely, if ever, apply the knife to an
evergreen until it has been a year or two trans-
planted, unless it be taken up carefully with a large
ball of earth, and nearly all its roots uninjured.

A perfect evergreen, such as the Norway Spruce
and Austrian Pine, generally presents to us a fine
pyramidal form and a perfect circle, with branches
of nearly equal size, at equal distances, from its base
to the top of the leader.

If you have a tree which has a break or vacant
space in its structure, in its centre or at its base, you
must, of course, cut the top well back so as to throw
out the lower deficient side shoots with greater vigor,
just as you would in the case of any other tree.

If the tree is one sided, you will cut in the full
side, and thus encourage the deficient branches to
extend themselves to the limits of the circle which
the tree is expected to describe. Sometimes a branch
may be twisted around from the full to the weaker
side and tied to a stake so as to fill a vacant space
with great advantage.

The upper branches of an evergreen must never
be allowed to extend over the lower. This is always
fatal to the perfection of the tree in single specimens
or in hedges. You must keep the pyramidal or wedge
shape constantly perfect, or the base of your tree
will surely decline in vigor and beauty. Trees of
this order never recover their lower shoots so long
as the upper branches extend over them. This idea
is so imperative that I repeat it in various forms.

It is probably unnecessary to say more about what
is required to be done in order to change the form of
an imperfect tree. The main questions are :— when
to prune ? how to prune ?

The best time to prune evergreens is in the Spring,
just before they commence to grow. Of course, a
moderate trimming may be given with safety in
the Fall after the Autumn rains commence, and
the work may also be done in the latter part of the
Winter, if the season be mild, a month or two before
they start.

How to prune ? I will try to explain what I have
done. I cut an evergreen anywhere, with the most
perfect freedom, even back upon wood three years
old, and two or three inches in diameter if necessary.
I think we may train or prune an evergreen with

success to any form we choose ; I believe I can form
a Norway hedge, only three feet high, and keep it to
that height for a lifetime ; or I can prune a Norway
to the shape of a crescent or a mill stone, a pyi-amid
or a liberty pole, or any fancy figure except that
of an inverted cone, or other shape which throws
out the upper branches so as to shade the lower ones,

If you have a tree which is so broken and imper-
fect in its form that you desire to cut it back severely,
you may cut to any point you please if it be even
three-fourths of the main stem, with perfect safety,
if the tree be well established. When you do this,
you will select a side shoot or branch, to which you
intend to cut back, to be tied up /or a leader. All side
shoots, or laterals, in evergreens, readily assume the
form and functions of main shoots or leaders as de-
sired. But mark this rule : when you cut back the
leader or main stem upon old wood, leave two or three
inches of the old wood above the side shoot or branch in-
tended for a leader, and never cut close to a bud or
shoot, as you would on a pear tree. If you neglect
this rule you will most probably lose your leader or
bud. The old wood left above the bud or shoot will,
it is true, form an unsightly snag for a time, but in
a year or two it may be neatly trimmed ofi", and the
cut will also by that time be concealed by the new
shoots and foliage.

If managed in this way, a Norway Spruce, eight
feet high, and four to six years old or more, may be
cut down to a height of two to four feet, so as to re-
semble a mere shrub, or bush, without the slightest
injury to its general health or vigor.

If the tree be too heavy and luxuriant in its upper
portion and weak and deficient in its lower branches,
the leader may be cut back, or disbudded, and the
upper side shoots may be thinned and shortened at
pleasure, so as to preserve the tapering form, by
cutting out the centre, or leader as we may say, of
side shoots, and shortening all such shoots or
branches as required ; or even entire branches may
be taken out, if desired, always recollecting, when
cutting on old wood or new, not to cut too close to
shoots or buds, but to leave a snag, as before directed,
for the main stem. This rule, however, is not so
imperative when applied to the terminal points of
growing side shoots.

In pruning the side shoots of evergreens, do not
cut all of them to the exact form of the pyramid, but
cut-in-and-out, as I may say, so as not to leave the
cut ends all on a precise fine, but some shorter and
some longer than others, just as a skilful barber
trims hair, concealing by his art the fact that it has
been trimmed. If the cut ends are all on one line
the tree will look "buzzy," as the gardeners say.

I warn the novice in this work not to be too radi-
cal in his first priming ; not to do too much at one

^^^

ihjt (Sardtntr^s Itlonthlj.

47

^

time. You cannot change the whole form of an
imperfect tree in one season. Be gradual in your
work. After the tirst judicious pruning many dor-
mant eyes will break, and the necessity for severe
pruning may be prevented by the growth of new
shoots. When there are two stems, the weaker
one should be cut out as soon as possible. —
The great points are to retard the top all you
can, by disbudding and cutting back the leader,
and thus encouraging the basal shoots, to keep the
upper portions of the tree short and thin, and within
the line of the perfect pyramid. This is almost the
entire art of evergreen pruning.

The rules above given apply more strictly to the
Norway Spruce than to other evergreens ; but still,
with slight exceptions to nearly all of them. I think
the Norway may be kept down to a hedge plant,
three or four feet high, till its stem becomes a foot
in diameter, or more, if the upper shoots be kept
shorter than the lower ones, and moderately thin ;
or it can be grown twenty or thirty feet high, hke a
liberty pole, with a huge feathered stem, if the same
rules be observed in the pruning; that is, to keep the
branches at uniform distances, so as to admit the air
into all its parts, the top short and thin, and the basal
shoots strongest.

The Scotch Fir, unlike the Norway, in its most
perfect form is not pyramidal, but has rather a round
head. The object in pruning this tree should be to
preserve its natural form ; hence, any branch or
shoot, extending beyond the bounds of the true
form, should be cut back near to a lateral shoot, as
directed for the Nonvay. If the branches are too
thick they may be taken out. The top should be
kept slight!)- oval in form instead of sharpely wedge-
shaped, but still comparatively thinner and shorter
than the base. It is better to disbud the Scotch Fir,
in the Spring, than to use the knife too freely.

The Austrian Pine, while it is one of the most
beautiful of evergreens, is the most difficult to man-
age, and requires less direct use of the knife than any
other tree of its class because it makes new shoots
but slowly, and has generally but little spare wood
in its branches. If an Austrian has one full and
one weak side, it is better to try and twist a branch
round to the vacant side, and tie it in place, in order
to get the desired form, than to attempt to create
new shoots by pruning. You cannot force a new
growth, as in Norways ; pruning may, however, be
done in the same way as on Norways, when required
by the form of the tree. The lea:ler may be taken
out and a side shoot brought up, or branches may be
cut back ; but, as in the Scotch, it is better to disbud
than to prune.

The White Pine may be pruned very freely when
three years old, with great advantage. You may

take out the entire third year's groAvth of the main
stem and tie up a side shoot for a leader. A very
beautiful form may be created by twisting shoots
round to fill vacant places and disbudding the
strongest branches. When the White Pine has been
cut back it should not be pruned again till the second
year afterwards, when, if necessary, the main stem
may be taken out again. The object of this treat-
ment is to thicken the tree and to protect the main
stem against storms, as it has a strong tendency to
become too naked.

The Silver Fir is rather tender and very liable to
lose its leader, and the terminal buds of laterals,
especially after transplanting. It does not always
start well ; in case the main buds of the leader or
laterals are destroyed, you may cut back to a side
shoot and tie up a new leader as directed for all
the other evergreens. It bears pruning as well as
the Norway, and is to be managed by the same
rules.

The Hemlock, as all gardeners know, may be trim-
med with as much freedom as a box hedge. The
same general rules which govern the pruning of
other trees of this class should, however, be kept in
view in our treatment of the Hemlock.

The American Arborvitce, Avhcther in the hedge, or
grown as single specimens, has a very strong ten-
dency to become thickest at the top and to lose the
wedge or pyramidal shape so absolutely necessary to
its continued thrift and beauty. You must keep the
top thin and the branches of the entire plant
equalized, from the base to the top, and the basal
shoots very strong. In the hedge, the wedge shape
must be very sharply defined, and the upper angle
very acute. After opening the top carefully with the
knife, cutting large shoots to a proper lateral, you
may go over the hedge with a large knife, or reap-
ing hook, and cut off the tips carelessly to produce
the desired form. Never use a pair of shears for this
work ; let it be done, as before suggested, just as a
first-class barber trims your hair, i. e., "shingled"
off.

The Hemlock in the hedge will be treated in the
same way as the Arborvita;. I think the Siberian
Arborvitse forms the finest evergreen hedge. The
Hemlock is next in beauty. The American Arbor-
vitge is the cheapest and most speedily grown, and
perhaps the most vigorous. The Norway Spruce,
six feet high, and properly pruned, makes a
magnificent and very strong hedge. In perfection
of beauty as a hedge plant, nothing, however, has
yet surj^assed the Siberian Arborvitse.

[It will be seen that we differ entirely from Mr.
Bright, as to the advantages of pruning evergreens
at the time of transplanting ; also in some other
matters which will be readily noticed on reference to

m^

48

%\^ §M&nmB Hloiitjjlg.

our paper last month. So far as Mr. B.'s paper
goes his views are excellent and will be read with
great interest — for once we have to go farther than
he does and hold to the extreme views.

By T^^ay of appendix to what we have'already said,
we add the following : An acqviaintance of ours is
famous for his success with evergreens transplanted
from the woods. As>oon as he gets them in Spring,
they are thickly set in nursery rows. He usually
gets plants about one foot or fifteen inches high ; as
soon as they are set, he with a box or hedging shears
clips them all "unmercifully," down to about six
inches, and they are left afterwards without any pro-
tection from sun, wind and rain. We have known
him practice this successfully the past five years at
least, and to employ his plan on arborvities, hemlock,
and balsam firs. He scarcely asks how the plants
have been taken up, though, of course, the more
carefully the better ; about ninety -five per cent, inva-
riably live.

As to pruning other kinds besides those named by
Mr. Bright, the following from the Germantown
Telegraph will be very interesting. We have seen
Major Freas' specimen, and it is a very beautiful one.

"We have likewise a Cryptomeria, some fourteen
or fifteen feet in height, the branches of which grew
almost horizontally and very stragghngly, and be-
came very much rusted by our severe climate, and
interiorly bare. We determined to improve it or
destroy it; but believing it partook of the same
nature of all the evergreen family, we cut away every
branch except the leader, within two or three inches
of the main stem. Indeed there was nothing left of
it except a bean pole. This was in the Spring of
1859, and the result was that new and numerous
shoots made their appearance from the main stem
and the stumps of the abscinded branches, and stood
last winter, which was more than usually severe
upon not entirely hardy plants and trees, admirably
—grew luxuriantly the past season— forming a hand-
some tree, with most of the branches growing per-
pendicularly. Competent judges say it is the hand-
somest Cryptomeria they have yet seen, and believe
it to be the tallest in the country."]

4.

WXNE-VAULTS AND VINBYARBS OP N.
LONGWORTH, CINCINNATI, O.

BY K.

Having frequently heard of the extent of Mr.
Long-worth's operations, and feeling a strong desire
to examine his establishment, I had recently an op-
portunity afi'orded me of doing so during a short
visit to Cincinnati.

Supposing that it would require a note of intro-
duction from the excellent proprietor, I Avended my
way to his elegant and comfortable mansion, but

was so unfortunate as to find him out. As my time
was hmited, I concluded to make the trial on my
own responsibility, and soon found myself before a
large and massive building situated at the corner of
Sixth and Broadway, the only entrance to which
was through a gateway. I entered the oflice boldly
and stated my wishes to a very polite French gen-
tleman, who instantly called one of the workmen to
show me through the establishment. The upper
part and ground-floor of the building is principally
devoted to the processes of botthng, packing in cases
and baskets, shipping, and distilling. The basement
is used for storing wine in immense butts during the
process of fermentation ; and in a building on the
opposite side of the court-yard is the distillery, ca-
pable of distilling one hundred and fifty gallons cf
Catawba brandy in twenty-four hours. This brandy
is distilled from wine one year old. Underneath the
basement and entirely below the fluctuation of tem-
perature at the surface, in immense vaulted apart-
ments, is stored the enormous and valuable stock of
champagne or sparkling, and still wines both of the
Catawba and Isabella grape in bottles and casks. In
the bottling-rooms are several machines of a very
simple construction, by the aid of which one man can
bottle five thousand bottles of champagne per day.
On the ground-floor and basement I was shown a
large number of butts of new wine, just made and
commencing to ferment. To give the reader some
idea of the extent of the stock of wines, here I will
mention that I noticed one butt which contained 4575
gallons, and fifteen butts which contained 2000 gallons
each, besides an immense number of a smaller size.

The wine for champagne is kept one year in these
casks before bottling ; but the still wine is allowed to
remain in them, closely bunged, until it is needed,
and then drawn off into casks or bottled, as may be
preferred by the purchaser. In these apartments is
also kept a large stock of Catawba brandy, and also
of a liqueur called by the French Par/ail amour dcs
dames, which is also manufactured in the establish-
ment in large quantities. I was shown, in one of the
rooms on the ground-floor, a wine-press of the same
kind as that described and figured in your July
number of last year. As a general rule, the grapes
are pressed at the vineyards immediately after being
gathered, and but little work of this kind is done in
this establishment. After examining the sMpe/--ter-
ranean departments, our polite attendant prepared to
make a descent into the sw^-terranean regions. Be-
ing both provided with a candle, we bade adieu, for
a time, to the cheerful light of day, and plunged
down a yawning abyss into what appeared more
like the dreary realm of Pluto than the courts of
vine-crowned and laughing Bacchus. I found my-
self in one of a series of immense vaults of about

ipay

C^e ^arbtncr's Utrnt^Ij.

49

one hundred and fifty feet in length, the whole of
which are filled to their utmost capacity with bottled
champagne, arranged in long tiers or piles, the bot-
tles being mostly laid in a horizontal position. The
wine, just after being bottled, is kept for a time with
the month of the bottle down in a wooden case, as
shown in the annexed section-al drawing.

In one of these vaults alone, my guide informed
me, there were over 100,000 bottles. The piles or
tiers are about five feet high, and occupy nearly the
entire floor, only leaving a narrow aisle or path. I
was forciblj' reminded, bj^ the sight of so many bot-
tles of champagne, of an old German legend. It is
as follows :

His Satanic majesty called a mass-meeting on a
regimental muster of his imps in a large wine-vault,
in which was stored a kirge quantity of champagne*
As they arrived before his majesty, they amused
themselves by drinking the champagne ; and hy the
time Beelzebub arrived, his satellites were consider-
bly elated, if not cpiite drunk. This undevilish con-
duct on the pait of his imps so excited the ire of
their master, that he immediately corked one of
them in each of the bottles ; and this Cthe legend
saysj accounts for the c^ec/s of drinking champagne;
for in drinking a bottle, you at the same time be-
come possessed of a devil. Now, do not understand
me as in anywise endorsing the truth of this legend.
On the contrarj', I look upon it almost in the light
of a libel; for most persons will agree with me in
the opinion, that Avhere taken in moderation^ it has,
unlike most other alcoholic beverages, the effect of
producing hilarity and promoting wit and humor.

Some idea of the importance and extent of the
wine business of Cincinnati may be formed from the
fact that Mr. Longworth's stock of wine alone is
estimated to be worth two millions of dollars^ and
there are several other establishments here largel}^
engaged in the same business.

Although I have been through some of the largest
wine districts of France, I had not an opportunity
of seeing the process of wine-making, or ratlier of
Avine-pressing, it not being the vintage season. I

was, therefore, much pleased to hear from my guide
that this Avas the height of the season here, and that
I could witness the whole operation by walking up
to a vineyard owned hy Mr. Longworth, which oc-
cupies a slope of one of the hills overlooking Cin-
cinnati, known by the name of the Garden of Eden.
The whole property contains, I believe, about one
hundred and fifty acres, a part only of which is
planted in vines, the remainder being devoted to
other fruit, peaches, apples, pears, strawberries, &c.
After searching for some time to find the wine-press,
I at last found it in a small barn, situated nearly in
the centre of the estate. Here I found the process
of picking and pressing the grapes in full operation.
Half-grown boys were busy picking the grapes in
baskets, which they emptied into alight oaken firkin,
provided with leather straps to pass over the shoul-
der. When this was full, it was carried by a man to
the rolling or crushing-mill, and from tliat to the
press. It is scarcely necessary for me to describe
these machines, as the designs and descriptions fur-
nished by Mr. Hazeltine to your magazine have
already familiarized your readers with them. I
cannot, however, forbear to add that the fresh juice
or viust of the Catawba grape is the most delicious
drink that I have ever tasted.

I have thus, Mr. Editor, endeavored to give your
readers an idea, imperfect though it be, of these in-
teresting establishments, and will close by advising
them, if they should visit Cincinnati, by all means
to visit tliem.

WATER IN GREENHOUSES.

BY J. C. UKE, CHICAGO, ILL.

Reading your remarks in your leading article in
the December number, where j'ou recommend plac-
ing pans of water on flues, reminded me of an arti-
cle I contributed to the Prairie Farmer, of this city,
Vv'hich may be of some service to your readers, — if
you think so, please publish it.

Heating Gkeenhouses. — The majority of green-
houses have the common brick flue. One difliculty
with the brick flue is that you have to start the fiie
an hour before it is necessaiy to have it, in order to
get the required heat. It also dries the atmosphere,
so that it has been found necessary to keep vessels
filled with water standing on it, the evaporation from
which would afford the necessary humidity.

In a house where I have one, I have placed over
the furnace on the flue Cthe brick being removed so
that the bottom of the boiler comes in contact with
the fire, J a copper boiler with a tin lid, with a weight
on it. Two inches above the bottom of this boiler
I have inserted a coupling — a common hose coup-
ling, to which is attached a lead pipe — ^ inch — nine
feet long. It passes from the boiler under tlie walk,

^^%hr-

and into a larg-e barrel. A hole was bored in the
side of the barrel, on the same level with the coup-
ling in the boiler, the end of the pipe inserted, and
enlarged on the inside of the barrel with iron and
hammer. "White lead was used to make the hole
about the pipe, water-tight. Such is the apparatus.
Now for its use. When the fire is made in furnace,
the water being low in the boiler, it immediately
produces steam which may escape directly into the
greenhouse if the cover is open, modifying the tem-
perature of the atmosphere at once.

This is of great service when but little is wanted,
and is wanted immediately — especially in the early
morning before the sun rises, on a spring day — and
sometimes in a winter day, if the fire has gone down
in the furnace, as it sometimes does. It also, with
the lid or cover closed, heats the water in the bar-
rel, causing constant evaporation, and creating a
moist atmosphere. The water in the barrel is al-
most always in condition to be used in watering the
pots and syringing plants. By adding another pipe
the water maybe kept in constant circulation on the
same principle as houses are heated with hot water ;
the only difference being its passage through a barrel
of Avater. The pipe can readily be detached from
the boiler at the coupling and the boiler removed
without disturbing the pipe. But it is not necessary
to remove the boiler in order to fill it, as the water
in the barrel above the pipe is equal to that in the
boiler — hence if it descend to fill the boiler the barrel
may be filled. The cost may be more or less, accord-
ing to circumstances. I had a barrel, and an ordi-
nary cast-aside stove boiler, on hand. The pipe,
&c., cost near $2, which, was the cash cost outside
my own labor. This will be saved in a single week
in winter.

It can be made an ornament by putting rocks,
moss, aquatic plants, &c., about it. There is a good
opportunity to make it beautiful, as well as useful.

THE

AND HORTICULTURIST.

N., COLUMBIA, TENN.

FARMBR

BY N. S.

Theke has been much ridicule lavished upon book-
farming and scientific horticulture. It is said our
fathers were farmers by nature, and horticulturists
from instinct, and that we, their descendants,
have or ought to have inherited tlaeir endowments.
Consequently the attempt to impart information to
our farmers through the medium of books and
papers, or to educate our horticulturists, is mere
humbuggery ; a useless consumption of time, and a
wasteful expenditure of money, doing more harm
than good. They maintain that fanning is no
science, neither is horticulture anar/, that can be culti-
vated and improved by studying books or reading-
papers. Now there is one thing very certain, that

is, those who advocate such opinions are themselves
the moderns advocating a new theory, and not us
who are advocating different principles. These book-
hating farmers have really less information on any
subject that requires thought and reflection than any
other class of society. The difference between a
scientific farmer and educated horticulturist on the |one
side, and a mere cultivator of the soil, and a planter
of trees on the other, is well drawn by a very old
writer of the first century, Philo Judeas, who with
the Greeks and Romans, regarded farming as a beau-
tiful science, and horticulture as one of the fine arts.
He says, on this account shall he, ^'meaning Cain,"
cultivate the earth; "He,"meaning God, "does not
say" "He shall become a farmer." For every far-
mer is an artist, because farming is an art. But any
of the common people are cultivators of the earth,
giving their service to provide themselves with
the necessaries, without any skill. These men, then,
as they have no superintendent in all that they do,
do much harm, and whatever they do well they do
by chance. But the works of farmers, which are
performed according to knoAvledge, are all of them
of necessity useful. And among the trees capable
of cultivation, he manages them in different ways,
and not all in the same way ; pruning some, and
adding props to others ; ti'aining some to increase
their size, and cutting doAvn others so as to keep
them dwarfs. There are also an innumerable host
of other operations in farming which proceed by
rules of art, which it would be superfluous to enu-
merate on the present occasion, for we have only
dwelt on this point at such length for the purpose
of showing the difference between the man who is
only a cultivator of the earth, and one who is a
farmer."

The only object we had in copying the above,
was to show that pruning, in all ages, has been re-
garded as a science, and horticulture one of the fiue
arts, and the imputation that tliey are of modern
origin, a clap trap to make money, is without foun-
dation, made by the penurious and those who believe
knowledge to be a curse instead of a blessing. Salt
cannot save such.

We are now in January 1861 ; some day, if
nothing unforseen happens, we expect to have a
small mess of very large Strawberries, Downer's.
They were potted about the middle of October, and
placed under glass, but Avithout heat, — they are very
large and fine.

HOT DRAIMS IN THE OPEN AIR.

BY AV ALTER ELDER, PHILADELPHIA.

In ansAver to the query of E. R. N., St. Louis, I
would say that in my business, I visit many coun-
try-seats, and when at Charles D. Meigs, M.D.'s

^

place, last June, I observed some rows of peas
earlier than I had seen that season ; and, inquiring
into the reason, -was shown a drain, ("tile, I thought, J
and was told that a fire was made at the lower
mouth on cold nights in spring, and the smoke
went out at the upper end. The ground slopes for
about thirty feet from the mouth of the drain, and
rises three feet in the thirtj^, and then runs on a
level full fiftj"^ yards. The fire is made upon the
ground, and, as heat ascends, much of it will be
lost ; but as it is easier to improve than invent, I
will give another mode of heating. There are plenty
of sheet-iron stoves with rings of fire-brick inside,
and cost, when new, one dollar. Make the fire in
the stove, and enter the pipe into the drain, which
should exactly fit the tile, so as to draw better ; and
the pipe might have two branches with pipes to lead
into two other drains, say three feet or six feet
apart, and one fire would heat all the three at once,
and no heat Avould be lost. The pipe fastened upon
the stove can have two side holes like a drain-tile
where two drains cross each other, and the branch-
pipes fitted upon them. The stove and pipes would
last many years, and the expense of fuel would be
verj^ trifling ; and as for the cost of the tile for the
drains, that would be nothing in comparison with
the pleasure to the owner.

I think that it will do best upon land that has a
slight ascent. The tiles should be a foot under the
surface, and a row of peas on each side of it, say
eighteen inches off it, which will make three feet
between the rows. The roots would not be so apt to
dry that way, than where a row is right on top of
the drain, and the warmth in the ground would be
enough to keep frost off the surface and the plants.
These drains would be good for early lettuce, radish,
beets, &c. A fire is not made every night, but only
when front is expected. Gardeners all know well
the A'alue of moderate bottom-heat. More or less
fire could be applied at pleasure. The peas in Dr.
Meigs' garden were two weeks earlier than others
of the same kinds twenty yards from the drains.
And the value to a market-gardener can be con-
ceived by the high price such early peas would com-
mand, compared with those two weeks later. When
I was in that fine, I have sold my peas at fifty cents
per half-peck ; and in ten days later they were down
to ten and twelve cents a half-peck ; besides, any
thing early makes other things sell, and draws new
customers to the stall. If I were to rent a truck-
garden for but five years, I would make these hot-
air drains and make one stove heat three drains six
feet apart. When my lease was ended, I could take
the tile up and move it to another place. I feel con-
vinced that this mode of forwarding vegetal)les in
spring will be largely adopted when it is more widely

known. It would be a coining of money to the
market-gardener near to a large city. Such drains
in the alleys between asparagus-beds and between
the rows of rhubarb plants, beans, potatoes, toma-
toes, egg-plants, and almost every kind of vegetable
can be brought into use a fortnight earlier than by
the old system ; and I say so from occular demon-
stration.

[In addition to the suggestions of Mr. Elder, we
append the following, from the London Gardener's
Chronicle, as applicable to the same subject:
"BOTTOM-HEAT STEAM.

" Suppose a furnace and boiler fplaced in a hid-
den corner of a garden J), such as to generate a large
quantity, and an iron pipe to issue from it convey-
ing the steam, to be laid three feet under the surface
of the ground. Suppose a portion of ground to be
laid with bell-shaped draining pipes, two or three
inches in diameter, in parallel lines, three feet under
the surface, and all to be connected with the iron
pipe convejing the steam. At the opposite ends of
the earthen drain-pipes let there be perpendicular
pipes or shafts coming up to the surface, to act as
safety-valves and to secure the current of steam, to
be kept open, or more or less closed by a small wisp
of hay. Let the steam be kept up, more or less, at
such seasons of the year, and at such times in each
day as experience and the objects sought might
direct.

" What would be the effect of such an action of
steam on the subsoil and upper soil ? Would it not
gradually create a warmth in both, ascending up-
wards, and would it be to a moderate or great de-
gree, requiring to be regulated and controlled ? The
steam would, no doubt, be condensed to a certain
extent, and the water would run off in the pipes
which would act as drains, but the pipes would
themselves get hot and communicate a dry heat to
the subsoil ; while, on the other hand, steam would
escape from each junction of the bell-shaped earthen
pipes, which fit into each other, but are open to
water or steam. This steam would ascend into the
subsoil and reach the upper soil, imparting a moist
heat as it went, and it would create a moist and
warm atmosphere above the surface of the ground.
The great question is, the degree and proportion in
which all these things would happen, and how far
the whole action woiild be considerable and suscep-
tible of being controlled and moderated, and how
far it would be salutary in reference to the growth
of plants.

"That such a system would act well under glass
can scarcely be doubted. It might be regulated so
as only to exclude frost, or a little more ; or it might
be applied as regards season and degree, so as to
govern all the various objects in forcing fruit. Anj

--^^^

52

®Ij£ ^arhiitr's S^ontljlg.

excess of moisture in the atmospliere under glass
might be corrected by ventilation.

"What would be the effect of such a system ap-
plied to the border of a fruit wall, so as to influence
the roots of fruit trees, and what the effect on gar-
den culture, applying the steam at such seasons as
should ward off frost, and such as were suitable to
promote early growth.

"But the idea is probably more applicable to fruit-
houses, orchard-houses, and others, and the scheme
seems to be a more simple mode of applying heat
and moisture than the whole apparatus of hot-water
pipes, and much less costly— certainly in the con-
struction, and not more so as respects fuel. It seems
likely to create bottom -heat in a more effectual and
salutary manner than any other system, if there be
no objections which have not been apparent. It
would seem to be an idea on the merits of which it
is difficult to decide a priori, and where experiment
is required. It may be observed, that lines of pipes
under glass could, of course, be laid at such distances
as might be deemed and found to be best, and if per-
pendicular shafts were brought up inside the houses,
thereby diffusing steam, they might be opened or
closed at pleasure. On the other hand, the warm
vapor rising from the earth inside a house might be
found sufficient.— Sicam."— Ed.]

FEUST- GROWERS' SOCIETY OF EASTERN

PENNSYLVANIA.

REPORT ON RASPBERRIES.

The Belle de Fontenay Raspberry mentioned in
the Report of the Philadelphia Committee, criticised
in your last number by Mr J. T. Harris, was de-
scribed from plants growing in the grounds of the
VN^riter, obtained from an amateur who had imported
them from France, and from plants imported in the
spring of 1860 direct from Bagnolet, near Paris,
the great centre of raspberry culture for the Paris
market, which were identical with those of the Com-
mittee. Their Report was written, though not pub-
lished, prior to the meeting of the Pomological
Society. The remarks of the President, Mr. Barry,
and other experienced horticulturists, confirmed the
accuracy of their description. Its peculiar charac-
teristics are a short, stiff, upright cane, thick foliage,
silvery white on the under side, and very numerous
suckers. Its fruit is large and purplish-red. The
fruit of the Merveille ("not Mervaille, as Mr. Harris
has it, ) des Quaire Saisons is bright red, the canes
very tall, and growth rampant ; suckers not nume-
rous.

If Mr. Harris will read the remarks on this rasp-
berry made at the Convention and reported on page
19 of the Gardener's Monthly Extra for November, he
will, we think, be convinced that the Committee are

not in error in their description of this, the finest
of all the autumn-bearing varieties of the raspberry.
It has been disseminated by some parties as the
Merveille des Quatre Saisons, and by others as the
Reine de Fontenay ; the latter is a synonym, the
former a misnomer.

J. E. Mitchell,
R. Cornelius,
A. W. Harrison.

Fin enb PLarp ^puifs^

Marion Port Grape. — Mr. J. B. Good of York,
Pa. , send us the following history :

It is often called York Madeiria here, but is very
distinct from the Schuylkill Muscadel, Cape, or
Alexander Grape. Between thirty and forty years
ago, a German brought some grape cuttings into this
neighborhood, and offered them for sale. My grand-
father bought of this person a parcel of cuttings,
(■for which he paid sixteen dollars,^ and planted in
his garden. Most of them grew, and when they
came into bearing, there were about half a dozen
sorts, one of which was a white grape of very vigo-
rous habit, and bore several very large crops, fruit
of the finest quality ; but the original vine of this
variety has probablj^ been destroyed. Another was
the Schuylkill Muscadel, which is much larger than
the Port, and not so early. Several of them were
common Fox Grapes, another was the one, the sub-
ject of my history, and known in Ohio and else-
where as the Marion Port Grape. This grape has
been described in No. VII, vol. XIV. of American
Farmer. There are three or four varieties of grapes
cultivated here which are often confounded with
each other, and are known under the synonyms of
Schuylkill Muscadel, Cape, Alexander, York Ma-
deiria, Canby's August, &c., and are also sometimes
confounded with the Marion Port Grape. But this
latter is very distinct from the Schuylkill or Cape,
both in fruit, foliage, and wood, this latter having
very large leaves, and somewhat long jointed wood,
while the Port has oulj^ a medium sized leaf, of a
very dark green appearance, and very short jointed
wood, and propagates very easilj^, almost every cut-
ting grows. The Port is a very strong grower, and
prolific bearer, even under the most unfavorable
circumstances. This grape is much disseminated
throughout this State and part of Ohio, but is often
found spurious in the nurseries, the varieties above
named often being substituted. It succeeds well in
all situations, high or low, only varying somewhat
in size and quality of fruit, being larger in low situa-
tions, and not quite so sweet as on elevated soil.

^s>

"amii

CIu §arbtner's fflonthtir.

(XjjV,*

Ever since introduced here, it has not failed to ripen
its most abundant crops, even if neglected. It has
not been known to rot or mildew in its thirty j^ears
of cultivation here. My grand-father has the origi-
nal vine yet, and it is still thriving, although, for
many years neglected. He has made excellent wine
from it, quarter century ago. It is also an excellent
table grape when fully ripe. It ripens here the last
of August, hangs long and improves.

Rev. Mr. Shepherd saj^s, "It was originated as
near as I can trace its history, by the Moravians, at
Bethlehem, Pa., and was brought to this vicinity by
a German about thirty years ago."

I have several thousand cuttings of this grape
which I am willing to distribute in small quantities,
(free of chargej among those wishing to give it a
trial.

Vax Buren's Golden Dwarf Peach. — The
following note from Mr. Van Buren, was received
last summer, and not intended for publication, but
we think it so decided an acquisition, that we " take
the responsibihty " of its publication :

Enclosed I send you a drawing of a new seedling
peach of my own raising, which I think, will prove
to be a very valuable variety. The tree is a dwarf,
is now four years old, and but 28 inches in height,
to the topmost leaf, has small flowers. The draw-
ing sent is the exact size of an ordinary sized speci-
men, for I made the measurement with a pair of di-
viders, and pricked it off on paper, and then cut
thereon. The fruit is a chngstone, and of first rate
flavor. I think it will be invaluable for cultivation
ia the cold climate of the North, where the buds get
winter-killed ; for cultivation in small lots and gar-
dens in the cities and towns, as well as for border-

ing walks, for it is truly a beautiful sight to look at
these miniature trees, with its golden and carmine
fruit.

While every peach bud on my place, having small
flowers was killed last April by the frost, I saved
this by inverting over it, a three-bushel basket, and
throwing on that a horse blanket.

I can now always have a crop of peaches in their
season, and snap my fingers in the face of Jack
frost.

This is the second year of its bearing ; it has made
about three or four inches growth the present year,
and as it is now in full bearing, I presume will grow
but little hereafter. It is a seedling I discovered in
the nursery now three years since, and is probably
a sprout from some ordinary variety ; it grows in
ground of ordinary quality, and was manured last
spring with a wheel-barrow load of chip-manure and
lime, which is all the care it has received.

Jackson Apple. — Amongst a lot of apples re-
cently received through the kindness of Mr. Wilson
Dennis, of Applebackville, Bucks Co., Pa. It can-
not be called new, as it has been years ago described
by Dr. W. D. Brinckle ; but it is not near as Avell
known as it deserves to be, and we, therefore, have
pleasure in giving the following outline and descrip-
tion of Mr. Dennis' specimen, from the pen of our
accomplished Pomologist, Dr. J. K. Eshleman.

Above medium in size, oblate conic in form. Skin
yellowish green, with streaks of pale red and russett,
and small russett dots. Stem short, in a deep, nar-
row cavity. Calyx brown and large, core small.
Herb greenish white, crisp, tender, juicy, "very
good," — some think "best."

^i

54

®^i[ ^arien^'^s Jttont^Ij^

JI3=" All Communications for the Editor should be addressed
"Thomas Meghan, Germantown, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gardeker's Monthly
Box 406 Philadelphia."

|rf= Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1S61 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(1859) free. All persons who have paid their subscriptions for 1S61
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.00 can receive a copy of
the same.

53^ Our Subscription list for Kathvon's Entomological Essay
is fast filling up, and as we have only intended publishing a lim-
ited uumber, we would desire all those who may wish to have the
work, to send their name and address as early as possible.

RAISING SEEDS.

Many of us find a great difficulty in raising seeds
of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and yet, if the seed
is good there is no reason why it should not grow.

"We have a friend who is quite a genius in this line.
It matters not what is given to him — whether it
comes from the Catacombs of Egypt, the craw of an
Australian bird, or from the coat of some fierce ani-
mal that has for many a long year been the terror of
little children in some museum of natural history,
all he wants is the privilege to scratch it with
his knife to tell you at once what he can do with
it. It is a maxim with him that "birds that can
sing, and wont sing, ought to be made to sing," and
what is more, they "do sing" when he gets hold of
them ; that is, if the seed can grow, in his hands they
do grow.

Some time ago, a friend remarked to the writer :
"Can you get the seeds of the Fraxinella to grow?

I have tried, time and again, and have got , and

, and ; and though they are famous horti-
culturists, they nor I have ever raised one." The
writer replied, "Give them to Jones, he will raise
them for you !" and Jones did raise them. In two
weeks, to the astonishment of om* friend, Jones had
plants for him.

In company with our friend, we recently paid Jones
a visit, and after praising him and his system "up to
the skies," hinted that we should like to know the
secret of the business ; whether it was to him merely
the common course of the common laws of nature —
or whether he had the additional aid of Diabolous'
influence ; in short, Avhether it was his art that did
it, or did he employ "conjuring powder?" But Jones
said candidly that he did not think it fair that what had
taken a life-time of study and experience should be giv-
en in one moment to two men for the asking. We then
fell back on our official position, representng that we
would give it to our readers through the Gardener^s

Monthly. Stillhe was obdurate, talking something about
"sections" and "parties," and so on, till we really sup-
posed that he mistook us for a politician, and he was
being asked for some "force to be employed against the
North, or element of destruction to be used against
the South." But this was enough to give us the cue
to his weakness. He evidently, with all his eccen-
tricities, was a man who felt for men as men, and
when they were worthy did not stop to inquire what
government they lived under. We accordingly
pointed out to him where "we circulated," and who
were "our readers" — jews and Gentiles, believers
and unbelievers, secessionists and disunionists,
monarchists and republicans ; that what we published
was for the benefit of all, freely and without price ;
and that "all," too, embracing a numeral of no mean
proportions. The spark took eSect. He said, "It
was one of the green spots amidst desolation he
loved to see," and taking our hand with that firm
and friendly grasp for which he is well known when
his feelings are warmed, he thus began :

"It is necessary first to be sure your seed is good.
This is ascertained by dividing a few of them. If
the kemal shows no sign of having shrivelled, is
plump, and bright, and solid, it is good. Most seeds,
such as pines, have naturally a bright ivory look when
good, as soon as they lose the germinating power they
become of a yellowish tinge ; when like this they
may be thrown away without the trouble of trying
them to grow — fthis was his own expression. J
Others, such as buckthorn, and most seeds whose
plants yield dyes, have the seeds tinged with the same
colors as the dyes produced ; when bad, these colors
are of a blackish or brownish hue, and a little experi-
ence readily detects their worthlessness. Then,
again, seeds that have no feathery or woolly append-
ages will sink in water when sound. All seeds that
swim are not bad, but all that sink are certainly good
in any case, and are well worthy of whatever care
we may wish to bestow on raising them.

Having got good seeds, to grow them is easy.
They must have moisture to soften the outside skin,
and perhaps to affbrd some of the elements of
growth or nutrition ; they must have plenty of air,
as its oxygen is necessary to destroy some of the
parts of the seed, and life only exists by the destruc-
tion of other organized matter; and it must have
absolute darkness, for light is a fixer of carbon, a
hardener of the parts of vegetation, which, it is the
object of successful seed-growing to loosen and make
soft.

If seeds could be always sown at the moment of
gathering, difl[iculty would not often be experienced
in germination, but as they have to be preserved^
light and dryness harden the shells of most seeds.
Waxy tissues become as horn, horny ones as bone.

U)

'BHj

^nm

3[hf[ ®ar(tuiur's ^onthlg^

55

bony ones as flint, and sometimes they become so
hard that, in some instances, as in Nehimbiums that
were some years old, I have had to file holes in the
seeds till my wrist ached before I could get a success-
ful growth. In hard or flinty seeds artificial means
must be resorted to to soften this unnatural hardness
before growth can commence. Large seeds may be
filed or cracked, and smaller ones may be soaked in
warm water for a short time, or suddenly scalded in
verj^ hot water, or steeped in solution of potash, or
any material of a softening tendency. But I seldom
have to resort to any of these extreme measures.
My usual plan is to sow anything I get as soon as I
get it. I do not cover the seed with soil, or if I do
think it necessary in some instances, I cover very
slightly and with some material that is very porous
and that will admit all the air possible. Then I set
mj' pots in a dark place, that is moderately damp and
warm. On the first sign of vegetation, the pots are
graduallj' brought up to the full light, and to their
regular conditions of growth."

But, said we, this is all very well for gardeners
who have greenhouses, and rare seeds to raise ; but
tell us something that will benefit our lady leaders,
many of whom have such poor luck, as they say,
with their flower seeds sown in early Spring.

"They cover them too deeply," replied Jones,
"the moisture they get is not in proportion to the
air about them — too much of the former, too little of
the latter — let them sow them on the surface, and
cover with moss, or leaves, or cotton, or anything,
taking care only to remove it at once on germina-
tion and they will never fail if the seed is good."

For the benefit of our nursery readers, we con-
cluded to press our friend's experience still further,
and we said, "Mr. Jones, how would you treat fruit
seeds, hedge plants, &c. ? I should like to add some-
thing to your hints for the especial benefit of the
trade." But here we made a mistake, which we
discovered on the instant of passing the word trade
from our lips. "The trade ?' ' said he, " let the trade
study and pay for their education in the same way
that I did." We told him that they were willing to
pay and did pay for any information they got, as he
would find if he would read the Gardener's Monthly
regularly, that a great majority of the best minds
amongst them had already given freely from the
stores of their studies and experience in return for
what hints they got ; that more would do so when
his hberal example came before them, and that more
over, and above all, he had promised me, at the out-
set, to tell me what would benefit "all," which in-
cludes the "trade." "Well," said he, "I will
answer your inquiry by an anecdote. Some j'^ears
ago, when Osage Orange seed was high in price in
this section — ^24.00 per bushel — I was, one day, in

a seedman's store in this city, and in the course of
conversation, the proprietor said to me, ' Mr. Jones,
I wish you could tell me how to make good Osage
Orange seed out of bad ; here is a lot I have had on
hand for two years, and I am afraid my reputation
will suffer if I sell it.' 'Let me see it,' says I. On
cutting open a few seeds, I found that it was good.
' What will you take for it ?' I asked. ' Glad to get
fl2.00 per bushel for it,' he replied, and at that price
I bought the lot. This was, I think, in February.
I put a large packing case under my greenhouse stage,
mixed a good quantity of sand with the seed, put it
in the case, and watered the whole with warm water.
Every few days with a spade I turned over the whole
mass, to be sure that it did not ferment or rot too
soon or without my knowledge, and by the middle
of March, every seed had a nice little point bursting
through the outer skin, when it was soon after sown,
and I had the pleasure and profit that always results
from a good business operation, the following Fall.
All seeds are governed by similar laws, which only
require varying a little with different seeds; the
principal variation being that the thicker the shell or
harder, the more air, darkness and moisture it will
require to soften it, and when it is thin or soft very
Mttle, if any, previous preparation will be necessary.
Let your nursery friends never bury their seeds
deeply, but as moisture must be retained, and shallow
covering thus be an evil, let that be remedied by pre-
cautionary measures— as to time of sowing, covering
with porous matter, and so on."

We took our departure, edified and instructed, and
on our friend ^who, whenever he pleases can express
himself in a much more refined manner) exclaiming
"that fellow is a brick," we replied in the same un-
polished strain— "that's so ! and I'll build out of him
a pretty good article for our next month's paper."

We will only add a remark of our own, as our

good friend Jones did not allude to it. It does not

follow that because seeds do not grow it is through

our ignorance, and that the seeds are not good. There

are hundreds of respectable seedsmen through the

country who will not sell a bad seed if they know it,

and who know enough to know the difference ; but

there are some of whom this can not be said. The

remedy is, to buy as much as you can from those

you know, and in your own neighborhood whenever

you can. Those who have a reputation to lose are

usually careful not to risk losing it.

• <«i»»

THE HORTICULTURIST.

We regret to learn that the Printing Office in which
our estimable contemporary the Horticulturist was
printed, together with the whole of the January
number was consumed by fire. We are liappy to
find that but little delay occurred in republishing it.

.(57<

^^m^.

35h4 ©ardtner's gloiit^Ij.

BEN DAVIS AND NEW TORE PIFFIN
AFPLES.

From all that we have been able to learu of these
apples, we have had an idea that they are identical ;
and it has been in several instances suggested in this
journal ; and in one, a correspondent, Mr. Caldwell,
confirmed our opinion by referring to "page 119 of
DoAvning's revised edition." Mr. Downing does not
refer in the cited, instance to the New York Pippin,
and we understand our correspondent to have meant,
that by taking a New York Pippin, and comparing
it with the description and cut of Ben Davis there
given, they would be seen to be identical. If the
specimens we have hitherto seen of these two apples
were correct ; we think this would be the inference
of any one. But at the last Pomological meeting, in
September, both Mr. "Wilder and Dr. Warder seem-
ed to be decidedly of the opinion that they were
not the same ; that we felt there was something wrong
somewhere, and laid the matter over till another
opportunity should afford us a better chance of judg-
ing where the error had crept in.

In the meantime we find that Mr. Downing has
given a cut and description of the "New York Pip-
pin " in the last number of the Horticulturist,
which we think, instead of proving that it is not the
Ben Davis, rather shows that it is.

In Mr. Downing's Avork, at page 119 above re-
ferred to, Mr. D. says of Ben Davis :

Fruit large, roundish, narrowing a little to the
eye. Sldn beautifully striped, splashed and marbled
with bright red, on yellowish ground. Stalk short,
deeply inserted in a deep, narrow, somewhat uneven
cavity. Calyx closed, in an angular deep basin.
Flesh white, sometimes slightly tinged with red,
tender, juicy, with a mild, sub-acid, very pleasant
flavor. Season winter and spring.

In the last Horticulturist he thus speaks of the
"New York Pippin :"

New York Pippin. — Baltimore Red, of southern
Illinois.

Baltimore Eed Streak, of southern Illinois.

Victoria Red, of some parts of Missouri.

Kentucky Pippin, of south-western Kentucky.

Red Pippin, in some sections of Illinois.

Fruit large, variable in form, (judging from the
dozen various specimens sent,J truncate conic, a
little oblique, sometimes cylindric, scarcely angular,
sometimes sides unequal, light in weight. Skin
somewhat waxen, whitish yelloAV, much shaded with
crimson, and considerably splashed and striped with
carmine, and moderately sprinkled with gray dots.
Stalk short and small, in a rather large, deep cavity,
often with light russett, which sometimes extends
in rays on the base. Caylx closed, segments short,
in a large, rather deep, slightly corrugated basin.

Flesh white, a little coarse, rather tender, moder-
ately juicy, with a pleasant sub-acid flavor. Quality
' ' good. ' ' No material difference.

The cuts that are given in the Horticulturist with
the New York Pippin, and the one given in Down-
ing's Fruits of Ben Davis, are all so near alike, that
no aid to their distinctness can be had from them.

In reply to our remarks, it may be said that Mr.
Downing would certainly be the last person to de-
scribe a fruit in one place as one thing, and in
another place, the same article as something else ;
but we are sure Mr. Downing himself will be the
first to admit that all are liable to err, and he himself
may be no exception.

Our journal has earned, and we think honestly, a
reputation for general pomological accuracy, that
we are proud of, and are jealous of seeing dam-
aged "by authority" without good proof; and as
it is through it that Ben Davis and New York Pip-
pin are considered the same thing, we want to be the
first to correct the error, if error it shall be proved.

GRAND ADMIRABLE PEACH.

[ See Frontispiece. ]

At the last Sej^tember Meeting of the Pomological
Society, Mr. Lawrence Young, of Louisville, Ky.,
exhibited some splendid Peaches under this name.
We made a sketch of an average-sized one at the
time, which we now give as a frontispiece. Usually
monstrous fruits are poor in quality. We did not
get the opportunity of testing it personally, but were
assured by a gentleman acquainted with it that the
quaUty was not inferior in proportion to its size.

The engraving is a specimen of a new style re-
cently introduced in France, and here offered, we
believe, for the first time in this country, and reflects
great credit on our excellent artist, Mr. Frank R.
Stockton. Since writing the above, we have re-
ceived the following history from Mr. Young : —

Your note of inquiry respecting the history of
the "Grand Admirable Peach," is at hand. In
answer, all I can say is, that about 20 years ago, a
young gardener, who had lived several years with
Mr. Gano, a gentleman of taste and enterprise, near
Cincinnati, was allowed by his patron to propagate
trees and plants for his private use, that afterward
the young gardener settled in Louisville, and having
no suitable lot for his trees, I purchased them, with
a catalogue of names in too much confusion to be
reliable. Grand Admirable being one of the cata-
logue names, Avas given to this fruit — more because
it was known not to belong to the other varieties,
which were mostly well known, than from any
confidence that it is the true name of the fruit in
question.

Since I first cultivated this peach I have bought
in the Eastern Nurseries ahnost every peach tliat
gave promise of good size or other good quahties ;
but I have received this fruit from no other source.
And in 1852, I made a tour during the peach season
along the Atlantic, as far So'.ith as Virginia. Search-
ing especially for this Peach, I did not recognize if I
saw it in New York or Philadelphia. At a Horti-
cultural exhibition in Baltimore, I saw and confi-
dentially recognized two plates, one of very fine
grown specimens by the lady of the Rev. Dr. Wolf,
another by some of the Feasts, but neither of these
were named, although as well as memory serves me,
that of the lady was honored with the blue ribbon.
I mention these names because now that you have
the subject up, it is possible the Feasts, who I think,
are fruit-men, might give you some information.

In regard to its value I unhesitatingly say, that
my experience has found it to be the first in value of
all the white fleshed cling-stonc peaches. It is white
fleshed to the stone, and nearly as large as the Heath.
In the latitude of Louisville, it always ripens with
flavor, whilst in very short summers it does not. It
ripens after the bulk of the peach crop is over, so
that while in beauty and size, it equals any cling
preceding it, at the same time it fills a space in the
circle of successive ripening which would otherwise
be vacant.

Leaves, reniform glands ; fruit large, rather long,
with a heath-like protuberance or teat ; suture
slight ; skin white, with a beautiful red cheek when
exposed to the sun ; flesh, whitish, melting and
luscious, occasionally a very slight tinge of red at
the stone, generally as free from it as White Heath.
Flowers small.

I am very glad you are about to bring out this
peach, for if it is in Downing I do not recognize it,
and I think it will be found desirable as far north as
the Heath grows.

FORCING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN
THE OPEN GROUND.

In another part of our paper appear some remarks
on the application of heat to the forcing of vegetables
in the open ground, that are worthy of the reader's
careful attention.

It is an unquestionable fact that a few days ad\ance
in a crop over its regularly expected season, is far
more profitable to the marketman than it is to have
the same article months ahead, and out of its regular
season ; not so much because the extra early crop is
necessarily raised at a greater outlay of cash and
skill, as because no one expects it so early, and there-
fore no one feels the want, and without this want
there is no care or desire to gratify oneself with a
luxury not felt to be so. Luxuries become wants, in

@1

a great measure, by habit ; and while the custom is
slowly forming, the enterprizing raiser of the unsea-
sonable crop is permitted to starve. This we have
seen exemplified.

But when the expected season is about to arrive,
the first few days of the crop's appearance in market
brings very large and profitable prices— profitable
because the extra expense of a few days' earliness is
comparatively small in proportion to the extra de-
mand and extra price.

Up to the present time, little has been done in this
line but to plant in places naturafly warm, or to ac-
celerate the growth of seedlings for transplanting in
hotbeds or frames, but with recent improvements
that have been made in systems of heating, as modes
of distributing heat -are termed, very much more
might undoubtedly be obtained than is now accom-
plished.

Heat, for instance, by the laws of gravitation,
ascends much more rapidly in a strict perpendicular
direction than in any approach to a horizontal posi-
tion ; hence, heat might be perceptible at the end of
a thousand-feet flue on a rise, when, with the same
measure of coal, it would not be perceptible at the
end of a hundred-feet flue on a dead level, without
some extra and expensive means were taken to
counter-balance the gravitation of cold air.

With this view, it might be worth considering
what could be done with houses run up longitudi-
nafly on hill sides where the soil could be heated by
underground drains to great lengths. It must not
be forgotten that the amount of heat from an equal
quantity of the same kind of coal is always the same ;
when it is said, therefore, that a house of large ex-
tent, on ascending grade, could be heated better than
a smaller one on a level, it is meant that the volume
of heat would be more equahzed through the enclosed
space. A house of large extent on an incline could
not be highly heated with a proportionately small
fire ; but for the few days diffference our article sup-
poses, it would not be required.

By the old system of building houses or pits with
sash frames, such structures could not be well built
on sloping ground, because it is essential that a sash
should lay level, both for working weU and avoiding
leakages, but on the now popular fixed roof principle
it is not so essential that the work should be level.
There are several questions worth considering be-
fore such a plan should be extensively tried. Plants
reciuire perpendicular space for their growth ; a portion
of such space is always lost on an incline, and it has
to be ascertained whether the area thus lost is fully
compensated by the increased facility for the heat's
distribution. We merely make the suggestions.

For many things in the open ground no artificial
heat might be necessary, and yet cheap glass frames

%\t §m&{mB cPlontMg.

be found of great assistance. For Rhubarb, Straw-
berries, Asparagus, Lettuce, and the hke, the glass
shoiild be set as near the ground as possible — but a
few inches from the ground at the front, and but little
more at the back, just enough to throw off' the water.
This would retain the natural heat in the ground and
assist the soil to absorb that from the sun, and thus,
in many instances, weeks in advance would be gained.
As soon as the crops had grown large enough to de-
mand the removal of the sashes, the season would
be so far advanced that the plants would be safe
without them.

To those friends who have already given us their
observations and little experiences on these points, our
readers will, we know, award their best thanks, and
we hope for further notes. Any small facts in rela-
tion to the matter may originate important modes of

practice.

««»»» •

MR. ISATHVON'S ESSAT.

In order to clear off some matters on hand, we
have delayed the continuation of this excellent paper
till next month.

u

^rrfljps anb <^uprips.

33^ Communications for this department must reach tho Editor
on or before the 10th of the month.

Grape Insects, &c. — H., Worcester^ Mass. — In
the November number of the Monthly you" inform a
questioner that there is danger of getting certain
kinds of insects with grape-vines or cuttings.

Now, I Avish to inquire if the risk may not be
avoided by dipping the cuttings into some prepa-
ration which will prevent the eggs from hatching.

I have been told that a mixture of strong tobacco-
water and whale-oil soap will destroy the eggs of all
kinds of insects. Is this true ? and, if so, will you
please to give a recipe for the preparation of it?
Would such a mixture do injury to cuttings of single
eyes? (1.)

Can the Rebecca Grape be successfully grafted
upon our wild vines — the Vitis Labrusca ? (2.)

Does the Maxatawny Grape ripen earlier than the
Isabella? and if so, how much? (S.)

Lastly, will common window-glass answer for
glazing hotbed sashes ? (A.)

[1. It would certainly lessen the risk. There are
no fixed proportions necessary. The soft or whale-
oil soap is nearly as good without the tobacco-water,
and that without the soap.

2. Perfectly well.

3. It has been ripened here but in one spot. That
is not sufficient to establish a general character for
time of maturity in a grape-vine. We incline to the

opinion it will settle down as a few days later than
Isabella.

4. The only objection is, that cheaper glass will
do as well for hotbeds. ]

Greenhouses. — R. B. C, Moundsville, Va. — Is it
the best to have the side lights open or fixed ? (1.)
Will it do to have the top lights fixed ? C2.)
Is it necessary to have shutters in our climate ? (%.)
Will it do to heat a greenhouse seventy feet long
with hot-water tanks ? Will one do for sixteen feet
wide? C4.)

Will it do to have the fire inside ? (5.)
Is it the best to have the house on the ascending
principle where it is heated with hot water? C6.J

[1. We would have side lights; but it is not es-
sential that they should be made to open, though
they are ususlly so made. All the necessary air will
find its way in when the heated air is allowed to
escape out of the top.

2. All the roof may be fixed, except a space a few
feet in width along the whole or a greater part of
the length of the apex of the roof.

3. If the house is snugly built, and tolerably
closely glazed, shutters are unnecessary in your dis-
trict. In forming the laps in the glass, they should
not all entirely touch the under pane of glass. It is
advantageous to permit the escape of a little mois-
ture in winter time, which very tight glazing pre-
vents.

4. We would heat by tank only when a bottom-
heat was required,— such as for propagating, &c.
For atmospheric heat in a greenhouse seventy feet
long and sixteen feet wide, we would use hot-water
pipes.

5. Outside is best, on the whole.

6. We do not regard the relative merits of houses
on the ascending principle as fully settled. See ar-
ticle in another column. The pipes will certainly
work best when the flow-pipe is on a gradual ascent.
The return pipe may be bent, sunk, or made to rise
in any direction, so long as it does not in any part
rise higher than the flow. ]

Grapes, Shrubs, and Roses — E. B. G., Man-
chester, Pa. — Is not the Logan Grape very nearly
allied with the true York Madeira ? I have not seen
the growth of the Logan; but from what I can
learn, it must be nearly the same in habit of growth,
fruit and earliness, &c. (1.)

Would it be any benefit to underdrain soil for
grape-vines, that is for vineyard, where water will
remain less than twenty -four hours on the top of
the soil after a heavy shower, where the subsoil is
sandy and porous below eighteen inches? (2.)

Will grapes grow with any certainty in the open

air, in a moderately shady place, from single eyes,
after tlie callus is well formed? (3.)

AVliat twelve varieties of liardy deciduous flower-
ing shrubs would you recommend for the garden
or lawn, so as to get the longest-continued bloom
and the greatest variety of flowers? ("4. J

"What twelve varieties of hardy standard roses
would you recommend for the garden, so as to get
the longest-continued bloom and the greatest variety
of flowers? (5.)

[1. York Madeira is later, but a better grape than
the Logan.

2. It would.

3. Not well, Tinless watched, carefully shaded,
&c. They would otherwise soon dry up.

4. 1 Forsythia viridissima, 2 Wiegelia rosea, 3
Spiro?a prunifolia, 4 Spiroea Reevesii, 5 Pyrus ja-
ponica, 6 HyiJ^ium kalmianum, 7 Colutea arbores-
cens, 8 Philadelphus coronarius, 9 Deutzia gracilis,
10 Persian Lilac, 11 Magnolia purpurea, 12 Missouri
Currant.

5. Baron Prevost, Prince Albert, Garibaldi, Pax-
ton, Youland d'Arragon, Coronet, Monthly Cab-
bage, General Jacqueminot, Lion of Combats, Tri-
omphe de 1' Exposition, Dr. Marx, and CaroUne de
Sansal.

Cracking of Grapes — A Subscriber, Skeneatles.
N. Y. — I last year allowed a few bunches to ripen
on most of the vines planted in 1859. The fruit was
good, both in flavor and color, with the exception
of two bvmches on a plant of Muscat Blanc Hatif,
the berries mostly all cracking when half ripe. What
is the cause ?

[It is not well understood, though most practical
men hold their "most decided opinions" on the
cause. Some varieties are more liable to cracking
than others. Muscat Blanc Hatif is one of them.

Draxning without an Outlet. — A correspond-
ent at Bridgeton, N. J., inquires whether he can
make a well, and use it as an outlet, into which to
run the tiles with which he wishes to underdrain his
garden. We presume, under some circumstances,
such a plan would serve ; but have never known the
experiment tried. Have any of our correspondents
had experience in such a case ?

Grape-Cuttings — R. C, Provinceiown, Mass. —
They are best cut into lengths of two eyes, one at each
end of the cutting,and set down into the soil so that the
topmost eye is nearly level with the surface. Situa-
tion for striking is one partially shaded. Put out as
early in spring as possible. They may be cut off at
once, and kept till spring in a cellar or shed, covered

with soil. There is no advantage in planting them
at once where they are permanently to remain.

Scorching Grape-Vine Leaves. — /. M., Port-
land, Maine, writes that he has a vinery that is sev-
enteen feet wide, having a border the whole width.
A very porous soil, not very rich, but fully three
feet deep. The inside one similar in material, ten
or twelve feet in width. Its front elevation is four-
teen feet, and the principle a "lean-to." The vines
are trained up ten feet up the side lights, and
fifteen inches from the roof. Every year the leaves
"scorch," or appear to burn up at the edges. Think-
ing it was the sun, he had them shaded, without a
better result; and fearing the inside border might
be too dry, he had that guarded against; but the
injury still occurs. He inquires, what can be the
reason? By the scorching being confined to the
edges of the leaves, we should certainly still think
they were too dry at the roots. Were the leaves
equally affected all over, we should look for red
spider, or even thrip, as the cause of the mischief.

Ericas — G. F., Mattapan. iliizss.— The month of
February is the best to pot Ericas in this country.
They will then get a good mass of roots before the
hot weather sets in. We have found nothing like
a sunk pit, with a frame over the top and the sides
open, to get them well over our dry summer, as well
as to prevent their being sodden with om- heavy
summer rains.

Names'op Plants — H., Lancaster, 0.— Acacia Far-
nesiana.— This tribe of Acacias has the flowers some-
what different in appearance to the usual New Hol-
land forms.

Leaf Plants for a W-\rdian Case.— Mrs. L.
P., Russell, St. Lawrence Co., N. F.— Ten handsome
leaf-plants of easy culture for a glass case, we would
name Begonia rex, Tradescantia discolor, Trades-
cantia zebrina, Saxifraga sarmentosa, Hydrangea
variegata, any one of the variegated Caladiums, 2
Ferns (1 Adiantum, 1 Pteris or Blechnumj ; Lyco-
podium, say L. denticulatum, coesium, or arboreum ;
Variegated Periwinkle. This hst will afford a great
variety of form of foliage, color, and habit, bearing
confinement tolerably well, and are plants that can
be readily procured of almost any florist.

Richland Plum — 4 Subscriber, Wilkesbarre. — "I
see in an advertisement in the Monthly, a notice of a
plum called Richland. I would like to know whether
this plum is worthy of a place in a small collection,
and further I see the advertiser says it is free from
the attacks of the Curculio. Now I would like to
know whether there is any philosophy for such an

'^

60

^t iartkitcr's Ponf^Ig.

assertion. I have not been able to make up my
mind that any plum could be considered exempt,
unless it be too hard for them to penetrate.

[It is figured and described on page 154 of our
first volume. No plum is "free from attacks of Cur-
culio." Tlie rot does not follow the attack in Bucks
Co. In AVest Chester it does. The reason is not
clear ; but the fact indicates that the puncture of the
Curcuho is not in itself a sufficient cause of rot. ]

Roses in a Greenhouse. — G. F., your roses
have evidently suffered some injury to their foliage
but we cannot judge from the circumstance you
have detailed what is the exact cause.

Stkawberky Worm. — A Cleveland correspond-
ent writes: — "In your December issue a subscriber
inquires about a 'Strawberry Worm.' It is com-
mon here, and is the false caterpillar of a saw fly that
I have failed as yet in identifying, as the pupa all
died before being transformed. At present I have
pupa, and hope to succeed better this time."

J. B.^ BaUimore.— Y onr leaf from the woods appears
to belong to Cypripedium acaule.

Grape-Mildew. — A correspondent from Bloom-
ington, Ills., says Norton's Virginia mildews with
him, and that the Concord does the same in Pope
Co. We presume there is no kind but is at times
liable to it,— some much more so than others.

The Weed and Insect Destroyer. — This is the
name of a body existing at Nazareth, Pa. Mr. G.
H. Bute, corresponding Secretary. They report fa-
vorably of their operations the past two years,
though we have no account of the manner in which
they operate, or the nature of their successful achieve-
ments.

Insects — B. S.,Ml. Vernon, O. — We will endeavor
to answer all your inquiries next mouth.

Poohs, (Jafelogups, ^u

Rural Annual and Horticultural Direc-
tory. By Joseph Harris, Rochester, New York.

This is the sixth annual appearance of a very use-
ful little volume. It contains treatises on
The Farmer's Kitchen Garden; Shade and Orna-
mental Trees ; Management of Window Plants ;
Cultivation of Everlasting Flowers, Ornamental
Hedges; Sulphur for Mildew on the Grape; Designs
for Farm Houses, Cottages, Suburban Residences,
Barns, &c. ; Ornamental Fountains; Construction
of Gates ; Calendar of Operations ; Cultivation of

the Pear, and one of the most novel subjects treated
of is the Essay on Cacti and succulents as window
plants, by F. A. Bailer, which alone is worth the
price of the Avork. The writer remarks :
"One very great cause of the failure and disap-
pointment felt in the cultivation of window plants,
is the lack of moisture, whereby ordinary greenhouse
plants soon fade, turn yellow, and become stunted
in their growth — not being able to keep up the exces-
sive waste continually going on. So different is the
atmosphere from that of a greenhouse, that they have
in self-defence to part with foliage that they would
have maintained in health and vigor, in more favor-
able circumstances. ' '

Nothing is better suited for window plants than
the innumerable members of this family, and we
hope to hear more of them in this connection here-
after.

The Illustrated Self Instructor in Phren-
ology AND Physiology. We have received from
the publishers, Fowler & Wells, Broadway, New
York.

Proceedings op the Southern Vine Growers'
Society at Aiken, South Carolina, held August, 1860.

This Society appears to have been a great success.
Over one hundred delegates were present. Dr.
Hume's account of his experiments in wine making
received marked attention. We are pleased the
society has met with such solid support, as it is one
calculated to effect much good.

The Nursery Catalogues of our friends' begin
to crowd in on us within the past few days ; we have
received of Marshall P. Wilder, Dorchester, Mass.;
General List. Thos. Morgan, Lyon's Farms, N.Y. ;
Flowers. Robert Buist & Son, Phila. ; Trees and
Shrubs. W. Sumner, Pomaria, S. C. ; General
Stock. A. Bridgeman, Broadway, N.Y. ; Flower
Seeds. W. Perry & Son, Brigeport, Conn. ; Grapes.
H. A. Dreer, Phila. ; New Verbenas, 1861. Darling-
ton & Co., West Chester, Pa. ; General List. J. F.
Hill & Co., Indianapolis, Ind. ; General List. Joshua
Peirce, Washington, D. C. ; Small Fruits. W. P.
Shepherd, New York. ; various Catalogues of foreign
firms. W. Tompkins, Germantown, N.Y. ; Grapes
and Small Fruits. John Perkins, Moorestown, N. J.;
General List. Dr. E. Taylor, Cleveland, O.; Gene-
ral List. D. Landreth & Co., Phila.; Schmitz Dah-
lias. Larison & Holcomb, Lambertville, N. J. ;
Fruits. W. Mann, Bangor, Maine. ; Evergreens.
Hatch & Co., Natchez, Miss. J. M. Jordan, St.
Louis, Mo. ; General List. W. R. Prince & Co.,
Flushing, N. Y. ; Greenhouse Plants.

Landreth' s Rural Register and Almanac for
1861, D. Landreth & Son, Philadelphia. Contains
a very complete calendar of work to be done on the

^5

^il

ilt^ (gardcnfr's Jltonthlg.

di

farm, kitchen garden, greenhouse and flower garden
throughout the year, besides the usual list of vege-
table seeds sold.

The Valley Farmer, — Published by N. J. Col-
mnn, St. Louis, Mo., is one of the best Agricultural
Journals published. AYe presume all the principal
agriculturists in the West and South-west own a
line in its subscription-book. We would at least
commend it to the attention of those who do not.

The Cincinnatus of Cincinnati, one of our standard
Agricultural and Horticultural exchanges has passed
into new hands, and will in future contain with its
usual agricultural excellence, a department devoted
to the Mechanic Arts.

American Bee Journal. — Published by A. M. Spang-
Icr & Co., 25 North Sixth Street, Philadelphia. —
The first number has just been received. It is
published in neat style, and as it is confined entirely
to a subject just now exciting interest, it will prove
a boon to Apiarians.

Farmers' High School, Penna. Report for 1860,
is a gratifying exhibit of success and usefulness ; w(
are much indebted for the Essay on the Source ol
Nitrogen in Plants, to v,"hich we shall refer hereafter.

Miser's Rural American, of Clinton, N. Y.
We accidentally omitted from our list of excellent
agricultural publications last month. It is one ol
the best issued.

Gardeners' Progressive Society of Phila-
delphia. We are indebted to the kindness of Mr.
Walter Elder, for the Essays and Discussions of this
Society for the past year.

It is a neat little pamphlet of 129 pages.

Mr. Elder has left some copies at our office foi
sale to those who may wish to procure them. It
will be found to contain interesting essays by C. H.
Miller, on gardeners and gardening in America :
Wm. Saunders, ventilation of glass structures ; C.
H. Miller, Manuring and Subsoiling ; Walter Elder,
deterioration of fruit ; John Landers, causes of
the deficiency in color and flavor of the exotic grape ;
Prof. Stevens, manures ; W. Grassie, mildew ; R.
R. Scott, small fruits ; Jas. Eadie, habit in plants,
and discussions on a variety of other very interest-
ing topics.

Book Catalogue. Messrs. Randolph, of Rich-
mond, Ya., send us a Catalogue of books on Agri-
culture, Horticulture, &c., that we take to be perhaps
the most extensive list published in the Union. It
embraces Jive hundred different works on these sub-
jects. Amongst other things we notice "Wells'
Manual of Scientific Discovery for 1860," about
which a correspondent recently inquired.

HoRTUS Lindenianus. We have received throur h

the kindness of Mr. J. Linden, of Brussels, Belgium,
two numbers of his Horlus Lindeniunus, which con-
tain very beautifully colored illustrations of some of
the finest new plants introduced by him. We are
pleased to learn that Mr. Linden has just been ap-
pointed director of the botanical and horticultural
department of the Garden of Acclimitation at Paris,
and that he is about forming a department for the
introduction of new plants, fruits and vegetables on
an extensive scale. The example of the French
government in aiding this enterprize is worthy of
imitation.

llFtD' or fiarp ]PIanh.

Caladium Belleymei. — In the collection of Jas.
Dundas, Esq., of Philadelphia, we frequently notice
new plants almost as soon as they are announced in
England. Under Mr. Pollock's good management,
they are not long in being metamorphosed from
"little bits" to mammoth specimens.

®h4 iardcn^r's p;ant|Ig.

Here we now have one of the newest of the Cala-
diums, and one of the most strikmg. Our engraving
is one-half the size of nature. The veins and margin
of tlie leaf are light green, and the body of the leaf
pure white, as our cut represents. Caladiums usually
require a moist stove-heat in winter to grow to per-
fection, and partial shade agrees best with them.

Cissus VELUTiNUS is a new species from the Malay
Islands. Nearly allied to C. discolor; the leaves
not quite so interesting, but the flowers larger.

ANiECTOCHiLtrs iNORNATUS. — From Ceylon. A
variety of, and not qufle so handsome, perhaps, as
»4. setaceus.

Salvia scabioscefolia. — A species from Russia,
with tall spikes of greenish-pink flowers, and will,
perhaps, make an interesting addition to our hardy
herbaceous plants.

Sakcanthus Parishii. — An epiphytal orchidacese,
from Moulmaine, rather pretty, and flowering in
August.

Cyutanthus sanguineus. — A new bulbous plant,
allied botanically to Crinum, but with red flowers of
something the habit and appearance of Tigridia. It
is handsome, and will be popular. Introduced by
Mr. Backhouse, from Caff'raria. — BoL Mag.

New Dahlia — Schmitz's Conqueror of the Whites.
—We have received from Messrs. Landreth & Son,
of Philadelphia, a lithograph of this, we believe, the
best white dahlia ever raised.

Death op ex-President Walker, of Mass. —
When cafling attention to Mr. Walker's new pear
in our last number, we little expected to announce
his death in this. At the Mass. Horticultural Society,
Hon. M. P. Wilder feelingly announced his decease
in the following terms, and the society passed ap-
propriate resolutions, expressive of their loss :

Mr. President— But a few months since I stood
before you to announce the death of one of our old-
est and most respectable members. And now an
inscrutable and all-wise Providence calls me to
make known to this Society the afflictive dispensa-
tion which has removed from us another of our shin-
ing lights, and again thrown the mantle of sorrow
around us.

I allude, sir, to the Hon. Samuel Walker, who
died at his residence in Roxbury, on the evening of
Tuesday last, and whose precious remains were
borne by us, yesterday, to his favorite Auburn, and
there committed to the bosom of his mother earth —
"earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," — a

5^

spot which was ever dear to him, and which will for-
ever be hallowed in our affections.

Mr. Walker was one of the earliest and most influ-
ential members of this Society. For nearly thirty
years he has been deeply interested in its objects,
and ardently devoted to its welfare. Among the
oflices which he held were those of Treasurer, Vice
President and President, and during this long period
his name has annually been associated with us in
some oflicial capacity.

He was of foreign birth, but was truly American
and national in his feelings. He was one of the
founders of the National Pomological Society, for
many years a Vice President, and at the time of his
death the Chairman of the General Fruit Committee
of that association. He also held oflices of honor
and trust in his own city and county, and in the
Commonwealth.

Mr. Walker was in most respects a model man.
In perception, quick and accurate — in taste, intui-
tive and refined — in manners, unassuming, courte-
ous and polite — in duty, conscientious, faithful and
judicious — in life, earnest, exemplary and practical.
As a friend and companion, he Avas genial, sympa-
thetic and confiding. His heart was full of love to
others, and often have I heard him remark — "he
that would have friends must prove himself friend-
ly to others."

In connection with the last remark of Mr. Wilder,
in the extract we have given, we append the follow-
ing extract from the last letter we ever received from
him :

" I tender you my hearty thanks for the opportu-
nity you have afforded me of perusing the kind let-
ter of our mutual friend Dr. Brinckle, which I here-
with return. I am pleased that you should all es-
teem my pear so highly, though I must say, that I
think it 25 to 30 per cent, below its standard, but if
I have any fruit next season, shafl, if I am living,
send you some again. For the reason you state, it
would not be well to name the pear as you wish. I
have many old particular friends whom I much
value, and I would not disappoint or do injustice to
any one of them. I have, therefore, decided to give
it a name that shall be national and acceptable to all,
and I propose to callit ' Mount Vernon'fWalker's. J"

It would be pleasant could we afl be as thoughtful
of respecting the feehngs of our friends as Mr.
Walker, and it would be well for our young readers
to commit to memory the beautiful Hues of CoAvpe: :

"Who seeks a friend, should come disposed
To exhibit in full hloom disclosed

The graces and the beauties
That form the character he seeks,
For 'tis an union that bespeaks

Reciprocative duties."

L^-

SWii; §ar(kncr'f5 J^onthlg.

YALE AGRICULTURAL LECTURES.

Apprehending the effect of political excitement in diminishing
the interest and usefulness of an Agiicultural Convention, it has
been decided to postpone a repetition of the " Yale Agricultural
Lectures" to another year. The regular lectures of the Institution
ou Agricultural Chemistry and the General Principles of Agricul-
ture will be given as usual, commencing February 1st.

ILLINOIS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The State Horticultural Society met at Koyce's Hall. Mr. Sam'l
Edwards in the chair, and Mr. A. B. Galusha acting as Secretary
pni ttiii.

Tlie lirst item discussed was, the loading varieties of trees for
ornamental and economic parts of the State.

Mr. Overman suggested the Cotton Wood as the most available
of the deciduous trees. Large trees can be raised in a few years.
The wood is valuable for fuel, and even for rails. He has had
rails that lasted for years.

Mr. Pha-nix and Mr. Minkler agreed in the main with Mr. Over-
man; and the Society resolved to recommend the Cotton Wood
for planting in groves, for shelter, and for shade for animals.

Mr I'liienix would speak of the Golden Willow. It is a desira-
ble tree wherever it is hardy enough for culture. ]irobably all
thruigh the State. It is easy of propagatiou, and the timber is
valuable for posts, aud even for rails. It will grow rapidly and of
large size. He has seen long rows of it in La Salle County. Its
rapid growth and its beauty recommend it.

Messrs. Overman, Phtcnix, aud Whitney spoke in its favor, and
the Society voted to recommend the culture of the Golden Willow
for the same purposes as Cotton VWod.

Mr. Overman iniroduced the Si'ver-leaved Poplar. He said it
was beautiful in the street, but objectionable in lawns and culti-
vated grounds.

Mr. Phoenix thought there was a variety that did not sucker.

Jlr. Galusha thought that trees from seed would not sucker as
bad as those from cuttings. Other members gave their opinions,
aud the Silver Poplar was recommended as a tVee for the roadside.

Of the Silver Maple it was said by Jlr. Galusha — The .seeds ripen
in May, varying according to the sea.son. They should be gath-
ered soon after they fall, fur bugs eat out the kernel. He gathers
them from the surface of streams, from eddies and bays in the
shore r has taken up a bushel in lifieen minutes. The seed must
be planted almost immediately, between layers of moss, they
may keep for a week, but generally only three or four days. He
plants in a line in well-pulverized soil, thrusting them with the
thumb and fingerto the depth of the wing,ti\m two to fourinches
apart ; they may stana two years. They seldom form tap-roots.
In the first season they grow eighteen inches ; has had them grow
four leet.

Mr. lluggins, of Macoupin — The seeds in his county drop in
April. He can keep the seed two or three weeks ; he has them
gathered dry, bj' boys. The ground is prepared as for corn; the
seed is dropped and covered one inch deep. Too little moisture
will kill either before or after planting. The tree bears seed early,
even in its fifth year. From five eight year old trees he has ob-
tained two bushels; it grows fast, as fast as the Locust, aud gives
shade earlier in the .spring. Some of the five j ust named were ten
inches lu diameter.

The Ash Maple or Box Elder was spoken of as a desirable tree,
both useful and ornamental, Hud easily cultivated. It may be
raised from slips.

Mr. Clark of iirighton has cultivated it successfully ; it is hardy,
and grows well ; he has had trees of four feet in height from cut-
tings the first season.

A motion to recommend the Maples as a class, and especially the
Soft, or ftilver-leaf Maple, lor all purposes of grove and ornamen-
tal irtes, was agreed to.

Mr. Huggins suggested next the Catalpa for di.scus.sion, as a tree
for Central Illinois. He raised them from seed ; others from cut-
tings. Recommended.

Ou Elms there was a diflfereuce of opinion as to their merits in
the Slate.

'Ihe Elms as a class were recommended for all the State.

Jlr. Shaw proposed the Tulip Tree or Yellow Poplar, improp-
erly so called.

Mr. Overman said — The Tulip Tree is the most magnificent tree,
and has the first place as an ornamental tree for yards. It is free
from all objection. It is said to be hard to transplant, but this is
because of delaying too long; when very young it may easily be
taken up. Its roots spread far; has seen them 100 feet from the
trunk. He has known it injured by severe frosts.

The seed is in a cone; if obtained from immature tree.s, it is de-
fective. The seeds must be sown very thick in the spring; in the
fall of the first year they must be taken up and protected. It can-
not be propagated by cuttings or layers.

The Tulip was recommended as an ornamental tree, and the
Linden for general purposes, all through the State.

Mr. freeman would recommend the Black and Sweet Gum for
the south of the State. His suggestion was adopted.

Mr. Phujnix thinks the Cucumber Tree — a species of Magnolia
— Worthy of trial. The European White Birch is very desirable,
as are al.so some American Birches. He would recommend them

for trial.

The Beeches were spoken of with approbation.

The Chestnut was named. Mr. Phoenix said that it is in demand
and can be cultivated prosperously.

Mr. Edwards has raised the American Chestnut In Bureau Co.,
despite the winters, while the Spanish has sufi'ercd severely.

The Sycamore was recommended for fuel and ornament without
debate, for the whole State.

Mr. Galusha proposed the White Walnut for its value, especially
for timber.

Of the Black Walnut Mr. Snow says that if planted in a furrow
two feet distant, it will make a perfect fence against cattle.

Kecoinraended for Northern and Central Illinois.

The Austrian and Scotch Pines were discussed.

Several members spoke of failing with them when fall-trans-
planted, but they were recommended for general culture.

Mr. Galusha olfered the following, which was adopted:

Resnlvcii, That evergreen trees in nursery should not be allowed
to stand longer than three years without removal or root-pruning.

The Norway Spruce was next spoken of.

Mr. i hoeuix has raised from the seed successfully; would soak
evergreen seeds three or four days in varnisli-watcr; perhaps tliis
is not necessary. The difiiculty with evergreens is ••burniug-off,"
the eft'ect of the hot sun in the first summer, he believes he can
succeed whenever he has sutlicieut shade and water. Has always
sowed the seed late in May or June, but has come to doubt this
practice. An early start is desirable. He has not experienced
sutlicieut to recommend any course; his opinions from his experi-
ments are against prevalent views.

Dr. Kennicott has known them raised with great painstaking;
with too luiich shade and moisture '•damping-i'lf" is the trouble.
A gardener in Lake County has mixed sand with 1 is s dl when that
threatened.

Mr. Shaw has had trouble raising Norway Spruces from a little
black beetle, that eat them oil' while small, — a great jumper; jumps
like a flea.

Mr. Galusha moved to rtcommend the Norway Spruce as the best
evergreen; which v\a3 agreed to.

The Balsam Fir provoked a brisk controversy, but it was recom-
mended for the northern part of the State.

The Hemlock was praised by many members; but the difficulty
found in getting those frmn the woods to grow, made it expensive.

Mr. Bragden moved a resolution, that it is the most graceful of
evergreens, and the most difficult to raise, and that it be recom-
meiided to those that can afford it. Agreed to.

The Red Cedar Mr. Overman has not succeeded well in raising
from tlie seed. The seeds must often lie in the ground two years.
A larger share of these than of other evergreens will grow without
shade. The best plan is to plant them in boxes, and let them free/.*
two winters: keep tliem one or two years in the box. It grows
more in the first year than any other evergreen; thinks the seeds
niu.st be frozen ; never tried planting in wood-ashes; thinks nature
has a process for germinating them more rapidly; that feeds passing
through animals or birds will germinate early.

Red Cedar was recommended for extensive cultivation for low
screens.

The American Arborvitae was recommended for screens and
hedges.

The Trailing Juniper and American Yew were recommended for
lawns.

The Siberian Arborvitse was recommended for ornamental pur-
poses. Dr. Kennicott remarked that when it becomes cheaper, it
will supersede the American.

Mr. Clark spoke of the Chinese Arborvitce as a fine varietj-; im-
proved by trimming.

The European Larch was recommended as an ornamental tree.

Mr. Chase has lieard that White Pine and Hemlock grow best if
cut close at the time of transi)lanting. Is it so? Most that gave
any opinion strongly dissented.

Fruits were next taken up, and first the Strawberry.

Mr. Galusha named the Wilson's Albany as most prolific. Neck
Pine bore neglect well. Hooker he preferred for flavor.

Mr. Kennicott would take Neck Pine and Virginia.

Mr. Galusha is satisfied to raise the Wilson's Albany as long as he
can sell them at fifteen cents per quart, or even at ten cents. The
Neck Pine needs staminate plants near to impregnate thorn. Mr.
Galusha inquired if any member has fruited tlie Triomiihe de Gand.

Dr. Warder said the Triomphe de Gand is rather a poor bearer: all
the runners should be cut oft". Plant the Neck Pine thirty feet
apart, and let it run; protect with a little straw, and you will
hardly take pains to cut runners. I have seen this "contemptible
Neck Pine" six inches in circumference; but that was an accident.
The Wilson's Albany is a fine bearer ; bears neglect nearly as well
as the Neck Pine, but he does not like the flavor. It is one of our
be.st staminate varieties.

Mr. Galusha moved to recommend the Neck Pine, Wilson's Albany,
and Early Scarlet. The Wilson's Albany an account of its fertility,
every flower being hermaphrodite.

The JlcAvoy, Superior, and Longworth's Prolific were recom-
mended for amateur culture, and the Extra Red for trial.

Of Currants Dr. Kennicott said — To have fine currrants. you must
cultivate them nicely, and make the soil rich. The Red and Black
Currants bear manure better than any other Small fruit. Tliey
should be kept clean, trimmed well, set three feet apart in rows six

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feet aoart and never set in the shade, except to prolong the season.
Mr Overman asked whether shade is not necessary to prevent a

^ Dr "L^nnicott has seen it only on weak or old plants. In Central
and Southern Illinois shade may be necessary.

The Ked Dutch, the White Dutch, the Victoria, and the White
Grape were recommended, except for the extreme south ot the State.

Grapes were next brought up. „ . *, i-i. rti „

Mr. Whitney spoke of the Di uia as doing well in the north of the
State, making a fine grape, hardly distinguishable trom the Catawba
He would never recommend for general circulation in ^orthern
Illinois the Isabella and the Clinton.

Mr. Whitney's motion prevailed.

Ur. Shaw would recommend for Central Illinois the Catawba,

^^Mr?"iuggins"moved to include the Isabella, Mr. Barry concurring,
as it thrives in his culture at Alton.

Mr. Shaw accepted Mr. Iluggins' amendment, but under protest
that such is not his opinion. , „ ■ i ♦ i

The recommendation of Messrs. Shaw and Huggins was adopted.

Mr Freemun recommended for Southern Illinois the Catawba,
Herbemont, and Norton-s Virginia Seedling. „ *, , .

Dr. Pchroeder said that the Missouri growers now call the last-
named Hermann's Ited Diamond. ^ . ., ■ „ „ tv,„

Mr Freeman grafts upon wild grape roots, in the spring, after the
grape leaf is developed. Next year the wild root may be dispensed
with by rooting in the grafted scion. . , . ,

Mr Freeman's recommendation for Southern Illinois was adopted

Dr' Warder would recommend that the Delaware vine be tried
ea-tensivelv ; that is, by many persons; but not much by any one
until it is cheaper, and until its qualities are better tested; at pres-
ent it seems likely to be deemed the very best of grapes. _

Uasvherries —Mr. Huggins would recommend for Central Illinois
at least, the Allen Raspberry. Has had it for several years; it is
haidv, an annual bearer, very prolific, and good. Its forming suck-
ers is objected to; just treat them as weeds and clear them out.

The recommendation was agreed to. ,/-,., th- •

Mr. Galusha moved to recommend for North and Central Illinois
the Black Cap and the Purple Cane. ^ » v. , ,

Dr Warder says that it is not a new Raspberry, but has long been
known under various names, and is always a iavorite.

The recmumondatioii was adopted. ,, , ^ , . ■ i-

Dr Schiit-aer finds the Belle de Fontenay the bestof nine varieties
that iic has; they were planted in low ground, four feet apart, and it
is very sweet. He moved that it be recommended Jor Central 111 -
nois. Agreed to. „ t. , .<• •

Mr Phoenix spoke in favor of the Orange Raspberry, for size,
beauty and flavor it is superior; it is tolerably hardy.

Mr ■ Hugn-ins never could get a mess from fitly or sixty plants of
it Others had had similar experience. It was said to be ninch ap-
Droved alon- Lake Michigan, and in various northern localities.

Dr Warder— Burying in the dirt don't pay; it is too much trou-
ble and there is risk of breaking the plants or of their being
frosted or burnt. He cuts off his canes to six inches and turns a
furrow against them. But trimming makes them late.

Mr Phoenix— Along the Hudson Kiver they take great pains to
bury 'their raspberries, and realize five hundeed dollars an acre by
sales to New York. , , , . ,,. ■

The Briackle's Orange was recommended for amateur culture in
Northern and Central Illinois. , , „ , . +,, t, ,

Mr Galnsha moved to recommend, of Gooseberries, the Hough-
ton's Seedling and the Pale Red. The latter is known by several
names He sets the Houghton's Seedling in rows six feet apart,
plant five feet apart. After gathering fruit, he spades the ground,,
mulches in the fall with litter and manure, and after the truitage
removes the straw and renews the process. Thus he gets large fruit
He thinks this fruit much neglected; it is bottled easiest of all
fruits, and fine for culinary use. „ r •* ,

Mr. Bragden says it is the most profitable of the small fruit for

sale in Chicago market. ,.!.,,.<. -, /\u-

Dr Warde?— This berry sells best when it is half-grown. In Ohio
they 'rake off the berries, with a little wire-rake, upon sheets spread
under the bushes. For family use th^y make the best kind of tarts,
pies and pieserves-a/ter they get ripe; he wouldn t touch them
before. When green, they are sold at one dollar a bushel in Cincm-

' The Gooseberries named were recommended. „, , ^, ,

Mr Hu^n-ins moved to recommend the Lawton Blackberry for
Central lUinois. It is fruitful, hardy, and very luscious when fully
ripe.

The recommendation was adoptea. _ , ^ i.

The Committee on Cherries for NorthernlUinois recommended the
following:— Early May, Belle de Choisey, Belle Magnifique, May
Duke, Late Duke, and "Koine Hortense.

Dr. Kennicott moved to add the English Morello. The Committee
agreed, and the list was recommended. , ,, ^^, .^ . , .,

Jlr Hu-'^ins moved to recommend the Hyatt's Linna?us and the
Victoria Rhubarb for general culture. He also regards the Early
Tobolsk as a valuable variety, because of its earliness, and it can be
pulled all summer. It also requires less sugar than other sorts It
fs small, and not the best for market. The LiniuTus is good all
throu-h the season and productive. The Cahoon is utterly worth-
less: he will not have it in his place. The varieties named were
recommended for qualities named.

On motion of Dr. Kennicot, the Cahoon's Seedling was unani-
mously rejected as utterly worthless for general cultivation.

Tho following were chosen Officers for the next year :

President — Dr. J. A. Kennicott, of Chicago.

Vice-Presidents— Mr. E. D. Kitto, J. W. Wakeman, S. G. Mink-

ler, Nathan Overman, J. H. Stewart, J. Huggins, Hostetter,

Charles A. Kennicott, and G. II. Baker,— one from each Congress-
ional District.

Corresponding Secretary— 0. B. Galusha, Lisbon, Kendall Co.

Recording Secreiarg—H. C. Freeman, South Pass, Union County.

Assistant Recording Secretary— C. T. Chase, Chicago.

Treasurer — S. G. Minkler.

MERAMEC HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The following are the officers of the Meramec Horticultural So-
ciety for this year:

President— Dv. L. D. Morse. Post Office— Allenton, Mo.

Recording Secrttary—'Winiam Muir. P.O.— Melrose, Mo.

Execidioe VommUtec—T. K. Allen, Dr. A. W. McPherson, and
L. D. Votaw.

Corresiionding Secretary and Librarian — T. R. Allen, Allen-
town, Mo.

CHICAGO GARDENERS' SOCIETY.

The Annual Meeting of the Chicago Gardeners' Society was held
at their rooms in Metropolitan Hall. The following officers were
elected for the ensuing year:

President— C. D. Bragdon.

First Vice-President- D. Worthington.

Second Vice-President — C. Layton.

Secretary — Edgar Sanders.

Treasurer — John C. Ure.

Executive Committee — J. Worthington, J. C. Ure, J. C. Grant,
A. F. Williams.

Librarian — William Lumbard.

The Presidentelect, on taking the Chair, made a few appropri-
ate remarks, in which he referred to the meeting of the State Hor-
ticultural Society, which is to take place in this city in December
next, and pressed upon members the necessity of preparing there-
Messrs. Kennicott, Sanders and Chase were appointed a Com-
mittee to Revise the Constitution and report to the next meeting.

Tho Committee on Piocuring a Herbarium reported progress.

Mr. Wakeman's paper on Fruit Culture was deferred until the
next meeting, January 21st, to which time the meeting adjourned.

CONNECTICUT GRAPE-GEOWERS'
CONVENTION.

The Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Grape-Growers' Associ-
ation was held at the New Haven House, New Haven, January
8th. After the reading of the annual reports, the ballot for offi-
cers resulted as follows:

President— Co\. D. S. Dewey, of Hartford.

First Vice-President— C. S. Middlehrook, Bridgeport.

Second Vice-Presidtiit—^. A. Holcomb, Granby.

Secretary— M. C. W^eld, Hartford.

Treasurer— Vfnna.m H. Eisley, Berhn.

Voted That the Association offer Premiums for Grapes and
Wines presented at the next Annual Meeting; and that the officers
of the As.sociati u be a Committee to carry out the design of this
vote, at their discretion. _ , , , ,

The following resolutions were unammou.sly adopted :

Rfsolced That it is the opinion of this Society that those tried
varieties, the Isabella and Catawba Grapes, ripen well in many
pasts of this State— especially along its southern shore; iut that,
unless the situation be very favorable, neither (and particularly
the Catawba) will ripen in its more elevated portions.

Resolved, That tho Hartford Prolific and Concord are grapes that
will generally ripen well throughout the State, and hence are to
be recommended. i. . , , • ,

Resolved, Tnat the Diana Grape hasbeen quite extensively tried
and approved, and is to be recommended as qnite sure to ripen m
all fair exposures and for its great excellence.

Resolved, That the Delaware Grape now promises exceedingly
well' but has not extensively fruited that we can, from personal
knowledge, give positive assurance that it is worthy the high
character' claimed for it by many. «- • n i * j

Resolved, That the Rebecca Grape has been sufficiently tested
to show that it is a fruit of good promise and excellency ; hardy
and likely to ripeu, at least, in good exposure.

Mr E S Elmer, of Hartford, presented three varieties of grapes
—Dianas, Isabellas and Catawbas— preserved in cork-dust. The
Dianas were remarkably plump and fresh, showing a peculiar ex-
cellence in that variety. „ . . Til, w »f .1

A "sample of wine, made in 1858, from the juice of the Hartfoid
Prolific Grape with the addition of l.'i lb. good brown sugar to
the gallon was tried, and universally pronounced a remarkably
fine dry wine.

I'hrtr III

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THOMAS MEEHAN, Editor.

MARCH, 1861.

VOL. III.— NO 3.

Ifinh for |lBarf§.

FLOWER

PLEASURE

Gi9LRDE N AND
GROUND.

JIant tilings that appear frosted a little at the tops
should be severely cut down ; it will prevent disap-
pointment in the end. Shoots that are injured in
winter — especially in the case of the rose — will often
have just sufficient vigor left to enable them to put
forth leaves, and sometimes even go so far as to at-
tempt to flower, and then die off suddenly under the
first hot sun.

This is the proper season to lay down box edgings.
To make them properly, the soil along the line of
the edge should be first dug, and then trod very hard
and firm, so that the soil may sink evenly together,
or the line will present ugly looking undulations in
time. Rooted plants should be employed ; cuttings
are sometimes used, but freciuentlj' die out in patches,
— a good edge can rarely be made from them. The
plants should be set pretty low down, leaving the
plants, when set, one or two inches above the soil,
according to their stockiness. Sometimes box-edgings
are laid around beds formed in grass. AYhen so, a
few inches of clear ground should be kept clean be-
tween the grass and the box, or the weeds will be so
intermixed with the box after a while, as to render it
a nuisance.

Walks should now have their spring-dressing — the
verges cut, and a thin coating of new gravel laid on.
Before putting on the new, harrow up the face of the
old gravel with a strong iron-toothed rake. Roll
well after the new is laid on.

Planting trees will require particular attention
now ; but do not be in a hurry the moment the frost
is out of the ground. Cold winds are very hard on
newly set out trees. Wait till they are gone. Al-
s shorten-in a little the shoots of all trees planted.

They will grow the faster for it, and are more certain
to live. Evergreens should be left to the last.

As soon as the frost is thoroughly out of the
ground, and while the surface is yet soft, lawns
should have a thorough rolling, which will not only
tend to level the surface, but also press into the earth
the roots of any of the finer grasses that the frost
may have drawn out. Lawns frequently become
coarse, by this operation of the winter season. If
the grass is poor and thin, a top-dressing of guano
and salt may be applied before the rolling. Stable
manure injures fine lawns by introducing coarse
weeds. Soot or wood-ashes are excellent for giving
lawns a fine green color. In making new lawns a
deep soil is very important. In shallow soils the
soil soon dries in hot summers, and the lawn be-
comes brown when its green is the most desirable.

«»■•■

FRUIT GARDEN.

It would be impossible to recommend to our read-
ers the best fruits to grow, any more than the best
flowers, — local circumstances having much to do
with the comparative value of fruits ; but the follow-
ing six in each class will be found under most circum-
stances reliable and worth growing :

Gkapes— Isabella, Concord, Diana, Delaware,
Clinton, and for a white probably Taylor's Bullitt,
though it has not been tested to the extent we de-
sire for recommendation in this column.

Currants — Red Dutch, White Dutch, Black Na-
ples, May's Victoria, Versailles, and the Cherry to
"look at."

Raspberries — Orange CBrinckle'sJ, Catawissa,
Franconia, Belle de Fontenay, Allen, and true Red
Antwerp.

Strawberries — Hovey's Seedling, Albany Seed-
ling, Triomphe de Gand, Longworth's Prolific,
Early Scarlet, Peabody's Seedling.

Apples for Dwarfs — Gravenstein, Red Astra-
chan, Indian Rareripe, Fall Pippin, Lady Apple,
Bough.

Standard Apples — Baldwin, Rhode Island
Greening, Early Harvest, Smith's Cider, Fameuse,
Porter.

Pears for Dwarfs — Belle Lucratif, Louise
Bonne, Beurre Superfin, Rostiezer, Bcurre d'Anjou,
Urbaniste.

06

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rt

^

Standard Pears— Bartlett, Seckel, Beurre Gif-
fard, Sheldon, Lawrence, Benrre Diel.

Plums — Jefferson, Washington, Green Gage,
McLaughhn, Bleeker, and Prince's Yellow.

Cherries— May Duke, Black Tartarian, Early
Richmond, Governor Wood, Downer's Late, Coe's
Transparent.

Peaches— Early York, Late Heath, Crawford's
Late, George IV., Crawford's Early, Morris' White.
We have before remarked that fruit trees and
bushes should invariably be cut in severely, and not
allowed to bear the same season of planting. It is
a fatal mistake to look for fruit the same season of
setting out the trees. This is at the expense of fu-
ture growth, and without future growth there will
be no future crops.

Raspberries, Blackberries, &c., frequently bear
and die when so treated. The canes should be cut
back to a few inches on transplanting. Raspberries
for fruit in fall should always be pretty well cutback.
It is not essential with the regular fall-bearing kinds,
but it aids them much.

Grape-vines in the open air, on arbors and trel-
lises, should have their pruning finished before warm
spring days set in, or they will bleed. It does not
injure them much, but it looks bad. The pruning
must be regulated by the condition of the vine. If
the vines are young and the shoots weak, cut them
all back, to make a new and vigorous growth. If
already a fair quantity of strong shoots of last sea-
son's growth exists, cut out the weaker ones, so as
to leave enough of stronger ones. The cane system,
slightly modified, is best for arbors and trellisses in
the hands of amateurs generally. This implies a
new set of canes every year or two. If, as fre-
quently happens from bad management, all the
young and strong-bearing wood exists only at the
end of the vines,— and these latter have become no-
thing but long, ropy-looking apologies for what a
vine should be ; the whole cane may be buried
down in the soil to where the strong shoots spring
from, and the young wood of last season trained up
from this. The plant will then recover its good ap-
pearance quite as well as by cutting down, with the
advantage of not sacrificing a year's crop of fruit.

Many kinds of raspberries, especially in dry soils,
have a tendency to throw iip mnumerable suckers.
These should be thinned out. Three or four canes
are enough to leave in a "hill." AVe like, however,
to grow raspberries in rows, where each cane may
have a chance to enjoy an independent existence of
about a square-foot of soil for itself.

The strawberry, also, pays w-ell for being well
thinned out. Formerly Cincinnati used to carry off
the palm for strawberry culture. All the thinning
they there get is by horse-harrowing them. Fifty

bushels to the acre, under that system, was thought
to be a fair average crop ; but other locahties, by a
careful system of hand-culture, in thinning and cut-
ting away runners, have borne away the palm from
the Queen City of the West, and boast of their two
hundred bushels to the acre, and above.

FORCING.

In our March number for 1859 we gave the fol-
lowing hints under this head, which, as the facts
relating to the necessity of healthy foliage are not
generally recognized, and also as nearly two-thirds
of our present readers were not then subscribers, it
will be novel to many to repeat :

"The earliest houses will now have their grapes
about stoning, which is one of the most critical
periods of the fruit season. If any check is expe-
rienced, the grapes will be small, or perhaps fall off
altogether. If they do not fall, they stand still for
some weeks, and thus are not only inferior in size,
but they are so much later than they otherwise would
be. The temperature should be raised, if any thing,
and particular attention paid to its regularity, as well
as so the regularity of the atmospheric moisture and
air. The foliage, also, should be carefully guarded
from the injuries of mildew, insects, or other evil.
Many more diseases than gardeners think for are
caused by injuries to the foliage. The first leaf that
appears should be the one the last to fall, as near as
may be. The nearer this can be achieved, the heal-
thier will the vine be, and the more certain will it be
to carry its fruit through to perfection. Some will
depend on their soil, others on their pruning, others
on the build of their houses, others on their general
management, and each class fancy their success has
depended on these matters, because others who had
not paid attention to these matters failed. But the
probability is in every case, that the vines did well,
because, from some chance, the foliage remained
healthy,

"A stock of fruit trees for next year shoidd now
be potted in 12-inch pots, choosing those which will
make the handsomest trees. It is only a matter of
course to repeat that the soil should be coarse and
open, and well-drained. After potting, they should
be severely pruned into shape, and the pots plunged
into any spare piece of ground where they will be
sheltered from the wind. Here they may remain all
summer, being taken out and re-set in the plunging
place about twice during the season, to break off any
roots that may be growing through the hole in the
bottom of the pot.

" Grapes, in pots, intended for next year's fruiting,
should, of course, be kept in the house to grow all
summer. Those who have not the advantage of any

\>'*

J^^—

MH iardtntr's JRontlilj.

but a cold house, or with but a very little heat, may
start vines for pot-culture about this time. Choose
good strong plants in six-inch pots from last season's
eyes. Cut them down to one strong eye, and set in
the warmest part of the house. As soon as the eye
has pushed forth into growth an inch, shake it out of
the pot, reduce the fibres, and repot into a 12-inch,
with rich, coarse, turfy soil, well drained. Keep it
as warm as possible, and as soon as it has grown six
or eight eyes in length, pinch- off the point. This
will induce the part left to grow stocky, and, if care
be taken to keep the leaves healthy through the
year, these eyes, though close to the pot, will pro-
duce nearly as good bunches as those on the top of
the vine. After the pinching, the shoots that after-
wards becomes the leader may be allowed to grow
five or eight feet long before finally stopped."

GREENHOUSES, &c.

At this season of the year the aphis, or green-fly,
is one of the most troublesome of nuisances, though
all insects are more or less active at this life -invigor-
ating time. So many modes of destroying insects
have been given in our last volume, that the culti-
vator of plants has a good choice to please his taste
from. Where green-fly prevails badly, and is pretty
general through^a house, nothing is better than
tobacco-smoke, as it penetrates easily and efFectually
through every part of the enclosure. Yet it is dan-
gerous when in unskilful hands. Three light doses
three successive nights are better for the plants than
one strong dose, and the insects are more effectually
destroyed. Any old vessel does to contain the
tobacco-stems. The bottom of the vessel should
have paper that has been steeped in a solution of
saltpetre and dried, put in the bottom, to be lit when
ready. This is much better for the plants than the
live coals often used.

Be careful of houses taking fire. Every week we
hear or read accounts of such losses. Wood will,
in the course of time, take fire a long way from the
furnace or flue. While it is new, there is little dan-
ger, even if the wood is nearly in actual contact
with the work, but every year adds to the risk.

We have seen wood-work take fire four feel from
the flue, that had already been there several years
safely before. Of course, iron should be preferred
wherever practicable in all places where danger may
be apprehended ; and, in some instances, it is cheap-
est without the usual cautious provision of in the
"long run." For gangways in consei-vatories, for
instance, we have seen oaken work employed that
could not have cost less than ten or fifteen cents per
foot, when cast-iron, at three or four cents per
pound, would certainly be cheaper. The pathways in

'BET

the conservatory of Captain II. Ingersoll, near Phil-
adelphia, afford an excellent illustration of the re-
lative value and cheapness of iron over wood.

There is no doubt about plants requiring all the
sun-light they can get; and they should be fre-
quently turned round, so that every part of the
plant, in turn, should profit by its influence.

Continue to watch for plants requiring repotting.
When the oldest leaves on a growing shoot show
symptoms of premature yellowness, it is usually the
best sign that it requires nutriment. When the
younger leaves become first yellow, the injury is
traceable most frequently to external causes, — dry
air, too much root moisture, escape of gas, &c.

Ventilation is very important ; but at this season
of the year, the top sashes only should be opened.
Injury frequently results from opening doors or side
sashes.

Fuchsias must be repotted as the pots become
filled with roots. They like rich soil, and do best groAvn
rapidly. The pyramidal form is the best to train
them to ; it suits their habit of flowering best. If
they do not seem to branch out enough to make
well-furnished cones, pinch out the leading bud, and
•train up a new one to replace it. Plenty of light
and a rich soil, however, usually induces them to
break freely enough. The following are "six good
old kinds, easj^ to be procured, that may do to start
a collection with: — Guiding Star, Rose of Castile,
Souvenir de Chiswick, Macbeth, Fairest of the Fair,
Gem of Whitehall. Six newer ones for those who
wish to be up to the times : — Sir Colin Campbell,
Little Dorrit, Isa Craig, Flower of France, Leoline.

Calceolarias will soon be pushing up flower-stems,
and as they are amongst the showiest of summer-
blooming greenhouse plants, too much attention
cannot be given. They suffer very much from a
badly-drained soil. They have ceased to be a
florist's flower here, and are raised annually from
seed.

Of the new Verbenas many fine novelties are in-
troduced this season. Amongst the best six good
ones we may name are: — Madam Gonaud, Ocean
Pearl, Garibaldi, Delicatissima, Baron Renfrew,
Firefly. Mr. Dreer's seedlings, advertised in our
last, we have only seen cut specimens of, which
were decidedly good. Parties who have seen them
growing tell us they are, besides, splendid bedders.

It is time Chrysanthemums are struck, if fine spe-
cimens are desired for fall-flowering in pots. The
following are six first-rate pompones : — Fleur-
ette, Brilliante, Cote d'Or, Mignionette, Madam
Martin, La Precieuse. Large-flowering kinds :—
Virginia Miellez, Remus, Cassandra, Eclipse, Vesu-
vius, Marshall Duroe.

i@

-^Kc

®^ §nrkmf% Jlontftlj,

It is time to start Dahlias. People got into a
fashion, a few years ago, of setting out whole roots.
These hloom very early in summer, about the time
hot weather sets in, and are stunted before the cool
weather of fall— the natural time for fine Dahlias.
Ground-roots of last year should always be sprouted,
and new plants raised from these sprouts as one
would do with a sweet potato. A very good plan
is to shorten the ends of the tubers so as to get the
root within a reasonable sized pot, and, after cover-
ing with soil, set the pot in a hotbed or greenhouse.
After a few weeks, several sprouts will appear
around the stem. Then the whole root should be
shaken, and the root divided through the crown,
retaining a piece of root with a sprout. Then pot
each piece into a separate pot, and set out in the
open ground in May. Nurserymen who wish to
propagate extensively, take otf usually only the
sprout, and treat it as a cutting ; but for amateurs
the above is the best way. Six good old Dahlias we
would name: — Amazon, Unanimitj^, Dr. Gullez,
Lady Cathcart, Col. Wyndham, Pre-eminent. Six
first-rate : — King of Portugal, Duchess of Welling-
ton, Adrain Carmaival, Prince Albert, Alba floribun-
da, Mrs. Edwards.

Tlie good gardener will not, of course, forget
what plants he will require for bedding purposes,
and should any be found shoit, propagation will yet
actively go on. Phlox Drummondii, Mignionette,
Acroclinium roseum. Sweet Alyssum, Globe Ama-
ranthuses, German Asters, Browallia elata. Candy-
tuft, Clarkias, Collinsias, Escholtzias, Erisymum,
Fenzlia dianthiflora, Gaillardlas, Gilias, Linum
grandiflorum, Loazas, Lobelias, Lupines, Mau-
randias, Mimulus, Nasturtiums, Nemophila, Pala-
foxia, Pliacelia, Salpiglossis, Tlumbergias, Silenes,
Stocks, and Whitlavia graudiflora are mostly annual
flowering plants of considerable beauty, that are
advantageously sown early in a greenhouse, to for-
ward early to plant out in spring. They do better
in a hotbed where that can be commanded.

INFLUENCE OP FLOWERS.

BY S. L. B., BROOKDALE FARM, MAINE.

Travellikg recently through the northern part of
Somerset county, I was obhged to remain for the
night at the home of a couple somewhat advanced in
life ; the wife, however, many years younger than
her husband, who having accumulated something of
this world's goods, lived in a quiet and humble way,
the husband working his small plot of ground and
ng care of his pig and cow, and the wife devoting

her time to household pursuits, manufacturing do-
mestic cloths, and tending her flowers.

The yard between their cottage and the public
road was somewhat limited, and enclosed with the
roughest board fence. This yard was completely
filled with flowers, and although not arranged with
much regard to correct grouping or display; and so
closely set as to make it difficult passing among them,
yet their many colored hues and fragrant odor
rendered the spot very attractive and made a little
paradise of the yard, contrasting wonderfully with
the bleak and uninteresting scenery amid which their
cottage was situated.

Tlie collection embraced about sixty varieties,
chiefly of the more common kinds, and the verbena,
dahlia, petunia, hollyhock, geranium, &c., &c., were
prominent among the list. It was evident that the
flowers received a large share of the good lady's
time, and I admired her love and and admiration for
them. "My husband," said she, "tells me I wor-
ship them, but I do not think I do ; for, surely they
are His flowers, and the work of the kind Creator ;
why should I not then love and admire them?"

Standing on each side of the walk near the rude
gate at tlie entrance to the yard, were two horse-
chestnuts (JEsculus hippocastanum)^ which are very
uncommon in the vicinity, and ^ old gentleman
looked upon them as a decided acquisition, not only
from their extreme rarity, but because they were
such a beautiful ornamental tree, and because he
brought them himself from the State of New Hamp-
shire. From this I inferred that the old gentleman
had some natural love for trees and the beautiful in
nature, and just said to him that I took pleasure in
the culture of flowers and trees, and was glad to find
his wife a lady of so much refinement and with such
a love for the beautiful. "Well," replied the old
gentleman, in his old fashioned way of speaking,
' ' flowers be kinder pooty . ' '

So it is the world over, in all countries, under any
clime, among all tongues, with the rich and poor,
flowers are objects of universal admiration and love.
Their cultivation tends to improve health, purify the
heart, elevate the aflections, and ennoble man's
nature. He who has a love for the culture of flowers
cannot but be a person of refined feelings, religious
nature and a generous life. If the rich man can in-
dulge his fancy in having elegant conservatories and
every rare and beautiful tree, plant or flower, so can
the poor cottager or small farmer have his flower bed
of limited size, and containing only the more common
varieties, and the pleasure derived from its study and
care, without doubt, will be as great as that which
his wealthy neighbor enjoys.

Wealth is not necessary in order to have a taste

for flowers, yet a person of wealth can better show his love for them than one who has not the means
for their extensive cultivation. Their influence is not confined to the wealthy class ; they give a charm
and beauty to even the humblest occupation, and convert the rough and uncultivated nature to one of
refinement and gentleness.

ENTOMOLOGICAL ESSAY.

Read b^ore the Fruit- Grower s" Association of Eastern Pennsytvnnia at its Meeting in West Oiester, on the VMh day of June, 1S60.
BY S. S. RATHVON, ENTOMOLOGIST OF THE ASSOCIATION.

{Continued from page 7.)
INJURIOUS INSECTS.
We come now to the consideration of a little insect which has despoiled the Fruit-grower of more of the
products of his labor, and has given him more anxiety, perhaps, than all the insects we have heretofore
named put together, and has thus far baffled all his skill and ingenuity in the discovery of a certain reme-
dy to counteract its de/as.ations. We allude to

24th. Rhynchcenus (ccAotrachelus) nenuphai-, Khst. ov " Plum Weevil." Very generally alluded to as <Ae
" Curculio." Plate III. fig. 1. Lmgth about one-fifth of an inch; color dark brown or blackish, varied
with spots of whitish or ochrey yellow ; thorax uneven and rough ; the wing covers have several short
ridges upon them, forming a sort of a hump, behind which there is a band of ochery yellow and white. Thig
insect begins to deposit its eggs into fruit as soon as it is set, makingasmallcrescent-shaped incision with its
sharp little mandibles on the end of its snout, into which it lays an egg. The larva is a small, whitish,
footless grub, very much like a maggot, except that its head is very distinct. The irritation caused by the
presence of this grub in the fruit is the cause of its disease, and dropping prematurely from the tree ; after
which the insect burrows into the earth and completes its transformations there. Observers of this insect
by no means agree in all the points of its economy, yet they are tolerably unanimous in condemning it as
an arch destroyer of fruit, and especially the Plum crop. For this reason it is almost universally known
as the "Plum- weevil," although it is also found in cherries. But it appears that it does not confine itself
to these fruits, fpr, according to some observers and writers, it also attacks nectarines, apricots, apples,
peaches and pears, although we must not confound the larva of the Apple-moth (Tenia ■pomonella) with that
of the curculio. The former has six feet, whilst the latter is entirely footless. Dr. Harris says he has met
with this insect in Massachusetts, as early as the 30th of March, and as late as the 10th of June. I have
myself found large numbers of curculios of different species under stones on the sunny side of hills in the
first week in March, and I have also found them in the fall under the same circumstances. It is pretty
certain that they bring forth two broods in one season, and also that they undergo their transformations in
the ground. On examining some plums lying upon the ground, on the first of June, I found that some of
the larva of the Curculio had already left the fruit and gone into the ground. From this it would seem
that those which are found in the green plum and the ripe plum, as well as those found in ripe cherries,
apples, peaches, &c., are of diflferent broods; for, according to the most reliable observations that have
been made, it requires about three weeks to complete their transformations after they enter the ground.
AVe dissent from the opinion that the insect under consideration is ihe. cause of the warts or "black-knots''
on the plum and cherry trees, although the larva of this, as well as other species of curculio, and also
various species of "gall-flies" (Cynips). are found in these knots in their green state. In their dry and
cracked state, they also form a shelter forcurCulios and other insects. Enough has been said and written
in regard to the habits and peculiar economy of these insects, and yet there seems to be a lack of know-
ledge among the masses of men concerning them, and no certain remedy against them. All insects are
endowed with instincts and capacities, which enable them and which lead them to make suitable provision
for the preservation and perpetuating their species; and they will follow the lead of those instincts, unless
baffled by supervening contingencies. None are more highly endowed in this respect, perhaps, than the
curculio. The prudent female surveys the ground beneath the tree, and if she finds it a hard paved surface,
a beaten path, a pond of water, or a pig-stye, or an enclosure for the retention of fowls, she rarely selects
such a tree, or such part of it as overhangs such a conditioned surface, upon which to deposit her eggs.
Her instincts teach her that her progeny would be trodden to death, or drowned, or destroyed by their
enemies, before they could make their way safely into the ground. This characteristic of the curculio is so
marked, that almost every observer is able to give examples of it; and this peculiarity, also, might suggest
a partial means of preventing the destruction of the fruit crops, although it might not be a permanent cure,
because a universal adoption of such a plan, without some means of destroying the insect itself, might

-£B&>

C{;4 ^arbmtr's ||l0nt[jfe.

" drive it to the wall," and compel it to deposit its eggs anywhere or under any circumstances. Still, such a
plan might, in time, so far diminish their numbers as to render them powerless for any material evil, or,
at least, circumscribe its limits.

25th. Baridius trinoiatus, Saj^ — "Potato-weevil." Plate III. Fig. 2. Length, three-twentieths of an
inch; body covered with whitish hairs, giving it a grayish appearance; two black dots upon the hinder
angle of the thorax, and one upon the scutel, making three, from which it derives its trivial name. I was
acquainted with this insect long before I knew it injured the potato. They lay their eggs in the axils of
the leaves of the potato-vine, and the young grub, immediately after exclusion from the egg, burrows into
the vine downward towards the roots, undergoing all its transformations there. The perfect insect comes
forth in August and September. Having often found these weevils under stones and in crevices of fences,
or under bark in fields and woods, I am led to believe that they remain active and survive the winter, de-
positing their eggs upon the potato the next season. They are said to remain in the pupa state only two
weeks. They are becoming very common in Pennsylvania, although not much known in the Eastern
States. Eating the heart or pith out of the potato-vine, they cause it to wilt, as if it were scalded, and
have been known to be very destructive about Germantown and Philadelphia in 1849. Syringing the
plants with water, or, immediately after a shower, sprinkling them freely with air-slacked lime, I
think, would be as beneficial in this case, as I know it is in destroying aphids. a and b are the pupa and
larva.

26th. Rhyncophorus Zimmermani, Schon. " North American Palm Weevil." Plate III. Fig. 3. Length,
including extended snout, from one and a quarter to one and a half inches. Color, black, or dark brown,
with black spots on the thorax, and one or more on each wing-cover; thorax smooth, and wing-covers deeply
lined lengthwise. This is the largest weevil we have in the United States; a larger species, called the
Palm Weevil, (R. palmarum,) is found in tropical regions and South America and the West Indies. I have only
introduced this insect here because of its large size, and in order to impress its form upon the mind of the
reader. The larva of these palm weevils are large, yellowish, fatty grubs, when matured, over three
inches long, and are regarded as a great delicacy among the swarthy epicures of St. Domingo. They burrow
into the stock of the Cabbage Palm, and also other palms, from whence they are taken for the table.

27th. Passalus cornutus, Fab. "Black Oak Tree Borer." Plate III. Pig. 7. Length, one inch and a half,
sometimes less; color, shining black ; a deep longitudinal line in the centre of the thorax ; a short, blunt
horn, bent forward, on the head ; wing-covers deeply marked with longitudinal raised lines ; legs rather
short; larva, a large white grub, thickened towards the anterior end. This insect is often found in great
numbers in old oak trees or laying logs. I have found it in White Oak, Black Oak, and Walnut. It
appears to be partial to dead trees, but is often found in the heart of living oaks; and if ever it should
attack fruit trees, from its large size, it would be capable of doing much injury.

28th. Philophaga quercina, Hsltvis. "May Beetle." Plate III. Fig. 6. Length, about one inch ; color,
brown ; legs, long, and slender towards the ends; antennae, lamellated at the ends, opening like a little fan.
Appears in May and June. Very destructive, in the larva state, to the roots of vegetation, and in the
mature state destructive to the foliage of trees. But they have many enemies, and are rather an awkward
insect, and, therefore, fall an easy prey. Domestic fowls are exceedingly fond of them, and so are crows.
They are also eaten by skunks, toads, and moles. They belong to the Melolonthons, — a family which has
been very destructive to vegetation in Europe, undermining and eating away the roots of grass and grain,
where they are sometimes gathered by bushels and destroyed. Their number in this state is on the increase
yearly.

29th. Pelidnoia punctata, Linn. " Grape-vine Beetle." Plate III. Fig. 5. Length, about one inch ;
color of the wing-covers, a dull brownish-yellow, with three black spots on each of them ; the thorax is
darker colored, with two black spots, and bronzed ; the legs and the body beneath are also bronzed. The
larva of this insect lives in decayed wood; but the perfect insect, when it appears in great numbers, is
very destructive to the foliage of the grape-vine. Appears in June, July, and August.

30th, 31acrodactyla subspinosa, Linn. Plate III. Fig. 4. Length, about seven-tenths of an inch ; body,
slender, tapering before and behind, and entirely covered with a short ashen-colored down ; legs, slender,
and of a pale yellow color. The prevalence of this insect on the rose has gained for it the common name
of Rose Chafl^er or " Rose Bug." It appears in June and July, and destroys indiscriminately all kinds of
vegetation when occurring in great numbers, but especially roses. Messrs. Engle and Windolph informed
me that this insect had almost totally destroyed their crop of grapes during an absence from home of three
or four days. They attacked them in the bloom, which they cut off, leaving nothing but the stems. These
insects »lso attack the cherry, both fruit and foliage; hence they are called " cherry bugs,'' — also apple,

"WD

^M

\

ih^ hardener's Pouthlg,

71

pear, plum, and fruit trees and shrubbery in general. Sometimes they are found in great numbers upon the
elder, also upon corn, rye, wheat, and vegetables and grasses of the fields. The females deposit their
eggs in the ground in July and August, after which they come forth again, and soon die. The grubs are
destructive to the roots of vegetation.

The foregoing insects remarked upon, belong to the order Coleoptera; and although the number presented
is small and rather indiscriminately selected, yet time and opportunity would not allow a larger or a better
one on the present occasion. Very little has been said about specific description, because this would have
involved an extension of these remarks to twice their present magnitude. Descriptions of a// of them,
and illustrations of some of them, as well as extended notices of their history, may be found in "Say's
American Entomology," "Harris' Treatise on Insects Injurious to Vegetation," "Dr. Asa Fitch's Reports
of the Insects Injurious and Beneficial to Vegetation in New York," " Jeager's Life of North American
Insects," "The Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia," "The Pennsylvania
Farm Journal," "Massachusetts Agricultural Reports," "The New England Farmer," "Moore's Rural
New Yorker," "The Country Gentleman," "Domestic Encyclopaedia," "The Horticulturist," "The
Farmer and Gardener," " The Progressive Farmer," and other scientific and horticultural and agricultural
journals and records. Specimens, however, of the insects themselves are submitted, because a clearer idea
may thus be formed of them than any written description can convey.

Before concluding this branch of the subject, it may not be inappropriate to sub nit one or two other
insects, belonging to the orders Hymenoptera and Lepidopiera. These insects, although belonging to diffeient
orders, yet bear some general resemblance to each other in their appearance, a.nd quite as much in th«'.r
habils, both being tree-borers. A large number of leaf-eating insects in their larva state might properly
have been inserted here; but the main object of the essay was to point out some of the more common
wood-boring and fruit-destroying insects. The former may constitute material for a future paper. Circum-
stances at the present time impose a necessary limit to this paper, and that limit, therefore, must exclude
many things which ought to have been introduced, and which would, doubtless, be both interesting and
beneficial for the gardener and fruit-grower to know. One of the insects alluded to in these concluding
remarks is, perhaps, not much known yet among fruit-growers; the effects of the other are well known.

31st. Tremex colomba, Linn. " Pidgeon tremex." Plate III. Fig. 13. Length, including ovipositor,
about one inch and a half ; expansion of the wings, from two inches to two inches and a quarter; head
and thorax, rust-colored, varied with black ; abdomen or hind body, black, with seven ochre-yellow bands
across the back, the first two of which are entire, and the others interrupted ; ovipositor and legs, ochre-
yellow, with darkish thighs. Bores into and destroys trees. Usually found on elm trees in August and
September, where the females deposit their eggs, and in which the young grubs live. They have also been
known to bore into and deposit their eggs in pear trees, causing their gradual decay and death. This is
one of the wood-eating Hymenoptera, but must not be confused with those that bore holes into wood for the
purpose of making cells for their young, filling them with the necessary food to sustain them. The female
of the species under consideration penetrates the bark of the tree with a saw-like apparatus, and deposits
her eggs in the orifice, which hatch out, and then bore, in their larva state, into the solid wood. I once
purchased a piece of black cassiraere in Philadelphia, which was wrapped around a piece of elm wood in
which there had been two of the larva of these Tremexs, and the matured insects cut their way through some
fourteen or fifteen layers of cloth, but died before they reached the surface of the piece, making as clean a
cut hole as if it had been burned in with a hot iron rod. They are preyed upon by a species of pivipla.

32d. ^jeria eritiosa. Say.— (Male and Female,) " Peach-tree Borer." Plate IIL Fig. 8 male 9 female, 10
empty pupa, 11 cocoon, 12 larva. Expansion of the wings, about an inch in the male, and an inch and a half
in the female; form slender, and color dark blue ; the abdomen of the male having a tuft at the end, and
that of the female having a broad orange-colored band around it near the end ; all the wings of the male arc
transparent, with a bar across the anterior pair a little beyond the middle ; the anterior, or front wings of
the female are steel blue, and the posterior pair, or hind wings, are transparent. The grub is whitish, with
a few spare hairs upon it, and the cocoon and the pupa are light brown, the former spun out of silky fibre
and covered on the outside with the cuttings of the peach tree. Peaches have been suffering so much in
the last few years from other causes, that this borer has not given so much anxiety as formerly. Still it is
best to prevent their injuries to the tree, so that when all other things are favorable to a good crop, it may
not be prevented by the injuries of this insect The remedies for its destruclion are numerous, and no
doubt peach tree growers will be able to suggest something more practical and useful than I <;an. This
insect evolves from the pupa during the month of July, and deposits its eggs in that month and m August.
It sometimes appears earlier and later; but generally, if the trees are well looked after during those two
months, they are likely to escape. It takes a whole year for the insect to mature. The JEgerians belong
to the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths.

72

81jt (iar(I([iur's ^ontWj.

RENEWAL

OF OLD CANES
VINERY.

!N THE

BY WILLIAM BRIGHT, PHILADELPHIA.

It is with much pleasure that I reply to the criti-
cisms and inquiries of Mr. Chitty, in respect to the
restoration of old and exhausted vines in the grapery.
A fair and candid discussion of my views of grape-
culture, on practical or scientific grounds, I freely
court. Mr. Chitty is one of the most honest and
intelligent opponents of my system that I have yet
encountered, and I will meet his objections in a
spirit of generous courtesy. To accomplish my
present object most effectually, it will not suit me
to reply to his remarks in detail. As I do not pro-
pose to do what he supposes, I can best explain my
views by showing what I really do and do not pro-
pose.

First, then, I have not proposed to cut down
vines but three or four years established, and planted
with a view to working on the spur system. Only
where such vines have borne five or six crops, and
have become exhausted, have I suggested cutting
them down ; and this suggestion was made more as
an illustration of a principle in vegetable physiology,
than as a part of my system. This principle is, that
an old cane, fruited constantly the whole length of
the rafter, cannot at the same time produce a crop
of fruit, and a layer of new wood and new roots
adequate to carry off a subsequent crop of fruit with
undiminished power. Cutting down an old vine to
get a new cane, is a simple and well-known prac-
tice. I do not base the originality of my plan of
grape-culture upon this ; but I base it upon the ca-
pacity of the grape-vine to produce a new fruiting
cane in one season, and upon the application of this
fact to a new and specific system of planting, prun-
ing, and general culture, having several new and
peculiar points of practice.

As a practical question in relation to the restora-
tion of old canes in the vinery, I think I should
prefer to attempt the renewal of an exhausted cane,
not by cutting down, but by laying down the whole
vine, either in a coil, or by running it back and forth
across the border, a few inches under the surface,
and bringing up the top of the cane at a well-devel-
oped bud. A vigorous cane, not exhausted by con-
stant cropping and lack of foliage, will, after it has
been cut down, send up a good fruiting rod in one
season. But an old exhausted cane, long-spur-
pruned, if cut down, would probably break very
feebly, Cperhaps not at all, J and in any event might
require to be cut back twice before a vine suitable
for fruiting could be obtained. But, by the laying-
down process, a new and perfect fruiting cane would
be produced in one season, with new and abundant
roots, near the surface of the border, and it would also

have the aid of the old roots till it got established.

I may here call the attention of Mr. Chitty to the
fact, that while he opposes the frequent cutting
down of canes as a means of maintaining their
vigor, his own statements most powerfully sustain
my views of the va.ue of this practice. He says
that Mr. Mitchell, an eminent grape-grower at
Brighton, England, spur-pruned his vines for six-
teen or eighteen years, with the best results. These
old canes for many seasons produced the best grapes
exhibited at Chiswick and Regent's Park, and ably
resisted mildew. But mark the context. Mr. Chitty
adds: Mr. Mitchell "used, however, to adopt Mr.
Bright' s renewal system occasionally, when the crops
failed to set good, or the vines became unsightly."
Now, I ask, again, why wait till the vine is exhausted
and crops fail, before renewal ? Why wait till the
horse drops down on the road, before you stop to
feed and refresh him ?

I repeat, I have never proposed the renewal of old
canes in the vinery, when planted for spur-pruning,
by cutting down, except by way of illustrating the
scientific principles involved in the practice ; but I
do propose a new plan of planting vines, viz : two
feet apart in the border ; a new method of stopping,
pruning, and fruiting ; with the constant renewal of
the vines every other year fafter each fruiting sea-
son J) by cutting down the entire canes, and growing
up new fruiting rods, composed entirely of wood of
one year's groAvth ; and all this, in my vanity, I call
Bright's single-stem, dwarf, renewal system of
grape-culture.

The advocates of spur-pruning in the grapery and
of ]'ambling vines in vineyard or trellis culture have
opposed my system, because, they say, my vines are
too dwarf, aud my pruning is too close, and does
not give foliage enough. To meet these objections,
I have adopted a method of practice which early
suggested itself to my mind, but which I have now
reduced to an absolute rule, and added it to my sys-
tem, viz : never to fruit but half the length of my
rafter, or half the length of my trellis, no matter
what length or height that may be, whether six feet
or forty feet, and to let the vines run up the remain-
ing portion of the rafter or trellis while fruiting,
thus providing a growing cane and fresh masses of
foliage above the fruit, of the same extent as the
fruiting cane.

The science of vegetable physiology teaches us
that abundance of large, Avell-developed vine-leaves
are necessary to convert crude sap into the elements
of vine-wood, vine-roots, and perfect grapes. Now,
consider the condition of an old, exhausted, spur-
pruned cane, fruited the whole length of the rafter,
with small and imperfect leaves, and no great abund-
ance of them, with a tough and dried-up cane,

m

nearly all heart-wood autl a very thin layer of new
wood, as contrasted with a fresh one-year-old cane,
all new wood, fruited only half its length, and the
remaining half devoted to the production of foliage
only, with leaves often a foot or more in diameter.
Which of these two sorts will possess the larger
amount of Uvseful foliage — the greater sap-converting
power? "Which will produce the larger crop of
perfect fruit ? This last is the question which the
editor of the Gardener's Monthly justly wishes to see
practicaLy answered. I re])ly, that I have already
done something, in the fruiting way, towards giving
satislactory evidence on this point, and I have abund-
ance of native and foreign vines grown upon the
new system, which, although not probably as per-
fect as we can make them hereal'ter, now stand
ready to give practical answers to this great
question the ensuing season. So far as my own
opinion is concerned, I have the most perfect confi-
dence in the superiority of this renewal system over
spur-pruning in every important point of view ; and
my knowledge of grape-culture as pursued at the
Royal Gardens Frogmore, at the Duke of Nor-
folk's, "Wilmot's, Mitchell's, and other first-class es-
tablishments in England, I fancy is as extensive as
Mr. Chitty's. I have spent years of practical labor
in the vineries at Arundel Castle, and have visited
all the places Mr. Chitty names within the past year.
I have likewise had upwards of ten years' experi-
ence in this country, chiefly in growing grape-vines
and grapes, and lately under that severest of all
practical tests, the growing of foreign grapes for
market. I have built and am now building exten-
sive grape-houses for my own use, all constructed
on this plan ; nor would I use any other that I have
ever seen, with a view to profit.

If this article were not extended to so great a
length, I should be glad to add some practical rules
for obtaining as large a crop of grapes as any com-
mon vine ought to be permitted to bear, from half
the length of any vinery rafter, or half the height of
any arbor or treUis ; but I must forbear, or I shall
exhaust the patience of both editor and readers. I
will onlj'' add that I intend, within a few weeks, to
publish a new edition of my work on Grape-Culture,
with the addition of some thirty or fort}^ pages of
new matter fmy latest experience and improve-
mentsj ; and I will then give the rules and directions
above referred to.

RHUBARB.

BY JOHN SAUL, WASHINGTON CITY, D. C.

The little attention paid in this country to the
finer varieties of rhubarb has often surprised me.
Two or three large, coarse varieties are grown, to
the exclusion of the smaller, but richer, higher-col-

ored, milder sorts. In England fully as much at-
tention is bestowed on the raising of seedlings and
the improvement of varieties, as we give to our
finer fruits ; hence the result — varieties of the great-
est excellence. Downing's Colossal, Cahoon's,
Myatt's Victoria, and Linnaeus are the varieties
generally cultivated here. The first ("Downing' sj
is a very pale-stalked variety, gives a syrup of the
same light color ; when cooked, is deficient in rich-
ness ; and where the fine qualities of a rhubarb are
recognized, would not be cultivated a single day.
The second fCahoon'sJ is a very coarse affair, but
little removed from the Medicinal plant CRheum pal-
matumj. Under the best culture by the side of
Victoria, it is later, with quite a flat stalk fpetiolesj,
pale color, with more filament and lack of rich-
ness. The stalks of Victoria were heavier, longer,
and yield much more per plant. Victoria is now
well known, and as a large, rich, profitable market
rhubarb, it has few superiors. Linn feus, however,
in some points, is in advance, having less filament
or fibre in the stalks, and richer. Rhubarb may be
divided into two classes, — large ('originated from
R. palmatumj), to which the above varieties belong,
or small, of which an old variety called Buck's may
be taken as the type ; and to this latter class the
richest and most valuable sorts in cultivation belong,
varieties having much less of the medicinal plant
about them than the others. The following quali-
ties I should consider necessary to a good rhubarb.
First, a stalk free from filament, requiring no strip-
ping when preparing for use ; second, a bright scarlet
color, not only on the exterior of the stalk, but
through its substance, — this gives a rich color to its
syrup in whatever way it is prepared, which my
lady readers can appreciate ; third, the syrup should
be rich saccharine, and as free as possible from the
taste of the Medicinal plant ; fourth, the stalks should
be nearly round, solid, not flat, and produced abund-
antly. Now, all these qualities belong to the finer
seedlings descendants of Bucks. Earliness I have
not set down as one of my qualities ; for, as in
fruits, the rhubarb may be extended over a consider-
able season. In addition to Victoria and Linnaeus,
which I recommend to all wishing large A^aricties, I
would name the following, every one of which are
sui^erior :

Emperor ("Waite'sJ. — In the way of Victoria;
larger, richer, and less filament in the stalks ; a very
desirable variety.

Hawke's Chavipagne. — The stalks are of a deep
blood-red, rich, free from filament. Its defect is a
want'of productiveness and vigor suitable to the
garden of the amateur. Type of Bucks.

McLaen's Early. — One of the earliest, very pro-
ductive, stalks of a rich scarlet, nearly round, free

ik

':^(B

ill} iardmcr'3 Jtont|Ig.

from filament, and exceedingly rich; a very fine
early variety. Type of Bucks.

MitchelV s Prince Albert. — Has now been some years
before the public; in England it is extensively grown,
but in this country not so much, size being against
it. Market-gardeners, on trial, will here find it quite
as profitable as the larger kinds, being one of the
very earliest, very productive ; cannot only be gath-
ered earlier, but wih continue longer than the larger
sorts, and the yield per acre will be heavier ; stalks
deep scarlet, free from filament, round, firm, giving
an exceedingly rich syrup. Type of Bucks.

MitcheWs Grey Eagle. — This belongs to the large
class ; not so deep in color as the off"spring of Bucks;
has a large, thick stalk; free from filament, exceed-
ingly rich and mild ; free from the medicinal taste of
many larger sorts, and productive. Every person
who grows a large rhubard, should cultivate this ; I
consider it one of the finest.

RandeWs Early Prolific. — Intermediate between
the classes this will be found ; stalks are of good
size, well colored, free from fibre, rich flavor, very
early and productive.

SaWs Crimson Perfection. — This comparatively new
variety promises well; as the name implies, the
stalks are of a rich crimson, free from filament,
round, rich, and mild ; very productive and early.
Type of Bucks.

Turner^s Scarlet Nonpariel.-^StaWis bright scarlet,
free from filament, round, very productive, flavor
rich and mild. Type of Bucks.

A PROPAGATING BOX.

BY J. C. LUMBAIID, CHICAGO, ILLS.

IlAviNis gathered many valuable hints from your
Monthly, I send you, in return, a plan of a propaga-
ting-box which is in successful operation with one
of our nurserymen. The plan of the box in ques-
tion is six feet long, three feet wide, one foot deep,
made of two-inch pine plank, water tight. A small
boiler is then inserted through the bottom of the
box. The one in question is nine inches in diameter,
eleven inches high, and made of galvanized iron.
The boiler rests on the top of the flue over the fur-
nace. Two strips one and a half inches high are
then nailed on the inside of the box, resting on the
bottom ; then strips two inches wide placed cross-
wise, resting on them, leaving spaces between each
of about one inch. Over these place some kind of
coarse matting ; then put in two inches of gravel,
and fill up with sand. Fill the boiler with Avater, so
that it will flow all over the bottom of the box*, and
you will get a nice, moist, steady bottom-heat, in
which most kinds of cuttings will grow very readily.
The top should be partially covered with glass, but

not close. There is never any cause for watering the
cuttings after they are planted, as there will be sufli-
cient moisture arising from the warm water to keep
them in good condition. If they should get too dry,
it can be supplied-.from the bottom by putting iu
enough, so that it will just touch the sand. The
box is filled with water by means of a small pipe
reaching to the top of the sand. The box rests on
strong supports at each end. Of course, the boiler
must not sustain any weight. Perhaps Cand I have
no doubt of itj) such a thing might be made on a
larger scale to work well. I only send you the
actual size of one that I know works well, and which
costs a mere trifle, about three dollars. The princi-
ple is not new. The application, I know, will be
new to some, and if you can put it in a few words,
so as not to take up too much of your valuable space,
and think it worth your trouble, it may draw a hint
from some one else.

The boiler is round, similar to a hat, with a flange
at the top, which is nailed to the bottom of the box,
the joint made tight with white lead. A hole is cut
through the bottom of the box large enough to insert
the boiler.

There is no necessity for the box to be more than
two inches thick, or four inches high. Inch boards
above that nailed on to the outside will answer
every purpose.

Of course, such a contrivance will be of no inter-
est to those who propagate on a large scale, and
have better means for the purpose. Still a good
many thousand cuttings may be struck in a box of
that size during a season.

I am no gardener, but an admirer of nature's
beauties, and a constant reader of the Monthly, in
which you ask for hints from all.

[We hope our correspondents wiU respond to the
call for further information, in which we most heart-
ily join. The best and most economical manner of
applying bottom-heat is a subject a long way behind
many others, though second to none in importance.
Since writing the above, and as we go to press, we
have another chapter to hand on the same subject
for our next issue, and hope for others before that
appears, so that all can go together. — Ed.]

NOTICE OF DENDROBIUM NOBILE.

BY W. GREY, ALBANY, N. Y.

Having seen noticed in the L' Illustration Horticole,
William's Orchid Manual, and other European Gar-
den Works, the number of flowers on plants of
this charming orchid, at one time, and none of the
plants noticed having more than three hundred flow-
ers on at once, and with that number thought to be
worthy of notice.

fj

ilii; (SErdentr's cPontltlj,

"We have here a plant with thirty-four shoots
CbiilbsJ, and five hundred and eleven flowers all
open to day, 28th December, -which, if the notices I
refer to are any criterion to judge from, we are far
ahead of any thing on record.

If you think a few remarks on our mode of culti-
vating Dendrobiuni nobile would be Avortli publish-
ing in the Monthly, I will send you a paper on our
mode of culture.
[Should be pleased to have the paper proposed. — Ed.

THE BLACK CAP, OR DOOLITTLE
RASPBERRY.

BY COL. B. nODGE, OP BUFFALO, N. Y.

This variety of the Raspberry has of late assumed a
prominent positiou, not only in Western New York,
but also in some other parts of our country. Among
all the smaller fruits, perhaps, there is nothing more
productive, or that can be grown, gathered and mar-
keted with as little labor as this raspberry.

The question is often asked, is this a "new variety,
or is it merely the old black cap improved ?" This
was the inquiry which came up for discussion before
the American Pomological Society, in Philadelphia,
in September last. The name of the writer having
been referred to in that discussion, has had a tendency
to call out many inquiries in regard to this matter.
I was in hopes that Mr. Doolittle, or Mr. Joslyn,
would have laid the whole history of this matter
before the public. The facts that have come to my
knowledge are simply these. Some seven or eight
years ago, more or less, Mr. Joslyn, of Ontario Co.,
New York, discovered growing in his vicinity, some
plants of the American Black Cap Raspberry, bearing
fruit of im usually large size. From these he propaga-
ted new plants by layering the tips of the branches.
They soon attracted the attention of Mr. Doolittle,
of the same place ; who purchased a few hundred,
and commenced their propagation in earnest. Pro-
pagating only from the young and vigorous plants,
("the layers of the previous autumn,^ and following
this up from year to year. These plants have uni-
formly produced fruits of large size and fine flavor —
far superior to the common wild vai'iety. Mr. Doo-
little, as well as myself, have experimented by pro-
pagating from old plants then, four or five years
old. The result has uniformly been, that such plants
("although they grow vigorous and strong, J produce
fruit quite worthless and by far, inferior in size and
flavor to the young plants.

The Black Cap Raspberry differs entirely from the
Antwei-p varieties. It sends up no suckers or sprouts,
starting two or three feet from the parent plants ; but
all the new canes start directly from the base of the
old plants. It is only propagated by lajnng or bury-
ing the ends of the canes or branches in the earth ;

these readily take root and thus form new plants. It
is also freely grown from seed. We have seen grow-
ing, in the fields, or by the wayside, plants loaded
with large, fine fruit, these, doubtless, were seedlings,
and for two or three years produce fine fruit, but
after a few years the fruit becomes small and worth-
less. From the foregoing, I have no doubt but that
the original plants discovered by Mr. Joslyn were
seedlings ; but perhaps not differing materially from
hundreds of others growing about the country. But
the improvements and great value of these plants over
all others consists in the improved and scientific
mode of propagating entirely from the young plants
the layers of the previous autumn. Layers from
plants two or more years old, should never be re-
sorted to.

The writer, in company with others, fwho have
the whole supervision of the matter, and who receive
the lion's share of the profits, which they are justly
entitled to, for they do all the work,^ have now ten
acres of these plants in a bearing state. Perhaps
some facts connected with their culture may be of
interest to others. Of two thousand plants pur-
chased of Mr. Doolittle in the spring of 1858, one
thousand of them were planted on a rather hard soil,
sloping to the South-east ; the plants come up well,
but the late burning rays of an August sun destroyed
outright, a third or more of the plants ; and the
balance were so badly injured that they have since
been of little value. The other thousand were planted
on a better soil — land lying flat. These done Avell,
and have proved very productive. Our most suc-
cessful plantations have been on good rich loamy
soil, gently sloping to the north. Plants set out in
the spring will produce a crop a year from the fol-
lowing summer, or fifteen or sixteen months from
the time of planting. The first crop is generally
about a quart to the plant, and the second and third
year, two or more quarts to the plant ; some have
put the quantity of fruit at a much higher figure, but
I speak from facts connected with our own experi-
ence, and this is about an average crop. Only about
three crops should be taken from the same plants,
as the fruit will soon degenerate in size, and also in
flavor. The fruit ripens a week or more earlier on
the young plants, than on those that are older. They
ripen here about the first of July, and continue about
four weeks. The plants should be set in rows six
feet apart, and three feet asunder in the row, making
about two thousand plants to the acre. When the
new canes are some three feet long, cut back to two
or two and a half feet, this will induce side branches,
and keep the plants from growing too high. The
following spring, again shorten all the branches to
within a foot or less of the main stems. There will
be plenty left for a crop — close pruning makes large

fine fruits. Some stake and tie up each plant, which
is rather expensive. We have adopted a different
plan, when the new canes are, say three feet or less
high, a German woman, with her ball of twine, ties
each stool of three or four canes together. This will
generally keep them erect, and if not tied, each cane
will, in time, lean over in different directions, and at
length become almost prostrate. Only three or four
canes should be left in each hill.

All plants sending up ten or a dozen canes, quite
thornless, and of a sickly appearance, are barren, and
will never produce any fruit. The careful cultivator
will always destroy all such plants, and never pro-
pagate from them.

NOTES ON BEDDING PLANTS.

BY CIIAKLES MILLER.

The season is at hand when the gardening portion
of the public will be busily employed in selecting
and propagating plants for out-door decoration. I
therefore presume to offer a few remarks, which,
perhaps, will not be out of place in your Journal of
Monthly intelligence ; there is generally some diffi-
culty in selecting plants for effective arrangement in
the flower garden, on account of our hot scorching
suns in midsummer. We lack those refreshing dews
in July and August, so congenial to such plants as
Verbenas, Cupheas, Geraniums, Ageratums, &c.,
with their variegated forms and brilliant colors.
Calceolarias of endless variety, from crimson to
gorgeous yellow, the latter color especially being very
desirable, and the want of such is much felt in our
outdoor decorations.

To make up for the deficiency of some of those old
favorites of the mother country, I would suggest
a few plants that will stand our climate better, and
if not quite so effective, will have the merit of being
quite as intei-esting, perhaps more so, to those who
wisely make up their minds to do without what they
cannot obtain ; and, although we have no Kew or
Sydenham gardens as models, no "Beaton" to ex-
pand and mould our ideas, I trust, Mr. Editor, with
your help and a little perseverance and good taste on
our part, we shall at least make a fair display. We
have a goodly list of plants of tropical and variega-
ted foliage, that are very effective when planted in
situations suited to their individual requirements.

First on the list is Amarantus tricolor, a charm-
ing little plant of the most beautiful crimson, green
and yellow foliage, and neat habit, suitable either for
edging or for planting en masse, exposed to the sun
to have it in perfection. Coleus Blumei mixed or
edged wtih Perilla Nankinensis, will make a fine
bed, the latter if used for the edging should be fre-
quently stopped or pegged down, and not allowed
to bloom.

Lobelia speciosa mixed with variegated Alyssum ,
has a pretty effect for small bed. Perilla Nankinensis
and Cineraria maritima, mixed or planted in con-
trast, cannot fail to be striking. Koniga variegata
with Verbena Elizabeth, will make a neat pretty
bed, and may be improved by having an edging of
blue Lobelia. Perilla mixed with Neirembergia gra-
cilis, the latter allowed to grow a little above the
former would be handsome. Variegated Geraniums
with an edging of Amarantus tricolor is also a
very beautiful arrangement. A mixed bed of Lan-
tanasmakea splendid show — "stands the sun well."
Begonia Rex does well planted out (or rather plunge
the pots in the ground^, in a shady situation, re-
quires light open soil, and liberal manuring in hot
weather.

An objection to the "ribbon" style of bedding is
the fact, that in our climate it is difficult or rather
impossible to combine varieties that bloom perpet-
ually, and at the same time furnish sufficient variety
and contrast of colors to be effective. The difficulty
I think might be overcome by selecting plants with
striking /oZia^e. For this purpose I would suggest
the following arrangement : — Front double row,
Amarantus tricolor ; 2nd, Variegated Alyssum ; 3d,
Perilla Nankinensis, kept low by topping ; 4th,
Variegated mint ; 5th, Coleus Blumei, kept low ; 6th,
Golden chain or other varieties of variegated Gera-
niums.

A Rustic basket planted with B. Rex and B. par-
viflora, with Ivy or Senecio scandens over the bas-
ket would form an object deserving of admiration.

A fine tropical looking foliage bed can be formed
by planting as follows :— Ricinus sanguineus ("as a
centrej), and then in rotation Sorghum saccharatum,
^Chinese Sugar Cane^, Canna discolor, Canna in-
dica, and Warzewiczii, with an edging of ribbon
grass; this bed should be of circular form, and
large to be effective. It is not generally known, I
believe, that the varieties of Ricinus, Palma Christi
or Castor Bean can be taken up in the fall and pre-
served through the winter, in a rather dry and airy
place, free from frost. They should be well pre-
served when taken up, and occasionally watered.
When planted out in the spring they form fine
strong trees.

STANDARD ROSES.

BY J. C. B., BANGOR, MAINE.

Would there be a little spare space among the
columns of your worthy Monthly, that a gardener
and subscriber from this most northern part of the
Union might say a few words on the cultivation of
flowers among my middle and western brother gar-
deners.

At the time I am engaged scribbling over these few

•NTi

ifH ©ardtn^r's cPonthlj,

sheets at my desk, in the greenhouse, the cold north
wind is Avhistling round the house, stepping out
doors at the hour of 3 o'clock in the morning, my
mercury stands 32 below 0. I suppose our wes-
tern friends think tliat we have no gardens, fruits,
flowers or greenhouses in Maine. I can tell them
that we have all of these, and good gardeners to
take care of them, and they must be gardeners to
come in contact with our cold climate in raising
fruits and flowers in the winter. The first day of
last May I cut a bunch of ripe hothouse Grapes.
This was not very bad for Maine, and on the same day I
exhibited plants grown from cuttings in July, that
measured 36 feet in circumference. Those were Lan-
tanas and Fuchsias, that stood from 5 to 8 feet high,
with three stems to each plant of equal size, loaded
with flowers in everj' degree of expansion. This
was not bad for this cold climate. These were exhibi-
ted from the greenhouse of Capt. J. B. Coyle, Esq.,
of Portland, Maine. My object was to come out
with a few words about Standard Roses. Now at
the time of writing this, there is standing before me
one which I think should be noticed, standing 8
feet high, with its sfock as green as holly, and its
charming head measuring 31 feet in circumference,
displaying all the beauty of 62 full blooming dark dou-
ble large crimson fragrant flowers, and an immense
quantity of buds in everj* degree of expansion.
Now I ask what greater beauty could the green-
house be possessed of? without talking of the beau-
tiful contrast its foliage makes with other plants.
This variety is the Giant of the Battles, one I think
of our best Roses, taking all its qualities into account,
especially on the stock. It surprises me much in visit-
ing many gardens, that this Standard Rose is forgot-
ten, and at one time no lawn or flower garden was
complete without it. However, for my love to see a
good Rose, I still cultivate them both in the lawn
and greenhouse, and shall do so while they continue
to display their beauty like the one here mentioned.
Perhaps my way of treating them is dilferent to the
manner I see described by others, though being so
simple. In the cultivation of all classes of Roses in
and out doors I feed very high. Some objections are
made to the Standards, that of throwing up suckers.
This I am not troubled with. Again, that of getting
winter-killed, or dying off" soon. I have cultivated
the same Standard Rose for six or seven years, and
it looks better now than it did in the third year of its
gi-afting. I do not mean to say that it will live for
ever, but if it even died now, it has long since paid
me for my labor. I cultivate all kinds of Roses on
the stock — any thing that is handsome. I plant
them out as every person does in a rich bed made
for the purpose ; at the approach of frost I take
them all up carefully, root-prune them, and then

bury them all up in sand in a cold cellar, or if that
is not convenient I bury them below the reach of
frost, out doors in some dry place ; when spring
comes, plant them out in their former situations,
pruning the heads some, and I am never disappointed
from seeing them display all the desired beauty in
July and August. I treat them the same in the
greenhouse as regards their root pruning.

There is one thing apart in the history of Roses
I never saw much written on, that is the origin of
the Moss Roses, or who first clothed them with
nature's simplest weed, — having been asked the ques-
tion several times. I should like that some of my
brother gardeners who are better posted on the Rose
than I, would explain it.

HEATING ECONOMY.

BY AN OLD PACKER, ROCHESTER, N. Y.

Attached to the end of my kitchen I hiive a shed,
the roof of which is span shaped, covered with hot-
bed lights; through this shed I carry a stovepipe
from my kitchen chimnej^ and bj'^ pushing a damper
into the said chimney, the heat is made to pass
through the pipe in the shed, thereby upon all ordi-
nary occasions keeping out frost, and by covering
upon extraordinary occasions it does the same. So
much for this outer crust, if I may so call it. Under
this homely canopy I have a tank made of pine,
2 inches thick, and 28 feet long, and 12 inches deep,
with two divisions in its centre ; this tank is filled
with water, and heated from a common copper wash
boiler, placed on the back half of my cookery
stove, the use of which my wife has surrendered for
my gratification. From one inch flow and return
pipes attached to this boiler and carried through the
wall of the house into this tank, I can keep up this
body of water to nearly 80° — loosing but little
through the night, although there is seldom any
coal put on the fire after^ ten o'clock. Over these
tanks I have six inches of earth, which earth is cov-
ered Avith an inner covering of glass ; the atmosphere
enclosed by this inner covering is maintained at
about 550 by day, losing about 5^ through the
night.

This power, small as it is, fperhaps too small for
any practical puqDoseJ, is obtained at no additional
cost. Coming as it does from the house fire, and
not an average one at that, and still keeping the liv-
ing room at 70° or 75° if required.

In this shed, ^irrespective of the tank apparatus^),
I can grow a decent Grape in summer.

If a vision of Kew and its splendors should arise
in your mind's eye, you must humiliate yourself,
and weep over the poverty that should be constrained
to construct so humble a place.

Now what six shall I attempt to propagate or grow

78

M^ §m&nufB (Panthlj*

^

in sucli a shed in winter ? or must I abandon it as
of too little power.

[Accounts of such little matters we are very glad
to receive. The greatest results at the smallest ex-
penditure, is ever a worthy object of horticultural
pursuits. "We should grow only the Black Hamburg
in this case, as it is hardier, and will bear harder
treatment than others. It would do well for prop-
agating bedding plants. Almost all soft wooded
bedding plants would root well over a tank with
such a bottom heat ; and we tliink where there is
sale for such stock, nothing better could be propaga-
ted in it. If propagation were not an object, such
an arrangement would still be very useful as a kind
of greenhouse or conservatory. — Ed. ]

BY GEO. E.

&&S. DENING-SR ADING.

WOODWAKD, NEW YOKK.
NO. 3.

The mania for grading seems to be a prevalent
disease with many of those who commence the for-
mation of a country place, and it may be stated as a
remarkable fact, that it is the uppermost thought in
tlieir minds as being the means of showing both
taste and improvement. That a certain amount of
grading requires to be done in almost any new
place, we do not deny, but we seldom meet with an
example where even so simple a matter as the re-
moval of earth, has been a study productive of any
very great degree of skill.

There is not in the whole range of Landscape
work any process of embellishment that produces so
little satislaction ; there is nothing that shows so
little for the money expended on it ; and there cannot
be any imitation of natural surfaces that shall fulfil
the same conditions of taste or pleasure. The pro-
pensity for levelling has been handed down to
us as one of the remaining features of the artificial
style of gardening, the right hues of which being
thoroughly inconsistent with any warped or natural
surfaces, and only appropriate to planes horizontal
or incUued. Levelling in such cases was a necessary
preparation, and ditierent levels were attained by
terraces, or by slight gradients, any change or break
in the grade being oflensive to the eye— though
sometimes used.

The introduction of a straight line as an avenue
or walk over the undulating surface of natural
grounds, is decidedly bad taste, and entirely out of
keeping,— a plane surface being essential to the
beauty of a straight line : there being no straight
lines in nature, (unless we except rays of light as
pointed out by Mr. ReptonJ) ; it must be evident
that the use of a straight line in natural scenery
would be out of place.

There are exceptional cases in grading grounds to

which a general rule is not applicable, but those who
seek maximum of beauty at the minimum of expense
— should have carefully prepared in advance an ex-
hibit, that shall detail the effect produced, and the
manner of producing it, as there is no process so
false and costly as experimenting for effects in earth-
work ; it is simply a downright waste of labor and
money. There are possible chances of success, and
to those who consider change to be improvement,
or imagine they exhibit their taste in proportion to
the amount they expend, — such operations may
afford some pleasure, but for a truthful intention to
express the highest degree of beauty in the forma-
tion of surfaces, experiments long ago discarded,
must cease.

The intelligent removal of earth is matter of
skill, and the economical removal of it is a business
that requires to be studied, to practice it successfully ;
there is the same reason why one should be educa-
ted to this as to any business, for it is attended with
the same conditions of success or failure as marks
the progress of any pursuit.

There is just the same application of art in grading
grounds that there is in building a house. AVe do
not, either as a principle of economy or taste, collect
our building materials, and set men to work to put
up a house ; take down, alter, remodel and recon-
struct, until by a scried of expensive experiments,
we either get what suits or get fairly disgusted with
the whole undertaking ; but intelligence in that de-
partment of construction dictates the preparation
of a studied plan, by which we work out the tho :^lits
of convenience and beauty that suggest themselves.
That the architectural plan on paper can be fulfilled
by its perfect realization in brick, stone, oi any
other building material, is a known and admitted
fact, but that the arts of design are applicable to any
and every form of construction, is to some minds a
matter of doubt ; to deny them, however, is to deny
unquestioned proofs of success, and to make the
profession of the Architect and Civil Engineer unre-
liable and false.

The hundred men who commence to tunnel a
mountain may never see the other hundred who
work from the opposite end ; they may be miles
apart, but the fact that they shall meet with absolute
exactness, both in line and grade, is as well known
when the plan is drawn as when the final blow is
struck.

If a few of the prominent parts relative to the
removal of earth were properly considered, it might
lead to a different vicAV of the subject.

In the first place, the soil is to be removed, and
then returned, not only returned, but more must be
placed with it, and a long time must elapse before it

Che @ariinixr's ffloiithlii.

(iA*

79

acquires the same properties as belonged to it in its
natural position.

Secondly, the underlying stratas of earth must
either be removed from sight, used in grading a
road — tilling up a hole, or for some purpose not re-
quiring a finish of soil, or else a calculation must be
made for the soil to finish it. It must be evident
in all cases, that a system of operations may be de-
vised which shall make a difference, not only in
present expense but in future annoyances.

Stating the facts known in Civil Engineering, that
earth can be graded to to any plan, and that a plan
will show the minimum amount of excavation or
filling necessary to develope any form of surface, and
that earth in any form can be measured as accurately
in its natural position as if the whole were passed
through a half-bushel measure, we have the re-
quirements that will enable us to designate the
precise amount of cutting or filling in any spot, and
knowing the price of moving earth per yard, Avhich
is governed by conditions of quality and distance,
we shall know the cost, and shall also have the
ability to contract the work if deemed desirable.

An estimate of this kind should be made in ad-
vance, as well as a plan to work by ; and one should
know cost as well as effects. The satisfaction
resulting from a system of improving where effects
are studied in advance, is far greater than from any
plans of the ordinary laborer, and no theory or
practice of Landscape Gardening or gardeners
teaches any system or process of execution by
which can be studied beforehand the desired results.

This lack of knowledge on their part, which they
willingly ascribe to the inability of genius to convey
to unfavored minds the means bj^ which they attain
their ends, is a lamentable fact in the history of
Landscape Gardening.

ROOTING CUTTINGS.

BY DR. J. F. E., W^ALLACE, TA.

The writer of those excellent articles for your
truly excellent Journal, gave just one item too much.
"SVe are told after the cutttings are calloused, to
plant them, and give them bottom-heat. Now I
teU you, and you may tell all creation, that this
is wrong, at least for Cherries, Pears, and Peaches.
I ruined every cutting, except a single pear, which
struck roots in spite of the treatment, in that way.
A box containing 375 slips of the Ray Peach, packed
away in moist decomposed saw-dust under the stage
of the greenhouse to callous, — I concluded to let
it remain where it was a whole month. Day before
yesterday, the month being ended, I removed them,
and found my cuttings not only calloused most per-
fectly, but some of them had roots from one to two
inches long. Hence I conclude that bottom-heat is

^KT

not only unnecessary but injurious, and this lot of
cuttings 1 planted in a box made after the manner
of Cornelius' crock, which I keep just where they
Avere calloused. That tank made after the model
of yours, is an excellent thing for Grapes, &c., but it
will never do for Peaches.

I am now satisfied that all kinds of cuttings may,
as you and your correspondents say, be made to
strike as readily as Grapes, but they require differ-
ent temperatures, and different grades of moisture,
that a few carefully conducted experiments will
discover to us what is proper for the various things
we wish to multiply in this way.

To the Gardener's Monthly and its accomplished
Editor. I wish a long and prosperous course. May
they both live long enough to Edenize the earth.

[These little experiments are just Avhat are wanted
to make " accomplished" propagators. Our friends'
note well illustrates what we have already written
in another column. — Ed.]

NEW PANSIES.

BY D. BARKER, HARTFORD, CONN.

The following new imported English and French
varieties of pansy are a part of thirty new kinds
selected in Europe during the last summer, and will,
I believe, be sent out during the ensuing spring. I
have had specimen flowers of those named sent me
at three different periods since August last, and con-
sider them decided improvements upon those pre-
viously imported.

Let me respectfully advise those who are admirers
of this beautiful flower, when they inspect the va-
rious collections which shall be exhibited at the
horticultural exhibitions during the ensuing summer,
to make notes upon the merits or demerits of each
as they consider desirable for future guidance in
forming a collection for their own culture. I have
no doubt but this year will outstrip all previous ones
in the production of imported varieties of this much-
admired flower.

12 Pansie, t»ir., Madame Moreau. — Pure Avhite
ground, Avith a distinct blue-purple eye ; effective
and beautiful.

23 LiNGOT d'Or. — CI do not consider this name
appropriate, j Light yellow; upper petals sometimes
striped Avith rich violel-puiiile ; eye a rich dark
brown.

29 Prince Oscar. — Bronzy -pmple, with rich
yellow centre ; dark eye ; distinct and fine.

8 Robert Burns. — Upper petals violet-purple ;
centre bronzy-yellow, Avith large dark cinnamon
eye.

14 Garibaldi. — Rich violet-puri^le, with golden-
yelloAV centre ; eye intensely dark and rich ; flower
very large, fine outline ; extra fine.

80

ih{| iHnIenn*'s ^lonitjlg.

Princess of Prussia.— Creamy white, the lower
petals blotched with rich violet-purple, aiid rich vel-
vety-purple eye ; extra fine.

The above descriptions are taken from flowers
when in a high state of cultivation in this country^
(and not mere copies, as nine-tenths of the descrip-
tions given of new flowers imported from Europe
to this country from European cataloguesj), and for
which I am alone responsible.

[In this section the Pansy has almost ceased to be
a "florist's" flower, through the difliculty of keep-
ing them through our hot summer suns ; and most
persons depend, as in the case of the Cineraria and
and Calceolaria, on the seed of the best prize flowers
for their annual stock. It is to be regretted, as no
one can imagine the beauty of these selected named
kinds. In sunk pits, or places not liable to get very
dry, however, they can be readily kept over, and we
hope Mr. Barker's notes may attract attention to the
subject.— Ed.]

««ai«»

INTRODUCTION OF LOMBARDY POPLAR.

BY W. R. PRINCE, FLUSHING, N. Y.

I notice reference is made to the Cocculus Carolinus,
in your two last numbers. It has been growing in
our grounds since 1819. I also notice the Lombardy
Poplar (Populus fastigiaiaj is referred to, as intro-
duced to our country by Wilham Hamilton, but the
records of that tree will show that it was introduced
thus early by Wm. Prince, my grandfather, and that
he had 100,000 growing in his nurseries, which were
disseminated far and Avide before its propagation
was attempted by others. The Ailanthus was first
introduced by AVm. Prince, my father, and was sent
to him by Mr. Thompson, a nurseryman at Mile
End, near London, as the Sicilian Tanners'' Sumach,
and was disseminated for several years under this
name, until some importations of Ailanthus from
France revealed its true title. The first Ailanthus
trees in Pennsylvania, I think, were sent by Wm.
Prince to Colonel Robert Carr, Bartram's Garden,
under the erroneous name of "Tanners' Sumach,"
and after the discovery of the true name, William
Prince repurchased from Colonel Carr all the young
trees he could spare of "Tanners' Sumach." As a
proof that a rose, by any other name, not only smells
as sweet, but much sweeter, I may be permitted to
recount an amusing fact. For a course of years, this
tree was cuUivated in Wm. Prince's Nurseries, under
the title by which it had been received by him, but
the name of "Sumach" was so repulsive that the
very aspect of the tree seemed hideous, and there were
so few p'-irchasers that thousands were thrown out,
perfectly unsaleable, but after the error in the name
was corrected, and " Chinese Ailanthus'''' was substitu-
ted for Sumach, a potent charm came over the entire

tree, and every one gazed on it with wonder and
admiration, and for many years it was impossible to
supply the demands at treble the former prices. It
also happened, fortunately, that the male variety was
the one originally introduced, and there was conse-
quently, no objection to the tree for the offensive
odor which the bloom of the female variety exhales.
It may here, perhaps, be permitted me to depart
from the subject for a moment, to say that Wm.
Prince was a thorough "American System" man,
even before the time of Henry Clay, and that he there-
fore was desirous of superseding the importation of
Sicilian Sumach, as he was afterwards desirous of es-
tablishing the silk and vine culture. I will continue
my reminiscences in futui'e numbers of your paper.

CULTURE OF THE AURICULA.

BY "seven oaks," orange, N. J.

Whii-e on a visit to a friend of mine a few days
ago, and after examining his collection of plants, I
inquired for his Auriculas.

"Auriculas" said he, "why I never think of grow-
ing such things." Well, I being of rather an in-
quisitive turn of mind, asked him the reason why.
When he very cooly informed me that they were too
troublesome; implying in his remark that the care
they required during winter and mid-summer, was
more than they were really worth. I pitied him or
the man who thought more of his care than his
Auriculas. Well, to the amateur who is familiar
with the appearance of the flower, but not with the
method of growing them ; I should say procure the
seed from some reliable Seedsman, and operate as
follows : —

Sow the seed about the beginning or middle of
March, on a mixture of leaf mould, loam, and a lit-
tle fine sand ; cover very lightly ; place the seed pan
in a gentle hotbed or front shelf of a greenhouse, —
covering the pan or pot with a piece of glass. The
soil should be moist, but not wet, previous to sow-
ing, so that little or no water will be required until
the seedlings are up. Then set them in a cold frame,
and harden them gradually, and when large enough
to be handled, prick them off" into medium sized pots,
with soil of the same description as the seed was
sown in, returning them to the cold frame for some
two or three weeks longer, according to the weather.
I then remove them to some northern aspect, bury-
ing the pots to the rims in either sifted coal aslies,
sand, or some similar material. Now as our warm
rains are injurious to them, they will require a shut-
ter or a few boards over them to protect them from
it. Repot singly, about the first week in August, in
a compost of decomposed hotbed manure, rotted turf
loam and fine sand, returning them to their old po-
sition, until about the middle of October, when it

#^

1

^

%\\t §'i!a\tm% ^loiithlj.

81

will be necessary to remove them to their winter
quarters ("framesj, giving them air whenever possi-
ble without injury to the plants ; removing them
to the greenhouse about the first week in February;
being particular in examining the drainage ; after-
wards giving them a light surfacing or top dressing
of the same compost as that in which they were
potted ; and it is my humble opinion that before the
first of April you will have some flowers which j'ou
will sa}' are well Avorth i\\G\r trouble.

Kow friend Monthly, we are all creatures of habit,
and I imagine that I hear some of j-our numerous
readers saj'^ "Seven Oaks" has forgotten to give us a
more detailed account of his manner of wintering,
but in reply I would say that if the friendship which
exists between the Monthly and myself happens'^to
continue, perhaps some day or other they may find
in a corner of it a few hints on wintering the " Auri-
cula," &c.

[Nothing would please us better than to receive

the "details." Florists flowers are above all kinds

the class to ofler the highest pleasure to the amateur,

and many things supposed to be diflScult in "this

climate" to grow, are only so, because of ignorance

as how to suit them to the climate. The writer

keeps his Auriculas under glass all summer, with

tolerable success. — Ed.]

»»»»«

OBSERVATIONS ON TASTE, AS AFPLSED
TO LANDSCAPE GARDENING &.C., &.C.

BY JOHN GRABLE, C4AKDEN HILL, KANSAS.

Your remarks in the January number of the Gar-
dener's Monthly, on Mr. Woodwards article on Land-
scape Gardening, have induced me to say something
also, on the same subject. Taste, as I understand
it, is the exercise of the faculty of perception in dis-
tinguishing the beauties of natural scenery, as the
basis of what is called landscape gardening, which
is much talked about and admired, but indefinitely
understood, from the fact that each one sets up a
standard of his own — all are difl!"erent, from being
modified by surrounding circumstances.

It appears to me that much of what is called land-
scape gardening is nothing but peurility, when car-
ried out in the limited space of a garden, in the too
artificial imitation of nature. Utility should
govern taste in this case. If so, there is no use or
propriety in making crooked paths where straight
ones would answer a better purpose. With some it
is deemed in good taste to leave the bark on every
rural structure they build. To this I would say, let
art appear — let it stick out in the natural, to which
it is always relapsing and falling back.

And for this reason, I would rather see a man
dressed in cloth, than in the skins of animals, and
a house covered with boards and shingles, than with
brush and bark, and so of other things. If order is

the foundation of taste, disorderly persons, in their
wearing apixirel, in their houses, in their workshops,
in their stores, and on their farms, become vitiated
in their tastes bj^ the continued perception of disor-
der. This adaptability of taste to disorder, is like
that of the inebriate for alcoholic liquors, corrupt and
unnatural, and no standard at all. Further, to show
the adaptability of taste to surrounding circumstan-
ces, we will take an ugly man's face, whose rough
and repulsive countenance will seem to one as a
combination of deformities ; while to his children
who have grown up under his ugly visage, it will
appear without a blemish.

Children, adult ones, never perceive that their
parents are not beautiful. This is a fact that will
show how tastes may differ — cultivated or not.

Now let us turn our attention to the natural sce-
nery of the globe, which is considered the natural
foundation of taste, as applied to Landscape Gar-
dening. We see it diversified with plains and hills,
with winding valleys, abrupt mountains, and pre-
cipitous gorges, rippling streams, placid lakes,
and flowing rivers, to the briny ocean. This diver-
sified scenery in its amplitude, excites in the mind of
the cultivated admirer of nature, delightful observa-
tions of the sublime and beautiful ; but to carry it
out in a miniature garden, is simply running it
into the ground, in a small artificial scale of puerilitj^,
that is gardenistic. The trench of mountain ranges;
the outline of sloping hills, and winding valleys; the
consequent meandering of great rivers through ex-
tensive plains to the ocean; has been caused by suc-
cessive upheavals of the land from the bed of old
ocean, to mountain heights — giving great power to
running Avater in washing out valleys and river
courses. So the more or less friability of soil and
rocks with their upheaval has determined the range
and extent of our mountains, winding ridges and
sloping hills, with the tortuous valleys and water
courses, all according to nature.

Hence it is argued by some gardenistic landscape
gardeners, that all our roads CexceptrailroadsJ, paths
and fences should be any thing but straight — espe-
cially in a little bit of a garden, even if the plat
should be level. But a great portion of the earth's
surface is made of beautiful plains; then here the
geometrical form of straight roads and fences, with
square fields and gardens, externally and internally,
wiU accord with nature without impropriety, and
to my perceptions it is in good taste. But whether
level or undulating, rolling or broken, hilly or moun-
tainous, the "Landscaping" should correspond
with the natural outlines. As roads winding up and
down valleys and traversing ridges. Thus Farms,
Parks, and Pleasure-grounds, even gardens embrac-
ing hill and dale, can be "landscaped" with utility

ilk

82

§ar(kHtr's ^onthfo*

and propriety, as it respects good taste — art beautify-
ing nature. I admire and am deliglited,yes enchanted,
with views of hills above hills, and mountains on
mountains, in the distant horizon, where sky and
earth seem to meet, in the blended blue.

I am even delighted with less distant scenery,
across a lake, to the well defined shore on the opposite
side, with the approaching and receding hills bound-
ing the winding shore.

Where I live, Doniphan Covmty, Kansas, I can
see every day 50 miles of a circuit of the Missouri
valley, 5 miles wide, and the meandering cora-se of
the river, with its broad level bottom, covered in
many places with Cottonwood and sycamore, with
its precipitous bluffs on each side, in many places
200 feet high, embracing all sorts of varied scenery
delightful to behold.

I am even delighted with changing hill and dale, in
close proximity with successive groves of trees, anc*
copses of woods interspersed along hillsides of val-
leys, with their slopes and terraces.

But I fail to see any thing to admire as beautiful
in trying to crowd any, or all of them in a bit of a
level garden plat, but deem it pigmy mimicry.

[We are pleased to receive a communication em-
bracing what we regard as excellent ideas of the
subject, from so distant a portion of our Editorial
"parish."— Ed.]

RuTTKR Pear. — This most excellent pear is a
seedling raised by Jolin Rutter, Esq., of West Ches-
ter, Pa., from a seed planted of the Van Mons Leon
le Clerc. It has few equals, and no superiors, of its
season, ripening from the first of 10th to the middle
of 11th month, and will keep much longer, so that
it may be called a late fall or early winter variety.
The size, quahty, and season of ripening, when
there are but few good pears, will make it desirable
to all lovers of good fruit.

Tree vigorous, thorny when young, which it loses
as age increases ; an early and good bearer, and the
fruit sticks well to the tree ; fruit a large obovate ;
skin a httle roughish, of a dull lemon-yellow color ;
at maturity, numerous small russet spots or patches
of cinnamon russet; stalk about an inch long, stout,
planted in a small abrupt cavity ; calyx small, closed,
in a rather deep irregular basin; flesh yellowish,
juicy, sweet, aud melting, with a delicious flavor.
One thing very singular about this pear is that I have
never met with a specimen that had any seed.—/. C.
Baldwin, in Farmer and Gardener.

The Skcnnymtjkk Grape. — This is the title of a

new grape lately exhibited at Newburgh, IS". T.,
which is claimed to be equal in size and flavor to the
Concord, and much superior to it in earliness of
ripening.

Pear Dxj Solis. — At the meeting of the Pomo-
logical Society in Philadelphia, in om- search amongst
the specimens of fruit on exhibition for rare kinds
that might possess decided merit, we found the fol-
lowing to be one of the very best, both in appear-
ance and quality. We preserved a specimen till the
4th of October, when we made the annexed drawing
and description.

Fruit above medium, long, resembling in shape
Louise Bonne de Jersey. Color, greenish-yellow,
profusely sprinkled with greenish-brown dots. Ca-
lyx, small, in a very shallow basin. Flesh, melting,
buttery. Quality, best. One of the best pears we
have met with this season.

We were indebted to Messrs. Smith & HaTicliett,
of Syracuse, N. Y., for the specimen from which
our cut and description were made. They have now
one of the most extensive nurseries in the Union,

m

to*

U^ §Mtmfs cPont^Ig.

83

and enjoy an excellent reputation for accuracy in their business transactions. They will please accept
our thanks for the privilege we valued of laying our hands on whatever suited us in their splendid collec-
tion of fruits on exhibition.

Willow Apple. — Size, rather large ;
form, roundish, approaching conic, slightly
oblique; color, yellowish, somewhat rus-
seted, with light and dark red stripes on
the sunny side, splashed with small dark
specks ; st m, medium ; cavity, rather deep,
regular, marbled with grey on yellowish-
green ground ; calyx, closed ; basin, shal-
loAv; flesh, j-e'.lowish, tender, mild, sub-
acid, good; core, small; seeds, round,
dark, plump, and small. December to .
May. Late keeper ; distinct from Willow-
twg and Lim'erhoig; larger and better;
vigorous, stout, upright grower; shoots,
long, stout, dark brown; good, regular
bearer ; valuable.

J. Stayjian.

Leavenworth City, Kansas.

A New Gr^^pe.— Mr. John Cook, of Philadel-
phia, sends us an account of a large grape exhibited
by him at the Agricultural Fair at West Philadel-
phia, and which, from its immense size, excited
some attention.

The plant was found accidentally on a side-walk
in Philadelphia by a friend of Mr. Cook. Its habit
resembles Isabella, but the fruit is as large as Black
Hamburg, and the bunches weigh from one to one
and three-quarters pounds. Some judges have pro-
nounced it Cliristie's Isabella, and others Union
Tillage; but Mr. Cook gives some very good rea-
sons for considering that it is a very different grape.
If found distinct from all others, it may prove a good
addition.

The CuNNiisfGHAM Gkape.— George Hussmann
a Missouri grape-grower, says of this, in the Valley
Farmer:

"Although this grape has been cultivated here for
a number of years, it has been noticed but little ; less,
perhaps, than it deserves, as it certainly makes an
excellent wine. Bunch, medium, very compact;
berry, below medium, purple, with lilac bloom, veiy
juicy, and of a spicy, a^'eeable flavor, without pvilp.
Makes a wine of great body, and of a very rich bou-
quet, resembles good Madeira, but of a finer flavor ;
vine, a rampant grower, not subject to mildew and
rot, but variable in productiveness, producing some-
times very heavy crops, sometimes hardly anj^ thing;
somewhat tender; ripe 10th of September."

Xew Mode of Grafting.— The French are
practicing a new method of grafting. It can be
performed at any season of the year when sound,
mature buds can be had, whether the sap is in a
flowing state or not. It is performed by removing
a small piece of bark and wood, leaving a smooth
and flat surface, to which a similar piece, containing
the bud, which is to form the future tree, is fitted,
which is sealed over immediately with collodion.
This forms a strong, impervious cuticle, which se-
cures a free circulation of sap on the approach of
warm weather, and a perfect union of the parts.

Simple mode of Propagating hardy Azaleas.
— In spring, before the leaves burst, M. Jager bends
down branches into the peat soil beneath, places on
them some stones, and covers the stones with moss,
watering copiously afterwards, and again in hot
weather occasionally. He protects the stocks with
litter through the winter, uncovers the plants in the
spring, and in the fall following, the whole surface
is matted with roots, when they are taken up and
divided. He tliinks Rhododendrons, and other hard
striking plants would do as well. — Garten Flora.

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^t §mhmx% Paiitljln.

PHILADELPHIA, MARCH 1, 1861.

Il^ All Commuuications for the Editor should be addressed
" Thomas Meehan, Germantown, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The PnBLisHEii of the Gardeker's Monthly
Box 406 Philadelphia."

JrJ= Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1S61 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(1S'j9) free. All persons who have paid their subscriptions forlS61
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.00 can receive a copy of
the same.

53=' Our Subscription list for Kathvon's Entomological Essay^
is fast filling up, and as we have only intended publishing a lim-
ited number, we would desire all those who may wish to have the
work, to send their name and address as early as possible.

PROPAGATION.

Practical knowledge is of immense value. It
cannot be underrated, though that is often attempted.
Gardening is essentially an art, and science is its
handmaid. Science may aid gardening, but it can
never originate it.

We are led to these remarks because it is a pre-
vailing impression that one cannot be a good gar-
dener unless he is a scientific man. Under the
name of science the most absurd propositions are
being frequently presented to the practical horticul-
turist, and because, perchance, such propositions do
not accord with his experience, and he is miwilling
to adopt them as undisputed facts, he is denounced
as unprogressive, and belonging to a past and fossil
age.

But we do not undervalue science by any means,
on the contrary, we believe that if every practical
gardener were to take in hand some one of the kin-
dred sciences, and master it thoroughly, both the
gardener and his profession would be immensely
benefitted. All we would insist on is, that this should
be secondary to those habits of practice and observa-
tion that are essential to make a successful practical
horticulturist.

It is necessary to present this view strongly, be-
cause heavy disappointments are daily occurring to
amateurs, in their trial of horticultural experiments ;
and then- failure to succeed where they think they
ought to, dampens their ardor, and leads them to
look upon horticulture and horticulturists, generally,
in a very suspicious light.

We will take, for instance, the subject of propaga-
tion; and, would say that no amount of science,
reading, or study, will make anyone a successful
propagator. Amongst the very best propagators
the art has ever known, have been men utterly
ignorant of the first principles of vegetable physi-
ology, and, perhaps, amongst the worst, some very

scientific men. The foundation of success in the
art must be the operator's personal experience. —
After he has learned to succeed a little, the experi-
ence of others may lead him to greater achievements.
He may improve by study, but seldom begin to learn.
To show on how nice a point successful propaga-
tion hangs, we may mention the case of an eminent
florist whom we once knew, and who was considered
one of the best practical hands at rooting Azaleas,
Camellias, New Holland plants, «&c., there was in
the trade. He was in this business for many years,
when it became necessary to remove his establish-
ment to another part of the city. He re-constructed
his new propagating house as near as possible like
his old one, but it took him several years in the new
locality before he could get the same kind of plants
to root with anything like the same degree of suc-
cess that attended him at the old stand.

Last fall we debated in our journal many plans for
expediting, and rendering more certain, the callous-
ing of cuttings. We believe few subjects ever at-
tracted more attention than these articles did. To
those who had already some success in propagation,
what appeared in our journal has proved of immense
advantage ; but it is a question whether. to those not
so well posted, more harm than good has not been
the result.

Amongst a great number of letters that have
reached us, on the subject, some detaihng their suc-
cess, others recounting their losses — one amateur
friend writes us that at considerable expense he pro-
cured scions of many rare and valuable fruits from
all parts of the continent, and put them under the
Cornelius and Watson process. They "calloused
beautifully," but, subsequently "all rotted.".

Poor Mr. Cornelius ! we fancy there are no in-
considerable number who imagine his process to He
in his pot, and not in his principles ; and that they
have only to shp in a cutting and take out a plant,
just as they would put a block into a machine, and
look to see it come out shoe pegs, — and failing in
the result, pass some rather shady compliments, at
the author's expense. Most of the errors the unitla-
ted fall into, arise from their mistaking callousing
for striking, two very diff'erent processes ; even good
gardeners often fall into the error. A nursery friend
of ours, who loves a joke, and whose affection for
flowers and fruits has grown upon him to such an
extent, that he has become a model of joviality and
good nature, often quotes a story of a "first-rate
propagator" he once engaged. Seeing him once re-
potting Camellia cuttings, he asked, ' ' Mr. D. are they
rooted?" "No sir," was the reply, "but they are
well calloused." "Come to the office, Mr. D. and
get your wages," was the only response, and before
night the "first-rate propagator" was on his way to

1

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M^ €m&tmf^ (plonthlg*

85

parts unknown. Callousing is only a part of the
process of propagation, and to treat a cutting merely
calloused, as a rooted plant, is almost certain death
to it. Callousing is but the process of healing the
wound, and is rather an evidence that the vital
principle is healthy and active, than that roots are
coming, and it is quite probable that the very effort
made to callous, is, in a certain degree, exhaustive,
and demanding far more care from the propagator,
from that time until it emits roots, than at any other
period of its cutting state. The balance of heat and
light, and moisture, both in the atmosphere and
about the cuttings, necessary to keep the excited
cutting healthy till the roots protrude, has, at this
time, to be most carefully studied. All this varies
with the kind of plant to be propagated, and the
maturity of the wood employed for the purpose ; no
rule can be given. The amateur must fall back on his
own experience, derived from carefully conducted
experiments.

The improvements that we have been enabled to
lay before our readers in callousing cuttings, has pre-
pared the way for much greater success with propa-
gation than was ever before supposed ! Many cut-
tings rot at once on putting in, from the contact of
the wounded cells with water, or temperature, es-
pecially if the vital principle in the cutting is already
at a low ebb. Galfin first sought to overcome this
by applying collodion, which formed a skin over the
wound, and, for a time, the success of his experi-
ments caused a great commotion in the horticultural
world. And yet, perhaps, he was not the original
discoverer, for many an old farmer has protested for
many years past, that he could make apples, peaches,
&c., root readily by putting the ends in a potato,
beeswax, »&c., but to get them calloused at once, be-
fore putting in, is certainly the best of such modes ;
but, and we would have our amateur friends particu-
larly remember, it is necessary that the very best
conditions for successful cutting growth should be
at once applied, after that is effected, or the last
failure may be more disheartening than the first.

LESSONS ON LANDSCAPE-GARDENING.

Mr. Woodward's articles have stirred up a spirit
in our circle that is potent for much good. One
correspondent sends us the following suggestions,
which, we hope, will be followed up.
• If our correspondents will furnish outlines of such
an enclosure as is described, with the necessary points,
walks, roads, buildings, «S:c., traced, we will select
the one affording the greatest scope for improve-
ments, to engrave. After which we will select the
best offered improvements to it, and engrave them
also.

G., Garden Hill, Kansas. — Please divide a square

acre, it may be more or less, into six divisions, with
a dwelling-house on it., 1st. A front j^ard. 2d.
A back yard, both connected with the house. 3rd.
A vegetable-garden. 4th. A fruit-garden, the largest.
5th. A stable-yard. 6th. A cow or milking-yard ;
and all in a square form, on a level inclining to the
south. After which, each lot or enclosure must have
grass, flowers, shrubs, trees, and out-houses ; and
the vegetable-garden and fruit-garden must be laid
out internally, all in the square form. After we
have the five or six divisions planned, we will go to
planning the internal use of each lot of the domestic
enclosures, I promise to be one in sending you a
plan of necessary domestic enclosures, with reasons
for the same, which I hope others will also do. I
have never seen any regular S3\stem for enclosures ;
so, with your permission, let us have a liberal dis-
cussion on the subject to make a move in the right
way.

*»•*»

BEN DAVIS AND NEW YORE PIPPIN
APPLES.

At the Fruit-Growers' Society of Eastern Penn-
sylvania's meeting the Secretary read a note from
Dr. Warder, which, we were pleased to find, con-
firmed the views we have taken of their identity.

We presume the name of New York Pippin will
now be dropped, and Ben Davis, as being the one
first described in any work of authority, be the one
generally adopted

S3^ Communications for this department must reach the Editor
on or before the 10th of the month.

Propagating, &c. — E. M., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. —
In the July number of the Gardener's Monthly, you
speak of putting grape vine eyes in damp moss for
two weeks before planting ; now I have a lot of grape
cuttings that have been laid away in soil in boxes,
in the cellar. The soil is moist, and the cuttings
come out of it moist and soft. Now, would you
cut them up and put the eyes in damp moss for two
weeks before putting them in the soil ? as they have
been kept so moist, will it not be too much of a good
thing to put them in moss, — will they not rot ?

Will it do to use building sand, taken from a gravel
pit this winter, to propagate them in, or, is common
white sand better ? How can a callous be formed
on verbena cuttings, before planting ? What degree
of heat should a propagating house be kept at ? it
is one heated by a brick flue, and to be used for pro-
pagating only ; should not the bottom heat be kept
up, even in days when the sun shines, (and when
the sun heat alone would keep the house up, j and
the house kept to a right degree of ventilation. —

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86

SI|c §MtntxB Hant|l]),

When the temperature is right, about how often will
eyes, in course of propagation, on a propagating
table, need watering ? is it best to water often and
lightly, or only when dry, and then more freely ?

"What depth of sand should be put on the shells,
on a propagating table, to strike eyes in ? Is pure
sand better than a mixture of sand and soil, to strike
eyes in ?

[We print these inquiries, more to show our dis-
position to oblige our correspondents, than in the
hope of being able to give any satisfactory answer.
They are all questions of detail, calling for adaptions
to special circumstances, which can only be learned
by the operator's individual experience. All we can
say is, we would rather cut up our eyes first, and
put them in moss afterwar Is. They may rot if kept
in moss too long. Color is of no consequence to
sand, for propagating ; the deleterious matter it con-
tains, is the evil. White is sometimes worseln this
respect than others, sometimes better — experience
is the onljr judge. Cuttings that have the vital princi-
ple so active, that they are in condition to root right
away, before the wound at the base of the cutting
has time to rot, needs no callousing. For propaga-
ting most kinds of plants, a bottom heat of 60O does
well, which should be maintained without regard to
the weather outside ; regularity, in this respect, is
important.

Watering depends entirely on the structure of the
house. If it is one that keeps a naturally humid at-
mosphere, little water will be required. The only
rule we can give, is to water only when the cutting
is likely to lose more moisture than it can, in the
absence of roots, absorb from the sand. Depth of
sand has no effect on the cuttings in itself; in con-
nection with treatment it might. Shallow sand, by
neglect, may get too dry, and a thick layer by care-
lessness, get sodden and sour. Practice only can
decide, in each case, the best depth. ]

Surface-manuring — B., Cincinnati, O. — You are
very much mistaken. We have been a constant
reader of horticultural papers for many years,
and are well assured that the first article in any
purely horticultural journal on surface-manuring
that excited any attention in this country, was by
our correspondent Mr. Bright at page 51 of our first
volume. So far from "all sensible horticulturists
adopting the practice for many years," we think
the majority have not yet "fell into line." Good
friend, we are tired of this everlasting cry of "'Tis
nothing new." We do not pretend to offer much
"new" in the sense in which you and others who
never tell us anything, either "new" or "old,"
understand it. Probably not a solitary idea now
agitating the public mind, but could be hunted up

■■«Hr

somewhere in some one of the millions of obscure
pages that have poured from the press the last half a
century. Even Darwin's curious theory of the
origin of species has been justly claimed by a Scotch-
man, who published precisely the same ideas years
ago. But we do claim, that if not "new," at least
novel, ideas have been showered into our columns ;
and what with fixed-roof houses, economy of large
glass, hoe -forks, propagation, surface-manuring,
cheap hot-water tanks, evergreen management,
theories of pruning, and thousands of other matters
which our indexes do not half record, the Monthly
presents a record of which it feels proud.

Effects of Dew on rot and Mildew in the
Grape. — Mr. W. Elder dissents from our views as
attached to Mr. Mullet's article. As we have not
space this month for a full discussion of the subject,
we give an abstract of Mr. Elder's remarks:

He believes dry air to be the essence of success in
grape growing. 8 by 8 feet apart, he thinks best
for grapes, so that they may get the benefit of dry
air and sunshine. As mildew follows heavy rains
after droughts, it shows, he thinks, that it is the
damp weather that breeds it. He thinks further,
that an overdry atmosphere only injures when some
such process as the action of fire occurs about them.
He does not believe that the well-known health and
exemption from disease of grape vines in trees, arises
from partial shade, but, ' ' from there being seldom
dews and fogs up there." In short, Mr. Elder has
invariably noticed that ' ' mildew and rot always fol-
lows a few days of wetness and cloudiness."

We agree with Mr. Elder in regard to the accuracy
of the facts he presents ; but need scarcely repeat
that we draw difierent conclusions from them.

Pruning Apples in Northern Latitudes. —
R. W., Montreal, Canada, says: "I should like to see
an article on the effect of frost on apple trees, after
pruning ; you advise to prune in winter ; as far north
as this it would almost kill the trees."

[We can see no reason for any such bad result —
though we well know that "circumstances often
alter cases." We ask the attention of our Canadian
correspondents to the hint. ]

Japan Plum. — Mrs. J. M, Delaware, Ohio, — "If
you can give me any information about the cultiva-
tion of the Japan Plum, please do so through the
Gardener.''^

[It is a species of Persimmon, and can be, doubt-
less, raised in the same way, viz. ; sow in a pot, and
keep it in a shady place, till it sprouts, then remove
to the full light. Either in the greenhouse, or the
open air will do equally as well. As the seed is from

'^fi^l^

m

Japan, and clrj-, it will not, perhaps, sprout for a
year. ]

Liquid AirBEn.—LTSiMACHiA. — "I have a Liquid-
amber styraciflna about fifteen feet high, "which
has not yet showed any sign of flowers, or seed.
What do you think is the reason? (I.)

Will Lysimachia nnmmularia make a suitable
trailing plant for a vase ?" (2.)

[1. It is too 3'oung and too vigorous ; it will come
right, soon.

2. Excellent. But do not let it get in your gar-
den, where it will become a nuisance. ]

Jackson Apple. — Correction. — In our last, the
types read of the "herb," instead of the .;7es/t of the
apple. Such errors occasionally happen in the best
conducted magazines, where the authors do not cor-
rect their own proof, and are usuallj^ left to the good
sense of the reader to correct. We prefer, however,
to direct attention to them.

Lemon Trees. — S. A. M., Lancaster^ Ohio. — "I
have a lemon tree that blooms freely, but docs not
fruit, can you give me any direction about it. fl.^
Also, relation to the culture of the Achimcnes, when
planted, and at what price." fl.)

[1. Your plant is probably a seedling that has not
been grafted. Like apples and other trees, they
must be grafted and budded from bearing trees, to
induce early fruitfulness.

3. It would take too long a paragraph in this col-
umn, to give their whole treatment. There are two
excellent chapters on the subject, at page 104, and
page 106, of our last volume. Most of the principal
florists keep them. Price varies with kinds, and
sellers ; usually, good kinds are sold 12 kinds for
two or three dollars.

Oleanders — E. H. C, Shepherdslown., Pa. — The
best mode of propagating the Oleander ; also, if
they can be grafted or budded successfully with
other varieties, and at what time? fl.^

I have an Oleander f Oleander splendens) which
is eight feet high and uniformly well branched from
the root, the whole forming a trunk of over four
inches diameter. The box in which it now stands
is rotten. The inside measurement of said box is
seventeen inches square. It has always done well
in this. Now, in constructing a new one, how
much larger should it be? (2.)

[1. Well-ripened wood of last year taken in April,
the leaves reduced and cut into six inch lengths, and
set out in a partially shaded situation in the garden,
root as readily as currant bushes. Wo do not think

you can do much with budding or grafting, though
good propagators increase very rare kinds that way.
2. A few inches ("say twoj larger would be suffi-
cient.

Greenhouse Arrangements. — W. W. W., Ober-
lin, 0., asks:

1. If I should put a tin or copper boiler into the
top of my furnace, and a wooden tank such as you
have described for heating by water, would the
amount of heat required by the greenhouse plants
be sufficient for my bed of cuttings ? or must the
water boil most of the time ? Most of the time now
I only need to build a fire in the evening.

2. Do large rose-cuttings succeed as well as
smaller twigs ?

3. Can I strike cuttings of the Japonica in water,
as the Oleander ? or how can I multiply them ?

4. How are Azaleas produced ?

5. My Japonica buds do not open. AVill frequent
moistening forward them ?

[1. Tin would not answer. It is not durable
enough. The tank would not well heat the green-
house above. The flues should be led along one
side of the house in addition. The water must
never "boil" or reach IdO^ at the return-point of
the tank. If the tank is large in proportion to the
size of the connecting boiler, no fear of its boiling.
Many parties complain of too much heat in these
tanks. The remedy is to make them hold more
water.

2. Medium-sized do best.

3. As well as the Oleander. The half-ripened
wood strikes readily in a bottom-heat of 60° to 70. o

4. Just as the last.

5. Tiie growth has been suddenly checked in some
way. It is difficult to direct a remedy without
knowing what checked them.

Some of our readers, we have no doubt, smile a*
the simplicity of some of the queries we receive ;
but it is precisely what hundreds of amateurs and
novices feel the want of, and we are therefore glad
that they ask the information which we feel it a
pleasure to give.

noBBs' Early Peach— 0. T. Hobbs, Randolph,
Pa. writes: — 'The new early peach about which inqui-
ry has been made of you, originated at the American
Garden of Experiments, and bore its first fruits the
past season. It is a seedling of Fay's Early Anne.
The fruit is not quite as large, but very fleshy, with
extremely small pit. Superior in quality, and ripen-
ing from twenty to thirty days earlier than our
standard early peaches. The tree is perfect. It may
save inquiiy to say that no trees have been propa-
gated."

88

®|^ iartott's llmt!)l|.

k.

Disease in Apple trees. — "Newton,^' ML Hope,
Va. — In my garden I have some very valuable apple
trees ; I am losing some every year, some on account
of the bark drying up on the south side of the tree,
and falling off a little at a time, until it finally decays
and dies. Others seem to die from some kind of a
disease in the roots. The small roots have lumps on
them like warts on a man's hand, and the soil about
the roots is of a whitish cast, something like mush-
room spawn, in fact, my whole garden seems to be
inclined to this whitish stuff after it is dug up, par-
ticularly where it has not been stirred up for a long
time.

Please tell me what is the cause of the above, and
the best mode to get rid of those two evils. (1.)

I send you a leaf of a small aromatic plant, as I
wish to know the name of it ; has a beautiful smell,
and is nice in soups, &c. (2.)

I wish to know what remedy you will give me for
preventing mildew in roses ; it is very injurious to
mine, and seems to be spreading throughout mj
whole greenhouse. (3.)

[1. The lump-like warts on the roots of your ap-
ple trees, are caused by the larva of some species of
insect, and the bark is probably injured by the same
insect in one of its stages. Specimens would be ne-
cessary to say precisely what insect. The spawuy
substance is a form of fungi, which feeds on the roots
rendered diseased by the action of the insects. Dig-
ging out the diseased roots and tumors, replacing
with pure fresh soil, cleaning the bark, pruning a
little to induce a vigorous growth, and attending to
producing healthy action generally, is the best advice
we can offer.

2. We do not know the leaf. Send us a flower
shoot, just before the time the seeds mature.

3. Syringing with clear lime water, in which sul-
phur has also been mixed, and exposing the plants
to a good, warm sun afterwards, is the best remedy.
A weak sappy, unhealthy growth, cannot bear a
sudden change to dry air and sunshine ; the best pre-
ventive is therefore, robust health.]

Inga Pulcherrima. — S. T. T., Minneola, L. I. —
This plant does not usually flower well, till it becomes
four or five years old. The best treatment is to grow
it freely and well, for two or three years, and then
sutler it to remain in its pot, pretty well filled with
roots, so that its rampant growth is gradually checked.
If your Banana has been in a high temperature, and
five years old, it ought to soon flower. Our corres-
pondent further says, he has had some success with
hot water for mealj' bug and red spider, though not
complete. He should make allowances for cooling,
when applied through a syringe, and learn by ex-
periment how great a heat the plant will bear.

Suggestions for Horticulturists. — A N. Y.
correspondent remarks : "I have another subject or
two on my mind, that I will mention.

Is all the present horticultural practice in accord-
ance with true scientific principles ? and are not many
of our practices doing, prospectively, great injury to
the future constitution, growth, and perfection of
our fruits and plants ?

The first question is brought fresh to my mind
from the fact, that in the discussion of the subject
of the "Influence of the sun and moon upon vegeta-
ble growth," in the meeting of our "Rural Art As-
sociation," this month, the many theories of the
moons's influence which are so popular among us,
and that have been handed down from generation to
generation, and which, viaiiy of us know from close
observation and practice to be true^ (?) are by scientific
men, shown to be mere fallacies, and untrue in fact,
such as putting seeds in the ground while the moon
is on its increase, and not in its wane. The effect
of the quartering of the moon at a particular time,
as influencing the weather during that particular
quarter; the souring of milk if placed where the
moon shines upon it. The shrinking of meats, if
killed at a particular stage of the moon, &c., &c. Is
it not time that these follies were banished from our
practice, or, at least, that our horticultural and gar-
dening journals should discountenance them ?

As to the other subject, the mode of propagating
in its influence upon plants, I will attend only to the
grape. We know that there are men who, with
some of our popular varieties, are making fortunes
by the rapid multiplication and sale of vines at ex-
travagant prices.

To make the most of the supply of woods they
have at their command, they use each bud, and force
their growth under glass by steam, and other artifi-
cial heats, to a marvellous extent; then taking the
buds from this forced and immature growth, they
are put through the same process from year to year.
Is not the tendency of this mode of propagation to
enervate and weaken the strength of this plant ? A
like practice in the animal kingdom would be con.
demned ; why not in the vegetable ? I merely allude
to these subjects, because I feel that if our practice
is correct, we ought to be able to show men of science
that they are wrong, and we are right. Otherwise,
we should change our practice so as to harmonize
with truth."

Names op Plants. — Mrs. S., Raleigh, N. C. — The
long leaf is Cupheaeminens ; the shorter, Habrotham-
nus elegans. The brown tips show the leaves to
have been injured for want of water. Give them
more pot room, — they are strong growers. Veronica
Andersoni should have the same treatment.

^

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89

The Perfected Tomato. — "I wish to make an
inquiry in regard to the "Perfected Tomato;" last
spring I procured some seed of J. M. Thorhurn. I
planted thorn carefully, and had good success in
raising plants, and there can be no doubt that the
plants Avcrc from the seed so obtained ; but strange
to say, they produced two distinct kinds of tomato,
both different from any that I had ever raised before.
Some of the plants produced a very large, smooth,
bright red tomato, and others, a tomato identical
in color to the "Fejee," but smoother, rounder,
thicker, and more fleshj^, with fewer seeds than the
"Fejce;" both very fine, and so nearly equal in
quality that I could not decide Avhich was the best,
but preferred the Fejee colored, because of its more
perfect shape.

Query — Which of these two is the genuine "Per-
fected Tomato." F. S. J., Libertyville, Md.

[We have not seen this variety. Mr. Norris, of
Windsor, Ohio, in some notes of new vegetables
handed us, thus describes it :

"The Perfected Tomato we deem as a valuable
acquisition to the tomato fjimily. It far excels the
"Fejee," or any other variety we have grown. —
They I'ipen early, and continue in bearing until the
frost kills the vines in the fall. Fruit large, smooth,
and the seed cavities very small, and but few seeds,
meat solid, and of the finest flavor."

We are not acquainted with its history. If raised
from what is called the "Fejee" variety, it is quite
likely to inherit a tendency to return to it occasion-
ally.]

Propagating Grape Cuttings. — C. H. C, Peters-
burg, Va. — Remarks appended to other inquiries, and
articles in other columns, will, we tliink, explain all
3'ou seek to know. E. C. H., Rushville, Indiana, and
other correspondents also.

Vilmorin's new upright Tomato. — F. S., Easlon,
Pa. — This new kind, said to need no stakes, will
probably be offered for sale by most of our seed im-
porters this spring. We doubt, however, whether it
will prove more than a curiosity.

Fertilizing Strawberries — S. G., Kenosha, Wis.
— For some time past, I have been cultivating straw-
berries. For markets I have tried several kinds, but
none have done so well as the "Hudson," but, as it
is a Pistillate variety, it will not do well, unless
mixed Avith a staminate. I have used the "early
scarlet " as a fertilizer, but it is a very poor bearer with
me; would not "Wilson's Albany," "Hooker," or
any other staminate variety that I find to be produc-
tive, do as well for a fertihzer as "early scarlet ?" an
answer through the '^'^ Gardener's Monthly^' will

much oblige one of your subscribers.

[Few kinds can beat the Albany as a fertilizer.
We once saw two large beds of Albany and Hovey,
side by side. Hovey was rendered so enormously
productive, that in this respect it was little inferior
to the Albany, and the owner, who was a strong
"Albany" man, came near hesitating about discard-
ing Hovey, as he said it was his purpose to do. ]

Forcing Peaches for profit. — Jl. C. Boston,
Mass. — In what respect does a green-house, built on
the ridge and i'urrow principle, differ from the ordi-
nary style? (1.)

Can you put me in the way of subscribing for the
Botanical Magazines mentioned in your journal? Y^O

Can peaches and other fruit be cultivated under
glass with profit ? (S.)

Do you know of any work which you can recom-
mend, that treats upon the cultivation of fruit under
the glass ? (4. )

Will j'ou give me the name of the author of an
article in the last Monthly — title, "A new theory of
fruit forcing," by a Massachusetts gardener ? I wish
to call upon him. ("5. J

[1. An e igvaving only would clearly explain. A
quantity of span roofs set side by side, so as to form
one roof, making alternate "ridges and furrows,"
is the best brief description we can give. The princi-
pal is useful in making large or wide structures.

2. In all large cities there are "book importers,"
who get them when ordered by responsible parties.

3. Undoubtedly; though we know no one who
has made a business of it.

4. River's Orchard House, published by Saxton,
Barker & Co., New York.

5. It is against our rules ; one of the reasons why
many writers withold their names, is to prevent par-
ties corresponding with, or calling on them, which
often proves inconvenient and troublesome.

Grape Treatise. — /. Jl. B., Bridgeport, Conn. —
Chorlton's Grape Grower's Guide enjoys the widest
reputation for a guide in the matters you inquire
about. You will find the recommendations given in
it perfectly reliable, for "producing grapes for the
table," as you wish.

Apples Identical. — The pubhsher hands us the
following extract from a business letter of Messrs.
Carey, Peter, & Carey, Louisville, Ky.

"But little new in horticulture with us; but we
think we have ascertained, to a certainty, that the
Nickajack apple of the South, and the Carolina with
us, are identical ; also,' the New York Pippin and
Ben Davis."

^^

90

ih4 iardener's ittonlhlg.

<?c;

Early Tomatoes.— iJ. F., Sandwich, Mass.— The
^arge early smooth red is the best for earliness, and
there is nothing like a hot bed for forwarding them
early. It is best to put them in three inch pots,
•where only a few are desired, and very early. They
suffer no check then, in transplanting.

Landscape Gardening.— We have a number of
excellent articles on Landscape Gardening on hand,
which shall appear from time to time, according as
space offers that we can afford for the subject.

Wintering Verbenas— PT. W. Wright, Oberlin
0., says:— I have found a grand method of winter-
ing Verbenas, &c., viz., by extending the eaves of
my greenhouse down to the ground and putting in
a return flue, to be used when needed, and planting
my plants in the ground. They will not be need to
be watered all winter.

Transactions op the Massachusetts Horti
CULTURAL Society for 18G0, we owe to the polite
attention of Mr. Eben Wright. It is the most val-
uable of this class of documents that we have re-
ceived this season, and, like some other matter on
our table, we hope to revert to it again.

American Pomological Society. Transactions
for 1860. By favor of President Wilder, an early
copy was forwarded us, which the mail failed to
deliver, and we are further indebted to the Treasurer,
Thomas P. James, Esq., for a copy as we go to
press. For correctness of matter and beauty of exe-
cution, it is far in advance of any former publication,
and does credit to the Society's reporter, Mr. Vick,
under whose superintendence it has been got up.
Garden Annuals and Directories.

Few men deserve better support from the public
than those who not only offer articles to sell, but go
to a heavy expense to get up works to direct the
purchaser how to grow and raise them, for gratuitous
circulation. It is the true interest of the trade. Ko
one is so hable to buy again as one who has been
successful in former purchases.

We have already noticed some of these manuals,
and now have also on our table :

Paschall Morris' Garden Manual, Philadelphia.
With directions for vegetable growing.

Dreer's Garden Calendar for 1861, Philadelphia.
Flowers and Vegetables.

Descriptive Catalogues.
A. R. Whitney, Franklin Grove, Illinois. Fruit
and Ornamental Trees. 30 pages octavo.

Gould, Beckwitii
Fruit and Ornamental.

& Co., Rochester, N. Y.—
32 pages. Illustrated.

John Perkins, Moorestown, N. J. Fruit and
Ornamentals. 34 pages.

James Pentland, Baltimore, Md. Selected
Roses. 31 pages.

C. Reagles & Son, Schenectady, N. Y. Fruits,
&c. 34 pages.

H. W. Wilson, Washington, Pa. Fruits, &c.
16 pages.

Peter Henderson, Jersey City. Roses, Dah-
ias, &c. 20 pages.

Andrew Bridgeman, New York. Gladiolus,
&c. 8 pages.

J. M. Thorburn & Co., New York. Gladiolus.
Sheet Catalogue.

Parsons & Co., Flushing, N. Y. Description
of Stuartia Pentagrynia, a rare shrub. Beautifully
illustrated.

J. McLaen, Roadstown, N. J. Fruits, &c.

James Edgerton, Barnesville, O.

H. Collins, Auburn, N. Y.

L. Tudor, Richmond, Va.

Joshua Pierce, Washington, D. C. Small
Fruits.

Smith & Hanchett, Syi'acuse, New York. De-
scriptive Catalogue of Fruit and Ornamental Trees,
Greenhouse Plants, Vines, &c.

J. A. Bruce, Hamilton, C. W. The only Cana-
dian catalogue we have received this year, and have
pleasure in recommending it as one of the most
complete issued on the Continent. It is a large oc-
tavo of 50 pages. It embraces both seed and plants.

The Rural Minnesotian. The eighth number
is now before us. It is a weekly agricultural journal,
published by Hyde, Williams & Co., at Wasioja.
The second new journal of this class that has come
to our table within the past week. Minnesota agri-
culture must be most decidedly "looking up."

The Higher Law, published weekly by Herbert
Reed, of Madison, Wisconsin, is one of the many
new literary, agricultural, horticultural, and scientific
journals that have made their appearance this season.
It is something in the style of the Rural New Yorker,
Southern Homestead, &c., and is replete with interest.

Hints on the Culture op the Exotic Grape.
We have received from Mr. B. Donahoe, of Phila-
delphia, a clever production in rhyme, under the
above head, which we are sorry would occupy more
space than we could afford. We should be pleased
to have Mr. D.'s excellent experience on this and
other subjects in solid prose ; it suits our space

%h (Bmhwtx^ lHont^hr.

91

better, and "he is the man that -would die " to good
advantage. Mr. B. says :

" First let the bed on which they (the roots) lie
Bo always mellow, rich and dry ;
If growth you seek in frosty weather
Slake roots and stems work both together."

Of temperature, he says ;

'■ Commence your work with fifty-eight,
And tlien per week increase vour heat
Until it ri?e to ninety-five.
And thus your Tines are sure to thrive."

Of ventilation :

"Some ventilation they require,
But bottom air they ne'er desire."

Report of the Inauguration of the Botanicai,
Society of Canada, established at Montreal on
December 7th, is highly satisfactory. AVe believe it
owes its origin to the exertions of Dr. Lawton.

In his address he gave a sketch of the past and
present state of Botanical Science in Canada, and the
objects the Society had in view. He said :

"Botany is at a lovr ebb in Canada, at a lower ebb
than in most civilized or half civilzed countries on
the face of the earth. At the close of the eighteenth
centurj- only five dissertations on botanical subjects
had been published by the whole medical graduates
of the great continent of America. Since then the
mdefatigable labors of such men as Michaux, Torrey,
Harvey, Curtis, Boott, Engelmann, Tuckermann,
Sulhvant, Lesquereux, and especially of one whose
name and fame rise above all the rest, Asa Gray,
have brought our knowledge of the botany of the
United States on a level with that of the best botan-
ized coimtries of Europe. It is proposed that our
Society shall have for its object the advancement of
Botanical Science in all its departments — Structural,
Physiological, Systematic and Geographical; and
the application of Botany to the useful and orna-
mental arts of life. The means by which this object
may be accomplished are various, and will come be-
fore us for discussion from time to time. In the
meantime, it is proposed that there shall be monthly
evening meetings in Kingston during the winter for
the reading of papers, receiving botanical intelh-
gence, examining specimens, and discussing matters
of scientific interest in relation to the science ; also
that there shall be field meetings during the summer
in distant localities in Canada, as well as in the other
British ProA-inces of North America, and occasionally
also in the adjoining States, whereby our members
may have an opportunity of investigating the botany
of districts that have been imperfectly examined."

The Society commences its existence with about
one hundred members and cannot but have a foster-
ing influence on the successful prosecution of the
study. Communications should be addressed to
Prof. Lawton, Kingston, Canada.

Fuchsia Mammoth. — This extraordinary double
Fuchsia was raised hj Mr. George Smith, Tolling-
ton Nursery Road, Islington, who has for many

years been one of the most successful raisers of this
class of plants. Our figure will give the best idea of
the size and shape of the flower, the tube and sepals
of which are crimson, and the corolla violet-purple,
with a vermilion stripe half-way down each petal.
It is certainly a very fine flower. — Cottage Gardener.
Some of the Best New Roses. — N. America,
salmony fawn and cream, with fine habit. T. Due
Magenta, a splendid flower, large, double, and of
exquisite form ; color, delicate pale flesh, tinted with
fawn. B. Victor Emmanuel, deep plum. H. P.
Bunant, deep brilliant carmine rose, beautifully
tinted with violet. H. P. Le Royal Epoux, brilliant
rose, changing to lilac rose ; flowers large and well
formed. H. P. Louis XIV. , a gem amongst gems ;
the color of this variety, which is intense fiery crim-
son, with a blackish crimson centre, is rich and gor-
geous in the extreme. H. P. Madame Boll, a flower
of unusually large size, very full and of exquisite

.(5^'

92

2Ili4 iSardi^n^r's Jltonthlj.

form ; color delicate rosy peach. H. P. Madame
Charles Crapalet, rosy scarlet ; petals large, smooth,
and of fine quality. H. P. Madame Louise Cerique,
deep brilliant crimson. H. P. Madame Pauline Vil-
lot, brilliant deep rose. H.P. Mademoiselle Eugenie
Verdier, outer petals pearly white, centre delicate
pale flesh. H. P. Senateur Vaisse ; a good synonyme
for this superb variety would be " General Jacque-
minot surpassed;" the color is intense glowing
scarlet. H. P. Triomphe de Lyons, a truly splendid
flower; color rich crimson purple, with fiery crimson
and purple. H. P. Victor Verdier, a noble flower
in the way of Jules Margottin ; outer petals deep
rose, centre brilliant rose. — Florist.

New American Trees. — A paper was recently
read before the Philadelphia Academy of Natural
Sciences, giving the following account of some new
trees, with descriptions by Mr. S. B. Buckley. We
may observe that Le Conte has already named an-
other species of Carya, C. Texana^ and we believe the
Academy have, since the publication of the paper,
decided to change the name to C. Buckleyana.

JEsculus arguta. — Fruit covered with prickles. —
Stamens erect, or slightlj^ curved, much longer than
the pale yellow corolla. Calyx campanulate, divis-
ions obtuse, pedicels short, whole panicle subpubes-
cent. Flowers dense. Leaflets 7, glabrous, ovate-
lanceolate, acute at both ends, sharply and unequally
serrate. Shrub 3-5 feet high, with a smooth bark.
Flowers in March. Panicles 4-6 inches long. Leaf-
lets 2-4 inches long.

Hills in the vicinity of Larissa, Texas.
Halesia re'iculata. — Leaves broad-ovate, pubes-
cent on the midribs, scabrous, obscurely dentate,
teeth, small, acute, under surface of leaves pale,
much reticulated. Fruit 4-winged, two lateral wings
double in width to the others. Style long, mucronate.
Leaves 4-5 inches long and 3-3| inches broad. Fruit
smooth, 1-1^ inches long, and 6-7 lines broad. Pedi-
cles 5-7 lines long. Small trees, branches smooth, bark
of trunk light gray, furrowed.

Banks of streams tributary to the Red River, above
Nachitoches, Louisiana.

Fraxinus Nultallii. — Leaflets 5-7, lanceolate, ac-
ute at both ends, irregularly toothed, upper sur-
face smooth, under surface pale and subpubescent
along the midribs, short-stalked, petioles long, glab-
rous, fruit ovate-lanceolate, three-winged, acute at
both ends, branches smooth, bark of trunk gray,
and furrowed. Fruit about 2 inches long, by 5 lines
broad. Leaflets 3-4 inches long by 1 inch broad,
sometimes unequal at base.

In swamps, Wilcox County, Alabama. Small
trees about 6 inches in diameter, and 20-25 feet high.
As Nuttall had not material for a complete descrip-
tion, none can tell what is meant by his Fraxinus

triptera ; but as possibly he may have intended the
tree now described, I call it Nuttall' s Ash.

Carya Texana. — Leaflets 7-9, broad-ovate, or
ovate-lanceolate, sharply serrate, smooth on both
sides, paler beneath, acute at apex, subobtuse or
acute at base. Staminate and pistillate catkins sub-
pubescent. Fruit globular, slightly four-angled.
Shell thin, separating to the base. Trees three to
four feet in diameter, and forty to fifty feet high.
Bark of trunk very thick, deeply and irregularly
furrowed, not scaly. Leaflets 6-8 inches long, and
2-3 inches broad.

Dry soil. Common in Upper Louisiana, and in
Texas extending as far west as Atacosa County.
" Thick bark, hickory."

Quercus Shumardii. — Leaves oblong, or obovate
in outline, smooth, deeply sinuate-pinnatifid, sinuses
broad, convergent, 3-5 on each side, lobes many-
toothed, teeth sharply and setaceously acute. Acorn
globular, or ovoid-oblong, subacute, cup shallow,
slightly turgid, scales acute. A large tree with
shining deep green leaves, those on the upper por-
tion of the tree being much and deeply lobed. The
lobes are generally deeper near the petiole than to-
wards the apex of the leaf Acorn resembles Q.
rubra, but is more acute, 1-1| inch long, and 6 lines
to 1 inch broad. Limbs, trunk and branches much
like the water-oak, Q. aquatica. Wood yellowish-
white, fine-grained, and esteemed for rails, boards,
and the frame-work of buildings. I have measured
specimens which were six feet in diameter, with an
estimated height of 70-89 feet. Its leaves retain
their greenness long after the first frosts, when those
of the frost-oak, black-jack and scarlet oak are dead.
It occurs in Upper Louisiana, Eastern and Middle
Texas. Shumard's Oak. In honor of Dr. B. F.
Shumard, State Geologist of Texas.

Quercus Texana. — Leaves ovate-oblong in out-
line, smooth, both sides deeply sinuate-pinnatifid,
with broad, divergent sinuses, 3-5 on each side,
lobes 1-3 toothed, teeth acute setaceous. Nut ovoid,
oblong, acute, cup hemispherical, slightly turgid,
scales acute, closely appressed. Tree 3-5 feet in
diameter, and 60-70 feet high, branches smooth,
bark of trunk of a dark slate color, slightly furrowed,
very like Q. phellos and Q. aquatica, with which it
is often associated. Lower leaves of this tree with
lobes often truncate, while the upper leaves have
deep, broad, divergent sinuses, and the upper lobes
prolonged somewhat like those of Q. falcata. Like
the water and willow-oak, its leaves are green during
the first of winter. Acorn about 1 inch long, and
^-3 inch broad. Leaves 4-8 inches long by 3-5 wide.
A beautiful tree, with dense, deep green foliage,
Wood close-grained, white, or of a light red color,

w

®h^ gardener's dlonthlg.

and used for similar purposes as the Shumard Oak.

Quercus Durandii. — Leaves obovate, entire, or
slightly three-lobed at apex, with rudiments of one
or more lobes at the margins, lobes very obtuse,
When mature, smooth on both sides. Acorn round,
or ovoid rotund. Cup very sliallow, scales acute,
closelj'- appressed. Leaves 3-4 inches long, 1-5
inches Avide. Acorns ^-| inch long, about ^ inch
wide, scarcely one-eighth of an inch being included
in the cup. Tree 2-3 feet in diameter, and 20- 40
feet high, bark of trunk and branches light gray,
scaly, like the white oak, CQ. albaj. The leaves are
mostly entire, varying from obovate to oblong-ovate.
Wood Avhite, close-grained, and very tough. It is
often worked into splints for baskets to hold the
picked cotton. Used for farming utensils, and sought
after to make screAvs for cotton gins. Called ' Basket
Oak," and "Bastard White Oak."

Wilcox County, Alabama, Upper Louisiana, and
Middle and Southern Texas. Durand's Oak. In
honor of E. Durand, of Philadelphia.

Quercus annulata. — Leaves broad-ovate, entire
or irregularly and sparingly lobed, sinuses shallow,
divergent lobes very obtuse, upper surface smooth
and bright green, under surface pale, smooth, or
subpubescent, petioles short. Acorn oblong-ovoid,
with a depressed ring near the apex. Style cylin-
drical, long, truncate, cup shallow, one-third the
length of the acorn. Acorn 5-9 lines long, and 3-4
lines broad. Leaves 2-4 inches long, mostly lobed.
Bark of trunk and branches light gray, scaly. Small
tree or shrub, bearing a great abundance of acorns.

Common on the rocky hmestone hills in the vi-
cinity of Texas.

GuzMAXNiA TRICOLOR is a new plant of the Pine-
apple family, from the West India Islands. Of no
great merit.

CKAMiEROPS FoRTUNEi. — This palm is now well
known as "Mr. Fortune's Chusan Palm," and has
attracted considerable attention on account of its
comparative hardiness. It is, indeed, the most
hardy of all these princes of the vegetable kingdom
that is as yet known to us, and the only one that
has been proved to stand almost unprotected through-
out the last ten winters in the latitude of London.
In the Isle of Wight, under the shelter of the royal
residence of Osborne, it has attained a height of ten
feet in the open air, six feet being the height of the
stem below the foliage, and its diameter fourteen
inches at one foot from the ground. It has blos-
somed for the last three years, with no protection
during the winter.* Our plants at Kew were intro-
duced by Mr. Fortune, in 1849, and have attained

eight feet in height ; the finest are moved into a
conservatory during the winter, but others receive
no other protection than a mailing in the severest
winter months. — Bot. Mag.

SoLANUM RUNCINATUS ( Runciale-lectved Solanum).
— It is a native of Chili, and was raised at Kew,
from seeds sent from Cocpiimbo. It is a really or-
namental species, and well deserving of cultivation
in a greenhouse, continuing a long time in flower
during the summer months. The corollas are of a
bright purple color, with five blood-red starry points
radiating from the base of the lobes, while the large
anthers are yellow, from between which the green
clavate stigma is protruded. — Bot. Mag.

f^ "^ * Cliamcerops humilis is also flourishing in the open air at os-
borne, but requires a little protection in the sevorebt weather.

Native Grapes near Boston, by Mr. Daven-
port, in the Boston Cullivatoi: Mr. D.'s remarks
on Rebecca confirms the views expressed in our
last, that shade is of more importance to the
grape-giower ihan is usually supposed.

The Delaware ripened with me this season from
the 10th to the 15th of September. Vines two years
out have this year made shoots twelve to fifteen feet
in length, of strong, short-jointed wood. It is the
most productive grape I propagate, and keeps long
after being gathered.

Blood's Black Seedling. — A very hardy variety,
never mildews, a free grower, of dark color, cov-
ered Avith a thick bloom, good size, flesh sweet and
moderately juicy. It rii^ened with me this season
August 25th to September 1st. Keeps well after
being gathered.

io(7an.— Ripened September 10th. An early grape.
Hartford Piolific. — Ripened with me this season
September 12th. The dropping of this grape, some-
times complained of, may be obviated by judicious
pruning and proper cultivation.

Marion. — Makes a dark-colored, rich. Port-flavored
wine. Ripened September 1st.

Rebecca. — I do not class this with the other varie-
ties spoken of, as to hardiness, for in most situations
it should be covered in the winter. I find my vines of
the Rebecca, where they are shaded some part of the
day, are much more vigorous and productive in their
habits than others not shaded. Ripened September
15th, and wfll keep a long time after being gathered.
The Diana begins to ripen a few scattering berries
the middle of September, which are sweet as soon
as colored ; keeps improving till the middle of Octo-
ber, if allowed to hang so late.

Concord. — Some of my vines ripened their fruit
this season September 2oth, but that of others more
exposed was injured by the frost of September 30th.

>S7^

^Ai"^^^^

4

i;|(l @ard£iTcr's JKonftjIg.

Wellingtonia, or Sequoia gigantea ; The Big Tbee, or Washington Tree of California.—
We have not seen any thing that gives so good an idea of the immense size of these trees as the accom-

panying sketches from a French magazine. The one at tlie top of tlie page is ninety-five feet m
circumterence, and was, before the -wretches— arboricides in the first degree— cnt it down, three hundred
feet high. The lower one shows an old decaying trunk, blown over many years ago, amongst the
group in Calaveras County, near "Murphy town," through which parties ride on horseback.

The Red Spider.— The Michigan J'armer publishes the following recipe, discovered by Dr. A. Bush, of
Detroit :— Twelve ounces common soft-soap, three ounces ("by measure) tui-pentine or camphine ; mix
well together. This is for six gallons of water, which must be stirred well together, and applied with a
common garden syringe, or the same proportion for any quantity.

m-^

S^hn Sardntcr's ||Iouij)lg.

orFign

gpnrp.

GiiAFTiXG THE WisTEiuA. — The Wistciia can be
propagated by gratting by cleft the same as for the
grafting of fruit trees. This method oflTers the ad-
vantage of having several varieties on one stock. —
Best choose fruiescens as stock, as it is a A'ery vigor-
ous grower. — Revue Horticole.

New Ekglish Rhubaub. — Baldry's Scarlet De-
fiance was awarded a First Prize, May 2nd, 18G0, by
the Pomological Society of London, when eigliteen
varieties were exhibited ; a portion of each kind was
examined, baked, and also a portion examined green.
The Societj- report that it is uucjuestionably a First-
class Variety, very stout in habit, medium in length ;
pulp deliquescent, high colored, and richly sub-acid.
Excellent for market as well as private growers.

Grafting Wax. — If many stocks are to be
grafted, take 27 oz. of common yellow rosin, melt
it graduallj' so as not to drive otf the turpentine.
"When reduced to the consistence of a syrup, add 10
oz. of alcohol, shake them thoroughlj' together, and
pour the mixture at once into a well stopped bottle.
When the graft is inserted and tied in its place with
a strand of matting in the usual way, cover the sur-
face of the whole with this varnish with a small
painter's brush. Such varnish may be used in any
weather, and is neither affected by heat, cold, or
wet.

The Ailanthijs Silk Wokm. — At a recent ex-
hibition in London, Mr. Standish brought over
some specimen of the new "Bombyx," which is
just now making such a noise in France, as it feeds
on the Ailanthus glandulosa, a much hardier and
easier grown tree than the Mulberry ; Avhile the
worm itself is more robust than the common silk-
worm, breeds faster, and spins a large quantity of
silk. As the Ailanthus flourishes well in poor soil,
large quantities of it will be planted in France, and it is
hoped will become a valuable article in the economy
of the silk trade.

JjOFtifuHorel ^oripHFS^

THE FRTJIT-GROWEES' SOCIETY
EASTERN PENKSYLVANIA.

OF

The Annual Meeting of the Society -nras held at Reading, and
■was universally considered one of the most interesting and valu-
abla the Society has held. Our limits forh:d us to give more than
a faint abstract of the most interesting jiortions, made up from
the notes of our own reporter. The oflicial transactions of the
Society can only do full justice to the session. The President, Dr.
Eshleman, delivered the Annual Address. It was directed princi-
pally to suggestions for the more perfect working order of the So-
ciety. Punctuality and promptness in the discharge of their

duties by County and General Committees were shown to be essen-
tial to the prosperity of the body, and in this connection the labors
of the I'liiladeliihia County Committee come in for a just share
of prai^e. Alludiiijt to the progress in the art of propagation by
cuttings, he sugge.-ted, as well worthy of the Society's notice, the
etl'ect these and kindred matters might have on the longevity of
trees. lie regretted the oversight which led to no report from
Pennsylvania to the National Pomological Society at its last ses-
sion; recommended caution in the Society's recommendation of
doubtful varieties; and in allusion to the partial failure of the
grape in the district the past year, recommended a greater reliance
on tlie culture of the small fruits. He spuke of tlie importance of
suiting the variety to the varying kinds of soil ; and characterized
many of the new candidates for public favor as likely to prove no
better than the Massachusetts White. Yet he would encourage
the Continued raising of seedlings in every legitimate way. The
Delaware and Bland were probably but accidental seedlings. —
Care in the selection of breeders and hybridization might produce
a race as large ana as luscious as the Black Hamburg. The rest of
the day was occupied in the routine business of the Society; and
as the amount of business before the body was very heavy, the
full file of reports of tlie various committees were referred to the
Committee on Publication for preparation for their appearance in
the transactions.

Mr. Harrison, however, at the special request of the meeting
gave an extempore address on organic and inorganic manures.
He characterized general culture as a system of robbing without
restoring, and pointed out the necessity of a fair supply of jnitash,
soda and other minerals' existence in soils to render vegetable
growth healthy. He gave various analyses of soilsaud vegetable
organisms, pointing out their mineral and organic constituents
and their several relations to soils and manures. He regretted
that chemical analysis was necessarily imperfect, and that, in
consequence of discrepancies in the results of different table.s, less
confidence was reposed in the matter than the suliject really de-
served. He also read the analysis of three of the best Eni,'!ish and
two .\merican fertilizers, and pointed out their great deficiency in
the most vital inorganic elements.
Nevertheless, he had great confidence in the general results.
He then showed the great waste of labor attendant on the em-
ployment of stable-manure in which near three-fourths of the
matter was mere water, tight per cent, of a ton alone consisted
of the necessary inorganic matter. Plants required more organic
matter when growing, and more inorganic matter when maturing.
Systems of manuring should be based on this fact. The wants of
the plant, as shown by the analysis of its elements, .-.hould be
studied, and its wants systematically or specially supplied. The
absence of this produced defective .sap, and he believed all disease.s
of trees had their origin in this source.

Organic matter in the shape of stable-manure he valued very
little. If the mecliauical condition of the soil was rendered per-
fect, he thought all the organic matter nece.ssary would be ab-
sorbed from the atmosphere. Draining and subsoiling effected
this. The [atmo.sphere contained an inexhaustible suoply of
ammonia in the best condition fur the use of plauts.and if the con-
ditionof the soil enabled water to pass rapidly through it, air follow-
ed the water, and, of course, ammonia with it. He made repeated
references to orchards within his knowledge to support his views.
Orchards well cultivated with stable-manure, rapidly and surely
dying out,— others on the mineral-manure principle, or in sod
without stimulating cultivation, and only top-dressings' of ashes or
similar matters, exhibiting long years of heaUliy and productive
usefulness. Amongst others, he alluded to the pear-orchard of
Mr. Terry, of Hartford, which for the three past years had been
laid down in sod, and only surface-manured, and the trees were
marvels of beauty, models of form, and pictures of health.

To show that it was essential that all the special requirements
should be present, he alluded to the fact that the French vintners
manured specially different when the grape was required for table
or for wine, stable or highly stimulating manure reuderiu"- the
grape almost worthless for wine. °

He alluded further to Smith's Lois Weedon culture, where by
draining, subsoiling, and alternate year fallowing, enough organic
matter was obtained from the atmosphere, and the natural solution
of mineral matter in the soil, to produce, without other manure
thirty-six bushels of wheat to the half-acre, and whichsoil before
he commenced his system on it only produced fifteen. This soU
is naturally rich in mineral plant food.

He alluded to peach and plum trees, and gave his opinion,
founded on careful observation, that black knot and many other
diseases arise from the bad condition of the soil. He had known
hot water poured at the roots of peach trees have some benefit but
did not explain its action. '

We have given but a pitiful abstract of this Interesting essay
which was listened to with marked attention.

THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PPvUNING
were then discussed.

Mr. Millhauer liked to have his trees trimmed high enough to
plough under. Advocated trimming with an axe; objected to the
saw. In a subsequent part of the discussion, luuvcvor, he admit-
ted that "his Hambo's and others had given .,ut." and the Pen-
nocks were the only ones that bore fruit any longer.

A. W. Corson cut out only all the useless wood for the first
season, so as to give shape to the tree, but would prune very little
after.

David Miller, of Chester County, was the Hercules of the even-
ing for no pruning. He lets all kinds of fruit trees branch close
to the ground, appearing like pyramids set on the surface. Thi y
are set closely together, so that they protect each other from sun
and storms, and are enriched by their own fallen leaves. Only
cuts out suckers. His orchards are ten years planted, and apples
produce about fourteen bu.shel's per tree. Hy his system, has no
fear of brauches breaking by their own weight, or being blown
over by the wind.

A. W. Harrison would never prune if he could have the man-
agement of his tree from infancy. Would disbud such shoots
with fluger and thumb, as appeared where not wanted. Even in
the raspberry, he only let such suckers grow as he wanted for
fruit next year.

i\ K. Cook remarked that systems of pruning depended on lo-
cality and climate. With him the Catawba Grape always rotted
in proportion to the severity of the pruning it received.

W. Saunders viewed pruning in any case as a negative advan-
tage. It was sound theory to remove the bud instead of the
branch. Has made perfect specimens of pears without any use of
knife. Whether pruning should be performed in summer or win-
ter, depended on the object. If wood is WH,nted, prune in winter;
if fruit, prune in summer. Fruit-buds are formed in fall, — pinch-
ing at that season, and producing new buds then, we therefore
add to the bearing system of the tree. The subject was almost
inexhaustible.

Mr. Baldwin, Dr. Eshleman and others gave their views, corrob-
orative of what others had narrated. The last-named gentleman,
in agreeing with Alan W. Corson's plan of only pruning during
the first two or three years of the plant's e.xistence, added that
he did not cut close into the trunk the first year after transplant-
ing, but left a snag a few inches long to bear a few leaves, which
snags were, however, cut away next season.

CULTIVATION AND DISEASES OF THE APPLE.

David Jliller, of Chester County, repeated his experience in low
trimming. His soil was limestone. All his kinds did well, ex-
cept Newtown Pippin, which bore but shyly.

Mr. Harrison, alluding to the last observation, remarked that all
the most popular fruits gave out first. He thought this au evi-
dence that high and stimulative culture had much to do with the
fact, just as a pet child takes disease easier than more neglected
ones.

Mr. Miller, referring to the wearing out of fruits, stated, that in
his district a variety of pear, called locally the Arpine, [we under-
stood,) thirty years ago used to produce so abundantly, that they
were sent to Philadelphia by the wagon-load. These trees, and
trees grafted from them, now bear nothing but knotty, scrubby
fruit.

Mr. Heines remarked that soil exhausted of the required ele-
ments, rendered the trees constitutionally diseased, and grafting
from such trees fixed the habit to a certain degree.

Mr. Baldwin, referring to the exhaustive theory, remarked, that
in some orchards where Newtown Pippins were diseased, he had
seen Baldwins thrive to perfection.

Mr. Saunders, referring to the scab on apples, spoke of it as a
fungus ; and gave, as the result of extensive observation, that
sheltered orchards were not near as liable to disease as exposed
ones.

Dr. Eshleman remarked that it was only of modern orchards
that failures were reported ; and Mr. Saunders replied that agricul-
tural improvements had influenced theclimate, and with its winds
and the amount of atmospheric moisture had changed.

Mr. S. Miller, of Lebanon, had seen the best crops in exposed
localities, and very bad ones in well protected spots. His remedy
was clean orchards and rich soil.

Dr. Kessler never crops his orchard ; uses only the harrow to
keep the surface clean. Has fine crops.

Mr. Grider knew an orchard that was never cropped or had
any manure applied. He had seen apples in that orchard so
abundant as to cover the ground under the trees in the autumn
several inches thick. Another party bought the orchard, ploughed
it up, and cultivated it, and has had no crop .since.

Mr. Millhauer advocated ploughing, heavy pruning, and top-
dressing, but his orchards did badly now. One time to give a
neighbor a few apples meant a "sackful," but he had quite a dif-
ferent meaning for the terra now. The Pennock only did tolerably
well, Rambo and others did not. The situation was exposed.

Mr. Harrison remarked that if in the same soil Pennocks did
well when others did not, he thought it could not be soil or expo-
sure alone, but an inherent weakness of the variety giving out,
communicated, perhaps, by being propagated from a i)reviously
weakened stock. Attention to the general laws of health, as in
treating a patient for consumption, was the only remedy.

Mr. Baldwin agreed with Mr. Saunders, that the clearing away
of forests had rendered the climate more changeable, which might
account for more diseases than formerly.

BEST MODES OF CULTIVATION TO PROMOTE FRUITFUL-
NESS IN TREES.
S. Miller would manure and cultivate when young, put in sod

when older, and keep a circle clear around each tree by scraping.

A. W. Harrison instanced two old Virgalieu pear trees in Connec-
ticut, standing on either side a garden fence, one in " culture,"
one in sod, — the first now dead aud gone, — the last bearing yet.

Mr. David Miller planted his trees shallow, — in fact, on the
surface, — and seeded down at once with wheat. He mulched the
following season with a compost of stable-manure, soapy water,
hog-peu scrapings, coal-ashes, etc. In two years they had made a
fine growth. It was then ploughed up and put down in corn, and
not cropped, we understood, since. His peaches had been a great
success. One year 170 trees produced enough fruit, at seventy-five
cents per basket, to realize $.U.5. His whole system he summed
up as follows: — Deep soil ; plant shallow; branch the trees low,
even to the surface of the ground, and apply a slight top-dressing
of manure every year.

Mr. Saunders remarked that the topic under discussion was
simply how to promote fruitfulness, and called attention to the
fact that the intention was to in(iuire into modes of dwarfing, root-
pruning, bending down of branches, summer pinching, etc.

TRENCHING, DRAINING, AND SUBSOILING.

Mr. Millhauer had seen good results follow draining in clay
soils.

Mr. Harrison alluded to Mapes' grounds, to Mr. Keid's nursery,
and Ellwanger & Barry's specimen orchard, illustrative of the
practical benefits that had been obtained from underdraining.
Trenching and subsoiling are not so beneficial as underdraining.
It was iin error to suppo.se that only wet soil needed draining. —
People were mi.'-led by the term. It was a bad one. The dryest
soils were rendered moist in summer by underdraining. At
Mapes' farm water was delivered from thedrainsduring the longest
drouth. Aeration was a more characteristic term than draining. —
Deep drains were best. Filly feet apart and five feet deep were
better than twenty-five feet apart and but four feet deep. Where
there were no outlets, drains could be run into wells. He had no-
ticed at Rochester that the benefits of draining were in exact pro-
portion to the depth and frequency of the drains.

Mr. S. Miller, of Lebanon, had drained into wells successfully.
His experience of draining so far had been so beneficial, that if
he had the capital to command for the purpose, he would under-
drain even his hillsides, satisfied that in time it would prove the
best investment he could make. There were so many advantages,
— frost, for instance, from the air in well-drained soils, never pene-
trated deeply.

Mr. Baldwin stated that he had seen fine grapes on the prairies
where no drains were used.

Mr. S. Miller replied, that when soil was filled with vegetable
matter, as in praii ie soil, it partook, in a measure, of the nature of
our underdrained soil. A soil naturally porous may be said to be
naturally drained.

Mr. Grider remarked that such Western implements as the
Michigan Plough and other subsoiling implements showed that
they, too, were alive to the importance of draining.

Jlr. Lukens Pierce and A. W. Corson also testified to the advan-
tages of the practice.

Mr. D. Miller did not believe much in underdaining, and it was,
besides, expensive. On the contrary, the most productive trees he
had invariably found by the side of springs, streams, aud mill-
dams.

Mr. Grider called attention to the fact that Mr. M. had lost sight
of the real effect of draining. Underdraining made ground moist
in summer — not dry.

Mr. Saunders explained this more fully, and said Mr. D. Miller's
observations confirmed the advantages of draining. He under-
drained a tract of clay land five years ago to the extent of 30,000
feet of tile. The drains were only two and a half feet deep. The
ground was worthless before, producing nothing. No manure
has sirxe been applied ; but last season it produced, for the 'first
time, a superior crop of grass. In heavy clay soils his drains
seemed inoperative the first year. It took a season or two for the
air to decompose the minerals in the soil, and for the water to find
regular channels to the drains.

Mr. Millhauer had also noticed that fruit trees have done well
alongside of spring courses led around hills; but always much
best on the highest or hilly side.

Messrs. Grider, Harrison, and S. Miller gave further observations
as to the good effects of the priuciple.

Dr. Eshleman explained further the airating moisture deposit-
ing, and spring earthwarming principles of the practice, and had
such good results from its employment, that grapes would grow
five or six feet the first season in such ground, and has had Dela-
wares to make a year's growth of sixteen feet, and Diana thirty-
eight feet in the same way.

Mr. Saunders knew a market-gardener in whose underdrained
ground vegetables were produced two weeks earlier than in that
of his neighbors.

Mr. Heines thought that might be a disadvantage to fruit trees
especi'illy peaches, in bringing forth their buds too early.

Mr. S. Miller thought weakness from deficient draining rendered
peach buds more susceptible to injury from severe cold.

The conclusion of our notes of this interesting meeting wo shall,
give in our next.

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THOMAS MEEHAN", Editor.

APEIL, 1861.

VOL. III.— NO 4.

Ijlnh for Hj^rif.

FLOWER-GARDEISr AND PLEASURE-
GROUND.

Transplanting is the uppermost idea at this
season, — deciduous trees at the North, and ever-
green at points more South. If the roots of the
deciduous trees or shrubs appear dry, puddle them
before planting. This is done by making a hole in
a clayey or stiff piece of ground, filling it with water,
mixing in a little cow-dung or other decayed manure,
and stiring up together into a thin mortar, into which
plunge the roots, so as to coat them with the mix-
ture. If the tops appear shrivelled, prune in the
branches severely, the more in proportion to the
danger of losing the tree. It is well to prune all
trees a little at transplanting. Plant only when the
soil is dry and the weather calm. Pack soil well in
between the forks of the roots with a stick or the
fingers, and tramp in hard and firm. If the soil is
as dry as it should be, tramping well acts like a
roller, and crushes the soil into fine particles, which
does not dry up like soil tramped when wet, which
thereby becomes consolidated, rather than disinte-
grated.

Suiting soil to trees is an important element in
success. Where quick growth is desired, it "pays"
well to improve the soil. A tree that will grow but
one foot in a poor and thin soil, will often grow five
in a deep and rich one. Subsoiling and manuring,
and then choosing young, thrifty, and vigorous trees,
is the way to get "big trees" in a very little time.
We measured a tree, a few days ago, which was a
seed five years since, that had been thus treated, and
found it 25 feet high, 1 foot 8 inches in girth 3 feet
from the ground.

All trees do better in a deep, rich soil ; but for dry
places, some will not do at aU well. Amongst ever-

greens, as a rule, most of the pines will do well in
dryer soils than others, the spruces in intermediate
places, and the firs in more damp and sheltered
spots. The firs will not, any of them, do in dry
soils. The Balsam Fir, particularly, is a miserable
object in a dry and exposed place, while in moist
and sheltered spots it is one of the most happy look-
ing evergreens we have.

Many evergreen shrubs supposed to be difficult of
culture, are easily grown in a deep and cool soil.
Rhododendrons, Kalmias, &c., do well where these
conditions of growth are attended to. The former
is supposed to do best in the shade; but it does
better in the full sun in a good and proper soil, than
in the shade in a dry spot. The fact that they grow
amongst rocks on hillsides gives rise to the idea that
they like a dry soil ; but our experience in their
native localities proves that the coolest spots on a
hot summer's day is where these plants are found.

In all large gardens a small piece should be set
apart for a nursery, where the commoner things can
be grown, both as a matter of interest to watch cut-
ting growth, and to supply occasional wants and
deficiencies about the premises. The only fear in
such practices is that the disinclination to throw
aAvay or destroy what may not be wanted leads the
owner gradually to view what should be his pets as
objects of commercial interest ; and when that feel-
ing arises, half the pleasure of pure horticulture de-
parts. Cuttings of most kinds of flowering shrubs
root well if taken off just before they begin to shoot,
and inserted full two-thirds of their length in a bor-
der of rich, light soil, prepared in a partially shaded
place for them.

Almost all kinds of hardy ornamental trees will
graft on kindred species, so that when any kind
proves objectionable, others more favored may be
grafted on them, and a change thus be effected with-
out much labor and time. Several kinds may also be
grafted on one tree, and thus interesting combina-
tions be made on the same plant. In the latter case
the weakest growing kinds should be placed near
the top of the tree, and stronger kinds lower down,
so as to make the growth ultimately equal. Hardy
Perpetual Roses are often budded on the Manetti

stock, Tvliicli renders the bloom mucli stronger and
finer, and, many say, the plants more hardy and
durable ; but suckers from them are very frequent,
and if not taken off, they ultimately destroy the rose
grafted on them. Eoses should be examined now,
and any such suckers that may have before escaped
notice be taken off. Some are not able to distin-
guish Manetti Rose suckers from the "good" roses;
and others will be in doubt whether their roses were
budded or not, especially as some rose-growers
grow their roses by grafting scions on pieces of
roots, and sell them as "roses on their own roots."
But even these at times produce suckers, and the
safest plan for those who are not well acquainted
with the stock is to take off all suckers that spring
from their roses at or near the surface of the
ground.

Roses like new and fresh soil, and the ever-bloom-
ing kinds, such as Tea, China, Bourbon, and Noi-
sette, may be removed every other year to other
parts of the flower-garden without much injury to
their flowering the same season. They must be
pruned severely, however.

April is the month when every one visits his
neighboring florist's greenhouse in search of new or
choice bedding plants. A great many new intro-
ductions of last year are now getting cheap, and
will be fully tested on their merits this season. For
instance, the new Chinese Dianthuses, Silene rubefla
alba, Pyrcthrums, Cuphea Danielsiana, Double Zin-
nia, Gazania splendens, &c. It is singular how long
it takes a plant to become new and popular. To the
father of the writer of this, the horticultural world is
probably indebted for the preservation of the Ga-
zania splendens,or uniflora as a variety was called in his
time ; and nearly twenty years ago the writer called
attention to its merits as a bedding plant in one of
the gardening periodicals of the day. But that was
in a moister and cooler climate, and our experience
then with it does not warrant us in believing it
"win do well in hot, sunny places."

Climbing vines are great objects of interest in a
flower-garden. Yery pretty conceits may be formed
out of them in connection with baskets, mounds,
pillars, trellises, arbors, &c. The following are
some good ones that can be raised from seeds sown
now : Calampehs scaber, Loasa aurantiaca, Lophos-
permum erubescens. Nasturtiums, Thunbergias,
Tropceolums, Morning Glorys (Ipomeeas), and Fu-
maria or corydalis. Kinds that are best set out as
plants, some popular ones are Solanum jasminoides,
Maurandia, three kinds, red, white, and blue. Pas-
sion Flowers, Ipomssa Learii, I. ficifolia, Cobea
scandens, Senecio scandens, Mannetta glabra, and
Physianthus albens.

In choosing plants from a florists for bedding, se-
lect such as are dwarf and stocky and have been, if
possible, a little hardened by exposure to the air.

Hanging vases for arbors, piazzas, and rooms
have become an "institution," and demand recog-
nition in this regular column. A list of six good
kinds of plants for the purpose, that can be ob-
tained anywhere, is : Tradescantia zebrina, Linaria
cymbalaria flvenilworth IvyJ, Lysimachia nummu-
laria fMoneywortJ, Saxifraga tomentosa, Sibthorpia
Europa?, Selaginella Cany of the trailing speciesj),
Vinca major variegata.

We would repeat what we have before advised,
that the amateur should pay more attention to the
cultivation of florists' flowers, as a source of refin-
ing amusement. The Carnation, Auricula, Pansy,
Polyanthus, Phlox, &c. , afl'ord those who have no
greenhouse a chance to enjoy this gratification
cheaply, as they require but the protection of frames
in winter. Gladiolus have been much improved the
few past years, and "everybody" grows them, as
they seem much at home in our climate. Now is
the time to set them out. The same 'applies to
Tuberoses. Box-edging may now be cut, tender
annuals sown, and the whole place sj^eedily put in
order to receive summer company.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

In dry soils and very southern localities, garden-
ing has already commenced in this department; but
very little can be done generally till now, for, in
spite of all that has been said of the advantages of
underdraining for so many years past, not one gar-
den in a hundred is so improved, though it is a well-
ascertained fact that such ground can be worked
much earlier in spring. It is a great mistake to crop
ground till it is so dry that it will not compress
when trodden upon. Ground worked when wet is
the first to dry out when dry weather sets in. Peas,
potatoes, early cabbage, spinage, salsify, lettuce,
radishes, and onions require the first attention
among seeds ; and for permanent root crops, aspar-
agus, rhubarb, sea-kale, horse-radish, parsley, and
herbs such as thyme, sage, &c. After this come
beans, late cabbage, can'ots, parsnips, beets, leeks,
&c. ; and towards the end of the month or begin-
ning of May, tomatoes, egg-plants, peppers, celery
for early crops, cucumbers, melons, and the more
tender varieties.

Every one makes it an object to have vegetables
as early as possible ; and through our last two vol-
umes many hints have been given to bring crops
forward. We saAV in an agricultural paper some-
where, recently, the recommendation to scoop out

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tm^

ih^ (Sar^kiur's PontI%

99

turnips, and fill with rich soil, and set an egg-plant,
tomato, or other desired plant, one in each turnip,
keeping them in the hotbed till time to set out, when
the turnip and all was planted. The idea struck us
as any thing but a bad one.

THE NEW ROSES.

BY JOHN SAUL, WASHINGTON CITY, D. C.

As there is no other flower so popular or univer-
sall}' grown as the rose, neither is there one in which
a greater improvement has been eflected by florists.
They have recently given us classes of Autumnals
which rival or exceed in beauty their namesakes of
June. Among those are the beautiful class of Per-
petual Moss, fufly equalhng, or surpassing, that class
of summer. Again are the beautiful Hybrid Per-
petuals, exceeding in brilliancy of coloring the Gal-
lacas or Damasks, and rivalling in fragrance the
Provence. Other classes may be cited with claims
equallj'- great.

The number of seedhngs sent out annually of
those various classes is considerable. They are
principally raised by French florists ; though of late
some of our own have sent out several good flowers.
Cultivating considerably all the newer sorts, I
thought some remarks made from flowering plants
in my collection might be interesting to your read-
ers. We will begin with the finest class of all.
Hybrid Perpetual.

No others stand so high in Europe or this coun-
try. Perfectly hardy, for the most part vigorous
growers, with finely-formed flowers of every hue —
deliciously fragrant. Among these, Ambroise Vers-
chaffelt is a fine purplish rose, dark lilac edges, large,
double, and of good habit, vigorous, free grower,
beautiful. Anna Alexieff is a luxuriant grower and
free bloomer, color a clear rose, and fine form.
Anna de Diesbach has been figured in "Paul's Rose
Annual for 1859-'60," and highly commended;
with me it fully maintains its high character ; flow-
ers are very large, of a fine, clear rose color.
Adroisee de Lyon is a most robust grower, pro-
ducing large bold fiowers, very double, crimson and
slate color. Armide has flowers of a rosy salmon,
very distinct and fine, vigorous habit. Beaute de
Royhem, a rose occasionally edged and striped with
white and carmine, growth moderate. Bouquet de
Marie — we have here a color wanted in this class —
a pure white ; the flowers individually are small, but
produced in clusters like a Noisette very double and
pretty, a vigorous grower. Comtesse de Chabrillant

— this exquisite rose is figured in "PauFs Rose An-
nual" for the present season ; we only occasionally
get so fine a flower, one that is destined to be as
popular as Geant des Battailes, La Reine, Souvenir
de la Malmaison, Devoniensis, &c. ; flowers are a
beautiful rosy pink, finely cupped, large and double,
very sweet and good. Delamothe has flowers of a
shaded rose, large and double, of vigorous growth.
Eugene Alary gives flowers of violet rose, beauti-
fully cupped, large and double, a vigorous grower,
beautiful. Eveque de Nimes — this flower is now
pretty well known, but I cannot pass it by without
a notice — one so gorgeous, flowers in form like a
rosette, large, double, of a brilliant purplish crim-
son, glowing, superb. Empereur de Maroc ap-
proaches, or quite equals, the old Tuscany Rose in
color, rich velvety maroon, of flne form ; this will
prove one of our standard flowers. Imperatrice
Eugenie, an exquisite gem, habit rather dwarf,
white, sometimes tinted with rose, double, distinct
and beautiful. L'Abbe Feytel is a robust grower,
giving large double, fragrant flowers of brilliant
rose. Louis d'Antrichehas deep violet flowers, very
large and double, a vigorous grower, fine. Louise
Magnan, a white, tinged with flesh, large, full flower,
habit very vigorous. Madame Bruni has a most
vigorous habit, a free bloomer, color a delicate peach,
large and double, Provence-scented. Madame de
St. Genet is a robust grower, flowers a bright crim-
son, shaded with violet, large and double, a superb
rose. Madame Varin — an exquisitely-formed flower
of a delicate pink color, large and double, a vigorous
grower. Mademoiselle Auguste promises to be a
standard flower, color a bright glossy pink, large
and double, fine shape, vigorous grower, magnifi-
cent. Mademoiselle Boyer is a vigorous grower,
flowers glossy pink, cupped, finely-shaped, large
and full. Mademoiselle Haiman — in this variety we
have a new and lovely color, brilliant cerese, not
very double, finely cupped. Mignard is a bright
crimson rose, light edges, fine shape, vigorous
grower, a very beautiful rose. Oderic Vital, a very
robust-growing variety, flowers are very large,
double, of a silvery rose. Queen of Denmark has
been figured in the "Rose Annual" for 1859-'60;
color lilac flesh, transparent, very large and double,
finely shaped, a magnificent flower. Triomphe
d'Avranches is a beautiful brilliant crimson, very
large and double, a superb rose. Virginal, superla-
tively beautiful, pure white, large and double, of
excellent shape, growth moderate, very distinct.

Bourbon Perpetuals.
This class, less numerous than the former, has
given some pretty flowers. Lord Elgin is a vigor-
ous grower, of fine habit, flowers blackish-purple

I

and crimson, a very beautiful and distinct new
flower. Lord Palmerston lias flowers cherry red,
full, fine form, profuse bloomer, a distinct and ex-
quisite rose. Madame Comtesse, flowers flesh-
color, large and full, vigorous grower, beautiful.
Thomas Rivers has fully come up to its reputation
the past season, bright rose, with deep centre, large
and double, a vigorous grower and free bloomer.
Bourbon Roses.

In this class we have a few good novelties, though
of late years it has not increased in numbers as
the Hybrid Perpetuals. Comtesse de Barbantanne
is of dwarf habit, flowers flesh-color, large, full and
finely shaped, a very beautiful flower. Dr. Berthet
is a brilliant cherry red, large and double, of fine
form and vigorous growth. General Blanchard —
the habit of growth is moderate, flowers transparent
rose, good shape, double, a pretty flower. L' Avenir
proves a vigorous grower and free flower, a brilliant
rose, large, full, and of good form. Madame Mare-
chal, flowers a clear flesh, white edges, double,
moderate growth, very good. Monsieur Jard may
be classed among the vigorous growers, color a
cherry red, large and double, very beautiful. Oc-
tave Fontaine, white, tinted with flesh-color, fine
form, growth moderate, a very beautiful flower.
Omer Pacha is of moderate growth, color brilliant
crimson, large and full, a superb rose. Souvenir de
I'Exposition— the growth of this is moderate, color
dark crimson, dazzling, large and double, one of the
finest deep roses in this class.

Noisette Roses.

Novelties here are few. Favilla, a vigorous
grower, with flowers of a purplish-crimson, large
and double, is distinct and good. Jane Hardy, like
Isabella Gray, but flowers said to expand better,
which has proved to be the case with me, rich yel-
low, large and very double, growth vigorous, foliage
beautiful, a superb rose. Mademoiselle Aristide, a
variety of much promise, a luxuriant grower and
free flowerer; color a pale yellow, centre salmon,
large and double.

Tea-scented,

"VVe have here many good new sorts. Archimede,
a rosy fawn, dark centre, large and full, growth
moderate. Gerard Desbois is a vigorous grower,
flowers bright red, large and double, very showy, a
fine new flower. Homer, flowers rose, centre sal-
mon and flesh, variable, large, full, globular, growth
very vigorous, a superb rose. Madame Damazin, a
fine vigorous grower, color a salmon-flesh, large,
full and of fine form, beautiful. Madame William —
this flower I have bloomed the past two summers,
and it has fully maintained its character as one of
the finest new yellow roses ; Paul described it as

nearly intermediate between Elize Sauvage and De
voniensis, which it appears to be, large, full, and of
fine form. President— this fine new Tea has been
figured by Paul in his "Annual" for 1859-'60, and
more recently by Moore in the Floral Magazine; color
rose, shaded with salmon, large, full and of fine
form, growth very vigorous, superb. Socrates,
deep rose, centre apricot, large and double, a vigor-
ous grower, fine.

THE CINERARIA.

BY W. KEATING, BAYOU SARA, LA.

It is not always that we see this nice and useful
flower grown or bloomed as it can and ought to be
with but little expense and trouble if it is done in
season and properly. In a climate like our's, Cin-
deed, in any, j the chief success depends on the flrst
efforts ; that is, get the plants well established ere
winter. I sow my seed the latter end of August
in pans half-filled with broken pot-sherds, using a
compost of equal parts of peat, leaf-mould, and
sand, well broken, mixed, and sifted. I put the
coarse siftings over the pot-sherds ; fill with the fine;
press the whole nicely with the bottom of a flower-
pot ; sow the seed ; cover lightly, and then water
with a fine rose-pot. A close frame, set on coal-
ashes and facing the north is, by far, the best posi-
tion to place them in at this warm season ; for in
this way the direct rays of the sun do not strike
the glass. And by sprinkling and shade, the atmos-
phere is kept moist and humid, — two essential
points to get the seed to germinate cpiickly.

When they begin to appear, air must be admitted ;
but harsh currents must, at all stages of their growth,
be avoided. And when they are sufliciently large
to handle, they require pricking into pans or pots
as directed for the seed ; returned to their former
quarters, and kept close for two or three days. This
rule it is quite necessary to adhere to each time the
plants are repotted. By the time they cover the
surface of the pans, shift into small pots, and be
careful to get them up with soil attached to their
roots. As soon as they have filled their pots with
roots, shift into larger, and continue to do so until
they are in a convenient size, say eight or nine-inch
pots. The soil now used ought to be two parts
of loam, one of leaf-mould, and one of well-rotted
cow-manure, with a liberal supply of sand. This to
be rough and well mixed with pots well drained will
insure success under any circumstances, climate, &c.
It will be found necessary to go over the plants often,
and remove decayed leaves, &c. ; and as they pro-
gress in growth, more room must be given. No
plant, perhaps, is more impatient of heat — artificial
heat — than the cineraria ; consequentij^ I find a cold

frame well protected. As the skill of the grower
may devise, the best place for them till coming into
flower, when, of course, they will be removed to
the stove-house or conservatory, there to repay
with their beauty all the interest bestowed on them.
Some prefer pinching the flower-stems, but I do
not ; for by leaving them, they produce better and
more robust blooms. And again, if pinched, they
are too liable to become straggling or uneven, and
much of their beauty is diminished. If they are
wanted for exhibitions, care must be bestowed on
forming the plants and making even the heads of
bloom. This is done by pressing the young shoots
down, or by tying a string under the rim of the pot,
and laying a few small sticks across, fasten them to
the string, and then tie as they advance, keeping
them both dAvarf and even. I need hardly remark
that good named varieties must be grown for the
latter purpose ; and when done blooming, cut down
and planted out on a shady border in a rich sandy
soil. Attend to them with water, and in August or
September take the j^oung root-shoots and pot
singly into small pots, and follow the directions
given.

I promised success under all circumstances. I did
so for two reasons. The first is, I never saw a fail-
ure, and I lived with a man for three years who took
the first prize at one of the first Metropolitan Exhi-
bitions in Europe for a number of years. The other
reason is, when I came here to the South as
gardener last fall, Mrs. Fort, who is passionately
fond of flowers, told me it was difiicult, if not im-
possible, to grow them in this warm climate ; but
now she evinces the greatest pleasure and some sur-
prise in daily viewing their health and strength.

If it would interest any of the readers of your val-
uable journal, I will be but too pleased to inform
them of my future mishaps or success with the cine-
raria. [Please do. — Ed.]

««^»» •

A CHEAP HOT-WATEJR PROPAGATING"

TANK.

BY M.

The principle of heating by hot water flowing
through open tanks was first invented by Mr. Ren-
dle, a nurseiyman at Plymouth, England, about
twenty years ago. For a time it attracted great at-
tention. The simplicity of its principle and the
economy with which it distributed heat, together
with the moisture combined with it, seemed to
foreshadow its universal application to all pm-poses
where bottom-heat was required. Like many more
good principles, however, it was found, in time, to
be expensive, through the difficulty of preventing
leakage, unless tanks very costly in the first

outlay were employed, and consequently the system
has flxllen into disrepute.

Believing that the principle was capable of a
cheaper application, the following tank was con-
structed three seasons ago, as an experiment ; but it
proved so efficient, that it has been suff"ered to re-
main as at first put up, without any alteration, modi-
fication, or repairs. In fact, matters, which from
their supposed ^veakness indicated but a temporary
use for the structure, proved its strong points, and
the acme of its perfection.

The tank is built on strong trussels, in and at the
place where it is to stand. It is formed of one-inch
white pine boards, with their side edges planed
quite true by a good workman, and 7iol tongued or
grooved. Tongueing and grooving is an evil. The
end edges are cut quite square. The end edges are,
in a manner, tongued and grooved ; but hoop-iron
is used for the tongue, and a groove is made in each
of the two meeting edges of the boards by a saw,
and the iron forming the tongue driven tightly into
the groove thus made. The iron corrodes a little in
the wood, and a water-tight joint is effected.

Fis:. 2. Across the top of the tank, every four

or five feet apart, hoop-iron is stretched
and carried down the sides of the tank
Cwhich are six inches deepj, and is
fastened to the edges of the bottom boards
of the tank. This prevents any spread-
ing out by weight of water in, or pots
or soil on the top of the tank. As a
covering to the tank, weather-boarding
is used. Slate was thought of; but on
a careful balancing of advantages and
disadvantages, profit and loss decided
on wood. Leaking was the only point
feared from a tank so cheaply con-
structed. To guard against this, the
tank was filled with water, and a hot
fire, on a sunny day, made in the house.
The water in the tank kept the joints
closed, while the external heat caused
the joints on the outside to open near an
eighth of an inch, into this caulking Cpitch
and towj was firmly plugged, the ope-
ration occupying one man two hours,
and it has kept perfectly tight to this day.
Fig. 2 is a " grouud-i^lan" of the tank,
the arrows showing the circulation of
the water, which enters the tank at a,
passes round the division-board b to the
return-pipe c.
The circulation is effected by the connection of a
small boiler and lead-pipes with the tank (Fig. 1).
a is the cast-iron square boiler, bought in a second-

o

102

%\t §mk\uxs Hlontjjlj.

hand iron store. It holds about two or three quarts
of water, is about fifteen inches square, and forms
the head of the furnace below (b), of which c is the
tlue. e is the return-pipe, placed near the end at the
Fig. 1.

by many enterprising nurserymen and amateurs in
different parts of our country, to the great satisfac-
tion of the writer of this chapter, who feels more
pride in the substantia] advancement of the interests
of horticulture and horticulturists, than anxiety for
any particular credit his humble labors may be
worth.

Since writing the above, an article in the Country
Gentleman, by Mr. J. Salter, of Rochester, details a
very expensive affair erected by that gentleman, the
inside lined with lead, &c., and which contains the
astonishing announcement that the system of heat-
ing houses by shallow hot-water tanks, instead of
pipes, originated with him! But the description of
misapplied power the article furnishes, shows that
Mr. Salter was not really acquainted with the history
of tank-heating, and that in the originality of his
idea he is, honestly mistaken.

furnace-door, which is the coldest part of the boiler.
/ is the flow-pipe, at tlie warmest end of the boiler.
The pipes are of lead, soldered on to the cast-iron
nipples of the boiler at g, the whole of which is im-
bedded in the brick and mortar work of the furnace,
the flue of which (c) runs along in the house under
the tank.

It was supposed that the circulation w-uld be
aided by making the return-pipe (e) larger than the
flow CO, and by carrying the flow two inches above
the bottom of the tank, where it curves a little (h);
i being the bottom, and k the end of the tank,
which, as represented in Fig. 3, is thirty feet long
by three wide. Leather washers are put around the
pipes at their connection with the tank, white-lead
put under them, and nailed closely down with tacks
to prevent leakage there. With but two inches of
water in the tank, and a moderate fi.e, the tempera-
ture of the water at the flow-pipes is 120°, at the
return 90°, having lost 30° in its circuit of sixty
feet. When there is necessity of a very strong fire
on cold nights, three or more inches of water is put
in the tank, which keeps it from getting too hot.

The whole of this structure, including tank, pipes,
and boiler, ("furnace and flue had been built before,)
labor and materials was under twenty-five dollars,
and is deemed as durable and substantial as if one
hundred dollars had been spent on it. "Nothing
new" is claimed for the principles, as "the critics"
may be informed in advance ; but for substantiality
and cheapness, it cannot be, perhaps, surpassed.
Hundreds have been since built on the same model

'gU'

LANDSCAPE-GAHDENING.

BY THOMAS MCCLUNIE, WESTERLY, R. I.

It has been asked, 7s landscape-gardening an ait or a
trade? I should say it is as much one as the other.
Mechanical arts are trades. The fine arts are more
scientific, and call forth a greater exercise of mind,
refinement, and natural good taste. Landscape-gar-
dening may be defined as a science, practical in its
developments. It embraces good taste in arrange-
ment, combined with scientific and practical garden-
ing, applied to beautify the landscape.

Simple gardening, or gardening Avithout landscape
prefixed, is also a science, practical in its develop-
ments. It embraces botany and a knowledge of the
various kinds of care each plant requires. Chemistry
also aids it.

Landscape-gardening, like good taste, is a gift,
and every lover of the fine arts is supposed to pos-
sess the gift of good taste. The height of good
taste is the love of nature. But it is necessary first
to familiarize ourselves with nature's forms, before
we can form a model of taste.

It is the pursuit of every good gardener to know
the real character of the plants he is dealing with.
It is the gardener's business to assist nature and pro-
vide for the wants of the plant, that it may develope
itself in healthy beauty. So, on these grounds, we
would claim that it takes a gardener to be a landscape-
gardener.

I would not count a man not a landscape-gardener
because he was not born and brought up in a garden;
but he should be a practical gardener. It is the study
of a lifetime to be a proficient in all the branches of
gardening, and too much time cannot be afforded to
mere extraneous branches.

^'

&^ §ardcncr's ^lonthlj.

_c./c^

103

I would not blame the Frenchman, German, or
New Yorker with the faults Mr. Woodward pro-
poses. But too much of any thing is a hindrance,
— not more so to gardening, in particular, than to
any thing else.

I never meant to say that because a man may be
a proficient in any other business, that he is unfitted
for the duties of a landscape-gardener ; but he is
unqualified to beautify the landscape to an exalted
degree of perfection, unless he is or has been a prac-
tical gardener.

As illustrative of these views, I would further re-
mark: First. Landscape-gardening is gardening. —
The MAKING BEAUTIFUL by the scientific and prac-
tical application of planting, digging, levelling,
mounding, dressing, building, or removing unsightly
objects. Also manuring, draining, and general im-
provement of the soil, that grass, trees and flow-
ers, vegetables and fruit may grow to perfection
when planted. And it is of the utmost importance
that the designer should be able to direct the work,
or to do it. If he is not, his qualifications to design
are of the most limited nature. He may see the
castle or garden in the air, but he cannot command
the material to make it permanent. He may think
he can go to the nursery and get what trees suit
him, and so on ; but the trees will not remain as he
plants them. The big tree, costing five dollars, will
be outstripped in three or four years by the little one
at its side that you paid twentj^-five cents for ; and
that handsome little evergreen that he planted on
the walk, will probably have to be cut down or
trimmed out of shape in two years, because its
branches will extend twenty feet in diameter in a
very little while. Paint remains where the painter
puts it, but your trees run away and spoil the pic-
ture.

And so a gardener must know the proportions
that his trees will attain. He has this foreknow-
ledge to govern his taste in creation of landscape
scenery.

A farmer, to have healthy stock, must know how
to feed them. Chickens and horses do not feed
alike ; neither do plants, and a gardener knows their
necessities. Science is often lost without a know-
ledge of minute practical details. Even Barnum
has been humbugged by the lack of it. While on
his farm at Bridgeport he read in the New York
Herald., that to steep potatoes in copperas-water for
a given time, would prevent the rot. It is said he
did so, and planted them ; so they did neither rot
nor grow. And an inexperienced hand in tree-
planting, when attempting grace and ease in design,
may produce the reverse by injudicious combination.

A doctor sent an order to an apothecary for two

articles, to be applied separately to a patient ; but as
"separately" Avas not mentioned in the order, (the
doctor thought it unnecessary, supposing the apothe-
cary should know, J the apothecary put up the arti-
cles in one bottle. The doctor coming in, inquired,
"What have you done? Don't you know that
these combined make a deadly poison?" The
apothecary laughingly applied the bottle to his
mouth, and said, "Haven't I drank them repeated-
1}^?" then fell backwards and died.

So in gardening, — things well enough by them-
selves work badly together. An injudicious appli-
cation of fertilizers will kill a tree or plant, and an
injudicious combination of trees, &c., will kill all
harmonj'.

Landscape-gardening is not absurdly inexcessable,
If you are a good gardener, you only want to add
the gift of good taste, and improve the combination.
Mark what has been done in the art, and excel it if
you can.

Many a good horticulturist and florist are not
skilled nor have the taste to lay out grounds ; but
from the gardeners we would select or make the
landscape-gardeners, as a captain would select a mate
from experienced navigators.

All the absurdity concerning architects, surveyors,
civil engineers, draughtsmen, and painters becoming
landscape-gardeners, is that they should, all at once,
become possessed of those acquirements that take
professional men a lifetime to learn !

I never read Mr. Copeland's work on the suljject,
but am pleased to think my views agree with his.

NOTES ON THE LAWN GRASS SUBSTI-
TUTE-SPERGULA PILIPERA.

BY B. C. TOWNSEND, ESQ., BAY KIDGE, LONG ISLAND,
AND 11. W. SARGENT, ESQ., WODENETHE, N. Y.

The following is an extract of a note from Mr.
Townsend, received too late for our last number.
We enclosed it to Mr. Sargent in the interim, and
have been favored with further particulars from him,
and the two letters together will be read with great
interest by the whole public who have been watch-
ing for the earliest reliable information on the
subject.

With regard to Mr. Townsend' s observation on
the sand of Long Island we may remark, that the
English themselves have conceded its unfitness for
such soils, and recommend for tliis, instead, the
Spergula procumbens, Avhich, they say, does well in
sandy places. The following are Mr. Townsend' s
observations :

"The Spergula is greatly eulogized in England,
and, although there is even there some little hesita-

tion to entirely endorse its use in some quarters, yet
the bulk of the testimony seems to be in favor of
introducing it in all gardens \Mhere high finish is re-
quired, and for lawns even of considerable size, as
it saves the great labor with the scythe, and only
needs rolling say once a week. I am somewhat
discouraged in my own trials of it ; but as I live in
a decidedly sandy district and did not prepare soil
especially for it, it may be that the trial is not a fair
one, and if it answers in localities where a loamy
soil abounds, and answers well or stands the intense
heat of summer, I should, on learning that it thus
succeeded, feel inclined to prepare soil especially
adapted to its culture. On my return from England
in July last, where I had seen it doing finely Avith
the heavy rains they had there, I was much pleased
to see my plot Cwhichwas planted early from young
plants pricked from pots from seed sown early, and,
by-the-bye, the seed germinates very readilyj look-
ing of a fine healthy green, and completely covering
the soil, although single plants were pricked in at
about two inches apart. It thus spreads and
covers the surface close and evenly. But in the
months of August and September, what with the
intense heat and Avant of rain, it began to die out in
great brown patches, looking altogether in a very
wretched condition, showing it to be, in a sandy
soil, although well and deeply trenched, quite un-
suitable. The fall rains seemed to revive it, and
from the bare spots the roots began to start again
and throw a new growth thinly, but it never recov-
ered a decent appearance. It is now covered with
snow, and what its condition may be next spring
remains to be seen ; but unless I am encouraged by
trials in other quarters or soils which may seem
better adapted to its culture, I shall abandon the at-
tempt to grow it.

"For those who know the labor connected with
the proper keeping of a lawn in this country, even
with the patent mowers, this gi'ass promised a great
relief, and in my district much interest is felt in the
matter. If, therefore, you can, from other experi-
ence, encourage us to persevere, I should be glad to
know it. If not, perhaps the experience here nar-
rated may save much unnecessary labor of the same
kind ; for there are, doubtless, many like myself
either in a quandary or possessing information which
we all want."

Under date of February 25, Mr. Townsend writes :

"Since I wrote last, the snow has disappeared,
and my plot of it looks wretched, indeed. I feel al-
most certain that it will not succeed on sandy soils.
The sun in the height of the season will destroy it."

Mr. Sargent writes :

"I. cannot really say any thing definite about the

Spergula. It certainly has not gone on progress-
ively improving, and yet it has not failed sufiiciently
to warrant its rejection without further trial. I
should sa,j, in a few words, that it certainly seems
to do better in the winter than in the summer ; or
rather to stand the winter better than the summer.
Even this remark should be qualified, because it has
not been tried Cby me, at least,^ in an open winter.
Under snow, and even under transparent ice, it
comes out beautifully green and fresh, and continues
to hold its color perfectly well uncovered since the
snow has disappeared, though every lawn that sur-
rounds it is quite brown.

"I think I could venture to say, from two win-
ters' experience, that I do not fear the cold. But I
am not so sure about the heat. The experience of
your correspondent from Bay Ridge is similar to
mine. In July and August it certainly does get
spotty and die back in brown patches, which would
destroy its value for a lawn ; and yet I do not know
that it looks worse than many young lawns do in se-
vere droughts.

"I have observed that when the sods get thick
fsome of mine are from two to three inches thick J)
and form a deep, dense mat, like a piece of green
velvet three or four times doubled, that the sun does
not aff"ect them, but they preserve their color and
elasticity through the hottest weather, but patches
of it, only one-quarter to one-half an inch thick,
scorch and wither irregularly.

"I cannot, therefore, help hoping that when the
sods get well established, thick and tough, that the
heavy, dense, closelj^-packed mat they form, aided
by the deeply-descending roots, may make it valua-
ble in the same way as an old sod resists drought
when a newly -laid-down lawn will not.

"I shall certainly act upon this impression for
another year before I abandon it ; for I am not with-
out belief that we may be able to establish it in this
country, though it will require longer time and more
perseverance than in the moister climate of Eng-
land."

«♦«»**

ToKRETA GRANDis is, in its native habitat, a noble
tree, rising to the height of 100 feet, and perfectly
hardy ; so much so, as to have stood the last winter
out of doors at Hamburgh.

C. D. Goodrich's Seedling Potatoes. — In the
Prairie Farmer of Dec. G, Oliver Taylor, of Loudon,
Virginia, Avho has thoroughly tested Mr. Goodrich's
seedling potatoes, among which are the "Early
Peruvian," says it has not its equal in all the charac-
teristics of a good potato, also the "Garnet Chili"
and "New Kidney," which have many good quali-
ties.

U)

J^

tM

mi, hardener's Pontlilg. ' io5

ENTOMOLOGICAL ESSAY.

Eead before (he Fruit-Growers' Associatio7i of Ecustern Pennsylvania at its .Meeting i7i West Cliester, on the Vith day of June, ISGO.
BY S. S. KATHVON, ENTOMOLOGIST OF THE ASSOCIATION.

(^Continued from Page 71.)
INJURIOUS INSECTS.

As to the remedies to be employed for the destruction of insects, much remains for development; and
therefore I would suggest to gardeners and fruit-growers, that they avail themselves of all the means that
may come to their knowledge, unless they have reason to believe that the remedy would be worse than the
disease, and would involve the injury of their vegetables and trees to a greater extent than if the insects
were not disturbed. Many of the remedies employed, however, for preventing the curculio from attacking
fruit, can do no harm, if they do no good; at the same time they betray a great ignorance of the capabilities
of the insect. Smearing the trunks of the trees with a band of tar or other sticky substance, or tying raw
cotton around them to prevent the insect from walking up the tree to get at the fruit, seems to be a very
simple contrivance to baffle such an enemy as the curculio is. It must be borne in mind that this insect is
provided with an ample pair of wings, which lie folded up under its rough wing-covers, and that, when
occasion requires, it can also make ample use of them. Spreading a sheet under the tree and jarring it,
morning and evening,— when the insect mimics death and will drop into the sheet, and should be imme-
diately burned, for he does not long continue thus to "act the posf5um,"— seems to be the most practical
remedj% There are some insects, however, that may be prevented from ascending trees by the employment
of gum, or tar, or some other sticky substance, either smeared on the bark or on a rim of leather or paper
placed around the trunk of the trees. There are a number of destructive caterpillars, the female parents
of which are destitute of wings ; and as some of these undergo their transformations in the ground, when
they come out they cannot ascend into the tree to deposit their eggs, for their progress up its trunk will be
interrupted by the contrivance alluded to. But there must be frequent renewals of this smearing,
and it must be of such consistency as not soon to harden, in order to have the intended effect.

At the proper season the flowers of the Ailanihus should be collected and dried and kept for such occasions
as they may be needed. A decoction of these flowers, or of tobacco, or of soap and salt, or of lime-water,
is often useful for the expulsion of aphides, rose-bugs, cucumber-beetles, and other insects, if assiduously
applied and at the proper time. With these remarks, I conclude this part of the subject, and call the atten-
tion of the Society to the consideration of a few species of insects that are our most efficient auxiliaries in
reducing the population of those insects that are hurtful to vegetation.

BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

In this concluding part of my remarks I propose to introduce a fexo of the insects beneficial to vian, or not
his enemies, in order to contrast them with those described as noxious or hurtful.

Ist. Cinindela sexguttata, Fab. " Green Tiger Beetle." Plate IV. fig. 1. Length, half an inch ; color, a
bright green, sometimes a blueish green; three small white spots on each wing-cover, one at the end and
the other two on the outer margin, the upper one of which is about midway between We base and apex of
the wing-cover; in some specimens one or more of these white spots are wanting, and in others they
entirely disappear; legs and antennae, long and slender, and of the same green color; eyes and mandibles,
prominent. In its habit it is predaceous, and lives on other insects, of which it destroys immense numbers,
both in its larva and perfect state. The larva of this insect burrows in the ground, where it traps insect
prey. In the perfect state it is found above ground along beaten paths in warm days, on the constant look-
out for other iosects. This species is not so common as some others, but wider diffused.

Ih Cicindela generosa, Dei. "New York Tiger Beetle." Plate IV. fig. 2. Length, from five-eighths
to three-quarters of an inch ; color, dark bronze; a wide margin of white around the outer edges of the
wing-covers, with three white marks running across them from the margin towards the middle, one of
which is longest, very nearly reaching to the suture, and is bent, at nearly a right angle, backwards, and
terminates in a round or recurved end; the antennffi and the legs are a dark green metallic color, and not
so long and slender a? in the immediately foregoing species. This is the largest species of Cicindela in the
United States of which I have specimens, and perhaps the very largest. It is more frequently found in
New York State, and in Northern Pennsylvania than in the southern districts of the State. Our common
species, C. vulgaris, Say, resembles this species very much, only it is not quite so large. As their habits
are all very similar, therefore, for all practical purposes, a figure of one is as good as that of another, for
they cannot fail to impress the form of the insect upon the minds of those who once see them.

I

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2nd. Cicindela blanda, Dej. "Missouri Tiger Beetle." Plate IV. fig. 3. Length, three-eighths of an
inch; color, light brown, slightly metallic; outer margin of the wing-covers dull white, with two bent
streaks of white running in from the margin towards the centre; underneath, a shiny metallic deepgreeu;
legs and antennae, long and very delicate. Fig, 4 is the larva of a Cicindela, showing the general form, in
order that they may be recognized by the amateur when they are seen. They are a yellowish or dusky
grub, with powerful jaws, and a hump upon the back of the eighth segment, with a pair of hooks or spines
bent forward upon it. It is by means of this instrument that this grub throws the earth up out of its
burrow, which is a perpendicular hole, in which it secretes itself and watches for its prey. This species is
very abundant in Missouri and other Western States ; found also in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The
same in habits as the foregoing. In 1853 there were fifty-eight species of these insects catalogued and
described under the genua Cicindela, as inhabiting the United States. The three species here exhibited will
be sufiicient to form an idea of what the insect is. They must, however, not be confounded by the super-
ficial with the genus Donacea, to which they have some resemblance, and which are plant-feeders.

3rd. Galerita Americana, Yah. "Large Bomardier." Plate IV. fig. 5. Length, about seven-eighths of
an inch ; color of the thorax, a light or reddish brown ; the head and under body, black ; the wing-covers,
black, with a blueish velvety tinge; antennae, a darker brown than the thorax, especially the intermediate
joints; legs and antennae, long and formed for running. In the absence of a common name for this beetle,
I have called it the "large bombardier," to distinguish it from the true bombardiers, which are smaller in
size and belong to the genus Brachynus. When surprised, the true bombardiers are capable of making a
gaseous explosion, whence their common name. They are all predaceous in their habits, and are, there-
fore, insect friends to us. There are four or five species of Galerita and over thirty species of Brachynus
known to entomologists in the United States, and about fifty species belonging to genera intermediate
between them. Partial to low, moist grounds.

4th. Calosoma scrutator, Fab. "Green Calosoma." Plate IV. fig. 6. Length, from an inch and a
quarter to an inch and a half; wing-covers, a bright green color, finely lined lengthwise and with a narrow
bright coppery margin ; legs, steel blue ; underneath streaked crosswise with green and brassy or coppery
bands ; head, dark metallic green or bronze ; legs, long and amply fitted for running. This is a most beau-
tiful and useful insect, and is widely diffused, although not so abundant as some other species. A smaller
species, very similar to this one (C. [Villcoxii Lee. J, is very abundant in Maryland, and perhaps, also, in
other Southern States. I have often found this insect, and also another species of nearly the same size, but
of a uniform black color, with a narrow blue margin CC externum, SayJ, mashed flat upon the ground;
no doubt intentionally trodden upon by persons who mistakenly supposed it to be an insect enemy, for the
insect is too active for this to occur so often accidentally.

5th. Calosoma calidum. Fab. or " Golden-spotted Calosoma." Plate IV. fig. 7. Length, about one inch;
color, black above and beneath; three rows of bright brassy or coppery spots upon ea.5h wing-cover; thorax,
short ; legs, long and formed for running ; antennae, moderately long and slender. This is the most common
species of this gcnij|j we have out of the thirteen native ones that constitute it. These insects are genera^
favorites among European gardeners, by whom all their merits are thoroughly known. These are the
insects to which allusion has been made as having been colonized in gardens to protect vegetation from the
destructive insects which attack it both above and underground; and I have introduced them here in order
to familiarize with their appearance those who may feel an interest in them.

Fig. 8 is the larva of the genus Calosoma. They are usually a yellowish or dirty-white grub with six
legs; the head and thorax or first segment black, sometimes glossy black, and a black scale or shield on
each segment, larger or smaller, according to the species. These scales do not quite cover the back, the
naked flesh of the segments, surmounted by little concretions or warts, extending beyond. They live in
the ground, and destroy the worms and grubs of other insects. They are said, also, to come above ground,
and even to ascend trees, in company with the mature insect, in quest of the various caterpillars that infest
them. I have found them under logs of wood and in stone-piles, but not very common. Like all darkling
or ground-beetles, neither the larvae nor the mature insects are often seen, except when surprised under a
cover, and when they come abroad they quickly secrete themselves at the least approach of danger.

6th. Carabus carinatus, Dej., or "Keeled Carabus." Plate IV. fig. 9. Length, from seven-eighths to
one inch; color, dull black; wing-covers, finely lived with three rows of longish raise! marks of unequa
lengths on each, like telegraphic writing; antennae, about half the length of the insect, and legs long and
formed for running. Fig. 10, the larva of the genus Carabus. Length, one inch, more or less, according

i^;

iVfc^

— ' ^ - "M

to the species ; color, dull or shining black; the segments lapping each other on the back like scales; 1^^,
antenna and palpi, prominent; the terminal segment bicaudate, or ending with two lobes or points. e
have some fifteen or twenty species of these insects in the United States, that have been already describea,
and on the Continent of Europe the number of species is more than three times that number. They a »o
belong to the Carniverous Beetles, and, from the fact of their being generally hid during the day un er
stones or in dark places, they have received the common name of "Darkling Beetles

7lh. Plate IV. fig. 11. Chlaneus sericeus, Forster. " Green Musk Beetle." Length, about five-eighths ot
an inch ; color, a rich, lustrous dark green above, and dark brown below ; legs, pale yellowish, or very ig
brown; antennae, yellow at the base, and brown intermediately and at the ends. These insects arc tolera y
abundant in low grounds and meadows, and are very pretty, but scamper ofi'with the greatest alacrity w
surprised.

8th. Chlceneus ncmoralis, Say, or " Musk Beetle." Plate IV. fig. 12. Length, about half an inch ; color
of the thorax, green; the color of the wing-covers is a changeable velvety brown; legs and antennae, a
light brown. Forty or fiftv species of these are known to naturalists. They have a strong, pungent, an
musky smell. They are seldom found abroad during daylight, but they, nevertheless, do good service
under ground, or during the night, when they go abroad in search of prey.

9th. Harpalus Pennsylvanicus, DeG. Ha,palus faunus, Say. Plate IV. figs. 14 and 15. Length, about
half an inch; the color of fig. 14 is black, and that of fig. 15 a light brown; legs and antenna, a dirty wlute
or whitish-brown; wing-covers, finely lined lengthwise. These are two examples of one of o""^/""^
common "Ground Beetle," and are widely distributed throughout the country. There are about y
species of the genus Harpalus, but there are at least four hundred species of allied genera between i an^
Chlceneus. A few of these arc suspected of feeding on vegetation, as well as on animal food. /^^" ^' °^
the whole, we may regard them as our friends, until we can convict them of some overt act of infide i y.

10th. Pangus caliginosus, Fsih. "Black Earth Beetle." Plate IV. fig. 13. Length, about one inch;
color, uniformly dull or shining black ; wing-covers, marked longitudinally with numerous raised Im^es.
This is a very common insect, found in nearly all localities and nearly all seasons of the year. t is on y
excelled in numbers by figs. 14 and 15. Sometimes found crossing a path, but generally hid among grass
or stones, or under wood or fences. -

11th. DiccBlus dilalatus, S^^y. "Dilated Earth Beetle." Plate IV. fig. 16. Length, three-quarters ot
an inch; color, shining black; body, thickened; wing-covers, with deep longitudinal raised lines; thorax,
indented behind, and united evenly with the base of the wing-covers. About thirty species ot ese
insects are known to inhabit the United States. They are common as far north as the State of Maine and
as far south as Alabama, to my knowledge, having received them from both those States, as well as

intermediate localities.

*«■»»

GRAPES IN THS RIOUNTAINS OP NEW YORK.
BY WILLIAM A. WOODWARD, MOIITONVILLE, N. Y.

Mr. Editor :— I am a subscriber to the Monthly, and, as in a recent number you request each subscriber
to consider himself a correspondent, Ecce procurator! Surrounded by mountains in latitude 41° 30 mm.
north, where the thermometer ranged, on the 13th of January, 1861, in different localities, at 30°, 24o,
29P, 33^ and 36° below zero, I propose to iudite an article on Grapes.

The wild varieties, including the barren and fruitful, are very numerous, some of them producing fine
fruit and making delicious wine. On my farm, four hundred feet above the Hudson, they come up spon-
taneously. I have destroyed many hundred vines, and there are large numbers remaining. I am happy
to say, too, that I have a fine vineyard of the cultivated varieties, which appear to be doing well in the
open air. Vineyards are quite numerous about here, containing from one to twelve and fourteen acres.
Until last season, they have paid large profits. The season of 1860 was a peculiar one in the highlands
of the Hudson. The weather was unusually wet from the 20th of July till the close of the season ; con-
sequently, grapes hitherto free from rot, suffered much. Diana, Catawba, Concord, and To-Kalon were
neariy destroyed by it. My Catawbas ripened on the 6th, and Isabellas on the 11th of October, much
later than usual, and reversing the order of ripening. My last picking of Isabellas was on the 2oth of
October. A neighbor finished picking November 12th. Large quantities did not ripen at all. Many had
their "teeth set on edge," and for the same reason that affected " our fathers." Some were discouraged,
Cthough, I think, without sufficient cause,J) having rooted up their vines or sold them at nominal prices to
more confident cuhivators. They forgot that "one swallow makes no summer." Heretofore this fruit

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has liberally compensated the cultivator for the New York market, having access every evening by barge
and steamboat, which deliver the fruit picked in the afternoon in the city for sale the following morning-
The distance is sixty miles. It does not appear that our severe winters destroy the native varieties, nor
the descendants of pure native species. Those of foreign origin, or of more southern latitudes, require
to be covered, and are yet to be tested. I am making yearly observations upon those I cultivate, and
propose, at some future time, to give the public the benefit of my experience.

While on this head, let me suggest to Fruit and Vine-growers' Societies and to individual grape-growers,
a mode of collecting a vast amount of the best kind of information for the benefit of each other, consisting
of facts. These are what we need at the present time. Keep records, dates, and record facts, publish
them and gather enough from others who do likewise to compensate for the trouble each one takes.
Open an account — that is the mercantile phrase — with your own vines, record each year the growth, culti-
vation, the date of flowering, fruiting, ripening of fruit and wood of each variety, the weather, attendant
circumstances, and every other fact that may strike the cultivator as interesting or worthy of note. It is
not enough to state that a new variety ripens, as is the hackneyed phrase, five or fifteen days "earlier than
the Isabella," which really means nothing at all. Find out what day they each ripen, and make it known-
Let the public judge of the facts. Note the latitude, temperature, exposure, and especially the greates*
degree of cold to which they are exposed in the open air. Note, also, the flavor and color of the fruit,
size and shape of the leaf, general thriftiness and vigor of growth, as suggested by Mr. Ravenal, whose
example is worthy of imitation. Much good will come of it.

Let the Fruit- Growers' Societies appoint intelligent and honorable men to classify all American varieties
as soon as may be, and especially condemn all unworthy of cultivation. On my table lay a large number of
catalogues, describing an infinitude of American grapes. One dealer offers many hundred varieties, a
considerable number of which, I venture to say, never had an existence, while others were obsolete and
worthlesss long ago. It is time to put an end to humbug in grape-growing. There is plenty that is
good and worthy of all praise.

This country has taken a lead in this business for many years, and is celebrated for its fruit and for its
pure, delicious wines, the several vintners having demands beyond their abihty to supply. Orange
County wine is as well known in many localities as Burgundy, and is more certain to be pure.

STUARTIA PBNTAGYNIA.

BY THE EDITOR.

Frequently, when seeing the fine specimen of Sluarlia Virs;inica fS. malachodendron of some authors^
in full bloom at Bartram, we have heartily wished that this and its noble companion S. pcntagynia^ the
only two American species could be got into cultivation, and we have frequently urged Messrs. Parsons,
who possess the finest plant of the latter in the country, to go into its propagation, and are pleased to find
from our advertising columns that they have done so.

Though much valued in Europe, it is yet scarcely known here, though a shrub of much beauty. It is
found in the mountains of Tennessee and Virginia]. Many have often looked with admiration on the fine
specimen standing in the grounds of Parsons & Co., at Flushing, from which our drawing ffig. 1) is
taken. Its branches commence about a foot from the ground, and form a round, compact tree, or shrub,
ten feet in height, and about ten feet in diameter.

In August, when but few plants, comparatively, are in bloom, this bush or tree is uniform!}^ loaded
with large white flowers, 2j inches or more in diameter, saucer-shaped, with purple centre, and the edges
of the petals crimped. A drawing of the blossom, reduced in size, is shown at fig. 2. It has a general
resemblance to the flower of the Magnolia, beside which we know of no hardy tree or shrub whose
flowers can compare with it in beauty.

When once known, it will be considered as indispensable as the Magnolia in every garden, where a few
good things only are wanted. It will grow in any good soil, is perfectly hardy, and is suitable for any
locality. In its native localities it reaches a height of fifteen feet. It is propagated by layers and offsets,
and will, doubtless, soon be found in all extensive nurseries. Ranking in size between the trees and
dwarf shrubs, the appropriate place of the Stuartia in the landscape will be somewhat near the dwelling,
or among the main avenues and walks of the lawn. Its well-proportioned head, fine foliage, and beautiful
bloom should secure it a prominent position. The other variety, Stuartia Virginica, does not bloom as
freely as this, and, though quite hardy at Bartram, is somewhat tenderer than the one under notice.

^^(§>^.

^i

ili4 (Sard^ncr's ^lonthlg.

109

■F^'g- 1. — STUAKIIA PENTAGTKIA.

-Fiif. -'. — >LO\\J:.K OP THE STUARTIA, REDUCED IN SIZE.

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110

^^ §mi\nms Pantjjlg,

THE DBW QUESTION AGAIN.

BY E. A. KIEHL, BOONVILLE, MO.

Mr. MULI.ET (See February No. J) thinks that the
absence of fog and dew is not the cause of the success
attained in growing the grape on Kelly's Island,
but attributes it all " to the mode of pruning, allow-
ing the vines more wood and leaf, giving the plants
more space, the preparation and drainage of the
soil." Now I shall not deny that these things have
a share in contributing to the success, attained on
Kelly's Island, but I do deny the position which the
writer takes that the absence of fog and dew makes
no difference one way or another ; but that leaving
more wood and leaf will remedy the rot and mildew.

Mr. Mullet says "a large number of vineyards
around Cincinnati are comparatively as free from fogs
on account of their high elevation as Kelly's Island,
and yet they are subject to mildew." But I would
ask, does the elevation of those vineyards prevent
the dew ? which I think is a great deal more injuri-
ous than fog. I think not.

Reconsiders "that the distance of planting; the
method of pruning ; the preparation and drainage of
the soil the real cause of the success attained on Kel-
ly's Island." I can show the gentleman vines here
in Missouri, that are planted nine feet each way,
some on a wire trelhs ten feet high, and others on
stakes, and get no summer priming, yet they rot as
badly as those planted closer, and are summer
pruned.

Mr. Mullet says "for a want of sufficient leaves to
evaporate the excess of sap, the tender cells of the
young berries become ruptured, thus producing the
mildew, which is entirely avoided on Kelly's Island
by the especial allowance of more wood and leaf."

Now if the excess of sap in the vine produces
rupture in the young berry and thus causes mildew.
Why is it that sulphur prevents the mildew, and
even cures it after it has made some progress ? But
the mildew is not confined to the berry, but attacks
the vine also ; is that "ruptured" also ? But let us
look into this rupture theory a little closer, I have
always been of the opinion that the sap which the
roots supplied to the plant had to be prepared by the
leaves before it could be fit for the formation of wood
or fruit, but from what Mr. Mullet says I must be
wrong, and the sap goes into the fruit without ever
having gone through any preparation by the leaves;
if that is so pray tell us what are the leaves for ?

And if this rupture is avoided on Kelly's Island
by leaving more wood and leaf, why is it that in
other places the grapes do rot although they are not
summer pruned and many not at all, I have seen
that the case in hundreds of instances, and I could
cite some that I saw not ten miles from Editor's

office, they were mostly Isabellas, and although they
had no summer pruning whatever, they did not
ripen a berry.

Mr. Mullet says that the mildew scarcely ever at-
tacks vines until after the fourth year, f fourth crop
I suppose, j That may be the case in Ohio, but it
is not so here for I have never found any difference
between old and young vines, and I very well re-
member some Catawbas that fruited in the nursery
before they were taken out of the beds where they
had been grown from cuttings, had received no
pruning but did not ripen a sound berry.

Mr. Mullet goes on and says " that he had proof
sufficient to convince him of the truth of his theory
in 1858. He visited a vineyard of about six acres,
the crop of which had been entirely destroyed by
mildew, with the exception of a few vines that had
run up some cherry trees, these had a fair crop ; and
one row which had all the roots cut off on one side
of the row, for the purpose of making a drain for a
cellar and that row had a full crop of well matured
grapes. The owner had root-pruned that row,
hence the success." Now I think that those vines
that had run up the cherry trees were protected
from the dew by the foliage of the trees, and owed
their preservation as much to that, as to the fact of
their not having been pruned, and the row along the
drain no doubt owed its success as much to the
thorough drainage thus afforded as to the root-prun-
ing, which gets more credit than I think it is entitled
to.

Now I do not advance the position that close
pruning is beneficial, on the contrary I agree with
Mr. Mullet when he says the vine should receive less
summer and winter pruning than it is generally sub-
jected to, and be allowed more space ; but I cannot
go so far as to say that it is a sovereign remedy for
rot and mildew, and that dew has no influence in
producing the disease, for if such were the case then
a vine not pruned but left to itself would not be af-
fected, but such is not the case.

And now, Mr. Editor, as you ask for additional
observations confirmatory or otherwise of the views
you express in your note to the article referred to,
allow me to say that my observations do not con-
firm all that you say, for instance you say that ' ' an
over-dry or suddenly-dried atmosphere is the most
common cause of mildew and rot in grapes, causing
a greater evaporation than the plant can healthily
supply," now this may all be very fine in theory
but it is not supported by the facts, for it is a well
knoAvn fact that it is in dry seasons that we have
good crops, and in wet seasons the grapes invariably
mildew and rot and no crop is obtained. I would
also remind you that vines grown in a cold grapery

rf^)^

She §arbmcr's IBonthli).

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111

are pvotectccl from the direct rays of the sun in day-
time, and from the dew at night.

It is my opinion that mildew and rot are caused
by insufficient drainage and the too great and sud-
den changes of temperature in daytime, the sun
shines on the vines in an open field with nothing to
break the force of the rays, the thermometer often
rising over 100 deg. in the shade, and at night the
dew falls on the leaves and chills them, thus produc-
ing disease. We should remember that the wild vine
is protected from these extremes by the foliage of
the forest trees, which break the hot rays of the sun
in daytime, and at night they protect the vine from
dew, while the more civilized and feebler vines stand
in open fields, entirely without this protection Dame
Nature supplies them iu their native state.

I should like to say more, but this article is already
too long therefore I shall close for the present.

[Very interesting observations. If other corres-
pondents would send us notes of their experience ;
we have no doubt a few links wanting in the chain
of evidence might be supplied, and much that now
seems conflicting be reconciled and joined together.
—Ed.]

HORTICULTURS IN EASTERN NEW YORE.

BY W. TOMPKI^■S, GERilAKTOWIs, NEW YORK.

As it is desirable to compare notes as to the suc-
cess of various fruits in different parts of our great
country, I send you a few rough notes about the
crops of last season, ("1860, J hoping that it will be
interesting to some or your readers. From the lOtli
of May to the middle of August we had but little
rain, nothing but light showers, and they were few
and far between ; and I think that during that period
there Avas nothing that might be called a copious
rain, and the want of it was so great as seriously to
affect the crop of corn, hay, and oats. From the
20th of August to the first of December we had a
copious rain, — almost every week, indeed, we found
it almost impossible to dig the potatoes, and they
nearly all rotted in consequence. We expected that
the grapes would all rot or fail to ripen before hard
frost, but was agreeably disappointed, as the sequel
will show. We had a number of hot days in June,
July, and August, but the average temperature was
lower than usual in this section. The popular theory
of fruit-growers hereabouts has been that a very dry
season is unfavorable to the production and healthful
development of fruit ; such a season would cause it to
grow poorly, rusty, and the most of it to drop prema-
turely. Now this theory appears to be decidedly
wrong, as the result has, I think, satisfactorily proven.
A more abundant crop of Apples, Cherries, Pears,
Grapes, Plum?, Currants, Gooseberries and Straw-

berries, never was grown in Eastern New York.
Even those varieties of the Apple and Pear, which
in former years were seldom seen in perfection, were
this season produced in all their pristine beauty and
excellence. Such magnificent specimens of the
Early Harvest, Newtown Pippin, Swaar, Sweet
Harvest, and other sorts, it seldom has been my
good fortune to grow or eat. Did the dry weather
cause the fruit to drop ? No ; never since my earli-
est recollection have I seen apple trees so heavily
laden. Indeed, many trees were literally crushed
with the weight of the fruit, which, notwithstand-
ing, grew of full size and flavor. From some un-
known cause, insects injurious to fruit, were less
numerous and troublesome last season than any be-
fore, which probably accounts for the fruit growing
so large, fine, and not dropping prematurely. Some
persons attribute this to the untimely frost of the
lOth of June, 1859, others to the 17 years locust,
( cicada, j which were very numerous in this part of
the state. Indeed, I heard some old fruit-growers
predict previous to the coming of the locust, that
after they come we should have a series of fruitful
seasons, which it is to be hoped may prove true.
But some one will say that the fall rain is what
caused the Apples to grow so large and fine, and
that in the fore part of the season they could better
do without rain than they could in the latter. Now
this theory seems very plausible, and I myself, should
be disposed to credit it were it not a fact to me well
known, that the early apples were imcommonly
large, excellent, and their skin as smooth as polished
wax, partly hidden Avith bloom, and apples were all
ripe and gone before the rainy season began. This
I think is pretty conclusive evidence that the apple
can perfect itself and attain full size even in a dry
season, i:)roviding that other things are auspicious.
It is a fact well known, that cherries are larger and
of superior quality in a dry season than they are in
a wet season.

Notwithstanding the immense quantity of apples
shipped to the New York market, from this and
other places daily, from the middle of July to the first
of December, they almost invariably, when put up
in good order, sold for remunerating prices. The
early apples especially, sold quickly, and the most of
them at a high price.

No early apple that we have in this section is so
reliable and profitable as the Red Astrachan ; the tree
is very hardy, a vigorous upright grower, and the
foliage of a deep rich green, surpassing that of all
other varieties of the apple. It comes into bearing
early, and it is not uncommon to get well developed
specimens the first year that the trees are planted.
It is a moderate bearer, but when well treated will
bear annually, and the fruit always grows fair and

"3Hr — -SJ'i

:^

112

%\\^ ^mkuxs PontMj.

of good size. When fully ripe it is one of the most
beautiful and tempting apples in America. The
color is a brilliant deep crimson, with a thick bloom
like a well ripened plum, and is always sure to attract
the attention of visitors sooner than any other apple
in the orchard. This variety has the peculiar habit
of ripening its fruit in succession, and good ripe
apples can be got from the tree during a period of
from four to six weeks after the first ripe ones are
picked ; and in order to have them of uniform ripeness
to send to market, the trees should be overlooked, and
the ripest taken therefrom every three or four days.
This seems to be a good deal of trouble, yet it will
surely pay, as the writer can assure the reader from
experience, having sent a great many to market last
season, which were sold for as much per peach bas
ket as other good apples brought per barrel. Although
this apple has been highly reccommended and dis-
seminated during the last fifteen years, by our most
eminent Pomologists, yet it is not plenty in market,
and in many sections of the country almost unknown.

It appears to have originated in Sweden, and to
have been introduced into England in 1816, and
from there to America. It certainly is the greatest
acquisition we yet have received from Europe in the
apple department. Can you, Mr. Editor, inform me
if it is as highly esteemed and as excellent in Europe
as it is in this country ? [It is in Germany, less so in
other parts. — Ed.]

In my next communication I will send you some
notes about the Grape Crop of 1860.

FHOGRESS OP HORTICULTURE IN EGYPT.

BY J. M. SMITH, GREENVILLE, ILL.

Mr. Editor, I have for some time intended giving
you a short historical sketch of the progress of Hor-
ticulture in Southern Illinois, — familiarly called
'Egypt," particularly the pomological department,
but being aware of its occupying considerable
space, and also of my prolixity in writing, I have
heretofore refrained from so doing. Nevertheless,
the subject is a good one, and whether it will admit
of publication or not, I will endeavor to give some
facts thereupon.

About the year 1683, — I believe that the very date,
settlements were made by the French, at Kaskaskia,
Prairie du Eocher, and Cahokia, near the east bank
of the Mississippi river, in the present counties of
Randolph and St. Clair, and about the same time a
settlement was formed by the same kind of people
at Yinceunes Indiana, and extending into Ilhnois.
At all these places the French planted seeds of vari-
ous plants, particularly of Pears and Peaches ; and
even at this writing there are some pear trees at some
of the above named places, which are at least one

hundred yearn old; and there may be some among them
which were planted soon after the first settlement.
One tree in particular, in this State, near Vincennes,
I was informed, some ten years ago, was over one
hundred years old, and had borne in one season near
one hundred and ffty bushels of pears, of ' ' fair' ' qual-
ity. I do not vouch for the correctness of this
statement, but my informer is a man of veracity.
There is another pear tree of enormous size, and full
as great age, at Cahokia ; and the pears of which
it bears a very large crop, are of pretty fair quality.
I saw, myself, at Prairie du Rocher, one year ago,
some cherry trees, Ccommon Morello, J Avhich were
so old that the descendants of the French settlers
knew nothing of the time of their being planted.
They were very old, and very large for the kind of
trees.

About the year 1790, some Americans settled be-
tween the French villages of Cahokia and Kaskas-
kia, in what is now Monroe county, and were prob-
ably the first who introduced the apples into the
Territory, Cthen a part of the State of Virginia.)
Most of the orchards planted at that date, Avere
seedMngs ; but one gentleman — a Gen. Whiteside,
I think, grafted a number of seedling apple trees
with the best varieties he could obtain, and from
those trees some very good apples have been some-
Avhat disseminated through the west ; and some of
these same old trees I am informed are yet stand-
ing, or at least were a few years since.

Peach trees from the seed have been in cultivation,
or I should perhaps say, have been allowed to plant
themselves in fence corners, &c., and produce
peaches, from the earliest settlement ; and some
superior varieties have been derived from those
chance seedlings. Our chmate, and especially the
region bordering upon the eastern shore of the Mis-
sissippi river, appears so well adapted to the growth
of the peach, that many really good varieties appear
almost to reproduce themselves from seed ; and until
very lately — say twenty years, this constituted about
the only method of propagating varieties.

The first Nursery for the growth and sale of fruit
trees, as far as I have been able to ascertain, was
commenced in this county, CBond,J) in the year
1818, by my father, John Smith. He planted seeds
in the fall of that year, and I believe brought some
apple seedlings and scions from Kentucky, which
he grafted that winter. He obtained the stock for
his nursery of one George Heikes, an emigrant from
Pennsylvania to Kentucky; and the varieties of
apples grown and planted for many years were some
twenty of the older Pennsylvania apples. Among
these stand prominent the Pennock— here called
"Big Romanite," Rambo, Newtown Pippin, Prior's
Red, Old AVinter Pearmain, Ccalled here "Hoops,")

^^

I^ ffiartow's Hlouthlg.

Penusylvania Red Streak, Rav.ies' Janet, Romanite
Milam, Limber Twig, &c., &c. Of Pears, the old
Winter Bell, and the "Philadelphia Butter" Pear;
the latter probably the Virgalien, were the varieties
mostly propagated ; but the blight caused probably
bj' our strong virgin soil, stopped the propagation
of pears many years ago. But by the way, pears
are now being planted with success, upon the very
ground ('not the soilj where formerly they failed.

Of Cherries, the common Morello, and the Kent-
ish, or English Pie Cherry, as it is called here, have
been planted upon nearly everj' farm in this part of
the State, from its earliest settlement, and tlourish
without attention. In fact, most of our inhabitants
consider the cultivation of cherries and peaches en-
tirely unnecessary.

Since the year 1818, nurseries have sprung up in
nearly every county in Southern Illinois, and great
advancements have been made, especially within the
last twenty-five years. Orchards, the trecb of which
were propagated by my father, are scattered all over
the State ; and some of them now about forty years
old, still bear heavy crops of fine fruit. This county for
a long time boasted the largest orchard in the State.
That within which I first "breathed the breath of
life," contained about fifteen hundred apple trees,
besides other fruits, at one time near two thousands
bearing fruit trees. But that orchard is now in a
state of decay— having passed into the hands of
a stock grower. There is one yet in this countj^
owned by M. S. "Wait, Esq., containing about
eighteen hundred apple trees in vigorous bearing.
Many other large orchards are scattered through the
country producing large crops of superior fruit.

Apples constitute a considerable portion of the
revenue of Southern Illinois. Many thousand
bushels find a market through the medium of our
great nation's main artery, the Mississippi, and for
the last few years bringing on an average at least
fifty cents per bushel. At least fifty thousand bush-
els have been sold the past seasocj, in this county
alone, at fr:>m forty to seventy -five cents per bushel,
and nowhere are better apples produced than in
"Egypt."

Peaches have received a great deal of attention
during the last few years. Not so much dependance
is placed upon seedling fruit as formerly. Nurseries
devoted to the propagation of the peach upon a large
scale, have recently been established, and many thou-
sand trees are annually planted. Peaches seldom fail
here entirely; and now that we can have "fresh
peaches all the year round, ' ' hundreds are planting fine
budded varieties, who formerly Avould not let a self-
planted tree remain in the fence corner.

Pears are being planted somewhat extensively,

and particularly in the villages. Here you will find
no garden of any pretensions without the Dwarf
Pear Trees — producing fine specimens of that prince
of fruits.

Grape-growing is now becoming very popul r in
many parts of the State. At Highland, twenty
miles from this place, the Swiss have been very suc-
cessful in the cultivation of the grape. The Catawba
and Norton's Virginia, are the varieties mostly
planted. Many acres of vineyards ai'e now produc-
ing the "blood of Bacchus" around that village in
great abundance. At many other points, more or
less, grape-vines have been jilantcd, and are doing
well.

Even since the introduction of good fruit within
the State, the ball has continued to roll, and we
eagerly look forward to the time when "Egypt"
shall be as noted for its fruit as for its corn.

As my article has grown longer than I intended,
I reserve the continuation for another time, promis-
ing, if the present is received, to furnish the Monlhhj
with some matter of more value than the present.

ROSE PRUNING.

BY CHARLES MILLER.

The season is now approaching when this impor-
tant operation should be performed, — I therefore
submit a few general remarks on the subject in ques-
tion. It is presumed that the practical ideas here
presented will be of such assistance to the amateur
rose grower, as to prevent the all but fatal operations
generally performed under the above title. I will
not trespass on your space to particularize the treat-
ment necessary for the several families. Their
growth, to which I refer, will be readily compre-
hended by the terms, strong or short growing.
Roses are generally planted when young, and during
the first season the knife should be sparingly used,
but after all chance of frost is past, the branches
should be cut back to four or five eyes, having pre-
viously cut all growth that interferes with the shape
of the plants, which should be that of a basin or ex-
panded inverted umbrella, which insures a free cir-
culation of air between the branches, and as a matter
of course, the consequent certainty of bloom.

During the following autumn, any shoots which
started in the centre of the plants or cross branches,
may be renewed ; but the shortening of the main
shoots should be left till spring, being especially
careful to prune to an outer bed.

Erect-growing kinds, such as Queen Victoria, Mrs.
Elliott, Geant des Battailes, and the like, may be
much improved in shape by tying the branches in a
more outward direction when young. In prun-

^^^

114

i!j^ §m\mr'% ^on%

ing tlie majority of the Hybrid Perpetuals, four or
five eyes should only be left ; but such as Louis Bo-
naparte, Pius IX., &c., half the length of the shoots,
only should be cut away— any thing like severe
pruning, on such subjects, being more productive of
abundant wood and scanty bloom. Moss, Provence,
and Bourbons, can scarcely be pruned to hard.
The Persian Yellow and Austrian Briars, too slight,
as these varieties bloom on wood one year old. Sum-
mer pruning is often desirable, and frequently saves
much trouble ; this may be effected to some extent
by cutting the blooms for ornament, or when decay-
ing with long footstalks. The Hybrid Perpetuals
will, by reducing their branches to one half their
length, in July— be certain to give bloom in autumn,
a result much desired. Some of the Hybrid Per-
petuals make handsome beds on the lawn. The
following is especia.ly adapted for the purpose, owing
to their short compact habit, and sturdy growth;
and when hedged down or securely fastened to the
ground, and due attention paid to their summer
pruning, (which is important, J a succession ot bloom
may be had from June to September.

Autumnal flowering varieties, Auguste Mie, Ba-
ronne Hallez, Dr. Arnal, Baronne Prevost, Compte
de Paris, Compte de Eugene Sue, Jules Margottin,
Wm. Jesse, Geant des Batailles, Wm. Griffith, Paul
Duprez, Queen Victoria, Madame LafFay, Prince
Leon, Rosine Margottin, Madame Rivers, Madame
Homage, Duchess of Sutherland, Soliel d'Aus-
terlitz.

To those that do not possess a bed of Roses, I
would advise them to repair the omission at once, for
gathering roses in early morning, with the dew still
on their fragrant petals, is one of the greatest plea-
sures of life.

©i..

LANDSCAPE-GARDSNING.

BY GEORGE E. WOODWARD, NEW YORK.
KO. 4.

The great advances made in the art of Landscape
Gardening during the last ten or even twenty years,
has created a demand for more general information
on the subject. Those works that have issued from
the English press, do not supply the directions wholly
applicable to this country. The difiPerences of asso-
ciations, habits, climate, &c., &c., requiring a treat-
ment of another character. If we were to find fault
with nearly all the publications on Landscape Gar-
dening, it would be that they treat that subject in too
general a manner. AVe have essays on Taste, Color,
Trees, &c., &c., but nothing on practical operations,
nothing that details the necessary proceedings re-
quired to carry out a plan of improvement. One is
obliged to ransack a scientific library, study drain-

age, ten or fifteen authors on road making ; several
on engineering and architecture, bridge construction,
lines, cement and mortars, soils, manners, geog-
raphy, chemistry, botany ; then drawing, painting,
surveying, taste, &c., &c. By the time all these
have been waded through, the indefatigable amateur
will have come to the conclusion, that the more he
learns, the less he thinks he knows, or is beginning
to get an idea of the immense amount of informa-
tion yet to be acquired ; advancing from that stage
of ignorance in which he did not know that he knew
nothing.

The labor of hunting up all these different sources
of information, is scarcely equalled by the amount
of study necessary to acquire or to make a practical
use of them ; and with many it is considered the
best to do a thing expensively wrong, than to either
obtain or pay for that knowledge by which it can be
done economically right.

Landscape-gardening, seriously considered, is an
art that occupies no mean position, drawing largely
on nearly all the cultivated arts and sciences, and
made up of most of their leading excellencies. It can-
not but be admitted, that to qualify one for its pursuit,
must require a persevering course of study, both of a
theoretical and practical nature, — its pursuit being of
a constructive and tastefuil character, have led many
to suppose that it, in common with other construc-
tive arts, is instinctively comprehended. There
are more of us that like to admit that we cannot
plan and superintend the erection of a house— lay
out and construct a common or ornamental road, or
design any system of improvement. Yet the prac-
tice of such pursuits belong to professions requiring
great skill and extensive learning. The professions
of the architect and civil engineer are not natural
gifts, nor can they be acquired by any medium
amount of application. What is true of them is
equally true of Landscape-gardening, which in its
higher developments, embracing a far more exten-
sive range of study, and thoroughly unites the prac-
tical and artistical.

Landscape-gardening, considered in its popular
sense, is supposed to be of easy attainment, and to
comprise a general knowledge of the manner of set-
ting out trees and shrubbery ; constructing roads,
and the ability to graduate the earth's surface, gene-
rally speaking, to a level. There may be a sim-
plicity in such apparently plain operations ; but if
we judge by results, what must be our opinions?
simply these : there are few, very few who have any
idea of what is necessary to be done in planting or
transplanting a tree. Setting out trees properly, re-
quires a knowledge that must be obtained by both
study and practice ; and we will venture to say, that
out of the first hundred men you meet anywhere

i@n

"^

i@

not one of them can do it right. It is quite a mis-
taken notion to suppose you know how to set out a
tree ; the fact is, unless you have made it a study,
you will fail, and the failure will cost you the price
of the tree,— the value of your own time, and loss
of time between the dying of one tree and replacing
it with another, besides some considerable annoy-
ance.

The construction of roads is the next operation
that is thought to be easily mastered ; and yet not
one single author on Landscape-gardening in Europe,
or this country, has ventured to give any intelligible
instructions on this subject. Not one of them ven-
tures even an opinion as to the manner of lajing out
a curve, or what variety of curve possesses in the
highest degree, a combination of the practical and
beautiful. The merest allusion to a few stakes,
whose positions are to be guessed at, until they look
right, constitutes all the information we have to
guide us in laying out an ornamental road.

The manner of constructing such roads, is by no
means definitely stated. Certain authors have re-
commended plans of their own, but from them Ave
can produce no scientific reasoning, that shall insure
smoothness, hardness and permanence, and nothing
by which true economy is united with excellence, or
in other words, the manner of constructing a first-
class roadway at the minimum of expenditure. It
seems a very absurb statement to make, that any-
body does not know how to lay out and build a
road. This most diificult branch of civil engineer-
ing, every body understands, until they attempt to
illustrate their knowledge, and an absolute failure
has but little effect on their wisdom. If you want
a very vmsatisfactory as well as a very expensive
road, build it yourself, — do the same thing with
your house. Paint your own pictures, try your own
lawsuits, doctor yourself, make your own clothes,
mend your own boots. If you have an unlimited
length of purse, vanity enough to rank your taste and
ability as supreme, — the satisfaction of saying / did
a, maybe some compensation. But such experience
will illustrate one fact, there are no successes in this
world of permanent value but what require a life-
time of study and devotion to achieve them, and the
practice of the cultivated art of Landscape adorn-
ment is no exception to it.

If ones ambition does not carry him above the
pleasure of owning and managing a second or third-
rate place, then it would seem unnecessary to
thoroughly investigate the principles of the art ; but
if a tasteful expression of Landscape beauty is de-
sired, and the most rigid economy be an absolute
condition, then close study is indispensable. The work
of a finished expert, in any art or pursuit, is more

beautiful and economical than the bungling perform
ance of a new hand.

[Mr. W's articles invite criticism ; but we can par-
don minor weaknesses for the general facts they
teach, that mere "architecture" or mere "cultiva-
tion" is not Landscape-gardening.]

THE GRAPE.

BY A. S. MILLER, ALTON, ILLINOIS.

As spring is approaching, it would not be out of
the way for us to say a few things with reference to
the vine, its culture, varieties, &c.

For the West the Concord stands pre-eminent as
a table-grape, on account of its hardiness and free-
dom from mildew, being an abundant bearer also.

Catawba still remains the finest light grape, al-
though hard to acclimate ; yet when trained upon a
trellis and pruned in Avinter and summer with mode-
ration, will succeed tolerably well. In Southern
Illinois the Delaware will certainly become the lead-
ing wine-grape, being superior to any other grape of
that class ; it is a profuse bearer and very hardy.

Our opinion is that the Diana Avill never become
popular in this region, it being but little better than
the Catawba, if it is any, which, verily, we doubt.
The vine is scarcely hardy, as the leaves are subject
to mildew some. Of course, the Avood cannot ripen
well. The fruit is smaller than the last-named va-
riety, and the vine bears but moderately.

The Clinton is excellent, an account of its perfect
hardiness being more so than our native varieties
would be under the same treatment, but small and
very tart.

The Bland we have not fully tested. The Rebecca
mildcAvs some. The Cassady summer-burns so
sadly as to be impossible to groAV in this region.
The Clara and Herbemont are hable to winter-kill.

NoAV, for the culture of the grape, Avhat the soil
should be every one knows; and as to situation, any
point Avill do except extreme north. We do not
advocate the murderous pruning that some do, nor
do Ave side with the let-alone plan, but would en-
deavor to go '•'■ in media res''' and prescribe a mode-
rate system of pruning. The vines should be
planted eight feet apart, quincunx style, and trained
upon a trellis. For plans of the same, see "Barry's
Fruit- Garden," page 248. This plan wiU do until
we become convinced that others are superior.

The horizontal trellis is, in our estimation, the
best, although we Avould not recommend it, on ac-
count of some objections. The arduous task of
pruning the A'ine on this trellis ; the constant watch-
fulness required in order to keep the vines from
running rampant are every thing. But the jjoints
in favor of it are : 1st. The roots of the vines ar

'^^

^^%

in a cooler soil and atmosphere. That always should
be kept loose and friable by the horse-hoe. The soil
thus treated does not become hard and dry. While
the fruit is protected from the scorching influence
of "Sol," by being drawn through the meshes of the
trellis, hang suspended under the leaves.

2nd. The birds are more easily watched, — these
being our greatest pests at the ripening of our grapes.
The vines can be rid of insects more easily with
tobacco fumes, on account of their being over-head.

I will close by giving a slight description of this
plan. Set posts in the rows twenty feet apart, leav-
ing eight feet above ground and two and a half feet
under. Upon these nail slats twenty inches apart.
Then smaller slats or rods of iron should cross these
at right-angles. The whole should be firmly nailed
together, to prevent their breaking under the weight
of fruit and leaves. Permit the vines to have more
space as they grow older, by removing every alter-
nate vine. My word for it, they will go ahead and
prosper, if other difficulties do not arrise than we
usually have to contend with.

HOUSE CUZ.TUHE GF CAMELLIAS.

BY MISS E.

For successful house culture of Camellias, — first
secure the proper kind of earth, — ("Mr. Editor can
best tell what that is^. Then secure suflicient drain-
age, and when the plants are brought into the house,
put them into a cool room, and keep the tempera-
ture about 45° or 50°. When the buds are well
formed, keep the earth wet. The saucers of the
pots should never be without moisture. I keep mine
always with water in them ; as the buds open, they
may be brought into the parlor, and then, if kept
wet enough, they will bloom finely. When the
bloom is over, less water is necessary. I have gen-
erally a fine show of Camellias in February and
March, in the latitude of Philadeli^hia.

[Turfy, spongy, fibry surface soil from old woods
or bogs, suits the Camellia. We can testify to the
success of our correspondents treatment. — Ed.]

THE GHEEJ)? ROSE.

BY R. B.

I pray, Mr. Editor, do not let the French take
from us the credit of the Green Rose ; you must say
"it was first introduced to the world," by a Balti-
more florist about seventeen years ago, at |2.50 per
plant, and sent in 1852 to England and France,
by a Philadelphia florist. So you see Messrs. Pere
and Clement did noi first introduce it, — your memory
is good.

SOKTS OP GRAPES TO GROW FOR A

VINERY.

BY A GKAPE-GROWEE,

Your article in the January number, page 30, on
the best foreign grapes to grow is really valuable,
they are the essence of the grape. You have never
told your readers that you brought to this country
the Black Tripoli grape from the original plant at
Welbeck ; I consider it in every way superior to
Black Hamburg. AVhat of the Golden Hamburg ?
I see it somewhere represented by Decan's Superb ;
they are entirely distinct. Is this another mixture
like Black Barbarosa and Prince Albert, the latter
not worth a fraction ? We (the nurserymen I
should say, ) have too many sorts and far too many
names.

[Glad to receive an endorsement from so respect-
able a source.

Knowing that the Black Tripoli of American col-
lections was spurious, the writer took pains to get
cuttings from the original vine, through the kindness
of Mr. Tillery, the Duke of Portland's gardener, and
handed them to our friend some years ago. It is a
pleasure to hear that it proves so superior with him.
—Ed.]

EEm BAVIS ArffD NEW YORK PIPFIN
AGAIN.

BY CHARLES DOWKING, KEWBURHG, N. Y.

In the February number of the Gardener's Monihhj^
you give it as your opinion that Ben Davis and New
York Pippin are identical, and copy the two descrip-
tions as my own to show their similarity ; but you
overlooked that the outhne and description of Ben
Davis were from Mr. Downer (not having seen the
fruit myselfj), and although the descriptions are
somewhat similar, yet they may be diff'erent varieties
for any proof that you have given to the contrary.
It is often the case among such a vast number of
sorts, that two similar descriptions may apply to one
or two distinct kinds, because soil and locality in
different sections change the character of fruits so
much in form and appearance that it is often very
difficult to decide positively their true names. I do
not say that Ben Davis and New York Pippin are
two distinct sor.s, neither have we the proof as yet
that they are alike. The Ohio Pomological Society
at their January meeting decided (I quote from
memory J) them to be identical, yet it is best to wait
a little longer before giving a fin xl decision.

You remark that all are liable to err, myself not
excepted, — strange, passing, were it not so, among
such a multitude of varieties and variations.

[Mr. Downing's note reached us after our last
issue had gone to press. — Ed.]

y^)<

i^hi| ©ardtiier's li^ontljlu.

OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE AMERICAN
POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

BY COL. WALTER L. STEELE, ROCKINGHAM, N. C

Mr. Editor, I notice that several gentleman who
participated in the discussions at the late meeting of
the American Pomological Society, have recently-
corrected, through the Gardener's Monthly, the erro-
neous reports of their remarks, as published in your
periodical. I ask the liberty of correcting some
errors in the official report recently published. (1)

On page 52 I am reported as having said that the
Limber Twij Apple "will grow at a level of thirty
degrees above tide-water." I did not say so. I
said it did well north of the parallel 35, if at an eleva-
tion of several hundred /ee^ above tide-water. Does
any body know how many yards it requires to
make thirty degrees of elevation ?

On page 53 it is reported that I located the nativity
of a certain apple in the county of Siansill. I have
often since the proceedings were published, been
asked in what part of the State this county was sit-
uated ; and have not been able to give my friends a
satisflictory answer. There is no such county known
to the laws of North Carolina, and as I pride myself
somewhat on a knowledge of the geography of the
State, I feel a little mortified at the ignorance which
I am made to display.

This apple, ("a capital one too,j originated in
Richmond County, N. C. ; had attention first drawn
to its merits by Dr. P. W. StansiU, and by me, has
been given his name, and that was what I said.

On page 94 I am made to indorse the character of
the Lodge Pear. I never saw but one specimen of
the fruit in my life, and, hence, I am sure, I did not
speak of its qualities at all.

And now a few words in regard to the character
of Northern winter apples, after being transferred to
the South. I make these remarks in response to an
inquiry from my old acquaintance, Mr. Langdon, of
Tennessee. Mr L's experience agrees with my own,
and I feel sure, with that of nearly every intelligent
cultivator in the Southern States. At my first plant-
ing of fruit trees, having no experience, I set out the
Yellow Bellflower, Roxbury Russet, Newark Pippin,
<kc. , which all matured by the first of November. Not
one proved a winter fruit. I dug up the whole of them
and threw them over the fence. No apple which
keeps in New York throughout the winter, will last
longer in this climate than the middle of November,
except now and then a single specimen, our spring
coming too early for them. I have eaten Bloodgood
Pear in this viUage, on the 20th of June ; and the
same year, at the house of Jonathan C. Baldwin, of
Chester County, Pa., the same variety the 18th of
August.

[ 1. The corrections heretofore made, have been

of our own report, which, being the fullest ever pub-
lished, risked more errors. Mr. Steele's note shows
that even the brief official abstract published by the
Society is not exempt from errors ; and that it is
dangerous for any journal to announce prematurely,
that its report is "the most accurate." — Ed.]

GAS TAR AND HOT WATER FOR PEACH
TREES.

BY R., BEVERLY, N. J.

Last spring I tried the plan recommended by you
as a preventive to the borer in the peach trees,
namely, by applying coal tar to the collars of the
trees. Previous to doing so, I examined them care-
full}^ — found only two worms, which I destroyed,
and then tarred them about three inches below and
three above ground. "Within a week the leaves
of several began to turn yellow, curl and drop off,
and whole twigs dry up, particularly on the Morris'
Whites, Troth's Early, Old Mixon Free, the first
suffering most of all. In order to prevent the total
loss of the trees, I then resorted to a plan much
used in this neighborhood, and which most persons
might think would ensure their destruction, but
which completely restored mine. It is simply
to pour about half a gallon of boiling water around
the collar of every tree injured. This, if done
two or three times a year, will eff'ectually de-
stroy borers without wounding the trees, by cutting
into the roots to follow them. If at any time the
leaves turn yellow, or show signs of disease, the
same treatment will perfectly restore them, and
bring out young healthy foliage within a week or
ten days, even though the tree may have been like
the patient of Dr. James, of Cannabis indica noto-
riety "at death's door."

[In 1850, '51, and '52, we applied Gas Tar to
apples, peaches, and dwarf pears, without any in-
jury; but the trees were healthy. So much has
been said of the risk by others, that in latter years
we have recommended it only with caution, as our
pages will show. We have heard others speak well
of hot water. — Ed.]

THE ALLEN RASPBERRY.

BY A. LOYD, LAFAYETTE, IND.

Havikg recently noticed commendatory articles
upon this fruit, we cannot refrain from giving our
experience, after giving it a three years trial. We
obtained one hundred plants directly from Mr. Allen,
and from the ten thousand i^lants which have sprung
from that hundred, there has never been a single
quart of berries gathered.

Others in this vicinity have also tried them, with
generous cultivation, in various soils and exposure,
all with the same result, in this region.

118

Sth^ ^ar(kn^r's cPontlilg.

5r|= AH Communications for the Editor should be addressed,
"Thomas Mekhan, Germantown,Pliiladelphia,"aud Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gardeker's Monthly
Box 406 Philadelphia."

. ^^9«*

|l3= Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1861 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(1859) free. All person.swho have paid their subscriptions for 1861
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.C0 can receive a copy of
the same.

|r3= Our Subscription list for Kathvon's Entomological Essay
is fast filling up, and as we have only intended publishing a lim-
ited number, wo would desire all those who may wish to have the
work, to send their name and address as early as possible.

SPECIAL NOTICJS TO ADVERTISERS.

We receive advertisements up to the 20tli of the
month ; but as the heavy amount of advertising we
receive on that date renders it a great effort on the
part of our printer to get the month's issue into the
hands of subscribers as punctually on the 1st as we
desire, we should be obliged by receiving advertise-
ments as early in the month as practicable.

GARDENING IS NOT AGRICULTURE.

While reading a report of a meeting of the Fruit-
Growers' Society of Western New York, a year or
so ago, we were forcibly struck with a remark of
Mr. Vick, to the effect, that, judging by what we
hear at horticultural meetings, and read in horticultu-
ral journals, one would suppose that all the evils that
attend pomological practices in every part of the
world, were concentrated and poured out over our
devoted land ; and yet it is a fact beyond controversy,
that we have the finest climate and soil for fruit-
culture, and perhaps the fewest and weakest enemies
to contend with than any other country under the
sun possesses.

The fact is, with all our boasted activity, we are
in fruit-culture a lazy people. We hate to do any
thing for our trees ; in fact, we do comparatively little.
"It won't pay." We stick in trees to-day, and
to-morrow we look for the fruit. We have not
learned to labor, and have not learned to wait.

In the mechanic arts we have harnessed the light-
ning, and made steam our bond servant, — and
fresh from our victory, we enter our garden plot,
intent on similar conquests in the more immediate
domain of nature. But she will be victor here.
We must bend to her times and her seasons. Condi-
tions of vegetable growth must be studied, and nat-
ural laws obeyed, and it is onlj^ after the sweat of

our brows has watered our labors, that the sweet
fruits thereof will spring up to our hand.

We read of the fine and luscious fruits of Europe,
but we never think of the immense amount of labor
and skill spent on their production, nor dream of
the hundreds of enemies that have to be overcome
before the well ripened fruit rewards its possessor.
We allude not merely to the colder and more inhos-
pitable countries of the north, but include even the
celebrated sunny climes of Italy and the south, the
inhabitants of which we are accustomed to consider
as idle, as it is well possible to be. But if any class is
lazy there, it is not the one to which the Horticulturist
belongs. The Italian gardener is a model of per-
severing industry. With but a tithe of the science
which nations, blest with a free press and cheap liter-
ature possess, he is, nevertheless, in many respects,
the equal of men from the wisest of the others,
in sound jiractical knowledge of the gardening art,
derived entirely from steady and laborious experi-
ence. Even in England and other portions of Bri-
tania's home dominions, the amount of worry, care,
and toil, and trouble to bring fruit to perfection, is
astounding to one uninitiated in the mysteries of the
art, when they become in time revealed to him.
Not only does the soil and climate oppose him at the
outset, but he has a multitude of outside enemies to
contend with. He has, in the first place, to surround
his orchard of choice fruits with a high wall, to ward
off the predations of those to whom hunger and
want inspire no law. Then wire worms, and the
grubs of cockchafers and bugs attack the roots, —
slugs, snails, and myriads of "creeping things"
devour the foliage before it is scarcely above ground.
Getting larger, red spider, aphides, scale, "American
blight," and Loudon only knows what not, attack
the top. Scalds, blisters, scales, cankers, mildews,
and every evil named in the encyclopedias, fatten on
the shoots and leaves. Escaping all these, bullfinches,
"torn tits," sparrows, and a host of feathered
thieves, eat the buds before they burst ; what few are
left to flower, late frosts destroy, all but a very few
which bear fruit ; of these few, the thrushes, black-
birds, "sAveet robin red breast," and similar marau-
ders get the best part ; even after powder and shot,
at an awful expense, have made many of them pay
the death penalty, and so many come to the funeral,
that the force seems in nowise diminished. After
all this, should a few still be left — hornets, wasps,
ants, and the " servant girls in the house," (English
gardener's worst plagues, J get the best of them, un-
til by the time the Lord of the Manor gets his share, the
gardener can tell you he has had no time to be idle, no
inclination to leave much to "nature," nor disposition
to think whether the operation did or did not "pay."
And this last part of our sentence brings us to our

,i)

i

®Iu Carbnur'jj gloutljb.

real troubles. ' ' It wan' t pay, ' ' is our great enemj'. It
is more destructive than the curculio, — bums greater
holes in our pockets, and tempers than the fire -blight,
is a great "borer" of the first class, and a bug of
enormous magnitude. Mildew, and rot, and bugs,
and "blight," have djstroj^ed their thousands ; but
"it won't pay," has slain its ten thousands. Go
Avhere we will, look at what we may, or read of
aught that we do m Horticulture, we find "it
wont pay" every Avliere. Here it is clothed in a
large garden, where half paid laborers half do half
the work on the place, and the other half goes
undone for want of time. The lawn is a hay -field —
the park has degenerated to a potato patch— the
greenhouse grins at you through a score of crevices
as you pass by it, and the poor over-worked "gar-
dener" who has probably just returned from market,
where he has been to sell cows, puts on, as he looks
at you, his best airs, lest you may chance to suppose he
is ignorant of the proper time to sow peas, or plant
potatoes. "Itwontpay," reigns here ;and there, where
no gardener is kept, no park, no lawn, no pretension to
departments of anj^ kind, every thing is attempted,
and nothing succeeds ; an osage orange hedge on the
boundaries running up to seed, — apple trees moss-
barked from cold clay soil, and cherries hide-bound
from poverty and weakness. Plums topphng over
by action of the borer. Peaches eaten up by the
yellows, — in fact no labor, no fertiUzing sweat —
thorns and thistles rampant — verily "it does not

pay. ' '

It is a pleasure to hear the expression from the

lips of an agriculturist. "Will it pay?" is the first
article in his constitution. Profit is the point of
honor with him. To make the "store" in the city,
meet the expenses of the farm in the country, is
placing the ass on the back of the animal that
should be its rider ; and where fruit-culture is
adopted as part of a system of agriculture, we
care not how often or how earnestly is asked the
question, "Will it pay?" But we protest against
its admission into the ethics of horticulture. Like
Caleb Gushing in another case, in this we set "our
face like flint against it." It debases horticulture, —
ruins its professors, — and shears it of many of itsnuost
delightful parts. Horticulture is solely and entirely
for pleasure and gratification, and wherever these
are achieved, "it pays well." If our means are
limited, instead of ten acres of a garden, have only
five. If we cannot command the means to grow
eveiy kind of fruit, grow but one, and grow it
well ; and if we attempt to keep any thing of a gar-
den, employ only the best skill to attend to it, and
pay that skill well. The man who really loves his
garden for the pleasure it affords him, and has a gar-
dener who is really a gardener, one who has made

it a life-long study, and meets sufiicient inducements
in its pursuits to warrant him in entertaining no
lingering wish that he had j-ears ago, "changed it
for a better one," never asks "does it pay?" any
further than it brings in a rich harvest to the gra-
naries of his mental and moral nature.

AVhen we look at fruit-culture as it is with us, we
are bound to confess that it has degenerated. Agri-
cultural views have become so incorporated with hor-
ticulture, that scientific skill, and taste, and talent,
have become cheapened, and seeks more remunera-
tive channels. "It must pay" has frightened us.
The trail of the serpent marks all that we do.

We hope for better days, and that too at no dis-
tant date, — when most of our gardens shall have
fruit in abundance, and to spare; and skill, labor and
talent, to that end, shall be appreciated as they de-
serve to be.

unm.

33= Communications for this department must reach the Editor
on or before the 10th of the month.

53=The Editor cannot answer letters for this department pri'
vately.

Jetheo Tull's System.— JB. inquires, "I have
seen a statement that Tull continued for twenty
years, to get first-rate crops from ground without
manure. If this is correct what becomes of your
modern theory of manuring?"

We have seen no such statement in any authori
tative work. On the contrary, Tull's system was
a failure. Like many at the present time, he thought
and wrote first, and practised afterwards, in a great
degree ; but his own experiments did not bear out
his theory. A few years before his death he ex-
pressed his w^ant of faith in his own system as a cer-
tain rule of practice. Instead of twenty successive
crops, six were all that he is reported to have tried,
and these were "beautifully less" each year. If
3-0U are seriously leaning to the idea that the soil
contains within itself an inexhaustible source of fer-
tility, we shall expect to hear of sundry patches over
your unmentionables, and a piu'se with microscopic
contents, heading the next chapter in your history.

DooLiTTLE Black Cap Raspbekkt.— After our
last number went to press, we received a note from
Mr. Collins, of Auburn, New York, giving an ac-
count of the discovery of this in 1853, or '54, by
Mr. Joslyu. In substance the same as already given
from the pen of Col. Hodge. Mr. C. will never-
theless please accept our best thanks for the infor-
mation.

Aphis on Apple Trees- J. L. G. Milford,

iv

m^:^

^I'Mt

120

ifljj ^ardfncr's Jlloiitlilg.

Ohio. — "Is there any thing that will kill the aphis
on large apple trees while in the ground?"

[They usually attack only the younger points of the
shoots. "VVe should syringe them with nauseating
compounds, or cut off the shoots, and burn them.
Perhaps our correspondents may, some of them
know a better Avay. ]

Quince Stools — Paradise Slocks. — A correspond-
ent, without date or signature asks : —

' ' Please inform a young nurseryman how to plant
Angers Quince stocks for stools. Also the Orange
Quince for stools, — also whether Paradise and
Doucain stocks can be grown profitably in this coun-
try, and if so, how ?

[Set out plants two feet apart; cut them to the
ground in the spring, and about July, when the
shoots have become a little hardened, place a few
inches of soil about the bases of the shoots, which
will root, and may be taken off as plants the next
spring. Cuttings of Quince stocks are taken off and
planted in the fall, and protected by litter, leaves, or
shavings from severe frosts.

Paradise stocks are raised from cuttings of the
roots. For a full cliapter on this subject, see our
first volume, page 24.

The Nansemond Sweet Potato— ty C. B. Mur-
ray, Foster's Crossing Ohio: —

A small tract on the cultivation of this popular
esculent. We have no doubt by attending to the
rules given, roots of an enormous size may be
grown ; but whether Mr. Murray can beat the fol-
lowing from the Houston Telegraph.^ we will let
himself say : —

Largest Potato inihe World! — Sweet Potatoes grow
to a tolerably large size in the United States, but in
the Republic of Texas they beat the world, espe-
cially in the Oyster Creek nation. Messrs. Kyle &
Terry sent us one yesterday that weighed twenty-nine
pounds, and measuring thirty-nine inches in horizon-
tal, and thirty-three inches in vertical circumference.

Camellias — Dwarf Peaks — i subscriber, Phila-
delphia.— An article by a lady in another column,
Avill afford you good hints for managing your room
Camellias. They will not do well in winter, in a
dry cellar near a furnace ; but would do in a cool
one where they could get sun sometimes.

If your four year old Dwarf Pears continue to
grow freely, you need not prune much now. That
operation is principally to encourage vigorous growth.
If they are well set with buds, they may over-bear
next year if too many set. When as large as Wal-
nuts, thin out all but a few dozen, which is enough
for the first year of bearing.

Peaks — Mulberkies — H. Worcester, Mass. — Your
proposed plan of setting Dwarf Pears in rows run-
ning north and south, ten feet apart, and six feet
apart in the row, is rather close together, and unless
the soil is very well supplied with fertilizing materi-
als, and the deep, we should fear they would
dry out in hot seasons, and soon become stunted.

We have no experience in striking the Downing
Mulberry from cuttings ; but it will no doubt do as
well as other kinds, which taken off in spring, and
treated as simply as Currant cuttings, usually grow
as well. They are often grafted on White Mulberry,
we believe.

Sv/AMP Muck and Saw-dust as a Mulch for
Dwarf Pears — C. M. D., Jamaica, L. Island. — Saw-
dust is injurious to most plants and to mo.st soils.
We suppose your soil is sandy, in which case, swamp
muck will probably prove a beneficial mulch.

Metrosideros not Flowering — J. McK., West
Manchester, Pa. — Enclosed I send you a smalltwig
from a plant called Metrosideros. The plant has
been in my greenhouse eight years, fa fine, thrifty
plant, J but has never flowered. Can you tell me
the reason ? I have seen them in other greenhouses
covered with flowers. But a month or two ago I
cast my eyes on a poor, miserable, scrubby, half-
stai'ved little thing all covered with flowers. I came
home so vexed at my barren plant, that I took right
hold of it with tlie intention of throwing it out ; but,
after a moment's reflection, concluded to leave it
alone until I would ask you whether there was such
a thing as a barren Metrosideros. Therefore, on
your decision hangs his life, if a he it should prove
to be. (1.)

Also, another twig from a plant I call Akenia
mollis. Because I bought it vmder that name. Some
of our florists say it is not the name of the plant, but
fail to give me another. Can you give me the cor-
rect name." (2.)

[1. Metrosideros floribunda, and never flowers
freely till it has been first well grown, then half-
starved, when it is one of the handsomest plants
grown.

2. It is Akenia mollis, more usually, however,
called Malvaviscus mollis, sometimes Hibiscus mol-
lis.]

EuBUS LACINIATUS — M., Cincinnati, O. — This has
been for some time in cultivation around our large
cities, and notices of it are frequent in our first vol-
vune, particularly at page 184. Mr. Lawton, having
called the particular attention of the Pomological
Society to it, it has lately received marked attention.

'^~

r<@^

m

id

Ml^

®Ije ©arbtittfs lilontljlj.

121

It is the cut-lcavcd variety of the common Eughsh
Blackberry Rubus fruticosvs. It received its name,
frvticosus or "shrnbby," from the fact of its possess-
ing a more woodj'' habit. In the temperate parts of
Europe the writer has seen stems of it as thick as
liis wrist, and several years old ; bnt in more northern
latitudes it dies down every year. "Where it retains
its woody character, it throAvs up but few suckers ;
but where it dies down, it has the habits of all the
rest of the class. We certainly regard it as worthy
of attention.

Origin of the Moss Rose. — A correspondent re-
cently inquired of us the origin of the Moss Rose.
The following is all we know. The poet is a little
lame in the grammar of the second line, but this we
can forgive on account of the beauty of the thoughts
that follow :

The Angel of the flowers one day

Beneath a rose-bush sleeping lay, —

That Spirit to whose care is given

To bathe young buds in dews from Heaven ;

Awaking from his slight repose,

Tlie Angel whispered to the Rose,
"Oh, fondest object of my care.

Still fairest found where all are fair,

For the sweet shade thou'st given to me.

Ask what thou wilt, 'lis granted thee."

Then said the Rose, with deepened glow,
" On me another grace bestow."

The Spirit paused in silent thought, —

What grace was there that Hower had not?

'Twas but a moment, — o'er the Rose

A veil of moss the Angel throws.

And robed in nature's simplest weed.

Could there a flower that Rose exceed ?

Bright' s System of Prunikg Grapes. — We
have received from Mr. H. E. Cliitty, of New Lon-
don, Conn., further remarks in reply. We very
much regret that our space is so limited as to forbid
lengthy and prolonged controversies on any subject
introduced. When any party gives his views on
any question, our pages are open to the most liberal
criticism, and we cannot deny the criticised party
the right to reply. Mr. Chitty's article is an excel-
lent production, occupying six closely-written pages
of cap-paper, would take near three pages of the
Monthly, and on which he must have spent much
care. We are very sorry that the rules we have to
adopt for our guidance prevent its appearance. With
regard to the subject itself, we must be allowed to
say, that nothing but facts and figures as to the com-
parative merits of the two systems Avill satisfy us
and the public. Science partially favors both views.
Experience must strike the balance. At present
Mr. Chitty and the permanent cane party have the
best of the argument. Vines on the old system
have, as Mr. C. repeats in the article now before us,
"borne satisfactorily for twenty, thirty, and fifty

years," and gardeners are justified in hesitating to
abandon what they know to be a good system, for one
that is ;?ossi6/?/on/i/ better. Gentlemen, let us have a few
more experiments. Nothing like them for testing
linotty questions.

A few days ago we read in an exchange — The
Banner of Light, we believe — an account of a meet-
ing of philosophers at Boston, when one, a Dr.
Adams, asserted, as a fact, that a quart of water
could be got into a quart-measure already filled with
sand. The subject was debated pro and con by the
savans present, and no conclusion seemed to be ar-
rived at by the distinguished body. Our office-boy
coming in at the time, we propounded to him the
question. "Dun know," says he; "but I'll try."
In a few moments lie returned with the report that
the quart of sand took up one-third only of the
water in the other quart, demonstrating, at the same
time, the folly of the "philosophers," and the addi-
tional fact that a measure of fine bar-sand contains
within it one-third of space.

The hint is not intended for those exclusively who
wish to give us " a little more grape," — all of us can
profit by it.

Hot- Water Tank — j1 Subscriber, Borvmanville,
Canada. — In a propagating-pit sixtj'^ feet long I in-
tend building a tank three feet wide, to be heated by
an elbow of a four-inch iron pipe built in the fur-
nace. About two feet of the pipe will be exposed
to the fire. Hoav long will it be advisable to make
the tank? (1.)

What work on propagating and cultivating exotics
do you consider the best? (2.)

[1. It depends on the size of the furnace and the
amount of heat you can bring to bear on the pipe
boiler. With an ordinary strong fire and little
water in the tank, it would be safe to rim the tank
the whole sixty feet of length.

2. There is no complete work. "Buist's Flower-
Garden Directory" and "Breck's Flower-Garden"
are the best we know. ]

Prairie Flowers — Mr. R. 0. Thompson, of Ne-
braska City, sends us an account of the many beauti-
fid floAvers of that region. Botanical collectors,
from Michaux and Nuttall downwards, have pretty
well explored the country, and it is more than prob-
able that every thing beautiful has already been made
to pay tribute to our collections. The seeds which
Mr. Thompson encloses us, for instance, belongs to
Clematis Virginiana. If the gentleman will send us
dried pressed specimens of flowering shoots next
season, we can probably tell him whether or not
they have been already named or introduced, and

^

M

V

the good services he so very kindly oflers thus ren.
dered more certain of results.

Mr. Thompson says :

"The Prairie Dwarf Seedling Rose, twenty kinds
of native grapes, eight of strawberries, six of wild
plums fbetter than many tame onesj, twelve creep-
ers, two gooseberries, two raspberries, and many
fiower-roots I will send by mail or express to any
one, gratis^ who wishes them. I have a desire to see
our rarities, beauties, and good things sent abroad
and tested in every locality in the States. I send
you enclosed seed of one variety of creepers,— a
most beautiful thing. Cuttings of the grapes, scions
of the plums, plants of the strawberry, and roots of
the rose and creepers will be mailed to all who apply
for them."

Strelitzia regina— G. W., Wellington, Canada
West has had a plant foUr years that has not pro-
duced flowers. When well established, they flower
very freely here. The custom is to give them plenty
of pot-room, and set the pots in the summer in a
hot, sunny place in the open air, and in a warm
stove in winter. They bloom freely every summer.

Raising Tree Seed.— f. W. says:— "The dif-
ferent kinds of elm, birch, and linden seed I have
failed in raising from seed. What is the best time
and manner ?

[Elm, if fresh, usually grows well sown early in
spring. The other kinds must either be planted in
fall, or suffered to lie over in the ground a year with-
out growing. ]

Azalea Flowers— £. J^. S. — We are sorry to
say that the flowers were so completely crushed in
the letter, that it was impossible to name them for
you. They should be sent in a small box with damp
moss around them.

Thuja Wareana, or plicata— i?. B. says: — This
is a seedling variety of our American Arborvitae. We
have quantities of seedling plants from the former
that all prove the latter."

Bright on the Grape-Vine. — We have been
favored with advanced sheets of the second Edition
of Mr. Bright' s book, in which we find many new
positions advanced, that will attract considerable
attention. For some years past the best grape-
growers have been, gradually abandoning the old
idea of animal carcases, and strong nitrogenous mat-
ters for borders. We find in this that Mr. B. takes
the ground, that all such, even stable manures, are

not only no good, but positively injurious. Mr.
Bright' s views we regard inmany points extreme ;
but his writings have had an immense influence in
introducing good practices into favor, and we are
glad to see that he has been encouraged to bring out
a new and improved edition.

The Principles and Practice of Land Drain-
age.— Embracing a brief History of Underdraining ;
a detailed examination of its Operation and Advan-
tages; a Description of various kinds of Drains,
with Practical Directions for their Construction, the
Manufacture of Drain Tile, etc. Iflustrated by
nearly 100 Engravings. By John H. Klippart.
Robert Clarke & Co., Cincinnati.

Every reader of the Gardener^s Monthly is well
aware of the importance of underdraining. He who
practices it generally adds acres to his farm, without
the cost of new deeds. The present work seems to
be a collection of all the points in the history of un-
derdraining from the earliest period to the present
time. It came to hand only as we go to press,
and we have not as yet been able to read it care-
fully ; but a hasty examination warrants us in trust-
ing that it win have a wide circulation amongst all
interested in the improvement of the soil.

The American Stock Journal, devoted to the im-
provement of our domestic animals throughout the
United States. The first and second volumes bound,
have been sent us by the publisher. We believe it is
the only Journal devoted to these subjects exclu-
sively, and deserves extensive support. The last
number contains minute details of Rarey's sys-
tem of Horse-taming, by which the most vicious
animal becomes an equine Katharine in the hands
of this modern Petruchio.

E. Ware Sylvester, Lyons, N. Y. Fruits and
General Stock.

John G. Barker, Hartford, Conn. New and
choice Bedding Plants.

Randolph Peters, Newark, Del. General List.

B. K. Bliss, Springfield, Mass. Flower and
Vegetable Seed, Fruits, &c. 70 pages.

George Nichol, Providence, R. I. New Roses,
&c.

C.Beadle, St. Catharine's, Canada West. Trees
and Plants.

Uri Manly, Marshall, Ills. Fruits and Orna-
mentals.

Edgar Sanders, Chicago, 111. Bedding Plants.

G. Goldsmith & Co. , Indianapolis, Ind. Fruit
and Ornamentals.

J. H. BoARDMAN, Brighton, N. Y. Grape-vines,
&c.

W. T, & E. Smith, Geneva, N. Y. Fruits, Trees,
and Flowers. 32 pages.

®h4 iardencr's llanthlj.

123

Neally Bros. & Bock, Burlington, Iowa. Whole-
sale Catalogue.

R. LiNSLEY, West Merideu, Conn. Roses, Bed-
ding-out Plants, (fee.

J. Knox, Pittsburg, Pa. Small Fruits.

Tkueblood & LiPSEY, Salem, Ind. Fruits.

JosnuA Pierce, Washington, D. C. Small
Fruits.

Full sets of Catalogues of the extensive depart,
meuts of the following gentlemen have been re-
ceived:

Andrew Bridgeman, Broadway, New York.

R. BursT & Son, Philadelphia.

The Catalogues of the following well-known firms
are on our table, and, in addition to their usual
full lists of things cultivated, contain on their fly-
leaves advertisements of the Gardener's Monthly, for
which act of kindness the publisher returns his best
thanks.

Bateham, IIanford & Co., Columbus, Ohio.
Fruits, Trees and Flowers. 50 pages.

Barnes & Washburne, Harrison Square, Mass.
Flower and Vegetable Seeds. 50 pages.

E. C. Frost, Havana, N. Y. Fruits and Flowers,
with sketch of Wagener Apple.

J. A. Bruce, Hamilton, C. W. Seeds and
Flowers.

Gipson's Kentucky Seedling Apple — Mr. C. P.
Hale, Calhoun, Ky., writes: —

Enclosed I send you an outline of an excellent
winter apple which grows in this county. The out-

line was taken by drawing a pen around one half of
the apple. It gives the shape except the calyx, which

was injured. The tree grows on the farm of Mr.
A. Gipson. I propose to name it Gipson's Ken-
tucky Seedling. Mr. Gipson says the tree while
young was found growing by a path-way leading
from an orchard of the Prior's Red apple, to a
school-house in the neighborhood, and he thinks it
sprang from the seed of that apple, dropped by the
children passing to or from the school-house. He
says it is more productive than the Prior's Red, or
Rawle's Januet, on his farm, and keeps better than
either of them ; that it produced twenty or thirty
bushels of apples this season ; and, that it has never
been pruned. There have been no trees propagated
from it yet.

Size rather below medium, round-ovate, one-
sided ; skin smooth, dark red on sunny side on green-
ish-yellow ground, blotched with dark brown,
dotted with small black dots in patches, and specked
with small gray specks in the skin. The brown
blotches and black dots may be rubbed off without in-
juring the skin ; stalk from i to ^ inch long ; cavity
narrow, uneven ; basin shallow, slightly plaited ;
calyx partly closed; flesh pale yellow, very fine
grained ; tender, juicy, sprightly, sub-acid ; keeps all
winter, about equal to the best for this country.

New English Strawberry — Frogmore Late Pine.
This is not as large as a "cocoa nut," as friend
Hovey would say ; but is extolled by the Enghsh
growers for being larger and better than any late

kind in cultivation. Since the old notion, that foreign
strawberries will do no good in our climate, has been
exploded as a general rule, some of our cultivators
will doubtless have this variety introduced, and
placed on the trial list before the season goes

^

70}

124

WH §m\mtf% ^ontljlii.

Osage Orange Hedges. — I have made good
hedges in five years, as follows, for 100 rods :

3000 plants $12 00

Ploughmg and preparing strip of

laud, half day 100

Setting the plants 8 00

Cultivating three times a year, five

years 2 00

Cutting back with stub-scythe,

about 3 00

Interest, about 5 00

|36 00
or about twenty -five cents a rod. By employing bun-
glers, hand-shears, picking out weeds with the fin-
gers, &c., the cost might have been greatly increased.
Ploughing and harrowing a strip five feet wide on
each side, which is cheaply done, is at least twenty
times more useful than merely hoeing by hand a
narrow strip where the plants stand. The roots run
far, and care nothing for a few weeds in the row. —
Country Gentleman.

Apples per Central New York. — The report
of the Oneida community says: "These have been
unusually abundant and perfect. Sorts, heretofore
very imperfect, show what they are in these favored
localities. — The Red Aslracan, Primate and Sweet
Bough, among summer varieties ; the Porter, Graven-
stein, Norton''s Melon, and Lowell, autumn sorts ; and
the R. I. Greening, Baldwin, Esopus Spitzenburgh,
Swaar, Wagener, English Russett, and Northern Spy,
late keepers, have all proved well adapted to this
place. The Primate is the best summer apple we
know. Baldwin and Porter liable to overbear, Swaar
and Spitzenburgh pay for high culture. Wagener, a
famous early bearer, and of superior quality. The
Northern Spy — "slow but sure," — has this year
shown that it will produce great crops of large apples.
The next enlargement of our apple-orchards will be
of this sort. First full returns from young orchards
— one thousand bushels of choice fruit harvested."

Grape Eyes. — A correspondent of the German-
town Telegraph writes, that he prepares and plants
grape eyes in the usual way, and sets the boxes in
a warm closet where they sprout, and are gradually
inured to light and air, and that he has succeeded
well in this way.

The Ohio Beauty, Apples. — Dr. Warder read a
letter from Mr. WilUam F. EngUsh, Rhinehart,
Anglaise county, Ohio, referring to the "Ohio
Beauty." Mr. English says: "One tree of this va-

riety, of about sixteen years' growth, charmed and
astonished everybody. Almost every approach to
the trunk of the tree was cut off by the hmbs bend-
ing to the ground ; in many places, apples matured
resting on the ground. Some of the limbs of this
tree extended twenty-two to twenty-four feet, hori-
zontally, from the trunk, and yielded the present
season thirty bushels of apples. The largest apple
we weighed this season weighed one pound. Full
as the trees were, one hundred and twenty to one
hundred and twenty-five, taken on the average,
make a bushel. Every day still more and more
confirms me in the opinion I formed before I was so
well acquainted with other varieties ; that is, that
among the best apples in general cultivation, it has
no equal." — Cincinnatus.

Improved Hollyhocks. — Radical shoots, taken
off as cuttings in the spring, no doubt give the
strongest spikes, but they may easily be propagated
by single eyes in July and August. Plant out in
March ; the former month is best for early flower-
ing, the latter for very late blooming. Never plant
on new ground, or in maiden earth, but choose a
soil that has been well worked, and if well trenched,
so much the better.

Drying Rhubarb. — Rhubarb dries very well, and
when well prepared, will keep good for an indefinite
period. The stalks should be broken off while they
are crisp and tender, and cut into pieces about an
inch in length. These pieces should then be strung
on a thin twine, and hung up to dry. Rhubarb
shrinks very much in drying — more so than any
plant I am acquainted with, and strongly resembling
pieces of soft wood. When wanted for use, it should
be soaked in water over night, and the next day
simmered over a slow fire. None of its properties
appear to be lost in drying, and it is equally as good
in winter as any dried fruit. Very few varieties of
rhubarb are suitable for drying, as most of them con-
tain too much woody fibre. The best variety of
rhubarb for any purpose is the Victoria, when grown
in a suitable situation. The Mammoth is worthless,
owing to its fibrous nature, as are also some other
kinds. — Prairie Farvier.

Mushroom Growing. — The artificial cultivation
of mushrooms is now so well understood and prac-
ticed that perhaps little more can be advanced on the
subject. In my own case, I merely state a mode of
growing them in the spring and summer months,
which I have found to answer better than any way I
have yet tried. In a large Vinery here, used for the
growth of the Black Damascus Grape, there is a long

^

Slhit (Sardcnur's <PoutIiIg»

125

pit or bed iu the middle of the inside of the house.
This bed is about 3 feet in depth, by the same in
width, and is filled -with well prepared horse drop-
pings, in February, or beginning of March, to heat
the roots of the Vines, and to make a moist ammonia-
cal atmosphere for the buds breaking. About the
beginning of April, when the bed is no longer wanted
for this purpose, I add a little more fresh droppings
to the surface of the bed, and spawn it in the usual
way. Some good fresh turfy soil of a loamy nature
is then put on the surface, and the whole beaten as
hard as possible with a wooden mallet. Wooden
shutters, or boards, are then put over the bed, the
surface of which is at least 6 inches below the boards.
The young Mushrooms usually appear in the begin-
ning of May, and the beds continue in full bearing
all through that month, and June and July. The
JIushrooms from this bed are not like the half-starved
buttons grown in regular IMushroom houses, but
large dark brown fellows from 3 to 4 inches in dia-
meter, and as full of juice as field Mushrooms. At
one of the horticultural shows at Chiswick, I remem-
ber having seen a fine large dish of forced Mush-
rooms, sent by Mr. Ingram, from Frogmore, which
were of the same color and substance. They were
stuck into Moss in a shallow basket, which showed
them off better than the usual modes tried at exhibi-
tions. I attribute the large size and succulence of
the Mushrooms grown in this way, to the deepness
and quantity of the fermenting materials in the bed,
and the additional moisture in the air of a large
Vinery ; for the boards are frequently taken off the
bed, when the vines are syringed or watered at the
roots. When there is room in the inside of Vineries,
or Peaclihouses, for a bed for using fermenting ma-
terials, no better plan can be devised for making Vines
and Peaches break readily, and the beds can after-
wards be used for growing Mushrooms. The only
precaution is when the fruit begins to ripen, to clear
all the beds of the fermenting materials, and cover
them up closely with the shutters or boards, to pre-
vent dampness. In August, or September, I usually
clear the bed here clean out, and the Black Damas-
cus Grapes keep without damping or shrivelling till
the end of November. — William Tillery, Welbeck.

Cyclajieks. — Never dry them, as the "general
practice" does; but when the flower and the frost
are done with for the season, plant out the balls en-
tire in a warm border, where the roots' will not be
distm'bed the whole summer, let them take the rain
and the drought as they happen to come ; but do
nothing more on your part till the middle of August,
then watch them, and the moment you perceive a
move for fresh leaves, up with them that day, shake
off every particle of soil from the roots, and po

them in the flowering pots at once, in good holding
loam, with a little sand and very rotten cowdung,
and so dry as that it will sift like leaf mould, drain
particularly well, and let the bulb be one-third out
of the earth ; and if you could plunge the pots in a
cold frame, one Avatering would do till after Christ-
mas.— Collage Gardener.

Pelaegoniums — Best Show Varieties. — Aurelia,
Brilliant, Criterion, Eclipse, Etna, Evelyn, Fair
Ellen, Fairest of the Fair, Fire Queen, Lady Can-
ning, Leviathan, Miss Foster, Mr. White, Prince of
Wales, Rosy Gem, Rosalie, Ringleader, Rose Celes-
tial, Richard Benyon, Rose Leaf, The Bride, Viola,
Vestal, Wonderful. Best new ones coming out:
Autocrat, Hyperion, Lord Clyde, Hesperus, Bacchus,
Apollo, Cherub. Best Spoiled— Aral), Charmer,
Charles Turner, Conspicuum, Fancy, Guillaumc
Sevja-en, Guido, Hero,Mazeppa, Mr. Beck,Mr. Iloyle,
Madame Pescatore, Madame Lemichez, Peacock,
Pescatore, Sanspareil, Spotted Gem, Spotted Pet.
Best new ones coming out: Beadsman, Bracelet,
King of Purples. Best Fancy.— Acme, Bridesmaid,
Captivator, Clara Novello, Cloth of Silver, Circle,
Formosum, Madame Rougiere, Mrs. Turner, Mar-
chioness of Tweedale, Negro, Princess Royal. Best
new ones coming out: Lady Craven, Omega, Sarah
Turner. — Dobson ^ Son, Isleworth.

^Foppign (JoFFPsponilpnrp^

Letter

Paris

from our Occasional
Correspondent.

Friekd Meehak, you were very kind when you
stated your five arguments why I should be Letter-
writer Extraordinary to His Excellency the Garden-
er''s Monthly. Shall I hit you back with five argu-
ments against it ? Let two suffice. lam not on a
gardening tour. I am not scientific enough even for
an "occasional." I Avill, nevertheless, write when
the spirit moves. Alas ! the spirit moved me the
other day in a melancholy way. Cemetery flowers
made me think of you and the Monthly. I went to
seek the grave of a young man, an American, who
died just before my arrival here ; died, too, of —
Paris ; a schoolfellow of mine, whose Hving eye and
hand and tongue I expected to enjoy here; who

cvme over to ; but that sad tale has no business

here. Well, the cemetery differs from those at home
in nothing more than in the abundance of wreaths
of Immortelle flowers. The French love to visit
cemeteries. Their gay nature here, perhaps, finds
that reaction which every thing in creation seems to
require. Even distant friends and relations are vis-
ited by them, when dead, with a feeling of kind re-
membtance, which these, when alive, unhappily do

•V?.

126

ili4 ®artkn^r'^ JHontMg,

¥

not enjoy, and for all there is the wreath of Im-
mortals.

Busts and statues, on anniversaries of the death
of their originals, are wreathed in the same way.
Napoleon I., cast in bronze, standing on a high col-
umn made of iron ordnance taken in battles and re-
cast, on every recurring day of his death, gets
profusely bewreathed, mostly by the few veterans
still living. Or if one of his old followers living m
the provinces happens to come to Paris, he will not
fail to hang up his wreath on the iron railing round
his idol's column in the Place Vendome. Of course,
the cultivation and sale of such wreaths has become
a distinct trade. Numbers of girls are employed to
make them, and they are sent from Paris all over
France, selling by the dozen, the gross, and the

hundreds of gross.

But away with /emonc/,o?i/,-let us turn to live fresh

flowers, even in winter. Let us go to the ball of
Madame Secretary of State, here called Minister for
the interior. This is the night, here is the card of in-
vitation. You smile. You want to know what
business I have with the ball ? Incredulous, modest
man ' Do not all the gardeners belong to the world's
aristocracy ? Am I not, further, a representative of
the American nation? Is not America "a great
country?" And, lastly, if gardeners were contra-
band articles for such balls, who knows me, in my
present position, as ever having handled spades any
more than clubs or diamonds or hearts ? But I will
not lead you into the ladies' saloons ; I will but show
you the approaches ; how, when once your foot has
passed the portecochere, you wiU forget season, cli-
mate, and our common notions of habitation ; for
you will step into a bower or grove of exotic plants,
all so arranged that you see no pots and tubs. Rho-
dodendrons, Azaleas, Camellias of every quarter of
the globe, and of the fifth, too. Musas of Ethiop,
Acacias of New Holland, Heathers of the Cape, all
the varieties of Palms of the Islands, the natives of
Java of the Brazils, of scorching Africa, of India
in the East, of Cuba and of Botany Bay, they all
meet here in brilliant gaslight, to strike your eye
with the dazzle of their blooms, to fill your brain
with their bewitching fragrance ; in fact, to time
you to the ball and to gaiety, and to "nerve," if,
perchance, you arrive in the wrong mood. And
whence all these plants ? Not from the greenhouses
of Monsieur le Ministre, to be sure. Why should
he risk his plants, when for so much he can have so
many for this or that occasion ? Save me from sta-
tistics, friend Meehan. I hate figures. It is suffi-
cient to tell you that a good many establishments
earn every winter a good deal of money by hiring
out the denizens of their plant-houses. The pay„hoAV-
ever, is not for the bringing and fetching alone, nor

for the per centage of wear, tear, and risk ; but for

the art of placing them along the entrance, up the
stairs, etc., for making decorations, for hiding, by
their aid, unsightly nooks, for fining up with them
useless corners, and for accomplishing really artistic
designs. When the city of Paris gave a baH in the
City Hall, to Queen Victoria of England, when she
was here, the large spaces of roof intervening be-
tween the second floor of the principal sides of the
quadrangle and the different buildings rising from
it — the depressions or spaces being necessary for
letting in the light— were roofed over in Crystal Pal-
ace manner; connected with these buildings, the
floor, heretofore roof, boarded and gardens made of
them, in which birds sung and fountains played.

And as a contrast, turn now to those exhibitions
from which all classes to the humblest draw their
supply of plants and flowers, to the flower-marts of
Paris. Of this I will write to you on some future
occasion. M.

THE FRUIT GROWERS' SOCIETY OF
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

{ConHnue.d from Page 96.)

ARE COLD GRAPERIES WORTHY THE ATTENTION OF THE

FARMER ?

Mr. S. Miller said it was a mistake to suppo.se these structures
required very close attention. A friend of his, who was an engi-
neer, usually leit a cheap vinery he had erected go all day with-
out any attention, and he had perfect success.

Mr. B. Bartolett, a farmer of Chester County, said, in 1844 he
put up against his house a vinery twelve by sixteen feet, at a cost of
about thirty-four dollars. He had frequently given it no atten-
tion for several weeks, and year before last particularly. Has
very fine crops. He had, he thought, as much as two hundred
pounds on some occasions from four vines.

Mr. A. W. Harrison, though only a horticultural amateur and not
a farmer, thought that, from his experience, there was a profit to
be made well worthy of the farmer's attention. More care would
have to be exercised in having matters safe from contingencies, so
that, as in Mr. Bartolett's case, the vinery might be left a long
time without care. Inside borders had such advantages. Besides
the money profit, the refining influences of such operations on the
farmer's family was worth a good deal.

Mr. Saunders spoke of the increasing risk of failure in pears,
cherries, apples, Ac, and asked. What so certain as a crop of
vinery grapes? There was too much mystery made of grape-
growing, — too much nonsense in usual rules of management. —
Borders three feet deep were sufficient, and cost but little. As for
so much talk about soils, any earth that would grow good cab-
bages would grow good grapes. He favored inside borders, made
arrangements to keep the air moist as heat increased, which also
had a good efl'ect on restraining mildew. No crop produced so
much for so little outlay, and he hoped every farmer would profit
by Mr. Bartolett's experience.

Mr. Bartolett said he had both an outside and inside border.
Thought that a border wholly inside would at times get too dry.
He laid down and protected his vines in winter, until the spring
opened and the buds pushed. Kept the sashes shut, more or less,
till all danger of frost was over, when they were left open alto-
gether. He used soap-suds and sulphur about three times a year
over the leaves and about the vinery, and attributed to it his free-
dom from mildew.

Mr. Saunders remarked, with regard to the drying of inside bor-
ders, that he had found one thorough watering a year sullicient.
CRACKING OF THE PEAR AND BLIGHT.

Mr. Baldwin thought electricity at or about the time of thunder-
storms had an influence on the production of blight, and thought
some application might guard against it.

Mr. Millhauer observed that blight was quite a modern disease,
while we had thunder-storms years ago.

Dr. Eshleman thought locality had some reference to the cause
of cracking. In some localities llosenshenk did well ; in others it
cracked badly. At New Holland, Lancaster County, the Diller
did finely, but was worthless with him in Chester County. Fre-

< I

quently only single limbs were struck with flre-bliglit, and When
there were no thunder-storms.

Mr. Harrison thought that when a tree was weakened in its
constitution by any course of treatment, any unfavorable circum-
.stances to general health would brin? out disease. He instanced
two trees of the Des Xonues Pear in his garden bearing fruit for the
first time. Around one of these a thick dressing of stable-manure
had been accidentally placed the year before. The tree grew vig-
orously, and last year the fruit cracked badly. The other Des
Nonnes Pear, as well as the other pears in his garden that bore, did
not crack. An abundance of nitrogeneons maniires rendered wood
soft and spongy, as it makes a cabbage tender and juicy, and
when in that condition disease fastens ou the structure and often
becomes hereditary and constitutional. The knowledge of the
effect of peculiar .substances on the health of vegetable structure
was only in its infancy. Mr. Baxter, of Philadelphia, famous for
fine pears, hung iron about his trees. The rain brought the oxide
to the ground, and it was, in his (the speaker's) view, but a
clumsy way of applying oxide of iron to the soil. Sulphate of iron
has been known to make leaves of pear trees very large, and the
fruit very fine. Experiments with steel in trees have resulted in
no good, indicating that it was the oxide of iron from the use of
the latter that was beueflcial. When the tendency to disease had
become a habit, many things would brina it out, and many things
would also produce the tendency to disease. Bearing young, in
vegetables as in animals, had an enervating tendency. Give him
well-ripened, close, compact, hard wood, a stock from a healthy
parent, and one that has not over-borne when young, and he did
not fear disease.

EUwood Thomas, of Montgomery County, grafted a hedge pear
with W. Doyenne. Bore well for a few years, then cracked badly.
After that he grafted .Tulienne, which has since done well. The
tree has always been surrounded by sod. He thought it could not
be deficient elements in the soil, or in such a case the Julienne
would crack as bad as W. Doyenne.

Mr. Grider thought there might be sufficient of certain elements
for one variety, and not for another, for he knew a friend who
had a pear, the fruit of which cracked freely, and after a plentiful
application of salt to the ground about the tree, the disease disap-
peared.

Mr. Miller thought be had known beneficial results both from
iron and salt. Had seen fine White Doyennes in Lancaster
County in sheltered gardens.

Mr. Baldwin had seen scions taken from healthy White Doyenne
trees, and put en trees that bore cracked fruit, and for some time
after the fruit was healthy.

Mr. Harrison agreed in the view of Mr. Grider. It was well
known that one kind of soil would render a grape sweet . another
kind of soil would produce the same kind more sour. It was so
with the pear. High-flavored pears absorbed more of the ele-
ments of perfection. Hedge pears would be satisfied with very
little.

A gentleman observed that guano-water had been found by him
favorable to healthy fruit.

A. W. Corson had a Butter Pear to crack seven successive years.
Last year dressed the surface about the tree with ashes and stable-
manure, with a perceptible benefit to last year's crop.

Mr. Lukens Pierce made some remarks which our reporter did
not hear, and

Mr. Saunders observed that he had given the subject much at-
tention, and was satisfied that cracking was owing solely to at-
mospheric causes. Soil analysis was so indefinite that no satis-
factory result could be had. Two analyses on soil, taken but a
few feet from each other, would vary in elements and in their
proportions. This might be considered but a "practical" view : but
there were two classes of "practicals" — those who "practiced" and
observed as they went, and those who " practiced" what they were
taught — mere machines, who never bestowed a thought on what
they were doing. Agreed with Mr. Harrison, that ripe wood was
important. Where wood was net well ripened, partial shelter
would mitigate or keep off crack and blight. The effect of frost on
8oft wood was much the same as heat in summer. The moisture
evaporated too rapidly, and disease or death ensued.

Mr. Millei enquired if summer-pinching would harden or ripen
wood, and

Mr. Saunders replied that it would, if done early in fall.

Mr. Vos, of Berks County, spoke highly of the Reading Pear,
. which, he said, was as easy to get perfect as the Bartlett, and
bore nearly as well. He was not much of a reader, and got his
knowledge entirely from experience. His views, whatever they
might be, were, therefore, his own, and not suggested by other
parties ; and he would say that he had found great benefit from
light manures for the pear. In fact, he considered wood-ashes,
salt, and iron-filings indispensable to get perfect fruit. His soil
was clay subsoil, and never had any sign of blight or crack
amongst his fruits. He grew many kinds, and all did equally
well. He manures entirely by top-dressing. There were soils
about Reading in which no pear could be made to grow.

General Keim said there was an extremely fine winter pear cul-
tivated in the neighborhood by the early German settlers, which
they called the Och, and which for many years was entirely free
from crack and blight. Pears were less subject to disease in the
city of Reading, where they were protected, than in the environs.

He said there were many very tine varieties of fruit about Read-
ing, named after good citizens, that had sprung up from self-sown
seed brought ^m Canada by the Indians, who had a regular
meeting or camping-ground in the vicinity every spring. The
Keim Apple, he thought, undoubtedly originated in this way. He
paid a glowing tribute to the benevolent purposes of horticulture,
and closed by an invitation to the menbei's of the Convention to
honor him with a visit at his house on their adjournment, which
the members accepted, and felt themselves, in turn, honored and
gratified by the cordiality and kindness with which the General
received and entertained them.

Dr. Eshlemau said it was eight years since he had first experi-
mented on the special manure theory on a Butter Pear. He took
out the soil abuut it three feet wide aud three feet deep, and filled
in with a compost, in which were sulphate of iron, oxide of iron,
wood-ashes, charcoal, &c., five cart-loads in all; but fruit cracked
as bad as ever. Grafted all but one limb with Bartletts, which do
not crack. The ungrafted fruit cracks as bad as ever. The tree is
also well protected. He did not believe that only the constitution-
ally weak took disease. The healthiest man was often the first in
times of epidemics to take sick and die. He inclined to the belief
that cracking and blight were the results of a parasitic fungus.

Mr. Harrison replied that it was, nevertheless, a fact that, as a
rule, good healthy wood was more liable to be exempt from dis-
eases arising from constitution.il weakness. He instanced two
orchards, near each other, of about two hundred varieties, — one
manured in the usual way with strung stimulating and coarse
wood-producing manures, in which one-third of the fruit was
badly cracked ; and the other, which had inorganic manures only,
and not a crack or sting was visible. He was assured by parties
highly respectable, that this was a regularly marked character of
the two orchards. They had both been underdrained, and both
treated and managed alike, except in the single point of the sys-
tem of manuring.

Mr. Saunders remarked that it was one of the most interesting
discussions he had ever listened to, and clearly showed to his mind
that it was essential to study the general laws of vegetable health
above all ; yet when trees were once weakened, he had no doubt
that po.sition and shelter would be found very beneficial.

CAUSE OF THE FAILURE OF THE GRAPE, AND THE BEST
VARIETIES FOR EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

H. M. Thomas said that about Reading it was customary to dig
trenches one and a half ft. deep and one ft. wide, into which some
leather-parings and stable-manure were put. 'They always bore,
never had rot, and but little blight or mildew.

Dr. Kessler said that, for the last thirty years, the Isabella had
been the great grape of Reading. Recently they had not done so
well as formerly. The leaves became hurt usually after showers
which were followed by hot snn. When the leaves once got in-
jured, he had noticed that the grapes never ripened. The only
remedy ho knew was to encourage suckers to throw up a new set
of leaves and canes, provided the injury was prior to July or
August.

Mr. Grider has twenty acres of grapes. He and another neigh-
bor had lost heavily by rot during the past four years. Rot and
mildew extended over the whole United States, and now, in the
infancy, as it were, of our wine-making expeiiments, he who
would point out a remedy would be a national benefactor. In
early spring he had noticed a small insect preying ou the
bark, which produced by its puncture, as seen when exam-
ined with a magnifying-glass, a small red spot, which successively
turned purple, brown, and ultimately black, the bark splitting
open in time and exposing the wood by the time the latter ri-
pened. The insect appeared but a small midge. The rot appears
in spots in his vineyard, not evidently on vines more weakened
than others, — often, indeed, only on some branches of the vine,
while the other branches of the same vine produce perfect fruit.
In fact, the rot often seems to rise in a direct line from the ground
upward, as if it was smoke from a chimney.

Mr. Fehr led a branch of a vine into a house, and it bore good
fruit ; all on the outside vine rotted. Thought the house avoided
change of temperature about the fruit. Grapes he had always
found to do much better in the shade than in the sun. His expe-
rience with vineyards near Reading dates from 1840. Had no
doubt mildew was atmospheric, and that the gases of towns were
unfavorable to its development. Had imported Rislings from Ger-
many, but they were a speedy and total failure. He had now for
some yeai's grown only the Catawba and Isabella. His system of
pruning varied with the strength of the vine, — left plenty of wood
on strong vines. He thought mildew attacked grapes worst in
June. On dewy, hazy mornings, had noticed a pale hue on the
berry, and by nine o'clock next morning the mildew would be
plainly discernible. He calculated he had lost as much as .$10,000
in hisvineyard by rot and mildew. He spoke of the winged thrip,
also, as being very destructive to the health of the vine foliage.

Mr. Saunders, by permission of the Chairman, read his essay on
the subject in the last proceedings of the American Pomological
Society.

Mr. Grider hoped attention would be turned to find a certain
remedy. Had seen a solution of sulphur eat off mildew after it
had been badly fastened on berries.

'Wi>

.JB^

128

Che §mkmxs Ponthlj.

Mr. Miller, of Chester County, noticed, as a singular coincidence,
that when rose-bugs were abundant about vines, there were
plenty of grapes, — and grapes scarce in seaso;^ when they were
absent. It had become something of a proverb in his section :
" No rose-bugs, no grapes."

Mr. Fehr confirmed the observation. Used to send men to kill
off rose-bugs; found his mistake, and the fir.-t year after discon-
tinuing the war against rose-bugs made twenty-four barrels of
wine. He subscribed to the doctrine " No rose-bugs, no grapes."

S. Miller, of Chester County, noticed that, invariably, grapes
on trees were healthy in every respect, while they rot in the vine-
yard.

It was here proposed to take a vote on the five best kinds the
members would recommend.

Mr. Rutter said there was so much difference of opinion at the
last meeting about fruits for profit from their ease of culture or
prolifieness, and fruits to be grown for perfenal use for their su-
perior quality alone, that he thought it would be well to vote
understandingly on that subject.

Mr. S. Miller, of Lebanon, thought the Diana with him the safest
from mildew Had never seen any on Concord. Spoke well of
Clinton in that respect ; but had not had good Catawba or Isabella
for ten years.

Mr. Fehr had tried the Rebecca, but it failed entirely in his lo-
cality.

Previous to a vote, the Chairman (Mr. Miller, pi-n tern ) hoped
that only those would be recommended which the members had
thoroughly tested, and to mark on the ballots the names of the
kinds they had tried and selected their choice from ; but we did
not understand that this was attended to; and it was agi'eed after
the vote was taken, that the result .should not be considered the
authoritative sense of the Society. The following was the list, the
order of preference bein? given as the list runs- — Concord, Diana,
Delaware, Clinton, Isabella. Our reporter observes that these
votes do not amount to much, as probably those who had grown a
Concord might not have grown a Diana, as they only voted on
what they had grown. Scattering votes were given for the fol-
lowing, and in consecutive order: Catawba, Taylor's Bullitt, Clo-
anthe, Ontario, Cassaday.

SMALL FRUITS.

Rev. Mr. Knox, of Pittsburg being present, was invited to favor
the meetingwith his experience. For raspberries he used a Double
Michigan Plough to the depth of twenty inches. Preferred the
Brinckle's Orange for flavor, beauty, and productiveness, but if
was rathei soft for carrying to market well. It was rather tender;
but his faith was in protecting all, even the hardiest. Franconia
he preferred as a red. Next the Improved Black Cap. He praised
it highly for profit. Does not prefer it to others himself; but for
market use one must study the wants and wishes of his customers,
rather than his own taste. Improved Black Cap was far superior
to the common kinds. He planted them seven feet apart and
three feet from each other, — other kinds five feet, and three feet
from each other in the row. Used stable-manure. For marketing
raspberries, less than pint boxes were the best size. Objection has
been made to the color, but in his market, where the Orange is
known, it sells well at good prices.

Mr. Heines spoke favorably of mulching raspberries with
manure.

Mr. Harrison favored tan-bark. He allowed only those canes
to grow that he wished to bear fruit next year, and found wood-
ashes and salt an excellent manure. Approved of the Orange and
Franconia. Thought Pilate and Hornet promised well. Would
send raspberries of the finer kinds to market with their stems on.
Hudson River Antwerp was praised for its regular-.slzed berries.
Col. Wilder was first-rite in the shade, but poor in the sun.

Mr. Knox prepared ground for strawberries as for raspberries.
Soil had remarkable effects on the re.sults of strawberry culture.
Has had profitable strawberry crops from ground only ten inches
deep. Grows them in rows two and a half feet apart, eight to
fifteen inches apart in the row. Never lets any runners grow.
Keeps the cultivator going till fall,— cultivator made expressly
for the purpose. Lays straw along to keep the fruit from the dirt.
Boys draw the straw apart for the operations of the cultivator
with a hay-rake. Uses the labor of women and boys for pinching
runners and the lighter labor. Has beds expressly for propaga-
tion, where runners are allowed to run. Disrunnered beds last a
long time without renewal. His beds are five years old, and
thinks they may last five more. Spoke highly of a kind known
in Pittsburg as Baltimore Scarlet, as suiting their soil well ; also
of Burr's Pine and Buist's Prize. Many foreign varieties suited
his locality well. Trollope's Victoria had brought one dollar per
quart, and berries had measured two and a quarter inches across.
Albany's defect was in having various sized berries. Sorted them
before marketing. Liked small boxes, holding about one pint.
Triomphe de Gand was his favorite, — thought it hard to improve
on it; berries regular, usually one and three-fourths inches in
diameter. His system had been objected to as expensive. Found,
by the returns, it was the cheapest. Two hundred dollars could
be realized with him, on his system, for every one hundred dol-
lars spent. The average yield with him of Tiiomphe de Gand
was three hundred bushels to the acre ; of Hovey's Seedling, one

hundred. He usually set out twenty thousand plants to the acre,
and one pint per plant was the minimum yield.

Mr. Harrison spoke of layering runners into small pots plunged
about the plants as an excellent plan for amateurs who wish to be
quite successful with valuable kinds.

Mr. Horloch, of Reading, spoke of the difficulty of raising supe-
rior seedlings. Had raised large quantities for ten years, but had
only one worth any thing. Fruit for marketing was his business,
and he had found it profitable. Found the strawberry to do best
in a loamy soil that had been In sod for two years previous. Had
grown Hovey and Large Early Scarlet for some years. Found
keeping soil clean and the plants well thinned paid much better
than letting them run together. He dressed in the fall with two-
year old cow-manure, covering leaves entirely ; raked it aside
somewhat in spring. Found taking off the ru.ners had a ten-
dency to make large fruit. Thought old plants began to fail after
the third year; they then got "a calamus root," (woody stems or
rhizomes). The first season of setting out grew onions and light
crops between the plants ; next two years they bear. Makes new
beds every year for regular succession. Mulching with manure
he approved of; and where water could be had to irrigate the beds
while the fruit was in blossom, it paid well.

Dr. Eshleman on a small piece of ground had produced at the
rate of six hundred bushels to the acre.

Mr. Gay had .seen .strawberries near Reading frequently aver-
aging from four to six inches in circumference.

Dr. Eshleman remarked that a New Yorker had grown them
eight inches round. In his cultivation uses a cast-steel rake. His
experience favored that of Mr. Harrison and Dr. Knox in other
respects.

Mr. Rutter inquired whether there was any kind that would
bear so well with so little cultivation as the Albany Seedling?
He thought that to those who did not make a business of growing
strawberries for market, and whose other occupations rendered it
necessary to have a strawberry that would take care of itself in a
measure or have no strawberries at all, it was an Important ques-
tion.

Mr. Dingee said that with a farmer it was not always a question,
whether labor would "pay" on his strawberry-bed; but whether,
consistently with his regular farm duties, which called him to
"make hay while the sun shines," he could often give it any
labor at all. He thought a strawberry that would not suffer
by a few days or weeks' neglect, had an advantage over others
that would.

At this stage of the proceedings, the Report of the General Fruit
Committee of the Society was called up and read by the Chair-
man, Mr. John Rutter, which at the conclusion was warmly ap-
plauded. It was, in the main, an elaborate essay on the Degene-
racy of Fruits.

GOOSEBERRIES.

Mr. Elwood Thomas called attention to the fact that the Cluster
and Houghton's Seedling, two distinct kinds, were often con-
founded.

Mr. Harrison repeated his experience given at the June meet-
ing, and expressed his conviction, that with proper precautloni,
mildew could be easily conquered, and that the gooseberry was
amongst the best of fruits.

CURRANTS.

Mr. David Miller classed them next to the grape in value, espe-
cially for wine. He preferred having a few inches of stem above
ground.

Mr. Saunders had seen them trained to handsome pyramidal
forms.

Mr. Knox said high cultivation was particularly necessary for
the currant. The cherry was a shy bearer for two or three years.
Very profuse after that. He valued it highly,

BLACKBERRY.

Mr. Saunders had known forty-eight plants to produce twelve
bushels at Rahway, N. J.

Mr. Harrison observed that the fruit ripened well in the shade,

A gentleman remarked that some varieties had not pi'oved hardy
with him.

Mr. Saunders said it was owing to imperfect culture that did not
permit the wood to ripen.

Dr. Knox pruned the canes a little ; cut off about one-third the
length of both cane and laterals.

Some enquiry was made about Newman's Thornless.

Mr. Harrison said he had seen It the past season in the garden of
Mr. Thomas Meehan, at Germantown, bearing very early and
abundantly.

Some few remarks were made on the cranberry, and after some
further routine, the Convention adjourned sine die, to meet again
at the call of the Committee.

The meeting was one of the pleaaantest the Society has held. It
was well attended by members. "Axes to grind," that will at
times exhibit their edges in all societies, were not discernible in
this. Fault-finding and bickerings about fine punctilios and dull
platitudes, that have ruined some good societies, were absent
from its councils; and but one object seemed to actuate all who
participated, namely, a desire to give and to receive information.

^^C^^

DEVOTED TO

^OFflruIfurp, ^pl&oriraHurp, ^oJang %■ jjiural jSffaiFS.

THOMAS MEEHAN, Editor.

MAY, 1861.

VOL. IIL— NO 5.

^inh for JlBflg.

±^i

flower-garden and pleasure-
ground.

About the first week in May, residents of the
Middle States commence to set out their bedding
plants. The modern style of planting in masses
affords great scope for a tasteful arrangement of
colors, either in the same bed, or by arrangement
amongst a set of tlower-beds. The ribbon style of
flower-gardening beds in long, narrow, and winding
strips and coils, is also popular for the same pur-
pose. It requires, besides good taste in arranging
colors harmoniously, judgment to select those kinds
that will continue in bloom the whole season, with-
standing well the summer drouth, and that will har-
monize in habit and growth with one another.

Flower-gardening affords scope for manj' pretty
fancies, besides arrangement of color, which, in the
hands of a person of taste, render a garden a para-
dise of enchantment. Borders and edgings of ivj', peri-
winkle or variegated plants, may be made to appear
as frames to the pictures of pretty flowers enclosed
by them. Waves and fringes of green may be led
along through a large flower-bed, and the various
divisions formed be filled with its own color, mak-
ing a natural and living bouquet ; different colored
gravels may be chosen for paths between beds ; dif-
ferent shades of green be made by the selection of
grasses of difi'erent hues, where grass walks are
employed. Old stimips or roots may be occasionally
introduced in the centre of beds, and covered with
green vines, or flowering chmbers, as taste may dic-
tate ; rustic baskets and vases, and even in many
instances where very artificial styles prevail, the
topiary art may be called in, and good effects result
from the use of the knife or shears on certain plants.
Much may be done with wire. We once saw a cir

cular bed, in the centre of which was a very fine
specimen of Lamarque Rose, trained on a single
stem to the height of six feet, and then the head
trained on an umbrella-shaped wire frame. Around
the bed was a wire frame about nine inches high,
slightly inchning outward, on which was Tropreolum
canariense, and Ipomsea clamoclit ("cypress vine
crimson, white would do as well J). From this frame
to the umbrella head rays of wire were fastened, and
the vines run up, but never allowed to get in amongst
the rose branches. The bed itself was filled with
Salvia patens, and when we saw it in September,
was a mass of blue. It was difficult to conceive
any thing more beautiful than the whole presented,
and it reflected great credit on the taste of the lady
who conceived the plan, and the skill of the gardener
who had so Avell executed it.

The system of bedding plants has called for a
new class of characters. Formerly viewed as a
"florist's" flower, a verbena, for instance, would re-
quire roundness of form in the individual flower as
a first requisite. The lobes of the edges of the bor-
der should seem so to overlap each other as to form
a perfect circle. Then there should always be an
"eye," and the colors of this eye and the margin
beyond be wefl defined, and not run gradually into
each other. But for bedding purposes, a new and
striking shade of color, a free blooming character,
neat habit of growth, and power to endure a hot,
dry sun, are of far more importance ; and the
energies of our improvers should be devoted to this
end. Seedling raising with this view is very inter-
esting, and we would recommend all our amateur
friends to try their hands at it. It is a highly inter-
esting source of gratification even in itself. The
way to proceed is to note some variety that approaches
nearly to the desired shade, and select seed from
these. The next season some flowers will be pro-
duced probably deeper, and in a few generations, by
careful annual selection each time, the desired shade
can be obtained. The old notion that "like pro-
duces like," is a fallacy. There is always more or
less of difference in the progeny from its progenitors,
though most generally so slight that we do not ob-
serve it; but a little art added to nature's own pro-

r<g

cess brings out the variations very remarkably.
Where quite different characters to the original are
desired, hybridization may be resorted to. For
instance, we may have an excellent habit of growth,
and free blooming quality, but a dull colored flower;
a kind as nearly allied to the good qualities as pos-
sible, but with better colors should be selected with
which to fertiUze the other. Flowers shoiild be se-
lected for fertilization soon after they have expanded,
and the one used as a fertihzer chosen when ma-
tured. The flower of the former may then have the
latter shaken over it, and fertilization will probably
ensue. This is a rough method. The passage of a
camel-hair pencil from one flower to another is bet-
ter ; the pollen from the stamens of the one is more
certainly carried to the other. When hybridizing is
carried on with nicety, it is best entirely to remove
the anthers with a pair of scissors before applying
the pollen of the other kind. This lessens the
chances of self-fertilization, and renders the operation
either a certain failure to produce seed at all, or a
different race from its parents by the seed so produced.
New fruits may be produced in the same way. It
was at one time supposed all these productions were
mules, and though they might produce flowers in
their progeny, would not produce fruit, and so the
operation would not benefit the pomologist. But
this is now found not to be the case. The progeny
is sometimes barren, but this is rather the exception
than the rule. '

FRUIT GARDEN.

The most paramount question with the fruit gar-
dener is the destruction of insects. We have to con-
fess to a belief that all schemes for their wholesale
destruction have proved failures, and that our best
hope is in their individual destruction. The differ-
ent kinds of moths and flies may be entrapped by the
thousand, in a persevering employment of wide
mouthed bottles of sweet liquids hung about the trees.
The curculio, whose most tempting allurements do
not lie like moths in the way of sweet food; but
in finding a nice juicy nidus for the deposit of eggs
wherewith to perpetuate its species, can be slain by
the hundred, by perseverance in the shaking process.
A snag, made by sawing off a small branch a few
inches from the main trunk of the tree, should be
secured on each, on the point of which to hammer,
or otherwise the bark of the tree would be irrrepara-
bly injured. With a sheet spread under the tree,
and a sharp, quick jar with the hammer, all the pests
then on the tree may be secured and destroyed.
They are rather lazily inclined, but still a few vpill
come from your neighbor's trees ; but a few jarrings
occasionally will keep them down. Experience has

shown that this course, which only demands a httle
labor, is much more effectual than the thousand
schemes that have been devised for hanging various
charms about the branches, and then kneeling down
and crying on Hercules for assistance.

The black knot and mildew, next to insects, prove
the most troublesome opponents of lazy fruit-growers.
We have no doubt that industry in experimenting and
skill in scientifically arranging facts will ultimately
overcome these dificvilties. There are two general
principles that may serve as a starting-point. First,
we know that on mountain sides, where the atmos-
phere is damper than on plains, and the h\imidity
more uniform, fruit crops seldom or never fail, and
that in new countries where from the excess of vege-
tation the atmosphere is almost always saturated with
moisture, fruits do wefl. As agriculture renders the
air dryer, fruit-culture becomes more difficult ; cor-
rect principles of culture wifl, therefore, point to the
necessity of in some way providing for these de-
ficiencies before it will be as successful as formerly.

Last season we saw some heavy crops of plums
under trees that had been wrapped around with
mosquito netting, thus effectually protecting the
fruit from curculios. If such gauze were steeped
in tan-bark before using, it would probably last a
great many years in good order for use. Trees
might be trained en espalier, on purpose to be the
more readily protected in this way. It is a nice
plan in many respects, as should mildew or insects
attack the fruit tree, or a shade or shelter be required
for any purpose, the tree is in the most perfect shape
for operating on to the best advantage. This is the
season to commence with young trees to put them
in shape for this purpose.

Watch all young fruit trees against bearing too
abundantly wWle young, or the first season after plant-
ing. There can be no objection to the ripening of one
or two fruits on a tree the first season of setting out,
in order to test the kind, or to administer to curiosity,
if the tree be otherwise growing freely. If little
growth is making, no fruit at all should be permitted.
It is a better practice to disbud or take out soon after
shooting all shoots that are needless to the perfect
shape of the tree, than to wait till fall or winter.
The pruning knife need then only be used to shorten
a branch into where several branches are desired to
push, or to induce a more vigorous growth from
the pruned parts. In the gooseberry, raspberry and
strawberry also, no more shoots should be suffered to
grow than wiU be required to bear the next season.

Where water can be commanded, there is nothing
so profitable as to well soak the soil about small
fruits ; first about the time that they have set their
fruit. Much of the value of this operation, however.

Veil — .aacL.

©14 ^anlcntr's ^oniljlg.

131

¥1

will depend on the nature of the soil. The advan-
tages are least in a tenacious, and greatest in porous
soil. It is said that an animal derives most benefit
from food when it is hungry before it begins to eat ;
it is certainly so with plants. Water applied to soil
alreadj' wet is an injurj^ ; and water never has so
telling an advantage on vegetation as when every
leaf is about to wither up for Avant of it. A plant that
never seems to want water is in a very doubtful
condition in regard to its health.

When the strawberry crop is about to ripen, mulch
with clean straw, to prevent rain soiling the fruit.
Short grass from the lawn is often used ; but it mildews
as it decays, and detracts from the flavor of the fruit.
Hot suns increase flavor, and strawberry tiles were
once in foshion to put around the hills, which, by ab-
sorbing heat, added greatly to the fruit's rich quality.
All that we have said of strawberries suppposes them
to be fruited on the hill system, with the runners kept
off". Those who desire the be&t results, will grow
them no other way.

In summer pruning or disbudding, it is also worth
while to watch for shoots pushing stronger than
others, and always take them out. This is the only
way that shoots of equal strength can be encouraged
in every part of the tree. This is particularly true
of grape-vines. If a shoot once get the start of the
others in strength and vigor, the others will grad-
ually get weakerto the other's increasing luxuriance.

As to the best system of pruning grapes, there are
several "schools," all contending that their views
are "decidedly best." In such cases we have gene-
rally found there is much to admire in them all, —
situations and peculiar circumstances deciding the
point in each individual instance. There are a few
points incontrovertable to insure success, and it
matters little what system of pruning is followed so
that they are secured. First, a healthy set of roots
of the previous year's growth is essential to produce
vigorous start of growth the year following. Se-
condly, after starting, these roots can only be kept
vigorous by encouraging an abundance of healthy
foliage, to be retained on the vine as long as possi-
ble. Thirdly, the leaves of the first growth are at
least of double the value to the plant than those
from secondary or lateral shoots ; they should, there-
fore, be carefully guarded from injury. Fourthly,
checking the strong growing-shoots strengthens the
weaker ones, equalizes the flow of sap to every part
of the vine, and insures regular and harmonious
action between all the parts. Any system that se-
cures this, does all that is necessary for the general
health and vigor of the vine ; and where some special
objects are desirable, such as dwarfing, particularly
early bearing, productiveness at the expense of

longevity, special means must be employed to
bring them about.

4«»»>

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Brocoli, are now set out
for fixll crops, and Endive sown for winter Salad.
Lettuce also for summer and fall use. This, how-
ever, must be sown in very rich soil, and in a
partially shaded situation, or it will go to seed. Peas,
Beans, and other crops, should be sowed every two
weeks. They do much better than when a large
crop is sowia at one time, and then have too many
on at one time to waste.

In the cultivation of garden crops, the hoe and
rake should be kept continually at work. Weeds
should be taken in hand before they are barely out
of the seed-leaf, and one-half the usual labor of vege-
table gardening will be avoided. Hoeing or earthing
up of most garden crops is of immense advantage
in nearly every case. One would suppose that in
our hot climate flat culture would be much more
beneficial ; but a fair trial, say on every other row of
a bed of cabbages, will show a great difference in
favor of the earthed-up plants. It would be easy
to explain the reason of this, but in this column we
try to confine ourselves to "hints," and leave rea-
sons to our other departments.

LINN^US AND LINN^A BOREALIS.

BY L., HADDONFIELD, K. J.

Some of our readers have at times experienced diffi-
culty in mastering and retaining the seemingly
crabbed names employed by botanists to designate
plants, and it may truly be asserted that some of
them are, indeed, rough, uncouth, and harsher than
our

" Northern whistling, grunting gutteral,
Which we're obliged to hiss and spit and sputter all."

Such names as Schleicheria, Zauchneria, Escholtzia,
Scheuchzeria, &c., m my humble opinion, should
not have been adopted. Not that they are difficult
to retain in the memory, but because they are harsh
and do not conform to the genius of the Greek and
Latin languages, from which scientific terms are
generally derived. Moreover, a name should con-
vey a meaning having some bearing upon the sub-
ject, descriptive of its qualities, thus becoming an
aid to the memory, and readily recalled by asso-
ciation.

Exception may be made in favor of naming in
honor of those who have advanced the science of

<k

132

M^ §m&mtx\ (PontMj,

botany by explorations, special study, &c. ; but
in this case those only who have distinguished
themselves should be thus commemorated, and
harsh, uncouth names rejected. Linnaeus adopted
this custom, and honored several of his patrons and
pupils after this fashion.

Thus the Celsia was named after Celsius, one of
his earliest benefactors. The Kalmia, abounding in
our woods, and so well known in English gardens,
but a stranger to our own, commemorated his friend-
ship for Professor Kalm, his pupil and fellow -laborer,
and who first presented this beautiful plant to his
teacher.

Linnteus well observes in his " Critica Botanica,"
concerning this practice of bestowing celebrated
names upon genera of plants, that a "proper con-
nection should be observed between the habits and
appearance of the plant and the name from which it
has its derivation."

The Andromeda,* a beautiful little gem, much re-
sembling the Heath of England, and belonging to
the order Ericacea, and one of the best representa-
tives of the Heath in America, may be cited in illus-
tration. The buds are of a blood-red hue before they
expand, but when fully blown the corolla is of a
flesh-color.

During his Lapland tour, Linufeus found this
plant in abundance, adorning the marshy ground
with its delicate blossoms ; and as he admired its
beauties, his imaginative mind was struck by a fan-
cied resemblance between the appearance and cir-
cumstances of this plant and the story of Andro-
meda as related by the Greek poets. "A maiden of
exquisite beauty chained to a rock amid the sea, and
exposed to monsters and veuemous serpents. This
lovely little flower," he said, "is her vegetaltle pro-
totype. Scarcely any painter could so happily imi-
tate the beauty of a fine female complexion, still
less could any artificial color upon the face bear com-

* Andromeda hypnioides (the Moss-like Andromeda), probably
the species known to Linnicus, as it abounds in the elevated re-
gions of Lapland, is also found in the Alpine summits of the White
Mountains. It is one of the smallest and most delicate of shrubs,
a tree in miniature, and bearing a resemblance to some of the
Mosses.

A species of Andromeda (the Mariana) is very common on the
sandy roadsides in New Jersey, near Philadelphia, and on similar
soils south to Florida, is a most beautiful object. It is a shrub
from two to three feet high, much resembling the Whortleberry
bush. In June and July it hangs out its clusters of white waxen
bells in profusion. Its common name '■ Staggerbush" will recall
it to many who do not recognize its Linnjean appellation.

The Linnasan genus Andromeda contained a large number of
species, but it has been broken up by David Don and other botan-
ists : and the genera Cassiope, Cassandra, Zenobia, Leucothoe,
Lyonia, Pieris, &c., all named from ancient fables or history, not
one of which has been so happily chosen as that first applied, and
under which they are still described by some botanists and known
in gardens.

parison with this lovely bloom. I find it always
fixed upon some turfy hillock amid the swamps, and
its roots bathed by their waters. In these marshy
and solitary places toads and venemous reptiles
abound ; and just as in the case of Andromeda, Per-
seus comes to deliver her from her dangers, by
chasing away her foes, so does the summer, like
another Perseus, arrive, and, drying up the waters
that inundate the plant, chase away all her aquatic
enemies, and then she carries her head (the capsulej),
which before had drooped pensively, erect, and dis-
plays her beauties to the sun." Pleased with the
idea, he chose for this flower, which is the type of a
new genus in the system he was arranging, the
name Andromeda.

Other illustrations of the application of this canon
of Linnaeus may be found in the Scheuchzeria, a
grassy Alpine plant, named from the two Scheuch-
zers, one of whom excelled in the knowledge of
Alpine plants, and the other in that of grasses. Also
in the Hernandia, an American plant, named after
Hernandez, a naturalist sent out to Mexico by Philip
II. of Spain, and said to have been given to the
plant, which has large leaves and small flowers, in
allusion to the great opportunities afforded to the
naturalist and the little use he made of them.

And, again, the Buff"onia received its name in
honor of the celebrated Count de Buffon, while one
of its species was called the Slender-leaved Buffonia
by Linnaeus on account of the slender pretensions
to botanical science which that naturalist possessed !

Linnaeus selected, as an emblem of himself, the
Linnaea borealis, ("so named by GronoviusJ), which
he describes as " a little Northern plant, flowering-
early, depressed, abject, and long overlooked;" and
then traces a resemblance between this flower and
his own early lot. Like it, unfolding in a remote
northern region, without the gifts of fortune or the
means of cultivating his natural powers, he was
long unknown and overlooked. Indigent and ob-
scure, he pursued in secret his scientific researches,
exploring the recesses of nature, tracking her foot-
steps to her remotest retreats. Mountain and glen,
forest and moor, alike yielded up their treasures to
the ardent inquirer, who came forth, after a season,
enriched by the spoils he had collected, and which,
arranged in a new and beauteous order, he presented
to the surprise and delight of kindred minds in every
region. Then, indeed, his resemblance to the hum-
ble flower of his choice ceased, and men of science
in every civilized country pressed forward to avail
themselves of his discoveries and share in his pur-
suits, and the clouds that had gathered around his
youth were dissipated, while for the last forty years
of his life he saw himself surrounded by the honors

^^

^ §ardtncr*s ^lonthlj.

and emoluments his country and his king had be-
stowed upon him, and enjoyed the chosen delights

[linn^a borealis.]

of his heart amid a host of pupils who honored and
loved him as their friend, the instructor and then
benefactor.

After he attained the Chair of Botany at XJpsal,
he continued in an uninterrupted career, teaching
his favorite science in the halls where he had himself
been a pupil, and which he had so often entered
with childish awe. Under his rule the fame of the
University extended over Europe, and even to
America, and at one time while Linnaeus was Rector,
in 1759, it numbered fifteen hundred students !
[ To be continued.']

THE VERBENA DISEASE-"BLACK RUST."

BY PETER HENDERSON, JERSEY CITY, N. J.

I KNOW not whether you have this disease amongst
you to the extent we have it here or not; if not you
may congratulate yourselves, as with us it is one of
the least subduable of ills that plant-kind is heir to.
To our notion, it is a comparatively "new disease,"
as the doctors would say, never having observed it

before 1856, although it may have been in existence
much longer.

According to our present observations, it appears
to be a species of mildew, affecting the Verbena,
Heliotrope, Lantana, and plants of similar kinds,
and from probably the same cause as our ordinary
mildew — sudden change of temperature. We are led
to this belief from having observed, repeatedly, that
a bed of Verbenas in vigorous growth, after sustain-
ing a smart frost in October, in two or three days
after began to show signs of the " rust " on exposed
shoots, while shoots covered up by the fohagc, and
thus slightly protected, were perfectly free for some
time longer.

If we are correct in this, prudence will teach us,
that instead of leaving the propagation of varieties
for the next year until the coming of frost, our stock
of cuttings should be secured in advance of that
time, I have pursued this method for the past two
seasons, and I may say here, scarcely had a diseased
subject in my collection of upwards of fifty thousand
Verbenas.

In corroboration of this theory, I may state the
fact, that after I had secured all the cuttings I want-
ed from my own varieties last fall, I got six or eight
sorts from a neighbor nearly six weeks later, about
the middle of November, — they seemed to have no
indication of the disease at the time, but in a few
weeks it developed itself to such an extent that all
had to be thrown out ; while my own, struck about
the first of October, and grown under the same cir-
cumstances, were entirely free from it. Moreover,
my friend, getting a lot of cuttings from me at the
same time I got his, lost every plant from the disease.

But it is not enough to secure the cuttings before
the approach of the disease; it is equally imperative,
we think, to maintain a uniformity of temperature
in the greenhouse to prevent its attacks there, and
this, we think, should be as low as possible — merely
above freezing — giving abundance of air in mild
weather. I doubt much if a great deal of this trouble
is not traceable to the keeping of too high a temper-
ature in the greenhouse, thus giving them a tendency
to draw, to counteract which air is given, which
harshly playing upon the tender succulent shoots,
impedes the flow ofthesapandthe "Black Mildew"
or " Rust" follows.

I do not advance these views, Mr. Editor, as en-
tirely correct, but they are such as my observations
have forced upon me. I should much like to see the
matter referred to by others of your readers. It is a
subject of more than ordinary importance, not only
to the admirers of this beautiful tribe, but to the
commercial florists, three-fourths of whom for the
last two seasons have had their stock more or less
injured.

^@>3

134

i;[j4 §m&mtf^ Jtantljlj.

ENGLISH BLACK RASPBERRY.

BY L. S. MOTE, MILTON, OHIO.

I FIND in the Gardener'' s Monthly^ vol. 2., No. 7,
page 218, the following notice of the ^^ English Black
Raspberry.'' — "This is a hybrid between the Black-
berry and the Easpberry, and is the parent of all the
black autumnal -bearing varieties, although itself a
summer bearer, etc." "As this notice appears to
have been taken from the Cottage Gardener, it will
do to say it is the parent of a// the European autumn-
bearing varieties, perhaps ; but America has many
natives of her own which produce autumnal crops,
amongst which is the "Ohio Everbearing," and,
although closely resembling in many particulars the
"Common Black Cap" or thimble berry, is never-
theless superior to it. The berry is larger, softer,
and more luscious, and as I do not find any notice of
it in the Monthly, I will give Downing' s description.

"Ohio Everbearing." — This is a native of Ohio,
and was first made known to Eastern cultivators by
Mr. Longworth, of Cincinnati, though we beUeve it
had been cultivated for some time previous, at a
Quaker settlement in Ohio. It is precisely like the
American Black Raspberry or Black Cap, in all
respects, except that it has the valuable property of
bearing abundant crops of fine fruit till late in the
season. We have seen a quart gathered from a single
plant on the 11th day of November, &c." I have
cultivated it for the past thirteen years, and think I
ought to know something of its merits, and that
Downing needs a little emendation as I have given
above, in regard to the size and quality of the berry,
c%c. I can fully endorse what he says of its autumn
production, and deserving to be in every large gar-
den, Cand I would say in every small one too. j I
have raised a good many seedlings from this kind,
nearly all of which show this peculiar trait of "au-
tumn bearing. " Some of these I think are superior to
the parent. I had the curiosity to count the berries on
a s7nall one that fruited last autumn for the first time,
which was as follows : ripe berries on it, 22 ; berries
not quite ripe, 82 ; part red, 66 ; green berries, 35.
Total, 205 ; besides five other branches budding and
in bloom. I have one (a yearfing, a cross with
' ' Rivers, ' 'J that bore red berries. If it proves hardy,
it will be a great acquisition. I also have a number
of other seedhngs from various kinds, that will fruit
the coming summer, and if I get one good one from
them I shall feel paid. I think we need a hardy, good
flavored, autumn-bearing Red Raspberry. HeaUh
permitting, I propose to continue my efforts in the
production of such a one. At the same time, I am
not neglecting in the same line, the Apple, Pear,
Cherry, Peach, Grape, Gooseberry, Strawberry, &c.
[There are a great many erroneous statements

flying about as facts, yet so apparently plausible that
that they cannot be contradicted. We generally strive
to work all these matters into our columns of "Do-
mestic and Foreign Intelhgence," for the express
purpose of calling attention to them. In the pres-
ent instance we have long held the opinion that it is
altogether a mistake, that this English Black Rasp-
berry is a hybrid from the Blackberry, or that Mr.
Rivers found it in a hedge in Essex, England. Our
opinion is that it is a form of Rubus occidentalis, or
wild American Raspberry, that has got into cultiva-
tion in England, and all trace of its history lost. —
Ed.]

<#^>» ™ —

PROPAGATING BOX.

BY T. H. HUNTER, LANCASTER, OHIO.

I HAVE often heard it remarked by persons who
have propagated the Rose, that the Hybrid Perpetual
class could not be rooted from cuttings in the winter,
but that all the other classes could be. I think
this is a mistaken idea; I have succeeded in propaga-
ting them equally as well as either the Bourbon or
Bengal roses, which with me are the most certain to
root. I put in the first week of December last, one
hundred cuttings of the Souvenir de Leveson Gower,
and on examining them to day, I find that all but
six of them have rooted exceedingly well. My
course of treatment is this : — I have a bed contain-
ing 4 inches of clean washed sand ; the bottom is
bored full of 2 inch holes, over which is spread
straw, to prevent the sand from falling through.
The pipe which conducts the hot water through my
greenhouse is completely boxed up, under the bed,
which afl"ords a strong bottom-heat, and I have sash
over the cuttings which confines the heat that arises
from the sand. I keep the cuttings moist by water-
ing with clear rain water, at about 70° temperature.
The glass must be kept closely, only occasionally
raising them to give air.

I have not only succeeded in rooting Roses in this
way, but a great many varieties of hard-wooded
plants. It may, perhaps, be an old plan, but to me
it is entirely a new one, — I have never seen it used,
but only adopted it, after experimenting in various
ways, in rooting plants from cuttings.

[This plan is in successful use by some other prop-
agators, but will be new to the many for whom
we write. We are obliged to our correspond-
ent, and to all who furnish us with details of any-
practice new or old, that they find eminently suc-
cessful.— Ed.]

4«»»t

WEATHER AT NEW LONDON.

BY H. R. CHITTY, CONNECTICUT.

February 8th we had the most sudden and severe
change of temperature that I ever ("with one excep-

^b^

M)

Cht iarkncr's liIant|ljT.

135

tionj), experienced in America. The morning was
fine and mild, with a gentle south-west breeze,
which increased to a gale, with threatening rain at
noon. At 1 P. 31. the thermometer stood at 42°,
about which time we had a heavy shower, which
lasted but a few minutes. At 3 P. M. it began to
rain again, but was immediately seconded by a
heavy snow squall, which lasted about two hours,
up to 5 P. M. ; the rain had been from the south-
west, but Mheu the snow began, it suddenly turned
from that point to south, north-west, north and
north-east; from the last point, however, it only
blew a short time, but went back to north-west, from
whence it blew all night — so hard that a man could
scarcely make headway against it. About 5 P. M.
it snowed harder I think for a short time than I had
ever saw it before, but at 5^ the sky was perfectly
clear, and the thermometer at 14° ; at 10 P. M. it was
at zero. At about 5 this morning it was 20° below
zero. And at noon to day it stood at zero. The
decrease of temperature was 42 degrees in 9 hours,
or 62 degrees iu 16 hours. Had so severe a change
with such a wind, taken place at night, the conse-
quences must have been disastrous. The exception
I refer to, was, I think, about February 20th, 1856.
I was with Mr. Buist, of Philadelphia, at the time.
We then had a decrease of about 50 degrees in 8
hours ; it was a severe time, and you, doubtless re-
member something of it.

[We had a specimen of the same kind here in
Philadelphia. The thermometer, however, sinking
to but 63 below zero. Very great damage, however,
has been done to the tenderer evergreens. Euonymus
japonica, Deodars, Cedar of Lebanon, are more
injured than we have ever seen before. The win-
ter in England has been equally disastrous on ever-
greens.— Ed.]

REMARES ON THE CULTURE OF DEN-
DROBIUra NOBILE.

BY W. GKEY, ALBANY., N. T.

The cultivation of Orchids in a mixed collection
of stove plants is not attended with as much diffi-
culty as many growers suppose. Where the house is
kept in the winter months at 65 o by night and 75°
by day, advancing the heat in the spring, almost any
Orchid may be grown. In the stove where I stand
the Orchids, the side shelf is covered with lead, and
filled with gravel, and the part over the boiler filled
with water to about the level of the gravel, on which
I place those plants that are in a growing state, and
the evaporation caused by the heat from the boiler
produces a nice moist growing heat, which Dendro-
biums seem to delight in, and without the least injury

to other plants. Not to occupy raore space with pre-
liminary remarks, I will try to explain in as few
words as possible, our mode of growing Dendrobium
nobile.

Season of Growth, SfC.—To grow the Dendrobium
with success, it is necessary to become acquainted
with its native climate. It is a native of India,
Avhere it is found growing on trees over streams
and moist places, the streams drying up in the hot
season, when the plants cease growing and rest,
and as the season becomes cooler with occasional
showers, they produce their flowers, and as the sea-
son advances make their growth.

The house I rest the plants in I keep the thermom-
eter from 50" to 65°, and when I want a plant for
bloom in May, I keep the plant in the heath house.
I introduce plants into the stove as I wish a succes-
sion of bloom, and have no difficulty in having plants
in bloom from November to May. When I wish to
have as many flowers as possible on a plant at one
time, I keep it in the stove and do not rest it ; wlien
not rested, they seldom show many flowers, and by
having the growth of a well-established plant for two
seasons, from three to five hundred may be had at
one time. Our largest specimen has had seven hun-
dred and twenty-two flowers the two last seasons.
The plants start into growth as the floAvers
fade, which is a good time to propagate by dividing
the plants. The young shoots or bulbs that start
from the old bulbs I take off when well rooted. I
also cut the old flower-bulbs into lengths, and lay
them on wet moss, in a pan or saucer, and cover
with glass, and place on the hot-water pipes, where
they break freely. As they grow, take them off" and
pot, keep in a close frame until established. To get
an old plant to break freely, it is necessary to cut
with a thin sharp knife between the bulbs just as the
flowers fade. This causes many shoots to start that
would lie dormant if otherwise left alone.

Potting.— This should be done as the plants start
growing. The material I use is fibrous peat, and
sphagnum moss, — potsherds, and charcoal, for drain-
age, and grow in pots or rustic baskets. I give pre-
ference to hard wood maple for baskets, which does
not produce fungus when decaying. When potting,
I place a small pot inverted over the hole of the large
one, and fill up with potsherds to the height of the
small one, cover the crocks with sphagnum, and fill
with pieces of fibrous peat, charcoal, and sphagnum,
having it as porous as possible. I raise the soil in
the centre about an inch above the rim of the pot,
on which I spread the roots carefully, and steady
the plant with a stick ; then cover the roots to about
an inch from the crown. In removing a large plant
into a basket, I place a small basket in the centre,

®fje hardliner's SHonthli,

filled with coarse pieces of charcoal. I have found
the soil in baskets, when overhauling them, sour
when not filled with drainage in the centre. The
plant should have as much of the old soil removed
as possible without injuring the roots, and raised a
few inches above the top of the basket, and avoid
placing soil aroimd the crowns, as it often causes the
young growth to damp off. When plants do not
require repotting, it assists their growth to remove
from the top the old soil, and give them a top-dress-
ing, adding a little coarse manure.

Watering. — When the plants are at rest, very little
water is required. I give water as the shoots begin
to shrink. Plants that are rested in the greenhouse
will want water about once in two weeks after the
plants are removed into the stove to expand the
flowers, I water about once a week, enough to wet
the whole of the compost, as the j^oung growth be-
gins to show from the bottom of the bulbs. I take
great care not to wet the crowns, as when the young
shoots that start first damp off, the next that start
seldom, if ever, make strong shoots, and when they
are not from two to three feet long, the bloom will
not be abundant. After the young growth have
commenced to root freely, I then draw the syringe
occasionally over the plants, and give abundance of
Avater at the root until the growth is matured, when
I remove the plants into the house, where I rest
them and gradually withhold it as the bulbs ripen.
After the growth is about half grown, I give weak
liquid-manure, which is a great assistance to plants
that have only been top-dressed.

In conclusion, the whole success of cultivation is
to get a strong growth and give a long season of rest
exposed to the sun, and it is positively necessary to
look after insects that prey on the tender roots and
young growth. Slugs, woodlice, and a small shell-
snail are the most troublesome, which I destroy by
candle-light, as they leave their places of conceal-
ment at night. Mealy bug and scale I keep off by
constantly sponging the plants with cold water.

[We noticed in our March number remarkably
fine specimens of this plant, grown by Mr. Grey, to
which we would refer all who are interested in the
above account of Mr. G.'s mode of managing it.
The ease with which our correspondent has achieved
success with a class of plants usually considered un
tractable under ordinary cultivation, will, doubtless,
stimulate many others to try their hands at the en-
joyment of such rare beauty. — Ed.]

NOMENCLATURE OF FRUITS-BEN DA-
VIS AND NEW YORK PIPPIN APPLE.

BY A. MATTISON, PADUCAH, KT.

On page 85 of the March number of the Monthly
it is said that the Ben Davis and New York Pippin

are the same. I also believe them to be the same ;
but I object to the name being made Ben Davis. —
The apple was known all along the Ohio river below
Louisville thirty years ago, — long before it had the
name of Ben Davis attached to it, — and it was
always known by the name of New York Pippin.
The name of Ben Davis was given to it by ("if I <3o
not mistake^ Mr. J. S. Downer, of Todd County,
Ky., where, he says in his catalogue, it originated.

It was known in this region for years before
he ever saw it, and thousands upon thousands of
people know it by the name of New York Pippin,
who never did and never will hear of the name of
Ben Davis. Your "works of authority" will have
a hard time in changing the name of that apple in
this Western country. The New York Pippin is
one of the "institutions" of this part of the United
States.

[It is clear that there must be some fixed rule for
naming fruits, or we could never be sure when we
had the proper name. The rule adopted by the
great body of Pomologists and Pomological Socie-
ties, is to recognize a name as rightfully belonging
to any fruit only when it is described in any work
of admitted authority. A fruit may be a seedling,
but it does not follow that it is, therefore, essentially
new, — and it is the province of men learned in their
respective branches of Pomology to pronounce
whether it is or is not new, and rightfully claiming a
distinctive name. It is this adoption of "everybody's
name" that is the vice of Pomology, and is multi-
plying synonyms to an unbearable extent. No
matter what name, or how many names a fruit may
have before it is described by an acknowledged au-
thority, the one it is so described under will be the
one pomologists will adhere to. The describer will,
according to pomological rules, give it the name it
was popularly known by before description, "if not
objectionable " we think the rule has it, — but this is
but a recommendation, and not imperative on the
describer, who can give it any name he pleases, and
we can recognize no authority but actual description
in the way stated. For instance, some ten years
ago a grape was first described under the name of
Delaware. It has since been shown that the grape
had been known for many years before as the Ruff
Grape, Derr Grape, Wine Grape, "Powell Grape,"
Heath Grape, French Grape, &c., but this priority
of popular names gives it no claim in the sight of
Pomologists to any other name than the described
name Delaware.

We have entered into this subject at length, as we
think it very important that it should be understood,
or the nomenclature of fruits will soon become a
mass of puzzling confusion.

With regard to the apples in question, we have

^ir

ih4 ^Hrd^ni^r's Pontl%

137

only to say that as Mr. Downing disclaims in our
last the responsibility of the description of Ben Davis,
■while he does assume the description of New York
Pippin, it makes of course a ditference in our view
of its proper name ; though we cannot refrain from
saying, it is unfortunate that loose descriptions from
irresponsible sources should be admitted into works
that we wish to uphold as the standard of authority
in pomological nomenclature. — Ed.]

APPLE ORCHARDS.

BY A. MARSHALL, WEST CHESTER, PA.

Ip you will spare me a little space, I will give your
readers my views on the culture of Apple Orchards.
First subsoil the ground as deep as possible. If
drained with drain tile in addition, it will be better.
Even high ground will be improved by under-drain-
ing ; and drain-tile is so cheap, that it costs but
little. I would say here, that farmers expect too
much from the ground of an apple orchard. If you
want to grow^ apples, you must devote a piece of
ground to that purpose, and grow nothing else on it.
Get trees two or three 3'ears old from the graft or
bud, branching out low ; plant them twenty feet
apart each way, which will set one hundred and
nine trees to the acre. The ground should be pre-
pared and manured the previous summer. Plant
shallow. Seed down to clover with a very thin
scattering of oats for the purpose of mulch. This
oats crop is not to be taken off. You must make up
your mind at first to take off nothing but apples, and
to wait a few years for these. Mow your ground
every year about the first of September and spread
the mown grass over the ground. This, with the
leaves fi'om the trees, will not only keep up, but im-
prove the soil. Keep all animals out of the enclo-
sure. Do not permit the top branches of your trees
to run too high. Keep them down so that you can
hand pick the fruit from a step-ladder. The annual
mowing will keep the ground clean. No other cul-
ture will be needed except to loosen the ground a
little about the stem of the tree in the autumn and
leave no harbor there for mice.

The next great question is — Will it pay ? I think
it will, if these conditions are complied with. One
fact has been pretty well established in Eastern
Pennsylvania, — that land having been cropped with
wheat, com, oats, &c., for thirty, forty or more
years, will not continue to produce these crops and
apples, too. If you want to grow apples, you must
devote a lot of ground to that purpose. With newly-
cleared ground, or in river bottoms full of vegetable
matter, the case will be different.

I believe that not less than half a million dollars
worth of apples have been imported into Pennsylva-

nia from the Western and Eastern States within the

last year. Chester County, alone, has imported

and consumed thousands of dollars -worth. Why

should not our farmers put this money in their own

pockets ?

. — «••«•

MILDEW ON THE GRAPE.

BY F. A. BALLER, ROCHESTER, N. Y.

Having noticed the very interesting articles of
Mr. M. B. Bateham and A. A. Mullet on the Causes
of Mildew in the Grape-vine, I beg to offer my views
on the same subject.

In my opinion, there are two distinct species of
mildew that the grape is liable to,— one is, I think,
principally caused by stagnant water at the roots,
and shows itself in dirty-looking blotches on the
leaves and fruit. It has a peculiar smell, resembling
musty hay, and exhibiting, under the microscope,
very minute toadstools with purple caps. Others
forming in the substance of the leaf, knotting up
from innumerable little fibres, in the same way as
the common mushroom. This species I do not
think is half as troublesome as the other, nor so
general, yet a misapprehension may exist in regard
to it that others may not think of.

In regard to the second species, it is, I think, too
Tvell known to need a description. Sufficient for it
to say that it makes its appearance in a filmy sub-
stance, which rapidly spreads and destroys the ten-
der parts of the leaves, making them appear, after a
little time, as if sprinkled with hot water.

Having occasion, a season or two ago, to move a
few vines from a brisk growing heat to a cold frame
facing north, where they were shut up close and left
till the next day, what was my surprise to find them,
when taken out, all spotted and covered with mil-
dew. This set me to thinking, and subsequent ex-
periments and close observation have enabled me,
at least in my own mind, to form an opinion as to
the cause of mildew generally.

In the months of July and August, when the
growth of the vine is vigorous, the leaves throw off
or evaporate a great deal of moisture. The weather
is at the same time warm, and possibly dry. Sud-
denly we get a heavy fall of rain, followed, as rain
generally is, by a lowering of the temperature, ac-
companied by a cold, moist atmosphere. This at
once checks evaporation from the leaves. The roots
being somewhat removed, do not feel the effects of
the sudden change for a time, but continue to take
up moisture, which the leaves cannot possibly get
rid of. This state of things is followed by a ruptur-
ing of the tender vessels of the leaves, when mildew ^
immediately sets in. Bright weather is apt to ag- I
gravate the complaint, — at least for a few days, till

:^

138

MC)^

ili4 ^arbener's glantWj.

'#

some of the moisture in the soil has passed away.

I could cite a number of instances in support of
these views, hut am afraid to trespass on valuable
space. One instance I will give, however, that must
answer for all I have under my care, — a house built
almost entirely for growing hardy American gi'ape-
vines. It is two hundred feet in length, and not
provided with any bottom ventilation, except from
doors at each end. Last season this house was
fi-led with vines in pots. The first week in August,
when they were growing vigorously, we had rain,
followed by cloudy weather ; and as previous treat-
ment of these vines had been for a continuance of
fine weather, ^by flooding the house with water in
the morning, as well as copious syringing overhead,
often watering morning and evening,} I looked, not
without some anxiety, for the appearance of mildew,
and was not disappointed in examining some of the
plants Avhicli stood closest together. We imme-
diately built a strong fire, raised all ventilators and
doors, besides raising the fumes of sulphur in every
part of the house, withholding water" both at the
root and leaf, till all danger was past. By such
measures we overcame the difficulty, though not
without considerable trouble.

I cannot but fall in with many of the views ex-
pressed in the before-mentioned articles, such as
distance of planting, thorough drainage, circulation
of air and elevation, by which last you secure a
warmer, drier, a more even, and above all, a moving
atmosphere, as well as freedom from frosts for at
least two weeks longer than your valley neighbors,
by which means you secure riper and firmer wood.

HINTS FOR THE HYEPROVEIYIENT OF HOR-
TICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has, in
common with most of the older ones in the States,
declined in usefulness for some years back. The
more active members of this Society are, however,
desirous to re-elevate it to its former pinnacle of
popularity, and recently apjoointed a committee to
examine the subject, with the view of founding a new
era of success on the report.

We are indebted to the kindness of the chairman,
Mr. W. Saunders, for the opportunity of publishing
it from the manuscript ; and as we deem the excel-
lent suggestions it contains likely to benefit other
societies situated as this is, our readers will thank us
for laying it before them.
To the President and Members of the

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society:

The committee appointed to investigate the history
of the Society, and discover, if possible, the cause

of its decline, as well as its inefficiency, and suggest
measures for its future improvement, beg to submit
the following report : —

The objects of the Society, as set forth in the act
of its incorporation, are "for the purpose of pro-
moting and encouraging horticulture, by improving
the growth of vegetables, plants, trees, fruits, and
flowers, and of introducing into our country new
varieties and species."

In pursuing their investigations into the early his-
tory of the Society, your committee have been highly
interested in tracing its rise and rapid progress of
usefulness and success. During the first eight or ten
years of its existence the records are rather meagre ;
but it is due to our late Secretary, Mi-. James, to men-
tion his name in connection with the fact, that for
the past twenty years the minutes of the society
contain a vast amount of horticultural information,
such as the introduction of new plants, vegetables
and fruits, which if collated and presented in a de-
tailed and comprehensive form, would be of much
value to those members who are not familiar with
its theory, as well as forming a useful reference for
the future management of the Society.

From the records it appears that one great object
has been to endeavor to enlist the attention of the
public, and in order to accomplish this very desirable
and necessary object, public exhibitions of the pro-
ducts of the greenhouse, garden, and orchard, were
early established ; and still further, to enhance at-
tractive displays, premiums were offered for the
encouragement of exhibitors, and as an incentive to
higher excellence in their productions. Towards
carrying out these views, the Society has disbursed
from twenty to twenty -five thousand dollars in pre-
miums, and the result has been, that for a period of
twenty years these exhibitions annually gained in
notoriety, until they formed an attractive display)
which for magnificence in the quantity, quality and
variety of the productions, has never been excelled,
indeed, never been equalled, by any similar institu-
tion in America.

TJiese exhibitions, however, can only be looked
upon as auxiliary to the fulfilment of the aims of the
Society. It is a well established fact, that in order
to ensure public attention, one of the most effective
modes consists in making appeals of an attractive
character. If properly conducted, public exhibitions
with such attractions as horticulture, floriculture and
pomology can command, seldom fail in enlisting that
recognition and support comtemplated by their origi-
nators, and up to a certain point, are of vast service in
popularizing and disseminating a taste for gardening.
But there must necessarily be a certain degree of P
sameness in the general features of these displays.

wliicli tires by repetition, and they gradually lose
tlie esteem of the mere sight-seer, and even those
who have become more or less enthusiastic in their
admiration of the purposes and objects of the Society,
become indifferent when they discover that it fails
to afford sufficient food for their increasing desires.

The means degenerate into the end, and, instead
of public exhibitions being considered simply as a
means of increasing the usefulness of the Society,
they become the sole aim of its existence, and they
are then placed on a level with other public amuse-
ments, and are left in the background when com-
peting with more sensual exhibitions.

Your committee are of opinion that the culmina-
ting point of exhibitions has been reached ; and the
Society must direct its attention to other sources of
attraction, and in order to meet the improved taste
and keep pace with the progressive spirit of the
times, must offer inducements of a more intellectual,
instructive, and scientific character.

Your committee have given prominence to the
exhibitions, as they have occupied so largely of the
attention and means of the Society ; and so long as
they are self-sustaining, we consider them highly
useful, but when they become a burden, it is at least
evidence that some degree of modification is required
in their management, and in the position they
occupy in the legitimate transactions of the Society.

It may be found that the main cause of the decline
of the Society has been owing to the prominence
given to public exhibitions, and the concomitant
evils that invariably arise where money premiums
are allowed a prominent place; and we, therefore, sug-
gest that the Society take this matter into considera-
tion, with a view to the modification of these exhi-
bitions, more in accordance with the purposes of its
organization and the unmistakable requirements of
improved cultivation.

Among the minor causes operating against the
Society, may be mentioned the indifference of its
members, and the want of strict adherence to its
by-laws.

The unsatisfactory mode of conducting the busi-
ness meetings simultaneous with public exhibitions,
has also had an injurious influence upon the proper
administration of the affairs of the Society.

In proceeding to suggest measures for the future
guidance of the Society, your committee would re-
mark that, in order to engage the co-operation of
the pubhc, it is necessary to keep in view the fact,
that some equivalent should be rendered for the
present annnal contribution required for member-
ship. When a person becomes really interested in
horticultural pursuits, and attaches himself to a
Horticultural Society, it is with a view to some
degree of individual benefit, as well as to enjoy the

indirect advantages which such institutions are ex-
pected to confer on the community. He naturally
turns to the Society for information on gardening
matters, and expects to find through its proceedings
a digested report of all recent improvements and
discoveries connected with these subjects. We need
not state that the Society has been somewhat
remiss in this respect, and we are of opinion that
one of the first considerations should be directed
towards the publication of an annual report, which
should be made as complete as the means of the
Society will allow.

The Society has in its possession a valuable horti-
cultural library, but owing to its location and other
circumstances, it is not so available as its merits
entitles it to be. Libraries of this kind are chiefly
useful for purposes of reference, and should, there-
fore, be placed within the reach of all who have
the privilege and desire to use them. Your commit-
tee would, therefore, in this connection, desire to
express their gratification of the action of the So-
ciety in appointing a committee to endeavor to pro-
cure a room in some favorable and convenient loca-
tion, in which to arrange the library, and provide
for its being thrown open as frequently as possible.

Connected with the library, a reading room
should be provided, where suitable periodicals might
be placed for the use of members.

Your committee would strenuously urge the great
advantages that would result from the introduction
of conversational meetings, where horticultural and
kindred subjects coifld be discussed, and much valua-
ble information elicited.

We would also direct the Society's attention to
the work of anticipating horticultural progress, by
offering premiums with special reference to experi-
menting in improved modes of culture, or in any
other manner to establish facts upon subjects on
which information is desired.

Encouragment far more than has hitherto been
extended, should be given to the production of
original communications on horticultural subjects.

And in order that the Society render itself instru-
mental to the benefit of all who depend upon the
products of the garden and orchard, we would sug-
gest that it consider the propriety of appointing
committees, and defraying their expenses, for the
purpose of making thorough investigation into the
maladies and diseases of vegetation, and other ques-
tions demanding close observations and collected facts
for their intelligent study and solution.

Above all, let the transactions of the Society first
be rendered worthy of itself, and the reasonable
expectations of its friends ; and secondly, let these
transactions be published under competent supervi-

sion, and a copy presented to eacli member, thus
forming an inducement to membership superior to
any thing now offered by the Society.
All of which is respectfully submitted,

William Saunders,
w. l. schaffer,
J. E. Mitchell.

THE CULTURE OF TREES FOR SHELTER
TO BUILDINGS.

BY WALTER ELDER.

The culture of trees for shelter, shade and orna-
ment, has been in practice from time immemorial.
The ancients worshipped trees as the great mon-
archs of vegetation ; and in "Holy Writ" we find
many records of the high estimation in which trees
were held. The Romans have always venerated
them. Indeed, civilization and arboriculture have
always travelled together. Great Britain, at the
present day, perhaps, holds the palm for fine culti-
vated trees, and large tracts of the country are shel-
tered by the belted parks and shady avenues. The
green turf, mild climate, picturesque scenery, ro-
bust people, and improved breeds of domestic ani-
mals, are all indebted to the shelter of trees. In the
fens of England and moors of Scotland, that are de-
void of trees, their crops are a month later than those
grown near to the leafy domains of the nobility.
Indeed, the word noble was first prefixed to vian for
the fine specimens of trees grown upon his estate.
In this country the wild animals that roam at large
know the value of trees, as they dwell in the open
plains during the growing season and retire to the
forests for shelter in winter. We can readily imag-
ine the miseries of a country destitute of trees, by
hearing the great velocity of the winds as they
sweep over the western prairies, and of the awful
simoon upon the great African desert. Could that
desert and those prairies but be clothed with trees,
how different their climates and mild their changes of
weather would become. When a man of wealth
purchases land to make a rural home or summer re-
treat for himself and family, the first thing he should
do after determining upon the sites of the buildings
and staking them out, is to lay the foundations for
leafy temples to shelter them from the north and
west, by draining the land Conly where it needs it_)
and deepening and enriching the soil by summer
fallow and green crops and dressings of guano, pou-
derette, super-phosphate, &c., and jDlough them un-
der when a foot high ; the soil will be in good tilth
by fall for the trees, which should be all planted by
the middle of November. Belts sixty feet wide and
upwards, closely planted, with a tenth of them ever-
greens, and a few Lombardy poplars, as they rise

high above the other trees, give beauty to the scene
and look like spires of a city in the distance. If they
are planted upon a level with the buildings, they will
give better shelter a hundred yards off than closer ;
yet a few ornamental ones should be planted around
the buildings, to improve the architectural beauty
and attract the lightning from them in summer.

The working farmer, too, should plant trees to
shelter his buildings. If he grudges to grow forest
trees, then cherry and large growing apple trees, with
a few evergreens, will suit. By that children can
play out at all seasons, and grown people can go
out and in, attending to their daily avocations with-
out discomfort ; cattle and horses can be yarded
parts of the days more frequently and longer at a
time, to breathe the pure air, while their stables are
getting cleaned and well ventilated, which will
greatly promote their health and ward off disease.
But where there is no shelter from the north and the
west, the difference of temperature on windy days
between the inside of the stables and out doors will
be too great to turn them out with safety. It is not
the degree of cold itself that hurts an animal so
much as the shifting winds, that carry ofi" its heat
faster than it can restore it by motion or breathing.
If gentlemen and working farmers would consider
the value of the health of their families and stocks,
they will see that the culture of trees for shelter
is the most profitable crop they can grow. The
plague among cattle of late, with its losses, call
loudly for shelter by trees.

One great drawback to the culture of trees, with
us, is that all the spare monies are expended upon
the buildings. The architect is lord and master of
all, and the gardener, poor man, with his head stored
with wisdom and knowledge, must stand back. Be-
cause he takes off his coat and toils with his hands,
his wisdom is folly and his counsel set at naught ;
yet he is patiently awaiting the march of civilization
and scientific improvement to restore him to his
proper place. If ten per centum were withheld from
the construction of the buildings and spent upon
trees, to shelter them, it would be both the most
judicious and most economical plan to give comfort
and pleasure to their inmates, as well as for beauti-
fying and enhancing the value of the whole. Who
that has lived beside a forest clump, but has listened
with awe, on tempestuous nights, at the fearful
warfare going on between the winds and the
woods ? The moanings of the wild elements, as
they bounced against the dauntless sons of the for-
est ; and the creaking of their timber sounding like
the cries of the wounded on a field of strife ; and
who that has looked on the contest in open day, but
has admired the awful grandeur of God's omnipo-

®h^ ®HnIciicr*s Ittontljlj.

141

tence, as gust after gust struck against the trees ;
the lashiug and twisting of their branches and crack-
ing of their trunks, as they tried to crouch beneath
the furious blasts ; and, again, their elasticity bring-
ing them back Avith renewed vigor to the charge.
A strong sentinel on the outposts gets a stroke and
it lays him Ioav. Think how buildings would suffer
by such battering as that upon the trees and the
stroke that uprooted that great tree. Often have we,
when viewing the fierce strife, exclaimed: "Lord,
what is man, that thou art mindful of him !"

LANDSCAPE-GARDENING.

BY R., KICIIMOND, IND.

I, TOO, am at a loss to comprehend the true mean-
ing of "landscape-gardening," notwithstanding the
numerous able articles which have appeared in the
" Monthly^'''' and am inclined to believe, from the
tenor of those articles, that it has but little relation
to gardening proper, and only an artificial repre-
sentation of nature, according to the taste of the
constructionist, whose success depends on culitva-
tion, not of the soil, but of the mind, which the
poet, the painter, the architect, and the sculptor is
presumed to possess, — yet at the same time enables
any one of ordinary taste and judgment to distin-
guish a good picture from a " daub," to imilate it.

As it is not in our nature to admit total igno-
rance of a subject that so often presents itself
to the reader, we will premise that we know some-
thing of it, and take the position that a man can be
a landscape-gardener without being a landscape
painter, poet, architect, or mathematician. And if
we should assert that many sensible persons asso-
ciate this subject with garden vegetables only, we
trust we may not be esteemed unusually verdant^
when we refer to the ditficulty attending it.

The immortal Burns was a gardener, and prided
himself on his ability to make straight corn rows ;
but, if I am not mistaken, straight lines must be
avoided in the Zandscape-garden, in which none but
ih.e aristocratic "garden stufi"" are allowed to show
their heads on the undulating acres of terra firma
that happen to be favored by nature with a "bubbling
fount" which can be converted into a jet d'eau,
thence diverted to an aquarium, where the Jinny tribe
can gambol and "the lowing herd slake their thirst"
in the shade of a rustic bridge, the abutments of which
is constructed of "rock work" and surmounted with
a statute of Downing or Bartrara, and gently curv-
ing walks and devices covered with clean gravel
connecting these objects with the house, the barn,
the grapery, the plum, the pear, cherry, apple, and
other plantations, all of which should be " grouped"
separably, interspersed at respective distances with

flower borders, ornamental trees, arbors and blue
grass.

Lest this view of the case should conflict with a
very different opinion of others, or where the ground
Avill not admit of all of the objects refered to, it might
be proper to remark that good taste would exclude
some of them and substitute others and include the
whole vegetable kingdom or any part of it, on the
principle that one class of artists selects bold
romantic subjects as only worthy of their pencils,
whUe another paints quiet pastural scenes with
equal success ; the main requirements for a good
picture being ease, grace and a tasteful combination
of the objects introduced, all of which is available
to most men who will give their attention to it when
they once know the outlines. Hope you will advise
us if they are contained herein.

HORTICULTURE ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

A LADY, writing from Jackson, affords us the fol-
lowing items of interest :

"Flowers are much cultivated in this place. We
have some handsome greenhouses, some plain ones,
but a great variety of plants for so new a country.
We have some fine nurseries. Hatch has quite an
extensive establishment near Jackson, and I think
makes very large sales, and keeps his greenhouses
well suppMed with new and attractive plants."

A FINE BLOOM OF ROSES.

I SEKD you a description of a rose, which I saw a
few days since, at the hot-house of Francis Putman,
florist, of this city, which I think must be one'of the
finest plants in this portion of the country.

Mr. Putman tells me that about three years since,
he inserted two buds of the Gloire de Dijon Rose
into a plant of La Marque, which he had growing in
the border, each of which grew nearly twenty feet
the first year, and have continued to make the same
strong growth, flowering profusely at the same time,
until at the present time the plant covers a space of
twenty feet square, and is a perfect mass of buds and
flowers. I should think that there were now at
least four hundred in different stages of bloom, those
fully expanded being from three to four inches in
diameter, perfect in form, and very fragrant, and,
what is greatly in its favor, continue a long time
without decay. It is certainly one of the finest
floral displays which I have ever seen, and every
admirer of flowers should see this plant if they wish
to know what a rose is.

[No name accompanied the above, but as it bears
the semblance of probability, we pass it. The wri-
ter's name, in matters of fact, should always be sent
for our own private satisfaction. — Ed.]

-^

142

^\^ §mAmxs P^cirfljlj.

I?

GRAPES AND CATBHFILS.ARS.

BY A. MARSHALL, WEST CHESTER, PA.

Last spring, when my Catawba Grape-vines had
thrown out shoots to the length of eight or ten
inches, I observed tliat on several of the shoots the
tender leaves at the extreme end were curled, indi-
cating a lodgment of some insect that would be no
advantage to a further development of the vine. I
pinched them all off with the thumb and finger, and
burned them. This I attended to for several days.
I usually pinched off the top of the shoot, so as to
get below the affected leaf or leaves.

In the summer when the leaves of my neighbor's
vines were eaten up with a little brown caterpillar,
mine were entirely free from them. Some of your
readers may profit by this fact.

COLD PITS.

BY R. M. CONCKLIN, COLD SPRING HARBOR, K. T.

Last winter I built a small house, somewhat on
the plan suggested by Schuylkill, only it was sunk
five feet deep and walled on the sides with stone.
The front roofing of glass, on the fixed plan, and
back, or north side, of tongued and grooved boards,
made tight, with small moveable contrivances for
letting air circulate. Although left in a very imper-
fect state, when the cold came on, the thermometer
sometimes at five or six degrees below zero, Avithout
any artificial heat, orange trees and plants of a simi-
lar character have wintered there without material
damage from frost. This I attribute in a good
degree to the depth of the pit. Now, as it seems to
be conceded in some of your editorials on this sub-
ject that the eff"ect of high fires in plant houses is
often very injurious, why may not this be obviated
by sinking the house lower in the earth ? "Would
there be any serious objection to that course ? In
regard to heat, a double advantage would be derived
—exclusion of cold and accession of heat, from the
higher temperature of the earth beneath. To be
sure, it would cause some waste room by the shade
of the wall ; yet, perhaps, that might be suitable for
some purposes.

The house I built was thirty feet long by eleven
wide, roofed so as to require sash bars about eight
feet long, composed of common soft pine, one inch
thick by three inches wide. The entire glazed front,
including work and materials, did not exceed twenty
dollars in cost. Now as the expense of roofing with
glass is so trifling, why not double the process, and
thus render it unnecessary to keep so much drying
heat in the flues ? The intermediate space between
the roofing, it seems to me, would almost render the
building impervious to cold. If you could give some

\^Vj -

light on the foregoing points, it would confer a favor
on one of your readers, if not many others.

The communication of William Bright on the
subject of renewing grape vines has been read with
deep interest. His theory of fruiting only half the
length of the rafter has for several years been a
growing conviction, until it has driven me to adopt
it, as much as possible, in open air culture of the
native varieties.

[Such pits are excellent for preserving full-grown
plants, — or, as gardeners would say, store-pits. For
plants required to be kept growing through the
winter, experience proves them unsuitable. Plants
do not grow as well in sunk pits as when in houses
built entirely on the surface of the ground. — Ed.]

HELIOTROPE FOR WINTER BLOOM.

BY AN AMATEUR, PHILADELPHIA.

I FREQUENTLY hear persons complain that they
get but little bloom from their heliotrope during the
winter, and as I have had very fair success with
mine, I offer you ray experience, although some of
your readers may be able to give you a better mode
of culture.

In the first place, I would remark that the older
and more woody the plants are the more bloom they
will generally afford, and, therefore, the plants kept
for winter bloom must be from three to four years old
before they are of much service. I will, therefore,
commence with the cuttings. They should be
struck early in the spring, in the greenhouses, and
gradually inured to the air, or ' ' hardened off, " as it
is technically called by gardeners, by planting out
time, which is after all fear of frost is over.

They should be planted out in a bed of deep rich
soil, and encouraged to grow by frequent waterings
in dry weather and occasionally with manure- water.
By fall they will be good stocky plants. Choose a
damp, cloudy day, the latter part of September, for
lifting and potting them, and when potted place them
in a close, damp greenhouse, shaded from the sun.
If the shoots are long and ' ' leggy, ' ' give the plants
a severe pruning. If you do not care for the bloom
the first winter, keep them cool and rather dry. ': n
the spring, say the middle of May, turn them out of
the pots into a rich border and give them plenty of
water, as before directed. Continue the same treat-
ment for three years, in all, and your plants will by
the third fall have attained a large size, and of a
shrubby, woody habit. Take them up very carefully
the last of August, and put them in large pots or in
wooden tubs or boxes ; place them in the shade for
a few days to recover, and then prune off the strag-
gling shoots and clean ofl" the dead leaves. Water

%\t §mkmxB Pontljlj.

143

plentifully, occasionally i^ith manure-water, and
keep them close and warm for a mouth or so, then
graduallj- diminish the water and heat and by the
first to the middle of December they will commence
blooming and furnish you with a profusion of flowers
during thcAvhole winter. I have seen plants grown
in this way that completely filled with their roots a
tub larger in diameter than a flour-barrel, with
tops four feet across and nearly five feet high. One
such plant will give you as much bloom as you vvill
probably want.

I have also grown plants, with the main stem
trimmed up to four or five feet high, and then allowed
to form an umbrella-shaped head, by training on a
wire hook. The stems of some of these plants were
three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and completely
hard and woody, and with plenty of bloom.

Bear in mind, that too much heat and moisture
keeps the plants growing, while a check will almost
invariabl}^ throw the plant into bloom. Be careful
in fumigating the greenhouse always to put the
plants down on the floor or take them out entirely,
or the foliage will be very much injured. I have
thus given you ??!?/ experience, but hope some of our
commercial gardeners, who grow flowers for bou-
quets, will give us their experience with this very
desirable plant. I will merely add, that I have sel-
dom seen the heliotrope do well in house or window
culture. To bloom it well a greenhouse is almost
indispensable.

All about CooKrcfo Potatoes. — We take the
following from the Home Monthly:

Potatoes Fried with Fish. — Take cold fish and cold
potatoes. Pick all the bones from the former, and
mash the fish and the potatoes together. Form into
rolls, and fry with lard until the outsides are brown
and crisp. For this purpose, the drier kinds of fish,
such as cod, hake, &c., are preferable. Turbot, soles,
eels, (fee, are not so good. This is an economical
and excellent relish.

Potato Cheese- Cakes.— One pound of mashed pota-
toes, quarter of a pound of sugar and butter, and
four eggs, to be well mixed together ; bake them in
patty-pans, having first lined them with puff paste.

Potato Colcanon. — Boil potatoes and greens and
spinach separately. Mash the potatoes; squeeze
the greens dry, chop them quite fine, and mix them
with the potatoes, with a little butter, pepper, and
salt. Put into mould, buttering it well first ; let it
stand in a hot oven for ten minutes.

Potatoes Roasted under Meat. — Half boil large pota-
toes ; drain the water ; put them into an earthen

dish, or small tin pan, under meat roasting before
the fire ; baste them with the dripping. Turn them
to brown on all sides, send up in a separate dish.

Potato-Balls Ragout. — Add to a pound of potatoes
a quarter of a pound of grated ham, or some sweet
herbs, or chopped parsley, an onion or eschalot, salt,
pepper, and a little grated nutmeg and other spice,
with the yolk of a couple of eggs ; then dress as po-
tatoes escalloped

Potato Snow. — Pick out the whitest potatoes, put
them on in cold water ; when they begin to crack,
strain and put them in a clean stewpan before the
fire till they are quite dry, and fall to pieces ; rub
them through a wire sieve on the dish they are to
be sent up in, and do not disturb them afterwards.

Potatoes Fried Whole. — When nearly boiled enough,
put them tuto a stewpan with a bit of butter, or
some clean beef-drippings ; shake them about often
to prevent burning, till they are brown and crisp ;
drain them from the fat. It will be an improvement
if they are floiu-ed and dipped into the yolk of an
egg, and then rolled in finely-sifted bread-crumbs.

Potatoes Escalloped. — Mash potatoes in the usual
way ; then butter some nice clean scallop shells,
patty-pans, or tea-cups or saucers ; put in your pota-
toes ; make them smooth at the top ; cross a knife
over them ; strew a few fine bread-crumbs on them ;
sprinkle them with a paste-brush with a few drops
of melted butter, and set them in a Dutch oven.
When nicely browned on the top, take them care-
fully out of the shells, and brown on the other side.
Cold potatoes may be warmed up this way.

Potato Scones. — Mash boiled potatoes till they are
quite smooth, adding a little salt ; then knead out
the flour or barlej'meal to the thickness required ;
toast on the griddle, pricking them with a fork to
prevent them blistering. When eaten with fresh or
salt butter, they are equal to crumpets — even supe-
rior— and very nutritious.

New Apple — The Missouri Janet. — The follow-
ing is a correct description : Size above medium ;
yellowish white ; nearly covered and striped with
red, with bright red cheek on exposed side ; flesh
compact, tender, juicy, with a veiy rich sub-acid
flavor ; tree very healthy ; a fair grower, and most
abundant bearer, keeps until May and June.

As a market fruit it is said to be first-rate, not ex-
cepting the Rome Beauty or Smith's Cider. It is
superior to either in qiiality of fruit, being much
richer and more highly flavored, and leaves them
very far behind as a long keeper. Its fruitfulness
and hardiness of tree is also said to be good.

^^

Ik

144

Sth^ iardaer's (plonthlj.

PHILADELPHIA, MAY 1, 1861.

2;^ All Communications for the Editor should be addressed,
"Thomas Meehan, Germantown, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gardeker's Monthly
Box 406 Philadelphia."

■ ^•■•>

53= Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1S61 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(18.59) free. All persons who have paid their sub.scriptions for 1861
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.IjO can receive a copy of
the same.

23" Our Subscription list for Kathvon's Entomological Essay
is fast tilling up, aud as we have only intended publishing a lim-
ited number, we would desire all those who may wish to have the
work, to send their name aud address as early as possible.

BENEFITS OF DROUTH-UNDER-
DRAINING.

To cultivate a closer acquaintance between science
and practice, has been a cherished aim of the Gar-
dener''s Monthly. The "mere plodder" and the
" book gardener" could aid each other materially if
they would but know each other better. We hope
this exclusiveness has had its day, and as the sun of
progress warms up our better natures, each class will
see how dependent it mutually is on the good offices
of the other.

For want of this disposition to travel closely to-
gether, we have been great losers. To-day we learn
as scientific truth, what to-morrow we are taught is
an error, — and which error it is obvious a very little
more acquaintance with practical men and practical
results, would have saved us the time lost, besides
the annoyance of unlearning. Time is too valuable
to be wasted unnecessarily.

" Could a man be secure
That his days would endure
As of old for a thousand years,
What things might he know!
Ayiiat deeds might he do !
And all without hurry or care."

But as we have but a brief tenure of existence, it
is wise that as little as possible of our three-score and
ten should be spent in this retrogade knowledge.

As an instance of this want of sympathy between
scientific teaching and practical observation, we quote
the following from the address of a distinguished
agricultural chemist to the students of his class. He
is dwelling on the many boons his branch of science
has conferred on the farmer. He saj^s :

"Agricultural chemistry has further revealed to
you, that the drouth, when the earth is parched and
vegetation dwarfed and withered by the heat, is only
an affliction for the present, a blessing in disguise

for the future, — that ' the early and the latter rain '
may produce at once abundant crops, but dry weather
is needed to bring to the surface from the depths of
the earth food for the future harvest ; that as the
drouth continues, the water from the subsoil keeps
bringing to the surface the salts of lime, or of mag-
nesia, or of potash, that it holds in solution. Thus
we are taught to see in the drouth, one of nature's
ordinances for keeping up the fertility of the soil."
If this "revelation of agricultural chemistry " is not
apocryphal, underdrainiug is a great mistake.

It is claimed for underdrainiug that it makes the
ground cool and moist in summer, and this is in-
sisted on as one of its greatest benefits, — and that it
does render the ground cool and moist under the
most trying heats, we all know. But according to
the quoted doctrine, this is an evil, rather than a bless-
ing, and we must believe that if we would add to the
fertility of our soil, we should favor the earth's be-
coming as dry and as parched as possible. And then,
again, if drouth could "bring soluble salts to the
surface," underdraining would have the same power
to carry them away, — and the result would be that
the more perfectly a soil were underdrained, and the
passage of Avater facilitated through it, the more
easily would the soil be depleted of its valuable salts,
which, "held in solution" by each shower of rain,
would pass away through the drains to waste.

But those who have underdrained teU us they have
experienced no such losses. Though the operation
has rendered their grounds moist and cool in sum-
mer, it is highly productive ; and instead of the salts
disapiiearing ' ' in solution ' ' after each rain-storm
through the drains, the elements of fertility in the
soil is rather increased, and we have no choice left
but to decide between infidelity to this so-called
"revelation," or a belief in the rationahsm of facts
and figures.

We choose the latter, and with all due respect for
high chemical authority, would make bold to inquire
whether drouth really brings " salts to the surface ?"
Whether even the mere presence of salts themselves
in the soil is any test of its fertility ? and whether the
benefits known to follow the operation of drouth, is
not owing to very different laws than our "author-
ity" supposed?

The laws of vegetable life play an important part
in all questions connected with the fertility of the
soil. As with science and practice, so with life and
death ; they mutually aid each other. Indeed, with-
out death there can be no life.

All vegetation is founded on decay. The living
plant is but old matter in process of reconstruction,—
matter set free by decaj^ and which decomposition has
resolved into its original elements. Out of the des-

'SVa-

¥\

ilH ^ardciw's (Pcnthlj.

145

olate ruins of the past, is the beautiful temple of life
built up. ' ' That which thou sowest is not quickened
unless it die," — even the seed must be sacrificed to
afford life to its germ.

And all this is as true of the inorganic as of the
oi'ganic world. Decomposition must act on the
mineral, as well as the animal or vegetable, matters
in the soil, before they become available for the nu-
trition of a living plant, and the great agent in this
work of destruction is the oxygen of the atmos-
phere.

The elements of fertility may abound in the soil,
but unless oxygen has free scope to enter in and
amongst them on its disintegrating and destroying
duties, the soil will not be fertile, nor will the hus-
bandman reap his due reward.

And thus it is that drouth is followed by beneficial
results — not for the reason "revealed to us by agri-
cultural chemistry" according to our author, but
solely because it affords oxygen its only chance of
penetrating deeply in underdraiued soil. Where
water escapes, air will enter, and of course the deep-
er drouth dries the soil, the deeper in the same pro-
portion does oxygen descend to its destructive offices-

This is beautifully illustrated after every heavy
summer thunder-shower. If we go out immediately
after the rain is over, and before the little pools have
had time to soak away, we shall find air-bubbles
rising through them in every direction, by the weight
of water pressing into the air spaces, and driving out
the gaseous contents of the soil. If the surface o^
the ground has been rendered hard by traffic, the air
Avill often be forced from many small ducts into one
main channel, made, perhaps, by a worm or insect,
out of which it can be seen to jet like a mimic vol-
cano. When a boy, the writer has often amused him-
self by placing light feathers over these columns of
air, which in some cases Avould rise to an inch or
more in height. This is nature's method of ventila-
ting the soil, — the way she effects a continuous cir-
culation. As the water enters, the air, deprived of
its oxygen in the service of plant life, is driven out ;
and then, as the water slowly evaporates, the pure
air of the atmosphere follows, becomes in time ex-
hausted, and is again driven out by the next summer
shower, and so continues a beautiful and perpetual
revolution and restoration.

If our view of the beneficial effects of drouth is the
true one, it affords "aid and comfort" to the advo-
cates of underdraining rather than to its opponents.
The thorough ajration of the soil enters largely into
a coiTect definition of the term underdraining, — and
is claimed to be, as it undoubtedly is, the most use-
ful part of the operation. Nature aerates by the slow
process of evaporation, and the crops are often sac-

rificed in the drouth to nature's wants, — but man, by
underdraining, asrates by method and system, con-
tinually and without risk ; fears not the drouth, and
yet reaps all its advantages.

REVISION OP THE AMERICAN FOMOLO-

GICAL SOCIETY'S CATALOGUE OP

FRUITS.

Under the head of "Horticultural Societies," we
publish an address that has been issued by the spe-
cial committee in charge of the subject, to the nu-
merous State and local committees of the Pomolo-
gical Society.

We call attention to the matter here because we
consider it one of the most important moves that the
Society has ever made, — a move in the right direc-
tion, and one that will require all the aid and co-
operation that the friends of Pomology, in every
part of the Continent, can extend, to render it as
perfect as we hope it will be.

The past efforts of the Socie.y have very properly
been directed towards collecting facts bearing on
pomological knowledge. By its aid these have be-
come so numerous as to prove bewildering for prac-
tical purposes in their present disarranged state.
We may get twenty men from Connecticut who have
grown a Diana and a Catawba grape, side by side,
and who will tell you unanimously that the former
is far sujierior to the latter in flavor ; while twenty
men in Maryland, speaking of the same grapes
tested in the same way, will as positively assert that
the Catawba is certainly the best grape. Of course
these are facts, — but they are facts of a limited na-
ture, and before fruit culture can be properly digni
fied with the name of Pomology^ it owes it' as a duty
to itself, to classify and present such flicts in a syste-
matized and scientific manner.

And if points respecting the adaptations of
varieties to various localities are in a state of bewil-
dering confusion, the character of the varieties them-
selves are still more so. We can take up scarcely a
single agricultural journal, from separate localities,
Avithout finding some fruit recommended as "the
best of its class," many of which we never before
heard of. Fruits and descriptions of fruits are con-
tinually reaching us that we have never before seen,
and if we go to compare them with any published
descriptions, we find these in such a disarranged
condition, that it is next to impossible to identify
them. So utterly useless have these masses of des-
criptions become, that they are scarcely ever con-
sulted by describers. Like lumber in a gan-et, they
might be useful, but are not. If a fruit is said to be
a seedling, and it is tolerably good, it cuts a figure
in some publication, and though there may be but a

.k

146

Sthif ©arda^r's cPonthlg.

shadow of difference between it and a few score of
others ah'eady in existence, it goes to swell an
already unwieldly list. Why should we endure
these things ? Botany has its Decandolles, Endli-
chers, and Jussieus, who out of chaos have produced
system and harmony. Their milhons of facts are
so classified, that once described, any one is known
for ever to all who take the trouble to possess them-
selves of the key. Cannot Pomology have as much
done for it ? It is a difficult task, we know, but its
accomplishment has become a necessity. Some one
will achieve it, and a field is opened wherein to im-
mortalize oneself by conferring on pomologists so
great a boon.

From the eminent accomplishments of the gentle-
men who are acting for the Society on this com-
mittee, we are certain that all will be done that the
present state of pomological knowledge renders pos-
sible ; and we hope that they will meet with such
assistance and encouragement from all quarters as
will stimulate them to prosecute their good work
with energy and spirit.

A CHAPTER OP HINTS.

Dibbles.

AVe annex a drawhig of a Dibble
much used in France. It makes two
holes at the same time, and prevents
the necessity of stretching the garden-
line so often when planting in rows ;
the line need only be changed at every
second row.

Seed-Drill.
A very simple, and at the same time a very expe-
ditious and effective mode of planting small seeds, is

the cork, as shown in the cut. If the seeds are ex-
tremely small, and it is necessary to sow them thinly,
mix the seed with dry sand before it is put in the
bottle.

Hand-Barrow.

A Garden Hand-barrow of the kind represented
in the cut will be found very useful on a country
place for carrying leaves, weeds, &c.

Glazing.

Rivers, at SaAvbridgeworth, England, has intro-
duced a new mode of glazing greenhouses. The
sash-bar is formed with a groove down the centre of
its upper surface, as shown in Fig. 1, and the glass
is laid so that its side is even with the edge of this
groove, and is secured by screws with strips of gum-

Fig. 3.

to put them in a wine-bottle, with a quill inserted in

elastic or leather placed under the heads of the
screws to prevent the glass from chipping or crack-
ing. The glass, before laying, has small triangular
notches cut in the side with a diamond, as shown in
Fig. 2. These notches are first marked with the
diamond, and then broken out with a key or a
glazing-knife, with a groove cut in it, as shown in
Fig. 3.

This does not strike us as any great improvement
on the mode of glazing now much practiced by
commercial gardeners, of laying the glass in the
common-shaped sash-bars without putty, but well
bedded in white-lead and secured by sprigs, so that
they can neither be lifted up or slipped down, as shown
in Fig. 4. A A are the sash-bars ; B the laps in the
panes of glass ; D D are two sprigs, or small nails,
without heads, which prevent the upper pane from
being lifted up, and C C are two which prevent it
from slipping down. These sprigs should be five-
eights of an inch long for the smaller sized glass.
The glass should be well bedded in with lead ground

Ik

Sth^ ©ardcnxr's (plontI%

mg. 4.

□i:

D

JDr

-iZ>

2?

in oil, and when nailed should again be well coated
along the sides with white-lead.

Tiles for Pots.

A writer in the English Cottage Gardener recom-
mends the use of the common horse-shoe or U-shaped
earthen drain-tile for growing verbenas and other
bedding-out plants in, after they are struck from
cuttings. They are much cheaijer, and the plants
can be easily turned out into the beds in rows, with
small intervals left between the rows. The tiles are
kept in an upright position in the greenhouse by
small stones or blocks under each end. Tile of this
kind can be purchased in this country by the quan-
tity at about one and a half cents each for 3-inch
diameter, two cents for 4-inch, and six cents for
6-inch, each one thirteen inches long. The ends
can be filled up with sod, moss, stones, or blocks of
wood, or they can be laid in rows side by side, and
a long strip of board on edge will close the ends of
the whole tier.

The Sciioonemunk Grape. — Mr. A. J. Caywood,
of Modena, Ulster County, N. Y., writes:

In the March number of the Gardener's Monthly,
page 83, is a notice of an exhibition at Newburg, N.
Y., of the *'Skunnymunk" Grape. This is incor-
rectly spelled, and wrongly named. The grape in
question is a new variety of the Labrusca, and was
discovered by Mr. W. A. Woodward, of Mortonville,
Orange County, N. Y., who resides near the base
of the Schoonemunk* Mountain, one of the high-
lands, about equi-distant from Newburg and West
Point. Mr. W. has given much attention to the ex-
amination of the native grapes of Orange County.
He pronounces this a native seedling. The vine is
very hardy, produces abundantly, many of the
branches weighing twenty ounces. Allow me to
suggest that the name you have given to this grape
should be ignored, and that it be named in honor of
the discoverer, The Woodward Grape.

In the present state of the grape question, the in-
troducer of a good new variety is a public bene-
factor.

[The name Avas not given by us, as we have never
seen the grape. The paragraph in question was
taken from some exchange, but from where, forgot-
ten, so that we could not credit the paragraph to its
original authority, as it is our usual practice to do
in all matters of fact.

RUSTIC ADORNMENTS.

[see frontispiece.]

We give, as a Frontispiece, sketches of rustic work
of a novel character, from the pencil of Mr. B. R.
Mitchell, Kingston, Mass. The work is formed out
of knots and burrs formed by the agency of insects,
and is what we may term making the best fand
very good, too, j of our insect troubles in a peculiar
way.

Much may be done by rustic work, to make gar-
dens interesting. The only objection is, the rapidity
with which it often decays. Good material, and that
well varnished, will, however, remove much of this

mmr

Mead's Seedling Grape. — In our "Horticultu-
ral Societies" is a notice of a new grape exhibited
before the Missouri Fruit-Growers' Society. Mr.
Pettingill obligingly furnishes us with cuttings and
the following account of it. If it really sprung
from a lot of raisin seed, we are sorry to say that
we have no faith in its permanent adaptation to our
climate. Of course all seedlings from the foreign
class of grapes are in flavor ' ' superior to the Ca-
tawba;" but, although the first few years of their
seedling existence finds them with a vigorous con-
stitution, enabling them for the time being to resist
mildew, — they all eventually succumb, and are aban-
doned. The Canadian Chief, Clara, Brinckle, and
and others, are familiar examples. Mr. P. says :

It is an accidental seedling of 1848, found by a
Mr. Mead, Lowell, Mass., in his garden, at a place
where, the Christmas preceding, some refused layer
raisins had been thrown out. Cuttings, I find, do
not strike easily. It is a rampant grower, very hardy

*Thi.s word is derived from tlie Indian word Munk Mountain,
and Dutch word Schoone beautit'u'.

^riY-*

r<g

r^ ^?<

& •"■

148

Wilt #ardtntr's

ItaniliB.

and enormous bearer, never has mildewed, and when my Isabella, Catawba and Clinton have entirely failed
from rot, Mead's Seedling has escaped almost entirely. Bunches, large size, shouldered ; berries, almost
round, large, pale red, covered with lilac bloom when fully matured ; flesh, slightly pulpy, very sweet and
juicy, with rich aromatic flavor ; season, middle of September.

New Pears op Fine Quality — By J. C. Hanchetl, Syracuse^ N. Y. — The name De Solis, given to the
pear described in the March number of the Monthly, is erroneous, and was caused, probably, by the
imperfect manner in which the name was written upon the specimen which you examined. The proper
name is De Sorlus.

The trees of this variety have been bearing at the Syracuse Nurseries for several years, and the fruit has
uniformly been large and fair, and always a favorite. The drawing does not do full justice to it either in
form or size. It is larger and more regular. The deficiency in both points may be ascribed to the fact,
that the specimens taken to Philadelphia were necessarily picked from the tree early in September, in
order to be placed upon the tables of the American Pomological Society on the 11th of that month. As
the fruit is a late one, this deprived those specimens of, at least, the best four weeks of their time for growth
and development. Much fine fruit is imperfectly represented at public exhibitions every year from this
necessity ; not always, I regret to say, so successfully as De Sorlus, masmuch as this last proves that to
jts other merits, may be added that of ripening to perfection even when plucked a month too soon.

I avail myself of the opportunity while making this correction, to ofler you the outlines and descriptions
of a few peaiS not yet much known, that have in quite recent years proved themselves at the Syracuse

'I?

:=^'

M^ §m'&mr\ JHontMg.

149

If

Nurseries. I shall be mistaken if longer acquaintance does not. give them a high place in popular estima-
tion • for, while the poorest are really of excellent quality, all of them are of tine size and exceeding
beauty.

Ananas d'ete. Fig. 1. — Fruit, large, obtuse, pyriforra, irregular; skin, fine lemon yellow, sometime^
with an orange blush ; stalk, an inch long, Coft-en with an apparent jointj) inserted obliquely without
depression ; calyx, small, closed, in a basin ; flesh, firm grained, buttery, melting, sweet, and sometimes
astringent, with peculiar and very agreeable flavor. In external appearance it has a very close resemblance
to the Bartlett, so much so, indeed, as sometimes to deceive the most critical judges. Tree grows well on
pear or quince ; makes a fine pyramid, and comes early into bearing. Season, September. Almost or
quite as early as the Bartlett.

Cops Heat, CVan Mons.j Fig. 2.— Fruit, large, obovate, inclining to pyriform ; skia, yellow, slightly
russetted around the stem ; stem, half an inch long, inserted upon a fleshy one-sided prominence ; calyx,
open, with stiff" segments, placed in a very shallow basin ; flesh, white, tine grained, very juicy, buttery,
melting, suflSciently acidulous to gratefully relieve its almost otherwise cloying sweetness, and delicately
flavored with bergamot. I have never tasted any pear superior in my judgment to the specimens of this
variety as they proved in the seasons of 1859 and I860. Season, middle of October. I believe this to h^
the first descrption ever given of the fruit in America.

Delices de Jodoigne —Fig. 3.— Fruit, large, medium, obtuse, pyriform, one-sided; skin, yellowish-
green, covered with brown specks, and frequently having a handsome colored cheek ; stem, about one
inch, merged in a fleshy protuberance ; calyx, large, open, in a shallow basin; flesh, white, coarse grained,
crisp, very juicy, melting, and sweet, and delicately flavored with bergamot. Tree, a stahvai-t grower,
both on pear and quince, and a prolific bearer. Its melting and sugary qualities render it an admirable
pear for the oven ; even as early as last of August. Season, October. Keeps welL

De Tongres. Fig. 4.— Fruit, large, pyramidal ; skin, covered with cinnamon dots, and somewhat
russetted in splashes, with a brilliant bronze cheek ; the surface usually embossed or knobby, like th^

%lt ®arbtntr's S^cirfljb.

Bartlett ; stem, short, inserted obliquely, with little
depression below the apex of the fruit ; calyx, rather
large, open, placed in a moderately broad basin ;
flesh, white, fine grained, abounding exceedingly in
a juice, the high vinous quality of which is scarcely
sufficiently modified by the saccharine, with a faint
flavor of bergamot. Quite similar in character to
Beurre Superfin. Tree, not a favorite with nursery-
men. Season, October.

Doyenne de Comice. Fig. 5. — Fruit, large, ob-
tuse pyriform ; skin, yellow, covered with cinnamon
dots, often with a broad dark red cheek ; stem, short,
planted in a slight depression ; calyx, small, open,
deeply sunk in a broad corrugated basin ; flesh, white,
fine grained, very melting and rich, with an abun-
dance of saccharine, slightly acidulated juice, barely
suggesting the bergamot flavor. It is a pear of
most excellent quality. Tree, a handsome free
grower. Season, October, and keeps till November.

Downing or Doyenne Downing. Fig. 6. —
Fruit, medium, irregular, often inclining to turbi-
nate ; skin, yellow, covered with cinnamon dots,
and russetted about the base ; stem, short, stout,
fleshy, inserted as though the fruit were wax, and
it had been deflected from a perpendicular by heat,
forming thick folds where it blends indefinitely with
the flesh ; calyx, small, placed in a deep basin ;
flesh, white, fine grained, rather firm, sweet, mode-
rately juicy, with a fine verbena flavor. Though
there are many pears of a higher grade of excellence,
it is by no means a particularly desirable one to let
alone. Season, last of September. Ti-ee, good on
pear or quince.

Apple Reinette Diel ( Van Mons) is described
ia the French Horl. Prat., by Bivort, and is, in
many respects, a remarkable variety. The fruit is
of small size, roundish, strongly flattened at both
ends. Skin, orange yellow at maturity, covered
with grey red projecting points, which are some of
them triangular, some square, and some stellate, be-
coming smaller and most numerous towards the calyx.
Stem, short, thick, fleshy, set straight, in a deep
cavity, and of a dark grey green. Calyx, small,
open, in a deep and broad basin, with calyx-divisions
greenish. Flesh, fine, firm, yellowish-white, acidu-
lated sugary, and with an exquisite aroma. It is of
first qviality, and in season in Belgium from Decem-
ber to March. The plate given with the description
is strongly suggestive of the old and famous English
Golden Pippin.

Evans' Rural Economist is the title of a new
monthly publication commenced at West Chester,

Pa., the initial number of which was issued on the
first instant. It is a handsome specimen, substantial
in appearance, and solid and valuable in its contents.
Barnes & Washburn's Spring Catalogue of New
Plants, Bedding Fowers, &c., Harrison Square, Mass.
is one of the most interesting lists we have received
this season. 50 pages, and well filled with novelties.

Sweet Potato Culturist, by John W.Tenbrook,
New York. Published by Saxton, Barker & Co. —
A 25 cent pamphlet of 95 pages, detailing the practice
of the most experienc?d cultivators throughout the
Union.

Second Annual Report op the Proceedings
OF THE Fruit-Growers' Society op Eastern
Pennsy^lvania besides an Abstract of the Debates,
which have already appeared in full in the Gardener''s
Monthly, it contains the Reports of the various
Committees, essays by Mr. John Rutter and Mr.
L. E. Berckmans of Georgia, on the degeneracy of
fruits, and by Mr. F. J. Cope on Fruit-culture. —
These give the pamphlet great interest.

Annual Meeting of the Fruit-Growers' So-
ciety op Western New York. Another excellent
brochure confined entirely to the discussions, and
filled with matters of great interest to all fruit cul-
turists.

Transactions of the Illinois State Horti-
cultural Society. We have given an abstract of
these transactions in our pages, and our readers will
be able to judge by it of the value to lUinoisians, and
Fruit-growers' of the West especially, of the reports
in full. Dr. Warder and Dr. J. A. Kennicot con-
tribute essays for the work, that add much to its
usefulness.

Catalogues.

The spring lists of the following firms are on our
table. They afford our readers a chance to learn
what are in their own vicinity, before going away
from home to buy. We are happy to say that since
we took occasion to note in one of our earliest vol-
umes, our regret at the inaccurate way in which
most of our catalogues were brought out, a marked
improvement has resulted ; till now a list of mis-
spelled names is quite an exception, — and we feel
proud in the fact, that no country in the world can
show so creditable an amount of intelhgence amongst
the body of nurserymen, as a whole, as their cat-
alogues show our country to possess.

Trees, Fruits, and Ornamentals.
John Dick, Kingsessing, Pa. ; Plants. Uri Man-
ly, Marshall, Ills. D. R. Tyler, Warren, Mass. T.
L. Shields, Pittsburg, Pa. E. C. Worcester, Thet-
ford, Vt. Spooner &Co., Jamaica Plain, Mass. W.
Reid, Elizabethtown, N. J. A. Mattison, Paducah

C[j^ fi5iirhncr's lilanfljln.

151

k

Ky. Richard Bliss, Springfield, M;iss. Andrew
Wiggin, Stratham, IST. H. J. W. Manning, Read-
ing, Mass. Miller, Swan & Layton, Springfield,
Ohio.

Special and Miscellaneous.

Archibald Stone, Binghamplon N. Y. ; Wild Ev-
ergreens. 1). R. Tyler, Warren, Mass.; Flower
Seeds. A. D. ]\rerrill, Melrose, we suppose Mass.;
Grapes. Thos. G. Ward, Washington ; Roses. —
Lenk, Hansen, & Co., Toledo, O.; Seeds. John
F. Weber, Hammondsport, N. Y.; Wine and Grapes,
H. A. Dreer, Phila. ; Roses, &c. James. Edgerton,
Barnesville, O. J. L. Stelzig, & Co., Columbus, O.;
Grapes. E. Marshall, Po'keepsie, N. Y.; Small
Fruits. D. R. Good, Altoona, Pa. ; Wild Evergreens.
Dexter Snow, Chicopee, Mass. ; Verbenas.

Class Book of Botany. Being outlines of the
structure, physiology, and classifications of plants,
with a flora of the United States and Canada. By
Alphonso Wood, A. M. New York : Published by
A. S. Barnes & Burr, 1861.

This is a new edition of a work first issued in 1845,
and now well known and appreciated.

Its distinguishing character lies in presenting a
treatise on all the branches of American Botany, in
one work. Such a plan must, of necessity, demand
brevity in the treatment of details, — but in an ele-
mentary work this is not a great objection; indeed,
it may be classed as a merit in such a work.
A clear conception of the mere "outlines" of the
sciences is more readily obtained, when considered
independently of minutiae that go to make up its
perfection.

The first part treats of Structural Botany, des-
cribing the nature and character of the various organs
of plants. The second enters into the Physiology
of vegetation, or plants in a state of growth. The
third part. Systematic Botany, — and the fourth Des-
criptive Botany, in which the Flora of the United
States east of the Rocky Mountains is fully des-
cribed.

It is' a source of gratification to us as horticultu-
rists to feel that there is a growing taste for such
works, and that publishers feel warranted in so free
an issue of them from the press, as the past year or
two has exhibited. There is no surer method of
heightening the pleasure which horticulture affords,
when the taste for it is indulged for purely mental
and physical recreation, than to have a clear percep-
tion of the scientific principles, on which the varied
operations depend,— and to him who has merely a
commercial interest in in its pursuit, the allied scien-
ces, and especially Botany, is of immense importance.
And to professional gardeners, — those who look for-

ward to the elevation of their class to distinguished
social position, as a body of intelligent and intellec-
tual men, and as men worthy of honor and of sub-
stantial reward for their services, the natural sciences
have strong claims on their regard.

Mr. Wood's work is accomplished in a very easy
and clear stj^le, free, in a great measure, from the
technicalities that arc popularlj^ supposed to render
science "drj^," and calculated to lead the mind easily
and pleasantly to the desired accomplishment. We
cordially recommend it as an excellent work for be-
ginners.

There are some blemishes which we very much
regret. It is not up to the times in the physiologi-
cal department, and the old system of Endlicher, is
adopted without the modern improvements of Lind-
ley. Gray, and others, by which to arrange the plants
described. Loose expressions and thoughtless max-
ims are taught which a slight consideration would
show to be erroneous, and which, in a work destined
to be placed in the hands of the young, is unfortunate.
We are told for instance that the "witch " ("twitch ?J
grass can only be eradicated by being torn to pieces
" by the spade of the angry gardener, "though we are
sure, if he would lay aside his "anger," and go at
the job with determined coolness and judgment, he
would get along much better. We are also told that
the leaf " is the type or idea from which the Divine
architect derived the form of every other appendage
of the plant," which seems strange to religious
minds. It certainly is a most original idea that Di-
vine intelligence should, like mortal beings, require
crude material out of which, to "derive an idea."
Mr. Wood further teaches that the insoluble coat of
resin on the buds of the English Horse Chestnut, is
an "illustration of designing wisdom," to preserve
the buds in wintry climates. But as the American
Horse Chestnut in a severer climate has no gum, or
very little, we may reasonably doubt whether this is
the real use of the gum, and object to such question-
able doctrines appearing in a strictly scientific
work.

Equally bad is the typographical execution of the
work. "Salanum," for Solanum ; Camillia, for
Camellia ; Gronvoii, for Gronovii ; Acetoceila for
Acetosella ; Crotallaria, for Crotalaria ; Accaules-
cent," " Malhc acid," &c., all through the work.
Sometimes a plant is called Diclytra canadensis in
one place, and Dicentra canadensis in another, and
similar incongruities, that must tend to confuse the
beginners for whom the work is intended. We point
out these blemishes in all kindness, that, in anothor
edition, they may be removed and render perfect a
truly useful and valuable work.

€:f'S-

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£2^v(5>5

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152

M^ €iirilmn\ (PoniMg.

SnJ^Commun. cations for this department must reach the Editor
on or before the 10th of the month.

Jr3^The Editor cannot answer letters for this department pri-
vately.

History of the Improved Pansy — 3frs. C. B. S.
— We are unable to give you a history of the Im-
proved Pansy, though you are right in supposing it
to date from quite a recent period. If our memory
serve us properly, we were taught that the first Pan-
sy, much removed in beauty above the common wild
form, was introduced into England from Holland by
Lee, the Hammersmith nurseryman, foraous for
bringing the Fuchsia and other popular plants into
notice, about the year 1812. This was a purple, and
considered the first of its color, and had an "im-
mense run" of favor with the public. From then
till 1830 most of the improvements were in form and
color. Coming down to our own day we can speak
more positively. In 1884, Thomson, of Edmonton,
raised one with a "cat's eye," and at once those
with a central eye became the types of good Pansies
and "all the rage." Thomson, emboldened by
success, persevered, and in addition to peculiar

Thomson, also. About 1850 the German florists
took hold of this class, and for a while "bronze
pansies" were pushed, until they had their " rise,
progress and decline" in public estimation. Re-
cently the French have tried their hand, and the
result is "mottled" pansies of exquishe beauty.

The above is a cut of one we find in the London
Gardener's Chronicle, but it will give but a faint idea
of the rainbow-colored hues, which they present.
We have seen them in this country the two past
seasons, particularly fine at Hoopes & Bros., of the
West Chester (Pa.J Nurseries, and at other places.
There is yet room for improvement in the form and
texture of the petals, and we have no doubt they
will be more popular than either the German or
English improvements heretofore made.

We have done the best we can for our fair corres-
pondent, from the unwritten history of the Pansy.
We are sure there must be heads that have
grown greyer in the service of Flora than we have,
that could render a better account, and we hope to
receive sketches from them, not only of this, but of
other popular florists' flowers.

Grape Mildew. — Like the grape-pruning question,
we are getting too many articles on the mildew sub-
ject, that we fear we shall have no room to publish,
colors, produced varieties of immense size, one of Those which contain facts and observations, we shall
them, we remember, Queen Victoria, was over two 1 make room for from time to time, but we would

inches across— pretty good for that day.

There has not been much improvement in size
and form since 1850, but new styles and colors are
being constantly introduced. In 1836 the first
bronze pansy, then called " Phosphorus," was raised,
we do not remember by whom, but, we think, by

! suggest to our friends to save us from the pain of
I rejecting long communications of ill-reasoned and
I crude, hastily-formed opinions. There is no greater
I mistake to be avoided than to take coincidences for
1 causes. Thus, one writer "knows decidedly" that
i dry air prevents mildew, because he saw a few on a
: hill-top that were quite healthy ; while another
knows decidedly that moist air prevents it, because
he saw " some splendid wild vines, models of health
1 and vigor, in swamps in New Jersey." It seems to
[ us much like the old Sultan's reasoning

" Who knew the world was square,
I Because he'd journeyed fifty miles and found

1 No sign that it was circular anywhere."

I The following, from "Life in the Backwoods,"

! will help to explain our meaning : —

I "A few days ago I was called to a house, on a

i professional visit, where the inmates have a holy
horror of ' calamy and laudamy.' While making

1 my way into the good graces of the mother, by

I fondling upon my knee a certain breechless brat, I
noticed a number of small bones attached to a string
and worn by the child as a necklace. Knowing the

I strange belief in charms that such people sometimes
have, I immediately remarked :

"'I see your child, madam, has had rheuma-
tism.' "

" ' No, sir,' says the worthy dame, ' them thar are
rattlesnake bones, put thar to make Pete have a easy
time a cuttin' his teeth. Last spring, when the boys
Avas a plowin' down in the bottom, they plowed up
a powerful big rattlesnake, and I jest tuck him and
biled him three days and nights, beginnin' on Fri-
day mornin'. I tuck the bones then and put 'em on
a string, as you see thar, and made him wear 'em
till now. I recon, doctor, he was about as sick a
chile as you ever seed when them bones was put on
his neck, he begun to git better right ofT, and nuver
has bin sick from that day till now."

"NoTniNG New Under the Sun." — A corres-
pondent writes : — " In a recent number you remarked
that even the views of Mr. Darwin, supposed to be
so audaciously novel, had been successfully claimed
by another English writer, as having been published
by him some j^ears before. In looking over an early
number of the Gardener^ Magazine^ fVol. 4,J) I find
the following, from the pen of Mr. Loudon, which
throws back still further the originality of the views.
It is not at all impossible that old Gerarde, the
"Herbalist," of three hundred years ago, may
have given expression to similar views, if one would
only take the the trouble to search for them. I
thought the reference might interest you in your
views about nothing new, and as the correspondents
say, you ' can use it for what it is worth.' The fol-
lowing is the extract : —

"'Nature is constantly producing new genera
and species, as is in a great measure warranted by the
productions of our gardens.' "

Grape-Pruning — J. I. W., Jackson, Mich. — "I do
not, after all that is written, know at last what is the
most approved plan of grape-pruning — whether the
short cane, as Bright says, or otherwise — and I
would like something reliable from j'^ou, or some such
substantial source."

[It is our custom to give most of our views of the
practical questions of the day, under the head of our
"Monthly Hints." With regard to the short cane
system of pruning, it should be remembered that it
has not yet been tried very extensively, and should
not be adopted without local experiment first, on a
small scale. Severe pruning, and especially summer
pruning, which the short cane system embraces as
a part of its practice, is indisputably injurious to the
grape plant — so much so, that it has also been
adopted, as part of the practice, to let the vines pro-
duce only every other year. The long cane system
requires less art to manage successfully, and its ope-
ration can be entrusted to less skilful hands. It
may not be as productive in the long run as other

systems, but it is a more certain one for beginners,
and we would advise you to adopt it. After suc-
ceeding with the old plans well, try gradually the
newer improvements. — Ed.]

Whale Oil Soap. — A con-espondcnt asks for a
receipt. A friend hands us the following : —

" Render common ley caustic, by boiling it at full
strength on quick lime, then take the ley, poured off
from the lime, and boil with it as much whale oil foot
as it will saponify, ("this is readily seen, J pour off into
forms, and when cold it is tolerably hard. That
sold by the manufacturers is highly adulterated with
common rosin, which remains as a varnish on the
trees and is detrimental. Whale oil foot is the sedi-
ment produced in the refining of whale oil and worth
$2 per barrel.

Nurserymen's Charges for Packing Plants
— " Trade.'''' — We have not space for your article on
this subject, which is one we have no inclination to
discuss. Besides, why not send your communication
to the Horticulturist, where what you object to first
appeared. Its editor is, we well know, at all times
ready to hear "both sides of any question."

As you ask our opinion, we will frankly say, that
a custom that has endured so long, and has become
so universal, as charging extra for packing when
plants are sold at a distance, must have had some
reason for its foundation, though, like all customs,
liable to abuse at times, and when it is understood
between buyer and seller, at the time of sale, we
do not see where the swindling charge comes in.
A florist, perhaps, sells verbenas in his own vicinity
for, say $4 per hundred, and delivers them within
ten miles of his place for the same price. They need
no packing. They are simply loaded in his wagon,
and unloaded at their destination. He sells hun-
dreds this way, and gains a reputation for selling
verbenas at $4 per hundred. But an exceptional
case occurs. Amongst the hundreds of home cus-
tomers comes one from a distance, and then boxes,
and labor, and skill of careful packing are called for
in addition, that they may safely go a long way by
rail or express. Is there any extortion in the extra
charge ? On the other hand, it is evident that if he
found boxes and labor of packing, all for the $4, and
could afford it, the ninety-nine per cent, who needed
no boxes and packing, would certainly and with
good reason think they were overcharged. The
nurseiyman would then reduce his rates to these to
perhaps $3.75, but would it still not make the other
charge an "extra 25 cents." ?

We would thank our friends not to trouble us with
such simple questions. Competition and the laws of
trade regulate these matters better than we can.

Kg)

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154

Che §mkixtxs P^oiithlj.

I^

There are other matters bearing on the science and
practice of liorticulture, that we can advise you bet-
ter than we can on this.

Striking Cuttings — /. M. W., Memphis, .Tenn. —
"I observe some general hints in regard to striking
plants in sand, with bottom heat. Can you not go
a little more into detail ? There is nothing in nature
without a reason and a rule. Many succulent plants
strike without the smallest difficulty, but the hard-
wooded are more difficult. How do you strike Ca-
mellias ? Where can the seed be had ? Why not
strike pears, peaches and apples, instead of graft-
ing?"

["Many succulent plants strike without the
smallest difficulty, but the hard-wooded are more
difficult," as our correspondent says, and it is this
difference in the nature of cuttings that renders it
impossible to do more tlian give general hints for
general rules of propagation. " There is nothing in
nature without a reason and a rule," but the same
rule and the same reason for it, that would enable
us to strike a currant, would fail when applied to the
apple or pear. When our correspondent asks to
know how to strike Camellias, the question is defi-
nite, and we can answer that if cuttings were taken
from healthy, vigorous shoots of the past season,
just before new growth commences, and made into
lengths of say three eyes, two-thirds of their lengths
in pots or boxes of sharp sand, said pots or boxes
plunged into tan, leaves, or other material that
contains a bottom heat of about 65°, and the atmos-
phere kept so moist by shading from the sun or
keeping sash close, that there is no evaporation from
the cutting till it has roots to draw moisture from the
soil to sustain itself, it will, in all probability, grow.
Or if the cutting be taken off just as the new growtli
is about maturing, it will also probably grow. But
all this has been learned by experience by practical
propagators, and their success, in this instance,
would afford them nothing but general hints — no
certain rule — for proceeding with any other class of
plants. The only general rule that we can oflFer is
to heal the cut at the base as soon as possible by cal-
lousing or otherwise, in all cases where time is usu-
ally required by the cutting to produce roots, in order
to aid it against decay, and to so keep the atmos-
phere about the cuttings that there shall be little or
no evaporation from the part of the cutting above
ground until time shall have been afforded for the
emission of roots. AH other proceedings must de-
I pend on each individual case.

Camellia seed is produced abundantly in the open
air of the Southern States — in the Northern spar-
ingly in greenhouses. Fruit trees could easily be
raised from cuttings, but they would not be so good

or so cheap as seedling trees. Root-grafted trees are
little more than cuttings, and the great objection to
them is, that they abound with small fibrous roots
and have few long and strong ones, thereby easily
blowing over in a wind, especially when loaded with
fruit.]

Slugs and Snails— iVfiss S., Philadelphia. — The
insects sent are what gardeners call "slugs." The
best mode of destruction is to trap them. Turnips
cut in half, hollowed out a little, and placed in the
coolest and shadiest part of your garden, will attract
them by scores, from whence they may be collected
and destroyed and their numbers soon be so lessened
considerably.

Ants. — "A subscriber" writes, "I planted some
choice roses, and the ants inhabit the earth around
the roots and climb the rose bushes. Are they inju-
rious to the plants ? and if so, how shall I get rid of
them?"

[Hot water — say about 160^, in which flower of
sulphur is steeped and poured over, will cause a
speedy departure with no disposition, on their part,
to return. Lime-water has been said to be efiectual,
but this we have not seen tried. ]

Egg-Plants— 7. A. — Egg-plant seed should be
sown on a hot-bed, in March, and encouraged to
grow as strongly as possible till Cii this latitudej
the first week in May, when they should be trans-
planted to a deep, rich soil, in a warm place in the
vegetable garden, set about two feet apart each way.
The fruit is the part used. It is usually cut into thin
strips and fried in lard, and to most tastes, is one of
the most delicious vegetables, when properly cooked.

Names of Plants — Aubiy 4- Souchet. — Your spe-
cimen is Staphylea heterophylla. We have no
knowledge of its hardiness or habits, your speci-
mens being the first living ones we have seen, but
we believe it to be a Peruvian species, and so not
likely to be hardy.

New York and Ben Davis Apple — W. M. Allen,
Jeffersontown, Ky., writes . — As there has been much
said about the identity of the New York Pippin and
Ben Davis, I send you a drawing of the Ben Davis,
made from a section of the apple, marked around
with a pencil. I am growing the trees in the nur-
sery under both names, and their growth and gene-
ral appearance (which in both is very distinct J, are
precisely the same. I am also growing the Nicka-
jack and Carolina, with several synonyms of the
Nickajack, all of which are, undoubtedly, Carolina.

f^

~k

©h^ hardener's ^onthlg.

Articles held over. — Oureutomologic.il article,
an excellent one from Mr. Woodward, on curved
and straight lines in landscape-gardening, and
other interesting matters, are held over till next
month, to allow us to bring up articles of interest
that are growing stale on our hands.

J. E. RAUCH. BROOKLYN. N. Y.

Probably there were but few persons better
known in this country or in Europe, as a botanist
and horticulturist, than the subject of this memoir,
John E. Rauch, Esq. He was born in Bremen in
the year 1818. His earliest studies were devoted to
the science of medicine, with the view of becoming
a practicing physician ; but it bemg dissimilar to the
taste he had acquired for the promotion of the science
of botany, he abandoned his original pursuit, and
made this his exclusive study and research. He came
to this country in 1839, intending to make horticul-
ture and botany his profession ; but as "there is a
divinity that shapes our ends," he, after a short resi-
dence here, resolved to go on a trading voyage to
South America, connected with botanizing in that
count rj^. It is to be presumed that it was the latter
which led him to the enterprise. He came to
Brooklyn with testimonials of character, directed
to some of the most distinguished persons in our
city, with whom he formed valuable friendships.
But notwithstanding, he could not resist the under-
taking of this most unfortunate delusion, and with
several confederates sailed for Mexico. While pur-
suing his travels in the way of trade and novelty, he
was taken dangerously sick, and in consequence of
his continued indisposition, his comrades left him,
but provided a Mexican to take charge of him, of
whom it was expected he would receive kind and
timely treatment. But in this they were mistaken ;
for he did not prove "the good Samaritan," for he
robbed him of all his money and clothes, and not
content with this, would have murdered him if it had
not been for the timely aid and friendship of an
Indian, who devoted his entire time to produce his
recovery to health, possessing some medical know-
ledge in the treatment of diseases that the unacclima-
ted were subject to in that peculiar climate. He was
in a short time sufficiently restored to meet his
friends ; but from this attack his general health had
become so impaired, that he was compelled to leave
and return to the home of his adoption. In 1849
he returned to his native land ; but after a short
visit he resolved to return. The vessel in which he
sailed was shipwrecked, and he lost all the property

he had with him, including a valuable library. From
these untoward incidents, more or less attendant on
travellers, he concluded to commence the profession
of a botanist and florist. Finding a piece of property
of about four acres in this city, well suited for the
propagating of most every variety of plants, he made
the purchase, and occupied it ujitil the time of his
death. He had an extensive correspondence with
many of the best botanists on the continent and Eng-
land, and through these sources was constantly re-
ceiving the most rare and new varieties of plants.
With his extensive knowledge of the science of cul-
ture, they soon assumed an appearance which made
them sought after by all that desired rare and curious
plants ; and it was proverbial, if you want a green-
house or stove-plant, you must go to Rauch. He
was one of the first engaged in the organization of
the Brooklyn Horticultural Society, and at its exhi-
bitions his tables were always sought for. This
Society has lost one of its best friends, and long
will he be missed at these periodical displays. In his
intercourse with society he was a gentleman of the
most kind bearing, generous to a fault, and confiding
to a misfortune. But God, in his wisdom, has called
him from his earthly labor in the prime of life, and
science has lost one of its most intelligent and dis-
tinguished advocates.

IIfIh op P.Brp ^hnh.

CuPHEA JouiLLENsis. — Under this name it now
appears, according to Sir W. Hooker, the plant
known as Cuphea eminens has been before described.
The last name will now, therefore, be dropped, and
our friends must be careful not to buy a new name
in a plant they have already got.

Chorizema. — Seedling raised by Jonathan French,
Esq., from C. Lawrenciana, which is well known as
one of the best. The seedling is superior to its
parent, free grower, and very free flowerer ; growth,
slender ; flowers, large ; color, dark orange, con-
trasted with purplish. A splendid plant, and one
which will prove particularly valuable for bouquets.
— Mr. Rand, in The Homestead.

A New Winter- blooming Plant — Heterocenirum
roseum. — It produces thousands of beautiful rosy-
pink flowers on plants grown in six-inch pots ; will
keep in bloom three mflnths. The plant is of the
easiest culture, and can be grown to any size in a
few months. If the white variety should prove
equal to the pink, they will give a new charm to
bouquets in winter.

156

ilv^ iartocr's IRontlilg.

If

Lee's New AVhite Sprouting Brocoli. — This new variety was brouglit to notice last year, as we
noticed in our journal at the time.

We hardly expected it would prove a permanent variety, as it is not uncommon for brocoli to sprout
more or less. But recent accounts in the foreign papers speak highly of it, and we hnve no doubt it
will become a standard kind.

Sedum Fabaria, var. rubra. — A rosy lilac-flowered kind, nearly related to the British S. Telephium,
and a very useful autumn-flowering plant for greenhouse decoration, producing large heads of its star-
shaped flowers, emulating the showiness of the well-known Hydrangea.

Campylobotrys regalis.— The wonderful plant spoken of by Linden, of Brussels, is in perfect
health at the Rosedale Nurseries. It is a beauty in the way of variegated plants.

New Ornamental Foliaged Plant — Gampylobotris refulgens is said to be a plant of the most ex-
quisitely ornamental character, vastly superior to any of the other kinds of Gampylobotris. It was
awarded a First-Class Certificate of Merit when exhibited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Regent's

jay ^i

Ik

®lj^ iarkiitr's Utant^lj.

157

SoLANUM CABiLiENSis ARGENTUM, a ncw Variety,
has three-lobcd silvery leaves, yellow fruit of the size
of a small apple, aud blooms the first year ; a very
handsome ornamental shrub.

New Variegated Bedding Plant — Agathea
calestis fol. varicgatis. — Its habit is neat and dwarf,
growing from four to six inches high ; it is also
very close and compact ; quite a gem as a bedding
plant, or for the ribbon style of decoration. Its
foliage is thick and superbly variegated, somewhat
resembling in its marking Vinca elegantissima Cva-
riegata major, j Flowers bright sky blue, an inch
or more across, borne well above the leaves.

CaLONYCTION DIVERSIFOLIUM STJLPnUREUM is a

pretty yellow-flowered convolculaceous plant, with a
purple eye. The blossoms are represented of the
size of Convolvulus minor.

The seed was forwarded to M. Van Houtte, of
Ghent, by a cultivator of Hyeres, but of its origin
we are not informed. The plants attain a height of
about four feet, flowering in the open air very freely
during the summer months. It will, no doubt,
prove very ornamental as a climber, and appears to
possess only one fault, which is that it is found to
be difficult to obtain seed from it.

^CHMEA Melinonii. — An ornamental plant, of
the pine-apple family, from South America. It has
a bunch of rosy pink flowers, resembling, in general
form and appearance, at a distance, a spike of scarlet
flowered horse-chestnuts. It requires a moist hot-
house to grow AveU. — Bot. Mag.

Impatiens Walkeri. — A Balsam from Ceylon.
The flower, in shape aud size, is like the wild species
of American woods, but the flower is of a bright
scarlet, and the plant but a foot high. Sir W.
Hooker does not say, but we suppose it to be a sub-
shrubby stove species.

New varieties of Pyrus, or Cydonia japonica,
have been raised in Belgium, one with fine rose-
color flowers, another pale citron-yellow flowers
and a border of rose, another red, with crimson
veina.

Bompsfir InfFldi^pnrp.

AccLiMATiziKG EVERGREENS — From H. W. Sar-
genVs Supplement to the Sixth Edition of Downing's
Landscape- Gardening. — Our usual method of accli-
matizing a plant is to select some very protected and

shady spot, as the north side of a thicket, or, what
we prefer, the interior of some evergreen wood, and
to prepare the holes six feet wide aud three deep,
with loose but poor soil, well drained, with stones
for the lower eight or ten inches, with barely com-
post enough to assist the tree through the summer.
For the first two or three years, in winter, a little
mound of earth, eight or ten inches high, is put
around the neck of the plant to prevent the efiects of
thawing and freezing in a most sensitive part, and
cedar or hemlock boughs are placed round its
branches, this covering diminishing year by year, as
the tree obtains size and vigor, until it is omitted
altogether. The plant, to insure safety, is moved
once or twice within this wood, each time to a
more exposed situation, which has also the additional
advantage Clike root-pruningj of checking all redun-
dancy of growth.

When it exhibits sufficient strength, it is trans-
planted to its final situation on the lawn — its cedar
covering being renewed for a couple of winters — and
if it can be reconciled to the chmate, it is now sup-
posed to be so.

Certainly an Idiot. — A writer in the Atlantic
Monthly, says a friend's boy was one day asked by
his younger brother what the word idiot meant, for
somebody in the parlor had been saying that some-
body else was an idiot. " Don't you know ?" quoth
Ben, in his sweet voice : "an idiot is a person who
doesn't know an arborvitse from a pine — he doesn't
know any thing." When Ben grows up to matu-
rity, bearing such terrible tests in his unshrinking
hands, who of us will be safe ?

Action of Drouth on Soils. — In another
column we have thrown out some hints on this sub-
ject. It will, perhaps, aid an investigation of the
subject to give some account of the origin of the
opinion that salts rise to the surface in dry weather.
We believe it was Professor Higgins Avho first sug-
gested the idea. It is said he placed a solution of
chloride of barium in the bottom of a glass cylinder
and then filled it with dry soil. After long exposure
to the rays of the sun, the surface of the soil was
tested with sulphuric acid and gave a copious preci-
pitate of sulphate of baryta. Chloride of lime, sul-
phate of soda and carbonate of potash were experi-
mented upon in like manner, and upon the applica-
tion of proper tests the surface of the soil showed
their presence in large quantities, drawn up by the
rising of the water from underneath, as in the case
of drouth.

Oaks Hybridizing.— Some botanists doubfwhether
these really do hybridize. S. B. Buckley says, in the

tm

jsm,

■-^

^^ Jt.^i

158

2[[ji[ iardmer's ^ant|l2»

Country Gentleman, " The oaks are so much inclined
to hybridity, that even botanists have been deceived
in forming new species from mere hybrids. Col.
Wade Hampden, of Columbia, told me that he
planted live oak acorns in Mississippi, which grew
and bore fruit, which was again planted. The trees
from this planting were hybrids between the live oak
and the other surrounding species. At first he thought
they might be young forms of Quercus virens, but,
although several years have elapsed, they still main-
tain their original hybrid form.

The Garden City. — The Country Gentleman
says : —

" Chicago will one day better deserve its name of
" Garden City," but it must take time. Apropos of
the derivation of this name, the Chicago Garden-
er's Society have appointed a visiting committee,
whose duty it is to collect historical facts of our city,
new plants, and so on ; and they have stumbled upon
the following version of its origin — thus : Mr.
Brooks, the oldest of greenhouse men here, many
years ago built a greenhouse ; a prominent man
visited it, was so struck with the beauties inside and
place generally, as compared to any thing else so far
west, that he said this was the " Garden City." Be-
ing pleasant, the news spread. If any one knows
any thing why this was not so, your correspondent
would be greatly interested to hear it."

Late Keeping Apples. — In 1850, the following
apples were on hand, in good condition, in the cellar
of Mr. Peters, of Atlanta, so late as April 6th :

Shockley, East Point Greening, Nickajack, Green
Crank, Richardson's Winter Seec'lingoflSoS, Meigs,
Yates, Faust, Stevenson's Winter, Chattahoochee
Greening, Pulaski Seedling, Mangum Cover ripe and
out of seasonj). Red Limbertwig, Tennessee Lim-
bertwig. Yellow English Crab, Collier Apple,
Pryor's Red.

Of these, he kept the Shockley, Yates, East Point
Greening and Yellow Crab, until the 10th of June. —
Southern Field and Fireside.

A correspondent'of the Horticulturist reminds those
fond of good summer vegetables, that this plant is
not as much cultivated as it deserves to be.

Salt for Turnips. — A correspondent of the
Farmer and Gardener finds salt greatly to aid the
turnip crop in dry weather.

pnrF^

PiCEA NOBiLis is from the auriferous regions of
California, where it attains the height of two hun-
dred feet, but has not yet been long enough in this
country to perform any such gigantic achievement.
Its ivy-colored dark shining green, with horizontal
ovitspreading branches, each tier forming complete
platforms round the tree, with a surface almost as
level as Utrecht velvet, never fails to put the stranger
into a state of amazement to contemplate such won-
derful arrangement of beauty, elegance and perfec-
tion.

New Zealand Spinage — Tetragonia expansa. —

The Pansy. — Let the ground be well drained and
well dressed with decomposed cow-dung ; and if too
adhesive, fork in a little sand.

Plant nine inches apart, and close the earth well
about the roots.

Always take side shoots, springing from the bot-
tom, for propagating, if you can get them. They
always root freely, if not rooted when taken off'.

Avoid taking hollow, pipey shoots for cuttings.
To ensure striking, the bottom of the shoots, when
cut up to the base of a leaf, should be solid.

Shade all cuttings, and cover close with a hand or
bell-glass, whether they are in frames, boxes, pots,
or the ojjen ground.

Continue planting beds of struck cuttings, to suc-
• ceed one another in flower. It is only from young
plants we can get fine blooms.

Shade all blooms for exhibition. An hour's hot
sun would destroy the finest flowers in the bed.

Save seed from half-a-dozen of the finest varieties
you possess, planted by themselves, away from all
others.

Sow -as soon as you save it : in May, June, July,
and August, as it may happen.

Plant them out as soon as they have four rough
leaves ; but press the earth to the roots every time
the frost and thaw disturbs them.

In winter, if you have convenience, hoop and mat,
or otherwise cover the bed — if with nothing else,
with litter.

In spring, the beds of seedlings or established
plants may have half an inch thickness from an old
hot bed, or well decomposed cow -dung.

As fast as any seedlings bloom inferior to those
you have, pull them up and throw them away.

Never wait for any particular season for taking off"
side shoots ; take them whenever you can get them
without distressing the plants.

Water seldom, but effectually ; soak the whole bed
to a considerable depth.

Towards October pot all cuttings that you do not
want to plant out, and keep them under glass in
thumb-pots.

If you bloom any in pots, use seven or eight inch

li)

m (SarkiTcr's itaiit|[|.

pots, with a compost of two-thirds loam from rotted
turf, and one-third cow-dung, or dung from an
old melon-bed.

Never save a seedling that is not better than the
varieties we possess already. All novelties that are
not improvements are useless.

Whenever the surface of the bed has run together
solid, stir the top one or two inches, always closing
the earth to the roots.

Never allow a weed to grow in the bed. A little
neglect in this matter will give you a world of trou-
ble.

Never remove a good seedling till you have pro-
pagated it a little. When you have cuttings struck,
j'ou can do as you like with it.

Never remove a plant from heavy soil to light,
without washing out all the old soil from the roots.
— Scottish Gardener.

Slugs and Snails. — The English Gardener''s
Chronicle says : —

" We are assured that if the strings used to tie up
vines in the borders are steeped in sulphate of cop-
per, no slugs will come near them. The writer
affirms that all such vermin have an incurable aver-
sion for whatever has had this salt applied to it.
Another writer, in the Revue Horlicole, tells us that
he can trap snails and slugs to any amount by ano-
ther way. He left in his garden a jar containing
starch saturated with iodine, with a tile locsely put
over it ; there it remained all the summer, fully ex-
posed to the sun. What was his amazement at find-
ing at the end of the first thi'ee weeks that dozens of
snails had found their way into the jar from. all parts
of his garden. What was not less curious, the snails
continued to travel to this jar all the summer long.
This is supposed to have been brought about by the
snails liking the smell of iodine ; and it is suggested
that if iodine is dissolved in water which is poured
upon sawdust, or even upon the earth itself, slugs
and snails will enjoy themselves in it, and thus be
trapped. Does iodine act then like valerian and dit-
tany of Crete on cats ?"

light yellow ; ITelichrysum bracteatum, yellow and
white ; Helichrysum roseum, rose colored ; Helichry-
sum aurantiacum, orange ; Helichrysum brunneo-
rubum, brownish red ; Helichrysum coccineum,
scarlet ; Helichrysum flavum, yellow ; Helichrysum
purpureum, purple ; Helichrysum macranthum, large
tlowered ; Helichrysum speciosissimum, most
showy ; Morna elegans, yellow ; Staihelina dubia,
pink.

Everlasting Flowers. — In one of our back
numbers we gave an account of the way to dry
flowers so as to preserve them in their natural forms
and colors. A lady informs us that she has some
permanent bouquets, which she has made by follow-
ing our directions, that are the admiration of all who
see them.

For those, however, who hke the artificial looking
"Immortelle" flowers, we annex the folloAving list
of some annual kinds : — Acroclinium roseum, rosy ;
Ammobium alatum, white ; Gnaphalium foetidum,

WMi

How TO Flower Calla Ethiopica'bt Christ-
mas.—Bring your plants to rest in midsummer, by
exposing them to the full sun in a place where they
are sheltered from rain. Don't water them. Mid-
dle or end of Augu!-t take them out of pots ; clean
the root-stock from all decayed matter and from
young accretions ; re-pot in good, fertile soil, rather
heavy, but part sandy ; water and expose them to
the sun in the open air. Water freely till the season
compels you to house them. Take some to the warm-
house ; put them in a sunny place very near the
glass, and they will remain compact. Getting
stalky spoils their beauty. The more they got isolated
in the summer, nay, the more they got wasted,
the sooner will they flower in the warmhouse. Now
take other plants which you housed in the green-
house to the warmhouse and you get a constant suc-
cession of flowering plants. Carry back to the
greenhouse those which have flowered, and they will
flower again at the general period of vegetation in
the spring. Often they will even flower a third
time.

The sun not only elicits plenty of flowers, but is
a most necessary agent in opening them. That
accounts for stillborn flowers in sunless places. —
W. Schoenborn, in Deutsckes Magazin.

Geothermal Culture. — The warming of the
earth, to advance early vegetables, has long been
practised in limited instances. Many years ago at
the royal gardens of England, near Windsor, aspa-
ragus beds were heated in the open ground by hot
water. Some months ago we again introduced the
subject in the Gardener's Monthly, and M. Naudin,
of Paris, has taken up the subject, as we find in
recent French papers, and proposes to reduce the
whole matter to a system, under the above name, for
the growth of many exotic plants that require green-
house protection, so that our gardens may present
a green tropical aspect at all seasons. His views, so
far, answer with the idea of warming the soil of
plant-houses, rather than the atmosphere.

London Nurserymen. — There are over three
hundred nurserymen, florists and seedsmen in the
neighborhood of London.

@1

160

Ch^ (Satbeiter's glontlilg.

A French "Leaf" Plant.— Our garden rhu-
barb, in some parts of our country called pie-plant,
is not known, or not acknowledged as an eatable
dish in Europe, England excepted. On the Conti-
nent, however, it is often found on the edge of a
lawn, as a specimen plant, and esteemed as a "leaf
plant." It looks queer when an American meets
with it there in this shape.

Holly Tea.— Mr. Forsyth, in the London Gar-
dener's Chronicle, says all of this tribe possess the
peculiar virtues and the properties of the true tea,
and cannot be well distinguished in flavor. The art
is in properly drying or roasting them.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The very severe and unexpected weather spoiled the calcula-
tions for a fine show at the March meeting. Messrs Peter Jlac-
kenzie & Son had, however, a fine show of Camellias, embracing
the following kinds, all of which were of first-class characters.
Six Camellias in Pots.

1. Camellia Maria Therese,

2. " General Wayne,

3. " Henri Favre,

4. " Miniata,

5. " Alba imbricata,

6. " Lorreii.

Fifteen Cut FLOWERa.
Camellia Alba pleno,
Mrs. Cope,
Ochroleuca,
Lawrenciana,
Lady Hume's Blush,
Maria Therese,
Towue's Blush,
Laudrethii,
Alba imbricata,
Myrtifolia,
Imbricata,
Dunlap's White,
Alexina,
Miniata,
Keiue de Fleurs.

9.
10.

n.

12.
13.
14.
15.

MISSOURI FRUIT-GROWERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

The members of this Association convened at Pomological Hall,
on the Fair Grounds, yesterday, at 1 o'clock, P. M., and were
called to order by Norman J. Colman, President of the Society.

On motion, Dr. L. D. Morse, of AUentowu, was elected Secretary.

Mr. Husman, of Herman, exhibited specimens of wine from the
Norton's Virginia Seedling, and Herbemont Grapes. A committee
was appointed to test the wines exhibited, and reported that the
Herbemont was a very delicious wine, and worthy of very high
commendation ; and that the Norton's Virginia wine, combining
the flavor of the Port and Burgundy, being a red, sound, table
wine, and the grape being free from rot, is likely to create an im-
portant extension in wine manufacture.

Mr Pettingill, of Bunker Hill, 111., exhibited a seedling grape
called Meads Seedling, which was highly commended by the
Society as a table grape— taking the preference over the Catawba
as a table grape. • jf

Mr C H Haven exhibited a delicious white grape received from
Lockport, N. Y., said to be hardy. It was recommended as being
worthy of trial, and the Secretary was instructed to obtain a his-
tory of its origin, &c. .1 , ., J.™.

A good deal of discussion was had upon the merits of the ditter-
ent varieties of grapes. A number of distinguished horticulturists
were present and contributed to the interest of the meeting. Ihe
Presidents of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society and the Illinois
Horticuliural Society wero in attendance.

The Society will meet again to-day a 10 o'clock, A. M., when
the subject of grape-growing will be again considered.

AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

A NEW CATALOGUE OF FRUITS.

A Special Committee was appointed, to whom the various
Local Committees are to make their report during the year 1.8U1 ;
and this Special Committee are charged with the duty of compil-
ing from the Local Catalogues, prepared by the various Local or
State Committees, aud from the present Catalogue of the Society,
full lists of all the fruits therein named, properly classified and
arranged, with due regard to nomenclature and terminology, and
are to submit the same at the next biennial session of the Society
for its consideration and action. The Special Committee are as
follows:

P. Barry, aiairman. J. A. Warder,

J. S. Cabot, Chas. Downing,

L. E. Berckmans, William Reid,

Marshall P. Wilder, Pres. Ex-OJficiu.

The Special Committee has just issued a circular to the Local
Committees, containing the following instruction :

"It is our duty to request you, as Chairman in your State, to
organize your Commilee and enter upon the work of preparing
your Catalogue at once, so that it may be transmitted to us some-
time during the ensuing year, 1S61, as provided in the resolution.
In preparing your Report or Catalogue, you will please observe
that the arrangement of the present Catalogue of the Society is to
be followed as closely as possible, giving —

1st. A list of varieties suitable for general cultivation in your
State, or such other region or district of country as your Committee
represents.

2d. A list of such new or newly-introduced varieties as promise
well. . . ,

3d. A list of such as are known to be valuable for special pur-
poses,—as for marketing, or for particular soils and localities
only.

It is the design and aim of the Society to make its Catalogue so
comprehensive and accurate that it may become the standard of
American Pomology; hence, it is important that Committees ex-
ercise the greatest care in preparing their lists, accepting such
information only as they know to be perfectly reliable. It will be
understood that no varieties are to be classed for ' General Cultiva-
tion' within any State or locality, upon brief or partial experiment,
but must be generallydad succesufull;/ cultivated for a considera-
ble period of time. In the case of those classed for particular
localities or purposes, the nature of these particulars should in
all cases be given, if possible."

ST. LOUIS VINE AND FRUIT-GROWERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The accompanying statement of the objects of the St. Louis
■Vine and Fruit-Growers' Association may be of interest to you,
partaking, as it does, as much of a public and geographical nature
as of a pVivate character. The locality selected is in St Louis
County thirty miles west of the city, and between the Pacific Rail-
road and Missouri River, where they are but nine miles apart. The
plantations of the company all stretch from one to the other with
appropriate drives. These, as well as the hills and valleys through
which they pass, will, in due season, be hung with the purple and
golden fruits of the latitude, and yourself, Mr. Editor, and all like
you, animated by a love for horticulture, whether as visitors or
seekers after homes in Missouri— the future "Central l lower-land
of tl e Union, will ever be welcome to the grounds ot the As.socia-
tion which you will find .sacredly held as a fair specimen only of
tens' of thousands of other localities like it throughout the State.
Respectfully yours, C. II. Haven.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA.

In your number for this month, (March,) page 91, you have
made a great mistake in reporting that the Botanical Society of
Canada was established iu Montreal, and owes its origin to Dr.

Lawton. . ,. r n. r. . ■ i

You should have said that the inaugaration of the Botanical
Societv was in Kingston, C. W., (and not Montreal,) and owes its
ori<^in to Professor Lawson, Ph. D. No doubt you will cause this
correction to be made in your next issue. For lurlher particulars
as to its formation and objects, I beg to refer you to a printed
statement, which I forward by mail this day. ,. , ,

Since its formation, very interesting and numerously attended
meetings have been held monthly, and its progress is very satis-
factory? I believe the members now number over three hundred.

Thomas Briogs, Jr.

Kingston, C. W.

[We should be favored by riceiving reports of its proceedings
from time to time. — Ed]

vfoh y

^hyy'iOJ? -c 'i u.^'Xi-ra

^Mm

k\

DEVOTED TO

topf jralhrp, ^rlsorirulfupp, PoJeng %• ^um\ Sffsrs,

THOMAS MEEHAN, Editor.

JUNE, 1861.

VOL. III.— NO 0

liinh for 3unF.

FLOWER-GilRDEN AND PLEASURC-
GROUND.

The managemtint and care of the lawn is of first
impoi-tance. It is to the lawn more than to any
other part that we owe the highest pleasures of gar-
dening. It is the distinguishing feature between
nature and art. With a lawn neglected, the finest
garden is little more than a beautiful natural scene ;
hut when the grass is well cared for, it is stamped
with the highest refinement of art. Through our
past two volumes much has been written upon the
subject, and we lefer to these articles now because
the season has arrived to put them in practice.
Weeds should be constantly taken out by hand labor.
Any holes thus made filled up with soil ; but holes
need scarcely be made if weeds are taken out in a
proper manner. Mowing should be done as often
as the scythe or mowing-machine will "bite" the
grass, and frequent rollings after heavy showers,
are excellent.

Next to the la^i'n, the walks are the most striking
feature of a well kept garden. Weeds should be
taken in time, and the labor of keeping them down
will be very slight. The edges or "verges" should
be trimmed at every mowing of the grass-bordering;
for which purpose a common sheep-shears, or grass-
edging shears, made specially for the purpose and
sold at most horticultural stores, should be kept on
hand. Washing by heavy rains should be guarded
against ; or when so injured, speedily repaired.

After the walk^s and lawns, the flower-beds should
be a constant source of attention. If the plants ap-
pear to suffer by drouth, there is no better remedy
than to place a fork around the plant and loosen up
the soil deeply, without disturbhig the plant more

than can be avoided. After being thus loosened, it
will not dry out near as much as before. Above all,
keep the surface continually broken by hoeing and
raking fine. Nothing is so sure a jjrevcntive of
soil drjing as a loose, porous te.xturc.

Another plan Avith trailing plants, such as ver-
benas and those usually employed in masses, is to
peg them over the surface as fast as they grow.
They thus shade the soil, and so far check evapora-
tion. The best pegs for this purpose are made of
any straight twigs about a quarter of an inch or less
in diameter, and split in two lengthwise. These
will not break Avhen bent in the middle, as unsplit
pieces will. There is a little art required even in
splitting these twigs properlj', so as to get them of
cqnal thickness throughout. The edge of the knife
should be watched, and when either half is splitting
thinner than the other half, the back of the blade
must be pressed against the thin section, which will
cause the grain of the wood to run in again toward
the pith. And so on, as the splitting progresses,
the alternate action of the buck and edge of the
blade will keep the slit straight through the middle
at the pith.

The watering of floAvcr-beds in a diy time should
not be done often ; but when necessary, done thor-
oughly.

Many herbaceous plants, such as phloxes, holly-
hocks, and similar plants that are scarce and valued,
may be propagated now very easily by taking por-
tions of their flower-stems before the flowers open,
and inserting them as cuttings in a half-shaded, cool,
and not dry situation. Layering of many things,
shrubs, half-shrubby perennials, &c., should be done
before the j'oung wood becomes too hard, if good
plants are required the first year. Most plants root
more quickly by having a notch cut in the layered
shoot. This should be done on the upper surface,
as we first published at page 86 of our first vol-
ume, in order to prevent breakage of succulent
shoots, as too often occurs by the methods recom-
mended in works prior to the publication of our
journal. Good, rich soil, put just about layers, is
very important. Good soil favors an abundance of
roots, Ojie of the greatest mistakes in gardening is

'§)rr

H)

1G2

ih4 iardi^n^'s Jllonf^Ij.

the prevalent notion that plants in a poor soil have
a greater proportion of roots than in a rich one.

Herbaceous plants should be staked, to keep from
wind-blowing. White Pine stakes, with their ends
charred by being slightly burned in a furnace, will
last for many years,— as long, in fact, as the best
painted cedar,— a good hint for bean-poles, trellises,
&c.

Many parties have a difficulty in keeping trelUses,
Avhen covered with a weight of vines, from becom-
ing "top-heavy" and blowing over in a wind. This
can be remedied by nailing a cross-piece to the trellis
a few inches long, just above the ground, or even
two pieces, making four cross-shaped arms. This
will effectually prevent "swagging," no matter
from what part of the compass the rudest winds
may blow.

Dahlias must not be allowed to bloom too early.
Keep them growing well till fall, at any cost. If
they become stunted by early flowering, a few mis-
erable sun-dried July flowers will be the poor
reward.

After bulbous roots have done flowering, they
should be at once taken up, carefully dried, and
placed away in paper-bags till wanted next fall. If
suffered to remain in the ground, the rains we get
through the fall keep their activity excited, and is
unfiivorable to that state of rest necessary to make
them bloom finely next year.

The flowers of perpetual roses should be cut off at
the earliest moment after the petals wither. If suf-
fered to produce seed, they will flower but sparingly
in the fall. In budded roses, carefully watch for
and take away the suckers.

FRUIT-GARDEN.

In the out-door department the directions and
hints we gave last month are still applicable, espe-
cially those relating to disbudding and pinching back
of strong shoots, checking the flow of sap through
excessively luxuriant channels, and directing the
flow through weaker ones, equalizing and striking a
balance between all parts of the tree. As the wea-
ther becomes dryer, and the growth still continues,
young and free-growing trees of choice varieties
would be much benefitted by occasional syringings
from a powerful garden engine, which should be
found in all gardens with any pretension to com-
pleteness and excellence. Besides the cleanliness so
conducive to health this ablutory process achieves,
the moist atmosphere and check to excessive evapo-
ration that result from this practice is one of the
greatest safeguards against many bad diseases.

In the interior department, peaches that have
been slightly forced will be about maturing, and the

atmosphere must be allowed to become dryer by ad-
mitting more air and using the syringe less freely.
This is necessary, not only to perfect the flavor of
the fruit, but to mature the wood properly for next
season's fruit. All of this has to be done Avith
caution, as a sudden change from a moist system of
culture to a dry one will be certain to injure the
tissue and breed disease.

Red spider and other insects closely follow on the
heels of a dry atmosphere. They must be watched,
and nothing suffered to injure the leaves till by na-
tural maturity the plant has no longer use for them.

Grapes in cold vineries will now be of a size fit
for thinning. In those cases where the bunches are
intended to hang long on the vines, they should be
thinned out more severely than those expected to
be cut early. A close, compact bunch favors mildew
and early decay.

Fine, rich color is always esteemed as one of the
criterions whereby to judge of the excellence of a
fruit. Sun-light is of first importance ; but it is not
generally known that this is injurious when in ex-
cess. In a dry atmosphere, with great sun-heat,
where the evaporating process goes on faster than
the secretive principle, what should become a rich
rosy blush in a fruit is changed to a sickly yelloAv,
and the rich jet black of a grape becomes a foxy red.
Some grape-growers of eminence, in view of these
facts, shade their vineries during the coloring pro-
cess ; but others, instead, keep the atmosphere as
close and moist as possible. The latter course de-
tracts from the flavor of the fruit. The best plan is
that which combines both practices.

In summer-pruning grapes, care must be taken
that the leaves from the stopped laterals do not over-
crowd or smother the larger leaves of the original
cane, on which all your hopes of good sound wood
for next season depend. All the use for the leaves
on the laterals is to afTord outlets for superabundant
sap, which otherwise would cause the next season's
fruiting-buds to burst now. Alwaj^s carefully guard
the first leaves.

GREENHOUSE AND POT PLANTS.

The great difficulty with many greenhouse and
frame plants is to keep them over our summers. It
is not the heat that so injuriously affects them, as
the dry air they are subjected to. Hence sunk pits,
canvass shades, and even glazed structures, are very
useful in such cases as maintaining a more humid
atmosphere about the plants. Heaths, and most
Australian and New Holland plants, auriculas, pan-
sies, calceolarias, cinerarias, and similar things be-
long to this class.

Sunk pits are the best, as under glass insects are

very troublesome, which trouble the heavj'^ rains in
the open air somewhat rectifies. All greenhouse
plants do best set out in summer under partial shade,
— not under trees where drip in heavy rain-storms
injuriously harden the soil, though this is better
than no shade at all, — but a shade where, with just
enough protection to keep off the hottest mid-day
suns, those of morning and evening can j^et exert
some little influence. Canvas-covered sheds, open
at the sides, are the best. We gave sketches of some
useful contrivances of this character in our last
year's volume.

Many summer-flowering plants should be cut
down soon after blooming, so as to make bushy
plants and be prepared for a renewal for the next
season's growth, or they grow leggy and unsightly.
The pelargonium, in particular, is to be subjected to
this treatment. So beautiful a plant is worthy of all
the care and attention we can bestow on it ; for, of
the easiest culture, it is j^et capable of astonishing
improvement under superior management.

The following account of summer management,
from the London Journal of Hortictilture, gives
such minute details, and can be applied to so many
other plants, that we adopt them here entire :

"As soon as the greenhouse becomes too warm
for these plants, they should be set out of doors on
a bed of coal-ashes, and a shelter contrived for them
to keep off" the heavy rains. Rather less water
should be given, and the syringe hung uj) in the
tool-house, so far as these specimens are concerned ;
in fact, they do not need it now at all. The grand
point to aim at is to get the wood well ripened. It
should by the end of July be hard, firm, and woody,
and of a dark shining brown color. The leaves
should begin to turn yellow, and the older ones drop
ofi" ; in fact, it is the autumn with the pelargonium.
As soon as this state of rest is attained, then set the
plants out of doors fully exposed to the sun, and in
a short time they will be ready for the o\. eration of
PrtjniisG.
This is an impcrtant point, requiring considerable
thought and judgment. They should be pruned at
two or three seasons. For blooming early, get the
plants into the proper condition of ripeness early in
August, prune a second lot a month later, and the
last the first week in October, As soon as the
plants are ready, cut them in according to their
strength, and the form you intend them to take the
following season. "Weak plants should be cut in
pretty close to one bud, stronger may have three
buds, and very strong ones four or five buds each,
and let each shoot when cut be at equal distances
from the adjoining ones. When pruned, remove
the plants into a frame set on bricks, so as to admit

Fig. 1. — Cue year oM Pnlargnnimn, pruned in autumn,
and five shoots left to branch out the following year.

Fl(j. 2.

Fig. 2. — Two year old Pelargonium, pruned in autumn,
and fifteen shoots left to branch out the following year.

air amongst the pots. Keep the glass on day and
night ; but shade from hot sun, and give no water
till fresh shoots have made their appearance, and the
leaves have attained a little size. Then give a little
water just to moisten the soil. Thej- are then ready
for the autumnal potting."

VEGETABLE-GARDEN.

At the end of June some celery ma}' be set out
for early crops, though for the main crop a month
later will be quite time enough. It was once cus-
tomary to plant in trenches dug six or more inches
below the surface ; but the poverty of the soil
usually at this depth more than decreases the balance
of good points in its fiivor. • Some of our best grow-
ers now plant entirely on the surface, and depend on
drawing up the soil, or the employment of boards
or other artificial methods of blanching.
-Last year a correspondent described a mode of

.©)

164

C|^ §mkmxs Slontjjlj.

employing charcoal for the purpose, which produces
fine, firm and crisp stalks. Sawdust, shavings, and
similar matters have also been used with beneficial
results. Very rich soil is essential to fine celery, and
well-rotted cow-dung is one of the best of manures
for this crop.

Cabbages and brocoli may still be set out for fall
crops, also requiring an abundance of manure to in-
sure much success. Lettuce, where salads are in
much request, may yet be sown. The Curled Indian
is a favorite summer kind ; but the varieties of Cos,
or Plain-leaved kinds, are as good. They take more
trouble, having to be tied up to blanch well. Many
should not be sown at a time, as they soon run to
seed in hot weather.

Beans produce enormous crops in deeply-trenched
soils, and are improved as much as any crop by sur-
face-manuring. We hope this method of fertilizing
the soil will be extensively adopted for garden crops
this season. Those who have not yet tried it will
be surprised at the economy and beneficial results of
the practice.

Peas for a fall crop may be sown. It is, however,
useless to try them, unless in a deeply-trenched soil,
and one that is comparatively cool in the hottest
weather overhead, or they will certainly mildew and
prove worthless. In England, where the atmos-
phere is so much more humid than ours, they, nev-
ertheless, have great difliculty in getting fall peas to
get through free from mildew ; and to obviate these
drying and mildew-producing influences, they often
plant them in deep trenches, made as for celery, and
are then much more successful with them.

Cucumbers for pickling may be sown this month,
and endive for fall salad set out. Parsley for winter
use may be sown now in boxes of rich soil, and set
in a cool, shady place till it germinates.

Tomatoes do best when sufiered to grow flat on the
ground ; but in such cases the soil should be covered
with a mulch of straw or litter to keep the tomatoes
from getting soiled and rotten by dampness. Brush-
wood is an excellent material for them to lie on, and
they seem to thrive well with it about them.

Asparagus-beds should not be cut after the stalks
seem to come up weak, or there will be but a poor
crop the next season, and the beds will "run out" in
a few years.

Herbs for drying for future use should be cut just
about the time they are coming into flower. Dry
them in the shade, and after sufficiently dry to put
away, tie them in bunches and hang in a cool shed,
or place them loosely between paper, and stowaway
in cupboards or drawers, — the last mode is by far
the cleanest and most approved plan with the

best housekeepers. Some, indeed, powder the leaves
at once after drying, and put away in bags ready for
use.

HEVXEW.

BY AMATEXJE, N. Y.

It has always been my custom to review my
magazine at the end of the year, although I read
them carefully at first. While reviewing the 3fonthIy,
1 was so forcibly struck with some of the passages,
that I was tempted to make notes of what was there.
The first that aroused my attention was a piece on
the Care of the Greenhouse, page 3, No. 1, Vol. II.,
where the writer pities the lover of flowers who has
not a greenhouse. I am one of that number,
although I have kept a plant-stand by a sitting-room
window these twenty years, and have some plants
that have been in my collection from the first, giving
me flowers every year, such as the Cafla, Cactus,
and others; the smafl kinds of Cactus are well
adapted to rooms, as they bear the dry air and dust
of a room better than any thing I have, and seldom
require repotting, and but little water. "All the
gold in California" is not needed to build a green-
house ; but there are other hindrances more formid-
able than the cost, (for I am a firm behever in the
adage, where there is "a wil there is a way," J the
greatest of which is, opposition from our husbands,
for it is well known, that there is but a small num-
ber of men among the realloYers of flowers ; another
is the extra trouble in keeping them from freezing.
I was examining the plants in a commercial green-
house a few years ago, and in answer to the ques-
tion, whether I had a greenhouse, I said I should
not know how to take care of it, and was not able
to employ a gardener. The owner said, "I should
pity you if you had to depend on a gardener." So
it seems we get pity for not having the luxury of a
greenhouse, and pity if we are to depend upon a
hired gardener. But I am quite sure I could find
one that would mind my plants if opposition No 1
was not in the way. I would advise all the girls
who really love flowers, to marry a real lover of
flowers, or keep themselves free to build a green-
house when they please. Of course, this latter clause
applies to such as have funds of their own. This
advice is rather foreign to our subject.

Page 9 somebody is taking a tour among the gar-
dens ; a man, I suppose, as he left the first estabhsh-
ment "with a firm determination to make his own
Uttle place look better next year." I have made

1

Wxti ^ardmcr'a JRontMg. i65

such determinations more than once, but you gardeners know but little about the inconvenience we
wives have to contend with in the cultivation of flowers.

We will not follow the traveller any further this time, for our sheet is full, and remembering, too, that
the editor hkes short pieces.

[It is a pleasure to welcome so many ladies amongst our contributors this month. "We hope for
their continued and increased favors. — Ed.]

ENTOMOLOGICAL ESSAT.

Head before the Fruit-Growers^ Association of Eastern Pi'iinsi/lvania at its Meding in West Cliesler, on the Vith day of June, 1860.
BY S. S. RATHVON, ENTOMOLOGIST OF THE ASSOCIATION.

{(Continued from Page 107.)
BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

12(h. Dytiscus (^Cyhisier) Jimbriolatm, Say. "Large Water Beetle. Plate V. iig. 1. Length, about one
inch and a quarter ; color, above a dark olive green, beneath a glossy black ; thorax and wing-covers lat-
terally margined with yellowish ; posterior feet, longand oar-shaped ; anterior and intermediate pairs, rather
short ; head and thorax, wide and short, and uniting with each other and the base of the wing-covers squarely.
Fig. 2 is the larva of a water beetle of this genus, and is introduced here to show the general form. I kept
alive one of these beetles eight months in an aquarium, during which time he did not disturb the fishes,
but assisted them to devour several tadpoles that were put in the tank at different times, and took his daily
meal of flies and worms. He seemed, however, to be partial to worms. This insect may be regarded as
the representative of about two hundred and fifty species of water beetles which inhabit the United States.
All of these are most voracious feeders, in both their larva and perfect states, upon the larra and matured
insects of other species. They prevent millions of gnats and other noxious insects coming from the water, in
which they pass their larva state. After reaching the mature state their ample wings afford them the means
of rising from the water in pursuit of insect prey. They are also charged with destroying young fish, in
some instances depleting fish-ponds; but we ought to allow them these, in consequence of their services
otherwise rendered.

13th. Necrophorus Jmericarms, Oliv. " Carrion Beetle." Plate V. fig. 3. Length, from an inch and a
half to an inch and three-quarters ; some individuals of this species are also found less than this measure ;
a yellowish or light brown spot on the head ; and two spots or blotches of the same color on each wing-
cover, one near the base and one near the apex; a large yellowish spot on the thorax, nearly covering it,
leaving only a narrow margin of black around it ; the abdomen extends two or three segments beyond the
wmg-covers; the antennae are black, and terminate with a yellowish tuft or club ; legs and under body,
black; the thoraic portion of the latter covered with yellowish hairs; mandible, black, short and stdut;
the outer margin of the wing-covers is yellowish when seen from beneath, so that they may be said to be
yellowish, with black blotches, as properly as otherwise. This is our largest American species of this
genus. There are some eighteen or twenty species belonging to this genus, but there are about one hun-
dred and fifty species allied to it in habits. And although some of them get into hams and flitches of bacon,
yet on the whole they render such efficient service as scavengers, that we may well afford them a little of
our superabundance. They assist materially in the decomposition of putrid animal and vegetable matter,
but do not attack living vegetation. They must not, however, be confounded with the " blow flies,"
which perform a similar service.

14th. Staphylinus vUlosus, Grv. " Maculated Rover Beetle." Plate V. fig. 4. Length, from half an
inch to three-quarters of an inch ; head and thorax, a shining black; wing-covers, dull black, and covered
with minute hairs, and short, not more than covering one-third of the abdomen ; abdomen, black above and
below, with two of the intermediate segments covered with short white hairs, giving the appearance of a
whitish band around the abdomen, more distinct below than above ; antennae, thickened towards the end ;
legs, black, and of moderate length. This insect is the representative of about two hundred and fifty
species belonging to the family Staphtliniadje, which inhabit the United States. Tney assist greatly in
the decomposition of animal and vegetable matter. They are very active on foot, and run with the abdo-
men turned upwards, giving them a rather formidable appearance. Found in decayed animal and vegetable
garbage, also under the bark of rotten wood, and sometimes in old bacon. Although their wing-covers are
very short, yet they have a very ample pair of wings folded up beneath them, which, when expanded, are
nearly as long as the body. Active from very early in the spring until late in autumn.

'®^

loth. Coccinella novemnotata, Hbst. " Nine-Spotted Lady-Bird." Plate V. fig. 5. Length, about a
quarter of an inch ; color of the wing-covers, red or reddish-yellow ; four and a half spots on each wing-
cover; thorax, black, marked with white, marginal and otherwise; form, hemispherical or tortoise-shaped;
legs and antennte, short. Sometimes also called the " Cow-bug." These insects are decidedly the best
friends we have, taking them as a class, especially those which constitute the group called Aphidiphaga,
from their living upon the common aphides or plant-lice. There are probably a hundred species or more of
the coccinellans, a few of which will also feed upon vegetation in the absence of aphid food, but these are
mainly confined to the pollen of flowers, especially the smaller species of them. One large species I have
detected cutting holes in the leaf of the cucumber, and I exhibit him in order that he may be distinguished
from others — Epilachna borealis, Pk. h ig. 6a.

l(3th. Hipodamia 13-maculala, Lin. " Thirteen-spotted Lady-bird." Plate V. fig 6. About the same
in length as the preceding; color, redder; form, a little more long, and not so globose; thirteen spots on
the two wing-covers and thorax ; found in company with the former. Fig. 6a Larva of a Lady-bird,
being a blackish grub, with six feet, marked with reddish or yellowish spots on the back; like the cocci-
nella, it undergoes its transformations upon the leaf, where its larva feeds on aphids. This is one of those
that are not so strictly aphidiphagous as those last mentioned, but as they re nain hid in clefts and chinks
during the winter and come forth in early spring, if they attack vegetation it is because of the absence of
their natural food.

17th. Reduvius novinarius, Say. Plate V. fig. 8. Length, one inch and three-eighths ; color, brownish-
liver; antennae and haustellum, dark rufous; thorax, crested, with eight or nine cylindrical teeth; feet,
rather long and simple, the anterior pair raptorial in their structure. Like all Hemipterous insects, the
Reduvians are active feeders from their exclusion from the egg until their allotted period — which sometimes
continues a whole year, even hybernating through a cold winter — is terminated by natural death or some
other contingency. The one here referred to is by far the largest species known to exist in this country,
and was described and figured by Mr. Thomas Say, many years ago, in his "American Entomology;" but
he does not appear to have been acquainted with its habits any more than that the genus is carniverous. It
is quite abundant in localities south of Pennsylvania, and is becoming of more frequent occurrence here
I have found them too rarely about Lancaster County to make any reliable observations upon their habits,
but Mr. Glover says they are abundant about Washington City, where, "during the summer and autumnal
months they are very useful in destroying the disgusting caterpillars which swarm the shade trees." A
small specimen experimented upon was placed in a box with ten caterpillars, all of which were destroyed
in the space of five hours. It approaches its prey stealthily, and when near enough, it suddenly springs
upon it and plunges its piercer into its unfortunate victim, and deliberately sucks out all its juice. Its
very organization evinces its raptorial habits.

ISth. Reduvius atrata. Plate V. fig. 7. Length, about five-eighths of an inch; color, black; thorax and
basal portion of the scutel, shining black ; a deep longitudinal indention in the middle of the thorax; legs,
rather short and robust; female, apterous, or without wirgs. I have never seen a description of this
insect, although one of such frequent occurrence must have been described long ago; therefore, I have
only named it alraia approximately. This is a common species, found under logs and stones, and from
some observations which I have made upon it, I am satisfied that its habits are similar to fig. 8. Both of
these insects have the power of inflicting great pain by their puncture, as I, on one occasion, realized. It
produced no swelling, but at first, and for thirty minutes the pain was of considerable intensity, causing
sickness of the stomach and feverish prespiration, leaving the finger punctured in a semi-paralyzed state
for three or four hours afterwards.

19th. Reduvius (mydachus.) Plate V. fig. 9. Length, three-quarters of an inch; color, green or greenish-
yellow; form, slender ; a tooth or spine projecting from each side of the thorax; antenna, long and
filliform, bending suddenly downward about the middle; legs, long and slender, the anterior pair longest
and thickest; exceedingly carniverous in its habits; and its facilities for flight enables it to capture its
prey with ease. It is represented destroying a Capricorn beetle (Tetraopes tomator.) If it has not already
been named, I would suggest dcnlata. This insect I have often caught in the act of destroying various
species of moths and beetles. It is also a raptorial insect.

20th, Osmylus viaculipennis. " Maculated Lace-wing." Plate V, fig. 10. Length of body, about three-
quarters of an inch; expansion of the wings, two inches and a quarter; color, brown; thorax, hairy;
wings, transparent and speckled with brown ; a row of alternate whitish and brown spots around the
entire margin of the anterior wings; two longitudinal veins extending the whole length along the costal
margin of both pair of wings ; eyes, brown and polished; antenna, filliform and about one-third the length

%\\\ iardcntr's Jtontljlj. i67 I^

of the body. This insect seems to be allied to the Hemeiobians, and in the absence of a specimen of that
genus from which to make a drawing (all of mine having been destroyed), I have caused this to be deline-
ated on account of its approximation to the form of the family aforenamed. I do not know any thing
positively about its habits, but reasoning from its analogies, I presume it to be a friend, but the following
remarks upon this family have more particular reference to the genera Heinerobius and Chrysopa. It is only
provisionally named. These insects are well known by many observers to be among the greatest friends to
vegetation that are to be found in the insect world, and I have often witnessed their havoc among colonies
of Aphides with the greatest interest. It is not certainly known how the young subsist immediately after
they are excluded from the egg,* but from the fact that Dr. Fitch says he has seen the young larva of the
"Lace-wing" with its mandibles inserted in the newly-laid eggs of other insects; the inference is that it feeds
upon this kind of food, and also upon the young larva of some species, until it acquires sufficient strength
to manage a full-grown Aphide. We may also infer that this is the reason why the female Lace-wing
deposits her eggs on the end of long foot-stalks, namely, in order to prevent their destruction by the young
subjects of her own family.

21st. Chrysopa Harrisii, Fitch, or " Golden-eyed Lace-wing." Plate V. fig. 11. This insect is by far
the most common in this locality of any other member of the family Hcmerobiadce, and was formerly
included in the former genus. Dr. Fitch describes twenty-two species of the " Golden-eyes" and eleven
species of the Lace-wings as inhabiting the United States, and there are probably many more than these.
The genus Myrmelion or "Ant Lion," the " Woolly Weaver" of our boyhood, is allied to this family.
For a more extended notice of Chrysopa Harrisii see an article prepared by me, giving some account of the
insect in its larva, pupa, and perfect states, with illustrations of the same, to be published in a future
number of the Gardener's Monthly.

22nd. Panorpa maculaia,oi "Scorpion Fly," from it striking with the end of its abdomen after the
manner of a scorpion. I have seen this fly attack much larger insects than itself, and despatch them in a
very short time. Plate V. fig. 12. Length of body, one-fourth of an inch ; wings expand about one inch ;
color, light brown ; legs and antennee, moderately long and slender ; wings, transparent and numerously
maculated with light brown ; rostrum, prolonged into a snout pointing downwards. I have given this
insect the above name only provisionally, never having seen a description or figure of it anywhere, and
yet it is quite common, and the scorpion-like appendage at the end of the abdomen, which is usually carried
with an upward turn, renders it formidable in appearance, although it does not inflict a wound with it.
When it seizes an insect, it immediately penetrates it with its rostrum and sucks out its juices.

* I have seen quite j'oung larva-destroying Aphides within the month of July.

I

STANDARD ROSSS.

BY MAPLE DELL, ALTON, ILLS.

In glancing over the pages of your valuable Monthly, my eyes fell upon the remarks made by J. C,
with reference to standard roses.

Being well aware that roses have, when budded, their merits, as well as demerits, I will endeavor to say a
few words in their favor, preferring budded roses to roses upon their own roots, simply because they suc-
ceed best with me. And my favorite stock is the Dog Rose, and the Cabbage Rose my next, as they grow
more free and sucker less upon these stocks than any other, the Manetli I have not tested sufficiently
to judge of its good or bad qualities as a" stock.

My reasons for preferring these stocks will be given in the following note, permitting others to judge
for themselves.

About nine years ago, when hybrid perpetuals were scarce in the west, my father had a number of an-
nuals, perhaps twent}^ budded with monthlies ; of this number at least ten remain to-day, looking as
healthy as any one could wish, bidding fair to produce another fine crop of roses.

Among the standards : Prince Albert budded 2 feet high upon the Dog Rose, is 1^ inches in diameter,
6 inches below the bud. 1 La Reine budded 4 feet high, is one inch in diameter. Another, Melina Carna
budded 18 inches from the ground, is 2.^ inches through, about 6 inches high from the ground.

Tliese roses are annually pruned back to within 6 inches of the old bud, making an entirely new growth
every year, blooming profusely at slated periods during summer and fall. The soil of this garden is a fine
sandy loam, resting upon a strong lime-clay sub-soil.

168

ilv4 iarter'a JttontMg.

Before closing, I will make a remark upon the
proper culture of standard roses, viz.: cut them
in severely every spring, use decayed chips or straw
in preference to strong manures, and you wiU have
less rank growth and finer flowers.

"LINN^VS AND LINNiEA BOREALIS.

BYL., HADDONFIELD, N. J.

(Continued from page 133.^
LiNN^us appears to have enjoyed a happy faculty
of communicating his ideas to his pupils, and to
have possessed great influence with them. It was
one of his customs to take summer excursions at the
head of the students, to the number of two hundred,
exploring the country, and whenever a remarkable
plant or other natural curiosity was discovered, a
signal was given by horn or trumpet, which gathered
the whole corps around their chief to hear his de-
monstration and remarks. In a few years the most
enthusiastic and persevering among these were dis-
tributed over the whole world, and their various
histories would alone form a volume of deep inte-
rest. Many of them fell victims to the elements and
pestilential climates, but many returned fully com-
pensated for the hardships they had endured, and
have had their names handed down to science in tri-
bute, bestowed upon them by their venerable pre-
ceptor, commemorated in the genera Osbeckia,
Kalmia, Solundea, Alstroemeria, Loeflingia, Hussel-
quista, Sparmannia, Thunbergia, &c.

Every branch of natural history was revised or
re-modelled by him, and his hfe was one of increas-
ing fame and prosperity. In 1757, he was raised to
the nobility by the title of Von Linne, and purchased
estates with the proceeds of his incessant toil as a
physician and teacher. His closing years were
burdened with ill health and he ceased from his
labors in 1778, in his 71st year. His remains were
interred in the cathedral ; a general mourning took
place on the occasion at Upsal. King Gustavus III.
caused a medal to be struck expressive of the puMic
loss, and in a speech from the throne, described the
death of Linngeus a pubhc calamity.

And— for his own little flower — raised to eminence
by his name, it was adopted as a part of his crest ;
the helmet which surmounts the arms of his family
being adorned with a sprig of Linnsea. One of his
pupils who visited China, sent to his mother a ser-
vice of porcelain, manufactured purposely for him,
having a representation of the plant as its only de-
coration, and the Cardinal de Noilles erected a ceno-
taph in his garden to the memory of the Naturalist,
and planted the Linnsea by its side as its most appro-
priate ornament.

Thompson, the author of "Life in Russia," re-
marking on the love shown to this little flower by
the Swedes, says :

"To have produced one man whose reputation
has become the property of the universe, is their
boast and pride to this day ; and, as if to prove what
the force of example of one great mind can effect,
the love of botany is among the Swedes a ruling
passion. The Linnma horealis, a little creeping plant
of delicious fragrance, growing wild in the woods,
and first discovered by Linnaeus, and with which
they crowned his bust, is perfectly venerated. In
one of my rambles in the country, some school-boys
who were following the same path, came running to
me, stranger as I was, exclaiming, ' See, sir, we have
found some of the Linncea horealis!'' "

"In Sweden," says Prof Smith, when recom-
mending Natural Science to the rising generation,
" Natural history is the study of the schools by which
men rise to preferments." And Dr. Clarke has
borne testimony to the zeal with which this branch
of science is pursued by men of various classes in
that country." He relates a pleasing anecdote in
point which may perhaps be not inappropriate here
as illustrating also the influence of the Swedish sage.
"Arrived at Tornea, at the northern extremity of the
Gulf of Bothnia bordering the Arctic zone. Dr.
Clarke sent to the apothecary of the place for a few
jars of the Conserved Dwarf Arctic Raspberry.*

He had observed this "rare plant" in the woods near
the shore where he had landed and found it bearing
fruit as large as the common raspberry, though so
diminutive that an entire tree with all its branches,
leaves and fruit was placed in a phial holding about
six ounces of alcohol."

The fruit was brought to the Doctor by a boy
without shoes or stockings, who, having executed

*Rubus Arcticus, the Arctic bramble or raspberry, may be thus
described : It has three glabrous obtusely-serrated leaflets, no run"
ners, stem bearing only one flower, and without prickles, the
petals notched. It is a native of the mountainous and colder
regions of Europe, and has been found also in Labrador. Its stem
never attains a greater height than six inches and is furnished
with from three to four leaves, with a single large deep rose-colored
flower, which is succeeded by a purplish-red fruit, highly prized for
Its flavor among the Swedes.

^t §Kxkmxs llantljlj.

169

his errand, Avas observed to cast a longing eye to-
wards some books of specimen plants Avliich lay on
the table ready for arrangement. To their surprise,
he named every one of them as fast as they were
shown him, giving to each its appropriate Linnciean
appellation. The doctor found, on inquiry, that this
extraordinary j^outh was the son of a poor widow
who had placed him as apprentice under the apothe-
Ciiry. His master had himself a turn for natural
history ; nevertheless he did not choose that his pupil
should leave the pestle and mortar to run after
botanical specimens. The lad had, however, carried
on his studies secretly, snatching every hour he could
spare to ramble barefooted in search of a new plant
or insect, which he carefully concealed from his
master, who at length discovered his boxes of insects,
and imscrupulously appropriated them to his own
use, and exhibited them in his shop window as of
his own collecting ! These facts interested Dr.
Clarke and his companions so much in behalf of poor
little Pj-phon Cfor that was his name^, that they
showed him much kindness, procuring him some
hours of relaxation from his toils and giving him
some English needles for his insects and a few simi-
lar trifles, to him an invaluable treasure. Not un-
frequently during their short stay they had recourse
to him for what they required, and on one occasion
told him that a rather rare plant was said to grow in
that neighborhood, but that they had failed to dis-
cover it. Scarcely were the words uttered, when he
ran off, fast as his legs could carry him, and soon
returned, bringing in his hand two or three speci-
mens of the plant. But the hour of separation from
the kind strange friends came all too soon to the
little naturalist who, shedding abundance of tears,
bade them farewell — making this touching request at
parting: "If you should remember me when you
arrive in your own country, send me Drosera longi-
foha ; I am told it is a common plant in England !"

RESTORING HEAT TO HOTBEDS.

BY S. , MONTMORENCI FALLS, CANADA.

There are occasionally some instructions in your
periodical which are exceedingly valuable to an
amatem- like myself. This spring, finding my first
hotbed show no symptoms of heating, the thermo-
meter therein standing at 30^ after it had been eight
days made, I gave it a dose of strong ley with lime ;
next morning, though still as frosty out of doors,
the thermometer showed 45^ and gradually increased
to 80O after a few days. My next hotbed I heated
in the same way with similar success. My garden
roses have been very shy of flowering, but as I intend
to put in practice your hints about root -pruning, I
hope for a better result this season.

NOTES ON SOME NEWER GRAPES.

BY W. TOMPKINS, GERMANTOWN, N. Y.

Concord Qrape.

This new grape has fruited here for several years,
and although it is not quite so early or good as its
originators claimed, yet, beyond doubt, it is a very
great acquisition, and is fast working into public
favor, and is destined to occupy an important posi-
tion in the future vineyards of this country; vine
exceedingly hardy, vigorous and robust ; foliage
large and thick ; fruit never mildews, or rots, or
drops off.

To the market-grower especially it is invaluable,
being so easy to propagate, and so quick to get in a
bearing condition, and will then bear more ill-treat-
ment and continue to thrive and produce fruit of fair
quality than any other grape that we are acquainted
with.

It is not quite so productive as the Isabella, or so
early a bearer ; yet, when of proper age and size,
always sets just as much fruit as the vine has the
capacity to ripen well, and at the same time make
the requisite quantity of wood for the next season's
crop. Now, this is just what the market-grower
wants ; after tying the vines to the trellis in the spring,
he need not bother about thinning the fruit, summer-
pruning or pinching laterals ; the vines having
just the right quantity of fruit, will ripen it with a
certainty and uniformity that is truly surprising.
All he need do is to work the ground enough to keep
down the grass and weeds, and perhaps tie a few
straggling shoots to the trellis. When the vine is
t'ed to the trellis, (after it has been properly pruned,)
the branches should be brought down to a horizontal
line as near as practicable, as that position holds the
natural vigor of the vine in check, and makes it the
more fruitful ; and the side shoots as they grow
should not be tied up to the trellis, but suffered to
spend their strength by growing downwards ; the
clusters will not then be robbed of their share of the
fruit-producing principle, and will be larger and
sweeter for it.

Although last season was one of the most unfa-
vorable, probably, that we have in this latitude, yet,
notwithstanding, the Concord began to color early
in September, and by the middle of the month was
ripe enough to send to market, and samples sent at
that date sold quickly at 13 cts. per pound. But to
have this grape in its perfection, it should hang on
the vine until the latter end of the month, when it
will be found exceedingly sweet and luscious, having
much more saccharine matter than the Isabella or
Catawba in their best condition.

Some persons complain that it is apt to drop from
the bunch when fully ripe, but I have found no

\k

(ci^

170

M^ (Snrdmr'a (Plontfilj,

trouble of that sort, and should think it must have
been caused by bad pruning, or no pruning at all.
From the report of the Massachusetts Horticultural
Society for 18G0, it appears that it did not, as a gene-
ral thing, ripen that year, and what is true of the
Concord is true of all other varieties of good quality.
A few Diana, Delaware, Hartford Prolific, and other
grapes were shown of very satisfactory appearance.
But in the State of New York, I believe, it ripened
well, although some vineyards of Isabella and Ca-
tawba on the banks of the Hudson River, which are
planted as close as 3 or 4 feet in the row, failed to
mature their fruit, which I think pretty convincing
proof that a vineyard should not be planted after the
European method in America. Most of the grapes
grown on the Hudson are planted 13 feet apart in
the rows, and the rows about 12 feet from each other,
and the mildew of the fruit and leaf is almost un-
known here, and the fruit in such vineyards, if well
managed, ripens with as much certainty as apples
or pears.

Raabe Grape.

This grape has fruited here for the last three years,
and, in my humble opinion, it is destined to become
one of the most popular grapes for the garden or
vineyard that we are acquainted with.

The vine is a good grower, hardy, very productive,
never suffers from leaf blight or mildew ; always
ripens its wood to the extremities of the branches,
and is short-jointed and firm, which is a sure indica-
tion of fruitfulness.

Ripens about the middle of September, and like the
Concord, ripens uniformly, and for excellence rivals
the Delaware, and the fruit, when well grown, is
nearly or quite as large, and resembles the latter so
much that it will sell in the market for that variety,
and but few persons be able to tell the difference;
and what is of more importance, the foliage and fruit
has never been known to suffer from mildew, which
is so injurious to the Delaware in this locality.

It has been called a grape of foreign origin ; but
this, I think, is a mistake, as any one can soon see
by comparing the foliage, fruit, and general appear-
ance of the vine with the Catawba, that it must be
in some way related to that variety, but will be found
of much more value in all localities where the
Catawba does not ripen, or is much subject to the
"rot."

The fruit, when fully ripe, is so charged with saccha-
rine matter that it attracts more bees and other in
sects than any grape that we grow, and it is not un-
common to find dried clusters on the vine late in
November that are as good as raisins.

Emily Grape.
We received this from a noted collector ^f grapes,

not 100 miles from Lebanon, Pa. ; it is a most luxu-
riant grower, and the wood very firm, and short-
jointed ; foliage resembles the Clinton.

It fruited last fall for the fii'st time with me, and
you may be sure that I felt no little anxiety while
it was ripening.

Well, after waiting patiently until the 20th of
September I had the gratification of picking and
eating one of the vilest frost grapes in America. In
the meantime I very industriously propagated about
100 fine, vigorous plants, which I will distribute
gratuitously to any one who desires a specimen.

Now, Mr. Editor, I think this almost too bad to
be treated in this way, and I hold that when a mis-
take of this kind occurs, the person sending out the
spurious article should make restitution, no matter
whether it was done through mistake or otherwise.
The writer is not the only one who has suffered, but
knows of others that are in the same fix.

If there is a grape called the Emily that is worth
cultivating, I hope that when this meets the notice
of the person I allude to, he will send a plant or two
hitherward.

[By reference to page 25 of the Gardenefs Monthly
report of the Pomological Society, the following
notice of a " spurious Emily " reads :

"Mr. Miller — I am charged with sending out
a spurious Emily extensively. I got it from head-
quarters, Mr. Raabe himself, from whom others also
received it."

Another gentleman of our acquaintance also says
he got his spurious Emily from Mr. Raabe. It is
but justice to Mr. Raabe to say that he denies
that he ever sent it out, and so the matter stands.
Unquestionably the "counterfeit" is one of the
vilest kind. — Ed.]

GARDENING IN LANDSCAPE.

BY J. W., OGDENSBURG, N. Y.

It is plain that they who would imitate nature in
gardens, must do so in an another way than by
copying her piecemeal. They ought, indeed, to be
imitators, but not painters, transcribing her spirit,
and not her individual expressions, — her general
countenance or aspect, and not her particular fea-
tures. An artist, to be a painter, or a landscape
artist, or an amateur in either branch, should go to
nature to study principles, gathering up snatches of
scenery, and storing them up in his memory or his
portfolio for future use. He should note all that
pleases him, and endeavor to understand how and
why it influences his mind. By thus filling his
brain with numberless beautiful little pictures or
images, and his intellect with the foundations and
sources of pleasure in his art, he will come from

?^

iltit (Sardmr's Ponthlj.

nature doubly primed to give practical utterance to
liis imaginings, and prepared to embody in a com-
position the fine touches, and a more artistic and
spiritual element which he has collected from such a
variet}^ of sources. All this is his "duty." Nature
is the great school of gardening in landscape. It is
in her broader teachings and general promptings,
that materials should be gathered for practical use.
And these, be it remembered, will be solely available
in idealizing and exalting art, in "landscape and
picturesque gardens." This he "acquires" by in-
dustrj^ !

To regard a garden otherwise than as a work of
art, would tend to a radical perversion of its nature.
A garden is for comfort and convenience, luxury
and use, as well as for making a beautiful picture.
It is to express civilization, and care, and design,
and refinement. It is a blending of art with nature,
an attempt to interfuse the two, or to produce some-
thing intermediate between the pure state of either,
which shall combine the vagaries of the one with
the regularity of the other. That beauty should be
the ultimate aim of every operation in gardening in
landscape. There may be different opinions as to
what constitutes beauty, and of what ingredients it
is made up, — some affirming that its chief elements
are those of form ; others that it consists solely in
association. We may assume that it is to be found
in both. Beauty in gardens is not by cultivating
only a few particular species of plants, and not
merely harboring, but cherishing, a dislike to all
others. A garden denuded of half or three-fourths of
its proper ornaments is much in the same predicament
as an individual with only a portion of his ordinary
garments. It is imperfectly clothed — insufficiently
finished — weak in expression of the beautiful. And
should be pretty obviously expressed in that part of
every garden which is in the intermediate vicinity of
the house, terraces, straight lines of walks, avenues
of trees or shrubs, rows of flower-beds, and geomet-
rical figures, with all kinds of architectural orna-
ments. The artist's taste will be shown in his
"acquirements" in concealing all its manifestations
in the little arts, and ingenious contrivances, and
kindly cares, which embellish gardens, as they do
hfe, without ever revealing the machinery of their
action, and of which the effect is seen and felt in
their results, rather than their process, — in the whole,
rather than the detail. A beautiful, quiet-looking
garden, like a well educated individual, presents no
particular feature that can attract special notice ; all
is smooth, easy, agreeable. And perhaps this quiet-
ness of expression is the truest index of "duties,
acquirements, and abihties, ' ' refinement and taste.
The artist's "abilities" assist him in the greatest

of practical difficulties, Avhich an artist in land-
scape has to contend, — his "acquirements" in deal-
ing with the picturesqe. Smoothness and regularity
of treatment are so thoroughly what an ordinary
gardener is accustomed to, that it requires no small
effort to enlighten him as to the mode of achieve-
ment, of any thing really beautiful in the way of
curved lines and undulations. But when rugged-
ness and the appearance of rude naturalness are
sought, it is indeed hard to obtain a practical opera-
tor in either architect, surveyor, civil engineer, or
draughtsman, and "landscape-painter."

The practical gardener in landscape knows, noth-
ing imparts a greater air of refinement and gentility
to a garden than a certain amount of richness and
polish. His "acquirements" teach him the first
of these may be attained by means of a tasteful
selection of plants and flowers, and by the sparing
use of appropriate architectural decorations. Every
thing straggling or ragged, all that produces confu-
sion, and, as a rule, all angularity and harshness, are
completely opposed to it.

Modem tendencies in gardening have been too
much away from its character as an art, and the
more it is restored to its legitimate position, the
more nearly will it be brought into kindred with
architecture. All architects endeavor to extend
their business ; for as a house and a garden are natu-
rally and intimately associated, and it is a law of
the universe, that boundaries of each domain in the
natural kingdom should insensibly mingle and be
lost in each other, so it is plain that an unvitiated
taste would be most gratified when the province of
architecture is extended so as to embrace lightly and
harmoniously such parts of the garden also, in these
parts, rises in character to meet the requirements of
architecture, until either art is so refined and attenua-
ted, that it would be almost difficult to say what
belongs exclusively to each.

Still, there is that about gardening, which, in the
nature of things, and apart from the difference of
materials with which it has to deal with, constitutes
it a distinctive art. And garden architecture has
lineaments of its own decidedly removed from those
of house architecture, and so seldom studied, that the
ordinary architectural practitioner is at sea the mo-
ment he enters the region of the garden. It is less
a matter of rule and measurement. Its effects are
more to be judged of by the eye. It comprehends
a far greater variety of combinations. It requires a
man to be as much an artist (at least in feeUng; as
an architect, and to be familiar with natural group-
ings and tones,— to take m an entire landscape in the
range of his design, and not merely isolated or de-
tached objects. In fact, the garden architect has to

172

^\t fyilmtx'^ Jftairthig*

I?

make a general picture, and not simply to set a work
of art, as it were, on a solitary pedestal.

The province of garden architecture is, primarily,
to supply fitting appendages and accompaniments
to a house, so that the latter may not appear naked,
alone, and unsupported. If judiciously applied, it
will be effective in helping to produce a good outline
or group ; to carry down the lines of the house to
connect it with other buildings, such as a conserva-
tory, arbor, &c. ; to provide a proper basement for
the house ; to afford shelter and privacy to a flower-
garden ; to extend the facade or frontage of a house ;
to shut out back yards, offices, &c. ; to enrich, vary,
and enliven the garden ; to supply conveniences, such
as shelter, receptacles for birds, plants, sculpture, «fcc. ,
with museums for works of art or specimens of nat-
ural history, and supports for climbing plants ; to
indicate refinement, wealth, and a love of art ; and
otherwise to blend the two by communicating a
more artistic tone to the garden.

But in addition to expatiating upon the political and
physical relations of gardening in landscape to man-
kind, it is not unusual for authors or editors, in
order to excite, on the part of gardeners and the
community in general, an increased interest in the
cause of gardening in landscape, as well as to com-
mend their own labors to public favor, — to indulge
in elaborate encomiums on the moral dignity of rural
pursuits, and their adaptedness to ennoble the lives
and characters of those who engage in them. Such
encomiums are just, and, in their pi'oper place, useful
and gratifying. No reflective mind, liowever,
whether that of a gardener or a tradesman, needs to
be informed of the tendency of constant communi-
cation with the works and phenomena of nature to
purify the thoughts, and thus exert a largely restrain-
ing influence upon the dark passions of the human
soul. No man works more in the immediate presence
of his Creator than the gardener. He sees Him not
only "in the cool of the day," but in every waking
moment, — in the purity and fragrance of the circum-
ambiant atmosphere, — in the untamed grandeur of
nature's mountains, rocks, fields, forests, and gush-
ing waters, — in the germination of every seed, — in
the growth of every leaf and of every blade of grass ;
by these, and numberless objects besides, is he im-
pressed, not only with the power, wisdom and good-
ness of Him who "causeth the grass to grow for
the cattle, and herb for the service of man," but
with the gracious course of His providence, which
rewards every discovery of His laws, and every act
of obedience to them. It is uttering no harsh judg-
ment, then, when we say, briefly, that the man who
can live and labor, surrounded by so many and so
palpable attestations of a beneficient and controlling

Power above, without realizing the nearness of his
relations to that Power, or without hymning in his
heart devout ascriptions to praise and gratitude, is a
sad example of the derangement which sometimes
characterizes man's moral machinery. And if, with
the Book of Nature thus unfolded so luminously be-
fore him, his feelings fail to be voluntarily awakened
to a just sense of the honorableness of his employ-
ment, and of his "duty" to improve every means
and facility that will enable him to become skilful
and thrifty in his calling, no words of rhetoric, how-
ever eloquent, will be able to arouse them.

DROUTH, UNDSRDHAINING, SCIENCE
AND PRACTICE.

BY J. N. K., INDIANAPOLIS, IND.

In the May number of the Gardener'' s Monthly,
you seem to set the "teachings of science" at war
with the "results of experience." You misappre-
hend the author quoted, or I misapprehend the point
in your article. The author quoted intended to teach
that, in an undrained field, the rains which fall on
the surface and sink through the surface soil, filter
the soluble plant food down into the subsoil, and
that dry weather, in that it draws this water to the
surface again, compensates that evil.

The "scientific author" declares three facts :

1st. When it rains, the water filters through the
surface into the subsoil. 2d. The water in the soil
contains soluble mineral plant food in solution. 3d.
Soil water in very dry weather ascends by capillary
attraction from the subsoil to the surface, and is there
evaporated, and whatever it holds in solution is left
in the soil at that point where the water becomes
vapor. I understand these three facts to be esta-
blished, beyond all doubt, alike by science and
experience.

If in this the author has assumed that drouths
were really desirable, his position might be doubted ;
but it is still true that soil water is drawn from a
depth of five, six, and perhaps sometimes even ten
feet to supply the demands of a dry, hot air, and it
is mathematically certain that the quantity of mineral
plant food brought to the surface by evaporation
must correspond with the quantity of water evapo-
rated, the depth from whence it ascends, and the
supply of such minerals in the soil, in a soluble state.
It is better, in my opinion, that short "dry spells"
should evaporate the water of brief rains than that
protracted dry weather should ever occur.

But if it be true, as you say, that a deep drouth lets
the vital air deep in the ground, and that insoluble
minerals are thus rendered soluble and capable of be-
coming plant food, Ca fact which I most heartily en-
dorse,) it is a "chemical fact" which "experience"

»V>-

— ^Mg^/

&

il^ §mk\m\ Jlontlil^.

173

cannot deny, that the deepest drouth on underdrained
soils is a real blessing. In this way, a severe drouth
is a " deep tiller," running far below the range of sub-
soil ploughs.

If, then, I apprehend the matter corrcctlj', the
scieutific chemist saj's truthfully, that "whatever of
mineral plant food is dissolved in the soil water is
left on the surface by its evaporation in dry weather,"
whilst the practical gardener, with equal truth, says,
"when dry weather evaporates the water out of the
ground, the air enters into it, and by oxidizing its
minerals, renders them soluble, and thus fit to become
plant food." The only fault I find with the agri-
cultural chemist is that he confined himself to one
idea, when two bright jewels lay side by side. The
hot sun draws the water out of the ground and in-
cidentally conveys the dissolved mineral plant food
from below to the surface. As the water comes out
of the grovmd, the air rushes in, and the oxygen of
the air, by combining with insoluble minerals, renders
them soluble, ready to be drawn up by the next
drouth. The agricultural chemist told half the truth,
and the practical gardener told the other half.

But what about draining? If I understand the
matter correctly, thorough drainage doubles the
quantity of water evaporated from the surface, be-
cause it keeps up an inexhaustible supply of water
in the soil. It is not generally known that in under-
drained and deeply tilled soils, the deposit of dew in
the subsoil at the depth of ten or twelve inches is
continued all day under the direct rays of the hottest
sun and the dryest air; and the more rapid the
evaporation from the surface, the more copious is the
deposit of dew in the subsoil. Thus we find that, in
an underdrained and deeply tilled soil the water de-
scends only during and soon after a saturating rain,
but ascends at all other times. The surface soil and
vegetable foliage condense the vapor of the air during
the night, because they are colder than the air. Now,
the subsoil is always colder than the surface of the
earth in summer, and to continue the dew deposit
all day, it is only necessary to let the air freely into
the subsoil. From experiments which I have made,
by digging into the soil, smoothing up the south
Avail of the pit, and placing a piece of glass against
it, and noting the quantity of water deposited upon
its outer surface, in a given space of time, I have no
doubt that drainage and deep tillage will supply more
water to a farm or garden, during .summer, than the
entire rain fall. And then this dew-water never
descends, but always tends upwards to supply evapo-
ration. And by this means, too, air is always present
in the soil, ready to decompose minerals and manures,
thereby to sustain vitality in the soil.

But how does underdraining "cool the soil?"

The statement is only true in reference to the surface;
the subsoil is rendered warmer. The following is a
true statement of the fact : If enough atmospheric
vapor is condensed in the subsoil to make one ounce
of water, there is thereby heat enough set free in the
soil to heat three ounces of iron red hot. If, on the
other hand, an ounce of water is evaporated from
the surface, a corresponding amount of heat is
wrapped up or rendered insensible. During a hot
summer day the surface is cooled and the subsoil is
warmed. During the night, radiation eliminates
this heat from the subsoil to the surface, and then
into space. Thus heat, as well as water, ascends
from the subsoil to the smface in all underdrained,
deeply tilled soils.

There is one idea in this connection which de-
mands a separate paragraph. When the atmospheric
vapor is condensed in the cool subsoil, and its in-
sensible heat is thus rendered sensible, that heat is
just so much electric force, and it cannot reach the
surface to be rendered again insensible by evapora-
tion without traversing the root-fibres of the growing
crop ; and this electric force f electricity in motionj
is vegetable vitality, and consequently, the strongest
possible stimulant to growing crops. This is, in my
view, the richest field of agricultural chemistry, and
a point of inquiry destined to cast a clearer hght
upon the mode by which fertilizers act upon the soil
and its products than any other. It will teach that
alkalies operate as fertilizers, not so much by render-
ing mineral plant food soluble, as by setting electri-
city in motion by combining with and decomposing
other minerals, that the decomposition of vegetable
substances within the soil does more good by the de-
velopment of electric motion than by supplying plant
food in the soil. And if this position is correct, it
will follow that green manures are ftir better than
the best guano, as experience teaches us.

[Soil water is certainly drawn to the surface in a
drouth, and water, under certain circumstances, holds
"salts in solution." When water comes in contact
with alumina, the latter's absorbent power is greater
than the solvent power of water, and filtration com-
mences. Water no longer "holds salts in solution,"
and after passing through soils containing alumina
in good proportion, is as nearly pure of all extrane-
ous matters as it is possible to be, as water from the
mouths of underdrains abundantly testifies.

As, then, soil, or rather, the alumina in the soil,
absorbs the salts which were held in solution by the
water passing through it, it is a question how far the
water possesses the power of abstracting them ajjain
from the particles of soil, and bringing them to the
surface during evaporation. The probability is that
a given particle of soil can only absorb a certain

Mc^

174

C^t ©arbtntr's ||l0nt|lj.

quantity of a soluble salt, and that then water may
take up the overplus and carry it to a near particle
that is deficient in quantity, and thus equalize the
material through surroimding matter. In this way,
drouth might be a slight benefit in exceptional cases,
but would not support the rule. So far as we know,
no experiments but those of Prof. Higgins have been
made with direct reference to solving the important
inquiry, and though we do not believe in the doc-
trine ourselves, our "point" was rather to question
than to controvert it.

We hope experiments will be tried. It is so easy.
Take a six-inch flower pot, for instance, fill in an
inch of soil, place a quantity of common salt on this,
and then fill with soil to the brim. Set the pot then
in a pan of water, and never, under any circum-
stances, let any water flow through the surface, but
as fast as the water evaporates from the surface let
water be added to the saucer below.

"If water, by capillary attraction from the subsoil
to the surface, is there evaporate:!, and whatever it
holds in solution is left in the soil at the point where
the water becomes vapor" — if it really docs hold any
tiling in solution wJien it reaches that point — the salt
ought to be brought entirely to the surface by a long-
continued evaporation. The other matters touched
on by our correspondent, especially those in connec-
tion with electric force, vegetable "vitality, &c., are
highly interesting, and we trust will receive attention
from scientific and practical cultivators. — Ed.]

RUSTIC BASKETS.

BY B. R. MITCHELL, KINGSTON, MASS.

I SEND you some drawings of my "rustic work"
for the Monthly^ should you think them worthy of
of a place there.

The "Table for Flowers" is made with small

baskets fastened on the small branches that grow

out from the trunk of tlie tree which forms the

standard, as you will see in the drawing. These

Fig. 1.

little baskets look much prettier than shelves, as the
"rustic" sides come up and hide the flower-pots.

The Flower Basket (Fig. 1. j is much the same,
with the addition of foot and handle.

Fig. 3.

The Hanging Basket (Fig. 2.) is made of one
solid knarl or knot, made hollow to receive the
earth or pot, and is hung with cords or strings of
acorns.

The other stand is very pretty to set parlor orna-
ments on, such as flower-baskets, vases, statuary, &c.
This work is all made of the gnarls and peaks of the
oak, the bark being all taken off" and the wood then
varnished, which makes it resemble the most unique
and ancient carved work. I will say I was awarded
a Diploma and Medal at the Massachusetts Chari-
table Mechanic Association in Boston, September,
1860, for this work.

[In our last, we gave the two larger sketches by
Mr. Mitchell, as a frontispiece, and now the others
with Mr. M.'s own description of them. — Ed.]

FUNGUS AMONGST CUTTINGS.

BY A GARDENER, PHILADELPHIA.

Last year I read in the Oardenefs Monthly several
articles on the cutting fungus, from which I have
always had much trouble in my striking. I tried most
of the things recommended, but did not find much
good from them. One of your contributors spoke
of powdered charcoal, which I had heard of before,
but never tried ; but since reading, put up a box of
it ; but I thought if any better, it was not much,
as I lost a great many cuttings in it also.

When the spring was nearly over, and I was about
to throw out my sand-boxes, something brought to

^^

Cfic ^arijcncr's STaitttjlj.

my miud that funguses of all kinds run out in time, as
we know "svith mushroom-beds, — after the crop has
exhausted itself in the bed, the spawn seems to run
entirely out, and no more mushrooms come till new
spawn or a new bed is made, and even in the old
bed it is next to impossible to get new spawn to run
it. Thinking on this, I saved my sand till this year
in the boxes as they Avere, and used it again, and all
through winter and spring have seen no sign of
fungus. It is the first time that I have been quite
free from it for some years. Both in the sand and
in the charcoal there has been no sign of fungus.

My theory of fungus is, that there is something
in the sand that is just fit for fungus to grow on, and
that the seeds of the fungus are, perhaps, always in
the air ready to grow on this matter whenever it
finds it. As soon as it eats it all out and goes
through its course, it must then disappear.

I had a laugh at your story about rattlesnake-bones
giving Pete a good time in cutting his teeth, and
thought you might say the absence of fungus this
year in the old sand was only a chance, and that if
I had tried new sand I might chanced to have no
fimgus this season in it either ; but, on second thought,
it seems to me reasonable, and so I send it to you to
do what you please with it.

[It is reasonable — the best theory yet offered,and we
may add that the experience of our own propagators
this season partially confirms your views. — Ed.]

PACKING PLANTS.

BY X. KASHVILLE, TENN.

Though you express a disinclination to go into
the subject, it has, I think, some aspects that you
would not object to my ofiering a few suggestions
on. In my experience of getting plants from a dis-
tance, I have learned to estimate at its full value
good packing, and I never object to a reasonable
charge for it. In fact, oftener than not, I append
as a P. S. to my orders, "am willing to pay double-
extra for extra good packing. In fact, I should be
soiTj^ to see the rule established making packing a part
of the price, as I should fear it Avould lead to its
being too often carelessly done, as is now the case
with digging up of trees, when, according to my
experience, the roots are frequently badly cut.

But what I wish to say now more particularly is,
that you Eastern men often make us pay heavy
express charges for heavy packing cases. I have
just received a case from near your city which con-
tains by actual measurement three and one third feet
only, but which weighs forty pounds. In my freight
bill I am charged for sixty pounds at ten cents per
pound, so that for the six dollars I have paid, four of
t?iem xcere for the case. I have a case by me of the

same dimensions weighing but ten pounds, strong
and well made ; if such an one had been employed,
I should have been saved three dollars of express
charges.

I have often received things in heavy cases that
would have done just as well in light mats, saving
much thereby of useless lumber freight.

I hope you will not deem this idle "carping" at
the " cheats" of nurserymen. I know that there is
by far too much of this foolish creation of ill feeling
between buyers and sellers, whose real interests, I
am sure, are identical ; but I think there is room for
a reasonable reformation of a bad practice, which
has, I am certain, its origin only in a want of
thought.

["Trade's" communication, referred to in our
last, was of a different stamp to the one above, —
merely objecting in general terms to views ex-
pressed in another journal. "X." presents something
tangible, and we cheerfully give his piece inser-
tion.— Ed.]

«•••»

PRUNING HOTHOUSE GRAPES.

BY J. H., NATCHEZ, MISS.

Mr. Chitty's remarks are very sensible, and come
to the point at once. Mr. Bright' s system is very
good in some cases ; if, for instance, the rafters are
short and the vines not forced. But I would like to
ask how he could make these strong buds, that are
not ripe till October, break well and have a heavy
crop on next March and April ? I have had old grapes
myself, in Massachusetts, eleven months of the year,
and I have cut a Black Hamburg bunch off a twenty
year old vine, five pounds weight, highly colored.

Mr. B. talks about the rafters on trellises half
covered with grapes ; but a gardener that has a good
border, and knows how to use his knife, can keep
grapes from top to bottom, covering nearly every
square foot of space every year, have his vines
healthy and keep them from getting unsightly with
spurs for twenty successive j^cars or more. This I
have seen done in splendid style at the late Sir Wm.
Engilby's extensive forcing I'ange of hothouses at
Ripley Castle, near Harrogate, Yorkshire, by Mr.
Henderson.

They talk about the grapes at some large places
near London. There are grapes in Yorkshire far
ahead of any thing I ever saw about there— earlier
and larger. About fifteen years ago, my brother ex-
hibited peaches in London, in March, from Eating-
ton Park, in Warwickshire. Dr. Lindley referred
to them in a leading article in the Chronicle. They
were sold for five shillings apiece the first time, and
sold again to the Royal Family for seven shillings
and sixpence apiece. I mention this to show you

that the "crack" places around London, to which
reference is so often made, have long been behind
the times, as compared with more local places.

IHBIGEMOUS GHAPES.

BY WILLIAM A. WOODWARD, MORTONVILLE, N. Y.

Is it not remarkable that while the desire to pro-
duce and introduce new and valuable varieties of
grapes suited to our soil and climate has increased
until it has become a mania ; that so little attention
has been given to the vines which the God of nature
has planted so profusely around us ? and which
bring forth fruit in abundance, so that we, like those
of the fabled golden age, have only to put forth our
hands and partake, as our wants require.

The truth is, we are too much led away in our
pursuit of the summum bonum, to seek for some-
thing that has its origin afar off. I will not say that
it has more merit for being "dear bought," though
with many that has its influence ; no one can intro-
duce a new American seedling grape without great
expense, although it can ultimately be cultivated and
propagated for mere nothing.

One reason for this unwillingness to believe that
a native grape has any good qualities is the too com-
mon offensive and repulsive application of the ^erm
"Fox" to every one of the native species. An in-
cipient step in putting down "humbug in grape cul-
ture" is to define the terms we use, and I call upon
intelligent cultivators to unite in frowning down the
use of this term altogether, it has no meaning when
applied to the grape beyond that of sour. The fox
who could not get the grapes he coveted, pretended
he did not want them, alleging that they were sour.
Hence, when we see a disappointed office-seeker,
who tells us that he would not accept the appoint-
ment if offered to him, we say ' ' sour grapes. ' ' The
phrase fox or foxy, then, applies only to unripe
grapes ; beer that is turned sour is said to be foxed.
The term has no reference to aroma or flavor, which
many of our wild vines possess in an eminent degree.
Among wine-makers it is desirable to obtain the
rich aromatic flavor of the wild grape to give that in-
describable taste to wine known as bouquet. * I know
that some persons pretend that all native grapes have
an aroma (stink) which reminds them of a fox ; this
is arrant humbuggery. I am a cultivator of flowers,
and during the season my rooms are constantly de-
corated with the choicest from my garden, both for
their external beauty and for their delicious perfume.
Early in September I gather ripe grapes from a wild
vine growing on my farm, and place them in my
parlor for a similar reason. They perfume the house,
the odor is delicious — is this foxy ? is this the smell

of an oflensive animal ? Bah ! if so, commend me to
foxy grapes, t Acidity (all American grapes have
a larger proportion of acid than those of Europe, J
is the proper term to apply to unripe fruit. The
Vitis labrusca is called foxy when it makes the
mouth sore, and is caused by unripeness ; when
fully ripe it never produces that effect. I suffered
extremely from this cause last fall, by eating a single
bunch of unripe Concord, voted at the head of the
list by the Fruit-Growers' Society of Eastern Pa.,
and justly considered one of the best indigenous
grapes.

I will conclude this paper with an anecdote.
Having found, in my rambles about the mountains of
the Highland terrace, a wild grape, producing
bunches resembling in appearance the Black Ham-
burg, which were ripe and luscious the first week
in September, I showed them to several grape cul-
tivators, who admired them very much, they sup-
posing them to be from my grape-house, grown
under glass. One gentleman, who raises grape-
vines for sale, in particular, ate them with great
gusto, and remarked, that "if we could only get such
a grape to grow in the open air, it would be worth
millions of dollars to our country." Not wishing
to mortifj^ him before other persons, I proposed to
show him something on the following day, which I
thought would suit his fancy, and he brought several
friends to examine the new native grape. They all
pronounced it good — very good, but, my friend of
the day before had only one objection, and that was,
he said, peculiar to all native grapes, viz., its foxy
flavor.

I appeal to all sensible grape cultivators to abolish
the use of the word from henceforth.

LANBSCAPE-GARDEMIMG.

No. 5.

BY GEORGE E. WOODWARD, NEW YORK.

■ To prevent any misapprehension of our meaning
in these articles, we may as well state that we do
not intend to advocate the superior claims of any
one profession to practice that of landscape-garden-
ing. We have not said, nor do we intend to say,
that the artist, the architect, the civil engineer, sur-

*Tliis is the Bouquet (Enanthique of the French. A chemist
could make a fortune by preserving the bouquet of our early native
grapes. The difficulty with u^ is that these highly odoriferous
grapes ripen five or six weeks earlier than the wine grapes of these
mountains, and we are ignorant of the process of preserving this
delicious fragrance.

fWe have one vine known as the Vitis Odoratissima, which is
full of flowers, and emits a fragi-ance like the Mignionette. I have
never observed any vine of this species which bears fruit; the
flowers are staminate.

"^HT

ih^ (Sardciur's Jlonlhlg.

177

vej^or, or draughtsman is any more capable of suc-
cessfully pursuing it, than the gardener himself.
But we draw a wide distinction between gardening
and landscape-gardening, and classify the latter
under two separate and distinct heads, one of which
has nothing more to do with vegetable physiology
than the practice of law, while the other requires an
intimate knowledge of all that comes within the
gardener's profession.

We propose to show that the finished practitioner
of a high order of landscape adornment requires a
thorough knowledge of art, architecture, civil engi-
neering and gardening ; that one is as essential as
the other; that landscape-gardening is not a gift,
but can be acquired by those who have the ambi-
tion, energy and determination to succeed ; that it
is one of the refined and cultivated arts, requiring
an educated taste and ability, and does not admit
of a medium amount of information of any of the
pursuits which it embraces. "Knowledge is easy
to him that understandeth." With this explanation
of our views, we solicit the most rigid criticism.

In treating the subject of landscape adornment in
this manner, we advance no new theories, nor as-
sume any new position ; we are simply investigating
and illustrating its theory and practice. But to our
subject.

It is by no means possible to introduce utihty as
the one distinct and controlling feature in improving
a coimtry place, and it is just as absurd to carry
utility to an extreme as it is to carry the ornamen-
tal ; thus extreme utility in a road or carriage-drive in-
dicates a straight line and a regular ascending grade.

In the natural style of landscape adornment this
would be sacrificing both taste and economy, vio-
lating the principles of the beautiful, and destroying
the harmony of natur il lines and surfaces. If we
sacrifice utility to economy, we should keep the
grade line near the surface, or undulate with it, pre-
senting a straight direction. Now, if we introduce
absolute economy and utility in the location and con-
struction of drives and walks, we have admitted an
increase of length by rising and falling with the un-
dulating surface of the ground, and this increase
will be more or less as we range between a plane
surface and one of a very rolling character. Two
points of location indicate the position of a straight
line, and whatever difliculties in grade, excavation,
removal of trees, &c., exist between or beyond those
points must be encountered ; they cannot be avoided
without breaking up the line. Therefore, unless we
have a plane surface to deal with, neither utility nor
economy, nor both combined, are arguments in favor
of the use of a straight line. Now, if the element of
beauty be combined with those of economy and

utility, we shall have the principles of a thoroughly
practical road, as well as a thoroughly tasteful and
inviting one.

It would hardly be deemed advisable to build a
road without considering its cost, and if economy
be a condition, then the same required increase of
length would permit the use of the beautiful and
make a really better road, by substituting a single
gradient for the undulating grades necessary in the
economical construction of a straight avenue. Prac-
tically considered, neither an undulating grade nor
a cuiTed line adds to the length of a road, — any thing
that should enter into a computation between utility
and taste. Unless carried to an extreme, the entire
loss of distance over an air line need not exceed five
per cent., and may be, in long approaches, as low
as three per cent. ; this is compensated for in the
selection of the best ground that shall give uniform
grade with the least possible amount of excavation
or filling, and that shall avoid the necessity of des-
troying a tree or a single natural feature, and whose
alignment shall be strictly in keeping with the lines
of the beautiful. Considered as a matter of utility,
economy, or taste, a curved line of road, properly
located and adjusted, expresses each quality in a high
degree, and the most perfect combination of them
all.

The arguments against curved roads are based only
on theory, and without a due consideration of all
the facts that belong to the subject, and we are not
willing to ignore a disposition to express the beau-
tiful, nor in this intelligent and appreciative age do
we wish to spend money to express utility.

In the right line style of landscape-gardening, a
straight line and uniform grade would be in perfect
taste and keeping — it being a rigid demonstration of
architectural rules and forms, and utterly at variance
with all illustrations to be found in the teachings of
nature, as there is nothing, not even a solitary ex-
ample in the whole range of the picturesque or the
beautiful, from which a single conclusion can be
drawn justifying the use of the right line or the right
angle in any department of landscape embellishment.
It is strictly an artificial form, and belongs to one
particular school of landscape art, possesses its own
rules of taste, beauty and utility, and is fast receding
from the position it once held in controlling the
entire design and arrangements of the grounds ; but
it must ever have a recognizable existence as the
graduating link between the architectural lines of the
house and the high order of beauty so successfully
illustrated in the natural school of landscape adorn-
ment.

The position is entirely false that presumes upon
a higher standard of beauty than that derived from

the study of natural forms, and this is just as appli-
cable to any of the arts of design as it is to landscape-
gardening. Any attempt to go beyond the limit of
natural beauty meets with a certain failure, and we
therefore conclude that any style or school of land-
scape adornment, founded upon a natural model,
must be eminently successful, and that all others
must take a secondary position.

AN CLD BOTANY AND OLDER
BOTANISTS.

Friend Editoe, were you ever overcome with
the mania for collecting antiquarian treasures in the
shape of coins, autographs, manuscripts or books?
Did you ever enter heartily into the spirit of a friend
who, when he discovered a dilapidated, rusty old
volume on the stall of a dealer in second-hand books,
clasped it to his bosom with the suppressed exclama-
tion, "It's worth its weight in gold!" If you
sympathize with this venial weakness of poor human
nature thus longing to commit oneself with the past
and realize antiquity, you can appreciate my delight
on coming into possession of a tall old folio, in good
preservation, bearing the title of "Caspari Bavhini
Theatri Botanici Sive Historian Plantarum," etc.,
Basilea, 1658. The work is in Latin, the first of
a series of volumes and the only one published, in
which the author intended to describe and delineate
all the plants at that time known, and to reduce them
to their natural order, &c. It is esteemed a very
important work, and contains descriptions and nu-
merous well-executed wood-cuts of the grapes,
sedges and some liliaceous plants. •

The Botanical Theatre, or a History of Plants, of
Casper or Gaspard Bauliin, exhibits unwearied in-
dustry, great zeal and learning, and in connection
with the other publications of the author and his
brother John, largely contributed to the progress of
botany. In all the qualities that conduce to the
advancement of science and render the student of
nature the benefactor of his species, the brothers
Bauhin were surpassed by none, unless by Linnaeus,
in their own department. They do not appear to
have been men of much originality of mind, and
can only be considered useful pioneers ; but as such
they are entitled to the gratitude of posterity, for as
De CandoUe has well remarked: "If they did not
succeed in discovering any sufficiently methodical
manner of classifying their knowledge, they at least
rendered the want of some good classification more
apparent than it had ever been before. ' '

Tlie illustrations with which this work abounds
were designed and painted by Gesner, a century be-
fore, and engraved imder his supervision. This ex-

traordinary man prepared fifteen hundred figures for
his " History of Plants, " and at his death they passed
into the hands of booksellers who appear to have
esteemed them the sine qua non for illustrating
botanical books. A large portion of them appear to
have done duty in an edition of the Epitome of
Mathiolus in 1586 and 1590 ; again in the German
Herbal in 1609 and 1678, and adorn the present
Theatrum Botanicum of 1658, to re-appear finally in
a more recent edition of 1744. The publisher,
Joannes Konig, of Basle, true to the ruling desire
among the trade to present his works as novelties,
does not inform his readers that these pictures have
graced a half-dozen publications through two-thirds
of a century. Though his readers may not have
thanked him for palming old plates upon them, we
will ever prize them the more highly as the work of
that most eminent scholar and naturalist who was so
shining an example of the truth of the remark, that
those who have most to do and are willing to work,
find most time.

Conrad Gesner, one of the most learned and indus-
trious of men, projected a Historia Animalium, in
which he had for his object nothing less than a
general history of animated nature, concentrating
and critically revising all that had been done before
his time, enriched with his own knowledge. Four
well-filled folios of this work were published. This
might have been considered an evidence of the most
persevering and praise worthy industry if it had been
the production of a recluse whose whole life had been
entirely spent in the task ; whereas, it was only one
of many books written by a man who gained his
subsistence by perhaps the most harassing and time-
consuming of all professions, and who died in har-
ness when he was not forty-nine years old.

Zurich was the field of his practice, which enabled
him to cultivate his tastes for natural history. He
founded and supported a botanic garden, collected a
fine librarj^, made numerous drawings, and gave
constant employment to a painter and an engraver
on wood. In the most of his laborious profession,
the astonishing industry of the man found time for
the principle works on which his fame rests. He
lived honored and respected for his talents and bene-
volence in his native town, until an attack of the
pestilence, which he had successfully combated in
others, carried him oflF in the prime of his strength
and usefulness. On the approach of death, he de-
sired to be carried to his museum, where, amidst the
treasures he had collected, and surroimded by the
old familiar objects of his study, he breathed his
last in the arms of his affectionate wife, for whose
conjugal love and piety contagion and death had no
terrors, with the calmness of a Christian philosopher.

The cuts in this old "Bauhin" are from the hand

^^^

of this devoted student of nature. They will not,
however, compare ftxvorably with a wood-cut of
Bauhinia upon the page before me. This name was
applied by Linnaeus, very happily, to commemorate
the merits of the two Bauhius, for the genus is re-
markable for its leaves, being generally divided into
two twin lobes. The species are usually twining
plants, found in the woods of hot countries, often
stretching from tree to tree like living cables, forming
with other plants an almost insurmountable obstacle
to the traveller who would penetrate the recesses of
a tropical forest. The flowers are often very beau-
tiful, and the plant has long been cultivated in the
hothouses of Europe, but is too impatient of the treat-
ment received to flourish and produce its noble blos-
soms. Nor will these cuts of our old folio bear compar-
ison with a beautiful cut of the Gesnera grandis, now
before us. The Gesneraceae inhabit the damp, hot
parts of South America ; in many cases overrunning
trees with their rooting stems in the manner of the
ivy. The Gloxinias belong to this order.

Well deserving was Gesner, the Pliny of Germany,
of the honor of an order of botany higher than any
order of knighthood; he also first suggested that
there existed in the vegetable kingdom groups or
genera, each composed of many species, united bj^
similar characteristics of the flower and fruit.
Taught by him, botanists began to understand that
the different families of plants have among them-
selves natural relations, founded upon resemblances
and affinities, and that the most obvious are not
always the most important. The distinction of
species, the establishment of genera and of natural
families seemed to follow, of course, after these
principles were once established. Clusius was, how-
ever, the first to describe plants with precision and
accuracy, neither faulty from superfluous terms, nor
from omission of important circumstances.

The common tulip of our gardens, the Tulipa
Gesneriana, was named from Gesner, and the S.
Clusiana, an allied species, from Clusius.

Carolus Clusius, or Charles de rEcluse,was another
devoted botanist, most laborious and useful, and
ranks among the most celebrated of the 16th century.
He was born at Antwaht, 1526, resided and travel-
led in France, Germany, Spain and England, study-
ing the plants of these countries, and became curator
of the botanical garden at Vienna, by invitation of
the Emperor Maximilian II. He afterwards became
Professor of Botany at Leyden, and died in 1609.

Few men suffered more in following a favorite
pursuit than Clusius. He has on this account been
called "the martyr of botany." As early ae his
twenty-fourth year, through excessive fatigue, he
contracted a dropsical complaint ; at thirty-nine, he
broke his right thigh during one of his botanical

rambles, and a short time thereafter, his right arm.
Whilst at Vienna, he dislocated his ankle, and eight
years afterward dislocated his right hip. For this
he was treated unskilfully, and ever afterwards was
obliged to wear crutches. Want of exercise brought
on other diseases, and to crown all, through over-
exertions in early life, he had contracted a hernia
which troubled him to the end of his days. But his
bodily infirmities never diminished his mental ac-
tivity, and he continued teaching and writing to the
very last. Not a very encouraging experience for
the young botanist, the reader may remark, but still
an example of the pursuit of science under adverse
circumstances, highly creditable.

Clusia, a genus of plants of the natural order Gut-
tifera Cbalsam trees) was named after Clusius. They
are trees and shrubs, usually parasites, and yielding
a viscid juice of a balsamic flavor. The Clusia rosea
is a native of Guiana, St. Domingo, and other parts
of tropical America. The whole tree is very hand-
some, and but "few fruits offer so beautiful a piece of
mechanism," says Loudon. It grows on rocks and
frequently on the trunks of trees, where its glutinous
seeds, deposited by birds, take root as does the
miseltoe. If they do not find sufficient nourishment,
they spread on the surface of the tree till they find a
decayed hole or other lodgement wherein is deposited
a small portion of soil ; the fertility of this being ex-
hausted, a root is discharged from the hole till it
reaches the ground, where it fixes itself, and the stem
becomes a large tree. Why this genus was selected
to honor Clusius, we know not, unless in its reliance
upon others for assistance to aid its growth. It may
be thought to resemble the botanist, who, in his late
years became so infirm and dependent. Perhaps the
nomenclator thought that a tree producing balsam
should be selected to commemorate hiniAvho suffered
so much in the preservation of his favorite science,
and so often needed its healing aid. .

Csesalpinus, who was contemporary with Clusius
and Gesner, proposed to form species into classes,
though his method proved imperfect, having neither
simplicity nor unity. Cfesalpina brasiliensis, the
Brazil wood so largely used in dyeing, commemo-
rated this Florentine lover of nature.

John Bauhin, the elder brother of Gaspard, a
friend and pupil of Gesner, composed a history of
plants, evincing great learning and accurate investi-
gation. Clusius and John Bauhin had imagined
something like a genus of plants formed by the
grouping of similar species, but Gaspard Bauhin ex-
pressed this more decidedly in remarks upon generic
descriptions. His work, the old folio before me, the
result of forty years' labor, was thus of great import-
ance to Linnoeus, in preparing his system of botany,
and leading the way to the vantage ground on which
we now stand. I prize this old volume.

^.

ISO

i^^ iardcnxr's <PontljIg.

^,

C|e ^arkner's

PHILADELPHIA, JUNE 1, 1861.

33= All Communications for the Editor should be addressed,
"Thomas Meehan, Germautowu, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gakdener's Monthly
Box 406 Philadelphia."

JCj^ Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1S61 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(1859) free. All persons who have paid their subscriptions for 1861
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.00 can receive a copy of
the same.

JnJ' Our Subscription list for Eathvon's Entomological Essay
is fast tilling up, and as we have only intended publishing a lim-
ited number, we would desire all those who may wish to have the
work, to send their name and address as early as possible.

INFLUENCE OF CLIDSATXC CHANGES ON
FRUIT CULTURE.

It is a well-known fact that near all our older set-
tled towns, and in long cultivated districts, it is much
more difficult to raise fruit than it was at a remoter
period. Not only is the crop annually more uncer-
tain, but many diseases affect trees that were un
known years ago. Tliis fact naturally suggests the
inquiry whether more favorable circumstances for
the general health of fruit trees formerly existed
than now do ; anc", if so, what were they ?

The popularity that has been obtained for chemi-
cal studies, has led most students of Pomology to
look to the soil for a solution of our difficulties, and
has led to a jjretty general belief that in old and long
cultivated districts disease and unfruitfulness arise
from the exhaustion of some specific matters in the
soil ; but when we see, as we often do, tracts of land
Avhich have till our time retained their vii'gin forests,
newly broken up and brought into cultivation in
those districts, and Avhen planted with fruit, pi'ecisely
as the successful orchards of the past age were, and
yet fail, — although we may admit that the absence of
some particular element may produce disease in some
instances, we cannot agree that the reason is suffi-
cient to cover the whole ground of inquiry, and we
have to look beyond this for some more wide-spread
and general principle of evil, and it proves, in most,
perhaps all cases, that no explanation is offered, but
some facts can be adduced to show it not univer-
sally applicable.

The most remarkable instance of freedom from
disease in fruits, is when they are under orchard-
house cultivation. So far as general experience goes,
the peach is free here from the yellows, the blister,
and the curl ; the plum produces no knots ; the apri-
cot gum ; or the grape suffer much from mildew or

rot ; and all of this results from the single fact of the
trees being enclosed in a glass house. If we ask our-
selves what is the difference between trees grown in
a house and others grown in the open air, we can
only answer that the house necessitates a moist at-
mosphere, while the external air is much dryer.
Some might say the house is guarded against sudden
extremes of temperature, but it is not so. In true
orchard-houses, where no artificial heat is applied,
the mid-day temperature is often, in April, 80", and
the night temperature but a degree or so above
freezing point ; an extreme, and with greater rapidity
of change, that is seldom or never experienced by
trees in their natural season of leafing, as the instance
is supposed to be ; so that we have still no alterna-
tive but to refer to the moist atmosphere for their
preservation from disease. It has been recently
suggested by an experienced writer in the Gardener'' s
Monthly, that it was not so much the regularity of
moisture in a grapery that enabled a grape to resist
mildew, which would be thus destroyed in the open
air, as it was the absence of dew under such circum-
stances ; but it amounts to the same thing, as those
who are acquanted with the theory of dews know
that there can be no such deposit, until a comparative
atmospheric dryness has previously existed. Look
at the subject in what manner we may. we can at
last attribute the superior health and freedom from
disease of orchard-house trees only to the fact that
they are grown in an atmosphere more saturated with
moisture than are trees grown in the open air. Horti-
cultural science supports the practical inferences.

It is scarcely credible what an amount of moisture
a plant exhales or perspires. If a healthy grape
vine, in a twelve-inch pot, be taken from a vinery
in July, rather dry, watered and weighed, then
set in the open air, and the pot surrounded by
non-conducting material, so that what moisture
evaporates shall be through the foliage, we shall find
on re-weighing at night that for every five hundred
square-inches of foliage-surface, there has been a
loss of about two pounds of water, more or less, ac-
cording to the state of the weather. All of this
moisture passes through small pores, or stomata, on
the surf^xce of the leaf, and as if nature herself would
teach us the importance of studying the effects of
evaporation, we find that those plants naturally
adapted to moist, shady places, have their leaves
with an abundance of small stomata, while plants
she has formed for hot, dry places of growth are
furnished with thick leathery leaves, and few stomata
to admit of evaporation.

As in animals, so with plants, it is well known
that while a moderate perspiration is conducive to
health, and, in fact, necessary to the system, excess

diarhntr's fflon

181

ive and long-continued perspiration, though the sys-
tem be continually and regularly supplied with hquid
to make up the deficiency, is, nevertheless, exhaustive
of vital energy, and ultimately destructive to life ;
and the perpetual object is rather "not to drink
too much," and to check evaporation by coolness and
shade.

In the vegetable family, where light and heat
are so essential to health, the moister the atmos-
phere, when plants are in active growth, the more
is evaporation checked, and the system loses no more
than is just necessary to keep the vital forces in pro-
per action ; but the moment exhaustion commences
from over-perspiration, fungi and the other destruc-
tive agencies of nature stand ready to commence
their dissolving duties, and the diseases we lament
are the natural result.

On a large continent like ours, where most of our
fruit districts are removed from contiguity to large
bodies of water, agricultural progress must, neces-
sarily, render the atmosphere dryer in the course of
time, and fruit-growing be less successful in a cor-
responding ratio, unless precautions be taken to
adapt practice to the changed circumstances. The
most vigorous, luxuriant and healthy vegetation is
always in swamps and tropical countries, where rains
and a moist atmosphere are particularly charac-
teristic, and the cUmate it produces almost unfitted
for human life.

There is the same mutual action between heat and
moisture in the earth and atmosphere as in other
branches of creation ; the degree of one is regulated
by the condition of the other, and there is no doubt
that the failure to render meteorology a real science
—in other words, to find the fixed laws that regulate
the changes we experience, arises from the overlook-
ing of this fact. Records of atmospheric facts have
been carefully kept for years, but the condition of
the earth at the same time has been neglected.

The moisture in the atmosphere is regulated by
the heat of the latitude, but, on the other hand,
the heat of the atmosphere is in a great measure
tempered by the quantity of water evaporated from
the soil. The drier the air the colder is the cli-
mate ; and, of course, the drier the soil, the drier
the air becomes. Records of many years show how
great is the difference between the moisture in the
air of cold climates and tliat of tropical ones. About
twentv-four inches of rain per annum is a fair
average for London. Approaching the tropics nearer,
say Algiers, about twenty-seven ; the middle of Ar-
kansas, fifty inches; until, reaching the equator, about
one-hundred inches per annum becomes the average
fall. Such a large amount of moisture could not
exist in the atmosphere without the aid of excessive
luxuriance in the vegetation of the equatorial region,

which by its milUons of vegetable pores, fed by strong
and rapid-growing roots, brings up water from
many feet below the surface, and gives it out to the
atmosphere freely, under the influence of the tropical
sun. If the trees were removed from such a region,
the surface of the soil would become strongly heated,
and all the moisture the air would receive would
have to come from the few inches beneath the sur-
face, drawn up by the slow process of attraction as
the surface dried ; and as evaporation is well known
to favor coolness, such a process would, necessarily,
soon show a marked effect on the climate.

That it is really the moisture of the atmosphere
that regulates climate is also shown by a reference
to other countries ; London, though near 50° north
latitude, seldom has the thermometer below 10°,
while Philadelphia, in 40", at 10° nearer the equator,
ranges about zero. Surrounded by the sea and
other moistening influences, less evaporation, and
consequent loss of heat from the soil and its vegeta-
tion, takes place than with us. Even when the
thermometer does fall very low, such aid does the
moist atmosphere afford the vegetation of that re-
gion, that it is rendered capable of resisting the loss
of heat, that vegetation in our dry climate would
certainly suffer. The London Gardener's Glironicle
has recently stated, that although the thermometer
fell there, last year, to 4° below zero, the Camellia
japonica stood out, unprotected, without injury.
In Philadelphia it is killed just below the freezing
point,— even the hardier Euonymus japonica cannot
struggle through.

We have said that a moist climate favors a vigor-
ous, luxuriant, and healthy vegetation ; and shown
that such a vegetation reciprocates by rendering a
climate moister, in turn, than it otherwise would
be ; and the inference is palpable that with the pro-
gress of draining, cleaning off of forests with its vast
amount of perspiring foliage, agricultural improve-
ment, and wise sanitary regulations, the growth and
vigor of such vegetation as prosper best in a moister
climate must, in some degree, decline,— and what
is the remedy ? We must endeavor to suit varieties
to the altered conditions, .selecting such as have
fewer pores, harder leaves, a firmer texture of wood,
and are less liable to over-perspiration ; choose
shadier places, protect exposed spots by shelter,
either of fences, buildings, or trees ; keep soil deeply
stirred on which the trees are to grow, that a good
supply of moisture may be always in reserve ; plant
near the sides of water-courses, dams, running
streams, springs, &c., which favor a moist atmos-
phere, for choice fruits ; and where the expense of
care is not so much an object, syringe freely, and
employ the garden engine about the trees, when dry j
weather is "the order of the day ;" look after kinds

1S2

%k iarhntr's glonlhlj.

I I

that ripen their wood early in the season, so that
they have not a profusion of soft, succulent wood
and leaves when our summer season brings its dry
time ; mulch freely about trees, and occasionally
water the mulch, so that the sun, by drying the
mulching surface, keeps a continual vapor arising
about and through the branches of the tree above it.
These, and many other matters that will readily sug-
gest themselves to such reflecting minds as most
good gardenei-s possess, will do much towards
bringing fruit-culture back to the successful times of
our forefathers, and compare with the good times
all those of our present day enjoy in the newer soil
and climate of the far-west territories.

If any thing more were necessary to carry convic-
tion to the minds of our readers that the interrup-
tion or obstruction of the proper processes connec-
ted with the respiration of plants is the main cause
of most of our modern difficulty of raising fruit to
the perfection that our forefathers did, we could pro-
duce special illustrations in abundance, but we will
refer to one— the grape-vine. A cubic-foot of the
ripe wood of the foreign grape Aveighs about four
pounds ; but the same bulk of the wood of the
native grape weighs nearly six pounds. With dif-
ferent varieties the results vary, but the average
relative proportion is about the same. One would
suppose from this, without any knowledge of the
fact, that the large, coarse cells of which such wood
must be composed, would perspire, or evaporate
moisture much more easily than the smaller-celled
and more compact wood of the native vine, and that
the liability to disease in a dry atmosphere would be
much greater in the foreign than in the native variety.
Experience shows that it is just so. Side by side, the
tender-celled foreigner "wilts" on a dry day, and
in an exhausted soil, before its hardier neighbor, and
mildew, rot, and other diseases follow with propor-
tionate speed. But remove the said vine to a vinery
where a moister atmosphere prevails, or suffer it to
run over a tree where the ten thousand pores of
neighboring friendly leaves perspire and make a sort
of artificial vapor about the vine that it never knows
on a trellis, stake, or frame ; and the extra vigor,
health, and luxuriance is striking and complete.

We have occupied more space with the subject
than we usually devote to this department, from a
sense of its great importance, and hope the scienti-
fic pomologist will give it the attention we think it
well deserves.

*•■•!

THE OREGON SYCAMORE MAP2.E.

Op all trees for general purposes, the maple class

seems best adopted to our climate. As shade

trees, the Red, Silver, Sycamore, Norway and

Sugar are deservedly popular. Very few of the

newer ones are likely to interfere with their reputa-
tion, unless, perhaps, it be the Oregon Maple, Acer
macropTiyllum. In England it is merging out of

the class of "new and rare plants," and becoming
well known and appreciated. For avenues it is
said to be very much esteemed, and extensively
planted.

In our own country it is not yet much known,
and has not been planted to any extent, principally
through its high price, and again from a mistaken
idea that it is not hardy. Newly introduced or
sickly plants of even the hardiest general character,
frequently get killed, and we have no doubt that
when plants of the Oregon Maple die, it is from
this cause. The tree from which we made the
above sketch last summer had been growing near
Philadelphia the past three seasons in an exposed
situation, and unprotected.

The leaves are very large, — our cut is but one
fourth the width of the leaf from which it was taken ;
but it will serve to show the general form sufficiently to
distinguish it. The whole habit and appearance, both
of leaves and tree,give the appearance of a very luxuri-
ant form of the English Sycamore Maple, Acer
Pseudo-platanus.

It is a native of the whole Pacific Coast, from
upper California to Frazer's River. It is said to
have been first described by Pursh, though Menzies

'^

3

^^-

m

m

^

r-^^i

ih^ hardener's Jlonthlg.

183

and the expedition of Lewis and Clark are said to
have also discovered it.

In its native country it is found in the alluvial soil
of river bottoms, and ranges from fifty to ninety feet
high.

It grows readily by layers of the strong summer
shoots, and there is no reason why it should not
soon become plenty and cheap.

jSrrajis anb <&uprips.

23= Communications for this department must reach tho Editor
on or before the 10th of the mouth.

23^'J^lie Editor cauuot answer letters for this department pri-
vately.

Drying Specimeks of Plants. — A ^'' Subscriber''^
says : "Please inform me through the Monthly^ which
are the best and most convenient magnifying-glasses
or microscopes to be used in botanical analysis, and
cost of same. Also if there is any cheap form of
press manufactured convenient for applying pressure
to drying specimens."

[A pocket lens, magnifying four or six times, is
commonly used for field examinations, costing from
one to three dollars, and may be obtained in all large
towns where optical instruments are sold.

As we are sure in these days of revival of botanical
studies there must be many besides a " subscriber,"
who are interested in the subject, we extract details
in full from Balfour's Manual, an English work :

"The Vasculum is a japanned tin box, which
should be of such a length as to receive a plant the
full size of the herbarium paper ; it ought to be con-
vex on both sides ; its
capacity may vary ac- i %»5

cording to the fancy A
of the collector, but
one about 20 inches
long, by 8 or 9 inches
wide, and 5 deep, will not be found too large ; it
should be furnished with a handle at one end, and a
couple of rings, through which a leather strap can
pass to attach it to the shoulders ; the lid should be
large and fasten with a little catch.

"The Trowel, or Digger, should be about 7 or 8
inches long ; the spud 2^ inches long, 2^ inches wide
at the top, narrowing gradually to 2
inches at the bottom. It should be pro-
vided with a leather sheath, fastened to
the waist by a strap, and the trowel also
attached by a long string.

'■'■The Field-book is. intended to press
such specimens as will not cany home
without undergoing injury. Its outer
cover may be formed of two very thin
boards, and secured by straps so as to

give pressure. It should
be inclosed in an oilskin
case to protect from wet ;
and may be carried in the
pocket, or attached to the
neck by a string.

' ' Drying Paper. — We
have found Benthall's pa-
per to be excellent for
this purpose, and always employ it. A sufficient
stock should be provided, so as to have one set of
papers drying whilst the rest are in use. A con-
venient size for general purposes is about 18 or 20
inches long, and 11 or 12 broad. It is as well, how-
ever, to be provided with more than one size.

"The Wooden Boards should be the exact size of the
paper; twelve should be three-eighths of an inch
thick, and two, which are to be employed on the
outside, three-fourths of an inch. Some prefer sheets
of tin to the use of boards on the inside, and they
are certainly lighter and more convenient for carry-
ing when on an excursion.

" The Collection should always be performed dur-
ing fine, dry weather, as plants never keep well when
collected wet with either rain or dew. When prac-
ticable the entire plant should be collected, and the
roots be carefully washed to remove any dirt that
may adhere to them, and then dried. In cases where
the entire plant is too large for collection, such por-
tions as best illustrate its generic and sjiecific charac-
ters should be gathered. In most cases it is is neces-
sary to have specimens of both flowers and fruit,
particularly in the orders Leguminospe, Umbelliferse,
Compositas, and others. In cases where the flowers
appear before the leaves, it will be necessary to pre-
serve the young twigs bearing the fully-developed
leaves as well as the flowers ; and when the sexes
exist in separate flowers, both male and female flow-
ers should be collected. When bulbs or tubers
abound in mucilaginous matter, it will be found ad-
vantageous to enclose them in a little paper, so as to
keep the drying paper free from dirt. In the collec-
tion of Ferns two fronds should be selected, — one
to exhibit the under surface with the re-productive
organs, and the other to show the upper surface ; a
portion of the rhizome should also be preserved.
Grasses and sedges are generally easy of preserva-
tion ; the entire plant should be collected, and when
it exceeds the length of the paper it may be bent and
rebent without injury. If on returning from an
excursion, circumstances do not admit of immediate
pressing, avoid putting the plants in water, they loill
keep much better in the vasculum; and should the
weather be dry and sultry, they may be sprinkled
with a small quantity of water. When portions of
shrubs or plants of woody texture are required to be

V* ^C:5^

preserved, the bark should be slit up and the woody
portion removed.

"The Pressing. — In reference to the best means of
effecting this branch of the process, the greatest
difference of opinion exists. The pressure however
ought not to be less than one hundred pounds, and
lieavy weights should be used to effect it. A
rope, tightened by a rack-pin, instead of leather
straps, attached to the boards used as a press when on
excursions, will be found very serviceable, as in case
of an accident the straps may be difficult of replace-
ment. Withering considers the pressure should be
gradual, and this accords with our own experience.
Some make use of a press, and obtain the requisite
degree of pressure by the employment of screws or
wedges ; others adopt the more simple contrivance of
a flat board and some books, which we have found to
answer very well. We have even heard of a gen-
tleman acting the part of a press himself, by re-
posing at night on the plants he had collected during
the day.

"In our opinion, one of the simplest and best
methods consists in the use of a box exactly the same
size as the paper and board employed ; the requisite
degree of pressure being obtained by the gradual ad-
dition of pebbles or sand, and of these we have
found the former to be the more convenient.

'■'■Arranging and Drying. — First place a parcel of
four sheets of the drying paper upon one of the two
thicker boards ; then take a sheet of the drying
paper and laj'^ it evenly upon it ; and having selected
a plant for preservation, place it on the inside of the
right-hand sheet, and arrange the different parts of
the plant so as to illustrate its principal generic and
specific characters, imitating as much as possible the
natural appearance of the plant ; as each part is ar-
ranged, retain it in its assigned position by means of
small pieces of paper about four inches square, upon
which a small weight may be placed. Having com-
pleted the arrangement of the plant, remove the
weights one by one, and allow the fly-sheet to cover
it ; upon this place another parcel of four sheets,
and proceed as before to lay out another plant.
When as many as a dozen plants have been arranged
in this manner, place one of the thin pieces of wood
or tin upon them, and proceed as before until a suf-
ficient number have been prepared for pressure ; now
place upon this one of the thick outer boards and
the box containing the pebbles, which should be
added to from time to time that the pressure may
be gradual. After twelve hours' pressure, remove
each plant with the forceps to dry paper, and pro-
ceed in exactly the same manner as before described,
taking care to open out all crumples and rectify
previous mistakes, arranging the plant as much as
practicable in imitation of nature. After intervals

of twelve hours, the same process should be repeated,
gradually increasing the pressure until the plants are
dry, which will generally be the case in a week or
ten days, but varies with different plants. Some
will dry with only one or two changings, whilst
others occupy a long time ; and some, as Orchids,
Sedums, and Sempervirum, are exceedingly diflScult
to dry at all. To accomplish the drying of these,
heat is generally employed ; and they are submitted
to a process of ironing with much success. Some
speak very highly of this mode of proceeding in
general, being of opinion that it preserves the
colors of the flowers better than the ordinary pro-
cess. From our own experience it seems highly
probable that different flowers require particular
temperatures to succeed well in preserving their
colors ; and the method of treatment peculiar to
each case is only to be acquired by practical experi-
ence. Some succeed in preserving the colors very
well by the use of heated sand.

Preservation. — When the specimens have been
sufliciently dried, they should be carefully transferred
with the forceps to a sheet of good thick white
paper, in which they may either be preserved loose,
or fastened to the right-hand sheet of the paper by
means of thread, glue, or gum. Of these we prefer
the former, as the two latter are apt to attract insects,
which will in a very short time completely destroy
an herbarium ; to guard against their attacks, it is
as well to brush the plants over with a spirituous
solution of bichloride of mercury, consisting of gij.
to the Oj. Some prefer keeping the plant loose in
the paper ; they are certainly easy of examination
under these circumstances. The botanical name,
natural order, habitat, and date of collection, to-
gether with any other note of interest, should be
written on the right-hand corner of the inner side
of the sheet."

To make the article complete, we subjoin the fol-
lowing from a recent number of Dr. Lindley's Oar-
dener''s Clironide :

" The specimens are first placed between sheets of
paper (any will do, Benthall's is bestj, until all their
moisture is expelled. In this process they lose their
color, but retain their structure, and often the form
of even delicate parts. When they are thin they
dry quickly in a room, but when fleshy they are dif-
ficult. This difficulty is much diminished by steep-
ing them for an hour in a strong solution of corro-
sive sublimate before they are first pressed. The
same process may be advantageously adopted with
all plants in damp weather, when it is difficult to
prevent specimens from rotting ; it will also destroy
the disposition to throw off their leaves, which
is uniformly shown by some plants, especially conifers
and heaths. The drying process by shifting plants

w

®h^ gardener's JilontMg.

185

'(¥

from sheet to sheet being tedious, a ventilating
apparatus, of which the following is a representation,

is now very commonly used. You may make it
yourself, with a couple of boards and a bundle of
laths ; and you can use a piece of rope instead of a
strap. At the time of drying, a plant should be
accompanied by a written label, stating its name,
when and where it was gathered, and any other par-
ticulars which are not discoverable by an examina-
tion of it. A collection of dried plants, if carefully
formed, perfectly kept, and correctly named, is in-
valuable to a student. The mode of keeping a her-
barium is this : having formed a collection of species
thoroughly dried, let them be washed with a large
camel-hair pencil, dipped in spirits-of-wine, half sat-
urated with corrosive sublimate, unless they had
been dipped in a solution of it previous to drying.
When parts are fleshy, or flowers are collected in
heads, such parts should be soaked with the tincture.
Having glued down as many specimens as may
be convenient, take them carefully out of the waste
paper, and look them over to see that none of the
parts are loose ; if they are, fasten them down with
the slips above-mentioned, which are so adhesive
that it is merely necessary to moisten and apply
them. In all cases, too, strap down the main stem,
unless it is covered with hairs, in which case straps
are superfluous. The next operation is to write
near the lower right-hand corner of the half-sheet
the name of the plant, and in some convenient spot
near the specimen itself the place in which it was
gathered, or any other particulars connected with it.
In small local herbaria printed forms or tickets are
sometimes used, in which the name and all other
particulars are included ; such tickets should be
pasted Cnot gluedj upon the lower right-hand corner.
The next point is to arrange the half-sheets in genera.
Sheets of stout brown paper, cut a little larger than
the half-sheets, must be provided as covers. At the
lower left-hand comer of each paste a slip of white
paper, and write upon it the name of the genus, to

which some add that of the natural order. Then
put into each generic cover all the half-sheets belong-
ing to it, and the operation is complete. The right-
hand tickets or names on the half-sheets give the
species, and the left-hand names on the whole sheets
give the genera ; and either can be rapidly referred to
without the one interfering with the other. To receive
the covers of genera, wooden cabinets are con-
structed, with shelves, on which the covers can be
placed according to their natural orders.

Advertisements— fiewj/ Kohly, Greenville, III.
writes:—' 'I feel called upon to give you the particulars
of a very unpleasant thing that happened to me with
one of your advertisers. I will state it as briefly as
possible and leave you to decide what is best to be done.
Induced by the cheapness of grape cuttings in the card
of J. B. Good, page 19 of the February number of the
Monthly, 1861, and besides, encouraged by his Essay
on the "Marion Port Grape," in the same issue,
where he kindly ofiered, free of charge, a few cut-
tings of the same to applicants, I concluded, from
the whole, that he was an honest man, and sent him,
the nth of February, $2 in bills, one on a Canadian
bank, requesting him to send me for the same, cut-
tings of five or six of the varieties quoted in the
same card at |3 per hundred, at the same time asking
for one of his catalogues, and prices of other articles
he might have for sale. Well, I waited for an
answer Cwhich you will find enclosed^— to the
last part, but without any allusion to the cuttings
nor to the money sent. At first I did not notice it,
and expecting every day to receive the parcel, I
wrote him a letter mailed the 11th of March, enclos-
ing one dollar again for 1 Delaware, 1 Franklin, and
a few Delaware cuttings in accordance with his card
on page 3, January issue, requesting him to send
them along with the first order if not already sent.
I waited long and had no answer, and nothing came.
Now, I thought something was wrong somewhere,
and wrote to him on the 28th of March for an ex-
planation—whether he had received the money or
not ; or whether, if he had received it (as I think he
did, since he received and answered my letter), he
intended to swindle me out of it, and requested an
immediate answer. To this again there was no
reply, though there has been time enough for it.
Now, Mr. Editor, I apply to you to see his answer
and handwriting; certainly you have some speci-
mens of his "genuine" in your possession. Com-
pare them. Has there been a forgery in the answer,
or is the man a swindler ? If such is the case, he
ought to be denounced to the readers of your valu-
able paper. One dupe is enough, without letting
others fall into the same snare. But then, as is the
case with me, it has a tendency to weaken our

^^

J3&>

186

S;ii^ ^arkittr's liciithlg.

Western liberality and confidence towards Eastern
nurserymen ; and for one swindler, many honest
and upright men will suffer from our want of con-
fidence.

By the way, I would just obserye to you, that our
esteemed friend, J. Smith, when talking of Highland
("twenty miles from here J) as of a "village," is rather
funny; for, as compared with the place where he and
I hail from f Greenville), though it is a county-seat
and incorporated as a town, might well be called a
hamlet. Highland being in wealth, population, com-
merce, industry, about thrice as much as Greenville,
and more enterprising, to boot. But I fear my letter
is too long already, so I conclude to stop now and
present you my respects and well wishes as the
editor of a very useful paper, to all interested gene-
rally and to me in particular.

You will notice the date of my first letter was
February 11th, 1861, based on his February's card;
and his answer to my letter says, "Yours of January
30th," — an impossible thing, as the card alluded to
did appear but in February's issue. This discord-
ance of dates might, pei'haps, lead to a clue, as I never
wrote him — in fact never noticed his name before
that time."

[The following is the letter referred to, and ac-
companying the above communication :

''York, Pa., February l&h, 1861.

Mr. H. Kohly: Dear Sir. — Yours of January
30th was duly received. My circulars are all sent
out, and I have no new ones printed yet, but the
prices of grape-vines as i^er notice in Gardener's
Monthly, are the lowest that I can furnish them at.
Yours truly, John B. Good."

"We have, as our readers know, hitherto declined
to interfere between advertisers and their customers,
principally because there are often faults on both sides,
or at least each party generally thinks the other in
fault, and it is impossible for a journal like ours,
without a knowledge of all the facts, to decide justly.
Moreover, we think that in dealing with a stranger
who advertises in any paper, it is not necessary to
lay aside the ordinary rules of caution that we
certainly should employ in dealing with any other
stranger whose sign we might see in a public street.
Under no circumstances is it prudent to send money
to a party with whose general reputation we are un-
acquainted. "While thus placing our advertising
columns on the freest basis, and denying the right of
complaint through the reading pages of our journal
when, disregarding proper caution, parties find them-
selves deceived, there is no reason why we should
continue to insert advertisements from jDarties who
do a general business on dishonest principles. It is
our duty thus far to protect our readers. "We have

received many letters from parties all over the "Union,
similar to this one, and we select it for publication
because it seems to tell a straight-forward story, and
to have just grounds for it. If Mr. Good has any
defence to make, brief and to the point, we shall do
him the justice to insert it. ]

Verbenas through "Winter — 8., Montmorenci
Falls. — Verbenas are the most coquettish of garden
flowers. "When in the right humor they will strike
roots into almost any soil with genuine affection ;
but many with yourself find them too often heart-
lessly unreliable. "We believe the best way to bring
them to terms is to layer a few into pots of rich soil
in June or July. About the first of August, cut
them off and cut doicn the layered plants so as to
make them send out a new young growth, which will
usually strike root well and make plants that will
keep over the winter without much difiiculty.

Hanging Baskets — J. 8., Neosha, Bodge Co., Wis.
writes: — "I am a new subscriber to your valuable
paper. I would like to know the process of raising
and managing plants and vines in baskets in a green-
house, as I would like to practice on them but do
not understand the mode of treatment. If you
would give me the process through the columns of the
Gardener's Monthly, you would oblige me very much,
and perhaps some others that are as verdant as I
am."

[Hanging baskets, when made of open work,
should first have a layer of moss, with the green-
face outermost, placed as a lining all around on the
inside of the basket, and any light, porous soil filled
inside, in which to set the plants.

The only peculiar after-treatment in a room or
greenhouse is not to keep them in any very dry,
sunny place, but yet in a spot where they will have
all the light possible. They will generally require a
daily syringing, and about once a week should be
taken down, and for a few minutes entirely im-
mersed in water. Insects are troublesome at times,
and soon disfigure basket plants, especially the
minute red spider ; these should be looked after on
their first appearance and destroyed at once. ]

The "Weather and the Crops. — "We owe our
thanks to many friends who have kept us posted on
the state of the crops ; but as most of these generally
favorable notes were before May 1st and 2d, we pre-
sume the frost of those dates will tell a different tale
in most localities. Here, strawberry, cherry and all
fruit blossoms which expanded were totally destroyed.

f^Js

Nomenclature of Fruits. — A respected corres-
pondent writes, inquiring whether the Oardener^s
Monthly does not commit the same fiiult it objects
to in "works of standard authority," namely,
"admitting descriptions of fruits from irresponsible
sources" into its pages; and refers to our notice of
the Missouri Janet, at page 143, where the source is
not named, as an illustration.

Tlie aims of a newspaper or magazine are different
from those of such a work as we had reference to.
It is the duty of a journal to give its readers every
bit of "rumor," "gossip," "stray waifs," or items
that may possibly have an influence on horticulture.
An opportunity is then afforded to "compare notes,"
and in a few weeks the exact facts can be ascertained
and corrections made if necessary. But in such a
work of "standard authority" as we think pomology
ought to possess, if it now has not, nothing doubt-
ful should be admitted. Its duties should commence
where those of a magazine end. Certainly, if we
were editing a work on fruits, two-thirds of what we
think perfectly right to publish in the Gardener'' s
Monthly would be excluded from its pages. It
should be emphatically a work of reference, not a
mere receptacle for stray news.

Our friend sa3's, "while writing, I make the sug-
gestion, though not for publication;" but as others
may entertain the same idea as he has, it is but right
that we make allusion to it.

Since writing the above, we have received a note
fi-om Mr. Downer, inquiring whether our regret that
"descriptions from irresponsible sources should be
admitted into works of standard authority," was
intended for him. We never write by inuendocs,
and mean only what we say. Mr. Downer has no
cause of complaint, or we do not understand the
object of a descriptive book of fruits. A party may
be perfectly competent to describe a fruit, and his
honesty and credit in the matter of its being a seed-
ling, and, in his opinion, a distinct fruit, be of the
highest standing ; but that it is certainly distinct
from all others, and distinct enough to be embraced
in a standard work of reference on fruits, should,
we think, rest, in a great degree — some little at all
events — on the "responsibility" of the author, and
we consider all other parties "irresponsible."

The mere fact of a reference to the authority from
whence a description is taken, does not remove the
responsibility, unless we are to understand the writer
to be a mere "compiler" of the opinions of others,
and not the "author" of an original work. The
works we allude to are not viewed as "compila-
tions." At any rate, nine-tenths of the community
receive a fact as such in "Fruits of America," not
"because it was contributed by Mr. Downer," or
any other party, but "because it is in Downing."

This is as it should be, and it is with the best in-
tentions of adding weight to such excellent authority
that we have thought it our duty to suggest to
pomological authors, that the public look to them for
a reasonable amount of responsibility, and veiy
little to their contributors, however excellent they
may be.

Grape Trellis — 5. F. B., Cleveland, 0. —
"Being one of your subscribers, I take the liberty to
ask whether it is necessary, when a grape vine is
planted against a house, to have the trellis some
inches from it? Is six inches enough, or how
much?"

[Grape vines seem to thrive best when they are
growing between the wall and the trelhs ; but they
are seldom trained this way, as it is so often desir-
able to take the whole vine down from the trellis for
various purposes, and the rule is to grow them on
the outside ; in which case, the trellis may be as close
to the wall as convenient, to tie the shoots to.]

Gazania splekdens— p. W. P.— Is the Gazania
splendens half hardy ? Can ajiy out-of-door pro-
tection keep it through the winter ?

[The least frost destroys it, but it does not require
much heat above freezing point to keep it through
the winter.]

l:^SECTS— J.H.,3fadison,To2ca.— Your insects from
an apple tree were crushed to a paste when they
reached us. Insects should never be sent loose in
a letter, hut be enclosed in a pill-box.

Grapes — Wm. Young, Hookstoim. — Will you
please to tell me, through your valuable journal,
what causes those specks on my grape-vine leaves ?
They done exceedingly well last year. They are
four years old,— bore a few bunches last year.

[There is no trace of disease in your grape leaves.
The spots must originate from some external cause,
probably a hot burst of sun on a too dry atmosphere.
Keep the syringe going amongst them frequently. ]

Wine from the Hammondsport CN. Y.) Wine
Company. — F)^om Mr. Weber, the manager of this
prosperous concern, we have received a case of their
"Isabella," which, though only one year old, our
friends, who are good judges, pronounce excellent.
At many fairs, horticultural meetings, and other as-
semblages of parties interested in wine manufacture,
this season, we have been honored as an outside
member of many "tasting" committees, with oppor-
tunities of judging the state of the "latest offerings,"
which, to our taste, have so varied between vinegar,
cider and the fashionable summer syrups, that we
were getting "out of conceit" of the abihty of

;j —

188

®|i{ ^artoiJr's lilontljlj.

Eastern manufacturers to cope with Western wine.
But Mr. Weber's superior samples of the genuine
article warms up our faith again.

Grape Houses— TFi T. H., Lexington, Ky. — We
will give an answer in detail to your inquiries next
month. They got in our wrong drawer, and we
did not observe them till the last moment.

Plants — A. B. K., Boxbury, Mass.-
zebrina.

-Tradescantia

er? f

Apples from Bucks County, Pa. — Last De-
cember we received from Mr. Wilson Dennis, of
Applebackville, a set of apples little known in other
sections of the country, but which Mr. Dennis ad-
vises us are very popular in that district. The fol-
lowing notes were made of them at the time :

Winter Maideii's Blush. — Fruit, medium, oblong-
conic, angular ; skin, yellow, covered with large dis-
tinct carmine dots ; stem, short (\\tAi an inch J) ;
cavity, narrow, deep, irregular, and colored with
carmine ; calyx, closed ; basin, shallow ; flesh,
white, crisp, tender, juicy, sub-acid, "very good;''
seed, large, brown, flat ; core, large. This variety
was the best of the lot, but ' ' not of the apple family. ' '

Water. — Fruit, medium, conical, irregular; skin,
smooth, greenish-yellow, covered with deep blush ;
stem, short (\\&\i an inclij, very slender, inserted in
a deep, regular russetted cavity ; calyx, nearly closed
in a shallow basin ; core, small ; seed, small, plump
and dark; flesh, white, tender, crisp, sub-acid, "very
good." This we have described before.

Stackyard. — Very like Rambo, but not as good.
Fruit, medium, oblate ; skin, greenish-yellow, cov-
ered and marbled with yellow and red, and speckled
with small spots and patches of russet ; stalk, three-
fourths of an inch in a deep, regular cavity ; calyx,
pai'tly closed in a wide, deep, irregular basin ; flesh,
white, crisp, tender and juicy ; seed and core, small ;
"very good."

Wine Apple. — Not our Hays's, sometimes called
Wine. Fruit, large, oblate-conic ; skin, yellowish-
green, marked with streaks of pale red and blotches
of russet ; stem, long ("one inchj in a deep, wide,
russetted cavity; calyx, closed in a wide, shallow
basin ; core, large ; seed, small and black.

JIM OF liar? f^leKfH<

New Japan Trees.— Mr. Veitch, of London, as
our readers know, started some time ago for Japan,
where he is now collecting for the English gardens.
The London Gardener'' s Chronicle describes the fol-
lowing novelties from specimens Mr. Vietch has
sent home :

SciADOPiTYS verticillata. Zuccariiii. Kanagawa.
Tree, 120 to 140 feet. Habit, pyramidal, distinct
and fine. J. G. V.

This is, perhaps, the most remarkable coniferous
plant yet described. It is erroneously described by
Siebold as a mere bush, twelve to fifteen feet high.
It has stout whorled, yellowish-green leaves, resem-
bling that of an ordinary cedar, related to Welling-
tonia as this is. Its name is derived from two
Greek words signifying a parasol and a fir tree ; its
spreading whorled leaves looking like the ribs of a
tiny parasol. Judging from Mr. Veitch' s specimens,
it must be a plant of extraordinary beauty.

It assumes a pyramidal habit, and retains the same
form when a tree of one hundred to one hundred
and thirty feet, clothed to the bottom with branches.
This tree is certain to be appreciated at home, and
will, doubtless, prove hardy in Great Britain.

Abies microsperma. Lindlcy. — Leaves, ten lines
long, three-quarters of an inch wide ; cones, two
and a quarter inches long, pale cinnamon color, two
and a half inches round ; seeds, pale cinnamon, one
hue ; wing, two inches long, nearly ovate, and
occasionally notched. Hakodadi. Tree, 40 to 50
feet high ; under side of the foliage very glaucous.
Its foliage resembles spruce in point of color, but
the leaves are as long as Picea amabilis, and per-
fectly silvered underneath.

A beautiful thing, ciuite unlike any other spruce,
with slender, delicately-toothed cones, as broad at
one end as the other, and the smallest seeds of the
genus.

Abies Tsuga. Zuccarini. Mount Fusi Yama.
—Tree, 100 feet. Trees are much used by the Ja-
panese. 6000 feet. J. G. V.

A kind of Hemlock spruce, much like that plant,
and growing twenty -five feet high. Its wood is
described as excellent, yellowish-brown, and em-
ployed for the manufacture of various small ware
articles.

This species was also found at an elevation of
6000 feet, growing just below the larch, and in com-
pany with the oak, lime, beech, &c.

ik

""SKT

still! ^ardciwr's Jtlonthtg.

189

If

Abies Veitchii. Lindley. — Leaves, varying in
length six to twelve lines, three-quarters of a line
broad; cones, two and a quarter to two and three-
quarters inches in circumference ; seeds, testaceous,
two lines long ; wing, blackish, two hnes long, with
a A'ery narrow curved crest at the base of the wing.

Mount Fusi Yama. Tree, 120 to 140 feet high,
between A. nobilis and A. Nordmaniana. J. G. V.

This most remarkable species looks like a small-
coned Silver Fir, and is wholly ditferent from any
thing previously described. It is named after Mr.
J. G. Yeitch, whose great merit, as a very energetic
explorer of the vegetation of Japan, it gracefully
records. As to the pine called by the same name by
Mr. Roezel, whether or not it is the same as P. Bo-
napartea, as the Avriter of the Pinetum surmises, is
unimportant, since names so published can have no
place in systematical botany.

Abies Alcoquiana. J. O. VeitcJiinUtt. — Leaves,
six inches long, half an inch wide ; cones, rather
more than two inches long, four inches in circumfer-
ence ; seeds, cinnamon-colored, two lines ; ring, four
hnes long.

Mount Fusi Yama. Tree 100 to 120 feet. Wood
used for light house-work. 6000 to 7000 feet.

A noble Spruce Fir, in some respects resembling
the Abies polita of Zuccanni, from which it differs
in having much smaller cones, with scales of a dif-
feient form, very small, leaves glaucous on the under
side, blunt or emargiuate, not mucronate, and flat,
not four-sided.

Abies leptolepis? Zuccarini. Mount Fusi
Yama. Tree, 40 feet. The tree which grows at
the highest elevation on the mountain, 8500 feet.
J. G. V.

Thujiopsis dolabeata. Zuccarini. — Hakodadi.
Tree, 40 to 50 feet. Habit, drooping ; prefers shady
places. J. G. V.

A very few plants of this glorious evergreen tree
have already been raised in Europe from cuttings
taken from one or two imported specimens ; and
now we shall have seedlings, Mr. Yeitch having been
so fortunate as to meet with the tree just when the
cones were ripened. The tree looks like a huge
arborvitse, .with magnified leaves of a black-green
color, glaucous beneath. The w^ood is excellent,
the aspect of the plant superb.

All who have seen the beautiful Thujiopsis borealis
can appreciate the above description, though the T.
dolabrata is still more beautiful. That it will prove
hardy there can be little doubt ; and if so, what a
treasure to our gardens. Mr. Yeitch says it appears
to prefer shady situations, the foliage being more

luxuriant than when exposed to the sun. It grows
where snow covers the ground for five months to-
gether, and where the thermometer is often below
zero. At Messima, on the route to Mount Fusi
Yama, the woods were composed of this Thujiopsis,
which were among the finest trees.

Torreya nucifera. Zuccarini. — Kanagawa.
Tree, 20 feet ; foliage, sharp. J. G. V.

The specimens sent home are identical with those
in Lindley' s herbarium from Zuccarini himself.

Cephalotaxus drapacea. Siebold. — Kanagawa.
Tree, 20 to 30 feet. J. G. Y.

Mr. Yeitch' s specimens are very much more
glaucous on the under side of the leaves than the
plants now in cultivation.

Juniperus rigida. Siebold. — Atame. Tree, 12
to 15 feet. J. G. Y.

The specimens sent home have the leaves very
narrow, exactly like the figure in the Flora japonica.

Fnrp,

The Cai.ifornian Mammoth Trees again. —
In a recent number, we gave sketches of two of the
most remarkable of the Sequoias or Wellingtonia

J& — -**
190

m^t §nn\tmx'^ S^mxMi

gigantea. In a recent file of California papers we
find the following notice :

"The ' Miner's Cabin,' the name of one of the big
trees of Calaveras, was blown down in the gale of
Friday, the 16th inst. It was one of the largest of
the group, being some thirty feet in diameter, or
about ninety feet in circumference. Its age is sup-
posed to be three thousand years."

Having a sketch of this particular tree by us, we
cannot resist the temptation of giving it to our
readers, as with our views of the influence of agri-
cultural and human improvement, we do not expect
our posterity will see such large trees of these plants
as the present favored race does ; and they may turn
to back files of the Gardener's Montlily Avith great
interest for preserving for them these "shadows of
great names." The measurement taken with our cut
was 80 feet in c'rcumference.

Though a fue specimen, the "Miner's Cabin"
was not as laige or striking as the "Pioneer's" cabin
within a short distance of it. This has been broken
off some years ago, at about one hundred and fifty
feet from the ground, and is supposed to have been
alove 800 feet high!

It is gratifying to state that it appears likely to be
entirely hardy here. We have seen specimens out
and slightly injured during 1859 and '60, quite un-
injured in 1860 and ^1, though plants set out last
year suffered terribly. They should be protected
with branches the first season of setting out.

The JtjNE-BERirr as a stock for dwarfing
Pears.— Mr. Huidekoper says, in the Horticulturist,
that pears grafted on this stock [the Amelanchicr
Botryapium, also called in our markets the Indian
Cherry] are free from " blight."

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL

SOCIETY.

Official Report.

APRIL 16.

Tlie regular monthly meeting and display of Fruits, Flowers
and Vegetables was held on the evening of the 16th of April at
Concert Hall. Mr. Caleb Cope presiding.

The following premiums were awarded :

FOR FRUITS.

- To John Chambers, Mt. Holly, N. J., for Easter Beurre Pears, in
excellent condition and of fine flavor, a Special Premium of $2.

To Wm. Joyce, gardener to M. W. Baldwin, for a dish of fine
Bananas, a Special Premium of $1.

FOR PLANTS AND FLOWERS.

To Robert Buist, for the best collection of ten plants, $3.

" " for the second best collection of six plants, $1.

" " a Special Premium for a magnificent collection

of new plants, exhibited for the first time, $ i.
To Wm. Joyce, gardener to M. W. Baldwin, for the best collec-
tion of six plants, $2.
" " for the best Specimen Plant, $2.

" " for the best Dwarf Azalea, $1.

To Adam Graham, gardener to Gen. Patterson, for second best
Specimen Plant, $1.
To Henry A. Dreer, for best 12 varieties of Roses, $2.
" " " for best ten Pansies, $1.

To Thos. Meehan, for New Plants shown for the first time, a Spe-
cial Premium of $2.

To Geo. Penn, gardener to Jos. H. Hildeburn, for six plants, a
Special Premium of $1.

FOR VEGETABLES.

To Thomas Meehan, for best brace of Cucumbers, $1.
" " for best twelve stalks of Rhubarb, $1.

" " for best six bunches of Radishes. $1.

To John Cook, gardener to Rev. J. M. Richards, for a fine dish
of Fejee Tomatoes, a Special Premium of $1.

\mongthe new rare and valuable plants exhibited were the fol-
lowing, from the collection of Mr. Buist :— Tupidauthus calyptralus
(I splendid specimen), Centanna gyranocarpa, Campylobotris re-
.,Hlis,CaladiumsHoulletii:Newmauii and Belleymii,Salix tricolor,
Khus succedaneum or Japan Wax Plant. Oillet Malmaisou or Tree
Carnation, Dickema antarctica, Cereus Kingii (a new seedling),
nd Gesneria Miellezii.

Mr. Meehan exhibited, for the first time, Dianthus Ileddewigii,
"^ ilauura laciniatum, Silena rubella alba, and the new Azalea
Barnaid Andras.

\ beautiful show of Camellias, by Mr. Mackenzie, attracted
much attention, as well as a choice specimen of the new and rare
Gi/rtuia splendeus, who.se petals open only in the daytime and
with the sun. This is said to be a fine bedding plant.

The collection of Azaleas exhibited by Wm. Joyce attracted the
ittention of all for their beautiful training and rich and profuse
bloom.

Mr. Dreer's group of Roses comprised some of the choicest and
latest acquisitions.

Mr. Dreer had also a fine show of Pansies of large size and varied
colors.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society held its regular monthly
meeting Tuesday evening, May 21, at Concert Hall. The attend-
ance both of members and visitors was quite numerous; a larger
number of ladies were present than usual, and the fine display of
plants attracted marked attention.

The large and noble collection of fifty plants from the conserva-
tory of D. Rodney King, Esq., including the best show ever made
before the Society of ornamental foliage plants, was a distin-
guished feature of the evening; they were all well grown and in
high health. Among the novelties were the Cyanophyllum mag-
nificum and Heliotropium variegatum.

P. Mackenzie & Son contributed a very extensive and beautiful
assortment of Azaleas, Fuchsias, and other choice plants in full
bloom, including the following new plants: Linum candidissimum,
Maranta Porteana, Gazania splendens, Verbenas Electra and Sal-
ladin, and several other interesting novelties.

Mr. Robert Buist, in addition to a fine display of French spot-
ted and fancy Pelargoniums, and a magnificent specimen of the
new Pteris argyrasa, with fronds nearly five feet in length, exhib-

W^

— C

B\^ ^ardmr's Jilontlilg.

191

ited some new and very rare plants for the first time, among
wliich were Acer neguudo fol. Yariegatis, Dielytra eximia, Bellis
aucubaefolia and Diacccna umbraculifoi;o.

Mr. Thomas Jleehau contributed a fine collection of Donble
Zinnias ; also Spirea crinita and Caprifolium Magnevillea;, a very
early sweet Honeysuckle — all new plants; also a choice and
beautiful show of cut specimen shrubs.

The following contributions also graced the Society's tables:

From William Joyce, gardener to M. W. Baldwin, Esq., a col-
lection of foliage plants, Cauliflowers and Asparagus.

From A. Felten, gardener to Henry Duhring, Esq., fine Rhu-
barb, Cabbage, Cauliflo\ver.s, Potatoes, Cucumbers and Beets.

From R. G. Swift, Victoria and Hohsons Seedling Rhubarb.

From John Cook, gardener to Rev. J. M. Ricliards. Calceolarias,
Grapes in Pots, Strawberries, Asparagus and .specimen plants.

From Thomas Meghran. Cucumbers.

From A. W. Harrison, Sir Charles Napier Strawberry.

Premiums were awarded as follows:

To Robert Buist, for best pair of specimen plants, 52; to do. for
collection of new plauts, $2; to do. for Pelargoniums, $1.

To P. Slackenzie & Son, for plants in bloom, $2; to do. for new
plants, a special premium of ^1 ; to do. for specimen Azalea, $1.

To Thomas Meehau, for cut specimens of hardy shrubs, $1 ; to
do. for new plants, a special premium of $1.

To John Cook, for second best pair of specimen plants, $1 ; to
do. for best six Calceolarias, $1. ; to do. for best three buuches of
Grapes, $1; to do. for Forced Strawberries, $1; to do. for Grapes in
Pots, $1.

To William Joyce, for best six specimen plants, $2 ; to do. for
best specimen plants, $2; to do. for best Asparagus, $1.

To A. Felton, for best Rhubarb, $1 ; for best Beets $1 ; for best
Cabbage, ?1 ; for best Potatoes, SI.

To Thomas Meghran, for best Cucumbers, a special premium
of $1.

The Committee on obtaining a new room made a report, action
upon which was deferred till next meeting.

A very interosting and instructive report, from a Special Cora-
T^ittee, Messrs. Mitchell, James and Saunders, on the rise, progress
and present condition of the Society, made in answer to a letter of
inquiry from the Patent Office, was read and adopted. It proves
this to be the oldest Horticultural Society in America.

Prof. J. Ennis and Adam Graham were elected members.

^[We subjoin a list of the 50 varieties of foliage plants in Mr.
King's display, for the information of those who wish to add some
of these desirable plants to their collections. They are all very
beautiful:]

Sonerila margaritacea.

" " superba.

Echites nutans.
Acorns variegata.
Dracoena nobilis.

" ferra.

" versicolor.
Begonia Tictoria.

" Rollisonia.
Caladium hsematostygma.

" bicolor.

" " picturatum.

" pictum.

" Chantini.

" marmoratum.
Heliconia discolor.
Solanum atropurpureum.

" jasminoides variegatnm,
Croton pictum.

latifolia.
A.spidi.stra elatior foliis variegatis.
Hoya variegata.
Bilbergia acaulis zebrina.
Cypripedinm venustum.
Acorus calamus variegatus.
Cyanophyllum magniticum.

Graptophyllum pictum.
Desmodium gyi-ans.
Pteris argyroea.
Aphelandra squarrosa citrina.
Bertolonia marmorea.

" maculata.

Gesnera spleudidissima.
Maranta fasciata.

" Porteana.

" bicolor.

" pulchella.

" vittata.

" micans.

" regalis.

" alba lineata.
Tradescantia discolor lineata.
Farfugium grande.
Boehmeria argentea.
Dietl'enbachia seguina picta.
Pothos argyra;a.
Erauthomum leuconervum.
Yucca aloefulia variegata.
Sansevieria Guyanensis.
Coleus Blumeii.
Heliotropium variegatnm.

BROOKLYN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

List of premiums as awarded by the judges at the Spring Exhi-
bition held in the Academy of Music, April 17th, IStil:

ChlUction of Plants— \^i Prize, Louis Menand, ijlo.

" " 2d Prize, George Hamlyn, $10.

Collection of Ferns— \st Prize, Louis Menand, *6.

" 2d Prize, Phillip Zeh, $4.

Collection of Cacti— 1st Prize, Louis Menand. $.3.
Collection of Verbeiias-lst Prize, Poynter & Foddy, $3.
For S PUints, Stove— UlVnia, George Hamlyn. *10.

" " 2d Prize. Louis Menand, $6.

For 4 Plantu, Stove— Ut Prize, Robert Murray, $6.

" 2d Prize, Louis Menand, $4.

^SlJ~

For 2 Plants, Stove — 1st Prize, Louis Menand, f 4.
" " 2d Prize, Robert Murray, $3.

For Single Specimen do — 1st Prize, Geo. Hamlyn, $3.
" " 2d Prize, Louis Jlenand, ^2.

For 6 Variegated Plants — Ist Prize, Louis Menand, $5.

" " Ist Prize, George Hamlyn, $3.

Sitigle Variegated Plants — 1st Prize, Louis Menand, .S3.

" " 2d Prize, George Hamlyn, $2.

For 6 Azaleas — 1st Prize, Robert Murray, $8.

" " 2d Prize, Thomas Templeton, $5.

For 3 Azaleas — 1st Prize, George Hamlyn, $ j.

" " 2d Prize, Louis Menand, $3.
Single Azaleas — Ist Prize, Hamlyn, $3.

" " 2d Prize, J. W. De Orauw, $2.

For 4 Ericas — 1st Prize, Louis Menand, $6.
" " 2d Prize, George Hamlyu, $4.
For 2 Ericas — 1st Prize George Hamlyn, $2.

" " 2d Prize, Louis Meuaud, $4.

Single Erica — 1st Prize, Louis Menand, $3.

" " 2d Prize, George Hamlyn, $2.

Fur 3 Scarlet Pelargoniums — 1st Prize, Thomas Templeton, $3.
Fur 8 Roses — 1st Prize, Poynter & Foddy, $6.

>' " 2d Prize, James Wier, $4.
For 6 Roses— 1st Prize, Poynter & Foddy, $4.
For TroiMolum — 2d Prize, Robert Murray, $2.

" " 2d Prize, John Eagan, Long Island, $2.

For 3 Ftchsias—\st Prize, Philip Zeh, $3.

" " 2d Prize, Henry Tanner, $2.

Best Doitble Chinese Primrose — Louis Menand, $1.
For best Stockjelly, ■>nhite — John Eagan, $1.
" " colored — John Woods, $1.

For \ Monthly Carnations — 1st Prize, Dailledowze & Zeller, $3.
Collection of Cut Flowers — 1st Prize, John Humphreys, $4,
For 6 Camellias — Ist Prize, John Humphreys, $3.
For 12 Roses — 1st Prize, Poynter & Fuddy, $2.

" " 2d Prize, M. Donadi, $1.
For 12 Pansies — 1st Prize. M. Donadi, $1.
Parlor Boxtqud — James Wier, jr., $4.
Hand Bouquet — 1st Prize, Johu Humphreys, $3.

2d Prize H. Hudson, $2.
Basket of Flowers — 1st Prize, James Wier, $4.
" " 2d Prize, John Humphreys, $3.

" " 3d Prize, Philip Zeh, $2.

For 6 Lettiicc — 1st Prize, Jonathan Saul, $1.
For 6 Rhidiarb — 1st Prize, Thomas Prosser, jr., $1.
For 25 Radishes — 1st Prize, Thomas Prosser, jr., $1.
Best Labeling — Louis Menand, $2.

The following are the names of some of the principal plants
exhibited :

George Hamlyn, gardener to W. C. Langley, Esq., Bay Ridge,
of all the new variegated and ornamental foliage plants, such as
Pavetta Borbonica, Maranta, o of the newest Caladiums, 8 varie-
gated Begonias, Sonerila margaritacea, Erionema marmora, Dra-
cccna nobilis and terminalis, Tradescantia, Rhopala, Crowtos
Dielfenbachia Variegata, New Pelargonium, large plant of Choro-
zema, Musenda frondosa, very singular and rare, choice collection
of Erica or Heaths, also Azaleas.

Robert Murray, gardener to James Patrick, Esq., State Street, 6
choice Azalea.s, 1 Tropeoium tricolor,Basket Cut Flowers, Chorozenia
Henchmanii, Erieostemon intermedia, Boronia tetrandra, Lechen-
aultea formosa.

Thomas Templeton, gardener to E.state of Alfred Large, Brooklyn,
6 choice Azaleas, 6 Pelargoniums, 4 Cineraria, 1 Tree Mignionette,
in flower, 2 large Geraniums, 1 standard Geranium.

Philip Zeh, gardener to A. A. Low, Esq., Brooklyn Heights,
splendid collection of Ferns and Lycopodiums, 6 standard Fuch-
sias, 4 Gloxinias, Basket Flowers.

John Eagan, gardener to J. Roch, Esq., Staten Island, Stocks
and Tropeoium tricolor.

George Stein, gardener to John T. Martin, Esq., Brooklyn, choice
plant of Azaleas, &c.

Henry Tanner, gardener to Hon. A. S. Stranahan, Brooklyn, col-
lection of Cineraria and Fuchsias, String Beans and Lettuce, very
fine.

President J. De W. Grauw, some choice Azaleas and Miscella-
neous Plants.

B. C. Townsend, Esq., Bay Ridge, 6 new variegated Caladiums,
rare.

John Woods, Esq, Washington Heights, splendid plant of
Stocks.

Louis Menand, Albany, N. Y., largest and best collection of rare
and variegated leaved plants, cousisting of the Fan Palm, Ma-
rantas, Dlacoeuas, Begonias, Crotons, New Golden Arborvitje,
variegated Yucca and Daisy Ferns of the Golden, Silver and Tree
varieties.

Also, the new and rare Tricolor Fern, Sago Palm, collection of
each, Erica, Pimelia, Aphelexis.

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I?

John Humphreys, corner of DeKalb and Washington Avenues,
Wellin«tonia gigantea, or Mammoth Pine of California, 2 Gol-
den Arborvit«^his and the Pine are hardy; Aucuba Japomca,
varie ated Holly, very beautiful; variegated ^''ttosporum Dra-
cena -spectabilis, 2 new seedling Camellias, very fine 6 cut Ca-
mellias, 6 choice Azaleas, variegated Fuchsia, «eS;;" •^^. 8 iiew
Fuchsias, 1 American Pitcher Plant in flower, 1 new Pelargonmm
1 India Rubber Tree, 2 Wardian Cases, or P^'"', ^Tpn^ Flowers
basket of Cut Flowers, 2 Hand Bouquets, stand of Cut Floweis,
stand of Pansies.

Poynter & Foddy, Smith Street, 20 choice Verbenas, very fine;
14 choice Roses, splendid.

Dailledowze, & Zeller, Myrtle Avenue, corner of Yate9,-4 new
Monthly Carnations, extra fine; 20 choice ^o- do- beautifu .- all
new imported seedlings;) 12 Auriculas, double White Wisteria,
very scarce and rare; 4 Clematis, Cut Roses and Pansies.

James Wier, Bay Ridge— S choice Roses, Basket Cut Flowers, 1
Table Bouquet.

Harry Hudson, Congress Street— 2 Hand Bouquets.

John Friend, Fulton Street— Callas, Roses and Verbenas.

D. Saul, Booklyn— Collection of Rhubarb, Lettuce and Radishes.

Thomas' Prosser, Jr., Bedford— Collection of Rhubarb and Water
Cresses.

0. Eberhardt, 213 Grand Street, New York- New Style of
Flower Pots, Hanging Baskets, Fern and Wardian Cases, Bouquet
Stands, all made of zinc by a patent process, and beautifully orna-
mented like china.

W. V. Bloom, 364 Atlantic Street, Brooklyn— Forcing Glasses,
with ventilators.

Persons not familiar with plants and flowers, have no idea of
their variety and beauty, except by visiting .such a collection of
the choicest and rarest kinds as are here brought together, and
there is no Society more worthy of encouragement than this, with
its softening and refining influences on the public taste.

CINCINNATI HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

APRIL 13.

At this meeting the subject of discussion was Roses.

Mr. Wm. Heaver read the following paper:

THE ROSE AND ITS CULTIVATION.

Of all the flowers in the garden, none excel, in universal admira-
tion, the rose. Ages ago regal honors were bestowed on her, and
the title of Queen of Flowers universally accorded o this lovely
ornament of our gardens, and this, long before sucU truly royal
flowers as La Reine.Geaut des Battailes.or the tenderly expressive
Souvenir de la Malmaison, had challenged the admiration of all
lovers of Nature's most beauteous works.

If in the earlier ages of floral gardening, the beauties of our
favorite should have called forth such rapturous expressions of
deli-ht aud admiration, what wonder that in our day, when by
the art and skill of the florist, those beauties have not only been
so greatly enhanced, but the reason for enjoying hose beauties
so much extended, that, instead of being restricted to a few short
weeks of the earlV summer, we have now the pleasure of their
b^ut fu p.esence'^more than half the year What wonder, we
say, tlien, that this universal favorite still retains her proud title
of Queen of Flowers ?

Instead of being confined in our admiration or dividend in our
preference^, by the White Rose of York, or the Red Rose of Lancas-
[er we may g.-atify our tastes in the selection ot every shade of
oolor from the purest white to the darkest purple through the lu-
te mediate tints of Blue, Pink, Pale Rose, Deep Rose Rosy Crim-
son Purplish Crimson, to Deep Purple ; and from Golden Yellow,
through all the intermediate shades of Apricot, Fawn, Butf, Creamy
White, to spotless Purity itself. . ,, i. *• ■

To enable my fellow-members to enjoy those beauties in per-
fection is the object of the present communication.
PREPARING THE SOIL.

The character of the soil is one of the most important particulars
for the Set growth of plant and full development of flower
Decomposed tuffy loam, mixed with one-fourth part old rotted
.staW™ manure, with a small portion of sharp sand, is the best
compost for Roses.

When designed to be planted in beds, (which is decidedly the
best way of having them in perfection,) the subsoil, i clay should
be trenched to the depth of twenty or twenty-four inches of which
the lower six inches should be thrown out, and the compost of
turfy loam aud manurebe incorporated into the surface .soil of the
bed Should the lower strata be of a very tenacious character,
and' retentive of water, some drainage of brickbats, broken rock
or brushwood to the depth of four or five inches, should be placed

at the bottom, and a drain to lead off the water, and thus prevent
the ill effects resulting from stagnant water or excessive moisture
at the roots. . . ., ^i.

The fall is the best time for performing this work, and if the
roses are to be transplanted from the ground, it is the best season
for planting, but if the work of preparing the bud has been left till
spring, and the intention is to plant out such as have been grown in
pots, it should be done as early in the spring as possible, after the
dangers from killing frosts has passed. In our climate it is a mat-
ter of much importance for the future welfare and the vigorous
growth of the plants, that planting should be done before the great
heat aud drought of summer sets in. , . ^ ,

In planting, care should be taken not to set the plants too deep
in the ground ; much injury to the plants and disappointment fre-
quently results from this cause.

In planting in beds, they should be set from two to four feet
apart, varying according to the habit and character of the variety,
the stronger and more rampant growers requiring the most room.

On some future occasion I may present you information with
regard to summer management, pruning, winter protection for the
more tender kinds, also the best modes of massing and grouping,
with descriptive lists of the best varieties, their habits, <sc.

Respectfully submitted,

Wm. Heaver.

Ordered to be entered upon the minutes.

REPORT OF FRUIT COMMITTEE.

From Dr H. J. Bower, Moore's Hill, Ind.— Apples for name-
Committee call this apple the Bower's Seedling, an excellent long-
keeping apple, equal and much resembling Newtown Pippin.

Fianien Ball's Seedling; a small, sweet apple, not worthy of cul-
tivation. „„,,,, o • <- IJ

By Geo L Frankenstein, from C. Cadwallader, near Springfield,
Ohio— apple for name: pronounced the Michsel Henry Pippin.

By A. A. MuUett, from Jos Cooper— apples for name ; probably
seedlings— not worthy of cultivation.

J. E. MorTiEK, I aommittee.

S. MOSHER.

Report of Flower Committee laid over.

PHILADELPHIA PROGRESSIVE GAR-
DENER'S SOCIETY.

A correspondent sends us a note, from which we extract the fol-

" You have given offence to several members of the Progressive
Ganlf-ner's Society, Philadelphia, by publishing in this month's
number, that William Sa,undei8 is President, aud R. R. Scott, Sec-
retary Not so. John Pollock is President, and W. Saunders is
Secretary, James Eadie is Vice President. You should acknowledge
the error, and make the correction in your June number."

To which we have to reply that though our experience with this
journal has taught us particularly the art of otfeuding, it is much
easier of accomplishment than we ever supposed, judging by this
specimen For a whole year past we have had it standing thai Mr.
.'faunders was President, and Mr. Scott was Secretary. If it was
not the fact, or if the otticers have been changed since, notification
thereof has never reached this oflice. The members of this society
know that we have offered them the use of our columns to advance
their interests whenever they think fit. ; see page 128 of last vol-
ume If they do not see proper to avail themselves of our ofier
as other societies do, it can be no fault of ours.

KEOKUK HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The monthly meeting of this Society, held on the 7th ult., was
well attended, and an interesting discussion sprang up on the
report of the Committee on Apple Trees for Orchard Culture.

The Society has recently been obtaining the opinions ot nursery-
men and fruit-growers as to the twelve most profitable varieties of
apples for orchard cultivation in this section of Iowa and the
contiguous portions of Illinois and Missouri. Experience has
proved that a variety that bears well in one locality does not suc-
ceed as well in another locality even within the distance of a mile.
Some varieties do not exhibit good bearing traits until the trees
hasa^e The Society adopted the following as the list of twelve
varieties that have been proved to be the most hardy sorts, the
best bearers, and as producing the most marketable fruit:

Wiuesap Yellow Bellflower, Kawles' Janet, Grimes Golden
Pippin Rome Beauty, Maiden's Blush, Red Pippin, Red June,
Small ilomanite, Rainbo, Willow Twig, aud Early Harvest.

The following varieties are also known to succeed well.

Dominie (or Winter Rambo), Smith Cider, Northern Spy, Van-
devere, Spitzenburg, and Summer Queen.

Subject for discussson at the next meeting, "Preparation of Soil
for Spring Planting."

Adjourned to meet Thursday, April 4th, at 2>^PM.

J. R. TEWKSBURY, Secretary.

I lair IT

Sp/i I', r
ichrunuiii inno/fs

MiinUa
Carolina Lin. " **.

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DEVOTED TO

jlorHfuIfurp, ^rfiorirulfiiFp, ISoJeng %• Pluralf SEfifaiis,

THOMAS MEEHAN", Ebitor.

JULY, 1861.

VOL. III.— jSTO 7.

l^inh for 3ulfg.

(H"

FLOWER-GARDEN AND PLEASURE-
GROUND.

It is a household proverb, that a "woman's work
is never done," and the life of a gardener shares the
truth of the same remark. And there is, after all, a
closer analogy between the life of women and a
gardener's profession than would_strike one at first
thought. Neither receive from the "rest of man-
kind" the full credit for refining influences which
is so justly their due ; and both have to fall back
on their work as labors of love, and in its own
pursuit derive pleasure and profit as a part of their
just reward.

And so if when we took up our pen to trace
out a few hints for our Monthly reader's benefit,
under this burning July sun, and a passing thought
tempted us to wish Ave had not the labor to per-
form,— that it was not, perhaps, appreciated as the
eflbrt should be, — that it brought to us no pecuniary
reward,— and that we might as well persuade our-
selves and our readers that there was nothing worth
doing in a garden in July, and that the best advice
would be to hitch up our hammocks in the branches of
the nearest linden, and languidly live in lazy contem-
plation of what we have done for Flora and Po-
mona the past eleven months, and ponder on the vic-
tory we have enabled them to achieve over nature,
and the rewards they have in store for us by the suc-
cess,— a moment's wandering of our mind's eye
through our garden grounds disijelled the illusion,
and convinced us that there was not only work to
be done and plenty of it, but that it was only in its
pursuit that out real pleasure lay ; and that, though
the idea of rest to the weary was a pleasant one
enough in its waj", philosophy taught us that it was

nly in order that we might gain renewed strength

for the chase, and that in this activity alone all our
real gratification lived.

The lawns, walks, and flower-beds will still re-
quire the constant care suggested in our last, and
attention can be bestowed at this season on improv-
ing the form of trees and shrubs. In some parts of
a large garden, trees are in better keeping with sur-
rounding scenery when suffered to grow wild and
pretty much to themselves ; but near buildings, or in
any part of a garden which is to denote high keep-
ing, symmetry will ever be considered a chief ele-
ment in beauty, and the aim be, what after all is the
true object of gardening, an improvement, or a tri-
umph, in fact, over the prettiest natural scenes.
Trees and shrubs can be made as regular as we wish,
by training a shoot here and tying one there— now
using a stake, and at another time employing a string.
After a few weeks they will grow as you have jDlaced
them, and exemplify the adage, that "as the twig is
bent the tree's inclined." The most malformed or
ugliest specimen of an evergreen may be made an
exquisite "thing of beauty" by such trifling care.

Ornamental flowering shrubs, too, are in the same
catagory. A few very strong, vigorous shoots will
sometimes push, to the extreme jealousy of weaker
members of the confederation. You will have to
play the emperor — maintain the balance of power,
and by a few vigorous attacks of the pruning-knife
at the base of such arrogant pretension, end the
causes of trouble by taking them completely away
from the scene of strife.

And the hedges — do not forget them. The tops
have been already trimmed, or ought to be, and the
shoots at the base beginning to push with great vigor.
If it is not done, — as from the many new subscribers
the Monthly is receiving daily, and who may not have
as yet received the back numbers of our paper, may
possibly be the case, — no time should be lost in the
operation. Remember to train your hedge conically ;
prune severely while growing towards the apex, and
very little at the base ; and in winter cut very vigor-
ously at the base, and but very little at the apex.
That is the rule of success.

The ladies cannot exercise themselves or better
aid their gardeners in keeping up a display of

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If

flowers, than in considering it their task to go over
the flower-garden and shrubbery occasionally with
basket and scissors, taking off dead and fading flow-
ers. It strengthens the plants, pi'olongs the flowering
season, and favors order and neatness.

Plants set against walls and piazzas frequently
suffer from want of water at this season, when even
ground near them is quite wet. Draw away the
soil around each plant so as to form a basin ; fill in
with a bucket full of water, allowing it time to soak
gradually away, and when the surface has dried a
little draw in loosely the soil over it, and it will do
without water for some weeks. This applies to all
plants wanting water through the season. If water
is merely poured on the sm'face, it is made more com-
pact by the weight of water, and the harder the soil be-
comes, the easier it dries ; and the result is, the more
water you give the more is wanted.

Whenever the bark of any plants separates easily
from the wood, and plants have ripened their
wood enough to form prominent eyes in the axils of
the new groAvth of leaves — budding may commence,
and may continue with different things till Septem-
ber. It is an easy way to change trees we already
possess into others more desirable ; choosing closely
allied species for the operation. Thus a common
ash might be transformed in one season to a fine
specimen of a "Weeping Ash, or the new Oregon
Maple be budded into large trees of sycamore.
Sometimes advantage maybe taken of working mere
bushes into the heads of large-growing trees, — trans-
forming shrubs into nobles of the forest. Many
trailing and meagre-growing willows, cherries, ma-
ples, &c., are rendered very vigorous growers by
being budded on strong growing kinds. Budding
also affords room for tasteful combinations. Trees
with different shades of foliage, hues of leaves, hab-
its of growth, or color of flowers, may be worked
on one common stock, — fancies of which kinds add
much to the interest of a place when judiciously
executed.

Many things do not take well by budding ; in
which case inarching may be employed. This is
done by bringing together two half -ripened shoots
of different varieties, just shaving the bark at an
opposite point in each, making the two faces of the
shaved parts meet, and then tying the two branches
together at the junction, laj^ping the tying material
("bast bark is the best, J so that the whole cut part
is encircled by it. Most parties who intend to in-
arch, keep some of the kinds they wish to use as
scions in pots, so as to bring them at the proper sea-
son in contact with the stock. Shelvings and other
contrivances are resorted to to support such pots, in
and amongst the branches, when the operation is to
be performed at a height from the groimd. A plan.

however, which obviates all this trouble, and is gene-
rally successful, is to hang bottles of water near the
points to be inarched, and the scion is placed in this,
from which it derives enough water to carry on its vital
functions, until the union with the stock takes place.
The time is coming when transplanted trees of the
past fall and spring will suffer more than during any
other part of the season. If they show a vigorous
growth of young wood, no danger need be appre-
hended, as it indicates that the roots are active, and
can supply all the moisture the foliage calls for ; but
if no growth has been made, no roots have been
formed, and the leaves are living for the most part on
the sap in the wood and bark, and hot, drying weather
will tell with mjurious effect on such trees. This is
generally first shown by the peeling off of the bark
on the south-western side of the tree, — the most
drying aspect ; and where such exhaustion appears
probable, much relief may be afforded by cutting
back some of the branches, syringing with water
occasionally, shading the trees where practicable, or
wrapping the trunk in hay-bands, or shading the
south-west with boughs or boards.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

OiTR hints for the last month will, in a great mea-
sure, bear a re-perusal at the commencement of this.
Sow endive, and towards the end of the month
transplant in rows. They should be set out in
rows eighteen inches apart, and one foot from each
other. The soil can scarcely be too rich for them.
Seed may yet be sown for a later crop.

If brocoli is a desirable vegetable, it may be had
all through the winter by being sown now. In about
four weeks plant out into rich garden soil. On the
approach of frost, take up the plants, with a portion
of soil adhering, and pack them closely in a warm
and somewhat damp cellar. They will continue to
grow, and produce nice heads.

Beans may be sown up to the end of the month.
For winter use, the White Kidney is very popular,
although other kinds are very extensively grown for
the same purpose.

In some families, large, full-grown carrots are ob-
jectionable. Seeds of the Long Orange sown now on
rich sandy soils, form neat and desirable roots before
winter. The same may be said of beets.

Cucumbers for pickles are also sown about this
time. They usually produce a greater number, and
consequently smaller fruit, than when sown earlier.
The Short Prickly is the kind to employ.

The main crop of winter cabbage is often planted
the first or second week in July. In planting, if the
weather be dry, it is a good plan to make the holes
before planting and fill up with water ; after soaking

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©lit ^arbcncr'r) litontfjlg.

195

away, the plants maj' be set in, and they seldom
wither aftenvaids, though without rain for a month.
Another and more expeditious plan is to have the
plants readj' with their roots in a pan of water. They
are then set into the hole at the time it is made. The
Avater adhering to the roots then gives to the set out
plants the advantages of puddling.

Celery we have spoken of last month. The re-
marks are yet applicable.

GREENHOUSE.

An important point just now is to prepare winter-
flowering plants. Cinerarias, Chinese Primrose, and
Calceolarias should be sown about the end of the
month; and cuttings made of most kinds of plants that
are desirable. It is a great mistake, often made, to store
up and treasure year after year, old and even groAvn
specimens, when younger ones would bloom more
vigorously, and give better satisfaction. Propaga-
tion of plants will go on. It is one of the pleasures
of the gardening art ; and where old treasures are
prized, the greenhouse soon becomes a crowded
mass of ugliness, with credit to neither gardener
nor owner.

Most of the plants are set out for the summer, as
formerly recommended, — little care will be required
beyond seeing that they are not over or under wa-
tered. Some will be yet growing, and may be full
of roots. If growth will probably continue for
a while longer, pots a size larger may be furnished
such. Whenever a shoot appears to grow stronger
than the rest, so as to endanger compactness or au}^
desired shape, pinch it back, and any climbing
vines should receive due regulation as they grow
over the treUis, or they will speedily become naked
below. A good stiff trellis is a desideratum hard to
be obtained by the uninitiated. In another column
is a simple way to make them, often used by good
gardeners.

In traming vines, so manage that there shall be
a due proportion of branches hanging loosely about
the trellis,^as it is this flowing gracefulness that adds
half the charms to this tribe of plants which they so
profusely possess.

{Jominunirafions.

LANDSCAPE-GARDENING.

No. 6.

BY GEORGE E. WOODWARD, KEW YORK.

Taste, good taste, has generally been considered
the one all-important qualification or gift that will
transform mechanical attainments into artistic skill.

and fit those of a low order of education and asso-
ciations, to become practitioners of the elegant art
of landscape embellishment. That a refined and
educated taste is necessary to successfully pursue an
art, which by universal consent ranks high among
the cultivated arts, we do not deny ; that it is the
one thing needful to make an artist, is simply an
absui'dity.

It can readily be shown that landscape-gardening
requires a knowledge of manj^ of the leading arts
and sciences,— that it is not only an art by itself, but
a combination of other arts, and that good taste is
no compensation for ignorance. Nature rarely be-
stows her gifts so freely, as to make any one master
of the resources of a simple art, — much less does she
confer such unlimited favors', as to make one master
of several. Thus we see a capital draughtsman, an
indifferent colorist, a good colorist with no eye for
form ; one excels in portraits, another in animals,
and a third in marine views, and so on.

But we do not propose to discuss the subject of
natural gifts, or add another word to what has been
written about them. Those who think they can
accomplish nothing but what they are naturally
qualified to undertake, may think so; we take
an entirely different view of the subject, and our
experience has taught us that when we have fully
resolved to master any thing before us, we have been
successful.

Those who lack natural ability, must supply its
place by an educated ability, and where there is a
will to acquire a proficiency in the whole or any part
of landscape-gardening, the way is broad and invit-
ing. There is no art but what can be attained in
a very great degree by a persistent course of study.
We have repeatedly seen an energetic, unconquerable
spirit of determination override and outstrip every
thing before it ; and those who have reached a high
position in any pursuit have done it by industry and
perse verence. As Ike Marvel says, "There is no
genius in life like the genius of energj^and industry,
and there are no rivals so formidable as those earnest,
determined minds which reckon the value of every
hour, and achieve eminence by persistent applica-
tion."

Landscape-gardening, in all its varied forms and
applications, is nothing more than a plain, practical,
straightforward possibilitj^ — no man possesses it, nor
can possess it without a price, and that price is notli-
ing more nor less than years of hard study and hard
work; it is the same price that every successful
professional man pays for his profession. There is
no other way to accomplish it. No short cuts, — no
royal roads to learning.

Those who rely upon natural taste or natural

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196

®lt4 @ar(I(!na^'s cPcntljIg.

gifts to supply a deficient knowledge, will meet with
many disappointments. You cannot discard the
established rules and principles of art, any more
than you can discard its mechanical details ; and
until they are acquired, crude natural gifts are
scarcely available. Thus, one's natural taste would
lead him to embellish a place by constructing each
feature separately, and without an absolute know-
ledge of the result. The fancied idea of beauty held
in the brain at the beginning, Avould yield at every
stage of progress to some new suggestion. It, in
fact, would be but little else than experimenting for
those forms or combinations productive of the most
beauty ; the same degree of taste that arranges a
bouquet by trying the harmony of form or color, is
inadmissable in landscape work. The expense and
annoyance attending every change is such as to re-
quire that all forms be beautiful in harmony with
each other, and that th y be thoroughly compre-
hended in every detail of combination and construc-
tion, before their creation is commenced. An educa-
ted taste and ability adopts the same means of arriving
at positive results as are sanctioned by all the arts
of design, embelhshment and construction, and
Avithout which, success is a mere matter of chance.

The folly that supposes there is is no step between
conception and execution, may practice landscape-
gardening under the belief that it is only a gift
united to a trade, and that pretends to hold in the
mind a perfect conception of an elaborate plan of
improvement that can be executed in its minutest
details with the most undeviating accuracy.

There is nothing so grossly false, or so inconsist-
ent with all experience in both the polite and me-
chanical aits, as the power to originate, elaborate,
harmonize and perfect in the train, a plan so fin-
ished in all its details, so complete in its principles of
construction, and so impressive and effective in its
proportion, as to admit of no further improvements.
The observations made in all departments of art,
whether it be architecture, painting, sculpture, music,
poetry, or any of the less important arts and scien-
ces, show no exception to this statement. The first
expression of a thought on paper, whether it be
Avritten, drawn or colored, is butthe nucleus around
which the artist gathers and works up the elements
which compose the useful, the ornamental, or the
beautiful. Every consideration of success, and more
particularly of economy, dictates the studied plan in
the creation or embellishment of landscape scenery.
These can only be reached by systematic approaches,
and by close and careful investigation. It is not in
real ground or real objects that combinations or ef-
fects should be worked out. Execution should not
begin until the design be perfected, and then with the

clear knowledge of what yon want ; with a positive as-
surance of an absolute result, the end is certain, and,
both artistically and financially, is precisely what
was contemplated. To state the contrary, is to pi"o-
nounce the established medium to excellence in any
artistical or mechanical pursuit a sheer fiction.

[Mr. Woodward's articles provoked an interest,
which, judging by the great number of communica-
tions we have received, was as wide-spread as any
subject that has been originated in our pages. Out
of respect to this sentiment, we selected a few of these
which to our mind presented the most divergant
views, and have published them. Had not the sub-
ject seemed to interest our readers so profoundly,
we should not have thought it worth while to ac-
cept them, as it has ever seemed so clear a proposi-
tion, as to be unworthy of an argument, that natural
taste and capacity, united with untiring zeal and
industrious study of collateral arts and sciences, would
alone enable a man to make his mark as a master in
the art of landscape-gardening. There are natu-
ral geniuses and natural fools in every profession,
and it is useless discussing where one class begins or
the other ends.

It seems necessary that Mr. Woodward should be
allowed a brief space for reply to the various sugges-
tions his remarks have brought forward, which he
has well filled, — and we hope this will close the chap-
ter. We can afford little space for abstract discus-
sions, however valuable ; and hope the thousands of
practical matters which the wide field of landscape-
gardening afi"ords will, in future, claim the attention
of our numerous correspondents' pens, which the
many articles alluded to, show that they can well
employ when they like, notwithstanding their
usual excuse, that they can "handle the spade and
pruning-knife better than the pen." — Ed.]

PHOTEGTiNG ROSES IN WINTER.

BY BARTHOLD F. BOHMEK, CLEVELAND, O.

I WOULD like to communicate an experience I
have made these last two years to you, that is — how
to keep tender roses through the winter safe and in
a small place. I take my roses up in the fall, trim
them considerably back, and heU them in a frame.
I kept over a hundred roses under one sash and
found them all alive and in good order, even though
my ground is very wet. I found not only that I
kept them well, but they flowered very fine the
whole of last summer. I found this idea stated in
the Ohio Farmer, some years ago, by Mr. Elliott.
In speaking of it, he says : " I have yet to learn that
it is not the best way to keep them." If you feel
disposed and consider it worthy, you may make use
of it.

-^

a

ENTOMOLOGICAL ESSAY.

Bend be/ore the Fruit-Growers' Association of Eastern Pennsyhvmia at its Meeting in West Cfiiester, on the I3th day of June, 1860.
BY S. S. RATHVON, ENTOMOLOGIST OF THK ASSOCIATION.

(Continued from Page 167.)
BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

23d. JEshna grandis, commonly called " Dragon-fly," "Snake Doctor," and "Devil's Darning-needle."
Plate "VI. fig. 1, Length, from three to four inches; expansion of the wings, from four to five inches ;
body, cylindrical, and terminated at the caudal extremity with flattened appendages, that open out. like a
fan; wings, all transparent, and finely reticulated; color, dark brown, with black and green bands on
each segment; head, large, and almost entirely occupied by the eyes. The larva and the pupa are
both aquatic in their habits and economy. This insect belongs to a large class, the greater number
of which are entirely harmless, or are decidedly the friends of vegetation, and therefore of man. —
This insect is so perfect in its general organization, that it is regarded by many entomologists as typical of
the class Insecta. Its sight and flight are remarkable, and also the organization of its mouth, which gives
it focilities for capturing its prey that no other insect possesses. It is active both in its larva and pupa
states, which are passed in the water, feeding in that element upon worms and grubs, or whatever else it
can lay hold of; and when it assumes the winged state, it is constantly on the alert from morning till
night, in pursuit of insect prey, and daily destroys an incredible number of moths and flies ; and the only
objection to it is, that it is rather indiscriminate in its choice of insect food, destroying our friends as well
as our enemies.

The four preceding insects belong to the order Neuroptera, having four wings each, of a uniform texture,
in many species of which the posterior pair are as large as the anterior pair, and especially is this the case
with the dragon-flies. These are all that my limited time and space will permit me to submit in this
paper, although there are many other species that are either harmless or beneficial. These will be followed
by a few examples from the order Hymenoptera in further illustrating the subject of these remarks.

24th. Pimpla lunalor, " Long-t&iled Pimpla." Plate VI. fig. 2. Length, from two and a quarter to
three inches; ovipositor, from three to four inches in length; expansion of the wings, from two and a half
to three inches; color, a glossy black, with yellowish legs and antennae; also yellow markings upon the
head, the thorax, and the abdomen. The male is someting less then the female, and is destitute of the
ovipositor. This insect is one of our largest species of parasitic insects, and deposits its eggs in the bodies
of woodworms, and is capable of reaching a grub as far from the surface as their ovipositor will reach.
Some individuals can reach to the centre of a piece of wood at least eight inches in diameter. I have
frequently captured them in the act of depositing their eggs. It takes them some time to withdraw their
instrument from the wood, and in that way thej become an easy prey to their enemies. They are quite
abundant some seasons about Lancaster, and their long ovipositor is by the uninformed regarded as a sting,
or something with which the animal can inflict a painful wound. This is all imagination, however ; for
the progress which the insect makes by sawing into the wood is slow, indeed, and the work of withdrawing
it again is almost as slow,

25th. Tragus fulvus, the "Fox-colored Ichneumon." Plate VI. fig. 3. Length of body, from three-
quarters to seven-eighths of an inch; expansion of the wings, one inch and a quarter; eyes and wings,
dark brown or blackish; all the remaining parts of the insect, a fulvus or fox-color. Very abundant in
Pennsylvania. Visits flowering plants in July and August. This insect confines its operations principally
to the larva of Papilio aslerias, which is found on parsley and umbcliferous plants in general. Blanchard, a
French. author, says that out of two hundred caterpillars which were taken to ascertain how many would
become butterflies, only three produced them ; the remaining one hundred and ninety-seven were destroyed
by parasitic Hymenoptera. This may convey some idea of their benefit to vegetation.

2Gth. Hogardia speeiosa, "Tiger Wasp." Plate VI. fig. 4. Length, from an inch and a quarter to an
inch and a half; expansion of the wings, from two inches and a half to three inches; color of the
abdomen, black, with three interrupted yellowish bands; color of the head and thorax, brown, with light
brown markings; wings, transparent yellowish-brown; antennae, somewhat thickened from the base to
the ends. The largest species of Hymenoptera known to me inhabiting the United States. This insect
builds its cell in the hard ground, and fills it with caterpillars, and also the common cicada or summer
locust. I saw one carry oiF a large tobacco-worm (Sphex Carolina). These worms are in some manner
paralyzed and stowed away in their cells for food for their young.

198

iili4 (Sardm^r's gtaiit^Ij.

27th. Sphex pennsylvanica? " Blue Mason-wasp." Plate VI. fig. 5. About the same in size and shape
as fi°'. 7 but of a uniform bluish color. It, however, must not be confounded with the blue "mud wasp"
so common among us, which also does us some service. This insect also builds its cell in the hard ground,
and fills it with caterpillars, cockroaches, and other insects.

28th. Sphex ichneii,monoides, Dej. " Yellow Mason-wasp." Plate VI. fig. 6. Length, about three-quarters
of an inch • expansion of the wings, about one inch and a quarter; thorax, covered with yellowish hairs;
wings and body light brown, except the terminal half of the abdomen, which is black ; eyes, black ;
abdomen pedunculated. These are not, strictly speaking, the true mason-wasps, which build their nests in
old walls out of a sort of cement, similar to the " mud-wasps." They may rather be regarded as " diggers,"
but at the same time their cells are lined with a cement that is impervious to water, and the whole thing
may be duo' o^it of the ground without breaking, in the form of a rough tube closed at the ends. These
tubes or cells are filled with caterpillars usually. I have seen this species have caterpillars in its possession
that it could scarcely bear off, but had to stop every ten yards or so and readjust its burden, moving along
in a series of short flights or bounds.

29th. Mantis Carolina, Lin. otherwise called "Camel Cricket," "Soothsayers," "Praying Mantis," and "Rear
Horse " in different localities. Plate VI. fig. 7. Length, about two inches ; color, from greenish to brownish,
mottled according to age; thorax, nearly half the length of the body; eyes, very prominent; antennae,
filiform • the posterior and intermediate legs are long and rather slender, but the anterior pair are very
laro-e and toothed along the outer margin of the tibia; in sitting, the insect holds the thorax erected, and
folds the anterior legs up as if in a praying posture, hence a foreign species has been named Mantis religiosus.
In the absence of its real specific name, I have introduced it as the Northern Mantis, to distinguish it from
the Southern.* Doubtless it has been named before, and if so, this name must fall, but it is singular that so
common and so usejul an insect should not have been irade more familiar to the people, both in regard to
its name and its general history. The species may be the same as those found in the south. This insect
belongs to the order Orthoptera, and the species belonging to this genus are the only ones to my knowledge
that are raptorial in their habits. Although they abound in the Southern States, and are quite common in
Maryland and the District of Columbia, yet in Pennsylvania they are comparatively strangers; and from
the fact that Dr. Harris and Dr. Fitch say nothing about them in their works, the inference is, that they
had never been found in New York or Massachusetts. It gives me pleasure, however, that I am able to
inform the Society that a number of them were found upon the banks of the Conestoga within the last year
or two. They are known to be most voracious feeders, destroying daily a large number of plant-lice,
moths, caterpillars, fiies, or any thing living that may fall in their way when hungry. They are also
capable of domestication. Mr. Glover says that a lady in Washington City had them in her garden, and so
tame as to approach her and receive flies and other insects from her hands. Their development is the same
as that of the grasshoppers in general, there being no intermediate or quiescent state, but an activity that
begins soon after they are excluded from the eggs, and continues until their career is terminated by cold and
the absence of their natural food in the autumn. The females then lay from fifty to a hundred oblong eggs,
that are longitudinally cemented together and fastened to a branch, having the appearance of a miniature
honey-comb. These eggs are capable of bearing a considerable degree of cold, and are hatched the following
spring.

CONCLUSION.

Many more examples of useful, friendly and beneficial insects, and also many more of the noxious kinds,
might have been exhibited in addition to the foregoing, but these must suflice for the present. Although
nothing new may have been presented, yet there may be some persons who have not heretofore been
impressed with the necessity of discriminating between our friends and our foes in the insect world, and
who may not have been sufficiently acquainted with them in order to be able to make that discrimination.
Insect friends have not occupied as much space in history as their importance entitles them to, and hence

* Not having a Southern specimen for comparison when this essay was written, I was under the impression that my Lancaster
County specimen was a distinct species, and therefore I had suggested the trivial name of borealis, in contradistinction from the
former. I, however, subsequently learned that a living male and female mantis had been brought into this country from the
Southern part of Maryland by a gentleman from this city, and that quite a family had sprung from them in a subsequent season, one
of which I obtained. Comparing them, I found them identical, and that it is the Mantis Carolina of Linnaeus. This experiment^
however, evinces the practicability of their localization and colonization in the southern counties of Pennsylvania.

^'®^-

•^mcr

TSS

rt)J

^(§>3 — . — fu^

^j SJIjt iardnier H Jfloiithlg. 199

nearly all that is written upon entomology outside of the proceedings of scientific institutions or scientific
books, has reference to the noxious or hurtful kinds ; when it must become evident that both kinds ought to
gain the especial attention of the husbandman.

Our motives for destroying noxious insects are only incidental ones, and come and go in spasms as we
happen to be under the influence of favorable or adverse feelings, caused by insect injuries or depredations;
but parasitic and carniverous insects are guided and governed by no such transient or incidental motives ;
a single and ever-pervading instinct, which has for its object the preservation and perpetuation of their
species, and thus fulfilling the fiat of that power which brought them into being, seems to be the impulse
by which ihey are moved; and under the conditions of this state of being they go to work, as mechanically
as if they had been regularly educated to it, to carry into execution the behests of their creation. One
generation succeeds another in the same perfect order, performing the same amount of labor, in the
same manner and with the same results ; nor is there a greater state of perfection attained now than there was
hundreds of years ago, or than there will be hundreds of years hence. I have watched insects through all
their stages of transformation, and when they have evolved from the pupa into perfect being, they seemed
to look at me with a knowing leer, as much as to say, "You need not trouble yourself about showing me
how to get along in this new world, for I know all about it myself." Under these circumstances it must
be apparent that some of them are performing a great work for the human family, with greater efficiency
than man himself can perform it ; and that although much of their labor is silent and unseen, and therefore
unappreciated and unknown, yet it is, nevertheless, constant and effectual ; and being based upon ever-
existing necessities, it is far more beneficial in its general results than any work which man has hitherto

been able to accomplish or conceive.

«»■«» —

IMPOSSIBILITY.

BY JOSEPH AMRAJI.

I HA-^TE cornered you, Mr. Editor. I hold you by the imaginary button. You must not budge, but
listen. It is impossible to paint the rose rosier, — it is impossible to raise wheat on granite rock, — it is
impossible to make a horse eat. Granted ? Ver}^ well ; I am coming to it. It is no less impossible to
learn landscaping. It is out now, and you can make the most of it. You say nothing to this proposition ?
Very well, I will explain.

Of the thousand and one topics your ten thousands oi readers get treated with in the course of the
Monthly's year, none gets handled witli less satisfaction to them than the noble art of landscape-gardening.
Every other number brings an article. I generally see a good name, or smell an able pen ; but when I
turn that article over, — when I sift it, boil it down, and prepare to use it practically, — it slips through my
mental fingers and will not get into shape. Finding John, the other evening, poring over such an an
article, "Well, John," said I, Cand he is an intelligent and practical boy,j "what do you think of the
article?" " Sir," said he, "what's the use of all such. JVix kummerouse?'''' That was drastic criticism.

Xow for a few generalities which I want to serve up by your leave. Like every other art, — say like poetrj',
painting, sculpture, composition of music, and the like, — landscaping cannot be taught. Creating exacts
two functions of the soul : conception and execution. None but genius conceives, none but talent
executes. Of course, I mean properly. It, therefore, takes a man of genius and inspiration to conceive
the design of a landscape, or of its concentrated form the landscape-garden^ and it takes a man of talent
to practically execute that design. Now, can a real artist, combining both genius and talent, invention
and skill, be otherwise than a very rare bird ? Is it not a natural thing, under the circumstances, that
the bad and indifferent work must abound, — that gardens, as a general thing, are failures and eyesores?

But talent, you tell me, can get along without genius, and run its useful course. Talent can draw
inspiration and borrow the reflection of genius from the study of models ; talent can imitate and adapt
such models, — models which genius has created. So you say, Mr. Editor, and you say well.

The question, however, is, Can landscape-gardening ("or, short and sweet, landscaping^ be taught ? It,
plainly, cannot. See how this leads the direct way to Jansenism ! The limits are soon reached where
our soul loses her will, keeping only her wishes. I may study hard, and try to awake and develope
faculties which may be slumbering within one, I may get skilled to a certain point, — by .lupiter ! if the
real grit is not in me, that point I cannot pass, and there I stick.

That point, you kindly reason with me, Mr. Editor, that point may be a respectable one.

May be, I replj", it is a respectable one. And so much of it may be learned, that little of it is acquired
by seeing good models, — and lucky is the man who has good gardens near to study the art by, — and,
further, by getting schooled by a proficient master. In that way I may get to know the practical parts,
and make a "profession" of them. As to the divine region, though, I still, like Moses, stand and see i »,
the Holy Land ; but never, never am I allowed to reach it. I (§N
,cy^:^

GKSENOOUSE BOILERS.

BY J. C. R., LIMERICK, MAINE.

Some difficulties exist among gentlemen gardeners
and others, in tlie management of boilers in green-
houses. Thinking tliat some of your correspondents,
like those of other journals, would like to know how
to rid themselves of such troubles, I write you the fol-
lowing. There are allusions made by various
writers, that all these troubles arise from the non-
experience of gardeners. I say no ; but it arises
from the non-experience of boiler manufacturers;
although I admit that in this country men are em-
ployed to take charge of greenhouses who had never
served one year in the garden. It would be likely
in this case to see those boilers exploding and fright-
ening the natives. Because those men can be em-
ployed for a few dollars less in a month, they will
take a gardener's situation. The last winter proved
these facts to me. Having advertised ("the first time
in twenty-one yearsj) for a situation, I was offered
by extensive firms twenty-five dollars per month, —
not a working-man's pay. How can such firms be
without such difficulties, for they can hire none
other than second-rate workmen for this pay ? I
do not here pretend to say that those gentlemen
who have had those difficulties are not gardeners in
all its arts, as gardeners are not boiler-manufacturers.
I say they are not all to blame.

Returning to my remedy on boilers, I will give
the whole in a few words ; but I know there will be
differences of opinion, and even objections to my
remedy ; so that I will state the whole particulars
of its discovery. In 1842 I succeeded a brother gar-
dener near Liverpool, England, who then had charge
of one of the first boilers in the heating of green-
houses in that vicinity. He told me the reason of
his leaving was that he could not get his boiler to
work, and that he had lost his whole crop of grapes
and pines through it. I asked him the cause. He
said that whenever he Avould attempt to fire up the
Avater forced into the feed-tank and then flowed over,
and that he could not get his houses up to any de-
gree of heat. So before I would proceed any fur-
ther, I made a fire to see what it would do, and
found it to be as represented. In ten minutes there
was not one drop of water in the boiler. We made
out to draw the fire, and through that stopped its
roaring. I proceeded to the vinery, then a desolate
house, handled all the flow-pipe, and found that be-
hind one of the elbows the pipe was as cold as if no
hot water had ever been in it. I perceived that the
pipes were stopped by some process or other, and
that the water did not circulate through the pipes.
At this time there was Avater in the feed-tank, while

it was evident there could be none in the boiler. I
sent immfediately for the manufacturer, and told him
the trouble. He looked in the feed-tank. Perceiving
nothing wrong, he ordered to fire up. Again very
soon the little water left began roaring in the feed-
tank.

Orders were given to pull down the boiler and re-
place it with another. I told him I thought I could
get rid of the difficulties without taking the boiler
down. His answer was, what could I know about
it ? Still he asked my opinion. I asked him into
the vinery, and requested him to drill a small hole
in the pipe at the point where I perceived the pipe
was hot and cold. He said there could be no harm
in doing so. The hole was drilled, and it was two
minutes before any water had made its appearance.
Immediately the water left the feed-tank. I com-
menced putting water into the boiler, until I sup-
plied twenty-six gallons. During this time no water
was coming through the hole made in the pipe.
Then boring two more the whole length, it was all
of five minutes before the water commenced flowing
freely through those holes ; and when it did so, the
water in the feed-tank had again disappeared, which
took ten gallons more of water to raise it above the
valve. Now the discovery was made that air must
have got into the pipe and stopped the circulation of
the water. There v/as a small brass top added to
those holes in the pipes. Always, when water was
given, one or more of these were loosed for a few
minutes. ' ' Never was there any thing worked better
than this boiler did afterwards," as Mr. Buist says.
A top in the boiler was also added, and found to be
good, so far as the cleansing out of the boiler is con-
cerned. It is also useful in drawing hot water when
needed ; but the tops in the pipes are what regulate
the whole affair. If those gentlemen will get tops
in their boilers and pipes, there will be no need of
shooting or guarding against being shot with those
straight or crooked guns around corners.

LIMNiEUSi AND LIMNiSA BOHSALIS.

BY L., HADDONFIELD, N. J.

iGoncluded from page 169.]
To return to the Linnsea. This Lapland flower
is a native of high latitudes and Alpine districts
throughout the Northern Hemisphere, though most
abundant in Lapland. It is frequent in Scotland,
but so rare in England, that but one habitat is
mentioned in the British floras. It is not uncom-
mon, I believe, in North America from Nova Scotia
to the Arctic regions. It is an interesting and ele-
gant plant, evergreen, with woody and creeping

%

\^3)rsr

,^^>^

ft

i;h^ (iard^ner's cPonthlj.

201

stems, a little branched, and the young shoots hairy-
Its small, drooping flowers are sweetly fragrant, of
a rose tint without, and white or yellowish within.
It blooms in June and July, and its stalks are two-
flowered, whence its common English name. Twin
Flower. It is found in moist, shady, rocky soils,
generallj' in erergreen woods. Its long stems, root-
ing and branching their whole length, cover the
ground in large patches.

A kindly writer, discoursing on this plant and
the origin of its name, exclaims, "Hail to thee, little
flower of the North ! How highly art thou hon-
ored, and with what feelings of interest do we re-
gard thee as the representative of him whose name
thou bearcst, Linnfea borealis !"

In conclusion, we would remark that we hope
some of our young readers will profit by the story
of poor little Pyphon, and at once enter upon a
career of study, collect plants and insects, examine,
prepare and preserve them, and make themselves
acquainted with their distinguishing characteristics,
uses, arrangement, &c. Boj^s nowadays have an
hundred-fold better opportunities for the studj'^ of
botany than this barefooted devotee. The facilities
abound, and he who runs may read. Every f;\r-
mer's son and every gardener's apprentice ought to
blush at his ignorance of the names and positions
in the order of nature of the common plants around
him, when he considers what that poor, oppressed
little fellow did far away upon the border of the
Arctic Circle nearly a century ago. Every resident
in the country and every citizen who visits it, who
is ignorant of the "amiable science," loses half the
pleasure of association with nature from want of
acquaintance with her children. The study opens
to its admirer another sense. To such no longer

" A primrose by the river brim
A simple primrose is to bim,
And nothing more."

But the almost "brute, unconscious gaze" of ignor-
ance is replaced by the inquiring, intelligent and
appreciating inquiry, and each plant becomes a fa-
miliar acquaintance, and revealing to the willing ear
and eye the wisdom and power and the ever watch-
ful care of the gracious Creator.

JSToTE. — The Drosera is the Sun-dew, an orna-
ment of grassy bogs and borders of ponds. Its
beauty consists in the form and appearance of the
leaves, Avhich proceed immediately from the root,
and spread over the surface of the ground, each
plant forming a little circular plot of green cup-
shaped leaves, thickly fringed and beset with gland-
ular hairs of a deep rose-color. These hairs are
usually tipped with small drops of a transparent

[DKOSERA KOTtrNDIFOLIA. ]

clammy fluid, appearing like dew, which continues
to adhere, even in the hottest part of the day and in
the fullest exposure to the sun.

" By the lone fountain's secret bed,
Where human footsteps rarely tread,
'Mid the wild moor, the silent glen,
The Sun-dew blooms, unseen of men,
Spreads .there her leaf of rosy hue,
A chalice for the morning dew,
And ere the summer's sun can rise,
Drinks the pure waters from the skies."

There are four species of Drosera found m the
United States,— D. rotundifoHa, D. longifolia, D.
fihformis, and D. hnearis ; but about forty species
have been described. They have been found in
boggy places in all parts of the world, except in
extremes of heat and cold. They are singularly
beautiful, and worthy of cultivation. They thrive

;5 —

-irk^S

in small pots, which should be three parts filled
with peat earth, and sphagnum should be planted
thereon, the Droseras planted in the moss, and the
pots placed in pans of water. The Droseras are
allied to the Dioncea or Venus' Fly-trap, and bear
some resemblance to this singular plant. Insects
are often caught upon the hairs, which are not,
however, as irritable as those of the Diouoea mus-
cipula.

If any of our Northern friends have dried speci-
mens of the LinnKaborealis, Rubus arcticus, Drosera
longifolia, Andromeda hypnoides, and can spare us
some of them, we would be much obliged. They
could be placed between thin, stiff cards and envel-
oped and sent by mail to our address. We would
endeavor to make return in plants peculiar to our
locality.

We give a cut of D. rotundifolia, the more com-
mon species.

[In connection with Drosera longifolia, we may
repeat an anecdote connected with David Don, the
famous gardener botanist, author of Hortus can-
tabrigiensis, that came to our knowledge many years
ago. Don was at that time gardener to the Earl of
Hardwicke, at Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, and
though already wedded to science, had enough of
the bigamist in him to promise himself to a lovely
specimen of the fair sex. It was the evening before
the happy day, when some wicked tempter of his told
him that in a swamp at some distance he could cer-
tainly find the Drosera longifolia, which up to that
time he had never found there. He was to be
married at noon of that day ; but he calculated that
by an early start he could go and secure the prize,
and still be back in time for the great event of human
life. But, alas ! on arriving at the spot, he could not
find the plant. He searched, and time passed, — even
the appointed time, and the bride grew anxious. It
was at length found out that he had been exercised
at the prospect of his botanical discovery, and search
was made for him in the direction he had taken, till
found, when to his great mortification he learned that
he had utterly forgotten Ms proposed marriage.

Our young friends will ask what the lady said, and
whether they married after that. We have no doubt
they did, as young ladies c&\\ forgive much ; but
that part of the anecdote we have forgotten, if, in-
deed, we ever knew.

David Don died some years ago, and the other
Don, George, also a botanist, and author of the
"Dictionary of Gardening," died in 1856. — Ed.]

LESSONS FROM THE ri.©WEES.

BY G. D., SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

The mind's conception of the beautiful is the

mainspring of its refinement. This faculty is natu-
rally greater in some than in others, but it may be
cultivated and developed in all to a greater degree.
Many are content to pass their lives, contracting
their faculties, energies and tastes to that which is
wholly practical, and fail to rise to that higher scale
of being where pure and elevating joys will make
life's pathway luminous with almost celestial light.

In the Creation God pronounced all things good.
Even now, when we have but the Avreck of earth's
former glory, there are many things which to the
wholly practical person were created in vain.

Each i^articular object in creation bears its own
form of beauty, and these varied forms present to
the mind their own peculiar lessons. Some give the
mind stronger impressions than mere beauty can
produce. As we look upon the heavens, or upon
the natural wonders of the earth, a feeling of gran-
deur will fill the mind, to the exclusion of the im-
pressions that they would otherwise produce, and
the mind must turn to particular individual creations
for this lesson.

Of all objects belonging to manimate nature, the
flowers give us the highest and most varied forms of
beauty. To any one who will learn, they give les-
sons of life, which, if heeded, will profit. Go forth
in early morn, while yet morning's pearly tear-drops
load the petals of varied hue, each uniting and re-
flecting the colors of light, blended with the shades
of the flower, and as the early rays of the sun si-
lently kiss them away, enjoy their sweetest mcense
which rises to the end of day.

To the young they appeal while yet the heart is
suscejptible to all the finer impressions. Their study
is calculated to elevate, purify and ennoble. They
teach sweet lessons of our Heavenly Father's care.
Let their silent breathings of tenderness take pos-
session of every soul. Learn of the flowers what
they teach. They will mirror the different elements
of moral character, — some of modesty and purity,
others of beauty, taste, loveliness, and many, also,
of their opposites. Learn, then, the first lessons of
Eden, and you will, if you profit by them, possess
a charm which cannot be dispelled. Many have
thus learned and ever enjoyed the rich blessings
which follow. This study will add new charms to
life, — new motives to kindness and deeds of virtue.

EPFBSTS OF THS WINTER ON FRUIT
TKESS AT HUDSON, N. Y.

BY A. S. ROWLEY.

Mr. Editor — I see but few communications in
the Gardener'' s Monthly from this section of country.
We have the vanity to think that we are not much
behind any part of our country in gardening and

horticulture, especially the latter. This, however,
I sa}', without boasting. My chief object hi writing
at this time is to tell you how our fruit trees in this
vicinity have suffered during the past winter and
spring. The prospect with us now is that almost
all kinds of tree fruits will be a failure the coming
season. Our cherry trees refuse to put forth a single
blossom. Plum trees not only refuse to blossom,
but their leaf-buds appear to be, for the most part,
destroyed. Peaches and apricots, of coin-se, are all
gone ; and in the nurseries I am told that all t\\e
young peach trees are killed to the ground, even be-
low the inoculations. Pears seem to have suffered
least. The Seckel, however, is destroyed, (I mean
its blossom-buds,) except in protected situations. I
find a few of the old Seckel trees standing in open
grounds have suffered severely. As to the effect of
the winter on apples, I cannot speak, having but
few myself, and not having examined those in this
vicinity. Besides, it is too early to determine satis-
factorily. Quince treea have, in many places, been
killed to the ground. The smaller fruits, such as
strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, «&c., will
have to be our principal dependence, I fear, this
season.

Now, as to that verj' desirable and popular fruit,
the grape. All my Isabella and Catawba vines that
were left up on the arbors and trellises fwhich are
eight and nine yeais old) are killed to the ground.
Such as were thrown down on the ground, partially
escaped. The Eebecca Cof which I have about thirty
vines from three to seven years oldj, loosed from the
trellis and thrown upon the ground, with no protec-
tion but the SQOW CAvhen deep enough), is putting
forth finely. Not a bud seems to have been killed.
Such as were left tied up, I think, are more or less
injured. This would indicate that the keen, cold
north and north-west winds have as much to do
with the destruction of our fruit as the low tempera-
ture. Undoubtedly the proximity of the earth to
the vine has the effect of drawing out the frost by
degrees, or of regulating the temperature so as to
prevent its otherwise injurious effects. With me,
and, as far as I can learn, in this vicinity, the Re-
becca has proved more hardy in similar situations or
exposures than the Isabella. My other varieties,
the Anna, To-Kalon, Diana, Delaware, and Early
Hudson were buried lightly with earth, and have, of
course, escaped injury. My Hartford Prolific and
Concord had no protection, and are doing well.

The autumn of 1860 being wet and warm, caused
both vines and trees to grow too late for the wood
to ripen well ; and, consequently, they went into
the wmter ("which for severity and suddenness of
change of temperature has not been equalled for a
period back of fifty years, according to the testimony

of all observers,) more tender than usual. This
may account, in some measure, for the destruction
of the fruit-buds, which are always on the last
year's growth. But this does not explain why the
old grape-vines are rent and split through and
through for several feet in many cases. Of course,
all young wood attached to these old canes must
perish with them.

I must close. I am telling a longer story than I
intended when I began.

GARDENING FOR LADSES.

BY PRIMKOSE, NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

Your Gardener's Monflily, Mr. Editor, is a com-
plete success. We inhabit a seaport town in a re-
mote corner of Massachusetts, and yet, even here,
your paper has become a necessity. Its arrival is
hailed with delight, not only by the frosty heads of
the house, but by three earnest children, who eagerly
seize upon it to see the pictures of flowers, rural
designs and decorations.

With all due respect for other excellent journals,
we think your periodical well calculated for our
meridian, for ours is a very 'practical community.

We have alway believed in flowers, as well as
fruit, and have tried various plans for window and
parlor culture of our favorites, but not with satisfying
results, and have decided that gas and coal-dust are
not favorable to the development of Camellias,
Primulas and Roses. Wardian cases answered par-
tially, but oiu- longing has been for a greenhouse or
stove, for culture and propagation. Rejoice with us,
then, in the possession of a well-amanged brick lean-
to, 25 by 12 feet, heated by a small furnace and hot
water pipes, and nearly filled, at this present writing,
with a moderate variety of, we flatter ourselves, well-
conditioned and thriving plants.

Our first paper of seeds, in especial preparation for
our greenhouse, was of Lophospermum scandens,
which we sowed in a box about the middle of May,
which were in due tim.e potted off, and are now
rambling about the rafters and rods of said house,
with their bright pink tubular blossoms, showy and
rich ; Maurandias and Cobea scandens share the room
with them, and our seedlings are doing well. Late
in the summer we wrote to our friend, B. K. Bliss,
of Springfield, for Cineraria mimulus, Rhodanthe, and
Stock Gilly seeds, and it really seemed as if every
tiny grain had vegetated ; so complete was our suc-
cess as quite to overwhelm us, and create a very large
demand for very small pots. In a few weeks the
demand was renewed for a larger, and again a still
larger size, the transfers being all made by our
own hands ; and Ave are now stocked to our utmost
capacity, having in this simple way, and by the gifts

^>T-

of a kind friend and neighbor, collected some 500
plants, which are now in different stages of forward-
ness. We have been most disappointed in our Pri-
mula sinensis, which grow so slowly that we begin to
think we have not treated them as they best like.
Can you tell us a little about their culture ? Our
special object in this experiment is to discover whether
there is any thing in the care of a greenhouse, or
stove, which a lady may not accomplish, and thus
plant-culture on a large scale may furnish profitable
and suitable employment for a few of the hundreds
of women who have nothing to do ! What is there,
Mr. Editor, to prevent ladies going '"prentice" to
some really intelligent scientific gardener, and by
familiar lectures and practice at the "shelfside," be-
coming thoroughly familiar with the habits and
necessities of each species of these lovely, delicate
forms of life, so fit for woman's care.

So far, Ave have discovered nothing about their
tending which a woman may not do. In one corner of
the house is a brick tank for potting earth, and when
emptied it can be replenishe by any man who can
understand an order for on part well-rotted turf,
&c. Our friends, the gard ners in the neighbor-
hood, shook their heads and smiled knowingly ;
"Your house is too light, — you can never keep your
pots clean ; you will be full of green flies ; you must
have an old experienced gardener for this house."
But we built a cistern in one corner, put a copper
pump in, got a good large sja-inge, a water-pail, and
scrubbing-brush ; and hours which would be no bet-
ter employed, we believe, are spent in experimenting
with our pets. Our Mimulus are in a blaze of bloom ;
our Cinerarias in promising bud. We are cutting
roses, stevias, heliotropes, geraniums, feverfews, and
abutilons, for the breakfast table, or the sick room.
Our camellias are showing color, and we are con-
sulting your pages with high relish, and wishing our
greenhouse was twice as large.

[The above very suggestive note from our lady
friend is dated Dec. 8, and has thus been too long at
the bottom of our drawer, overlooked. — Ed.]

I I

BALCONY GARDENING.

ET WALTER ELDER.

Having read much of the beauty and elegance
imparted to Paris and other European cities by
balcony gardening, I have long Avondered why
our citizens who are really fond of flowers, should
have so long neglected this species of gardening ;
but of late years a taste for it has arisen, and is in the
increase. Last year I observed many creditable dis-
plays through this city, and the hanging pots with
creepers are a prominent feature. The simple cul-

ture, small cost, profuse bloom, and delightful frag-
rance of the falling plants, are inducenients for bal-
cony gardening. Verbena, Petunia, Mignionette,
Heliotrope, Alyssum, Lobelia, Cuphea, Neirember-
gia, Eschcholtzia, Phlox Drummondii, and many
others ; and for climbers, Maurandia, Thunbergia,
Cobia, Nasturtion, Cypress-vine, &c. There is no
amusement can be more agreeable and innocent
than the watering and care-taking of these gardens,
none so cheap and long continued. It creates a
hometiveness in the Avay-Avanderer, and it affords a
pleasure to show them, and name the different plants
to our visitors, and impresses the minds of strangers
of the virtuous habits, refined taste, and moral learn-
ing of the inhabitants of cities. By all means en-
courage balcony gardening.

DRAENENG TILES FOR POTS.

BY J. P., ROCHESTER, N. Y.

In your issue for May it is stated that horse-shoe
draining-tiles have been used in England for bed-
ding-out plants. Some two or three years ago,
wishing to present a plant or two of a new vine to
some friends, I buried some good-sized Cfive-inchJ)
horse-shoe tiles near the plant, and bending down
some shoots which had purposely been allowed to
spring from the base of the vine, I layered them in
the tiles. In a short time they made good roots,
Avere transplanted in the height of the growing sea-
sou, and did well.

I do not make this statement with any view to a
' ' reclamation of priority, ' ' but simply because the
extension of the application may prove of use to
some of your readers. In layering vines, tiles are
decidedly better than flower-pots. But pray do not
class me with those who, whenever any thing good
is published, at once get out with, "Oh, that is no-
thing new ! I did that long ago !" The man who
first publishes is the man to whom the community is
indebted for a good idea. To those who kncAV it,
but did not give the benefit to their neighbors, no
thanks are due. They have no business to come
yelping after a share of praise Avhich does not be-
long to them.

IVY

E. T. M., EROOKLYN, N. Y.

The following is the description of one of the
prettiest uses ivy can be put to. Its dark color, in
contrast to the comparatively light green of our
grass, renders it fit for the frame of a lawn. For
instance, a lawn is staked out, square, circular or
OA^al,— say of forty feet diameter. Sow one foot and a
half in grass, — plant three feet Avith ivy, and the bal-

^^^^

zrLn

f^>^

^^

SJh^ ©ardmtr's IPlonthlg.

205

auce of thirty-five aiul a half feet again in grass.
According to the degree of natural danipness, more
or less, [\y roots are necessary ; it makes, however,
prodigious progress where once established. Care
must be taken to stake the ivy down, so that it will
not run into the grass ; also, when once going, to
clip it for the same pm-pose. In winter, where it
might perhaps be frozen out, a few evergreen bushes
will protect it.

The trouble bestowed on it for a couple of years
is amply repaid by a beautiful setting for your lawn.
Flower-beds introduced into the lawn will occasion-
ally heighten the effect.

This device is probably not new to some of the

MontMy''s readers ; but to the majority it may be a

welcome novelt}'.

«•»«*-

AKOTHSR CHAPTER OF HINTS.

BY S., PniLADELrHIA.

Mr. Editor : — I was so much interested in read-
ing your Chapter of Hints in last month's number,
that it set me to thinking whether I could not fur-
nish you Avith another, from mj experience.
Plakt Trellis.

Fig. 1 is a drawing of a trellis for pot plants, of
simple and easy construction. First procure a roll of
iron wire of about an eighth of an inch in diameter, and
cut it into lengths so that it will form rings of sev-
eral sizes to suit the sizes of the pots. The ring A
Fig. 1.

in the cut must be from two to three inches more
in diameter than the pot, and the ring B from two
to three inches more m diameter than the ring A.
Allow half an inch at each end of the wire for weld-
ing. Take these wires to the nearest blacksmith,
and get him to heat and weld them. You can get a

large number done for a trifle, and they will last for
years. Next procure some half-inch Avhite pine
boards, free from knots, and have them ripped up
at a steam saw-mill into strips of about tive-eighths
of an inch wide. These strips must be planed olF
and painted green and cut into the reciuired lengths.
When you wish to train a plant, insert these strips
into the soil until they reach the bottom, of the pot,
and close to the side of the pot. Then place the
iron ring A inmle the strips, and about one-third of
the way up. Then compress the upper ends of the
strips, and put on the ring B an the outside of the
strips. The pot and the two rings brace the trellis
so firmly, that neither wind nor jolting in a cart
will aliect it. It can be put up or taken down in a
moment.

An Extemporaneous Hanging Basket.
The drawing ("fig. 2) requires but little exjilana-
tion. A is an inverted flower-pot, surrounded by a
circle of pots of the same size. This circle of pots
is confined by the ring of wire B, which is just be-
low the projecting rim of the jjots. The whole is
Fig. 2.

suspended by the wire or rod C, which passes
through the hole of the pot A, and is secured to a
circular block of wood inside ; or instead of the pot
A, a block of wood of the same shape may be sub-
stituted ; in that case, another pot can be placed on
top of the block, and the rod passed through the
hole in the bottom of the pot. The best sizes of
pots for the purpose are five and six-inch. The ad-
vantage of this plan is, that when you have a collec-
tion of plants in bloom in the same sized pots, j^ou
can select such as you may wish, and without the
trouble of transplanting, form them into a pleasing
and graceful group. The engraver has put six pots
in the outer circle, instead of five, as it should have
been.

Commercial gardeners who are limited in means
and time, are often compelled to resort to many ex-
pedients to accomplish their ends. I have adopted
some in my practice which may be new to some,

but not, perhaps, to most of your more experienced
readers.

Many varieties of plants require an open, fibrous,
peaty soil, and others to have the pots well drained.
For want of something better, I use occasionally
for the first-named purpose, finely-chopped hay, cut
with a straw-cutter, and mixed with the soil. This,
with a little coarsely-powdered charcoal, answers
the purpose very well. For drainage of pots I some-
times use coarse ashes or cinders of anthracite coal
and oyster-shells. I find that oyster-shells that have
just been opened are much preferable to potsherds.
The plants derive much nourishment from them,
and I find the roots often clinging to them most
tenaciously.

A very neat mode of supporting tomato-plants,
much in vogue in the neighborhood, is the follow-
ing. See fig. 3.

Mg. 3.

Procure a bundle of four feet long pickets or pales
and a bundle of ordinary plastering-laths. Nail the
pickets together in pairs, as shown in the drawing,
so as to form an angle of about eighty or ninety
degrees. Then nail the plastering-laths on them,
very much in the same way you would make an
ordinary hen-coop. In this way you can put up a
long row in a very short time. The tomato-vines
are to be planted along each side of this trellis, and
will require but little tying, as their own weight will
almost be sufficient. The tomatoes should be planted
in rows running north and south, so that they will
get all the sun. These frames can also be made
single pitch. In that case, the rows must run east
and west, so as to face the south.

In many gardens whei'e the soil is wet and cold,
or during wet and cold springs, the seed of Lima
Beans are very apt to rot before they germinate,
thus causing a loss of time and seed. The practice
is becoming very general among truck-gardeners, to
plant the seed about two weeks before it is perfectly
safe to set them out, in the back part or corner ot a
hotbed. They can be planted very thickly, so that
the surface of the ground is closely covered. In
about two weeks they will have grown three or four
inches high, when they can be taken up carefully
and set out like cabbage -plants around the poles. I
have tried it for two years past, and with perfect
success. Before I had often to replant.

RETARDING FRUITS.

BY M. S. F., COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE.

If this age of money and talent could discover
some mode by which we could hold back our trees
from early blooming, it would be worth as much as
a gold mine. Cannot some mode of general use be
adopted that can give us the control of the sap ?

I have tried two modes this spring to accomplish
this much-desired object — one, to keep the ground
and roots cold, and the top warm ; the other, to keep
the ground warm and the tops cold. The result was,
those about which the ground and roots were kept
cold, bloomed first, and were the worse killed. This
may, however, have resulted from the fact that the
trees were different kinds of apricots.

[Heat appliel to the branches of a tree induces
action, whether the roots are cold or not. "We
doubt whether keeping the roots cool would have
any effect. Shading the branches from the sun is
the only plan we know. Our strawberry crop on
the sunny side of a hill, is nearly destroyed by the
blossoms freezing by the frost of 2d of May. A few
on a north side not in bloom have escaped. It would
be wise where large crops are grown for market, to
have two aspects with the same kind of fruit. If
the early crop is destroyed, the late one will then be
the earliest. — Ed.]

USEFUL ESTKACTS FOR AMATEURS,

BY C, PHILADELPHIA.

Our correspondent "C." sends us the following
selections, made up from English sources, which
will be found mostly of great value.

Peaks. — DAvarf bushes on quince stocks are ad-
mirably adapted for gardens exposed to violent
winds; and they are also protected from spring
frosts by placing aroimd them, so that they rest on
and cover the tree,— sticking their ends into the
soil, — branches of deciduous trees with their spray-
like shoots on, or young branches of evergreens, or
even a square piece of cahco, which can be easily
thrown over the tree when in bloom. The fruit
on such trees (dwarfbushesj is generally of increased
size, and not liable to be blown off by autumnal
gales. If the garden .be small, they may be planted
four feet apart, and kept in a compact, fruitful state,
by being removed biennially early in November. If
large trees are desired, plant six to eight feet, and if
unremoved, they will soon form good sized prolific
bushes.

Biennial removal is the most simple of all methods
of root-pruning; it consists in merely digging a
trench around the tree about fifteen inches from its
stem, early in November, and lifting it carefully out

ihit ©ardcncr'^ Ponthlg.

207

F

of the ground -with all the earth possible attached to
its roots, — shortening with a knife any that are
straggling. If the soil be rich, so that the trees
uuremoved are inclined to grow too vigorouslj^ no
fresh compost will be required, and it will be merely
necessary before replacing the tree, to shovel into
the hole some of the earth from the surface around
it two or three inches in depth ; this will prevent the
tree settling down too deeply. If the soil be poor,
some rotten dung, at least six months old, and
loam, or auj^ light earth, equal parts, or moor earth
may be placed at the bottom in the same manner,
and about a wheelbarrow of the same compost over
the roots when replanting. The only method to
cultivate successfully prj'amidal pear on pear stocks,
is by biennial removal ; in this way they become
nearly as prolific as those on quince stocks.

For many years it has been common to hear some
gardeners, if lacking energy or enterprise, declaim
against pears on quince stocks, I believe onlv because
they require careful culture. I have no hesitation in
saying tliat in the most adverse soils, if the climate be
not too cool, they may be grown with advantage in a
garden. With biennial removal and fresh compost,
they would succeed Cas I can show j in solid clay, or in
hard, stony and gravelly soils. Give them a favora-
ble climate, and you may make them independent of
the natural soil of the garden.

An idea has also been broached, that as the spring
frosts are less severe at ten or twelve feet from the
surface of the earth, it may be advisable to cultivate
our choice pears as tall standards. From 1845 to
1856 our springs CEngland^ were generally frosty
and destructive to the blossoms of fruit trees. Dur-
ing that period I have often had crops of fine pears
from my dwarf trees when the standard fixiled, but
never once crops from the standards when the dv\\arf
failed to bear. My finest pears are grown on bushes
which are taken up and replanted biennially in
xS ovember. In February, annuallj^ about two quarts
of soot are strewn on the surface around each tree
in a circle two feet diameter ; this is left undisturbed
all the summer, owing, I presume, to the constant
radiation of heat from the earth. Pears grown on
these bushes are quite equal in size to those grown
on walls, and superior in flavor.

Plums. — When cultivated as a pyramid, the plum
tree is a beautiful tree. I have five acres of the finest
pryamids ever seen ; they are objects of the greatest
beauty. In small gardens the pyramids should be
lifted biennially. This gives them a proper cheek,
and makes the trees abundantly fruitful ; but there is
for small gardens, or even for large gardens, much
exposed, no more interesting or profitable mode of
cultivating the plum than as a bush. The biennial
removal as recommended for pyramids should be

adopted, and they soon become pictures of fertility.
I have a Green Gage Plum ten years old, thi'ec feet
high and four feet diameter ; this in 1855 Avas break-
ing down with its load of fruit. For pot-culture in
orchard-houses plums succeed admirably, and late
sorts will hang on the tree until November, and
shrivelling so as to become like a sweetmeat. ("See
his Orchard-house sixth edition. J " Quere. — Would
not these orchard-houses give us a plentiful supplj^
of good plums, and escape the curculio ; also, apri-
cots, nectarines? They can be constructed very cheap,
and really would give more amusement to our ladies
and male friends than the neglected and badly-man-
aged greenhouses, useless in summer and expensive
in winter. Grapes in pots, strawberries, and an
endless variety of fruits, might be daily on the table
and not cost one-half the expense of expensive
plants, and ever-dying exotics."

Raspberries. — Rivers' report of the new Au-
tumnal kinds is as follows : —

October Red, or Merveille des Quatre Saisons,
fonly four dollars per dozen. J Large, bright-red ;
bears even more abundantly in autumn than the
Large-fruited Monthly. Its spikes of fruit are often
from twelve to eighteen inches long.

October Yelloio^ Merveille des Quatre Saisons pent
Jaune, (six dollars per dozen, J) has the same habit
as tlie preceding, but gives yellow fruit of a good
size and flavor, and bears abundantly.

Blackberry. — Lmcton. He says : — " This black-
berry is very popular in America. It has borne
fruit here, and proves to be a distinct variety, giving
fruit rather more conical in shape than our English
Blackberry, and, perhaps, a trifle larger. In flavor
there is hardly any difference, but it ripens about
the middle of August, or a full month earlier than
our English blackberries." — T. Rivers.

Gardening in England. — At the sea side resi-
dence of Queen Victoria, in the Isle of Wight, a
large portion of the pleasure-grounds is appropriated
to the young Prince and Princesses, who have each
a flower and a vegetable garden, green-houses, hot-
beds, and forcing-frames, nurseries, tool-houses, and
even a carpenter-shop. Here the royal children pass
hours of their time. Each is supphed with a set of
tools, marked Avith the name of the owner; and
here they work Avith the enthusiam of an amateur,
and the zeal of an Anglo-Saxon. There is no branch
of gardening in which the royal children are not au
fait. In fact, from the highest personage in the land
to the poorest Manchester Aveaver, gardening has be-
come such an essential part of education and refined
culture, that to all classes it is one of the "necessa-
ries of life."

^y^:^

iS-i-^/^

■SLi

208

%lx^ §mkmxB PoHtMg,

Ctje §MkMU Poiit|Ig.

PHILADELPHIA, JULY 1, 1861.

33= All Communications for the Editor should be addressed,
"ThOxMAS Misehan, Germantown, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gardener's Mokthlt
Box 406 Philadelphia."

|uf= Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1861 in addition
to/their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(18.59) free. All persons who have paid their subscriptions for 1861
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.00 can receive a copy of
the same.

RATHVOM'S ENTOMOLOGICAL ESSAY.

This month's article completes the series of the
above, which we have been publishing for some
time. We intend now putting the same in book-
form, with the plates colored, which will be an
invaluable treasure, as it will enable fruit-growers
to distinguish at a glance his friend or foe from among
the many forms of insect life, and will give to the
entomologist a cabinet, which he will be fortunate if
he should be able to obtain from nature.

The drawings and colorings may be relied upon as
correct, coming as they did from so well-known an
entomologist as Mr. Stauffer; and for the letter-press
descriptions, we need but allude to the reputation of
the author, whose pen the Fruit-Growers' Society of
Eastern Pennsylvania was so fortunate as to engage
on the subject.

The work will be pubhshed in octavo size, bound
in cloth, at the low price of 75 cents, or paper at 50
cents.

A STRAWBERRY VIEW.
Of all fruits, the advent of the strawberry season
is the most welcome. Epicures may cast their
longing eyes at embryo bunches as they pass through
their grape-houses,— and the men of heavy means
and proportionate patience see all humbler fruits
eclipsed in the anticipated luxuries of their pear
orchards ; but to the mass of the people all these are
obscured by the strawberry. That is the fruit for
the million. It is very interesting to note the great
progress this strongly repubhcan fruit has made in
its hold on the hearts of the masses. From forming
a dish that might only be set before a king, and
which, if history tell truth, even a royal person-
age has been known to die surfeited; it has suc-
cessively descended to do duty at the tables of
aristocracy, and at the humbler boards of American
sovereigns, till he who does not afford the family
he governs at least one good strawberry festival in

the season, is not worthy even of a reputation, and
is "very poor indeed."

Our strawberry crop is not ripe at the present time
of writing, and while our lips are moving in advance
of the coming enjoyment, we will suffer our pen to
note a few points in the modern history of the straw-
berry ; considering what has been done for it, and
what it has done for us, and what we yet expect it
to do. About thirty years ago most of the kinds of
any note in cultivation in this country were what we
should now consider small and very poor bearers,
and were mainly imported varieties of the Old Pine
and the Scarlet. Of the latter, the Methven, under
the name in some localities of Keen's Seedling, was
one of the most popular. The Philadelphia markets
could furnish little else but this variety, and, if tradi-
tion has correctly informed us, very few even of
these. About twenty-five years ago the first de-
cided impulse to strawberry-culture was given by
the Hoveys in the raising of Hovey's Seedling,
which was considered so far in advance of all exist-
ing varieties, as to be a wonder of its day, and afford-
ing nearly an argument against the doctrine of the
great botanist Ray, and which has almost passed into
one of the canons of natural history, "-natura non
facit saltum,^' — nature does not improve by jumps.

Certainly this was a leap of no mean extent, and
strawberry cultivation with it went on at a bound.

But Hovey's plant had imperfect flowers. The
stamens were wanting, and the plant in that state
could not fertilize itself, and was consequently bar-
ren. But it seemed that nature, in rendering the
stamens abortive, did so only in order to turn her
energies in another direction, namely, a greater
profusion of these imperfect flowers. The Cin-
cinnati cultivators were not long in turning these
facts to account, and by introducing a few pollen-
bearing plants, — staminates amongst the imper-
fect pistillates, succeeded in fruiting the latter to
such an extent that prodigious crops were the result,
and while the fruit was thus brought within the
reach of all by the low prices, the culture became
so general, that for awhile it might seem doubtful
whether the Queen City was most famous for her
strawberries or her pork.

Our Western friends were proud, and justly so,
of their discovery, and with the enthusiasm which
history shows to be generally inseparable from really
useful inventions, undertook to give to their new
application of facts all the merit of novel botanical
principles, on which another party of pomologists
took issue, and a long "strawberry war" was the
consequence, ended only by sheer exhaustion of the
combatants. The one party claimed that a straw-
berry once pistillate or perfect, was always so,

ilt^ iiariat^r's Pcntfilj,

209

through all its successive generation of runners.
The other asserted that under some circumstances
changes at times occurred. The question might very
well have been left to the laws of the science of
vegetable morphology to decide, had not its discus-
sion a practical bearing on the character of nursery-
men in regard to the accuracy and identity of the
varieties they sent out. History does not record
that either of the combating parties were convinced
of error, and the only certain fact is, that the
"hatchet" was buried, and peace has since reigned
undisturbed.

About this time Myatt, of England, was revolu-
tionizing the strawberry-culture of that country with
his improved seedlings, and the many new kinds
of that country were extensively imported to this, all
with more or less failure, and the impression becom-
ing general, that foreign kinds were not adapted to
our country, a stimulus was again given to rais-
ing American seedlings. Every year brought its
varieties,— Phoenix, Burr'sPine, Mc'Avoy's Superior,
Genesee, Longworth's Prolific, Gushing, and scores
of others, none ot which, however, attained any
very wide-spread popularity, except, perhaps, Burr's
Pine, which, with Hovey's Seedhng, can scarcely
yet be said to have their glories entirely dimmed
by the best of the popular favorites of the present
time.

About the year 1853 James Wilson, of Albany,
raised the Albany Seedling. He does not appear to
have thought very highly of it himself, for it was dis-
tributed without much noise or comment, and at a
low price, amongst his friends all over the Union.
It was found, however, that no strawberry ever
had so great a power of adapting itself to local varia-
tions as this. It bore well and abundantly, with
great regularity and certainty every where, and with
a small amount of trouble and care, which was a
sure passport to the gardens of the masses, ignorant
of the greater value and profit of a better class of
strawberries, that only required more scientific know-
ledge and greater practical skill than they possessed
to manage properly.

Let the comparative value of the Albany be what
it may, the historical fact may not be suppressed, that
its dissemination gave an impetus to strawberry-cul-
ture with us not less in value to the introduction of
Hovey, or the discovery of the sexual theory. We
now want a strawberry with all its good qualities,
but of better flavor. We hope that amongst the
many varieties of last and previous years, such may
be found. Will not our correspondents report their
experience ?

In improved culture, strawberry history is worthy
of quite a new volume. It is now pretty well un-
derstood, that re-production of plants and the bear-

ing of fruit cannot go on in the same plant at the
same time and do full justice to each. It is now
therefore a part of the science of strawberry -culture,
that the runners must be cut off of fruiting plants ;
and that to get strong plants, the fruit should be
denied the priviledge of perfecting. Besides the
superior strength of plants from unfruiting parents,
nurserymen of correct habits are likely to adopt the
plan as insuring greater accuracy of stock, as with
the best care, seedlings will at times come up in fruit-
ing beds and mix the kinds, to the great bewilder-
ment of the purchaser, and edification of those who
believe in no change of sexual classification. The
profits of this mode of culture are also matters of
history. One cultivator, Mr. Knox, of Pittsburg, hav-
ing invested thousands of dollars in this plan, after
a careful testing of opposing ones, — and is reaping,
it is said, a rich harvest of golden grain as the result
of his judicious discrimination.

There is yet one great improvement wanted,
which in the name of the people we beg to suggest.

It is all very well for our Cincinnati friends to
profess, as our good friend Mr. Longworth once
told us they did, that no one wants to eat strawber-
ries without cream ; the observation was used, by-
the-way, as in favor of a reasonable amount of
acidity in some favorite, to which we objected. We
know that all the world and his wife, as well as the
dear little ones, would like to have strawberries so
presented to them, caring little for the cream, that
at any impromptu moment they could get and carry
away a box of the precious rubies, at pic-nics or
on excursions, without the inevitable " owner's box"
before their eyes. We want, as they have in
Europe, cheap boxes or baskets, to be made by the
million for a trifle, and for the sole ownership of the
million. The London pleasure-seeker buys his
"pottle" of strawberries at London Bridge, before
taking his excursion boat for Gravesend, which, after
emptying its contents at his leisure, he commits to
the surface of the "deep," and no loss to any one.
We believe some attention has already been given to
it by some of the advance guard of the strawberry-
growers' forces, and as they are of that character
that knows no defeat, we expect to hear of their
successes at no remote period.

THE TARTARIAN MAPLE,

ACER TATARICUM.

This is one of the most striking of all the maple
genus. The appearance of the tree suggests rather
a fine specimen of hawthora than a maple;
and, as it grows close and has a twiggy habit, is
very striking, and is eminently characteristic of re-
fined culture when introduced to garden scenery.

-£^,

210

]\^ §mkmr\ cPontljIj*

When the tree is young and growing thriftily, the
berry is three-lobed, and much resembling a young
Clinton Grape-leaf. Our sketch was taken from

V \ v 7

'^VCj--^

such a form, grown on a tree near Philadelphia, and
is one-half the natural size. When, however, the
tree grows further towards maturity the leaves are
heart-shaped, and undivided,— the lobes, as above
represented, becoming quite obsolete. The flowers
grow in erect spikes, close together, and like our
Moosewood (Acer striatum,) in appearance. It is
a native of Russian Tartary, quite hardy in this
country, and well worthy the attention of culti-
vators.

EDITORIAL COMPEMSATIOIM.

No one not in the secret has any idea ot the innu-
merable annoyances connected with the manage-
ment of a journal of this kind. One reader cares
nothing for this subject, — another for that. Here
one man's interest is affected,— there another's pre-
judice assailed. Questions of a public natin-e em-
broil you with your best private friends, and to
your enemies you are seldom able to offer a suffi-
cient peace-ofFering.

In ordinary cases, the knowledge that all this is
compensated for by the pecuniary success of one's
labors, renders the position of an editor or of a pro-
prietor not altogether intolerable. In our case,
^ where neither the proprietor nor editor went into
the cause with any idea of making money by it,

either directly, or indirectly as an aid to any other
business, the only compensation desired or expected
was that the cause of horticulture might, peradven-
ture, be advanced, and we receive, at least, the gra-
titude of our fellow -men for our eflForts.

We are pleased to say that in this we have not
been disappointed. Most of our friends have been
animated by the same spirit as we have. They have
generously labored to make our little work known,
and have extended its circulation, until, with the ex-
ception,perhaps, of the London Gardener's Chronicle,
we believe we have a circulation greater than any pure-
ly horticultural journal in the world. Ignoring profit
by our labors, our friends have done their duty also,
and, by extending our circulation, have saved us
from loss, — all that we asked of them.

In addition to this, the many kind words in hun-
dreds of letters, and from the whole agricultural
and horticultural press, complimentary to the past
and encouraging for the future, have cheered us on
in our labors, and at no time have they been more
profuse or more earnestly expressed than in the pre-
sent one of our national troubles. We sincerely say,
that at no period of the existence of our periodical
has its influence for good been shown so unmistaka-
bly as now,— and that we believe, had we a wide
choice, we could serve our whole country no better
than by acting as its editor.

"Your periodical," writes a distinguished divine
of New York, "is the only one that comes to my
table that makes me entirely forget war topics, and
I thank you heartily for so great a luxury." An-
other clergyman and valued friend, from Pennsburg,
Pa., says, "My mission is eminently one of peace.
Our papers are all on the war, and the advent of
your Monthly is ever anxiously looked for." Simi-
lar letters from the North, East and West pour in
in abundance. Gratifying as they are, our Southern
correspondence during the past few months is still
more pleasing, so far as the unfortunate condition of
things wiU admit of any pleasure at all.

Dr. Ravenal, the distinguished botanist and horti-
culturist of Aiken, S. C, in the first and only letter
we ever had the pleasure to receive from him, writes :
" I presume post-office communication will soon be
no longer open to us ; in which case I wish you to
take any and every chance you can to send me the
Monthly. Whatever may be the merits of the con-
troversy between the different parties in our coun-
try, Cand I hold my own opinion on this subject,;
I shall never forget the pleasure your journal has
given me, or relinquish my desire to receive it."

And thus up to the day of final mail suspension,
scores of letters have reached us, which we relig-
iously cherish,— some recounting what their writers
consider the wrongs they have suffered from the

^

K^^:y

•>/*

^^

s

Sth^ €ardeiwr'» JRoirtMg.

211 (^

North, others expressing abhorrence at the course
of their own neighbors of the South, — some for
Union, some for disunion, some for peace, some for
war, — but all wishing a long career of prosperity for
the Monthly ; their wish that back files should be
saved for them ; and determination, should they be
spared through the struggle, let the result be what it
maj% to resume their places in its refining circle.

What greater subject can appeal to our individual
patriotism ? That in the midst of one of the most
heart-rending conflicts the world has ever seen, —
when father and son, brother and friends, church
against church, and pulpit against pulpit are divided
to a greater extent than any history can furnish a
parallel, — we should hold in our hands one of the
strongest, most pure and lasting bonds of union,
drawing together hearts the more strongly as the
political and religious relations tend to sunder them,
is one of the proudest reflections of our lives, — one
overwhelming myriads of such annoyances as we
alluded to in the opening of our chapter, and afford-
ing us a stronger inducement than ever to persevere
in our course of horticultural propagandism, as one
of the wisest and best means of infusing love, har-
mony, peace and good-will amongst men.

rrep eno ^uffips.

53^ Communications for this department must reach the Editor
on or before :he 10th of the month.

fr3^i"he Editor cannot answer letters for tliis department pri-
Tately.

Cold VrxERiES. — W. F., II., Lexington, Ky.,
writes :

"As I am about building a cold vinery for
foreign grapes, I want some information on the
subject. 1st. As to the best mode of construction.
2nd. The probable cost of the kind of one you
would suggest. 3rd. The best time for planting the
vines. 4th. The best plan for preparing the borders.
oth. Which is the best, inside or outside borders ;
and, (6J as I want them entirely for family use, and
not on an extensive scale, give me your opinion as
to the best varieties. I wish to build one on a cheap
but yet durable plan.

[1. There are two general classes of graperies, —
lean-to and span -roof, — and these again may be
either flat-roofed or curvilinear. The best mode of
construction will depend on the class chosen. For
general purposes, the flat-roofed, lean-to, or span is
employed. This may be either on the fixed-roof
principle or with sashes ; the former is now coming
into general use. How to construct on the fixed-
roof principle is described in detail at page 117 vol.

I. (August number.; That structure was intended
for plants ; but any one accustomed to greenhouse,
or even common hotbed frame building, can readily
adapt it to the purpose of a vinery.

2. Houses on this principle can usually be built at
from two to five dollars per foot, according to the
size or dimensions,— a lean-to about ten feet back,
three feet front, and sixteen feet wide, would cost
in this section about three dollars per lineal or run-
ning foot. A house on the sash principle genej-ally
costs more than double that of fixed i-oofs.

3. Just before the leaves burst in spring.

4. We cannot do better than refer you to an ex-
cellent article by a superior practical gardener at
Yonkers, New York, at page 139 vol. II. CMayJ),
for those who grow on the old border system. It
is best to have the border entirely in the house, if
suflftcient skill and care can be employed in the man-
agement of the vinery. They can be grown best
this way. Where but little time can be spared for
management, we prefer a border to extend both ir.-
side and outside the house. In Mr. Bright's hands,
the divided and detached borders produce wonderful
vines. When you have well managed the old sys-
tem, you may try your hand at his improv ment,
which you will find fully described at page 34, Vol.

II. ; or yt)U might try it on a small scale at first in a
part of the house, and if you found you understood
it well and could manage it, extend it to the whole
house ultimately.

6. Three-fourths of Black Hamburg, and divide the
balance betvv^een Roj'al M scadine. White Frontig-
nac, Grizzly Frontignac, West St. Pet<rs, and, if
possible, some of the newer kinds, ..hich may pos-
sibly prove to be real improvements, such as Golden
Hamburg, or Muscat Hamburg. We must add,
however, that we seldom recommend novices to go
into novelties on their first trials. It is best for them
to start with Vv'ell-known and dependable kinds.

Diseased Rose-le.wes.— //. V. F., Lngan!<port,
Ind. — The leaves sent are not, in our opinion, in-
jured by the frost. The following are our reasons
for this opinion. The leaves are too far expanded
to suffer in that way. Frost will only injure a young
growth. When once a leaf is partially hardened,
frost will not injure it in the way yours are. Again,
the teuderest portion of a leaf is its extreme margin.
When injured by frost, this portion suffers first. —
Some of your specimens are so injured ; but many
of tliem are injured at the base of the leaf, and even
the footstalks are browned, while the outer and more
exposed portions are not injured at all. We cannot
say what has caused the injury without seeing the
plants and judging from circumstances. You need
not have apologized for the simplicity of your ques-

""8BT"

^\^^rT

m

^/l

^^B

212

®h^ #ar(knijr's cPontWg,

(k

tion. It is an old and true saying, that a reasonable
amount of skepticism is necessary to make a true
believer, and in no case is it so wise to doubt as in
those little circumstances that daily come under our
observation, in which persevering industry will cer-
tainly convince us of the reason and cause. Exten-
sive knowledge is but a series of small observations,
and for this reason, as our past pages show, we are
ever ready, to aid our friends in. solving these " sim-
ple things/!',,

Advektisements— iV»fo/r<?j/i /. B. Good.

YoKK, Pa., June 13th, 1861.

Ifr. Thomas Meelian : —

Dear Sir— In the last number of the Gardener's
Monthly I notice a letter from Henry Kohly, of
Greenville, Ills., in respect to my Grape advertise-
ment, &c. From what I can judge of his writing,
I come to the conclusion that the man must have
been insane or very absent-minded, as the enclosed
letter from him will show. This is the only letter
that I ever received from this Henry Kohly. If he
did send any money, {which I doubt very much^) it
never reached this place nor came into my hands, as
the enclosed is the only letter that I ever received of
him, and there icas not a particle more in it than
what I send to you. He says that his ^rst letter
was dated February 11th, 1861 ; whereas the en-
closed letter proves positively that he is wrong, as
this is dated January 30th, 1861, and is, I think,
based upon my January card of Grape-vines, as he
Tnalies no mention at all of cuttings. To this letter I
sent him the communication you published, and
dated '■'■February 16/A, 1861," and with my signature.
You will know his handwriting, and can judge for
yourself who is the greatest swindler in this case.
Does this man mean to put a false charge against
me, and thereby defame me ? He says he never
noticed my card before the 11th of February ;
whereas the enclosed letter from him shows quite to
the contrary.

In respect to others there may be who did not re-
ceive their vines, or were dissatisfied with them, I
am Mailing to make every thing right next fall.
Through the present crisis in the country and other
embarrassments, it was impossible for me to attend
to my orders as should have been done. I hope
that all will come right again.

Respectfully yours, John B. Good.

[This letter fully justifies us in the course we have
uniformly adopted, not to interfere between nur-
serymen and their customers, for the reason that
we cannot know the exact facts, and are in no po-
sition to judge of the justice or injustice claimed.
In our last, Mr. Kohly says his first letter to Mr.
Good was written February 11th. Mr. Good now

encloses one dated from " Greenville, January 30ih,"
as quoted in the letter of Mr. Good printed last
mouth, and the envelope, post-marked " Greenville,
January 31st," and the conclusion is inevitable that
Mr. Kohly is mistaken. So far, Mr. Good has en-
tirely the best of the controversy. And now, as to
the other, how shall we decide ? Mr. Kohly says
he sent money to Mr. Good. Mr. Good denies
receipt of it. First, as to the probabilities. We
know there are men who would receive money and
deny it, and then we also know that the mail is un-
reliable at times, and that letters will get lost. The
probabilities may be for or against Mr. Good ; but
to the actual facts, what have we whereon to
form a judgment ?

The last paragraph of Mr. Good's note demands
a word. We stated in our last that we had received
many letters similar to Mr. Kohly' s, complaining of
Mr. Good. Mr. Good here seems to admit that
there is some ground of complaint, and excuses
himself on account of the "crisis" and "other em-
barrassments." If Mr. Good means that he has
received orders and money, as many parties write
to us they have sent, and, neglecting to acknow-
ledge or in any way notice their letters and remit-
tances, offers the above as a satisfactory apology,
we presume it is not likely to be successful. We
must, however, say, as we have before said repeat-
edly, that we cannot consent to stand between ad-
vertisers and their customers. We had scarcely
commenced our work before we thus cautioned our
readers, at page 73 of Vol. I., in answer to a cor-
respondent who supposed "simple-minded people"
take it for granted that a paper endorses "an adver-
tisement," that we had no sympathy with those
who were "simple-minded," and declined to inter-
fere. Again, at page 121 of the same volume, we
expressed the same views. Wo advised our readers
not to buy of those who advertised in our paper,
without "previously satisfying themselves of their
character for honesty and fair dealing." At page
245, Vol. II., in reply to a Canadian correspondent,
we again repeated the principles we had adopted,
and declined to interfere in the case.

Our rule is, to admit no advertisements of a busi-
ness into our columns when we know that such
business is essentially a swindle. Thus we have
uniformly refused to advertise for a so-called "nur-
sery" in Kentucky, and for other "quack" concerns.
But when the business is legitimate, we cannot in-
terfere with the man's manner of conducting it. Deal
with those you know to be prompt, honorable and
reliable. If you think you can get a better bargain
by trusting your purse and your confidence into the
hands of entire strangers, whose only recommenda-
tions may be flashy -written advertisements, "tre-

tm^

®[jf[ ^arbeirefs lilontljlj.

213

mendous sacrifices," "selling regardless of cost,"
and other clap-trap, why should we be called upon
to sympathize when the buyer finds his ''bargain
don't amount to much ?"

So far as Mr. Good is concerned, it is but justice
to add, that we have just received two letters, one
from a respectable merchant in Baltimore, whom we
personally know. He says : — "I gave Mr. Good a
heavy order for vines, and received them in good
order. They were very fine plants, and satisfac-
tory." The other, whom we also personally know,
a Philadelphian, says: — " I sent him five dollars for
Delaware vines, and received them. They were
small, but are doing well."

With this explanation of our "platform," we
hope to have no occasion again to refer to the
subject. ]

GKEExnousE Boilers — J. T. W., Jackson^ Mich.,
wants to heat a house twenty -five by fifty feet, and
and asks whether flues or hot water would be most
economical. He says he can get a small tubular
boiler for sixteen dollars, and might want to divide
the house in o two sections, the one to be heated
when the other was not.

Generally the first cost of a boiler and pipes is ten
to one against them, aad in favor of flues ; though
in an account of ten or twenty years, the former
comes out much the cheapest. If, however, our
friend can get three-inch pipes for about twenty -five
cents per running foot with a sixteen dollar boiler,
have hot water, by all means, especially when it is
desired to have at times one house heated and the
other not, which can be regulated by a stop-cock.
In the latter case, all that is necessary is to see that
the boiler and furnace are large enough to afford
sufficient heat for both in the coldest weather. What
that size should be, can only be told when the struc-
'ture and uses of the house were known, and the
probable amount of heat required.

41"

LisrE, Leaves, &c — A Subscriber, Philadelphia,
writes : — " I have put around the roots of my peach
and nectarine trees tobacco-leaves, previously soaked
in water, wrapping them around the stem about two
or three inches below the surface of the ground, and
thi-ee inches above. Then, after putting back the
earth, I heaped air-slacked lime around the coUar of
the tree. The object was to protect the trees against
the ravages of the borer. It afterwards occurred to
me that the combined action of the tobacco and
lime might be injurious to the trees. Can you say
how this is? fl. )

In his work on the strawberry, Pardee recom-
mends watering the plants every ten days or two
reeks with a solution composed of a quarter of a

pound of sulphate of potash, of sulphate of soda, of
nitrate of soda, and an ounce and a half of sulpliate
of ammonia, mixed with six gallons of water. But
he does not say to what surface this is to be applied
— whether half an acre or an acre. Will you be
good enough to inform me ? and also whether it
may be applied while the plants are fruiting ? (2).

Is tan a good mulch for pear and other fruit
trees? (Z.)

[1. We should apprehend no injury under such
circumstances.

2. Mr. Pardee, no doubt, means that the plants
should be watered with a watering-pot, and in such
manner as if the plants were dry and we were using
common water merely, and that the mixture should
thus go as far as it would in that way.

3. Tan has been found useful as a mulch for straw-
berries, but not better than any other materi;il for
other trees or plants.

Patent-Office Plants — S. B., Oalesburg, Ills.
— The Biota "sinensis" and Pinus pinea that you
have received from the Patent Office are very com-
mon things, and though they may probably live
through the winter in your section, are not very
desirable for your climate.

Black Knot on the Peach — A Subscriber, Leo-
minster, Mass. — Some time in the autumn of 1859 I
noticed a singular excresence upon one of my j^oung
peach trees, which appeared to be identical with the
black knot of the plum tree, and after cutting it off",
the wood beneath presented the same peculiar ap-
pearance as does the wood of the plum beneath a
a black knot.

Last summer another knot made its appearance
just below the spot where the first one grew, which
I have also removed, and enclose you a small por-
tion, in order that you may determine whether it
really is the same thing as the black knot of plum
or not. I have understood that in some places the
cherry has become aifected by the knot, but I have
never heard of their being found upon peach.

[The genuine black knot. We have never seen it
before on the peach. ]

Ants about PyEONiES— iZ". B., Oalesburr/, Ills. —
Hot water, in which sulphur has been mixed, poured
about the plant, is the best way to make ants leave.
If the ants "work on the bud," it is probable that
other insects have been there before them, and that
they are merely feeding on saccharine secretions
the insects have left behind them.

IMouNTAiN Ash Seed — /. E., Bacenport, loica

M

214

fflj^ iarter's iloiiijjiB,

I?

— If not sowed until spring-, after the seed has been
somewhat dried, it will not come up till the second
season. If put in sand, kept damp until sown in
spring, it will usually grow that spring.

The AiLANTnus Silkworm—^. Berg, La Perc, Mo.
— We have placed your specimens in the hands of a
distinguished entomological friend, who will report
on them in our next.

Pavittjm et.atum, called also Malva elatum, is
described in Hooker as a Cuban tree of very hand-
some inflorescence. To us it possesses interest, from
the fact of its being the tree from the inner bark of
which the "Cuban bast" of commerce is obtained.
It has generally here been confounded with the
"Lace Bark" Lagetta lentearia, which Sir W. Hooker
saj's it does much resemble.

The Female Aucuba japonica. — Mr. Fortune
has discovered this in Japan ; the male varietj^ of
our gardens being the only one so far discovered.
He says it bears a profusion of magnificent red
berries.

Among the last Japan plants from Mr. J. G. Veitch
are some most interesting and hitherto wholly un-
known in our gardens, and which, considering the
climate that produces them, may be expected to be
as perfectly hardy as Thujopsis dolabrata itself. We
add a few notes concerning them. — Gardener''s
Chronicle :

PrNUs densiflora, Siehold 4" Ziicc., Flora Ja-
ponica., ii. 2)- 32, t. 112. — Of this Siebold gives the
following account. It is found all over Japan, grow-
ing along with P. Massoniana. Forty feet high or
more. It is more especially found on the slopes of
mountains to the height of one thousand to two
thousand feet. It, hoAvever, occurs at the bottoms of
valleys. The timber is of great excellence ; its resin
is largely in request for the jjlasters and salves used
by the Japanese in healing w^ounds and sores. In
pulmonary complaints they hold it to be a specific.
Indian, or China, ink is made from the soot of both
P. densiflora and Massoniana. So far Siebold. The
cones are smaller than those of a Scotch Fir, with
flat lozenge-shaped terminations to the scales, and
very small seeds, with a narrow curved wing. Mr.
Gordon tells his readers that this plant is the same
as the Stone Pine, an astounding assertion, enough
to ruin the credit of any book. ("See his Pinetum,
p. 179.)

PiNUS FARViPLORA, Siebold Sj- Zuccarini, Flora
Japonica, ii. 27, t. 115. — This is one of the Cembra
tribe of Pines, with leaves five in a sheath, and great
wingless seeds. According to Siebold, it, although
found cultivated all over Japan, is a native exclu-
sively of north of the empire, extending from about
350 N. Lat. to the Kurile Islands. It forms a small
tree, not above twenty-five feet high, in the Japanese
promanades, but being taller on the north-eastern
slope of the Fakone Mountains. The wood is much
used by cabinet-makers and turners. There is a
dwarf variety, and the species seems much inclined
to vary in stature and in the length of the leaves.
The cones are oblong, with great blunt thin-edged
concave rugged scales, when fully open.

Abies firma, Siebold <j- Zuccai'ini, Mora Japonica,
ii. 15, t. 107. — Concerning this most beautiful species
we collect the following from Siebold. It is a large
tree, with the aspect of the European Silver Fir,
growing from Kinsu to the Kurile Islands. Its
timber holds a fifth-rate place among the Japanese,
and is principally used in fancy-work, or for making
the cases in which they pack their lacquered goods.
It is white, soft, and fine-grained. The cones are
about four inches long, pendulous, straight or little
curved. Their scales are broad, dull, downy, a little
notched at the edge, and beyond them projects
somewhat the narrow sharp point of a stiff bracteal
scale.

Retinispora obtusa, Siehold Sf Zuecarini,Flora Ja-
ponica, ii. 38, t. 121. (WmdkiJap.) — "A Japanese
author says that as a hero is the glory of men, so is
the Hinoki that of the forest." So writes Siebold;
and certainly the account he gives of the tree would
seem to justify the assertion. We have before us a
branch of the plant with some cones. In its dried _
state it looks like a small leaved state of Thujopsis
dolabrata without its glaucous underside and with a
more brilliant green color. It is an evergreen coni-
fer, belonging to the Arborvitee race, and Siebold
assures us that it has a straight stiff bole from sixty
to eighty feet high, and five to six feet through at the
butt. Its branches spread like a fan, and its white
fine-grained solid wood shines like silk when worked
up. Because of these superior qualities the Japanese
consecrate the tree to the Goddess of the Sun, whose
chapels and little temples are built entirely of its
timber. Moreover, most of the wooden utensils
employed at the Court of Micado are formed from
it, and retain their natural color without the aid of
varnish. The tans of the prince and his women are
also made of little slips of Hinoki wood, held to-
gether by silken threads, and gleaming with the j-
colors of the rainbow. The country of Hinoki is I (§)

t

M<\ @;trtocr's .^lonthlu.

chiefly the mountainous part of Nippon, where it
forms vast forests, and on account of tlie high price
of its timber, is an important article of tra-le. Huge
piles of colossal balks and planks may be seen col-
lected on the banks of Japanese rivers. The tree is
planted for ornament and shade all over the empire.

Retinispora pisifera, Sicbold ^- Zuccarini, Flora
Japonica, ii. 39, t. 123. (Sawara Jap.) — A smaller
and more slender tree than the last, with sharp pointed
leaves, glaucous and concave on the under side.
According to Siebold, the leaves are also of a darker
green ; he saw individuals twenty-five to thirty feet
high near a temple at Nagasaki ; and found it grow-
ing intermixed with R. obtusa. Its cones are much
smaller, and the oil cysts on its seeds more numer-
ous as Avell as larger.

Yeitchia japonica: Lindley.^ n. g.— Of this ex-
traordinary plant only two mutilated cones, a few
seeds, and a small branch have been received ; but
they suffice to show that it is a wholly new form in
the coniferous order, with the seeds of a Chamre-
cj'paris, the leaves of an Abies, and cones which
become, when ripe, more like spherical honeycombs
than any thing else to which we can compare them.
One would fancy the plant to represent an Abies,
permanently assuming in the cone the monstrous
form so often given to the common spruce by the
attack of insects, and then struggling onwards to
become a Sciadopitys or a Cryptomeria. The
branches are short and covered with spirally ar-
ranged projecting curved pidvines, resembling those
of Abies Menziesii. At the base of each branchlet
is a small cup formed of recurved scales from which
the branchlet emerged when young. The leaves
are half an inch long, linear, blunt, and glaucous
beneath. The cones are erect, downy, nearly spheri-
cal, about an inch in diameter, before ripening fur-
nished with incurved hoi'n-like projecting bracteal
scales, which at maturity break and disclose as
many four-sided sockets or cavities, within which
lodge a etc us uncertain^ number of small two-
winged seeds terminated by a pair of short, straight,
tooth-like processes. We cannot do otherwise than
associate with this extraordinary genus the name
of Mr. J. G. Veitch, its active and intelligent dis-
coverer, and the introducer of so many fine trees
previously unknown in this country. For our sci-
entific readers we subjoin a brief technical descrip-
tion:

Veitahia. — Genua Coniferanim Abietearum. Strobili alveolati:
i. e. ovariis convolutis omniao connatis derauni apice quariratim
deliiscentibus, bracteiti coruutis elongatis incurvis matuiitate, fra-
gilibus. Semina diptera, apice blcornia s. bidentata (uumero in-
determinata.) Folia Abietis.

"»Mi

Sp. 1. V. japonica, foliis liiieraibus obtusis siibtns glaiicis, pliyl-
lulia rhombeis, pulvinis elongatis rigidis incurvis, strobilis sphiciMcis
ercctis pubesceutibus, bractois triangulai-ihus elongatiB incurvis.

New Foreign Grapes. — Ingram'' s Hardy Prolific
Orape is a fertile setter. The bunches are from
twelve to fourteen inches in length, having black
oval berries, with the peculiar vinous flavor of the
Hamburg, yet more piquant, and combined with a
slight spice of Muscat. The flavor is new. Owing
to its ripening in a much lower temperature than
the Black Hamburg, it is a good sort for a green-
house. The footstalk of the berry is stiff. It has
been exhibited before the Royal Horticultural So-
ciety's Fruit Committee, and obtained a first-class
certificate ; the fruit shoAvn being cut from a vine
struck from a single eye that was only fourteen
months old from the time of putting in the single
eye till cutting the grapes.

Gros Maroc Orape. — This is likely to prove a
valuable new purple grape. Its berries are oval, and
very large; bunches, shouldered, and very large.
Its habit is most vigorous, with large woolly leaves.
It ripens with the Black Hamburg in a house Avith-
out fire-heat, and will hang a long time on the vine,
or be kept with great ease in bran, so as to form
English raisins, as its skin is thicker than the Black
Hamburg. Its flavor is remarkably rich.

Gros Colman Grape. — This is around purple grape,
with very large berries and bunches. Its leaves
are large, and its habit coarse and most vigorous ;
skin thick, and flavor inferior. It is, however, a
very showy grape, and, like all thick-skinned grapes,
it will hang a long time on the vine.

Muscat Trover 671 Grape. — A variety of the "White
Frontignan, with very large berries and bunches.
Though the flavor is less rich, it promises to be a
very desirable sort.

The Japan Grape, or " Yeddo Vine," produces a
fruit of great exceflence. The bunches are medium-
sized. The berries are of a brownish color, thin-
skinned, and flavor excellent. This might prove of
immense value to our country, where Japan plants
usually thrive so well ; and we commend the ques-
tion of its introduction tion to our "Patent Oflice,"
in place of "tea plants" and Red Strap-leaved
Turnips.

Pullen's Seedling Peach. — On looking over
some back files of the Pennsylvania Horticultural

(S)^

216

®^ iardiJiw'a cPontMj.

Society reports, we find a seedling peach, raised by Mr. Isaac PuUen, of Hightstown, New Jersey,
very liiglily spoken of, and a premium awarded it.

Not finding it in Downing, and hearing it frequently well spoken of by peach-growers, we give
the following cut and description from memorandums by us :

s >^

Leaves, with globose glands; fruit, very large, and more compressed in shape than the Crawford's
Late ; skin, of a beautiful yellow color, with a dark red cheek ; flesh, yellow, and of most excellent flavor.
Eipens between the 20th and 30th of September. Seedling from Crawford's Late.

Woodruff's Patent Portable Barometer.
— This instrument, so useful to the farmer and gar-
dener, is constructed in a strong, compact manner,
and can be furnished at a price within the reach of
almost every one. See Advertisement.

On "Skeletonizing." — There seems an endless
diversity among the ornamental arts which serve to
occupy the leisure and exercise the taste and inge-
nuity of that large class of women, who are not
wholly engrossed with domestic cares, — for who is
there that has no time to embellish the daily routine
of care with something of beauty and variety ?

There are unfailing sources of female employment
in the innumerable variations of crotcheting, knit-

ting, and zephyr work, which, if indulged in to
excess, keep our wives and sisters in-doors, in a
sitting posture, during hours which might be profita-
bly spent in active and healthful exercise. These
employments are, however, being increasingly di-
versified by others, which, though kindred in their
motives, are widely different in their scope, involv-
ing the collection and study of natural objects, and
corresponding rambles into the woods and fields.
In these both sexes may be appropriately associated,
uniting wholesome physical and mental recreation
with the cultivation of the most refining and elevating
tastes.

Several years have elapsed since the introduction
of the aquarium or water-garden among us, and a few
of these elegant and attractive ornaments are still to
be found in dwellings, notwithstanding the ditficulty
of keeping up the perfect equilibrium of animal and

— «:

Sh^ ^ardaur's (PantMg,

vegetable life so essential to their success; the
feruery, Wardiau case and hanging basket, are more
easily managed, and at least one of these portable
little conservatories furnishes a green spot in many
a parlor and drawing-room during the dreary reign
of the frost king.

The latest novelty in the way of these ornamental
uses of natural objects is that for which the name
of "skeletonizing" has been coined; its object is
to produce permanent and beautifully white prepara-
tions of the frame work or skeleton of different
vegetable structures, and to mount these tastefully
under glass shades or otherwise.

The study of the intimate structure of all plants
discovers among the several kinds of tissue de-
veloped during their growth, innumerable membra-
neous vesicles of various shapes, containing starchy
and mucilaginous matters chiefly in the fluid state
and when developed in the light, a peculiar green
coloring matter, called cMorophyle. This cellular
structure predominates in the stem of the young
plant, in the leaf and the immature seed vessel ;
its functions during the growth of the plant is to
assimilate from the air the elements of the plant's
food, which it is fitted for by its loose and porous
structure, and the free circulation of the sap and air
through it.

In the growth of most vegetable structures, and
especially of iDcrennial plants, trees and shrubs, the
cellular tissue gives place in the stems to woody
tissue, the fibres of which are drawn out into ex-
tremely fine and tough tubes, compacted together into
bundles, which, stretching through the plants length-
wise, afford the necessary strength, and, it is supposed,
serve to convey the sap from the roots to the di-
gestive organs, the leaves. This woody fibre extends
more or less in the leaf, and even into the flower,
and forms what are called the veins of the leaf.

To those who have studied this veining of leaves
in connection with their great variety of forms,
there will be no lack of interest in our new art, but
even to the most imobservant tyro it cannot fail to
acquire interest as he pursues it in connection with
the new ornamental art of "skeletonizing."

The cellular structure from its loose texture, the
fermentable nature of its constituents, and its per-
meability by fluids decomposes very readily, when
removed from the plant ; all must have observed
how a heap of fallen leaves blown into a moist
place quickly soften into a pulpy mass, exhale foetid
odors, and furnish the matrix for a rank growth of
ferns, mosses and toadstools; it is thus that the
exhaustec" soil is constantly replenished by decaying
vegetation. — Friend's Intelligencer.

[To he Concluded in our next-l

Wellesbt, the Seat of H. H. Hunnewell,
Esq. — Mr. Hunnewell's place was made entirely by
the spade. So late as 1851, the present ornamented
portion of the estate, about forty acres, presented
to view nothing more than a hideous sandy plain,
with scattered clumps of pitch-pine and scraggy
oaks. These were entirely removed before any
thing else was planted. Then an acre of ground or
more was thoroughly trenched and manured, and,
when prepared for a nursery, planted with fine varie-
ties of evergreens, elms, maples, oaks, beeches, &c.
These were only about fifteen inches high, but were
set out where required as they attained growth and
hardihood. The lawn was then graded, subsoiled,
and cultivated some years before grassing. All the
exposed parts of the estate toward the public road
were planted out of view ; and, until the trees
reached a good height, the border was yearly sown
with potatoes, the yield in some measure paying for
the work. When the situation of the house was
finally chosen, avenues from several points were
formed by alternating the Pinus excelsa and Magnolia
Iripetala with Norway Spruces and masses of rare
evergreen shrubs, such as rhododendrons, &c., for one
approach, and by white pines and larches for another.

With admirable taste and judgment the formality
of the avenues is discontinued on approaching the
lawn, with its views of the lake, the Italian garden,
and the house and plantations are segregated into
groups and single specimens, chosen especially for
their beauty and rich effect. About eight acres are
here adorned with the finest trees that can be pro-
cured, many of them transplanted from a distance of
twenty miles, even when nearly thirty feet high, by
removing them during the winter, with balls of
frozen earth about the roots, to holes already pre-
pared. The keeping of these grounds has minute
attention, and all the accompanying features of the
place, — the mansion, the terraces, the French and
Italian garden, the lake, are on a correspondii|g
scale of magnificence. — Christian Exaviiner.

New Hand-Glass. — We have been shown an in-
vention of Mr. O. S. Cadwell, jr., of this city, de-
signed for the early starting and protection of vege-
tables in the Spring. It is simply an earthenware,
hollow cylinder, of about ten inches in diameter and
eight inches in height, with a sloping top, to which
is fitted a pane of glass. Holes are provided for ven-
tilation. It can be furnished cheaply, and seems in
many ways preferable to the hand-glass now in use.
— Homestead.

How THE English Ripen Late Pears.— Mr.
Powell, of the Royal Gardens, according to Mr.
Bright, in the Horticulturist^ says they allow all late

218

®lj^ ^arhirn^'s S^oiitljfg.

pears to hang on the trees till the latest peroid of
gathering. Give light and air to the fruit store for
the first six weeks ; after this close the house, and
keep the temperature at 45° to 50o. If not colored
or ripe at the proper season, put them into a close
box, in a warm room or vinery, where the tempera-
ture is from 60° to 70o.

How TO Dissolve Bones. — The following is a
copy of a private letter written by the editor of the
Southern Field and Fireside to a friend who wanted
to dissolve a quantity of bones for raising root crops :

"To make a good article of superphosphate from
bones, you should use about as many pounds of
sulphuric acid as of bones (dxy weight ) ; break the
bones as fine as you can with an old axe or sledge
hammer, ftliey ought to be ground, if practicable
with you, ) when they should be wet by the free use
of water boiling, adding half as many pounds as
there are of dry bones. The half of a molasses
hogshead will, perhaps, be as convenient and cheap
for operating in as any thing. To the bones and
boiling water in this vessel or some other, add slowly
the acid, and stir the mass constantly as the acid is
poured in. A powerful boiling takes place from
the escape of carbonic acid from the bones, which
gradually subsides by occasionally stirring ; the
bones in a week or ten daj'^s become like paste, when
the whole could be taken out and mixed with per-
fectly dry loam or charcoal dust, to fit it for drilling
with a machine. Where bones are larger, or the
acid weak, it may take a month to dissolve their
earthy matter ; and this end is promoted by cover-
ing the large tub or half-hogshead holding the bones
and acid with several loads of fermenting loose dung
to increase the temperature, where heat is an im-
portant element of chemical action. I should not
use over one to three hundred pounds of dry bones.
Any bones or pieces not softened, I would compost
"v^h fermenting stable-manure, whose heat and
carbonic acid will slowly dissolve them."

Quinces. — The Apple Quince, of which there are
several varieties, is the common old sort, of rather
weak bushy growth, leaves small, light green, oval,
sometimes obovate or roundish at the end, and downy
on both surfaces.

The Portugal Quince is of much stronger growth ;
the leaf is large, broad, heart-shaped, glossy, smooth,
dark green on the upper surface, lighter colored and
downy on the under surface.

Anger's Quince, a hybrid raised from the Portugal,
which it resembles very much, but the leaves are a
little more pointed, and not quite so dark colored.
It has the advantage, that it grows more readily from
cuttings than the Portugal, at least in a Northern

climate. It also has the advantage, that it unites
well with the pear bud.

Paris or Fontenay resembles the Anger's very
much, perhaps its growth is a little more upright.
It grows very easily from cuttings, and is probably
in every respect equal to the Anger's as a stock ;
some French nurserymen even prefer it. — Cotton
Planter.

A Fancy Hanging Basket. — We saw a very
beautiful fancy hanging basket in the hands of a
lady on the cars. It was composed of a cocoa
shell and pine cones. Saw the cocoa in two parts for
the cup or frame of the basket, and with prepared
glue, attach the small cones of the pine or larch, be-
ginning at the bottom and forming them in rows to
the top of the shell. A lai'ge cone makes the knob
at the bottom. This one was made entirely of cones,
but I think one nearly as pretty might be made on
the shell of a squash or gourd, covered with acorns
and their cups, interspersed with pretty mosses,
where coaco shells and pine cones are not to be
had. — Field Notes.

A New Canadian Dye. — Professor Lawson has
exhibited specimens of a new dye of great richaess,
prepared in the laboratory of Queen's College, from an
insect, a species of coccus, found for the first time last
summer on a tree of the common Black Spruce (Abies
nigra, Poir,) in the neighborhood of Kingston.
This new dye closely resembles true cochineal, a
most expensive coloring matter, capable of being
produced in warm countries only, and which is used
to give a fine and permanent dye in red, crimson
and scarlets, to wool and silk. Unlike cochineal,
the new dye, discovered at Kingston, is a native
Canadian product, and capable of being produced
in temperate countries. Having been but recently
observed, a sufficient quantity has not yet been ob-
tained for a complete series of experiments as to its
nature and uses ; but the habits of the insect, as well
as the properties of the dye, seem to indicate that it
may become of practical importance. In color it
closely resembles ordinary cochineal, having rather
more the scarlet hue of the flowers of Adonis au-
tumnalis, and, no doubt, other shades will be ob-
tained.

Cheap Roofs. — A very simple and effective roof-
ing for barns and other out-houses, is made in the
following manner : First cover any description of
light rafters with well-seasoned, three-fourths or inch
thick boards ; then cover with sheathing paper, giv-
ing sufficient lap— about two inches — and fasten with
small, flat-headed nails, and give this a coating of
asphaltum and fine sand mixed, and laid on hot. If
asphaltum is not easily procurable, a good substitut e

A

ifi^ (§m&mtx\ PontMg.

is made bj^ mixing eight gallons of tar with four
pounds of rosin ; boil and spread on while hot, and
sprinlde with dry sand — all it will take — before cool-
ing. A roof constructed of such materials can be
made almost flat, a run of one inch to the foot being
amply sufficient. With asphaltum, procurable in
any quantity in San Francisco, a durable and cheap
roof is obtained. — California Fanner.

SoLANTTM Fendleri. — lu Western Texas and
New Mexico a new species of the potato was dis-
covered some years ago, which, from its being so
closely allied to the common potato, great expecta-
tions were formed that it might resist disease, and,
perhaps, supplant the common potato. As we be-
lieve Mr. Fendler, the distinguished botanical collec-
tor, who discovered it, and in whose honor it was
named, is now engaged in connection with the Bo-
tanical Garden of St. Louis, we call attention to the
matter, in the hope that he may be al)le to put some
parties on tlie track of introducing it for experiment.

Fertilizer for Cabbage. — Superphosphate of
lime, especially when mixed with some rotten wood
fnot pine wood) and worked into the ground, has a
powerful eifect on cabbages. — Cotton Planter.

Apples in Oregon. — This is becoming a staple
crop in Oregon. The 0. Farmer says one |irm in
Portland have been " for a long tin\e past bringing
over one thousand bushels per day. ' '

Farfugitjm GRANDE lias been found quite hardj"
on the grounds of Hovey & Co., Boston, Mass.

To Stop Leakage in Hot- Water Pipes. — Get
some iron borings or filings, and mix them with
vinegar, forming it into a salve ; with this fill up the
cracks where the leaking is ; and if the pipe has been
previously dried, and is kept dr,y until this has become
quite hard, it will never fail to effectually stop the
leakage, and will stand for a length of time. If an
iron pipe should burst, or there should be a hole
broke into it by accident, a piece of iron may be se-
curely fastened over it, by bedding it on, in a salve
made of iron borings and vinegar; but the pipe
should not be used until it has become perfectly lirm.

Report of the Missouri State Frtjit-Gkow-
ers' Association in answer to the questions pro-
posed by the American Pomological Society :
On Apples.

Query ? In an orchard of one hundred trees for
family use, what six, what twela"^, and what
twenty varieties of apples, and how many trees o .'

each variety can be recommended for cultivation in
tlie State of Missouri ?

Answer : As known to be adapted to the central
and south-eastern portions of the State :

First — For 100 trees, the best six virieties for
family use are — Early Harvest, 8 ; Maiden's Blush,
12; Fall Queen, 15; Ortloy, 15; Wine Sap, 25;
Newton Pippin, 25.

Second — The best twelve varieties for family use
are — Early Harvest, 6; Red June, 4; Maiden's
Blush, 10; Fall Queen, 8; Rambo, 6; Ortley, 10;
Yellow Bellflower, 6; Pryor's Red, 0; Newton
Pippin, 13; Rawle's Janet fJeneton), 13; Michael
Henry Pippin, 6 ; Wine Sap, 12.

Third — The best twenty varieties for family use
are— Earl}'- Harvest, 5 ; Red June, B ; Red Astrachan,
3; Sweet Bough, 2; Maiden's Blush, 7; Rambo, 5;
Fall Queen, 6 ; Newtown Spitzenberg, 4 ; Fameuse,
4 ; Ortley, G ; Yellow Bellflower, 5 ; Michael Henry
Pippin, 5 ; Pryor's Red, 5 ; Wine Sap, 8 ; Newtown
Pippin, 8 ; Swaar, 8 ; JEsopus Si')itzenberg, 3 ; While
Pippin, 5 ; Lemon Pippin CLong Greenj, 5; Rawle's
Janet CJeneton), 8.

Query ? For an orchard of one thousand trees,
what varieties, and how many of each, can be re-
commended for market purposes ?

Answer : 100 Early Harvest ; 50 Red June ; 50 Red
Astrachan ; 50 Fall Queen ; 75 Ortley ; 100 Wine
Sap ; 125 Jeneton ; 150 Newtown Pippin ; 50 Little
Romanite ; 50 Michael Henry Pippin ; 50 Pryor's
Red ; 50 Smith's Cider; 50 White Winter Pearmain ;
50 Willow Twig.

BOTANICAL NECROLOGY POH 1860.

BY professor ASA GRAY, IN SILLIilAN'S JOURNAL.

Professor Hociistetter, of Essliugcn, Wirt-
emburg, died on the 19th of February, at the age of
seventy-four years. The Rev. Prof Hochstetter
produced no important botanical works ; but he and
his associate Steudel, whom he survived two or
three years, were active promoters of botany through
the Unio Itineraria, an association for furthering bo-
tanical collections — of which they were the man-

Professor J. G. C. Lehmann, of Hamburg,
who died on the 12th of February, in his sixty-
eighth year, was a botanist of note, and a volumi-
nous author. His earliest work, a monograph of
Primula, appeared in 1817, his monograph of the
Jsperifoliee the year after, that of Potentilla in 1820.
He elaborated the Oaogracem and his favorite genus

'^W

220

Sfh^ ^ard^nsr'g ^lontMj.

Poteniilla for Hooker's Flora of Britislx America ;
and Ills last publication of any magnitude and crown-
ing work was liis Rcvisio Poteiitillarum, a fine quarto
volume with sixty-four plates, issued in the year
1856, an excellent monograph.

G. n. VON ScHUBEKT, a Bavarian botanist of a
former generation, to whom Mirbel in 1813, under
the name of Schubertia, dedicated the genus estab-
lished for our southern Cypress, which Richard had
earlier called Tarodium — survived until July last,
having attained the age of eighty years. He is com-
memorated in an Asclepiadeous genus from Brazil,
established by his fellow-countrymen, Martius and
Zuccarini.

Dr. J. F. Klotzsch, keeper of the Royal Her-
barium at Berlin for the last twenty -five years, died
on the 5th of November last, at the age of fifty-five
years. As a systematic botanist, Dr. Klotzsch
worked industriously, observed discriminatingly,
but generalized badly, or rather — like others of the
same school — wanted that largeness of view which
enables the able naturalist to discover, almost in-
stinctively, the true characters and just subordina-
tion of natural groups, in the midst of the most
diversified details, and that gift of sound judgment
as to natural genera in which Linnfjeus and the other
great masters so much excelled most even of the
better botanists of the present age. Dr. Klotsch's
monograph of Begonlacece, and his papers on Eu-
phorblce fone of the latter, which dismembers the
Linnfean genus Euphorbia, into more than a dozen
genera, published during the past year,) are striking
illustrations of the opposite system. The distinc-
tions are, doubtless, for the most part, true and
good ; their valuation is open to serious objection.

Louis de Vilmorin, of Paris, died on the 22d of
March, 186', at the age of forty-four years. Al-
though his name and that of his venerable, still-sur-
viving father ("to whom DeCandoUe dedicated the
genus Vilmorinia^) hardly appears in the catalogue
of botanical authors, yet both have rendered import-
ant service to botanical science, while contributing
most essentially to the advancement of agriculture
and horticulture by original observations, and by
experimental researches, devised and conducted
upon truly scientific principles, respecting the form-
ation of varieties and their fixation into races, and
the amelioration and augmentation of the useful
products of cultivated plants. A notice of some of
the brief but most suggestive papers of the Vilmorins
upon this subject was given in the 37th volume
rt ^ (new seriesj) of this journal (May, 1829J). In de-
A^ vising and conducting such experiments, often re-

quiring both physiological and chemical knowledge,
a delicate skill in manipulation, and a quick eye for
natural affinities, the younger Vilmorin was unri-
valled ; and his death in the midst of so useful and
so honorable a career, has left a serious void. It is
but just to his memory to acknowledge that we have
learned more from him respecting the laws and con-
ditions which govern both the production and the
preservation of vegetable varieties and races than
from any other source. What with his character-
istic modesty he entitled an Essai (Tun Catalogue
Methodique el Synonymique des Fromenls^ arranging the
sorts of wheat known in cultivation under fiftj^-
three sections, reduced to seven botanical species, is
a work which required the researches of years, al-
though only a pamphlet of fifty pages, and is his
most extended publication. His several articles,
since collected under the title of Notice sur V amelior-
ation des plantes par le senis, et considerations sur Vhe-
redite des vegetaux are characteristically brief. But
are all the result of the most conscientious, skillful,
and prolonged investigations, and all are real con-
tributions to knowledge, the value of which is not
to be estimated by the bulk of the record.

J. B. Payer, one of the botanical members of the
Academy of Sciences, and Professor of Vegetable
Organography and Anatomy of the Faculty of Sci-
ences, gt Paris, died on the 5th of September last,
aged only forty-two years. The correspondence of M.
Nickles has already supplied a biographical notice of
Payer, in the preceding CMarchJ No. of this joui'nal.
His speciality was organogeny ; his principal work,
TraHe d' Organogenie Comparee de la Fleur, in imperial
octavo, with 154 crowded plates, is a very handsome
and imposing production, but perhaps not of the
highest critical value. His seat at the Academy of
Sciences has recently been filled by another organo-
genist, of excellent promise, M. Duchartre.

John E. Le Conte, former Major of U. S. Topo-
graphical Engineers, — whose death, at Philadelphia,
in November last, aged seventy-seven, was announced
in our March No., ('p.303J — was almost the Nestor of
American botanists, although his principal contribu-
tions to science, except the earlier, relate to zoology,
chiefly to entom.ology and herpetology. His first
botanical publication, a Catalogue of the Plants
growing spontaneously on the Island of New York,
appeared just half a century ago. Many of the
choicest botanical stations even seventeen years
later, when Dr. Torrey issued his catalogue of the
same district, were as low as Canal Street, and
Peck's Slip. Even the earlier author lived to see
nearly his whole florula extinguished, swept away
by denudation, or uncomfortably overlaid by recent

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©hi; §m&t\m\ Jlonfljlu.

221

strata of stone, brick and mortar. Major Le Conte
made extensive collections in Georgia at a period
when that part of the country had been little ex-
plored, and freely imparted his materials and his
valuable observations to working botanists. He
also published several good botanical papers in the
earlier volumes of the Annals of the Lyceum of
Natural Histoiy, New York, and more recently, in
the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Scien-
ces, Philadelphia, an Enumeration of the North
American Vines, and a pajier on the species of To-
bacco, with which, unfortunatelj', we are not ac-
quainted. For the last ten or twelve j'^ears Major
Le Conte has resided in Philadelphia ; and we are
to expect from one of his scientific associates there,
a fitting tribute to the memory of this venerable,
genial, and accomplished gentleman and naturalist.

^m^f%tf

Mode of Drytng the Common Red Ctjerant.
— The currants should be quite ripe when gathered,
with the stems attached, and washed or rinsed elfec-
tually and drained off. Then stem them and wash
them thoroughly, and to each pound of currants add
a quarter of a pound of good Havana sugar ; then
place them in a preserving-kettle over a fire until
they come to a scald heat, when they are turned out
into while earthen dishes, and exposed to the action
of the sun until, by evaporation, they become har-
dened on the upper side. Then they are turned
over, and there remain until they become so on the
other side, and so alternate until they becfbme a sort
of leathery texture, when they are put away in
earthen jars or boxes until wanted for use. Care
must be taken to keep them from the dews of night
and rains during the process of drying ; finally, the
utmost cleanliness should be observed from first to
last.

When used, enough hot water is required to dis-
solve them or render them to any consistency suit-
able for tarts, jelly, etc. At the same time, more
sugar is required to make them quite palateable,
which must, of course, be governed by taste. Cur-
rants in this way have kept well with us for three
years, and the presumption is, that they will keej)
for a longer time if well cared for. — Ilorticulturist.

Tomato Chowder. — To one bushel of green to-
matoes add one dozen green peppers, twelve com-
mon-sized onions, one quart of grated horse-radish,
one cup of ground mustard, one ounce of cinnamon.

one ounce of cloves, whole. The tomatoes, onions
and peppers chopped fine. Put the tomatoes and
onions in a vessel over night, sprinkle a little salt
over them, and in the morning drain the water
off; put all together and boil them in clear water
until tender ; then drain the water from them ; pack
in a jar mixed with the above-named spices, and
pour scalded vinegar over them. — Rural New
Yorker.

Baked Tomatoes.— Pour boiling water over ripe
tomatoes, and remove the skins ; cut them in two
and place them in a deep baking-dish, or tin ; put
bits of butter over them, and add salt, pepper, and
a little sugar, flour and water, and bake an hour in
a quick oven. — Rural New Yorker.

Stew^ed Tomatoes. — Peel and cut in pieces eight
large tomatoes ; put them in a stew-pan, with a tea-
spoonful of salt, half as much pepper, and a piece
of butter the size of a large egg ; cover and cook an
hour; then add a large tablespoonful of rolled
crackers or "bread-crumbs, and stew^ half an hour
longer. Stir them often, that they may not burn. —
Rural New Yorker.

Green Corn Pudding.— Grate the corn from
three ears of green sweet corn ; beat five eggs light,
and' stir them into *^, quart of milk ; add the corn,
with a large teaspoonful of salt, half a nutmeg,
grated, and a teaspoonful of lemon extract; add
sugar enough to make it sweet, and bake an hour.
— Rural New Yorker.

^OFpign InfFlligpntp.

A New Vegetable.— There has lately been ex-
hibited at several meetings of the Royal Horticultu-
ral Society a new vegetable which promises to be-
come a permanent institution among kitchen-garden
crops. It is a cabbage in the form of Brussels Sprouts.
The stem is about a foot high, bearing on its summit
a good-siv;e-hearted cabbage of the ordinary charac-
ter ; but the stem is covered with small cabbages
about the size of a small dessert apple, and these
when cooked form an excellent dish, partaking of
the flavor of a nice summer cabbage, and without
the strong Savoy flavor which distinguishes the
Brussels Sprouts. The merit of producing this va-
riety is due to Mr. "Wm. Melville, Dalmeny Park
Gardens, near Edinburgh, and a very good name by
which to distinguish it would be to call it Dahneny
Sprouts. — Cottage Gardener.

^

l^

t^M

222

(fi|e @ar(!tnc.fs HffuKjIj.

Pinks and Carnations. — Never grow a pink in
poor soil. It is not like some flowers, which merely
grow less ; but it actually loses its character.

Prefer cow-clung to horse-clung ; hut either should
be fairly rotted into mould.

Let the loam you use be that obtained by laying
common turves, cut as if for lawns, up to rot. It is
good at two years old.

Use two parts loam and one part dung ; and make
your bed eighteen inches deep.

Plant nine inches apart, as soon after July as you
can get your plants.

Never let more than one stem go up to each plant,
nor more than two buds be leit on to bloom ; any
very crowded flowers excepted.

When in flower, take ofl" the bottom shoots for
pipings. The top three joints are to be used.

Mix up some of the proper pink soil with a little
sand to strike your pipings in.

Stick the pipings half an inch in the compost, and
freely Avater ; cover close with a shallow ha id-glass,
and shade them.

As the bloom pods swell, tie them round the mid-
dle with a piece of matting, to prevent the calyx
from bursting.

As the petals develope themselves, assist them down
into their places, and shade them always from the
hot sun.

Give them, from the time they swell their pods to
bursting, licpiid manure (a gallon of decomposed
cow-dung to five gallons of Avaterj once to three
plain waterings.

Never leave in the bloom a self-colored petal ; take
it out when you first see it ; for one of these will
condemn a whole stand of flowers.

Never let your pipings under the glass get dry ;
for it is certain destruction.

When rooted, remove them into their permanent
beds, or into store beds, three inches apart in the
row, and the rows six inches.

Never delay planting till the spring if you can get
your plants in the autumn. The sooner they are
settled down the finer they bloom. — Scottish Gar-
dener.

Improved Gardeners. — A writer in the Scottish
Gardener says :

Fifty years ago a gardener who wrote for the
press was a sort of prodigy. The horticultural socie-
ties publishing transactions, without doubt contribu-
ted to the cultivation of this habit in gardeners.
But how elaborate and operose were their first e3"orts;
for with much to communicate, they had little skill
in the way of telling it. It is believed that, at first,
most of the essays and contributions were re-written,
or at least carefully pruned and dressed by the

officials of the societies. London'' s Gardener'' s Maga-
zine set a good example of plain, direct, intelligible
writing in the papers of the conductor, and aff'orded
room and scope for the eff'orts of others who were
willing to follow his example. A great advance is
manifested, in the number of writers at least, in the
numerous horticultural periodicals of the day.

A Jar AN Dwarf Fir. — Mr. Fortune, in a recent
letter from Japan, speaks of an extraordinaiy speci-
men of a dwarfed Fir Tree. Its lower branches
were trained horizontally some twenty feet in length ;
all the leaves and branches were tied down and
clipped, so that the whole was as flat as a board.
The upper branches were trained to form circles one
above another like so many little tables, and the
whole plant had a most curious appearance. A man
was at work upon it at the time, and I believe it
keeps him constantly employed from day to day
throughout the year.

Cultivation of the Watercress. — The water-
cress, Nastnrtium officinale^ is a native of rills and
streamlets, not only in Great Britain, but in nearly
all parts of the world, having been met with in such
situations on the most distant parts of the earth's
surface. Its use as an esculent is no doubt as an-
cient as it is universal.

The most successful cultivators of the watercress
are such as can command a supply of running water
near the springs from which it issues, as in the beds
at Little Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, and at Rick-
mansworth, in Hertfordshire. Wherever a flow of
water can be kept in command, either to let off' or on
the beds, there in general the watercress may be
grown in considerable perfection. — Londo7i Journal.

yoPFign (JoFFPspon&Fnrp^

Letter from our Occasioiial Paris
Correspondent.

Paris, May 30th, 1861.

Friend Meehan, heavy falls the hand which
pens these lines. Gloomier than ever seems to qje
the news from my country which summer breezes
waft across the ocean. How shall I reconcile the
war with cheery gardening talk ? And still that is
what j'-ou want. Well, then, be it so. In your
paper, at least, all parties will meet as on neutral
ground, — that is the prerogative of science, that it
elevates us all above terrestrial misery.

And now to your question : wherein differs French
gardening most from American gardening ?

-0

%\t ©ardqittr's Jtilonthlji.

223

'1^
I?

In a great many things, to be sure. Prominently
so at the start that every French suburbanist con-
siders it a matter dc riguer to have his garden nice
and tidy and well kept ; consequently he spends
more money on it than j'our average man at home,
who is ashamed of a worn carpet, old paint, &c.,
inside of the house, but considers it extravagant to
run a bill with the nurseryman, to buy new gravel and
to keep his garden something like as presentable as his
parlor. That, you see, makes a vast difference at
the beginning.

The real difference is that which the climate works.
More tender things can stand the winter here than
in your latitudes ; whilst your fierce summer sun
brings colors generally to greater depth than here.

As to style of gardening, the difference may be
best illustrated when I say, that in America art is
called in to correct and improve nature, and that is,
to my knowledge, the true style of gardening ;
whilst here in France we imagine an ideal sort of
nature, and use art and artifice both to bring it
about. Of course, w e lose nature by it. Hence the
stiff", green screens, the immense green walls, the
circles, pyramids, &c., trimmed out of emasculated
trees. Distasteful to me for ever ; and were I to
live in this country for the rest of my life, I would
never relish that style. Sometimes advantages are
gained by it. For instance, a favorite Avay to get
shade of the densest kind is to plant horse-chestnuts
pretty close, and to behead them when they are
about ten or twelve feet high, leaving the lowest
branches only. These, trimmed up twice a year,
spread horizontally, and form a compact roof,
through which you can rarely spj^ the sky.

Stiffness altogether characterizes French fiower-
gardens. The flowers, plants and trees stand as if
on parade, trimmed up, and minding their behaviour.
As an instance, all rose trees are high-grafted. No
rose whatever is allowed to show any thing but a
naked stem, on which a well-trimmed, romid and
curled head is cultivated. The "single-stem" sys-
tem prevails.

This excessive trimming robs even the common
landscape of its ease and grace. Poplar trees are
cultivated by everybody. They grow quickly, and
are soon made into money, serving for tying the
vine, and other uses, p.icking-boxes and fences in-
cluded, incredible as the latter may seem to you.
Well, these poplar trees must be trimmed to be kept
alive. Here, however, every branch and limb is cut
off close to the trunk every few years, and the eye
gets shocked at the rows of skeletons which it con-
tinually passes.

It is fair now to mention some of the good points.
First, the care which characterizes even the hum-
blest garden. Self-esteem and the true love of the

beautiful are evidently elements of the soul of its
French owner. Next we notice the variety of flow-
ers, shrubs and trees, and their massing. As an in-
stance, it is common to find in our gardens groups
of your own native Rhododendron maximum, from
six to two hundred in a group. Where do you find
your own shrub, than which nothing is more splen-
did, in that proportion in your own gardens ? Per-
haps not a hundred of them in famous " Central
Park!" You cultivate verbenas on a large scale;
so do we in France. You cultivate, though, such a
worthless flower as petunias almost as much. May
I be forgiven the sin of calling it worthless. To
my eye it looks weedy, has no shading in its color,
no luring perfume, nothing at all to recommend it.
Why not cultivate, above all other things, the rose
— the acknowledged Queen of Flowers — with the
same passion as the French ? Item the hollyhock,
of picturesque stature, stately and of immense va-
rieties. Item the pseonies and their hundred varie-
ties,— a tribe of floAvers which seems not to be known
with you, and still a flower which has the kindness
to light up your garden before the roses, fuchsias,
&c., have come to bloom. Why, friend Meehan,
this ignorance or neglect of the pseonia ? Another
flower the French cultivate with fondness is the
daisy and the pansy. In these and in the massing
of showy flowers in single, double and triple belts
of various hues, the force of our gardens manifests
itself.

Your readers may cry out about the expense of
such gardening. So I will wind up with saying that
carpets are considered luxuries, here very rarely in-
dulged in ; you consider them and their unnatural
flowers a necessity. Again, Americans consider
flower-gardening in the French sense of the word a
luxury, very rarely indulging in it ; whilst here it is
a necessity. De gustibus non est cUsputandtim^ but
there is no such a thing as good and bad taste.

Yours, &c., S. M.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL

SOCIETY.

Official Report.

The regular monthly meeting and display was lield at Concert
HaU on Tuesday evenmg, 18th ult.

Although not so large as on former occasions, the exhibition
comprised some novelties and objects of interest.

Mr Robert Bnist made a very attnictive show of Roses, includ-
ing some of the latest acquisitions from Europe, arranged in large
masses; thev presented a very attractive appearance.

Mr. H. A. Dreer presented a beautiful collection of Roses, com-
prising twi'uty varieties of Hybrid Perpetuals, ten of Tea. and
ten of Bourbons, lor each of which was awardfd a premium of $1.

Messrs, P. Mackenzie & Son offered a choice assm-tment of Koses,
and a charming groiip of Sweet Williams, Auricula-flowered and
Crimson-belted, whicli attracted marked attention.

m^

V373-

224

®!i^ ^artt^iw'a ^ontI%

ini Uranam, gavQeaei lo ueueiai ivnucii j. aucio^in, -v^-
.siiii,'ular and beautifully-trained plant of the Fuchsia Venus
Medioi, in tlie form of a parasol, was shown by George Peun,

Mr. Thomas Meehan's collection of Herbaceous Plants and
Shrubs, each twelve in number, comprised some very choice spe-
cimens, and received general commendation, as well as the pre-
mium in this department of $1.

To six beautiful plants of Gloxinias, exhibited by John Stone,
gardener to W. W. Keen, Esq., of West Philadelphia, was awarded
the premium of $2. He also obtained the award for the best three
bunches of Grapes, (Black Hamburgs,) J2.

The prize for Fuchsias— a beautiful show— was awarded to
Adim Graham, gardener to General Robert Patterson, $2.

A
de ]\led
gardener to J. H. Hildeburn, Esq.

The variety of fruits displayed was not large, but comprised
some noteworthy specimens. Six beautiful and fully ripe Queen
Pine Apples, from Wm. Joyce, gardener to M. W. Baldwin, Esq., at-
tested the skill of the grower, and received merited praise, and a
special premium of $1.

Jolm McLaughlin, gardener to Mr. J. B. Baxter, presented three
fine dishes of early Cherries, to which was awarded the premium

of *1. :,,,-•

Willie Dreer contributed some very handsome and delicious
Cherries of three varieties.

The only variety of Strawberry presented for competition was
Wilson's Albany, of which a fine dish was shown by A. Felton,
gardener to Henry Duhring, Esq., and received the premium of SI.
Mr. Thomas Meghran also exhibited a dish of the same, of large
size and line (lavor.

A collection of eighteen kinds of Strawberries, exhibited by A.
W. Harrison, comprised some new European and American
varieties, including the Wizard of the North, Oscar, Wonderful,
Crimson Queen, and Excelleute among the former, and the Fill-
more, Ladies' Pine, Chorlton, Golden Seed, Chilian Pyramidal, and
a large white Seedling. A special premium was awarded for this
display of $1.

Mr. Thomas Meghran contributed some Early Peas, and a fine
collection of Cucumbers of four varieties. The latter received a
special premium of $1.

To Anthony Felton, gardener to Henry Duhring, Esq., three
premiums were awarded, severally, of $1 each, for best Early Po-
tatoes, Peas, and Beets, and a special premium of $1 for very fine,
large, solid heads of India Lettuce.

The Committee on procuring a new hall for the useof the Society
was continued.

C. H. Kiigeis, Esq., and John Stone, gardener to W. W. Keen,
Esq.. were nominated for membership.

,lohn Oilkie, William G. P. Briuckloe, and John McGowen were
elected members of the Society.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY of MONTREAL-

The Annual Meeting of this Society was held on Thursday eve-
ning, 7th March, in the Mechanic's Hall.

The chair having been taken, in the absence of the President, by
G. De^barats, Flsq., the Secretary read the following report:

lu presenting their Annual Report, your Board take the oppor-
tunity of expressing their great gratification in being able to con-
gratulate the members in the increasing success and progress, and
the continued interest taken by all classes in the prosperity of the
Society, which now numbers over one hundred members.

Application was made through the Hon. John Rose to the Ex-
ecutive Council, and a grant of $228 w-fs promptly accorded, and
the whole of this amount was paid in premiums. Regarding the
formation of a library, as a means of instruction highly desirable,
your Board would recommend that a portion of the funds received
from Government be set aside for that purpose, and they would
venture to hope that the amount would be further iucreased by do-
nations from members, and all works relatiug to Agriculture or
Horticulture would be thankfully received and acknowledged.
Your Board have not failed to notice with pleasure the large num-
ber of ornamental shade trees which have, during the past season,
been planted in our streets and public squares. This is the more
commendable as it has, in most cases, been solely due to private
euierprise, and your Board hope that the excellent example .set by
several of your members, may be more extensively followed, as it
would tend to give additional attraction to the streets of our fair
city, and add greatly to thecomfort and pleasure of its inhabitants.
Your Society were invited to assist in the procession at the recep-
tion of H. R. H the Prince of Wales, and it was gratifying to notice
the alacrity with which the members responded to this invitation.
The floral devices and emblems carried by the gardeners were ex-
ceedingly tasteful, and highly creditable to their skill. To Mr.
Carroll was awarded a prize for the best floral design representing
the Prince of Wales plume. The daughters of the gardeners, carry-
ing baskets of flowers and fruits, formed one of the most pleasing
features of the procession. Two appropriate banners were pro-
cured for this important occasion, and are now in possession of
the Society.

Liast year silver medals were awarded to Messrs. J. Nairn, T.
Harris, 1. Archbold, Thos. Horseman, J. Nicholson, Thomas Wall,
and W. Farris, while the following took bronze medals : Messrs.Far-

ris, Middleton, Spriggins.Wall, Nicholson, Horseman, Nairn, David-
son, Carroll, Cooper, Clark and Day. Messrs. Davidson, Middle-
ton and Archiboid, were the three successful competitors among
over two hu dred, for the largest amount of money prizes.

Your Board, during the past winter, made application to those
members who are proprietors of greenhouses to throw them open,
in rotation, during the winter. This request was most cheerfully
and cordially accepted, and you have had the opportunity of seeing
during our severe winter choice and varied collections of flowers.
Your Board would here express their obligations to Messrs. J. Fer-
rier, Jr., John Torrance, Henry Thomas, and Harrison Stephens,
Esquires, for their consideration in kindly placing their conserva-
tories at the disposal of the Society. Your Board would also
strongly recommend monthly exhibitions to suit roses, strawber-
ries, and other smaller fruits.

The next business of the Meeting was the election of Directors,
who, after the ballot, were found to be as follows :

G. Desbarats, Esq., Hon. Louis Renaud, Messire Verreau, Princi-
pal Dawson, Messrs. Henry Thomas, S. J. Lyman, J. Cooper, Mr.
H. Seymour, J. Horseman, J. Archiboid, J. Torrance, J. Ferrier,
Jr., J. Spriggins, L. A. H. Latour, J. Thayer, Jr., J. E. Gilbault.

The following gentlemen were then elected to fill the diff'erent
offices during the ensuing year :

President — G. Desbarats, Esq.,
1st Vice Presidents. J. Lyman, Esq.
Treasurer — L. A. H. Latour, Esq.
Secretary— J . Thayer, Jr., Esq.

MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

JUNE 1.

The Annual Spring Exhibition of this Society was held at Ar-
mory Hall.

The display of plants in pots and of cut flowers was very fine.
The large room was well filled ; and as a floral exhibition, consid-
ered in reference to its extent and the rarity and beauty of its spe-
ciueus, it has probably never been surpassed in the country.

In "General Collections," Me-^srs. Hovey & Co., of Cambridge;
E. S. Rand, of Dedham ; Evers & Comly, of Bright(m; M. P.
Wilder of Dorchester, were the leading exhibitors, and the prizes
were awarded to them in the order here observed.

The specimens of Azaleas, Pelargoniums, Cineraiias, etc., were
truly splendid.

One of the most interesting departments of the exhibition was
a lai-ge collection of American Ferns and Flowers, beautifully pre-
pared, presented by Dennis Murray, of Roxbury.

Several handsome specimens of Grapes were presented by Mr.
Breck, President of the Society; John Fisk Allen, of Salem, and
others.

Mr. Allen also presented fine specimens of different varieties of
Cherries, grown in his hothouses. They were regarded with in-
terest as being, perhaps, the only representatives of the species
that will be produced in this vicinity the present j ear .—Boston

CuUivaior.

■ ««p»» —

SUSaUEHANNA AHD CHEMUIJG VALLEY
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

At a meeting of the Susquehanna and Chemung Valley Horticul-
tural Society, held at the of office the Secretary on the nth ult., the
following named persons were unanimously elected officers for the
ensuing year:

Pre.sident — Col. E. C. Frost, Havana. *

Fici?-Preside?ite— David Decker, Elmira; C. H. Thomson, Corning;
Howard Elmer, Waverly; Wm. Smyth, Owego; Wm. Stuart,
Binghamton.

Corresponding and Recording Secretary— E. P. Brooks, Elmira.

Treasurer— 3uhu M. Dexter.

Executive Committee— Karyey Luce, Elmira; N. Winton, Havana ;
James Wright, Owego; F. H. Baldwin, W.averly; S. W. Hall,
Elmira; A. I Wynkoop, Chemung, G. W. Pratt, Corning; C. H.
Erwin. Painted Post; Thos. D. Wright, Binghamton; B. C. Wick-
ham, Tioga.

The Society propose to hold a summer exhibition, the time and
place to be fixed at a future meeting of the executive committee.

BANGOR CMAINEJ HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The Thirteenth Annual Exhibition will be held in September
next. The Society offer a fine list of Premiums for Fruits, Flow-
ers, Vegetables, Cone-work, Canary-birds, Acquaria, Honey, etc.

m IL Ifl >S

DEVOTED TO

J^orHruffurp, ^Spfiorirulfupp, #oIang %• jJS,ura!( Affairs.

THOMAS MEEHAN", Editor.

AUGUST, 1861.

VOL. Iir.— NO. 8.

l^inh for ^ogasi

a

FLOWER-GARDEN AND PLEASURE-
GROUND.

The latter end of August is one of the best seasons
of the year to transplant evergreens. The young
growth of the past season has got pretty well har-
dened, so as to permit of but very little evaporation,
— and the earth being warm, new roots push with
great rapidity, and the tree becomes established in
the ground before cold autumn winds begin. The
chief difficulty is that the soil is usually very dry,
which prevents much speed with the operation ; and
the weather being generally very warm, the trees have
to be planted in the ground almost as fast as they
are taken up ; so that it is not safe to bring them
from a distance. It is as well, therefore, to make all
ready in anticipation of a rain, when no time may
be lost in having the work pushed through. Should
a spell of dry weather ensue, — which in September
or October is very likely, — one good watering should
be given, sufficient to soak well through the soil and
well about the roots. A basin should be made to
keep the water from mnning away from the spot,
and to assist its soaking in. After being well watered,
the loose soil should be drawn in lightly over the
watered soil, which will then aid in preventing the
water from soon drying out again.

As soon in the fall as bulbs can be obtained, they
should be planted, — though this will not generally be
the case till October, — but it is as well to bear in
mind that the earher they are planted, the finer they
flower.

Towards the end of the month, and in September,
evergreen hedges should receive their last pruning
till the next summer. Last spring, and in the sum-
mer when a strong growth required it, the hedge has

been severely pruned towards the apex of the cone-
like form in which it has been trained, and the base
has been suffered to grow any way it pleases. Now
that, in turn, has come under the shears, so far as
to get it into regular shape and form. It will not be
forgotten that, to be very successful with evergreen
hedges, they ought to have a growth at the base of at
least four feet in diameter.

FRUIT-GARDEN.

August and September are favorite months to
plant out strawberries, with those who desire a crop
of fruit the next season. In making a strawberrj'-
bed, a warm, dry spot of ground should be chosen,
with, if possible, a good loamy or clayey subsoil. A
moist, wet situation is very unfavorable. It is best
to subsoil at least two feet deep, and if the soil is
poor, let it be well enriched with well-decayed stable
manure. In setting out, take care that the plants do
not become dry from the time they are taken up till
they are replanted, and see that they do not wither
afterwards. Many persons cut off the leaves, if
they are afraid of their wilting under hot suns, but
a much better plan is to shade. Inverted 4-inch
flower-pots are excellent for this purpose ; they may
be taken off at night. The dews will so invigorate
them, that the shade will only be required for a few
days. Sometimes in September they may need a
good watering ; but this should never be attempted
vinless a thorough saturation of the bed is given ; and
in a few days after, the hoe and the rake sliould be
employed to loosen and level the surface, which the
heavy watering will, in all probability, have caused
to bake and become very crusty. Where time can
be spared to layer a few plants into 3-inch pots, thej--
are very successfully transplanted afterwards, and
much after labor in watering and shading avoided.

Strawberries are best grown in beds about four feet
wide fur the convenience in gathering the fruit, and
giving them the best of cultivation. About three
rows in a bed, and the plants twelve inches apart in
the row, will be a good arrangement.

As soon as the fruit has been perfected on the
raspberry, the canes that have borne should be at

?»/*

once cut out. Some kinds throw up suckers very
freely, and by this means rob one another and cause
a very poor crop to be produced the next season. No
time should be lost in thinning out the weaker ones,
and only enough canes left that will be required to
produce a crop the next season. The raspberry
ought to be so treated in the summer, that no pruning
will be required in the spring but to shorten the ends
of the canes. In rare kinds, where it is of more
importance to get up a stock of young plants, than
to get a crop of fruit, this advice will not, of course,

apply.

Blackberries will, in the main, require very much
the same treatment as the raspberry. They are also
very liable to sucker up more than is desirable, and
much attention will be required to keep them within
due bounds. Neither of these two kinds of fruit
should be planted near a lawn, as the roots, if they
once get into the grass, are very difficult of eradica-
tion and as troublesome as the vilest weeds.

Most of the diseases the peach tree groans under
arise from the eflect of hard winters on the over-
vigorous and half-ripened shoots. Root-pruning has
always the tendency, not only to throw a tree into
bearing early, but also to ripen the wood early in the
season, and before the frost can act much to injury.

HOT AND GREENHOUSE.

Preparations must now be made with a view to
stocking the houses for the next winter and spring's
use. Geraniums of all kinds may now be readily
struck. A frame in a shady place, set on some light
sandy soil in the open air, affords one of the best places
possible for striking all kinds of half-ripened wood.
A partial shade is at all times best for cuttings at the
start, though the sooner they can be made to ac-
custom themselves safely to the full light, the better
do they usually do.

Seed of many things may also be sown for winter
and spring blooming, particularly cineraria, calceo-
laria, pansy, daisy, Chinese Primrose, and some of
the annuals. Great care is necessary with the calceo-
laria. The seed is so small, that it rebels at the
smallest covering of soil. The best way is to sow it
on the surface, water well, and then cover with a pane
of glass until fairly germinated ; this will prevent
evaporation and consequent drying of the seed. Al-
most all kind of seeds germinate most readily in
partial shade ; but as soon as possible after germina-
tion, they should be inured to as much light as they
will bear.

4*«** ■

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Towards the end of the month, a sowing of spi-
nach may be made in rich soil, which will come in

for use before winter. That desired for winter and
early spring use, is usually sown in September in
this region. A few turnips may be also sown for
an early crop, but will be hot and stringy unless the
soil is very rich.

As fast as endive is desired for salad, it should be
blanched. Matting thrown over is the best for this
purpose, as the plants are not so liable to rot as when
pots or boards are employed. In cold or mountainous
regions, melons are hastened in the ripening process
and improved in flavor, by a piece of tile being placed
under the fruit.

Celery will require earthing up as it grows, to get
it to blanch well. It is not well, however, to com-
mence too early, as earthing up tends, in a slight de-
gree, to weaken the growth of the plants. Take
care, also, not to let the soil get into the heart in
earthing, or the crown is apt to rot.

At this season of the year, more perhaps than at
any other, is it important to hoe and rake between
rows of growing crops. A loose surface soil not only
admits the various gases that the roots luxuriate in,
but it also prevents evaporation and checks a too
great absorption of heat, and then, besides all this,
the weeds are kept down, and neatness and order
reigns. After every heavy shower, if the time can
at all be spared, the hoe and the rake should be
freely employed.

NOTES OF EXPERIENCE WITH RARE
EVERGREENS

BY ORCHIS.

The curious and unusual effects in some instances
on our hardy and uncertain evergreens, has been
suggestive of new ideas on the theory of soil and
climate, as regards the best situation to insure suc-
cess.

We notice by recent accounts received from Eng-
land, that where deodars, hollys, «&c., have been
badly disfigured, camellias and many other plants
that will not stand our climate with any chance of
success, were uninjured. To some extent this has
been the experience of many cultivators with us,
with the half-hardy trees and plants.

At this place, about twenty-five miles north-west
from Philadelphia, a different experience has been
observed in the apparent hardiness of our new and
rare plants, from those cultivators residing at Ger-
mantown and vicinity. To account for this change
in localities so near, I do not feel willing, or in fact
able to point out the true cause.

For the amusement and probable instruction of a

yj^

cite ^arbnitr's S^^ontljb.

portion of your readers, I append a condensed list
of the newer species and marked varieties of coni-
ferfB now cultivated with us, with a few remarks
on the success that has attended them during the
past changeable winter and spring.

The Abies have generally proven successful. A.
Menziesii, A. obovata, ("sometimes known as A. Witt-
niannianaj, and j1. orienialis, I take great pleasure
in recommending as entirely hardy. j1. Morinda,
although somewhat browned, is now growing vig-
ourously. A splendid specimen of A. Douglassi,
about thirteen or twenty feet high, in the rare col-
lection of John Evans, at Radnor, is entirely unin-
jured, and is, without doubt, the most magnificent
conifer in this section of country.

The Biotas are evidently doing as well as in former
seasons. The best amongst those not generally dis-
seminated are — B. orienialis glauca, B. do. aurea, ("the
beautiful golden variety^, B. do. variegata and B. do.
peadula. The latter variety is classed as a species by
Endlicher, Lambert and Gordon, but I believe that
Jacques is undoubtedly correct in placing it as a va-
riety. Young plants raised from the seed, invariably
resemble the B. orienialis, and I never saw one with
the pendulous habit of the parent.

The rich dark green color of the B. lartarica is
worthy of notice, although the foliage is deficient in
density. B. (?) meldensis, of Lawson, is probably
the best recent addition to this family. It is a very
doubtful looking arborvitaj ; but time will determine
its identity after commencing to fruit.

Whilst the great majority of the Piceas are look-
ing remarkably well, some of the older, well known
kinds have been much injured. Large specimens
of P. balsamea and P.peclinaia have been greatly dis-
figured on the north side of the trees, and a Taxus
baccata a few feet distant was badly browned on the
south side, but wholly untouched on the north. P.
cepfialonica, P. Fraseri, Hudsonica, (a handsome little
dwarfj, P. nobilis. P. Nordmanniana and P. pichla,
have stood very well and are growing luxuriantly.
The latter species is indispensable in a collection,
combining as it does, a remarkable dark green color,
dense habit and extreme hardiness. P. Pindrow and
P. Webbiana arc not very satisfactory.

The Piuus family has been so greatly enriched of
latter years, by the constant and large additions of
collections, that to have a complete collection of
them, would require an outlay of capital not readily
incuiTcd by many arboriculturists in this country.
Many of these new candidates for public favor have
proven failures here, and others highly desirable.

Dui'ing the past winter P. radiala was killed root
and branch, both in sheltered and exposed situations.
P. Australis, f formerly P. palustris), with slight pro-
tection and in a retentive soil, is doing very well ,

-WW,]

also P. Benthamiana, P. Pallasiana, P. Pyrenacica, P.
Jeffreyii, P. Ponderosa, P. Tceda, P. cembra, P.
Lambertiana, ^c. P. Halapensis and P. Gerardiana,
dead. A large specimen of P. ercelsa, the graceful
Bhotan Pine that has been greatlj^ admired, after
having attained the height of about fifteen feet,
gradually decayed at the root, and broke oif this
spring. I am strongly of the opinion that this desi-
rable tree in other respects, will never succeed with us.

Podocarpus coriacea appears entirely hardy here,
and may prove an acquisition. Having several new
and untried species of this handsome genus in pots,
I am strongly in hopes upon trial of having an ad-
dition to the solitary species that has so far proven
hardy.

Relinispora ericoides is a charming little evergreen
shrub, and, with the exception of a change in the
foliage during winter, is faultless.

Sequoia gigantea fthe big tree of CaliforniaJ) is a
favorite here, although not quite as satisfactory m
point of hardiness as would be desirable. It is ex-
tremely impatient of transplanting, and the beauty
of the tree is often seriously damaged by the ope-
ration.

Cedrus deodara, which has always heretofore given
us great satisfaction, is this spring quite brown.
This specimen stands on a dry, sandy subsoil, with
a southern aspect, and is doubtless the best situation
for this variable tree. C. Libani wintered beautifullj'.

Cehpalolaxus drupacea and C. Fortunii with a slight
protection are doing very well.

Cryplomeria looks badly, not at all satisfactory.

Chamcecyparis spkceroidea variegala is very desirable ;
the young shoots are very handsomely spotted with
yellow.

Cunninghamia sinensis is apparently quite hardy in
a su table location ; our speciu">en was but little
browned, and is now growing thriftily.

Cupressus Lawsoniana and C. Noolkaensis ferrone-
ously ThujopsisborealisJ are beautiful hardy species,
and the only two out of a large genus that will suc-
ceed here. They are destined, I trust, to be great
acquisitions.

The Junipers, as ornamental plants in landscape-
gardening, are unrivalled. They combine almost
every character of the coniferse, from the formal habit
of the Irish to the graceful, drooping varieties rf other
species. Much the larger portion are hardy, a part
half-hardy, and some entirely too tender lor us at
the North.

The newer kinds that have done well the past
season are — I. drupacea, I. hemispharica, I. oblonga,
I. oxycedrus, I. rigida, I. excetsa, I. recurva, I. proslrata,
I. sabina cupressifolia and variegala, I. squamala, I. chi-
nensis, male and female. I. telragona, 1 cypri, I. Slru-
liana, I. Scholii, I. fragrans, I. iriparlila, and /. deal-

-t^^^=-

228

®jj£[ ^ardacfs IHairf^ln*

bata ; and those killed — 7. Phanicea, I. macrocarpa,
I. sphcerica, and /. alba. The Bermudiana, I. Mexicana,
and /. religiosa are grown hi pots ; they will not stand
at all here.

There are several beautiful varieties well worthy
of a place in collections that are entirely hardy. 1.
Virginianapendula^ I. do argentea, I. do. Gossainthemea,
I. do. variegaia, and the graceful /. communis pendula.

The rare /. hemisphcerica, or Hedge-hog Juniper, is
a remarkably curious dwarf species, not attaining a
greater height than one or two feet. It forms a
globular head, with shaip, arrow -like leaves bristling
out in every direction.

Libocedrus chilensis obstinately refuses to live in any
situation. L. decurrens rather more satisfactory ;
stands pretty well.

The Yews with us succeed admirably, by slightly
protecting the more tender kinds. T. adpressa the
most hardy and beautiful. T. baccata elegantissima
and aurea rank next; and the remainder of the
family are all handsome, and more or less hardy. T.
canadensis is very desirable.

There has probably been more confusion in the
Thuja genus than all the others combined, owing
to tlie manifold and conflicting opinions and names
sent to this country by foreign nurserymen. We
have received three or four distinct kinds for T.
gigantea ; and honestly I do not think there is a true
plant in the United States that will answer the de-
scription given by Nuttall. T, plicaia has also been
confounded with others ; it is a very fine species.
T. macrocarpa has proven to be a Biota ; it is, never-
theless, very handsome and entirely hardy. T. occiden-
ialis asplenifolia is one of the handsomest of the
family. The yomig branchlets droop very grace-
fully. The dwarfs T. do. nana and T. do. pmnila
globosa are very desirable. T. do. Hovcyi is hardy,
but not so distinct as we had expected ; we trust it may
improve with age. T. Caucasica promises to be a
tine addition ; very hardy, rich dark green foliage,
rapid growth and very dense.

The rage for co'iiferaj has not extended to this
country to any extent. In Europe the new species
are eagerly sought after at fabulous prices, and the
fine pinetums in many places bear evidence of the
high estimation in which this natural order is held.
We smcerely hope that a greater interest may be
awakened with us, and the results in different sec-
tions of our country be made known.

GLAZING GREENHOUSES.

BY W. C. STRIPE, KEOKUK, IOWA.

In return for the many itcns of information which
I have received from the Monthly., I beg to offer my
mite.

I have been much troubled with drip in my green-

house, and have from time to time cudgelled my
brain to devise a remedy. I have at last accomplished
it. Instead of lapping the glass, I place between
each light a strip of lead sash, such as is used in the
old-fashioned diamond panes, just filling the opening
in the lead with putty. Then insert the glass, not
too tightly, j.nd press ('own the edge of the lead
with a knife.

Please bear in mind that this is not mere theory.
CWe have too much of it now-a-days.J I have
given it a thorough trial, and no more trouble with
drip, — can now effectually keep out the cold, or
rather retain the heat, and have not had a single
light broken by expansion.

TRIP TO WILMINGTON, DEL.

BY GRAPTOLITE.

We have recently visited several fine country
seats at Wilmington, Del., which not only deserve
notice in the Gardener''s MontMy^ but will furnish
some useful hints to your readers.

The first place we visited is owned and managed
by Dr. George Pepper Norris, whose name has
been rendered familiar to the horticultural public by
his essays, published in various joui-nals. As the
Doctor has excited a little sharp criticism, by his
descriptions of other people's places, we went
prepared to give him the benefit of a little close in-
spection of his own operations. The party consisted
of your correspondent, and a Philadelphia "expert"
in grape culture, &c. On inquiring in Wilmington
where Dr. Norris' country place was located, we
were informed that it was about one mile out of
town, near the Poor-house ; rather an unpromising
locality, we thought, for the most enterprising hor-
ticulturist in Wilmington, but still in a direction
much travelled by some amateurs. A short ride up
the hill west of the town soon brought us to the
gateway leading to the cottage, and here the fine
scenery which burst upon our view, over a pano-
rama of hills, valleys, and rivers, the well-kept
carriage-road, the handsome lawn, the fine specimen
trees, and the elegant buildings before us, dispelled
all fears which we had indulged, that we should
find material for criticism on the doctor's grounds.
We felt sure that we were approaching the home of
taste and skill.

Dr. Norris has, in truth, one of the most beautiful
situations which it has been our k t to examine for
a long time, and he has improved it in a very judi-
cious and tasteful manner. The Gothic cottage is
built of dark blue Brandy wine granite, which blends
its hues in a manner peculiar to this stone, giving an
effect to the walls such as could only be obtained,
with other stone, by this most skilful painting and

^^s'/'ivv-?

ih([ ^MtmA |l!tonthk

229

shading, or by a mixture of paint and fine colored sand.
The color is exceedingly rich and pleasing to the
eye. The stable and other buildings are all built of
the same kind of stone, in semi-Gothic style, and
form a very handsome and comfortable looking
group.

In pear-culture the Doctor has made a good be-
ginning, and fortunately has a fair show of fruit this
year. The grape-houses, which, until lately, have
been entirely managed by the Doctor himself, are
constructed with tlie latest improvements in borders,
&c., and exhibit more than an average degree of
success.

Fruit trees in pots, for the orchard-house, have
also been cultivated with very satisfactory results,
by bringing them forward in the grapery and ripen-
ing them out of doors. The peaches and plums,
now in fruit, will rarely be excelled in apperarance
even with the aid of a separate house for the pmi^ose.

Part of the farm, under the care of an experienced
vegetable-gi'ower, is worked with great activity and
skill, and produces a handsome return for the enter-
prise of the proprietor. We examined some acres
which could scarcely be excelled in neatness and
profitable growth by the veteran truckers of Philadel-
phia or New York.

The place is yet new, and although it offers no re-
markable points of instruction, or great novelties in
planting or management, it presents these excellent
distinctive features : it is magnificently located, it is
laid out and constructed with taste and skill, and is
finished up as far as its improvements have been at-
tempted, while the whole of it is managed in a judi-
cious and profitable manner. There is no foolish
waste, and no rubbish about it, which is a vast merit.
"We think the Doctor may be permitted to hang up
his hat on a high peg in the horticultural halls.

The magnificent place constructed and occupied
by Joseph Shiplej^, Esq., appropriately called Rock-
wood, situated about two miles north of Wilmington,
deserves a more extended notice than we can give it
at this time. Without the aid of photographs, an
artist, and an engraver, we could scarcely hope to
convey any just idea of it. The estate comprises
some five hundred acres of romantic hill and valley,
mostly covered with natural trees, and apparently
surroimded by forests. Few or no dwellings, except
those on the place, can be seen from the main lawn
within the hmits of miles. Mr. Shipley is an Eng-
lish gentleman of fortune, whose name is well known
in the commercial world. He commenced this place
ten years ago, after plans made in England, and
under the direction of Mr. Salisbury, a gardener
whom he brought out for that purpose. The entire
place is improved upon the plan of natural landscape-
gardening so much employed in Enghsh country

places, where the development of the natural re-
sources of ground and trees, and the heightening
of natural beauties by a very little art in clearing up
planting, opening vistas, &c., 'surpasses in real grati-
fication the most elaborate and costly works of art.
Without attempting any general description of it,
beyond what we have stated, we will say that it is
the most splendid specimen of the English park-like
style of landscape work that we have ever seen. The
mansion is built of the Brandywine blue rock, before
mentioned, with hght-colored granite ornaments ;
the style is that of an oblong Gothic villa, supported
by semi-Italian arcades for plants and flowers. The
lawn contains some of the rarest ornamental trees
that can be grown in this climate, and exhibits
specimens of rare size and beauty. The forest work,
the lawn, the beltings and groupings of trees and
shrubs, and indeed the entire landscape, all appear
replete with natural and artificial eff"ects in landscape-
gardening, on a large scale, unique, beautiful and
grand in the extreme. There is no littleness in any of
of the work. Whether the place could be still farther
improved by art, we know not. It might be altered in
its aspects, certainly; but its grand and graceful natu-
ral beauties neither invite criticism nor suggest the ne-
cessity of change. To obtain any further idea of the
place it must be seen, or pictured by the hand of a true
artist. Your correspondent hopes that the publisher
of the Monthly may, if Mr. Shipley will consent, ere
long give us some photographic sketches of the most
striking features of the place. We feel quite sure
that there is nothing of the kind equal to it, in its
peculiar style, in Pennsylvania. It is seldom you
can catch Nature in just that beautiful half-wild,
wayward, gipsey mood, in which you find her
among the rocks and hills on the banks of the old
Brandywine. We are surprised that this fine place
has existed so long without commanding extensive
public notice ; and we take real pleasMre in giving
our horticultural friends information of the rich treat
which they may enjoy ("under favor of Mr. Shipley^
by a visit to Wilmington. Whether he will thank
us for dragging his wild-wood and his rock-wood,
his fauns and dryads, into the public gaze, or not,
we cannot say ; but we gave him no opportunity to de-
chne ; nor can we believe that he would have the
heart not to gratify any true lover of Nature with a
view of the rich inheritance which it is his good
fortune to possess.

THS

JUNE-SSRRY AS A
THE PEAR.

STOCK FOR

BY HtJPEIKOPER, JIEADVILLE, PA,

In the last Monthly^ page 190, you report me as
saying, in the Horticulturist^ that "joear trees when

^^

i®

•/-vi?

grown upon June-berry stocks are not subject to
blight." What I there said was simply, that of
half a dozen kinds of stocks used as a foundation
for the pear, the June-berry alone was not itself the
subject of blight.

After paying a good deal of attention to pear
blight, I have come to the conclusion that frosts and
severe winter weather are responsible for it in
ninety-five cases out of the hundred. If this be so,
then no engrafting can remove the difficulty, though
it may modify it by inducing slow growth and well-
ripened wood, &c.

Experience will have to determine the worth of
tiie June-berry as a stock for it. I shall not be sur-
prised if it prove to have llie following good quali-
ties to recommend it, viz : that it is easy of produc-
tion,— bears transplanting well, — tree grows well
either in sod or under culture, — makes a smooth,
straight stem, — has a b irk well adapted for grafting,
and is very hardy. It attains about the size of the
pear, but perhaps grows a little slower, which would
have a tendency to produce fruitfulness. All which
I give for simply what it may prove to be worth.

[The idea struck us as one likely to be very useful
when we first noticed it, and we are glad that Mr.
Hudeikoper is keeping the subject before the public.
—Ed.]

HOAD-MAKING ON PRIVATE ESTATES.

BY WALTER ELDER, PHILADELPHIA.

A PROPER system of road-making is not generally
practiced among us, and it seems but imperfectly
understood by those who direct their construction.
The metal beds are dug out four and six inches deep,
and large flat stones put in the bottom and broken
stones or gravel on top ; but the rocking and jerk-
ing of these large stones by travel, and splashing of
mud in wet weather, cause them to be turned up
and broken fine ; thus making an extra expense be-
fore a solid road can be obtained. Every one who
owns a place wants to get in and out of it with
pleasure and ease, both to himself and beast ; and
these can only be secured by well-constructed roads.
The most economical plan is to make them right at
first, as the annoyance and cost of frequently repair-
ing poorly-made roads far overgo the prudent outlay
of constructing them properly at once.

Both the making of roads and planting of trees
should precede the erection of the buildings. The
rubbish from the buildings will all be needed for
foot-paths before the place is finished. The location
of the entrance and route of the road are of the first
importance. Upon many estates it is best to have
the entrance near to one corner of the place ; and
the road, if possible, should run along the high
grounds. It should leave the highway on a direct

angle with it, and run straight for fifty feet ; and if
it is to be winding, it may bend outwards, if need
be, so as to give a graceful sweep from that to the
mansion.

Sudden bends and tortuous crooks should be
avoided. Where the house has two fronts, the road
may go round it ; if not, the road may pass it and
turn round a circle, oval or heart-shaped figure be-
yond it, or any other way as the grounds may be
adapted for. On some places it will be best for the
road to be straight. Where that is the case, it should
be lined on both sides by trees with spreading heads,
to form a long leafy arch, and a clump of trees
should cover the end of the house from view, and
the road should take a curve to one side and come
suddenly in front of the mansion.

Those who have seen roads upon such a plan can
tell of the beauty and grandeur of straight and well-
shaded avenues, — on some small places semi-circu-
lar roads, entering at one gate and out at another,
will be best.

After fully considering the above points, stake out
the road eighteen or twenty feet broad ; and after
grading and levelling, mark out the metal bed from
twelve to eighteen feet wide. Dig out the soil three
inches deep, and put an inch of any of the follow-
ing materials Cwhere they can be got) in the bot-
tom : — coal-dross, ashes and cinders from factories,
refuse of foundries and other iron works, tan-bark,
sand or gravel ; and if the soil is a clay, two inches
will be needed. To prevent weeds from growing
up among the stones, and the upheavel of frosts,
then put broken stones of a pound weight five
inches thick, and stones half their size three inches
above them, and finish off with two inches of stony
gravel or finely-broken rotten rock. Next slope off
the earthy sides from the metal bed to the edges of
the road, and dig gutters six inches deep. If the
ascent of the road is great, it will be best to pave
the gutters. If the fall is slight, sod them and the
sides of the metal bed. In filling up the metal bed,
put each layer thickest in the middle to raise it, and
make it convex to throw off the water.

Where there is a hollow in the road, and no way
for the water to run off, make tile-drains from the
gutters in upon the laAvn thirty or fifty feet, and dig
wells six feet deep and four feet wide, and fill them
with stones to within a foot of the surface. Cover
them with straw or shavings, and fill in the soil on
top. These will generally keep the road dry. After
the road is finished, go over it with a heavy two
horse roller backward and forward upon the same
place. After that, put heavy weights upon the
roller, ("say six men, j and go over the road double
again, and after the two first heavy rains, double
roll each time, and also every spring after heavy

(^

®lje hardliner's (|ll0nthlij.

m

'(i>

a

frosts are over. That will make it solid, and it will
not need repairs for many years. The travel over a
newlj^-made road should be slow at first, so as not
to displace the stones.

This road is intend . d for all travel ; but a road for
a private carriage avenue can be made narrower and
lighter. Where water runs and marshes are to be
crossed, arched bridges of mason-work, if the foun-
dation is solid, are best, and the walls should be cov-
ered with ivys to prevent injurious effects of frosts.
The ivys can be laced in the railings on top, and
clothe them also. In swamps, branches of trees
laid in the bottom prevent the earth, in filling up,
from absorbing much moisture until it gets hard by
travel. "When its capillary attraction for water is
much destroyed, the sloping sides of the embank-
ments should at once be sodded to prevent washing
by rains. It will be seen that all is grass but the
metal bed ; but it should be cut often, so that it will
not seed and fill the stone-work with .■. eeds. All
roads or avenues upon private or public establish-
ments should be shaded with trees. Those upon
straight lines should also be in lines twenty to thirty
feet apart, and rpon curved lines. The trees may
be from five to twenty feet from the edges of the
road, according to their size and habit of growth.
These ti'ees are generally deciduous ; but Avhere the
road is on a high and exposed place, evergreen trees
are generally alternated with deciduous on the north
sides for shelter.

Now, some inexperienced persons will think that
trees will keep the road moist. The case is not
so. If the trees are pruned at the bottom, the cur-
rent of air will be greater than upon an open
space, and will carry ofi" the moisture faster than the
sun could. Let any one ride a number of miles
under a scorching sun, and then come under the
shaded avenue, how grateful he and his horse will
feel ! Or ride along a bare road under a cutting
frosty wind, and then enter his own avenue, shel-
tered with massive evergreen trees, and mark the
pleasant change. But that is not all. "What a de-
lightful stroll for the healthy and the sick is the
finely-shaded avenue at all hours of the day, with
dry feet, to admire the beauty and diversity of fo-
liage, and inhale the delightful fragrance of the trees,
and view the open, sunny glades through them.

On the other hand, what a forlorn sight is ahorse,
or a couple of horses, with a carriage behind them,
travelling along a narrow path through a large grass
field without trees ! Good roads and trees are indis-
pensable for beauty, comfort and convenience. Make
the former substantial at first, and plant plenty of
the latter. Count not the first cost, but the gratifi-
cation and saving of future expense.

EFFECTS OF THE WINTER AT MEAD-
VILLE.

BY A. HUDEIKOPER, MEADVTLLE, PA.

The winter has been very destructive on our
peach trees, many of them being entirely destroyed.

Quince trees were frozen to the snow-line, and
cherries so far affected as to produce no blossoms.

Apple orchards are bearing very moderatel}^, —
currants doing nothing, while strawberries will yield
a better crop than usual. Last summer was a very
cool one, and the wood of fruit trees did not ripen
sufficiently to produce a good crop ; and the same
may account for a good deal of frozen shrubbery.
Having laid down my vines as everybody ought to
do, I shall have a good crop of grapes both out of
doors and under glass if nothing unforseen should
prevent. Our agricultural prospects are good, and
our larmers are patiently awaiting the better times
about to come with the monetary distribution under
our present national affairs, pretty sure to take place.

INDIGENOUS GRAPES.

BY WILLIAM A. WOODWARD, MORTONVILLE, ORANGE
COUNTY, N. Y.

Since the public attention has been directed to this
subject, many persons have informed me that desi-
rable wild grapes are to be found in various localities
about the mountains in this vicinity, and have prom-
ised to point them out when the fruit is formed. I
propose to examine them carefully, make notes of
each on the spot, and communicate the result of my
observations for pubUcation if you think it will in-
terest your readers, hoping that some valuable new
varieties may be found worthy of cultivation for
wine-making and for the table. There are, no doubt,
some valuable vai leties of wild grapes that can be
introduced to the public with little or no expense,
and in much le.s time than other seedlings can be
produced and tested by cultivation, while no efforts
should be spared to increase the latter.

The qualities to be desired in a new grape which
shall please the public and become a favorite are :
thin skin, soft pulp, sweetness, juiciness, flavor and
size ; color is of less conseciueuce, as I have never
seen a fully ripe grape that was not beautiful. With
many the color and bloom are exquisitely so ; add
to this hardine.-s and early fruiting, and we have
every desirable quality. C ;n such a grape be found ?
We are bound to believe so ; with the facts before
us, that very desirable native grapes have been
brought into cultivation, and that seedlings from
them ("perhaps one in ten thousand^ are improve-
ments. Witness the Concord, DelaAvare, Isabella,
Union Village, Catawba and Diana, all of them seed-
lings from native grapes. May we not suppose that

'^-.oSysi.

232

^t §m&mtxs |i:0nt|lg.

nature has produced seedlings equally as good, or
even better, wliich we have overlooked, either from
our prejudices against native varieties, or the difficulty
of gathering the fruit, or while waiting for them to
ripen, we find that the birds, more watchful than
ourselves, and possessing a delicate taste in such
matters, have appropriated the fruit, and perhaps
planted the seed in some new locality. New varie-
ties of trees and plants are thus propagated. The
Red Cedar is abundant in these highlands, but grows
along the old stone walls, forming long lines of trees
with the appearance of having been planted by the
hand of man. The berries are eagerly sought for
by birds in the latter part of winter and early spring
for food. It is said the seed will not germi-
nate until it has passed through the stomach of
a bird ; they are thus planted at distances, which can
be accounted for in no other way. Under a heavy
stone wall and amidst rocks about a mile from my
house, is a seedling cedar which would make the
fortune of an English gardener; it is a beautiful
half drooping magnificent Red Cedar. I have often
desired to remove it to my grounds, but despair of
success. There are so-called Isabella Grapes under
cultivation, many of Avhich are inferior to the origi-
nal. These are seedlings which have come up in
Isabella vineyards, and have been disseminated as
the true kinds. The tendency of seedlings is to go
back to the original wild varieties, and seedling
Isabellas are not to be trusted until fully tested.
Grapes produce infinite varieties from seed. Most of
the seedlings from American grapes are barren, pro-
ducing only staminate flowers, while the European
CAsiaticJ) grape always produces bearing vines from
its seedlings. This distinguishing characteristic
should not be lost sight of; it will enable us ulti-
mately to distinguish one species from the other
without the shadow of a doubt. For example, the
contested question of the nativity of the Delaware
will be settled beyond dispute upon the production
of a single well authenticated Delaware seedling,
having staminate flowers only, that is when a barren
vine is produced from Delaware seed. Cultivators
of seedhngs are requested to observe and publish
when the fact becomes known. The question of
what number of American seedlings are barren,
seems to be as yet unknown ; judging from the wild
vines of the mountains, I should say not over ten
in a hundred even bear fruit, and perhaps not half
that number. One acute observer thinks that not
ten in one hundred are barren; while one writer
states that probably one half are so. I have en-
quired of a cultivator near me who states that of
forty-eight seedlings, only one bore fruit ; and of an-
other parcel of one hundred seedlings, not one ; but
some allowance must be made for time, for although

some grape seedlings will fruit in three years, others
reqviire six and even eight years before fruiting.
The nativity may be hastened by engrafting and
forcing under glass. Will cultivators please com-
municate their experience.

[Our correspondent's communication contains
much food for useful thought ; but on one point he
is mis.aken, and to prevent the error 'becoming
widely disseminated, we call attention to it at once.

He refers to Dr. Ra venal' s doctrine, that only
grapes of the American species will produce imper-
fect flowers, and suggests that this test be applied to
distinguish the native from the foreign breeds.

"We have often been struck that a gentleman of
Dr. Ravenal's scientific standing should have started
such a theory, as it is well known that the petals of
a flower and its stamens which are but transformed
petals, are the most easily afiected by external causes
of any part of aplant, — and that they are so afiected,
changed and altered, is a fact of every day experi-
ence. A character to be worth any thing as a sci-
entific distinction to mark a species, should be
above variations through surrounding influences.
Thus we see every day instances of flowers which
have their stamens transformed into petals, and
become what we call double flowers; sometimes
they are transformed into green leaves or bracts, as
in the Green Rose, or even into branches and leaves
as frequently seen in the larch ; and in hundreds of
other ways we see under cultivation ("another name
for external influences^) stamens, petals, and other
parts of flowers varying, — sometimes parts becom-
ing abortive, at others excessively developed. So
Avlien a plant is removed from one climate to the
diff"erent conditions of another climate, the stamens
and petals are as liable to be suppressed, excessively
produced, or otherwise transformed, as if under
cultivation. An instance of this is well aflTorded in
the case of the strawberry. In Europe, in the
moist regions bordering on perpetual snow, the
Ali^ine varieties have perfect flowers ; when removed
to the drier climates of lower cultivated regions,
pistillates and staminates are found amongst the
seedlings. But the wild strawberry of lowland
woods, fFragraria vesca_), and the American straw-
berry (F. Virginica^ always there, as Dr. Lindley
recently assures, produce perfect flowers in their
seedlings. But here in our own climate the same
species produce seedhngs, indiiferently as is weU
known, hermaphrodite, staminate and pistillate, with-
out any one ever suggesting that any different
species is characterized thereby. All this by way
of reasoning the matter ; but the best argument
is that foreign grape's seedlings do often ?iave imper-
fect flowers, when under hot and dry culture, as
every gardener who has had occasion to dust the

s^^SVa-

Bh (^m'Amtf^ PontI%

stigmas of Cannon Hall Muscats with pollen of
other varieties, when its own stamens have failed to
develope perfectly, well knows. Showing then that
there is no reason why the foreign grape should
not produce barren flowers ; and further, that they
actually do produce them, we leave- the balance of
Mr. W.'s suggestions to speak for themselves. — Ed.]

GROWING VERBENAS.

BY A. F. G.

"When verbenas are planted out, instead of tying
them up to sticks, as is the custom with many people,
(ladies in particular j, they should be trailed on the
ground and kept in that position by pegging them
down with small hooked sticks, or what is better
still, pieces of the steel hoops such as are worn by
the ladies, cut into lengths of six or eight inches long,
and bent m the middle thus f\, putting both ends in
the ground with the branch between them.

As they throw out fresh branches, keep them all
pegged down until the ground allotted to them is
covered. By so doing the hot sun is kept from
drying the soil around the roots. The result is finer
bloom and more of it. This is no new system, but
one, I think, not generally known among amateurs.
Ladies, save the pieces ("of hoopsj and try it.

Mr. Editor, I do not recollect ever seeing the above
system in print ; if you think it worthy of a comer in
our Monthly^ make use of it.

[Pegs for layering, of the shape described by our
correspondent, can also be easily made by cutting
green switches and dividing them into lengths of
from four to six inches, bend them into the fj shape
and stick them in the ground. — Ed.]

1

FRUIT GROWERS' SOCIETY OP EASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA.

SECOND ANNUAL EEPORT ON
STRAWBERRIES.

The Committee for Philadelphia County, in offer-
ing their Second Annual Report, would recall to the
attention of the Society the prefatory remarks of
their former Report, and herewith present the result
of their observations, during the present season, on
several new varieties, some of which are quite
valuable.

AMERICAN VARIETIES.
H. — Hermaphrodite. P. — Pistillate.

Albion. H. We have so named a large strawberry
which we suppose to be a seedling of Wilson's
Albany. The plant is a very strong grower, robust
and perfectly hardy ; leaves large, dark green and
thick, and foot-stalks quite long; very productive.
Fruit large to very large, nearly round, pure white,

with a rosy blush arovmd the base ; flesh white, not
very firm, but juicy and of a high vinous fiavor.
Worthy of further attention. It somewhat re-
sembles Lennig's White, but is higher fiavored and
distinct from it in foliage. The "Pine-apple," a
sccdhug of Wilson's Albany, raised by P. R. Freas,
Esq., of Germantown, is of similar character. We
have learned of several very fine white seedhngs of
the Albany.

Athlete. H. A supposed native from Easton, Pa. ;
may prove to be Salter's CEnglish) Seedling. Size
large to very large ; color bright scarlet ; flesh firm,
yet juicy; flavor sub-acid and pleasant ; productive
and good, but not first-rate.

Austin's Seedling. H. This plant is of very large
size, the leaf-stalks and fohage very long, and the
habit quite loose and straggling. Moderately pro-
ductive ; berry round, of medium to large size ;
color pale scarlet ; seeds crimson, not prominent ;
flesh white and soft ; flavor sub-acid and good.,

Doionefs Pwlific. H. This new Western vanety
does not prove as productive the first season as
many other kinds we have grown. The fruit is
small to medium in size, and somewhat acid in
flavor. It corresponds in other respects with the
description pubhshed in the Horticulturist. The
plants we tested, as also those of a friend who con-
firms our judgment of them, were grown in a strong
clayey loam, in the same bed with the other varieties
herein reported on. In a light, sandy loam it might
do better. From present experience we can hardly
rank it first-rate.

Bartlett. H. From very weak runners set last
autumn, we obtained a small crop of berries of
medium size, rich crimson color, moderately firm
flesh, and very good flavor. It promises to be a
good and productive sort, superior to Hovey's Seed-
ling, which, we learn, is probably its parent.

Oolden Seed. H. A seedling of Mr. Read, of
Port Dalhousie, Canada West. This is a very
vigorous and hardy plant, with rich and abundant
foliage, and very productive. Fruit medium to
large size, long conical form, rich crimson color,
bright yeUow seeds; flesh rather flrm; flavor mild
sub-acid ; good, but not first-rate.

Jessie Read. H. Another of Mr. Read's seedlings.
Plant not so vigorous or productive as the preceding.
Berry of medium size, variable form, pale scarlet
color; flesh soft, sub-acid and deficient in flavor.
Not valuable.

Scarlet Magnate. P. Plant often of weak growth ;
berry of uniformly large size, roundish, somewhat
flattened ; color bright scarlet ; flesh rather dry and
mealy, of a mild, pleasant, but not rich flavor. If

VJ^

"^f

234

%\t §mkmxs ^§!iQni\h.

If

well impregnated, it is productive after the first
year.

EUROPEAN VARIETIES.

Ajax. H. A large English sort, ratlier [tender
and disposed to burn in summer. A moderate
bearer. Berry large, bright scarlet ; flavor vinous
and good.

Crimson Queen. H. fMyatt's. j With good cul-
ture, in rich soil, promises to be moderately produc-
tive of fine, large fruit. B?rry quite large, variable,
often wedge-shaped ; color bright crimson ; flesh
white, solid, juicy, of a high vinous or pine-apple
flavor. If it should prove hardy and prolific, it will
be a truly desirable sort.

Killey^s Ooliath. H. The habit of this English
variety is quite vigorous, and the foliage large and
abundant. The berry is of the largest size, rich
scarlet color, obtuse conical form ; flesh rosy white,
firm and solid, and of a high pine flavor. Valuable
for its lateness.

La Eeine. H. An excellent late Belgian variety.
Plant robust, a strong grower and good bearer.
Fruit very large, variable in form, often coxcombed,
rosy scarlet color; seeds numerous, bright yellow
and prominent ; flesh white and melting ; flavor
good but not first-rate. Continues in bearing alter
most other sorts are gone.

Oscar. H. To this new English seedling we must
accord the highest praise. The plant is readily dis-
tinguished from all other kinds by its low compact
habit of growth, short foot-stalks, and round, dark-
green and leathery foliage, which withstands our
hottest suns without injury. The fruit is of large
size, somewhat irregular form, and deep crimson
color ; flesh scarlet to the core, which is white and
remarkably solid, yet melting and juicy. In flavor
it is hardly surpassed by any variety we are ac-
quainted with. If it should prove sufficiently pro-
ductive, we think it the best acquisition yet made,
and deserving the attention both of amateurs and
gardeners.

TFi'jrtrd! of the North. H. The public attention
has been much excited concerning this new Scottisli
variety by the illustration published in the Gardeners''
Monthly, July, 1860. It certainly has not reached,
with us, the colossal dimensions of the plate, which
must, we think, have been attained only by the
highest special culture in the peculiar soil and humid
climate of its native country. Yet it j^roves to be a
remarkably prolific plant and worthy of further
attention. Young runners planted last autumn pro-
duced from thirty to one hundred and thirty buds,
and from six up to as many as forty-one perfect ber-
ries per plant, very uniform in size, averaging as
large as the best plants of Wilson's Albany, which
it considerably resembles in the color and shape of

the berry, though more variable in form. The flesh,
which is ci'imson red, is somewhat softer than that
of the Albany, but quite as juicy and rather less acid
and of better though not high flavor. In a rich, fri-
able loam, with a mixture of good leaf mould, and
the small berries well thinned out, the fruit would
doubtless attain a very large size.

Wonderful. H. Plant vigorous and hardy. Berry
very long, conical, often wedge-shaped ; bright scar-
let color ; large crimson seeds, quite prominent ;
flesh white and very firm ; flavor vinous and good.

All of the European varieties above described, ex-
cept Kitley's Goliath and La Peine, were young
runners planted last fiill, as were also the Bartlett,
Atlilete, Austin's Seedling and Downer's Prolific ;
their productiveness cannot be fully known until
next year.

RETROSPECTIVE NOTES.

Among the kinds described in our last year's
report a few deserve further mention :

Chilian Pyramidal. H. Has proved almost, if
not quite equal in productiveness to Wilson's Albany,
which it certainly surpasses in flavor. The plant is
one of the most vigorous growers known, and we
deem it worthy a place in every garden.

Fillmore. P. A very free bearer ; fruit uniformly
large, round and handsome, but this year is rather
soft and not high-flavored ; yet its attractive appear-
ance and productiveness will render it quite a
favorite for private gardens.

Ladies Pine. P. Takes the same rank among
strawberries as the Seckel among pears. It is a
moderate bearer, and the fruit is of small size, but
unsurpassed in honied sweetness and high musky
flavor.

Peahody. H. As productive this, the fourth year
of bearing; as hitherto. The fruit is sweet, and by
many thought unriva'led, but is not sufficiently juicy
and vinous for some tastes.

Pelices cZ' Automne. H. Pioves very tender in
the sun and difficult to keep alive. Under glass, we
are informed, it bears for a long season ; fruit, of the
highest flavor.

Triomphe de Gand. H. Fully maintains last
year's description, and increases in productivene s
and the size of the fruit. Should be in every collec-
tion, however small.

Vico7ntesse Hericart de Thury. This year's ex-
perience confirms the high opinion expressed in our
former report ; it will not average so large in size as
the Triomphe de Gand, nor is the plant quite as pro-
ductive, but surpasses it in high flavor and solidity
of flesh. A most desirable variety.

We would, m conclusion, urge the importance of
good winter protection in the culture of the straw-
berry ; a heavy coating of straw will well repay its

C

t^Vv^

ilm ^ardcncr'ii Ponthls.

cost in the assured health and productiveness of the
vines, and the size and flavor of tlie fruit.

Anotlier point we deem of great importance — the
cultivation of the plants in separate stools, and the
pinching off of all runners— which will insure the
largest crop, largest size of fruit, and the greatest
longevity and health of vine. They should also be
well mulched during the bearing season, indeed
throughout the year, except during cultivation, with
hay, tan-bark, or straw, preferably the latter, which
is cleanly and cool and allows no weed* or fungus
growth to the injury of the plants. The young
vines should be planted in rows, two-and-a-half feet
equidistant, and from ten to fifteen inches in the row.
The soil should be well forked up or horse-harrowed
in spring and again at midsummer.

As a fertilizer, we have observed excellent effects
from the application, in the spring, of a mixture of
bone-dust, salt and lime, and wood-ashes. Heavy
dressings of rank stable or other ammoniacal man-
ures often result in a large growth of foliage and a
paucity of fruit.

If the soil, prior to planting the vines, be dug or
forked up two or three times, at intervals of a week,
the young plants will make a vigorous start and in
their rapid growth well repay the extra labor be-
stowed. Vines four years planted and treated as
above stated, have borne, with us, the present sea-
son, their maximum crop.

J. E. Mitchell,
Egbert Cornelius,
A. W. Harrison.

Philadelphia, July, 1S61.

[Last year, we took the opportunity to observe
that the report we then had the privilege of publish-
ing, had not been before the society, and was there-
fore not viewed as an official document, but rather as a
contribution to our journal by our respected friends.
The above valuable document has, however, been
submitted to and approved by the appropriate exe-
cutive committee, and may, therefore, be received
as an official paper. — Ed.]

Japan Wax Tree has proved hardy in this coun-
try. It has also been found to retain the fine color
Mr. Fortune refers to in the following :

On the hill sides I observed the Japan Wax tree
CRhus succedaneum^ cultivated extensively. It
occupies the same position on these hills as the
Chinese Tallow tree CStillingia sebiferaj does in
Chekiang. It grows to about the same size, and,
curiously enough, it produces the same effect upon
the autumnal landscape by its leaves changing from
green into a deep blood-red color as they ripen before
falling off.

GARDEN DECORATIONS.

BY D.

[We have often promised that we would incorpo-
rate, as occasion offered, many interesting articles con-
tributed by our kind friends for our spechnen number
into our regular volumes, and have already so re-
published some of them for such preservation. The
following is another one entirely too good to be

lost:]

In compliance with 3'our request, I send you a few

simple designs, of easy execution, of rustic work
garden decorations, which I hope will soon take the
place of the senseless, ungraceful and expensive
ornaments which too often disgrace the surburban
retreats of many of our retired cockneys.
Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 is a simple design for a garden-seat, which

requires but little explanation. It can be placed on

three sections of the trunk of a tree, as shown in

the design, or on four legs. Hickory or oak hoop

poles or saplings are the best materials for the back

and arms, and the seat should be of inch board,

planed, and painted to match the color of the other

wood.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a design for a flower-bed or basket. Pro-
cure an inch board about six inches wide, and saw
it up into lengths of about two feet six inches.
Then dig a trench about a foot deep in the ground,
of an oval or any other shape that may be desired.

^

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236

®|(1 Bartow's Jltont^lg.

Place these pieces of board uiDright, edgevv^ise, and
slanting outwards in the trench, and then fill in the
earth, ramming it well to keep them firm. Nail a
good strong wood or iron hoop around the top, to
keep it from separating, and finish by putting around
it a roi^e of twisted grape-vine. The handle is
formed of a hoop or sapling entwined with grape-
vine, as shown in the engraving. Cover the outside
of the boards with rough bark, and fill the basket to
the brim with good soil and plant your flowers in it,
taking care to have a few twining plants to grow up
over the handle.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a design for a summer-house in the Gre-
cian style. The roof is formed of rough boards,
and the gables or pediment and cornice are covered
with bark. The roof is supported by pillars formed
of the trunks of trees with the bark on. A house
built in this way, embowered in shade and overgrown
with ivy or creepers, produces a charming effect.

ALL ABOUT STRAWBERRIES (AGAIN.)

BY SUBSCRIBEK, BALTIMORE, MD.

Sometime ia the month of December last, I sent
you, ]\[r. Editor, an article on the subject of a test,
which was then in pr( gress, of several of the newest
and finest strawberries, both foreign and domestic.
This article, you were kind enough to publish in the
Gardeners' Monthly of the same month in which
the article was sent. You very kindly and properly
warned me not to repose too much confidence in the
recommendations of untried varieties lest I should
discover at the fruiting season that I had been de-
ceived.

It gives me great pleasure to say, that the result
of a very fair and unceasingly rigid test has de-
veloped the fact, that I was not deceived la the

quality and size of any one or all of the varieties
which I spoke of favorably in my communication to
you, with one exception, and that was in the test of
what has been represented to be the largest and best
of all the strawberries known. I mean the Wizard
of the North. Strange as it may appear, however, I
do not entirely condemn this variety so celebrated
for its almost incredible size of 9g inches in circum-
ference.

I am only an humV.e, inexperienced amateur, and
it would sound very like presumjition if I were to
attempt to infiict destruction on a berry so celebrated
as the "Wizard." I only say, and say it positively,
however, that although I am but an amateur of a
few years existence, my efforts in the careful and
attentive cultivation of several other varieties of
great notoriety were blessed with signal success.

And first, as to the Austin : I gathered fruit of this
variety irom plants two years old, which measured
five inches in circumference. The fruit was beautiful
in form and color, and of delicious flavor, and the
plant is of a robust habit. A friend from New York
has informed me by letter to-day, that the Austin on
exhibition in his office at the time he wrote, was
measured by himself, and was five and seven-eights
inches in circumference. A friend at his side, at the
time of measurement, asserted that he knew it to
have been six inches when first gathered from the
vines. I have mentioned the Austin first, only be-
cause some one variety must necessarily be men-
tioned first. It is, indeed, a noble berry, and is said
to have been the largest fruit exhibited in New
York.

Next, the Triomphe de Oand. Of this variety
nothing more need be said but that it commends
itself to exieryone who is at all capable of appreciating
splendid fruit, as distinctly among the very highest
as to exce.lence in every respect.

Next, Rivers'' Eliza Seedling. I had great success
with this berry, and its size was very great and its
flavor most delicious.

Next, the Vicom'ptesse Hericart de Thury falls very
little, if at all, behind the Eliza.

Next, TrollopeH Victoria.^ and I may ("to save time
and space in your valuable journal J) at once mention
all which passed the ordeal safely and most success-
fully.

Then there was Feasfs Fillmore ; then, side by side
with its parent the Fillmore appeared seedling Gene-
ral Lovell; this being the first season of the General's
appearance on any stage ; and, indeed, he did not
disgrace the stage nor his owner. (I will tell you
who the owner is one of these days. J The General
Lovell iwesisured four and three-fourth inches in circum-
ference, and that, too, when only two years old; flesh very
firm ; form and color very fine ; taste, very sweet.

witli just a sufficient amount of acid to make its
flavor as fine as any berry I ever tasted. To this
testimony in behalf of tliese varieties, I can add that
of a distinguished horticulturist in this city, who,
when he entered my yard, exclaimed emphatically
and with admiration in his tone and manner, "I
have never seen such a sight as this since I have
been in America. ' ' A native of Scotland he is.

Then there was Bayne's Favorite. Truly a great
fovorite in every respect. And "Excellente," not
disgracing its name ; very large and very fine.

Then Stansbury Seedling. Then Hooker Efnd others ;
but I must now stop. Truly, I enjoyed myself in
this expeiimental test, and was astonished at the
perfection to which the strawberry may, with God's
blessing on the effort, be made to aiTive, by constant
care and cultivation. I was enabled to gather from
my limited stock of plants in a very small back yard,
a sufficient supply for my family for nine days.

I fully concur with my worthy friend, Mr. J. S.,
of Washington City, in saying, as he said to me, by
letter, that it is strange that the people should be
content to buy the poor, trifling littte berries which
are sold in our markets, when they can purchase
from the attentive aud skilful horticulturist or ama-
teur such splendid fruit as can be produced, if due
encouragement were given to those who are disposed
to produce it, if properly remunerated.

I respectfully ask an insertion of this crude article
in your next number if you deem it worthy of it.

[We think almost all seedlings are "first-rate" for
the first season or so after raising. Unless it be
better in some marked respect than others already
Icnown, we would not preserve it. It takes time to
prove the stability of good characters in seedlings.
—Ed.]

fm**

INJUHZQUS INSECTS.

BY S. S. RATHVON.

THE GRAPE-YINE BEETLE. (Gastrophysa.)
At the meeting of this Asso-
ciation, some grape-leaves con-
taining insect larva were submit-
ted to my inspection, upon the
true nature of which I was then
not prepared to pronounce ; for
their appearance in that conntc.
tion Avas comparatively a new
thing to me, although I gave it
as my opinion that they were
the lars'a of a coleopterous insect ;
and a member of the Associa-
tion subsequently bringing me a
small "steel-blue beetle" from
the same vine, which, he alleged, was eati g the
tender buds or ends of them, I at once concluded

that this insect might have been the parent of the
larva in question, and stated such as my opinion,
without intending that that opinion was to be re-
garded as authoritative.

Since that time, however, I have made some prac-
tical observations upon the insect in question ; for,
on my return home, I not only brought specimens
of the larva with me, but I found that they were
tolerably abundant upon some grape-vines in the
city of Lancaster, and also that a number of them
had been sent from the vicinity of Rochester, New
York, to my friend, Mr. Jacob Stauffer, who exhib-
ited them to me. These insects appear to have had
a wide range the present season, and were very dis-
tinctive in various localities in several of the States,
if, indeed, they were not to be found throughout our
whole country.

Both Dr. Harris and Dr. Fitch refer to the "little
steel-blue beetle" in their works, as being destruc-
tive to the tender buds of the grape-vine "from
early spring until the end of May ;" describing them
precisely under the same circumstances as they were
found at West Chester on the 13th of June last ; but
neither of those eminent entomologists seem to
have been acquainted with the larva of the insect,
and Dr. Harris, in his work, acknowledges as much.
Those larva which I obtained at West Chester and
Lancaster produced the same beetle, and I am con-
vinced that those from New York State are precisely
the same. These insects produce two broods in one
year, the last brood hybernating under stones and
the bark of trees, or in the ground or any other
suitable place in which they can hide themselves,
during the winter season. When approached in tlie
perfect beetle state, they have a habit of letting go
and falling to the earth and hiding themselves, after
the manner of their relatives, the " cucumber beetle"
and the curculio, as well as some other species more
nearly allied to them. They, however, must not be
confounded with two closely-allied species that feed
upon the common sour dock (Rumex erispus, Lin.},
and which resemble them very much in color, size,
and general habits, excepting their transformations
and the appearance of their larva. The dock beetle
undergoes its transformations above ground on the
leaf where its larva feeds, similar to that of the
coccinellans; whereas the larva of the grape-vine
steel beetle burrows into the ground and undergoes
its transformation there.

Gastrophysa cmruletpennis. Fig. 1. Length,
three-twentieths of an inch, female something larger;
head, wing-covers, and body, a dark blue ; thorax
and legs, a dull orange red ; upper side of the abdo-
men, also a dull orange red, but this is not seen (he-
ing covered with the wingsj, except in the females,
after impregnation and before they have laid their

m

^^

V1^

238

SCh^ ^ardm^r's JttoniMj,

eggs, when the abdomen is swelled out like a large
orange-colored ball ; antennae and feet, black.

Gastrophysa cyanea^ Mels. Fig. 2. Length, the
same as in the foregoing species ; color, various
shades, from a dark steel-blue to a bright metallic
green ; head, legs and underneath, dark blue ; an-
tennae and feet, black ; the swollen abdomen of the
female in this species is of a dusky or blackish color,
showing whitish segmental divisions. Fig. 3 is the
larva, which is about one-quarter of an inch or more
in length, and of a dull velvety black color ; head,
shining black ; the three last segments are of a dirty
whitish color beneath, and the whole body is lighter
beneath than it is above ; feet, black, and six in
number ; the whole body, above and beneath, is
covered with regularly-arranged pyramidal tubercles.
Fig. 4 is the pupa, which is of a dull white or yel-
lowish-white color, and is scarcely as long as the
larva, distinctly showing the antennae, the feet, and
the wings of the future insect. Fig. 5 is the an-
tennae.

Mr. Say remarks that ' ' this is a beautiful and rare
species," in speaking of the cxrule .jiennis^ "an in-
habitant of the Northwest Territory." I found
them so abundant in the month of July of the
present year, that I really think I might have col-
lected a half-pint of them, and the cyanea^ in an en-
closure of fifteen yards square. They had entirely
destroyed the leaves of the dock growing there
(Ruviex crispus), after which they attacked other
wild plants, leaving nothing remaining but the ner-
vuses of the leaves and the seed-stems. The larva
feeds upon the same plant, and also imdergoes its
transformations there, similar to the coccinellans,
the pupa being only covered with the external in-
tegument of the larva, and fastened by the caudal
segment. The former species is supposed to have
been introduced into this country from abroad, and,
to all appearance, seems to be identical with Chry-
someia Polygoni of Europe. I have a foreign speci-
men in my cabinet, and, on a superficial comparison,
I can distinguish no difference between them.

After having devoured all the dock, they next at-
tacked a species of "smart-weed" {Polygonum avicu-
lare), which they bid fair of finishing in a short
time. It is upon a species of this weed that the
insect is found in Europe, but our insect prefers the
dock, according to my observations of the past ten
years. In the absence of either of either or both of
these weeds, it would, doubtless, attack other allied
species of vegetation, and might possibly become
a great scourge.

BouvATiciA HuMBOLDTi.— New white, with long
tube, and flower two inches in diameter.

MANAGEmENT OP JUKTIPERS.

BY A GARDENER, HEAR BROOKLYN, N. Y.

Wherever I have seen the juniper grown, I have
noticed many ugly contrivances for keeping them
together ; for when suffered to grow in the usual
way, they fall apart in heavy rains, and particularly
in snow-storms, leaving a very ragged and unsightly
appearance. Sometimes hoops are used, and wire,
but usually they are tied together by rope and twine,
at the best, making but poor specimens.

Some years ago I thought to remedy this by al-
lowing only one leader to grow up, and having sev-
eral pretty large and troublesome specimens with
the usual trouble of many dividing leaders. I cut
away all but one, and severely pruned-in the side
branches of the remaining one. They pushed out a
new growth the next spring, and are now beautiful
specimens. Since then I carefully cut out all but
one leader every season in these arborvitaes and
similar evergreens, besides taking out all very strong
side-shoots, and now have no trouble in even the
heaviest storms. Thinking the hint might be useful
to others, I offer it to you for the Monthly.

THE CISSUS DISCOLOR.

BY J. M.

This beautiful stove climber is an ornament that
no one should be without, as its splendid foliage of
dark purple and silver above, and still darker purple
on the under side, cannot, I think, be excelled in
beauty by any other plant, even amongst the be-
gonia class, with its many varieties of handsome
leaves, there is no one that I prefer to this plant. It
is employed very usefully in suspending in baskets,
in other cases for covering trellis work, or even
when trailing along on the stage it looks well ; but
planted in a pot and trained to a trellis ("such as ap-
peared in the July number of the Monthly) would be
as good a Avay as any for it. I have found it to grow
well in soil composed of turfy loam, a little rotted
horse manure and river sand, sifted fine. The pot
should have plenty of drainage to have the plant to
do well ; this last seems to be very essential to it.

Its propagation is best performed about Julj'', by
layering when the young wood is about six inches
or so in length. It roots readily in two or three
weeks, and should then be separated from the parent
plant, — potted, and put in a cool shady place for a
few days. A small 3-inch pot of sand is the best
thing to layer it in ; as soon as rooted, pot into the
soil as recommended above. It can also be raised
from cuttings taken off at the same time, and placed
under a bell glass ; they should be about two inches
in length, taken from the young wood. By this
mode they are longer rooting than by the former.

and it is not so good on the whole, although usually

ranked as a stove plant, it will keep in a warm

greenhouse through the winter, if kept rather dry,

and in summer it will thrive in a shaded place out

of doors, with no more care than greenhouse plants

usually require.

»•••»

HOW TO RAISE THE SEE OF THE
FEATHER GRASS.

BY W., PniLADELPIIIA.

I FIND amongst my acquaintances some trouble is
experienced in raising seed from the Feather Grass,
( Stipa pennaia.) I was for many years myself unable
to succeed with them, and as others of your readers
may have the same trouble with this highly orna-
mental grass, I send you the following memorandum
of a way by which I have been perfectly successful.
I have tried it several times, and every seed germi-
nates in a few weeks :

I get some muck soil, and when placed in the
seed-pots, pour in water till it is like mush, into
which I stir the seeds. I keep it afterwards well
saturated with water, and, indeed, to guard against
any possible dryness, keep saucers of water under.

The ease with which they grow under this treat-
ment convinces me that the usual way of sowing in
the border is too dry a plan for their desires.

RHODODENDRONS.

BY ADOLPH MIELLEZ, FLUSHING, N. Y.

AVill you allow me to pass a few remarks on the
Rhododendrons? That most excellent tribe of
plants, which, for its grand beauty is so universally
admired in Europe ; and though there . are a good
many valuable varieties to be found in this country,
there are nevertheless a great many amateurs, who,
seeing nothing but common lilac and purple flowers,
get tired of them, and I think would be much de-
lighted if they knew how easily their groups could
be converted into colors of the most brilliant scarlet,
carmine or crimson.

The mode I suggest is by way of grafting. Good,
strong and thrifty plants may be taken from the
ground, grafted, and put into a small pit or house
without any difficulty. They, under good manage-
ment, will easily take, and can be put out-doors again
after a month or six weeks, where they, if fairly
treated, will very soon resume their former close
growth and habit which render them so conspicuous
amongst our ornamental shrubs, ("it, of course, being
understood that there be more than one scion put to
the plant, in fact one on every branch. ^ The best
mode of grafting is "saddle-grafting," they being
not so much subject to be blown off by the wind.

The proper time for operation will be Cin summer, J
after the wood is fairly ripened, and Cin winterj

c\bout February. High-colored sorts that are hardy,
of course, should be chosen for scions, and thrift}'-,
well-rooted plants be taken to be operated upon. If
you think it worth the while, I will give some parti-
culars on the same subject in your next ; also, on
hybridizing this class of plants.

[Should be very glad to receive the articles. The
whole management of the Rhododendron in the
open air is pai ticularly worthy of attention. They
will not thrive in this or any other country under
the "lazy" and "ignorant system" adopted in moht
of our systems of culture, but when well managed
are the glory of English gardeners and deserve to be

of ours. — Ed.]

<•■•. ■.

The Descriptions of Flowers, when associated
with the names they bear, often suggest the ludic-
rous. In looking over the lists of our florists, for
instance, we find "-Lord Derby" described as having
an "orange crimson mouth;" "Lord Raglan" has
"a fine eye, but rather loose habits;" "Earl of
Shaftesbury, a fine flower," but "shows the whites
of the eyes;" "Princess Matilda" has "a rosy
blush, and is very free ;" "Mrs. Church has great
constancy, and may be depended on ;" and so on
through the catalogue.

Tree Ivy. — Some years ago we saw in the gar-
den of John Jay Smith, Esq., of Germantown, a
pretty S2)ecimen of this nice work of floral art. The
following, from the Cottage Oardener, reminds us of
the way to make them :

Procure some stout flowering branches, — fix on a
part of the bi'anch as near the bottom as you can,
to give you the more length of the trunk after it is
rooted ; then to cause it to root, cut ofi'a ring of tAvo
inches in width of the bark, all but about the width
of the fourth of an inch, and leave that narrow slip
of bark to carry on the circulation ; then get some
sheets of gutta percha, paper, or parchment, and
form each of them into the shape in which grocers
make their soft sugar parcels — the pointed end tic
tightly a little below the ringed part, and let the
open part of your paper be nine or ten inches wide,
and deep enough to hold as much good, rich, .sandy
loam as would fill a No. 24-pot, pack the soil tightly
around the ringed part, but not very tight above it,
water it well, and keep it well watered till next Oc-
tober, when it will be as full of roots as possible:
and then cut it off" from the old tree, and plant it
carefully in a sheltered place, and see it is well
staked. A layer of moss on the top of the soil in
the gutta percha paper, and a little of the moss all
around the wound will hasten the process of rooting.
If the stem of ivy is as thick as some we know, one
would need half a bushel of mould and two years to
root it properly.

m

240

SCh^ ®ardma''s Slont^lg,

arkner's

PHILABELPHIA. AUGUST 1, 1861.

33^ All Communications for the Editor should be addressed,
"Thomas Meehan, Gei-mantown, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gardener's Monthly
Box 406 Philadelphia."

|i3^ Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1S61 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(18.59) free. All persons who have paid their subscriptions for 1861
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.00 can receive a copy of
the same.

PUBLIC GAHDEiNS-THE PATENT OFFICE.

NoTWiTHSTANiDrNG the immense influence for
good which liorticultm-al and agricultm-al pursuits ex-
ercise over a whole community, no one has ever
expected or desired to see in this country such large
private establishments as Europe boasts of. How-
ever much it might gratify our professional pride as
gardeners to have such noble gardens to manage, we
well knoAV that they can in very few instances be
maintained as they are, only by an hereditary system
of property ownership — a system by which the rich
become richer and the poor poorer, at every succes-
sive generation ; and our love of the business in its re-
gal states of existence, cheerfully gives place to a
pride as citizens, in the general material prosperity
and happiness which our national system affords.

But that we might not altogether be deprived of
these advantages, it has been a fondly cherished
hope with our leading minds, that agriculture and
liorticulture should assume a more national shape
than Europe can boast of ; and the most sanguine
amongst us have looked forward to a no distant date
when all the stages of our Government, municipal,
state, and general, should sustain its public park,
garden, and horticultural establishment for the use
and instruction of the people.

With the establishment of the agricultural division
of the Patent Office, and the inauguration of a few
public squares and parks in some of our larger cities,
it did seem that the good time was coming, and we
all prepared to rejoice at the near prospect of our
dreams.

Alas ! they have proved but dreams. From the
Patent Office down to the hundred feet public
squares, they have turned out to be mere jobs to
reward partizans, and millions of dollars have been
spent, to little other end. In most instances this
has been the case, and very probably in all.

In our City of Philadelphia, we had two magni-
ficent Parks projected, the Hunting Park and the
Fairmount Park. They were all started on correct

principles. The plans were put up to public compe-
tition, and in the first-named case, Mr. W. Saunders'
plan was selected as the best, and in the last, Mr. J.
C. Sidney's, and the public applauded, that for once
justice had been done. Merit had triumphed, and
party politics, for the time, laid aside. But now
comes the curious part of the business. Both of
these gentlemen drew up carefully prepared estimates
of the cost of their several plans, and we believe both
of them off'ered to contract for the whole work at
the estimates made out. One of them certainly did,
for his report happens to be now before us. Imme-
diate payment would be no excuse, as the bonds of
the city extending over a number of years would be
accepted in settlement. Why are not such offers
accepted ? Simply because they bring neither votes
nor patronage to whatever party may be in power.
A few Aveeks before "election," crowds of voters
are employed who do little for their pay but what
they are employed for, namely, vote ; and the little
they do is neglected after the "election," and has to
be done over again when the next voting time comes
around. In the cases we have named, with the ex-
ception of the designers, Mr. Saunders and Mr.
Sidney, we doubt whether any one person skilled in
horticulture has been employed in the works duriug
the years that have elapsed since their commence-
ment; and these gentlemen are probably retained
nominally at the head of the works to make them
appear, in the eyes of the public, no political affairs.
The estimates originally made out, judging from per-
sonal observation, are nearly or quite reached, or if
not, exceeding good management must have been
exercised by both Mr. Saunders and Mr. Sidney to
get so much done for the money, and the " Parks,"
instead of being near completed, are still little move
than wildernesses. No one can believe that they will
ever be finished for less than double, as the system
goes, and they bid fair to be the hospital for political
cripples for many years yet to come.

If we turn from Philadelphia to Washington, the
same deplorable facts present themselves. The ag-
ricultural division of the Patent office has proved a
perfect Augean stable of corruption and shameless
ignorance, that ought to lead the first originator of
the idea to the same fate as the originator of
the guillotine, and his heart break at the perversion
of his patriotic intentions. Many a Hercules has at-
tempted the cleaning process, but has signally failed.
Turned out by one hole the offensive matter enters
as fast by another, and the labor is lost.

Near the close of Mr. Buchanan's administration,
the force of public opinion caused the removal of
the leading incompetent, the great D. J. B. of the
Patent Office reports, and it was fondly hoped that
some millions would be saved to the country by the

®T

^,?^

®It4 ^ardtiwr's Jlonthlg.

241

cessation of imports "foreign wine-grapes," "Tea
Plants," "Christ's Thorn seed," "Cork Trees,"
"Strap-leaved Turnips," and scores of other items,
useless rubbish, which have not, nor ever will be of
one cent's worth of benefit to this country for all
the outlay. Well, this distinguished Bee (D. J. B.)
is again taken up to send abroad to gather more
honey for us of the same sort. It is not his fault,
but that of the system. It is said that he worked
hard to get the present Commissioner of Patents
into office ; why should he not have his reward ?
Our postmasters and police, even down to the most
petty officer, mostly earn their places before they get
them. What they do after their appointment
should be considered gratuitous on their part, and
we should be thankful for any favors they may do
us, in the shape of what politeness terms their
"duties" ! Certainly the Patent Office officials de-
serve no less, and we should be satisfied.

Seriously we think it time that a determined effort
should be made to correct these abuses. The inter-
ests of agriculture and horticulture demand that they
should no longer be thus trifled with. When we
see some effort made likely to be successful, we shall
again resume our advocacy of public establishments.
Until then our pen will be better employed in the de-
velopment of the usual details of private practice.

the: SEEDIilNS NUISANCE.

Now that the season of pomological gatherings is
approaching, we warn our friends against the
unnecessary introduction of "new seedlings."

Many fruit raisers seem to have well studied Gulli-
ver, and to have imbibed the maxim of one of his
heroes, that "he who makes two blades of grass to
grow where only one grew before, is a human bene-
factor." But our friends seem to forget that this
must have applied to the kingdom of Brobdignag,
and that the multiplication of fruit "blades" in the
shape of seedlings with Lilliputian qualities, is the
least desirable of all our wants.

When we look over our fruit catalogues of the
few past years, and note the magnitude of the
"seedling list" now discarded as worthless, it is
painful to reflect on how much money, time and labor
have been thrown away on them. It is not that we
have been swindled, or that in most cases there has
been any design to inflict worthless varieties on the
public, but the evil arises from the public not know-
ing the characteristics of a good fruit, or the raiser's
not knowing how much an accidental and local cir-
cumstance has to do with a local reputation.

The foundation of a good character in a fruit should
be a good, hardy, vigorous constitution — one that will
resist our heats and drouths, and come out scathless
rom our severe wintry ordeals. Entirely too much

^i^i^/^

prominence has been given to nice shades of flavor, —
shades frequently so delicate that a vote of a hun-
dred palates would scarce indicate a majority of one
in favor of any two favorites.

A fruit is sent to the Gardiner's Monthly, or to a
committee of some horticultural society; the flavor
may be excellent, and we or the committee be
honestly bound to say so ; but as it is the only im-
portant quahty that is up for judgment, it may have
many other defects that would render it worthless
notwithstanding, and we are desirous that the public
should receive the opinions in such cases given at
only their exact worth. On the other hand, a really
valuable fruit is often rejected or has to fight its way
through legions of enemies, merely because the first
decisions of good judges were that it was "not of
good flavor." The cases of the Concord Grape, and
Albany Seedling Strawberry are in point. Inferior
in mere flavor as they may be conceded to be, they
are the type of all that is valuable in the classes that
claim them, and the models on which we may ex-
pect future improvements.

Nothing but experimental gardens in two or three
sections of the Union will ever save to the country
the immense sums now squandered on inferior
varieties. It is, of course, out of the question to
urge this matter now, but we hope our readers will
bear it in mind when peace and prosperity return.
In the mean time, our friends will understand that
when we or others pronounce a fruit "as the best
flavored we have tasted this season," it may be verj"-
far from being a valuable variety, and that there are
a great many other points to be considered before
we venture to encourage another risk of a "seedhng
nuisance."

HORTICULTUHE IN CALIPCKNIA.

" CoMPAiJisoNS are odious," says Mrs. Malaprop ;
but sometimes Mrs. Partington's understanding that
they are "odorous," is the correct one, and they
shed a balmy influence for good on all who may
come within the charmed circle of the magic
fragrance.

Two papers come to hand by the same mail, one
from California, the other from England, and afford
a striking comparison of the status of horticultural
art in these comparative antipodes.

Our English paper gives an account of a collection
of variegated plants on exhibition in London, sent
for that purpose by Mr. Fortune frorn Japan.' and
which arrived there the day before the exhibition,
in first-rate order, in a Wardian case. Certainly it
was a feat worth exulting over, not only as being
successful beyond record, but as showing how very
far horticultural skill has advanced there.

And now, what of California? The account

TtB^

stated that an association had been formed with a
A'ery heavy capital, the shares from $25 to $50 each ;
the object being to import specimens of the best
fruits of Europe to CaUfornia. The principal part
of the capital it was proposed to spend in the em-
ployment of "competent hands," who were to be
"sent out to the various European countries" to
superintend the packing up the plants in such a
manner that "they could have daily water, air, light
and attendance" on the way. This sounded so pre-
cisely like one of our "Patent Office schemes," that
it was with difficulty we could bring ourselves to be-
lieve it to be a plan emanating from intelligent gentle-
men. They have certainly never heard of Wardian
cases, and are full fifty years behind the times.

It is a source of profound regret to see such energy
and good intentions so expensively and uselessly
employed. Nothing shows more clearly the national
value of a study of horticulture, and the immense
importance of its pursuit in an industrial point of
view. No greater mistake can be made than to con-
sider it a mere lady's accomplishment, like zephyr
or worsted work.

"Horticulture," says Dr. Lindley, in a recent address
to Prince Albert, as President of the London Horti-
cultural Society, "Horticulture, Sir, is the parent of
Agriculture. It determines, on a small scale, the
value of the principles on which an extended culti-
vation of the soil depends. It is associated with our
food, our wealth, and many of our social enjoy-
ments." How much more is this applicable to our
country, which is so peculiarly agricultural, than to
England ; and how well does the California example
of ill-directed energy show the want of it.

GHAPES.

Most horticulturists have heard of the grapes of
Fox Meadow gardens. We have repeatedly said,
in the discussion of the grape subject, that facts and
figures on the merits of the diff"ering systems were
what we wanted, and here we have in black and
white, a weighty argument in favor of the Fox
Meadow system, which, after all, is but the old spur
system. The " weighty argument" consists of six
bunches, weighing, collectively, seventeen pounds,
two ounces, expressed in "black" Hamburg, and
"white" Muscats, in all the various bearings of
which, color, flavor, form, &c., we were compelled
to admit the "reasoning most cogent, clear and
logical;" even the leaves which accompanied the
fruit measured twelve inches by eighteen, and were
models of healthy luxuriance.

In a "private" note which Mr. Ellis sends with
the fruit, are some interesting facts, which we take
the liberty of extracting, assured that Mr. Ellis will
not object to the publication :

"I forward you a sample so that you could be
able to "record" something on om- old spur system
of vine growing. Six years ago, I planted a house,
three hundred feet long, with vines two feet apart,
intending to cut down each alternate vine as it was
fruited ; Cyou will here bear in mind this was an
early forcing house.) The following season, I worked
part of the house on this plan of cutting down,
Cwhich I had seen twenty years ago performed by
Mr. Seammell, nurseryman, Bath, England,; to
first see how it would answer, but I found that the
cutting down caused the vines to push much later
from their base than those which were for fruiting ;
some a month and others six weeks later, and that
in their breaking together there was no dependence ;
and that if I had continued the system for two or
three years, my early forcing-house, at the end of
that time would have naturally grown into a cold
house, so I had to drop it. Well, sir, this result
caused me to spur-prune these vines instead of cut-
ting them down, as before stated, and to sum up, to-
day, on vine growing, my experience leads me to
believe that vines planted four feet apart are capable
of bearing double the quanlity of much better fruit
than when planted at two feet apart without any re-
gard to any one's system of pruning or growing."

It has been stated somewhere that Mr. Elhs had
found his vines "declining" under the old spur-prun-
ing system. Mr. E. states that he had noticed a slight
falling off in crop on a few vines, but so far from be-
lieving that it was caused by the system of pruning
or the necessity of adopting another one, set about
to remedy it in his own way ; and if the samples
sent prove any thing, it is certainly some "other
thing" than a "decline."

In due time, no doubt, "the other side" will fur-
nish similar "arguments," when we shall have much
pleasure in duly "weighing" them also.

ENTGI¥IOLOGICAL ARTICLES.

We are indebted to the Publication Committee of
the Eastern Pennsylvania Fruit-Growers' Society,
through Mr. Gustavus Heins, the attentive Secretary
of the Association, for the highly interesting article
on the Grape-vine Beetle in another column. We
have several other articles on destructive insects,
also from the pen of Mr. Rathvon, which will appear
in forthcoming numbers.

TRAVELLING AGENT.

Our neighbor, Mr. James Gleason, in connec-
tion with his business of laying-out grounds and
execution of ground work generally, makes a trip to
the East and Canada, and has kindly consented to
act as an agent of the Oardener's Monthly during the

^^^

S;j)4 ^arbtiier's |ll0iit|lj.

243

tour. The publisher will be obliged to the friends of
the journal who may place him in the way of being
most successful in obtaining new subscribers.

LARGE

NURSERY ESTABLISHMENT
FOR SALE.

In another column appears an advertisement of
Messrs. G. H. White & Co.'s Nurseries at Cold-
water, Michigan. A personal friend who has re-
cently returned from a business tour in that section,
informs us that he spent a day verj^ delightfully over
the grounds, which he spoke very highly of, as well
as of their location. We allude to the subject here
because it is the first instance we have heard of any
of our large nurseries getting frightened at the
crisis ; a rather surprising fact when we know how
many other businesses have failed, and how nursery-
men have sulfered by debts withheld. We have no
doubt Messrs. White will soon find a successor, and
they themselves eventually regret their change. It
is at least our impression that the nursery interest
will be one of the first to recover from the general
depression, for it is an "ill wind that blows no one
any good," and they to whom it blows want the
luxuries of horticulture.

rrepx

nnm.

S3°° Communications for this department must reacli the Editor
on or before the 10th of the month.

id^Tlie Editor cannot answer letters for tliis dei^artment pri-
vately.

Advertisements — J. B. Good. We hoped our
last would close this discussion, but two parties re-
ferred to seem to have a right to a postscript. Mr.
Kohly writes that he may have been mistaken in the
date of his letter, as he certainly was by the post-
mark ; but he now sends us facts and documents
proving clearly that he did send money to Mr. Good;
and he also sends us additional letters of Mr. Good's,
which proves that Mr. Good did, at least, get the
letters. Whether the money did or did not reach
Mr. Good may be a good ground for suspicion, but
it is a matter better fitted for discussion in a court of
justice than in a horticultural journal. Another
letter is from the Baltimore gentleman alluded to.
Though we may, in truth, say scores of letters in our
possession, from as many parties, show that Mr.
Good must, to say the best, have been particularly
unfortunate in the non-receipt of his money letters,
we were particularly anxious that even the most
"unfortunate" should suffer no injustice at our
hands, and we gave Mr. Good the benefit of all the
praise of him that had come to hand. But this
gentleman now writes, "I have little doubt that my
Delawares are spurious, and many of the others

have leaves all alike ; Cuyahoga, Maxatawmy and
Bullitt particularly, look like some one variety of
foreign grape. Should these three varieties have
this one uniform and foreign look ?" Certainly not,
and if they are all thus alike, it is a bare-faced fraud,
whicli should be prosecuted as such in a criminal
court. The letters of the other gentleman, tliough
we sympathize with parties in their troubles, we must
be excused from further noticing, for reasons stated
in our last two numbers.

Fruits Received. — Strawberry Seedling from
Mr. Lanfesty, Philadelphia. Fruit of large size, on
a long stem, similar in this respect to Austin Seed-
ling. The quality was not first-rate, but it may pos-
sess other qualities that would render it a desirable
variety to perpetuate. Strawberry Seedling from
Wilmington, Del. ; so much spoiled in transit that
it could not even be tasted. Raspberry Seedling from
George Raphael, Burlington, N. J., of superior excel-
lence in flavor, but soft like Fastolf, with which we
think it possesses too much in coinmou to merit a
separate preservation, unless it possess qualities of
hardiness, &c., which Fastolf does not. Franconia
Raspberries Irom E. Satterthwait, Jenkintown, Pa.
Quite as hard and firm as the Allen ; very large and
showj^ of superior flavor ; indeed, we doubt whether
very many of the new introductions can approach
this old one in value in several qualities.

Strawberry Growing — D. TF!, Jamaica Plain.,
Mass.^ writes: "I have never had a chance since I
came to this country, to learn much about the
American varieties. In Scotland, we used to grow
them, the British varieties, mostly on the hill system,
and they did well, but all around Boston they grow
the strawberry in beds, so that I have had no chance
to see how they do in hills. I have been keeping a
look out in the Monthly^ but I do not see any kind
mentioned but the Triomphe de Gand grown in that
way. I turned over a piece of ground with the
Michigan plough last spring, manured and planted
it about the beginning of May with Ilovey's Seed-
ling, Virginia and Brighton Pine, two feet four in-
ches between the rows, eight to twelve inches be-
tween the plants. Now, should I keep them in hills
or let them run into beds ? I may mention that I will
have to depend partly on them for a living, so by
that you will understand that I want to make as
much off" the ground as I can."

[Mr. Knox, of Pittsburg, finds it most profitable
to grow all varieties of strawberry in hills. It should
not be forgotten, however, that he is a very large
cultivator, the most extensive, perhaps, in the Union,
and a system that proves the most profitable on a
large scale often does not answer so well on a small

^

(^

m

244

m^ §Mmf& JlontMj.

one. We do not know any small market-grower
wlio adopts the plan, and as a mere question of pro-
fit with our coiTCspondent, we cannot advise him,
though we are strongly of opinion that the hill
system, even in small places, would be found, in a
pecuniary sense, the most remunerative.

Books, HoTnousES, &c. — W. B., Washington,
Wash. Co., lo'wa, writes : " Can you not go a little
more into details in answering correspondents ? (1)
I am much interested in that department, especially
in relation to hothouses. Can you give me the name
of a work on the managing of hothouses ? I want to
propagate grapes from buds, and roses fi'om cuttings.
I want something that will give me full details. (2)
I tried it last wmter and partially succeeded ; have a
few grapes from buds that look well. Can I graft
Downing's New Mulberry the same as apples ? (8)
Where can I get roots of the common Mulberry to
graft on ? Any information on the subject would
be thankfully received. (4^ Also, I would like to
know what process the seed of the Buckthorn must
be taken through to make it germinate ? Here in
the West, fencing material is scarce and costly, ai.d
we want something that will make a good hedge.
I think our native thorns are just the thing if we can
get them to grow." (5)

[1. We should be glad to give fuller details, but
it must not be forgotten that the questions in this
department interest but a small portion of our
readers, however interesting they may be to a few,
and justice to the general reader demands a limit to
the space the department should occupy.

2. Leuchars on Hothouses is a good guide to con-
struction and principles of management. There is
no work on details of hothouse management that
weknoAV. McMahon's Gardener's Calendar, Buist's
Flower Garden Directory, and Breck's Book of
Flowers are very useful to novices.

8. Yes.

4. For obvious reasons we never recommend
nurserymeir ; most of the large nurseries that adver-
tise in our paper could furnish them.

5. When good it grows very readily ; when sown
in spring, as easily as cabbage seed. No process
but mere sowing is required.]

Pike Tree Insect — W., Baltimore, writes:
" Can 3'ou enlighten me upon a disease I have found
this spring to affect my White Pines ? After they
had made a growth of a foot or sixteen inches, I
noticed that the leader ceased growing and turned
brown, and upon cutting into the bark, found that
white worms, somewhat similar to the Apple-tree
Borer, were eating it up. In one specimen I found
several dozen worms, ranging in size from an eighth

to a half inch in length ; they completely encircle
the wood and kill it as they descend. 1 did not ob-
serve any holes in the bark where they could enter,
as the borer shows in the apple tree, and I concluded
that the eggs of a moth had been laid in the little
tuft at the extreme end of last year's growth, which
were hatched by our warm vernal suns, and the
worms had eaten their way in at that point, and
thence descend, vmtil, perhaps, the whole tree is de-
stroyed. I cut the leader off down to apparently
healthy wood and then tied up a lateral shoot to form
a new leader. I should like to know what would
prevent the ravages of this insect, for they have
done me much damage. (1) Will you please give
me, also, through your excellent Monthly, the most
satisfactory climber tor a locust tree, which I have
killed, and lopped off its branches for a support ? It
is in front of my dwelling, and I should like some-
thing ornamental. Is Ivy preferable to a deciduous
vine for such a purpose ?" (2)

[1. We know of no other remedy for this inflic-
tion but cutting off and burning the insects with the
parts attacked, and print the inquiry in full, in the
hope that anj'^ of our friends who may have had ex-
perience with the same trouble, will communicate.

2. The Ivy would do well, but we should add
with it a Trumpet vine, and if the tree were large
enough, a Virginia Ivy— they would all do together. ]

Wine Grapes for Michigan — Sturgis, Michigan,
asks for the best hai-dy grapes for wine and market
in that region.

[In most regions where it has been tried, the
Delaware is found to make the best wine. In most
of our Middle States, were we to plant for market
merely, we should plant largely of Concord ; but in
your latitude, for the combined purposes of wine and
market, we should try Diana and Concord, unless
we found that parties in that region had already
tried and found other kinds well adapted to the
peculiar locality. Experiments in these matters re-
quire to be made with great caution in new localities.
We have seen, even in this part of the- country,
thousands of dollars lost on implicitly following
advice as to varieties and management, that have
been found excellent in other places. In a quite
new locality, we should plant small quantites of
most of the better known improved kinds for experi-
ment, in addition to the larger quantities of the two
kinds named.]

Hardiness of Farfttgium Grande — W., Phila-
delphia, says in reference to the notice in our last,
that this entirely disappeared from his border the
past winter ; killed, as he supposes, by the frost.

-UC)'

Wx^ §minm\ ^ontljlg.

245

1

Tritomas— TF. C. S.^ Keokuk, Iowa. — It would be
best in your latitude to take up Tritomas late in the
fall, cut back the foliage about two-thiids, pack them
in boxes of soil, and set in a cool cellar for the
winter. We have found them hardy here, but seem
somewhat injured and do not flower or grow near
as well as those we protect.

Japan Lilies— 5., Cincinnati, 0. — You need not
fear to risk your Japan Lilies out in the open air ;
they are perfectly hardy, and, indeed, thrive much
better in the open border, when left out overwinter,
than we ever knew them to do under greenhouse
culture. We would, however, replant them every
fall — advice that will apply to all the other species of
Lilium.

-Poolfes, (Jefalogupx, ^t.

On the Sources of the Nitrogen of Vegeta-
tion ; with special reference to the Question
whether Plants Assimilate Free or Uncombined
Nitrogen. By John Bennet Lawes, Esq., F.R.
S., F.C.S. ; Joseph Henry Gilbert, Ph.D., F.RS.,
F.C.S. ; and Evan Pugh, Ph.D., F.C.S.
After referring to the earlier iiistory of the sub.
ject, and especially to the conclusion of De Saussure,
that plants derive their nitrogen from the nitroge-
nous compounds of the soil and the small amount of
ammonia which he found to exist in the atmosphere,
the Authors preface the discussion of their own ex-
periments on the sources of the nitrogen of plants,
by a consideration of the most prominent facts estab-
lished by their own investigations concerning the
amount of nitrogen yielded by different crops over
a given area of land, and of the relation of these to
certain measured, or known sources of it.

On growing the same crop year after year on the
same land, without any supply of nitrogen by ma-
nure, it was found that wheat, over a period of
fourteen years, had given rather more than thirty
pounds — barley, over a period of six years, some-
what less — meadow -hay, over a period of three years,
nearly forty pounds, — and beans, over eleven years,
rather more than fifty pounds of nitrogen per acre,
per annum. Clover, another Leguminous crop,
grown in three out of four consecutive years, had
given an average of one hundred and twenty pounds.
Turnips, over eight consecutive years, had yielded
about forty-five pounds.

The Graminaceous crops had not, during the
periods referred to, shown signs of diminution
of produce. The yield of the Leguminous crops
had fallen considerably. Turnips, again, appeared
greatly to have exhausted the immediately available

nitrogen in the soil. The amount of nitrogen har-
vested in the Leguminous and Root-crops was con-
siderably increased by the use of "mineral manures,"
whilst that in the Graminaceous crops was so in a
very limited degree.

Direct experiments further showed that pretty
nearly the same amount of nitrogen was taken from
a given area of land in wheat in eight years, whether
eight crops were grown consecutively, four in al-
ternation with fallow, or four in alternation with
beans.

Taking the results of six separate courses of rota-
tion, Boussingault obtained an average of between
one-third and one-half more nitrogen in the produce
than had been supplied in manure. His largest
yields of nitrogen were in Leguminous crops ; and
Cereal crops were larger when they next succeeded
the removal of the highly nitrogenous Leguminous
crops. In their own experiments upon an actual
course of rotation, without manure, the Authors
had obtained, over eight years, an average annual
yield of 57.7 pounds of nitrogen per acre; about
twice as much as was obtained in either wheat or
barley, when the crops were, respectively, grown
year after year on the same J^ind. The greatest
yield of nitrogen had been in a clover crop, grown
once during the eight j'ears ; and the wheat crops
grown after this clover in the first course of four
years, and after beans in the second course, were
about double those obtained when wheat succeeded
wheat.

Thus, Cereal crops, grown j-ear after j^ear on the
same land, had given an average of about thirty
pounds of nitrogen, per acre, per annum ; and Le-
guminous crops much more. Nevertheless the
Cereal crop was nearty doubled when preceded by a
Leguminous one. It was also about doubled when
preceded by fallow. Lastly, an entirely unmanured
rotation had yielded nearly twice as much nitrogen
as the continuously grown Cereals.

Leguminous crops Avere, however, little benefitted,
indeed frequently injured, by the use of the ordinary
direct nitrogenous manures. Cereal crops, on the
other hand, though their yield of nitrogen was com-
paratively small, were very much increased by direct
nitrogenous manures, as well as when they suc-
ceeded a highly nitrogenous Leguminous crop, or
fallow. But when nitrogenous manures had been
employed for the increased growth of the Cereals,
the nitrogen in the immediate increase of produce
had amounted to little more than forty per cent, of that
supplied, and that in the increase of the second year
after the application, to little more than one-tenth of
the remainder. Estimated in the same way, there had
been in the case of the meadow grasses scarcely any
larger proportion of the supplied nitrogen recovered

i^

-jrit)

%/<>.

In the Leguminous crops the proportion so recov-
ered appeared to be even less ; whilst in the root-crops
it was probably somewhat greater. Several possible
explanations of this real or apparent loss of the ni-
trogen supplied by manure are enumerated.

The question arises — what are the sources of all
the nitrogen of our crops beyond that which is di-
rectly supplied to the soil by artificial means ? The
following actual or possible sources may be enumera-
ted : — the assimilation of free nitrogen by plants ;
the nitrogen in certain constituent minerals of the
soil ; the combined nitrogen annually coming down
in the direct aqueous deposition from the atmosphere;
the accumulation of combined nitrogen from the at-
mosphere by the soil in other ways ; the formation of
ammonia in the soil from free nitrogen and nascent
hydrogen ; the formation of nitric acid from free ni-
trogen ; the direct absorption of combined nitrogen
from the atmosphere by plants themselves.

A consideration of these several sources of the
nitrogen of the vegetation which covers the earth's
surface showed that those of them which have as
yet been quantitatively estimated are inadequate to
account for the amount of nitrogen obtained in the
annual produce of a given area of land beyond that
which may be attributed to supplies by previous
manuring. Those, on the other hand, which have
not yet been even approximately estimated as to
quantity— if indeed fully established qualitatively —
offer many practical dithculties in the way of such
an investigation as would afford results applicable in
anj^ such estimates as are here supposed. It ap-
peared important, therefore, to endeavor to settle
the question whether or not that vast storehouse of
nitrogen, the atmosphere, affords to growing plants
any measurable amount of its/ree nitrogen. More-
over, this question had of late years been submitted
to very extended and laborious experimental re-
searches by M. Boussingault, and M. Ville, and also
to morie limited investigation by MM. Mene, Roy,
Cloez, De Luca, Harting, Petzholdt, and others,
from the results of which diametrically opposite
conclusions had been arrived at. Before entering
on the discussion of their own experimental evi-
dence, the Authors give a review of the results and
inferences ; more especially those of M. Boussingault
who questions, and those of M. Georges Ville who
afflrms the assimilation of free nitrogen in the pro-
cess of vegetation.

The general method of experiment instituted by
Boussingault, Avhich has been followed, with more
or less modification, in most subsequent researches,
and by the Authors in the present inquiry was—
to set seed or young plants, the amount of nitrogen
in which was estimated by the analysis of carefully
chosen similar specimens ; to employ soils and water

containing either no combined nitrogen, or only
known quantities of it ; to allow the access either of
of free air ("the plants being protected from rain and
dust J — of a current of air freed by washing from all
covibined nitrogen— or of a limited quantity of air,
too small to be of any avail so far as any compounds
of nitrogen contained in it were concerned ; and
finally, to determine the amount of combined nitro-
gen in the plants produced and in the soil, pot, &c.,
and so to provide the means of estimating the gain
or loss of nitrogen during the course of the experi-
ments.

The plan adopted by the Authors in discussing
their own experimental results was :

To consider the conditions to be fulfilled in order
to affect the solution of the main question, and to
endeavor to eliminate all sources of error in the
investigation.

To examine a number of collateral questions bear-
ing upon the points at issue, and to endeavor so far
to solve them, as to reduce the general solution to
that of a single question to be answered by the re-
sults of a final set of experiments.

To give the results of the final experiments, and
to discuss their bearings upon the question which it
is proposed to solve by them.

Accordingly, the following points are considered :

1. The preparation of the soil, or matrix, for the
reception of the plants and of the nutriment to be
supplied to them.

2. The preparation of the nutriment, embracing
that of mineral constituents, of certain solutions,
and of water.

3. The conditions of atmosphere to be supplied to
the plants, and the means of securing them ; the
apparatus to be employed, &c.

4. The changes undergone by nitrogenous organic
matter during decomposition, affecting the quantity
of combined nitrogen present, in circumstances
more or less analogous to those in which the ex-
perimental plants are grown.

5. The action of agents, as ozone ; and the in-
fluence of other circumstances which may affect the
quantity of combined nitrogen present in connexion
with the plants, independently of the direct action
of the growing process.

In most of the experiments a rather clayey soil,
ignited with free access of air, well washed with
distilled water, and re-ignited, was used as the ma-
trix or soil. In a few cases washed and ignited
pumice-stone was used.

The mineral constituents were supplied in the form
of the ash of plants, of the description to be grown
if practicable, and if not, of some closely allied kind.

The distilled water used for the final rinsing of all
he important parts of the apparatus, and for the
t

supply of water to the plants, was prepared by boil-
ing off one-third from ordinary water, collecting the
second-third as distillate, and re-distilling this, pre-
viously acidulated with phosphoric acid.

Most of the pots used were specially made of
porous ware, with a great many holes at the bottom
and round the sides near to the bottom. These
were placed in glazed stone-ware pans with inward-
turned rims to lessen evaporation.

Before use, the red-hot matrix and the freshly
ignited ash were mixed in the red-hot pot, and the
whole allowed to cool over sulphuric acid. The
soil Avas then moistened with distilled water, and
after the lapse of a day or so the seeds or plants
were put in.

Very carefully picked bulks of seed were chosen ;
specimens of the average weight were taken for the
experiment, and in similar specimens the nitrogen
was determined.

The atmosphere supplied to the plants was washed
free from ammonia by passing through sulphuric
acid, and then over pumice-stone saturated with
sulphuric acid. It then passed through a solution
of carbonate of soda before entering the apparatus
enclosing the plant, and it passed out again through
sulphuric acid.

Carbonic acid, evolved from marble by measured
quantities of hydrochloric acid, was passed daily
into the apparatus, after passing, with the air,
through the sulphuric acid and the carbonate of soda
solution.

The enclosing apparatus consisted of a large glass
shade, resting in a groove filled with mercury, in a
slate or glazed earthernware stand, upon which the
pan, with the pot of soil, &c., was placed. Tubes
passed under the shade, for the ingress and the egress
of air, for the supply of water to the plants, and, in
some cases, for the withdrawal of the water which
condensed within the shade. In other cases, the
condensed water was removed by means of a special
arrangement.

One advantage of the apparatus adopted was, that
the washed air was forced, instead of being aspira-
ted, through the enclosing vessel. The pressure upon
it was thus not only very small, and the danger from
breakage, therefore, also small, but it was exerted
upon the inside instead of the outside of the shade ;
hence, any leakage would be from the inside out-
wards, so that there was no danger of unwashed air
gaining access to the plants.

The conditions of atmosphere were proved to be
adapted for healthy growth, by growing plants
imder exactly the same circumstances, but in a gar-
den soil. The conditions of the artificial soil were
shown to be suitable for the purpose, by the fact
that plants grown in such soil, and in the artificial
conditions of atmosphere, developed luxuriantly, if

only manured with substances supplying combined

nitrogen.

(Conclusion in our next.)

Bright on Grape-Culture. Second Edition.
That a new edition of his work so soon after its first
appearance should be called for must be peculiarly
gratifying to the author. Like most men of bold
and original views, he has had "a hard road to
travel" over the rocks and hills along which the
practices or prejudices of his professional compeers
have led him.

It is, however, an unquestionable fact, that since
the first publication of Mr. Bright's views on grapes,
its culture has progressed with giant strides, — not,
perhaps, exactly in the channels Mr. Bright has
marked out for it, — but he has furnished the food
for thought, and the matter for reflection, that has
made grape-culture so well understood by the
masses. Men of long years of close and excellent
practical experience in grape management may feel
that they have learned nothing new from the labors
of the author ; but the thousands to whom the art
was almost a sealed book as of magic or necro-
mancy, have been taught to think, to experiment,
and to observe, until they have found supposed mys-
teries perfectly clear, and grape-growing to be an
art of easy accomplishment when the scientific
principles are mastered ; and grape-houses are every-
where going up.

In this edition Mr. Bright has incorporated some
new views, leading to modifications of practice
which will command the attention of those who
wish to have something to think about with the
view to improved grape-culture.

The Repository of New London, Conn., has
been changed to a neat monthly magazine, entitled
The Family Repository and HoriicuUural Cabinet. It is
edited by Mr. W. H. Starr. It is filled with selec-
tions from the best sources, and illustrated with a
colored plate as a frontispiece. The one before us
has a handsome lithograph of an Easter Beurre
Pear.

Catalogue of the Officers and Students
OF the University of Michigan for 18GL We
are indebted to Alexander Winchell, Esq., the Bo-
tanical Professor of the Institution, for the copy
before us.

Catalogues.

Peter Mackenzie & Son, Philadelphia. Green-
house and Stove Plants. In the Camellia depart-
ment we notice descriptions of over one hundred
varieties.

John Westphal & Sons, Iowa City. Descrip-
tive Catalogue. 52 pages. Trees, Plants and
Flowers.

m

JU

i^Il

248

Sth^ ^ard^ner*^ JHonthlg*

rt

T. C. Maxwell & Bro., Geneva, N. Y. De-
scriptive Catalogue of Bedding Plants, Bulbs, &c,
15 pages.

Geo. D. Ktmber, Flushing, Long Island, N. Y.
Fruits, Shrubbery, &c.

Cooks' Supplemekt, Walnut Hills, Cincinnati.
Chiefly descriptive of Dahlias and Verbenas.

James N. Price, Media, Pa. Fruits.

H. E. Hooker & Co., Rochester, N. Y. Pre-
pared Bast matting.

F. Prentice, Toledo, Ohio. Wholesale Trade
List.

J. SiiEPPARD, fsuccessor to W. P. Sheppard,
deceased, J New York City. Horticultural Agency,

A. F. CoNARD & Bro., West Grove, Pa. Fruits
and Flowers.

M. A. Walmsley, Bristol, Pa. Fruits and
Flowers.

Cerexjs Kingiana. — Some time last spring Mr.
Buist sent us a seedling Cactus, which has since
bloomed, and proves one of the handsomest of the
class. It appears to be a hybrid between Cereus
speciosissimus and Epiphyllum speciosum. The
habit of the plant approaches the former, but the
flowers are medium between the two in size, and
are clear white at the base, broadly edged with
purple shaded rose. There is no handsomer tribe of
plants than the free blooming and "tall cacti," as
the section in question is termed, and the present
addition will not fail to become popular.

New Dwarf Begonias. — A new race of minia-
ture or dwarf begonias has been produced by the
Belgian cultivators, which is attracting much at-
tention. It has already become apparent that, re-
markable as the begonias are, the plants occupy so
much space that amateurs with small greenhouses are
unable to possess but a limited number. These
dwarf sorts obviate this necessity, for while they are
equally varied and rich in their leaf coloring, they
grow only six inches high, and form dense masses
of foliage as strikingly conspicuous as they are neat
and compact in growth. Begonia Frederic Sies-
mayer, raised by Van Houtte, is the original of the
group. It is similar to Rex, but the zone of silver
is larger and far brighter colored. — Hovey's Magazine.

Angrjscum susquipedale is one of the rarest,
as it is one of the finest ; no other Orchid can rival
it in the size of the individual flowers. They are
seven inches in diameter, of a clear ivory white

color, and the light green spur is a foot in length.
It seldom produces more than two or four flowers
from the axil of each of the upper leaves. It was
discovered and brought to England by the Rev.
William Ellis, in whose garden it also flowered for
the first time. — Scottish Gardener.

New Shrubbery Calceolarias. — This class of
calceolarias thrive pretty well in our climate, and
make good summer bedding plants, — propagating
well from cuttings, and keeping well over the
winter. We insert the following list of new
English kinds in order to call attention to the merits
of the class :

JEtna. — Crimson, tinted with scarlet, habit first-
rate ; a most abundant late blooming variety, and
win be found admirably adapted for bedding pur-
poses.

Harlequin. — A most pleasing variety ; yellow, dis-
tinctly spotted and blotched all over the flowers
with crimson, very dwarf in babit ; a most abundant
bloomer.

Little Dorrit. — A pleasing soft yellow, fine-shaped
flower, dwarf and good habit ; a most abundant
bloomer ; first-rate for bedding.

Magenta. — Beautiful dark velvet crimson, tinted
with scarlet, of fine shape and good habit.

Princess Helena. — Yellow, with primrose shading,
very effective ; good shape and habit.

The Hon. Mrs. Adams. — Primrose color, distinctly
spotted all over with crimson spots ; a finely shaped
flower, of good habit.

The Queen. — Pure yellow, beautifully marked all
over the flower with rich cinnabar red spcjts; a
great improvement on my Lady Palmerston.

Victor Emmanuel. — Fine reddish scarlet, distinctly
pitted with crimson dots ; first-rate habit, and will
prove a good bedding variety.

CiSTUS vaginatus. — From Teneriffe. Has rose-
colored flowers, resembling in size and form a single
camellia. It is a greenhouse shrub of great beauty,
growing about three feet high, and flowering in
June.

Pelargonium Endlicherianum. — This is a her-
baceous perennial kind, with umbells of eight to ten
red carmine flowers, with a rich carmine vein.
Though a native of Caucasus, the German Garten
Flora says it has but recently met with a tardy re-
cognition of merit as a pretty garden plant.

Geranium Hendersoni nanium. — This fine va-
riety is a decided improvement upon the well-known
G. Hendersoni, which, for a considerable period,
was the most reliable self white-flowered bedding
geranium known. The present one is a dwarfer

M

w:^

(H"

Wixti hardener's .IHonthlj.

and shorter-jointed growth and more effective in
character.

CoKVOLVULirs ocuLATA, a new and interesting
hardy perennial herbaceous plant from China and
Japan ; of a neat scandent or trailing habit for a
wall or trellis, producing numerous blush-tinted
funnel-shaped blossoms, picturesque, shaded with
dark violet or purple crimson in the centre or throat.

Agath^.a ccklestis folta variegata, a very
elegant dwarf box-like plant, three to four inches
high, with picturesque silver-edged leaves ; for front
margins and belts. Once Cineraria amelliodes.

Htdkangea cyanea,' a new species from China,
forming a neat dwarf conservator}' shrub, with
clusters of blush pink sepals, and inner smaller blue
petals and stamens.

Buckingham Apple. (See Frontispiece.) At the
last meeting of the Pomological Society, held in
Philadelphia, few fruits on exhibition attracted more
attention than this. It was exhibited by Col. Bain-
bridge, of South Pass, Illinois. As will be seen from
the engraving, the fruit is very large, oblate-conical
in shape. It is deeply shaded with crimson, and has
large grayish dots. The Committee reported that
in their belief the "Meigs," "Jackson Red," "Bun-
combe" of the South, and "Winter Queen" in
Virginia and Kentucky, were names often applied to
this variety.

Triumph OF Cumberland Cherry. We received
in the early part of July, a box of very large Cherries
of this variety from Mr. David Miller, Jr., Cumber-
land Nurseries, near Carlisle, Pa., and have en-
graved an average size specimen.

There are not many
cherries that will reach
three and a quarter inches
in circumference as these
averaged. We do not re-
gard it as of the highest
quality, but it is "very
good," and with its other
properties of dirk black
beauty, vigor, and produc-
tivess, would no doubt be
one of the most valuable
to grow, and we are sur-
prised not to find it much
I more frequently in collec-
'ous.

Cocklin's Favorite Cherry.— Another from
Mr. Miller, Avhich came to hand some days after the
above paragraph was written. We believe this to
be an undescribed kind and very distinct in many
respects from any we know. It is not of largest size
or of very striking superiority of flavor, but the very
small stone in proportion to the amount of flesh
gives it an advantage to the amateur over many
popular kinds of larger size. To those who do not
care how large the stone is, so that they get a "big
cherry," this recommendation will, of course, have
light weight.

It is of a beautiful amber color, and Mr. Miller
says is a vigorous and abundant bearer, ripening when
most of the best kinds are over. Mr. M. is unable
to trace its origin correctly, but though it has the
growth and foliage of the Hearts and Biggareaus',
thinks its general appearance indicates a connection
with the Duke class.

To Preserve Green Gages.— The following
receipt appears to be a good one :— Pick and prick
all the plums, put them into a preserving pan, with
cold water enough to cover them ; let them remain
on the fire until the water simmers well ; then take
off, and allow them to stand until half cold, putting
the plums to drain. To every pound of plums allow
one pound of sugar, which must be boiled in the wa-
ter from which the plums have been taken ; let it
boil very fast until the syrup drops short from the
spoon, skimming carefully all the time. When the
sugar is sufficiently boiled, put in the plum.s and al-
low them to boil until the sugar covers the pan with
large bubbles ; then pour the whole into a pan, and

''scr

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%\v{ im-ter's ^o\\%.

let tliem remain until the following day ; drain the
syrup from the plums as dry as possible, boil it up
quickly and pour it over the plums, then set them
by ; do this a third and a fourth time. On the fifth
day, when the syrup is boiled, put the plums into it,
and let them boil for a few minutes ; then put them
into jars. Should the green gages be over-ripe, it
will be better to make jam of them, using three-
fourths of a pound of sugar to one pound of fruit. —
Warm the jars before putting the sweetmeats in, and
be careful not to boil the sugar to a candy. — Ger-
inantown Telegraph.

Pine-Apple Preserve.— Twist off the top and
bottom, and pare off the rough outside of pine-ap-
ples ; then weigh them, and cut them in slices, chips
or quarters, or cut them in four or six, and shape
each piece like a whole pine-apple ; to each pound
of fruit put a teacup of water ; put it in a preserving
kettle ; cover it, and set it over the fire, and let them
boil gently until they are tender and clear ; then take
them from the water, by sticking a fork in the cen-
tre of each slice, or with a skimmer, into a dish. Put
to the water white sugar, a pound for each pound of
fruit ; stir it until it is all dissolved ; then put in the
pine-apple ; cover the kettle, and let them boil gen-
tly until transparent throughout ; when it is so, take
it out, let it cool, and put it in glass jars ; as soon as
the syrup is a httle cooled, pour it over them ; let
them remain in a cool place until the next day, then
secure the jars as directed previously. Pine-apple
done in this way is a dehcious preserve. The usual
manner of preserving it, by putting it into the syrup
without first boiling it, makes it little better than
sweetened leather. — Oermantown Telegraph.

\_Concluded from page 217.]

On "Skeletonizing."— The art of "skeletoni-
zing" consists in promoting the decomposition of
the cellular structure of leaves and certain other
parts of plants, without breaking or injuring their
woody fibre, which is done very easily and cheaply
by macerating them in water. For convenience of
illustration, let us select the seed-vessels or burs of
Stramonium or Jamestown weed, which are now just
in the right condition, being partially open, but not
at all, or very slightly, dried or faded in color ; place
these in a basin or bucket, and pour on them suffi-
cient hot water to cover them completely, and set
them aside. CCold water will answer the purpose,
but not so quickly.) After about three weeks, du-
ring which time a little fresh water may be occasion-
ally added, these will be softened and ready for the

removal of the cellular portions. This is accom-
plished by scrubbing with an old tooth brush or
shaving-brush, allowing a stream of water to run
over them during the process ; the seeds are to be
taken out, and the water allowed to run through the
burr, but without removing the internal structure in
which the seeds are deposited ; in this way, a per-
fect skeleton may be produced, showing all the
woody portions, including the external prickles, and,
when bleached, having the appearance of delicately
carved ivory.

A variety of seed-vessels may be prepared in this
way, of which the poppy-head is one of the prettiest;
it may be readily obtained in a suitable condition
from the druggists ; the internal membraneous por-
tion containing the seed requires to be removed,
after the requisite maceration in water, by a small
opening in the side. An offensive odor arising from
the decomposition of the cellular structure and its
contents is one of the discomforts of this process,
but is amply repaid by the beautiful resulting skele-
tons. In English "bouquets" of these prejiara-
tions, there are some seed-vessels not often met
with in this country, of which the Henbane CHyos-
cyamus) is beautiful.

The preparation of leaves affords a greater variety
of forms than of any other portion of the plant ; only
the leaves of trees and shrubs, as far as I know, will
furnish a skeleton ; those of annual and herbaceous
plants seems to loose their structure entirely by
maceration. Some of the most transparent and
delicate leaves and ferns may be bleached by putting
into the bleaching solution without previous macera-
tion, but must always be previously faded, so as to
have entirely lost their greenness. Among the best
leaves for skeletonizing are those of the ivy, the
linden, the elm, the poplar, the holly, the pear tree,
the chestnut, the sassafras, the magnolia, the althea,
and no doubt hundreds that have never been tried ;
the oak would furnish a beautiful skeleton, but re-
quires from eight to twelve months' maceration,
while most of the others named are sufficiently de-
cayed in from one to three months. The leaves
should be free from insect bites or other imper-
fections ; in cleaning them, it is best to lay them
upon a smooth board, turning them over, from time
to time, and very carefully removing the decayed
parts with a soft brush. It has been observed that
ivy leaves are best prepared after maceration, by
tearing off the two outer layers of skin, leaving little
else but the skeleton, which is then easily cleaned
by careful handling under water. After obtaining
the skeletons, the next step is to bleach them ; this
is done by placing them for a term, varying from an
hour to a whole day, in a solution of chloride of
hme, made by dissolving about two ounces m a pint

®Ije iardc^iter's <Pon(hIij.

of water. Poppyheads or JamestoAvn burs will bear
double that strength, some delicate leaves, hydran-
gea flowers, &c., will bleach advantageously with a
still weaker solution. The preparation is to be
removed from the bleaching liquid as soon as it is
thoroughlv and satisfactorily bleached ; it is then to
be washed, dried and put away in a box, excluded
from the light, till the collection is ready for mount-
ing. This operation requires much skill and taste ; a
common way is to make a kind of pin-cushion into
which the bleached stems of petioles, or covered
wires glued to the base of the leaves and seed-vessels,
are to be stuck ; the whole may then be covered by a
glass shade, which protects "the bouquet" from the
dust, and renders it an exceedingly attractive house-
hold ornament. — Friends^ Intelligencer.

Methods op Preserving Food.— One of the
most remarkable discoveries of modern times is
that of compressing vegetables for their preservation.
According to this process, the most bulky, soft and
succulent vegetables, are reduced to a fraction of
their volume, and are preserved in a dry indestruc-
tible state. After boiling for a rather longer time
than usual, they are restored to something of their
original form and consistence, retaining all their nu-
tritious principles and much of their flavor. Accor-
ding to a statement published in the Comptes Bendus,
as read before the Paris Academy, the vegetables
are reduced seven-eighths in weight, and propor-
tionally in bulk ; they require to be heated one hour
and a half to one and three-quarters, and on cooling
are found to have regained nearly all their evapo-
rated juices.

To Kill Squirrels, Rats, Mice akd Gophers :
— Take white glass and beat it as fine as meal ; then
mix up one quart of corn meal with milk till it is in
a proper state for baking. Add to that half a tea-
cupfull of this fine pounded glass, stirring thorougly
through. Place portions of this mixture in barns,
around gardens and in the mouth of their dens, and
then bid them farewell. — Oregon Fanner,

PoMOLOGiCAL Spirit. — The Oregon Farmer says,
Mr. Calver, located on the Coquille River, rode on
horseback two years ago, three hundred miles to
Salem, to attend the Oregon Fruit Growers' Society,
carrying his specimen of fruit with him.

Salt for Manxire. — A paragraph, purporting to
be from the English Farmers' Magazine, is going the
"rounds" of the press, that twelve hundred weight
to the acre is a good dressing, and has been found
useful. This must be a mistake. It would destroy
every thing. Two hundred-weight is enough even
for very light soils.

Protection of Trees. — The Rural Ncxo Yorker
gives an "EnghshPlan ' of protection, which seems
excellent, and we reproduce it as follows:

Procure poles of any straight-growing tree, six
feet or more in length, and two inches in diameter
at the thickest end ; they should have holes drilled
through them at the top and bottom about one foot
from each end. Get a similar hole drilled two or
three inches up the centre of a
stake, and then saw oflf the length
which has had the hole drilled
through it, and which will give a
piece that, when the string or
wire is drawn through it, will re-
semble h in fig. 1. Repeat the
operation till as many pieces are drilled and sawn off"
as may be wanted. Pass a strong piece of wire, or
thick tarred string, through one stake by the hole at
the top, and then through one of the two-inch
pieces, then through another stake, and so on, sepa-
rating each stake at top and bottom by one of the
two-inch pieces of wood, vmtil you have enough to
surround your tree loosely, leaving plenty of space
for growth. When this is done, the appearance of
the guard, before being put on, will be as in fig. 2.
Place the guard thus formed round the tree and
fasten the ends of the wire or string. The guard is
much the same as the cradle put round the neck of a
blistered horse, to prevent his gnawing the irritated
Mg. 2.

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1

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1

part. The ends of the stakes merely rest on the
ground, and they should be cut ciuite flat at the bot-
tom to prevent their sticking in it. At the upper
end they should have a sharp slanting cut with a
bill-hook, to throw off" the rain. The motion of the
tree will not be in any degree impeded, and the bark
cannot be injured, let the wind blow as it may, for
the guard moves freely with the tree in every direc-
tion. If a tree is growing rapidly, it will want i oom
before the guard requires renewing ; in which case

252

®tu §arkEer's Stontlilj,

it is only necessary to untie the string or wire at
tlie top and bottom, lengthen the string or wire by
tying a piece to it, and introduce an extra rod, and
two extra separating pieces. As a principal feature
in this guard is, that the tree is left quite at liberty
to be blown about by the wind in every direction, of
course it does not obviate the necessity of staking a
newly planted tree until it becomes fairly rooted.

^

Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 shows, on a larger scale, the ground-plan,
or rather horizontal section one foot from the
ground, and a portion of the elevation of a tree so
fenced. In this figure the wire or string is shown
passing through the upright, rods and horizontal
short pieces, from c by <f to e, but from c by /to e,
the wires are only shown passing through the up-
right rods ; the short pieces being seen m vertical
profile, as they are in nature.

IcE-HousES. — We have recently made some ex-
periments with ventilating ice-houses, showing the
great advantage of admitting warm air to the saw-
dust which covers the ice at the top. A house,
with double walls filled with sawdust, received last
winter its usual supply of ice ; and the upper door,
through which the ice was passed, carefully closed.
It was found this summer to be rapidly melting.
The door was opened, and the melting ceased. This
has been since repeated, and invariably with the
same results. When the door is closed, and the air
above the ice thus enclosed, becomes cold, the ice
sinks away ; when it is opened, and air admitted
freely from the outside, the melting ceases. This

will perhaps be accounted for in different ways by
different persons, but the true explanation is proba-
bly this : When the door is closed, the air above the
ice is reduced in temperature, and, as a necessary
consequence, becomes heavier and sinks or forces its
way downwards through the sawdust. Its tempera-
ture being above freezing, Calthough much below
that of the common air,^ it carries a constant stream
of warmth to the ice and melts it. When the door
is thrown open, and the air outside freely admitted
to blow over it, this air cannot become cooled, and
does not sink, and the ice is unharmed.

We have many inquiries from our correspondents,
why their ice melts away so rapidly. As a general
answer, we might say, you take too much pains in
building tight ice-houses. We never saxc ice keep •
better than in a board shanty. The air must blow
freely over the top of the sawdust, and this shanty
was open all around. A rough floor admitted free
drainage ; about eight inches of sawdust was spread
evenly over this floor ; the ice then built up in square
blocks, leaving about eight inches around next to
the siding of the shanty, which was filled and
packed in as the structure of ice went up ; and lastly,
the top was covered with about eight inches of saw-
dust. This was the whole process. The ice kept
perfectly ; was used all last summer, and about two
tons, which was left over, was thrown out last win-
ter, when the building was refilled. A thickness of
eight inches of packed sawdust may be regarded as
a perfect non-conductor of heat, for all practical
purposes, — perhaps six inches would do, if fine and
evenly packed. If not packed, it may hav^ cavities
or orifices, and admit enough warm air to melt the
whole. — Country Gentleman.

Packing Fruit. — In no art are we more deficient
than that of packing fruit so that it may be carried
a long distance without injury. Three-fourths of all
our summer fruits sent to market any considerable
distance is more or less injured. Indeed, much that
is brought to cities by growers only a few miles dis-
tant is scarcely fit for sale. Occasionally fruits are
sent us with a request to exhibit them at our Horti-
cultural Shows, but in most cases the specimens are
so injured when received as to be entirely unfit to
show. Mr. Kidd, gardener to the Marquis of
Broadalbane, who sends fruits and flowers from
the garden near Hampton Court, England, to the
Highland residence of the Marquis, subject to five
hundred miles carriage, is so successful in packing,
that he can send fully ripe peaches " without loos-
ing a fruit," and bouquets that when received will
be as fresh as when first picked. Pie gives his
method of packing fruit as follows : "I have found
no better method in all my experience, which has

'■""■^■''"■"" 4"^ «v

ih^ ©ardmr's l^tcnthlg.

253

extended over a period of twenty years, with all kinds
of fruit, varj'ing in distances from fifty to five hundred
miles. It simply is — box, soil paper and sweet bran.
A box is chosen, in size, according to the quantity
to be sent. A layer of bran is put at the bottom ;
then each bunch of grapes is held by the hand over
the centre of a sheet of paper ; the four corners of
the paper are brouglit up to the stalk and nicely se-
cured ; then laid on its side in the box, and so on,
until the first layer is finished. Then fill the whole
over with bran, and give the box a gentle shake as
you proceed. Begin the second layer as the first,
and so on, until the box is completed. Thus, with neat
hands, the blooni is preserved, and may be sent to any
distance ; but, with clumsy hands, quite the contrary,
and often an entire failure, as the putting in and
the taking out of the box are the most important
points to be observed. I have, invariably, packed
sixty or eighty bunches of grapes, aaid fifty or
sixty dozen of peaches or apricots in one box, and
received letters from employers, to say that they
had arrived as safe as if they had been taken from
the trees that morning." — Rural New Yorker.

Importation of Fokeign Vines and Fijtjits. —
Col. Haraszthy, one of three commissioners ap-
pointed in conformity to a resolution of the State of
California, to promote the culture and improvement
of the grape-vine in that State, is about to visit the
grape districts of Europe and collect all the best va-
rieties to be found. In a circular to grape-growers,
he says :

"El Paso on the Rio Grande, frontier place
between the United States and Mexico. The
fruits chiefly produced are grapes, apples, pears,
quinces, peaches and apricots. Tlie quinces are as
good as those raised East, but the peaches do not
possess so fine a flavor as our own, while the apples
and pears are decidedly inferior. The grape is
widely cultivated, and is of a large species brought
originally from Spain ; both the Avhite and purple
varieties are raised. In the spring the vines are irri-
gated, or rather inundated, being altogether under
water until the ground becomes completely saturated ;
this is generally all the moisture they get. The fruit
ripens in July and lasts for three months. It is much
used for food ; and wine and brandy are made from
it, both, however, of inferior quality." — From ZadorJc
PraWs California Tour.

OBITUARY.

It is with deep pain that we place on record the
death, July 12th, at his residence in Rochester, of
Hon. Selah Matthews, widely known throughout
Western New York as an eminent lawyer, and who
united, with an engrossing earnestness in his own

profession, a taste for Horticultural and Agricultural
pursuits, displayed in the beautiful garden and
greenhouses adjoining his residence, as well as in
his long jjatrouage of domestic and foreign periodi-
cals devoted to these subjects. Mr. M. was suddenly
prostrated by an apoplectic attack while engaged in
arguing a case in court the day before ; he was at
once taken home, and lingered tliere, unconsciousl}^,
only until one o'clock the following morning, when
he breathed his last. — Country Gentleman.

Advices from St. Petersbui'gh bring intelligence
of the death, on the 6th of last December, at the
age of 70, of Mr. V. Haktwiss, the Superintendent
of the Botanical garden of Nikita in the Crimea.

Artificiat. Ammonia.— It is said that two French
chemists have found out a process by which the hy-
drogen of water can be made to unite with the ni-
trogen of the atmosphere.

The Violet in the East. — Viola odorata is the
favorite flower of Greeks and Turks, and they culti-
vate them abundant)}' in their gardens. They begin
flowering, sometimes as eariy as January, and con-
tinue flowering till April, the scent being much moie
intense than that of the German or French violet.
Thousands of bouquets, five violets in a bunch, are
sold daily in the Grecian towns, the price being but
trifling and every one fond of them, the demand is
equal to the supply. The Greeks also make a syrup
of violets for coughs. More than even the Greeks,
do the Tm-ks love the violet. They plant it in masses ;
make sherbet and candies of it ; spread the floweis
in the apartments, especially those of the harem,
where the eunuch hands every morning a fresh violet
to every lady. The color of the violet is the favo-
rite color of the Turkish ladies, and they call dresses
of violet color menenetice^ from the violet menexes.

The Romans made a wine and cakes from the
violet, nor were they less fond of the color. There
seems to have been a great demand for it, or they
would not have had dyers, who d,yed violet shades,
and none others. Such a dyer was styled violarius
infector.

With the ancient Greeks the violet was the sym-
bol of the early regeneration of the earth ; also of
death, on account of its drooping habit. There
being many violets around Athens, that city was
surnamed the Voilet-scented Flora. — Oerman Flora
Regenshttrg.

./'3Va —

fl.5

254

®|t ^Hrhiur's P^oiitljlj.

How TO Destroy Plant Lice. — M. Gorold, an
eminent horticulturist of Vienna, states tliat lice may
be destroyed by squirting a decoction of quassia,
mixed with soap-suds, on the plants which may be
infested with them. M. Oberdieck, another distin-
guished horticulturist, has followed up the experi-
ment of M. Gerold with great success. For a simi-
lar purpose, and the destruction of insects generally,
M. Lemaire proposes coal-tar mixed with saponine.
Garden soil, with which this preparation has been
thoroughly intermingled, has been freed from the
snails and other insects which previously infested
the greens grown on it. This mixture should not be
applied to the plants themselves, because it damages
the leaves and flowers. It may safely be applied,
however, to the wall behind espaliers. This same
compound, spread upon the wall and floor of grana-
ries, will exterminate the weevil. As kindred to
this same subject, we may mention that train oil
rubbed on the legs and bellies of horses, cows and
oxen, will free them from the annoyance of flies and
the stings of venomous insects. Unlike the Esqui-
maux, who feed on this disagreeable substance, in-
sects cannot even bear its smell.

Ripening Seed for Double Flowers. — One
great cause of all the ill-success in attempting to
grow double flowers is commencing the work too
late. It has been thought suflicient to begin with
the seed, but a great deal is to be done before that.
We know how early the buds for the succeeding
year's flowers are formed in perennial plants.
Doubling of flowers from which the seed is to be
saved for the new progeny are about to be formed.
The foundation is to be laid then, and the work must
be perfected by the culture of the plants raised from
the seed thus produced. When the plants raised
from these seeds have acquired about a third of their
size, promote their free growth by all possible
means. This is the period at which the buds of
flowers take their final form. Allow only a few
flowers upon each plant to ripen, and do not let the
roots be exhausted by opening more than are in-
tended to be set for seed. In the common way, the
flowers weaken each other, and part of the seed is
always bad. As the seed which follows the first
flowers is the best, let these alone stand, and take
the rest off" in the bud. — Midland Florist.

Begonia incarnata. — As a useful plant for cut-
ting flowers from during winter, this species of Be-
gonia or Elephant's Ear has no superior, being one of
those plants the commercial florist grows in quanti-
ties, to supply cut flowers for bouquet making. Its
color is good by artificial light, — a point of great

importance, and it produces flowers in great abund-
ance, which are graceful either on the plant, or cut
and placed in the bouquet, vase, or basket. It is a
native of Brazil, and luxuriates here in an artificial
temperature during winter, ranging between SO'' and
65°, the latter only from sun-heat, and it is advisable
to keep the night temperature somewhere near 50o ;
much higher its beauty is of short duration, while if
occasionally as low as 45° it will cause no injury.
It will also flower well in the window, although
somewhat lighter in color, from absence of light.

A Noble Oak. — There is standing on the estate
of Lee Steere, Esq., Rusper, Sussex, England, an
oak (Quercus robur), that has braved the storms of at
least a century and a half, and bids fair to stand as
much longer. Its height is thirty-seven feet ; circum-
ference, five feet ; fxcm the ground, ten feet ; from
the ground to the first branch, nine feet. The
branches cover an area of nineteen square perches.

Roses. — For a neat surface-dressing for autumnal
roses, wood ashes and guano have prcved most ex-
cellent fertilizers, in the proportion of half a peck of
guano to a bushel of wood ashes. Apply a quarter
of a peck of the mixture to each tree in a circle of
three feet in diameter rou-d the stem, and letting it
remain undislurbed on the surface. The ashes retain
the moisture from the dew and showers, and the
effect in giving a more vigorous growth, with an
abundant crop of flowers in autumn, has been very
apparent. This dressing should be given in Febru-
ary. Soot in heavy, cold soils is also very good for
surface-dressing ; this should be applied in January
or February, about a quart to a tree in a three feet
circle, and lightly forked in in April.

December and January are the best months for
applying the strong liquid manures such as solutions
of night-soil, soakings of a dunghill, &c., poured on
the surface ; they need not be stirred until spring.
One to two gallons poured on the surface twice in
the winter and the surface slightly forked two or
three inches deep, will give great satisfaction.

Hybrid Perpetual and Bourbon Roses bloom much
more abundantly in Autumn if they are removed
annually in November^ particularly in poor, unfavor-
able soils. Replant in the same place, giving each a
good shovelful of rotten manure mixed with the soil,
and top-dress in January with ashes and guano.
The annual removal of roses on manetti stocks,
planted in poor, light soils, is absolutely necessary,
for unless they are removed they wiL not bloom
freely in autumn. — T. Rivers.

New CnRYBAXTHEMTTMS.— The London Gar-
dener''s Chronicle of June 15, thus notices three new
Chrysanthemums just received in England from
Japan :

"]\[uch as was expected whenever Japan became
accessible, we did not anticipate any new races of
Chrysanthemums. Tlie scmidonble, full double,
daisy-llowered, anemone-flowered, and pompons,
seemed to represent all that this class of plant was
likely to afford. But it is not so. Mr. Veitch has
sent home two very distinct forms, evidently the
representatives of many a beautiful production yet
imborn. Two of them represent the same form, the
two varieties differing only in color and size. Their
peculiarity consists in the ligulate corollas being all,
or nearly all, drawn out into extremely narrow shaip
terminations, now and then inclining to fork. These
may be called Star Chrysanthemums. The tliird is
quite of another kind, close headed, incurved, with
all the corollas divided into two irregular unequal
lips. It represents what may be called Dragon
Chrysanthemums, in allusion to their ugly yawning
jaws. We have no further information about them,
but as live plants have reached Messrs. Veitch & Son,
we may expect to see them at our next autumn
shows.''

The Cherry for Orchard-hotjses.— This deli-
cious little fruit, probably the gift of LucuUus to the
Italians, requires very free ventilation if kept under
glass. The very earliest is the Belle d' Orleans, and,
as such, is suitable for orchard-houses. The Duke
tribe are splendid, and the New Roj^al is highly
spoken of. Some late kinds are useful to keep, if
there is space for them in the house, and they can be
kept in muslin bags. The treatment of the spurs is
like plums, and very easy, because the groups of
round flower-buds soon form at the base, and by
pinching freely in can be kept fruitful. It is a capi-
tal plan to break the shoots instead of cutting them ;
and as cherry shoots grow very freely, they must
not be overlooked : if so, then it is best to break
i\\kim. partially throtigh, and let the broken ends shrivel
up before cutting them off. If grown as bushes in the
house, spur them in more closely, and shorten the
branches freely. A damp situation is quite unsuita-
ble for a good cherry tree, and they require cal-
careous matter in the soil. — London Journal.

T 1

Ox FoRcnsG Vioi-ETs.— About the latter end of
September, or beginning of October, I commence
forcing violets. Commence by placing a layer of
faggots on the surface of the ground, and so continue
to the height of three feet ; then put on a layer of
strawy Utter on the top of the wood, so as to pre-
vent the soil falling through; on the top of this

place a layer of turf all over the bed, after which the
frame is put on, and filled to about eighteen inches
of the glass, with good rich mould. When the
mould is settled in a day or so, take the plants up
with a ball of earth attached to them, and plant
them in the frame, putting a little dry earth between
the plants, and giving them a good soaking of tepid
water ; the frame is closed up for a day or two, until
they have taken fresh root. After the plants are
established, put a lining of stable dung all round the
frame ; the heat of the dung affords a bottom-heat
to the violets, and by replacing the lining when re-
quired, a degree of heat sutBciently to force them to
a very high degree of perfection can always be
maintained. — Floric ultural Cabinet.

Spirals of Plants.— It is a well known foct that
certain plants grow spirally, some tending to the
right and others to the left. Some new light has
lately been shed upon this subject by Professor
Wiedeman, who, in a communication to the Royal
Society, London, attributes the phenomena to posi-
tive and negative electric currents. He states that
in some experiments made by him with iron wire,
he found that when he twisted it in the manner of a
right-handed screw, after the passage of an electric
current through it, the point at which the current
entered always became a positive pole ; and when he
twisted it to the left hand, the point of entrance
became a negative pole, and the wire magnetized.
Currents of electricity flow through all plants.

Premiujis for Gardeners.— At a recent meet-
ing of the Imperial Horticultural Society of France,
at Paris, premiums Avere offered for the longest term
of service. The first-class silver medal was awarded
to a Mr. Margingnon, for forty-six years' service,
and to eight others similar medals for terms ranging
from thirty to forty-six years. We note the name
of M. Naudin, famed as a sound writer on horticul-
ture, for thirty-two years' service.

The Spawn of Fungi is proving quite a new dis-
ease to British gardeners. Their journals are filled
with accounts of its wide-spread and destructive
effects.

Seeding of Wellingtonia gigantea.- iJcr?/,?
Horticole says a plant only seven years old has borne
seed at Thetford, and it is hoped it will therefore
soon become common.

Plnus Sinclairii, Lindley remarks, is the same
as P. Benthamiana ; is probably also sold for it.

Cryptomeria japonica is popular in Japan as a
hedge plant.

p})^'.

^

7^^

n^

9iS

256

%\l\ @ar(leiter*s

PiNUS Frieseana.— Called after Mr. Fries, the
eminent botanist at the University of Upsala,
Sweden, is the Pine of Laponia, which Linna3us
and Wahlenburg, without any further comment,
classified with Pinus Sylvestris. It, however, differs
from the latter by standing higher on the mountains
than Norway Spruce — Abies excelsa— whilst P.
Sylvestris, as a general thing, grows at less altitude
than A. excelsa. Further, by its cracking bark,
which does not scale off like that of P. Sylvestris.
Lastly, the leaves are more rigid than P. Sylvestris,
and their axis from the branches is a larger one. —
Regensberger Flora.

Pistillate Strawberries. — Dr. Lindley says in
a recent Oardeners^ Chi'onide, that with the excep-
tion of the Hautbois variety, if any one has ever yet
discovered a sterile strawberry in England, he has
yet to hear of it. It is remarkable that climate
should so affect the reproductive organs, as the great
number of sterile seedlings our country raises exhibit.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The regular monthly meeting was held on Wednesday evening,
the 17th ult., lit Concert Hall. As no competitive displnys are
made at the midsummer meeting*!, the objects exhibited were few
in number, yet quite noteworthy.

Mr. Ivobert Buist presented a collection of Phloxes, of great
variety and beauty; also, six Gloxinias, a truly choice and hand-
some display, and two new plants, exhibited for the first time, the
Heteroceulrum album and iUaranta capitata. the latter an orna-
mental foliage plant of compact habit, robust growth, and large,
rich, dark gieen leaves, very pleasing in form aud character.

A. Feltou, gardener to H. Duhring, Esq., displayed the finest
collection of vegetables we have seen this season, including seven
varieties of I'otatoe.s, Peas, Carrots, Beets, Squashes, Cucumbers,
Tomatoes, Lettuce, Cabbage and Kohl rabi ; also, Cherries, Cur-
rants, some very line and large Black Currants, and two dishes of
the fatuous Hornet Raspberry, the largest and one of the highest
flavored aud most productive varieties known.

Mr. A. L. i-'eltoii contributed a large dish of Lawton Blackberries,
of fine size and quality, fully ripe, quite early lor this variety.

Mr. Harrison exhibited samples of Needham's White and Dor-
chester Blackberries, and of the Allen Raspberry. The first men-
tioned fruit is of a purple bronze color, of small size, growing in
clusiers like bunches of grapes; the flavor is somewlial between
the Blackberry and Mulberry. The Uoichester is a large, hand-
some, glossy black fruit, very sweet and about a week earlier than
the Lawton. '

The Treasurer presented his semi-annual report.

C. 11. Rogers, E.sq., and John Stone, gardener to W.W. Keen, Esq.,
were elected memL'ers.

The Comm.ttee on procuring a new room was continued.

Mr. Saunders presented some leaver of exotic grapevines which
had been iiuuctun^d by an insect, live specimens of which were
produced aud pruved new to most of the members. He first ob-
served ilieui last year, and had found no effective means of des-
truyiug them.

Mr. Bui.-t, whose vines had suffered most from the .same cause
some liveyeais ago, stated, as an effectual remedy, the syringing
through the enure vine with a strong decoction of one puund of
quassia, in five gallons of boiling water, applied cold. It does no
injury to the young foliage.

Mr. Mitchell brought to the notice of the Society the Aquarius
or Hydropult, a cheap, simple and convenient combination of the
garden hose, engine and syringe.

The subject of mildew was introduced by Mr. Saunders, and
many interesting facts as to culture, mulching and shelter were
elicited. A desire was expressed that kindred subjects be intro-
duced at future meetin 's for discussion and to elicit information
and the exiierience of cultivators, which, it was believed, would
excite increasing into est in horticultural topic-, and very much
add to the usefulness ol the Society.

FRUIT GROWERS' SOCIETY OF WESTERN
NEW YORK.

The Fruit Growers' Society of Westeru New York, held a meet-
ing at Syracuse, on the 2.Jth of last month, and fiom a report of its
procei d.ngs which we find in the Kural New Yorker, we condense
the following extracts:

I. What three varieties of Strawberry are the most desirable for
amateur or market cultivation?

II. What varieties of Goo.seberry can be successfully grown in
thiscountiy?

Ill The best method of preventing the ravages of the goose-
beriy and currant worm?

IV . The best varieties of Currants, and the best method of culti-
vation for market?

v. Is it advisable to recommend the culture of the Black Cur-
rant extensively ?

VL The best varieties of Raspberry, and the best method ot
cultivation?

Vli. Is it desirable to cultivate the Blackberry as a garden

Nearly all who spoke concurred in placing the Wilson Straw- t-
berry as one of the three desirable varieties. The Wilsjn, r'ri-
omphe de Gaud, the Hovey, the Early tecarlet seemed to be those
which were most esteemed.

'i'he questions discussed were as follows:

The first question called out considerable discussion, but it was
all summed up in what Mr. Barry, of Rochester, said:

" We cultivate over fifty sorts, and it is ditlicult to select three.
Can recommend twenty good strawberries frr amateurs. Wilson
is the most p.-ofitable market berry. The Crimson Cone held sway
iu the iNew York market for twenty years, but its reiyn is now
disputed by the Wilson. Triomphe de Gand is excellent, produc-
tive enough, and about as hardy as most of our native varieties,
tarly ticailet letains its popularity for an early variety, but Jenny
Liud ripens at the same time, is riper and larger, aud certainly of
as good quality. When it becomes generally cultivated, experi-
1 nee may shuw that the Scarlet possesses some superiority over it
for geufi-al culture, but it is now very promising. I'eabody's
celebrated strawberry has proved worthless."

The second question elicited the general opinion that the Ameri-
can Seedling was superior to the Washington; and that the latter
was atfected with mildew sometimes, while the American was not.
Mr. LUwaugersaid:

"I consider what is called the American Seedling one of the
best of the American varieties. It is cultivated in some nurseries
us Uoughtou^s Seedling, but it has a slender, erect growth, while
Houghton's Seedling is trailing. It is very productive. The fruit
is not so large as H mghtou's Seedling, but this sometimes mildews,
while the American Seedling never does. Of the English varieties
the Whitesmith is the beit.", ,

Mr. S. ]N. Holmes, of Syractise, said:

"What can 1 do to grow gooseberries free from mildew on a
heavy soil? Have had but poor success." Some suggested good
drainage, but Mr. Holmes said his garden was pretty well drained.
Mr. Elivvanger recommended taking up the plants every .second
year, prumna both roots aud tops, and setting them out again.
This would u'sually prove ettectual. Crown Bob was next, to the
Whitesmith of the English sorts for freedom from mildew.

In answer to the third question: One member recommended
syringing the under side of the leaves with a decoction made of
one pound of whale oil soap dissolved in six gallons of water with
hah an ounce of aloes. But another said that he had laid aloes,
soft .soap, nux vomica, lime, &c., and had seen the worm eat the
leaves wiih the stufl' on them, digging the ground m the tiill,
aud leaving it rough seems to have the effect ot puigiug out the

The fourth que.stion elicited the opinion that the white grape
currant W:is the be-it for market and the table. The white aud red
Dutch were each pronounced good varieties. Mr. Barry said :

'•Manure for the currant is fully as important as pruning. Few
persons have any idea how much manure a currant bush needs.
The currant has fine roots growing in a small compass, and unless
these are supplied with plenty of food, the fruit will be small, no
matter what the variety may be. This often causes disappoint-
ment to those who expect large fruit." , , ,, •

The fifth question, as to Raspberiies, elicited the following no'ice
of a number of sons, from Mr. Sylvester, of Lyons:

"Boolittle's Black Cap is very good, hardy and productive.
Obtained a few years since a variety called American Ked Cap, that
I like A year or two ago obtained from the neighborhood of
Syracuse a variety called Southern Black. It is perlectly hardy,
and appears to be .arger than Dooliltle. 'i'he Orange nearly hardy,
and the best of the half-hardy kinds. Bagley's Perpetual is per-
petual only in formin suckers. Ohio Ever-Bearing is very much
like Black Cap but gives a crop in the ordinary season, and then
flowers and bears again in the fall. Had seen fruit and flowers on
the plants when winter sets in. For those who want a little fruit
out of the ordinary season, it is a good kind. The Antwerps are
good when laid down for protection during the winter, which
should be done by amateurs," ..,„,,, .,

In re.-^pouse to the inquiry relative to the Blackberry, there did
not seem to be any direct answer. All concurred that the Rochelle
Blackberry was liable to be injured by the frosts, and needed pro-
tection. It does best on a light soil.

—cW)

o

O

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TO

^QpHrulffurp, ^pi&orirulfupp, J^o^eng %• jJioraK Affairs.

DEVOTED TO

THOMAS MEEHAN, Ed.tor. SEPTEMBER, 1861.

VOL. m.—NO,

Ijinfx for j^Fpfpintipr.

FLOWER-GARDEN AND PLEASURE-
GROUND.

The present state of national affairs has a great
tendency to lead parties from the city to the country.
Fashion has lost much of its urbic charms ; and this,
with a wide-spread demand for economy, will lead
many to rural life, who Avould a year ago have not
even thought of it. Hence the flower-garden and
pleasure-ground department of our journal, and
every thing in connection with the laying out and
improvement of country homes, will, at this season,
possess more than usual interest.

Too often improvements are commenced without
any idea of what it will cost to maintain them after
completion. It is not unusual to find places that
have been handsomely laid out, in a disgraceful
state of neglect, the owners finding that they cost
considerable more than they supposed. We should
proceed with such improvements precisely as we
would in getting a horse and carriage. Every one
knows that the annual depreciation of these is about
ten per cent. ; and no one who wishes to keep them
up to the original standard, ever gets them without
preparing himself, or endeavoring to foresee how he
is to meet the additional drain. Our experience is,
that very nearly the same provision has to be made
for gardening and ground-work that horses and
carriages require. If we expect to keep up a
place to the standard of its first completion, it Avill
require an annual outlay of ten per cent, on its first
cost to maintain it.

Very much of one's original capital is also wasted
in ground-work, through having no pre-conceived
methods of arrangement. The architect prepares
his plans with great care ; and it can be seen before-

hand the position of every room, and the spot that
every stone will occupy in the building; but if
inquiry be made about the gardening affairs, "don't
know, havn't decided," is the usual reply. The
gardener and architect should be consulted together,
and not a spadeful of earth be broken for the build-
ing till every garden arrangement has been forecast
and decided on. This, of course, will cost a little
more for plans and specifications for groundwork,
but it will save immensely in the end, especially if all
the heaviest part of the Avork can be so clearly speci-
fied as to provide for its execution by contract.

In pi-oviding for groundwork, much that is often
done is entirely useless. Soil from excavations is
often carted a long way at great expense, that could
in most cases be advantageously employed close by
in giving variety to the surface of the adjoining
ground. Eminences and rocks, unsightly in the
rough, are often removed only at great expense.
These, by adding to them in some respect, or by
judicious planting or covering with vines and
creepers, may be transformed from blemishes to beau-
ties at a trifling cost. So, small foot-paths are often
dug out as deep as carriage-roads, and stone enough
employed in the fiUing up to bear a weight of tons.
All of these costly errors may be avoided by an in-
telligent plan of operations, and by the employment
of honest experience at the head of affairs.

As the planting season arrives, it is as well to re-
peat what we have often remarked, that the relative
advantages of spring and fall planting are about
evenly balanced. Failures follow all seasons. How
to plant is of far more importance than when to
plant, and the selection of stock to plant, of far more
importance than the time when it is done. A tree
that has been once or twice before transplanted, and
again carefuUy and intelligently taken up, may be
successfully removed at either planting season, with
the odds of perhaps one hundred to five in its favor.
But a tree never before transplanted — such, in fact,
as a tree from the woods, or left standing in the
nursery from the seed-bed, is very risky at any time,
and depends rather on the weather following trans-
planting for the first few weeks for any probability
of success. In selecting trees for planting, then, be
very particular to ascertain that they have an abund-

^cr

258

(i)

W^\ §iximn% 5tontl;lj,

ance of fibrous roots, and are carefully remoyed. In
this region, we would plant evergreens at once, after
or in prospect of the first good rain. Deciduous
trees we would plant just before the final fall of the
leaf, shortening off the ends of those shoots that were
not quite mature. After the 15th of October we
would not plant evergreens, nor deciduous trees
after the first of November. Early or not at all
should be the motto.

Propagation of stock for next year's budding,
should proceed vigorously. The best way to propa-
gate all the common kinds of bedding plants is
to take a frame or hand-glass and set it on a bed of
very sandy soil made in a shady place in the open
air. The saud should be fine and sharp, and there
is, perhaps, nothing better than river sand for this
purpose. The glass may be whitewashed on the
inside, so as to aflbrd additional security against
injuiy from the sun's rays. Into tliis bed of sand
cuttings of half-ripened wood of the desirable plants
may be set, and after putting in, slightly watered.
Even very rare plants often do better this way than
when under treatment in a regular propagating-
house. In making cuttings, it is best to cut the
shoot just under a bud,— they root better, and are
not so likely to rot off and decay. A cutting of
about three eyes is long enough for most strong-
growing things, such as geraniums, fuchsias, &c.

Small-growing things, of course, will take more
buds to the one cutting. From one to three inches
is, however, long enough for most cuttings. They
should be inserted about one-third of their way
under the sand, Avhich latter should be pressed firmly
against the row of cuttings with a flat piece of board,
— not, however, hard enough to force the particles of
sand into the young and tender bark, which is often
the first step to decay. For a few cuttings, they niay
be inserted with a dibble ; but where many are to be
put in, it saves time to mark a line on the sand with
a rule or straight edge, and then cut down a face into
the sand, say one or two inches deep, when the
cuttings can be set against the face like box-
edging.

All amateurs should practice the art of propagat-
ing plants. There is nothing connected with garden-
ing more interesting.

Many kinds of bedding plants of succulent or sub-
fleshy growth, can be taken up from the flower-beds
on the approach of frost, and cut in, say one-half,
and packed thickly in boxes of soil, and kept in a
rather dry and cool cellar through the winter. Such
fine plants make a much better show in the beds the
next year than plants of the present season's strik-
ing. A cellar is one of the most useful appendages
to a garden. Were we to have only one choice, we

should prefer a cellar to a greenhouse for its general
usefulness.

"We have had many inquiries recently about cold
pits for the protection of half-hardy plants through
the winter, and in reply reprint the following from
one of our back volumes :

Those who have no greenhouse, and yet are de-
sirous of preserving many half-hardy plants through
the winter, employ cold pits. Choose the dryest sit-
uation in the garden, and sink about five feet in depth.
It is important that no water can be retained at
the bottom. The pit may be of any length required,
and about five feet wide, so as to accomodate six feet
sash. The inside of the pit may be built up of boards,
or, if something more durable and substantial is re-
quired, brick or stone. The body of the frame may
be built up a few feet above the level of the surround-
ing soil, and the earth which comes from the pit be
employed in banking up to the upper level of the
frame. Shelving should be made for the inside so
as to extend from the base of the front to nearly
the top of the back, on which to place the plants
in pots. In the space which will then be under the
staging, hard wooded and deciduous plants, as lemon
verbena, fuchsias, &c., may be safely stored, while
the more succulent kinds are shelved overhead. The
plants to be preserved in such a pit should be potted
early, and be well established and healthy before
being pitted ; much of 'success depends on this. The
less water they can be made to live on without with-
ering through the winter the better will they keep.
Straw mats must be employed to cover the glass when
freezing time commences, and when the thermometer
is likelv to fall below 20o, straw or liter should be
thrown over. Board shutters are also excellent, as
it keeps the snow out from the straw and litter,
which sometimes makes the mats very awkward to
uncover when we would like to give air. Very little
light or air will be required through the winter when
the plants are not growing. If a good faU of snow
cover the pit, it may lie on undisturbed for two
weeks or more without injury. When a warm dry
day offers, the sashes may be raised if convenient, to
dry up the damp. Many kinds of border plants can
be kept over winter this way with little trouble.

As soon as Dutch bulbs can be obtained, they
should be at once planted. Of all fertilizers, well-
rotted cow-manure has been found best for them,
and especially if mixed with a portion of fine sand.
They should be set about four inches beneath the
surface of the ground, and a little sand put about the
root when being planted. A very wet soil usually
rots the roots, and a dry one detracts from the size
of the blooms. A soil in which the generality of
garden vegetables do well, is one of the best for
these plants.

ih^ ©ardfner'a Hlonthk

I?

259

PRUIT-GARDEN.

Trees that have long stems exposed to hot suns
or diving winds, become what gardeners call "hide-
bound." That is the old bark becomes indurated, —
cannot expand, and the tree suffers much in con-
sequence. Such an evil is usually indicated by grey
lichens which feed on the decaying bark. In these
cases a washing of weak lye or of lime water is
ver^f useful ; indeed, where the bark is healthy, it is
beneficial thus to wash the trees, as many eggs of
insects are thereby destroyed.

Whitewash is frequently resorted to by farmers ;
but the great objection is its unsightly appearance, —
the result is otherwise good. The great opposition
to washes ''ormerly was, that the pores of the bark
were closed by them, — this was on the supposition
that the bark was alive ; but the external bark of
most trees has been dead years before the time of
application; and the "breathing," if so the opera-
tions of the pores can be called, is through the
crevices formed in the old bark, by the expansion of
the growing tree by which the living bark below has
a chance of contact with the air. No matter what
kind of a coating is applied to the bark of a tree, it
will soon crack sufficiently by the expansion of the
trunk to permit all the "breathing" necessary.

In preparing for planting trees, the soil should be
stirred up at least two feet in depth. Of course, the
trees should be planted in the holes only so deep as
they stood in the ground before, rather higher, if any
thing, as the soil will settle. Good, common soil
may be filled in the holes if the natural soil is very
bad ; but any thing applied as manure may be stirred
in the surface-soil after the trees are planted. Some
object to making deep holes for planting trees, as, if
the soil is stiff, they become wells, collecting water
from surrounding soil, and rotting the roots. It is
best to underdrain such soils before planting. If
this cannot be done, it is best to plant such ground
in the spring. The water objection is a fatal one
for fall planting in such ground.

The preservation of fruits through winter is a
very important, but ill understood subject. Mc
Mahon's directions on this subject are pithy, and
httle has been added to the general knowledge since
his day. He says :

' ' Winter pears and apples should generally be gath-
ered in October ; some will be fit for pulling in the
early part, others not before the middle or latter end
thereof.

"To know when the fruits have had their full
growth, you should try several of them in different
parts of the trees, by turning them gently one way
or the other ; if they quit the tree easily, it is a sign
of maturity and time to gather them.

"But none of the more delicate eating pears

should be suffered to remain on the trees till over-
taken by frost ; for if they are once touched with it,
it will occasion many of them to rot in a very short
time. Indeed, it would be needless, even wrong, to
suffer either apples or pears to remain on the trees
after the least appearance of ice upon the water, as
they would be subject to much injury, and receive
no possible kind of benefit afterwards.

"Observe in gathering the principal keeping fruits,
both pears and apples, to do it when the trees and
fruit are perfectly dry, otherwise they will not keep
so well ; and that the sorts designed for long-keejnng
be all carefully hand-pulled, one by one, and laid
gently into a basket, so as not to bruise one another.
"According as the fruits are gathered carry them
into the fruitery, or into some convenient dry, clean
apartment, and lay them carefully in heaps, each
sort separate, for about ten days or two weeks, in
order that the watery juices may transpire, which
will make them keep longer, and render them much
better for eating than if put up finally as soon as
pulled.

"When they have lain in heaps that time, wipe
each fruit, one after another, with a clean, dry cloth,
and if you have a very warm dry cellar where frost
is hy no means likely to enter, nor the place subject
to much dampness, lay them singly upon shelves
coated with dry straw, and cover them with a layer
of the same.

" Or you may wrap some of the choice sorts, sepa-
rately, in white paper, and pack them up in barrels,
or in baskets, lined with the like material. Or, after
being wiped dry, lay layer about of fruit and per-
fectly dry sand in barrels, and head them up as tight
as possible. In default of sand you may use barley-
chaff, bran, or dry saw-dust.

"Another method, and a very good one, is to be
provided with a number of large earthen jars, and
a quantity of moss, in a perfectly dry state ; and
when the fruits are wiped dry as before directed,
your jars being also dry, lay therein layer about of
fruit and moss till the jars are near full, then cover
with a layer of moss.

" Suffer them to remain in this state for eight or
ten days, then examine a stratum or two at the to^j
to see if the moss and fruits are perfectly dry ; and
if you find them in a good condition, stop the jars
up with good cork plugs, and cover them with some
melted rosin to keep out air. The pears and apples
to be used this way should be of the latest and best
keeping kinds, and such as are not generally fit for
use till February, March or April.

"After the jars are sealed as above, place them in
a warm, dry cellar or room, on a bed of perfectly dry
sand, at least one foot thick ; and about the middle
of November, or sooner if there is any danger to be

i

^^^

260

ih^ iardijn^r's Ponthlj.

apprehended from frost, fill up between the jars with

very dry sand, until it is a foot thick around and over

them. Thus you may preserve pears in the greatest

perfection for eight or nine months, and apples

twelve.

"Be particularly careful to examine every fruit as

you wipe it, lest it is bruised, which would cause it

soon to rot and communicate the infection, so that

in a httle time much injury might be sustained in

consequence of a trifling neglect in the first instance ;

but, above all things place your fruit, whatever way

they are put up, completely out of the reach of

frost.

"The common kinds, for more immediate use,
after being sweated and wiped as before directed,
may be packed in hampers or barrels, layer about of
fruit and straw, and placed where they will neither
be exposed to damps nor frosts."

HOT AND GREENHOUSE.

In the greenhouse, repairing and thorough cleans-
ing must not be delayed. Painters say this is the
most advantageous month to paint wood-work.
Whenever the night temperature falls to AO^, any
tender plants in pots should be housed, without wait-
ing for "the first week in October." Things nearly
hardy, as azalea, rhododendrons, oranges, &c., do
best out "to the last." Any desirable plant for
forcing, that may be growing in the open border, if
potted early in the month, will do very well for that
purpose. Weigela rosea does excellently this way ;
as also does Jasminum nudiflorum, Forsythia viridis-
sima, many Spirseas and Persian lilacs. Roses and
other things intended to be forced early, should have
as much air and be kept as dry as possible without
injury. Hyacinths and other bulbs should also be
potted as soon in the month as they are obtained ; the
former are best planted an inch deep. The earlier
bulbs are potted the finer they flower, — you may
get catalogues of any number of kinds or colors at
the auction marts. If you get ten percent., as repre-
sented, when they flower, you will be favored.
Mignionette, rhodanthe manglesii, and similar or-
namental annuals essential for winter blooming in
well-kept houses, should be sown at once. Many
things for next season's flowering, must not either
be forgotten. The pansy, calceolaria and cineraria,
are in this class. Plants of these that have been
kept over the summer, will require a re-division, and
kept in a close frame a few days afterwards, till they
get re-established. Propagation of all things will
still require constant attention. It should always
be an aim to possess one duplicate plant, as a pro-
vision against accidents. In many cases, young
plants are preferable to old ones ; so that the old
ones may be destroyed when these are obtained.

In the hothouse, the seschynanthus wiU soon be
the chief ornament of this division. Their number
has increased so that they have become quite a fea-
ture. If the pots seem full of roots, they may still
have another shift. They prefer very fibrous peat ;
or, if that cannot be had, turfy loam, mixed with a
portion of coarse moss. They will, however, do
pretty well in small pots. Achimenes and gloxinias,
as they go out of flower, should be kept diyer and
cooler. Look well after a good stock of pentas, oes-
trum and habrothamnus ; they will go far towards
keeping up the interest of the department in winter.
Justicias and acanthaceous plants generally will prob-
ably require another shift if fine specimens are de-
sired. The atmosphere, if the house be light, can
scarcely be too moist for them. Plumbago rosea is
one of the most valuable stove plants we know for
winter flowering ; it requires a strong heat. Clero-
dendrons, as they go out of flower, should be kept
in a very airy situation, and rather dry, preparatory
to being cut down and treated like a pelargonium for
another year. Many begonias will be past their best
flowering stage ; very little watering serves them ;
they are very liable to damp ofl" by incaution in this
respect. It is diflacult to lay down rules for orchideae,
so much depending on the circumstances under which
they are grown. Those which have finished their
growth, — as many dendrobiums, oncidiums, catase-
tums, (fee, whose flowers appear just before new
growth, — should have their supplies of moisture
gradually lessened. The temperature, also, is better
gradually lowered a few degrees, and they should be
allowed more light than usual. The period when
they are about completing their growth is the most
critical, as any check at this time spoils the prospect
of much blossom for next season. Those which
flower from the young growth, as catleya, laelia,
broughtonia, &c., will require their moisture and
heat rather increased than otherwise till after their
flowering. Vandas, angrsecums, saccolabiums, and
other strong-rooting a3rial kinds, will require con-
stant humidity, until it is evident, from the points of
their roots, that they desire to stop growing. We are
often asked "how often orchids reqmre to be
syringed ?' ' If the situation in which they are grow-
ing be favorable, — that is, retains in its atmosphere a
regular humidity, — they will require very httle at-
tention ; in many cases not requiring the syringe
once a week. Where this cannot be affected, the
syringe must be oftener applied. As a rule, I think
no better one could be offered, than to syringe orchids
just so much as will barely keep moss attached to
their block and baskets green and growing. The
real terrestrial orchids will require no moisture at all
after they have completed their growths, until they
show signs of pushing again. Care against checks

m

ihit §m&mx'& JKonthlj.

in temperature and humidity, is one of the secrets
of successful orchid growing. Those wliich are at
rest do well in a temperature of GOo at the lowest.
Those which are growing well should be kept at
about 80O.

THE EMILY GRAPE AGAIN.

BY S. MILLER, LEBANON, PA.

It is said that every man has sins enough of his
own to answer for, and should not be loaded with
those of others. On this principle I reply to Mr.
Tompkins, page 160, present volume of your journal.

Yes, friend Tompkins, there is a true Emily Grape,
and is said to be very good, but I know it to be of
foreign parentage, and therefore of but little value
out-doors. I will send you one in the fall, or some
other good grape instead if you prefer, and inform
me. Since I have discovered the error, I have been
replacing true Emilys as last as I can propagate
them, and it is perfectly right for any one to demand
it.

You, Mr. Editor, quote a part of the controversy
at the Pomological Convention, and wind up by
saying that Mr. Raabe denies having sent it out.

Let Charles Downing, of Newburg, N. Y., or J.
B. Garber, of Columbia, Pa., tell where they got
their Emilys. Let Thomas M. Harvey, of Jenner-
ville, Chester Co., Pa., tell us whether he did not
see that very same spurious Emily, fBlack Virginia,
as Mr. Kaabe called it, J in Mr. Eaabe's garden on
the same day that Mr. Raabe proclaimed in the dis-
cussion room, that he had put it away years before.
Here I have quoted good authority. These men,
than whom more honorable ones are not to be found
anywhere ; on these I call to let the public know
how this matter stands. It is high time that this
saddle gets put upon the right horse.

All the Emily vines I sent out were propagated
by Mr. Raabe, from whom I bought them when
small. It is only fit for stocks, to graft or inarch
others upon ; for which purpose it is well adapted, as
it is a very hardy vine and a vigorous grower.

HORTICULTURAL PROGRESS.

BY OLD PACKER, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

In your editorial on the Californians, you charge
them with being fifty years behind the times ; but I
think they are not more than fifteen, in corrobora.
tion of Avhich I will relate a fact. Fifteen years
since, I wrote to a friend of mine in London to pur-
chase me some Victoria Rhubarb plants, and after
waiting what I conceived due time for my plants, I

received in their stead a letter from my friend, stating
that he had been to a firm in the King's Road, Chel-
sea, (Messrs. Knight's,) and they informed him that
it could not be packed to send to America under a
great expense of glass cases and personal attention
on the voyage.

What would we now think of packing rhubarb in
glass cases to send to Kansas or Nebraska, which
occupies frequently as long a period as the voyage
from Europe ?

Much I have seen imported by being merely
pitched in, pell-mell, amongst dry moss in a box,
and on its arrival here opened out in fine condition,
much of it not grown over an inch after its confine-
ment in darkness for weeks. After this, be easy with
the Californians.

While writing, I would be glad to be informed if
it is about correct to receive two hundred seeds of
Double Zinnia, and only half to grow, and that half
single, with the exception of five plants. This has
been my fortune with two hundred seeds from Euro-
pean head quarters.

Will the five plants I have, perpetuate their double
quality in their seeds ? For they are beautiful and I
do not wish to lose them. From present appear-
ances, it looks to me as if the wet retained by the
dying corrollas will destroy the seeds if any. Can
I hope for double plants saved from the single
flowers ? How is it ? Oblige by telling me how you
proceed to save seed, for I see you exhibited at the
Philadelphia Exhibition.

[Good for the Californians. Still we had no in-
tention of bearing hard on them any further than
the simple circumstance we related went. In many
respects their progress in horticulture is marvellous,
while we could find much ignorance quite as repre-
hensible in older States. Our aim was to illustrate
a national neglect by the instance quoted.

The Zinnias exhibited from Mr. Meehan's Nur-
series were also from "head quarters." About two-
thirds came single. This is to be expected from
this class of double flowers. Just as in the Dahlia
and the Gillyflower, (we do not like the modern
name of " Stockgilly,"_) more of the seedlings will
prove single than double.

The only advice we can give is to save seeds from
the doublest and most luxuriant flowers, and ob-
serve the usual rules in these cases "made and pro-
vided. ' '— Ed.J

BLACK APRICOT STOCH! FOR THE PEACH.

BY P., DELAWARE CO., PA,

What fruit grower is a stranger to disappointment
and vexation? Diseases among fruit trees appear
every year to become more prevalent, and often,
when I have been admiring a flourishing you

tree, some little worm in secret was working its
destruction ; and in a few days, that which was so
beautiful and green, becomes a withered stem with
blackened and unsightly leaves. I have long been
trying to discover stocks that were not liable to be
eaten up by worms, on which to graft the peach and
apple, and I flatter myself that I have at last found
one adapted to the peach. Others may have made
the discovery, but regarded it of too little importance
to be made public.

The black or purple Apricot, (Armeniaca dasy-
carpa^) will grow from cuttings with about as much
certainty as the Quince ; but perhaps it will be found
preferable to raise it from layers, as the stools throw
out an abundance of long shoots, which strike root
readily on being laid down. On rich, mellow
ground it is scarcely less vigorous than the Peach,
but it is much more so than the plum, and it is per-
haps the best foreign stock on which the peach can
be worked. It is entirely free from the peach worm
that destroys both the peach and common apricot,
and it has no special enemy. It is long lived, and
said to be perfectly hardy at Montreal in Canada.

As a stock it buds freely, but cannot be worked so
late as the peach, and will survive the mutilation of its
roots and careless transplanting better than the peach,
for the reason that it readily supplies itself with new
roots. It never throws up suckers from the roots,
and, if girdled by mice or cut off below the collar, it
invariably dies.

The fruit of the dasycarpa ripens with some varie-
ties of the vulgaris; is quite inferior to them in
flavor and equally shy in bearing, and valuable only
for its hardihood and strong growth, which makes it
suitable for stocks.

To raise these, or indeed any other kinds of trees,
from cuttings with success requires that the condi.
tions for developing roots should be favorable. They
do not, however, require bottom-heat and bell
glasses, but merely a bed or plot properly prepared,
and which may be used every year. I have been
very successful when I spread a few loads of sand
some six or eight inches deep on a low, flat piece of
ground by the side of a small brook, making a bed
that always keeps damp, but is never surcharged
with water.

I have not had the peach growing on the dasy-
carpa for more than five years, but these look more
healthy than some worked on peach stocks about
the same time, but I have the dasycarpa flourishing
on peach roots that have stood about twenty-five
years, and look as if they might stand for half a cen-
i tury to come, while peaches budded at the same
time on similar stocks have long since died.

The borer will sometimes attack the peach when
budded some distance from the ground, but the

higher it is worked the more likely it is to escape ;
besides, the worm is more easily discovered and
destroyed than when it is nearer or beneath the soil.

With black apricot stocks, I think, we might, in a
degree, master the yellows as well as the worms,
but this remains to be tested. We propagate the
Yellows when we work healthy scions on sickly
stocks grown from seeds born in diseased trees.
Nurserymen buy their seed in the market, which
have been carelessly collected from all sources, and
then they distribute the trees in all directions, so
that we have little prospect of ever getting rid of the
disease until Ave use stocks unmistakably healthy.

The Apple-borer has annoyed me no less than the
Peach-worm. In order to protect my trees, I have
carefully lapped something around their trunks near
the earth, but then the rascals would get into the
trees above the lapping two feet from the ground.
I have tried soda-wash, but one application in a sea-
son is not sufficient to prevent the worms, though it
improves the appearance of the bark. One white-
washing is a better preventive, but not a sure one,
for the bark scaling off" in patches leaves places for
the worm, and unless those who put on the wash
are careful, they are apt to leave a circle around the
tree close to the ground untouched by the lime just
where the fly inclines to deposit her eggs.

Many hold the opinion that white washing is des-
tructive to trees, but my experience leads me to a
contrary belief. I know that if we grease the trunk
of a tree all over, we kill it ; and so, if we grease an
egg all over, we destroy its vitality, and it will never
hatch. But the egg-shell itself is porous enough to
admit a sufficiency of oxygen to the embryo chick.
Nor is a scale of whitewash less porous than an egg-
shell. Does the living part of the stem of a tree re-
quire a circulation of air or oxygen more than the
egg during incubation ? If it does, then lime would
benefit it by causing it to shed its moss and lichens
which obstruct circulation more than thin scales of
whitewash.

I prefer lime to soda because it adheres better, or
not so likely to be taken off by the rains, and perhaps
we might add something that would make it still
more permanent. We might add something that
would make it still more offensive to the worm.
Salt might benefit it, but as yet I have tried no more
certain way to get rid of the worms than going
around with the proper implements and digging
them out.

There is one thing, however, I have noticed, in
looking through the orchard, two American Crab
for Crapj apple trees have stood for a number of
years without being touched by the borer, while a
every other apple tree in their vicinity has been "
attacked.

Is this Crab tree (Mains coronarta) proof against
this borer ? and does it make a good stock to graft
upon ? If both of these questions can be answered
in tlie affirmative, I woukT recommend crab stocks ;
but I would graft tliem liigh, say three or four feet
from the ground. If there is a difficulty in getting
tlicse stocks from seed, we miglit resort to double-
worliiug our trees, so as to have crab stems, while
the roots and tops were of common apple. This
would add something to the first cost of the trees,
but might be a great saving in the end.

The crab stock would have a tendency, no doubt,
to dwarf the trees, and perhaps render them more
prolific ; but crab apples appear to run into varieties,
some making much larger trees than others, and it
might be desirable to choose the largest varieties for
stocks. Soil and situation must make some differ-
ence in size, but the largest crab tree I ever saw was
on thinnish clay land.

From a trial of one season only, I find that the
Chinese pear (Pi/rus Chinensis) may eas ly be
grown from cuttings of six or eight distinct species
of the pear that have been tried, this promises to be
the freest to strike root. It is a strong grower, hardy,
and is probably a large tree when full}'' grown ; it
would, I think, make stocks as cheap as the quince,
and far more congenial to the pear. It forms a per-
fect union on the pear much better than the pear on
the quince, and as it takes root freely, it is possible it
would bear transplanting better than stocks of the
common pear. The fruit of this tree is large, coarse,
and unfit lor the dessert ; it may, however, have
some value for cookina:.

THE INDIAN OH CHINESE AZALEA:

ITS INTRODUCTION, CULTIVATION, PRO-
PAGATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE
BEST SORTS, NEW AND OLD.

BY AN OLD FLORIST, PHILADELPHIA, PA.

Mr. Editor : — Permit me to take you and your
readers back to a period of nearly fifty years, when
the first Azalea indica was introduced from China
into Europe. It is of the same family with the
Wood Honeysuckle, and Mountain Laurel Rhodo-
dendron of this country. It received very little
attention, being considered by the best growers there
as a difficult plant to manage with any degree of
success, and frequently received a very conspicuous
part in an English hothouse. It must, however, be
admitted that the common Azalea indica, with a
flower of a brick-dust color, and a foliage, even in its
best state, of a questionable green, was unlike our
modem improvements.

Several dissertations appeared in the proceedings of
the London Horticultural Society, on the best method
of treatment, but no impetus was given till the intro-

duction of Azalea alba and phonicea, over thirty
years ago. Loudon's Gardener''s Magazine was
then the text book of European gardening and cul-
ture, as the Gardener'' s Monthly is now that of the
United States. The collections about Philadelphia
were then in a very limited condition ; but even at
that period I saw several plants at Flushing, Eart-
ram's garden, Landreth's and Hibbert's. None of
them, however, viewed the plant as the one to rival
all others for beauty of flower, profusion of bloom,
and variety of color, surpassing every tribe of plants
for winter decoration in the greenhouse or parlor, of
186L From December till June, these plants, with
very simple management, continue with a profusion
of flowers. The Wardian Case, got up by Captain
Ward, of the Royal Navy, contributed greatly to
the introduction of all the Imown varieties from
Canton to England.

In about 1824, Ihe first white and double purple
Azalea reached Philad'Jphia, and I strongly believe
that the identical plant of the white is yet to be seen
in good health, in one of the private collections of
our city ; the original purple died some years ago.
The American climate suited their constitution much
better than the English climate.

Plants of Azalea indica, six feet high, and clotiied
with flowers and foliage from bottom to top, were
frequently seen at our horticultural meetings in
1834-5. Several seedlings made their appearance,
such as Nova blanc, elcgans, &c. And in a few years
after another lot came, and such as Copeii, Hiretii,
&c. ; then in 1837 came the new charms Variefjafa and
Lateritia, brought from London by a Scotchman.
From that period till now, the Azalea has had one
continued progress, the English and Belgians, using
all their art to out-rival each other in the production
of novelties with names of Emperor and Empress,
Kings and Queens, Presidents, Generals and Stand-
ards. The foundation of all these varieties were
laid from the sorts introduced into England by Cap-
tain Ward, and more recently the Azalea vittata and
its varieties introduced by Mr. Fortune to the
London Horticultural Society's Garden, from whence
they have been disseminated to all the plant-grow-
ing world, and such is the diffusion of knowledge
through the English, French and German periodi-
cals that every new article in the horticultural world
finds some purchaser, many of tliem arriving in this
country as soon as offered in Europe.

The collections of Nurserymen and private grow-
ers in the United States, embrace every valuable ac-
quisition that has been offered in the Azalea way up
to June, 1861. You must not think it presumption
in me to say that there are growers and propagators
of this plant amongst your readers fully equal to any
in any other country ; the climate being liighly

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•/j*>

favorable to the development of growtli and profu-
sion of flowers.

(To he continued in our next.)

ABOUT CUCUMBERS.

BY PHILOCUCUMO.

Mr. Editor: — I have no garden, and I am no
botanist. I can not tell an umbrella-carrying plant,
wmbellifercB^ from one with legs and noses, leg-umi-
nosce. I can not raise cabbages nor dig potatoes.
Therefore it may seem clear to you that I have no
business whatever with or in the Gardener's Monthly.

Excuse me if I correct you. If I cannot dissect
flowers or raise vegetables, I can admire the former
and eat the latter. Eating, Mr. Editor, is my strong
point. My taste for good things is a pretty respect-
able one. In proof, the tasting committee of the
horticultural society of the western portion of my
State generally claims my unofficial services. I am
ready and proud to give them, and I will add that
the judgments of my highly discriminating palate
have invariably met the approval of the knowing,
aZms scientiflc public.

Consequently, I represent the eating class of your
readers. Or, are you not aware that there exists
such a class of subscribers, who, anxious to eat the
latest and the best novelties, take in and study your
highly esteemed journal? And, hy the way, don't
you think vegetables ought to take equal rank in
your journal with fruits? Strikes me they are a
little neglected, and yet I would like to read a little
more about them. I would like, in fact, to invest
my dollar equally m flowers, fruits, vegetables and
botany.

Now", as a representative reader I feel also called
upon to contribute my mite to the good work. To-
day I shall speak of cucumbers. I shall not touch
on the origin, rise and progress of cucumbers, nor
quote Latin, Greek, and Hebrew to show what sort
of thing they were with those ancient and departed
nations, nor compute the age of the cucumbrous
plants, nor try to demonstrate why, as "cowcum-
mer," it is allied to Zoology, nor get enraptured
over its flower so yellow and its runner so fast, nor
describe the monstrous and hideous insects who have
declared that the cucumber vine is their world. I
shall go direct to the eating part, concerning which,
I last night read a passage in an old and venerable
folio, called: "The Travels, Adventures and Obser-
vations of Baron Baldrianvon Knyphausen, Ambas-
sador Extraordinary of His Serennisime Highness,
the Margrave of Anspach, at the Courte of Her
Brittanick Magestie Queene Anne, during his so-
journ in England. Translated from the Original
German Text, by Doctor Hugh Browne, LL.D.,
F. RS. London, 1706." The Baron Baldrian,

after having several times declared himself a tho-
rough German in patriotism, still a " Kosmopolitan"
in matters of taste, says : " (September first.} Up
by boat to Hampton to meete the Courte. Saw the
Duke CMarlboro'J there, and many fine ladyes.
Tolerable dinner. Awfully bad Cou-combers. Bar-
barous way of treating the Cou-comber.

' ' The younge and greene thing was brought raw
on the table, and the ladyes, with theyr daintie
fingers, peeled them and cut them in thick slices."
CPrecisely as American folks do now-a-day.J Our
Baron next proceeds to give his cosmopolitan recipe,
which we transcribe as follows :

"Let your little woman ("God bless her} peel your
cucumber, and slice it as thinly as ever she can, by
six o'clock of a morn, and set in ice-water in a deep
plate, put salt liberally on the slices, mix them and
cover the plate with another inverted one. By eight
of the clock let her pour away the water, which the
salt has drawn out, and repeat the exact same pro-
cess over again. By ten of the clock, pour away
again the water drawn by the new salt ; put some
more salt on, equally a sharp dose of pepper, and
mix thoroughly. When the clock strikes eleven, your
little woman will again pour the water off", season
again with pepper and salt, add an onion or two,
finely cut up, likewise add her pretty handful of pars-
le}^ also cut very finely, inundate the whole with
good vinegar, and let stand an hour or so. By noon
you take your dinner, eat your cucumber-salad, and
thank Providence for your wife."

To which your petitioner has only two things to
add : first, thank your wife, as well as Providence,
and immediately after ; next, never use metal spoons
or forks, if you can help it, in manipulating cu-
cumbers.

My chemical friend and commentator, after having
read so far, adds sententiously : — The palatability of
the cucumber's fibrous substances is only obtainable
by the expulsion of its acqueous contents and the ad-
mixture of antagonistic condiments. All of which
is respectfully submitted and warranted to eat well.

NOTES ON ENGLISH SOURCES-GRAPES.

BY C.

A CHEAP lean-to vinery, thirty feet long and ten
feet wide, may be built for twelve pounds — about
sixty dollars. (Who would be without such even
for their amusement ?} On the vine-borders and in
the pots he (T. Rivers) uses a top-dressing of soot
with the greatest advantage ; it is applied over the
whole surface in March and allowed to remain un-
disturbed during the whole summer. He has used
it for three years, and generally strews it at the rate
of a peck to ten square yards. It acts as an absorb-
ant of heat and as a manure. Would not charcoal

M)

^

M^ §i\nkmf^ Pontljlg.

265

dust with a little wood-ashes and sulph. of lime
ox. gj'psum answer as well, for all cannot procure
soot to any amount here.

New grapes for vineries without fire heat, and
prices sterling :

Buckland Sweetioater. 21s. Berries large, round,
greenish white, sweet and juicy and very good; valu-
able for setting its fruit better than Sweetwater.

Champion Hamburg. 7s 6d. Berries round, pur-
ple, like Black Hamburg, but larger.

Chasselas Vibert. 5s. Berries roimd, large, pale
amber ; very juicy and refreshing ; ripens ten or
twelve daj's before the Royal Muscadine ; very hardy
and excellent. "This is a French seedling from the
Sweetwater ; its berries are very large, and when
fuPy ripe of a golden yellow co'or, with the flavor
of the Royal Muscadine ; its leaves are more deeply
serrated than those of its parent."

Muscat de Juliet, os. Berries round, purple,
medium size, rich, juicy and excellent. This grape
will ripen well on a wall in the South ("EnglandJ),
and well adapted for pots.

Muscat de Sarbille. 5s. Berries round, purple,
medium size ; of a peculiar rich Muscat flavor, and
like the Juliet will ripen on a wall ; is hardy and
well adapted for pots.

Trenlham Black. 7s 6d. Berries large, roinid, i^ur-
ple, juicy and rich, with a peculiar, refreshing flavor
like the May Duke Cherry ; a great bearer and will
be valuable.

Due de Malakoffhjid General Marmora. Two very
large white kinds, the largest white known.

For vineries with fire heat :

Boivood Muscat. 10s 6d. Very large, the largest of
the Muscats. Berries pear-shaped, and when ripe of
a rich amber color, with a rich Muscat flavor.

FLAN OF BLOCEING-OUT FOR STOCK.

BY G. H. WHITE.

Not having seen any form for blocking-out and
staking stock published, allow me to give our modus
operandi ; thinking, perhaps, it may be of service
to new beginners. Here you have it. Say
BLOCK No. 1. Section First.

Apples set 1860.

R. I. Greening.

Baldwin

Golden Russett.
Northern Spy...
E. Spitzenburg.
White Pippin. .
Wagener

STAKE.

BAL.

ROWS.

1

2

20
16

BAL.

3

U

11

4

((

4

5
6

2

: 7

BAL.

4

39

104^

67J

lo;^

102

Section Second.
Pears on Quince, budded 1860,
In this way continue, having as many sections as

there may be kinds of stock in the block. Number
the/ro/i^of the stake having the name of the variety
on the opposite side. When a variety commences
down in a row, place a stake at the commencement,
with a like number thereon, which tells us that in
that row the variety begins. Block books should be
paged and indexed for convenience.

INJURIOUS INSECTS.

BY S. S. RATIIVON.
(Continued from page 239.)

Grapiodera chalybea. Illig. Fig. 6. Length, about
three-twentieths of an inch ; form, oblong oval ;
color, variable above from a dark purple, violet,
Prussian-blue, greenish blue, and deep green to a
bright green. The hinder part of the thorax is
marked with a deep, transverse furrow ; the under
side of the body is a deep greenish blue, and the
antennpe and the feet are dull black. The principal
points of difference between this insect and Gasiro-
physa cyanea, which it so nearly resembles at an im-
perfect view, are these : its hind thighs are more de-
veloped, making it a leaper, rather than a Jlyer Cfig.
7) — the transverse furrow near the posterior margin
of the thorax (fig. 8 a and b) — the less thickened
antennae ("fig. 9) — and its whole form being less oval.
The former insect, when surprised, leaps and falls to
the earth, where it hides, if it does not liide itself
beneath a leaf without leaping ; whereas, the latter
lets go its hold and falls to the earth at the least
possible interruption. Grapiodera belongs to the
"Flea-beetles," technically called the halticada;
whereas, Gastrophysa belongs to the true chrysomelans.
Fig. 10 is the larva, which feeds upon the the grape
leaves, the present insect feeding upon the tender
buds from early in the spring until midsummer, and
even later. The female commences laying her eggs
about the middle of May, and the larvae of the first
brood are matured about the middle of June. This
may be advanced or retarded according as the

f^®^_

1^

-CHC)^

266

ilt^ iardaifr'0 JUcnthln.

weather is favorable or the contrary. The la^vse
which I obtained at West Chester on the 12th of
June, were nearly matured, and these, together with
others which I obtained at Lancaster, were put in a
wooden box with a glass lid, and about two inches
of earth at the bottom. Grape leaves were placed
in the box for them to feed upo t, which were fiom
time to time replenished as they became dry. On
the 22d of June, some of these larvffi commenced
going into the ground, and by the twenty-fifth they
all had disappeared beneath the earth. Upon subse-
quent examination, I found that they form a small,
oblong cavity of earth, which seems to be hardened
— no doubt hardened by a mucus voided by the in-
sect— and tolerably smooth on the inside, in which
it undergoes its transformation to the perfect state.
I could not discover that it formed a distinct pupa
case, but on the contrary, it seemed to be confined
in its cavity, like a young bee or wasp in its cell,
Avhich, when broken open reveals the naked insect.
In about two weeks after the larvje go into the
ground they are ready to come forth a perfect beetle
as described above, and go mechanically and instinc-
tively through the same course as their progenitors.
These larva? do not eat holes through the leaves, or
commence at the margin and eat all as they go, they
only eat off the upper or lower surface — usually the
latter — causing it to wilt and turn inward, and where
they occur in great numbers they leave nothing but
the shrivelled nervures remaining. When we reflect
that the mature insect eats the buds and tender ends
of the grape vines and afterwards the larva eats the
leaves, we may form some idea of its destructive
character. Dr. Harris, in his work on "Injurious
Insects," page 115, says that Mr. David Thomas
gave a description of these insects and their larva,
which was published in the sixth volume of Silli-
mari's Journal. "Mr. Thomas found the vine leaves
invested by a small, smooth, chestnut-colored
worm, and suspecting this to be the larva of this
destructive beetle, he bred them in a tumbler with a
little earth in the bottom, and in a fortnight after
bui-ying themselves in the earth he found some
beetles in the tumbler, and hence, there is no doubt
the former was the larva of these beetles." There
must be some mistake here — these must have been
the larva of some other species than the one under
consideration. The earth in which my insects under-
went their last transformations was gathered from
the street and could not have been impregnated with
other insect larva ; moreover, I anticipate^ mine,
and took most of them out of the earth myself
before they were quite ready to come forth them-
selves. There are, however, six species of these
insects catalogued besides fourteen species of (Enoy-
chus and eighteen species of Disonycha, all of which

are nearly allied in form and habits to the former,
and therefore Mr. Thomas' insect may have been
one of these. The larva of Graptodera chalybea,
is not "a smooth, chestnut-colored worm." It
is, when mature, about a quarter or three-eighths
of an inch in length, and of a dull black or bister
brown color, except between the segments and
underneath, where it is a dusky whitish ; the whole
body is tubercular or rough, and from each tubercle
diverges two or three short, stiff hairs; it has six
short, blackish feet, and two rows of tubercles or
warts on the abdomen below, which bear some
resemblance to the prolegs of Lepidopterous larvse,
and at a superficial view they would be taken for
sucli. I have thought it necessary to give these de-
tails of this insect, because there does not seem to
have been much published heretofore in reference to
it, but more especially because it seems to have been
very destructive at various periods in times past to
the grape vine, and from its redundancy in various
localities the present season, it may become so again.

[To he contimied.']

DISSASSS IN THU BUTTER PEAR.

BY "friend," PHILADELPHIA.

I HAVE in my garden a specimen of a White
Dojrenne or Butter Pear tree, which I have several
times threatened to eitlier cut down or re-graft. I
have kept it where it is principally in hopes that I
might discover some cause for the cracking that
every year attends it. I have tried, in former years,
lime-water on the foliage, and guano-water and soap-
suds at the roots, but beyond this I have done
nothing. But I have never got any good fruit from
it. Six years ago, the spot where it is growing, was
a vegetable garden, but since then the spot has been
included in my ornamental grounds, and on one side
of it is now a lawn, and on the other side is a carriage
road. For the two past springs I intended to graft it
with Bartlett's, but it has been neglected both years,
until the season got too late. Judge of my surprise,
however, to have, this year, one of the best and hand-
somest crops I have ever seen of the kind. A few on
the tree are knotty and scrubby, and yet a few cracked
and spotted with black, but the majority areas healthy
and clear in skin as a pear can well be. They are
not quite ripe yet, but when they are, I propose to
send you a few, if they should chance to be a
rarity with you. I notice that the scrubby ones are
mostly confined to the north side of the tree, and
the good ones on the south and west, which is par-
tially shaded by trees that have grown up since the
pear tree was planted. Can this have any thing to
do with the returning health ? It is also v^^orthy of
note that vfherever the pears are healthy the growth
is more luxuriant than I have even noticed the tree

■^

x^^

^d

V'*

rj^

^

-sari

.^^

^

®[j^ Clarhiitr's Ifloitfljlj.

267

to bear before. And I liave even noticed that a poor
weak growth is usually associated with cracked and
knottj' fruit.

You will excuse me for referring to an opinion
that I remember you to have given in the Gardener's
Monthly, that the disease was caused by a want of
potash in the soil. As no application of any kind, pot-
ash or otherwise, has been given to the tree, its dis-
ease could scarcely have resulted from the want of it.

[Our friend can send along the pears. AVe shall
appreciate both them and the kindness that prompted
the gift. As to the potash, we have certainly said
that we knew a cultivator wlio always had cracked
Butter Pears, and after applying a dressing of potash
to his orchard, always had healthy fruit. But we
have never attributed the potash application as a
direct, but only a secondary cause. To make our
meaning plain, we do not suppose that cracking is
the result of a want of potash, but the result of ill-
health. Cold winters, bad stocks, or a hundred things
may have produced this state of ill-health, and as
many things may produce a re-action. If the rela-
tion between diseases and their remedies were
always direct, there could be no failures in cures,
whether in the animal or vegetable worlds, but every
thing would act as with mathematical precision.
But as the relation is but secondary, and only act by
influencing healthy vital action, which is in turn to
act on the disease, other things besides potash may
as easily cure the cracking, if it has any bearing on
general health.

Our correspondant will know the old saying that,
"what is one man's meat is another one's poison ;"
not that there is no essential difference between meat
and poison, but because the action of each depends
on the state of each person's system. So, with
trees. — Ed.]

REMARKS ON THE GEI^US CRINUIYI.

BY D. BARKER, HARTFORD, CONN.

The greater part of this beautiful genus being
natives of hot countries, require the temperature of
the stove to grow them with success, with a liberal
supply of water during the summer months ; but
during winter the quantity of moisture should be
verj' much diminished, or many of the bulbs will
perish. We have found, however, those with
columnar stems require a good supply at all times,
as the habit of their foliage is decidedly perennial ;
but it is by far the safer plan during the winter
months to rather under-water than over-water, more
particularly those kinds of slender growth.

The compost we have found best for crinum is a
good loam from an old cow pasture, where it can
be found of a friable texture, without any other
mixture whatever. We consider peat, leaf-mould

and rotten manure, prejudicial to the growth of the
crinum than otherwise. Plenty of drainage in the
pot is very essential, in order that the plants may,
during their period of growth, receive the proper
amount of fresh water requisite to the proper de-
velopment of their foliage and flowers. The size
of the pot must depend on the habit of the bulbs,
which those acquainted with the habit of the
genus will understand. To those who are not, we
would advise for good bulbs of procerum, cruentum,
rigidum, erubescens, and its several varieties, placed
in pots varying from ten to sixteen inches over,
more or less, according to the strength of the bulb.
For full sized bulbs of Americanum, Loddigcsianum,
yeylanicum and broussonetianum, we have used
pots from eighteen to twenty inches in diameter. It
is a fixed fact, that to bloom any of the genus well,
they must have plenty of pot room. Whenever it is
observed that the young leaves of any of the crinums
turn yellow, or commence to decay, they must be
allowed a short period of rest. Too much moisture
in too low a temperature are often the causes of such
an effect. In potting, the whole of the neck of the
bulb must be kept above the soil, and all the obsolete
covering, which are the remains of the decayed
foliage, should be stripped off, leaving the bulb and
stem clean and free from any decaying substance.

We have found, with few exceptions, the wliole
genus to succeed best when plunged up to the rims
of the pots in boxes of sand, placed over the hot-
water pipes, and during the hottest part of the year
it is very essential to inundate the boxes, but not to
keep them flooded. Some of the species at the
approach of winter will require the pots to be turned
on their sides, and be kept quite dry until they show
signs of growth, — when all the earth may be care-
fully shaken from the bulb, pulling off" all the de-
cayed coats, without injuring the roots. Repot in
soil as above recommended, subjecting them to
the same treatment.

A SUCCESSFUL PLANTING.

BY G. H. WHITE, COLDWATER, MICHIGAN.

Having had excellent hick, as one would say, in
putting out maples and evergreens, I must relate it
by the way of encouragement to others :

The first week in April, 1860, we set out in front
and on one side of our farm (in the road) four hun-
dred and seventy-two maple trees. First plowed
the ground deep, — had men digging up trees while
others were setting out,— cut them all to ten feet
in height, covering the top with grafting wax ;
holes were dug large, that the trees might not only
live, but grow. Mulched them with tan-bark, — then
ail the surplus stone, — so much in the way in tlie
road were put around them, — after which they were

268

ilje ®aAmer's Sfiiilljlj.

If

staked, and now we are rewarded by seeing all but
four of them alive and doing well.

The second week after we set four hundred and
fifty Norway Spruces, eight by sixteen feet, put up
through the centre of our grounds, from which alleys
lead each way, ten feet in width, dividing the farm
into fourteen blocks. These trees were from the
well-known firm of Smith & Hanchett, Syracuse,
N. Y. They average from three to seven feet in
height ; all but twelve are now alive and growing
finely.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

BY W. K. P., FLUSHING, N. Y.

I MAKE the following notes in response to queries
in various periodicals.

Double flowers are produced by nature as well as by
art. Witness, — Double Thalictrum anemonoides,
Double Rudbeckia hirta, Double Rosa Pennsylvanica,
Double Trillium, and other species all found in a
state of nature. CI J.

Grape vines can be grown on level Missouri prairie land,
provided the land be so underdrained, that the satu-
ration of the soil during winter is thereby prevented.
The Concord, Holmes, Clinton, Hartford Prolific,
Ariadne, August Coral, Early Amber, Ohio Prolific,
Pond's Seedling, Braddock, Ramsdell, Troy Ham-
burg, Venango, Warren's Seedling and Montieth
are some of the most hardy varieties, -and doubtless
they would all succeed in Missouri and Illinois.

Strawberries — proportion of staminates to pistillates.
One row of the former to ten of the latter is all suffi-
cient, but there must be a judicious selection of a
staminate that blooms at the same period as the pistil-
late, its companion. The Hovey cannot yield a full
crop when the Early Scarlet is its companion, as the
latter blossoms too early. Such injudicious selec-
tions are the cause of reduced crops.

[1. Mr. Prince's note will be interesting to the
young student of vegetable physiology and mor-
phology. Though double flowers are usually con-
sidered as the result of cultivation and the gardener's
art, it is questionable whether we have not rather to
thank unassisted nature for most of them. In addi-
tion to those named by Mr. Prince, the Double Con-
volvulus panduratus was found wild, we believe, in
Georgia, by William Bartram, and Mr. Meehan once
found a double Saxifraga Virginiensis on the hills of
the Wissahicon, in Pennsylvania. Most of the
double flowers of our borders are not of such often
raised from seed, and it is therefore probable that they
were first found in a wild state. Spiraea filipendula,
Campanula persicifolia, and others, for example.
All attempts to cultivate the common Zinnia into
double ones,Vilmorin tells us, failed ; but last season,

double varieties from their native country were
introduced. — Ed. ]

GRAPE CROP IN CENTRAL MISSOURI.

BY E. A. RIEHL, BOONEVILLE, MO.

The grape crop promises to be an entire failure
here this year. About two weeks ago the weather
was pretty hot ; since it has rained much, — so much
that it is decidedly too moist for grapes, and nearly
one-half are already afi'ected by the rot. There is
no use talking, we must adopt some different mode
of culture, if we would succeed in growing the
grape successfully in this country. I think the
grape can be grown with uniform success, but not
when treated as now. I shall at some future time
furnish an article on this subject if it will be ac-
cepted. Other fruit is splendid, and plenty of it ;
apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, &c., we
have as many as the trees can mature. This pro-
mises to be the best fruit year in the West that we
have had for many years.

[Shall be glad to hear from you as proposed. — Ed. ]

PRESERVATION OF ICE.

BY J. C. B.

An article in your last number on ventilating ice-
houses, leads me to present my views of the princi-
ple on which the preservation of ice is based ; for,
although the writer of that article is undoubtedly
right in his facts,, he omits, in ray estimation, the
chief element of the utility of ventilation. I say
advisedly, its utility, for ample experience has shown
the absolute necessity of ventilation for the more
perfect preservation of ice. Experience has elicited
three points of the first importance in constructing
an ice-house: 1. An imperfect conductor of heat of
moderate thickness to surround the ice. 2. Provi-
sion for drawing off the water of the melted ice.
3. Ventilation. Can we refer these requsites to
the operation of a single principle ?

When ice melts, it absorbs 140o Fahr. of heat, and
this would tend to preserve the surrounding ice
from melting, were it not that the warmth of the
summer air, penetrating a mass of ice, or even the
average summer temperature of the soil, more than
compensates for the cold produced, and the melting
continues. The heat of liquidity, therefore, although
retarding the melting of ice, is insufiicieut for its
preservation.

When water passes into the form of vapor, whether
vaporised by heat in the form of steam, or rising at
common temperature as an insensible vapor, it
absorbs 1000° Fahr. of heat from surrounding bodies.
In the latter case it passes off with the air, and if the
supply of ft'csh air be constant or continuous, it is

■^^

§]\![ dnrtoer's Jtlonthlg.

easy to perceive that the coolmg influence of evapo-
ration will be very great. That solid ice itself rises
in vapor below 82° Fahr., may be observed in
winter by the gradual disappearance of thin layers
of ice on the pavement or steps in front of a dwell-
ing. Much more rapidly does ice or water evaporate
at 32^, and water still more readily above 32^ in a
current of dry air, or air not already saturated with
moisture. Under such conditions, the amount of
heat-absorption, or cooling influence of evaporation,
is sufficient to retain ice in the solid form.

A few facts may serve to illustrate the cooling
effect of evaporation. At the temperature of 50°,
carbonic acid can only be maintained in the liquid
state, under a pressure of five hundred and twenty
pounds per square inch, or 34:] atmospheres ;
whereas, solid carbonic acid quietly fumes away in
the open air, the heat carried ofl" by the vapor suf-
ficing to keep the lemaiuing acid in its solid condi-
tion, even at summer temperatures.

The alcarazzas or porous earthen jars, employed
in the tropics for cooling the water they contain,
act on the same principle ; for the water transudes
through the pores to the outer surface of the jar,
and by its evaporation loAvers the temperature of the
remaining water by many degrees.

If a piece of ice be wrapped in a single thickness
of flannel, and exposed to a current of air, not
surcharged with moisture, the flannel will freeze fast
to the ice, proving the surface to be below 82° Fahr.,
and little or no water will form. The flannel allows
the little water that first forms to enter into its
numberless pores, where it evaporates from an al-
most endless surface of woollen fibres. Cotton and
hnendo not answer the purpose as well, because cap-
illary action fills the s^jaces between the fibres with
water, and evaporation only takes place from the
moderate surface of the water. The cooling influ-
ence of the flannel wrapping on the lump of ice, may
be inferred from the fact, that as a little ice liquifies the
liquid evaporates, so that the heat both of liquidity
and of A'aporization are absorbed, amounting to
11403 Fahr.

Let us apply the principle of evaporation to an
ice-house, of which the lump of ice in flannel is a
perfect type. Experience has shown the advantage
of surrounding ice with an imperfect conductor of
heat, such as shavings, saw-dust, charcoal, and even
pine boards. It has likewise shown that only a
moderate thickness of these is necessary, just as a
single thickness will, in a favorable position, actually
keep a lump of ice dry. Now, if they were used
because of their non-conducting property, a con-
siderable thickness would be required ; in fact, many
feet, and the greater the thickness, the more complete
the preservation of ice. Since this condition of thick-

kSUj

ness is proved by fact to be unnecessary, the non-
conducting property is not the cause of the preserva-
tion of ice, if, indeed, it be of any influence what-
ever. The same conclusion may be drawn from the
depth in earth to which the outer temperatures
gradually penetrate, whether winter or summer, and
yet earth is a very poor conductor of heat.

All the substances employed around ice are
porous, admitting the passage of air through them,
or into their pores, and these pores present an indefi-
nitely extended surface. A portion of water enters
the pores without choking them, and thus an im-
mense surface is offered for evaporation, which, be
it remembered, only occurs from a surface. The
entrance of dry air into the moist pores and its exit,
charged with the vapor of water, carries off the
1000^ Fahr. of latent vapor-heat: ; and by thus
cooling the ice, prevents its rapid melting. Hence
the advantage of ventilation for preserving ice ; for
when the door of an ice-house is kept closed, the
confined air becomes satm-ated with moisture, and
cannot escape, evaporation ceases, and the external
warmth, entering by radiation and conduction, is
expended in freely melting the ice, in spite, too, of
the non-conducting coverings and surroundings.
Hence, too, the excellent preservation of ice, alluded
to in your last number, in a board shanty, which was
open all around, and therefore admitted air all
around ; it was a lump of ice from Brobdignag,
wrapped in pine boards for flannel.

Experience has shown the necessity of draining off
the water, which will be produced from the imper-
fections of the best ice-lxouses. Immerse our flan-
neled lump of ice in water, and it will soon melt,
because evaporation only takes place from the small
surface of the water ; but put it on slats, so that dry
air can pass around it, and the amount of evaporation
from an endless surface keeps the lump almost dry.
So, if the lower tier in an ice-house be in water,
we have only the cooling effect of melting ice, 140°
Fahr. and in addition evaporation from a surface of
water, equal only to the area of the house, both
which are far outweighed by the penetrating warmth
from without. The ice, therefore, continues to melt
towards the bottom of the house; but when the
water is drained off, a circulation of air ("supposing
the house to be ventilated^ evaporates water from
the enormously extended porous surface of the
moist shavings, «fec. The whole cooling effect then
becomes : 1. The very small amount of heat ab-
sorbed by the melting ice. 2. The large amount
removed in the continuous escape of moist air.
This heat being absorbed, rendered latent, is ab-
stracted from the ice and its adjacents, and melting
is greatly protracted.

We should, however, guard against the too free

admission of air. If shavings, &c., were put very
loosely into the sides of an ice-house, the free circu-
lation of air would let in too much summer heat,
and i-eally present less surface, because less pores.
On the other hand, if the sides were built of a non-
porous substance, evaporation could not take place
on them, and the exterior warmth not to be excluded,
would melt the ice freely. A porous, absorbent
material, tolerably well packed, offers the most
favorable condition for the sides of an ice-house, by
offering the largest evaporating surface. The top
covering cannot, of course, be packed ; the bottom
porous layers become so from the weight of super-
mcumbent ice. If the house is constructed with
stone vf alls, a layer of porous material must be put
between them and the ice, and provision made for
the air to pass to the bottom of the structure.

Having thus presented the results of my observa-
tion and reflection, I must bring my long article to
a conclusion, for which last result I may, doubtless,
l^resume upon the thanks of your readers, who
generally prefer hot-houses to ice-houses. I believe,
however, that I have reduced the three great results
of- experience in the construction of an ice-house to
one principle — evaporation.

A CHAPTER ON GRAFE-OLOGY,

BY J. B, GARBER.

Mr. Editor: — Any "news" on "Hardy Grapes"
is peculiarly attractive to me ; so, when our favorite
Monthly for August came to hand, I, as usual, turned
to the contents to see if there was a chapter on
Grape-ology ! and sure enoVigh I was gratified to find
Mr. Woodward giving us valuable news on "in-
digenous grapes." All right. Mr. W. will pro-
bably add some desirable varieties to our already ex-
tensive list. The more the better ; ' ' try all and.hold
fast to those that are good;" the inferior varieties
will find their regular level soon enough. Strange,
though, that Mr. W. should call the "Delaware a
seedling from our native grapes!" I would like to
know his reasons for that ("to me strange^ opinion.
Can he tell us from what species of our natives it
originated? Is it a labrusca, cordifoha, riparia, or
what ?

It is now clearly ascertained that the original
plant of Delaware is still alive and bearing fruit. It
is now in the garden of Mr. Provost, in Pottstown,
transplanted from Frenchtown in New Jersey,
by its present owner, a son of old Mr. Provost, and
who still has the original vine in good condition —
now over sixty years old ! If it were a seedling
from a native grape, then the question naturally
arises, whence came that seed ? "Was it brought by
birds from some distant locality ? Did it drop from

the clouds ? — or, or whence came it ? Is it not far
more likely that some German emigrant brought it
in his breeches-pocket from the "Fatherland?"

Mr. Woodward also refers to Professor Ravenal's
theory, "That the seeds of our native grapes pro-
duce male and female plants, and that seedlings from
foreign or Vitis vinifera are all female," or, per-
haps, more properly, hermaphrodite — male and fe-
male on the same plant.

My object, more particularly, in writing, is to
overhaul your own comments on Mr. W.'s article.
In your remarks, trying to dis-prove a theory Cyet
to be proved, J) and "to prevent the error," as you
are pleased to call it — "from becoming widely dis-
seminated." I was greatly amused at your "argu-
ing all round the bush" without once touching on
the main question — you signally failed in refuting
Prof Ravenal's theory. You say, " it is well known
that the petals of a flower, and its stamens, are the
most easily affected by external causes, of any part
of a plant, and that they are so affected, changed
and altered, is a fact of every-day occurrence.
Sometimes parts become abortive ; at others, exces-
sively developed," &c. You refer to double flowers ;
to the Green Rose, to the Strawberry, &c., and to
the Cannon Hall Muscat Grape requiring " artificial
impregnation under glass, as its own flower is de-
ficient in pollen." Granted, every word you say !
But, my dear sir, your arguments do not even touch
Prof Ravenal's theory. That the foreign grape pro-
duces barren or imperfect flowers, nobody, I pi'esume,
will deny. All your prooj in the matter is "that
foreign grape seedlings do often have imperfect (mind,
imperfect) flowers!" You don't Sdtj male flowers.
Now, let me just here ask you a simple question,
friend Meehan : — Did you ever find a seedling of a
foreign grape have true bona fide male flowers ? Not
abortive, barren, imperfect, &c. ; but real, genuine,
male flowers, without a stigma or vestige of an
embryo grape in the bottom of the tiny flower, lack-
ing the female organ ?

I was called to examine a barren grajae vine some
six or eight weeks since, by a mutual friend in Lan-
caster— a good botanist, entomologist, &c., indeed,
well informed on all subjects. He was trying all
manner of experiments to make it bear fruit. The
plant was in profuse flower at the time. On an ex-
amination of the flowers, I found there was no
stigma, no embryo grape in the flower. I told him
at once that the plant was a male, and all his
"experimenting," to the end of the world, would
not produce him a berry ! His only plan was to
graft it with some other variety, but I regret to say,
I could not convince him of his error.

Thus, you see, we " ignoramusses" can occasion-
ally have a good laugh at our "scientific savans,"

ill return for like fovors. Your "abortive,"
"imperfect," or excessively-developed flowers, or
an}^ other terms that can be "scaied-up," will not
correct the supposed error which you wish to guard
the public against. So far as Prof. R.'s theory is
concerned — that our natives produce both male and
female plants from the seed, and the foreign all
female — no "dusting of pollen" on one of these male
plants will bring fruit, and no '■'■forcing^'''' "starving,"
or other "artificial stimulus" either, " nix cum
rouse." As to the foreign grape producing all
bearing plants from seeds, I am not imformed, as my
own experiments in that line have all resulted in
failure. I have raised seedlings from many foreign
varieties — raisins, Malaga jar grape, Hamburgs,
Muscats, Frontiguacs, Chasselas, Sweetwater, El
Paso, California Mission grape, &c. I could rarely
get them to live beyond the first year. Occasionally
one would survive, only to be cut down by mildew
the second or third year. I never could succeed in
getting a single foreign seedling to show flowers !

I have also raised seedlings of our native grapes
from almost every section of our country. I have
always had a portion of males, or barren plants ;
sometimes one -half, more or less. As soon as the
tin}' blossom opens, I examine if there is an embryo
grape or stigma in the flower ; if not, then I know
it to be a male, and the plant is at once cut down,
or grafted. My plan of raising seedlings is to plant
the seed in pots kept in the greenhouse over winter,
then late in spring plant them out in the open
ground ; protect by covering in winter while small,
&c. I have also, as a matter of course, raised many
seedlings of the wonderful Delaware. These act
very much like their foreign cousins. I have now
onlj' five or six promising plants of this variety from
many hundreds of seedlings ; two or three may show
their inflorescence by another year. I have sent seeds
of Delaware to man}-- friends in various sections, in-
cluding Utah, California and Oregon, and all from
whom I have heard on the subject, say "they can
do nothing with them. " Even on Kelley's Island,
Ohio, that justly celebrated grape locality, Delaware
seedlings " mildew," and won't grow.

Last spring a year, I gave a pot full of Delaware
seedhngs — over a hundred — to a friend in Columbia,
who is a careful gardener. A few weeks since, I
inquired of him, "How are the Delaware seedling
grapes coming on?" "Why, oh yes, I recollect.
Why I lost every one of them ; they would not grow,
and they would die!'''' Are not such facts pretty
conclusive evidence that the Delaware grape is not
' ' aboriginal' ' to America ?

If "stamens are transformed into petals," then
petals may be transformed into leaves, leaves into
branches, &c. AU is "transformation," and we

v^Mi

will not know where we stand.

Do tell me, friend M., if stigmas also may, under
any circumstances, be transformed into stamens, or
males into females, and vice versa.

[Mr. Garber's questions are more easily asked than
answered. He is evidently ignorant of the difficulty
the botanist experiences the moment he comes with-
in the line of cultivation. He might as well ask Mr.
Woodward what species the Fuchsia Venus de Me-
dici of our gardens belongs to. A gardener acquain-
ted with its origin might answer that it was interme-
diate betwen Fuchsia Julgens and F. longiflora ; but
it would puzzle a botanist to know that fact by any
scientific rules. So with the Delaware Grape.
Science is equally at a loss to decide to which species
to refer it, though the balance of characters would
lead most of them to consider it as a variety of some
American species. Mr. Garber does not so consider
it, and he is entitled to his own opinion — for it is
nothing more than an opinion — expressed in the
term he himself employs, that it is " far more likely"
to be of the foreign breed. We do not see the
wisdom of discussing over and over again more
likelies which depend for their force on the state of
each leader's judgment as to the value of evidence.
When Mr. Garber can give us any facts respecting
the original seedling vine, we shall, with pleasure,
publish them.

The most valuable part of the article is Mr. Gar-
ber's account of his experiments with seedlings,
which we publish with pleasure. On these subjects
he is evidently more at home than in the questions
of vegetable transformations ; which, until he ex-
hibits a better acquaintance with what is now known
as the science of moiphology, we would prefer not
to discuss with him.

As to laughing at " ignorainusses," the record of
the Gardener''s Monthly shows that that is not our
sin. The true searcher after truth feels that he knows
too little himself to afi"ord to laugh at the ignorance
or blunders of others. — Ed.]

Disease of the Quince Stock. — We have ob-
served what appears to be a new disease affecting
the dwarf pear.

The quince root of the dwarf pear dies of this
disease, and, as a necessary consequence, the trees
die also. The injury appears to have been done in
winter ; but in many instances the pear has opened
its leaves and made some growth before any obvious
indications have appeared. It is readOy distinguished
from fire-blight, in affecting the whole tree at once,
and not limb by limb as in the fire-blight, and the
leaves only wither and turn brown, instead of black,
as in the last-named disease. — Country Gentleman.

Tmr

272

®h^ #artoer'» ^odMj*

C|e ^arkncr's Pl0ttt|lg.

PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEMBER 1, 1861.

P3^ -^11 Communications for the Editor should be addressed,
"Thomas Meehan, Germantown, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gardener's Monthly,
Box 406 Philadelphia."

|l3^ Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1861 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(1859) free. All persons who have paid their subscriptions for 1861
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.00 can receive a copy of
the same.

LAWNS--THEIR PSRST YEAR'S MAN-
AGEMENT.

Should lawns be mowed often the first season of
seeding down ? The question is often asked. Our
experience is against the practice, but so many good
gardeners recommend it, that it will serve a useful
purpose to bring the subject prominently forward.

We need not here descant on the importance of
proper lawn management. The beauty of English
lawns is proverbial ; and the highest aim of our
gardening is to have lawns like them. Our hot and
dry climate is a difficulty of great magnitude, and
we have to pursue a different course of practice from
that which they follow if we would invite compari-
son with them. It does not therefore follow that
what they do will, in aU cases, serve us ; and so the
very common argument "the English mow their
new-sown lawns frequently the first year," need not
be considered as a thing of course for us.

It is certain that they do mow frequently and get
good lawns, but we are inclined to think this result
owing rather to the favoring conditions of climate.
They would probably get as good or better lawns
without mowing. We have reason, at any rate, to
assume that these good lawns are in spite of the
practice.

So far as our American climate is concerned, we
are, at any rate, bound to say, that we never saw a
good lawn follow close mowing the first season, and
that we firmly believe most failures arise from the
too frequent use of the scythe. It is very common
to see a lawn green before mowing in August, be-
come quite brown, and the grass die completely out
in patches after being cut. The usual remark is that
it was "cut too close." This answer grants half
our argument. We would go further, and say it
should net have been cut at all.

Not only does practice show close-cutting when
young to be an injury, but science explains why it
should be so. In order that our lawns should remain
green through our long summer drouths, it is essen-

tial that we do all in our power to induce the grass-
roots to descend deep beneath the surface. This is
not necessary in the moist English climate. Here
it is, and we do it by deeply trenching or subsoiling
the ground, and burying rich manure as far as pos-
sible beneath the surface. When the top dries out,
the subsoil thus can part with moisture from its
reserves, and besides this the roots are encouraged
to go as low as possible. But mowing the young
tops prevents not only the descent, but the actual
formation of roots.

The roots of the most stubborn weeds, even the
Canada thistle, can be totally destroyed by cutting
off the foliage occasionally through the season.
The effect is the same on grass. All taken from the
top when growing is so much detracted from the
roots. No vegetable species is an exception to this
law.

It should, therefore, be an object to allow the
roots of lawn grass to go as deeply as possible the
first year, and this depth will be just in proportion
to the unfrequency of the mowing. After the sod
has once been well formed, mowing may be fre-
quent; but in all cases the first spring mowing
should be very early, so as to induce a young growth
near the surface, as if it be left long before the first
cutting, and the lower leaves yet yellow and sickly,
when the top is mowed off the bottom will scarcely
recover, in hot weather not at all ; and when once
every bit of green foliage is lost, the grass root will
die as certainly as its blades have done.

We would let a lawn the first year after seeding
grow to its full length, cutting it only once, or even
suffering the crop to rot on the ground. The only
care we would give would be to carefully hand-
weed it of the coarser growths ; and this on no ac-
count or at any cost would we neglect.

AMMONIA AND VEGETATION.

We have before us two essays which afford much
food for throught to practical men. One is a sketch
from a French magazine, Annates des Sciences Natu-
relles, published in 1858, containing a paper by the
celebrated M. Boussingault, on the influence which
ammonia and its nitrates exert upon the production
of vegetable matter, and the other a pamphlet
entitled — "On the Source of the Nitrogen of Vege-
tation." By Drs. Lawes, J. H. Gilbert, and Evan
Pugh. Extracted from the Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London for 1860.

The relation of ammonia to vegetation and the
matters connected therewith, are ones of great im-
portance to the cultivator. In their bearing particu-
larly on the subject of surface manuring, and of
burying manure in the soil, a clear understanding

^¥?^

Clje §nxh\\txs Ulantljlj.

■would give mnch more confidence to the parties
engaged in the several practices and discussion
thereof. It is not enough to point to resuhs and say,
" Behold, I get as good crops from the manure I now
merely spread on the surface, as I did from double
the quantity I ploughed into the soil." The scien-
tific cultivator has the right to ask the reason why ;
and until then to say, " When we pass through a
field of newly spread manure, and smell the escaping
ammonia, by so much as we know escapes, by so
much do we know the manure has lost in value."
As this reasoning is sound, how can the beneficial
results of surface manuring, accompanied, as it must
be, by loss of ammonia, be accounted for? Such
works as these now before us, tend so far to explain
the apparent enigma.

It was at one time supposed by a class of scientific
men, that plants had the power of feeding on the
nitrogen, of which the atmosphere is in part com-
posed, and that some of the oxj'geii the plant exhaled
from the surface of the leaf was part of this rejected
air, the balance being from decomposed carbonic
acid. Another class contends plants have no such
power ; but that all assimilable nitrogen must be
presented in the form of ammonia or some of its
nitrates.

We have never been able to understand why a
plant should not have the power to use the nitrogen
of the air, as it passes through its system, as well
as to have first to decompose ammonia in order to
get at the necessary element. If it has not the power,
it may be a wise provision of nature, that not only
man and animal beings generally, should have to
get their "bread by the sweat of their brow," but
that the same law pervades every atom of life, vege-
table or animal, so that even the vegetable cell
should be doomed to exercise its vital force on the
decomposition of ammonia in order to gain its
"bread," instead of being allowed lazily to lie with
its mouth open, inertly absorbing nitrogen quietly
floating by it. However, be this as it may, Bous-
singault shows that free nitroge^i is not used by the
plant, and that all found in its structure is derived
from compounds.

In one of his experiments, he employed the sun-
flower, and sowed the seed in powdered brick,
watering it with pure distilled water. In three
months, the plants had gained a vegetation of 0.392
grammes when dried, the carbon they had acquired
from the decomposition of the carbonic acid of the
air in that time was 0.114 grammes, and the nitrogen
only 0.0025, scarcely, in fact, perceptible. Though I
in dire necessity, and suffering from the "pangs" of
want for this essential element, and with the air
passing through its system composed of it, in a free

■<qs_>

state, yet it could not or did not touch it. One
would think this simple experiment conclusive.

So small a mass of vegetable matter in such a
period of time showed that some other elements of
fertility were wanting. So he applied phosphates
of lime and other minerals, alkaline salts, carbonates,
and silicious matters, but with no better results than
if they were not there, for, from seeds weighing
0.107 grammes, the dried vegetable matter, after
three months' growth, resulted in only 0.498 gram-
mes, of which, only 0.0027 grammes of nitrogen
were found, or about the same as in the other ex-
periment.

Failing, though, with the free nitrogen of the at-
mosphere, to derive benefit from all other fertilizers,
he added nitrogen in its compound form, and with
the most astonishing results. From seeds weighing
as above, 0.107, he obtained in the same time,
21.248 grammes by weight, of which l.lGGGwere of
nitrogen. Thus, he had proved first, that nitrogen can
only be used by a plant when presented as a com-
pound ; and seconc^ly, that growth was unimportant
without, and very great with it.

The essay of the other three gentlemen takes up
the subject where Boussingault seems to leave it, and
goes to consider the amount of nitrogen yielded by
different crops over a given area of land, and of the
relation of these to certain measured or known
sources of it. As the pamphlet is not a long one,
and the subject is concisely treated and clearly ex-
pressed, we have commenced re-printing it in our last,
and continued it in another column. It will be seen
that with the numerous natural sources of combined
or assimilable nitrogen at the command of vegetation,
a very small proportion of the ammonia contained
in stable manure is wanted by the plant, as a general
rule, and only in exceptional cases of great natural
poverty, and that the loss by evaporation is not one
that will be readily missed by the plant under such
circumstances. The oxidation of the other matters
in the manure, which surface-manuring affords so
superior a means of effecting, is evidently a much
greater gain to the cultivator.

PARTIZANS IN HORTICULTURE.

When we hear parties assert that such or such a
variety is absolutely worthless, or of the highest
excellence, and Avhen our own experience opposes
such assertions, we do not imagine that they are
ignorant, prejudiced, or actuated by motives of selfish
interest in what they say. In fact, we have usually
found, on inquiry, that they were perfectly honest
in their opinions, and that the facts warranted what
they said. In some instances of nurserymen, wc
have found parties with a large stock of a variety

m^

274

iih^ €ar{Una''s Pantljig.

for sale, and yet honestly condemning it, and recom-
mending their own customers not to buy them.

We make these remarks because it is not un-
common to see a sort of clanship, or party-feeling,
in favor of, or in opposition to some varieties of
fruits, and a disposition very prevalent to doubt the
honor of those whose experience may seem opposed
to that of others. We have been careful not to
admit such reflections in our columns. Though we
pass freely the results of individual experience for or
against any variety whatever, we have frequently
taken the liberty of expunging from such valued
articles, any remarks undervaluing the experience of
others, which many writers are inadvertantly liable
to make in hurried communications. Soil, locality,
and culture are often more than sulficient to account
for the most diverse results, and should lead us all to
hesitate before we unreservedly condemn any variety
on our own experience alone.

A particular case in point is the Allen Raspberry.
Our pages teem with the most unqualified praise of
this fruit on the part of some growers, while others
as freely universally condemn it, and in our persona]
experience we know of cases where the warm
advocacy of and oppositit^n to this fruit has en.
gendered bad feeling and ill will.

Recently, we called on a party noted for his oppo-
sition to the Allen, at his request, to see his bed.
As he stated, it was with him totally unproductive.
Shoots came up and were allowed to grow by the
million, and thick as grain in a wheat field. The
soil in which they were growing was rather dry
and thin, and most of the flowers had "gone blind."
Occasionally a perfect berry might be seen, and here
and there a fruit comprising a single pip or so ; but
the Avhole was a complete foilure, undoubtedly.

We were narrating our experience to a neighbor,
fwe may as well name him, for yfe are sure he will
not object, J Mr. James Gleason, of Mount Airy, and
he replied by inviting us up to see his Allen. We
went. He had half a dozen popular kinds be-
sides, including the Hornet amongst them, but
the Allen beat them all, — a long way surpassed
them, — not in one, but every quality. There was
double, — we use the word advisedly, — double the
quantity of fruit, — double the strength of stem, and
the vigor and general health of the plants superior
to all, and the quality in many respects beyond
any others. The soil was not wet, but it was heavy;
had been deeply trenched, and the situation was
low. Suckers were not there in legions, because
the plants were well cultivated between the rows,
and suckers not wanted were received as weeds,
which they legitimately were, and treated accord-
ingly. An "inexpert" would probably have pro-
nounced the plants ia one of the cases spurious,

but we were not to be deceived in that way, and
could not help feeling that when treated as Gleason' s
were, and as airy other one mighty treat it, the
Allen was one of the best of raspberries, and its
introducer deserving the best thanks of the com-
munity. We might point to other fruits, but this
one instance, so well known, and so ably handled
as it has been by other parties, will serve our pur-
pose. We wish to guard horticulture from the
danger of partizanship, and to keep before the
reader's mind the feet, that soil, climate, culture
and local circumstances, have so much to do with
the character of fruits, that men may honestly diffier
on tlie most opposite extremes, and be frequently
both right for all, and give the fruit every thing that
was claimed for it. Truth may often come from an
apparent opposite, just as Baily makes his Lucifer
say, and appropi'iately to our subject :

" There is less real difference between things
Than men imagine. They overlook the mass,
But fasten eacli on some particular crumb,
Because they t'eol that they can equal that,
Of doctrine, or belief, or party cause."

VITAL FORCES IN PLANTS.

Under our regular "Horticultural Societies"
heading, we give the proceedings of a recent meet-
ing of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, in which
a paper, by some unknown gentleman, appears
worthy of particular attention.

In some recent articles, and in others by some of
our correspondents, similar views have been ex-
pressed to those which the writer advances. There
cannot be a doubt but that in the close attention
that has been given to the question of vegetable
nutrition the past few years, the important one of
the action of the vital forces on the elements of fer-
tility has been considerably overlooked. Enough,
however, is now known to convince thinking minds
that for want of a better knowledge of the relation,
plausible theories of manuring are really worthless,
and much injury and loss to the cultivator have been
the result. Still much that the writer advances we
think untenable ; but receiving the paper only as we
were about to send to press, we have thought proper
to refer to it, hoping to get time to return to the
subject some day.

TABLE DESIGNS AND DECORATIONS.

It is common for fashion to run in praiseworthy
directions, till it goes beyond good taste, when it
meets unqualified opposition in every respect. Thus,
designs of cut fiowers became popular, and horti-
cultural societies beheved it as useful to offer prizes
for them as for the best pot plants, or the most

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^'

®Ije 6;irdcjrcr*s Ulantlvln,

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275

handsome premiums at a recent London exhibition for the best table designs formed of fruit and flowers.

It is gratifying to note that this part of the exhibition proved the centre of interest. Ladies of llje
nobility entered the arena as competitors, and the subject was considered worthy of the efforts of the most
refined minds that England could produce.

That our readers may understand the style of taste in this matter that prevailed on the occasion, we have
engraved as a frontispiece the design that was awarded the first prize. Tlie union of the delicate leaves
of the fern with the bolder outlines of the fruit, combines a strength and elegance of beauty that is a

(0)

superior bunch of grapes. Gradually, these designs proved monstrosities— gardens, buildings, and natural
objects — birds, beasts and fishes became subjects of imitation, and the most gross and misei-able caricatures
of such things, if they only made a "show," and excited the gaze of tlie populace, were sure to receive
handsome premiums.

Then it become a question whether horticultural societies were really established for the encouragement
of such perverted taste. Public opinion experienced a revulsion. The opposite extreme began, — till at
length the legitimate claims of cut ilowers for any other purposes than mere nosegays or baskets are
scarcely recognized at anjj^ of our exhibitions.

It is the same in Europe as here. Becently, however, a gentleman of taste, Mr. Dilke, in view of the
lack of encouragement given to this branch of decorative gardening by the horticultural societies, offered

happy test of perfect taste. In some respects the
design might he improved. The central columns
are not proportionate in weight to the rest of the
design, but on the whole it is beautiful and cannot
fail to suggest a great improvement in our usual
mode of table decorations. Indeed, it is seldom that
our tables— even those set out with the greatest pre-
tensions to beauty and taste of arrangement— have
more than the common bouquet of flowers for adorn-
ment. To our mind, the bouquet form does as much
violence to correct principles in such situations as
the most imcouth design. Its form and arrangement
is particularly for the hand, and for motion. It has
to be of the most formal shape, and the flowers set
close and somewhat thick to enable them to be
carried well, and without soon drying up. As they
stick up in the glasses on the table before us, they
seem to appeal piteously to us to be taken in the
hand, and to be placed to their legitimate uses — nose-
gays as they are. We hope to see them banished
from our festal boards, and the "design" of flowers,
with its iuflnite scope for tasteful displays, and
natural beauty universally substituted.

The simplest of all dinner table floral arrangements
is the vase. To illustrate its beauty for such a pur-
pose over the bouquet, we take the foregoing illus-
tration from our contemporary, the English Cottage
Gardener. Of course, it would be out of the power
of any American collection to furnish the rare
orchidea necessary to fill it in the style represented,
but they seem to convey the idea. Stifl" flowers are
required, of course, to arrange in the centre, and
slender racemes for hanging over the sides. Fresh
green moss is used for packing the stems of the
flowers into, and if this is pressed in tight, and the
flowers sprinkled occasionally with clean water,
they will retain their freshness and beauty nearly as
long as the common bouquet.

As it is all in connection with the subject, we re-
produce, from our first volume, a beautiful design
for a ceutre-table.

Since we first published it, we are pleased to meet
with it occasionally in the drawing-rooms and parlors
of om- friends. For the sake of new subscribers
who have not seen, or old ones who have forgotten,
we are sure that those who have already profited by
the first hint, will not object to the repetition.

As a table decoration, it is becoming very fashion-
able in France to employ fruit trees in pots. For
ourselves, we do not admire the taste. It savors too
much of the pretentious and afiected. Yet, being
in vogue in that country, it must, of necessity, find
imitators in this,whereit is only necessary to declare
a fashion to be the French style in order to obtain
for it general adoption. The following is a sketch
we made last season, of a peach, grown in pot, and

to them wlio have not seen examples of this mode
of cultivating fruits, it will give a fair idea of their
general appearance for decorative purposes.

EDITORIAL COKRESFONDSNCE.

New York, August 3d, 1861.

"Isn't it very hot to day?" is the startling in-
quiry of every friend I meet. Of course, with the
thermometer amongst the nineties, I reply that it is
hot — very hot, and the inquirers seem much relieved
by my confirmation of their suspicions. You in
Philadelphia have no idea of the intensity of a New
York 90O. Talk of ^^ sweltering,''^ but you must
come here to understand that term in all its ex-
pressiveness. With your drier air, 96° or 98° is
fai more Icelandish than this 90^, surrounded, as xve
are by the sea, with its necessarily moister atmos-
phere.

It is bad enough to have to attend to business
even with the aid of refreshing circumstances at the
best in these hard times ; but it is positively cruel
to force oneself to it such a day as this, so I deter-
mined to abandon this crucible which so sorely tried
my flesh, and betake myself somewhere into the

country in search of some cool and shady nook
where I might forget the sufferings of city show, and
derive comfort from the charms of nature.

To a NeAV Yorker the Central Park is now the
Mecca of rural life, so far as a day's pleasure is con-
cerned ; but from all I could learn it is not j^et
calculated to mitigate the horrors of a genuine hot
day. The large trees which the New York press
so Tauntingly styled a complete success a few months
after transplanting, are now considered a failure,
and are not likely to afford a very delicious shade
for some years to come ; and the trees of medium
size, that under ordinary circumstances should, by
this time, have made a considerable advance, are
in a state of rest, and are kept from going back-
wards only by constant and copious applications
of water, which it is supposed will eventually supply
the original deficiency of root. Moreover, I was
told that the chief beauty of the park was the op-
portunity which it afforded to see and to be seen of
men. Here the latest style of bonnet, or the most
fashionable cut of coat, was so interestingly blended
with the study of natural history and the beauties of
the landscape-art, as to be considered synonymous,
and occupied the almost exclusive attention of the
patrons of the park. As for the park itself, my
friends assured me, that independently of the above
considerations, it was positively tedious. Every
part is, in a great measure, a counterpart of the
other. The first impression on entering is, that it is
done to perfection. The faultless curves, — the
planely moulded and exquisitively modulated sur-
faces,— the little clumps of bushy shrubs, on gentle
rises, just where correct taste would decide little
clumps should be, — rocks jutting out here and
there, just sufficiently to testify strongly to the sur-
rounding victory of art over them ; and the body of
water here expanding to the magnitude of a lake,
there losing itself around some distant curvature of
surface — on this side reflecting the sun's smiles on
some overhanging bluff, on that wearing a dark brow
of sadness at the overshadowing beauties of a mass
of shrubs. In fact, you cannot but enter the park to
be at once convinced that in managing the four great
elements of the landscape-gardener's art — earth, sky,
wood and water — the designer of the Central Park
has managed to make the most of his materials.
But having passed the threshold to progress through
the work, you encounter the same style of road, the
same mounds, depressions and rocks. The little
clump you see is the same in outline and general
feature as the one you saw before, and set precisely
in the same manner, on a very similar mound, and
the whole planting arrangement, in the main, sug-
gests but a continued round of the same idea.
Though the walks are broad, and the execution of

all the details perfect, the mind feels shackled. —
"Thus far canst thou go, and go no further," is
whiiipered at every step, until, panting for freedom,
the spirit bursts from its bonds, and relieves its
tedium by changing the study of the park for that of
the peculiarities of the park-goers. This I was told
by parties of taste ; but whether the criticism was
just or not, I was not in a proper frame of body
or mind to test personally ; and, moreover, it is in
all probability, unfair to form a decided opinion on
tlie effect of so great a work until the work itself
should be more nearly completed. So, passing the
Park idea, I concluded to take a quiet trip to Flushing,
to the Nurseries of Parsons & Co., whose well-
known and beautiful establishment I had not the
pleasure of seeing for some years.

Taking the boat from Fulton Street Wharf, a few
minutes brings us to Hunter's Point, from whence,
less than a half hour's ride carries us to Flushing ; a
quiet village, bearing the aspect of retired respect-
ability. Five minutes' walk found me on the
higher ground of the village, by which the Nurseries
are situated. I have no note of the extent of the
grounds, but judge they comprise about seventy
acres. The offices are considerably in from the en-
trance, and the approach lined by many fine specimens
of rare shrubs and trees, which in themselves repaid
a visit to Flushing. Near the gateway, there is a
very large specimen of an upright Sugar Maple, as
perfectly fastigiate as the Lombardy Poplar, and well
worthy of extensive introduction into landscape
scenery. I had no knowledge before that such a
variety of the Sugar Maple was in existence. A very
large Weeping Sophora is very striking tlirough a
marked strength of beauty which it adds to the usual
elegance of "Weeping" trees. A large Kentucky
Coffee, one of my favorite trees, grew near by, re-
minding me how unfortunate for planters it was that
its great beauty, when of middle age, was not more
generally known. Its stiffness while young, no
doubt, is the cause why it is not better appreciated.
Amongst other good things near, the following were
particularly noted : Abies orientalis, one of the best
specimens I have ever seen ; about 12 feet high. Its
reputation as a slow grower is, no doubt, gratuit-
ous. It certainly was not earned by this specimen.
A fine Pinus monspeliensis, one of the allied group
of Austrians, and of P. Pyrenaica, of the same group,
and one of the most valuable for hardiness of beauty
we have not seen excelled. Pinus nivea was also
very fine, and more nearly approaching the White
Pine in appearance than I had before supposed,
having hitherto seen but much smaller specimens.
Pinus horizontalis, a fine specimen. This is not a
distinct species, but a spreading form of the Scotch
Fir. Picea Frazerii was by far the best looking

^Bsr

^4)^\:pj^

specimen I ever saw, and evidently suits our latitude
much better than its next brother the Balsam Fir.
The Douglass Spruce is quite hardy here. The
finest specimen is about twenty feet high and very
beautiful. Some fine specimens of Picea ceplialonica
are here — some few losing their leaders through birds
resting their weight on them, and Mr. Parsons sug-
gests that where there is such risk, the leader should
be protected by a small stick tied as a stiflTener while
young. Probably the finest Magnolia Soulungeana
in the world is here ; the branches sweep the ground,
and occupy over eight hundred square feet of surface.
A very large and fine Magnolia macropliylla stands
near this, the parent no doubt of many a score
throughout the Union. The Weeping Beech is one of
the finest I know of. I inquired of Mr. Treumpy,
the foreman, how he succeeded in obtaining so large
a stock of young ones in face of the generally sup-
posed difticulty of propagating without the aid of
two j^ear old wood? But he says that with good,
healthy and strong one year old wood he finds no
difficult}'. All these were grafted about an inch or
so from the ground. I noticed a great many dwarf
trees that had originated on the establishment, that
well deserve the attention of the proprietors ; parti-
cularly a Dioarf White Pine and a Dwarf Hemlock.
Such plants are just the thing for small city gardens,
and peculiar positions in larger ones. The firm seems
to have been fortunate in raising such new varieties,
for I also saw a very curious form of Norway Spruce^
superior, in my opinion, to the foreign variety
mon.strosa, as also an erect and compact growing
variety of White Pine. Much might be done for
landscape-gardening by attending to the selection
and separate propagation of these marked varieties,
Avhich are often much more distinct in habit and
striking characters than genuine botanical species
are, and produce a decided effect in the laying-out a
place tastefully. The Taxus erecta thrives well here;
it is decidedly hardier than any other variety of the
English Yew, and the only one that has stood out
here entirely uninjured by heat or cold.

Of the newer evergreens and plants that have
proved here quite hardy, but of which I saw no very
large specimens so as to judge of the final eff'cct their
mature growth would give, I notice Picea lasiocarpa
var. Parsonsiana, which, if it retain as it grows its
present appearance, will be a most beautiful Pine.
Picea Nordmanniana^ though not new now, yet one
of the scarcest and highest in price. Picea pectinata
pendztla, or Weeping Silver Fir. Picea amabilis,
P. noMlis, and P. JIudsonica. Amongst other hardy
and very desirable things we noted Torreya myristica;
Picea silistrica, a golden variegated American Arbor-
vitse ; Juniperus glauca, a very grey and striking
vartiety of the Red Cedar ; and Thujiopsis borealis.

In the deciduous shrub line, Cercis Japonica.^ the new
Japan Judas Tree, has proved very hardy, and very
beautiful in flower. Jlndromeda arborea, a rare and
beautiful small tree, and an ill-used native at that, I
was pleased to see in considerable quantity. Also, a
curious dwarf Snowball, called Viburnum nanmn.
The Siberian ArborvitcB seems the hardiest of all, and
is sui'passed by none of the newer kinds in beauty.
The Rhododendron thrives here to perfection, and
has no cause to join in the universal charge that
Americans neglect their own most beautiful of
plants.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Messrs.
Parsons' establishment just now was their plant-
house department. The attention paid the past few
years to leaf plants has imparted a new order of
interest to greenhouses in summer, and has in no
small degree, lent their aid to make Parsons' houses
as beautiful as they are. They have here three
houses devoted to these and other stove plants, all
heated by two of Hitching' s $150 boilers, both in one
stoke hole sunk at some distance from the houses. The
arrangements were very tasteful, quite unusual for
a commercial establishment, and whoever has this
subject in charge for them deserves great credit.
Amongst those that more strikingly forced them-
selves on our attention for beauty of marking or
elegance of form in their foliage were Caladiuni
Belleymci, Begonia Roi Leopold, a new seedling
Begonia of Van Voorst's, called Mrs. Stewart; Be-
gonia Sandersii semperflorens, an important improve-
ment on the original ; Solanum quitoense ; Begonia
Griffithii ; Dracceua ferroe, a splendid plant for associ-
ating with statuary in conservatories ; Caladium
Wightii ; Dioscorea variegata, which Mr. Treumpy
finds to do very well in deep shade ; Dracoena termi-
nalis ; Allocasia metalica, more beautiful than I had
even anticipated it to be from the descriptions given
in the journals ; Cyanophyllum magnificum, as mag-
nificent really as any one may choose to imagine it ;
and a new seedling Begonia with the dwarf habit of
rubro-veina, but much more beautiful in my opinion
that B. rex. There was also a new Cissus called
C. porphyrophyllus, very distinct from C. discolor,
and will, no doubt, have as popular a run.

I must not omit to note the tropical and grand ap-
pearance which the different varieties of the Plantain
tribe give to the plant stove; nothing grown can
excel them in this particular. I was not aware, till
informed by Mr. Parsons, that in the tropics the
bruised leaves are used as a poultice for burns and
bhsters, with the best results, and I could not help
thinking it a strange coincidence that a very different
plant, but with the same common name — plantain,
should have a similar reputation in Europe and other

(^

ilt^ mdmtr'% IflontMj.

countries. Shakspeare alludes to this fact when he
says, in Romeo and Juliet,—

Romeo — "Your Plantain leaf is excellent for that."
Benvolio — "For what. I pray thee?"
Honuo — '-For your broken shin."

It has often been a question with botanists, how
a name of evidcnth'' Italian origin, and given by the
old Romans to another plant, got to be so long ago
given to an English plant ; but it is quite possible
that the virtues mentioned by Mr. Parsons were well
known to the ancients, and on their conquest of
England they gave the same name to a plant they
there found to possess the same medical properties
with the true plantain of their former homes.

Amongst the Ferns and Lycopodiums worthy of
special notice were Pteris tricolor, and P. argentea,
Asplenium Ballangerii, Alsojihila radies, Blechnum
Braziliensis, Lycopodium apodum, Selaginella lepid-
ophylla, Polypodium apeudiculata, Lycopodium at-
rovirides, and the most beautiful thing of the kind
I ever saw in the shape of Lycopodium Cunning-
hamii. Along the border of the staging, as an edging,
Lycopodium apodum was employed very success-
fully. Among the miscellaneous plants, well worthy
of the attention of the amateur, I noted Mussgenda
frondosa, an old, but j^et little appreciated plant. The
same may be said of Clerodendron fragrans and C.
fallax ; Lilium giganteum, just out of flower; Papyrus
autiquorum, very useful for imparting gracefulness
to bouquets ; Cypripedium venustum, not surpassed
by any newer plant ; Tydo?a Eckhautii, and T. Mrs.
Lefevre, and Impatiens Jerdonice.

The Fuchsias were nearly out of bloom ; but of
those still lingering, Garibaldi, Fanny Douglass, and
the very double kind — Solferino — were the best.

In our walk through the nursery, we were pleased
with the very healthy and vigorous look of the
Standard Pear quarter. Mr. Parsons attributes their
success to deep trenching and rather light dressing
of stable manure, as opposed to the heavy applica-
tions it is frequently thought necessary to stimulate
pears with. The soil in which they were growing
was a heavy loam, one we should call rather clayey.
On the opposite side of the road to the nursery is
the residence of one of the firm, Mr. S. B. Parsons,
and by his kind permission, I enjoyed the privilege
of a stroll through the grounds. The taste displayed
in the laying out afforded a sti'iking contrast to the
pretentious failures so common in suburban resi-
dences. One of the commonest errors is to plant
close up to the house, by which all the beauties of
the planting or natural scenery of the grounds is
effectually shut out from the windows. The desire
of shade in summer usually prompts this ; but Mr.
P.'s house, while it boldly stands separate and inde-
pendent of all the planting arrangements, provictos

for luxurious coolness by a wide and airy piazza ex-
tending round the warm aspects of the building.
The view of the whole grounds and the distant views
from the piazza are, therefore, all that can be desired,
and the result comes up to our beau ideal of what
American landscape gardening should be— good
taste in arrangements— but all so "fixed;" fpardon
the vulgarism — it is in the present case appropriate^
that we can easily see and admire without having to
toil through a broiling sun to earn the enjoyment.
I returned to New York by the five o'clock train,
and in the cool of the evening, having spent one
of the most pleasant days I have had for some time,
and to hear with surprise from some of my New
York friends that it "had been a very hot day."
Poor things ! They know not the pleasures of
gardening, and its capacity of submerging our bodily
sufferings in the lethean stream. The day was
indeed hot for them, but I had lost all recollection of
this inconvenience in the many interesting things
the Parsons' establishment afforded me.

THEORY OP THE PRESERVATION OP ICE.

In another column we have an article from the
pen of one of our distinguished scientific men on
this subject, which we think, for the first time,
attempts an exposition of the scientific principles on
which the preservation of ice depends. It is re-
markable that in all treatises on the applied sciences,
this subject should have been overlooked ; and we
are sure that the paper will not only be read
with ^interest by all engaged in ice management,
but be received by the purelj^ scientific community
as a valuable contribution to knowledge.

telecommunications for this department must reach the Editor
on or before the 10th of the month.

53=The Editor cannot answer letters for this department pri-
vately.

Insects — A '■'■Regular Subscriber,^'' West Orove, Pa.
— The insects you send that "has appeared on your
fruit trees in considerable numbers within the last
few days" have no business there. It is the Pine-
tree Beetle (Prionus unicolor. ) It is a decided enemy,
and you may give no quarter to any you find. The
smaller and gray beetle is a species of Saperda, which
one we do not know, but near enough to the Apple
Borer (S. bivillata) to warrant you in destroying all
you can find. The smaller musquito-looking insects
have been recently noted by entomologists, and little
seems to be known of them. They have been
observed to appear in quantity for the first this sea-

'^^^

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son. When we can discover further about them we
will make a note for you.

E. H., Monieroy, Pa. — Your specimens are Rose
bugs (Melolontha subspinosa.) They come out of the
ground in June ; live on any kind of vegetation for
about a month, and then the female enters the earth
to deposit its eggs. The larvae from these feed on
the roots of all kinds of vegetation, so that in every
stage they are inj urious. 'l he only remedy we know
is to wage war against them in the beetle state.
Applications of hot water will readily destroy them.
A good assistant to you in this warfare would be a
lot of ducks. You have to take them young, when
with a little attention they may be taught to catch
hundreds of insects a day. One little fellow that we
have has become so expert at the buisness that few
of even the most active insects escape his dash at
them. Of the common house-fly, not one in ten
misses his stroke. Unlike others of feathered
domestics, the duck does little injury in a garden.

Names of Plants— G. H. R., Booneville^ Mo. —
No. 1 is Rose Gloire des Rosamene. No. 2, called
with you "clematis," is Wistaria sinensis. No. 3,
called "Chinese Lilac," is Philadelphus Gordonianus.

Pi,ANT PROM Pike's Peak— /f. A. Terry, Crescent
City, Iowa. I enclose a pressed flower and leaf of a
new plant that I received from Pike's Peak last sea-
son. It is a trailing plant, something like Convo-
vulus minor, and sends up hundreds of flowers,
which when fully expanded are as showy as the
Snowball and possess a delightful fragrance ; the
leaves are glabrous ; stem red, and smooth like Pur-
slane ; an annual ; a most lovely plant and exceed-
ingly desirable. If you can tell the name of it, please
do so through the Monthly. I will send you seeds
if you desire. I have CaUirrhoe involucraia, also from
Pike's Peak.

[Your plant is Abronia umbellaia, a very desirable
plant, but not before in cultivation that we know of.
Very glad you have succeeded in obtaining it, and
should be obliged by the seeds oflered. ]

Propagating Blackberries — H., GaUsburg, III. —
This is best performed by root cuttings. Early in
winter, cut up roots into lengths of about three
inches, and mix with an abundance of soil in boxes,
and place in a moderately damp cellar till spring ;
then plant the roots in the open ground in the same
way as cuttings, only keeping the tops of the roots
a little beneath the surface of the ground.

Propagating Trees and Shrubs— -ff. , Galesburg,
III. , asks the question, but it is one covering too much

ground to be replied to in this small space. So far
as trees and the larger shrubs are concerned,
Meehan's Hand-book of Ornamental Trees would
give the necessary information. Of shrubs, there is
no work extant we can refer to.

W. PF., Morrhania, N. Y. — The white flower is
Gloxinea tubiflora. The red, too small a specimen
to name. Probably a Gesneria. The variegated leaf
is Chimaphila maculaia, or winter green.

J. B. Good for the Last Time. — The advice
given some time since to our private correspondents,
and in our last issue, that a criminal court, and not a
public paper, is the proper arena to discuss swindling
transactions, seems to have had a due influence on
Mr. Good, for we learn that he has decamped in
disguise for parts unknown. His effects have fallen
into the hands of third parties, and we are informed,
amongst other things, disclose the fact that he did
actually receive the letter and money alluded to by
Mr. Kohly in the June number, in spite of his pro-
testation in the July number that he did not.

Cromwell's Seedling Peach — From Mr. Crom-
well, Baltimore, Md. — This is somewhat like the Early
Newington, but larger, and we think better than
that we.l known and valuable variety. They com-
menced to decay so soon after receipt, that we could
not hand them to the Philadelphia County Committee
of the Fruit Grower's Society of Eastern Penn-
sylvania as requested, and for the same reason we
had no opportunity to compare them with other
kinds so as to get a definite idea of its distinctiveness
from other described varieties ; but so far as we can
say from memory alone, we think it a good addition
to already known early peaches ; ripe in Baltimore
last week of July.

Raising Seedlings. — A correspondent fears that
the remarks in our last may have a tendency to dis-
courage the raising of seedlings, and fruit improve-
ment suffer in consequence. We hope not. There
cannot be too many seedlings raised, and it is one of
the most interesting of horticultural occupations.
All we hope to see is, their being named and dissemi-
nated as improvements on what we already have,
discouraged until properly proved and tested, much
better than has been the rule hitherto.

LiNNjEA borealis. — We have to thank a Canadian
friend J. G. F., for specimens which we have for-
warded to the author of the Linnsea articles at
Haddonfield, N. J. H. would gladly reciprocate the

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Che iarkncr's ||lonfi)!|t.

fovor by sending any plants or specimens of his dis-
trict that mi"'ht be of interest to him.

Bad Wktting. — We have a set of what appears
to be horticultural inquiries from a New York post
mark, but as we were utterly unable to read it, we
supposed it to be written in some foreign language,
but no professor of any modern tongue within our
circle of acquaintance is able to translate it for us.
We have come to the conclusion that the letter is
either in the ancient Sanscrit or modern Nipho-
nese, of which tongues we must confess our pro-
found ignorance. Had we been able to understand
the manuscript, we would have gladly tried to
answer the inquiries for our correspondent.

Begokias — N., near West Chester, asks: — "Can
you inform me how to propagate Begonias? Also,
in what kind of soil they do best ? Are they better
shaded from the sun?"

[The larger and fleshy leaved Begonias are raised
by leaves. These are cut into small pieces and set
edge-wise in sandy soil, with a moist heat of about
60^. Young plants shoot up from where the veins
are cut across.

Any coarse, spongy soil, moderately enriched with
partiality decomposed vegetable matter, suits Begoni-
as, and the variegated ones are best grown in partial
shade. Some of the summer-blooming ones, how-
ever, do well as border plants, and do not mind a
little sun.

Begonias can also be propagated easily by cuttings
put in at this season of the year.]

Black Cttrrant Weme — J. S., Montgomery Co. Pa.
asks: — "What kind or which kind of Black Cur-
rant do the French make their wine of? as you
published some time since that they made wine of it.
Can not you give a good recipe for making Black
Currant wine? It is rather late now, it is true ; how-
ever, if not too much trouble, it would be good
another year."

[The kind used by the French is the Black Naples.
We should be glad to receive a good recipe from any
correspondent of experience. The gentleman named
in the other part of the letter is one of honor and
standing in our community. Some error, no doubt. ]

Lawx Mowing Machines. — A Canadian corres-
pondent made some inquiries about mowing ma-
chines in a letter which we have not now by us.
We believe the inquiiy was as to their real merits
the best kinds, and whether they could be had at
Buffilo.

We think so well of them that no lawn of any ex-
tent should be without them. The best, we know
are those made by Swift, of Fishkill Landing, New
York. We are not sure that any are made at Buffalo.
With care, mowing machines do not often need
repairs. We saw a person recently using a Shank's
machine who said it had been iu constant use for
five years.

IIelianthuses — C. F., Cincinnati, Ohio., asks: —
"Will you be good enough to tell me whether there
are any other colors except yellow of the Hehanthus
multiflora (double Sunflower)? I prefer it to the
Dahlia, if a variety of colors is to be had of them.

[ There are no other colors. ]

Double Brompton Stock—" Subscriber." — Any
fine variety of this can be readily increased by cut-
ting, and the variety thus preserved.

[Continued from page 247.]

On the Sources of the Nitrogen of Vegeta-
tion ; with special reference to the Question
whether Plants Assimilate Free or Uncombined
Nitrogen. By John Bennet Lawes, Esq., F. R.
S., F. C. S. ; Joseph Henry Gilbert, Ph. D., F. R. S.
F. C. S. ; and Evan Pugh, Ph. D., F. C. S.

Passing to the subjects of collateral inquiry, the
first question considered was, whether plants grow-
ing under the conditions stated would be likely to
acquire nitrogen from the air through the medium of
ozone, either within or around the plant, or in the
soil; that body oxidatmg free nitrogen, and thus
rendering it assimilable by the plants.

Several series of experiments were made upon the
gases contained in plants or evolved from them,
under different circumstances of hght, shade, supply
of carbonic acid, &c. When sought for, ozone was
in no case detected. The results of the inquiry in
other respects, bearing upon the points at issue, may
be briefly summed up as follows :—

1. Carbonic acid within growing vegetable cells
and intercellular paSteages suifers decomposition very
rapidly on the penetration of the sun's rays, oxygen
being involved.

2. Living vegetable cells, in the dark, or not pene-
trated by the direct rays of the sun, consume oxygen
very rapidly, carbonic acid being formed.

3. Hence, the proportion of oxygen must vary
greatly according to the position of the cell, and to

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he external conditions of light, and it will oscillate
under the influence of the reducing force of carbon-
matter Cforming carbonic acidj on the one hand, and
of that of the sun's rays Cliberating oxygen^ on the
other. Both actions may go on simultaneously ac-
cording to the depth of the cell ; and the once outer
cells may gradually pass from the state in which tlie
sunlight is the greater reducing agent to that in
which the (jarbon-matter becomes the greater.

4. The great. reducing power operating in those
parts of the plant whei'^ iozone is most likely, if at
all, to be evolved, seems unfavorable to the oxida-
tion of nitrogen ; that is under circumstances in
which carbon-matter is not oxidized, but on the con-
trary, carbonic acid reduced. And where beyond
the influence of the direct rays of the sun, the cells
seem to supply an abundance of more easily oxidized
carbon -matter, available for oxidation should free
oxygen or ozone be present. On the assumption that
nitrates are available as a direct source of nitrogen
to plants, if it were admitted that nitrogen is oxi-
dated within the plant, it must be supposed fas in
the case of carbon) that there are conditions under
which the oxygen compound of nitrogen may be
reduced within the organism, and that there are
others in which the reverse action, namely, the oxi-
dation of nitrogen, can take place.

5. So great is the reducing power of certain car-
bon-compounds of vegetable matter, that when the
growing process has ceased, and all the free oxygen
in the cells has been consumed, water is for a time
decomposed, carbonic acid formed, and hydrogen
evolved.

The suggestion arises, whether ozone may not be
formed under the influence of the powerful reducing
action of the carbon-compounds of the cell on the
oxygen eliminated from carbonic acid by sunlight,
rather than under the direct action of the sunlight
itself — in a manner analogous to that in which it is
ordinarily obtained under the influence of the active
reducing agency of Phosphorus ? But, even if it
were so, it may be questioned whether the ozone
would not be at once destroyed when in contact
with the carbon-compounds present. Tt is more
probable, however, that the ozone said to be observed
in the vicinity of vegetation, is due to the action of
the oxygen of the air upon minute quantities of vo-
la i'e carbo-hydrogens emitted by plants.

Supposing ozone to be present, it might, however,
be supposed to act in a more indirect manner as a
source of combined and assimilable nitrogen in the
authors' experiments, namely, — by oxidating the
nitrogen dissolved in the condensed water of the
apparatus — by forming nitrates in contact with the
moist, porous, and alkaline soil — or by oxidating the

free nitrogen in the cells of the older roots, or that
evolved in their decomposition.

Experiments were accordingly made to ascertain
the influence of ozone upon organic matter, and on
certain porous and alkaline bodies, under various
circumstances. A current of ozonous air was passed
over the substances for some time daily, for several
months, including the whole of the warm weather
of the summer, but in only one case out of eleven
was any trace of nitric acid detected, namely, that
of garden soil ; and this was proved to contain
nitrates before being submitted to the action of
ozone.

It is not, indeed, hence inferred that nitric acid
could under no circumstances be formed through
the influence of ozone on certain nitrogenous com-
pounds, on nascent nitrogen, on gaseous nitrogen in
contact with porous and alkaline substances, or even
in the atmosphere. But, considering the negative
result with large quantities of ozonous air, acting
upon organic matter, soil, &c., in a wide range of
circumstances, and for so long a period, it is believed
that no error will be introduced into the main inves-
tigation by the cause referred to.

Numerous experiments were made to determine
whether free nitrogen was evolved during the de-
composition of nitrogenous organic compoimds.

In the first series of six experiments, wheat, barley,
and bean-meal were respectively mixed with ignited
pumice, and ignited soil, and submitted for some
months to decomposition in a current of air, in such
a manner that any ammonia evolved could be col-
lected and estimated. The result was, that, in five out
of the six cases, there was a greater or less evolution
of free nitrogen — amounting, in two of the cases, to
more than 12 per cent, of the original nitrogen of
the substance.

The second series consisted of nine experiments ;
wheat, barley, and beans being again employed, and,
as before, either ignited soil or pumice used as the
the matrix. In some cases the seeds were submitted
to experiment whole, and allowed to grow, and the
vegetable matter produced permitted to die down
and decompose. In other cases, the ground seeds,
or "meals," were employed. The conditions of
moisture were also varied. The experiments were
continued through several months, when from 60 to
70 per cent, of the carbon had disappeared.

In eight out of the nine experiments, a loss of nitro-
gen, evolved in the free state, was indicated. In most
cases, the loss amounted to about one-seventh or
one-eighth, but in one instance to 40 per cent, of the
original nitrogen. In all these experiments the de-
composition of the organic substance was very com-
plete, and the amount of carbon lost was compara-
tively uniform.

&

Sfh^ ^ardfMr'g dflonthlg.

It tlms appeared that, under rare circumstances,
there might be no loss of nitrogen m the decompo-
sition of nitrogenous organic matter ; but that under
a wide range of circumstances, the loss was very
considerable — a point, it may be observed, of prac-
tical importance in the management of the manures
of the farm and the stable.

Numerous direct experiments showed, that when
nitrogenous organic matter was submitted to decom-
position in water, over mercury, in the absence of
free oxygen, there w'as no free nitrogen evolved. In
fact, the evolution in question appeared to be the
result of an oxidating process.

Direct experiments also showed, that seeds may
be submitted to germination and growth, and that
nearly the whole of the nitrogen ma}^ be found in
the vegetable matter produced.

It is observed that, in the cases referred to in
which so large an evolution of free nitrogen took
place, the organic substances were submitted to
decomposition for several months, during which
time they lost two-thirds of their carbon. In the
experiments on the question of assimilation, how-
ever, but a very small proportion of the total organic
matter is submitted to decomposing actions apart
from those associated with growth, and this for a
comparatively short period of time, at the termina-
tion of which the organic form is retained, and
therefore, but very little carbon is lost. It w^ould
appear, then, that in experiments on assimilation no
fear need be entertained of any serious error arising
from the evolution of free nitrogen in the decompo-
sition of the nitrogenous organic matter necessarily
involved, so long as it is subjected to the ordinary
process of germination, and exhaustion to supply
materials for growth. On the other hand, the facts
adduced afford a probable explanation of any small
loss of nitrogen w^hich may occur when seeds have
not grown, or when leaves, or other dead matters,
have suffered partial decomposition. They also
point out an objection to the application of nitroge-
nous organic manure in such experiments.

Although there can be no doubt of the evolution
of hydrogen during the decomposition of organic
matter under certain conditions, and although it has
long been admitted that nascent hydrogen may, under
certain circumstances, combine with gaseous nitro-
gen and form ammonia — nevertheless, from conside-
rations stated at length in the paper, the authors
infer that there need be little apprehension of error
in the results of their experiments, arising from an
unaccounted supply of ammonia, formed under the
influence of na.scent hydrogen given off in the de-
composition of the organic matter involved,

[To be Continued.]

New Plants Exhibited at the recent London
Snows. — Mr. Thompson, of Ipswich, exhibited
Nemophila atomaria maculata ; also three varieties
of Rhodanthe, called atro-sanguinea, maculata, and
maculata alba. The former w^as obtained among
the limestone rocks in the neighboihood of Champion
Bay, Western Australia. Maculata in appearance is
a robust form of Manglesi, Avhich was discovered by
Captain Mangles, at Swan River. For this a First-
class Certificate was awarded. The white variety,
which promises to be exceedingly pretty, received
a Label of Commendation ; but all, owing to the
wetness of the day and the consequent absence of
sunlight, did not display their charms to so much
advantage as thej' would have done had the day been
brighter.

A very fine Delphinium was exhibited by Mr.
Wheeler, of Warminster, to which the appropriate
name of alopecuroides, or "like a foxtail," was
given, for it was as close and thickly set as any
Reynard's brush. The flowers being double, and
the habit of the plant dwarf, its very closeness
seemed to me to take off from the elegance of its
appearance. For this a First-class Certificate was
awarded.

From Messrs. Dow^nie & Laird came a new
branching Intermediate crimson Stock, not better
than some out ; and from Mrs. Conway, Brompton,
some varieties of bedding Geraniums, &c., much
behindhand ; and from Mr. Wood, of Bedford Nur-
sery, Hampstead Road, some fancy Pelargoniums,
which we might have looked at fifteen j-ears ago.

Mr. Dean, of Bradford, contributed a New Zealand
Fern, called Hypolepis distans, which will, from its
creeping and dumpy habit, be valuable as a pot
variety, as it will trail over and cover the sides of
the basket or whatever it maybe in. For this a
Label of Commendation was awarded.

Messrs. Carter & Co., of Holborn, exhibited some
specimens of a new double Clarkia, very distinct
and beautiful, much brighter in color than any of the
older varieties, a rich rosy pink, and apparently
quite constant in its double properties. A figure of
this will appear in the Floral Magazine. For this a
First-class Certificate was awarded.

The same award was given to a very magnificent
scarlet Verbena, called Foxhunter, from John Miller,
Esq., ITpway, near Dorchester, brighter in color than
any out, apparently a good trusser, filling up well in
the centre, and very large. I measured one pip, one
and an eighth inches across. Equal in size to Grand
Eastern, but, of course, with a brilliancy of color it
does not possess.

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From Mr. Bull came Phalaenopsis Schilleriana, an
excellent thing, but too small to be awarded any thing
as yet ; Cyanophyllum speciosum, not so good as
the older variety; Begonia Xeramis; Calceolaria
Sparkle, &c.

Messrs. Veitch & Son sent a very pretty Calen-
drina umbellata major, a rock plant from Chili.
For this a Label of Commendation was awarded ; as
was also a very pretty Primula from the snow line of
the Andes, and therefore quite hardy.

Messrs. Charl-^yood & Cummins, of Covent Gar-
den, sent a very beautiful variety of Nemophila,
called Discoidalis elegans, with all the habit and ap-
pearance of its parent, but with the petals of a rich
mulberry, edged with white. It was considered very
striking, and received a Label of Commendation.
This will be figured also in the Floral Magazine.

Mr. G. Smith, of Hornsey Road, sent two new
Verbenas— " The Moor," very dark, and Fireball,
which might have been accepted had not Foxhunter
been before it. He also exhibited a very nice stand
of blooms of various kinds, including Grand Eastern,
Garibaldi, Madam Zindier, &c. For this collection
a Special Certificate was awarded. He also sent a
good plant of his dwarf bedding Calceolaria
"Canary."

Mr. Melville, of Dalmeny Park, sent several
varieties of Tropseolums and Sweet Williams. Some
of the former were very promising as to shape and
substance, but more was required to be seen of them
before a judgment could be pronounced.

HuNNEMANNiA FUMARi^FOLiA. — Described by
the Horticultural Society as a fine half-hardy Peren-
nial, Cflowering the first year,) allied to Esch-
scholtzia, having similar finely cut foliage, and pro-
ducing bright yellow poppy-like flowers, (with
robust and erect habit); it is a desirable plant, with
the general habit of Eschscholtzia, and adapted for
similar purposes.

Camellia spiralis rubra. — A seedling raised by
the late Noel G. Becar. The form of the flower re-
sembles a screw, and is very curious. The spij-als
are remarkably symmetrical. The color and sub-
stance unexceptionable. — Horticulturist,

Flo Eiifi Plerp fm\\%.

Apple from Mr. Caspar Hiller. — A very hand-
some apple of the size, and much resembling Sine
Qua Non, but to our taste not quite equal in flavor to
that good kind. It may possess other qualities
superior to it that would render it worth naming and

disseminating. The following is Mr. Hiller' s
account : —

•'I to-day send you, by Adams & Co.'s Express,
a few specimens of an apple which I have called
"All Summer." It is a variety that originated in
this locality. The original tree died a few years ago,
and was probably over sixty years old. The speci-
mens I send are rather above the average size they
usually are this season of the year, but as the season
advances they become larger. We frequently had
them in use from early in July to the middle of Sep-
tember. It is remarkable for its good bearing qualities
—it having failed but once in twelve years— that
being the summer of 1860. That year the fruit was
the size of peas, when it was cut off by unfavorable
weather. This year, it and Hubbardston Nonsuch
are the only kinds in an orchard of sixty varieties
that have a full crop of fruit. Habit of young trees
very upright, but slender branches, which Ijy the
heavy crops become drooping."

Jocelyn's Black Cap Raspberries. — Mr. Peck
has sent us some of this improved Black Cap, with
which we are much pleased. The berry is fully
twice the size of the common Black Cap, is more
fleshy, very productive, and has the full flavor pecu-
liar to the wild plant. The fruit has brought a good
price, and it may prove a valuable kind for market.
— Horticulturist.

Strawberries. — Concluding our call at Mr.
Downing' s with the trial of an excellent sample of
sparkling bottled cider, we proceeded perhaps two
miles farther along the Valley, passing through
Downingtown, to the farm of Dr. J. K. Eshleman,
President of the Fruit Grower's Society of Eastern
Pennsylvania. And here we may take occasion to
say that of all the various localities in which the
Wilson's Albany Strawberry has become a favorite
variety, we have never visited any where it seems
more completely to have cast all others into the
shade, than here in Chester County. Dr. E. could
raise five, if not ten times the quantity o fruit from
it, as from any other kind, with the same care and
on the same land ; he has tested sixty-two varie-
ties, so that he is qualified to speak, and out of them
all had determined to retain but three — Walker^ s,
which he prefers for his own taste, Burr's New Pine,
and the Wilson's Albany. Of the Wilson's Albany,
he had had twenty quarts from a bed cont lining
sixty and a half square feet; the first year after
planting it produces well, the second year still better,

^Q>y>-

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the third year about as much as the first, after which
new beds are formed. At the meeting of the Fruit
Grower's Association of Eastern Pennsylvania, in
June, 18G0, there were twenty-five votes given for
Wilson's Albany "for general culture," while the
highest received for any otlier sorts were eight votes
for Hovey, and seven each for Triomphe de Gand
and McAvoy's Superior. At the same session
Triomphe de Gand stood highest "for special or
amateur culture," having eleven votes, while Vi-
comptesse Hericart de Thury fcan't some ingenious
pomologist propose an abridgment of this formidable
name ? — how would Hericart answer alone, for ins-
tance ?) stood next, having ten votes. — Country
Gentleman.

DESCEirTION OF SOME NeWEU STRAWBERRIES.

— Bonle de Si. Julian. (^Carre. J Eaily, large, round,
very sweet, fine flavor, perfumed ; very productive.

Due de Malakoff, (Qloede.) Conical, very large,
often monstrous, deep scarlet, round or coxcomb,
firm, sweet, apricot flavor ; plant, vigorous, produc-
tive, superior for forcing; has weighed If ounces.

Empress Eu(/enie, fKnevett.J Monstrous berry,
has weighed 1^ to I5 ounces ; ovate or coxcomb,
deep glossy crimson, red fie. h, juicy, sweet, delight-
ful flavor, exquisitely perfumed ; vigorous, very
productive ; forces well.

EngUsk Lady^s Finger. Oblong form, orange
scarlet ; white flesh, sweet, high flavor, vigorous,
productive.

Jmperalrice Eugenie^ ("Gauthier.J Large, conical,
bright glossy roseate, handsome, firm, sweet, per-
fumed.

La Consiante, CJonghe.J Very perfect in all re-
spects; large, regular cone, brilliant scarlet, very
firm, sweet, perfumed, exquisite flavor ; ripens late ;
plant, dwarf, vigorous, very productive ; succeeds
in all soils and situations ; forces well.

La Dclicieuse, (fLovie.J) Large, round or flattened,
apricot color, yellowish flesh, very sweet, perfumed;
plant, vigorous, productive ; very late.

La Grosse Sucree, (De Jonghe.j) Large, oblong,
crimson at maturity; flesh, white, sohd, sweet,
highly perfumed ; vigorous, very productive ; quite
late.

La Sultane, fNicaise.) Magnificent fruit, large,
conical, often too seemingly united, brilliant scarlet,
glazed ; flesh, white, solid, juicy, sweet, highly
perfumed ; plant, very vigorous, productive.

3Jay Queen, ("Nicholson, j Very early, round,
rather large, pale scarlet, sweet, fine aroma, excel-
lent ; earliest of its class ; vigorous, productive ;
forces well.

3{rs. D. Neilson, (Stewart and Neilson.J Large,
variable in form, orange scarlet, juicy, sweet, high

flavor; plant, vigorous, productive; ripens very
late.

Napoleon III, CGloede.J Large, round or flat-
tened, bright roseate ; flesh, white, solid, sweet,
delicious flavor; plant, very vigorous and very
productive ; ripens late.

Oscar, CBradleyJ. Large, often monstrous,
rounded, flattened, sometimes coxcomb ; deep scar-
let, firm, very sweet, aromatic, exquisite flavor ;
plant, extremely vigorous and productive ; ripens
early, forces admirably.

Princess Fredeiick William, CNiven.J Earliest of
the pine family, rounded, coxcomb ; large size,
brilliant scarlet, solid, sweet, high flavor; very
vigorous, productive ; forces admirably.

Wizard of the North. Very large, variable form,
bright red, firm, sweet, high flavor; vigorous pro-
ductive.

Wonderful, ("Jeyes.J Large, oblong, flattened,
bright roseate, solid, sweet, fine flavor; plant, vig-
orous, very productive ; ripens late. — Wm. R. Prince,
Flushing, N. Y.

285

^OFFign iiirFiiigFRfF.

Varieties of Peach for Orcitard-Huuse Cul-
ture.— We should be much obliged to our friends if
they would report what varieties of fruit they find
best adapted to orchard-house culture ; very little
attention has been given to this subject in our coun-
try. When engaged, some years ago, in their culture,
the writer had Early York, Eliza, Druid Hill, George
the IV., and Early Newington amongst his most
successful kinds. A recent number of the Collage
Gardener says : —

A great deal of the success of the orchard -house
depends on getting the sorts adapted for that mode
of culture. For instance, those that make short
joints are prolific, such as the Grosse Mignonne, and
Galande peaches, Elruge, Violette Hative, Downton
and other nectarines ; but the Noblesse, George IV.,
and trees of that class, are too long in the joints and
of straggling growth. My best tree for this year is
a Downton nectarine on which there are a hundred
fruit well set, and most of them larger than a hazel
nut.

White Bouquet Flowers. — The Gardener's
Chronicle says : —

We see by a communication of M. Duchartre to
the Botanical Societj'^ of Paris that there is a great
demand lor White Lilacs for Ladies' Bouquets in
in Paris in winter, and that as the common White
Lilac will not force well and the flowers turn yellow,

Mc?

S

286

®h4 fykmf^ JHontMg.

If

M. Laurent Aine meets the demand by causing the
purp]e Lilacs de Marly to expand in perfect darkness
at a high temperature. This variety forces very
well, and thus treated produces flowers of a pure
white, which do not acquire any color if gathered
as soon as brought into light.

Forcing Chicory and Dandelion.- — Young
leaves of this are sometimes obtained in winter by
sowing thickly in pots in a hothouse, and cutting
the plants over as we do Mustard and Cress. A
nice blanched salad is obtained from roots either
stored or taken up as wanted in winter, the produce
of seeds sown in rows fifteen inches apart in May.
These packed with their heads uppermost in earth in
pots or boxes will furnish a good produce in any
dark place where the heat ranges from 40° to 50^.
Wiien much above the latter, the leaves get thin and
flaccid. When no dark place is accessible, fill a pot
cr box, and put another of the same size over it,
clapping some moss or clay putty between the pots,
and stopping up the hole to exclude light. Dande-
lions make a good substitute. I have been glad to
dig them up in severe winters. — Cot. Gar.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

Tlie stated meeting of the Pennsylvania Ilorticnltuial Society
for llie month of August was held at Concert Hall, on Tuesday
evening, the 20th ult.

Altliough, under the regulations of the Society, no formal com-
petitive displays are made at the midsummer meetings, yet, on this
occasion, some objects were exhibited in the liighest degree no;e-
woithy.

Jerome Graeff, gardener to George H. Stuart, Esq., presented the
Cyanophyllum magnificum, an oiuamental foliage plant of groat
beauty. The specimen shown, wh.ch is only six mouths old, was
in pei-fect liealth, higlily colored, and of a size unparalleled in the
exlrbitions of the Society. It was about four feet in height, and
the leaves measured three feet in lengtli and sixteen inches in
width. The Committee awarded Mr. GraeQ' a special premium
of five dollars, for the skill manifested in the successful culture of
tliis beautiful plant.

Mes-srs. P. Mackenzie & Son contributed a great novelty, the
yellow verbena "Welcome." The Hower is clear lemon yellow in
color, and has a perceptible, sprightly, yet delicate fragrancd. It
has never been in bloom before in this city.

Mr. Malheson, gardener to F. C. Yarnall, Esq., exhibited a bunch
of exotic graj- es, the White Muscat of Alexandria, weigliing nine
and a quarte. pounds. This noble specimeu, which has never
been equalled in any previous display, and which is probably the
largest clusicr of this variety ever recorded in the annals of grape
cuUure, was perfect in every respect. The berries were very large
and uniform in size, and of excellent flavor. This is only one out
of nine bunches on the same vine, the aggregate weight of which
is over fifty pounds, a product which has perhaps never before
been attained on a vine of the same age. Specimens of the folinge,
of large size, indicated the high health of the vine The special
premium of five dollars was riclily merited by Mr. Matheson, who
was requested by the Society to prepare an essay on his method of
grape culture, to be read at the next meeting. Mr. Matheson has,
this senson grown berries of the Black Hamburg measuring four
and a half inches in circumference.

J McLaughlin, gardener to J. B. Baxter, Esq., made a good dis-
play of pears and plums, mainly of the old favorite sorts, and
among ihem, a seedling pear, much resembling in shape and ap-
peaniuco the Doyenne Sieulle, and a seedling plum, similar to the
Blue Gage. We remarked, also, the Uwchlan Pear, a native Penn-

sylvania seedling, said to be of a very high quality. This collec-
tion received a premium of three dollars.

C. Ilarrnar, Esq., brought a specimen of the Julienne and of the
Schuylkill Pear, the latter a seedling resembling the Eeguier, of
excellent quality, raised in West Philadeljihia.

C. V. HaLTuer, Esq presented a branch of a plum tree, profusely
laden with fruit, entirely free from the puncture of the curculio,
which had received no treatment or attention whatever.

An interesting conversational discussion ensued upon ihe new
grape vine beetle, theMyochrous villosulus, the mildew on native
and foreign grape vines, the black knot on the plum, the curculio
and other kindred topics. The decoction of quassia, recommended
at the last meeting as a remedy for the myoclirous, has since been
tried by Mr. Saunders and found to be a most effectual preventive
of the thrip, preferable for its convenience and certainty to any
other.

It was stated, as the experience of the vine growers present gen-
erally, that mildew seldom, if ever, occnried on the exotic grape,
unless currents of bottom air were admitted to the vines, and they
united in recommending that no bottom ventilation be allowed,
and top air only be given to the vines.

An increasing iuteiest is manifested in these informal and in-
structive interchanges of opinion and experience.

List of Hoses,

Exh'bited by Henry A. Ureer, at the June meeting of the Penn-
sylvania Horticultural Society, June IS, 1801 :

Hydrid Pekpetu.\l Roses. -^Geant des Battailes, Madame Mais-
son, Oriflamme d' St. Louis, Dutchess d' Cambaceres, Theresa
Appert, Pius IX. Lord Raglan, Pauline Lansezeur, Cardinal Pa-
trizzi, Anguste Mie, Caroline de San.sal, Louise Perroney, La Keine,
Jacques Lafitte, Docteur Henon, William GriiKth, Maria Portemcr,
Queen Victoria, General Jacquimiuot.

Tea Ro.sks. — Devoniensis, Madam Bravay, Vicomte.sse des Cazes,
Lau,rette, Eugene Desgaches, Mad. BarriUett Deschamps, Mad.
Falcot, Madame \Villermoz, Canari, Cels.

BouRiioN Roses. — Marquis d' Balbiano, George Peabody, Aurora
d' Guide, Julia d' Fontenelle, Keveil, Omar Pasha, Jlad. iS'erard,
Docteur Berthet, Dupetit Thonars, Souvenir d' Malmaison.

At the previous Meeting of May 20th, P. Mackenzie & Son
exhibited:— Azalea variegata, A. Iveryaua, A. symmetry, A. Bar-
clayaua, A. Gladstane.^ii, A, Juliana, A. Beauty of Europe, A. Rho-
dodendroides, A. Perryana, A. Lateritia, A. Conqueror, A. Mait-
landi, A. Eulalie Van Oeert, Coleus Blumeii, Escallouia macraniha,
Cytissus racemosus, Tetratheca Hugelii, T. verticillata, Toreuia
Asiatica, Double Crimson Primrose, Allamauda neriifoUa, Dracoena
nobilis, Maranta. pertiana(New>, Fuchsia Guiding Star, F. Diadem
of Flora, F. fol. variegata, Lechenaultia formosa, tieianium
Amazon, G. Painted Lady (new), Uibbertia Reidii, Caladium argy-
ritos, C. Chantini, C. bicolor picturata, Campylabotrys discolor,
Alyssuin saxatile, Linum candidisslmum White (ntw), Gardenia
radlcans major {new), Verbena eclectra (new), V. Salladin (tievj).
Lychnis Haageana(7ie'(«), Cuplieaminiata(rieio),Gazania splendens
(nev:), Aralia papyrifera {7ieio) t/ie V/iinese Paper Plant, Gesueria
densifl .ra [neiv).

AMERICAN INSTITUTE FARMERS' CLUB.

At the meeting of the American Institute Farmers'Club, June
24th, at New York, Andrew S. Fuller, Nurseryman, Bro.iktyn, ex-
hibited a number of his new '•eedliug strawberries and the com-
mittee appointed at the last meeting, cousisfing of Wm S. Carpen-
ter, L. A. lioberts, and Peter B. Mead, made the tbllowing report:

"We have been much asshstpd in forming a correct and reliable
opinion, as Mr. Fuller has growing, beside his seedlings, and re-
ceiving the same cire and cultivation the following popular
varieties: Wilson, Hooker, Boston Pine, Jenny Lind, Triomphe
de Gaud, Oscar, La Constaute, Wonderful, Wizard of the Aorth,
and many others, enabling the committee to compare his seedlings
with these. From the great number of seedlings, comprising
many thousand plants, 100 kinds might be selected, none of which
would be inferior to some of the varieties now propagated lor this
market; yet the committee believe that the number now in culti-
vation should be reduced. A selection of six varieties would be a
sufficient number to furnish a succes.siou of fruit. 'J'his select list
of varieties should be adapled to general cultivation. With all
the boasted success with new and improved seedlings, there seems
to have been little progre.-(s made toward completing such a list;
the Committee can name but two varieties, the Wilson and Tri-
omphe de Gand, that they could recommend for general cultivation,
and the first of these is considered by some far from being perfect.
The great effort now beinj, made to ameliorate the condition of
this fruit must result in the production of greatly improved varie-
ties, and the committee ho|ie Mr. Fuller will feel encouraged from
his past success to perseveie uutil he has accomplished his de.sire,
viz: the production of a per. ect strawberry. The committee feel
the responsibility of recommending new varieties that have been
tried but one or two years. Many of the new seedlings that have
lately been introduced have been overrated, and they would cau-
tion the public against purchasing any new variety without its
first having been tested by responsible parties, for at least three
years; for the true character of a strawberiy cannot be established

in less time than this. They trust Mr. Fuller will not allow his
seedlings to be disseminated this year, but let their merits be
fcstiililislied by anolher year's trial; but this Club appoint another
committee ■n-lio will test their value and report after another year's
fruiting, we shall then have something; reliable, and public contl-
deiice will he established In testing Mr. Fuller's seedlings, the
committee adopted the followini; requisite to entitle a variety to
consideration: Large size, good flavor, high color, firm and solid,
great productiveness, foot stalks well up, und good foliaga. The
con\mittee believe that the following six varieties possess, in
a ,1,'roater degree, the foregoing properties than any other kinds
they are acquainted with. Tl ey name the following seed-
lings in their order of excellence, using the numbers heretofore
affixed.

No. ;') is named by the committee, Farmers' Club, is of the
largest size, flavor very good, color a beautiful glossy crimson,
fle^h dark pink, solid, firm, foliage good, footstalks well up, very
productive, staminate or perfect flower, seedling of the Wilson,
first year's fruiting, very promising of being well worthy of culti-
vation.

No. ."iS, named Brooklyn Scarlet; size large, flavor best, color
brilliant scarlet, shape long, pointed cone, solid, firm, very pro-
ductive, foliage good, footstalks well up, perfect flower, fruited
two years, and shows no deterioration.

No. 20, named at the suggestion of Solon Robinson, was Col.
Ellsworth ; size very large, oblong, irregular cone, with neck,
cohir dark crimson, flavor good, solid, flesh dark pink, ripens
early, foliage good, footstalks well up, as productive as the Wilson,
perfect flower, fruited two years, very promising, seedling of Pea-
body's seedling, and remarkable fine berry.

No. 42, named Great Eastern; e.xtra large, brilliant scarlet
flower, good, solid, tolei-ably firm, very productive, foliage good,
footstalks well up, perfect flower, fruited two years The com-
mittee believe thii. to be one of the largest berries in cultivation.

No. 7, named Kidgewood ; size large, flavor best, color dark
crimson, solid, tolerably firm, very productive, foliage good, foot-
stalks well up, perfect flower, fruited two yeai-s, promises well.

Jf>o. .S4, named by committee Nero: very large, color dark glossy
maroou, seeds yellow and very prominent, solid, very firm, and
dark tliroughout, very pi-olific, flavor very gnod, foliage good,
footstalks medium, pistillate fruited two years, promises well.

The following varieties, seedlings of 1860, Nos 1, 12, 22, 4i5, 4.3,
and .i6, the committee consider very promising, and recommend
another year's trial. No. 14, though this year not of the largest
size, maintains its productive character, and for flavor is not
equalled by any berry in Mr. Fuller's collection. The variety re-
ported last year as the unifolia, has this year, in a great measure,
lost its specific character; and it may be considered more curious
than useful.

After considerable discussion, and a full examination of speci-
mens of the fruit, the report was heartily acceiited by all the mem-
bers of the Club, and at the suggestion of Mr. Pardee, the same
committee were requested to hold the subject in charge, and re-
port their opinion of the same sorts next year. It was also sug-
gested to Mr. Fuller not to send out any plants of these new sorts
until he has given them the test of time to prove them worthy of
cultivation.

*•<»**'

CINCINNATI HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

Saturday, Aug-ust 3, 1861.

Tlie Society met this morning, John H. Gerard, Esq., in the
Chiir. Minutes of the previous meeting read and approved.

Upon motion of Mr Addis, Messrs. John P. Foster, Robert Bu-
chanan and E. P. Cranch were appointed a committee to prepare
a. suitable paper upon the life and horticultural history of Peyton
S. isymmes, Esq., recently deceased.

PAPER ON VITAL FORCES IN PLANTS.

The Secretary then read the following paper :

CiNCi.NN-ATl, 0., March 7. 1S6I.

D. B. Peirsox, Esq. — Dear Sir : Agreeable to your request for a
subject for the consideration of yourself and your horticultural
friends, I will suggest that of Motion, or the Vital Force in Vege-
tation. Much is said by our writers about proper niUrition for
plants, while that which is equally as important is bare'y hinted
at, as though to teach it would produce ridicule from those pro-
fessing to comprehend all that may ever be known on the subject.
Vital force, or motive ^'ncer, is one thing, and food rund". nutri-
tiou-s for plants by chemical action, is another thing However
nutritious the food may be of itself, it is in a static condition, and
cannot be transferred to the plant, or tree, against gravity, unless
by some adequate force; mere heat can't move it, while heat may
cause fluidity jiud elasticity. Electricity is used to transfer metals
in galvanizing, and as a motive power to machinery, and is douht-
le.is our nerve power, or vital physical principle, derived by com-
bustion of our food and air in our lungs, instead of oxygen, as we
are taught, which is merely the healing principle of our natures,
instead of vital principle.

1 will refer yon to Patent Office Reports for 184t, pages .36S-.371,
for interesting experiments in electricity quickening growth of

different vegetables. Browne's American Muck Book, page 13,
briefly refers to them. We know that the electrical condition of
any matter is affected by any change of its density or composition.
That chemical action or decomposition sets free latent electricity;
that the stirring of the earth by plowing, giving the air and sun
access to the decomposable matter of the soil, produces some
change, and promotes electric currents ; the earth and atmosphere
being in different electric conditions, and the sap being a good
conductor, electricity flows and conveys the food prepared by
chemical action to where it is needed. Unless this is so, why, in
said experiments, did the vegetables grow so much faster? The
ground was not made the richer by the electrical arrangement.
Was it not because there was additional labor performed in sup-
plying the increa.se nutriment, as iu increasing the labor of carry-
ing the bricks for expediting the completion of a building ?

May not Leibig unconsciou-xly derive this motive power by tho
use of his mineral manures? May not there be greater chemical
action, thence greater release of electricity in the ground, when
mineral manures are used, especially if comported with animal
and vegetable manures? Will not the variety oi composition of
such a compost inten.iify chemical action, promoted by the rains,
soil, sun and air, and thus furnish to vegetation an incrfi.aced mo-
tive power, to convey t\\& increased nutrition to plants. If so,
then it is a question to consider in connection with greater produc-
tion and vitality of trees to resist disease.

It is a common thing to hear of peach trees living and bearing
forty or sixty years on the high iron lands of Ohio ami Indiana.
Doubtless, elevation of position has something to do with bearing,
while the iron has much to do with the health of the tree and their,
age. Many will say new ground is the best, because of its greater
supply of nutriment. I will say, because of the decay of that nu-
triment, creating greater vital activity, without which nutriment
would be of no use.

Field's Pear Culture refers to use of iron for pear trees.

Nails and iron have been used to save peach trees.

George Graham, Esq., has used iron on pear trees to cure blight.
Why ? unless becau.se of the electricity generated by the oxidation
of the iron, and its being taken up by the sap — as in case of our
blood — as a tonic.

I. C. Ferris informs me that he knew of two large pe.ar trees
cured of the blight by being struck by lightning.

Electricity pervades all matter, and that matter cannot be
changed and retain its latent electricity.

Read Cornhill Exchange, London, of Robert Clarke, Cincinnati,
1860, p. 1G7, &c., " Why we Grow," and you will find that life is
given out by decaying matter to living matter, loss and gain con-
stantly goin on, one equivalent to the other.

P. ir)7. — "But according to the view which I now propose, de-
composition is ueces.sary to develope the force by which organiza-
tion of food or nutrition is eftected, and by which the various
purely animal functions are carried on; that decomposition not
only creates the necessity, but at the same time furnishes the
force of recomposition." What is this force ? is the question.

Leibig's Complete W rks on Chemi-strj', last chapter, pp. 24-38,
on chemical processes and change of place as aflTected by electrici-
ty—-see.

Without being lengthy, many works on electricity uiay be re-
ferred to, showing it to be the silent mechanic at work for us
while we are asleep, building up for us our food, Ac, its power de-
pending on the intensity of chemical action going on in the soil,
arising from diversity of elements of soil, as acids, alkalies, animal,
vegetable, mineral manures, nature of the soil, its condition of
moisture and porosity, air, sun, heat and frequency of atirring,
and the application of this power to what we wish to cultivate,
depending on the ground being free of weeds, &c., which will
equa.lly appropriate this mechanical pover.

Ifin the above experiments referred to, there hart been weeds
permitted to appropriate a portion of the power developed by tho
decomposition of the metals u.sed, there would have been less
growth of that cultivated. A certain extent of electricity devel-
oped naturally or artificially, is essential for a given growth, and
if that electricity is partly appropriated to something else, the
poioer being divided, the aggregate growth of the two is but equal
to what the one should be ; hence the necessity of clean gi-ounds,
well stirred, enriclied with a variety of manures to favor the
greatest, chemical a ct.ion, and development of the greatest amount
of mechanical power. If tln'se crude, ill-digested, hasty ideas
should prove to be true, on being investigated by competent horti-
culturists and agriculturists, they should be prepared for the
press. Nutririie.vt is one thing, and the motive jnnoer to transfer
it another. A child might starve if its mother should refuse to
carry its food to it. The food would spoil before conveyed, if the
child must come to it. The tree must be supplied ; neither ^;•w nor
/ooff can move of themselves. Nature has furnished in the /ood
itself, during its preparation, its motive power.

You have .scientific associates who would probably he glad to
make some experiments showing that the same soil may be made
to produce much more largely hy increasing the proebiction oi
the motive power. It can -'odone in a hothouse at a small outlay.

We have valuable manures thrown away in the city, worth
more than would support our poor and needy. Ashes, gypsum,
blo.d and tank refuse, if dried and ground with bones, is as good
as guano, hoofs, hair, lime, charcoal and annual black night soil.

?'

288

®lie Olnrdnifr's (lllanthls

&c., &c., and their n^e effective if above suggestions are true. —
Irou (lyrites can be had cheap.

Nature has bourtifiilly sapplied us witii all s'orts of nutriment
as well as the toorkiny power to comhine and rc-nrTungf matter.
C'o»t/r»c< is essential to promote chemical action; heuce, neces.sity
of frequent ly stirring the Soil, to allow new air, new sUQ-lie.it and
light, promotive of chemical action in soil, from whicli the mutive
power is deriv.'d; while nature furnishes chemical HCtion in the
leave.s of vrgctatiou, by the action of the sun on the sap in the
leaves, and the friction of the winds yiel ing electricity of he
air; the atmo-spliere iti its electrical condition, differing from that
of the eartli, begets the negative and positive action sullicient tj
overcome tlie gravity and transfer matter to where needi-d.

We see the supeiior progress and civilization of our day arises
from the subjection of physical laws to mental ones, as m ihe em-
ployment of steam power for stationary and moveable machinery,
chemistry, electricity, <fec.

Jiuch has bpeu said relative to the food of vegetation, while
but little is thought and said about these silent means, or -mftcAafji-
ciil principles quv-tly at work in furnishing us food. If this mat-
ter is put in the hands of really competent scientific muds, dis-
posed and able to give it that attention the subject deserves, good
may be derived. Great vitality promotes health and resists dis-
ease in our animal systems, and so may vitality in vi-getation
promot'- health. Nuw grounds, having the unexhausted elements
as iron, salts, &c., do make better trees. There aie lucilities
where trees are long-lived and healthy, where the essential
elements may pertain to the ?oil, and which may illustiate my
tbiiughts. Decay of any manures, m soil, necessarily leleases elec-
triciiy, while it is desirable that there should be mineral manures
for greater power and continuance: hence, the necessity of know-
ing contents of Ihe soil. The condition of the ground materi-
ally allects the supjiiy of vegetation, with whatever there is of
nulriiiieut in the soil ; if the ground is hard and weedy, "V grassy,
but little luiitive power can be secured, and thrd tittle no siiIkH-
vided with that which is uselesis, that that which is cultivated
cannot be liuitt up.

Take a microsco|)e and examine the operations of nature in
regard to mntiim during change of properties of matters; mash
seed and aciduated water on it, on a glass under a miciosc 'pe, aud
observe the varied motions under the electrical dislurbances
going ou; mere absorption of that water enuld not beget such
action or recombination. The experiment will be sug e»tive of
many others. I have very hastily, of a niglit, and with mt any
attempt to systematize ideas or to do it creditable to myself, or the
8 .bject. just penned my thoughts as presented as mere suggestions
to those more competent; nor have I time, nor ability, to do the
subject justice, and 1 ile.sire others should consider the matter im
its o'on merits without re,i;aid to the source of these sugj-'estions.

Many residents of the country could afford to di-aiu lOU feet
square, for garden grounds, with cheap iron pipes, and connect
them with a galvanic battery, continually working duriiij; tlie
growing seasou, materially allecting the growth of vegetation; if
the experiments referred to are reliable — the ground being drained,
becomes more porous, the air and life promoting greater chemical
action, and hence, a greater supply'of the motive powei.

Life must be preceded by the dissolution ot mutter of various
kinds. By means of telegraphic machinery, operated liy cUcirici-
ty.as released from the decompo.sing metals, we are in union with
the world: and was it not for this power, it is doubtful it chemical
action could be secured, and if it could be, it is doubtful if, with
air the nutriment of the soil. Vegetation would, what we can
grow, for want of a power to br.ng together the various elements
comjiosing our food. If these ideas are correct, we should seek a
nwve familiar acquaintance with so ingenious and .so good a me-
chanic, unceasingly employed in supplying our wants. But few,
however, ate prejiarcd to think that such a universal mechanic
exists, because but little known. We introduce the gentleman,
as worthy of our gratitude and highest esteem, and don't doubt
but he will treat the most humble, in seeking his acquaintance,
in accordance with his known liberality.

" Leibig" is right in claming use of minerals and other vegetable
manures, but neither have seen the above philosophy Jlinerals,
by creating greater vitality, economise what little nutriment there
may be in soil naturally.

Capillary attraction in dead and living vegetatation may be
very different. The simple ad/jesion of fluids to sides ot capilla-
ries in rfe«(;i!matter,will overcome but a slight amouutof gravity, the
Bides of the capillaries jtirodaS/y having lost their cou tractile organs
andtenac.ty for electricity or conducting power. Thelivingcapilla-
riesare probably cn.linyed with slight contractile organs and powers
of conducting electricity, there being a perfect connection between
the roots in ground aud leaves in the air, by capillaries, to hold and
conduct the s.ap to the leaves, where it is elaborated. The chemi-
cal action, during change, disturbing the electric condition of the
ascending and de.-cending capillaries, one being negative and the
other positive, draws up the sap against gravity, and allows the
elaborated sap to be operated on by gravity, and descends. On
severing these capillaries, the sap flows down, because the capilla-
ries above the wound have lost the electrical condition resulting
from a perfect connection of the negative aud positive capillaries or
nerves attending each. Hence, a loss of the mechanical power of
drawing up the sap; the positive electricity adhering to sides of

ascending capillaries, attracting each drop of the sap, and overcom-
ing gravity, operating on the aggregate weight of the minute
column.

No such a column of fluid can ascend a dead capillary. The oil
' ceases to ascend a wick as soon as the combustion ceases, and it is
doi.btful if the electricity constantly evolved during combustion
does not materially promote the ascent of the fluid. A fluid will
, ri.se to the upper end of a short wick or tube, but will not flow
' over, unle.ss the end be bent downward, forming a syphon, the
descending liquid drawing up the liquid. Some other power must
be >een to account for ascending sap in trees, than mere capillary
attraction, or mere adhesion to sides of capillaries. There is no
analogy between the limited ascent of a fluid in a dead tube, and
the great height of ascent in living tubes. While fluids will rise
many feet in a living tree, let that tree be severed from the earth
and die, and then its dead roots placed in water, and a fluid would
not rise in it the twentieth extent of its length, showing some living
or vital principle at work, attracting upward the sap. There is a
power of attraction as well as repulsion; heat radiates because
attracted, and thus diffuses and equalizes. So electricity, by vir-
tue of its release during chemical action in the soil, is active in the
earth, and also in leaves of trees, the two being connected by nerves,
or theconducting power of the capillaries. Tho.se disputing the theory
of attractive power of electricity, thus generated, accounting for
capillary attraction, should explain why sap will spill out when
capillaries are cut, and electric connection between earth and leaves
severed. If mere capillary attraction must account for ascent nf
sap, then dead pieces of trees, or fresh cut parts of trees, would
equally suck up the sap. Wy proposition is sustained by expe-
rience.

lilongiited cells, or tubes, or capillaries, have a mechanical form,
the same as our blood-ve.s.sels, to serve as canals to convey fluids from
whicli the plant is built up; and while they thus serve such a pur-
pose, we must look elsewlure lor thenioiiw^oMerto the movements
of the sap. As yet but little is known of this motive power in
plants and animals. We do know that in every change of density
of matter, or chemical change, electricity is disturbed and flows, or
is released, and seeks to be industrious in promoting new ar-
rangements, by carrying matter subject to certain laws in recom-
bining. It is not unlikely that the living tubes or capillaries,
formed of cells elongated, have a kind of valves, alternately con-
tracting by electric excitement, forcing upward the sap, which
Valves, could they be laid open under microscope, could be seen; if
not, then the tenacity of sap, adhering to sides of tubes, must arise
fioni the perfect electric condition and connection between roots
and leaves.

Motion presupposes something more than mere mechanical
form. Our physical systems are powerful galvanic batteries,
"manufacturing the life force, or vital physical principle, during
combu.'^tion of air and carbon in lungs and chemical action of food
in stomach ; the heart between the two, positive and negative con-
ditions, derives its force of piopulsion of blood through our arteries
aud veins, from the attractive forces of the two electricities. The
mechanical form of tubes may remain, and yet no action or motion
can go on within them ; there must be life derived from death, the
release of the bound up living principle In dead matter, by its
chemical decomposition, and if there is no chemical change going
on, no life force can be secured; hence, the force of my projiosition,
that ground must be frequently stirred up to let in light and heat,
and aiding contact of varied m.anures or earthy matter, promotive
or chemical action, an essential pre-requisite, to secure life and
force, and when thus secured, not allowing that life force to be
directed from that which is being cultivated to weeds, Ac. This
developed mechanical power must be directed only to that we cul-
tivate, and extent of crop depends on extent develnjied of this life
force, and to secure it largely we must furnish the soil with diverse
manures, especially mineral manures, as furni.shing more of life
force, to work up the nutriment from animal and vegetable manures.
The greater the diversity of manures the greater the chemical ac-
tion, provided contact is promoted by frequent stirring and letting
in light and heat of sun.

On motion, this paper was made the subject of discussion next
Saturday.

FRUIT COMMITTEE'S REPORT, SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 1S61.

Peaches — From George L. Smith, Warren county, Ohio ; un-
known ; not I'ipe.

Plums — From P. Bu.sh, of Covington, Kentucky, with the follow-
ing notice: "We think them to be the Duane's Purple — he calls
them the Emperor. Your committee render this opinion with
hesitancy, having neither leaves nor shoots to aid in their identifi-
cation of the variety, but the stone reminds us of the Duane."

" The tree from which these plums were pulled, grows over a
cistern, from which water is frequently drawn, and the limbs are
so heavily loaded that I had to relieve them of their burden. I
had one measuring three-quarters of an inch in circumference.

" The curculio have not disturbed them, nor indeed any of my
fruit, to any extent."

Peaches from L. Oakley, Kentucky, Crawford's Early, and
Troth's Early, handsome specimens.

Report approved. J. A. Wardek, Chairman.

On motion, the Society then adjourned.

Geo. L. Frankenstein, Secretary.

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DEVOTED TO

lOFfirEfhrp, SFkrirulfiirp, Po!spg % jjiurel 2Sfkiis.

THOMAS MEEHAW, Editor.

OCTOBER, 1861.

VOL. III.--NO. 10.

FLOWER-GARDEN AND PLEASURE-
GROUND.

A FRIEND remarked to us after the issue of our
last number, that it was very discouraging to be told
that ten per cent, on the original outlay should be
the estimated cost of maintaining a place after its
completion. He thought if that were generally
known, it would prevent many from entering on
country life. "My place," said he, " cost me about
^20,000, and I should be sorry to believe that I had
to spend $2000 annually to maintain it in decent
order." As our friend's place embraces but five
acres, we were surpiised at the cost, but found he
included Ms house in the sum named. Allusion is
again made to the subject as other parties may
have misunderstood our remarks. We referred
simply to the garden and its embellishments. Those
few places in the Union that have had $20,000 spent
on pure gardening, will not find $2000 too high an
estimate for their annual maintenance, and never
ought to find, in that fact, any discouragement.

From remarks made by other friends, we learn
that the observations offered on this subject have
attracted considerable attention. We are pleased
that they have done so. Gardening suffers no
greater injury from any source than from parties
who go ignorantly into its pursuit ; and we can do
both it and the citizen proposing to go into the coun-
try, no greater favor than to show plainly what
gardening costs, as well as indicate the various ways
in which pleasure may be derived from it.

Planting of spring bulbs, tulips, hyacinths, crocus,
snowdrops, frittilarias, lillies, &c., and the trans-
planting of shrubs, and division of herbaceous
plants, will occupy chief attention in October. All

herbaceous plants are much better for being pro-
tected through winter by a covering of dry leaves,
on which a little soil is thrown to keep the leaves
from blowing away. Half-hardy roses and vines
may be protected in the same way. When they are
very long and slender, they are taken down from
their trellises, and coiled into circles as small as may
be, without risk of breaking them, and then the soil
put on. Those things that grow late, such as many
kinds of Noisette Roses, should have their inmature
top shoots shortened a few weeks before the protect-
ing process is commenced. The wound will then
heal over, and not cause the decay of the upper portion
of the shoots, as is very often the case when they
are either cut at laying down, or not shortened at
all.

Of course, those roots that suffer by frost, should
be taken up before danger. Gladiolus, Madeira vines,
dahlias, tuberoses, &c., for instance.

Towards the end of the month almost all kinds of
tree seeds may be sown, except pines, imless there
is any danger from mice or other vermin. It is, on
the whole, best as soon as the seeds are at hand, to
place them in boxes Avith more than an equal bulk of
sand, and set them out to the weather to freeze. They
must be sown out in the spring as early as the ground
will work. Some seeds will not germinate till the
second year. If they do not appear early in the
season, they should be examined to see if the kernels
are sound, and if so, they should not be disturbed.
Many seeds that usually come up the season after
sowing, will not do so if the shells are allowed to
dry and harden first. Cherries, peaches, and most
fruits, will often lie so, and halesias, roses and thorns,
occasionally stay three years. Seed-beds should be
selected in a deep, warm and rich soil; and one
tolerably free from the seeds of weeds, — on any
other it will not pay to raise seedlings. In States
where the frosts are severe, see:llings of all kinds that
have not attained a greater height than six inches,
should be taken up, "laid in" in a sheltered place
thickly, and covered with any thing that will keep
frozen through the winter. If left out, they are
liable to be drawn out and destroyed. Young seed-
ling stock received from a distance, should be also

r^^-

290

M^ §m\mtf% ^tontlilg.

so treated. In the more Southern States they may
be set out at once, — and as much planting as possi-
ble be accomijlished that will save spring work.
Many cuttings will not do well unless taken off at
this season and laid in the ground under protection,
like seedlings,- — the quince, syringas or lilacs, spiroea
jjrunifolia, and some others. In the "mild winter
States," evergreen cuttings should be made now,
and set out thickly in rows. The leaves need not
be taken off, but short, thickset branches laid in under
the soil. When rooted next fall they may be taken
up and divided into separate plants. In more North-
ern States, evergreens may not be so struck at this
season, unless protected by greenhouses and frames.
Where these are at hand, evergreens may be put in,
in boxes or pans all through the winter.

GREENHOUSE.

We entered so fully into this department last
month, in anticipation of winter, that we can add
little now. As soon as the cold weather actually
arrives, it will be the most interesting of all the
branches of gardening. With but a single pane of
glass dividing the tropical from the arctic zone, and
yet so securely repressing the antagonism of each,
we hardly know how any one can forego a green-
house on some scale or other. If means can-
not be commanded for even a small greenhouse, in
these days, when improvements have enabled us to
so cheaply construct them, at least a glass case with
its ferns and leaf plants, will not be out of the
question.

We shall have more to say on this head next

month.

«»■«»

TOnClNG FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

We have before took occasion to express surprize
that this department of gardening did not receive
more attention. The past volume of our journal
has contained many instructive articles from con-
tributors, and other valuable hints on cheap and
easy modes of advancing crops, that will, doubtless,
be referred to at this season, and preparations be
made for adopting or testing them, — whether as a
source of pleasure or profit, it is an equally delight-
ful occupation, and we should like to see a greater
enthusiasm exhibited in its behalf

Potatoes, peas, beans, cauliflower, radishes, let-
tuces, tomatoes, asparagus, rhubarb and parsley, are
the chief vegetables usually forced ; and, among fruits,
the apricot, cherry, fig, grape, nectarine, peach, plum
and i^iue.

Grapes every one wishes to grow. For early
forcing, they are best grown in pots, that is, where
fire heat is used; when a "cold grapery" is em-

ployed to produce them, they are usually grown in
the open ground. This is a good season to prepare
for the latter modo. of culture, so as to have every
thing ready to plant out the vines next spring.
Houses can now be constructed from one to three
dollars per running foot, and capable of growing
grapes to perfection, and, in many places, from fifty
cents to one dollar a pound can be very readily ob-
tained for the fruit. The borders for the vines need
not be expensive. A dry bottom is essential, which
must be obtained either by draining, or, what
is better, elevating the border above the surrounding
soil. A very durable aud substantial border may be
made by taking out the soil two and a half feet deep,
and filling in with bones and broken stone, lumps of
charcoal, brickbats, or any coarse material, to the
depth of one foot, then filling in the remainder three
inches deep with sods from an old pasture, to which
about a third of well decomposed cow or horse
manure has been added. The border may extend
under the vinery, and some ten or fifteen feet beyond.
Pot vines are usually fruited the year following that
in which they are raised. Plants struck last spring,
and grown all summer, will now be ready, either to
jnit away till wanteil in spring, or started at once,
where sufficient heat is at command. They should
be at once pruned to the desired length, usually
about six feet, the laterals taken off, the canes
painted with a mixture of sulphur and soap, to de-
stroy insects; and those not just now required
either put into a cellar or shed, secure from frost to
avoid danger to the pots. Those desired to fruit
early, should be at once placed in a temperature of
55 to 60 degrees, and the canes bent down to aid in
causing all the buds to burst equally. This, however,
depends on the condition of the cane itself. A vine
with badly developed buds will not break well, no
matter how well managed. The buds will only
swell under the above temperature ; but it is not
well to start with much heat.

In a house of this character, the fig may also be
started at the same time, and the pine grow very
Avell. The other fruits named will not do so well
started with these, unless in the hands of greatly ex-
perienced gardeners, as the heat necessary to ripen
the grapes so early, is too much for them. Dwarf
beans, tomatoes and cucumbers, would, however,
do very well. These may be sown at once for this
purpose. Peaches, nectarines and apricots, do pretty
well planted at the back wall of vineries, and es-
pecially do they do well in tubs and pots. For the
latter mode it is best to grow them one season
before forcing, as better and handsomer specimens
can be made from one year grafted plants. Now is
the time to select those that we may desire to force
the next spring. They should be lifted and potted

Ik

6V:5

Si

very carefully, and afterwards placed iu a cool cellar
till February. Those that were potted last spring,
and have a good growth, and are established suffi-
cient to warrant an early forcing, may at once be
started in a heat of from 45 to 50 degrees, and the
heat increased to 55 deg. in the course of a few
weeks. They should be previously cleaned, as al-
readj^ recommended, for grapes. Plums and cherries
do not do very well forced. The difficulty is in get-
ting them to ripeij Avell. The writer has had the
best success when started with peaches at this time.
Strawberries force easier than any fruit, and cer-
tainly, when gone into properly, will pay even
bet'er than grapes. They may be had all the year
round when a heat of 60 deg. can be maintained,
simply by bringing forward a few every two weeks.
The pots of plants should be prepared in September,
six-inch size being employed. They should be
started in a heat of 50 deg. , till the flowers are set,
and ripened in one of 60 degrees. They must be
kept near the glass, and the red spider carefully
watched. Those who have not command of heat,
may have them very early by potting good plants,
keeping them in a moderately dry place till Feb-
ruary, and then setting them in frames. A house
fitted for strawberry forcing, is just the place to
force asparagus, rhubarb, radishes, peas and potatoes,
which do not do well with much heat. Any of
these may be started now either in pits or boxes.
Peas are scarcely worth forcing, except as a luxury.
They will not bear freely unless very near the light.
A cauliflower pit should be in every garden, where
leaves or manure can be had. Radishes and lettuce
can be forced at the same time, and will be in use
before the cauliflower grows in their way. Pits of
stone or brick, about six feet under, and one to two
above the ground, are usually employed, with glass
sashes over. The leaves should be tilled in as earlj^
as possible, so as to get their most violent heating
over, before the plants arc set out. A watering as
they are filled in assists this, which may be known
to be efl"ected by the sinking it exhibits. It is im-
portant to have the plants set as near the glass as
possible ; a few more leaves should, therefore, be
added before the six inches of soil required is placed
on. The plants, sown in September, should be
planted fifteen inches apart, and lettuce and radishes
may be sown broad-cast between. Asparagus, rhu-
barb and parsley, are prepared by taking up the old

roots at this season.

«««»•* ■

Ax Old Turtle. — Paoli Lathrop, of South Had-
ley, has had the same marked turtle visit his garden
for thirty successive years. The only trouble he
makes is to taste the cucumbers. — Country Qentle-

raan.

(Jommuntrflfions*

INJURIOUS INSECTS.

BY S. S. RATHVON.
[Continued from Page 266.]

n—!$

Larva. Pupa. Imago.

11, 12, 12a, PROCRIS AMERICANA.
13,. 14, 15, EPILACnNA BOREALIS.

Pi ocris Americana. Fig. 11. Length, about three-
eighths of an inch ; expansion of the wings, a httle
more than three-quarters of an inch ; color, blue-
black, except the orange band around the anterior
margin of the thorax; wings, narrow; antennse,
pectinated, and the abdomen terminated by a broad
downy tuft. Fig. 12 is the larva ; a yellowish cater-
pillar with sixteen feet, rather slender and cylindri-
cal, and with a transverse row of small black vel-
vety tufts on each segment. These insects are found
in colonies on the grape-vine, arranged side by side,
in the months o'" July and August, and sometimes
do a great deal of injury to them, by despoiling
them of their leaves at the time when they, perhaps
are the most needed. The caterpillar, when mature,
is about three-quarters of an inch in length, and
then seeks some unexposed place, where it spins
itself into a sort of coarse coccoon previous to its
coming forth a perfect moth. The specimen now
before me was obtained on the first of August.
From one to three broods is the produce of each
season, according to the latitude of the locality.
When these larvae are touched, they all immediately
curl their bodies sidewise, and sometimes fall to the
ground, if they do not suspend themselves by a
silken cord. All the former insects that I have been
treating of as injurious to the grape-vine, belong to

W%r^

k

292

©^4 ^Hriunur's ,p;Dnt[jlg,

'I?

the order Coleoptera, but this latter one belongs to
the order Lepidoptera. There is also a species of
Tenlhredo, a Hymenopterous insect that feeds upon the
grape-vine in the larva state, and which nearly ap-
proximates to the larva of the Procris in appearance ;
yet a little observation will be sufficient to distin-
guish them. When the larvaj of Lepidopierous insects
are in a state of rest, — that is, the leaf-eating kinds,
— they hold fast with the prolegs and raise up the
front part of the body, to which the true or pectoral
legs are attached; because the prolegs are better
instruments of prehension, being each one sur-
rounded with a little cornet of hooks turning in-
ward. The contrary is the case with the leaf-eating
larvPB of the order Hymenoptera ; for their prolegs
not being instruments of prehension, but only in-
struments of support, they therefore hold fast with
the pectoral legs and throw up the hind part of the
body when they are in a state of rest.

Besides one species of Lepidoptera that resembles
the peach-tree borer, and at least three species of
Homoptera, that attack the stem and trunk of the
grape-vine, Dr. Asa Fitch enumerates at least twenty
species of Himplera and Homoptera that attack the
leaves^ and also ten species of Lepidoptera, seven spe-
cies of Coleopfera, and three or four species of Or-
thoptera that attack the same parts of the vine. 1
cannot in this paper even mention the names of the
different species of these, much less give their his-
tory. Amidst this host of enemies the grape-vine
would have to run a fearful gauntlet, if other con-
tingencies did not occasionally intervene, in order
to check their too rapid increase. Manj^ of those
referred to by Dr. Fitch are inconspicuous, and
others infest particular localities. I have only no-
ticed a few of the most prominent ones. Before
concluding this appendix, I must present the de-
structive Coccinellan, or lady-bird, to which I alluded
in some former remarks, made at West Chester in
June last. Coccinella epilachna borealis, Thr. Fig.
13. Length, from a quarter to three-eighths of an
inch ; tortoise-shaped ; color, ochrey -yellow ; seven
black spots on each wing-cover, three at the base,
three intermediate and one near the apex ; four black
spots on the thorax, one in the middle near the
scutum and one on the anterior margin immediately
opposite, and one on each side near the lateral mar-
gin ; eyes, dark brown ; legs, yellow, underneath
the abdomen brown. This insect, when taken,
discharges a globule of limpid yellow liquid of a very
disagreeable vegetable odor.

Fig. 14, Larva. Length, three-eighths of an
inch ; color, a bright gamboge-yellow ; six yellow
pectoral legs, tipped with brown, and terminating
with a single black hook ; no prolegs ; body divided
into a head, eleven segments with blick branching

spines standing erect, and a dark orange caudal seg-
ment, destitute of spines ; the spines are gamboge-
yellow at the base, and ai-e arranged laterally and
transversely in rows, six rows longitudinally and
six spines in each row transversely ; on the first
segment from the head are only four spines, on the
second segment six, and on this and the third and
fourth they do not range with the remaining seg-
ments ; head, much drawn under the first segment ;
mandibles, brown at tip, robust and short ; eyes,
brown and projecting from the head; antenn?e,yellow
and short. In eating, this larva reaches the head for-
ward, and then gradually draws it in under the first
segment, after the manner of Lepidopierous larvae ;
but it does not seem to swallow the pulp, only
scraping it off and pressing it together and sucking
out the juice, leaving the expressed pulp remain in
little ridges. I obtained this larva on the second
day of August on a pumpkin-vine, and after letting
it fast about a day, (during which time I had illus-
trations made of it, J) I confined it, and placed part
of a pumpkin-vine in with it, when it immediately
commenced eating most voraciously. When first
taken, it exuded a yellow limpid liquid, having rather
a disagreeable odor. This larva is not new to me,
but I have not heretofore been able to identify it
with any particular species of mature insect. It
differs very materially in its form from the Coccinel-
lans, or at least from those that are Aphidephagous in
their habits, being larger in size, more gibbous, and
the head almost entirely concealed. On the 8th day
of August it had passed into the pupa state CFig.
15j, merely fastening itself by the caudal extremity,
with the head downward, and pushing its spiney
skin backward, just as if a person were to push his
breeches down to his heels and there let them re-
main in folds. The pupa was about a quarter of an
inch long, widest at the anterior part and narrow-
ing backward to the posterior, somewhat pear-
shaped ; the color was a gamboge or ochery -yellow,
and it was without the spines that the larva had,
but instead thereof, it was sparsely covered with
short black hairs. On the 16tli of August the ma-
ture insect evolved from the pupa, leaving a thin
transparent pupa-case behind. This insect has often
been detected, in its mature state, eating the leaves
of cucumbers, cantelopes, and other melon vines,
and it is now also t ernonstrated — if not previously
— that the larvae also feed upon those vines ; and
therefore it can no longer be classed with insect
friends, although it was for a long time thought to
be of that character. Seeing that the larva differs
so much in its form and habits from other species of
the genius Coccinella, the thought was doubtless sug-
gested, whether this insect ought not to be placed
into another genus or constitute a new one, — not-

^yr

BH €m'(lmr\ (P;antl%

293

withstanding our aversion to the unnecessary mul-
tiplication of genera and species, — and accordingly
Redtenbacher constitutes it the sole individual of

the genus Epilachna.

«••**

GEORGE STEPHSNSON AS A HORTI-
CULTURIST.

BY L.

In reading that wondrous story of genius, "The
Life of George Stephenson, the Founder of the
Present Railway System," I have been impressed
with the noble simplicity and energy, the indomit-
able tenacity and daring ingenuity, of the collier
boy, — virtues which raised him to one of the no-
blest positions in life : that of a great benefactor to
mankind, and have given him fame which must
spread and increase with time. No one can read,
unmoved, the story of his struggles and triumphs,
nor fail to be convinced that he was, indeed, a hero,
compared with whom many who have borne the
name were utterly unworthy. "Peace has its vic-
tories no less than war," and the achievements of
George Stephenson, . the constructor of the first
practicable locomotive and founder of the present
railway system, deserves a higher place in the es-
teem and admiration of his fellow-men than the ex-
ploits of all the heroes of the sword, of ancient or
modern times.

To young men faltering or struggling with op-
posing difficulties, his life gives lessons which
should supply fresh vigor. No beginning could
have been more humble than his ; but he persevered.
He had determined to learn, and he did learn. "To
such a resolution as his, nothing really beneficial is
denied." The whole secret of his success in life
was his careful improvement of time, which is the
rock out of which fortunes are carved, and great
characters formed. He believed in genius to the
extent that Buffon did when he said that "Patience
is genius," or as some other thinker has expressed,
when he defined genius to be the power of making
efforts. But he never would acknowledge that he
was a genius, or that he had done any thing which
other men equally laborious and persevering as
himself could not have accomplished. He repeat-
edlj^ said to the young men about him, "Do as I
have done, — persevere."

"Every step of advance which he made was con-
quered by patient labor." . . . "Whether work-
ing as a laborer or an engineer, his mind was al-
ways full of the work. He gave himself up thor-
oughly to it. Like the painter, he might have said,
that he had become great by neglecting nothing." .
. . " He did all thoroughlj'' and honestly. When a
woi-kman, he put his mind and energies into his
work ; and when a master, he put his conscience

and character into it. The battle which he fought
for the locomotive would have discouraged most
other men, but it only served to bring into promi-
nence that energy and determination whicli formed
the back-bone of his character. The leading engi-
neers of the day were against him, without excep-
tion ; yet he did not despair. He had laid hold of a
great idea, and he adhered to it ; his mind was
locked and bolted to the results. "I put up," he
says, "with every rebuff, determined not to be put
down ;" and it was this determined purpose which
secured the triumph of the locomotive.

Towards the close of his life, George Stephenson
almost entirely withdrew from the active pui-suit of
his profession as a railway engineer. At home he
lived the life of a country gentleman, enjoying his
garden and his grounds, indulging his love of nature,
which through his busy life had never left him.

He took an active interest in horticultural pur-
suits, carrying into them the same inquiring and in-
ventive spirit and the same determined persistence
which formed so large an element of his character.
He was now as eager to excel all other growers of
exotic plants in the neighborhood as he had been to
surpass his native villagers in the ijroduction of gi-
gantic cabbages some thirty years before. He had
a fine house built, sixty-eight feet in length, and a
vinery one hundred and forty feet. The workmen
were never idle about the garden, and the additions
to the structures proceeded, until at length he had
no fewer than ten glass forcing-houses, heated with
hot water, which he was the first to introduce into
that neighborhood. At one of the County Agricul-
tural Meetings he said that he intended yet to grow
pine-apples as big as pumpkins.

The only man to whom he would "knock under"
was his friend Paxton, the gardener to the Duke of
Devonshire, and he was so old in the service and so
skilful, that he could scarcely hope to beat him.
Yet his Queen Pines did take the first prize at a
competition with the Duke, — though this was not
until shortly after his death, when the plants had be-
come more fully grown. His grapes also recently
took the first prize in competition with all England.
He was extremely successful in producing melons,
havmg invented a method of suspending them in
baskets of wire gauze, which, by relieving the stalk
from tension, allowed nutrition to proceed more
easily, and enabled the fruit to grow more freely
and ripen thoroughly.

He took much pride in his growth of cucumbers.
He raised them very fine and large, but could not
make them grow straight. Place them as he would,
notwithstanding all his propping them and humor-
ing them by modifying the application of heat and
the admission of light for the purpose of effecting

m

this object, they would insist on growing in their
own crooked way. At last he had a number of
glass cylinders made, into each of which a growing
cucumber was inserted. Thus restrained, the un-
willing fruit yielded to his guiding hand. Carrying
one of the new products into his house one day,
and exhibiting it to a party of visitors, he told them
of the expedient he had adopted, and added, glee-
fully, "I think I have bothered them noo P''

He was unsuccessful in his attempts to keep bees.
The cause of failure was a puzzle ; but one day his
acute powers of observation enabled him to unravel
it. At the foot of the hill on which he resided he
saw some bees trying to rise from amongst the grass,
laden with honey and pollen. They were already
exhausted, as if by long flying, and it then occurred
to him that the height at which the house stood
above the bees' feeding-ground rendered it difficult
for them to reach their hives when heavy laden, and
hence they sunk worn out with the effort. He
stated the case to Jesse, the naturalist, who concur-
red in his view as to the cause of failure, and was
much impressed with the keenness of observation
which had led to its solution.

His country home was the resort of many early
friends, who greatly enjoyed his hospitality. With
them he "fought his battles o'er again," reverting
often to his battle of the locomotive, and was never
tired of telling, nor were his auditory wearied in
listening to the lively anecdotes with which he was
accustomed to illustrate the struggles of his early
career. Whilst walking in the woods or through
the grounds, he would arrest his friends' attention
by allusion to some simple object, such as a leaf, a
blade of grass, a bit of bark, a nest of birds, or an
ant carrying its eggs across the path, and descant in
glowing terms upon the creative power of the Di-
vine Mechanism, whose contrivances were so ex-
haustless and so wonderful. This was a theme upon
which he was often accustomed to dwell in reveren-
tial admiration when in the society of his most inti-
mate friends.

In his deportment George Stephenson was simple,
modest and unassuming, but always manly. He
was frank and social in spirit. When an humble
workman, he had carefully preserved his self-respect.
His devoted love of knowledge made his poverty
respectable, and adorned his humble calling. When
he rose to a more elevated station and associated
with men of the highest position and influence in
Britain, he took his place amongst them with per-
fect self-possession. They wondered at the quiet
ease and simple dignity of his deportment ; and
men in the best rank of life have said of him, that
"He was one of nature's gentlemen."

R£IODODEND£SONS.

[Continued.]
BY A. MIELLEZ, FLITSHING, N. Y. .

Mr. Editor — Before I proceed with rhododen-
drons, allow me to make a few remarks as to flowers
and gardening in general, to serve as an excuse if I
should happen to get too much into the minutiae of
them.

I presume a good many of your more scientific
readers, as well as practical business men, will
smile at my attempt to give such simple direc-
tions, while I think in doing so they may be of some
use to amateur cultivators. Moreover, (1 am sorry
to say,J) there are a great number of so-called busi-
ness men, who, on being asked for some informa-
tion, have always got the ready reply at hand,
"Find it out yourselves; or, if not quite so impo-
lite to say so, at least think so, giving some avoiding
answer.

It is earnestly to be hoped that selfish short-sight-
edness should soon cease, for the general benefit of
gardening and things connected therewith. The more
amateur gardeners and the public at large become
acquainted with flowers and their management,
the better it will be for both parties, gardeners
as well as amateurs. Yet there is still another great
question arising out of this. Any man, no matter
what stage of society he occupies, may learn and
profit by flowers. They are a rich source of de-
light, bestowed by the kind Creator upon mankind.
Study them, and I am confident to say, that there
is hardly any thing that will give more real pleasure
than flowers. Flowers have always been, at all
times and ages and with all cultivated nations, (such
as Greeks, Romans, etc. ,) highly esteemed. Look-
ing at the ornaments of their architectural works,
we discern them chiefly to be composed of flowers,
studied from natural ones, and it is much to be la-
mented that in designs of the present time the form
of flowers is so utterly neglected. But now I have
myself rather more digressed from rhododendrons
than I anticipated. What I have to add in respect
to grafting large plants, is, firstly, that proper care
should be taken to disturb the roots of the plants as
little as possible when taken up. If done in sum-
mer, the ground around them should be thoroughly
soaked "previously. Then the ball cut round with
a spade and lifted out, not by the stem, but by the
ball itself. If large and heavy, pieces of canvas
may be drawn underneath, on which ropes with
poles are tied, and so be carried easily to the proper
place, i. e., where they have to remain while uniting,
and there be grafted. It is difficult to handle fresh-
grafted plants of large size, without disturbing the
grafts. Smaller plants may be taken to a shed en

^'

1^

ih^ iiirdentr's .PontW]).

295

I?

masse, grafted, and afterwards taken to a pit or
house. The balls have to be covered with soil, and
the whole to be we^l watered. This will keep a
pretty damp air around the plant for some days,
during which time they should not be watered.
Afterward sprinkle the whole — plants, grafts and
all — with a syringe or fine-rose watering-pot, taking
care, however, that they get dry once in a day, by
giving some air in the morning. The other time
keep them pretty close and well shaded till they
unite, which will be in about a fortnight, when more
air and light is required. In about another fortnight
or three weeks they will be ready to be put out of
doors again. For inexperienced hands, however,
it may be more safe to let them make their first
growth where they are, especially if in a pit. It
has the advantage of giving more command over
them. Here the}^ can be nicely syringed Cwhich
promotes the proper development of the leaves) and
hardened off" in an easy way by giving more air by
degrees, and ultimately removing the lights alto-
gether. It will also be good to give them a slight
protection for the first Avinter, which may be easily
accomplished if in the position mentioned.

Plants worked in this way should be set out in
spring as earl}^ as possible, on beds prepared for
them in the autumn.

Though rhododendrons, as found in their natural
state, more or less grow in peat, experience shows
that they will thrive favorably in a more solid
ground. Nay, they require this for garden culture,
being exposed to the rays of our hot summer sun,
which would quite burn them up and cause death
to them if planted in peat. The ground should be
prepared as follows : First well drained, and if the
natural soil should be a sterile one, removed to the
depth of eighteen inches, (it is a great mistake for
rhododendrons, as well as for many other plants, to
fill deep holes with a rich soil, 3 then fresh, sweet
loam taken from an old pasture ("only the turf j in
moderately broken pieces and mixed with one-third
peat or well-decomposed leaves and a little sand.
With this the bed is to be filled to a little above the
level of the surrounding ground. If the soil is na-
turally good, it may do to dig in a good portion of
peat or leaf-mould.

[To be Continued.]

FRUIT IN CANADA.

Mr. Custead, Goderich, C. W., under date of
August 12th, writes :

Our prospects /or /rueY in this section of the pro-
'vince ("and, I believe, in all sectionsj) are not particu-
^ "^ larly flattering. Plums, apples, pears and peaches
/r\ there will be a few of, most bearing trees producing

■$^

afeto specimens. Currants and gooseberries, about
one-half a crop. Raspberries, an abundance. Straw-
berries, with the exception of "Wilson's Albany,
have done nothing, — that variety ("the Albany) suc-
ceeded admirably, and seems the only one of the
older varieties worth cultivating in this climate, be-
ing less aff"ected by neglect, unfavorable soil or cli-
mate, than any other we cultivate, among which we
include most of the old popular varieties.

HYBRID SriRiSAS.

BY F. PARKMAN, JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS.

Three years ago, I fertilized the flowers of Spirsea
callosa with one of the numerous varieties of Spiraea
salicifolia. In the crop of seedlings which resulted,
two proved to be perfect hybrids, combining the
characteristics of both plants. The individual flow-
ers are like those of S. callosa, but they are arranged
on the stalk in a conical, or rather oval, and not
flattened form ; or, in other words, the inflorescence
is not, as in the female parent, a corymb, but a
thyrse. The foliage and habit resemble those of
S. callosa, though the bud is more compact. I am
propagating the plants, — I will send you specimens
hereafter.

[Very glad to find that attention is being paid to

hybridizing our ornamental trees and shrubs, and

that Mr. Parkman has been so successful. Much may,

no doubt, be done with spiraeas. If we are not

mistaken, S^. Billardii, one of the best of the family,

is a hybrid between S. salicifolia and S. Douglassii. —

Ed.]

<»»»»

THE HEMLOCK.

BY S. L. B., BROOKDALE FARM, MAIKE.

The Hemlock, sometimes called Hemlock Spruce
(Abies Canadensis), is the most beautiful tree of
the family to which it belongs— Pine family, and
is distinguished from other pines by the softness of
its delicate foliage, smoothness of limbs, and grace-
ful aspect. It is said by Pursh to extend to the
most northern regions of Canada, and is so generally
diff"ased throughout North America, that it has, in
many instances, been chosen as an emblem of
America upon maps and works relating to the country.
Its height is from forty to seventy feet, and in dia-
meter it varies from one to three feet. The body of
the tree rises uniform until witliin a short distance
from the top, when it tapers rapidly, forming a small,
round head.

Emerson, in his "Trees and Shrubs of Massachu-
setts," says, the branclilets are very small, light and
slender, and are set irregularly on the horizontal sides
of the small branches, forming with them a flat sur-

Ik

'3y^

r<§}

face. The leaves are small aucl flat, from half an
inch to three-fourths of an inch long, arranged in
spirals around the branches, but disposing themselves
by the bending of the foot-stalks in two rows on the
sides. The bark of the hemlock is extensively used
throughout the Northern States, in the process of
tanning, being used as a substitute for oak, and it is
said, if the bark is m.xed with oak it is superior for
this purpose to either alone.

The timber of the hemlock is wanting in strength,
the tree often being shaky, which cause, Michaux
says, is owing to the winds acting with great force
on the broad, compact summit of the tree. The
wood is not highly esteemed as fuel. The trunk of
the tree sawed into boards and other timber, is highly
valued, but large specimens of the tree are rapidly
disappearing from our northern forests.

As an ornamental evergreen tree, the merits of the
hemlock have not been sufHciently appreciated. It
is graceful in aspect, of fine-growing habits, while
its allowance of trimming and training make it
worthy the notice of those who need, in winter, the
shelter which it gives, or who admire the ornament
of its evergreen foliage. It is a tree of slow growth,
and it is very common in our pastures and upon the
borders of forests. These are almost the only objec-
tions against it, yet, with good treatment, and a good
soil, it will flourish well ; and surely, there is no tree
more beautiful than a hemlock growing in a natural
position in the situations just mentioned.

A FAILUKS IN GSSAPS GROWING.

BY COL. D. S. DEWEY, HARTFORD, CONN:

Records of failure are so comparatively rare in the
wefl-filled columns of your Montlily, that I am induced
to send you one by way of variety. It relates to the
so-called Bright' s System of Grape-culture.

I had read with great interest all that had appeared
in the horticultural periodicals with reference to this
method, and, also, in Mr. B.'s own book, and with
a mind favorably predisposed towards it, I was re-
lieved of all doubts as to its practicability by an op-
portunity of personal inspection of the system as
carried out in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and parti-
cularly on Mr. B.'s own premises.

So, upon my return home from the Pomological
Convention, last fall, I immediately made a com-
mencement of carrying out the plan for myself, by
setting out one hundred and fifty hardy vines— Dela-
wares, Rebeccas, Dianas and Hartford Prolifics — in
two long rows, six feet apart, the roots being planted
two feet apart in each row.

{Mem. — I have, this Spring, added eight similar
rows, containmg, principally, Hartford Prolifics, at
distances varying from two to four feet in the rows. J

The next move was to arrange one of my green-
houses, 48 by 15 in the clear, and of good height and
favorable slope of roof, so that I could employ my
leisure during the winter in assisting to construct,
and fill with suitable material, a row of "detached,
divided, and suspended" grape-boxes, twenty-four
in number, along the inside front, according to
specific details in the book.

In process of time all this was duly accomplished,
and in March the vines (principallj' Black Hamburgs)
were set out in the boxes.

A number of vines were also planted in large pots
at about the same time, and were placed along,
("half-plunged, J in the vacant spots of prepared
grape-soil in the border, one or two in each com-
partment. Thus far "per order," and thus far all
right and very promising. But the vines did not
grow, and the vines haven't grown, although a part
did make a desperate effort at first, and the result,
so far as the tender sorts are concerned, is, that the
experiment has proved with me a positive failure !

Post Scriptuin. — Perhaps I ought, in common
justice, to add that my stock of Black Hamburg
vines consisted of one-year-old layers, of only
medium quality; and these "happened" to get rather
too cold, and too dry, and too damp, at intervals
during the winter, before being planted. I should
have preferred good thrifty one and two year olds,
from eyes, but, at that time, it was "these or none,"
with me.

Nota Bene. — Owing- to the interference of other
business arrangements, the vines were not properly
watered nor syringed, and may have suffered in con-
sequence. Besides, they were never mulched nor
shaded in the least, although directly under and near
the lower end of the roof-sashes, which were fixed.
The front was also fixed, being a brick wall, instead
of upright and moveable sash.

Addendum. — The house was neither sprinkled nor
medicated, nor systematically ventilated, and it may
be that nature rebelled against such neglect. I am
the more inclined to this opinion from the fact that
the potted vines have performed no better than their
neighbors planted in the system border.

Et Cetera. — The hardy vines outside have done
somewhat better, but they are by no means in a
proper condition to prove to a Connecticut commu-
nity the superior merits of a new Pennsylvania
system. To be sure, they have received but little
care, owing to the necessary C?J transfer of attention
to other matters. They have had no mulching, no
special fertilizing, no stakes, trellises or supports of
any kind, and but little hoeing and weeding.

Finale. — " Poor Mr. Cornelius," says Mr. Meehan,
page 84; "we fancy there are no inconsiderable
number who imagine his process to lie in his pot,

and not in his principles, and that tliey have only to
slip in a cutting and take out a plant." Poor Mr.
Bright ! the same imagination may exist in some
minds Avith regard to your "principles!" Now,
can't you accommodate such, (if such there be,) by
an amendment to your system ? Say thirty pages,
more or less, in your third edition, so that, when an
amateur grape-grower is engaged in other avocations
which call him imperatively from his favorite pursuit
of horticulture, his grapery and vineyard may be in
the condition of the boy's musical arrangement,
which "whistled itself?" " Slip in roots" and take
out fruited vines — that may be the requirement.

Suppose you entitle the new chapter thus; —
Dwarfing Made Easy ; and Pinching and Stopping
Dispensed with.

VEGETABLE TKANSPORrSATION.

BY J. J. STAUFFER, LANCASTER, PA.

My worthy friend, J. B. Garber, Esq., "in his
article in the September number, on Grape-ology,"
compliments me as "a good botanist, entomologist,
itc, adding, "indeed, well-informed on all sub-
jects." For which I tip my beaver, taking it for
granted, that "mutual friends" will not talk ironi-
cally, though they may indulge in "a good laugh
occasionally at one another," to which I cannot
object.

With regard to that "barren grape-vine" on which
"all manner of experiments were made to make it
bear fruit." The facts are simply these :

Seeds from a raisin were planted in a pot, in the
summer of 1857. "Whether the raisin was the dried
fruit from grapes that grew on the warm shores
about Malaga, Valentia, or some other raisin-grow-
ing country, is immaterial ; one of these seeds ger-
minated and put forth its tender branches. In the
spring of 1859 it was set out in rich soil, on the
south side of a shed, in an exposed or sunny posi-
tion, were it grew rather rankly, and stood through
the mild winter Avithout any protection, No atten-
tion was paid to it in the spring of 1S60. It grew
luxuriantly^ and flowered freely, but yielded no fruit.

Dr. Wm. B. Fahnestock, a well-known chemist
and botanist, remarked on observing it, that he had
planted a vine, which for se'^eral years had nothing
but barren flowers. "When he came to the conclu-
sion to try the virtue of blood applied to the roots,
in order to furnish the necessary nitrogen or stimu-
lent, to his surprise and satisfaction, the vine
commenced to bear fiae grapes, and continued to
bear every year since.

On this, to me, good authority, bullocks blood was
^ . applied to the roots in the spring of 1861, but no
A. knife nor training, that being wholly neglected.

The vine threw out numerous slender branches, a
profusion of leaves and flowers. It was in this con-
dition when my friend, Mr. G. saw it, — who "told
me at once, it was a male plant, and that all my
'experimenting' to the end of the world, would
not produce me a berry." Adding, "he regrets to
say," he could not convince me of my error.
"What he means by a male plant I cannot devise,
unless he considers the grape family to belong to the
Dioecious class, that is, when the stamiuate or male
floAvers are on one plant, and the pistillate or female
flowers on another plant, This plant is evidently a
foreigner, — its parent yielded fruit, and this, its off^-
spring, bore flowers, though they proved to be bar-
ren. He says he "never could succeed in getting a
single foreign seedling to shoAV floAvers."

Ought we to call this barren plants in contradistinc-
tion to male flowering and female floAvering plants ?
Truly that is the case ; but would it be the same under
favorable circumstances, in their native soil or cli-
mate? That is the qu st -.y.^

As a botanist, I believe in a certain classification
of plants, Avhich is not disturbed by local or accidental
variation in certain individuals of the genus or spe-
cies. The Vitis mnifera and its varieties, the Sweet-
Avater, Black Hamburg, &c., all have perfect floAvers;
while our native species, the V. labrusca, and also
its varieties, the Isabella and Catawba, are polyga-
mous, that is, the three kinds of flowers can be found
on the same vine, the male, the female and perfect,
or hermaphrodite floAvers. For this there must be a
cause in the woody tissue or functions of the plant,
whether in the root, stem, leaves, or other of its
organs.

Suppose, for argument sake, we consider the stem
or peduncle, examine its central axis or pith, the
medullary tubular sheath around the pith, &c. Noav,
if it happens that, from some cause, whether it be the
proper nutriment or what else, the vital forces
of the central axis is effected, so that the central point
or pistil Avill not receive its share of nutriment, it
will become abortive ; and, though its surrounding
sheath be active, developing stamens, petals, &c.,
still the flowers will be barren. -

Should this happen to all the flowers, as it often
does to some, Ave could not properly call it a male
plant.

I deem it unnecessary to enter upon an elaborate
disquisition to prove that plants are organized bodies,
requiring certain conditions, suited to the various
purposes of nutrition, and that matter held in solu-
tion by water or in the form of gas or air, aided ])y
the stimulants of heat, light and electricity, are es-
sential in certain proportions to their full develop-
ment.

And since carbon, silex, lime, soda, potash, the

T

298

Che #arkntr's

oxides of iron and some other metals, enter into the
vegetable structure, through the medium of the moist
soil. The air of tlie atmosphere also affords oxygen,
both in its simple state and combined with carbon,
forming carbonic acid. Nitrogen, the other ingredi-
ent of the atmosphere, also enters into their sub-
stance.

Is it, therefore, "laughable" to apply blood, or
other stimulating manure to plants ; or out of the
pale of experience, that certain conditions can be
supplied to aid vegetable growth or development ?

I admit that we may entirely fail in our attempt to
discover the precise matter or mode of applying it
to plants brought from a foreign clime, exposed to
our variable climate, and in a different soil. But
time and trials have done much, and may accomplish
more ; and, to declare that certain tilings cannot be
accomplished, is assuming the position of knowing
more than he that is conscious of how little we
really do know, and says "I'll try."

I confess I do not understand what my friend
desires to prove or disprove in his article, other-
wise I miglit shape my argument to show "why
I am not convinced of my error."

He asks a question and draws an inference in
which I do not see the force, viz : If " stamens are
transformed into petals," these petals may be trans-
formed into leaves, leaves into branches, &c. "All
is 'transformation,' and we know not where we
stand. ' '

I was almost tempted to put plough -handles case, by
way of an offset, but pr fer being serious. Mr. G.
certainly knows that transformations do take place ;
the water-lily along the river banks usually has its
stamens and petals so gradually mixed, that it would
puzzle Mr. G. to show where the stamens end and
the petals begin.

He knows that the normal condition of the In-
dian Corn is to have a staminate top or tassel ; while
the ear, with its silk, is the pistillate plant or spike ;
yet he has met with grains of corn mixed among
the male flowers of the tassel. Dr. Herbert, of this
city, brought me a tassel of male flowers with a full
ear of corn growing from their midst. This is an
exception to the law of growth, but corn is not the
less a dicecious plants nor would a botanist convert
this freak of nature into the embellishment of a new
species, unless this would become a constant oc-
currence in that particular kind by promulgation, —
it would, however, still be only a variety. One
more fact and I have done. Some years ago I moved
to Mount Joy, where a grape-vine, called the Isa-
bella, grew in the lot, prostrate among the weeds,
supported by a fiew apple branches trimmed from the
trees. In this neglected condition the grapes ri-
pened and were so deliciously plump and juicy, that

I concluded to remove it. Early in spring I did so, I
to a place to shelter the cistern, near a rich, moist
gully. It grew luxuriantly and produced a grateful
wide-spreading shade ; untrimmed, it yielded a pro-
fusion of sweet-scented flowers, but bore no fruit.

Here, then, was another male plant, which I know
had borne fruit, and many otliers beside myself
enjoyed their flavor.

Now don't tell me that it was not the same vine, —
that somebody cheated me, by substituting another ;
for that is plainly out of the question, since I dug it
up and planted within an hour's time by my own
hands; nor were there two vines in tlie case. Such
is the fact, and proof can be produced, let the cause
lie where it may.

[Those who feel interested in morphology or the
science of the transformation of one organ of plants
into another, will find the flowers of the canna or
common Indian Shot of our gardens a beautiful
study.

It is said of a cockney showman exhibiting
"Daniel in the Lion's Den," that when the child
asked " Which was Daniel and which was the lion ?"
he replied, "Vich ever you please my boy; you
pays yer money, and you haves yer choice." If
there should be any "ignoramus" disposed to
"laugh" at the "scientific savans," when speaking
of vegetable transformations, as Mr. Garber tells us
there is, it would be well for said "savan" to offer
him a canna flower and let him have his choice, —
petal, stamen or pistil. He might call them all
petals or all pistils ; at any rate, he would have the
right to his choice, and find few able to contradict him
in either event. — Ed.]

MY EXPERIENCES.

BY OLIVER PEGRAM, OF PEGRAMIA.

Not a breath is stirring, not a leaf moves, — all is
as quiet as if the machinery of creation had come
to a stop. Silence is almost audible. The only
thing to break it is the noise of \\\y pen as it moves
along o 1 the paper before me. A real summer after-
noon this is. 'The hot goken sunshine lies on the
ground. The air out there in the meadow is stifling,
— every thing and every body is at rest, waiting for
the hours to glide on and bring relief The bees
alone — those busy workers— are pursuing their avo-
cation ; but then they are models— our good exam-
ples. And yet, as they swarm now in the garden
before me, I fancy they are pursuing that avocation
with a drowsy head and heavy wings, and do the
thing altogether more from a sense of duty than
enjoyment. To be sure, such fancy of mine is
against all natural philosophj' ; but do I care for
natural philosophj^ ? Science is a cliarming nymph

^>v^

iu cool, early mom ; she lures me when I liave a
clear head and feel bright and rosy. On a hot after-
noon Comfort is the goddess which I put foremost
on the altar of my Penates. To her do I pay court,
and with so much a greater relish when I have been
about since sunrise, and fas I did to-day) have suc-
ceeded in getting completely knocked up by work
in the open air. Comfortia — f\it, lazy, rusty old
goddess — I adore thee !

I have no reason to complain of the means I have
to worship her with. Here I sit on a cane-seat, —
coolest, and yet an elastic seat for summer sitting.
That seat belongs to an easy arm-chair, with a back
to it, that fraternally receives my back-bone when I
recline, and mighty few chair-backs will do that ;
most of them, in foct, being, seemingly, made with-
out any reference to human backs. This comfort-
able easy chair of mine stands behind my literary-
table (so called from being literally littered all over
with literature in its various shapes). My feet rest
on cool matting, made in distant Tanris. Around
the walls stand cases, crammed full of all manner of
books. Sciences, some of the arts, and a lot of
aesthetics are bottled up in these books. As they
stand there, they smile at me, and seemingly wait
their tm-n to be taken down and discussed. But,
O, Lord of the Mmd, thy heat is too great for mind
in general, and hardly my body will bear up against
it. So, after having thrown myself back in my
chair and reviewed the silent books in their cases,
the literary litter on my table, the vagrant bee, and
the landscape in the window-frame, I take to writing
my Experiences for the Gardener' s MontMy. I do
so to keep a promise rashly made ; and if they par-
take of a heavy character, the blame might possibly
be fixed on the sultriness of the weather.

Of course, my Experiences relate to country and
horticulture only, and therefore the Gardener's
Monthly (chorus of readers, "Long may it wave !")
folds them in its bosom. The MontMy thinks the
experiences of an average man may be told to ad-
vantage to its readers. I think so, too. To make
them has certainly been advantageous to me ; and
now that I have paid for them in hard cash, in time
and in vexation, will they not be acceptable to gar-
dening mankind ? Will not mankind condescend
to reap with me the benefits and the enjoyments
derived from the above experiences, without shar-
ing in the expenditure of the above cash, time and
trouble ?

I have said that I am an average man. Because,
if I were an eccentric or an incentive being, a stupid
fellow or a highly intelligent, refined, etc., sort of a
gentleman, then my experiences would have no
value. So much, therefore, of my general life must
be told as to lead my readers into the country.

I was born, — but no matter where, — and am now
several years old. I am also a self-made man, inas-
much as I have made myself, and for my own use,
all the money I own ; but I devoutly hope that I, at
the same time, have been making something equally
good, namely, developed what faculties Providence
has endowed me with, and made general improve-
ments in the domain of my soul. How I have
made the money, that problem I Avill leave to the
readers, if they choose to exercise their imagination
on such a poor problem. Money is made on red
hei rings, as well as on white ones, on dry-goods
and on wet ones, on thimbles and on ships, and my
readers will little care about its origin. Wlien I had
made a modest pile, I, of course, thought the time
had come to carry out the best wish of my life. I
concluded to remove into the country.

THE GLADIOLUS.

BY WEST PniLADELPIIIA, PA.

Since that by seedhngs so many fine varieties of
Gladiolus of large size, and flowers of almost every
shade of pink, scarlet, white, purple and yellow
have been obtained, especially among the hybrids of
Gandavensis, great effects can be derived from the
cultivation of those handsome flowers in the deco-
rating and embellishment of parterres and for masses.
In order to obtain blossoms from July to September,
it is necessary to plant in the latter part of March or
early in April, the smallest bulbs ; a second portion
towards the end of April ; a third about the 15th of
May, and finall}^ the last at the end of that month.
During these various plantations, care must be taken
to graduate the size of the bulbs so as to commence
in March with the smallest ones and to reserve the
largest for the end of May.

The culture of these plants is of the simplest kind.
They ought to be planted in a good vegetable garden
ground ; very heavy soil does not suit tliem at all, but
they thrive very well in good ground, well manured
with well-rotted horse-dung. They are planteJ in
rows from twelve to fourteen inches distant of each
other. The bulbs should be set in the rows from six
to ten inches apart, according to the size of the bull),
and at a depth of from two to two and three-fourths
inches. During growth, and in dry weather,
abundant watering is indispensable. In the fall,
when the stems of the Gladiolus are withered, they
should be cut down, the bulbs dug up and put on
shelves iu a dry place, not liable to fros', where they
will keep vmtil the following year, to be planted and
treateci as above said.

The bulbs of the Gladiolus, when cut with the
stems, will blossom beautifully in water. They will
open easily and successively, and make the blossom-

300

(9^

Clje ®arkntr'^

iug last some time ; they may, therefore, be used for
bouquets and table vases, and by adding a few light-
green stems of tamarix, asparagus, or fine reed leaves,
great effect is given to their showy appearance.

dl

LSTTSSR FROM CALIFORNIA.

BY A MARYSVILLE CORRESPONDENT.

I HAVE seen here some of the finest grapes I ever
saw grown in the open ground. The ones I have
already seen fruited are much larger than the ones
grown under glass in the East. I saw in the Marys-
ville market very fine bunches of the Black Ham-
burg, Sweet Water, Muscat of Alexander, Reine de
Nice, Bowker, Bishop and another variety supposed
to be the Black Morocco.

By your remarks, I suppose you have no idea what
a fine country this is for the foreign vine. You say a
Avarm, moist summer is what is needed. Now, that
is the very thing we have here at Marysville ; too
much so to be comfortable. You will say, how can
it be moist without rain in the summer ? You must
bear in mind that there is a great number of rivers
and streams in this country, which keep the ground
on each side very moist — some places a mile or two
on each side. The ground on each side is divided
into three kinds : the first is called low bottom land ;
it is generally too wet for any thing but vegetables,
which grow to a very large size. It also seems to
be the best ground for apple trees, as apples on the
dry land burn with the sun before they ripen.

The next, second — bottom. This kind keeps
moist near the surface all the summer, in the dryest
time. By digging down, you can find moisture one
foot from the surface, sometimes not so much. The
soil is composed of a rich sandy loam, which appears
to have been some time filled up with sediment by
the river. This land never gets too wet to work ; it
is fit to plough in twelve hours after the longest I'ain.
This kind of ground seems to suit almost all kinds
of fruit trees and vines ; the peach, apricot, nectarine
and plum every year are loaded down with fruit.
There is scarcely a tree but what some of the branches
break down ; and yet, for all this load of fruit, the
trees grow as strong and keep as healthy as if it had
never borne fruit. Pears do well, and dwarf pears
seem to bear abundantly, but apples seem to want
moister ground than this; not but that they will
grow well enough, but the sun is so very warm in
the summer, unless the tree has a great deal of mois-
ture at the roots to keep the tree growing vigorously,
the fruit is almost sure to burn with the sun ; but I
suppose, as the trees get older the fruit will be more
shaded, and they will do better. The early varieties
do well, such as the Red Astrachan, Early Harvest,
and Sweet Bough ; they ripen before the weather

gets too hot. Last year, I pulled the Early Harvest
about the 24th of June, quite ripe. Now the grape-
vines : The ones mostly grown here have beea the
Alicant or Black Spanish ; it is generally called the
Los Angelos. On this place, and on most places,
they are planted about seven feet or so each way ;
they are trained just the same way as a half-standard
rose-bush ; they are pruned, of co rse, on the spur
system : they are generally staked for the first three
years, after that they will ttand pretty well alone.
Vines trained in this way, after the fourth year, will
always average, at the lowest calculation, from ten
to fifteen pounds each, and sometimes, in favorable
seasons, twenty-five pounds. They are quite as
good, in my opinion, in flavor and almost in size, as
the Black Hamburg, and I have often seen bunches
weigh over a pound. The only thing in favor of
Black Hamburg is two weeks earlier, which gives it
a better chance of ripening its wood in the fall. We
have now planted about one hundred different varie-
ties ; most of them will bear fruit this season enough
to judge of the qualities, as the vines of the foreign
varieties were only one year old last summer. They
were propagated from summer layers put down in
July, which rooted well, which will give you an idea
that the ground must be very moist and warm to
root vines in about four months fit to plant out, and
the second year to bear a small crop of fruit.

The third kind of land, or upland, I have not
much to say about, as it is too dry for almost any
thing, unless grain, which I suppose would average
about twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre. But I
think, in time, the upland will be the land for grapes,
as the river fills up more every year in consequence
of heavy mining operations in the mountains. As
all the mud goes into the river, which is filling up
fast, it will make the upland more moist and the
second bottom too wet, in my opinion.

THE JUNE-BEHHY AND OTHSR STOCKS
FOR THS PEAR.

BY "tyro," WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

Mr. Hudeikoper's article on the June-berry as
a stock for the pear, in the August number, reminds
me of several articles upon the same subject which
were published in the New England Farmer some
years since. If memory serves me aright, several
correspondents stated that such trees did not succeed
permanently. I have little doubt, however, but that
a few varieties would do well on the June-berry, as
there are sorts which will do well even upon the
thorn and apple stocks.

Some years since, I set scions of quite a number
of different varieties of pears into apple trees ; one va-
riety, in particular, made a very great growth the first

¥\

KIu ^arkittr'a E^^^^^^I'S-

301

season. Next spring, I cut some scions from these
shoots, and grafted more branches of the same tree.
To my surprise, these last scions would scarcely grow
at all, and soon died, while the first are still living.
At the same time, I had taken scions from two old
pear branches, which were grafted into apple trees,
and these, too, made a feeble growth and soon died.

I had also obtained scions from an old pear tree on
a thorn stock, and more scions of the same variety
Cviz., the English Bell J, from a tree on pear stock,
and set them all into a thorn tree ; those cut from
the tree on pear roots grew finely and are yet living,
while those from the thorn tree grew feebly and soon
died.

Since then, I have often thought that perhaps the
vigor and constitution of many pear trees may have
been injured from having been propagated from trees
on quince ; at least, I think, that if a pear be re-
peatedly grafted from one quince stock to another,
say a dozen times, the last scions will be fou.nd to
have lost much of their vigor.

If this be so, it is certainly worth the attention of
nurserymen, and it certainly would seem to be the
l)est course to propagate onlj^ from trees upon pear
stocks. I would also say that I have never known
any valuable variety to succeed long, either upon
thorn, apple, or Mountain Ash. I have grown fine
specimens of the Flemish Beauty upon an apple tree,
but the scions were short lived. Some inferior sorts
have lasted thirtj^ years, or perhaps longer.

[Propagation, no doubt, tends to fix a habit given
to a plant by the stock or any other cause. We
do not suppose, however, that it would so ma-
terially affect it as to act injuriously in the way
our correspondent supposes, but it might be worth
looking after. — Ed.]

THE INDIAN OH CHINESE AZALEA:

Its Introduction, Cultivation, Propag-ation and
Dei^cr-iption of the Best Sorts, New and Old,

[Continued from Page 264.]

BY AN OLD FLORIST, PHILADELPniA.

I HAVE said that there are growers and propaga-
tors of the azalea amongst your readers equal to
those of any other country, and, of course, it will
be presumption in me to point out to such the prac-
tice on which they are so well posted. It is, how-
ever, to the learner and those who wish to advance
that I offer the following hints :

First procure healthy plants, — those of a firm
growth where they have been fully exposed to air
and a considerable degree of sun. Select them for
breadth, 7iot height, unless for some special object
where standards may be required. Some growers
prefer to have them all standards, grafted on stems

WD

from one to three feet high, with the head either
weeping, globular or of a parasol form. During
the season of rest (say from November to March)
the azalea will bear almost any treatment, except a
heavy dose of Avater at the roots every day. Their
natural habitat is on hilly declivities. Dry situations,
even to rocks and Chinese rock-work, and a cold
of ten degrees of frost, if the plants are in a dry
state, will not injure them. The plants must have
thorough drainage of from one to three inches in
the bottom of each pot, the pots being from five to
fifteen inches in width. When the plants are wanted
to bloom, they can be placed in a sitting-room,
forcing-house or hothouse. As soon as they are
placed into heat, they must be regularly supplied
with water at the root and frequent syringings over-
head. If they are permitted to become repeatedly
dry wiien in the heat, the flower-buds wull turn
brown and drop off quite imperceptibly, and the
failure of bloom will be attributed to some other
cause.

A fair attention will secure a very liberal show of
flowers, and the flowering season can be extended
from January to June. When in bloom, the plants
must be shaded from the sun, and observe that the
roots do not want for water. By good manage-
ment, a plant will remain attractive for fully four
weeks. As soon as done blooming, expose the
plants to the sun, giving frequent syringings Cthrce
times a week) overhead with water, and keep the
roots moist, but not wet, to insure a free growth.
When the young shoots are about an inch long, and
offer to be very luxuriant, pinch out the tip of the
growth to make more branches. If, however, the
growth is slow and weak, the shoots do not require
topping.

Now is the time to form the head if it has been
irregular ; and when the blooming is over, cut it
freely to the required form. The knife will not in-
jure the success of the plants. Tie all growths into
proper shape, as previously observed, and that shape
can be just to the groimr's taste. No excuse in any
way will be accepted. With veiy simple attention,
gentle waterings, and free exposure to the sun, un-
less a few hours' at mid-day partial shading, will
give the foliage a better and brighter color.

I will here remark, that plants kept in a close,
dark, shaded situation will be sure to be attacked
by the thrip, a very minute insect that attacks the
surface of the leaves, and a very troublesome one
to get rid of, which we accomplish by dipping the
heads of the plants into tepid water, made to the
color of strong tea by a solution of tobacco, and re
peated till they are entirely destroyed. If the plants
are too large to invert, lay them on their sides and
syringe their heads freely with the preparation.

^^

Ch^ ®ErbtiTtr's Slantlilj.

Soil. — It has been our lot to hear much stress put
upon the soil. "My soil is not good," is a very
frequent ejaculation, or rather apology. Good
judgment of the nature of the plant will grow
them in any free, sandy soil wherein there is a very
liberal portion of decayed leaves or soil from the
woods. So much importance is placed upon the
"soil," that I see some of the Philadelphia nursery-
men sending it to all parts South, "West, North, and
even East. Wherever swamp-muck and white sand
can be obtained, proper soil can be composted for
azaleas, of one-third sand, one-third swamp-muck,
and one-third loam or decayed sod ; if such is not
"come-at-able," very sandy loam and decayed leaves
in equal proportions will suit.

The best season to repot is just when done bloom-
ing or in September. They do not, by any means,
require large pots. The reverse is the best. The
roots are very fine, and do not object to a few wa-
terings with weak manure-water when in a growing
stale. Bad drainage and over-potting are great
sources of evil. The neatest grown azaleas that have
ever come under my eye are those of C. Van Vorst,
Esq., of Jersey City, and am rather inclined to
award his collection the first prize for beauty, per-
fection and rarity, and for an eye notes of some-
thing beautiful and valuable, am indebted to that
gem of a connoissem",

An evil amongst growers in potting azaleas is in not
making the soil about the roots firm. All pot-plants
should have the soil well packed down. To show
the tenacity of life in a Chinese Azalea, allow me
to observe that I have a plant placed where it has
the sun after twelve o'clock, and it has only been
watered tliree times by the hand since May. I would
not treat my collection in this way ; but it has been
done to convince me, and perhaps others, that these
plants sutFer much by over-doses of the watering-
pot.

Pkopagation. — The primitive mode, and the
first that I saw adopted about Philadelphia, was
laying a branch in the pot or tying pots to branches of
the plants, wherein they rooted in about six months,
and that method was practised in nursery green-
houses. The first plant that I saw of Azalea phoe-
nicea (above thirty years agoj had its head placed
in a shallow bos, with every branch layered. I
volunteered a negative on such barbarous treatment,
but only received an afiirmative, that it was the only
sure plan. An old countryman, however, appeared,
who took cuttings of half-ripened wood in August
and placed them in pots of brown sand, covered
with a glass, and was quite successful with rooting
them in six weeks. This we all looked upon as a
notch in the right way, and azaleas from that date
became accessible. Now every person can multi-

ply their stock in this way : Fine sand in a small
pot, firmly pressed down and well watered, into
which insert cuttings of young shoots of half-ri-
pened wood about an inch and a half long. Take
the leaves from the base of the cutting ; insert it
half an inch into the sand very firmly ; cover the
pot with a tumbler or any similar contrivance ; keep
from the sun and water every day, and you will
have some degree of success.

The propagators' method now, however, is to
propagate from the young shoots when they have
made a growth of one or two inches. These are
taken ofi" and placed in sand and kept in a moist
heat of from 60o to G50; the cuttings covered
closely, or the house densely shaded and freely wa-
tered. Tens of thousands are rooted in this way in
a few weeks, and sold off" to the trade within six
months.

The tip-top method for fancy culture is to graft
them when the wood is so young and tender that
you would think it could not be manipulated with.
Shoots half an inch long are taken ofi", their base
cut into a wedge-shape, equally from both sides, and
inserted into a' stock of any required height, the top
of which has a young growth, merely inclining to
firmness, which cut and make an incision in its
crown ; into such insert the base of the cutting ; tie
with a woollen or cotton thread ; place the plants
in a close frame, or house, or under a hand-glass,
where there is a moist heat. Take care that water
does not get into the junction, and the union will be
formed in forty-eight hours. After one week the
plants may be gradually exposed, the ties unloos-
ened, and the future prosperity of the plant a
triumph.

I have seen a boy slip these in at a very rapid
rate, and have now in my possession a plant grafted
last April, that has eleven shoots, forming a fine
round head six inches high and ten inches in diam-
eter. I have not a doubt but that many amateurs
and gardeners can far exceed this, as I have used no
extra appliances.

[To be Concluded in our Next.]

THE EITCHEN-GAHCSN.

BY WALTER ELDEK.

The kitchen-garden is one of the most important
and interesting departments upon the estate, and
beautifies or disfigures it according to its location
and enclosure. Where we find it almost close up
to the cottage and mansion, and in full view of the
windows, with its bare soil and leafless trees and
bushes in winter, it is the most uncomely feature in
our system of gardening, and bespeaks a decided
want of refined taste. Two reasons are given for

— C

so locating it. "I want mj'- fruits and vegetables
grown under my own eyes, to prevent pillage ; and
when the cook needs an extra vegetable, she can call
for it."

After a long experience in this matter, and much
conversation with other gardeners, we think the
peculation of vegetables is very rare ; but fruits
groAving in an open garden so near to the house,
and a daily resort of all its inmates, are more sub-
ject to pillage than they would be any where else.
As well place a doorless safe full of gold in the open
hall for safety ! So very tempting are ripening
fruits, that none but gardeners and owners, who
know the care and cost of producing them, can
resist the desire to pluck. If it were otherwise in
the best-regulated households, better grow a few
trees of choice fruits upon the lawn, than disfigure
the place with an eyesore so near to the house. In-
stead of the cook calling for any vegetable, let her
take a smart race upon a hard gravel walk, say
three hundred yards to the garden and back, — the
best thing to preserve her health, good looks, good
temper and usefulness.

Upon small places the kitchen -garden should be
as far from the house as the grounds will admit, and
well fenced in. Upon large places it should be two
or three hundred yards from the mansion, and hid
from it by trees and shrubbery upon the intervening
lawn. A sheltered spot, but not near to large
trees, and sloping to the east or south, or a level
that can be drained will do. The soil can be im-
proved ; a light loam is best. A perfect square is
the best shape, but "a quadrangle oblong figure is
good. The size will be in proportion to the extent
of the grounds and the number of the family. Where
space Avill admit, and choice fruits are to be grown,
one and a half acres is small enough. The best,
cheapest, most lasting and beautiful fence for it is
an osage-orange hedge. The plant is well suited to
our climate, and thrives upon a variety of soils and
exposures. If it gets the same care as a row of corn
the first three years, and a semi-annual clipping, it
will be a substantial fence by that time, and will last
for ages and be in unison with the good-keeping of
the place. Seven feet high, four feet thick at bot-
tom, tapering to nothing at the top, it will be a good
shelter, and better than any dead fences. A "close
board" is good shelter in cold weather; but in hot
weather it keeps off the lower air current, and the
sun is too strong for many kinds of plants, unless
there is a constant circulation of air passing among
them. Wire fences neither give shelter in cold
weather, nor soften the arid air of summer, which
is so withering for newly-transplanted crops before
they make roots to supply the excessive evapora-
tion. A good hedge is best adapted for our climate

of extremes. It is like a riddle for the winds, — the
wheat goes through it, and the chaff flies over.

A garden enclosed with such a hedge, and locked
gates, and the gardener and owner only having
keys, the best fruits of our climate can be grown
without molestation. First manure and trench tlie
soil, and then lay out the garden ; if square and one
and a half acres, line off a strip along the north
side thirty-five feet wide. In the middle of it, and
facing the main cross-walk, may be erected a taste-
ful tool-house and seed-room, with a cellar beneath
and an observatory above. On either side, and ten
feet off, ranges of forcing-pits, eight feet from the
hedge-roots and ten feet wide ; a gravel walk in
front, six feet broad, and gravelled behind ; a gutter
at the outer edge of the front walk to carry off wa-
ter. Next a border for cropping, ten feet wide.
Make a walk along the front five or six feet broad ;
and in making this walk, all around the other sides
let it be fourteen feet from the hedge-roots, to give
a cropping border ten feet broad, two feet for the
hedge to branch, and two feet of a path to hoe and
clip the hedge. Next make two cross-walks through
the middle of the garden, so as to cross each other
in the centre. Here may be made a circular flower-
bed, with an ornamental frame in the centre to train
vines upon. Instead of this, we have seen a sunk
cistern, and the drains emptied their waters into it
and supplied the garden with water all summer.
The walks should be all edged with boxwood, and
the soil dug out slopingly, a foot deep in the middle,
and filled up w.th stones or rubbish from buildings,
and covered with stony gravel. On the edges of
the four square beds plant sma 1 fruit trees, dwarf
pears. Crab Apples, quince, nectarine, peach, etc.,
with gooseberry and currant-bushes between them.
These trees may be eight feet from the edge of the
walks ; and allowing them to branch out five feet,
there will be three feet for the culture of annual,
biennial and perennial flowers to enliven the walks.
Raspberry, asparagus, rhubarb and other tall crops
will be grown upon the beds, and dwarf crops upon
the ten feet borders all around. If the forcing-pits
do not run the whole length of the first lined off
strip, then erect grape-vine arbors to fill up the
length. A proper system of rotating crops should
be kept up. We may arrange them into four classes,
and no individual of the same class should follow
each other upon the same spot. 1. Beets, carrots,
parsnips, potatoes, radishes, turnips, &c. 2. Beans,
peas, okra, pepper, egg-plant, &c. 3. Melons, cu-
cumbers, squash, tomatoes, &c. 4. Cabbage, let-
tuce, spinage, celery, leeks, onions, &c.

An annual 'exchange of seeds is of much import-
ance in successful cropping, as all kinds degenerate
when grown many years upon the same garden. It

n

fv!5>^

304

S;i^ §i\dtMfB dflontfjlg.

is folly for a gentleman's gardener to save seeds if
he has other work to do, as the labor spent upon
them is worth double the price of a fresh supply.
Seeds can only be grown profitably in large quanti-
ties. Besides, ripening crops in a well-kept garden
are unsightly ; and they hold up the ground from
getting a second crop in, which, of itself, is worth
more than the price of fresh seeds. A crop ripening
its seeds reduces the soil more than two crops taken
off green.

Attached to a corner of the garden outside may
be a yard sixty or eighty feet square, enclosed with
lilacs, hydrangeas, altheas, and a shed to hold sashes,
covers, bean-poles, pea-stakes, tying-up sticks, &c.,
and clothed with vines. Into this yard will be
brought all cleanings and refuse of the garden, ma-
nures to decompose, composts made up, &c., so
that the garden will look clean at all times.

FRUIT MINTS.

BY n. C. VAN TYNE, CLEVELAND, O.

As I am indebted to the Gardener'' s Monthly for
many valuable "hints in horticulture," permit me
to give you the result of a few applications of same.

I have met with decided success in using tobacco-
stems as a preventive for the peach-borer. Frequent
examinations since early last spring, have revealed
but one borer. I rencAV the supply of stems as often
as I deem advisable, and find no injury to the roots
from them. I have also acted on Miss Morris' hint
relative to the application of saltpetre, alum or salt,
as special manures for the peach, and with most
promising results. I sprinkle them on the surface of
the soil to within about a foot of the trunk of the
tree.

My trees, which were inclined to be sickly and of
puny growth, are now in splendid condition, and
this season made very strong, healthy growth, and
from summer pruning are sending out strong, thick
branches, some sweeping nearly to the ground,
affording complete protection to the trunk from the
scorching sun.

Last season, I used Gishurst's Compound for slugs
on my pear and cherry trees. This season, I have
used nothing but Whale Oil Soap, which I find quite
as effectual and more beneficial, I think, to my trees
as it gives a healthy, bright color to the bark, and
keeps the leaves fresh looking and free from spots.
I apply it once a week or fortnight, as they may re-
quire, and the expense is but little more than that of
common soap, costing here five to six and a quarter
cents per pound. Instead of a syringe, I use a
"hydropult," which has great forcing power, and
its flexible tube renders it far superior to the syringe
in application to under-side of foliage.

Why is not Whale Oil Soap more generally used
West ? I found but one barrel in this city, and that
was considered unsaleable. There will, undoubtedly,
be another barrel purchased for this market as early
as this fall.

WIMTSR-ELOORESPffG PLAMTS FOR

As the time is now approaching when plants in-
tended for winter-flowering should be attended to, I
propose to say a few words on the subject. If they
have been growing in the open border all the sum-
mer, they should be lifted about the latter end of
September or beginning of October, potted and placed
in a shady spot for a few days previous to their being
taken to their winter quarters. Those that have
been grown in pots and are still likely to grow much,
maybe shifted into a larger-sized pot, the plants well
cleaned of all dead branches and leaves, and placed
with the others that have been lifted from the
border.

A few good kinds for the purpose named are the
following : Aphelandra Ghiestbrechtii, Lopezia rosea,
Cyrtanthera magnifica, Oldenlandia Deppei, Justitia
carnea, Rondoletia anomale, Cupheas, Habrotham-
nus elegans, Begonia incarnata, Oxalis floribunda,
Ageratum coelestinum, Jasminum revolutum and
Bouvardia leiantha. These, together with a few
heliotropes, geraniums and fuchsias, would make a
good collection and give continuous bloom until
spring.

They may all be grown in a warm dwelling-room
where the temperature does not get below 50^^ Fahr.
with perfect ease. The Cyrtanthera, Ageratum, Hab-
rothamnus and Lopezia being the tallest growing of
the number, should have the back row.

The Lopezia has innumerable small rose-colored
flowers, and will continue growing and blooming
till spring. It is a first-rate winter plant, although
it does not seem to be much known' as such. The
Cyrtanthera is a rosy pink, and the Ageratum, gray-
ish blue. Almost all other colors will be found with
the remaining numbers. A few pots of Mignonette,
Cineraria and Chinese Primrose, should be sown at
once ; they will bloom towards March.

Cuttings of most of the kinds taken off and rooted
now, will also bloom at the same time, and will make
the best plants for the succeeding winter.

If red spider should make their appearance, re-
moving them by hand as soon as discovered is best
where they are not numerous ; if in too great num-
bers, washing them off with clear water is the next
best thing.

m

Clj^ @arhncfs Hlontljlj.

305

NOTES ON PEARS AND GRAPES ABOUT
SYRACUSE, N. Y.

BY GRAPTOLITE.

I SEND you a few notes of " things seen" on a trip
to Western New York. Our principal cruising
ground was the vicinity of Syracuse. What in-
terested me most were the nurseries of Smith &
Hanchett, so well known in the propagation and
culture of fruit trees.

The specimen fruit grounds in the city, occupy
some fifty or sixty acres ; while the nurseries, about
five miles out of town, cover upwards of three
hundred acres. The soil of the nursery grounds is
a strong, deep, clayey loam, ameliorated by deep
ploughing and underdraining, with liberal dressings
of rich muck and manure, and the fruit trees were
very healthy. The dwarf or quince-rooted pear
trees succeed well in the strong, moist clay in which
they are grown. Indeed, Mr. W. B. Smith, who
attends specially to this branch of the business, is of
opinion that the fine fibrous roots of trees budded on
the quince will fail to sustain the pear when planted
in a sandy or gravelly soil, or in any other than a
clayey loam or a deep, rich garden mould.

Mr. Smith is a firm believer in the value of dwarf
pear culture, and proves his faith by his works, for
he has introduced them extensively into his speci-
men fruit grounds, where they are models of beauty
and perfection ; and he has also planted an orchard
of ten acres for a gentleman, near the city, largely
composed of dwarf trees, and undertaken the man-
agement of it for four years, or until it comes into
full bearing. This orchard, containing upwards of
four thousand trees, is one of the most admirable
specimens of successful pear-culture we have ever
seen. It is surrounded on all sides by a heavy stone
wall, and a Honey Locust hedge, the best protection
against fruit thieves that can possibly be provided.
The lot was simply a good corn-field, with a south-
eastern exposure, protected on the north and west
by a hill. It was deeply ploughed, but not trenched
or manured before planting. A light top-dressing
of good barn-yard manure is given annually. The
field is kept constantly clean with the cultivator and
hoe, the entire season. A light, loose, well cultiva-
ted soil is thought to be the best mulching the trees
can have. No crops are, of course, grown on the
ground, but a few pear stocks and newly budded
trees are planted between the rows. The strong,
healthy growth which the dwarf trees have made,
in two years, under this simple plan, is really re-
markable. But httle diff"erence can be discerned be-
tween the dwarf and standard trees in respect to
luxuriance and vigor. The Duchesse d'Angouleme
and others on the quince, grow quite as well as the
Bartlett on the pear stock ; while such trees as the

Bcurre Giffard, dwarf, equal the Seckel as a stand-
ard. The soil is a light clayey loam, with a porous
sub-soil, liberally supplied with shaly limestone
rock. This orchard may be considered a test experi-
ment in dwarf pear-culture, for market purposes, as
contrasted wuh common garden work. It has been
planted in a simple manner, just as we should plant
an apple orchard, with the best of stock, under the
direction of a practical nurseryman, who has the
entire charge of the cultivation, pruning and fruit-
ing for four years, by contract. Now we shall have
a chance to see Avhat an orchard of dwarf pears
will do under the best management they can have
on a large scale, with a view to profit. Mr. Smith
has no fears of the result, and will, no doubt, take
pleasure in exhibiting the orchard to any pomologi-
cal friends from abroad who may wish to see it.

In their nursery, Messrs. Smith & Hanchett are
now growing several pear trees, which are often un-
healthy on the quince, by double-working them,
thus : first, budding the Vicar of Winkfield (which
is probably the most vigorous and healthy of dwarf
treesj on the quince, and then cutting back one year's
growth within an inch or two of the stock, and then
budding the Vicar wood with the pear which is de-
sired. In this way they are producing, especially the
Beurre Clairgeau, f which is genei-ally an imperfect
tree on the quince, ) in great perfection. The Beurre
Giffard, Des Nonues, Winter Nelis, Seckel, and
some others, which, as dwarfs, are generally feeble
and unsatisfactory, may, no doubt, in this way, be
obtained in good vigor on quince roots. We were
much pleased with the results so far.

For orchard-houses and private gardens, these
nm-serymen are budding the peach on the Black
Plum, with a view to dwarf the trees and to protect
the stem against the peach-borer and grub. They
think the trees will be much approved.

Messrs. Smith & Hanchett practice the cutting-
back system on their pear trees. A "cut-back"
tree is one which has been grown vigorously for one
year from the bud, then cut back within five or
eight buds of the root, and after another years'
growth, when it has made five or six strong branches
all within eight or ten inches of the ground, short-
ened back in all its shoots, so as to become a strong,
bushy tree. Such trees, especially if budded very
low, "right down on the crown of the quince root,"
are worth double the tall, slender trees which we
often find budded with the quince roots more than a
foot in length, and grown year after year without
any shortening of stem or branches. But many per-
sons prefer bean-poles to good trees, and so Messrs.
Smith & Hanchett get up some of that kind to suit
the popular idea of a good pear tree.

Dr. Boynton, the well-known lecturer on geology,

has a pear orcliard of several thousand dwarf trees,
near Syracuse, from -which he last year obtained
some of the most beautiful fruit we have ever seen.
Those who were present at the Pomological Conven-
tion, in Philadelphia, September, 1860, will remem-
ber the display of large, brilliantly-colored pears,
with very glossy, waxy skin, contributed by Dr.
Boynton, and also the curious dissertation given by
the Doctor upon the supposed cause of the color
and gloss. This orchard we visited and examined.
It is situated on an eminence or steep hill, cov-
ering the north and south sides. The trees are all
planted on terraces, with excavations on the top of
each terrace, to prevent the water from flowing off
too suddenly in summer, while the soil is said to be
so naturally porous as to drain off superabundant
moisture freely. The manner of planting we thought
bad, for several reasons, one of which is, that it
effectually prevents all culture with the horse-hoe,
or cultivator, — so essential to perfect success in this
kind of orcharding. As a consequence, the field was
allowed to run into wild grass, weeds and thistles,
all of which are unsightly and injurious. Again,
terraces Avith basins for holding water, must be too
wet in cold wet weather, and too dry in a season of
drouth. We must state, however, that the Doctor,
in consequence of domestic afflictions, personal
illness, and losses occasioned by the Southern Re-
bellion, has been prevented from giving his usual
attention to this orchard for several months past,
and it was not seen by us in its best or pro-
per condition. The trees, however, looked very
well, as a general thing, and apart from a vicious
system of pruning, called "forming pyramids,"
which is advocated in nearly all works on fruit-culture,
and almost universally practiced in New York, fur-
nished good evidence that dwarf pear-culture was
by no means a failure. Neither here nor on the
fruit orchard at Smith & Hanchett's, was there any
thing like a crop of fruit, the blossoms having been
nearly all destroyed by the spring frost, — nor were
the specimens of fruit which escaped the frosts of
the ordinary size or beauty. As to the cause of the
brifliant coloring which has distinguished Dr. Boyn-
ton's fruit heretofore, and the remarkably polished
and waxy appearance of the skin, the Doctor at-
tributes it to the peculiar geological composition of
the soil, and the free use of potash, soda and super-
phosphate of lime in the composts which he has ap-
plied. The circumstances alluded to are remarkable,
and we hope the Doctor will investigate the probable
causes of his peculiar success with much care.

At Syracuse native grapes are cultivated pretty
extensively in small vineyards, on high trellises, in
the gardens about the city ; and albeit, we have
little faith in the value or success of such culture, in

the gratification to be obtained from it, or in the
merit of the system of culture generally practised,
we consented to look at some specimens of these
vineyards. The result was by no means flatter-
ing to the reputation of the native grapes, or to the
skill of the cultivators. We feel well assured that
few or no well-ripened, palateable or digestible
gi-apes can be produced from the varieties now cul-
tivated, or under the system of training and pruning
generally pursued. As a specimen of the culture
which is adopted, we were shown the vineyard of
one gentleman, who, we were told, had obt lined
from his vines the best native grapes ever seen in
Syracuse. The method of culture was as follows :
The vines were trained on trellises eight or ten feet
high, with numerous rods running up from the
roots ("the rods, say, six or eight inches apart) to
the height of the trellis, and then along the top of
the trellis, in a mass, an indefinite length, rarely, if
ever, stopped at the terminal point ; but all the main
laterals were carefully cut out of the groicing canes,
close to the main eyes, leaving only the main leaf at
each eye ! We remarked that this was a novel me-
thod of culture, to say the least of it, and asked
why it was done. The gentleman said that he did
not know, but it was "away they had" in Syra-
cuse, introduced by some German vine-dressers.
We inquired if he could give any physiological
reason for it, or quote any good authority which
prescribed such treatment. He replied that he could
not. He pursued this plan because others did, and
all that he knew was, that he generally got a satis-
factory crop of grapes. So plain a violation of the
first principles of vegetable physiology and prac-
tical grape-culture it is not worth while to argue
about. We only notice it to exhibit the deplorable
state of native grape-culture, after all the efforts
that have been made in this country to improve it.

GRAPTIKTG ARBORVITiBS.

BY "propagator."

In the last nursery in which I was engaged before
taking my present situation as a gentleman's gar-
dener, evergreen propagation was a distinctiA^e fea-
ture, and thousands raised annually by different
modes, and as I left with the establishment a great
deal of information that I have collected in my life,
"free gratis and for nothing," there cannot be, I
presume, any objection to my handing you a few notes
occasionally for publication in your excellent jour-
nal, provided you think them worthy of acceptance.

In this letter I give you a mode of grafting arbor-
vitses, which I found very successful. In England
we used to work these when the kinds Avere scarce
on the Thuja orientalis, by cleft-grafting, — working

kSTT

M^ §Mmtf^ Ponthlj.

them an inch or so above the ground, and using
composition wax in the usual way. Many of these
would, nevertheless, fail. When the Golden Arbor-
vitre was first getting into popularity here, we wished
to increase it faster than we could by cuttings. So
I determined to operate on a lot of young American
Arborvittes we had in nursery rows. As early in
spring ns the frost was out of the ground, and the
cold weather evidently passed away, the soil was
taken away about an inch and a half from the stem
of the young arborvitse plants, and the plants them-
selves headed down to about a level with the surface
of the ground. The graft was then inserted in the
usual way of cleft-grafting, and after being tied Avith
bast matting, the soil was drawn in about them,
without any further coating of wax over the place
of grafting. Thej' had no fuither care, and grew
beautifully. The great advantage of this mode was,
that not only little bits too small to make into cut-
tings were used, but the plants grew on these strong
stocks with such vigor, that they were as large in two
years as they would have been in four, on their own
roots, in the usual way.

[Certainly, we shall value highly a continuation
of such useful hints. — Ed.]

saw-dust between the ice and the walls of their
houses. This, I presume, is much too great a thick-
ness in the estimation of j^our correspondent. He
says, "A layer of porous material must be put be-
tween stone walls and the ice, and provision made
for the air to pass to tlie bottom of the structure."
I do not quite understand tliis. Is other provision
than the porosity of the material to be made for con-
ducting air to the bottom of the ice-house ? Say
something on the shape of tubes. Does he advise
that the doors of the ice-house be left constantly
open ? How thick should the covering over the top
of the ice be ?

If it is not agreeable to your correspondent to
answer these inquiries, will you, Mr. Editor, answer
them, or hand them to one of your correspondents,
who is practical on this subject, for replies? Other
persons beside the writer have encountered disap-
pointment from building their ice-houses on a wrong
principle, and your journal will be doing good ser-
vice to the public if it becomes the medium of circu-
lating correct theory and practice on tiiis subject.

PRESERVATION OF ICE.

BY N. n. K., OF SPRINGFIELD, ILL.

Havikg recently built an ice-house which has
proved a failure, I have read with much interest the
article in j-our September number on the above sub-
ject. My recent experience seems to confirm " J. C.
B.'s" theory. My house is constructed on the idea,
that heat can be sufficiently excluded by surround-
ing the ice with thick walls, and making the house
as nearly air-tight as possible. It has 12-inch brick
walls, Avith inside partitions six inches from the
brick walls, the interval between the two walls being
filled with pulverized charcoal. The roof is also
thickened by charcoal between the shingles and
sheathing. The drainage is well arranged and
works Avell. The house has closely-fitting double
doors. It is ten feet square on the inside. It was
filled last winter with ice well packed. The ice
lasted only until the middle of August.

I now desire to adopt the course suggested by "J.
C. B.," and my present object is to ask of him Cif he
will be so kind as to answer my questions) some
practical information on the subject, as follows :
Of the different substances ("shavings, saw-dust, char-
coal, J with which he proposes to surround the ice,
which is the best ? How thick should the stratum
be by which the ice is to be surrounded? It is
the practice here with persons who pack ice in large
quantities for sale, to put eight to twelve inches of

To Make Straw Mats. — Straw mats are often
made for covering the hotbeds or cold frames, in-
stead of bast-mats, and are found to be much better
and cheaper. They can be made in the following
manner : — Drive two posts fA, A) into the ground,
eight or ten feet apart. The posts should be an

inch and a half to two inches wide. To these posts
nail two boards (B, B), one on each side, so as to
leave a space between them one and a half to two
inches wide. Near each end of the boards, inside
the posts, cut a deep, straight notch (c, e), to allow
cutting tlie straw off straight at the ends. Notches
(d, d, d) should be cut at intervals of aliout nine
inches on the boards, say one incli deep, to keep
the cords in their places. Tarred rope is best. Lay
the straw on the cords between the boards in hand-
fuls, and tie them tight with a single tie, reversing
the strings ; then put on another handful, aud pro-
ceed as before, till the mat is made of the length de-
sired. The last course should be tied with a double
tie. — James Craib in Genesee Farmer.

^

303

Slh^ ^nxHtm'B IBoirflj'j.

C|x §MkmxB lil0nl|I||.

PHILADELPHIA, OCTOBER 1, 1861.

jn^^" All Comnmnicatious for the Editor should be addressed,
" Thomas Meehan, Germantown,PhiladeIpbia,"aDd Business Let-
ters directed to "The PcrBiJ&HBR of the Gakdexeb's Monthly,
Box 406 Philadelphia."

«•««*

|i3= Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1S61 in addition
to their own, with $;3.0D can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(1859) free. All persons who have paid their subscriptions forlSGl
by sending two new Subscribers and IS2.C0 ciin receive a copy of
the same.

THE VEGETABLE QUESTI0N-C3ELERY.

Students on a certain musical instrument are
usually cautioned against playing too much on one
string. Horticulturists need similar advice at times.
We have had the Strawberry Question, the Pear
Question, the Grape Question, the Rose Question,
and the Verbena Question, — all very important and
pertinent to horticultural pursuits ; but we propose
a change ju.st now, and introduce the Vegetable
Question.

We know that it has been a grave question with
more than one horticulturist, whether the vegetable-
garden should not be abandoned, and attention
exclusively devoted to the flower and fruit depart-
ments. "Every cabbage," say they, "costs us a
quarter. Our onions are always of the Silver-skin
varietjr, with the silver even more than skin deep ;
and the egg fruit is evidently of no fabled goose, and
yet none the less golden on that account."

We sympathize with these complaints. Vegeta-
bles groAvn in private establishments often do cost
entirely too much. If the main object of a garden
be to raise our articles of food, the satisfaction of
having grown our own vegetables is a poor recom-
pense in face of the fact that they cost us double the
price they would have stood us in the market.

And yet, for all this, if we are to look at the
question as one of mere produce and cost, all pri-
vate vegetable-growing may as well be abandoned,
as no gardener can raise them as cheaply as one who
makes it a special study and a business, and who
grows them in immense quantities. We need not
even stop with vegetables ; for it is as true of
our fruits and our flowers, that, cultivate them as
scientifically as we may, they will cost us more than
it will those whose peculiar calling it is to raise them ;
and we might argue further against private car-
riages and horses, and even against individual homes
themselves, as communities and large boarding-

houses, on mutual principles, are decidedly cash-
saving institutions.

But, keeping to the vegetable question, we are
asked to think of the pleasure of raising them our-
selves, as if our hat or our coat would be more val-
ued by each man becoming his own tailor or hatter.
We think that the true source of pleasure in a pri-
vate vegetable-garden is superior excellence ; and
that if, with increased cost of production, this is not
attained, the owner should either abandon his gar-
den, his system of gardening, or change his gar-
dener.

We make these remarks preparatory to describing
a process of raising celery, that is not cheap, but
excellent. Every stalk raised in the way described
will probably cost six cents ; so that those who
would prefer to go in the market and buy one at
three or four, need read no further. But to those
who take pleasure in their gardens, — who are ever
aiming at superiority, — who, in their experiments, are
continually on the watch for new principles, that
may afterwards be cheapened for the public good,
and applied to other crops and other practices,— we
make no apology on the score of the slightly in-
creased expensiveness of the process.

To understand the advantages of the new mode,
we will point out the disadvantages attendant on
all the old ones. Celery loves an abimdance of
moisture, and it must be blanched. It is usual to
continually Avater it overhead ; but every cultivator
knows that this tends to the baking and hardening
of the soil, and continued stirring with the hoe and
rake is necessary to counteract the evil, which, after
all, is never entirely remedied. Then the blanching
process usually employed, however varied in the
mode, is attended by two serious evils. Blanching,
to be effective, requires only the exclusion of light ;
but when earth or material is closed up around the
celery plants, the air and all is excluded. The con-
sequence is, that celery becomes pithy, insipid, and
very difficult of preservation.

The other evil is, that by the earthing process, the
rootlets are buried up far beneath the surface, and
are dependent entirely on what little the soil contains
for its growth and nutrition.

The following process obviates all these objections.
See fig. 1. A level piece of ground is chosen, and
well manured all over. The usual trenches are dis-
carded, and the plants set right on the surface two
feet apart. Common pipe draining-tiles are then
procured, and after drawing a hoe through the loose
groimd directly between each row, the tiles are set,
as in the sketch, nearly level with the surface.
When it is desired to water, it is poured through
the pipe, (one end being closed tight,J and the
water percolates through the tiles into the soil, and

jg^"

M

®ije hardener's <PauthhT.

300

<'2ly)*

T®

through and amongst the roots, keeping the soil thoroughly moist, while the surface around the plant is
thus left porous and loose as ever. But these tiles perform another UTiportant function, whicli will
appear in the sequel.

When the plants have grown quite long, common horse-shoe draining-tilcs are employed, as shown in
the plan for the blanching process. They are set edge to edge on the opposite sides of the row, a slight
earthing being employed to keep them in an upright position. Towards autumn, when the leaves begin
to lall from the trees, they are collected and thrown in between the rows, and thus all light is entirely
excluded, while air will pass down the tube and around the stems of the plants, rendering them firm and
solid in the midst of a perfect blanching process. Any litter will do as well as leaves.

Fig. 1.

It is now that the pipes serving as water-conduits prove of value. While air is excluded by the super-
incumbent mass of matter, it passes through the open pipes and completely aerates the roots, causing
them to grow in a surprising manner. The Iriend who gives us the plan as he pursued it in Germany,
tells us that the roots often form so complete a mass inside the pipes by the time the celery is full-grown,
as to entirel}' choke them ; and the whole vigor of the plant and crispy sweetness of quality is such as
will enable those of our readers who have followed our description to prepare a "surpriser'' for those
who left off reading at the point where we spoke of the increased expense of the plan.

To make the subject of celery improvement complete, another friend asks us to tell his fellow-readers of the
Gardener'' s Monthly how he preserves celery fresh aud plump till April, and time to sow celery seeds
again ; and as we think the plan founded on sound principles, and as, moreover, he has tried it in the balance
and not found it wanting, we cheerfully comply. Fig. 2 gives the idea.

An elevated piece of ground is chosen, where the
water can easily run off. A double row of celery is
then laid along on the ground, each row slightly
elevated to throw out any moisture that may chance
to get in. A thin layer of soil is then thrown over,
and another layer of celery, setting each layer a
little further in than the one below it, so that, when
finished, the whole stack will form a ridge. Soil is
then cast over the whole, and " banked" or smoothed
over. In order to guard still more against wet, a small gutter is dug around the ridge, to carry off the
water. A covering of corn-stalks or any waste litter will exclude frost, and on an occasional fine day
through the winter the "cairn" may be opened, and a supply for a week or so taken out.

vy

KILMARNOCi: WSEPING WILLOW.

[see frontispiece.]
We give this month an engraving of what we consider, without exception, the handsomest weeping
tree in cultivation. It has been in the country some years, but is so seldom seen in proportion to its real ljg\

310

®h4 ^ardai^r's ,p;ontM2»

merits, that we deem it a duty to place it promi-
nently before our readers as we do.

In our own neighborhood we have recently seen
some very fine specimens, which the owner obtained
some years ago from the establishment of Ellwanger
& Barry, Rochester, New York, to the well-known
energy and enterprise of which firm, we believe, its
early introduction, and dissemination so far as it has
gone, have been mainly owing. The specimens al-
luded to we know the gentleman would not part
with at any price, and they are the admiration of all
who see them.

It appears to be a variety of the Salix caprea, or
Goat Willow, and was first discovered in a bed of
others by the Laings, of Kilmarnock, in Scotland.

THE NELUMBIUM I.UTEUM. OR YELLOW
EGYPTIAN LOTUS.

A FRIEND sends us a spirited sketch from the
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, of what, to strangers,
is one of the "sights" of that city to tourists who
have a taste for natural history and associations
connected with ancient legends.

How or in what manner the plant first became na-
turalized near Philadelphia, has hitherto been a
mystery. The first account of which we have any
record of its existence there, is that it was noticed
by Peter Kalm, the Swedish botanist, and after
whom the Kalmia is named, in 1748. It was not
known at that time to be found north of the Caro-
linas. If, therefore, it had been introduced from the
South by any of the white settlers, it could not have
had time to be so well established at Kalm's discovery
but that that fact would have suggested itself to his
acute mind, or at least to some of his fellow-explorers,
Bartram, Marshall, &c.

That it does not exist nearer its southern locations
than this, is, we think, proof that it was introduced
by some one ; as all aquatic plants, natural to our
waters, have a very wide and regular distribution.
The probability is, that it was introduced by the
Indians, and if so, a curious inquiry might be
started as to what motives prompted the introduc-
tion ?

On the theory that the American Indians are of
Asiatic origin, might not the sacred character
given by these races, in that country, to the species
of that region,— dedicated, as it was, to Isis and Osiris,
have accompanied the emigrants to this countrj'-, and
be transferred to this so neai'ly allied species ? And if
proof could be found that the Indians of this con-
tinent really had this supposed veneration for our
Lotus, might it not prove a valuable fact in tracing
the exact history of the American Indians ? We
throw out the hints for the benefit of ethnologists.

We may add, that tradition certainly fixes the neigh-
borhood of the Philadelphia Lotus as a famous In-
dian rendezvous. On a hill about two miles from
the spot the writer has often found flint arrow-heads,
and it was, therefore, undoubtedly a place devoted
to this species of manufacture. With these matter-
of-fact remarks, we will introduce our writer's more
flowery production :

The rioral Wonder of the First Ward.

A LOCAL ITEM, BY A " NECK"rOMANCER.

"Hear the legend of the Lotus. It grows in the
lonely meadows that border the Old Point Road, and
spread, laced with languid creeks, their sheets of
summer green to the Delaware. Into this desolate
haunt the plant has wandered from Florida lagoons
and the bayous of Indian islands, and here any year,
in the ecstacy and passion of midsummer, the visitor
may find it, as we did, holding its stately drawing-
rooms, its shields of malachite, and crowns of dewy
silver, all doubled in the polished pavement of the
water.

"The flower is of the storied NelumMum family,
historic in Egypt and holy in India, reverenced by
the Pharoahs three thousand years ago, and by the
Buddhists in all Asia to-day. The vision of the
Nile would be less fair in our eyes, were this shining
lilly lost from its borders, and without it a hundred
delicate myths, — images of Brahma and Vishnu, and
figures of plump, lazy-eyed goddesses of China and
Japan, would topple over helplessly and be drowned ;
for the starry blossom is their float, and their boat,
and throne. It is the puzzle of local botanists to
discover how a tribe of this priestly family was ever
moved to abandon the ancestral waters, and lay its
exotic flowers upon the baptism of our Galilean font.
But here it grows, distinct from any water lilly
known to the Northern States, haughty and lonely
in the caress of an alien tide, and, waiting for our
summer's most tropic hour, bursts, and heaves a
fortnight's wonder on the waves.

"We had a friend at court, an habitue, who
knew well the habitat and etiquette of this fragile
nobility, and with that introductory advantage we
secured a presentation, on a day that seemed created
to cradle an oriental dream. The sky was a cup of
stagnant fire. The heat was equatorial, and the air
expanding and ascending left us hardly enough to
feed our poor, practical lungs upon. The whole
material of daylight seemed rising from us in impal-
pable fumes. An exhalation, such as ascends from
the flats of Egypt in the time of their inundation,
painted the far-spreading level with touches of mez-
zotinto and uncertainty, and laid an attenuated veil
of mysteiy on all we saw, and, indeed, on all we
felt. In fact, as we found afterwards, it Avas raining

®T

m\H hardener's Jilonffilg.

;ll

not many miles to the north and to the south ; but
over the tender botany of the lands of rainless blue,
the clouds, sparing for the lotus a focus of reeking
calm, withdrew in a mighty cordon, and watched
the moments of its culmination from afar. All
round the horizon their piles of moulded Carrara
laj^ motionless in statuesque quiet, and silently cor-
roding away in the devouring fervor of the air.

" Through the lazy hours of such a day, we waited
for the tempered relaxation of its heat, and then set
ourselves in lagging motion towards the South. The
road alluded to was once a capital artery, receiving
a populous current from the Gloucester Ferry, but
deserted now by all its (Id patrons, — the long-waist-
coated yeoman and the coy equestriennes whose
buckles and heel-slippers we clierish, — it marches
disconsolately between a police of ditches, and turns
neither to the right nor left till it reaches, a little
further on than we need to trace it, the end of its
downward career by a termination abrupt as any
felon's. Along this disgraced thoroughfare, not
without an accompanying society evoked from the
gray doors of velvet tombs, and the limbo Cwhere-
ever that may bej of those C-spring high-elbowed
gigs and wonderful one-horse shays of antiquity,
we and our fancies went musing, and so

'• In the afternoon we came unto the land
In which it seemed always afternoon."

The lazy kine was cropping those delicate grasses
which dry into the fine packing hay. Each footfall,
as we crossed the meadows, splashed up a spray of
light-limbed grasshoppers. Then, winding awhile
by quiet creeks, whose pictured heavens were
pierced by the spearheads of sagittate leaves, we
went westward, till our guide suddenly lifted a hand
of warning, and pointed where, lo ! how still they
slept !

" The water was paved with round emerald tables,
from six to eighteen inches across, each bearing in
its central dimple a ball of brilliant w^ater, neither
pearl nor diamond, but a new gem, crystalline silvery,
ineffable ; for the velvet texture of the leaf rejects
liquids, which roll about like mercury, in glancing
bullets, when the ripple stirs the broad palms in
which they are held. If the leaves were dainty,
what where the flowers ? Gathered softly apart, all
together, away from the buxom spatterdocks and
the baser canaille of nameless water plants, the
pallid Circassians rose from their baths, each with
its delicate stem running down to link with a swaying
reflection. Some closed their milky lips, — the baby-
buds, who, when the white, intense suu should feed a
little longer their tiny veins with cream, would reach
the privileges of maidenhood, and let their petals pout
further and further apart with the kiss of each lazy
rtj I breeze. And some had ripened so far already, and

0'U

allowed you, in a cool cell of translucent white, to
see the flaming topaz they wore upon their hearts.
And a few had burst with pallid fury into mimic
suns, and lay relaxed upon the water, five ivory
inches over, raying from their 3'ellow reals a flight
of luminous petals.

" Certain venal sans-culottea had arrived before us,
and, plunged into unfathomable Nilotic mud, were
pulling at the pretty pipes, meaning to ravish a few
dozen of the lilies for the slave-market. This strange
flower, indeed, is not quite unknown, although most
of the quiet Philadelphians go on longing for a
sight of the haunted blossoms of the Nile, uncon-
scious how near it waits for them in its covert of
plated shields. A few of those noiseless students of
Flora, however, the practical botanists whom most
people consider bores because they go penetrating
everywhere, are in the secret, and have let it out to
us ; and, far more captivating than they, a race of
dreaming and expectant children, the truelotophagi,
are hanging even now tlieir hopes upon the
mellowing lotus fruit. When the golden October
comes, with its witching of hazy air that makes a
glamour for all things and any landscape, we shall
see these offspring of a poetic myth stretch out be-
side the creeks, breaking the tender hulls for their
magical chincapins, and feeding on them and on the
dreams of which they are the talismans. We know
too well what will happen to these thoughtless youth,
and the shadow that will fall upon the homes whose
idea the enchanted food will obliterate from their
memories forever.

"For ourselves, we shall always be furnished with
a sympathetic association for the lotus, in the
memory of the Japanese, whose figures have retired
far enough by this time for us to appreciate the pecu-
liar and delicate romance their pageant gave us.
These languid exotics, whom we all remember,
leaning all day from the stately windows of their
great caravanseria, and, with the theatric lenses
that so toolc their fancy, making an opera of all our
earnest American life; those hovering groups of
yellow phantoms, resting their taper fingers on the
sills, but never, even to the lowest of their servants
and porters, seeming to enter far enough into practi-
cal existance to make those fingers a degree less taper
and dehcate ; no, but living right among us a fife that
could not be ours, and opening every morning their
oriel eyes to a prospect we could never see, — they
would have comprehended the lotus. We had fain
bent the season to our scheme, and so have seen in
some dark alien eye the image of a silver star, an
appreciated reflection of the sacred flower of Buddha ;
so, to the most recondite study we have been granted
in ethnology, these mysterious Flora would have
been attached, and we should never again behold the

:<&)

4, , o LZ

Slft^ Larimer's (PonlMj*

fairy flotillas of the lotus, without fancying before
them an adoring shadow of a Mongolian, bowing to
impalpable divinities afloat upon the jeweled barges."

il3^Communications for this department must reach the Editor
on or before the 10th of the month.

2;^The Editor cannot answer letters for this department pri-
vately.

Figs. — A Subscriber, Philadelphia, asks:

Will you please inform me if it would be safe to
keep fig trees and oleanders ("planted in boxes^ in a
cold grapery during the winter. The thermometer
in the night sometimes falls to zero, and during the
day rises to 40o or 50o,— on mild days to 70o or 80o.

If so kept, should they not be covered, so as to
exclude the light? or would it be better to keep
them in a warm, dry cellar? (1.)

Are fig trees in this latitude ever grown in the
open ground ? If so, how are they protected during
the winter? (2.)

Which variety of the fig bears the largest fruit ? fS. J

Is the exudation of gum in peach trees an infalli-
ble sign of the existence of the borer? ("4. J

I have repeatedly examined my trees on seeing
gum issuing from the collar, but without finding any
insect. What can I do to protect them ?

[1. There is danger of injury. Cover them with
dry straw. The absence of light will be an advan-
tage.

2. Often. To protect them, they are laid down
and buried with soil. The plan followed here is to
dig away the soil a little on one side, bend the plant
down, and after pegging to keeiJ them in place,
cover with soil.

The following short piece, however, from our first
volume, gives a neat German plan :

"protecting the fig.

" The fig tree, in many of our city gardens, stands
the winters perfectly well without protection ; and
with but verji- slight protection, could be grown
much further north. We annex a cut of the mode
adopted for this purpose in the north of Europe.

" The fig tree is kept by pruning rather dwarf and
encouraged to branch near the ground, and in the
fall the shoots or branches are tied in four bundles of
equal size. A circular mound of earth is then
thrown up around the base of the tree, and then
the four bundles of branches are bent carefVilly
down and covered about a foot or eighteen inches
deep, so that when completed, the earth will present
the appearance as shown in the engraving annexed."

3. The White Ischia is the largest and best grown
in this vicinity.

4. Any injury produces gum ; very often it occurs
where no borers exist. Small wire-worms or spe-
cies of centipedes often injure peach trees at the
collar suflUciently to cause gumming. Tar or grease
in small quantity, mixed -with the soil near the stem
of the tree, would, doubtless, keep them away. ]

Peaches — From Mr. E. Tatnall, Wilmington,
Bel. — "Miller's Early," eqiml in size, flavor and
appearance to Crawford's Early, but, Mr. Tatnall
says, earlier.

" Letitia" and "Tally-ho," good, but we could ob-
serve no quality in which they were superior to
others of the same season. One without a name,
with an uninviting appearance, seemed the best of
the lot. ^

Peaches — From Chamber sburg. Pa. — Mr. Jacob
Heyser sent us a box September 5th. A tolerably
good peach, for superior to the old Melocoton, with
which we compared it on receipt, The flesh is firm,
and it carries well, having reached us by express,
after several days' journey, as fresh as when gath-
ered from the tree. It appears distinct from any
kind we know of. The following note came with
the fruit :

"I send to you this day half-a-dozen peaches of a
variety that has been cultivated in this town some
fifteen years. The original tree was completely
broken to pieces by over-bearing, and was a con-
stant bearer, always having fruit when there was
any other fruit in the vicinity. The fruit sent is
about medium size, at least the smallest. I have
taken some from the tree measuring from nine to

-J

nine and a half inches in circumference, and the
tree quite full. The tree stands in the yard of Dr.
J. L. Suesserott, of this place, and is so situated as
to get all the afternoon sun, but none of the morn-
ing. The tree is six years old from the bud, and
has borne fruit for the past three years in succession.
We call it the George Forney Peach. The tree is a
good, strong grower, and has never known disease."

Cold Pits— iV. T. C, Canada West, inquires: —
Can a pit for protecting plants through winter be
built to answer the purpose where the water for
several weeks in early spring stands within two feet
and a half of the surface, and where drainage is im-
possible ? If so, what would be the best mode of
construction for the localitj'' ? (1.)

Would there be any disadvantage in placing it
where it would be covered nearly the entire winter
by snow-drifts sufficient to prevent the admission of
fresh air, except at rare intervals ? Is a double
thickness of glass indispensable ? (2.)

[1. We should build a pit, under such circum-
stances, above the ground, and bank it all around
with a few feet thickness of earth, sodding it all
over to keep the earth from washing away or be-
coming loosened by action of frost.

2. There would be no disadvantage in building it
where snow would likely drift, unless the pit was
not mouse-proof, in which case they would probably
cut up some high capers, under so long a time of
being undisturbed, and, perhaps, make nests of
your choicest verbenas. ]

-^EiAL Roots from the Native Grape — Dr.
Wheeler, Burlington, Vermont, writes: — "I passed
the months of March and April at Fayetteville, N. C,
and while there interested myself in examining the
Scuppernong Grape-vine. On some of the most per-
fect vines which I saw in the grounds of the United
States Arsenal I was greatly surprised to perceive
numerous filaments, or serial roots, dependent from
them. This, to my unpracticed eye, was entirely
new and unaccountable. The gardener, in reply to
my inquiry, said that those filaments were of various
lengths, from eighteen inches to three feet, and on
reaching the groimd would take root ; but he did
not know whether they would produce a bearing
vine.

The appearance was so new and surprising to me,
that I cut from the top a number of these serial roots,
for the purpose of verifying their character, and on
my return, addressed a note on the subject to Prof.
Asa Gray, of Harvard University. From him I re-
ceived the following reply :

Cambridge, June 10th, 1861.
My Dear Sir :

The " filaments" you sent are clearly, both from your account

"Bcr

and from thoir .structure, (Crial mots, as you asserted. Such are
produced on some tropical species of Vites, but were unknown
to me on the Scuppernong or any other North American grape,
nor do I fiud any allusion to them by Chapman or Dr. Curtis.

Do the wrial roots ever strike oat from branches of the vine
only two or three years old ? If so, the vines might be propagated
with more than ordinary facility by layering. I should like to
communicate this fact to the Rev. Dr. M. A. Curtis, of IliU-sboro,
N. C, but I see no prospect of doing so antil our armies penetrate
as far South as Raleigh.

I wish you would write an account of the thing to the editor of
the Gardener's Monthly, Thomas Meehan, Germantown, Pa.

Very truly yours, •**•* "R^r.

Rkv. Dr. Whreler.

Dr. Gray's inquiry as to whether they appear on
young vines, I cannot answer.

I beg to add, that the existence of these serial
roots has not been observed, so far as I have been
able to learn, by the cultivators of the vine. They
are regarded as filaments belonging to the bark, and
in the season of the grapes are torn off and thrown
aside, because in the way. Hence it would be diffi-
cult, without careful search, to find them more than
a few inches in length. They are probably consid-
ered of the nature of tendrils. I enclose you a spe-
cimen, and am, sir,

Yours, «&c., John Wheeler."

[The root enclosed in the above communication
was about two feet in length. We have never be-
fore noticed them on any North American species,
though, when under cultivation, most of the Asiatic
species produce them under certain circumstances.

The common hothouse grapes, for instance, when
the roots of the vines are in the open ground en-
tirely outside the house, and the vines subjected to
a high moist temperature inside, throw out serial
roots freely, and in proportion to the difference of
temperature between the vine-border and the atmos-
phere of the vinery, is, usually, the length of these
roots. Practised gardeners, therefore, usually in-
terpret this appearance to mean "something wrong
at the roots." The reason probably is, that the
organized sap, checked in its descent by the inac-
tivity of the lower vessels, is forced through the bark
in the shape of these serial roots.

We have observed a similar circumstance in the
common willow. Very old specimens are frequently
hollow, and in the interior, serial roots several feet
in length to the ground, often occur from the sap,
checked in its descent, making for itself an outlet in
that form. It is quite possible, therefore, that in the
present case, the production is abnormous, and de-
pends on some peculiar state or condition of tue
vine rather than to regular rule, and we shall be
obliged by the further observations of correspondents
who may have opportunities of observing the growth
of the Scuppernong Grape, as to its frequency or
otherwise. ]

iih(| iardmer's (Ponthlg,

Insects. — We received, last month, from Dela-
ware County, Penna., unknown insects. Miss M.
H. Morris, the entomologist, very kindly furnishes
the following account of them :

"Tlie small flies which you left with me a few |
daj^s since, belong to the order Hemiptera, and of
that branch of the Aphididfe, or Plant Lice family,
called Psylla, which have the power of leaping.
They are not so prolific as the other plant lice, as
they usually produce only one brood in a year. They
live in groups upon the leaves and stems of trees on
which they feed, drawing the juices from the plant
by means of a tubular sucker, situated on the breast,
between the front legs. They differ from the leaf
hoppers in their appearance and formation, having
their bodies veiy soft and more or less oval, with
large transparent wings which cover the sides of the
body like a roof. The antennae are long, thread-like,
and tipped with two short bristles at the end. Both
sexes have wings when they arrive at maturity. The
females are provided with piercers, with which they
pierce the leaves when about to deposit their eggs,
which sometimes produce little swellings resembling
galls. Dr. Harris speaks of a species in Massachu-
setts, that were very injurious to the pear trees a few
years since, but as yet they have not made their
appearance here."

Protecting GrxVpes in Vinekies — J. /., Cleve-
land^ 0., writes :

"This spring I planted a vinery of Black Ham-
burg grapes. Will you please inform me in your
October number of the Oardener'' s Monthly if they
will require any more protection than the glass, in
case I do not have any fire in the house till I start
them in spring? Also, what protection they will
need, or what method is usually adopted for them ?C1^

Also, what would be an average height for a vinery
back wall,- as I intend to build another one in
spring ?' ' (2)

[1. They will require no more protection.

2. Twelve feet.]

Protection to Dormant Rose-Bxjds — F. P.,
Jamaica Plain, Ma.ss. — Where there are only a few
choice ones, a piece of cotton-wadding tied over the
bud is a simple and effective protection. In larger
quantities, the best plan is to take them all up and
heel them in thickly in some place where they can
be protected by brushwood or other litter. Failures
sometimes occur in plants laid in, by too. damp a
place being chosen. The ground for healed-in
plants of all kinds should be "high and dry."

Name of Plant — J", 0. L., Mount Union, Pa. —
Datura CBrugmansia^ suaveolens.

Aquatic Plants— If., Connelsburg, Pa./mqmres
where he can buy aquatic plants for stocking an
aquarium ? Most nurserymen in almost all our large
cities could probably supply them, as, if they do not
happen to have them themselves, they usually know
where to get specialities when ordered. There are
many beautiful plants, in every one's neighborhood,
quite as rare to the general observer as if brought
from abroad ; any botanical friend of the vicinity
would probably indicate their whereabouts. Heter-
anthera reniformis, Sdiollera graminea, Potamogeton
natans, Anacharis Canadensii^, Vallisneria spiralis,
Ch.'\ras, and others, for instance, are easily obtained
in this way.

Peaches for Orchard House — A '■'■Subscriber.''''
— AVill you please give a list of Peaches suitable for
pot-culture ? Likewise, the best twelve peaches for
planting in the peach-house, all on plum stock ? and
if all peaches and nectarines do alike well on plum
stock ?

[Try Chancellor, Crawford's Early, Druid Hill,
Early York, Early Newington, Eliza, George IV.,
Grosse Mignonne, Morris White, Morris Red,
Noblesse, Old Mixon Free. There may be others
to do as well or even better than these, but these we
do know to be good for your purpose. We believe
all do equally well on the plum stock. ]

Plum, Bowers' Gage. — Several friends have
called our attention to this variety, so named by the
parties who are growing it, through having received
it from its raiser, Mr. Bower, of Philadelphia. It
very closely resembles Lawrence's Favorite in every
respect, and we think scarcely worth a separate
name and distinction. Like that excellent kind, it is
probably a seedling from the Green Gage. Wherever
it has been grown the past few years it is remarkably
productive, and though the fruit is evidently as freely
"stung" by the curculio, shows no tendency to rot
in consequence. However, we are forced to the
conclusion that any one variety when in a perfectly
healthy state, will as easily resist injury from the
curculio as another. A slight tendency to ill health
evidently adds to the injury the insect does.

Abronia umbellata. — In our last, in answer to
a correspondent, we stated that this beautiful plant
was not yet in cultivation. We find that it has been
grown by several parties in the Eastern States the
past season, from seeds imported from Europe, but
it had somehow escaped our observation.

Troth's Early Red Peach — Isaac Pullen,
Hightstown, iV. J. — "I send two specimens of

0

Troth's Early Red Peach, one of which has a sprig
witli a t'evf leaves. It is the first that ripens, of value,
for market purposes. The same fruit ripens in Caro-
line County, Maryland, about the first of August.

[The fruit was of medium size, firm in flesh, and
excellent, but so much like "what we have known as
Haines' Early Red, that we are either mistaken as to
the identity of the latter, or it is the same. We
believe there are several supposed varieties so nearly
or quite alike, but with diff'erent names, that we
make the suggestion in order that another season
the confusion may be cleared up. ]

The Fillmore Strawberry — A '■'■Subscriber^''''
Baltimore^ Md.^ says he has been misapprehended
as having spoken disparagingl}^ of this variety in
his article in the September number. He wr.tes that
this is a great mistake, and that it gives him pleasure
to commend that variety as a very superior berry.

Errata. — In the past articles by our corres-
pondent "L," the following typographical errors
occur, which the reader will please correct in their
proper pages :
Page 168. 28th line from top, first column, for

Solundea read Solandra, and for Hussel-

quista read Hasselquista.
do. 7th line from bottom, 1st column, for

mother read master.
Page 178. 21st line from top, 1st column, for commit

read connect.
do. 32dliiie from top, 1st column, for grapes

read grasses.
Page 179. 12th line from bottom, 1st column, for

Antwaht read Anticcrp.

Names of Pines — '■'•Tyro.'''' — There is no differ-
ence. Abies orientalis and A. Whitmaniana are
one and the same. The former is the name it is
generally known by all over Europe, except England,
and is the one most general in this country.

Peach — Prom Wilmington. — As we send this
chapter to press, September 10th, we receive a box
of fruit from Wilmington, Del., no letter to indicate
from whom. It resembles Grosse Mignonne, but is
evidently later than that popular favorite, and we
think in general qualities would compare favorably
with it. Altogether, combining beauty and general
qualities of fruit, we consider it the best we have
received this year.

Sickness and Death in tiie familj^ of the Editor,
will explain to many correspondents and friends,
why their favors have been temporarily unnoticed,
or not privately acknowledged.

[Concluded from page 2S3.]

On the Sources of the Nitrogen op Vegeta-
tion ; with special reference to the Question
whether Plants Assimilate Free or Uncombined
Nitrogen. By John Beunet Lawes, Esq., F. R.
S., F. C. S. ; Joseph Henry Gilbert, Ph. D., F. R. S.
F. C. S. ; and Evan Pugh, Ph. D., F. C. S.

Turning to their direct experiments on the cpies-
tion of the assimilation of free nitrogen, the Authors
first consider whether such assimilation would be
most likely to take place, when the plant had no
other supply of combined nitrogen than that con-
tained in the seed sown, or when supplied with a
limited amount of combined nitrogen, or with an
excess of combined nitrogen ? And again — whether
at an early stage of growth, at the most active stage,
or when the plant was approaching maturity ? Com-
binations of these several circumstances might give
a number of special conditions, in perhaps only one
of which assimilation of free nitrogen might take
place, in case it could in any.

It is hardly to be supposed that free nitrogen would
be assimilated if an excess of combined nitrogen
were at the disposal of the plant. It is obvious,
however, that a wide range of conditions would be
experimentally provided, if in some instances plants
were supplied with no more combined nitrogen
than that contained in the seed, in others brought to
a given stage of growth by means of limited extra-
neous supplies of combined nitrogen, and in others
supplied with combined nitrogen in a more liberal
measure. It has been sought to provide these con-
ditions in the experiments under consideration.

In the selection of plants, it was sought to take
such as would be adapted to the artificial conditions
of temperature, moisture, &c., involved in the ex-
periment, and also such as were of importance in
an agricultural point of view, — to have representa-
tives, moreover, of the two great natural families,
the Graminacese and the Leguminosae, which seem
to differ so widely in their relations to the combined
nitrogen supplied within the soil; and finally, to have
some of the same descriptions as those experimented
upon by M. Boussingault and M. G. Ville, with such
discordant results.

Thirteen experiments were made Cfour in 1857 and
nine in 1858) in which the plants were supplied with
no other combined nitrogen than that contained in
the original seed. In twelve of the cases prepared
soil was tlie matrix, and in the remaining one pre-
pared pumice.

m^

316

SCfi^ §milmf$ Jlloiitfilj.

Of nine experiments with Graminaceous plants,
one with wheat and two with barley were made in
1857. In one of the experiments with barley there was
a gain of 0.0016, and in the other 0.0026 gramme of
nitrogen. In only two cases of the experiments
with cereals in 1858, was there any gain of nitrogen
indicated ; and in both it amounted to only a small
fraction of a milligramme. Indeed, in no one of
the cases, in either 1857 or 1858, was there more ni-
trogen in the plants themselves, than in the seed
sown. A gain was indicated only when the nitro-
gen in the soil and pot, which together weighed
about 1500 grammes, was brought into the calcula-
tion. Moreover, the gain only exceeded one milli-
gramme in the case of the experiments of 1857,
when slate, instead of glazed earthenware, stands
were used as the lute vessels ; and there was some
reason to believe that the gain indicated was due to
this circumstance. In none of the other cases was
the gain more than would be expected from error in
analysis.

The result was, then, that in no one case of these
experiments was there any such gain of nitrogen as
could lead to the supposition that free nitrogen had
been assimilated. The plants had, however, vege-
tated for several months, had in most cases more
than trebled the carbon of the seed, and had ob-
viously been limited in their growth for want of a
supply of available nitrogen in some form. During
this long period they were surrounded by an at-
mosphere containing free nitrogen ; and their cells
were penetrated by fluid saturated with that element.
It may be further mentioned, that many of the plants
formed glumes and paleae for seed.

It is to be observed that the results of these ex-
periments with cereals go to confirm those of M-
Boussingault.

The Leguminous plants experimented upon did
not grow so healthily under the artificial conditions
as did the cereals. Still, in all three of the cases of
these plants in which no combined nitrogen was
provided beyond that contained in the original seed,
the carbon in the vegetable matter produced was
much greater than that in the seed, — in one instance
more than three times greater. In no case, however,
was there any indication of assimilation of free ni-
trogen, any more than there had been by the Gra-
minaceous plants grown under similar circum-
stances.

One experiment was made with buckwheat, sup-
plied with no other combined nitrogen than that
contained in the seed. The result gave no indication
of assimilation of free nitrogen.

In regard to the whole of the experiments in
which the plants were supplied with no combined
nitrogen beyond that contained in the seed, it may

be observed that, from the constancy of the amount
of combined nitrogen present in relation to that
supplied, throughout the experiments, it may be
inferred, as well that there was no evolution of free
nitrogen by the growing plant, as that there was no
assimilation of it ; but it cannot hence be concluded
that there would be no such evolution if an excess
of combined nitrogen were supplied.

The results of a number of experiments, in which
the plants were supplied with more or less of com-
bined nitrogen, in the form of ammonia-salts, or of
nitrates, are recorded. Ten were with cereals ; four
in 1857 and six in 1858. Three were with Legumi-
nous plants ; and there were also some with plants of
other descriptions — all in 1858.

In the case of the cereals more particularly, the
growth was very greatly increased by the extraneous
supply of combined nitrogen ; in fact, the amount
of vegetable matter produced was eight, twelve, and
even thii'ty times greater than in parallel cases witii-
out such supply. The amount of nitrogen appro-
priated was also, in all cases many times greater, and
in one case more than thirty times as great, when a
supply of combined nitrogen was provided. The
evidence is, therefore, suflBciently clear that all the
conditions provided, apart from those which de-
pended upon a supply of combined nitrogen, were
adapted for vigorous growth ; and that the limita-
tion of growth where no combined nitrogen was
supplied was due to the want of such supply.

In two out of the four experiments with cereals
in 1857, there was a slight gain of nitrogen beyond
that which should occur from error in analysis ; but
in no one of the six in 1858, when glazed earthen-
ware, instead of slate, stands were used, was there
any such gain. It is concluded, therefore, that
there was no assimilation of free nitrogen. In some
cases the supply of combined nitrogen was not
given until the plants showed signs of decline ;
when, on each addition, increased vigor was rapidly
manifested. In others the supply was given earlier
and was more liberal.

As in the case of the Leguminous plants grown
without extraneous supply of combined nitrogen,
those grown with it progressed much less healthilj*
than the Graminaceous plants. But the results under
these conditions, so far as they go, did not indicate
any assimilation of free nitrogen.

The results of experiments with plants of other
descriptions, in which an extraneous supply of com-
bined nitrogen was provided, also failed to show an
assimilation of free nitrogen.

Thus, nineteen experiments with Graminaceous
plants, nine without and ten with an extraneous
supply of combined nitrogen, — six with Leguminous
plants, three without and three with an extraneous

hr^

supply of combined nitrogen, and also some with
other plants, have been made. In none of the ex-
periments, witli plants so widely different as the
Graminaceous and Leguminous, and with a wide
range of conditions of growth, was there evidence
of an assimilation of free nitrogen.

The conclusions from the wliole inquiry maj^ be
briefly summed up as follows :

The yield of nitrogen in the vegetation over a
given area, within a given time, especially in the
case of Leguminous crops, is not satisfactorily ex-
plained bj' reference to the hitherto quantitatively
determined supplies of combined nitrogen.

The results and conclusions hitherto recorded by
difterei.t experimenters on the question whether
plants assimilate /ree or uncombiued nitrogen, are
very conflicting.

The conditions provided in the experiments of the
authors on this question were found to be quite
consistent with the healthy development of various
Graminaceous plants, but not so much so for that
of the Leguminous plants experimented upon.

It is not probab e that, under the circumstances of
the experiments on assimilation, there would be any
supply- to the plants of an unaccounted quantity of
combined nitrogen, due to the influence either of
ozone, or of nascent Iwdrogen.

It is not probable that there would be a loss of any
of the combined nitrogen involved in an experiment
on assimilation, due to the evolution of free nitrogen
in the decomposition of organic matter, excepting
in certain cases when it might be pre-supposed.

It is not probable that there would be any loss due
to the evolution of free nitrogen from the nitro-
genous constituents of the plants during growth.

In numerous experiments with Graminaceous
plants, under a wide range of conditions of growth,
in no case was there any evidences of an assimilation
of free nitrogen.

In experiments with Leguminous plants the growth
was less satisfactory, and the range of conditions
was, therefore, more limited. But the results with
these plants, so far as they go, do not indicate any
assimilation of free nitrogen. It is desirable that
the evidenceof further experiments with such plants,
imder conditions of more healthy growth, should be
obtained.

Results obtained with some other plants, are in
the same sense as those with Graminaceous and
Leguminous ones, in regard to the question of the
assimilation of free nitrogen.

If in view of the evidence afforded by the non-
assimilation of free nitrogen by plants, it is very
desirable that the several actual or possible sources
whence they may derive combined nitrogen should be

more fully investigated, both qualitatively and quan-
titatively.

If it be established that plants do not assimilate
free or uncombined nitrogen, the source of the large
amount of combined nitrogen known to exist on
the surface of the globe and in the atmosphere, still
awaits a satisfactory explanation.

Patent Office Report for 1860 contains
chapters on the " Operations of the Experimental
Garden.'''' If this were an institution for "experi-
menting," we should hail it as a national blessing ;
but from what we can gather from the "Report," it
has no such objects. The main idea seems to be to
"propagate for distribution." It says of the tea-
plant hobby : "32,000 seedling plants were distrib-
uted in 1859-60." "Little can be said of them be-
yond the fact that they are alive and prospering,"
which, as every one knows the tea-plant has been
"alive and prospering" in the Southern States for
the last fifty years, must be supposed to be cheap
information. "In a number of instances, the plants
were placed in the ground as received from the
garden, with the moss and packing around them,
and have, of course, never exhibited life." "8000
plants have been propagated from cuttings, and a
like number will be raised to be distributed annually
to replace losses, until private interest shall discover
in the enterprise an effectual incentive to its effectual
prosecution." Verily, it will be a long time before
"private interest" will prove any incentive to raising
and distributing gratuitously plants to parties who
set plants, packing and all in the ground, and ex-
pect to raise therefrom chests of tea.

That the tea-plant will hve and prosper in our
country south of "Washington, is well known. The
only question never yet answered satisfactorily, but
which, so far, has been answered negativelj'-, is,
Can tea be prepared as cheaply here as it can be im-
ported ? If the "Experimental" would answer that
for us, it would soon find "private enterprise" ready
with the plants, and buyers for them.

We are utterly opposed to this scattering of thou-
sands of dollars annually over the land, on the hap-
hazard principle, that probably one dollar may some
day produce a return, and repeat what we have said
in former issues of our journal, that it is time an
end w^as put to this folly.

A Chajter on Fertilizers, by the Hon. Thos.
Clemson, of South Carolina, is one of the best ab-
stracts of what is known of the subject up to the
present time that we have seen, and is filled with
statistical tables that will be of great service to ex-
perimental agricidturists.

An original feature is a chapter entitled '■'■Notes

318

Cfit §mkntxs glantltlj.

®l

on the Progress of Agricultural Statistics^'''' by
David A. Wells, Troy, New York. In this those
who have had the preparation of the report have,
for the first time, we think, approached the idea of
what such a production should be, — a sketch of the
real progress of the nation in practical agriculture.

Observations on English Husbandry^ by H. F.
French, will have a beneficial influence on those
of our farmers who will divest themselves of preju-
dice against "foreign" notions, and, prepared to
test all things and hold fast to that which is
good, contrast the superiority or inferiority of dif-
fering national practices, and profit by the result.

Irrigation^ by E. G. Smith, is an epitome of
what is known in Europe on the subject.

Grasses for the South, by Rev. C. Howard, is
mainly a defence against the charge that the well
knoAn agricultural ruin of the South is caused by
negro slavery. "Land," he says, "does not com-
mand an average of five dollars an acre in Georgia,
and generally decreases in value, rather than rises by
agricultural operations on it." He contends, never-
theless, that inteUigence is of little moment in the
agricultural laborer, so that the man who directs the
labor is enlightened ; and that the great cause of
their depression is the want of stock on their farms.

Dr. Emerson, of Philadelphia, gives a chapter on
the Cattle Disease. W. Buckisch, of Texas, on Bee
Culture. Fish Culture, translated from the German
of Dr. Fraas. Mr. P. R. Uhler, Baltimore, Insects
Injurious to Vegetation. Wine-Making, translated
from the German. Orape- Culture and Wine-Making,
by D. G. Goodloe, Washington, D. C, who acknow-
ledges to its being an abstract of the old treatise of
Henderson ; a rare specimen of honesty when the
course of other writers in back volumes of the re-
ports is considered. It is a very useful chapter.
Culture of Grapes in Graperies, by Dr. Parker,
Utica, N. Y., is a well written chapter, full of de-
tails which will have the efiect of drawing close
attention to the advantages of graperies in the more
agricultural point of view. The theory of the
Doctor as to the causes that lead to the necessity
of graperies on this continent may be open to a little
criticism, but that is not of much moment so far as
the practical good likely to result from the article is
concerned.

The Forest Trees of America. By Dr. J. G.
Cooper, of Hoboken, N. -J., is one of the most
original and valuable papers ever honoring a Patent
Office Report. It is accompanied by a map showing
the distribution of the species over the whole conti-
nent as near as can be.

Tea, by S. Bonsall, of Philadelphia, goes into the
whole culture and management of the article.

Chinese jlgriculture. Agricultural patents and ■ '
donations to the "experimental" closes the volume.
Altogether, it is the best ever issued by the depart-
ment, and affords hopes of progress in that quarter.

Address on the Epizooty, lately prevalent
AMONG Swine, by Edwin M. Snow, M. D., and G.
L. Collins, M. D., of Providence, R. I. Read be-
fore the Rhode Island Medical Society, June 19, 1 861.

Annals of the Botanical Society op Canada,
Vol. I., Part II. YVe should be much obliged by the
additional favor of the first part of this very interest-
ing serial. We are very glad to find by it that the
utility of the society is at least demonstrated, and it
has our best wishes for its permanent success.

TRADE LISTS RECEIVED.

Isaac Jackson & Co., Harmony Grove, Penna.
Daniel Engle, Marietta, Pa. Bailey & Bro., Wil-
mington, Del. E. J. Evans & Co., York, Pa. L.
Ellsworth & Co., Naperville, 111. H. Southwick
& Sons, Dansville, N. Y. E. Moody & Son, Lock-
port, N. Y. A. F. Conard & Bro., West Grove, Pa.
J. L. Darlington & Co., West Chester, Pa. O. B.
Maxwell & Co., Dansville, N. Y.

Descriptive Catalogue of E. Y. Teas, Rich-
mond, Indiana.

The Horticulturist. — Our contemporary has
changed owners, Mr. George E. Woodward con-
jointly with the editor, Mr. P. B. Mead, having
purchased it of Mr. Saxton. Mr. Woodward is
known to our readers by his excellent articles on
landscape-gardening, and as he will be associated
with Mr. Mead in the editorship also, we are as-
sured that the reputation of the m;gazine will lose
nothing by the change.

PfIh of liarp ]P!eiifB.

Pentstemon spectabilis (Showy Pentsteinon). —
Nat. Ord., Scropliulariacese. Linn., Didynamia
Angiospermia. "A lovely Californian species."
Flowers numerous, in a panicle, on a stem nearly two
feet high. Introduced by Messrs. Low, of Clapton,
where it flowered last May. — Botanical Mag . , t. 5260.

Dendrobium Hillii (Mr. HilVs Dendrohium) . —
Nai. Ord., Orchidaceae. Linn., Gynandria Mon-
audria. Named after Mr. Walter Hill, Superintend-
ent of the Botanic Garden at Moreton Bay, who
sent it to the Kew Gardens. Flowers white. — Ibid,
t. 5201.

Cerinthe retorta (Curved-flowered Cerinihe). —
Nat. Ord., Boraginese. Linn., Pentandria Mono-

®h^ €ardfMr's JHonthlg,

— *K§^/

319

gynia. Ilarcly herbaceous plant eighteen inches
high. Racemes of flowers terminal, recurved;
bracts large, blue ; corollas yellow, tipped with red-
dish-purple ; "leaves glaucous green, spotted like
those of a Pulmonaria. It is a native of Caria, in
the Peloponnesus, -where it was found by Sibthorp ;
and in wooded places in Dalmatia, according to
Yiviaui. Lovers of hardy plants will do well to rear
this in the open borders of their gardens. It is [best
treated as an] annual, may be increased b}^ seeds,
and should be planted in tufts. Our plant was raised
from seed sent tons by Mr. Thompson, of Ipswich."
—Ibid., i. 5264.

Chysis aurea, var. Lemminghei (Lemming'' s
Golden-flowered Chysis). — Nat. Ord., Orchidacese.
Linn., Gj^nandria Monogynia. Named in honor of
Count Lemminghe. Instead of the flowers being
golden colored, they are nearly white or cream
colored, the lip only being tinged with yellow ;
purple or lilac blotches are on the sepals and petals,
and dark purple streaks and spots inside the labellum.
Sent to Kcw from Hamburg by Mr. Schiller. — Ibid.,
i. 5265.

GoMPniA OLiviEFORMTS (OUve-frititecl Gompliia).
Nat. Orrf., Ochracese. Ztft/i., PentandriaMonogynia.
It has also been called O. decorans. Native of
Brazil, introduced by Messrs. Hendersons, Welling-
ton Road Nursery. "It produced its panicle of
bright yellow flowers in the Kew stove during May
of \m\.''—Ibid., t. 5262.

Caladium bicolor, var. Verschaffeltii ( Ver-
sehaffeWs Two-colored Caludium. — Nat. Ord., Aro-
ideas. Xinn., Monoecia Monaudria. Sent to Kew by
M. Chantin, of Paris. "Upon the deep green ground
of the blade of the leaf are numerous irregular
blotches of a rich blood [almost ctirmine] color, the
largest of which are ocellated— that is, have little eye-
like spots of green in their centres. — Ibid., t. 5263.

Cereus MacDonaldii has again flowered in our
collection, and much finer than last year. The
flower measured thirteen inches in diameter from tip to
tip of the sepals. It is certainly a very showy and
desirable species, not so liighly colored in the sepals
as C. grandiflorus, but in size very much larger. It
blooms at night like the latter. — ILicey''s Magazine.

I^oppign IniFliigpnrp*

To Preserve Scarlet Runner Beans throtjgh
the Winter for an Early Crop. — Some few
years ago, in the month of November, when dig-
ging the ground where the crop of runners had
grown, I could not help noticing the large size of
the roots ; and it occurred to me that, if I took them

up, potted them, and kept them in a cold pit during
the winter, they might furnish another crop the fol-
lowing spring. I tried the experiment on two of
the best roots, potted them, and kept them in a cold
pit until the 1 st of Febi'uary. At that time I placed
them in a hothouse, in which the average tempera-
ture was about 60 degrees. They soon began to
send up strong shoots, and to show flower in abund-
ance from the ground upwards. In May they were
twelve feet high, and made a very good appearance in
greenhouse, where they passed with many for a new
species of plant.

If I had saved thirty or forty roots, and had put
them in heat in spring, in the manner done with
Dahlias, and if I had turned them out in the open
air about the same time that these idants are turned
out, I certainly should have been able to gather kid-
ney beans a month sooner than is done by the usual
practice of sowing in the open garden.

In cottage gardens, the roots might be taken up
every autumn, and preserved in the same way as
those of potatoes ; and, by being planted on a fresh
piece of ground in spring, they Avould not only pro-
duce a much earlier, but a much more abundant crop
than one raised from seed.

[AVe give the above from an English journal in or-
der to suggest that the mode be treated with our
Lima Beans. Thougli called Lima, we believe it is
a native of the East Indies, and in its own country
a perennial. If they can be kept as above described,
we have no doubt but more than a month's diiference
would be experienced in the earliness of the crop. ]

Carnations at Christmas. — Proceed thus : — If
you have not such plants, obtain two or three dozen
from a nurserymen. The plants will generally be
small, and you would have had a lietter chance if
you had obtained them in April. However, better
late than never. These will gene:ailybe in small
pots called 60' s, and most likely showing a bloom.
Cut all blooming shoots off", and after gently disen-
tangling the roots repot into six inch pots, using
light, rich, sandy loam, and place in a shady position
until the roots begin to work freely. A few of these
stronger plants may be placed in 10-pots or 24-pots,
and potted very firmly. If that can be done before
September all appearance of flowering-shoots until
then should be stopped. These plants thus stopped
and potted will generally throw up flower-shoots in
October, which will bloom in the greenhouse in No-
vember and onwards. — London Cottage Gardener.

Shade Trees in Paris. — It has been calculated that
Paris, at present, covers a space of 78,080,000 yards.
It contains 148,000 trees, occupying a space equal
to 336,890 square yards. The trees consist of horse-

^5

320

CI]^ iar(kita's Sl^o^rft^B*

chestnuts, elms, acacias, lime trees, and others. It
is estimated that these trees cover, with their shade,
a space of 220,200,000 yards, sufficient to protect
1,589,000 individuals from the rays of the sun.

PEMMSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The September exhiliition, which was held at Concert Hall,
Tuesday evening, the 17lh ult., was well attended, notwithstand-
ing the storm. The display in the various departments of plants,
fiovvers, fruits and vegetables was unusally flue, and comprised a
large variety of objects of interest. The department of ornamental
foliage plants was never before so large and so rich. Mr. J. Pol-
loclv, gardener to James Dundas, Esq., exhibited a superb collec-
tion, comprising many novelties. Among them would mention
the Ouviraudra fenestralis or Madagascar Lace Plant, growing
under water, ihe Alocasia Metallica, and the Caladiuni BoUeymei,
as of the highest beauty. Also a fine flower of the Victoria regia.
The Lace Plant was exhibited in an enormous white china howl,
which showed Its singular black net-like leaves to great advantage.
The Alocasia metallica is a most beautiful acquisition; the leaf re-
sembling a concave bronze, or rather, burnished shield.

Their splendid growth and flue condition merit the highest
praise, and received two special premiums of $5 each, and luie of
$1. Mr. t'oUock exhibited for the first time before this Society,
in fruit., the rare Pliilodeudron pertuosum. Also the following
new plants showu for the first time : Caladium Baraquinii, Maranta
aruyraja, Maranta metallica, Caladium liastatum, Caladium Belley-
mei, Campylobotris avgyroneura, Cyanophyllum Assamicum,
Ouvirandra fenestralis, Alocasia metallica, Bromelia pnnceps.

To Charles H. Jliller, gardener to D. Kodney King, was
awarded a special premium of *J for his varied and beautiful
collection of ferns, variegated plants, and new plants shown tor
the first time; also for the best six ferns, the regular premium of
$1, and the same for the best variegated plants and designs. The
latter was worthy of special attention, as o.ne of the most graceful
and novel combiuations entirely of ornamental foliage ever ex-
hibited beibre the Society. ^, -^ ^ „.

Tlie new plants exhibted, for the first time, by Mr. D. R. King,
comiiriseil the Argyrffia argentea, Micania speciosa, Dracoena
Kum)jliii and Campylobotris Smaragdina, to which was awarded
a special premium of $2. Mr. Henry A. Dreer's collection of Roses,
Gladioluses and Dahlias obtained the premium of $1 and .$2, respec-
tively. They were all of the very choicest varieties, and elicited
high praise Tlie Gladioluses were all varieties of the Gandavensis.

Messrs P. Mackenzie & Son contributed fifty-two specimens of
assorted tlowering and foliage plants, twenty-five different dahlias,
and as many verbenas, and a choice group of pinks, roses and
petunias. Among their collection were eight new plants of note,
including Lautana fulgens mutabilis, Ipomea tricolor, L limbata
elea:autl^sima, Caladiums Houlletii, Van Vorstn, Brognartii and
Belleymeii, and the Pentstemon Victory. The verbenas com-
prised many entirely new ones, whose names we did not learn.

Mr. Kobeit Buist brought a number of variegated plants, Ferns,
six new Begonias, and the same number of new plants. Among
the latter was a Conifer, the Araucaria excelsa, of delicate
and beautiful foliage, and very symmetrical growth. The others
were the Pteris discolor, Sphoerostenima marmorata, Panax truti-
cosum,GastoniaPalma[aand Ileterocentrum album ; to these were
awarded $2 for best Conifer, and a special premium of $2 tor best
three new plants. The Ferns were especially admired, and were
favorably noticed by the Committee. . , ,^ ^ , *,

James Eadie gardener to Dr. Rush, received the award ot 3«.3
for the best collection of ten plants, in pots, and $2 for the best
specimen plant; also $2 for the best collection of Peaches._ The
large size, handsome bloom, and graceful and skiltul training of
these plants, made them a distinguishing feature of the exhibition,
and his Melacoton Peaches, for average size and beauty ot color,
have rarely been equalled in the Society's displays. _

Adam Graham, gardener to Gen. Robert Patterson carried off
the prize for the best collection of six plants, in pots, $2. He also
exhibited a fine specimen plant, the Crinum amabilis.
Wm Joyce gardener to M. W. Baldwin, brought both fruits and
flowers and obtained premiums in both departments. For the best
four Orchids, he took the prize of $1, and for the best three Pine
Apples in pots, also *1. His beautiful collection of Ferns, many
of them new, received special mention in the report of the Com-
mittee The new ones were Gonophelebium sp., Gymnogramma
Martensi, Gymnogramma argyrophylla, Nothoclana chrysophylla.
A dish of luscious Guava fruit, from which the well-known jelly is
made, met due appreciation from the '■tasting" Committee.

Samuel Mason received the award of $2 for the best pair of
plants.

Thomas Meehan presented the flnest collection of hardy herba-
ceous cut flowers, and received the premium therefor of ijl. Among
his other contributions we noticed also some very fine dahlias, six
blooms of assorted Phlox decussata, and a new annual plant shown
for the first time, Callirrhoe pedata nana.

Mr. Carl MuUer exhibited a very pretty seedling Verbena, quite
distinct in color from any ever before shown. , ■ , ,

lEMr. Robert Kilvington's ha.sket of cut flowers was the object of
m'noh attention and praise, from its beautiful arrangenient and
contrast of colors, and its delicacy of design. It received the
premium of *2. He was also awarded the premium of .$i tor the
best peck of tomatoes. , ...

In the department of fruits the display was varied and attrac-
tive including some remarkable specimens. In Mr. Baxter s
collection there were over fifty varieties of native and loreign
pears, of a size and quality rarely equalled in these exhibitions.
The White Doyenne or Butter Pear was particularly large a,ud fine,
free from spot or blemish. Mr. Baxter's premiums were as follows:
for second best peaches, $1; best three citron melons $1 ; best
twelve varieties of native pears, *2; best six varieties of natives,
S2; best twenty-five foreign pears, *2; best six varieties of toreii^n
pears •'»2 Mr Baxter's uniform success in the culture of the pear
and tiie large and handsome samples he contributes are woithy of
all praise. ' , ., .^ ■

J. B. Mitchell, of Chestnut Hill, had some fine foreign grapes,
highly cidored and well grown, of five varieties : Black H.imburg
Black Prince White Frontignan, Chasselas de Fontainbleau, and
Black Frontianau. This collection received the first premium tor
griipes under glass, of *2. The Black Prince was especially large
and fine. Mr. Mitchell also had on exhibition some good pears, of
sixteen varieties. . ,. , , , . ,

Mr. S. W. Noble presented twelve varieties of apples, which
gained the first premium of $2. , . „., , -u-

Mr. Charles Harmar took the second premium of $1 for his pears,
among which were some delicious Bartram Pears,seedliugs grown
ue:.r tlie old Bartram Botauic Garden, in West Philadelphia.

Foil other collections of pear., from Mrs I^ggett, I . S. Bunting
anu ,n: James W.Thomson, in behalt of G. R. Riddle, Esq , of
Wilmington, Del , received due commendation.

An interesting feature of the evening was the collection of native
grapes. Mr. Peter Raabe, whose twelve varieties obtained the
first premium of $2, presented the Maxatawney grape a native
.seedling of Camp Hill, Montgomery County, Pa In flavor it is
uncqiinlled by any native grape ever before exhibited. It is a
very strong grower, perfectly hardy, and it it should prove to
ripen early and well in exposed situations in the country, will be
the best acquisition we have yet made. „ . ,. j

Mr. Raabe's v.ne Is growing iu his city yard, well sheltered.

Mr. A. W. Harrison received the second premium of .$1 tor native
grapes, including the To-Kalon, Brinckle and Louisa, exhibited for
The first time. Mr. Harrison also had the Des Nonnes pear and a
dish of ripe Catawissa raspberries. In the department of v-ege-
tables he was awarded the first premium 6t |1 lor the best i.gg-
plant.s, and showed a fine specimen of the Honolulu squash. A
cane of the Black Hamburg grape, plauted one year ago. and con-
taining eighteen good-sized bunches of fruit, tul y ripe, though
wautiSg in color, gave evidence of the remarkable precocity ot
the grape-vine. . , , - , , .

Mr. Thomas T. Firth brought an ingenious and tasteful design
composed of five v.arieties of native grapes. Concord Diana, Isa-
bella, Rebecca and Delaware, all of large size and highly colored.

Mr. A. L Feltou had on exhibition some very large and high-
colored Isabella grapes. , ., j: * .• ti

Mr. Flickwehr offered his seedling grape for the first time. It
promises to be a good wine grape. , i. i ■ ^ .i j

Mr. Andrew J. Catherwood also had a branch of his Catherwood
ffrape, profusely covered with large clusters, twenty-six in number,
dark blue fruit, of very good quality, and thoroughly ripened.
This was pronounced by the Committee to be the Isabella.

Peter Dohlen, gardener to B. Gerhard, exhibited a large oblong
cantelope, similar to the Dix, and some tood potatoes.

Mr. L. Chamberlain showed some Isabella and Bland grapes.

Jeremiah Flynn, gardener to Henry Taylor, ha i some Stanwick
nectarines of very large size, which obtained the premium ot *1.

Miss Titus exhibited a fine cluster of her seedling peach.

The very large and attractive display of vegetables, by Anthony
Felton, gardener to Mr. H. Duhring, occupied one entire side ot ihe
Hall, and comprised almost every garden vegetable ot the season.
With two exceptions, he took all the premiums in this department,
amounting to $7. We remarked good specimens ot the new white
and red Egg-plants. The premium of $1 for the best China Asters
was .also awarded to him. .

At the business meeting held after the awards of premiums, the
reports of the Treasurer and Finance Committee were read and
adopted. , , ^ .• ^i,

Mr. James Matheson, who exbHited, at the last meeting, the
mammoth bunch of White Muscat of Alexandria grapes weighing
nine pounds and four ounces, presented an Essay on the Culture ot
the Exotic Grape under Glass, prepared at the request ot the
Society. It was read, and ordered to be printed, and the thanks
of the Society presented to him.

A more valuable contribution to practical horticulture has never
been presented to the Society.

,^''

•"^ST-

JJrawri fioro Nature by Max Roeeuthal.

Lith. by L. N. SosenQua.

MAXATAWJfEY GRAPE.

DSAW^ 02) SXaSB- BXpKEBSLT FOB THE OABDEXBB'a HOKTHLT.

*?-x)^ -"^

DEVOTED TO

iQpfiruIfurp, ^pfiorirulfupp, "^oleng % Plural SSffairs*

THOMAS MEEHAN, Editor. NOVEMBER, 1861.

VOL. III.---NO. H.

Ifinh for Bo&pmfipr.

FLOWER-GARDEN AND PLEASURE-
GROUND.

As soon as the first white frost has blackened
dahlia leaves^ the stems should be cut back to a few
inches of the ground, the label securely fastened,
and the root placed away in a cool place secure from
frost till next March, when it should be "sprouted,"
divided and again set out. Madeira vines, tigridias,
gladiolus, tuberoses, «&c., require the same attention.

As soon as the ground gets caked with the first
real frost, herbaceous plants should be protected.
Though hardy, they well repay this extra care, —
mostly natives of woods or grassy places in their
native State, they expect a covering of leaves or
dry grass. We find dry leaves the best material for
the purpose, a few inches is a sufiicient depth, — a
little soil being thrown on to prevent the leaves
blowing away. "Where such material is net at
hand, the common garden soil may be drawn over
them, as before recommended in these pages.

Most of the tender plants that we desire to pre-
serve over the season, have now been lifted from
the borders, and removed to winter quarters, — and
in a few weeks the beds will present a rough and
forsaken appearance. It is too often the practice to
leave the borders just in this neglected condition
till spring-time returns. But the person of true
taste finishes up the beds, and makes all tidy. In
the absence of summer flowers, even order pleases.

PLANT-HOUSES, PITS, AND FRAMES.

Plants stored away for the winter in cold pits,
require more care for the first month or so than at
any other time through the winter season. Many

of them have unripened shoots, or shed many of
their leaves, and unless these be cut olf and re-
moved, gangrene and decay commit distressing
havoc. Air should be given at every opportunity,
and nothing omitted that will, in any way, tend to
harden the plants, and send vegetation to rest. No
more water should be given than just sufficient to
prevent withering, and the temperature should be
kept as near 40^ as possible, and every chance
taken to render the air about the plants dry. When
frost actually does come, no further care than pro-
tection from its embraces will then be required.
Plants so hardened, may stay covered up for weeks,
without any light or air, and secure from the
slightest injury. Mice constitute the most trouble-
some enemy in a pit closed for any length of time ;
but we have, as yet, found nothing better than the
recommendation given in back volumes, namely,
to take peas and soak them twenty-four hours in
water, then roll in arsenic and sow in a pot, as if
in the regular way of seed-sowing. A few pots so
prepared, should be placed in the pit before perma-
nently closing up. The mice usually make for these
pots at their first entrance to the pits. If placed on
the soil, they seem to guess your secret, and will not
"bite."

Plants in cellars iieed much the same care as those
in pits. Avoid heat and dampness ; frequently, how-
ever, plants suffer in cellars through getting too dry.
They should be looked over, at any rate, once a
month, and a little water given, if likely to become
entirely dry.

Plants in windows and rooms usually sufltr from
excessive waterings, — very dry air about them, — too
great a heat, or too much shade. As much as pos-
sible, room plants should be selected for llieir in-
difference to these requii'ements. Succulents, such
as cactuses, mesembryanthemums, rocheas, crassu-
las, aloes, &c., care not how dry the room, but they
demand all the sunlight possible. Camellias, Chi-
nese Primroses, Azaleas, Dicentra spectabilis. Poly-
anthuses, violets, hyacinths, &c., do not mind a little
shade ; but they abhor a high temperature. Others
again, while disliking heat, want light ; of these,
are calceolarias, cinerarias, geraniums, pelargoniums,
pansies, daisies, tree carnations, perpetual blooming

nrnC'

■M^

322

®!i4 ^arbnixr's ^orfhlj.

pinks, roses, aad the like. "Leaf plants," for the
most part, like a close, moist atmosphere, and a
moderate degree of heat to do well. For these,
glass partitions and closely-glazed cases are usually
employed. A great error in the growth of plants
in these cases, is to suppose they require no air.
The closeness is to secure a moist atmosphere, not
to exclude the air. Whenever, therefore, the tem-
perature is low, and little evaporation going on, the
opportunitjr should be seized to air the cases ; a few
moments are sufficient. A very pretty plant arrange-
ment may be made in parlors that have bay windows ;
the whole window may be closed off from the
main part of the room by a sash, and filled with
plants. Some on the floor, — some on shelves, and
some pendant from the roof. A common oil lamp
will be quite sufficient, with the usual window shut-
ters, to keep out frost during the night or extra
severe weather, while the regular day temperature
of the room will suffice for that time. When the
lamp is burning, provision should be made for the
admission of fresh air from the room at the bottom
of the case, and for the exit of consumed air at the
top of the case. This is best accomplished by a
tube to and from the lamp.

To those who have larger plant cabinets or small
conservatories, connections with heaters or hot water
from kitchen ranges will suggest themselves. This
is often done. The great error we have often no-
ticed is, that the heat is led to the back only, when
it should be continued right to the front or coldest
part of the house. When heaters are emploj^ed, the
oxygen of the air is usually defective, and besides
the air is very drj^ and ungenial to healthy vegetation.
Evaporating pans around the mouth of the air flues
should be used in such cases, — sjn'inging done at
frequent intervals, and pure fresh air given whenever
a warm out-door spell furnishes the opportunity.

In the greenhous ^ such plants as are in a growing
condition, and are desired to continue growth, if filled
with roots, may be repotted into pots a size larger.
No advantage is gained in any case in e.nploying
pots for shifting much larger than those in which
the plants are growing. Coarse, spongy soil should,
in all cases, be used for pot plants. The advantage
claimed for peat over other soils for many pot
plants, is as much owing to its fibrous condition as
to its peculiar nature. Insects should be carefully
looked after, and the various remedies best ap-
proved of employed for their destruction before
they become very numerous. We must still repeat
that we find nothing so simple or so certainly
effective as hot water for all kinds of insects, from
the minute red spider to the mealy bug and scale.
We get a common hand furnace, and set a large
washing boiler on the top, heating the water to

about 130° ; in this we put about a teaspoonful of
grease, and the same quantity of flower of sulphur.
All the plants that exhibit the si ghtest trace of in-
sects are then collected together and dipped in for a
moment. Specimens too large to dip in are held over
and syringed, so as to save the hot water as much as
possible. These large ones we do last. Occasion-
ally a few leaves or very tender green tops get
scalded, but this is but a temporary evil for a per-
manent cure. A few syringings within a few days
subsequent to the operations, clears the plants from
the greasiness left on them ; but the sulphur leaves
a slight smell for some time, and seems to exercise
a beneficial infiuence in keeping off fresh attacks of
the puny, but by no means contemptible, invaders.
We know of numerous instances where parties have
tried the process and thanked us for the information ;
and though our hints in this respect have been
received with far less general notice than many
others that our pages have been the means of circu-
lating, we consider the idea the most invaluable one
to horticulturists we have ever offered.

TREES AND SHRUBBERY.

BY WALTER EI-DER, PHILADELPHIA.

One of the most noble and pleasing features in
landscape-gardening, country-seat-gardening, su-
burban and cottage-gardening, is a choice selection
of trees and shrubbery properly arranged. The
skillful gardener knows the sizes they attain, their
habits of growth, the sizes and colors of foliage and
blocm, and their time of blooming, the soils and
exposures most suitable for them. He will make
his selections according to circumstances ; and hj a
graceful arrangement, the beauty of the whole will
be enhanced. In tiie suburban and cottage gardens
they will be planted closer than upon a large place,
and the arrangement will be promiscuous, witiiout
incongruity. Evergreen trees will be planted a
distance from the house and off the walks, so that
their horizontal branches will not darken the win-
dows in winter, nor interrupt the passage on the
paths.

Deciduous trees, with long, clean stems and
branching heads, will be placed nearer to the house,
as they do not confuse the way, but give shade
when it is most desired, and drop their leaves when
sunshine is needed. Shrubs of neat dwarf habits,
handsome bloom, and mild fragrance will be planted
near to the cottage ; and those of strong odors and
shaggy growths will be placed at a distance ; and
their blossoms and fruits v/ill show to greater advan-

^^^

ifk

•V?ii

ihij (gardener's cPontljlg.

323

tage, and they will be so arranged as to give a har-
monious contrast of flower and foliage. Trees of
dark leaves and heavy shade will be mated with
those of lively foliage and light shade. A cottage
nestled in a plantation of trees and shrubbery has
an air of richness, refinement, and comfort, which
nothing else could give it. The beautj^ of the
plants and the elegance of arrangement, with a rich,
livelj- green sod, complete a picture which the pencil
of the painter can never fullj^ imitate.

But it is upon large places where the master mind
of the real gardener shows itself advantageously in
the display of a combined knowledge of art and
science in the arrangement of trees and shrubs,
which will be different upon different places. He
will first inspect the soil, and observe the location,
and make his selection of plants to suit, and make
preparations for a speedy planting in advance of
their arrival. There may be an unsightly object to
be hid from view ; and a clump of trees ("oiie-third
of them evergreens) are pla ited to shut it out in
winter, as well as in summer. The same will be
done where the mansion and all who move around
it are exposed to the inquisitive stare of idle and
unmannerly neighbors, and also where chilling and
cutting winds enter. In places much inland, torna-
does are from the north-west ; whereas on the sea-
coast the winds off the water are most chilling and
blasting for blossoms ; while along some navigable
rivers, fruits are blown off the trees before they are
full-grown. The gardener Avill perceive all these,
and will plant leafy screens where needed.

Where fine perspective views are, openings will
be left ; but the chief aim will be to make fine views
and attractive objects upon the place. Flowering
trees and shrubs will be arranged near to the man-
sion or along main walks, where they will display
their beauties and diffuse their fragrance most ad-
vantageously to our pleasure. Trees of fine form
and gigantic stature will be set further out upon the
open lawn, and avenues may be clothed on either
side for shade and shelter. [It really is strange that
shady avenues are so rare with us, as there is no
country where shade and shelter are more needed.]
A great variety of trees could be planted along the
avenues, and the contrast of their sizes, habits and
foliage would be a tieat for the arborist as he rides
or walks along. Openings will be left to allow a
load of hay to pass through without rubbing upon
the branches, and to view the sunny glades and the
noble specimens of trees that are singly scattered
over them.

A good arrangement of shrubs and trees is that
which diversifies the estate and makes it an admira-
ble object in the landscape, and in walking over it,
a fresh scene opens at every shoit distance. Every

single plant, group and row will show that they
were planted for a purpose, and the whole will be a
combination of nature and design. The skillful gar-
dener, like an expert general, stations his forces
where they will be most effective ; and every enemy
in the shape of an eye-sore is placed in the guard-
house of shrubs and trees.

All architectural adornments upon mansions, cot-
tages, arbors, pavilions, &c., in the country are
bald without arborial embellishments; so are foun-
tains, fish-ponds, «&c. Even unsightly farm build-
ings, draw-wells, old pumps, stagnant water-pools,
&c., are converted into beauties by shrub and tree
surroundings. See the rustic spring-house reposing
under the shade of a willow tree ! Who will not
plant plenty of shrubs and trees? or who cannot
admire those that adorn the early spring and per-
fume the air with their fragrance and expand gor-
geous blooms of various hues, — those that deck the
verdant lawn, their grateful shade during sultry
summer days, and the matchless grandeur imparted
to winter scenery by clustering evergreens ? Does
any one say that they are "costly things?" We
ask, what pleasure can be got without cost ? Let
us draw a comparison. Three hundred dollars are
spent for an evening family party. That would
purchase and plant three hundred shrubs and trees.
A lady's jewelled set costs $89,000. One year's in-
terest of that sura will purchase and plant over five
thousand shrubs and trees. If all the fine men en-
listed for the war and all the monies appropriated
for it had been employed upon horticultural im-
provements, what a blessing it would have been to
the nation ! After this, let no one grudge the i^ur-
chase and planting of shrubs and trees.

AN ESSAY ON GRAPE-GROWING.

BY JAS. MATHESON, GARDENEK TO F. C. YAUNALL, ESQ.
2'o ihe President and Members

of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society:

In accordance with a resolution passed at your
last meeting, I would respectfully offer the follow-
ing brief essay upon the culture of exotic grapes
under glass :

THE VIKERY.

The best form of house is the lean-to, and the
best aspect is a few degrees east of south. The
ground should slope gently from the house, so as to
allow of easy drainage. Where, practicable it is
desirable to construct the house at the base of a hill,
excavating the body of the house out of the hill-
side, thus affording entire shelter from the north
winds and abundant warmth during the early and
late stages of vine growth.

Wiien it is requisite to grow a great variety or a

i|^ iardnter's 3flont|lg.

large nvimber of vines within a limited space the
span roof may be adopted, inasmuch as the back or
wall border of a lean-to vinery is not so advanta-
geous as the front.

The roof should be a fixed one, and slope at an
angle of about SO'^ with the horizon.

The rafter should be not less than twenty-five
foot in length. This is a very important point, and
one not sufficiently considered in the construction
of vineries. A long leader and abundant foliage,
and a plenty of light are thus secured.

There is no necessity for, but rather a considerable
disadvantage in the employment of the heavy rafters
commonly in use. They obstruct the light too
much. A single sash bar four inches deep and one
inch thick is all that is requisite. The two upper
edges should be ploughed }j inch deep and ^ inch
wide to receive the glass. This bar is supported, at
intervals of eight to ten feet, or one-third the length
of the rafter, by cross bars, six inches deep and three
inches wide, which rest on uprights or posts, prefera-
bly slender cast-iron columns, placed about ten feet
apart, and standing on stone blocks sunk in the
ground.

The glass should be about fifteen by twelve inches,
and well bedded in a thin mixture of white lead,
linseed oil and whiting, in consistent'}^ about mid-
way between paint and putty. If properly done
there is no necessity for external putty. The glass
should be heavy, and free from Haws, nicely matched,
and lapped as little as possible. A wide lap often
admits, by capillary attraction, so much water, as,
if suddenlj- frozen, to cause the glass to break.

The ventilating sashes, at the top of the house,
should be from three to four feet in width and
continuous from end to end, so as to allow the
whole length to be ventilated at once. They may
be so arranged as to open separately, by cord and
pulley, or simultaneously, by means of a crank and
shaft. No bottom ventilation need be provided for,
as it is not advisable to admit bottom air at any
stage of vine growth.

The front, back, and end walls of the house should
be substantially built of stone. In the front wall
openings must be left, opposite t'-:e intended posi-
tion of each vine, to allow the roots to penetrate the
open border. The front^ if low, may be entirely
of stone ; if, for appearance-sake, as well as con-
venience in working, the front be made three to
four feet high above the foundation, it should be of
fixed sash, glazed like the roof. External braces
will be required, to support the thrust of the rafters.

The highest results cannot be attained in a strictly
cold vinery. The capricious weather, and sudden
frosts late in spring, the raw, blustering winds and
long spells of cloudy weather sometimes occurring

in early summer, and the sharp, nipping frofe of
mid-autumn, all conspire to render a cold vinery
uncertain in its action, and make a flue desirable, and
even indispensable, if we wish to grow verj' early
grapes or to ripen and keep the Muscats and other
late sorts. Moreover, the length of season and the
prolonged degree of heat necessary for the full ri-
pening of the wood, cannot, with certainty, be at-
tained in a cold house.

A plain brick flue, about ten inches square inter-
nally, is all sufficient ; it should be placed at least
ten feet from the front of the he use ; in a span roof
house it should run along the centre, sunk a little
below the surface, to allow a latticed foot-walk, made
in moveable sections, to be placed over it. Thus
placed, should any gas escape from its crevices it
will rise directly to the ventilators and be dissipated
without injury to the foliage. If the flue be properly
constructed, leaks will not occur.

Artificial heat is required for a few weeks only, in
the spring and autumn, and occasionally during cold,
cloudy weather in summer. In cold vineries the
early growth is often checked by frosts or unseason-
ably cc<ld weather ; and again, in autumn, the foliage
is not unfrequently destroyed in a single night.
Unless the leaves ripen thoroughly and fall naturally
the wood cannot be fully matured, and the next
year's growth and fruit will be uncertain or much
diminished. A well-ripened leaf is easily distin-
guished from an immature, frosted one ; the former
is soft and pliant, the latter brittle and readily
crumbling to powder.

But a small quantity of fuel is required for the
half-cold or fined vinery, two tons of coal being
ample for a house fifty feet in length, for the entire
season. One or two extra bunches of large size
will cover the cost of heating the house, which
secures, beyond contingency, healthy vines aud the
largest possible crop.

An early forcing-house has but three to four weeks
advantage in time, over a well-managed half-cold
vinery, in which early grapes can be ripened by the
25th of June. In large size of bunch, productive-
ness of vine, and high flavor of fruit, the latter
would certainly be superior to the former, besides
requiring much less skill aud attention.

The vines, which must be sufficiently strong to sup-
port the heavy weight they will be required to
sustain, should be at least fifteen to eighteen inches
from the glass aud one foot apart.

BORDER.

Dig out about two feet deep, and twenty feet wide,
and slope the bottom gently from the house.
Along the front of the house, and at the outer edge
of the border, and also at right angles across the
border, at intervals of ten feet, dig drains one foot

-TBTl"

325

I*|)

wide and six inches deep •, at the two outer corners
connect these drains with covered dry wells. Fill the
drains and cover the whole border, six inches deep,
with broken stone, about the size, of one\s fist, not
larger. Cover the wliole with good sod from an old
pasture, the roots uppermost. Fill in with compost
prepared as follows : one third of tine, friable, yel-
low sandy loam, one-third garden soil if rich, if not
use sods from an old pasture, and the remaining
third of old, well-rotted slaughter-house and barn-
j'ard manure, half of each, to which add, for every
ten feet in length of the border, one barrel of fine
ground bones and one barrel of slaked li)ne in fine
powder. This compost must be prepared in autumn,
under cover, exposed to the frost, and turned
several times during winter and thoroughly mixed
and pulverized to a fine, even texture. When com-
pleted and well settled, the surface of the border
should be at least six inches above the level of the
adjacent soil, so as to ensure go( d surface-drainage,
which is especially desirable to give an early start to
the roots in spring.

The inside border, both front and back, will be of
the same composition and drained in the same man-
ner as the outer border, and the drains must be
continued through the wall and connected with
those of the outer one. The surface of the inner
borders should descend slightly towards the centre
of the house. Although the roots of the vine
naturally seek the external soil, there is yet this ad-
vantage in an inside border, that when the vines
start in spring there is a sufficiency of active healthy
roots, growing in the warm soil within the house, to
nourish the early growth, and feed the young foliage,
until the natural heat of the sun has excited vigor-
ous action in the external roots. Furthermore, the
evaporation from a rich inside border, kept con-
stantly stirred ("as it should be daily with the hoe
and rake^ contributes much to the health of the
foliage and the color of the fruit.

FIRST YEAR.

Planting and training the vines. Well-grown
one year's old vines are to be preferred ; older
vines, unless skillfully propagated, are apt to become
pot-bound, and when transplanted the ends of their
roots die.

About the first week in March dig a trench, the
entire length of the house, and close to the front
wall, inside, two feet wide and one foot deep. Fill
in with a compost (prepared the previous autumn
and turned and mixed as described above) of old
hot-bed manure and sand washings from the turn-
pike, and a little slaked lime in fine powder. Plant
the vines four feet asunder, in the middle of the trench,
spreading the roots out equally in all directions, on the '

surface, cutting away all weak, decaying and broken
ones, and strew a light coating of the compost over
them. Water lightly, only sufficient to settle the soil
about the roots. Cut the vines do-wn to two buds,
and let them rest a week before starting the flues,
otherwise the buds might begin to shoot too soon
for the roots and lasting injury result to the plant.

Fire may now be started and maintained until
warm and genial weather arrives, commencing at
about GOO, and increasing gradually, day by day,
until 90^ is attained beyond which it is unnecessary
to go although the temperature of the house may
often rise, naturally, to 100^ or upwards. As soon
as the buds are fairly developed rub off the weaker
one.

No stopping of the vine is advised the first year,
but as long a cane should be grown as it is possible
to ripen, so as to secure a correspondingly strong root
growth. The young cane makes but few laterals,
and these should be allowed to grow unchecked.
Ventilate moderately on fine daj^s, and about 3
P.M. shut off one-half the air and syringe the vines
and the whole house, through a fine rose, using, if
possible, a hand engine, to give force and body to the
stream. This should be done three times a week in
the early part of the season and diminishing in fre-
quency till autumn. Sjninge at evening only. If
the vines are sprinkled in the morning globules of
water lodge on the leaves and a sudden burst of
sunshine, acting upon the drops, as lenses, burns holes
in the foliage, an effect often erroneously attributed
to defects or air bubbles in the glass.

Every day throughout the season, until the ripen-
ing process commences, close the ventilators about
an hour before sunset, within an inch, leaving a
crevice of air on during the night. This condenses
the moisture, and, in imitation of nature's process,
supplies the plant with abundant and grateful dew.

A shallow trough of water, extending the entire
length of the house, will assist in maintaining an
equable humidity in the atmosphere of the vinery.

Keep the house and the border always moist, but
never wet. The soil within the house should be
kept in good tilth by a daily use of the hoe and
rake, and the outside border likewise whenever the
Aveather and its condition permit, taking care to
return the mulch to tlie surface after raking if. Top
dress the inside border, early in spring, with a little
well-rotted manure and fork it in about May.

Continue the general treatment above stated
until the foliage and wood are nearly ripe, gradually
diminishing, without entirely discontinuing the
syringing and watering. Give also a little more air
except on raw, cloudy days and cool nights, when
the flue should be used and a moderate heat main-
tained until the foUage ripens, and the plant goes to

%^

326

§h^ (Bmimth Sloiithtg,

rest, usually from November 15tli to December 1st.
Now cut down the vines to about two feet, if
well grown, — if weak, still closer, — cover each one
with a wisp of good dry straw, and leave until
spring. At the same time cover the outer border,
for a space of four to five feet from the front wall,
with eighteen inches of rough stable manure, as a
protection to the young roots from frost.

SECOND TEAR.

In Spring, remove from the outside border all the
top-dressing, except six inches, and fork this in, cul-
tivating and rak"ng frequently, until June, when the
whole border should be thoroughly soaked with
water and mulched with four inches of good, old
manure, to remain till September ; then repeat the cid-
tivation given in the spring, so as to dry off the
border, and prepare it for tlie winter covering. —
Never allow either weeds or any crops to grow in
the border.

The vine shoidd receive the same treatment, except
as to the old wood, as the previous year. One bunch
of fruit may be allowed to set on each vine. The
laterals should be pinched off as soon as the third or
fourth leaf appears, and the pinching repeated, six
or seven times, at the appearance of each new leaf,
leaving one fresh leaf at each stopping. The lead-
ing cane should be allowed to run to the top of the
house without stopping.

As soon as the vines commence to grow, early in
spring, give all the borders a light top-dressing of
slaked lime, in powder, and repeat the same in June
and September. Also whitewash the wood-work
and walls once or twice each season ; if this be
objectionable on account of appearance distribute
lumps of caustic lime on boards or dishes at intervals
through the house.

About the first of May sprinkle all the borders
with a solution of one pound of potash in five
gallons of water.

The vines should be fumigated every year, be-
ginning about tliree weeks after growth com-
mences and repeating every three weeks until the
fruit begins to color, by means of the smoke of
tobacco-stems thrown upon a pan of charcoal, which
must be ignited, and the gas allowed to pass off, be-
fore using in the house. The tobacco should be
slightly damped so as to make a smudge and burn
slowly. During the fumigation the ventilators
should be closed.

Keep the flue alwaj^s sprinkled with sulphur, and
in case of starting a fire, in dull weather, in May or
June, leave enough air on to allow the fumes to
escape readily. In cold vineries strew the sulphur
on heated bricks.

At the first approach of severe weather put about

;i^M-^

two feet in depth of rough stable manure on the
outside border, next the house, and diminish the
quantity, sloping gradually to six inches in depth
at the outside of the border. When the vine is
entirely ripe cut it down to seven feet in length, if
robust and stocky, but if rather weak re;.uce it to
five feet. Fill in between the glass and the wires,
up to about three feet above the eaves, with dry
straw or corn fodder, preferably the former. Lay
down the vines, without any covering, along the
front of the house, where they will be protected
from the sun's rays by the straw packing. If the
winter prove unusually severe an old mat, blanket
or the like, may be loosely thrown over them. If
wisped with straw they are sometimes injured by
mice and make premature growth in spring.

THIRD TEAR.

The general treament of the vines will henceforth
be the same as above stated for the second year.
Let six to eight bunches set, according to the
strength of the vine, one only on every other
lateral on each side. Never disbud a lateral eye but
allow every lateral to grow. In order to encourage
a continuous bearing of fruit, low down, leave the
spurs at the ba^e rather longer than those above.

Keep the spurs as short as possible ; if the vine
be well grown there is always an abundance of dor-
mant eyes around the base of each lateral from
which to force a good plump bud to form strong
spi;rs for next year's fruiting.

In the autumn of this year cut down to about
ten feet of cane, and continue, year by year, in-
creasing its length, but diminishing the 7'ate of
increase, until the vine reaches the top of the house,
where about eighteen inches of last year's cane
may be left.

If well managed, the vine should continue to
bear good crops for a generation, but if, from any
cause, one or more, or all of the vines should begin
to fail a young cane should be started, at the base of
the vine, and brought up gradually, as above de-
scribed, until it reaches half the length of the raf-
ter. Meanwhile fruit the old cane only on its upper
half, observing in spring to ring its bark, about
half way round, near the base, so as to send the sap
into the young cane. In the autumn cut out the
old canes entirely.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

As a rule never allow any fruit to set on the
leading cane.

Cracking, moulding and rotting of the fruit, may
be prevented by having a tight roof, by a judicious
use of the flue and by avoiding excessive watering
and syringing. Be careful however not to let the
border at any time get entirely dry.

i

m-^

r

e hardener's (MonfliliT,

827

la trimming the bunches, "syhich should be clone
as soon as the berry is formed, regard should be had
to the variety in hand. Free-setting kinds should
be thinned out one half or more, leaving only so
many berries as will when developed to their full
size form a handsome and not too compact bunch.
Some varieties, which do not set freely, may be left
until the berries have attained sufficient size to
allow a choice and then the smaller and weaker
ones should be cut out.

Each autumn, before the vines are laid down they
should be washed with the following mi-xture : ^
pound of whale oil soap, j pound of tobacco-stems,
four pounds of flour of sulphur and one ounce of
nux vomica ground^ on which pour two gallons
boiling water, and let stand till cool. Stir constantly
while in use and give the vines a slight coating.
In March rub the old wood over with a little whale
oil, to soften the bark, and then peel it off before
tying up the vine to the wires.

Vines thus treated are entirely free from mildew
and the attacks of insects. One of the vines imder
my charge managed upon the method above given,
which was planted five j'ears since, measures nine
inches in circumference at two feet from the ground,
and at twenty-four feet in height the young wood of
this year girths four inches. This vine has now
fifty pounds of perfect fruit and is a model of health
and beauty.

[In our last year's volume we noticed the great
success of Mr. ]\Iatheson as a grape-grower, and are
glad to have so full an account of the way he man-
ages his vines. It is often said in cases of tliis kind
that such results are to be attributed more to acciden-
tal circumstances than to any regular sj'Stem of
management; but ^Ix. M.'s continuous and improv-
ing success shows well the excellence of his mode
of treatment.

A Committee of the Pennsylvania Horticultural
Society visited Mr. M.'s vines this season, and
found every thing as described. The bunch before
reported in our journal as weighing nine and a quarter
pounds, on exhibition, was weighed by one of our
friends, and found to be over nine pounds, after
passing the ordeal of the "Tasting Committee."
— Ed ]

4»»**

GRAPES.

BY DR. EVASS, WALLACE, PA.

I AM truly Sony that the little that is left of me
will not be able to attend the Convention of Grape-
growers. A month ago, dysentery took the lion's
share of me ; acute rheumatism immediately fol-
lowed, and has not yet abandoned its prey. It is
taking the leopard's share ; and unless it leaves me
soon, there Avill be nothing left for the jackal.

'^^

I had a fine crop of grapes this season, but regret
to say that there is little or nothing left of that. Had
the meeting been called tAvo weeks earlier, I could
have sent you such clusters of Delaware grapes as
are rarely equalled, and perhaps never surpassed ;
but of my Delawares every berry is gone.

In the winter of 1859 a liliputian plant was sent
to mc by a friend, in a three-inch pot, for want of a
smaller one. By autumn it made a growth of fifteen
feet. Next season it yielded a dozen fine bunches
of fruit, and this year — let me describe it. I fruited
but a single cane some six feet long. Every eye,
made its shoot, and of these shoots ten of them
supported four bunches each, and nearly all the rest
three bunches apiece. There was Lot a shoot with-
out at least one large bunch, and there were not
half-a-dozen small bunches on the vine. Dr. Eshle-
man saw the vine in its full glory, and as he will
probably be with you, I will commit its reputation
to his keeping. My border is three feet deep, ten
feet wide, and contains a large admixture of bone-
manure and leather scraps. The Catawissa will, I
think, prove a valuable variety. It ripens with
Hartford Prolific and Northern Muscadine. In
quality it is, in the opinion of all who have tasted
it here, better than Isabella, and its .arge berries and
very large bunches give it a beautiful appearance. I
think it wJl be found perfectly hardy, and as well
worthy of general cultivation as any other hardy
black grape we have.

I am also much pleased with Taylor's Bullitt,
which fruited here this season. It is a most beauti-
ful little grape, without pulp and almost without
skin, — more perfectly transparent than any other
native grape I have seen. In quality, about equal
to Elsinboro', which is not bad. If its rambling
propensities can be restrained, I think it will be
quite an acquisition.

As an early grape of good quality, I would re-
commend the North America. It is a seedling of
Franklin, and a very much better grape, of the size
of Isabella, without pulp, sweet and good, but lacks
flavor. It ripened here before Hartford Prolific,
and is a much better grape. I think well, too, of
Alvcy. It is, indeed, a most excellent grape, re-
sembling Taylor and Elsinboro' in flavor, and seems
to be quite prolific, though I cannot agree with my
friend, Mr. S. Miller, in considering it but little infe-
rior to Delaware in quality. Alas ! we have no
native grapes of which that may be truly said by
me. The Diana is next to it, in my opinion, but
between the two there is room for many others.
Anna proves to be a most excellent grape, but a
shy bearer. Perhaps she will yet mend her ways.

I fruited twenty varieties this season, and I must p
'^'ay that I have no ten varieties in collection Cso far I /^

CIit( iardai^r's (Pontljlj.

as testedj which I would not rather part with than
Delaware. It would afford me pleasure to write out
my views at length on the interesting topic of grape-
culture for the benefit ( ?) of the meeting ; but, "weak
and weary, sick and sore," I can pursue the subject
no furthei-.

[The above, addressed to one of the officers of
the Lancaster Grape-growers' Meeting, has been
handed us to do with it as should seem good unto
us, and our decision is to publish the whole. As
the views of an observing and intelligent amateur,
they derive additional force, if possible, when written
in an off-hand way, without thought of publication
in the Monthly.— 'Ed. ]

MY EXPERIENCES.

BY OLIVER PEGRAM, OF PEGRAMIA.
No. II.

I HAVE said that the time had come when I should
carry out that lifelong wish of mine, and retire to
the country. Such a wish is but a natural one
with every man. In my case it was all the more so,
as I had been bred, born and educated in a large
place, where the earth seemed a wilderness of houses,
and vegetation had but few and feeble exponents,
such as the wormy linden trees on the sidewalks
and the grass in the quiet streets. The country
aroimd my native place Avas as flat as a pancake,
and much less interesting than a pancake. My des-
tiny willed it that I should live in none but the
largest cities of our country, and, gifted with a
lively imagination and an innate love for the coun-
try, I, from the contrast between necessity and
wish, clung all the more to my ideal. I had not
even the leisure of those folks who, partly from the
love of home and partly from a love of country, go
a riding. Hard at work from morn till night, I was
essentially a stay-at-homer.

Here comes the daily phenomenon of the strange
workings of the native bent, illustrating the adage
of "what's bred in the bone," &c. To gratify my
love for country, I read late at nights in bed faccom-
panied by a cigar, or may be three or four of them,)
books of travels in distant countries, especially such
in which I fancied that Nature appeared in her most
charming forms, such as the "West Indies, the Bra-
zils, &c. Having, also, a practical turn, — and who
has not in this great country of ours ? — I read (don't
smile, kind reader,) price-currents in the newspa-
pers, thus getting a knowledge of what the country
produces, and what it "fetched." Later in hfe,
when the dollars began to grow with me, and when
I had married, I read in the papers the advertise-
ments of farms or country residences for sale or to
let. My imagination easily made me proprietor of

each of them in turn, and each of them had its pe-
culiar fascination, no doubt because its best points
were made the most of in the paper. Now, this
sort of thing is very well, — just as the dream
will always suffice to the soul so long as the
reality is not sought for. But I dearly paid up
for this continued play of the imagination ; for
when we Cthat is Mr. and Mrs. Pegram) one winter
night fl think it was in February) had resolved
that we not only could, but would, move into the
country, then began with me a series of vexations,
the narration of which, I hope, will do some good
to such of the Gardener^ s Monthly'' s readers as are
still in the incipient stage of "moving into the
country."

I wanted to find my ideal. Where was I to find
it ? First I took to the advertisements. Perhaps I
went to see fifty different places. Seeing them, and
that, too, in the month of March and with an unac-
quainted eye, they, one and all, fell vastly short of
my ideal. They were either too flat, or too rugged,
or too cramped, or too oddly shaped, or the build-
ings were distasteful, or the soil was too poor, or
there was too much or too little timber on them.
Let alone the fear in my mind of such things as
take a man very unpleasantly by surprise, and must
be made the best of when once unhappily found ;
for instance, unpleasant neighbors, or may be chills
and fever and similar miseries of life, — for who ever,
when he inquired of people on or near the spot,
was not informed that this spot was "remarkably
healthy," and " most respectable people all around ?"

Besides, there floated in my brain an unshaped
thing of an ideal, some few points of which I found
in reality in each of the fifty places, but, unhappily,
not in one of them together. I dreamt of a dwell-
ing standing half-way over a green hill, looking east
with a little southing; white pines crowning the
top of that hill, and coming down it a httle way,
just enough to shelter us from the north and north-
west in a way both useful and ornamental. Then I
wanted the ground apt to be terraced in front, and
to be nicely laid out as a flower-garden. At the foot
of the hill I wanted to make a pond, with a green
isle in it, on which I was to plant a "native" wil-
derness of shrubs and trees. The pond was a fix-
ture in my mind, as well as in my wife's, both of us
having an unusual predilection for roast duck, cold.
There was, Mkewise, to be a diversity of ground all
over the farm, although the whole was not to exceed
one hundred acres. Monotony I could never bear ;
so I wanted hill and dale, rocks and rich soil,
meadow and woods, and a little of every thing that
makes the component parts of creation.

"Was I unreasonable ? By the beard of the Pro-
phet, I believe I was. But as this is a sort of con-

:s

(i;^

IT.

329

fession, I will be liouest and state even, that, in ad-
dition to the grand features oF the place, I stuck
quite as tenaciously to the smaller ones. I was to
have a sun-dial on a large scale, a rustic bridge
spanning the indispensable streamlet fl hoped the
gods would throw in a little cascade), an ivy-clad
grotto, a JSTewfoundland dog of a prodigious size,
(black, of course, j my "own" horse, beautiful crea-
ture ! and squasiies of a size and flavor hitherto un-
known to the inhabitants of this continent.

Feeling how much I claimed of Nature to satisfy
my exacting mind, I was ready to move into any
part of these United States where I could find my
ideal, excepting the northernmost and the southern-
most ones. Not so with Mrs. Pegram. "What,
to go and leave our friends and relations at ever
such a distance, and, strangers as we are, go and
seek new friends amongst strangers ? Take the
children and go and live Heaven knows how far
from any place where they can get a good school-
ing ? Go and live in an out-of-the-way place, out
of sight of all the world, where nothing ever hap-
pens, and where you never get to know what is
going on in the world ? Preposterous ! You might
as well bury alive your wife and your children, Mr.
Pegram !"

Was ever man as perplexed as I ?

THE CRAB APPLE AI^D ALMOND
CWAFcF AS STOCKS.

BY "maple dell," ILLINOIS.

Ix reply to "S.'s" remarks in the last Monthly^ I
would state what little I know about these stocks.

The Crab Apple {Mains coronaria) grows in great
abundance in this neighborhood, and has been ^.-e-
peatedly used as a stock to graft upon, with success ;
and if they were worked near the ground, low
heads being formed, they would, with some varie-
ties, form dwarf trees equal to those worked upon
Doucain stocks, perhaps superior.

Our attempts at dwarfing the Peach and Almond
have proved quite successful. Two years ago we
budded some Peach and Almond varieties upon the
Double Dwarf-flowering Almond (amygdalis^ fl.pl. J
Last year they grew vigorously, making pretty little
shrub-like trees before fall, and were well furnished
with fruit-buds. This year we shortened the new
growth two-thirds, leaving sufficient fruit for the
bushes to mature well, but they were stung by the
eurculio and dropped off before maturity.

We may, perhaps, be more successful with them
next 3'ear ; and as they have not overgrov/n the root
much, they may last for one year, their natures
being dwarfed.

INJURIOUS INSECTS.

BY S. S. RATIIVON.
[Coutiuued from Page 293.]

^nomala marginata. Fab. Fig. 16. Length,
three-eighths of an inch ; color, a light brown or dirty
yellow ; legs and underneath, dark brown ; the pos-
terior portion of the head and the middle of the
thorax irregularly marked with chestnut-brown, and
the central and lateral margin of the wing-covers
the same color ; wing-covers, punctured in lines
lengthwise.

^nomala hicicola. Fab. Fig. 17. Length, the
same as fig. 16; color, uniformly a dirty yellow,
and only the tarsi and the eyes, and a very narrow
margining of the wing-covers a chestnut-brown,
with a brownish marginal spot on each side of the
thorax ; wing-covers, punctured in longitudinal
lines the same as fig. 16.

These insects I found very abundant on the grape-
vines of Messrs. Engle & Windolph, on the 5th of
July, and they had been destroying the leaves for
some days previously, and continued to do so for
some days subsequently. They belong to the Me-
lolonihans, a family of destructive Lamellicornice, a
prominent member of which is, the "spotted

— r<g5'^

330

SChij dariaer's J^onthlg.

"I?

Pdidnota;"* (Pelidnoia punctata,) and are fully as
injurious to the grape-vines as the latter well-known
species, but occurring in vastly greater numbers.
a is an anterior leg, b a posterior leg, and c an
antenna, which are alike in both these species.
Indeed, it is not unlikely, on further investigation,
they may both be found yet to be only varieties of
the same species The genus Anomala contains
many species, and among them such a great variety
as to make it much of an anomaly. Ten or twelve
American species of this genus are known to entomol-
ogists, besides as many more that are very nearly
allied to them, and differing very little in size from
those here represented. Fig. 18 is a grub, which is
a form common to the family of the Melolonlhans
rather than tliat of a particular species. This larva
is well known as the " colute grub worm," and is
often made use of in the early i^art of the season as
a choice bait for fish. These grubs remain in the
earth from two to three years, and are very destruc-
tive to the roots of vegetation when their numbers
are large. In this state of their being, they are more
injurious than in their perfect state, and there may
be a great many injuries done to vegetation by the
destruction of their roots by these insects, that we
are not aware of. During the winter season they
burrow down deep in the earth, and come nearer
the surface in the spring when the frost is out of the
ground, and in this way they are sometimes ploughed
up, or dug up and devoured by domestic fowls and
birds, long before they are ready to undergo their
transformation to the perfect state.

Some terrible records have been made of them in
England and Ireland, such as stripping the foliage
off large tracts of ground, in consequence of its roots
being devoured by the larvae of these insects. An-
derson, in his Recreations in Agriculture, says that there
were fourteen thousand of these insects captured in
a few days near Blois, in France, by some children,
and that in Hungary they boil them and extract the
oil from them, which is used for greasing carriages.
They make their appearance in the beetle state in
June, and continue till August and September.

Ichneumon serratipennis. Fig. 19. Length, three
lines ; * expansion of the wings, five lines ; an-
tennae, as long as the body ; wings, transparent ;
color, fuscous or light brown ; eyes, shining, dark
chestnut brown, and prominent, a, natural size of
the perfect state ; b, natural size of the cocoon,
containing the pupa spun down to a portion of a
leaf ; c, natural size of the larva ; d, a moderately
magnified view of the insect and pupa on a leaf; e,
a greatly magnified view of the perfect insect ; /, a

S

* Prominent in the order not the family — Pelidnota is a Eu-
tilian, (Riitilidai,) and is a wood-borer.

greatly magnified view of a wing, showing the veines;
g, a greatly magnified view of the larva. It will be
seen that the costal margin of the wing is set-rated or
saw-toothed, and upon this characteristic I propose,
at present, to name it. When it is discovered that it
has been previously named, or that another would
be more appropriate, then, of course, this one must
fall. This description and naming is, therefore, only
provisional.

On the 15th of last June I found some leaf-rolling
Lepidopiei ous larvae upon a quince tree, and upon
opening one of the leaves rolled up, I found in it a
light green caterpillar with a brown head and faintly
banded with whitish-green, of about three-quarters
of an inch in length. It was probably the larva of
a species of Tortrix. I found that it was inactive,
and that it had not inclosed itself as perfectly and
securely as leaf-rollers usually do, and that some-
thing seemed to to be the matter with it. Soon two
small greenish-white worms, with a small black head
and without any perceptible feet, came forth from its
body and remained on its back. I then broke off
the bud and leaves and put them in a small box, and
on examining it five days thereafter I found that
thirteen of these worms had come forth and spun
themselves down in flat cocoons, parallel to each
other, on another leaf, and that the caterpillar was
dead. On the 27th of June they evolved from the
pupa, by cutting a round, smooth hole through the
one end of the cocoon, as shown in b and d, and
came forth a brisk and knowing little "cuccoo-fly,"
as represented in the illustrations. This is then a
livelj" and efficient little insect friend, and as about
half of them escaped out through an open window,
they, no doubt, went forth again to seek some luck-
less caterpillar upon whom to deposit their eggs for
another brood, before the season ends. The insect
is small, and is not likely to jostle other animated
beings much in the world, nor is it likely to be often
seen and recognized, but it is, nevertheless, doing
right valiant service to man in the sphere in which
it is called to operate. Close habits of observation
might daily produce instances like this in the
economy of insects, and would also reveal to us
that throughout the "live-long day," and during
the entire continuance of the summer season, in-
sects, both friends and enemies, are incessantly at
work carrying out the behests of their creation.
Their perseverance is truly astonishing. It was
only a few days ago I witnessed a little cuccoo-fly
making attempts to deposit its eggs upon a hairy
caterpillar, and the latter flourishing the fore part of
his body, like an expert fencer would his broad-
sword, in order to ward off his enemy ; but it was
of no use ; the fly persevered until he succeeded, be-
fore he relinquished the contest. If it were asked

[0^ —

-:^f^

J> -^^ — ■

iiire ^itrikiifi-'s ^onthlg.

331

@j

me what remedies I would iutci'pose to the cncronch-
meuts of these caemies of the grape-vine, I should
be compelled to answer, that I do not know a single
one that would be entirely effectual. Smoking
them out with a torch of sulphur, would involve a
great deal of labor, and unless great care were
taken, might scorch the vine. In au extensive
grapery syringing them with soap-suds or tobacco-
brine would also be very laborious. The best self-
operating remedy, perhaps, would be putting up
bird-boxes, and the encouraging of blue-birds and
wrens to build their nests in them. I have a small
box erected about four feet above my grape-vines on
a pole, in which a pair of wrens have reared two
broods every season for a number of years. From
eighteen to twenty is the number of their progeny
reared in a single season, all of which are fed upon
insects. I purposely planted two or three small
colonies of insect larva; on my vines the present
season, immediately below the box, in order to
make some observations upon their transformations ;
but in every instance, my colonies, every time I ex-
amined them, had suffered depletion, and then en-
tirely disappeared. I did not see the wrens do the
work, but I have seen them frequentl}^ bring insects,
and especially small larvae, in their bills from else-
where, to feed their young, and I have not the least
doubt that it was them tliat destroyed mine. These
little feathered friends are occupied at least twelve
hours in the day in feeding their young, and calcu-
lating eight insects an hour, captured for them, —
which is only a moderate estimate, — would make
ninety-six insects a day carried to their brood, with-
out counting those they might be supposed to eat
themselves. Seven hundred insects, in round num-
bers, in one week, for a family of wrens, is nothing
more than what may be ordinarily calculated. Al-
lowing three months to the feeding season of their
3'oung, would foot up twenty-one hundred insects
consumed by these little indefatigable insect traps
alone, without the other contingencies that also
assist in destroying great numbers of them. Heavy,
drenching rains are often of vast benefit in lessening
the number of noxious insects, and if finely pulver-
ized air-slacked lime was thrown upon those that
the rain failed to wash off, I believe it would de-
stroy or remove them, as I have been very credibly
informed. With these few remarks at this time, I
must bring this paper to a close, hoping that it may
be of some use in throwing a little additional light
upon the subject of practical entomology ; and I
again admonish the Association, that when they
find any insect attacking their vegetation of any
kind, they secure a specimen or specimens and send
them to me by mail or otherwise, together with the
circumstances under which it was taken, and the

tree or plant upon which it was feeding, and I shall
cheerfully give such, light upon the subject as I may
be able to diffuse.

«ag» — ■ — -

THE ALLEN RASPBERRY.

BY FOX MEADOW.

It is said, Mr Editor, "that open confession is
good for the soul." It always does me good to
acknowledge the superior excellence of fruits when
they are found to be so ; and I must honestly say,
that I feel a pleasure, and also consider it a duty to
make known what appears to me to be worthless.
In reading over the September number of the
Monthly, I was much surprised to find the success
of Mr. James Gleason, of Mount Airy, in the cul-
tivation of the Allen Raspberry. The writer first
illustrates the "Allen" under a system of bad culti-
vation, and then gives us its opposite, terminating
with a plentiful crop of superb fruit. But bad
cultivation, we are all aware, must terminate finally
in bad results, but with me this does not solve the
mystery of the Allen Raspberry. I have it growing
at the present time on a made soil four feet deep.
The canes are tied up to cedar stakes, four canes to
a stake. The canes grow seven and eight feet high.
The ground is kept perfectly clean, and no suckers
are allowed to grow but the/o«r for the following
season. The ground is never dry nor wet, but it is
strong and rich. I have grown them now four
years, and got with them such a character that
really made my mouth water, and long for the time
to come when we s-hould be able to pick an abund-
ance of raspberries from canes capable of standing
"without stakes," and stand the frost "without
being buried." I was not going to risk the frost,
however, on such a "wonderful cropper." 'So we
buried them as we did the Brinckle's Orange,
which were growing on the same ground by their
side ; but, Mr. Editor, the leaves came with
genial summer sun, and the blossoms smiled to the
cultivator, whilst his busy hand pulled the absorbing
suckers from its root, but alas ! 710 fruit. A few ' 'pips' '
were shown of a transparently beautiful crimson,
dangling here and there on the hushes,— beacons, we
thought, of a plentiful perfection yet to come ; so
the fostering hand protected them another year, and
yet another year, and this summer the ungrateful
"Allen" laughed right out at us, and said, it was
not a raspberry, but an "Ignis Fatuus" destined to
try our temper and the natural strength of our brain.
"Stand !" we exclaimed, "for these war times Avill
not permit you to proceed further without an exami-
nation of your ' pass.' " " Allen" halted with all the
dignity of a warrior, and said, "Examine my pass,
and you will perceive in what you on^ht to have
examined long enough before, that my pass is im-

•perfect. ' ' Had wc lopked at his pass three years ago,
we should have sent him to the guard-house then ;
for botanically, his sexual anrangement was in
error, Jilament.fi, but no anthers, consequently no
pollen. ' ' Allow me, ' ' said Allen,' ' ' to march by the
side of 'Brinckle' or the 'Antwerp' brigade, and
you will find me more suitable to your wants. I am
only a lady in,, your soil, but in the company of
gentlemen, — very much changed for your better."

"Allen, this don't pay, so you must come up out
of it and accompany all the other things which re-
quire purifying, to the ^awiCi. "

[The success in the particular instance Ave named,
may probably have been as much owing to the neigh-
borhood of other varieties, as to the system of
culture, and it is a pertinent question, as Fox
Meadow well puts it, whether it is worth while to
raise a variety that needs fertilization, if we can get
a kind that will bear as well without. In this case,
none of the other kinds did bear as well, or any
thug like as well. No more ground was occupied
than any other kind would have occupied. Mr.
Gleason's raspberry garden is in a low piece of
ground, and no variety is, we believe, even pro-
tected there. His success is equal to any raspberry-
grower we know, and we should hke to have
his experience ; but as he has now exchanged
the pruning knife for the sword at the head of a
company in the service of his country in Virginia,
we must lay aside the desire for the present. — Ed.]

MANBTTI K9SE STOCK.

BY F. PARKMAN, POND GARDEN, JAMAICA
PLAIN, MASS.

As the true merits of the Manetti Rose Stock have
been much discussed on both sides of the ocean, (I
began a year ago last spring to experiment on it, )
I now send you a few res Its of my experience, in
the hope of gaining, as well as giving, information.
Of several hundred strong stocks planted in April,
18G0, and containing dormant buds of some thirty
varieties of perpetuals, the greater part bursted with
surprising vigor. Several before autumn made
shoots more than six feet long. One Triomphe de
I'Exj^osition measured six and a half feet. Others,
such as Mrs. Elliott and Pasony, made compact
bushes of four feet, loaded with bloom. Others,
again, were weak and dwarf in groAvth. Among
these was La Reine, while the Muscadine Geaut
did not exceed his ordinary slight proportion. In
sliort, some found the stoc;k congenial, others not.
The soil, I should say, was trenched two feet, and
enriched to the hightest point.

Thus far, the results were, on the whole, very

satisfactory ; but the present summer has cast a shade
of suspicion over the character which entered upon
its career under such hopeful auspices. The plants
were carefully taken up and re-set a little deeper, in-
order to give protection to the point of junction of
the scion and stock. This was easy, as all were
budded close to the ground. A few grew and
blossomed Avith all their former vigor, but in general
they have shown a diminished vitality as compared
with last year, and in some instances this deteriora-
tion has been very marked.

I am by no means prepared, however, to give my
voice against this promising stock, and write chiefly
to draAv forth the results of others' experience. I
am continuing to experiment, and will give results
hereafter. The only question is that of the perma-
nent value of the stock. Of its immediate influence
on those varieties adapted to it, there can be no
possible question.

RHODODENBROrJS.

[Coutinued.]
BY A. MIELLEZ, FLUSHING, N. Y.

The best mode of grafting rhododendrons, as be-
fore stated, is that of saddle-grafting. It is done by
cutting a wedge of about an inch and a half in
length on the stock, and a "saddle," as it may
be called, of the same length on the scion,
so as to fit the one into the other. The latter cut
requires a little skill, but after some practice will
soon become handy. I here may mention a litt e
contrivance that Avill be of some service : it consists
of a tube made of stiff paper, about an inch wide
and four inches long ; through this the scion is
drawn, and by keeping the leaves erect, will facili-
tate the cutting and tieing. Very large leaves may
be half cut off.

If stock and scion are of the same size, it will
form a very neat junction at once ; if the stock be
stronger, the scion has to be set on one side of the
saddle, so as to cover bark by bark; after a season's
growth the diflerence will soon disappear, pro-
vided it be not too great a one, in which latter case
I should advise Avedge-grafting ; grafting on a large
stock should, however, if possible be avoided.
After having fitted stock and scion nicely to-
gether, use worsted or bast matting, cut into the
required lengths, for tieing in this way : Hold stock
and scion together with the left hand, at the same
time catching hold of one end of the tie, ('tAvine,J
then with the right hand tAvist the matting, and
begin tieing from the top to the bottom of the
cuts, leaving little spaces between every encircling-
tie, so as not to restrain the ascending circulation of
the sap. No coating of wax or clay need be ap-

athi} iardtntr's Ponthfe.

plied ; the usage of this is rather reverse to most
in-door operations. The atmospliere of the place
has to be kept in a condition to prevent the plants
from shrivelling and drying up ; this, however, will
be easily accomplished in the way before stated.

In regard to the age of the wood, it matters but
little whether it is one, two or three years old, as
long as it is in vigorous health, and therefore
old plants that have grown irregular at the same
time maybe formed into "shape'' by grafting. For
scions, however, the tops or one year's growth
should be used for their more prominent ej'es,
healthier leaves and greater vitality, which qualify
them better for a "tip-top" start and ultimate suc-
cess. About a fortnight or three weeks after graft-
ing, the stock will have issued numerous shoots,
which have to be removed gradually as the issues of
the scions develop, leaving the upper ones till last,
to aid in carrying the sap to the latter. At the
same time look after the tjiugs, and if they are
seen to make a rather deep impression, caused bj^
the growth and callus of the junction, remove
them and tie again with untwisted bast matting.
This will keep till the grafts are thoroughly united,
and then be torced to break by the increasing-
strength of the plant. This is all that is needed,
although a little attention should still be paid for the
first three months or so, looking over them now
and then, lest some ties might undo themselves too
soon. If so, it must be removed to prevent the
graft from dropping off by swagging about. 'By
grafting small plants the same has to be observed
that has been said about large ones, with the only
difference that these should be grafted as near to the
roots as possible for the reason, that, though only
hardy Catawbiense varieties Ctrue Catawbiense are
objectionable, because they do not form so fine a
ball of fibrous roots as Hybrids of Catawbiense
maximum and ponticum, &c.) are used. There may
be one or the other not prove quite hardy, and it is
vexatious to loose any afterwards by a severe trial
of Jack Frost, but which will be secure if grafted
low, so as to come into the ground. Another
reason for grafting near to the roots is, that a great
many of the grafts will subsequently take roots
when coming in contact with the soil, and so stand
partly at least on their own roots.

By the way, it may be said that rhododendrons
can also be propagated by layering, and pretty good
plants they will make. Proceed in the usual way
of layering shrubs. It, however, is a pretty slow
way, and not at all advisable where large quantities
are wanted. The raising of stocks and hybrids
from seeds, of which I shall give a plan of treatment
hereafter, is a thing of imperative necessity. For
the present I will add, that seedling stocks which

have been groAvn in the nursery, will be fit for
grafting when of an average size of an inch in
circumference, and may be taken up and potted for
that purpose ; but where there is a large quantity to
be accommodated, it will be found to advantage to
plant them i . a pot or house as described for large
plants. Plant in rows about six inches apart and
four inches between, so as to give sufficient room
for the development of their growth.

A very good method of operation is the follow-
ing, viz; Early in spring when the severest frost
has passed away, Cabout the beginning of March in
this section,) put a good layer of fresh stable-
manure into a pit or frame, some light soil, saw-
dust or tan on the top. After the first strong heat
is gone (say four or five days) put your grafted
plants in ; thej' Avill do beautifully.

[To be Coutiuued.]

A VISIT TO THE KNOX FHUIT FAEM.

BY A. THOMSON', DELAWAKE, OHIO.

The horticultural reader has heard of the cele-
brated fruit farm owned and cultivated by Rev. J.
Knox, in the vicinity of Pittsburg, Pa. It is
undeniably the most extensive establishment of the
kind in the United States ; and notwithstanding its
large size, is as thoroughly and systematically culti-
vated as any other to be found in the country, how-
ever limited in extent. From the central position
occupied by the family mansion, the eye takes in at
a glance over one hundred acres, within a single
enclosure, almost every rod of which is occupied
with fruit trees, vines and plants, apples, peaches,
grapes, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, goose-
berries, currants, &c., all in the highest state oflux-
uriaut gi-owth, and all receiving as clean and
thorough culture as is bestowed .upon a good gar-
den. The place has already been described in
detail, and I do not propose going over the same
ground again, but simply design noticing a few of
the prominent features, which, during a recent visit,
especially attracted my attention and elicited my
admiration.

Mr. Knox makes the culture of the strawberry
for market and raising plants for sale, a si)eciality.

He has been called the "Strawberry King;" and
if unquestionable pre-eminence in this branch of
fruit-culture can entitle a person to the appellation,
it is justly bestowed. The statement that he husji/ty
acres in strawberries seems almost incredible ; but a
walk over the place, and an examination of the extent
of the plantation, cannot fail to satisfy the most skepti-
cal, that the amount of ground above indicated is
thus occupied. During the last season the hands em-
ployed in picking and sending fruit to market num-

f^^

<>^

^"^irj-

bered at times as high as three hundred per day,
and the berries were sent in large quantities to New
York, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, and
most of the other cities of the North and West,—
some going even into Canada. In consequence of
the size and handsome appearance of the fruit (the
effect of thorough culture and the selection of choice
varieties) it brought in most cases fully double the
price obtained for such as is ordinarily to be found
in our city markets. Mr. Knox purchases and tests
every new variety that appears, and the number of
sorts comprised in his specimen bed, each occupying
a distinct row, considerably exceeds one hundred.
Some of them are, of course, of but little value,—
many of them are found desirable for a general
collection, and a few are esteemed worthy of univer-
sal culture. First on his list of favorites stands
Trioniphc de Gand, which, tbe past season, has fully
maintained its high reputation as a first-class berry
in all respects, and the extent of his plantations of
this variety, the preparations to still further extend
them, and production of millions of plants, clearly
evince the high estimation in which he holds it.
Next to Triomphe de Gaud I believe he now ranks
Kitley's Goliath and TroUope's Vidoria ; while Wil-
son's Albany, Jenny Lind, Baltimore Scarlet, and
several other standard varieties, are still largely cul-
tivated. Several of the newer varieties, as Fillmore,
Downing, &c., promise well, but have not been
sufficiently tested to establish their merit. For
fruiting, all the vines are cultivated in rows two
and a half feet apart, and some of them more than
a thousand feet in length. The vines are kept free
from runners, Avhich are removed as they appear
by hand, the effect of which is extraordinary vigor
of growth, and the formation of numerous and
prominent crowns, which will throw up an abund-
ance of strong fruit stalks next season. The ground
between the rows is kept perfectly clear of weeds
by hoe and hand-culture; and the latter part of
November the entire beds are covered with a layer
of straw, which protects the plants during the
winter,— is removed from the rows in the spring,
and suffered to remain between them during the
summer, acting as a mulch, keeping the ground
moist, protecting the fruit from dirt, checking the
growth of weeds, and eventually by decaying, af-
fording nourishment to the soil. The beds for
raising plants are entirely distinct from those for
fruiting ; all the runners are permitted to grow and
root, and the beds so remote from each other as to
render admixture impossible ; and those purchasing
plants of Mr. Knox can do so with full confidence
that they are true to name and unmixed. The mode
of culture pursued on this place is ncessarily expen-
sive, but experience has demonstrated that it pays

^i>

better than a less expensive system ; its policy even
in an economic point of view is fully established.
Next to Strawberries comes Grapes; and from
the extent of his preparations for planting vines, and
the thorough manner in which he prepares the soil
for their reception, it is evident that this will shortly
become the leading branch of culture ; and those who
now regard themselves as occupying the front rank
as grape-growers, would do well to look to their
laurels, lest, ere they are aware of it, they be trans-
ferred to the brow of the " Strawberry King."

The soil and locality of this fine farm seem to
be admirably adapted to the growth of the vine, and
the thorough culture given them, the judicious selec-
tion of varieties, and the systematic and scientific
pruning and training, have already produced the
most flattering results, and promise still better for
the future. The assortment embraces all the older
varieties and most of the new ; but only a few of
those that have proved valuable are largely planted.
The three favorite varieties are Delaware^ Concord and
Hartford Prolific^ — the first valued on account of its
universally conceded good qualities both as a table
and wine grape ; the other two for their hardiness,
productiveness, early maturity, and consequent value
as market fruits. Of Delawares there are a hundred
or more vines on the place, that have each a few
clusters for the first time this season, — the healthy
growth of the vines and the exquisite beauty and
unsurpassed quality of the fruit, captivating all be-
holders ; also several hundred vines (good one year
old laycrsj set out last spring, which are a sight
worth looking at, having made a growth of from
five to twelve feet each, — the wood stout and short-
jointed, and such as would, if permitted next sea-
son, produce a fair crop of fruit. They will, after
another season's grov/th, challenge comparison with
any lot of vines of like age in the country, and will
richly repay the investment made at what might
appear a somewhat extravagant price in procuring
good vines at the start. Those who are troubled
with the idea that the Delaware is a feeble grower,
would be effectually cured by a glance at this lot of
vines.

I am one of those who, when it first appeared,
formed a decidedly unfavorable opinion of the Con-
cord ; and from seeing it growing in several localities
in the East, and tasting the fruit from such vines, my
unfavorable impressions of it were confirmed, rather
than weakened. But, after witnessing its vigoraus
and healthy growth in the West, and fruiting it on
my own grounds, my views have very much modi-
fied, and I have come to regard it as a most valuable
grape for general culture ; and the show it made this
fall on the farm of Mr. Knox was such, that I can-
not speak in terms of too high commendation of it.

r

/*r»

fr<§}

^

^v^/SV^

111

The Aiues of ullages were a perfect picture of health.
A large number that had been two years planted,
were bearing tlieir first crop of fruit— the clusters
large, the berries perfect and thoroughly ripened,
and the Havor, in my estimation, if not as good as
that of a few other varieties, at least superior to Isa-
bella. These vines averaged one dollar each from
the sale of fruit, which readily commanded from
twenty to twenty-five cents per pound in the Pitts-
burg market, while Isabellas and Catawbas Cunripe
of coursej were a drug at six to eight cents. The
great point of attraction, however, was a row of
eleven vines, four years planted, occupying a trellis
about one hundred and thirty feet long, and seven
feet high, Avhich from bottom to top, and from one
end to the other, was covered with such magnificent
clusters as I had never before seen. The bunches
were large and compact, generally heavily shoul-
dered, the berries very large and perfect in every
respect, reminding one of well-grown Black Ham-
burgs, though from their jet black color, and cover-
ing of rich bloom, they eclipsed that celebrated va-
riety in beauty of appearance. This, too, was simply
the result of good culture and proper training and
pruning. The estimate of Mr. Knox, that an acre
of such vines, fruiting as those were, Avould yield a
profit of one thousand dollars in a single season,
was not an extravagant one ; for I faucy he would
find but little trouble in realizing one hundred dol-
lars in any market for the product of those eleven
vines.

Of the Hartford Prolific he has but a few vines,
and when I was at his place (Sept. 25th,J) the fruit
had all been picked and marketed, bringiug, in con-
sequence of its earlincss and attractive appearance,
twenty-five cents per pound. Though not claimed
to be a fruit of superior flavor, the vine is hardy and
productive, and being earlier than any other yet
tested by Mr. K., he thinks highly of it as a market
fruit, and designs planting it largely.

The great advantage possessed by the three varie-
ties above named, consists especially in their earli-
ness, to say nothing of other qualities, a^- they all ripen
their fruit before there is any danger of frost, which
the Isabella, Catawba, and most other varieties fail
to do in open exposed culture at Pittsburg and most
otiier localities as far Korth.

Another fruit that Mr. Knox is devoting especial
attention to, is the Improved American Black Cap
Raspberry. Of this he has now very large planta-
tions, and is preparing to greatly enlarge them,
finding it one of the most profitable of his small
fruits. It is both hardy and prolific, the fruit attrac-
tive hi appearance and of good quality.

THE INDIAN OR CHINESE AZALEAs

Its Introduction, Cultivation, Propagation and

description of the Best Sorts, Now and Old.

[Continued from Page 302.]
BY AN OLD FLORIST, PHILADELPHIA,

If I were to be confined to the culture of only
one family of plants for winter blooming, I would
unhesitatingly adopt the Azalea. This choice cer-
tainly Avould not have been made a quarter of a cen-
tury ago ; but now, with the great beauty of growth,
the cleanliness of the plant, its now neat and com-
pact habit, with a very general prospect of reward
for services rendered, and the great improvements
in the plant of the present day, will cause many to
approve of my choice. The only diltlculty in the
way of an amateur is, "What shall I select V This
difticulty is very apparent from the hundred and
one names in nurserymen's catalogues, and all of
an equal degree of merit. They Avill pardon me, I
hope, if my feeble opinion should ignore one-half
of their offerings, for which they are not to blame.
They know that many require something ncic, and,
of course, the propagator is considered behind the
age if he is not in possession of all the trash offered
at home or abroad. It now takes a very superior
sort to hold any rank in the present collections.
The characters should be, first, form of flower, as
near the circle as possible, with a smooth, waxy
petal ; color, distinct, of whatever shade, with size
and profusion of bloom ; habit, of medium growth ;
foliage, green and shining. Those with a dull,
rusty, deciduous foliage, such as the Old White and
the Old Purple, are objectionable ; so are sorts that
make a growth before blooming, such as Duke of
Wellington and Novne Blanc. With these outlines
Ijcfore us, we now give the names and colors of the
best that have come under our cultural observation.

Selfs, those that are mostly op 0]S'e Color.

Bride— Vare transparent white, of medium to dwarf
growth.

Crif^piflora—Hosy purple, with a crenulated edge, of

medium growth, very distinct.
Beleda— Cherry rose color, very profuse, medium

growth.

Due de Nassau — Crimson, with dark upper petals

and darker spots, flowers large, strong growtli.
Eclipse — Bright scarlet, very profuse, strong growth.
Extrana—Br'iUmnt rosy pink, [in color and form

this excels our old favorite Copeii, ] free growth

and not oveiloaded with foliage.
Gigantiflor a — Rof-y salmon, spotted with violet,

flowers from three to four inches in diameter,

free growth.

•fli'

jn

336

ih^ dSardaer's Ponthlj,

(H

Lateritia— Bright salmon color, very profuse of
bloom, dwarf growth, and is best when grafted
from six to twelve inches high. This varietj^
imported from China over thirty years ago, is
not yet improved upon as a dwarf sort in either
form or color.

Lateritia alba supreina—SimWar to the former, ex-
cept in color, being pure white.

Louis Napoleon— Bavk vermilion color, with darker
spots, very bold flower, of large size, plant of
strong growth. Several of the new sorts ap-
proach this variety, but I do not yet see any to
excel it.

PetimiaJlora—FecuWnr for its uniform rosy violet
color ; a very abundant bloomer, neat, medium
growth; produced quite a sensation when it
appeared in Belgium and England.

Pride of Dorking— A very old English sort, of a

cherry pui'ple ; nothing like it ; strong growth ;

if the flowers had the symmetry of Rosy Circle,

it would rank high.
F err yana— Bright rosy scarlet flower, of medium

size, free growing.
Princess Royal — Ho^y pink, profuse bloomer, of

strong growth.
Relnc dc Blanc, or Queen of Whites— Pure white,

flowers from three and a half to four inches in

diameter, foliage green and persistent, growth

medium.
Rot Xco/;o/<i— Bright salmon red, upper petals flamed

with violet, stout, firm petals, and nearly a

complete circle, growth medium.

Rosa illustrata— Bright rose color ; a large flower,
with an occasional double petal, growth and
foliage good. A highly complimented Belgian
variety, though we think it under the standard ;
of fine form.

Rosy Circle— Yerj brifliant rose color, shape very
unexceptionable, a profuse bloomer, of medium
growth.

Speclosa—A very old sort, with a bright cherry red
flower of the largest size, strongly spotted with
dark crimson, growth free, very large, very
showy, but deficient in shape.

Standard of Per/ec/fon— (Said to be.) Flowers of a
waxy rose color, firm petal, circular form, me-
dium growth, and is altogether a very elegant
plant.

Stanley ana— Qaimorx-red. color, perfect formation,
fine, clean fohage, free growth.

Vesta— Ture waxy frosty white, an abundant bloomer,
fohage shining green, growth medium.

Azaleas with Striped, Margined and Spotted
Flowers.

Jdmiration— Color white, rose and pink stripes ; fo-
liage green and persistent ; a free bloomer.

Jurelia—Jiose white, salmon striped with cherry
spots, foliage and growth good.

Baron de Fnere— Delicate salmon color, edged with
pure white, a large flower, plant of free growth.

Beauty of Ewro/^e— Striped distinctly red and white,
flower not first-rate in form, very profuse, does
occasionally run to a self-color of a rosy salmon.

Eulalie von Geert—Hosj salmon, margined with
white and spotted with crimson; very large
bloom, and produces occasionafly centre petals ;
growth free, plant of very excellent habit.—
There is a variety of this, with the foliage very
distinctly margined with white.

Iveryana—Fnre white, very beautifully striped and
spotted with rosy violet, medium growth.

Madam Miellez—Yery large, pure white flower, very
distinctly striped with violet and like what the
English call a fine flake carnation.

Marie Louise, or as some have it, Louise Marie— Pure
white, with a delicate stripe of violet ; produces
a dense mass of bloom ; growth medium.
Maitlandii— An American variety in the way of va-
riegata, with the flowers, however, pure white,
with stripes and spots of bright rose; weak
growth; should be grafted.
Queen of the Betyians— Fare white flowers, striped
with violet ; the margin of the flower, however,
is wavy or undulated, and admired by many ;
growth medium.
Mag ni/?ora — Salmon-pink flowers, margined with
w^hite, spotted and striped with crimson, good
growth, very attractive.
Variegata— This is a Chinese production with Later-
itia, and both may be seen sporting into each
other. Many sorts identical, or nearly so, have
been reproduced from seed, such as Caieus picta
and others. It is of weak growth, and should
be grafted. Flowers salmon-color, darker
spots, margined with pure white ; form nearly
perfect.
Vitlata rosea punctata— ¥\oy^ers creamy-white, pro-
fusely spotted and striped with rose. A very
profuse bloomer; growth w^eak to medium;
improved by grafting.

Azaleas with Double Flowers.

Due de Malak off— Bright red, large, double flower,
very showy, growth medium.

Glory of Sunning ffiZZ— Salmon color, very double,
large flower, free growth, with exuberant fo-
liage.

r<C^l5^

:^^(

i'hi[ (iardnver's JRonthlg.

837

Louise Margoitin — Large, pure white, with faiut
greenish spots; fohage full, greeu and per-
sistcut.
Roi des Doubles — Bright rosy crimson color, very full

of petals ; flower large, with excellent foliage.
Rubro phvo — Medium sized flower ; color brick-dust
red ; growth free ; the shoots must be fre-
quently stopped to bring the plant into shape.
The above gives you, as far as I have observed,
the cream of the azaleas. In doing so, I fear that
many admirers of the plant will be in arms point-
blank against me for ostracising their collection,
and will hurl the questions at my ears— "What
have 3^ou made of my fine whites, Alba ma-
culata and Alexander the Second, for which I have
just paid one dollar for a small item?" I say, the
former has a flower of flimsy form and petal, — the
latter, though very fine, is not superior to Queen of
Whites. "Well, then„ what do you say of my
splendid Phoenicea and my new Imperatrice Eu-
genie?" The color of Phcenicea is good, but de-
fective in all its parts ; and as for Imperatrice, it is
inferior in color and form to Louis Napoleon. —
"Well, what have you against my fine new sorts,
such as Criterion, President Clacys and Queen of
the Belgians?" Only, the former is not more than
equal to Madam Miellez. President Clacys is infe-
rior in form, and the Queen o'" the Belgians very
pretty, but not superior to Marie Louise. "Well,
that is one way to get over them. How will you
make an excuse for the fine double white Narcissi-
flora?" I object, most expressly, to its foliage, al-
ways sickly looking. Louise Margottin leads it in
every feature. The old Double Purple or Lilac, that
Avas very mysteriously spirited from Clapton, Lon-
don, forty years ago, and as mysteriously appeared
on the banks of the Schuylkill, has the same fault,
— bad fohage, bad color, rough flower. Both it and
Narcissiflora are, however, excellent for forcing
with those who make bouquets a business.

AUow me another item, and I will, for the pres-
ent, close the Azalea subject. A few months ago
I spent a very pleasant hour in the company of the
leading amateur on the culture of this plant, and a
gentleman that marks high in whatever he under-
takes. I requested impromptu his best twelve
sorts embracing all distinct colors. They, are in his
estimation, Alexander the Second, Criterion, Dilecta,
Iveryana, Napoleon (fEmperorj, Juliana, Marginata
(English), Marie Louise, Roi Leopold, Rosy Circle,
Stanleyana and Standard of Perfection. To most
I of growers many of these are new, but I believe
can all be obtained in New York or Philadelphia.

There are what I beheve to be distinct species of
the Chinese Azalea, such as Amcena, Obtusa, and

others, which I have not compared with any of the
above, deeming it aside from the purpose intended.

PRESERVING QUINCES AND PEARS
TOGETHER.

BY SCHUYLKILL.

As many of your readers will probably have
more pears than they know what to do with, allow
me to recommend them to preserve them in sugar
in the usual way, mixed with an equal quantity of
quinces. Pears alone are rather tasteless, but by
mixing them with an equal quantity of quinces, I
will defy any one to detect any difference in them.
I have pursued this plan for some time past, and
speak from experience.

[An excellent hint. We have had them at our

table the past few years, — the pear known as

" Pomid" being the variety "made" into quinces. —

Ed.]

«•»#»

Caterpillaks on Trees. — I notice several cor-
respondents in different papers of the city complain-
ing of the worms on trees, and asking for a ^emed3^
Several years since my shade trees were filled with
worms, so much so that the female portion of my
family and my children would not go near them for
shade. I took a pan, of a large size and flat shape,
placing in it charcoal well burning, setting it under
the tree ; then took about a pint of rosin and two
ounces of brimstone, putting them on the burning
coals. The fumes and gas of the coal, I found, scat-
tered the worms ; and I tried each tree, with like
results in all cases, and I was no longer troubled. —
PMladelpMa Dispatch.

Cost of Beauty. — There are persons who think
that a home cannot be beautiful without a consider-
able outlay of money. Such people are in error. It
costs little to have a neat flower-garden, and to sur-
round your dwelling with those simi:)le beauties
which delight the eye far more than expensive ob-
jects. Nature delights in beauty. She loves to
brighten the landscape and make it agreeable to the
eye. She hangs ivy around the ruin, and over a
stump of the withered tree twines the graceful vine.
A thousand arts she practices to animate the sense
and please the mind. Follow her example, and do
for yourself what she is always laboring to do for
you.

Public Park in Kansas. — The City Council of
Lawrence has made arrangements with Norman
Allen, Esq., of that city, f o ■ a Public Park. He
is to enter into bonds to give it up complete to the P
city in ten years.

^^^

338

M^ §iir&2mf% (Planthtg.

PHILADELPHIA, NOVEMBEH 1, 1861.

33= All Communications for the Editor should be addressed,
" Thomas Meehan, Germantown, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The Publisher of the Gardesek's Monthly,
Box 406 Philadelphia."

5:^ Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1S61 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(1859) free. All personswho have paid their subscriptions forl861
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.00 can receire a copy of
the same.

WINTER GARDEMS WITHOUT GLASS.
We are often told to "make liay while the sun
shines," but most of us would rather learn how to
make it when the sun does not shine. And so with
winter gardens. It is easy enough when we can
dip our hands into the lap of wealth, or gather to
ourselves a given quantity of building material ; but
to have a winter garden without glass, is quite an-
other thing, and, seemingly, much more difficult of
accomplishment. Still we can do something, and,
for the benefit of those who have no greenhouses,
and yet would like a winter garden, we will say
what we would do.

In a recent notice in our columns of Parsons' col-
lections, allusion was made to the great variety of
dwarf evergreens now in cultivation. Our flower-
beds in winter are usually the most forlorn looking
objects conceivable. Why not fill them in winter
with these dwarf trees? Such a winter garden
would not, perhaps, possess the power to please
that the flowering httle Edens of our well-kept
pleasure-grounds afford us in the summer season,
but the change itself would be pleasant, for

" Since o'er the four rivers of Paradise
The first roses blew,"

man's inconstant nature loves change, and the
change in the manner we propose is well suited to
the time ; for the winter season is, above all others,
the one in which evergreens draw us nearer to
them. Though destitute of gaiety, they shed about
an air of warmth and cheerfulness when all else is
cold and dreary, that a garden in winter is the mean-
est of things without them, and we can scarcely
have too many in those parts of our grounds in
daily view.

Our plan would be to have all these loM^-growing
evergreens planted in boxes in spring, and plimged
in a "reserve garden" in some obscure part of the
grounds till October or November, when they may
be brought to the advance post of honor and plunged,

(like the tea-plants from the Patent Office,) boxes
and all, in the positions that taste or convenience
may designate. When the spring returns, and the
plants are taken out to make way for summer flow-
ers, they should be re-potted, or rather re-tubbed,
the balls reduced somewhat, and the plants judi-
ciously pruned and cut back, which will keep kinds
within due bounds, that otherwise might become
too large for our purpose.

Many parties in small places in the suburbs of
large cities could not well practise this plan, because
they would have no reserve ground to spare, and
further, because they mostly keep no regular man,
who could water occasionally in summer, and pot,
shift, replace, and do all the little duties which the
plants demand. But here a good opportunity offers
to city florists to make something handsome. They
could prepare and grow the plants and Jiire them out
for the winter season. A few places once "fixed
up" in the manner we suggest, the "fashion," we
are convinced, would set in, and quite a living
might be made by attending to hiring out such
plants and fixing up winter beds, and this business
alone.

Our Paris correspondent told us, in a recent Gar-
dener''s Monthly^ that in that city there are florists
who make a handsome livelihood by merely hiring
out plants for room decorations at balls and parties ;
and surely, where permanent home enjoyment is in
question, as it usually is with us, such a cheap mode
of gratifying it as we propose in our winter-garden-
ing system, would not fail to attract extensive popu-
lar support to those florists who entered heartily into

PISTILLATE STRAWBERRIES

EI^GLAND.

IN

While the strawberry sexual discussion was go-
ing on some years ago, Mr. Longworth wrote to
inquire of Dr. Lindley whether the observations
made here had been repeated there. The Doctor
replied, that they knew nothing but hermaphrodites.
Eecently the Doctor has reiterated his belief, by as-
serting that if pist.llates are produced in England,
he has yet to hear of them. In an English journal
a Mr. Wray, in an article entitled "Scientific Cul-
ture of the Strawberry," gives some facts that he
collected in America, showing that by judiciously
noting the differences in the character of the flowers,
American strawberry -growing had reached a degree
of perfection unknown in England. This seems to
have fallen like a bombshell into the camp of the
Doctor's intellectual exclusiveness. He copies the
article entire, and asks, "What say our great straw-
berry-growers to these speculations and statements
drawn fi'om the other side of the Atlantic ?' '

"^

m

The Rev. Mr. RadyclifFe first responds, but he
touches not the subject. He has, however, tried a
few American sorts, and "does not like them. If
the Americans want strawberries liardy and good
croppers, tliey should try Alice ^laud," &c. Advice
all very kindly meant, no doubt, but, unfortunately,
not up to our requirements.

Mr. N. J. Kicholson, a well-known raiser of good
seedlings, then tries his hand at the task of batter-
ing the American notion. He don't understand the
"trouble" the Americans "seem" to give them-
selves about staminates and pistillates. He is sure
"practice and common-sense" is all that he wauts
to grow strawberries out ol doors. In-doors he
thinks a little "science" assists him. He names
thirty American varieties he grows, but says nothing
of what he thinks of them.

M. Ferdinand Gloede, a French correspondent of
the Chronicle^ next appears in the field, and he pro-
nounces the American "science" of Mr. Wray mere
"theory" and "assertion." "He has tried Ameri-
can pistillates under glass by themselves, and always
got a good crop," without the possibility of fertili-
zation.

It may seem to Americans a matter of indiffer-
ence whether Europeans treat what they know to
be facts, as absurdities or "mere theories;" but we
cannot avoid expressing regret, for the sake of horti-
cultural science itself, that so great a disposition to
slight American observations and American ex-
perience should exist in British periodicals. At the
same time, it is pleasant to say that an improvement
in some of the best of the journals is visible, and we
hope some day to see the prejudice I'emoved entirely.

The skillful British gardener honestly believes that
if he understands the principles of his art, he can
apply them successfully to the varying circum-
stances of any part of the world, — and yet he no
sooner has a year's experience in this climate, than
he finds there is something wrong with many of
said "principles," and that the results do not come
out "according to Lindley" and other British writ-
ers on scientific gardening. Of course, the reason-
able inference is, that these so-called principles have
been deduced from limited experience or imperfect
observation, and one would suppose that our friends
in England would be glad to know the results of
American practice, if only as a test of the sound-
ness of their doctrines when tried by skillful men
under widely differing circumstances. They seem
to forget that a great part of our observing garden-
ers are emigrants from their own country, bringing
with them all the knowledge those left behind pos-
sess, and therefore much better capable of knowing
whether what thej assert as facts really are such, or are

"mere theories," as they who write as above would
have us believe.

No one knows better than the writer, that a pis-
tillate strawberry in a moist atmosphere and conge-
nial circumstances;*will produce frequently eatable
fruit Avithout fertilization, — or that kinds usually
pistillate will often, when circumstances favor, be-
come hermaphrodite ; and some years ago he even
met with severe opposition for attempting to de-
monstrate the utter worthlessness of these charac-
acters as an infallible means of judging of the accu-
racy of disputed varieties ; but of the great value of
the principle in the scientific cuUiDation of the straw-
berry to an American, and in an American climate,
we need no Mr. Gloede to dispute with us, as the
experience of thousands have for years testified to
that, and which has fully justified Mr. Longworlh
in the persistent praise of his "ignorant market
woman."

That the distinction is not of much importance
in England, from what we know of its climate, we
readily believe, — and that our strawberries do not,
and probably never will, equal theirs in size and
flavor when grown on their own soil, we are equally
ready to grant. Climatic influences, which, from
circumstances before explained, we ought to under-
stand better than they, teach us the reason, and we
are resigned. But we do know how to make use of
our facts and experiences to the best advantage, and
we can afford to read their sneers at our "mere
theories," without reflecting on any "practice" or
"common-sense" that the English may think neces-
sary to their culture, only for the sake of horticul-
tural science, regretting their narrow views.

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

It is a remarkable fact, that while our country lies
bleeding at the edge of the sword, and prostrate at
at the point of the bayonet. Horticultural Societies
all over the Union have been more patronized and,
in a beneficial point of view, more successful than
they have been known to be for some years past.
We believe they have none of them " made money ;"
but we mean that exhibitors have been more numer-
ous, and that the spirit and determination to keep
up and render them useful to the community have
never been more forcibly made manifest. And yet
it is natural. The first effort of the child, weak and
dependent upon us, is to stray away and gather
flowers, and as it grows up, to the grave,, every
epoch of its existence is marked by them. Even
amidst the calmest pleasures, or in periods of the
most passionate excitements, either of joy or grief,
flowers seem to be, as it were, the medicine of life,
— repressing extremes of passion, and affording a

ik

'^3>T-

@1

pleasant retreat, in their admiration and study, from
tlie more laborious occupations of life.

Botanists tell us that all the beautiful corollas with
which the garland of Flora is bedecked might not
have been, so far as they exercis€ any known influ-
ence in the nourishment or perpetuity of the indi-
vidual species of plant ; and, indeed, we find, that
in proportion as a flower becomes filled with beauti-
ful petals, (as in the case of the rose, carnation, &c.,)
is the difficulty of raising seed from it found,— and
that the coarsest and vilest weeds, that usually bear
seeds in an abundance the most distressing for us, as
well as those grains on which we subsist and which
reproduce themselves a thousand-fold in a short
time, are usua ly from plants that are very insignifi-
cant in all that relates to a showy or ornamental
appearance.

And why, then, were flowers made, and the innu-
merable graceful forms and beautiful outlines of ve-
getable structures called into existence, but for the
especial use of man,— for his instruction and amuse-
ment, and as a particular anodyne for the mental ills
he is, from his very nature, bound to suff'er ? We
take a flower to witness the happiest moments of
our lives. A flower departs with them as we take a
final leave of those we love, ere they go to their last
resting-places ; and when no more is left to us, in
flowers over their graves do we give expression to
all that we would like to say, and all that we can do
for them.

Of the links in the vast chain of animal beings
that binds us to the earth, no one but the human
species appreciates floral beauty. To the horse and
the ox— from the highest in the scale down to the
simplest caterpillar— the handsomest flowers are but
as grass. They were made for man, and for his
wants alone ; and unfortunate is he who, by defi-
cient education or perverted sympathies, is doomed
to trudge through hfe shut out from the path that
winds along by the stream of their sweet influences !
We are amongst those who believe that national
troubles, as in the woes of individuals, are the moral
consequences of national delinquencies,— and as in
this the innocent must sufi'er with the guilty, each
owes it to himself and his own happiness to culti-
vate for himself and in all around him such moral
influences as he can get to bear upon human char-
acter. Each may use his own engine powerful for
good. To us, as horticulturists, we ask and need
no stronger force than the cultivation in the breasts
of all of that love of floral beauty so wisely im-
planted within us for the purpose.

It is thus that we account for the sudden advance
in popular favor of our whilom decaying horticultu-
ral societies,— and we would have all interested in
their success to well note the fact, for now is the

acceptable time, if they would profit by events and
shape their course accordingly. They have never
yet done for society what they should do or are
capable of doing. No fault this, however ; for every
beneficial idea, to be lastingly useful, must have a
gradual progress from its first inception to its vig-
orous growth and fruitful old age.

We have given recently more space to "horticul-
tural societies" than we should have done but for
this view, and we conclude this note by a pleasant
little sketch from an English paper, which will
aff'ord some useful hints to us over here :

HORTICULTURE IN ST. GILES'.
It may at first create a smile if we inform the reader that there
has been a floral and horticultural show in Bloomsbury, and that
the exhibitors comprised some of the poorest of the working
classes and children of the ragged schools. But it is quite true.
The Rev. Emilius Bayley isg.ed a schedule of prizes offered for
competition among the various classes, separated in such manner
that persons in the most confined situations should compete by
themselves, and those residing in more open streets in another
class; and, independently of these, the various parochial schools
divided from the boys and girls of the ragged— so that no class of
exhibitors should have to show against persons who had any ad-
vantages over them. The following prizes were offered for compe-
tition—

PRIZES FOR ADULTS.

1. Persons living in the Little Coram Street District, viz., Little
Coram Street, Abbey Place, Chapel Place, Russell Place, Coram
Place, Marchraont Place, Tavistock Mews, Colonnade, Little Guild-
ord Street.— For Fuchsias: 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th prizes; for Gera-
niums, similar prizes ; for Annuals, ditto.

2. Persons living in the Mews.— Similar prizes.

3. Persons living elsewhere in the p.arish.— Similar prizes.

PRIZES FOR CHILDREN OF WORKING CLASSRS LIVING I.V THE PARISH.

1. Parochial, National, Sunday and Infant Schools.- Boys: for
Fuchsias, 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th prizes; for Geraniums, ditto; for An-
nuals, ditto. Girls: similar prizes.

2. RaggedSchools.— Boys and Girls: simihir prizes.

PRIZES FOR DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

For any plants— 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th prizes.

We, who have for soraetliin? like thiity years boen incessantly
recommending the institution of shows among the working classes,
and have seen in the Duke of Northumberland's school at Alnwick
the beneficial effects of extending it to children, hail this as the
foundation of immense good in clo.se towns, especially in London ;
and wo heartily congratulate the minister on the success which
has attended his endeavors. The show brought out plants grown
in windows in the most miserable portions of St. Giles', and al-
though there was not, and could not be, the healthy growth of
open-air in the country, the worthy patron of the movement had
provided that the competitors were all upon equal terms. Those
in dark, narrow streets had only to show against people similarly
circumstanced. Of the show it may be said that it was by far
more interesting than the finest exhibition of plants by gardeners.
It brought out the ingenuity of the young aspirants to horticultu-
ral honors. Imagine one producing a young chestnut tree, another
an oak, a third a walnut tree, another an orange tree, all from
their several nuts, pips, or seeds ; for prizes are given for things
not in bloom, and therefore nothing was excluded. The mixture
defies all description. It was creditable to all the parties, and the
reverend gentleman who inaugurated it has set an example that
should be followed by every pastor, as the best possible means of
humanizing the infantile ruflianism which disgraces many metro-
politan localities and manufacturing towns.

i^^ @r^

M^ hardener's (P^outhlg.

341

MAXATAWNEY GRAPE.

[see frontispiece.]
At page 85 of our volume for 18G0, Dr. W. D.
Bvinckie gave a history and description of this
grape, in which he sjjeaks of it as a grape of the
highest excellence. The owners of the original
vine are rather difficult of access, through, we
believe, a dread of having their privacy de-
stroyed by importunate grape-propagators; but
through the kindness of Mr. Crans, a friend of the
family, we have several times had opportunities of
tasting fruit from the original vine, without, how-
ever, being struck with its superior excellence, and
Ave liave, therefore, refrained from sharing in our
columns the enthusiasm of its friends in its praise.
However, plants from the original are coming into
bearing around us, and we are bound to say, tliey
do exhibit qualities tending to "great expectations."
We have not tasted Mr. Raabe's, which were before
the Lancaster Meeting, and from which our litho-
graph was taken ; but some we ate, from the vine
of an amateur at Chestnut Hill, were of high excel-
lence. We cannot say, with the Committee, that it
is the best white native grape "we know," for recol-
lections of the Elizabeth and Cuyahoga threaten us
if we do ; it has, however, larger bunches than
these, and may probably, in a fair contest, all grown
together, prove a sturdy competitor in all other
qualities.

■ ■■illlll III! ■ i|

rrep ano ^umFS

33°'Coinmunic<itions for this department must reacli the Editor
ou or before the 10th of the mouth.

33^The Editor canuot answer letters for this department pri-
vately.

Apple — Fi'om Mr. H. Long, Kennelt Square, Pa.,
who writes :

I send you by Adams Express a few apples of a
seedling that is entirely new to me, and if so to you,
I wish to knoAV whether you would think it worth
general culture. They are off a tree that is at
least forty years old, and the man that owns the
property that it grows on assures me that it has
missed but one crop for thirty-one years, and that
was last season ; it had between forty and fifty bush-
els on this season, and is a good baking and cider
apple, and much better flavored than you will find
these, for I had to take them off before they were
ripe, as the tree grew close to the village, and the
boys had great relish for them. When perfectly
ripe they are a light yellow, with a reddish tinted
cheek, and ripe about the 15th of October.

[We print this account in full, as we are highly

pleased with the fruit. It has the great merit of
distinctness ; for, however good a fruit may be, it is
an annoyance to be able scarcely to distinguish it
from other kinds as good. It may be characterized
as being in shape like Porter, but with the color and
qualities of Rhode Island Greening. From appear-
ances we think it better than Rhode Island Greening,
and well worthy of further attention.]

Mead's Seedling Grape — Mr. J. A. Peiiingill,
Bunker Hill, under date of September 17th writes :

I send a few bunches of Mead's Seedling Grape,
also two bunches of Catawbas, that you may test
the two together. The Mead's Seedling was free
from rot, while Catawba, Isabella, Clinton, &c.,
one-third rotted.

[Last year it was stated in our journal that Mead'^s
Seedling sprung from a lot of raisin seed, — a fact that
materially damaged its prospects, as no grape of
foreign parentage will probably prove permanently
valuable. It is pleasant to find from these speci-
mens, however, that it is not of foreign parentage, but
evidently a pure seedling from the Catawba, to
which it is certainly superior in earliness, size and
beauty of bunch and flavor. In shape and color,
the individual berry is precisely like Catawba, but it
is readily distinguished from this, or any grape we
know, by very long pedicels. These in the Catawba
are rather short, usually not more than one-fourtli
the length of the berry, giving the bunch a compact
character; but in Mead's Seedling they are usually
half the length of the berry, and frequently more,
inducing a loose form. We regard it as one of the
best improvements on the Catawba that has yet
appeared, and will, we think, have a good share of
popularity. ]

Cranberries. — "A Subscriber," Birmingham,
Allegheny County, Pa., writes :

"Please inform a subscriber of the best plan for
heating a propagating house ? CI.}

How is the cranberry cultivated ? How propaga-
ted? How many quarts will an acre bring ?

Which kind will thrive best in Pennsylvania?" (2. J

[1. One of the best plans, in our estimation, is to
employ the cheap hot-water tanks, described in
several back numbers. A great deal will, however,
depend on other arrangements in and about your
house, and we can only advise you in this general
way.

2. An excellent article, with full details and draw-
ings, appeared in our May number, 1860, Cpage 138,
Vol. 11.), and which we can do no better than by
referring you. We think either kind will thrive
equally well in Pennsylvania, more depending on
locality than latitude. ]

&

H,

Pear— From Saratoga- County, N. Y.—A " Sub-
scriber" writes :

"I send you a sample of what we, in this vicinity,
call the Orange Pear. As near as the pedigree of the
pear can be traced, it is this : The scions w^ere
brought from Rhode Island about the year 1800. I
wish to know whether they are known by any
other name in other localities than this. The tree
is hardy and productive. The present season, when
all other kinds have failed, these have borne well ;
in fact, I know of no other pears in Saratoga
County this season but the Orange. We call them
equal to any raised.

[The pear is quite unknown to us. We have
not eaten a pear superior to it for some time. It is
superior to the Bartlett in quality, nearly or quite as
large, and with the other good properties our corres-
pondent states, must be one of the most valuable kinds
to grow.]

Protecting Wallflowers. — "^ Subscriber,^
New Bedford, writes :

"The Wallflower is a favorite flower of mine,
which has led me to seek information from the works
on horticulture which have fallen in my way, as to the
proper management of it in this country. This
information I have not yet found. I should, therefore,
be much gratified to see a few hints thrown into the
Gardener^s Monthly, if the thing seems to be worth
attention. I do not even know whether or not it
will bear winter exposure."

[A friend who has fine Wallflowers, bends them
to the surface, and covers with soil, removing it
early in spring. It will not bear entire exposure. ]

Honey Locust. — /. H. B., Rochester, N. Y.,
asks :

"Does Honey Locust Seed grow the most readily
by freezing or scalding ?

If by scalding, how many times would you apply
the water ?

If by freezing, would you keep the boxes under
an open shed, or expose them to the weather ?

Freezing iti sand is preferable to scalding, but
there is no necessity for either. A few weeks of
mere soaking in wet sand will cause nearly all the
seed to swell well. A friend of ours had great
success last year by sowing his seed in a one-hght
hotbed, and when sprouted, dibbling them out like
peaches are often done in well-kept nurseries. He
says it "paid well." A cold or wet spell after
sowing any scalded seed, usually rots many. ]

Yentilation op Graperies. — N. B., Taunton,
Mass. , asks :

Can you send me some paper that contains a

full report of the discussion at the late meeting of the '
Pennsylvania Horticultural Exhibition, or meeting
upon the subject of "Mildew on Grapes" under
glass? a synopsis of which I see reported in the
September number of the Monthly. While I have
been cautious in giving bottom air, I have been
obliged to give it to keep down the temperature, —
I do not see how it can be kept down to the safe point
without a draught to circulate it, unless you remove
the entire top, which I have not facilities for doing.
I should be glad to see what experienced men in the
matter would have to say about it."

[There has been no fuller report published than
the one we gave.

Our experience coincides with that of the gentle-
men engaged in that discussion, that a free admis-
sion of air from side ventilators induces mildew.
It is natural that it should do so, because the dry
air of our chmate is what encourages mildew in
foreign vines. Graperies are useful in this, that
they enclose and ensure a moist atmosphere ; but if
the bottom and top of a vinery admit a through cur-
rent, the air becomes nearly as dry as though
grown in the open air, and the first object of a
vinery is violated.

If you have plenty of moisture in your vinery,
you need not fear great heat. If any of our good
gardeners have other views to offer, we shall be glad
to publish them. ]

Blood's Seedling Q-RXVE—From Mr. Ordicay,
Newhuryport, Mass. — This is a grape with a full
sized dark black berry, and medium sized bunch.

In the climate of the Middle States so favorable
to the success of finer varieties of grapes, this
would be esteemed little above the Fox Grape in
general qualities. It is not as rank, — is much
sweeter, — has thinner skin, and not so hard a pulp,
however. But it ripens very early, and is of a
hardy, vigorous stock, which is a great advantage
in the far Eastern and Northern States. We
valued the Concord when we had Northern speci-
mens only to taste quite as little as we might do
this, but for our experience with that. When
grown in this section it rapidly rose in general
qualities towards the top of the list, and so may
Blood's Black, and we should like to see it have a
fair trial.

The other seedlings sent by Mr. Ordway were
fully equal to Blood's.

Ontario and Union Village Grapes. — "J.
Subscriber'''' asks:

"Have you seen the Ontario and Union Village
growing near each other so you could detect any

r«y

ih^ €mkM\'^ Jlonthlj.

343 [y.

difference? The opinion is gaining ground here
that they are the same. (10

Can you inform me iftlie El Paso Grape promises
to be of any vahic iu this climate?" (2.j

[1. We have not compared them at the same
time together, but our recollection of each seen at
different times is, that they are not the same.

2. It fruited at Washington last year, and is
highly praised by our friends there.]

Grape for Distribution. — A correspondent at
Manchester, Pa., has a seedling grape which he
thinks a great improvement ; but he wishes it tested
in other localities. Has about fifty plants, which
he would distribute gratuitously to experienced
grape-growers for experiment. In this case we
will willingly forward to our correspondent the
names of any parties wishing to make the experi-
ment. But we must add, that we frequently
receive communications in which the writers pro-
pose for the public good to give things away gratu-
itously. Some of these are offered in good faith,
but many of them are really intended for free
advertisements of parties and their private business.
As it is impossible for us to distinguish between
these cases, all such offers must, in future, be made
through our regular advertising columns. If the
article is really worth having gratuitously, the
recipients Avill not object to their proportion of the
cost of advertising.

Peat for Strawberries. — "^1 Subscriber,^''
Cu/iiden County, iV. /., asks:

"Please inform me through the columns of the
Monthly in what way I can treat "swamp muck"
or "peat," to make it valuable as a manure for
strawberi'ies, on light sandy lands, and how should
it be applied?"

[We are not informed on any experiment for
this especial use. Have any correspondents had
experience ?]

Muscat Hamburg Grape. — Bunch from Mr.
Bright, weighing two pounds, cut from a plant
fifteen months old, from the eye. It is not so good
in quality as the old Muscat of Alexandria, but is
such a fine setter, and of so large a size and beautiful
appearance, that we expect it to become a standard
variety for cold vineries.

Vegetable Transformatioks — Barren Grape-
vines.— Mr. Garber sends us another chapter for
publication ; but as it simply records the fact, that
he is not satisfied with the reasoning of Mr. Stauffer,
it is not necessary to publisli the whole article.

The object of all science is to ascertain such rules
or "general laws" that will guide us in cases where
w^e cannot get at the exact facts. Mr. Garber wants
to know whether any one in this country has raised
and flowered seedlings of the foreign grape Viiis
vinifcra; and if so, whether any of them have pro-
duced staminate plants, or plants Avith flowers bear-
ing stamens, but no pistils, as the varieties of
American species do. As we knew of no such
experiments, we referred to the science of the mat-
ter, and Mr. Stauffer kindly followed. Mr. Garber
says he does not want to know any thing about the
science, but does want to know about the Seedling
grapes. In this case we have no alternative but to
close up the subject until some one can inform our
friend from direct observation. In the meantime we
can say, as we have said before, that science is op-
posed to Dr. Ravenal's hypothesis, for it is not
even a theory.

Grape Leaves— O. T. Hobbs. — "I enclose you six
varieties of grape leaves, and request your opinion
as to species.''''

[No botanist can decide on a species of grape by
the leaves alone. Panicles and berries with leaves
are essential.

However, your small-leaved form appears to be-
long to Vitis cordifoUa ; the large round one V.
labrusca, and the other four perhaps all varieties
of V. cestivalis.}

Fruits for Maine. — H. A. F., LUtlclon, Maine,
inquires :

" Can you give me the names of any varieties of
the peach, apricot and quince, which, if set where
they would be sheltered from cold winds, and
dwarfed so that the snow will cover them iu winter,
would succeed so far North as latitude 46^?

Will the Black Eagle and May Duke Cherries
succeed if grafted upon the common Wild Red
Cherry?"

[Perhaps Col. Little, Mr. Goodale, or some other
of our experienced horticultural friends in Maine
can furnish the desired information. We have
found the few varieties we have tried unite ou the
Wild Cherry, (Cerasus serotina,) called here Wild
Black or Choke Cherry, — the variety we suppose
our correspondent alludes to ; but wherefore want
an}' thing better for a hardy stock than the Ma-
haleb ?]

Seedling Peach — From Mr. Griffith, of Philadel-
phia.— The best late peach (October 5tliJ we Imow ;
large, handsome, and will prove a valuable acquisi-
tion.

•^le —

(cy,

su

SJh^ ®ar(ter*s .Piontlife

Some valuable contributions on ice-houses and
other subjects, that reached us late, are held over
for next month.

Fourth Anntjai, Report of the Board op Com-
missioners OP THE Central Park, New York.

1861.

The Board report that the lower jDortion of the
Park has been prepared for public use, and that it is
well appreciated by the public at large.

The system of archways— a peculiar feature of
the Park — is again referred to. Their great utility
in a crowded park, as a means of safety to foot-
passengers against vehicles, has been fully demon-
strated. We give a sketch of one of these arches,
that has been taken for our journal by a friend.

3579 men have been employed on the Park during
1860, and 16,200 trees and shrubs planted. The
total cost and maintenance of the Park up to De-
cember 31st, 1860, was $6,447,964 80. This money
is raised from the securities of the city, payable in
about forty years. The interest of this sum for the
past year is ^386,877 88. It is found that property
has so increased in value around the Park, that the
increased taxes from this source amouut to a sum
nearly sufficient to pay this interest. If we add to
this the increased attractions which this splendid
work offers to strangers to visit New York city, and

*

the extra wealth which is consequently drawn there,
it is evident that this expenditure is actually a pay-
ing investment to the city, and is a proof of the far-
seeing sagacity of the men who, headed by Mayor
Kingsland, projected and embodied the gigantic
idea.

Descriptive Catalogues.

S. Moulson^ Rochester, N.Y. List of leading items.

George D. Kimber, Flushing, N.Y. Fruits, Orna-
mentals, &c.

J. Rutter, West Chester, Pa. Grape-vines.

J. ^ J. Taylor, Newport, Ky. Grape-vines.

Wentz & Schlegel, Rochester, N.Y. Fruit and Or-
namentals.

J. M. Thorburn Sf Co.^ New York. Bulbs and
Flowering Roots.

Hejfron ^ Best, Utica, N. Y. Vines and Small
Fruits.

Dr. Grant, lona, N. Y. Grapes.

J. W. Manning, Reading, Mass. Dracut Amber
Grape.

Wholesale Lists.

W. Mann, Bangor, Maine. Native
Evergreens. Catalogue for 1863 is "go-
ing ahead" considerably.

Henry J. Dreer, Philadelphia. .Roses,
Dalilias, &c. Also of Fruit and Orna-
mentals, and of Bulbous Roots.

2\ IV. Sf E. E. Smith, Geneva, N. Y.
Wholesale List of Fruits, »fec.

C. F. Erhard, Raveuswood, L.I., N.Y.
Fruits, &c.

Frost ^ Co., Rochester, N. Y.

T. C. Maxwell ^ Bro., Geneva, N. Y,

Coiules, Roberts ^ Co., Syracuse, N. Y.

Williams, Ramsden S,- Co., Dansville,
N. Y.

J. Rutter, West Chester, Pa.

J. W. Jdams, Portland, Maine.

O. T. Hobbs, Crawford, Pa.

Hoopes ^ Bro., West Chester, Pa.

Danghaday Sf Co., Newburg, N. Y.

J. Sheppard, New York. Dutch
Bulbs.

Pear Nouveau Poiteau — (Bivort.)—'We have
no sympathy, as our readers know, with new intro-
ductions that are even "very good," or of "first
quality," unless they are in some decided point dif-
ferent from other "very good" kinds in cultivation.
It is not because they are "worthless," but they are
needless.

%>* \2/^

jf

mm

cite ^Hri)?irer's S^ontljljr.

845

The Nouveau Poiteau is not of this class. It has a peculiar flavor, that many will not like, and others
esteem, but which is, nevertheless, peculiarly its own. In these days of distinctions without differences,
we regard this as no slight recommendation. The nearest resemblance in this respect is to Louise Bonne
de Jersey, but in those we have tasted the very common astringency of Louise Bonne is wanting. It
ripens a mouth or more later than Louise Bonne, and is growing in favor with cultivators, in many of
whose collections it has fruited the few past seasons.

Our outline was taken from one presented to us by Mr. Ellwanger, at the Pomological Meeting in
Philadelphia in September last. It was not then quite ripe, but, notwithstanding, kept four weeks, and then
ripened perfectly. Fruit, rather large, obovate-pyriform ; skin, with numerous russet dots ; stem, medium,
thickish, set obliquely on a small protuberance ; calyx, large, in a narrow basin ; flesh, white, buttery,
and with a brisk vinous flavor.

In a letter from a distinguished pomologist, received last winter, he says of it : — "The Nouveau Poiteau
I have fruited for the first time this season, and it is certainly one of great promise. I find it to grow
equally well on either the pear or quince."

The Buxce Strawberry. — Mr. Editor — According to your desire, we send you a slight history and
description of the Bunce Strawberry. The plants were first brought to this country from the East Indies
by the late Captain Hooper, of Marblehead, and by the way of friends, we received a few plants for trial,
and if thought worthy, for dissemination.

It is a very vigorous grower, often having ten or twelve, and sometimes more fruit-stalks on a plant.
The stalks are high and strong, keeping the berries from the ground, and with the heavy foliage breaking

S^

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a

346

Slje ^arbaitr'^

the force of the rains, render it unnecessary to mulch
them to keep the berries clean. The foliage is suffi-
cient protection in winter ; the plants being better
without, than with any thing additional.

The berries are not very dark colored, but bright
and lively. Seeds small, and sunk deep; flesh
white, fine and firm, with excellent flavor and very
sweet. Parts from the hull easily. Continues long
in bearing, the latest berries filling perfectly, and
growing to a good size. Flowers perfect. This
summer we picked eight hundred boxes of berries
from a bed containing thirty square-rods of ground,
set last year in June.

Yours truly, Bunce & Co.

EemarJcs. — We visited the piece of ground upon
which these gentlemen say they ^'■picked eight hun-
dred boxes of berries from a bed containing thirty
square-rods of ground." We did not measure the
land, but should judge that they had done so cor-
rectly. It is a strong, granite soil, moist, and con-
siderably shaded by young apple trees, perhaps six
or eight years old. At this rate, they got more than
four thousand boxes to the acre, which, if we re-
member correctly, rather beats the great success of
our Belmont friends. The two finest boxes of
strawberries we saw in their season were from this
bed. There is so close a resemblance between them
and the Cutter Seedling, that we are not sufficiently
skillful to tell one from the other. — New Enciland
Farmer.

Grafting- WAX. — A good and cheap grafting-wax
is made by melting together and mixing well, four
pounds rosin, two pounds tallow, one pound bees-
wax. These three ingredients are used in various
proportions by different propagators, — sometimes in
equal quantities, — sometimes eight parts rosin, and
three each of tallow and beeswax, or eight parts
rosin, five of beeswax, three of tallow, c%c. By
using lard instead of tallow, as it is softer, more
rosin may be employed. A mixture of equal parts
of clover and timothy, at the rate of a peck or more
per acre, will furnish a good seeding.

Laege Plums. — Seth Luelling, of "Milwaukie
Nursery," placed on our table specimens of Peach
Plums grown on a tree two years from the graft.
Three of the plums weighed a small fraction less
than half a pound, the largest being seven inches in
circumference. — Oregon Farmer.

A Cement for Stopping the Fissures op Iron

Vessels. — Take two ounces of muriate of ammonia,
one ounce of flour of sulphur, and sixteen ounces
of cast-iron filings or turnings. Mix them well in
a mortar, and keep the powder dry. When the ce-
ment is wanted, take one part of this and twenty parts
of clean iron filings or borings ; grind them together
in a mortar, mix them with water in a proper con-
sistence, and apply them between the joints. This
cement answers for flanges of pipes about steam-
engines. — Canadian Journal of .Arts and Manufacture.

English Pistillate Strawberries. — Hovey's
3Iagazine, noticing Dr. Lindley's remark that he had
not yet heard of any sterile strawberries but Haut-
bois in England, remarks that the Doctor has not,
probably, noticed the Methven Scarlet in flower.

GEAPE-GSOWERS' COIJVEHTION AT
LANCASTER, PA.

A Convention of Grape-growers of Eastern
Pennsylvania assembled at Lancaster, Pa., on Thurs-
day, September 2Gth, at Cooper's Hotel.

Mr. Lukens Peirce, of Chester County, was
called to the chair, and Mr. F. F. Merceron, of
Catawissa, and Mr. William P. Burton were ap-
pointed Secretaries.

The following gentlemen were appointed a Com-
mittee for testing the quality of the grapes exhib-
ited, and to report thereon : J. B. Garber, Colum-
bia, Pa. ; T. M. Harvey, Chester County, Pa. ; E.
Tatnall, Wilmington, Del. ; S. Miller, Lebanon, Pa. ;
C. Hiller, Lancaster, ("ConestogaJ ; Dr. Keller, do. ;
J. E. Mitchell, Philadelphia.

The display of Grapes was very large and inter-
esting, and exclusively from out-of-door culture.
There were 38 contributors, and comprised 100 native
varieties and 13 of foreign.

Mr. D. S. Wagner, of York, Pa., exhibited some
fine bunches of Foreign Grapes fgrown out of
doorsj, comprising the Black Hamburg, White
Nice, Black Prince, Sweetwater, Chasselas de Flor-
ence and Chasselas de Fontainbleau.

Mr. Samuel Miller hoped the mode of culture
would be stated.

Messrs. Evans and Chapin, of York, said they
were grown on an open treUis, but protected in the
winter. The white grapes were shaded from the
sun in hot weather. No special manuring. The
vines were sulphured in the spring.

Mr. Alexander Blissnor, of York Valley, showed
a fine bunch of Black Damascus, and stated that he
had put sulphur around the roots of the vine in the
spring.

Mr. S. Keller showed a bunch of Grapes of a
green color, ("evidently a foreign grape, j and stated
that he had known the vine for thirty years, and
never knew it to mildew.

On motion of F. F. Merceron, it was

Resolved., That the discussion for this evening be
the "Culture and Pruning of the Grape."

SBje ^iirrkntr's Jfloufhlir.

347

Evening* Session.

IVIr. Pcirce iu the chair.

]\rr. IMcrcoron top-dressed his land with lime and
manure, and had it Avell plonsrhed ; planted the vines
in rows eight feet apart, and the vines live feet apart
iu the rows.

Mr. Miller prepared a deep border for his vines ;
found mildew on j'oung Concord vines, and thinks
they were not tied up early enough in the spring ;
did not suffer from drought.

Mr. Gray dug holes from three to four feet ; ma-
nured with bone-dust; ploughed away from the
vines, and afterwards towards them ; attempted
spur-pruning, but found it failed, and is now trying
the long-cane system ; never troubled with, mildew ;
has lost fruit by rotting of the berries.

Mr. Keller's vineyard is planted on a hill-side ;
ground terraced six feet wide, and well ploughed ;
holes two feet in diameter ; a warm, sandy soil, not
trenched nor highlj- manured ; no mildew, although
many of his vines lie on the ground ; adopts the
spur and renewal sj'stems, by training up a new
shoot from the base of the vine, and cutting out the
old spurred wood when necessary ; young shoots
frozen last spring, and vines started a second growth
and ripened some of the fruit.

Mr. Harvey was in favor of cultivating the ground
well; grape-vines in his locality have lost their
foliage ; thinks the vines should be protected in
winter and summer from north-east winds ; in favor
of trenching, and spoke of the value of draining ;
the Diana has failed with him this season.

Mr. Mitchell said that some of the best grapes he
had seen were grown in a city yard, where the soil
was not visible, being paved over with bricks.

I^Sorning- Session.

Mr. Peirce in the chair.

Mr. Crans offered a sample of grapes from Illinois,
called Mead's Seedling, a bunch of To-Kalon, from
the garden of A. W. Harrison, and fine specimens
from the garden of T. T. Firth, of Germantown,
consisting of Delaware, Anna, Diana, Herbemont ;
no speci.il attention was given to their culture ; holes
dug two feet, and no manure, except what tlie vines
received in ordinary garden culture ; fine specimens
of the Maxatawney were shown, from the original
vine, which has had no protection.

Mr. Mitchell had visited the original Maxatawney
vine, and found it growing close to the north corner
of a farmhouse, and rambling, unpruned, over a
plum tree ; the fruit was exposed to view, most of
the foliage having been blown off; it was planted
alongside a fence, half the roots being covered with
sod, the other half running into the border of a
vegetable-garden. Owing to the want of proper
culture, this grape has not yet been shown in per-
fection ; a bunch on the table, from the garden of
Peter Raabe, will give some idea of its beautiful
amber color. This fine fruit is the result of a seed
taken from a bunch of white grapes brought from
Berks County and sown by the present owner of
the vine many years ago, and offers the strongest
encouragement to plant seeds of any fine grape we
may meet with, such seedlings often proving to be
of a superior character. It is barely possible, that
at some former period the seed of a white foreign

variety may have been planted, and its product hy-
bridized Avith a native sort, the seed again planted,
and by a succession of such changes it might lose
its foreign characteristics of wood and foliage, but
retain it in the fruit ; such may be the early history
of the Maxatawney.

]Mr. Crans introduced a seedling from the garden
of J. W. Flickwir, in Philadelphia, — a dark purple
grape, compact bunch, a high, vinous flavor, and
intense purple color ; believed to be a very superior
wine grape.

Mr. Mitchell has some twenty or thirty varieties
growing ; vines young, and not much fruit ; found
the Creveling to be an early bearer and free grower ;
the Concord was the best grower and the Rebecca
the worst in his collection ; prefers vines groAvn
from eyes, but recommends inarching on strong-
growing stocks ; a Delaware thus treated, grew
finely and bore early.

Mr. Miller grafts his vines above ground by the
usual mode of tongue-grafting, after the sap has
flowed in the spring ; it cannot be done successfully
otherwise; recommends well-rotted tan-bark for
propagating beds.

On Keeping GnArEs.

Mr. Miller ties the bunches in soft paper, and
packs them in bran ; has sent them in perfect con-
dition to Missouri ; was informed of some one who
packed alternate layers of grapes and green leaves
in a box, and burying it three feet under ground ;
dry oak sawdust and perfectly dry sand Avere also
recommended.

Report.

Your Committee congratulate this Convention on
having before Ihem the largest display of native
grapes probably ever collected together in this State,
covering about two hundred dishes, and comprisinn:
one hundred varieties, and regret that our limited
time will not permit us to do justice to all the speci-
mens shown, many of them being worthy of more
extended notice. We report :

Cassiday, Arrott and Matilda fgreen grapes with
white bloom ) to be similar in character.

Wilmington — specimen fine, but not fully ripe.

Roger's Hybrid, No. 1 — large, oval berries, above
medium, of a brownish amber color, tender pulp,
and very promising.

Maxatawney — bunch slightly shouldered, berry
oval, color amber, with an amber bloom when fully
ripe, highly aromatic odor and delicious flavor ;
taking into consideration the hardiness of the vine,
we pronounce it to be the best white native grape.

Taylor — small size in berry and bunch, color
greenish white, and quality excellent.

Rebecca — of its usual superior quality.

Anna— sweet white grape of good size ; speci-
mens not fully ripe ; should hang late on the vines.

Carpenter — a fine foreign grape.

Mary Ann— similar to Isabella, and foxy.

Concord — continues to keep up its high reputation.

Cloanthe — similar to Isabella.

Elsinburg— keeps up its well-known good char-
acter.

Clinton — a good vinous grape.

Lancaster County Wilding— sweet and foxy, but
promising.

^

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ih^ (Bm&mtr\ ^ontI%

Franklin — a promising wine grape, of a high color.
Herbemont — ^juicy and vinous, free from pulp.
Diana— keeps up its well-known reputation.
Bland — a true native, and a good juicy grape.
Canby's August and York Madeira are similar.
Baldwin — similar to Canby's August, but later.
Delaware Burgundy — a fine foreign seedling.
Ohio — as usually described.
Raccoon — the common summer grape.

Garrioues ( ^^^'^^^> ^^^ "^^^ equal to Isabella.

To-Kalou — an admirable grape, similar, but supe-
rior to the Catawba, and ten days eailier.

Herbemont Madeira — a good wine grape.

Hanover — similar to Isabella.

Lenoir, Lincoln, and Devereux are the same.

Veriiiont yeedling — similar, but not equal, to
Clinton.

Cyuthiana — pulpy and inferior.

Long — a promising wine grape, from the South.

Union Village — fully equal to Isabella in quality,
larger and earlier.

Kilviugton and Kingsessiug — good copper-colored
grapes, and believed to be the same.

Blood's Black — a good, early, sweet, black grape.

Williamsport — above medium size ; a good and
promising early grape ; perfectly hardy.

Seedling from Dr. Keller — as good as Isabella,
and ten days earlier.

Keller — similar to Catawba, but hardier.

Diller — pulpy, and inferior to Isabella.

Seedling from R. Fanes — inferior to Isabella.

French Grape — similar to Miller's Burgundy.

Seedling from Mr. McMinn — inferior to Catawba.

Early Amber and Northern Muscadine are the
same ; sweet and foxy.

Graham — a good purple grape, of medium size,
juicy, and tender pulp.

Baxter's Seedling — a very large bunch; seedling
of the Frost.

Warren — not true to name.

Emily — not ripe.

Christy's Isabella — same as Isabella.

Alvey— a good vinous grape, black color and me-
dium size.

Raabe— small berry and compact bunch ; dark red
color and first-rate quality ; a true cross between the
Elsinboro and Bland.

Seedling from J. W. Flickwir — compact bunch,
berry medium size ; a very high colored and prom-
ising wine grape ; purple.

Merceron's Seedling — a decided improvement on
the Catawba, having a more tender pulp and being
two weeks earlier.

German Grape — a very large bunch, of a greenish
color and delicious flavor; foreign.

Mead's Seedling — similar, but superior, to the
CataAvba.

Hyde's Eliza — similar to the Isabella, but one
week earlier.

Beside the above, there were exhibited the follow-
ing varieties :

Isabella, Catawba, Kreamer for Montgomery) — a
seedling of Royal Muscadine, Baldwin, New Hope,
Frost, Hartford Prolific, Delaware, Perkins, Wins-
low, Swatara, McOwen, Missouri, Grion, Beansville,
Wright's Isabella, Weber, Cope, Spangler's Isabella,
North America, Carpenter, 5 Seedlings from Dr.
Keller, Black Madeira, Black Damascas, Frankin-

dale, Tokay, Black Hamburg, Seedling of Frost,
Seedling from J. B. Garber, McLean (Tenn. ), North
Carolina Seedling, Seedling of Louisa, Black Prince,
Sweetwater, Muscat of Alexandria, Chasselas de
Fontainebleau, Chasselas de Florence, White Nice,
Albino CSeedling of CatawbaJ, Newport, Seedling
of Herbemont, Marion, Sage, Martinburg, Perkins,
Peru, Edwards, Mountain, Logan.

Many of the above are of excellent quality, and
we again regret our inability to do them justice, but
congratulate the Convention on the decided im-
provement shown in some of the new varieties,
whilst the well-known older sorts keep up their
reputation. We regret, however, to notice the in-
crease of seedlings, so nearly identical with well-
known sorts, as to possess no merit of their own.
All of which is respectfully submitted by the Com-
mittee.

The Report having been read and adopted, the
Convention resolved itself into a Committee of the
Whole, and proceeded to taste and discuss the va-
rious sorts of grapes on the tables as their names
were called out by the Secretary, and in general
confirmed the decision of the Committee. The
Chairman then announced that the merits of any
grape named might be discussed, when a call was
made for them.

Brandywine— Tatnall — a foreign failure ; he had
tried, but in vain, to get some of the fruit to bring
here.

Concord — imiversally approved of.
Ontario — Miller — needs protection; similar to
Union Village, but coarse and watery.

Union Village— Miller — as good as the Isabella.
Rebecca — Mitchell — a weak grower, owing, proba-
bly, to over-propagation. Others stated that it grew
very well with them, and all agreed that the fruit
was first-rate.

Diana — Harvey — does not do well at West Ches-
ter ; mildews badly ; thinks it needs a very liglit
soil. Gray made the same objections ; whilst others
say it does verjr ^ell with them,

Franklin — Miller — a dark colored wine grape, and
a free grower. Keller — does not succeed with him.
Garber thought well <^f it at first ; does not approve
of close pruning ; thinks it should be allowed to
run ; it does better on a northern exposure. Jack-
son has a vine three years old, and no fruit.

Raabe — Miller — a first-rate fruit, equal to Dela-
ware, but a poor grower. Mitchell believed it to be
a perfect cross between the Elsinboro and Bland,
the original vine having sprung up between these
two sorts; has the general reputation of being a
good grower and a hardy vine ; the fruit is similar
to the Delaware, but it has an astringency in the
skin not possessed by the former.

A resolution was passed to take a vote on the six
best grapes for the table, and the three best for wine,
and resulted as follows :

Concord 21 voles

Delaware 20 "

Isabella 16 "

Diana 15 "

Rebecca 11 "

Maxatawney 8 "

Chnton 8 votes "i

For table use.

Catawba 7

Delaware 4

For wine-making

iJh^ @iir(ien^r*s (P;onfI%

349

After a higlily interesting!: conversational discus-
sion on other matters relating to grape-culture,
Thomas Harvey otrered tlie lollowiug :

Besohed, That the thanks of this Convention are
tendered to Mrs. Cooper, our landlady, for the com-
fortable accommodations furnished us, and ask her
acceptance of all the fruit remaining on the tables.

"Which was passed, and the Convention adjoui-ued.
F. F. Merceron, Secretary.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL

SOCIETY.

The October meeting was held on Tuesday even-
ing, lath ult., at Concert Hall. The special pre-
mium list comprised fruits onlj-, together with the
standing j^rizes for collections of flowers. Of the
latter there was a large and choice display of Orna-
mental Foliage Plants, from James Eadie, gardener
to Dr. James Rush. These specimens were all in
admirable condition, and received the first prize of

!f.-j.

A number of American Seedling Dahlias, from
Gerhard Schmitz, received the commendation of
the Committee, and the award of a special premium
of $1.

Thomas Meehan contributed a collection of forty-
two named varieties of Dahlias, comprising some
novel and beautiful flowers of every variety of color,
and generally well shaped, to which $1 was awarded.
Eobert Kilvington brought a large Bouquet of
over twenty varieties of flowers, cut from the gar-
den, and very tastefully made up. It is rare at this
season to see so many fine hardy flowers in bloom.
The regular premium of |1 was awarded to it.

In the department of Fruits were two collections
of Pears, by John McLaughlin, gardener to J. B.
Baxter ; also Isabella and Catawba Grapes. The
Pears received the two premiums, $3 and $1 each.

Dr. Thomas P. James presented a dish of twelve
superb Duchessed'Angouleme Pears, weighing from
ten and a half to sixteen ounces each, all perfect
fruit, and the product of one dwarf tree, which
contained thirty-four pears, none of which weighed
less than nine ounces. The total weight of these
pears was nine pounds ten and a half ounces, being
an average of about thirteen ounces each.

Adam Graham, gardener to General Robert Pat-
terson, showed a dish of Quinces of large size, re-
markably fine appearance, and excellent quality.

Mr. S. W. Noble, for his collection of Apples,
took the two regular premiums of $1 each.

Of Exotic Grapes, there were excellent samples
from Wm. Joj^ce, gardener to M. W. Baldwin,
who received the first premium of $2. With these
we remarked three large Pine Apples in Pots,
a dish of Figs and one of Belle de Fontenay Rasp-
berries. The two second premiums for Exotic
Grapes were given to two collections of equal
merit. Black Hamburgs, "White Buel, and "White
Syrian, from Jas. Astley, gardener to Hon. Owen
Jones, and Black Hamburg, "White Nice, and "White
Syrian, from Jeremiah Flynn, gardener to Henry
Taylor. Catawba Grapes were contributed by John
Cook, gardener to Rev. J. M. Richards, P. S. Bunt-

ing and Wm. Joyce. Isabellas, by A. L. Felton,
and also "Wm. Joyce, who took the two premiums
of $1 each.

A dish of Concord Grapes, from Mr. J. Knox, of
Pittsburg, received the special commendation of
the Committee, and were certainly the finest ever
shown here. This grape is fast making the repu-
tation of the best grape for general out-of-door
culture.

Mr. L. Chamberlin showed a large and hand-
some bunch of cultivated Chicken Grapes.

Mr. Robert Buist exhibited, for the first time,
the new round scarlet Egg Plant, a very sliowy
ornamental fruit, said to be of excellent (Juality as
an edible, to which a special premium of $1 was
awarded. Also, bunches of the Black Barbarosa
and Prince Albert Grapes, supposed by most culti-
vators to be identical, but which were quite difierent
in every respect.

Mr. Buist addressed the following communication
to the Society upon the subject :

5 RoSEDALE Nurseries. Philaflelpliia,
\ October 15th, 1861.

To th-e President and Fruit Committee of the

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society :

Gentlemen, I beg to caU youv attention to the acconipanyiup; spe-
cimens of the Prince Albeit and the Black Barl)arosa grapes, which
have been published in the horticultural periodicals, and even
standard works, of this country as the same grape.

Black Barbarosa I introdnced fr.im England about five years
ago. Fruit, large, oval, of a reddish black, with a fine bloom:
bunches, large, shouldered and tapering, not yet fully ripe. It is
our latest foreign grape, and keeps very well till December. Wood,
foliage, and eyes, smooth. A great bearer.

Prince Albert I introduced about twenty years ago. Fruit,
round, jet black, with a fine bloom, medium size; buuches, shonld-
ered and short. Does not set very free!}', and is also a shy bearer.
Has been ripe four weeks. The sample before you is only a part of
a bunch. Foliage, young shoots and the mature eyes have a white
down, the eyes particularly so. Any person who cultivates either
of these grapes can decide on the genuine by the appearance of the
eyes on the wood, without fruit. The Prince Albert is not worth
culture ; whereas, the Barbarosa has not an equal for late keeping.
Very respectfully, E. Bcist.

This was refen-ed to the Committee on Fruits,
who reported that they agreed with Mr. Buist so far
as the fruit exhibited was named.

A communication from P. Mackenzie & Son, con-
cerning the abstraction of some plants, was referred
to the Committee on Plants and Flowers, to report
at the next meeting.

THE EXHIBITION OF THE MASSACHU-
SETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The Thirty-second Annual Exhibition of the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society opened on
Tuesday, the 17th. Although the season had been
pre-eminently dry, and the winter a most severe
one, yet the Society of the Old Bay Stute sustained
its reputation for luxurious and well-atttnded fes-
tivals.

The show of Flowers was as good as usual,
which, for this year, was remarkable ; large contri-
butions being made from all the prominent florists.
Among them the collection of Gladiolus was espe-
cially attractive. The interest manifested in this
beautiful family within the last few years has been
very great among all classes of cultivators, all striv-

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550

Clt^ ®Erkner's HloiitWg.

ing to rival each other m their progression by im-
portation and by raising seedlings with such zeal as
has never been equalled, except, perhaps, by the
Dahlia. Five years ago, the Gandavensis and Ra-
mosus were almost the sole representatives of im-
portance ; but now the Comte de Morney, La
Poussin, Ceres, Raphael, Berth, Rabourdin, and an
endless variety adorn the stand with their several
tints.

Conspicuous, also, were the Pot Plants, tastefully
arranged upon an elevated stand in the centre of the
hall. The Ferns and the Variegated plants (which
are now the delight of the floristj were the most
prominent. Rearing itself loftily above the rest,
arose a noble specimeir of the Cyanophyllum mag-
nificum, and by its side stood fine plants of the fol-
lowing: Caladium argyrites; Begonias RoiLeopoldii,
Marshallii, nivosa and hypargyrea, Pteris tricolor,
Croton pictum, Pavetta Borbonica. Also, Pan-
danus javanicus variegata, from the establishment
of Ilovey t& Co., and a beautiful representative of
Cattleya Forbesii, from E. S. Rand. Mr. Rand has
one of the most extensive and well-assorted orchid-
houses in this part of the country, and the rooms
of the Society are often embellished by his speci-
mens. Tliere was a good display of our native
flowers from tlie Botanical Gardens of Cambridge ;
among them was a very double-flowered Datura.

In the department of Pomona we noticed that
the fruit was not so large nor so cle ,n as that of last
year, owing to the drought, but very good for so
unfavorable a season.

Mr. II. H. Hunnewell, the proprietor of Welles-
ley, exhibited some fine Peaches, from the orchard-
house, measuring twelve and a half inches in cir-
cumference, and G. G. Hubbard several varieties of
Plums, raised in the same way.

The Apples were very few, though good. The
crop is almost totally lost by the severity of the
winter.

Tlie largest collections of Pears were from the
gardens of the President of the American Pomo-
logical Society, Colonel Wilder, and from Messrs.
Hovey & Co.

AVilliam Bacon, among other varieties, presented
a remarkable dish of the Merriam Pear, which origi-
nated near Boston, and is promising to become a
profitable market sort.

Pears were shown, also, from Josiah Stickney, H.
Vandine, and others. The Seedling Pear Clapp's
Favorite, which was exhibited at the session of the
American Pomological Society, and figured and de-
scribed in its transactions, was among the rest. I
am informed that it is a seedling from the Bartlett,
being entirely free from the disagreeable musky
aroma of its parent ; that it is fully equal to it in
size, and precedes it in maturity ; also, which is of
great importance, that it has stood the winter with-
out being in_jured in wood or bud, and has borne a
good crop this season. Cultivators in this vicinity
have high anticipations in regard to it.

Tlie vegetables were very good, yet not extensive.
The most notable were six Squashes from A. D.
Webber, weighing six hundred and ninety -five and
a half pounds, raised from a single vine ; and some
fine Celery from J. C. Potter.

But superior to every thing was the display of
Grapes. The foreign varieties were principally from
the graperies of Hovey & Co., H. S. Mansfield,

J. C. Potter, Mrs. F. B. Durfee, R. S. Rogers, Mrs.
T. W. Ward, E. S. Rand, and others. Although
the continued dry weather had been unfavorable for
other fruits, yet it had been exceedingly propitious
fo: out-door grapes, and there was, therefore, an
unusual amount. Several natives were of large size,
and filled the room with an insufferably deliciousf?)
fragrance. Those most worthy of notice were
Delaware, Diana, Rebecca and Hartford Prolific.
The Delawares were small, appearing to have been
grown on young vines. The Rebecca was good,
and seems to be rising a little in popular favor. The
seedlings of Mr. Rogers surpassed all in appear-
ance. Four kinds were shown. The berries were
as large as good Black Hamburgs, with fine, com-
pact bunches. They were raised by cross-fertiliza-
tion, the native Mammoth acting as the female,
with the Black Hamburg and Sweetwater as males.
The progeny of the Black Hamburg inherit its color
and bunch, and those of the Sweetwater the amber
color and bunch. Mr. Rogers has not only proved
a problem in natural science, but has immortalized
himself in giving to the world a number of excellent
varieties of hardy and early grapes.

The exhibition was one of almost unexpected
succeg'3, and compared with the first which the So-
ciety ever held, exhibits the brilliant progress which
has been made in horticulture, and shows with
what rich laurels have Flora and Pomona been
crowned by the creative power of man.

BROOKLYN HOETICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The Brooklyn Horticultural Society held their
regular Fall Exhibition on the 18th, 19th and 20th
of September, at the new Academy of Music,
Brooklyn.

Notwithstanding the severe storm for a day or two
previous, and the hard times, the display of really
rare and choice Plants, Fruits and Flowers sur-
passed any previous exhibition of the Society. The
room is the largest that could be procured, yet it
was not half large enough to show the plants to ad-
vantage.

Louis Menand, of Albany, who has always been
the mainstay of the Society, was on hand with his
choicest specimens— two fine Musa Cavendishii, one
in full fruit ; beautiful specimen of Pandanus, large
and well grown ; Tree Ferns ; Variegated do.; Cala-
diums. Begonias and Cactus of every variety. His
collection embraced one hundred and eighty plants,
every one a specimen.

Andrew Bridgeman, of New York, had two hun-
dred and twelve plants of all the new variegated-leaf
kinds, rivalling in beauty any that were exhibited.
Mr. Bridgeman is making this a feature of his busi-
ness. He also had a splendid display of Gladiolus,
embracing 190 kinds of all forms and shades of
color ; also, the finest Basket of Flowers and Table
Bouquet.

Isaac Buchanan & Son, of Seventeenth St., New
York, had their choice collection of Orchids, consist-
ing of the newest and latest varieties, in full flower.
He also had a large collection of the Variegated-leaf
Plants, numbering 160 varieties,

Parsons & Co., of Flushing, had an immense col-
lection of Caladiums, Begonias, Ferns, and the new
Alocasia metallica, very' beautiful. Cyanophyllum

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magnificum was really magnificent. His collection
embraced 240 ])lants.

John Humpliries, of Brooklyn, had the best dis-
play from the city, all in fine health and vigor ; and
in a few years will have a splendid collection, that
will compete with older establishments.

There were many small collections which were
very deserving of notice, but would take too much
space.

Messrs. Dailledonze & Zeller, Cut Roses and col-
lection of Flowers.

A. G. Burgess, Dahlias, &c.

C. S. Pell,^ Dahlias, &c.

From Henry M. Baines, Esq., of Williamsburg,
a choice collection of Flowers.

Besides an immense quantity of Bouquets, Bas-
kets, and Designs of Flowers.

The Fruit from Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, of
Rochester, was very fine — 165 varieties of Pears and
67 of Apples.

Also from Mr. James Wier, of Bay Ridge, some
fine Pears, &c.

A Basket of Fruit, from Mrs. Packer, was uni-
versally admired.

Grapes from Mr. Cowan, of Glen Cove, were very
choice, and exhibited high culture. Also an endless
profusion of all of the native and hardy varieties
from a number of growers.

The Vegetable department was largely repre-
sented, and contained a full assortment of all the
newest and best kinds that are worthy of attention.

In addition to the Exhibition, there was a course
of Lectures, by the best horticulturists, on the Best
Varieties of Plants, Fruits, and Flowers, and their
Mode of Culture.

This only shows to the Society, that with proper
efforts, they can fill any place with the choicest col-
lection, and place themselves at the head of our
Horticultural Societies.

[Since the last came to hand, we have received
the following notice of a subsequent meeting :]

This Society met on Tuesday evening at their
rooms at the Atheneum. There was a large at-
tendance of members and those interested in hor-
ticulture, many of whom were ladies, and who are
generally the most successful cultivators of flowers
or fruit when they give it their attention.

On the table for exhibition were some fine Vines,
grown in Pots, by Andrew Bridgeman, of New
York; "Daphne Cneorum," a new hardy ever-
green, profuse bloomer, and very fragrant; Seed-
ling Dahlia called "Mrs. Burgess," large and fine
color ; also, a new Seedling Rose named President
Lincoln, Avhich attracted much notice for its fine
form and beautiful color, were from A. G. Burgess,
East New York. Tritomas and Pelargoniums,
from James Wier, Bay Ridge. Bilbergia, from
Geo. Hamlyn, gardener to W. C. Langley, Esq., of
Bay Ridge. One dozen Pears of the largest size
and most beautiful form that have ever been exhibi-
ted, were sent to the meeting by Wm. Chorlton, of
Staten Island ; copies of these will be taken in wax
for preservation and reference. On the table was a
most magnificent photograph of some choice plants
that were at the last exhibition, which are designed to
be given as premiums instead of money, as it will
represent what was dis^ilayed, — the Society to keep

a duplicate copy in their rooms, and to sell to mem-
bers as many as they wish. This was taken by
Messrs. Morand & Co., of Fulton Stieet, Brooklyn,
who make such things a speciality. The prizes
awarded at the last exhibition were the great at-
traction. The worthy President, J. Yi. Degraw,
Esq., to whose untii'ing energy and perseverance
the members and exhibitors of the Society are under
so many obligations, had prepared a number of very
elegant Silver Goblets, Cups, &c., which were pre-
sented by P. B. Mead, Esq., editor of the Horti-
culturist^ in behalf of the Society, with appropriate
remarks. The largest piece was a Silver Goblet
some fifteen inches high, of a new and beautilul
pattern, richly ornamented and engraved, to Messrs.
Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, N. Y., for their
displ.iys of fruit at the late exhibition. The next
was to Andrew Bridgeman, of New York, a very
handsome Goblet some twelve inches high, for his
dis])lay of choice, new and rare Variegated Leaved
Plants. The next, an elegant Silver Goblet and
Salver, of exquisite workmanship and design, beau-
tifully ornamented and appropriately engraved, was
presented t^j Miss J. E. Degraw, daughter of the
President, for the best Floral Design, at the last
New York Horticultural Society's Exhibition, and
also at the Brooklyn Exhibition. A handsome
Silver Cup was also presented to A. G. Burgess, of
East New York, John Humpln-ies, of Brooklyn, G.
Messenberg, gardener to Henry M. Barnes, of
Williamsburg, and Messrs. Dailledonze & Zeller, of
Brooklyn, for Special Premiums for the Collection
of choice Cut Flowers and Plants exhibited at the
semi-monthly meetings. Mr. Bridgeman made a
few remarks on the Culture of Grapes in City
Yards, but was compelled to stop by a sudden at-
tack ot illness. Dr. Grant, of lona Island, was in-
troduced and spoke for an hour in favor of the hardy
out-door grapes, over those grown under glass,
both for general use and profit. He considered the
Delaware the best grape that was known for table
use or for wine-making. He gave a comparison of
the expense and profits of Out-door Culture and
Under Glass, and at the next meeting he will give a
full account of liow to Plant, Train and Prune the
Vine for Culture in City Yards. At the close of
his remarks a vote of thanks of the meeting was
proposed and carried unanimously.

A large number of the best horticulturists were
present ; Hon. Jno. G. Bergen ; Dr. Grant ; Mr. Quin,
of Newark ; Messrs. Mead & Woodward, editors of
the Horticulturist; John Williamson, the artist ; A.
S. Fuller, and others.

The Society will meet again on the 15th. The
same subject will be continued.

351

TOEONTO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Third Exhibition.

The third exhibition of the season, under the au-
spices of the Toronto Horticultural Society, was
held in the Botanical Gardens, Gerrard Street, and
I attracted a very large and fashionable attendance of
I visitors.

The flowers, fruits and vegetables were exhibited
j in a mammoth tent erected at the head of the
j gardens, and every one was of opinion that the
, Fall Exhibition this year was superior to that of

^^J

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52

^\^ §mk\\txi

any previous year. Every season new and rare
plants and flowers are introduced, and the Exhibi-
tions of tlie Society, as they deserve to be, are de-
cidedly popular.

The centre tables were appropriated,ibr flowers,
and presented a most brilliant appearance, the colors
harmonizing beautifully.

There was a fine display of Phloxes, and Mr.
John Gray, Lake View Nurseries, carried off the
first prize, and Mr. George Leslie the second.

One of the great attractions for the visitors, how-
ever, was the large assortment of beautiful Dahlias.
In tills department, Mr. George Leslie, Mr. Flem-
ing, and Mr. Eccles were the principal exhibitors.
The first-named gentleman carried otf the first and
second prizes.

Mr. John Gray exhibited some very fine double
Petunias, new varieties, and newly imported into
Canada. They were universally admired, but the
judges awarded the first prize to Mr. Gzowski for
single varieties, Mr. Gray obtaining the second
prize.

In Verbenas, Mr. Forsyth, Normal School, Mr.
S. Heward, Mr. T. Tilman, and Mr. Gray were the
principal exhibitors. The latter gentleman had on
view twenty-four varieties (named), all newly im-
ported.

Mr. W. H. Boulton showed a few good Foliage
Plants, and also some fine Cockscombs.

In Achimenes, Mr. Gzowski and Mr. W. H. Boul-
ton were competitors, the specimens shown by each
being very fine.

The display of Greenhouse Plants was not large,
and there were few competitors in this department.
Judge Harrison carried ofi' the first prize, and Hon.
J. C. Morrison the second prize. Mr. Morrison also
exhibited a very pretty stove Orchis, growing in
moss, which was highly commended.

Mr. J. Fleming had on view three varieties of the
Gladiolus, a verj^ showy and handsome plant, which
attracted much attention.

In Annuals, Mr. Forsyth, of the Normal School,
bore away the palm.

There was a good display of beautifully-arranged
Hand and Table Bouquets.

In this department the fine display of Grapes re-
quires to be first mentioned, and certainly finer-
grown Grapes were never shown in Canada than
those on exhibition. Crowds of persons lingered
near them for hours, and all saw something to praise.
The clusters were large and luscious. Three bunches,
belonging to Mr. H. Eccles, weighed, in the aggre-
gate, not less than 121 ounces.

Hon. Mr. Cayley exhibited five varieties grown
in a cold grapery, the clusters weighing from 82j
to 47j ounces.

Mr. G. S. Gzowski carried off the Vice-President's
medal for eleven varieties, while Judge Harrison and
Mr. W. H. Boulton exhibited specimens which were
greatly admired.

Near the middle of the centre table was a very fine
Grape-vine in a pot, with six large clusters, and was
from the nursery of Mr. John Gray.

Hon. J. C. Morrison also exhibited a handsome
Grape-vine in a pot.

Tlie display on the tables gave ample proof that
all kinds of grapes can be profitably cultivated in
Canada.

The number of Peaches was not very large, and
those exhibited by Judge Harrison and Mr. D. L.
Macpherson presented a tine appearance and gained
the prizes.

Mr. W. H. Boulton and Judge Harrison were the
principal exhibitors of Nectarines, while some beau-
tiful plants were shown by the Rev. Edmund Bald-
win and Mr. H. Eccles.

There were many varieties of Apples on the tables,
but none of them calling for special mention.

The Pears were fully up to those of last year.
Mr. John Gray, Hon. Mr. Allan, and Mr. R. Stib-
bard excelled in this department.

VEGETABLES:

While great attention appeared to have been paid
to Fruits and Flowers, the tables gave ample evi-
dence that the kitchen-garden had not been ne-
glected ; and, although a pretty young lady asked
her mamma, "Who would be so vulgar as to look
at onions?" the visitors gave much attention to the
Vegetable department. On the tables were a very
fine collection of mammoth Cabbages, Turnips,
Onions, Potatoes, Beets, Caulifiowers, Tomatoes,
Sweet Corn, Vegetable Marrow, Celery, Parsnips,
and Salsify, and, as usual, there was a large number
of exhibitors.

In Potatoes, Mr. C. S. Gzowski gained the first
prize, and Mr. Tattle the second.

In Cabbages, Mr. William Burgess was the suc-
cessful competitor, while Mr. T. Tillman gained
the prizes for Red Cabbages.

Mr. Edward Lewis and Mr. Tattle showed some
fine Cauliflowers, and the last-named gentleman also
exhibited a few large specimens of Beets and To-
matoes.

The Onions belonging to Mr. George Vear were
awarded the first prize, as was also the Sweet Corn
belonging to Mr. E. Lewis, and the large Vegetable
Marrows exhibited by Mr. H. Eccles.

The Judges in almost every department appeared
to have considerable difficulty in giving their de-
cisions, owing, no doubt, to the excellence of the
various specimens exhibited.

KEOKUK CIOWAJ HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The exhibition held on the 5th of September was
considered the best ever held in that section of the
country. The successful exhibitors were :

Mr. Woodward,
Mrs. Morrison,
Dr. Shaw,

Mr. Stripe,
Mr. Gillespie,
E. H. Wickcrsham,
H. Weyand,
Mrs. Beebe,
Mr. Belknap,
Mr. Fletcher,
Dr. Knowles,
Mrs. Furman,
Mr. Hubbell,
Mr. Bridgeman,
Mr. H. Tucker,
Mr. SeUars,

S. A. Duke,
Mr. Barclay,
Mr. Chittenden,
Mr. Bauer, Nauvoo,
Mrs. Miller,
S. S. Vail,
Mr. Voorhies,
Rev. I. Brown,
Mr. J. B. Billings,
Mr. J. L. Zwart,
Mr. Wesserzicher, Nauvoo.

Amongst whom we are pleased to find so many of
our friends.

m

t~:. ,%,

Drawn from Nature by Mft« Rosenthal.

GARYER APPLE.

»»AW» 0« »t<iSS EXPMMLT F«» THE OARDESBll'S MONTHLT.

Lith. bv h. N Ko«enthal

DEVOTED TO

^opfirulfurp, ^p&criro!fupp, 'Pofeng % jjiiirel EfPeirs.

THOMAS MEEHAN, Editor. DECEMBER, 1861.

VOL. III.--NO. 12.

FLOWER-GARDEN AND PLEASURE-
GROUND.

Beyond preparing for alterations and improve-
ments to be made next spring, — getting ready stakes,
labels, and other necessary items that will certainly
be wanted, and preparing things in advance, so that
when the busy time shall come, all things will be in
readiness, — there is little that can be done in this
department at this season.

There are some things, however, that should be
done, and for which preparations should be made
now, that are not often done, but are very essential
to a well-kept place, particularly the thinning out
of trees and shrubbery , and the 'preparing of composts
for plants and flowers. The great fault in most
places is the neglect of timely thinning out. We
cannot call to mind one place that is exempt entirely
from this criticism. Grounds have to be planted
thickly when they are first formed to avoid a hungry
and neglected appearance. Cheap and common
trees may be interspersed with more valuable ones,
and when the place is pretty well overgrown, have
these indifferent trees taken out. But most places
have been thickly planted without any view to
ulterior fitness; still, the least desirable should be
taken away. One fat, luxuriant, robust tree, perfect
in shape from collar to the apex, will give more real
pleasure than a clump of a dozen half-starved speci-
mens, struggling with each other for a mere exist-
ence.

In thinning-out trees, the best plan is to open the
soil away from the stem a few inches under the
ground, and cut it away with an axe. Often, the
regret to lose a fine tree induces an attempt to trans-

plant ; generally, such trees foil from the usual diffi-
culties of removing large trees. When they succeed,
they seldom grow with a healthy vigor, and when
they have escaped all these, an ugly spot is left on
the lawn where the tree came out ; for the grass will
grow stronger there for years to come, and the lawn
have the irregular appearance of a cattle pasture.
This is the best season to mark such trees and shrubs
as it will be desirable to thin-out, and early in spring
the axe may be allowed to do its duty.

Soil for flowers may also be looked up during the
winter season. Very few understand that an occa-
sional change of soil is very beneficial to flowers in
beds, though all know how important it is to flowers
in pots. There is nothing better than surface-soil
from an old pasture, taken off" about two inches deep,
and thrown into a heap with about one-sixth part old
hotbed dung, to partially decay. In addition to this
"staple" item, smaller quantity of diflerent matters
should be gathered together for peculiar cases, or
particular plants. Peat, for instance, will be found
very useful for many kinds of plants. This is not,
as is often supposed, mere black sand; but a spongy,
fibrous substance from the surface of bogs and boggy
wastes. Sand should be collected sharp and clean ;
the washings from turnpike ditches are as good as
any thing. Leaf mould is best got already well de-
cayed from the woods. That one makes for himself
from rotten leaves is seldom good for any thing ; it is
always sour and seems "indigestible" to vegetation.
A load or so of well-decayed cow-manure is a good
thing for the gardener to have by him, as all those
plants that dislike our hot summers, and want a cool
soil to grow in, prefer it to any other manure. A
small pile of hotbed manure is almost indispensable
to a garden.

Many kinds of trees that do not seem to thrive
well, will be greatly improved next year by having
a surface dressing of manure or rich soil thrown
about them. Evergreens are no exception. A
singular notion used to prevail, that manure of any
kind was injurious to evergreens, probably through
noticing that they were usually found in poor, barren
soil. Our best American conifera growers, however,

have long practised manuring them, and -with the
best results. Guano has been found particularly
beneficial to the Spruce family, and it will probably
be found as good for the whole family of evergreens.

FRUIT GARDEN.

Now, when "the summer tresses of the trees
are gone, and the autumn woods have put their
glory on," the fruit grower will have to inquire what
he can do to save his treasures from the rapacities of
the winter's frosts that will soon be upon him. It
is not a generally recognized fact that frost seriously
injures vegetation without any immediate eifect being
visible. Cherries and other fruits will often be fa-
tally injured, and yet no sign of it be discernible
until after the plant is in leaf or flower, when it
suddenly droops and dies. Yellows, curl, mildew,
and other failings, no doubt, frequently owe their
remote origin to the effects of frost in times past.
We could give an explanation why this is so, and
may do so at another time, in another part of our
journal. Here we confine ourselves to hints and
advice, and in this case it is to protect all fruit trees
possible, no matter how hardy they may be. We
would have some few trees trained on espahers so
that they might be protected by mats— others so that
they might be bent over, and entirely covered with
soil, which is one of the very best plant protectors.
Where large orchards are planted, we would surround
the whole, if practicable, with a belt of evergreens
as the best thing we could do. Evergreens not only
protect from cold, but they add to the heat by their
own exhalations. Let any one hang a thermometer
in winter in a clump of evergreens, and another in
a near mass of deciduous trees, and he will be sur-
prised at the difference. The hardiest fruits are also
benefitted by having a cover of litter over the roots,
that will prevent the frost penetrating deeply.

Plants suffer severely during hard frost from
evaporation, and when the roots are prevented from
being frozen, they can better supply the waste. Old
tan bark is often used to protect strawberries, which
is very well, but old manure or other litter is nearly
or quite as good. If an examination in apples,
dwarf pears, quinces, peaches, and plums for borers
has not yet been made, go at it at once ; they make
fearful havoc during winter.

GREENHOUSES AND PLANT CABINETS.

The most interesting tribe of plants at tliis season
of the year is undoubtedly the GainelUa. The buds
frequently drop off before flowering ; this may spring
from three causes— from the plants being kept too
dry, or from the drainage being bad, whereby the

soil becomes sodden ; or from the house being kept
too warm by insufficient ventilation. As the leaf
buds burst, the plants are benefitted by occasional
syringings, and indeed an increased supply of water
altogether, in order to accommodate the demands of
the young growth.

Australian and Cape Plants are the chief ornaments
of the greenhouse at this time. The Acacia,
amongst the principal, will, like the Camellia, re-
quire more water while flowering; indeed, most
plants which produce flowers before they make a
new growth, require more water as they flower. On
the other hand, most plants which flower on the
young wood at or near the completion of its growth,
take less. The Correa is another beautiful tribe, but
does not do well in most collections ; it is generally
grown in a peaty soil ; we observed that where it
seems to succeed well, the growers use a consi-.er-
able portion of loam in their compost for it. This
is consistent with our own experience, and we are
inclined to the opinion that more loam should be
used with the peat for hard-wooded plants than is
generally done in this country. As soon as any
Cape or hard-wooded plant has ceased to flower, it
should be repotted, if it require it; many prefer
waiting till the plants are placed in summer quarters
before this is done, and some in the fall. We prefer
before they commence to grow, whf.tever the season
may be, as the roots being then in their most active
state immediately penetrate the new soil, and before
it becomes sour or sodden by frequent waterings,
reap whatever advantages the air it contains when
fresh may afford them. Some greenhouses are
rendered very gay in February and March by having
young plants of Verbenas, Petunias, and other bed-
ding-out plants potted at this time into large pots,
and encouraged to grow.

Hyacinths that have been out of doors, or in any
reserve place for protection, may be brought in a few
weeks before wanted ; they should not have much
heat, light or moisture for a few days, and then
only gradually. Carnations and Pinks are much
admired when grown in pots and flowered tliere
early ; they do not force well if much warmth be
given, but the usual temperature of the greenhouse
will bring them forward a month before they can be
had out of doors; whenever the roots make their
appearance through the bottom of the pots, they
should be shifted into a size larger. They require
very little water and love the light, and whatever
manures are used to enrich the soil should be
thoroughly rotten. The Pansy, on the other hand,
delights in half-rotten, strawy manure and turfy
loam. If a quantity of seedlings have been raised in
the fall, they will require potting this month ; they
do not flower well here when the weather becomes

^1;

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*$a1c — -«^

— M§j.

warm; but wheii grown in pots and forwarded
slightly by the aid of a cool frame, they do very
well.

Cinerarias will be soon the chief attraction ;
the least frost kills them, yet they will not do well if
kept in a high temperature. They love moisture,
yet are very impatient of damp. No plant is more
improved by the use of charcoal in potting than this.
This plant bids fair to become more popular than
ever, as supplying a very early spring want. The
Calccoliiria will require the same conditions as the
Cineraria.

Pelaryoniunu become "drawn," spindly, and
worthless, if they are not allowed to occupy the
lightest and most airy part of the house. If fine
specimens are desired, the shoots should now be tied
down to the surface of the pots and pinched ofi" so
as to induce them to shoot freely ; but avoid a too
frequent use of the "finger and thumb"— nothing
renders a Pelargonium weaker ; rather encourage
them to grow bushy, by the free use of light air and
manure-water. A good supply of young Fuchsias
should be coming on now — repot as their roots fill
each pot, let them not want for moisture or light, do
not pinch off their tops, but let them grow rapidly.
The temperature in which they are grown should
not exceed 550. A turfy loam, moderately enriched
with well-decayed manure and well drained with
charcoal suits them admirably. The Mimulus is re-
ceiving more attention than it has been — where they
are grown they are much improved by having pans
of water kept under their pots. Oranges and lemons
will require the coolest part of the house, and to re-
ceive no more water than will just keep them fresh.
Epiphyllums, as they continue to flower, will require
the warmest end of the house, and a fair supply of
moisture. Cacti and succulent plants generally will
scarcely require water at all, unless in very dry situa-
tions, and then receive but a slight sprinkling with a
syringe. The rule "when you water a plant at all,
let it soak right through," does not by any means
hold good with these plants, if there be not some
other good exceptions.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Very little can be done now in this department
except by way of preparation for another year.
Manure can be placed on the ground wherever re-
quired, and asparagus beds, if not already done,
should have a slight covering of it. Bean poles, pea
brush, and stakes of all kinds should be got now,
the tool house gone over, and put in order, and
every thing kept in good order and studiously in its
place. When the season of operations commences,
there will then be nothing to hold back our atten-

tion. Where there can be a heat of 60° commanded
Busfh Beans can be easilj' grown in pots, and can be
gathered in two months from the time of sowing.
If there is an abundance of leaves or manure at com-
mand, and small frames, beds may be put up for
early spring salads at the end of the month. Rad-
ishes and Lettuce are, however, very impatient of
too much heat; they will come on well if the tem-
perature be kept at 45o. When it goes above that,
the sashes should be lifted entirely ofl". The same
remarks apply to the Potato and the Early Horn
Carrot. Caulifloicers in frames require all the air
possible. Never allow them to become dry, this is
the cause of many failures by way of ' ' buttoning off. ' '

(JomniiinirefiGns*

EXOTIC GRAPES OUT OF DOORS.

BY NOVICE.

Notwithstanding the traditional failures of all
attempts to grow the exotic grape in the open air in
this country, the writer was tempted to try an ex-
periment this year upon some foreign vines, all of
which, since they were planted, ("three j^ears ago,^
have failed to ripen either their fruit or their wood,
on account of mildew.

The varieties grown are the Frankindale, Han-
stretto, Malaga, Clapier, Brihckle, and, until this
year, the Black Hamburg, Secord's Sweet Water,
and Canadian Chief. The latter, after three years
of discouraging failure, were removed this spring,
to make room for native vines. The Clapier and
Brinckle were selected for experiment. The former
is a French variety, imjiorted by Mr. Clapier, a
former resident of Germantown, Pa. Its name be-
ing lost, it was re-named after him. The Brinckle
is a seedling raised by Mr. Peter Raabe from im-
ported German seed.

When the Brinckle was in bloom, the top soil
was removed to the depth of about two inches, so
as to lay bare its surface roots ; flour of sulphur wa?
then evenly and thinly sprinkled over the soil and
the top soil restored. The Clapier was served in
the same manner, but some weeks later, about the
period of the second swelling of the fruit. The
after-treatment of these two vines was preciselj^ the
same as that of all the other native and foreign
vines in the garden.

The Brinckle ripened five good bunches, and the
Clapier, which was an old vine cut down to two
eyes, set and ripened one bunch of large white ber-
ries, equal in flavor to the White Frontignan, and
much larger. Having been sulphured quite late in p
the season, it sufl'ered somewhat from mildew.

^'

&>■■'

^.6-

35G

il^ §arden^r'8 ^ciitWg.

though less than ever before. The Brinckle was
scarcely affected by mildew,— far less than other
Bvinckles, Dianas and Rebeccas growing beside it.
All the other foreign sorts set their fruit freely, but
did not ripen a berry, and have lost their foliage by
mildew.

Better results would, doubtless, have been ob-
tained had the sulphur been applied early in the
spring, before growth commenced.

"One swallow does not make a summer," nor
does a single experiment, however successful, estab-
lish a principle ; yet the result here stated may serve
as an incentive, if not a guide, to further trial and
investigation. If we can, by any inexpensive me-
thod, attain to perfect foreign grapes in open-air cul-
ture, it is surely worth persevering effort to accom-
plish so desirable a result. Trials, however, should
always be made on a small scale. Investigations
extensively and expensively conducted, too often
dishearten the investigator, and defeat or postpone
a favorable result.

This experiment was first induced by the follow-
ing facts and reflections :— Sulphur has been found an
effectual remedy for the mildew on foreign vines
when applied to the foliage or mildly diffused in
vapor through the atmosphere of the vinery. If
thus, topically applied, it prove a remedy, why may
it not, administered to the soil, and so taken up by
the roots, and entering into the circulation, of the
plant, prove a preventive? The vine flourishes best
in tropical volcanic countries, as Asia Minor, Greece,
Italy, Sp .in, Mexico and California, whose soils are
more or less impregnated with sulphur.

Sulphur is insoluble in water ; in the air, under
certain conditions, it slowly, almost imperceptibly,
oxidises and is diffused in vapor. When heated,
sulphurous acid gas is rapidly evolved, and, if con-
fined, is very destructive of animal and vegetable
life. In the earth it is decomposed, more or less ra-
pidly, depending upon the constituents, condition,
temperature and moisture of the soil.

In the case above related, the soil was dug up
deeply in October, and no trace of the sulphur ap-
plied in the spring could be found, except one or
two small masses that had not been well sifted. The
rest was apparently entirely decomposed, without
even changing the color of the soil.

Sulphur is no panacea for vine disease. The plant
can neither grow in nor feed on it exclusively. The
result of this experiment would seem to be, simply,
that the foreign vine needs more sulphur than the
native and than is usually present in our soils, and
that it should be given in sucli form or manner as to
be assimilable by the vital action of the vine. Per-
haps very dilute sulphuric acid, or superphosphate of
lime, which always contains free siilphuric acid,

may prove a better medium of supply than the
crude sulphur.

Of course, exotic grapes can only be grown when
the season is long enough to thoroughly ripen their
wood. The beautiful specimens of Black Hamburg,
Chasselas, Black Morocco (a very late grape, seldom
ripened, even in a cold vinery), and other foreign
varieties, grown in the open air, by means of sul-
phur applied to the soil, which were exhibited at
the Grape-growers' Convention held at Lancaster,
Pa., October 27th, prove, at least, that our Central
Pennsylvania season is long enough, and confirm
the views held on this subject by a Novice.

A SIMPLE METHOD OP GROWING
CELEIST.

BY A NEW JERSEY MARKET GARDENER.

Mr. Editor— I have often before given my expe-
rience in celery culture in different horticultural
journals, but never before, that I recollect of, in the
columns of the Monthly; and if not repeating a
twice-told tale to your readers, I will briefly describe
a very simple method, and one which I have not
before described, whereby any one who can grow a
plot of cabbages may grow a plot of celery, and
that, too, pretty much in the same manner as in the
culture of the cabbage.

The ground necessary for the growth of celery
need not be damp, as is generally supposed. Any
good, rich vegetable soil, if level, is all sufficient.
Although the plant luxuriates in moisture, if pro-
perly applied, yet it is as quickly impatient of stag-
nant water at the roots as almost any other vege-
table.

One of the best varieties for private c Iture is the
Incomparable Dwarf, a solid, stocky, white variety,
never attaining more than two feet in length, but of
the most delicious flavor. This variety is particu-
larly well adapted to this simple mode of cultiva-
tion, which consists in planting the plants on the
surface, one foot apart eacJi way, so as to form a
square bed. The object in having the plot thus
square or oblong is, that when the celery is so
planted, the plants crowd each other when full-
grown, so that in the struggle for light, the hearts
are drawn upwards— one of the most important ob-
jects to be obtained ; which, when the celery is
planted in single or double rows, cannot be attained,
without the processes of what we call "handling"
and "hoeing up." The time of planting is
usually the month of July; but if good strong
plants can be had, fine celery may be grown by
planting in August. Nothing further whatever is
necessary in its cultivation but simply hoeing to en-
courage growth and keep down the weeds, as is

.J)

®hj{ ©ardiiUDr's ^outMj,

857

done in a cabbage or onion bed. This, tlien, is the
whole process from the time of planting in July
until November. Thus far, it is, of courec, green —
uublanclied ; the blanching process being done when
stored in winter quarters.

The time of digging up, of coarse, varies some-
what in ditfereut localities. lu this district we
usually have all put away by the middle of Novem-
ber ; and after some ten years' experience, we find
no plan so simple or so safe as the French or drain
system for blanching or preservation.

The process consists in digging a trench or drain
ten or twelve inches wide, and of the depth of the
length of the celery. The celery is then packed
perpendicularly in the trench, moderately tight,
until the whole is filled up. It will be undei-stood
that there is no soil thrown in about the roots — none
being necessarj^ The roots, being at the bottom
of the trench, quickly absorb sufficient moisture to
encourage new roots, which, as soon as formed, the
blanching process is begun, and the celery will be
fit for use in four or six weeks from the time of be-
ing put in the trench. It is indispensable to cover
the trench with leaves or stable litter to the depth of
six or eight inches ; but this must be done gradually
— two or three inches at a time — as the season ad-
vances. If put on all at once, it stops the evapora-
tion from the mass of celery packed in the trench,
and the blanching being prematurely hastened, it
•would not keep so well as if covered gradually.

A great advantage we find in this way of preserv-
ing winter celery, is in the easy access we get to it
in all weathers, — nothing more being necessary tha a
to remove the litter and take out what is wanted,
and cover in carefully again.

I have been induced to offer these remarks on
seeing your article on the subject in last month's
number, which, although it is, no doubt, all claimed
for it, is expensive and troublesome ; and in locali-
ties where drain-tiles are not to be had, impractica-
ble ; while by the plan above narrated, you can have
as fine an eating celery as can be produced by any
other method, and that, too, at the cost of not more
than one cent per head. In field-culture its cost is
less than half a cent per head, although the elaborate
system of '•bunching" it for the New York market
costs at least lialf a cent more.

THE DSLFHZNIUai.

BY FRANCIS PARKM.^^N, JAMAICA PLAIN,
MASSACHUSETTS.

The Delphiniums form a tribe of plants fast rising
in esteem, and promising soon to take a conspicuous
rank among florists' flowers. Their culture is easy,
— nearly all are perfectly hardy, — their flowers are

often of the greatest beauty, and they supply, in
their rich and varied shades of blue, the color most
deficient in the flower-g-urden. Some in beds, or
others in the garden or on the lawn •, others rearing
their tall spikes amid the shrubbery ; and others,
again, standing singly, as decorations of the border ;
they form, when rightly managed, a neat, brilliant
and effective ornament.

The annual varieties are weli known. There are
also a few bienniiils in the genus, but they are not
equal in beautj^ to the perennial species. These
latter may be separated into groups, of which the
Chinese Larkspur Ct)elphinium sinensis) may stand
as the iY\)G of the first, and the common Bee
Larkspur (D. elatumj of the second. In the
first group the number of varieties is limited ; in
the second it is almost without bounds. The former
is of a somewhat diffuse growth, with leaves very
deeply cut ; the latter is erect and straight, and
though infinitely diverse in the character of its
bloom, has the unfailing characteristic of a notch
in the two lower petals, which form, what is called
the Gje of the flower.

The Chinese or Siberian Larkspurs vary a good
deal in habit, some being more compact and dwarf
than others. These are preferable for most situa-
tions. Plant them in a light soil, well enriched
with leaf-mould, six inches apart every way, and
they will support each other. In June they will
burst into a brilliant mass of bloom, long-continued,
and renewed later in the season, provided the plants
are cut down to the ground as soon as the first
bloom is past. Their expanded flowers often gleam
in the sun with a peculiar metallic lustre. Some are
of the deepest blue, — some of a softened tint, pre-
cisely like that of the sky on a clear summer day, —
while others are pure white. These varieties should
be separated, and separate beds or circles in the
grass made of each. The dark blue varieties are
often marked with a red or purple spot on each of
the extended wings of the calyx. A few are seen
of a lilac tint. Double varieties of all occur, usually
much superior in beauty to the single. In a bed of
seedlings we sometimes find individuals bearing
flowers twice as large as those of its companions ; but
this pecularity will not perpetuate itself with any
certainty by seed. The beautiful Delphinium known
as "Breck's No. 1," may be referred to the Chinese
division of the tribe.

A species, which may be called intermediate be-
tween the Chinese and the Bee Larkspur, is well
worthy of mention here, not so much for its own
sake, as for that of the beautiful varieties wiiich
have either sprung from it or are closely assimilated
to it. This is the Delphinum cheilanthum, a native,
like the former, of Northern Asia. It is the parent

S-^C)

Chf[ §mimfs S^mi\)%

of two fine seedlings, D. magnificum and D. Hen-
dersonii ; and is, if not the parent, at least the
near kin, of the splendid D. formosum. The name
of the first of the three, by the way, is sometimes,
in this neighborhood, erroneously applied to a tall
and pallid variety of D. elatum. The trio resemble
each other closely, the first being the least desirable.
D. Hendersonii is a shy seed-bearer, and with me
has never borne seed at all ; bnt I once procvired
seed of it, expressly guaranteed as "true," from one
of the best and most trusty of the English seedsmen.
Of the plants which resulted, a few bore the features
of the reputed parent, while the greater part showed
the broader sepals and golden coloring of tlie unmis-
takable D. formosum. Granted the good faith of
the seedsman, the experiment may be held to prove
that the two are mere varieties of the same species.
D. formosum is one of the finest of the genus. The
freedom of its growth, the ease of its culture, the
size, metallic brilliancy and rich profusion of its
deep blue flowers make it, to borrow the hackneyed
phrase, indispensable to every garden. Last May I
planted several hundred young seedlings, raised under
glass, about the end of March, in a carefully pre-
pared bed. The soil, a strong loam, Avas trenched
two feet deep, dressed with peat, a little sand and
old manure, and the whole well incorporated with
the spade. Into this the seedlings were turned out
of their pots at intervals of eight inches. In June
the whole burst into flower. The lustrous mass of
bloom, seen from a distance, lay beneath the foliage
beyond, like a stream of water, preternaturally blue.
The flowers were of unusual size, the largest measur-
ing two inches across.

This variety is a good seed-bearer, and always
" comes true ;" that is to say, without any essential
variation. Very rarely in a seedling the eye of the
flower. will be pure white ; whereas, it is commonly
shaded with blue or purple. The flovv^ers vary also
in the coloring of the sepals, and in their degree of
symmetry. Among the seedlings just mentioned,
was one very striking, from the almost perfect
roundness of its form, and its deep and vivid blue.
Being tliought worthy of the superlative degree,
it was christened Delphinium formosissimum.

The culture is the same for all the members of this
group. They like a rich, light soil, and an open,
sunny exposure. A little peat or leaf-mould is very
beneficial, and they will bear in this climate a good
proportion of animal manure, provided it is well
rotted. Cut them down after their first bloom, and
they will reward you with a second. Indeed, with
a little management, they may be kept in flower
throughout the season.

Of the Bee Larkspurs and their innumerable kin-
dred, I shall speak in the next number.

THS P^OT^? OW^ OF TUB MOST
NORTHERN PLANTS.

BY AV. R. PltlNCE, FLUSHING, N. Y.

Having noticed in your columns some very ap-
propriate comments on the splendor of the numerous
species and varieties of the Pteony, which appear to
have attracted so much attention at a Parisian exhi-
bition, I have thought it would be a matter of
interest to your readers to present a summary of the
dififerent species and of the gorgeous varieties which
the (so-called) barbaric China and Japan presented
to the world whilst Europe was actually in a state
of utter barbarism, and long antecedent to the period
Avhen any of the nations we call civilized had ever
blended the pollen of flowers, or produced any new
variety by artificial means.

The most important and splendid of this family is
the Moutan or Tree Pieony of China., a very hardy
shrub, growing to the height of three to four feet,
and expanding its roots and shoots so as to often
cover a space of six to eight feet in diameter. Of
this species there were introduced from China, in
1789, three varieties— the Banksii, rosea, and papa-
veracea.

It is related that Lord Macartney's embassy to
China in 1795 saw^ a collection comprising two hun-
dred and forty varieties of the Moutan, and yet it
was not until the recent expeditions of Kobert For-
tune to that country that any new varieties were
obtained. Of these, twenty-two have been named
and described, and are now to be found in many
collections. My father made frequent attempts to
import new varieties from China from 1810 to 1830,
and finally succeeded in obtaining a dozen living
plants in large and peculiar green glazed pots, every
one of which proved to be the rosea. The three
varieties existing in Europe he imported at the price
of one guinea for Banksii, three guineas for rosea,
and five guineas for papaveracea.

As it takes from four to five years for a seedling
plant to produce flowers, we may form some idea of
the immense period that must have elapsed during
which the Chinese amateurs were producing the
seedlings from which they made their selection of
two hundred and forty varieties. I wish here to
premonish your readers, that this species is a native
of Northern China and Tartary, where the ther-
mometer falls as low as in the most northern limits
of our country.

The next species in point of importance is the
alhaflora of Siberia and Tartary, a tuberous, herba-
ceous species, growing to the height of two and a
half feet, with large single white flowers, which was
obtained from China in 1784, and of which three
double varieties were imported from there in 1790,
the Whitleyii, Humei, and fragrans. It is of this

i;it4 i>:irflcncr'8 ^onthlm

359

species that very numerous varieties exist in China
and Japan, and from which the French and Bel-
gians have produced above two hundred most admi-
rable varieties, and ourselves about fifty varieties.

It is an amazement to what an extent the varieties
of this species have been multiplied, combining every
hue, several of which have yellow and straw-colored
flowers. They are so rustic and easy of culture,
that no one can fail in having fice flowers, and the
plants will become so enlarged as to aflTord hundreds
of flowers from one stool.

Pieonia officinalis — this old tenant of our gardens
is a native of Switzerland ; and the common crim-
son variety has been grown since 1548. We can
boast of but ten varieties to contrast with the hun-
dreds which the Chinese produced.

Pceonia paradoxa is a native of the Levant, rather
more dwarf than the preceding, and the foliage
more downy. Of this the French have produced
about twenty-five double varieties, many of which
are very neat and beautiful, and mostly of crimson,
violet, and purple hues.

[To be continued.]

THE NATURE QF MANURES.

BY BKOOKLYN.

Different manures act so differently, that a
classification of them might be acceptable to your
readers. What I state hero is my own experience,
gathered in cultivating the farm and the garden, and
is noted with the hope and wish that it may
draw out the experience of other and better gifted
readers.

Horse-dung. — Dry, hot, and soon consumed, be-
cause it heats rapidly and strongly; good for cold,
w^et, and tough clay ; bad on warm and sandy soil ;
best thing for pits. According to purpose desired,
very excellent if mixed with more or less spent tan,
lime, and rotten leaves.

Cow-dung. — Very mild and very "pleasant ;" acts
slowly, but all the more surely ; good for any kind
of soil, especially for warm and sandy soils.

Pig-dung. — Cool, watery, mild, fermenting very
slowly ; of much benefit to meadows and nurseries,
otherwise little useful if not mixed with other
manures.

Sheep-dung — in its action and nature resembling
horse-dung, only "more so;" kills plants pretty
efiFectually, if not used with great discretion ; excel-
lent, of course, for your stiff and heavy clays, to
which it will impart warmth and life.

Goat-dung I know little about, but I hear it is
similar to sheep-dung.

i^oii'Zs.— Their excrement is generally of the sharpest

kind of action. Like all such potent agents, they may
prove both poison and meat, according to the hand
that applies them. They can be rarely applied in a
"neat" state, but must be diluted with water or
urine matter, or they will consume the vegetable
material in almost no time. Best mode is to apply
them on the ground just before a nice April shower,
and let the rain dissolve the matter. Miraculous
will be the effect therefrom. In regard to potency,
this seems to me the classification: 1. Pigeon.
3. Chicken. 3. Geese and ducks. 4. Turkeys.

Pigeon manure is praised for grapes, giving them
color and flavor.

Human excrements are too caustic to be used by
themselves, but all the more fit to be mixed with
cool substances, as sods, leaves, or with lime, etc.

In return, I wish to know if manure has ever been
known materially to effect the color of flowers, or
the taste and flavor of fruits and vegetables.

Also the results of experiments, made with differ-
ent manures, on a given object.

BARREN SEEDLING FROM FOREIGN
GRAPES.

BY PKOF. C. G. PAGE. WASHINGTON, D. C.

Just two years ago I discovered a bunch o" grapes
on a seedling vine growing near an oak tree on my
grounds, into which it had climbed by means of
underbrush to the height of fifteen feet. The fruit
was superior in flavor, about the size of Catawba,
and the color of Black Hamburg. The foliage is
decidedly foreign, and the growth very distinct. I
removed the vine to a congenial place in the garden,
where it has proved to be an enormous grower, and
hardier than any other vine in the garden. This
spring it set an immense bloom, but every flower was
abortive or purely staminate. As this was a chance
seedling, I cannot vouch for its parentage, though I
presume every one would infer from its growth and
foliage that it was foreign. But I can vouch for the
following facts, that two years ago it bore fruit, and
this year all the blooms were males. I have usually
permitted all the chance seedling grapes about my
grounds to grow, and have transplanted many to
good soils, and thus far every vine ffive in num-
ber) has proved to be abortive or male. For the
sake of trial, I have suffered one huge vine to bloom
for eight ^ears in succession, and it has always been
obstinately and entirely male.

INFORMATION GIVEN AND DESIRED.

BY A DELAWARIAN.

I AM induced to write a line to thank, through you,
Fox Meadow, for having prevented me making a

m

permanent investment in tlie Allen Raspberry. It
is exactly such statements as his last that benefit the
horticultural public. "We hear too much of the
£!:ood, — the worthless is too rarely condemned.
Now, although I have not the acquaintance of Mr.
Fox Meadow, yet I intend to ask a favor of him,
and that is, what are his opinions, if he has made his
mind up, on three new foreign grapes, viz. : Black
Barbarosa, Trentham Black, and Buckland Sweet-
water ? And can you inform me when the book on
Grape Culture, that was announced from the same
source will appear ? I have been anxiously awaiting,
as a book from such au experienced cultivator will
be looked to by many as a guide.

If Mr. Bright, of Germantown, would also give
his views on the same subject, we would then have
two independent and not easily biased opinions to
guide us. We know that Mr. Bright brought with
him from Europe a number of the latest novelties in
the grape line ; as he may have tested some of them,
will he be good enough to let us hear from him
through the Monthly J

A word about the native grapes. Delaware still
maintains its high position, although pressed hard by
Maxatawny — a new grape brought before the public
by Mr. Crans, who liberally distributed the wood,
and who, from present appearances, deserves the
thanks of the entire horticultural world for having
introduced the highest flavored native known. The
berries are larger than Delaware, light flesh color,
and the vine a vigorous grower ; may be safely put
down, promising very well.

If a man wants a vine for shade, Taylor's Bullitt
is decidedly that vine ; it is the most rampant of a
large collection ; about the fruit I know nothing.

El Paso, from the patent office, is a foreigner and
worthless, as most every thing that comes from that
source is.

Brandywine, although brought out with some
noise, is also foreign and worthless for out-door
culture.

Of Pears, the only two that bore fruit new to me
were Ananas d' Ete, which was eaten August 24th,
and very good, and Brandywine, a russety-coated,
high flavored pear, with skin a trifle too astringent,
but very well worthy of general cultivation.

Please remember, Brandywine Pear — good;
Brandywine Grape— good for nothing !

Duchess d' Angouleme and Louise Bonne de Jer-
sey produced fine crops, and are varieties worthy of
general cultivation on the quince.

Bartlett was, as usual, unsurpassed in its season,
I but is ripe amid such a variety of good things that

Iit is hardly appreciated. What would such a sized
pear, as good a bearer, and in every other respect as
desirable a pear be worth if it would ripen in Novem-

ber and keep until February ? We have too much
fruit at one time and too soon over with. Late autumn
and winter varieties should receive more attention.

Winter Nelis and Lawrence stand very high among
the winter pears, although the former has a bad
name as a poor straggling grower ; with me although
not so vigorous as some, it is thrifty. I shall, with-
out hesitation, recommend it. Winter Nelis is said
to be in flavor among winter pears what Seckel is in
autumn. Say a good word for it.

[We should like to inquire whether Winter Nelis
does not crack badly in most localities, whether it is
ever any thing but a poor bearer, and whether the
Lawrence is not as poor a grower as the Winter
Nelis ? Snch has been the experience of some
growers. Tiiere are a great many excellent winter
pears, but so little attention has been given to cheap
and handy plans for preserving and ripening them,
that they are unpopular, and thus there seems to be
but few kinds. "Pity 'tis, 'tis true," for those who
have only eaten pears as they come from the tree,
have no idea of the delicious taste of a well-ripened
winter pear. The Brandywine is considered by
many Eastern pomologists the best Pennsylvania
pear. We have not heard of the progress of "Fox
Meadow's Grape Book." Should be obliged by his
and Mr. Bright's response to our correspondent's
grape inquiries. — Ed. ]

A SUCCESSFUL XCIS HOUSE.

BY C. B., CHESTER CO., PA.

Ten years since, I built an ice house. After inquiry
and reflection, I adopted the following details of
construction, which has proved a complete success,
the supply rarely failing until ice forms again.

I chose as location, a north-laying bank, of sandy
formation, made the excavation a cube of thirteen
feet, or so that the earth removed would bank up to
that height, pvit in an eighteen inch dry wall, except
the top foot, which was mortared ; inserted on each
side three pieces of 3 by 4 inch scantling, to which
perpendicular 1-inch pine boards were nailed as
lining ; put on a light shingle roof of double pitch,
left the spaces at the eaves between the rafters open
for a draft of air to enter, and placed a small Venitian
window near the top of the north gable for its escape.
Before putting on the shingles, and after nailing
lath on the underside of the rafters, the intervening
space was tightly packed with straight straw ; the
roof is kept whitewashed. The south gable consists
of two doors, one of which answers for general
use, but when fiUing, the ground being level on that
side, both are opened, a small platform placed in
front of them, and the ice is shot directly in from
the cart. The bottom was made about one

^^

®Ii4 (Sardtncr'g PontMj.

361

deeper in the middle than at the sides, and 8 to 10-
iuch chestnut logs laid across it close together ; the
ice is thrown on these.

I fill only to the square with ice, and the remain-
ing space with wheat straw, which I am careful
always to keep covered over the ice and packed down
the sides a foot or two, as it melts, leaving a space
of about one foot between the ice and the lining.
The bank was well sodded up to the wall, so as to

"it won't pay," is inapplicable in this respect.
In order to secure good stocks, collect seeds from
such plants that have the type of Catawbiense,
maximum, Californicum, and a little ponticum in
them ; or, if in want of these, cross the latter spe-
cies with each other, and select such plants for seed-
bearing as have the requisite qualities of the parents,
i. e., the hardiness of Catawbiense and maximum,
the fine and robust growth and leaves of Califor-

throw olf rain-water falling on the roof and prevent | nicum, with the facility of forming an abundance of
its ingress to the house. Free daily use is made of fibrous roots of ponticum. The raising of standard
the ice during all the warm season, for a family of varieties requires some little judgment, in order to
nine, and there is usually about a load or two over, keep all the desirable points in view, viz : hardiness,
The capacity of the house is about twenty well-filled j clean and robust growth and foliage; large, erect
ox-cart loads, with side-boards. My practice ap- i truss of flowers ; clear, distinct colors, the single
pears to accord with the theory and principle of ^ flowers of good substance ; and with round petals ;

J. C. B."

THE DWAEF JUB?E-BEXSRY.

BY J. STOUGH, GENESEO, HENRY COUNTY, ILL.

Remarks in some of the late Monthlies, about the
June-berry as a stock for the pear, reminds me to
inquire if you have the dwarf June-berry ? I never
see it mentioned in any nursery catalogues.

We got it some thirty years ago. Ours were
found growing wild on the top of the Allegheny
Mountains. It grows from three to five feet high.
For a stock for dwai-fing pears, I do not know its
equal. Hardy, sound, healthy and long-lived. Not
as large as the quince. But for their own fruit they
are much superior to the large kind ; they bear with
certainty and profusely every season. I think the
fruit a little better and larger than on the large trees.

When I have not more than fifty bushes on my
farm of five roods, I have none to sell or make pear
trees of. They might be easily increased, and
rapidly from seed or layers ; not readily from cut-
tings. Have a large increase from seed and layers
this season.

[The plant alluded to is probably Pyrus arbuti-

folia. — Ed.]

«•««» — —

RHODODENDRONS.

BY A MIELLEZ, FLUSHING, N. T.

[Continued.]

Haying tried to show how to improve rhododen-
drons by grafting, I now proceed to what may
properly be called the first part of the work, viz : to
raise stocks of standard varieties.

to which may be added a good, distinct blotch of
spots. The first consideration should be given as to
the hardiness and robust growth of the sort to be
fertilized, to insure the same qualities for the breed.
Next in view should be a stiff", erect truss of good
substantial flowers. Where these qualities are com-
bined in a variety, any desired shade of color may
be brought upon it, from pure white, through the
different shades of rose, cerise and crimson, to
blood red and scarlet ; and again from white
through lilac, claret, violet, plum-color, etc., to deep
purple. Though all these different colors have been
obtained by skillful cross breeding between the Amer-
ican and Indian species, it is not advisable to use
R. arboreum for breeding, as the first crosses of it
are, in a great measuie, liable to get their flowers
cut by spring frost, on account of their early floAV-
ering.

The following list of hardy varieties will furnish
a good selection, both for breeding and propagating
by grafting :

Whites and blushes, or light colors, viz : Album
elegans, Candidissimum, Delicatissimum, Athens,
Chancellor, Californicum, Columbus, Coslestinum
novum, Cunninghamii, Diadem, Exquisite, Faust,
Invincible, Leda, Minnie, Mr. Otto Forster, Mrs.
Mangles, Star of England, Queen of the Fairies,
Standish's Perfection.

Diff'erent shades of pink and rose color, viz:
Amazon, Aurora, Briarcus, Broughtouii, Ceux,
Criterion, Concessum, Eclipse, Etoile de Flanders,
Esperance, Flora Macdonald, Lady E. Catheart,
Maculosissimum, The Gem, Mrs. John Waterer,

Very little has been done in this line, and I think ^^ Seedling, Paxtonii, Pythagoras, Queen of Por-
you well may call it a "lazy" and "ignorant sys- ; ^"g^'' ^o^^^^^i elegans.
tern" under which it has been done. j Shades of red, cerise and crimson., viz : Aurelian,

The little extra attention that has to be paid . Blandyanum, Brayanum, Chloe, Erectum, General-
to seedUng rhododendrons, will be amply repaid issimo. General Wilson, Giganteum, Jago, John
by their subsequent success, and the common phrase, i Gair, Majesticum, Mr. J. C. Stevens, Neilsonii, |jg\

^^^T^
^

T\^

JSA

M^t barter's llnntljlj.

Prince Imperial, Reediannm, Rifleman, Robert
Barns, The Colonel.

Different shades of blood red and scarlet, viz :
Alarm, Brilliant, Brebneri, Garibaldi, Mars, Mr.
John Waterer, Lord Clyde, Sunset, Vesuvius, The
Major.

Purple, claret, lilac, etc., viz : Amilcar, Beadsman,
Everestianum, Fastuosum, fl. pi., Lucy Neal, Macu-
latum grandiflora, Maculatum nigrum superbum,
Marion, Magnoliflorum superbum, Monstrosum,
Oberon, Orlando, Prince Arthur, Schiller, Shak-
speare. Young Seidel.

Rose and crimson, with white throat or margin,
etc., viz: Bylsianum, Limbatum, Fleur de Marie,
Nobleanum bicolor.

The best time to apply the pollen to the pistil of
the flowers to be impregnated Cthe stamina of
which have to be cut out as soon as the flowers
open) is about nine or ten o'clock in the morning,
when the whole plant has fully revived from the
invigorating slumber of night. The puberty of
pistil and stamina will be easily recognized by
the careful observer. The passillary part of the
pistil appears viscous, while the stamina issue
pollen from their cells, especially when brought
in contact with the pistil. As it may happen that
there be a delay of a couple of days in waiting for
pollen of a desired variety, the to-be impregnated
truss of flowers has to be enclos'ed with gauze, lest
bees or other .insects should happen to carry pollen
to them ; whereas, there is but little fear from that
quarter after they have been once properly impreg-
nated. More convenient, however, it will be, if
those sorts to be used for impregnating come into
flower first, as the pollen may be preserved for at least
a month, ready for use when wanted, though it, of
course, be best if they come into flower together ;
and where there is a good collection there will be
very little trouble in this way ; moreover, some of
them may be easily retarded, while others are for-
warded.

TREATMENT OP SEEDLINGS.

On the beginning of February take earthen pans or
wooden boxes, provided with holes in the bottom,
and six inches high, of any desirable shnpe and size,
and fill them half with broken pots for a drainage ;
then mix peat with one-third of white sand, — sift it
and put the rough part of the peat (that which re-
mains in the seive j over the crocks, (a layer of about
an inch,) and fill up the pans or boxes with the fine
soil ; shake gently, so as to settle~the whole evenly,
and smooth off the surface with a piece of board, at
the same time giving a slight pressure.

Having the required quantity of boxes prepared
in the way prescribed, sow the seed moderately

thick on the surface ; take some fine dry peat and
sand of the same proportion as before, and strew
over, but so as to barely cover the seeds, (some
prefer leaving them wholly uncovered, J and sprinkle
with a very fine-rosed watering-pot. The seed-
boxes may be put into a propagating-house, stove
or forcing-house, of about 75°. They need no light
till the seed germinate, about ten days or a fort-
night, when they should be put near to the glass.
Protect them a little from very bright sunshine, and
be careful not to let them get dry, although an
excess of watering should be equally avoided. Par-
ticularly beware of dripping places in the house ;
they will incur often great loss, as the seedlings in
this young state are liable to get damped off.

[To be Concluded in our Next.]

PISTILLATE STRAWBERRIES

BY C, BURLINGTON, N. J.

It has always appeared to me very surprising that
so much paper, ink, time and good nature should
have been wasted in the discussion of a subject so
apparently easy of solution as that of the sexual
differences of strawberry plants, which has produced
so much wrangling among growers and fanciers,
and which would seem only to require a good pair
of eyes, to say nothing of a small microscope, to
settle, as far as the main facts are concerned, upon
which the different theories are based in regard to
the comparative merits of the (so-calledj staminate
and pistillate varieties. The whole matter, it seems
to me, can be presented in a nut-shell. In the first
place, there is no such thing as an exclusively pistillate
strawberry flower (at least, I have yet to see onej ;
all possess stamens, though with filaments of greater
or less lengths ; some being so short, it is true, as to
render the anther scarcely visible ; but if a flower of
the varieties called pistillate,is closely examined, a ring
of stamina will be seen, in the same position as those
in the most perfectly staminate flowers, but so much
depressed and concealed as to be, under some cir-
cumstances, of very little or no service in impregna-
ting either their own flowers or those of other
plants ; yet under other and more favorable circum-
stances, these same stamina may answer all required
purposes. Thus the climate of England may favor
the general development and distribution of the pollen
of their apparently defective stamina, so as to pro-
duce fair, or even large crops, without the propin-
quity of more decidedly male plants ; hence the
belief of Dr. Lindley, that "pistillate'* plants have
never appeared in England, may be perfectly ortho-
dox ; and hence Mr. Gloede's success in producing
crops under glass, may be owing to some peculi-
l arity of treatment or atmospheric influence tending

^^^

ilt^ iardfiicr's ItlonthtB.

to the same development. I presume we have, all
of us who have tried the experiment, found fruit, to
a greater or less extent, upon "pistillate" plants
under glass, — the extent of which, will always de-
pend upon whether the house is much visited hy bees
during the flowering season ; which fact must be
taken into consideration in regard to the same
plants growing out of doors. Those plants having
their anthers elevated above their pistils, require no
foreign aid in their impregnation ; and those even in
which the stamina are almost wanting, may, by the
aid of the bees, in countries where they are very
numerous, produce good crops. One thing I have
noticed in my little experience, that the fruit of
pistillate plants under glass, even when helped by
artificial impregnation, was inferior, and of entirely
different shape from the Same variety out of doors ;
which was not the case with the perfect varieties.

[Some varieties throw up hermaphrodite and pistil-
late spikes of flowers from the same crown. In such
cases, the fruit on the hermaphrodite spikes have
been observed to be very diff"erent in shape from
those on the pistillate ones. — Ed.]

A CHAPTER ON CACTUS.

BY R.

" What a whim of Dame Nature ! Did the good
old lady want to show us what she can do in the
way of ugliness?"

"It would not be a bad idea to have a few our-
selves, would it ? Let them be the frightful exam-
ples, they will show off" the beauty of our collec-
tion."

Thus spoke my good friends, Mr. and Mrs. W ,

when they happened to see my little set of cactus
plants. Thus spoke, before and after them, a good
many folks. And not a few of them have their
own collection now. Nothing like Mr. and Mrs.

W 's cacticum, though, ("if I he allowed the

making of that word, J) for their's is quite an aflfair,
and not every body can afford it. But whatever the
number of plants, — be they six or be they six hun-
dred,— the owner takes no less pleasure in them,
and cherishes the possession of these deformities
about in the same ratio as a mother makes a pet just
of that one of her children that's got crippled. Can
I help smiling when I see these cactarians fondle
their nursehngs now, after their having smiled on
me with a smile full of generous pity, yet superior-
it}', when they saw me fondle my own ?

Whence this fascination ?

It won't be difHcult to explain it, kind reader of
the Gardener's Monthly. Does not the very first si'jht
of the cactus give us already a pleasurable shock ?
Suppose that, roaming over the bottoms of the

Nile, we stumble oil a nest of hippopotami, young
and old, large and smiU. Surely the sight would
fascinate us. The gambols of these awkward mon-
sters would delight us ; their anatomy would inter-
est us ; and, perchance, we would poke one of them
in the ribs merely to judge of the metal of his voice.
Again, some people tame bears, others fancy ravens,
still others think there is no dog like the Scotch ter-
rier. And we are but right when we don't impugn
their taste. The fact is, that uncommon ugliness gives
us as pleasant a shock as uncommon beauty. Nor
is this trait confined to a sense of right alone, but
extends to that of feeling, — rough towels, for in-
stance, a positive delight to the skin ; and farther, to
that of taste — say bitters, pickles, cigars, and who
will deny their charms? And, in consequence of
taste, it can't help reaching the sense of smell at the
same time, — in proof, these same cigars, Russian
leather, cow-stables, &c.

Getting, however, to nearer acquaintance, our
cactus begin so show us their own charms, and re-
mind us of some plain friend of ours, — male or fe-
male, kind reader, as jon please or have experience
of, — who, decidedly plain, yet interested us at first
sight ; but when she began to speak, positively fas-
cinated us till we forgot that there was such a thing
as face at all.

But I believe I have jumped too high in compari-
sons. That angel of a woman, with her heart and
her mind, is as much above my plants as the hippo-
potamus is too low. Let my cactus keep the middle
between them, and let me here discuss their merits.

Granted their ugliness. What interests us so much
in it ? Probably the absence of leaves, that distin-
guishing feature of most plants. Next their form, if
not distivf/ue, as milliners would talk, still unique.
Next the diversity of their form — from the tall opun-
tiato the low, winding, creeping, serpent-like cereus,
and again to the Mamillaria, that look so much like
balled-up hedge-hogs.

And now come other features, prominently their
own, by which they claim our interest. Their twigs
and thorns,odd way ofbranching, theirtenacity of life,
the impunity with which they may be neglected, the
dark corners they may be stowed away in M^hen
they are not wanted, and their being all over so
much the same that the smallest thumb-pot specimen
(of its kindj, is as perfect as the biggest, and that
you can't help thinking of the worm which, cut into
pieces, seems each piece a worm.

When you have had any ca,ctus in your window
or your greenhouse for a little while, minor details
will begin to court your eye. Such as the peculiar
green, green-gray or gray-green, lustreless, boding
the desert ; again, the leather-like skin, evidently
agaiftst the tropical bla^e preventing the evapo^

li)

ration of the sap, — that sap which cheers both
man and his beast when the tongue cleaves to the
palate and the brain reels for thirst ! You know
at once why these cactus have been made at home
only within the tropics ; also why they grow where
nothing else will grow, and so accompany the poor
traveller aci'(>ss uninhabitable stretches of land. It
is on the score of this succulency, also, that botan-
ists have chosen them as objects of their observa-
tion ; the structure of their cells and their anatomy
in general being of the most interesting kind.

Enough now of their ughness, and let us turn to
their beauty. Raise a cactus till it flowers, and you
will be repaid ; for their flowers have been given the
intensest and most splendid hues, dazzling and at-
tractive; and, that a cavilling spirit may have nothing
to festen its hooks in, perfume has been given them
also ; to some, at least such as the Cereus grandi-
florus, the floAver of which, expanding over night,
emits a vanilla-like scent of the sweetest kind.

"What more shaU I say in behalf of my clients ?
Those people who live in the lands of the cacti will
praise them for the fruit — aye, fruit— which they
yield ; particularly the genus Opuntia : approaching
in taste our currants, to which they are also botani-
cally allied. They will praise them for the impene-
trable hedges and enclosures which they make, — for
the "timber" and the fuel which the large kinds yield
them ; and, finally, for the pleasant acidulated be-
verage which flows from most of them when they
are tapped.

HISTOKY OP THS MSLUMBIUM,

NEAR philas>i:lphia.

BY COL. K. CARR, WEST PHILADELPHIA.

I HAD flattered myself with having the pleasure of
seeing you ere this, but have been disappointed in
getting the papers which I wanted to refer to re-
specting the introduction of the Nelumbium.

I will merely now state a few of the facts of which
I have knowledge.

The elder John Bartram fthe botanist) had a
brother named William, who settled in North Caro-
lina, near Cape Fear river, about the year 1735. On
his property there was a large pond or cove of the
river, in which the Nelumbium, then called Nymphaa,
since named Cyamus flavicomus, grew in abundance.
Knowing his brother's fondness for plants, and this
being new to him, he sent a box of the roots and a
quantity of the seeds, which arrived safely and were
planted in several places in which Mr. Bartram hoped
they might thrive. CThis was Mr. Bartram' s prac-
tice with many plants.)

I have seen the copy of the letter which Mr. Bar^
tram wrote to his brother, acknowledging receipt of

the plants and seeds in good condition, and that he
had planted part in his new garden and part in other
places, in hopes of being able to naturalize tliem.*
We had them many years in a small pond in the
garden, and when we wanted a number of roots or
some seeds for our botanical correspondents, we went
to tlie pond, or large ditch, below the city, in the
meadows, then called " Brogdens," where they
flourished in great abundance, f

Mr. William Bartram informed me that his father
had planted them there on the property of an old
friend ; and about the year 1832, the venerable Timo-
thy Matlack, of Philadelphia,:]; was in the Bartram
Garden, when some of the plants were in flower,
and, on my mentioning the quantity growing in
Brogdeii''s Creek, he told me "that they were abund-
ant in Old Marias Creek, New Jersey, and that Mr.
John Bartram had planted them in both places ;
that he had been down to Old Man's Creek on one
occasion with Mr. John Bartram, to procure various
seeds and plants, and that then Mr. B. informed
him that he had planted the Nelumbium there and
near Gloucester, as well as in Brogden's Creek, and
other places." I have written this note in haste, but
you can make use of it if you think proper.

[We are much indebted to our kind friend for this
new chapter in our horticultural history, and yet we
cannot reconcile the statements with others that
have become part of the record of the times. For
instance, the inference is very clear, from a letter of
Peter Collinson to John Bartram, dated February
33, 1750, (see Darlington's Memorials, page 181,)
that Bartram had written to Collinson, describing a
"curious plant" which his "ingenious friend Kalm
had found near Philadelphia;" to which Collinson
rephed, that he "knew the plant full well ;" it was
the Nelumbium, and he was surprised that it had
been found aboriginal so far north of Carolina. It
is hard to believe that Bartram, whose straight-for-
wardness and honest simplicity were proverbial,
should have pretended to Collinson that it was ab-
original, and a new discovery to him in 1748, if he
had himself planted it there between 1735 and 1731 ;
and yet we can put no other construction on the cir-
cumstances, if all were as stated by our friend in the
present note. We are still further puzzled when we
turn to another letter of P. Collinson to John Bart-
ram, dated February 2d, 1760, in which Coflinson
taunts" John Bartram with an astonishing lack of
"industry," that with this plant near him wild "in

*This must have been previous to 1731, as he mentions the build-
ing of his ne\v Btone house, which was built in that year.

-(■ When a school boy, in 1784 — 1791, I veas in the practice every
summer, of going down to this pond to gather the ^' chinquapins."

J Then Prothonotary of the Supreme Court.

( ^% P^'C'"™- "'™ *

^^

•^

JS^

C^t[ ^arbcntr's Sloutijlij.

865

the Jerseys," lie had not yet got it growing in his
garden. (See Dar. Mem., p. 223.)

Are we to believe now that Bartram had it grow-
ing in his garden all the time, and for thirty years
before ? We are disposed to believe that the
" Nymphfea" referred to in our friend's note could
not have been the Nelunibium in question, but some
other plant, and that our theory, that the Nelumbium
owes its existence north to the Indians, is in all pro-
bability the true one. — Ed.]

JERIAL ROOTS ON THE SCUPFERNONG
GRAPE.

BY J. THOMAS. MADISON, INDIANA.

As you ask for information in regard to serial
roots on page 313 of the Monthly^ I will otfer my
store of knowledge, ("which is limited, to a memo-
randum five years old,) with some later observa-
tions. The Vitis vulpina is the vine referred to, I
believe.

Muscadine of the Mississippi Valley and Scupper-
nong of North Carolina are, I believe, identical. One
is said to be a variety of the other. On the Mississippi
and Forked-deer bottoms, I have seen those roots
from two to ten or twelve feet long, hanging like
hairs from a horse's tail, for twenty or thirty feet
along the stem, the lower extremities of the roots net
being within twenty feet of the earth. Vines growing
erect seldom have any but those growing somewhat
horiz ntal, or having a crooked stem, emitted roots in
abundance on the underside of the vine near the
point where the vine assumed an upright direction.
The rootlets have the appearance of clean washed
roots, about one sixteenth of an inch thick, and
look fresh and plump, and having a tender whitish
spongiole.

At first I supposed the emission of roots was
caused bj water standing around the stem in the
growing season, but found they were far above high
water ; however, it is deep shade in the bottom.

I did not observe any, to my recollection at pre-
sent, on the high ground where the vines were not so
shaded. The bark of the vine is smooth as that of
Beech or Hornbeam, and said to be hard to grow
from cuttings. I did not observe any roots except
on the main stem of the vine.

The fruit is larger and more of an oblong oval
than the Isabella Grape, and from one to three or
four berries in a cluster, and drop very easy when
ripe. A light jar of the tree they grow upon, and
the berries drop. They are prized very highly by
those who never tasted a grape like the Catawba.
They are more strong of the peculiar musky flavor

than any Fox Grape I ever tasted, and consequently
unfit for the palate.

[Very much obliged for the information.— Ed.]

Fruit for Eastern New York.— The Farmers'
Club of the American Institute adopted the follow-
ing list at a recent meeting, best adapted to that
region, from last year's experiencj :

Sunmier Apples— Early Bougli, Early Harvest,
American Summer Pcarmain, Summer Rose.

Autumn— Autumn Bough, Gravensteiu, Hawley,
Fall Pippin, Porter, Jersey Sweeting.

Winter- Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Jona-
than, Monmouth Pippin, Spitzenburg C^sopus),
Tallman's Sweeting, King of Tompkins County,
Boston Russet.

Summer Pears— Doyenne d'Ete, Dearborn's Seed-
ling, Beurre Giffard, Rostiezer, Tyson.

Autumn — Bartlett, Seckel, Beurre d' Anjou, Beurre
Superfin, Beurre Boussock, Duchesse d' Angouleme,
(on Quince, J Flemish Beauty, Fondante d'Automne,
Sheldon, Urbaniste.

Winter — Beurre Gris d' Hiver Nouveau, Beurre
Diel, Lawrence, Vicar of Winkfield.

Cherries— Belle de Choisy, Bigarreau or Yellow
Spanish, Black Eagle, Downer's Late Red, Early
Purple Guigne, Elton, Black Tartarian, Governor
Wood.

Plums— Green Gage, Coe's Golden Drop, Imperial
Gage, Washington or Bolmar, Smith's Orleans, Jef-
ferson.

Peaches — Crawford's Early, Crawford's Late,
Early York, (large,) Bergen's Yellow, George IV.,
Old Mixon Free, Morris' White.

Clings— Heath, Large White, Old Mixon.

Nectarines— Downtou, Stanwick, Early Newing-
ton.

Apricots — Dubois' Golden, ^American variety,)
Peach or Moorpark.

Grapes — Delaware, Diana, Concord, Union Vil-
lage, Hartford Prolific, Isabella.

Quinces— Orange, Rae's Seedling, Portugal.

Currants— Large Red Dutch, Versailles, Victoria,
Large White Province, White Dutch, Black Naples,
White Grape Currant.

Gooseberries— Downing's Seedling, Houghton's
Seedling, Chardy American varieties, and free from
miklew).

Raspberries- Fastolf, Hornet, Franconia, Orange,
Belle de Fontenay, Catawissa.

Strawberries— Triomphe de Gand, Bartlett, Wil-
son's Seedling, Cacid,) Hooker's Seedling, (sweet,)
Jenny Lind.

Blackberries — New Rochelle or Lawton, Dorches-
ter, Newman's Thomless.

^^^

^^

\QQ

-SJC\

®h4 §ardni^r'$ ^oufnlg*

Clje §arhncf s l|%ni|lg.

PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBEH 1, 186L

Jn^ All Comiiiunicatioas for the Editor should be addressed,
"Thomas Meehan, Germaatowu, Philadelphia," and Business Let-
ters directed to "The PuBi.isHBit of the Gardener's Monthly,
Box 406 Philadelphia."

4»0**^

£J= Persons sending two new Subscribers for 1862 in addition
to their own, with $3.00 can receive a copy of our First Volume,
(1859) free. All persons who have paid their subscriptions for 1861
by sending two new Subscribers and $2.00 can receive a copy of
the same.

OUR NEXT VOLUME.

The public look for an Annual Address from us
as regularly as they expect the Presid nt's Message
to Congress. A magazine, too, . stands in pretty
much the same relation to its readers as the Presi-
dent does to the people. Both owe their positions
lo popular favor, and it is but right to expect a full ac-
count of their stewardship.

Of the past we need scarcely speak. We are now en-
tering on our fourth year. Our talent, whatever it
may be worth, has not been wrapped in a napkin.
On the part of the Editor, a life-time of experience
— twenty -five years of daily study and labor in hor-
ticultural pursuits— has been freely, and, in a great
measure, gratuitously, offered for the public good ;
and the Publisher has as freely advanced his time
and means to bring the Monthly up to its present
position, without a thought of pecuniary profit. The
great fear of its friends was, that cheapness and ex-
cellence could not be united. "You may," said
they, "by scissors and paste, spend half an hour a
mouth in copying from better papers than your own;
or you may employ a clever clerk to steal other peo-
ple's ideas, and re-write them up new, so as to avoid
a trial for literary piracy, and yet get the credit of
getting out an "original thing" with those who
know no better ; but there are not enough horticul-
turists of advanced taste in the country to enable
you to make a standard work at that price." But
we neither copied, nor stole, nor served up to our
readers aught of literary "shoddy." While we
have actively watched over a sea of exchanges for
any original views on horticultural practices floating
on its surface, in transferring them to our columns
we have carefully given all credit to the originators,
doing justice alike to friends and foes. Our pages
are a clear reflex of the minds of our excellent con
tributors, and will, we honestly think, bear a favor-
able comparison with any horticultural journal in
the world, at whatever price published.

We have assumed the position of a director of
horticultural taste, in addition to the office of a re-
corder of its progress ; and we can say boldly, with
the great orator, that "Our errors, if any, are our own;
we have taken "no man's proxy." The result has
been, that in spite of the times, the Monthly has
now reached a point that will, for the first time in
its existence, admit of its being placed in a business
position that will insure its perpetuity for all time to
come.

Mr. W. G. P. Brinckloe, who has had the actual
business management since the commencement, will
continue his labors, and be the responsible Pub-
lisher and Proprietor ; while Mr. Meehan will con-
tinue, as heretofore, his Editorial services.

We offer no premiums, and make no promises.
All we ask of our friends is, that they measure the
future by the past. As then, so now they will find
that every new subscriber they obtain for us, every
new or interesting fact they contribute to our pages,
or any favor in connection they may do us, is so
much added to our power to serve them in return by
adding to the value and interest of the magazine.

IMPROVEMEWTS IN PROPAGATING.

In our second volume the subject of striking cut-
tings occupied considerable attention, and many new
modes of managing them were suggested, that have
had considerable influence in making a very simple
operation out of what has been one of the most in-
tricate matters appertaining to the gardener's art.
Still, it must be remembered that there never can
be rules for striking cuttings so clearly developed as
to apply to all individual instances. Every plant has
a nature peculiarly its own, and its mode of treat-
ment as to conditions of growth and method of
propagation will be as peculiar as its nature. We
can, for instance, propagate plants by budding ; but
a plum must here be budded in June or July, an
apple in July or August, and a peach in August or
September ; and as to the manner of budding, in
England the wood must be taken out of the bud be-
fore insertion, while in this climate it is unneces-
sary. In fact, as it is said of learning, that there is
no "royal road to it," so neither in propagation of
plants will regal science do a great deal to abridge
the labors common mortals must take to master the
art. It is a knot that must not be cut, but be care-
fully untied, even at the expense of years of careful
study.

There are, however, a few principles that are very
clear ; and by understanding and acting on them,
the most verdant tyro may soon get on the high
road to success.

For instance, cuttings die from two causes, —

rtSM-

■^

=^^

Clje ^arbtntr's lilontljin.

!67

either from drying up, or from rotting before roots
are produced. The object of the propagator is to
hasten the production of roots, and also arrest
evaporation or decay until this happj' event occurs.
Rotting frequently arises from the ruptured cells,
made so bj^ the act of cutting the shoot in suitable
lengths. The modes of callousing heretofore de-
scribed in our journal have done much to aid the
propagator on this point. To hasten the production
of roots requires, in the first place, practical know-
ledge of the nature of the plant, as to whether old
wood or young wood roots easiest, — or whether it
does best taken off in summer or spring, winter or
fall. AVhen the right season is discovered, bottom-
heat assists rooting, as it hastens decay when an
improper time is attempted. As a rule, cuttings in
a state of rest require time, and those in a growing
state pushing on. Bottom-heat would soon destroy
the first, and the latter do badly without it.

The reader will thus see that no mode of striking
cuttings can be perfect. All will possess advantages
and disadvantages, and all and any mode that has
been found successful is worthy of attention.

We have recently read an explanation of an idea
of Mr. Beaton, that must be of service to amateurs
who wish to propagate in a small way, — and the
principle may be applied by those who are not satis-
fied with less than wholesale practices. We haV'C
made the following sketch of the plan proposed.

A common flower-pot Tsay four-inch) is taken
and prepared with drainage and sand for the cut-
tings in the usual way. This is set in another four-
inch pot, which we have shown cut in halves, and
will only go down about three-fourths of the way,
resting on the lower one, as shown at a a. When
being set in, putty or cement of any kind is set
aroimd at the jimction a a, which will make the
passage air-tight. This double pot is then set in a
saucer of water, so that the water shall only reach
to the bottom of the upper pot. A section of the
saucer only is given, to show the water-line. The
advantage of this plan is, that when the pot is ex-

posed to the sun, it becomes warm — vapor is senc-
rated, and circulates around the inside pot, which
makes as perfect a warm water tank on a small
scale as one can have. On this plan, water will
seldom or never be required on the sand,— all bein"-
applied to the saucer below. The cuttings, unless
very delicate, indeed, will not require any bell-glass
over them to check evaporation, which glass after
all, is useful, in any case, only at the expense of
rapid growth.

There is also another idea in propa^-ating of
which we have been recently reminded by Mr. Bea-
ton, and which we know by experience to be a very
valuable one. It is called culling layers^ and this
sketch will explain it.

It is excellent for cuttings that will take their own
time to root. The difficulty with such cuttings is,
that if you take the lower end, it will not break
well ; if you take the top end, it rots ; and if you
take the whole shoot, the soft part exhales all the
moisture before the slow hard end will hurry itself
to put out roots. The cutting layers meet all these
objections. The hard, firm end is put in the "-round
firmly, and the softer end, towards the apex, cut as
for layering, always cutting on the upper surface as
we have hitherto taught in the Gardener^s Monthly
and as shown in the sketch. Roots will soon come
from the slit part, while sufficient vitality will be
drawn from the h wer part to prevent any prema-
ture decay in the- upper end. After rooting, the
lower part may be cut away.

We have some more useful hints for special modes
of propagation, which we shall give from time to
time, as the almost infinite subjects that occur to us
monthly requiring attention will permit us.

PARLOR POTS.

Mr. Bridgemax sends us a sample of some flower-
pots intended for rooms and places where taste and
elegance may reasonably be looked for.

Attempts of this kind have been before made, but
the employment of crockery-ware for the purpose,
in which -plants do not generally grow as well, has
been against their general introduction. Mr. Bridge-

^^

36^

%k §mkmxs Pantltlg.

man's pots are of the same porous material as the
common flower pot, and we think so well of them,
that we have made the above cut from one sent us.

5l3= Communications for tliis department must reach the Editor
on or before the 10th of the month.

|[3=rhe Editor cannot answer letters for this department pri-
vately.

Names of Plants. — A Baltimore Subscribe?' in-
quires :

1st. Are the Populus angulata, P. Carolina, and
P. macrophylla distinct species of the Poplar?
Which of these is tlie cottonwood of the West ?

2d. Is there such a species of the Ash as the
Fraxinus longifolia? Wliat is the botanical name
of the '■'■Variegated Ash f''

3d. Is there such a species of the Linden as the
Tilia macrophylla ?

4th. Is the Poplar-leaved the same as the Come-
well Willow; and if so, what is its botanical name ?

5th. Is the Prickly Ash the Xanthoxylon fraxi-
neum, or the Aralia spinosa ?

6th. What work can you recommend as best
adapted for an amateur to consult in seeking infor-
mation as to the technical names and general
character of ornamental trees, shrubs, «fec. ?

[1. There is no Populus Carolina, or P. viacro-
phylla recognized by botanists. They are nursery
names given to P. angulata of Michaux. It is called
often the Carolina Poplar, and is the Cottonwood of
the West. Populus monilifera of Alton or Virginian
Poplar, called in Europe "Swiss" Poplar, is almost
universally grown in our nurseries as the " Cotton-
wood," and sold for the true angulata, which we
have not as yet found in any nursery. There is,
however, a large specimen of the true kind near the
old Marshall Nursery at West Chester.

2. Fraxinus longifolia is also but a nursery name.
We believe it to be a variety of F. excelsior. The
Variegated Ash is a variety of F. acuminata, though
called in nursery catalogues " Aucubeefolia, " from
its leaves being spotted like the Aucuba.

3. Tilia " macrophylla" is but a garden name for
a large-leaved variety of Tilia Europtea.

4. The same. We have never examined what
species this variety belongs to, and have uo specimen
by us just now to refer to in order to ascertain.

5th. The Xanthoxylon fraxineum is known m the
North as the Prickly Ash. In the South X. Caroli-
nianum, another species, goes by the same. The
common name of Aralia spinom is "Angelica tree."

6th. Median's Ornamental Trees, is the only
work we know of, giving the technical names, botani-
cal descriptions, and popular characters of the trees
and larger shrubs cultivated in our country. Mi
chauxand Nutt-all's Sylva is tlie best work devoted
exclusively to American trees. Of shrubs, there is
no work that we can name.— Ed.]

Nativity op Delaware Grape—/. S., Geneseo,
III., says :

"I have Delaware Seedlings growing one, two,
and three years old, healthy; none have shown
signs of mildew. Are not such facts pretty conclu-
sive evidence that the Delaware grape is ' aboriginal'
to America? See page 271, Monthly.'''

[In our first volume we stated that we had, years
ago, seen in the upper regions of country bordering
on the Delaware River, forms of grapes similar to
what we in later years knew as the Delaware.
There was at that remote period httle talk of grape
improvement, and no particular peculiarities in them
arrested our attention. The past summer we had
the opportunity of again botanizing in that direction,
and found the same forms of grapes rather abundant.
They proved to be varieties of VUis Mstivalis, our
well-known summer grape. They are pulpless and
of chocolate color just as the Delaware grape.
Entirely worthless as eating grapes— of course, as
most wild grapes are ; but with all the necessary
characteristics requisite to satisfy us at least that the
Delaware grape is descended from that species, as an
examination of its own characters sufficiently shows
it to be. — Ed.]

Walker's Mount Vernon Pear. — In the Oc-
tober number of Hovey's Magazine, the editor objects
to this name, saying "we do not know whether
that name was authorized or not by the Gardener's
Monthly;" and so he proceeds to describe it under
another one. Waiving all other principles of au-

^

m^t iardcner's Jlmitl%

369

tlioritj% we might suppose Mr. Walker's own letter,
giving this name as his choice, and his reasons
therefor, (see our February number, page 62, J would
be satisfactory to our contemporary. In a recent
case, when he imagined the Horticulturist had over-
looked what he considered a fact, he remarked that
he knew its "editor was deaf, but he did not sup-
pose he was blind also." We shall not follow such
a questionable example of the courteous gentleman,
but in charity express our belief that the editor of
the Magazine overlooked Mr. Walker's letter above
referred to. We must, however, say that it was
very easy to inquire of us, or of his neighbors,
Walker & Co., for some explanation if he really de-
sired it, before rushing into print with another name.
Every pomologist deplores the needless multiplica-
tion of synonyms, and takes every reasonable pre-
caution to guard against the evil; but judging by
this case, that of Boston or Pinneo Pear, and other
instances, we are sorry to believe Mr. Hovey does
not consider it an evil that it is worth any research
or inquiry to avoid.

First Year Vinery — H. P. asks : — " I planted
forty-three vines in a new cold grapery on the 17th
of April last; the vines were just commencing to
push when I planted them. They are now twelve
feet long, having been stopped three times since the
1st of September. The kinds are Black Hamburg,
Black Lombardy, Sweetwater, Muscat of Alexandria,
and Royal Muscadine. The canes are stout, and
finely ripened. How should they be managed
through the coming winter and spring ?"

[If the vines are "very stout," a couple of
bunches of grapes may be permitted to be borne by
each next year, in order to test the accuracy of the
kinds. The chief object next year, however, should
be the production of good strong canes to bear
well the season following. Therefore, cut down
your vines to alx)Ut three good eyes this winter.
When they break next year, train up the strong
terminal shoot and .stop back the side ones left for
fruit when three or four eyes in length.]

Grafting Large Plum Stocks — /. S. H., Lan-
sing^ Mich., asks;

"I wish to know through the Gardener's Monthly,
if Plum Stocks can be successfully whip-grafted ?
I have some that are large, though only one year
seedlings ; they are a quarter to a half-inch in dia-
meter, I fear they will be large to transplant and
bud next season."

[They may be whip-grafted successfully, but we
should cleft-graft them when so large. The space

not covered by the scion heals quicker this way in
such cases.]

Mole Traps— W, C. Z)., Louisville, Ky.—We Will
place in our engraver's hands sketches of the various
mole traps in use in this country and Europe, and
have them ready for our next number.

Union Village and Ontario Grapes. — A
pomological friend on the Hudson, writes:

"I am pretty well satisfied that these two are the
same, but not quite positive. Another season will
determine."

Back Voldmes — "^ Subscriber," Pittsburg, Pa.,
who sends no name, writes :

" Please inform a subscriber whether he can get all
of the numbers of the Gardener's Monthly of the years
1859 and 1860, and for what price?"

[The publisher replies, that full sets may be had
bound, $1.50; unbound, $1.00 per volume.]

JlptD OP pLarp pianh.

At the September Exhibition of the Pennsylvania
Horticultural Society a number of plants were ex-
hibited for the first time. We made a few notes of
some varieties that we thought desirable in the way
of ornamental foliage plants :

Alocasia metallica. — Decidedly the most singular,
striking and most beautiful of foliage plants. Imagine
an oval, shallow bowl, or a concave, comigated or
ribbed shield of burnished copper of about a foot
and a half in diameter, supported at the centre by a
foot-stalk of about two feet in height.

Micania speciosa. — A stove climber, or rather trailer.
Leaves, when fully developed, nine inches long, of
an acute cordate shape, of a rich dark velvety green,
veined with white somewhat in the style of Cyano-
phyllum magnificum; mid-rib and underside of leaf a
dark crimson. Since the introduction of Cissus dis-
color, we have seen no stove climber that we have
been so much pleased with.

Argyrexa argentea. — Also a stove trailer. The
underside of the leaves are like burnished silver. It
was shown trained on a flat, perpendicular wire
trellis, and had been grown where the light was ad-
mitted to but one side of the trellis. This treatment
causes all the upper side of the leaves to turn to the
light; leaving the silvery side next to the spectator.
A curious, as well as beautiful, plant.

Caladium Belleymei. — This fully sustains the repu-

M€^)

370

mxknuB

[onlMj.

tation given it by the foreign periodicals and by tbe
description and engraving furnished in this maga-
zine,

Cyanophyllum AssamicuTn. — Hardly equal to its
viagnificenl relative. Color a light, lively green,

Campylobotrys argyroneura and C. Smaragdina. —
Very beautiful additions to this very beautiful genus
of plants. The latter has very large light-gi-een
leaves, of a very curious shade, and of a metallic
lustre.

Caladium Brognartii. — Leaves quite sagittate, dark
gi-een like bicolor pidurala, vvith a deep red stripe
down the centre, with two or three red stripes or
rays diverging from each side of it at the broad part
of the leaf.

Spharostemma viarmorata. — A stove climber, with
large leathery leaves, dark, mottled with light green.
Quite a striking plant.

Heteroceniron albuvi. — We have already noticed
the H. roseum as being a valuable addition to our
winter-blooming plants. The H. album furnishes
us with what we greatly need in winter,— a graceful
and persistent or durable white flower for bouquets.

Larix microsperma. (Lindley.) — Small-seeded
Larch. Lambert calls our Larch Larix microcarpa.
As the similarity of the names may cause some con-
fusion, we give a cut of the new species, and the
accompanying descriirtion from the English Journal
of Horticvllure ; so that when introduced here, our
cultivators may readily distinguish them.

"Among the conifers sent home by Mr. J. G.

Veitch is one which, on account of the unusual small-
ness of its seeds. Dr. Lindley has named ?nic?-os7)er7na.
Mr. Veitch characterizes it as a tree from forty to
fifty feet high, with foliage resembling the Spruce
Fir in point of color, snd very glaucous on the under
surface. The leaves are as long as those of Picea
amabilis, and perfectly silvery underneath. It was
found at Hakodadi, in Japan.

New Begonia "Philadelphia." — We were
shown a few days since a Seedling Begonia from B,
rear, which is quite an acquisition. In most of the
seedlings from this paredt, the green is generally of
a dull sombre olive, imparting a gloomy effect to
the foliage. In the seedling referred to, this olive-
green is replaced by a bright and intense emerald,
which adds greatly to the beauty and cheerfulness
of the foliage. We understand it was raised by Mr.
Sutherland, gardener to Mr. Fahnestock, of this
city, who named it "Philadelphia."

HFtD anb P.arF ^ruifs«

The Carver Apple. ( See Frontispiece.)— As there
are two very distinct apples known by this name, the
one comparatively local, little known, and little more
than second-rate ; and the other pretty well dissemi-
nated, and of superior qualities, we have thought
it would serve a useful purpose to figure the latter
for identification in disputed cases.

The illustration was taken from a specimen
grown by Mr. Lukens Peirce, of Ercildoun, Pa.,
whom we have asked to give us a description and
history, to which he replies as follows :

"In regard to the Carver Apple, I regret not
being able to furnish you with a complete history of
its origin. After some inquiry, I learn that it has
been cultivated in Lancaster County. One of the
oldest trees grows in Burt Township by the side of
Smith's Cider. My informant was led to conjecture,
from their age, that they might have come from
Bucks County together. The trees from which
grafts were furnished us fifteen years ago, I am in-
formed, were obtained in York County.

The specimens I furnished you were of average
size, from a young tree which has borne abundantly
during the last four unfavorable years. It is most
highly esteemed where known for its abundant
bearing. It is of large size ; greenish white, and
when fully ripe, yellowish white. In quality
sprightly, acid, with quite an agreeable flavor when
fully matured. Ripens middle of August, and keeps
well without decay. On old trees is said to be
much affected with transparent watery spots."

U)

"^cr

ih^ ®ar(!tnfr's Poutlilj.

371

[the orange PEAr.]

The Orange Pear again. — We stated in our
last that we failed to recognize this fruit under any
name known to us. Anxious to ascertain, if at all
possible, the real name of so desirable a variety, we
sent a sample to Dr. W. D. Brinckle, New Jersey,
but did not hear from him until after we went to
press. In the hope that some of our friends may
recognize it, we give the annexed outlines of two
varying specimens.

Dr. Brinckle remarks, under date of October 29th :
"I received a pear from Mr. Allen, of White Hill,
(Chief Engineer of the Camden and Amboy Rail
Eoad Company,) which has brought the subject back
to my recollection, from its bearing some resem-
blance, especially at the base, to the one you sent.
The peculiarity to which I refer is the insertion of
the stem, without depression, in a plain, flat surface,
sometimes by a fleshy ring. I know but three or
four pears — such as the Kingsessing, Hosenschenck,
some specimens of the Signeur d' Esperen, &c.,
that possess this peculiarity, with a roundish form
and good size. The one you sent was "very good"
in quality, and so was the one sent to me yesterday
by Mr. Allen, but I can recognize neither of them
as any known variety. Mr. Bennet, a neighbor, in-

forms me, in a note to-day, that the variety which
both he and Mr. Allen have, came from Ireland."

New White Strawberries. — Last season seems
to have been prolific in either seedlings or sports —
for we are not sure which — of a light color, from
the Albany SeedUng. Some of these have been al-
ready "named and described" m the papers, — in
our opinion, much too hastily, as some, perhaps all,
will prove so near alike as to be unworthy of even a
separate preservation and existence.

The Albion has already been described by compe-
tent authority in our pages. Lenrdg's White, Frms'
White Pine Apple, Rein's Large White, Hein's Cherry-
colored, and Welcome are the names of the others re-
fen'ed to. ^

The Lucy Winton Grape, the Havana Journal
says, originated with Dr. Winton, of that place, and
is equal in quality to the Isabella, but three or four
weeks earlier.

The Adirondac Grape, the Montreal Herald
says, was raised by Mr. Bailey, of Plattsburg, New
York, and is fifteen days earlier than any other, and
equal to a hothouse grape in flavor. The " others"
named are Concord, Diana, and Delaware.

The Oregon Sycamore Mafi.e.— It is remarka-
ble that so many trees do better when removed into
other climates than their own. Most English and
Japan trees do better here than in their own country.
We never saw, for instance, the Cerasus padus any
thing more than a low, scrubby shrub in its own
native country, and without beauty or interest.
Here, near Philadelphia, it becomes a small tree of
twenty-five or thirty feet, and is one of the most orna-
mental small trees we have. So with our weeds ; at
least one-fourth of agricultural pests are of foreign
introduction, and emulating the example of the whites
and the Indians, have driven the aboriginal tenants of
the soil to sheltering corners. We thought of these
facts while reading in the Oregon Farmer a notice
of the Oregon Sycamore Maple, which does so well
here. After quoting what we said of it some months
ago, it remarks :

' ' It grows upon the bottoms of Oregon ; sometimes
in the forests ; attains a height of sixty feet or more ;
has large leaves, and apparently is something of the
English Sycamore Maple. Its true name is Jeer macro-
phyllum.

' ' We do not believe it will make a good shade tree.
It only grows in damp or wet soil. We have seen
many young trees of this variety of maple set out
for shade trees, but we have never seen a fully de-
veloped tree either in the timber or thus planted.
What it would become where might be found all the
circumstances favorable for its development, we can-
not say."

HaIvF-haedy CoTTOisr Plant.— A Peruvian plant,
erroneously called Gosaypium arboreum, and which
grows near the region of perpetual snow, is creating
attention with the view to culture in the North.

ijARGEST Apple Tree in America. —Lewis
Kohler writes us, that on the iarm of Peter Kohler,
Lehigh County, Pa., there is an apple tree which,
by actual measurement just made, is 17| feet in cir-
cumference, one foot above the ground. At nearly
seven feet high it is 15^ feet around. It forks at the
height of seven feet, one branch measuring eleven
feet two inches, and the other six feet seven inches
in circumference. The tree is fifty-four feet high, and
the branches extend thirty-six feet each way from the
trunk. — American AgricuUurid.

Scotch Heath in the United States.— Dr.
Gray says, in Silliman's Journal:

H

^f^^

That "America has no Heaths," is a botanical
aphorism. It is understood, however, that an Eng-
lish surveyor nearly thirty years ago found Cdluna
vulgaris in the interior of Newfoundland. Also,
that De la Pylaie, still earlier, enumerates it as an
inhabitant of that island. But this summer, Mr.
Jackson Dawson, a young gardener, has brought us
specimens and living plants fboth flowering stocks
and young seedlings) from Tewksbury, Massachu-
setts, where the plant occurs rather abundantly over
about half an acre of rather boggy ground, along
with Andromeda calyculata, Azalea viscosa, Kalmia
angustifoUa, OraUola aurea, &c., apparently as
much at home as any of these. The station is
about half a mile from the State Almshouse. Cer-
tainly this is as unlikely a plant, and as unlikely a
place for it to have been introduced by man, either
designedly or accidentally, as can well be imagined.
Prom the age of the plants, it must have been there
for at least a dozen years ; indeed, it must have been
noticed and recognized, two years ago, by a Scotch
farmer of the vicinity, well pleased to place his foot
once more upon his native heather. So that even
in New England he may say, if he will, as a friend
of ours botanically renders the lines, that

" Cnlluna vulgaris this night shall be my bed,
And Pteris aquilina the curtain round my head."

New and Valuable Flower-Seeds. — Such is
the taking title of a notice, emanating from the Pa-
tent Office, in the daily papers, of seeds now ready
for distribution. What do our readers think this
hst is composed of,— this new and valuable hst ?
The common Yellow Evening Primrose— one of the
vilest weeds of our cultivated grounds— strikes us
prominently. The rest is made up of common
Wallflowers, Snapdragons, Yellow Mimulus, Sweet
Violet, Ten-week Stocks, White Egg-plant, Venus'
Looking-glass, Indian Shot, &c. To be sure, they
are sent out as (Enothera biennis, Jntirrhinum varie-
ties, Cheiranthus cheiri, Mimulus aureus, Viola odora-
tus, Maihiola annua, Solanum ovigera (\) alba, Campan-
ula speculum, Canna indica, &c., and there is some-
thing in a Latin name ! About one hundred are
named, and the above is 9. fair sample of these "new
and valuable seeds." Thirty thousand dollars of
the people's money has been voted to be spent in
this way, and the deficiency in the mail service we
are taxed to supply, is owing, in a great measure, to
these "free government parcels." We again ask,
what is the object of this scandalous waste of public
money ?

Taylor's Bullitt Grape. —At a meeting of
the Cincinnati Horticultural Society last week,
a sample of this grape was exhibited by Mr. Sterrett, /^

a;h^ ^ardcnsr's Jlontlilg.

of Glcadale, and on motion of Mr. Heaver, it was
agreed tliat from this specimen and that of others
previously exhibited before the Society, they deem
it unworthy of general cultivation. — Field Notes.

Hedging in Tazewell County. — Below we
give the statement of Mr. Clark Barton, of Taze-
well County, Illinois, of the cost, culture, etc., of
an Osage Orange hedge, entered by him for a pre-
mium at their recent county fair. It is brief, yet
plain and comprehensive :

In the year 1858 I purchased hedge plants to the
amount of ten dollars, which I set out, making one
hundred rods of hedge. The first year the setting
and cultivating cost me six dollars. The second
year, cultivating and trimming cost two dollars.
The third year, trimming, two dollars.

Preparing Ground and Setting.— I ploughed a large
laud on the side of the field on which I set my
hedge, so I had neither the ridge nor the dead
furrow for my hedge row, but level ground ; then
with a common plough I made a furrow in which I
set my hedge, placing the plants about four inches
apart, and covered them so as to leave the ground
perfectly' level.

Cultivating. — I took a double shovel-plough, and
as often as the weeds sprang up, or the ground
became baked, I ploughed it up, keeping the ground
level.

Trimming. — I did no trimming the first year.
The second year I trimmed once, which I did
about the first of April, cutting the hedge about
three inches above the ground. The third year I
trimmed twice ; first, about the first of April, cut-
ting the hedge about one foot from the ground.
Second, the first of July, cutting about three feet
above ground; after which, my hedge has been
completely' adequate to turn all my stock.

Of the hedge, the committee says : "We do
hereby certify that the above-named hedge has been
well cultivated, that it is a good, substantial fence,
and that it is worthy of a premium from our County
Agricultm-al Society. — Prairie Farmer.

Excrescences on Grape-vines. — "We lately
visited the residence of H. N. Fryatt, Esq., of
Belleville, New Jersey, for the purpose of exam-
ining a grape-vine which was supposed to be bear-
ing fruit differing widely from the grape. "We found
excrescences upon the vine resembling a green fig in
appearance, and of a texture on the surface not
unlike that of a fig. Upon cutting them open,
however, they showed indications of cells, as if
nature were making efforts to produce seeds, and
these arranged with great regularity and method.

41

"We carried a branch from this vine containing two
of these excrescences, to the Farmers' Club, and,
although many experienced horticulturists were
present, none had ever seen a similar phenomenon.
The vine was well charged wi>h grapes, and the
excrescences were numerous. — Working Farmer.

Lima Beans and Bean Poles. — In place of
the sharpening process, punching holes in the
ground, inserting poles deep enough to withstand
the force of summer gusts and autumn blasts ; and
having them rot off every year, a simple block of
hard wood, four inches square and two thick, — hav-
ing four one inch holes bored right through it,
receives the smaller ends of four poles six feet long,
which being spread apart at the bottom, form a
quadruped standing like a huge spider, firmly upon
the surface, and receive the vines from four hills,
leading them per necessity to a union at the apex.
"Whenever the vines attain the summit of their sup-
port, a clip from the garden shears admonishes
them to keep down, and apply their sappy vigor in
perfecting a more stocky growth and uniform crop
of perfected fruit, instead of exhausting their beany
energy in skyward ambition.

"When the crop is harvested the spider is readily

lifted from its position, the dead vines stripped off",

the legs closed like a surveyor's tripod, and the

thing housed for service another year. — Working

Farmer.

««■»>

OBITUARY.

Dr. E. James, the Botanist, attached to Long's
Exploring Expedition, and the first to make us ac-
quainted with the plants of the Rocky Mountams,
died, from an accident, at his residence, in Mon-
mouth, Illinois, on the 29th of October.

^oppigH IniFlIigpnrp*

How TO Judge Celery. — Solid, close, clean;
stems not burst; size of the Close Heart is the
great point, all others being equal. No outside
burst or open or damaged stalks to be shown.
"White first, red second, any other color last. If
shown for weight, they must be properly trimmed
of their green leaves, and no cracked or dam-
aged stems to be passed ; and if not perfectly solid,
must be rejected. — Glenny.

Peach from a Nectarine. — The nectarine
originally was a sport found on a peach tree. —
Recently, Mr. Rivers has raised a fine seedling peach
from the stone of a Pitmaston Nectarine.

Grafting the Pelargonium. — In the culture
of the pelargonium, grafting is occasionally had re-
course to, as a means of propagatmg kinds that are
shy of culture by other means, or for the sake of
increasing the extent of collections where space is
hmited, and for the obtaining of fine specimen
plants. They are grafted by cutting off" the top of
the stock, and sphtting the top of it into halves, and
wedging the end of the graft down into the slit.

This is an operation easily performed ; indeed, any
one who has ever grafted an apple on a crab stock,
or who has ever seen the process, may soon become
an adapt in grafting geraniums. The stocks should
first be secured, and the best for the purpose are
summer-struck cuttings, taken from old, woody,
strong plants, two years old at least. Grow these
stocks into strong, bushy, dwarf plants,— promotino-
their vigor by the means already pointed out for the

[The Graft tied up.]

culture of specimens. In the ensuing summer pot
them into large pots, about a month before you in-
tend to graft them ; for to make the graft ' ' take' ' there
must be a brisk flow of sap in the stock. In
the grafting, first cut back the stock to a place where
the wood is just half ripe ; it must be sound and
hard, but neither green nor brown. Let the scion
be in the same half-ripe state. After cutting back
the stock, split it down an inch and a half ; and if
you can choose a part where the stock breaks into
two branches, the fork will be just the place for
letting in the graft. Cut the graft into a clean
wedge, and insert it to fit neatly bark to bark ; if
this be not possible, let one side at least be united,
so that when the graft "takes" the bark will close
over and complete the union. Tie up moderately
tight with worsted thread, and paint over with a
thick coat of clay paint, to be made thus : Take
some soft clay and knead it with a little water till it
is of a pasty consistency, then put it into a clean
vessel with a little more water, and work it about
Vv'ith an old brush till it is of the thickness of cream.

free from grit and semi-liquid. Paint the graft over
with this, and shake over it as much dry sand as
will dry it immediately. Then apply another coat,
and another, drying each with sand as soon as ap-
plied.

To secure the graft against damp, it will be ad-
visable to surround it with an inch of silver sand, —
not only around the grafted part, but an inch above
and an inch below ; and the best way to do this is to
make a paper funnel, similar to a grocer's sugar paper,
tying the close bottom of the funnel around the
stock below the graft, fiUiug it in with dusty peat
and silver sand, and then closing the top over into a
barrel shape. This will be the best security against
the failure of the graft. The scion will need sup-
port for a time.

Three weeks after grafting, stop the top parts of the

those of Versailles, in' France,
three thousand acres.

[Grafting Geranium.]

stock, and loosen the bandage slightly ; but there
must be no haste, for geranium wood does not
unite very quickly. Any exhausting influences will,
of course, check the union ; hence it is advisable to
syringe the leaves of the scion occasionally, and to
keep the stock in a state of robust health. When
they show that they have fairly united, and the
scion begins to grow, the bandage may be removed,
and a little soft moss applied in its stead, and in
time this may come away altogether. When they
make a fair stait, grow them as directed for speci-
men plants, and their appearance, when blooming
I time conies, will be quite superb. Geraniums may
I be side or whip-grafted, but the wedge plan is the
i best, because of the soft nature of the wood we
I have to deal with. — London Gardeners Weekly.

The Largest Gardens in the World are

They comprise

^lAV

®|e (Sarkner's IBonfljls.

S75

Packing Fruits for Long Distances.— I may
here state, that I have found no better method in all
my exjierience, which has extended over a period of
twenty years, with all kinds of fruits, varying in
distances from fifty to five hundred miles. It simply
is : box, soft paper and sweet bran. A box is chosen
in size according to the quantity to be sent. A layer
of bran is put on the bottom ; then each bunch of
grapes is held by the hand over a sheet of paper •,
the four corners of the paper are bi-ought up to the
stalk and nicely secured •, then laid on its side in the
box, and so on until the first layer is finished. Then
fill the whole over with bran, and give the box &
gentle shake as you proceed. Begin the second
layer as the first, and so on until the box is com-
pleted. Thus with neat hands, the bloom is pre-
served, and may be sent to any distance ; but with
clumsy hands, quite the contrary, and often an
entire failure, as the putting in and taking out of
the box are the most import^int points to be ob-
served. I have invariably packed sixty or eighty
bunches of grapes and fifty or sixty dozen of
peaches or apricots in one box, and received letters
from employers to say that they had arrived as safe
as if they had been taken from the trees that morn-
ing.— Collage Gardener.

Lists op Selected Chrysanthemums.— I have
very much pleasure in forwarding your Christmas
box. ^lay it meet your every wish and expecta-
tion.

I have made some additions, so that you will
please consider I have also included a New Year's
gift. — W. iioZ?7ies, Frampton Pa.k Nursery, Hack-
ney.

Twelve Late-blooming Large Varieties.

Orion, white, yellowish base. Perfection, blush
white. Chrysippe, rosy purple. Eole, rosy white.
King, creamy white. L'Emir, red. Nonpareil,
rosy lilac. Plutus, golden yellow. Racine, yellow,
gold tipped. Cassy, orange. Madame Andre,
pinky white.

Twelve Best Varieties for Pot Specimen or for
Decorative Purposes.

Alcibiade, orange. Chevalier Dumage, yellow.
Defiance, white. Vesuvius, crimson. Mount JEtna,
red. Prince Albert, crimson. Plutus, yellow.
Pilot, rose. Dr. McLean, rose. Vesta, white.
Auguste Mie, red, tipped gold. Annie Salter,
yellow.

Twelve Best Incurved Varieties.

Novelty, white. Beauty, blush. Cassandra,
white, rosy tip. Yellow Fomosum, yellow. Non-
pareil, rosy lilac. Pio Nono, red, tipped gold.
Plutus, yellow. Queen of England, blush. Themis,

rosy pink. Vesta^ French white. Miss Kate, lilac.
Dupont de I'Eure, carmine.

Twelve Best Pompones for Specimen Plants^ and
for General Decorative Purposes.

Bob, chestnut brown. Driii Drin, yellow. An-
dromeda, creamy white. Cedo Nulli, white, Can-
robert, yellow. La Vogue, yellow and orange.
Helene, purplish rose. L'Escarboucle, yellow.
Sainte Thais, chestnut. Nelly, creamy white.
Mrs. Dix, white, purple tip. Duruflet, rosy lilac. —
Cottage Gardener.

Tomb of Repton, the Landscape-gardener.
— He himself selected the small enclosure on the
south side of the picturesque church of Aylshara,
ia Norfolk. A simple Gothic monument records his
name and age, followed by some lines written
by himself :
"Thb ToMn OF HuMPHREr Rrpton, who Died March 24th, ISIS.

'Not like the Egyptian tyrants— consecrate,
Uamixt yrith others shaU my dnst remain:
But mouldei-ing, blended, melting into earth,
Mine shall gire form Rnd color to the rose;
And while its vivid blossoms cheer mankind,
Its perfumed odor shall ascend to heaven.' "

The Lily of the Valley is popular for winter
forcing in some countries. Its sweet white flowers
give a great charm to a winter bouquet or mantel
vase.

Variation in Seedlings.— In 1688 the lady of
Ribston Hall, Yorkshire, England, raised two seed-
lings from the old Noupariel Apple. One tree pro-
duced large, sour Crabs,— the other the famous
Ribston Pippin, the most popular apple in England.

The Jardin des Plantes, one of the most fa-
mous in Europe, was foimded in 1635. Buff"on,
Cuvier, and other eminent natualists first gave it a
name and consequence.

The Chinese Primrose was introduced into
England from China in 1830. It was purple, as we
have them now in our greenhouses. Since then, the
white has been introduced, and a double white and
double purple have been produced. Recently, in
England, a new race of double ones has been pro-
duced, with large fringed llowers, and, we believe,
of a character that will reproduce themselves from
seeds.

The Newtown Pippin Apple is so popular in
England, that when the re 1 American article is
scarce, it is not unusual to find other kinds in Co-
vent Garden colored up to imitate them.

««/>•

vghi — --

ii

^"i^:

m\

- — "^f

76

2[^4 ^arto^r's (Pont|tg.

Spring Flowers Blooming through the Sea-
son.—At Hampton Court, in England, they cut off
the flower shoots of Lamiums, Alyssums, Iberis,
and other spring-blooming plants, before they are
quite out of bloom. They then shoot up again new
flowers, and are thus made to continue a succession
through the season, and make good bedding plants.

Myrtaceous Plants. — It is said by the Revue
Horlicole, that the atmosphere of Australia is filled
with the ocfors of balsam and camphor, from the
myrtaceous trees that abound there ; and that fevers
never exist in even the most malarious of swamps,
where these plants grow.

Gazanias. — The Gazania rigens Cnot ringensj of
gardens, which is, perhaps, the G. speciosa of books,
has smoother leaves than Gazania Pavonia, in which
they are regularly pinnatifid with elliptic lobes, and
sprinkled with rigid hairs above and on the ribs be-
neath. The flowers of the latter are deeper colored,
but not so freely produced. In G. rigens the leaves
are either simple or furnished with three or four long
narrow lobes, smooth above, but with a few distinct
marginal spine-like hairs. The genus Gorteria, as
now restricted, does not include any of these plants.
— Gardenefs Chronicle.

Prize Fuchsias at the late London Horti-
cultural Society's Show. — The varieties were
Senator, Prince Imperial, Prince of Orange, Flower
of France, Guiding Star, and Omer Pasha. It will
be seen that half of these are new varieties. A
good group was also shown by Mr. Page, whose
sorts were Souvenir de Chiswick, British Sailor,
Venus de Medici, Pearl of England, Crinoline, and
C. Hayes. "We also noticed a kind with white co-
rolla, called Princess of Prussia.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The regular monthly meeting for November Avas
held at Concert Hall.

The display of Plants and Fruits was not as large
as usual, the principal interest of the evening being
the annual election for oflicers and the discussion of
the reports of the Committees.

Some very fine Chrysanthemums were shown by
Mr. Robert Buist ; by James Eadie, gardener to Dr.
Rush ; and by Adam Graham, gardener to General
Patterson.

The awards of premiums were as follows :

For the best six Chrysanthemums, to Robert
Buist.

For the best Large Specimen and best Dwarf
Specimen, to James Eadie.

For the best Pair of Plants and best Specimen
Plant, to James Eadie.

For the second best, to Adam Graham.

A special premium was given to Mr. Buist for a
fine large plant of Heterocehtrum roseum, shown
for the first time in bloom.

William Joyce, gardener to M. W. Baldwin, Esq.,
exhibited eight fine specimens of the Queen Pine
Apple, of large size, fully ripe, and of the highest
flavor, which were duly appreciated by the Com-
mittee and the ladies present. To these a special
premium of $3 was aAvarded.

The two premiums for best six varieties of Pears,
and six largest of any variety, were taken by John
McLaughlin, gardener to Mr. I. B. Baxter.

Specimens of the Ontario Grape were shown, a
large showy fruit, but deficient in flavor.

Mr. William Saunders presented tAVo large dishes
of the Black Lombardy and West's St. Peter's
Grapes. These two varieties are generally consid-
ered synonyms, and so laid down in horticultural
works generally ; but the samples presented, while
quite similar in size and flavor, show some difference
in the form of the bunch and color of the berry,
and Mr. Saunders states that the diversity in foliage
and wood is still more marked. They certainly
appear to be distinct varieties.

The Committee appointed at a previous meeting
to obtain suitable quarters for the Library and weekly
meetings of the Society, made their report, and
were empowered to negotiate for a convenient
room.

The following gentlemen were elected as the ofli-
cers of the Society for the ensuing year :

President— M. W. Baldwin.

Vke-Prendents — James Dundas, B. A. Fahne-
stock, D. R. King, Caleb Cope.

Recording Secretary — A. W. Harrison.

Corresponding Secretary — W. Saunders.

Treasurer — Robert Buist.

Professor of Entomology — S. S. Rathvon.

Professor of Botany — Dr. W. Darlington.

Professor of Horticultural Chemistry — James C.
Booth.

BROOKLYN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

We have received the following :

'■''Pear Sir : — At the regular business meeting of
the Brooklyn Horticultural Society, held on Tues-
day evening, November 5th, at their rooms, it was
unanimously

'■'■Ecsolmd, That the thanks of this Society be pre-
sented to the Editor of the Gardener'' s MontJily for
tlie very handsome manner he had published the
Reports of the Exhibitions and Conversational
Meetings, and that the Corresponding Secretary be
directed to send a copy of the Minutes.
"Respectfully yours, &c.,

"C. B. Miller, Cor. Secretary.^''

We would take the opportunity to say, that we
could render good service to other Horticultural So-
cieties were we favored with such assistance as the
energetic Secretary of this Society kindly affords us.

INDEX VOL. III.

A.

Abies microsperraa, 188
" Tonga. 1S8
'•■ Veitehii, 189
" Alcoiiuiana, 189
" Leptolepsis, 1S9
" fiinia, 21-1:
AbiMni.i uinbellata, 314
Acacia Drummnudii, 25
Acclimatizing Evergreens, 157
Advertisers, To, 16

" Speciiil Noticeto, 119

Advertisemeuts, ISJ. 212, 243
iEchmea MHlinoui!,l')7
^rial Roots from the Native

Grape, 313
Agatlisea cojlestis folia variegata,

219
Age, 41
Agriculture, Gardening is not,

119
Ailantiius Silkworm, The, 95,

214
Allen Raspberry, The, 37, 117,

331
Alocasia metallica, 25, 369
American Trees, New, 92

" Pomological Society, Offi-
cial Keport of the, 177.
Animouia, Aniflc'.al, 2o3

" and Vegetation, 272

Angreacnm Snsquipedale, 243
Ants, 154

" about Pieonies, 213
An Old B.itauy and Older Bo-
tanists. 178
Another Chapter of Hints, 205
Aaoectochilus inornatus, 25, 62
Apple. 311

" New, 143

" Chenango Strawberry, 20
" Governor Charter's Seed-
ling, 26
" Custard, 29
" .Tackson, 53, 87
" ^Yillow, S3
" Treps. Di.seascs in, 83
" Reinette Deil, l.iO
" from C. Hiller, 2S4
" Tree, Aphis on, 119
" Gip^on's Kentucky Seed-
ling. 123
» Orchard.s, 131
Apple Tree in America, Largest,

372
Apples from Georgia. 29

" Thirty Thousand on a

Tree, 30
" Ben Davis and New York
Pippin,56,S,5, 116, 133,
l.i4
" Pruning in Northern La-

'itudes, 86
" Identical, 89
" for Central New York,

124
" The Ohio Beauty, 124
" Late Keeping, 158
" from Backs Co., Pa., 188
Arborvitse, New Golden-striped,

26
Arborvitses, Grafting, .306
A:gyrea;a argentea, 369

Asparagus, Forcing in the Open
Ground, 31

Aucuba japonica, The Female,
214

Auricula, Culture of the, 80

Azaleas, Simple Mode of Culti-
vating Hardy, 83

Azalea Flowers, i22
" The Indian or Chinese,
263, 301, 335

B.

Back Volnmes. 369
Baked Beans, 29
Balcony Gardening. 204
Barbarossa and Prince Albert

Grapes, 19
Barometer, Woodrnflf's Patent

Port.^ble, 216
Baskets, Hanging, 186
" A Fancy, 218
Beans, Baked, 29
Beauty, Cost of, S'i?
Bedding Plants, Notes on, 76
" " New Variega-

ted, 1.57
Begonias, New Dwarf. 248
Begonia incarnata, 2.54

281
Begonia, New, " Philadelphia,"

370
Belle de Fontenay Raspberry, 13
Belted Parks, 41

Ben Davis and New York Pippin
Apples, 56. 85, 116, 136, 154
Blackberries, Propagating. 280
Black Currant Wine, 31, 281
" Cap or Dooli ttleRa.spberry,

The, 75, 119
" Rust, 133

" Knot on the Peach, 213
" Apricot Stock for the
Peach, 261
Blocking-out for Stock, Plan of,

265
Boilers, Greenhouse, 200, 213

BOOKS, CATALOCHES, .tC.

Jannnry — Third Annual Report
of the Board of Commission-
ers of the Central Paik, New
York, 1S60: Buist's Almanac
and Garden Manual, 1861 ;
The Agricultural Press, 20
February — Rural Annual and
Horticultural Dirfctory; The
Illustrated Self Instructor in
Phrenology and Physiology;
Proceedings of the Southern
Vine-growers' Society at
Aiken, S. C. ; Nursery Cata-
logues; Landreth's Rural
Register ; Gardener's Pro-
gressive Society, Philadel-
phia; Hortus Lindenianus;
Agricultural Press, 60
March — Tran. wet ions of the Mas-
i sachasetts Horticultural So-

I ciety for ISGO; American Po-
] mological Society , Ga-den

Annuals and Direciories;
' Descriptive Catalogues ; The

Press; Hints on the Culture
of Exotic Grapes; Keport of
the Inauguration of the Bo-
tanical Society of Canada, 00
April — Bright on the Grape-vine;
The Principle and Practice
of Land-draining; The
The Press : Descriptive Cata-
logues. 122.
May — The Press; Sweet Potato
Culturist; Second Annual
Report of the Proceedings of
the Fruit-growers' Society of
Eastern Pennsylvania; An-
nual Meeting of the Fruit-
growers' Society of Western
New York ; Transactions of
the Illinois State Horticultu-
ral Society; Catalogues;
Class-Book of Botany, 150
August — On the Sources of the
Nitrogen of A'egetation;
Bright on Grape-culture;
The Repository ; Catalogue
of the Officers and Students
of the University of Michi-
gan ; Catalogues, 245
September — On the Sources of the

N'trogen of Vegetal on, 281
October — On the Sources of the
Nitrogen of Vegetation ; Pa-
tent Office Report-, 1860;
Trade Lists ; Descriptive
Catalogues ; the Horticultu-
rist, 317
November — Fourth Annual Re-
port of the Board of Com-
missioners of the Central
Park, New York, 1861 : De-
scriptive Catalogues, 344
Books, &c., 244
Bines, How to Dissolve, 218
Botanists, Sketches of Philadel-
phia, 3
Botanical Garden, St. Louis, 7
" Knowledge in the
Nursery Business, 8
Bouvardia Hnmhollltii, 238
Bouquet Flowers, White, 285
Brorapton Stocks. Double, 281
Buckingham Apple, 20, 219
Butter Pear, Diseases of the, 266

c.

Cabbige, Fertilizer for, 219
Cactus, A Chapter on, 363
California Mammoth Trees

again. The, 189
Calla Ethiopica, How to Flower

by Christmas, 159
Caladium Belleymei, 61

" bicolor, vrir. Ver-

scbafeltii, 319
Caladium Belleymei. 369
" Brogiiartii, 370

Calceolaria, New Shrubby, 248
Calixene polyphilluin, 25
Calomyction di versifolium, snl-

phureum, 157
Camellias, Hruse-culturc of, 116

120
Camellia spiralis rubra, 284

Carapylobotrys argyroneura, 370
" sraaragdiua, 370

Campylobotrys regalis, 156
Carnation, Grafting the, 29
" and Parks, 222
" at Christmas, 319
Carver Apple, .370
Catawba Grape, Introduction

of, 28
Caterpillars on Grapes, 142

" Trees, 337
Celery — The Vegetable Ques-
tion, 308
Celery, A Simple Method of

Growing, 356
Celery, How to .Tudge, 373
Cement for Stopping the Fissures

of Iron Vessels, A, 346
Cephalotaxus drapacea, 189
Cereus Kingiana, 248

" Mac Donaldii, 319
Certainly an Idiot, 157
Cerinthe vetorta, 318
Chamajrops Fortunei, 93
Chenango Strawberry Apple, 20
Cherry, Cocklin's Favorite, 249
" Triumph of Cumberland,

249
" for Orchard-houses, The,

255
Clicory and Dandelion, Forcing,

286
Chorizema, 1.55
Chrysanthemum, Cultivation of

the, 11
Chrysanthemums, Lists of Se-
lected, 375

The, 12
" New, 255

Cissus discolor. The, 238
Cissus velutinus, 25, 62
Cistus vaginatus, 249
Chysis aurea vcir. Lemminghei,

319
Cineraria, 100
Clarkia elegans. Double White,

26
Climate and Soil of Central

Minnesota, 29
Climatic Changes,Influence of on

Fruit-culture, ISO
Cocklin's Favorite Cherry, 243
Cocculus Carolinus, 11
Cold Pits, 142

" Vineries, 211
Convolvulus, Double, 29
" oculata, 249

Cooking Potatoes, All About,

143
Correspondents, names of, 19
Cotton Plant, H.alf-hardy, 372
Cracking of Grapes, 59
Crab .\pple and Almond Dwarfs

as Stocks, The, 329
Cranberries, 341
Crinum, Remarks on the Genus,

267
Critique on the December Num-
ber, 9
Crop.1, The Weather and the,

186
Cryptomeria japonica, 255
Cucumbers, About, 264

m

I

•^

^

^^

^,

®|e §mkmx% M^\\t\\^.

Culture of Solanum Capsicas-
trum, 30
" " Trees fur Shelter

to Buildings, 138
Cunningham Grape, The, 83
Custard Apple, 29
Cuttings, Rooting, 79

" Fungus amongst, 174
Cutting down old Canes in the

Vinery, 15
Cuphea Jouellensis, 155
Cupressus macrocarpa and Lam-

bertiana, 31
Cuyahoga Grape, 27
Cyanophyllum Assamicum, 370
Cyi-tanthus sanguineus, 62
Cyclamens, 125

D.

Dahlia, New, 62
Delphinium, The, 3.37
Deudrohium nubile. Notice of,

74
Dendrobium nobile, Remarks on

the Culture of, 155
Dew, Effects of on Rot and
Mildew on the Grape, 86

" Question Again, The, 110
Destroy Plant Lice, How to, 254
Diseases in Apple Trees, 88
Domestic Intelligence, 27, 93,

124, 157, 216, 284, 346, 372
Dormant Rose-buds, Protection

to, 314
Double Flowers, Ripening Seed

for, 254
Dracut Amber Grape, 26
Draining without an Outlet, 59

" Tiles for Pots, 204
Drouth, Benefits of, 144

" on Soils, Action of, 157
" &c., Science and Prac-
tice, 172
Drying the Common Red Cur-
rant, Mode of, 221
" Specimens o f Plants,

183
Du Solis Pear, 82
Dye, A New Canadian, 218

E.

Editorial, 16, 54, 84, 118, 144, 180,
208,240,272,308,338,
366
" Compensation, 210

" Correspondence, 276

Effects of Dew on Producing Rot
and Mildew, 43
" " the Winter on Fruit
Trees at Hudson, N. Y., 202
Egg Plant, New White, 19

" Plants, 154.
Emily Grape Again, The, 261
English Black Kaspberry, 134
Entomological Essay, 5, 69, 105.
165, 197
" Articles, 242

Errata, 315
Ericas, 59
Essay, Entomological, 5, 69, 105,

165, 197
Evergreens, Pruning, 16,45
Everlasting Flowers, 159
Experimental Uaniens, 28
Experiences, My, 298, 3-8

P.

Fairchild, An Account of, 29
Farfugium grande, 219

" " Hardness of,

244
Farmer and Horticulturist, The,

50
Feather Grass, How to Baise

the Seed of, 239
Ferns, New Garden, 26

" 29
Fertilizers for Cabbage, 219

Figs, 312

Flower-Garden and Pleasure-
Ground, Hints for, 1,33, 6.5, 97,
129, 161, 193, 225, 257, 289,
3-21, 3J3
Flower Seeds, New and Valua-
ble, 372
Flowers, Influence of, 65

" The Descriptions of, 239
Foli.aged Plants, New Ornamen-
tal, 156
Forcing, Hints for, 65, 290

" Fruits and Vegetables
in the Open Ground,
67
" Vegetables in the Field,

19
" Vio!et.s, On, 255
Foreign Intelligence, 29, 95, 124,
158, 253, 285
" Correspoudence, 125, 222
" Vines and Fruits, Im-
" portation of, 253

French "Leaf"' Plant, A, 160
Fruit-Growers' Society of East
ern Pennsylvania, 12,
" 52, 233
" Forcing, A New Theory of,

10
" Garden, Hints for, 33, 65,
130, 162, 22.5, 2.i9, 290 354
" Packing, 44, 252
" Culture, Influence of Cli-
matic Changes on, 180
" in Canada, 295
" Hints, 304
Fruit for Eastern New York, 365
Fruits and Vegetables,Forciug in
the Open Ground, 57
" Received, 243
" for Maine, 343
Fuchsia, Mammoth, 91
Fachsla.s, Prize, 376
Fungus amongst Cuttings, 174

6.

Gardeners Impi-oved, 222
Gardens, Experimental, 28
Garden Ferns, New, 26
" City, The, 158
" Decorations, 285
Gomphia olivajformis, 319
Gardening, Landscape, 13, S7,
78, 90, 102, 114, 141, 176,
195
Gardening, 170

" Observations,

on Taste as appli-
ed to, 81
" is not Agriculture,

118
" for the Ladies 203

" in England, 207

Gas, Tar and Hot Water for

Peach Trees, 117
Gazania rigens and splendens,

30
Gazania splendens, 187
Gazauias, 376
Geotheimal Culture, 159
Geranium Ilendersonii nanium,

24S
Gipson's Kentucky Seedling Ap-
ple, 129
Gladiolus, The, 299
Glazing Greenhouses, 228
Green Corn Pudding, 221

" Gages, To Preserve, 249
Golden-striped Arborvitse, New,

26
Governor Charter's Seedling Ap-
ple, 26
Grafting, New Mode of, 83
Grafting- Wax, 95, 346
" the Cai'nation, 29
" ArborvitjBs, 306
Grapes, Shrubs and Roses, 58
" Barbarossa and Prince

Albert, 19
" Hothouse, 30
" Cracking of, 59
" Native, near Boston, 93

Grapes, New and Foreign, 213
" in the Mountains, 107
" Sorts to Grow for a

Vinery, 116
" Ca'erpillars, 142
" NotdS on Some New,

169
" Pruning Hothouse

175
" Indigenous, 176, 231
•' 187, 242, 327
" Ontario and Union Vil-
lage, 342, 369
" Notes on English Sources,

264
" in Vineries, Protecting,
314
Grapes, Exotic out of Doors, 355
Grapes, Barren Seedling from

Foreign, 3)9
Grape, The Lucy Wiuton, 371
Grape, The Adirondac, 371
Grape-vines, Excrescences on,

373
Grape, Taylor's Bullitt, 372
Grape, Dracut Amber, 26
" The Oporto, 27
" Cuyahoga, 27
" Caiawba, Introduction of,

28
" Marion Port, 52
" Insects, Ac, 58
" Cuttings, 59
" Vine Leaves, Scorching,
" Mildew, 60, 153
" A New, 83
" The Cunningham, 83
" Cuttings, Propagating,
" Treatise, 89

" The, 115
" Eyes, 124
" Mildew on the, 137
" The Schoonemunk, 147
" Mead's Seedling, 34, 147
" Pruning, 153
" Trellis, 187
" Houses, 188
" The Emily, Again, 261
" Crop in Central Missouri

268
" Growing, Failure in, 296
" " An Essay on,

323
" Maxatawney, 341
" Blood's Seedling, 342
" Fur Distribution, 343
" Leaves, 343
" Muscat Hamburg, 343
Grape, iErial Roots on the Scup-

pernong, 365
Grape, Nativity of the Delaware,

368
Grape-ology, A Chapter on, 270
Graperies, Ventilation of, 342
Grand Admirable Peach, 55
Green Rose, The, 31, 116

" Houses, Water in, 49
Greenhouses and Plant Cabinets,
354

" " Glazing, 228

" " Hints for, 65,162,

195, 22G, 260,
290
Greenhouse, Roses in a, 60

" Arrangement, 87

" Boilers, 213

Guzmanuia tricolor, 93

H.

Hand-glass, New, 21
Hanging Basket, A Fancy, 218
Heating Economy, 77
Hedges, Osage Orange, 124
Hedging in Tazewell County ,373
Helianthuses, 281
Heliotropes for Winter Bloom,

142
Hemlock, The, 295
Heterocentrum album, 370
Mints — January 1 ; February 33;

April 97; May 129;

June 161; July 193; Au-

gust 225 ; September 257;
October 289; November
321; December,3.53
Hints, A Chapter of, 4, 146
Hobb's Early Peach, 87
Hollyhocks, Improved, 124
Holly Tea, 16iJ
Horticulturists, Suggestions for,

88
Honey Locust, 342
Horticulturist and Farmer, The,
^ 50

" The, 55

Horticulture in France, 31

" in Eastern New

York, 111
'' Progress of in

Eg.vpt, 112
" on the Mississippi,

111
" in California, 241

" Partizans in, 273

Horticultural Progress, 261

HORTICULTURAL SOCIKTIE.S.

January — New Haven Lectures;
Maury Co. (Tenn.) Society;
Society at Hannibal, Mo.;
Fruit-growers' Society of
Eastern Pennsylvania ; Po-
mological Convention; Meet-
ing of the Ohio Pomological
Society ; Hints for Fruit-
growers' Societies, 32

February — Yale Ag. Lectures ;
Illinois Horticultural Soci
ety ; Meramec Society ; Chi-
cago Gardeners' Society;
Conn. Grape-growers' Con-
vention, 63

March — Fruit-growers' Society
of Eastern Pennsylvania, 95

April — do. do. 126

May — Pennsylvania Hortictiltu-
ral Society; Missouri Fruit-
growers' Association; Amer-
ican Pomological Society ;
St. Louis Vine and Fruit-
Growers' Association ; Bo-
tanical Society of Canada,
160

June — Pennsylvania Hort. Soc;
Brooklyn Hort. Soc; Cincin-
nati Hort. Soc; Philadelphia
Progressive Gardeners' So-
ciety ; Keokuk Horticultu-
ral Society, 190

July — Pennsylvania Horticultu-
ral Society ; Horticultural
Society of Montreal ; Mas-
sachur-etts Horticultural So-
ciety; Susquehanna and
Chemung Valley Horticul-
tural Society ; Bangor (Me.)
Horticultural Society, 224

August — Pennsylvania Horti-
cultural Society; Fruit-
Growers' Society of Western
New York, 256

September — Pennsylvania Hor-
ticultural Society; American
Institute Farmers' Club;
Cincinnati Horticultural So-
ciety, 286

October — Pennsylvania Horti-
cultural Society, 320

iVciwmfter— Grape-growers' Con-
vention at Lancaster, Pa. ;
Penu'-ylvania Horticultural
Society; Exhibition of the
Massachusetts Horticultural
Society, Brooklyn Horticul-
tural Society; Toronto Hor-
ticultural Society; Keokuk
(Iowa) Horticultural Soci-
ety, 346

December — Pennsylvania Horti-
cultural Society, .:i76

Horticultural Societies, 339

Horticultural Societies, Hints
for the Improvement of, 138

Hothouse Grapes, .30

Hothouses by the Aci'e, 31
<t-c., 244

"^ST

Ml)t §mit\m'B Slontljln,

Hot Drains in the Open Air, 50
" Water Pr.ipat'atiug Tank, A

Cheap, 101
" " and Oas-Tar for

Peach Trees, 117
" " Tank, 121
Ilotheds, Restoiiii!,' Heat to, 169
How to Dissolve Bones, 218
Hunnemanuia liunariwlolia, 284
Hydrangea cyauea, 249

I.

Ice-houses, 2.')2
" Preservation of, 268, 307
" Theory of the Preservation
of, 279

Tce-honse, A Snrcessfnl, 360

Impatiens Walkerii, 157

Impossibility. Ii19

Influence of Flowers, 68

Indian or Chinese Aialea, The,
263. 3 II, 33.5

Indiana Vineyards, The First,29

Information Given and Desired,

a-.9

Inga pulcherriraa, 88
Injurious Insects, 237, 265, 291,

329
Insect and Weed Destroyer, The,

60
Insects and Vine Mildew, 17

" 187, 27S, 314
Introduction of the Catawba

Grape, 28
Ivy and Damp Walls, 28
" 204

J.

Jackson Apple, 5.3, »7
Japan Ilnrdock, The, 31

'• Plum, 86

" Dwarf Fir, 222

" Wax Tree, 23.5

" Lilies, 245
Jethro Tail's System 119
June-beny as a .Stock for Dwarf-
ing Pears, 190
June-berrv as a Stock for the

Pear, '^29
June-berry and other Stocks for

the Pear, 3'>0
June-berry, The Dwarf, 361
Junipers, Management of, 238

E.

Kilmarnock Weeping Willow,

309
Kitchen-garden, The, 302
Knox Fruit Farm, Visit to the,

333

Lawn Mowing-machine, 281

Lawns — their First Year's Man-
agement, 272

Large Nursery Esta'iliBhment for
Sale, 243

Landscape gardening, 13, 33, 78,
90, 102, 114, 14(5, 176, 195

Landscape-gardening, Observa-
tions on Taste as Applied to,
81

Landscape -Gardening, Lessons
on, S5

Largest Gardeus in the World,
374

Larix microsperma. 370

Leaf Plants for a Wardian Case,
59

Lemon Tree. 87

Letter from California, 300

Lessons from the Flowers, 202

Lily of the Valley, Tne, 375

Lima Beans and Bean-poles, 373

Lime, Leaves, ic, 213

Linnsus and Linnsea borealiB,
131, 16S, 200, 280

Lombardy Poplar, Introduction
of the, into America, 9

Lombardy Poplar, Introduction
of. 80

London Nursarymen, 159

Lysimachia, 87

M.

Maple, The Oregon Sycamore,
372

Manetti Rose Stock, 3.32

Manure, A Special, 28

Manures. The Nature of, 3.59

Marion Port Grape, 52

Maxatawney Grape, The, 341

Mead's Seedling Grape, 147

Methonioa superba, 25

Meterosideros not Plowering,120

Micania spociosa, 3(i9

Mildew, Effects of Dew on Pro-
ducing Rot and. 43

Mildew, Grape, 60, 152

Mildew on the Grape, 137

Mole Traps, 3fi9

Mountain Ash Seed, 213

Moore Pear, The, 27

Mount Vernon Pear. 27

Mowing Machines, Lawn, 281

Mulberries, 120

Mulching, 29

Mushroom Growing, 124

Muscat Hamburg Grape, 343

Myrtaceous Plants, 376

N.

Names of Plants. 19, ,59, 88, 154,

214, 280. 314, 363
Nectarine, Peach from the, .373
Nelumbinm luteum, or Yellow

Eiryptian Lotus, The. 310
Nelumbium. History of the, near

Philadelphia, .364
New and Rare Fruit.s, 26, 52. 82,

147, ISS, 215, 249, 284, 344, 370
New Dress. Our, IS
New or Rare Plants, 25, 61, 91,

188, 218, .369
New Plants Exhibited at the

Recent London Shows, 283
New Fruit from China, A, 27
New York Pippin and Ben Davis

Apples, r.e, 8.5, 116, 1.36, 1.54
New A'egetable. A, 221
Next Volume, Our. 366
Newtown Pippin Apple, The,375
Noble Oak, A, 2.54
Nomenclature of Fruits. 136, 187
Nothing New under the Sun. 1.53
Notes on, English Sources, Grapes,

264
Notes, Miscellaneous, 268
Notes on Pears and Grapes about

Syracuse, N. V., 305

Oaks, Hybridizing, 157
Obituary, Ex-President Walker
of Mass., 62; J E. Rauch,
Brooklyn, N. Y , 155 : Prof.
Hochstetter, Prof. J. G. C. Leh-
man, G. H. Von Schubert, Dr.
J. F. Klotgsch, Louis De Vil-
morin, J. B. Payer, John I.Le
Conte, 219.
" Hon Selah Matthews, Mr. V.

Hartwis.s, 2.53
" Dr. E. James, 373
Ohio Vineyard, The First, 28
" Beauty Apples, The, 124
Oleanders, 87

Old Canes in the Vinery, Cut-
ting down of the, 15
" Is it imperatively ne-
cessary to cut down,
39
" Renewal of, 72
Oncidinm longipes, 25
Oporto Grape, The, 27

Orange Trees, 20

Orchards, Apple, 137

Oregon Sycamore Maple, The,182

Osage Orange Hedges, 124

P.

Packing Fruit, 44

" Plants, Nurserymen's
charges for, 153
Packing Fruit for Long Distances,

375
Pseony, The, One of the most

Norl hern Plants, 358
Pasonies, Ants abont, 213
Paper Plant, New, ,30
Pausies, New, 79
Pansy, Improved, History of the,
152
" The, 158
Parks, Belted, 41
Partizans in Horticulture, 273
Pavium elatuni, 214
Pear, Mount Vernon, 27
" The Moore, 27
" Stocks, 28
" Rutter, 82
" Du Soils, 82
" 342

" Nouveau Poitean, 344
" Walker's Mount Vernon,
368
Pear, Orange, again, 371
Pears, Dwarf, 120,
'< 120

" Dwarf, Swamp Muck and
Saw Dust as a
Mulch for, 120
" New, of fine quality, 148
" How the English ripen
late, 217
Peach-boror, Remedy for the, 3
" Van Buren's Golden

Dwarf, 53
" Grand Admirable, 56
" Hobbs' Early, 87
" Trees, Gas, Tar, and Hot

Water for, 117
•' Black-knot on the, 213
" PuUen's Seedling, 215
" Cromwell's Seedling, 280
" Varieties for Orchard

house Culture, 285
" Troth's Early Red, 314
Peach Seedling, 313
Peaches, Forcing for Profit, .89

" for Orchard-house, 314
Peat for Strawberries, 342
Pelargonium, Grafting the, 374
Pelargoniums, 125

Kndlicheranum,
248
Pensteraon spectabilis, 318
Phalcenopsis rosea, 25
Picea nobilis, 158
Pine Tree Insect, 244

" Apple Preserve 2.50
Pines, Names of, 315
Pinks and Carnations, 222
Pinus densiflora, 214
" parviflora, 214
" Sinclarii, 255
" Friesana, 256
Pistillate Strawberries iu Eng-
land, 338
Pits, Cold. 313
" .fee , .322
Plants and Plant-houses, Hints
for, 2, 35, 322
" Names of, 19, .59, 88, 1.04,

280, 314, 188, .368
" Patent Office, 213
" Pot, Hints for, 162
'• Packing, 175
" Drying Specimens of, 183
" Spirals of, 255
" Vital Forces in, 274
" from Pike's Peak, 280
Planting, A Successful, 267
Plum, Richland, 59
" Japan, 86
" Bower's Gage, 314
Plums, Large, 346

Plum Stocks, Grafting Large, 369
Pomological Society, Am. Cat.
Fruits. Revision
of the. lib
" Spirit, 251

Pot-carrier, Sheppard's, 36
" Vines, Profit and

Durability of, 30
Pots, Parlor. 367
Prairie Flowers. 121
Premiums for Gardeners, 255
Preserving Food. Methods of, 251
" Quinces and Pears

togi'lher, 337
Primrose, The Chinese, 375
Prince Albert and Barbarossa

Grapes. 19
Propagatine Box, The, 74, 134
Ac, 85
" Improvements in,

366
Propagation, 84
Protection of Trees. 251
Protecting Wallflowers, 312
Pruning Evergreens, 16. 45

" Grapes. Bright's System

of, 121
" Ac. 18
Pteris cretica. 25
Pyru.s, New Varieties of, 1.57
Public Gardens, The Patent Of-
fice, 240
" Park in Kansas, .337

Q.

Quince Stools, 120
" Stocks, Diseases of the,
271

Rare Evergreens. Notes of Expe-
rience with, 226
Raising Seed, 54
Raspberry, Belle de Fontenay,
13
" The Allen, 37, 117,

331
" Black Cap or Doolit-

tle, 7.5, 119
" English Black, 134

" Joycelan's Black

Cap, 284
Raspberries, 28

Rathvon's (Mr.) Essay, 58, 208
Report of the Missouri State
Fruit Growers'As.sociation, 219
Reinette Diel Apple. 150
Recipes for Fruits and Vegeta-
bles, 29
Red Spider, The, 94
Retarding Fruits, 206
Retinospora obtusa, 214
" p.sifera, 215

Revision of the Pomological So-
ciety's Catalogue of Fruits,
145
Review, 164

Rhododendrons, 239, 294, 3;?1,.361
Rhubarb, 73

" New English, 95
" Drying, 124
Richland Plura, 59
Road-making on Private Estates,

230
Roofs, Cheap, 218
Rot, Effects of Dew on Producing

Mildew and. 43, 86
Itose Pruning, 113

" Leaves, Diseased, 211
" Stock, Manetti, 332
Roses, Shrubs and Grapes, 58
" in a Greenhou.se, 60
" Standard, 76
" New, Some of the best, 91
" The New, 99
" A Fine Bloom of, 141
" Standard, 167
" Protecting in Winter, 196
" 2.54
Rubus laciniatus, 120

■^ET

%h §nxhMx^ M^^^W^

Rustic Adornments, 147

" Baskets, 174
Eutter Peiir, 82

s.

Salt for Manure, 251

" Turnips, 1.58
Salvia scabiosoeloUa, 25, 52
Sarcauthus Parishii, 62
Sawdust and Swamp Muck as a

Mulch lor Dwarf Pears, 120
Scarlet Beans through the Win-
ter for an Early Crop, To Pre-
serve, 319
Schooneinunk Grape, The, 147
Sciadopitys verticellata, 188
Scorching Grape-vine Leaves,368
Scotch Heath in the United

States, 372
Scraps and Queries, 18, 58, 85,
119, 152, 183, 211, 213, 279, 312
Seed of Plants, Office of the, 31
Seeds, liaising, 54
Seedlings, Raising, 280
Seedling Nuisance, 241
Sedum, Fabaria, 156
Separate Oflices of Tap Roots

and Surface Roots, 36
Severe Frosts in San Jose, 29
Shade Trees in Paris, 319
Shrubbery and Trees. 322
Shrubs and Trees of Tennessee,

19
Shrubs, Roses and Grapes, 58
Silk-worm, The Ailanthus, 95,

214
Skeletouizing, &c., 216, 250
Soil and Climate of Central Min-
nesota, 29
Soap, Whale Oil, 153
Snails and Slugs, 154, 159
Solanum capsicastrum. Culture
of, 30
" runcinatus, 93
" cabiliensisargeuteum,

157
" Fendleri, 219
Spawn of Fungi, The, 255
Special Manure, A, 28
Spergula pilifera. Notes on the

Lawn Grass Substitute, 103
Sphosrosterama marmorata, 370
Spinach in Consomme, 29

Spinach, New Zealand 158
Spiroeas, Hybrid, 295
SpringFlowersBlooming through

the Season, 376
Sprouting Brocoii, Lee's New

White, 156
Stephenson, George, as a Horti-
culturist, 293
St. Louis Botanical Garden, 7
Stocks, Pear, 28
Stop Leakage in Hot Water

Pipes, To, 219
Strawberry Worm, 60

" New English, 20

" View, 208

" Feast's Fillmore, 31 5

" The Bunce, 345

Strawberries, Fertilizing, 89
" All About, 236

" Pistillate, 256, 362

" " in Eng-

land, 339
" Growing, 243

" " English,

346
" Description of the

Newer, 284
Strawberries, New White, 371
Straw Mats, To make, ,307
Stuartia pentagynia, 108
Subscribers, To, 16
Surface Roots, Separate Offices of,
36
" Manuring, 86
Swamp Muck and Saw Dust as
a Mulch for Dwarf Pears, 120
Sweet Potatoes, The Nansemond,
120

Table Designs and Decorations,

274
Tap Roots, Separate Offices of, 36
Tartarian Maple, The, 209
Theory of the Preservation of

Ice,"279
Thuja Wareana or plica, 122
Thujiopsis dolabrata, 189
Tomato, The Perfected, 89

" Vilraorin's New Up-
right, 89
" Chowder, 221
Tomatoes, Early, 90

Tomatoes, Baked, 221
Stewed, 221
Tomb of Repton, the Landscape-
gardener, 374
Torreya nucifera, 189
Transformations, Vegetable, 343
Travelling Agent, 242
Trees and Shrubs of Tennessee,
19
" " Propagating,

230
" New Japan, 188
" and Shrubbery, 322
Tree Seed Raising, 122

" Ivy, 239
Trip to Wilmington, Del., 228
Tritomas, 215
Triumph of Cumberland Cherry,

249
Turnips, Salt for, 1.58
Turtle, An Old, 291

u.

Under-draining, 144

" &c., Science and

Practice, 172
Union Village and Ontario

Grapes, 369

V.

Van Buren's Golden Dwarf

Peach, 53
Vegetable Forcing in the Field,
19
" Garden, Hints for, 2

35,98, 131,163, 194,
226, 355
" Transformations, 297

Vegetables and Fruit Forcing in

the Open Ground, 57
Vegetation and Ammonia, 272
Veitchia Japonica, 215
Verbenas, Wintering, 90

" Through Winter, 187

Verbena Disease, The, 133

" Growing, 233
Vinery, Cutting down Old Canes
in the, 15
" Is it Imperatively Ne-
cessary to Cut down
Old Canes in the, 39

Vinery, Renewal of Old Canes
in the, 72

Vinery, First Year, 369

Vineries, Cold, 20

Vineyard, The First Ohio, 28

Vineyards, The First Indiana, 29
Wine Vaults of N.
Longworth, of Cin-
cinnati, 0 , 48

Violet in the East, The, 253

Vital Forces in Plants, 274

w.

Wallflowers, Protecting, 342
Wardian Case, Leaf Plants for,

59
Water" in Greenhouses, 49

" Cress, Cultivation of the,
222
Weather at New London, 134

" and the Crops, 186
Weed and Insect Destroyer, The,

60
Wellesby, the Seat of H. H.

Hunnewell, 217
Wellinstonia sequoia gigantea,

94
Whale Oil Soap, 153
Willow Apple, 83
Wine, Black Currant, 28, 31
" From the Hammondsp'rt,

N. Y., Wine Co., 187
" Vaults and Vineyards of
N. Longworth, Cincin-
nati, Ohio, 48
" Grapes for Michigan, 244
Winter-blooming Plant, A New,
" Plants forWin-

dows, 304
" at Meadville, Effects of,

231
" Gardens without Glass,
338
Work on Fruit, New Euglish, 31
Writing, Bad. 281

z.

Zinnia, The New Double-fiow-
ered, 25

®h^ €artotr's .^lonthlD.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Frontispieces.

January Insects

February Grand Admirable Peach

March Insects

April Insects

May Rustic Adornments

June Insects

July Insects

August Buckingham Apple

September Table Designs and Decorations

October Kilmarnock Weeping Willow

November Maxatawney Grape

December Carver Apple

A.

Page.
Archway under Traffic Road for Foot-path

"S. E. of the Mall 21

Ananas d'Ete 148

Bottle-holder 49

Caladium Belleymei 61

California Mammoth Trees 189, 190

Celery ;]09

Cop's Heat (Van Mons Pear) 148

Cocklin's Favorite Cherry 249

D.

Delices de Jodoigne Pear 148

De Tongres Pear 149

Dibble 146

Doyenne de Cornice Pear 149

Downing or Doyenne Downing Pear 149

Drosera rotundifolia 201

Du Solis Pear. 82

Dwarf Arctic Raspberry 170

E,

Entrance to the St. Louis Botanic Gardens 7

Extemporaneous Hanging Basket 205

Figs, Mode of Layering 312

Floral Decoration 275, 276

Frogmore Late Pine Strawberry 123

Fuchsia Mammoth 91

G.

Garden Decorations 235,^36.

Gastrophysa— Insects 237 i Willow Apple

Geranium, Grafting 374 j

Gipson's Kentucky Seedling Apple 123

Glazing '. 146, 147; Zinnia, New Double

H.

Hand-barrow 14(;

Hot- water Propagating Tank 101, 102

I.

Improved Pansey 152

Insects 237, 265, 291, 329

J.

Jackson Apple 53

L.

Larix microsperma 370

Lee's New White Sprouting Brocoli 156

Linntea borealis 133

M.
Mats, Straw 307

Oregon Sycamore Maple 182

P.

Park, Central, New York 343

Peach Tree in Pot 276

Pear, Mount Vernon 27

Pear, Noveau Poiteau 344

Pear, Orange . 371

Plan for Flower-garden 34

Plant Supporter 206

Plant Trellis 205

Pot Plants 163

Propagating Pot 367

Pullen's Seedling Peach 215

R.

Rustic Baskets 174

Seed Drill 146

Shephard's Pot-carrier 36

Specimen Drying Apparatus 183, 185

Stuartia pentagynia 103

T.

Tartarian Maple Leaf 210

Tree Protectors 251, 252

Triumph of Cumberland Cherry .' 249

V.

Van Buren's Golden Dwarf Peach 53

W.

Wellingtonia, or Sequoia argentea 94

83

Z.

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