LIBRARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE SOURCE TY^^S. Levi.__Lv_iic._Q\:Y\ NO %n. *\4 V'-. ''^ - \ \: •■ ; v" \ > • (V. ^' ^'V.^,3-^-NV4r-, ^^^ • \ ^ THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE BOT Al^ir, AND ALL USEFUL DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN \ RURAL AFFAIRS " Je voudrais echauffer tout I'unlvers de mon gout pour les jardins. II me semble qu'il est impossible qu'un mechant puisse I'avoir. II n'est point de vertus que je ne suppose k celui (]ne aime h pailer et a faire des jardins. Peres de famiile, inspires la jardinomanie k vos enfans." — Prince De Ligne. VOL. XVII., 1851. (vol. VII., NEW SERIES.) Edited by C. M. HOVEY BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY HOVEY AND CO., MERCHANTS ROW. 1851. ■Willi i>— v;n PREFACE. The variety of intelligence in the Seventeenth Volume of the Magazine, will be found conveniently arranged in the following table of Contents. Boston, Nov. 26, 1851. CONTENTS. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. GENERAL SUBJECT. A Retrospective View of the Progress of Horticulture in the United States during the year 1850. By tlie Editor, . . 1 Trees in Cities. By George Jacques, Wor- cester, Mass., 49 Heating Hot-houses and Green-houses by Hot Water, scientifically and practically considered. By R. B. Leuchars, Garden Architect, .54 Trees in Cities. By the Editor, . . 97 On the propriety of Planting Belts of Trees on open, exposed lands. By R. B. Leu- chars, 102 The Principles and Practice of Grafting. From the Gardeners' Chronicle, 106. 162. 209. 248. 294. 344. 389 On the production of new varieties of Corn by Hybridization. By J. H. James, Ur- bana,'Ohio, 114 Ornamental Trees, adapted for Parks, Lawns and Pleasure Grounds. By the Editor, .... 145. 193. 289. 337 A Vinery of Moderate Cost, for Men of Moderate Means. By A. Johnston, Jr., Wiscasset, Me., 201 Insects injurious to Vegetation. By Dr. T. W. Harris. No. 1. The Currant Tree Borer, 241 Notice and Description of Brown's Patent Funiigator, for the Destruction of In- sects. By the Editor, . . . .358 The Mineral Theory of Manures. By the Editor, 529 HORTICULTURE. Hints respecting the Treatment of Fruit Trees. By an old Fruit Cultivator, . 12 Descriptions and Engravings of select va- rieties of Apples. By the Editor, 1. Fameuse, Pomme Grise, Hawthorn- dean, 15 The improved High Bush Blackberry ; with an Engraving of the Fruit. By the Editor, 20 Notes on some of the new or recently in- troduced varieties of Fruits, which have been exhibited the past year. By the Hon. J. S. Cabot, Chairman of the Fruit Committee of the Mass. Horticultural Society, 58 Descriptions and Engravings of Select Va- rieties of Cherries. By the Editor, 1. Davenport, Mottled Bigarreau,Man- ning's Late Black, 70 The Pitmaston White Cluster and Isabella Grape: Open Air Culture. ByA. John- ston, Jr., Wiscasset, Me., . . . 118 The Fameuse Apple. By C. Goodrich, Burlington, Vt., 122 Notes on several varieties of Fruits culti- vated in Buffalo, N. Y. By Col. B. Hodge, Buffalo, 156 On the cultivation of the Scotch Kale. By J. E. Teschemacher, Esq., . . .160 The cultivation of tlie Cantaloup Melon, at Angers, France. By B. Desportes, of M. Leroy's Nursery, Angers, . . . 167 The Currant and Gooseberry, grown as IV CONTENTS. Pyramids. By Dr. Lindley. From the Gardeners' Chronicle, .... 244 Descriptions and Engravings of select va- rieties of Pears, by the Editor, 1. Sheldon, Collins, Lodge, Pratt, Os- band's Summer, Westcott, . . . 252 2. Williams's Bon Chretien or Bart- lett. Smith's Bordenave, Duchesse of Berry, Inconnue Van Mons, Beurre Sprin, Nouveau Poiteau, . . . 433 Report of the American Pomological Con- gress, at Cincinnati, Oct., 1850. By the Editor, 262 Market Gardening aromid London. By J. W. Cuthill, . . 35L 392. 443. 488 A Few Words upon the Cultivation of the Pear upon Quince Stocks. By the Editor, 385 How are we to obtain a correct knowledge of the finest Pears ? By the Editor, . 481 Descriptions of three varieties of Pears, with Engravings of the Fruit. By B. Desportes, Angers, France, . . . 497 Descriptions and engravings of four varie- ties of Pears. By B. Desportes, Augers, France 542 On the Cultivation of Strawberries. By Gustave Evers, Watertowii, Mass., . 547 Pomological Gossip, 22. 214. 298. 360. 399. 449. 501. 549 FLORICULTURE. On the Cultivation of Allamandas. Exoticus, By 26 On the Rhododendron, as an Ornamental Shrub. By R. B. L., . . . . 73 On the Culture of the Amaryllis. By Nich- olas Nolan, 79 On tlie Treatment and Cultivation of Or- ange and Lemon Trees. By R. B. L., . 124 173 Notes on Winter and Early Spring Flow- ering Green-house Plants. By Hortus, . 130. 218 Floricultural and Botanical Notices of New and Beautiful Plants, figured in Foreign Periodicals ; with Descriptions of those recently introduced to, or originated in, American Gardens, . . 264. 320. 405 Treatment of Plants intended for Winter and Spring Forcing for their flowers. From Paxton's Magazine, . . . 301 Notes on Summer and Autumn flowering Green-house Plants. By Hortus, 315. 453 Descriptions of twelve new Verbenas. By the Editor, ... . . 360 On the Culture of the Neapolitan Violet, in Pots. By the Editor, . . . .402 Drainage of Plants gro\vn in Pots. By H. Bock, 457 On the Evils of Indiscriminately Water- ing Plants in Pots immediately after be- ing shifted. By H. Bock, . . .510 Notes on Climbing Plants for the Green- house. By Hortus, .... 552 Notes on Gardens and Nurseries, 410. 460 REVIEWS. A Practical Treatise on the Construction, Heating and Ventilation of Hot-houses, including Conservatories, Green-houses, Graperies, and other kinds of Horticul- tural Structures ; with Practical Direc- tions for their Management in regard to Light, Heat and Air. Illustrated with numerous engravings. By Robert B. Leuchars, Garden Architect, . . .28 The Flower Garden, or Breck's Book of Flowers, in which is described all the various hardy lierbaceous perennials, an- nuals, shrultby plants, and evergreen trees, desirable for ornamental purposes, with directions for Cultivation. By Jo- seph Breck, Seedsman and Florist, &c. 222 The Gardener's Text Book ; containing Practical Directions upon the Formation and Management of the Kitchen Garden ; and for the Culture anri Domestic Use of its Vegetables, Fruits and Medicinal Herbs. By Peter Adam Schenck, for- mer Gardener to Edw. C. Williams, Esq. 223 The Western Horticultural Review. John A. Warder, M. D., Editor, . . .223 The Fruit Garden ; a treatise intended to explain and illustrate the Physiology of fruit trees, the theory and practice of all operations connected with Propagation, Transplanting, Pruning and Training of orchard and garden trees as Standards, Dwarfs, Pyramids, Espaliers, &c.; the laying out and arranging different kinds of orchards, gardens, Ilort. Soc. Cat., 3d Ed., 1842. Sanguineus, ) Pomme de Neige, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America. The Fameuse, {Jig. 1,) though an apple of American ori- gin, and known to most European writers on fruit, from the time of Forsyth, does not appear to have been generally known to American pomological authors. Neither Thatcher or Coxe, the earliest authorities, notice it ; Mr. Kenrick was the first to give a full account of it in his American Or- chardist : this brought it more immediately before our culti- vators, and within the last few years it has become much better known and more highly appreciated, and the trees 16 Descriptions of Select Varieties of Apples. have been introduced into orchards, as well as smaller collec- tions of apples. That a variety of so much merit should not have been long since more extensively cultivated, is somewhat surprising ; for as an autumn apple, both on the score of beauty and J^ig. 1. The Fameuse. excellence, it has few superiors. Of only medium size, it is still large enough for a dessert fruit ; and its brilliant pur- plish crimson skin, which brings its snow-white flesh in still greater contrast, renders it one of the most attractive apples. In its peculiarly tender, almost melting flesh, and its slightly musky aroma, it greatly resembles some of the finer pears. The Fameuse is a native of Canada, and, it has been said, takes its name from the j^lace where it was originally found ; but of the truth of this there is some doubt. We are rather inclined to think it derived from the French word Famfeuse, [famous^ or renowned,) from its well known excellence in comparison with the majority of apples which were probably introduced into Canada by the French. Its synonyme, Pomme de Neige, (or snow apple,) has been given to it on account of the whiteness of its flesh. The tree is a moderately vigorous grower, forming a Descriptions of Select Varieties of Apples. 17 spreading head, and is an abundant bearer. It has been stated that it loses much of its peculiar excellence, when transplanted from its high northern latitude to the milder region of Massachusetts and New York. Of this, however, we have our doubts. In Western New York it retains all its high character, and is considered one of the best fall apples. In our vicinity, so far as our experience goes, it is equally excellent. Size^ medium, about three inches broad, and two and a half deep : Form, round, occasionally flattened at the base, and largest about the middle : Skin, fair, smooth, yellowish green, nearly covered with pale red, and streaked with pur- plish crimson, very dark on the sunny side : Stem, short, about half an inch long, rather slender, and inserted in a moderately deep and somewhat contracted cavity : Eye, small, closed, and little depressed in a slightly furrowed basin ; segments of the calyx, rather long, twisted : Flesh, snow white, fine, crisp, and very tender : Juice, abundant, slightly subacid, rich and excellent, with a delicate musky aroma : Core, medium size, closed : Seeds, medium size, long and pointed. Ripe in October and November. XLIY. PoMME Grise. Forsyth on Fruit Trees : Am. Ed. Grise, Hort. Soc. Cat, 3d Ed. 1842. The Pomme Grise [fig. 2) is another Canada apple, well known there, and one of the most extensively cultivated and popular winter sorts. Indeed, it appears to be the principal late keeping variety. Like the Fameuse, it was early intro- duced into England ; and Forsyth enumerates it in his select list of some twenty or thirty varieties. In general character it considerably resembles the Bullock's Pippin, or Golden Russet, as the latter is often called ; but it is a longer keep- ing fruit. In Western New York, the Pomme Grise is considerably cultivated, and we now have before us specimens from Roch- ester, which possess all the richness of this fine variety. It is as yet but little cultivated in Massachusetts, but its merits are sufficient to claim for it a place in every good collection. VOL. XVIT. NO. I. 3 18 Descriptions of Select Varieties of Apples. The tree is only a moderately vigorous grower, but pro- duces abundant crops. Size, medium, about two and a half inches broad, and two deep : Form, roundish oblate, large in the middle, narrowing very little towards each end : Skin, rough, of a clear, pale Fig. 2. Pomnie Grise. cinnamon russet, thickly dotted with large grayish russet specks : Stem, rather short, less than half an inch long, slender, and inserted in a regularly formed and moderately deep cavity : Eye, medium size, partially closed, and moder- ately depressed in a large, open, and slightly plaited basin ; segments of the calyx, short : Flesh, yellowish white, fine, crisp, and tender : Juice, tolerably abundant, rich, subacid, high flavored, and excellent : Core, medium size, somewhat open : Seeds, small, dark brown. Ripe from November to March. XLY. HawthoJInden. Hort. Soc. Catalogue, 3d Ed., 1842. White Hawt^ornden, > ^^^ g^^_ ^^^^ 3^ ^^ ^ ^^^^ Red Hawthornden, ) Maiden's Blush (erroneously) of some American collections. The Hawthornden {fig. 3) is an apple of great beauty, and possesses many valuable qualities. Considerable has been re- cently said, at the several pomological conventions^ respect- ing this fruit, which we have already copied ; and at Buflalo Descriptions of Select Varieties of Apples. 19 (in 1848) it was voted "unworthy of cultivation." Such a decision greatly surprised us ; for, though scarcely second rate as a table apple, its other fine qualities — such as beauty, size, productiveness, coming early into fruit, and the compact Fio-. 3. Hawthovnden. and dwarf habit of the tree — are certainly ample to give it a place in the garden of every cultivator. The Hawthornden is stated, in the Pomological Maga- zine, to have been raised eight or ten miles south of Edin- burgh, in the village the name of which it bears. In many American collections it has been confounded with the Maid- en's Blush, a native fruit of nearly equal beauty, and of supe- rior quality, but later, and whose other characteristics as a whole are less valuable than the Hawthornden. Owing to the prolific habit of this variety — bearing, as it does, in clusters, on the extreme ends of the annual shoots — it does not make but very little growth, and is, in conse- quence, admirably suited for a dwarf tree — for ornament as well as utility. We have had trees three feet high, and only three years old, bearing several large apples. Size, large, about three and a half inches broad, and two and a half inches deep : Form, roundish oblate, occasionally irregularly shaped : Ski7i, fair, smooth, of a waxen appear- 20 The i?np?'oved High-bush Blackberry. aiice, pale greenish yellow, beautifully tinged with blush on the sunny side : Stem, short, about half an inch long, slen- der, and rather deeply inserted in a somewhat open cavity : Eye, rather small, closed, and moderately depressed in a small, slightly-furrowed basin ; segments of the calyx, medi- um length : Flesh, yellowish white, fine, crisp, and tender : Juice, plentiful, subacid, brisk, and good : Core, medium size : Seeds, medium size. Ripe in September and October. Art. IV. The imjjroved High-bush Blackberry ; loith an Engraving of the Fruit. By the Editor. The Blackberry is likely to become one of the most es- teemed of the smaller fruits. Since the introduction of the improved variety, about six or seven years ago — of which we have heretofore given several accounts, and whose culti- vation has been so well detailed in our last volume, (XVI, p. 261,) by Capt. Lovett, of Beverly, who has been one of the most successful growers of the fruit — it has been very gen- erally disseminated ; and, the past year, many remarkably fine specimens were exhibited before the Mass. Horticultural Society. The liberal premiums offered for this fruit, by^the Society, have had the good effect of producing very general compe- tition ; and so superior have been some of the specimens — so much larger than when first exhibited, evidently show- ing what care and attention will do in the cultivation of this as well as other fruits — that the Society have deemed it ad- visable to offer a high prize for a seedling, with the hope of still further improvement ; for, although what few attempts have been made in this way have not been attended with very favorable results, there is still good reason to believe that it will yield to the ameliorating influences of cultiva- tion, as well as the strawberry, the gooseberry, or the rasp- berry. The improved High-bush Blackberry. 21 Oar engraving (Jig. 4) represents a single cluster of the blackberry, of the ordinary size, under good cultivation. Fig. 4. The improved High-bvsh Blackberry. Several of the berries exhibited by Capt. Lovett, C. E. Grant, and other amateurs, the past season, measured one and a half inches in length. 22 Pomological Gossip. We can commend the blackberry to all lovers of fine fruit, as one which should in no case escape their attention. A dozen vines, when well established, will yield sufficient fruit for an ordinary family. For its cultivation we would refer to the article of Capt. Lovett, above mentioned ; merely re- marking, that the berries should be allowed to get fully ma- ture before they are gathered ; otherwise much of their excel- lence is lost. They will drop from the stem, upon the least touch, when they are quite ripe. Art. V. Pomological Gossip. The appearance of our monthly article, under this head, which made a new feature in our last volume, we are glad to learn, has been highly interesting to our readers — or, at least, to those of them who are fruit cultivators — and we shall en- deavor to continue it, and render it no less useful than it has heretofore been. But while we shall do this, with all the fund of informa- tion immediately within our means, we must remind our pomological friends that their aid will not only enable us to add to its interest, but to impart new and valuable facts rela- tive to many fruits ; we therefore hope that they will con- sider this a general invitation, and send us any memoranda in regard to new fruits, whether seedlings or foreign varie- ties, which may come within their experience — and not only this, but the fruits themselves, if they prove to be of any value — that we may give accurate descriptions, and make them more speedily known. With such a free offering on their part, we trust that our Pomological Gossip will prove not merely " small talk," but a storehouse of knowledge, for present use or for future reference. The Beurre' Langelier Pear. We are gratified in being able to state that the trial of another year has fully estab- lished the great merits of this new pear. Our specimens, which were few in number, owing to the scanty crop, but of Pomological Gossip. 23 fine size, ripened off finely, and, tried by the Fruit Com- mittee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, they M^ere pronounced of the very highest quality. Add to this that the pears have been perfectly fair, as large and handsome as a Bartlett, with much of the character of the Easter Beurre in its best condition, and a good estimate may be formed of the variety. The tree has a beautiful habit, a broad glossy foliage, and succeeds either upon the quince or pear. The Third Session of the Pomological Congress was held in Cincinnati, agreeably to the call of its officers, on the — th of October ; and we have been somewhat surprised that no report of its doings has been published in any of the West- ern papers, or in any of the New York agricultural journals, some of whose editors were present. No list of the officers of the Convention, or any account of the quantity or kinds of fruit exhibited, has yet appeared. The Cincinnati Horticultural Society offered to publish the entire proceedings, and we trust they will soon appear, so that we may give some ac- count of the meeting. The Royal de Craan Grape. — The French journals are just now making quite a noise about a new grape, and we copy the following notice of it from the Gardeners^ Chron- icle, the editor of which has been favored with a taste of the berries : — " We are assured, in the Arinales de la Socieic Royale d' Agriculture, ^'c, de Gaud, that a grape of marvellous good- ness, and quite new, was exhibited in September, 1848, at the Belgian Agricultural and Horticultural Exhibition. It is described and figured in the above mentioned publication, (p. 415 of the volume for 1848,) under the name of the Raisin Royal de Craan. It is a white variety, the flesh of which is described as being ' exceedingly juicy, extremely high-fla- vored, sugary, and perfumed with an indescribable aroma^ lohich is not that of the Muscat, nor that of the Isabella grape, but one peculiar to itself, and lohich must be tasted, in order to form any idea of it ! ' This grape, it is stated, could bear comparison with those sent from Windsor to the King of the Belgians. Its origin had not been satisfactorily ascer- tained by the author of the article. 24 Pomological Gossip. " We owe to the kindness of M. dc Jonghe, of Brussels, a bunch of this grape, and some additional details respecting it. He says that the original plant is thirteen years old, and was raised from seed of a ' Raisin Muscat ;' that it is growing in the garden of Mademoiselle Hendrick, a lady residing at Kinsendaele, a village about a league and a half from Brus- sels ; that, in 1848, a bunch of it was given to a gardener of the name of De Craan, of Brussels, who obtained a prize for it, and it was then figured. In September last, another bunch was exhibited by Mdlle. Hendrick, and for this a prize was also awarded. If considered to be really deserving of culti- vation, and if indeed new, Mdlle. Hendrick intends devoting the proceeds of the sale to some charitable purpose. " It is impossible not to appreciate the kind-hearted spirit in which this lady proposes to apply the produce of her grape to benevolent objects ; and we have no doubt that the public would readily second her intention, if the grape were what it purports to be. But we regret to add that her expectations are doomed to disappointment. "When received, many of the berries were bruised and decayed, owing to the bunch having been too loosely packed in cotton ; and, in forming an opinion of what the grape is, this circumstance had to be taken into consideration: but, after making full allowance for all defects arising in thi< or any other way, we come to no other conclusion than that this Raisin Royal de Craan is neither in flavor, nor in any respect of the least importance, different from the common Muscat of Alexandria ! It must be admitted that it is not so good ; but all grape-growers know that the Muscat itself va- ries extremely in quality, according to the manner in which it is treated. " We are sure that our readers will be greatly obliged to M. DE JoNGHE for haviug given us the means of preventing much disappointment to all parties, by thus pointing out the true character of a variety which, in the absence of such an ex- amination, would soon have found its way into the market as a great novelty, with a very fine name, and with a price high in proportion to the skill with which it would have been puffed." Pomological Gossip. 25 Now, Dr. Lindley may be quite as much mistaken in the quahty of this new grape, as our friend Longworth was in his estimate of the Diana, after tasting unripe berries which had travelled one thousand miles, and the Royal de Craan may he really a valuable variety ; but we have had so many of the French grapes, which have cost a high price and had a great reputation, that we look with doubt upon all the new kinds which are brought into notice. Within the last five years, we have fruited twenty new varieties, received from the oldest cultivators of the grape in France, and we have not found but three or four which are worth cultivating in the greenhouse or grapery, or which will compare with the Ham- burghs, Chasselases, or Frontignans ; and we should wish a good guarantee of the merits of this new one, before we would introduce it into a collection. The Prince of Wales Plum. This new plum, which we noticed in our volume for 1846, (p. 340,) is stated to have proved a remarkable variety. A correrpondent of the Gar- deners^ Chronicle, who has cultivated it some time, can bear witness to one great merit which it possesses above all others that he has grown, which is its never-failing and abundant produce, trained as a pyramidal tree. He gives the following statement respecting two trees : — No. 1 was budded in 1844, and has been twice root-pruned. The produce in 1847, was about 15 plums. " in 1848, " 20 " " in 1849, was above 144 '•' '' in 1850, " 312 '' No. 2 was budded in 184(3, and has been once root-pruned. The produce in 1849, was 4 plums. " in 1850, was more than 12 " And at present it promises to bear hundreds next year. In regard to flavor and appearance, it may be briefly described as "an improved Orleans." The writer is training it as a stan- dard ; and his tree, which is of some size, promises a great crop next season. VOL. XVII. NO. I. 4 26 On the Cultivation of Allama?idias. Art. VI. On the Cultivation of Allatnandias. By Exoticus. The AUamandias are truly a noble and beautiful class of greenhouse plants. Some of them have lately been intro- duced ; but many of the newer species have not yet found their way into the greenhouses of this country ; and even those that have been imported by some of the leading nur- serymen, are rarely to be met with in private collections. There are seven different species of AUamand/a, only two of which we have seen in America, viz. : A. cathartica, and A. Schotn — to the culture of which I will confine my remarks. A. catha'rtica holds a very high position among exotic evergreen shrubs, having large, lanceolate, acuminate leaves, and varicose, scandent stems. The peduncles of the flowers are terminal, proceeding from the axils of the leaves, and bearing large panicles of rich colored blossoms. It is a native of South America, and was sent from thence into England, from whence it was brought, a few years ago, to this country. A. Scho'tii is a newer species, and much superior to the A. cathartica. The seeds of this plant were introduced into England in 1846, from Brazil. It was raised in the garden of a gentleman, near Manchester, (England,) where it flow- ered in July, 1847, and continued from that period to expand its large, bright, orange-colored blossoms without intermis- sion, until the following January, and having frequently five or six expanded flowers upon a panicle at the same time. The A. SchotM is very different from the preceding one. It is an erect, suff"ruticose plant, of a glabrous nature, except upon the young shoots and petioles. The flowers are also much larger, being nearly four inches across, funnel-shaped, having rotundate segments, of a rich, golden yellow, with a deeper tinted throat ; the flowers also are highly fragrant. It is, upon the whole, the finest climber that has been intro- duced for many years. A. vioLA^cEA is not less worthy of a passing notice, but its habit and other characteristics are different from either of the foregoing sorts. This is a very beautiful sufl"ruticose shrub, growing about five or six feet high, and bearing large violet-colored flowers in rich profusion. The flowers of this On the Cultivation of Allamandias. 27 kind are something like the Gloxinm speciosa. It is suitable for training, as well as the others, but is more handsome when allowed to grow according to its natural habit, when it forms one of the most beautiful and noble shrubs that can be intro- duced into the greenhouse. This plant is also a native of Brazil, where the root is used by the natives as an antidote against malignant fevers. The cultivation of all these plants is the same, and is ex- ceedingly easy. The only difference between them may arise from their habits of growth, as in the case of the latter variety. The climate they require will be most easily secured by considering the one from which they originally came, and cultivating them along with other plants of a similar nature, and which require similar treatment. They thrive beauti- fully in a moist, warm atmosphere, and a little bottom heat, if attainable ; but they will also do without it. They should have a good, rich compost, and thorough drainage, as water must be very freely administered when they are in a growing state. I have grown them well in a compost of rich loam, with a portion of leaf mould, (or decayed tree leaves,) and a little sand, or what is better, pieces of sandstone, mixed in the compost. The compost should be used in a rough lumpy state. As the climbing species advance in growth, the leading shoot should be trained to a trellis, or up a pillar of the house. They will throw out their panicles of bloom when only a foot or two in height, and keep on growing and flowering for many months. Allamandias are by no means diflicult to grow, as they will flourish perfectly well with such plants as Clerodendrons, Stephanotus, Achimenes, &c. It is the custom of people writing on the culture of individual plants, to give particular soils and specific temperatures for a plant, through its various stages of growth ; as if amateurs were to build a house for, and devote their attention to, that particular plant, and noth- ing else. Special portions of soils, manures, and other ingre- dients, must be mixed with a microscopical minuteness, after the fashion of "chemical mixtures;" which, in regard to plant culture, I consider quite useless. December 10, 1850. 28 A Prcoctical Treatise on Hothouses. R E Y I E W . Art. I. A Practical Treatise on the Construction, Heatings and Ventilatio7i of Hothouses, including Conservatories, Greenhouses, Graperies, and other kinds of Horticultural • Structures ; with Practical Directiofis for their Manage- ment in regard to Light, Heat, and Air. Illustrated with mimerous Engravings. By Robert B. Leuchars, Garden Architect. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 366: Boston, 1850, Those of our readers who have perused the several capital communications upon the principles of heating greenhouses and other garden structures for the growth of plants, by Mr. Leuchars, will be glad to learn of the publication of such a work as the above title indicates ; and they will also be ena- bled to judge of its value by what he has written in our pages. We must candidly confess that he has given to the whole subject, which it would at first appear could be only the dry details of construction, ventilation, &c., a degree of interest which we have not found in any similar treatise of this kind. He has begun at the beginning, and conducted the reader through all the processes of constructing, lighting, heating, and ventilating greenhouses, hothouses, and other structures for the growth of plants; showing, in course, the principles upon which everything is done, and the theory upon which practices are based ; so that the merest tyro in horticulture cannot fail to understand and carry out, if he wish, all that the author has advanced. The work is divided into three parts, viz. : 1. Construction ; 2. Heating ; 3. Ventilation. These again are sub-divided into sections ; the first part embracing, Situation — Design — Struc- tures adapted to particular purposes — Interior arrangements — Materials of construction — Grass — Formation of gardens. Part 2 embraces the Principles of Combustion — Principles of heating hothouses — Heating by hot water, hot air, and steam — Hot water boilers and pipes — Various methods of heating described. Part 3, Principles of ventilation — Effects of ven- A Practical Treatise on Hothouses. 29 tilation — Methods of ventilation — Management of the atmos- phere— Chemical combinations in the atmosphere of hothouses — Protection of plant-houses in cold nights — General remarks on the management of the atmosphere of hothouses — and ventilation with fans. It will thus be seen that the work is so systematically arranged, that any particular department may be consulted ; and gentlemen who are about forming new gardens, and erecting hothouses — amateurs who are desirous of having their plants grown under the most favorable conditions — and even professional men, who have not become familiar with all the effects of atmospheric action — may find in it a fund of valuable information, leading to correct practice, and pro- ducing the best results. As a specimen of the way in which Mr. Leuchars treats his subject, we quote the following on the proper construc- tion of greenhouses, the great superiority of span roofs over lean-to roofs, and the ornamental character which such a structure should always possess : — The principal distinction between a greenhouse and consen^atoiy is, that in the former the plants are exhibited upon shelves and stages, while in the latter the plants are generally planted out in a bed in the middle of the house, prepared for their reception. In many instances, however, there is no other distinction than in the name ; as these structures are sometimes so ar- ranged, that tlie middle portion is appropriated to the growth of larger plants planted out, while the sides are surrounded witli shelves for tlie reception of plants in pots, as in a common greenhouse. And to this arrangement there can be no special objection, especially where the structure is of small dimen- sions, which admits of the sides being shelved for plants in pots, without destroying the character of the house, or the plants, by their distance from the glass. We have seen a few instances, a very few, where the two char- acters were amalgamated together, forming a most interesting conjunction ; but, unless the specimens exhibited be very large and well grown, their effect, when situated upon the centre bed of a common sized bouse, surrounded with shelves, is meagre and defective in the last degree. Properly speaking, a greenhouse is not a receptacle for large plants, and hence it should have adequate means within it for standing tlie plants within a proper distance from the glass. Tiiis is absolutely necessary with regard to those classes of flowering plants that are fitted to adorn it, both in winter and summer. Some are of opinion that greenhouses are of no further ser- vice than merely to store away a miscellaneous assortment of rubbish during the montlis of winter, for the obvious purpose of preserving them until the 30 A Practical Treatise on Hothouses. next summer, that they may turn thom out untler trees, or in out-of-the-'tvay corners, to keep them from being burnt up by the hot summer sun ; and, as a matter of course and of custom, the greenhouse is converted into a lum- ber-room, or something else. And there it stands, what is, or ought to be, the chief ornament of the garden, deprived of its character, for want of taste, and divested of its interest, for lack of skill. Visiters say, " Let us have a look at the greenhouse." " No," replies the gardener, apologetically, " it's not worth your while going in, for there is nothing there to see ! " A humiliating acknowledgment, but full of truth. It is foreign to our purpose to enter upon the present condition of green- house gardening, and the manner in which these structures are managed by gardeners. Our present object is to treat of their construction, and of the means of adapting them the most easily to the culture of flowering plants, either during winter or summer. It is a well known fact, that plants that are grown in what are called lean- to greenhouses have exactly the character of the house in which they are grown — {. e., they are one-sided ; nor is it possible, without a vast amount of labor and attention on the part of the gardener, to grow them otherwise. In this respect the cultivator does not imitate nature, but rather the monstrosi- ties of nature. Trees and shrubs only grow one-sided when their position precludes the access of light and air around them ; but they grow naturally into a compact bush, which is universallj^ allowed to be the most beautiful form that plants can assume. Even a handful of cut flowers have their beauty, and are generally ad- mired ; but when seen upon the living plant, whatever shape or form the latter may jjossess, how much greater their charms ! If, therefore, we add to these natural beauties the additional charm of a positively beautiful form, surely it will double their claim to our admiration. And Ave may here add the gratifying fact, that this claim is now generally recognized by all who can appreciate the superior beauty of well grown plants. The principles upon which plant structures ought to be built, are some- what diflerent from those which regulate the erection of forcing-houses, cu- linary-houses, &c. ; and as their purposes are different, their shapes and forms are generally also dififerent. Plant-houses admit of a greater variety of shape and design than any of the kinds previously mentioned ; and as they are generally erected in private grounds, for ornament and display, they should have a more artistic character than the others. The size of the greenhouse may vary, according to the extent of the col- lection to be cultivated, but it should always have a length proportionate to its height and width. There is a great inconvenience in having the green- house very capacious ; and where it is desirable to have a large collection of plants, it is best to have a conservatory for the growth of the larger speci- mens, or a stove for the palmaceous families of plants. We shall, however, allude to what is properly termed the greenhouse. A first-rate greenhouse should be completely transparent on all sides ; lean-to houses are decidedly objectionable, for the reasons already given. Houses that are only glazed in front, and have glass roofs, but otherwise Foreign Notices. 31 opaque, are also objectionable, as plants can never be made to grow hand- some. They become weakly and distorted by continually stretching towards the light ; neither do they enjoy the genial rays of the morning and evening sun, and only perhaps for a i^cw hours during mid-day. If such houses be large and lofty, they are still more unmanageable, as no culture can keep the plants symmetrical and of good appearance. A greenhouse should stand quite detached from all other buildings, and may be of any form the fancy may dictate, or the position suggest. It may be circular, oval, hexagonal, octagonal, or a parallelogram, with circular or curved ends. The house, to be proportionate, should be about fifty feet in length by twenty in width, and fourteen feet high, above the level of its floor ; if more effect be required from the external vieAv, its parapets may be raised, to give the house a loftier appearance. — (pp. 73-76.) We might, had we room, copy several paragraphs, to show further the vahie of the work ; but we must refer to the book itself for farther evidence of this. The volume is illustrated with upwards of 58 engravings, many of them excellent models for imitation by gentlemen who are erecting any kind of graperies, greenhouses, or hot- houses. We commend the work to every individual who has any interest in the cultivation of plants or fruits under glass. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Art. I. Foreign JVbtices. FRANCE. A Peep at the Paris Flower-Market. — No lover of flowers, who visits the French capital, should fail to spend a morning at the Flower-mar- ket. Though somewhat different in character from similar exhibitions in our own country, it is certainly in no respect inferior. I was in Paris on tlie last three days of July — days remarkable in the political history of that city — and so agreeable was my reminiscence of former visits, that I resolved to spend the early part of one of those fete-days at the Marche aux Fleurs. Accordingly, I arose at tlie dawn of day, and, quitting my hotel in the Rue Rivoli, was soon at the Quai aux Fleurs, where the market is held. Long before I had reached the desired place, I was reminded of my approach by the return of earlier visiters. The thrifty housewife, with a heliotrope under one arm, and a rose beneath the other, was moving witli a brisk step, her affections ^ro tevi. divided between the darlings of her choice, herself appar- ently unconscious of the busy scene which surrounded her. Then the work- 32 Foreign Notices. man, who had risen long hefore the hours of labor, in order that he might present to the sharer of his toils a fresh and sweet token of his affection and esteem, was bearing- home a less costly offering in the shape of a stock or a pot of musk. How refining and moralizing must be tlie influence of this love of flowers ! I wish it were more general among the laborers in our own land. But I was aroused from reflection by my arrival at the market, which indeed presented a busy scene. It is a large paved square, planted with rows of acacia trees, whose soft and elegant foliage, trembling in the breeze, harmonized with the animated scene they oversliadowed. In the centre of this square was the bureau, where I imagined the market-keeper dwelt, with the view of preserving order and taking toll. Near each end was a foun- tain, surrounded with a basin of water, apparently constructed for use as well as ornament. Around these and the bureau were lounging men in blouses, with large baskets, flat at one side to fit the back, lying at their feet, waiting to carry off the purchases. There was a walk in the centre of the square, and the plants were arranged on either side to face the Avalk. The stalls, which v/ere principally kept by women, who were enjoying their morning's repast of bread and fruit, were set out with order and neatness. There were oranges, oleanders, magnolias, pomegranates, roses, myrtles, carnations, bal- sams, cockscombs, tuberoses, fuchsias, verbenas, amaranths, mignonette, marigolds, asters, and indeed almost every plant of tlie season, mingled to- gether in sweet and inextricable confusion. The plants certainly were not large ; they were rather close and compact, laden with blossoms, Avhose odors rose on every air Ave breathed. Then the vast quantity of a sort, each seemingly a counterpart of the rest, so nicely surrounded with white paper, and placed so closely together that the whole reminded one of a large flow- er-garden. I could not look on such a variety of beautiful objects, without wishing to know the prices at which they were sold, and these I found were anything but extravagant. But I paid for my inquisitiveness. I was quickly beset by the men en blouse before mentioned, who seemed to take it for granted tliat I could not cany home my purchases. It was in vain I declined their services, though " tliey were sure Monsieur Anglais would not carry plants through the streets of Paris ; and if he did not intend to purchase, he would not demand tlie price." Who could answer such arguments, backed as they were by reiterated cries from the venders, " Ce n'est pas cher. Mon- sieur, ce n'est pas cher," No, indeed, thought I, as I gazed on a pot of forget-me-not, offered for six sous, and contrasted its soft and delicate tints witli the sunburnt countenances of those around, and the horny hands wliicli upheld it ; it is not dear ; yours is no overpaid occupation ; truly thou fulfil- lest the command of thy Maker, " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Having purchased this simple plant, and handed it over to the man e?i blouse, I was allowed to pursue my course unmolested, my new acquaint- ance acting as protector. One of the most striking features of the market was the bouquets. I had noticed tlicm on entering ; but I now caught sight of others, the flowers arranged with exquisite taste, and which far surpassed all that I had previously seen. These were lying at one corner of the mar- ket, close to a heap of cut flowers, with which a flower-girl was busily en- Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 33 gaged. Bouquets were made with great rapidity, and sold as rapidly as made. Retiring to a respectful distance, where it was sheltered by an acacia tree, I resolved to watch the movements of the fair boiiquetiere, and thus ob- tain an insight into the difficult art of nosegay-making. Although slight variations were introduced, one general principle seemed to regulate the whole. One of the prettiest that was manufactured was round and flat, and arranged in tliis manner : — The first act was to collect together a handful of red roses — these formed the centre ; around them was placed a narrow belt of mignonette ; then a ring of white carnations ; next in order came a band of purple pansies ; heliotrope succeeded, not regular as the preceding, but scalloped ; then came a band of pelargonium compactum, (salmon-colored,) raised a little above the other flowers ; last in order was a row of dahlias and roses, placed alternately ; and, surrounding the whole, fern-leaves. — {Beckys Florist and Garden Miscellany.) Art. II. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Saturday, N'ov. 16. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to- day— the President in the chair. Josiah Crosby, West Cambridge, was elected a subscription member. Ad- journed three weeks, to Dec. 7. [At the meeting on the 2d of November, omitted in our last, Wm. P. Winchester, Cambridge, W. B. Johnson, Cohasset, Sidney B. Morse, Bos- ton, and Nathaniel Martin, Brighton, were elected members. Mr. Breck, Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements, reported that the whole amount taken at the Annual Exhibition was $721 50 ; leaving a balance, after the payment of all expenses, of #177 24, which was handed over to the Treasurer.] JVov. 30. — Exhibited — Fruits : From J. Washburn, fine Hubbardston Non- such apples. From S. L. Goodale, McLaughlin pears, and Ribston Pippin apples. From S. Hill, fine Glout Morceau pears. From J. Lovett, Minister and Gravenstein apples. From Hovey & Co., Sargeret and Beurre Langelier pears. From H. Vandine, Long Green of Autumn pears(?). Fruits tested by the Committee : Beurre Langelier, from Hovey & Co. ; a fruit of large size and handsome appearance — rich, juicy, and melting — and thus far has proved of first-rate excellence, keeping until January and Feb- ruary. December 7. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day — the President in the chair. On motion of C. M. Hovey, it was Voted, That a committee of five be appointed, to consider the expediency of procuring a bust of the late Hon. Theodore Lyman, to be placed in the library-room or hall of the Society ; — and C. M. Hovey, J. Breck, J. S. Cabot, E. Wight, and J. Leach, were chosen the committee. VOL. XVII. NO. I. 5 !M I\Tiissic voti'd to Dr. .1. A. Warder, liir miiiibors ol' tin- H'cslfni lluiiiniHiinil llrriiir, iiml In Mchhi'h. Biiumiiii, I'^mnt'O, for ciitiilof^iifH ; iilso, 1(» W VViiiilHor, of |{iilliiii(in>, Inr HpcriiiimiH of poliitoos. (it'o. I'l. Atliimi-i, of Mcdiuiil, wiiH (dfctcd n. niciiilicr. AdjoiiniiMl oiio \v»M'k to Dec. II. Ihctnilur II. An inl|(iuincd mci'lin;' (ifllic Society wiis lielil to-diiy — llio I'reHuleiil in llie eliiiir. The i'l\efiili\e ('uiiimitlee reported llie rollo\\iii^' iippropiiMlioiis lor l*r(>- iniiuuH, lor !Hr>(): l''(.r l'roHpee|i\,- I'rizos, ..... #7r>() 00 {■'or I'Mowern, I'ImiiIm, i"l'e., .... 70000 Kor l''ruitH, ...... .^»()0 00 Kor V.'oet„l,l,.H, ...... ir.O 00 Kor (iitrdoiiH uitd (inniiids, .... iiOO 00 #'i,;U)0 00 Ihtimhir 'i\. All ndioiirned meiMiiii^' ol'llie Society \mis lield lo-diiy — tilt? I're.sideiil in llie eliiiir. A letter, received iVom l\lr. .1. (Jonloii, wiis releired to the Committee on (iiirdtMiM. Thi" President iind M. V. Wilder were iippoinled to iissist the Committoe on I'lililiciition. .'\d|oiiriied oiu> \vtM>k, to DecemluM' 'JH. Dxhiliittd I''iiiiith: Krom II. Viindine, TiirKish Mon Chretii-n, iiiid hon;,' (iroon ol' Aiitnmn(?) pears; also, l{, I. (ireenino' and Dutch ("odlin (?) ap- plOH. From .1. liovelt, I'liio (ilont MorceMii piMirs, luul (iohlen Iviisset of Es- sex Vo. and Sweet Knssel apples, very handsome. I'Viilts hstnl hy the Committet^: llelle l''piiu> Dumas pears, from the I'res- ideiit, liiii' ; Coliiiuhiii, j;ood. Monarch, from llovey &. Co., not tiuite ripe. Ihcciiilirr ','S. .All ndjoiiriied ine<"tiii;'; oltlit' Society was ht>ld to-day- the President in the chair. 'The I'resideiit, Treasurer, and Chairman of tlu> Committee on I'^iniince, were appointiMl a committet> to st>ltle with Mr. .Viistin's (>xi>ciitors. Dr. M. Wif^hl, C. M. llovey, and (^\pt. Lovett, were appointed a cinnmitleo to nominate a Cominilt(>i> of .•\rraii<«;emtM\ts lor ISftO. Thi' tliiiiiKs o\' the Society wt>r(« voted to lion. U. C. Winthrop niid .1. IN! . Hrow n, tor documents and pamphlets. The several Coiiimittet>s on (iardens, Flow t>rs, ^^•|lits, and Vei.i;t^tal)los, made their Ht>poits, which wert> iicc(>pled, and lhi> mectini^" was dissohml. llvfilhlttd l''iii'iTs : From .1. S. Cahot, liaiidsonu> Baldwin and (ireeniniv apples, ami line specimens of Winter N«dis, l.e Cure, Columbia, and Uenrir d'Areniher^j pears. From H. Vandine, twtra line specinuMis of (Jlout Mor- «-eiiu and li(»nj; (Jreen of Autumn pt>ars. From U. V. French, Whito Sook- iu>-rtirtlu'r apples, line. From F. Tudor, spiuMmens of Swan's Oranoo, Lou- ise Moniie of .lt>rst>y, Puchess of Auf^'ouhMiio, and Seckel pears, remarkably well prt\servt>d, ami of fair (innlity. l''roin .1. I'\ .Mh^n, Hlnck I hniihnrijh, Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 35 Syrian, Muscat of Alexandria, West St. Petor, and Whortloy Hall seedling grapes. From S. W. Cole, Baldwin apples. From George Walsh, Baldwin apples, and very fine Easter Beurr6 pears. From J. Washburn, Bcurre Gou- bault pears. From C. Newhall, Lawrence pears. Fruits lesled by the Committee : Glout Morceau, from II. Vandine, very fine ; Swan's Orange, Seckel, and other pears, from Mr. Tudor — very good for the late season at which thoy have been so well kept ; White Seek-no- furthcr apples, from B. V. French, fine. The following arc the reports : — REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GARDENS, AWARDING PREMIUMS KOK 1850. The Committee on Gardens, in submitting this their first report, beg leave to state, that their duties being entirely new, and Avithout any rules for their government, they have not been able to accomplish as much as they could have wished ; yet they fully believe a new impetus has been given to more thorough and neat home cultivation, and that the objects of the society, in making the prizes, are being fully realized. The committee would here bear testimony to the general apparent improvement and neatness of nearly every place visited, and also to the very cordial reception they everywhere met with, making duty pleasant, and compensating for the tax upon their time. In making the awards, your committee have felt the difficulty of doing exact justice, but they have acted their best judgment, and been unanimous in opinion. They have not felt it imperative to give all the prizes according to the schedule, and have in some instances substituted gratuities, as being better adapted to the particular case, and have endeavored lo express briefly the general or more prominent merits for which each gratuity or prize was made. In conclusion, the committee would respectfully recommend the adoption of the following rules and regulations, for the future government of the Garden Committee, and which the experience of the past season has clearly shown to be expedient and necessary. 1. All applications for a visit must be made to the chairman, on or before the 1st of May, stating extent of grounds, number of fruit trees, whether offered for a prize, and such a general outline as to give to the committee some sort of idea of the premises. 2. No fruit garden, or grounds, of less than one acre, and this well stocked and under fine cultivation, can occupy the time of the committee. 3. No farm will be visited, unless there should be connected with it a fine fruit garden, vegetable garden, flower garden, greenhouse, or graperies ; in which case these alone will be examined. 4. It shall be the duty of the committee to select from the applications those which may seem most deserving of notice, and to visit as many places, and as often, as they may deem expedient and necessary. 5. In making all examinations, the utmost regard must be paid to economy and general tlirift: in cases, however, of pleasure, landscape, or fancy grounds, more allowance must be made for taste and design, and a gratuity or complimentary notice may be made, at the discretion of the committee. 36 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 6. No place will be visited officially, and in reference to an award, without a written invitation. 7. All visits must be conducted without previous notice ; and if made out of season, or under unfavorable circumstances, due allowance will be made. 8. No person shall be a competitor for the highest prize, more than two years out of seven. 9. The committee may, at their discretion, give gratuities, or substitute gratuities for prizes, in any way best to serve the objects of the society, and meet special cases, (always, of course, within the limits of the appropriation.) 10. Competitors for the prizes, shall furnish to the committee, if required, a written statement of their mode of cultivation, quantity and kind of manure applied, amount of labor including their own, and other particulars called for, under the penalty of a forfeiture of such prize, if withheld. 11. The expenses of the committee shall be paid by the society; and a record shall be kept by the chairman, of all places visited. Respectfully submitted. Wm. R. Austin. For the Committee. The following prizes and gratuities have been voted for the past season : — To O. Johnson, for the neatest, best kept, and most economical fruit garden, a prize of ..... . ^25 00 To J. Gordon, for a productive and economical fruit garden, a prize of 15 00 To Messrs. Hovey & Co., for the well kept and tliriving condition of their gardens, grounds, &c., a prize of . . . . 25 00 To the gardener of R. C. Hooper, for the general neat appearance of his greenhouse, garden, and grounds, a gratuity of . . 10 00 To Mr. John Geddes, the gardener of G. R. Russell, for a very neat and well kept vegetable garden, a gratuity of . . . 10 00 Also, for a very neat and well managed grapery, a further gratu- ity of 10 00 To the gardener of J. P. Gushing, for the neatly kept and orderly premises under his care, a gratuity of . . . . 10 00 To J. F. Allen, for his extensive graperies, and great number of varieties, a gratuity of . . . . . . 15 00 To W. C. Strong and T. Needham, for well kept graperies during the season, a gratuity to each of . . . . 10 00 To W. R. Austin, for his neatly kept garden, well managed and promising condition of his fruit trees, a gratuity of . .15 00 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FLOWERS, AWARDING PREMIUMS FOR 1850. The Committee submit the following Report of Premiums for 1850 : — PREMIUMS AT THE OPENING OF THE HALL. Pelargoniums. — Class I. — For the best six new and rare varieties, grown in eight-inch pots, to H. Grundel, . . . $6 00 Cut Flowers. — For the best display, to J. Nugent, . . 3 00 For the second best, to J. Breck & Co., . . . 2 00 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 37 Fuchsias. — For the best six varieties, to E. Burns, . . #6 00 For the second best, to E. Burns, Calceolarias. — For the best six varieties, to H. Grundel, For the second best, to H. Grundel, Heaths. — For the best varieties, to H. Grundel, For the second best, to H. Grundel, . Various Sorts. — For the best display of various sorts of Green- house Plants, not less than twelve pots, to H. Grundel, For the second best, to E. Burns, .... Hyacinths. — For the best display, not less than twenty varieties, to J. Breck & Co., ...... For the second best, to J. Breck & Co., Tulips. — For the best thirty distinct varieties, to J. Breck & Co., . For the second best, to Hovey & Co., .... For the third best, to J. Breck &. Co., .... Pansies. — For the best twelve distinct varieties, to Hovey &. Co., . For the second best, to Hovey & Co., .... For the third best, to J. Breck & Co., .... Hawthorns. — For the best display, to Winship & Co., For the second best, to J. Kenrick, .... Hardy Azaleas. — For the best display, to Hovey & Co., . For the second best, to J. Kenrick, .... Shrubby P-eonies. — For the best six varieties, to H. Grundel, For the second best, to J. S. Cabot, .... For the best display, to H. Grundel, .... Herbaceous PjEOnies. — For the best twelve flowers, having regard to the number of varieties, to H. Grundel, . For the second best, Hovey & Co.. .... For the best display, H. Grundel, .... Pinks. — For the best six distinct varieties, \ , . . For the second best, > Not awarded. For the best display, j . . . Roses. — Class I. — Hardy Roses. For the best thirty distinct vari- eties, to Hovey & Co., . . . . . 8 00 For the second best, to H. Grundel, . . . . 6 00 For tlie third best, to J. Breck & Co., . . . . 4 00 For the best display, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 3 00 Class n. — For the best twelve distinct varieties, to Hovey & Co., 5 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 3 00 For the third best, to J. Breck & Co., . . . . 2 00 Class III. — Hardy Perpetual Roses. For the best ten varieties, to H. Grundel, . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 4 00 For the best display, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 3 00 Prairie Roses. For the best display, not less than six varieties, to J. Breck & Co., . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, not less than four, to Hovey & Co., . 4 00 4 00 3 00 2 00 3 00 2 00 8 00 5 00 5 00 3 00 8 00 6 00 3 00 4 00 3 00 2 00 3 00 2 00 5 00 3 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 38 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. For the third best, not less than four, to Winship & Co., . f3 00 Carnation and Picotee Pinks. — For the best ten varieties, to Hov- ey & Co., . . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 4 00 For the best display, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 3 00 Magnolias. — For the best display through the season, to Winship & Co., . . . . . . . 3 00 For the second best, to J. Kenrick, . . . . 2 00 Hardy Rhododendrons. — For the best display of the season, to Hovey & Co., . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 3 00 Forthe third best, to Hovey & Co., , . . .2 00 Double Hollyhocks. — For the best display, to Hovey &. Co., . 5 00 For the second best, to Breck & Co., . . . . 4 00 Double Balsams. — For the best display, to T. Needham, . . 3 00 For the second best, to J. Nugent, . . • . 2 00 For the third best, to Hovey &- Co., . . . . 1 00 Phloxes. — For the best ten distinct varieties, to J. Breck & Co., . 6 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 4 00 For the third best, to P. Barnes, . . . . 3 00 German Asters. — For the best display, to I. Spear, . . 4 00 For the second best, to J. Nugent, . . . , 3 00 For the third best, to L. Davenport, . . . . 2 00 Herbaceous Perennials. — For the best display through the season, the Society's Silver Medal, to J. Breck & Co., . . 5 00 For the second best, to P. Barnes, . . . . 4 00 For the third best, to Winship &. Co., . . . . 3 00 Annuals. — For the best display through the season, the Society's Silver Medal, to P. Barnes, . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to J. Breck & Co., . . . 4 00 For the tliird best, to J. Nugent, . . . . 3 00 Camellias. — For the best twelve varieties of cut flowers, witli fol- iage, to Hovey & Co., . . . . . 8 00 Chinese Primrose. — For tlie best six plants, in not less than four varieties, in pots, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 3 00 Greenhouse Azaleas. — For the best six varieties, in pots, to Hov- ey & Co., . . . . - . . 6 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 4 00 Flowering Shrubs. — For the best display, during the season, to Winship & Co., . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to J. Kenrick, . . . . 4 00 For the third best, to J. Breck & Co., . . . . 3 00 Ol/^ The Premiums awarded at the Annual Exhibition, in September last, will be found at p. 472, and the Premiums for Dahlias at p. 523, of our vol- ume for 1850. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 39 GRATUITIES. To A. Bowditch, for Forced Hyacinths, the Silver Medal, . To T. Needham, for Ceropegia elegans, the Silver Medal, , To J. Tidd, for Seedling Cactus, ..... To J. Breck & Co., for Iris susianna, the Silver Medal, To Geo. Johnson, for Seedling Yellow Rose, the Silver Medal, To T. Owens, for Orchids, the Silver Medal, PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AT THE WEEKLY EXHIBITIONS To Winship & Co., for Bouquets, Cut Flowers, &c., at weekly shows. To Hovey & Co., for the same. To J. Breck & Co., for the same. To A. Bowditch, for the same. To H. Grundel, for the same, To Miss Russell, for the same, To J. Nugent, for the same, To P. Barnes, for the same. To L. Davenport, for the same. To Miss Kenrick, for the same, To John Hovey, for the same, To E. Burns, for the same. To W. Kenrick, for the same. To W. E. Carter, for the same, To J. A. Kenrick, for the same, To Mrs, E. A. Story, for the same, To Miss Barnes, for the same. To T. Needham, for the same. To E. Winslow, for the same. To J. W. Brown, for the same. For the Committee : D. Haggerston, Chair REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FRUITS, AWARDING PREMIUMS FOR 1850. The Committee on Fruits submit a Report of their awards of the premiums offered by the Society, for the year now closing. The Committee cannot but congratulate the Society on the favorable re- sults, in relation to that branch of horticultural science with which they are connected, that have thus far attended its operations, and of an evidently continued approximation towards the attainment of some of the objects for which it was instituted, as manifested by a greater superiority, from year to year, in the fruits exhibited, thereby showing a more scientific and improved cultivation ; by the greater number of varieties from year to year placed upon its tables, thus proving the success of efforts, either by collecting the seedlings scattered through our own country, or by importing from Europe its choicest kinds, to obtain for the use of its members and the public, all the varieties of every species of fruit that are worthy of an extended culti- vation ; on the continued interest of its members in these objects of the #5 00 5 00 2 00 5 00 5 00 5 00 #17 00 11 00 24 00 11 00 8 00 14 00 16 00 19 00 11 00 11 00 10 00 7 00 2 00 5 00 3 00 2 00 1 00 1 00 1 00 1 00 •man. 40 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Society, and upon its continued favorable consideration with the public as evidenced by an increased number of competitors for its premiums, and a more general attendance at its exhibitions. The success that has thus far attended the Society, instead of causing any relaxation, should act as a stimulus to greater zeal and more vigorous and skilful efforts, on the part of its members, to the promotion, if not to the full attainment, of the ends contemplated by its founders. An unusual quantity of rain through tlie spring and summer of the past year, followed by a remarkably pleasant, dry autumn — with no " killing frosts" until late in the latter season — affording ample opportunities for the trees to ripen their wood and perfect their buds, and enabling the grasses to retain their freshest green uninterruptedly from spring till late in autumn, have been some of its peculiar characteristics. April and May, in this vi- cinity, were cold and wet, accompanied with long-continued east winds and much rain at tlie time the fruit trees were bursting their flower-buds ; whilst tlie summer was distinguished by less than the usual quantity of heat, and more than the usual supply of moisture. As was to be expected, the effects of these causes have not failed to be manifested, in the productions of our gardens and orchards, by a diminution in quantity, or deterioration in quality. The past season cannot be considered as one propitious to either fruit trees or fruit. For both, there was probably too much wet — the vigor and growth of the former, and the flavor and richness of the latter, being injuri- ously affected tliereby. Apples and pears in Massachusetts, though in some sections of it abundant, were, on the whole, both as regards quantity and quality, below an average. Peaches, in most situations, were in great abundance, but inferior in quality. Cherries were inferior, and plums below a medium crop. Grapes generally failed to perfect and ripen their fruit ; those raised in graperies, even, being deficient in size, color, or flavor. Of the smaller fruits— the strawberry, raspberry, &c. — there was an ample sup- ply, with, for the most part, a deficiency in richness, sweetness, and flavor. A reasonable hope had been indulged, that opportunity would, the past season, have been afforded to test the quality of many of the new varieties of pears that, during the past few years, have by importations been added to our collections ; but this expectation, though not wholly disappointed, has not been gratified to the extent anticipated. Specimens of some of these have been placed on your tables ; and some new varieties, of native origin, have also been submitted to the examination of your Committee. Two va- rieties of seedling strawberries, raised by him, have been exhibited by the President of the Society. One of these varieties was a staminate of a dark red color, very fine flavor, good size, hardy, and very productive ; worthy, if any staminate variety is, as your Committee think, of an extended culture. The other was a pistillate, of a light red color, possessing also many valua- ble properties. Specimens of twenty varieties of strawberries were, the past season, presented to the Society by Mr. L. E. Eaton, of Providence ; many of them of recent uuportation, and new to your Committee. Unfor- tunately some of tlic varieties had received injury in the carriage, and their Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 41 quality could not be so accurately tested as was desirable. Some of them ■were of fine flavor, and — especially one marked Gen. Jacqueniont — will, it is believed, prove desirable acquisitions. Another opportunity of testing Jenney's Seedling strawberry, has strengthened the Committee in their former expressed opinions of this variety. The plants are very hardy and produc- tive ; the berries very solid and heavy — when perfectly ripe, losing their acidity, and becoming very fine in flavor. In the opinion of your Committee, it is a veiy estimable variety. August 2, 1850, Mr. J. Shed Needham, of Danvers, exhibited a box of berries, of the ivMte high-bush bramble. These were of a pinkish white or rose color, not of very great size ; evidently a variety of, or accidental sport from, the common high-bush blackberry, and worthy of note rather as a nov- elty, than as possessing any superior qualities. The plant was found in the woods by Mr. Needham, and by him transplanted to his garden. Although possessing no claim to novelty, the great beauty and uncommon size of some Elton cherries, probably the finest and largest ever placed on the tables of the Society — raised by Mr. J. F. Allen, under glass — rendered them worthy of especial notice in this Report. For three years in succes- sion, including that now closing, a small red cherry, very sweet, and of pleas- ant flavor — doubtless a variety of the Mazzard — has been exhibited by Mr. Solon Dike. This the Committee have judged worthy of a name, and hav- ing been requested by the exhibitor to name it, have decided upon calling it Dike's Mazzard. But, of all the seedling cherries that have been yet brought under the notice of your Committee, those produced and repeatedly shown by Mr. George Walsh, are by far the best. Of tliese, there are three varie- ties, and by Mr. Walsh numbered 1, 2, and 3. These cherries resemble each other, and have probably a similar origin. They are of a very dark color, large, sweet, rich flavor, and rivalling, in their beauty, size, and quality, that standard variety, the Black Tartarian. They are represented as good bearers, and not liable to rot. They have been disseminated, this year, by tlie distribution of buds, for the first time, and will now soon be tested in various diflierent situations. Should they be found to succeed as well in different situations, and witli common cultivation, as in the place of tlieir origin, they will prove a valuable acquisition. Another opportunity has been afforded, the past season, of testing the Reine Claude de Bavay Plum — a variety witli a reputation for great excel- lence, imported at a high cost from Europe, within a few years. It is a plum of medium size, of yellowish green color, and sweet, pleasant flavor — a clingstone, ripening late in the season, and keeping into October — and, though thus far hardly maintaining the reputation tliat preceded its introduc- tion, is a good fruit, and one probably worthy of cultivation. A new plum, called De Montfort, of a most delicious flavor, was presented to tlie Com- mittee on the 24th of August, by Hon. M. P. Wilder. Red Currants, of large size, somewhat later than the Red Dutch, called Gondouin, were ex- hibited, the past season, by Josiah Lovett, 2d. They were of good flavor, and said to be productive. Your Committee have, this year, had an opportunity, for tlie first time, of VOL. XVII. NO. I. 6 42 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. trying the quality of some new pears, and also of further testing some of those more recently introduced. Among the former was a pear, said to be of native origin, presented by Messrs. Hovey, on August 31. It is a fruit of medium size, round oblong shape, yellow color, wi<^h a fine blush in the sun, and with russet at the stem ; skin smooth ; flesh melting, juicy, and of a very pleasant flavor ; resembling, in its general appearance, the Golden Benrr6 of Bilboa. On August 24, Mr. Francis Dana, who seems to have been very success- ful in producing new pears from seed, exhibited another seedling pear raised by him, that promises to be an acquisition to our stock of summer fruits. It was of medium size, pyriform shape, swelled out at the stem, somewhat rough, yet full of a rich, sprightly juice. The Swan's Orange, or Onondaga Pear, has, the past year, been produced in greater quantities than before, in this vicinity ; and, accordingly, better means of judging of its value for general cultivation have been afforded, though not sufficient, perhaps, to authorize the expression of an entirely confident opinion. Although this fruit will probably never be placed by connoisseurs in the very first rank for excellence — different specimens vary- ing much in quality — yet its general good qualities, its size and beauty — in connection with the circumstances that the trees are said to be very produc- tive, of vigorous habit, and early bearing — will, it is believed, render it worthy of an extended cultivation. Beurre Langelier gives promise of maintaining in this country its European reputation, and of justifying, in a measure, at least, the pretensions made for it by its originator. It is a handsome fruit, of good size, yellow color, with a fine blush in the sun — melting, juicy, and of an agreeable taste — whose season is January and February, though some of the specimens this year ripened in November. The pear Nouveau Poiteau — in size large or above a medium, of a dark green color, flesh buttery and melting, ripening in November — has fruited for the first time in this country, the past season ; but, as only one opportu- nity has been afforded of testing it, any expression of opinion as to its merits would be premature. Specimens of the Beurre Sprin have been, the last season, exhibited by Josiah Lovett, 2d ; and of Beurr6 Goubault, and of Fondante de Malines, by John Washburn. These pears are of recent origin or introduction, and but few opportunities have as yet been afforded for testing their quality ; a circumstance that, in the opinion of the Committee, renders it expedient for them to delay any statement respecting them for the present. Although seven years have elapsed since it was fruited for the first time in this vicinity, the Doyenn6 Boussock, or Boussock Nouvelle, seems in a great measure to have escaped notice until recently, when attention was more particularly called to it by the production of many fine specimens, and those raised in different situations, and under not particularly favorable cir- cumstances. At the last annual exhibition of the Society, pears of this variety, from William Davis, were among the most attractive objects on the tables. It is of very large size, great beauty, good quality, and appears Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 43 worthy of an extensive circulation. These remarks are also in some respects applicable to the Beurre d'Anjou and Paradise of Automne — fine pears, that do not appear to have received that attention from cultivators to which they are justly entitled. Northern Spy Apples have been exhibited for the first time, by Dr. Wight, of Dedham. From their size, great beauty, and good quality, specimens of this variety, brought from and raised in Western New York, have been greatly admired ; and strong hopes were indulged, as the trees are hardy and grow vigorously, that tlie variety would succeed well with us. The speci- mens exhibited, thus far, hardly give promise of the fruition of tliis hope. As, however, it is tlie first year of their production, perhaps tlaey were not a criterion of what may be expected, and great improvement in size and qual- ity may hereafi;er be attained. Although omitted in perhaps its more appropriate place in this Report, a mention of tlie fact should not be neglected, that Lewis or Boston Nectar- ines, remarkable for size and beauty, superior to any that as yet have been brought under the notice of your Committee, were exhibited at one of the weekly exhibitions of the Society, tlie past season, by Mr. Stephen H. Perkins. A strong desire on the part of the Committee to place before tlie Society all the information they possess respecting fruits of recent origin or intro- duction, and such opinions as their opportunities have enabled tliem to form of tlie qualities of such, has given rise to the preceding notices of some va- rieties; but, aware that specimens of fruit produced from young trees, of the first or even second year of bearing, are not always a true criterion of the qualities of the variety — and that, before a reliable judgment can be formed, specimens from trees arrived at some degree, at least, of maturity are neces- sary, and those, too, subjected to a variety of soils and situations, and differ- ent modes of culture — an equally strong desire on their part not to mislead, prompts a caution that implicit confidence should not be given to opinions, if not hastily formed, at least not grounded on sufficient data. With respect to the qualities of a fruit, especially winter fruits, much may depend upon the mode of ripening. With some, no care whatever is necessary, while others only arrive at their perfection under some peculiar process ; and a knowledge of this fact is necessary, in order to warrant a perfectly correct conclusion with respect to the merits of a variety. Upon the whole, it is believed tliat it will prove the best and safest course for beginners to make their selections from well known and established kinds ; unless, in tlieir esti- mation, tlie gratification of a desire for novelties — an interest in watching tlie progress and development of some new varieties, and of contributing from their experience a share to the common stock of pomological knowl- edge— form a sufficient recompense for probably repeated and frequent disappointments. The cultivation of the pear seems, for many years past, to have occupied tlie almost exclusive attention of horticulturists ; and tlie interest in this fruit, both in this country and Europe, has led to the production from seed of al- most countless varieties. While it is not intended or desired to underrate 44 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. this, one of our most valuable fruits, yet it is to be regretted that this almost exclusive devotion to its cultivation, and the production of its varieties, has caused the almost entire neglect of another species — certainly as useful, and, in an economic point of view, more valuable — the apple. Of this last, it is true, we possess numerous varieties, and some of great excellence, but for the most part of accidental origin, and without the application to their produc- tion of those scientific principles that, in the case of the pear, has conduced to so great perfection. Although, as has been said, we have numerous vari- eties of the apple, yet there are purposes and seasons for which suited varie- ties are yet to be supplied. We need, among others, an apple suited to our soil, climate, and general cultivation, and of superior quality, to succeed the Early Harvest ; a late-keeping sweet apple ; apples for the table, as well as those for culinary purposes, that shall retain their spirit and flavor until towards that season when the fruits of the succeeding year make their ap- pearance. No better field for the exercise of the skill and judgment of the pomologist, it is believed, remains open, than attempts, conducted upon scien- tific principles and with a view to the supply of existing wants, to the pro- duction of seedling apples ; and none that will better reward his efforts. It should be kept in mind that the Committee, in making their award of prizes, have had reference not only to the superiority of the articles com- peting, but their adaptation to general cultivation ; and that they have hesi- tated or declined to award a prize to a fruit that only arrives at perfection under the most favorable circumstances, that is disposed to canker, or from other cause is not suited to general culture, even when the particular speci- mens exhibited might be of superior excellence — an unwillingness to mislead the inexperienced having induced this kind of discrimination. The Committee would especially notice the many fine specimens of fruit exhibited by the President of the Society ; and they do so with the greatest pleasure, as he has declined taking any of the premiums. With these remarks, your Committee now submit their award of the prizes offered by the Society, for the past year : — For the best and most interesting exhibition of Fruits during the sea- son, to J. F. Allen, the Lowell Plate, valued at . $20 00 For the second best, to Messrs. Hovey & Co., . . 12 00 Apples. — For tlie best twelve summer apples, on or before the last Saturday in August, to O. Johnson, for the Red Astrachan, . For the next best, to A. D. Williams, for Williams's Favorite, . For the best twelve autumn apples, on or before the last Satur- day in November, to J. S. Sleeper, for Ilubbardston Nonsuch, For the next best, to J. Lovett 2d, for the Gravenstein, For the best twelve winter apples, on or before the last Saturday in December, to O. Johnson, for Baldwin, For the next best, to J. S. Cabot, for R. I. Greening, . Blackberries. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, to J. Lovett 2d, ..... . For the next best, to C. E. Grant, .... 6 00 4 00 6 00 4 00 6 00 4 00 5 00 3 00 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 45 Cherries. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, to Otis Johnson, for Black Tartarian, $6 00 4 00 5 00 3 00 5 00 3 00 For the next best, to Geo. Walsh, for his seedling-, Currants. — For the best specimens, two boxes, to Geo. Wilson, For the next best, to O. Johnson, Figs. — For the best twelve specimens, to J. F. Allen, For the next best, to Hovey & Co., Gooseberries. — For the best specimens, two boxes, to J. Lovett 2d, 5 00 For the next best, to J. Hovey, . . . . 3 00 A gratuity, for specimens of fine Gooseberries, to Dr. S. G. Howe, 3 00 Grapes. — For the best specimens, grown under glass, on or before the first Saturday in July, to E. Burns, . . . 10 00 For the next best, to T. Needham, . . . . 7 00 For the best specimens, grown under glass, snbsequently to the first Saturday in July, to Hovey & Co., . . . 10 00 For the next best, to T. Needham, . . . . 7 00 For the best specimens of native grapes, (Isabella,) to A. W. Stetson, ....... For the next best, (Isabella,) to C. E. Grant, Musk Melon. — For the best Musk IMelon, in open culture, on or be- fore the last Saturday in September, to E. M. Richards, For the next best, to Hovey & Co., .... Nectarines. — For the best twelve specimens, to S. H. Perkins, For the next best, to J. F. Allen, .... For very fine Nectarines, to W. C. Sti'ong, a gratuity of Peaches. — For the best twelve specimens grown under glass, on or before the second Saturday in July, to J. F. Allen, . For the next best, to O. Johnson, ... For the best twelve specimens, in open culture, to G. Merriam, For the next best, to J. F. Allen, .... For fine Peaches, to E. King, a gratuity of . For the same, to Hovey & Co., a gratuity of . Pears. — For the best collection, not exhibited before tliis year, with a written description of the same, .... For the next best, ...... [There were no competitors who came within the rule, and no prizes were awarded.] For the best twelve summer pears, on or before the last Saturday in August, to Hovey & Co., for a native pear, unnamed, . 6 00 For the next best, to J. Stickney, for the Madeleine, . . 4 00 For the best twelve autumn pears, on or before the last Saturday in Nov., to F. Tudor, for Swan's Orange, or Onondaga pear, 6 00 For the next best, to J. Lovett 2d, for Beurre Bosc, . . 4 00 For fine Andrews pears, to F. Dana, a gratuity, . . 3 00 For fine Marie Louise pears, to H. Vandine, a gratuity, . 3 00 For fine Beurre Bosc pears, to S. Driver, a gratuity, . . 3 00 For fine Capiaumont pears, to E. Cleaves, a gratuity, . . 3 00 5 00 3 00 5 00 3 00 5 00 4 00 4 00 6 00 4 00 6 00 4 00 4 00 4 00 46 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. For fine Paradise of Automne pears, to J. Stickney, a gratuity,. ^3 00 For the same, to J. Lovett 2d, a gratuity, . . . 3 00 For the best twelve winter pears, on or before the last Saturday in December, to H. Vandine, for Glout Morceau, . . 10 00 For tlie next best, to J. S. Cabot, for Columbia, . . 6 00 Plums. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, to George Walsh, for Green Gage, . . . . . 6 00 For the next best, to J. Mann, for Green Gage, . . 3 00 Quinces. — For the best twelve specimens, to S. Downer, Jr., . 5 00 For the next best, to H. Vandine, . . . 3 00 Raspberries. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, to J. Lovett 2d, for Knevet's Giant, . . . . 5 00 For the next best, to J. Lovett 2d, for Fastolf, . . . 3 00 Strawberries. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, to O. Johnson, for Hovey's Seedling, . . . 6 00 For the second best, to J. Richardson, for Hovey's Seedling, . 4 00 For the third best, to Hovey & Co., for Hovey's Seedling, . 3 00 For fine specimens of Jenney's Seedling, to W. P. Jenney, a gratuity of . . . . , . 4 00 As accidentally the offer of prizes for apricots were omitted, and fine apri- cots were repeatedly exhibited by Franklin King, the Committee award to him, as a gratuity, the Silver Medal of the Society. For the Committee: Joseph S. Cabot, Chairman. 05^ The Premiums awarded at the Annual Exhibition, in September last, in addition to the above, will be found at p. 477 of our volume for 1850. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON VEGETABLES, AWARDING PREMIUMS FOR 1850. The Committee on Vegetables, for the year 1850, report the premiums awarded by them, as follows : — Asparagus. — To F. A. Davis, for the earliest and best, . . $3 00 To J. Hill, for the second best, . . . . 2 00 Beets.— To A. D. Williams, for the best, . , . . 3 00 Broccoli, — To J. Lovett, for the best three heads, . . 5 00 Beans. — To John Gordon for the best Lima beans, . . 3 00 Horse Radish. — To A. D. Williams, for the best, . • 3 00 Cabbages. — To A. & G. Parker, for the best Drumhead, . . 5 00 To A. D. Williams, for the second best, . . . 3 00 Carrots. — To A. D. Williams, for the best exhibited, . . 2 00 Cauliflowers. — To J. A. Kenrick, for the best and largest, . 5 00 To Lyman Kinsley, for the second best, . . . 3 00 Celery. — To J. Crosby, for the best and largest, blanched, gratuity, 3 00 Corn. — To A. D. Williams, for the best and earliest sweet corn, . 3 00 To A. Bowditch, for the second best, . . , . 2 00 Cucumbers. — To H. B. Crooker, Thos. Needham, gardener, for the best cucumbers under glass, . . . . 5 00 Horticultural Operations for January. 47 To S. Bigelow, E. Burns, gardener, for the second best, under glass, . . . . . . . $3 00 To A, D. Williams, for the best in open culture, Egg Plants. — To A. & G. Parker, for the best display, To J. Breck, for the second best, .... Lettuce. — To A. & G. Parker, for the best. To J. Crosby, for the second best, gratuity. Potatoes. — To D. Peirce, for the best and earliest, To A. D. Williams, for the second best. Peas. — To S. Bigelow, E. Burns, gardener, for the best and earliest. Rhubarb. — To L. Kinsley, for the largest and best, To J. Lovett, for the second best, .... SquASHES. — To A. D. Williams, for the best Canada Squash, To A. & G. Parker for the greatest variety exhibited, . Tomatoes. — To A. D. Williams, for the best and earliest, . . Vegetables. — To A. Moore, for tlie best display and greatest vari- ety at the weekly exhibitions, during the season, To A. D. Williams, for the second best. All of which is respectfully submitted. For the Committee : Azel Bow- ditch, Chairman. 05^ The Premiums awarded at the Annual Exhibition, in September last, in addition to tlie above, will be found at p. 479 of the volume for 1850. 3 00 5 00 2 00 3 00 2 00 3 00 2 00 3 00 5 00 3 00 3 00 5 00 3 00 5 00 3 00 HORTICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR JANUARY. FRUIT department. Grape Vines in early vineries will now begin to swell their eyes, and the temperature will require to be kept up on severe nights. Syringing should be performed daily in order to have them break strong. As soon as the shoots are well advanced tlie vines should be tied up loosely to the trel- lis, allowing the ends to depend, in order that all the eyes may be evenly broken. Vines in greenhouses will not require any attention now, as they will be at rest till the commencement of next month. Figs in pots may now be brought into the stove, or greenhouse, for an early crop. Peaches in pots may also be brought forward, by bringing tliem into the greenhouse. Seeds of gooseberries, currants, grapes, and other fruits, may now be planted in pots or boxes, and placed in the greenhouse or hotbed. Scions of fruit trees of all kinds may now be cut, preserving tliem in a cool cellar, by placing the ends in earth or sand. 48 Horticultural Operations for January. FLOWER DEPARTMENT. Camellias Avill now be coming into general bloom, and will require liberal supplies of water, and occasional syringing over the foliage. Keep the soil free from moss by stirring or loosening the surface. Pelargoniums will now commence a more vigorous growth, and the strongest plants will require to be repotted, their branches tied out, and pinched off at the ends to make them dwarf and bushy plants. Keep them in a cool, airy part of the house, as near the glass as convenient, and be rather sparing in the supply of water. Chinese Primroses may now have a shift into a larger pot. Calceolarias may be shifted again, if tliey have made a vigorous growtli. Petunias fonspring blooming should now be shifted into large pots, and trained up to a neat circular or flat trellis. Pansy Seed may now be sown for early blooming in the open border. Plants in pots may now have a shift into a larger size. Schizanthuses may now have another shift, as they soon suffer if pot bound. Achimenes of the various kinds may now be started for early blooming. Dahlias for very early blooming may be started the last of the month. Japan Lilies to be grown in the house should now be potted, and placed in a cool situation until they have advanced an inch or two. Verbenas should now be repotted, and trained up to neat trellises. Seeds may be planted now. OxALiSES done flowering may now be placed away under the stage. Fuchsias should now be pruned and potted. Heliotropes should now be propagated for a spring stock. Heaths in small pots should now be shifted into a larger size. Cinerarias should now be repotted ; keep them free from the green fly. Roses, taken up out of the ground in October, should now be pruned and brought into a warm part of the house, where they will soon flower. Azaleas will now require to be more liberally watered. Alts sum and Mignonette may now be planted for early blooming. Begonias will require pruning and repotting as soon as they begin to grow. Tree Peonies in pots, now brought into the house, will bloom freely in March. Salvias may now be propagated for a spring stock. Stephanotuses should be pruned, repotted, and started into growth in the warmest part of the house. Daphnes, done flowering, should be headed in so as to make handsome bushy plants. Greenhouse Plants, of all kinds, will need attention now. Repot all tSiat need it ; and prune and tie up the branches to neatly made stakes. THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. FEBRUARY, 1851. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Art. I. Trees in Cities. By George Jacques, Worcester, Mass. Of the variety of topics discussed in Horticultural Maga- zines, that of planting trees in cities seems hardly to have received the attention that it deserves. Upon a hot day in August, when the fierce rays of the sun; have all things after their own way upon the unsheltered pavements of Washington Street, one has only to pass a few steps to Beacon Street Mall, and the contrast will at once- teach him, more than any written language can impress it upon his mind, that trees are as essential to the comfort, if not health, of city life, as they are to the beauty of a land- scape. It is not my purpose to attempt to write an elaborate essay upon planting trees in cities, but rather to call out others more competent than myself to discuss the subject. At pres- ent, therefore, I wish to say only a few words. 1. What trees are best adapted for shading the streets and parks of a city ? In answering this question, I shall name the trees accord- ing to, — as it seems to me, — their comparative value. I begin with the American Weeping Elm. Of all large-growing trees, this, to my taste, is incomparably the most graceful, majestic and beautiful. The ease with which it may be transplanted, its rapidity of growth, and its exemption, (com- VOL. XVII. NO. II. 7 50 Trees in Cities. parative exemption,) from the depredations of insects, also greatly enhance its claim to the first rank among city trees. Its forms, — in early life vase-like, in maturer years like an umbrella, or weeping willow, and in old age like the sturdy oak, — in every stage of its existence are the forms of beauty and gracefulness. For parks or wide streets, it is the tree of trees. For less space, narrow streets, &c., the horse chestnut perhaps ranks next, whether we regard its beauty, or the ease with which it may be transplanted, or the abil- ity which it possesses of taking care of itself. In this latter respect, it is unsurpassed by any tree with which I am ac- quainted. My third favorite is the sugar maple. This fine tree, like the horse chestnut, has something prim and old- maidish about its growth ; still it is very beautiful, and like fairer beings, not to be set aside for little peculiarities of habit. Next to the sugar maple, I would name the Norway ma- ple,— another of the family, differing chiefly from the fore- going in the size of its leaves, which closely resemble those of the sycamore. With this, I think the ash, white, black, and European, may properly enough be ranked. Next suc- ceeding these, I place the silver maple and the European lin- den,— trees of great beauty and of very rapid growth, but li- able to the attacks of the borer. Of many trees, I have thus noticed nine which seem well deserving the attention of those who plant trees in cities. 2. The next query is. Where to locate the trees 7 I propose, at present, to speak first of planting trees upon side-walks. In American cities, it is customary to construct streets with a wide carriage-way in the middle, and a walk for pedestrians on either side. Trees are usually planted on the line between these foot-walks and the carriage-way. The middle of a side-walk, properly graded, should be level with, or a little higher than, the middle of the opposite carriage-way ; and the gutters between the walks and carri- age-way should be broad and shallow. Upon streets thus constructed, trees have a chance to grow much better than where the walks are high and the gutters deep, as we often see them. Trees in Cities. 51 Another question occurs : — Is the effect better where trees of one variety only are planted upon a long line of side-walk, or where two varieties are planted alternately — say first an elm, then a maple, then an elm, then a maple, and so on ; or yet where several varieties are planted along, one after the other, — as first an elm, then a maple, then an ash, then a lin- den, &c., &c. I am for one variety only, — all elms, all maples, or all something else. The effect of elms and maples alternating with each other, is not objectionable ; but he who plants a long line of single, equidistant trees, has little enough of imity left in his work, without attempting to depart further from this essential element of the beautiful. In this connection, 1 wish to say a word in regard to the width of sidewalks and streets. We often see sidewalks very narrow, say only four or five feet in Width. Upon such walks it is questionable whether to plant trees at all, as the space which they would occupy is worth more than their beauty or their shade. Even eight feet is a narrow width for a sidewalk ; ten is better and does very well ; but twelve, or even fourteen or fifteen feet, looks still better, where there is room enough left in the middle of the street for carriages. These narrow streets are an utter abomination, making one almost wish that hereafter no city should he entitled to a charter, unless its narrowest street ex- ceeded forty feet in width. And, although wandering from my subject, I would add, that speculators, who hover around large cities, laying out cornfields and cowpastures into streets and building-lots, ought to learn that the narrower the street, the meaner, if not poorer, will be its occupants! — and that, however a street may have been originally planned, those who have control of it can far more easily contract than expand its limits, just as to cut down and destroy a beautiful tree, is easier than it is to cause one to grow. Still another and more difficult question remains to be an- swered : How ought the trees in a city common or park, to be arranged ? Take as an example Boston Common. Here we have, for 52 Trees in Cities. the most part, a smooth grass surface, intersected by straight wide gravel-walks, and these lined on each side with trees placed along at equal distances from each other. But sup- pose no tree or walk were there, and a car^e blanche were given to any one that he might arrange all things to his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor ? Would you plant straight rows of equidistant trees there ? Probably not. For, although such an arrangement of fruit or shade trees may be in its place very convenient and useful, it can never please the eye which admires the picturesque beauty of trees grow- ing in groups. Suppose the trees upon the Common were gathered to- gether in groups, — here a thicket, there a wide space of open lawn ; or suppose the primitive forest, — such as perhaps once grew there, — had remained, and clearings been made with a bold hand to let in the sunshine, would you not prefer either of these conditions to the present one, beautiful as it may be? As I have not leisure to write any more, I hope that you will take up the subject, and give us your own views upon the whole subject of Trees in Cities. Worcester, Dec, 1850. The communication of our correspondent is one of peculiar interest, and the suggestions he offers of great importance, — of so much importance, indeed, that we do not feel willing to attempt a full review of them, in the space we have now to spare, but would prefer at another time to devote a whole article to the subject. Yet we cannot allow the present op- portunity to pass without a few words of comment, and at the same time to request the attention of our correspondents to Mr. Jacques's article, with the hope that we may have their views upon a subject so interesting to all. We know of no one so well able to aid in the laudable effort of improvement in the planting of trees in cities, as Gen. Dearborn, and we trust we may hear from him, and give our readers the benefit of his extensive experience and practical knowledge upon this subject. Mr. Jacques's first query relative to the trees best adapted Trees in Cities. 53 for streets, is well answered by himself, and we heartily con- cur in all that he has advanced as regards the kinds, and their adaptability to the object in view. The American elm, as he truly remarks, for parks, is the " tree of trees ;" but on no account should it be planted in a street of less width than eighty feet. This proposition we know will startle many who think an elm will grow anywhere, and is equally as suitable to a narrow as a wide street, — to a garden plot of a hundred feet square, as well as to a park of fifty acres, — and who always judge of the room it will occupy, by its size when set out. Those, however, who have seen the elm in its mature state, who have admired its majestic form, spread- ing its broad arms over pasture and field, know that without space its real beauty is lost, and that a full-grown tree in a forty foot street, is as much out of place as a berberry bush in the middle of a small flower bed. For all narrow avenues, the other trees mentioned by Mr. Jaques, may be planted ; but unless more than forty feet, we should be inclined to reject even the horse chestnut. We hardly think Mr. Jaques has said enough in favor of the silver maple ; — it is a rapid growing tree, of a free and graceful form, and its clean bark and reddish spray always give it a cheerful look, even in its defoliated state. As we have never known it to be troubled with the borer, we should place it next to the elm for street planting. A few other trees Mr. Jaques has omitted : these are the Scotch elm, the Huntington elm, and the American beech, — all beautiful trees, and suitable for all but the narrowest streets. The second query relative to the mode of planting, as well as style of arrangement, is equally as important as to know what the best sorts are ; and here, too, we agree with Mr. Jaques. There can be no question that true taste would designate that for streets or avenues, but one kind should be planted ; that is, either all elms, or all maples, &c. We have in our grounds an avenue of silver maples, 1200 feet long, planted six years ago ; they are twenty feet apart, and are now from 54 Heating Hothouses and Greenhouses. twenty to thirty feet high each, and some of them thirly-six inches in circumference at the base. When in full leaf, nothing can exceed the beauty of these two lines of trees. We also have another line of trees, forming one side of a street, 1200 feet long, planted with Scotch elms, limes, and silver maples alternately, — that is, first an elm, then a lime, then a maple, and so on to the end ; the effect to our eye, of these trees, is not to be compared with the entire avenue of ma- ples. Variety or novelty such a mixture may possess, but the true element of beauty is wanting. We may be attracted by the variety of foliage, by the difference of form, or by the contrast which such a mixture always affords, but the result cannot be otherwise than* monotonous. On the contrary, an avenue planted with only one variety will always present, in its broad masses of foliage, in its harmonious lines, and its unity of character, a pleasing and lasting impression of nat- ural beauty. The last question is one which we must reserve for an- other occasion, — particularly the reference to Boston Com- mon ; and as a worse specimen of bad arrangement and bad taste is nowhere to be found, we shall endeavor to discuss the subject at some length. In the mean time we hope to have the opinions of our friends, upon the queries proposed by Mr. Jacques. — -Ed. Art. II. Heating Hotliouses and Greenhouses by Hot Wa- ter, scientifically and practically considered. By R. B. Leuchars, Garden Architect. {Continued from Vol. XVI., p. 485.) By way of illustrating the misapplication of the principles on which hot water is made to circulate in pipes, and thereby warming all parts of a house more equally than by any other means, I will describe two apparatuses of different forms, which I have lately been called to examine, and though very Heating Hothouses and Greenhouses. 55 different in their construction, yet both manifesting the same want of knowledge in the principle, iUustrated in my last paper, (Vol. XVI., page 482.) And as those forms and appa- ratus are by no means uncommon, it would be well for those interested in the matter to mark the errors which I would now point out. In the first instance, the boiler was situated, as it usually is, at one of the back corners of the house, which was a common lean-to vinery, but intended also to keep plants during winter ; on the back of the vinery was a cellar, and other domestic offices connected v/ith the dwelling-house, the floor of which was four feet below the level of the floor of the vinery. As the apparatus was a good one, and the plant-house not very large, and being, besides, in a tolerably well sheltered corner, the proprietor very wisely thought he might have plenty of heat for his plants during winter, and have some from the apparatus to warm the aforesaid offices besides : with this view, the gentleman had spared no ex- pense in procuring the apparatus, and having it erected in the best possible manner, his chief object being to have the whole warmed with as little trouble in the subsequent work- ing of the apparatus as possible, as he had none but females to attend to it, except when he attended to it himself. The apparatus was accordingly erected in the following manner. The boiler and furnace, as I have said, was situated in a corner, formed by the back wall of the grapery, and the end wall of the said offices, the ashpit floor being level with the floor of the latter. The flow pipe was led from the top of the boiler with a perpendicular rise of one foot, and on this level was carried across the end of the house, then along the front, and across the other end, thence through the back wall down to the floor of the cellar and offices, then carried along the floor till it reached the fire place, and rose perpen- dicularly to the boiler. This apparatus had been erected two years previous to my seeing it, but no consumption of fuel and no kind of man- agement could make it warm either the plant-house or the cellars. After a strong fire had been kept burning for a con- 55 Heating Hothouses and Greenhouses. siderable time, a little heat was generated into the pipe in the former place, but the pipe in the cellar was as cold when the fire was burning as when no fire was kept on. At the time of my visit, a common stove had been employed to warm the cellars, and as for the plant-house or vinery, the proprietor said, it might go to the deuce ! And assuredly it did so, for there it was, the very embodiment of desolation and neglect, a few things that had once been plants, and lit- ter strewed about that had once been vine leaves, were the only visible evidence of what it was intended for. The fact is, after much expense, the gentleman had met with nothing but disappointment, and as a natural consequence he had summarily abandoned a pursuit, which had been productive of neither profit nor pleasure. Let us now look at the cause, and, having done so, the remedy is clear. The pipe, in descending from the vinery to the cellars, had a perpendicular fall of five feet six inches, and from thence again to the boiler, a perpendicular rise of three feet three inches. Now, one single glance at this erec- tion would satisfy any one, who had the smallest knowledge of the principles already explained, that it could not work : that there would be no circulation, and circulation being the grand desideratum, it is clear that, without it, the appa- ratus is useless. Here the two forces which should antagonize each other, were too unequally matched. The weight of water in the lower pipe was nearly double that of the upper, and when heat was applied to the boiler the difference would increase, so that the warming of the water in the upper pipe would only tend to lessen the power of circulation. The warming of the upper pipe arises from the ascension of the heated par- ticles through the column of water above the boiler, to the highest point of the said column, and even if the pipes be lying on a dead level, as in the case under consideration, the heated particles will gradually find their way along the wa- ter in the pipe by convection, — but very slowly, — till they reach the point where the pipe descends, — when any motion in the water ceases to be perceptible, although it may be Heating Hothouses and Greenhouses, 57 slightly warmed by the conduction of heat by the metal of the pipe. The column of water at the extreme end of the pipes must always have a preponderance over the column next to the boiler. And this preponderance must increase, as the pipes are reduced below the level of the boiler, for although the column above the boiler be reduced in weight by the appli- cation of heat, this decrease is not sufficient to counteract the retrograde motion caused by the superior weight of the col- umn below the boiler, and, therefore, until the weight of the latter column be overcome by the weight of the opposite column, no circulation can take place. Two remedies, therefore, presented themselves in the case in question. One, by increasing the weight of the column of water opposite to the boiler, — another, by reducing the re- sistance of the column below the boiler. This may be effected in three ways, — by raising the upper pipe to a higher level ! By raising the lower pipe to a higher level ! Or by reducing the boiler to a lower level. By raising the upper pipe, additional power is given to the up]:>er column. By raising the lower pipe, the weight of the resisting column is reduced, and by lowering the boiler, both of these ends is effected, as additional force is given to the flowing column of water, and a proportionate force taken from the resisting column. And the water in the lower pipe, which before re- mained motionless, is pressed forward into the boiler, by the superior weight of the water above it. The last of these remedies was the one which we adopted in the case in question, as being the most practical, and was done at very little cost ; the boiler and furnace were sunk twenty-two inches lower than they were before : the balance of power was thus given to the upper column. The apparatus now works perfectly satisfactory, and the proprietor, who is an acute observer, is surprised that he did not see the error, that caused the impediment to its circulation. I have already occupied so much space with this paper, that I must defer the other illustration until my next. {To be continued.) VOL. XVII. NO. II. 8 58 Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. Art. III. Notes on some of the new or recently introduced varieties of Fruits, ivhich have been exhibited the past year. By the Hon. J. S. Cabot, Chairman of the Fruit Com- mittee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. So many persons among us are engaged in the raising of fruit, and so much interest is manifested respecting the character of the new varieties, that, previous to the com- mencement of a new season, such statements as circum- stances seem to warrant concerning the qualities of these va- rieties, that during the past season have been produced for the first or second time, may, perhaps, be considered not in- appropriate,— and although to the initiated they should be but as " a thrice-told tale," yet in reference to beginners, such remarks as a farther experience may appear to justify respecting some of the varieties that, already somewhat known, are yet but of recent origin or introduction, may be deemed not entirely out of place. To subserve these pur- poses is the design of the following communication. It should perhaps be stated at the commencement, that specimens of fruit, particularly pears and apples, from a tree only in its first or second year of bearing, may be by no means true criteria of the qualities of such variety. If such specimens are high flavored and good, they may indi- cate strongly that the variety is valuable, — but if poor, they by no means prove that it may not in subsequent years, when the trees have arrived at greater maturity, become desirable. This perhaps is more especially true of those varieties that have, when at perfection, much sharpness or acidity. So too with some varieties, in order to produce their fruit in all the perfection of which the variety is capable, — some particular soil, exposure, or mode of cultivation may be required for the tree, — and with others, some particular process may be nec- essary to assist the ripening of the fruit, and from all this it follows, that no very conclusive opinion should be formed, and that no very accurate judgment can be expressed, respect- ing many varieties from trees, in only their first or second year of bearing. - ♦ Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. 59 The past year could not be deemed one propitious for fruit ; there was probably too much rain and too little heat, and to these circumstances has generally been attributed the fact that fruit was deficient in flavor. During the past season some new fruits have been produced for the first time, and additional opportunity has been afl'orded for testing others of recent origin or introduction that had before fruited, and of such, taking them for the most part in the order of their sea- son of ripening, it is intended now to make mention. Strawberries. — A new seedling strawberry from the Pres- ident of the Horticultural Society, Mr. Walker. This straw- berry was raised by Mr. Walker, from seed in his garden in Roxbury ; — it is a berry of large size, handsome, of a regular conical shape, dark red color and high rich flavor, — the plants grow very vigorous and strong, and are hardy. It is a stami- nate variety, and, for such, bears well, and promises, if any staminate variety is, to be worthy of general cultivation. A strawberry called Gen. Jacquemont, was exhibited at the rooms of the Horticultural Society, that, so far as flavor only is considered, seemed to be a desirable variety; but as no information respecting it is possessed, except what could be obtained from an examination of a few specimens, no ex- pression of opinion as to its merits would be justifiable. Jenney's Seedling strawberry does not appear to be so generally cultivated as it deserves, — it is a good bearer, very hardy, and when perfectly ripe, of a fine flavor, losing that acidity which has rendered it with many objectionable. Hovey's Seedling strawberry continues to maintain its claims to superiority, as the best of the large fruited varieties, taking all circumstances itito consideration, for general culti- vation, and thus far has not, either in public estimation or excellence, been superseded by any new variety. During the past few years, many new varieties of straw- berries have been produced from seed, but a ie\y only of such have given promise, from a combination of good quali- ties, of becoming established sorts. Among such may be mentioned three varieties, raised by Mr. Richardson, of Cam- bridge, and named by him Richardson's Early, Richardson's 60 Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. Late, and Cambridge. Under the care and cultivation of Mr. Richardson, whose soil seems peculiarly suited to this plant, all the three varieties grew vigorously and bore abun- dantly. The distinctive excellencies claimed for the different varieties, were, that Richardson's Early was an earlier and larger fruit than the Early Virginia, and being of a darker color and more regular form, handsomer than the fruit of that variety, — that the Late was fine in flavor, most profuse in bearing, and, ripening late, somewhat prolonged the season of the strawberry, — while for the Cambridge it was con- tended that its berries were larger than those of any variety in cultivation. Specimens of the different varieties exhibited seemed to support some of the claims thus made, — but as the plants of these varieties were sent out three years since, and they must probably have been subjected to the test of different soils and mode of culture, from some circumstances unexplained, no opportunity has been afforded, by an exhibi- tion of specimens, to arrive at any satisfactory condition re- specting their merit. . Blackberries. — ^The cultivated blackberry, so called, to distinguish it from the common high bush blackberry, is a very fine fruit, far superior to the common variety. It was originally found growing ^tild, in Dorchester, and from thence it was transplanted, and having been propagated is cultivated in several gardens. As in some situations it is occasionally killed down in winter, and as its very strong, stiff, thorny canes almost forbid any attempts at protection by laying down^ &c., it may be questioned whether its culture will prove profitable for the market j but no one can see its beautiful fruit, of extra large size, or taste their delicious flavor, without desiriiig its possession. It is distinguished from the common high bush blackberry by the size of the bush and the fruit. — the canes, too^ are fluted, growing to the height of eight or ten feet in a season, and of a proportionate size : it requires a rich moist soil, when it bears abundantly. Raspberries. — Knevet's Giant raspberry has been grown by a few amateurs and cultivators for some years, but its merits do not seem generally known or properly appreciated. Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. 61 TtiG fruit is of fine flavor, and large size, — (he canes are har- dy,— it is a good bearer, arid the fruit bears carriage well, — preferable particularly iu this last respect as well as in others to the Fastolf, whose fruit adheres so closly that it is impos- sible to separate it from the stem, without bruising. A few years since a new Yellow Raspberry was introduced, that at first promised to supply the place of v/hat had been considered a desideratum, a white or yellow, raspberry of good quality, — the Antwerp, though for flavor a standard^ being so lender and so poor a bearer as to have become like its congener the Red Antwerp, an outcast. But a short trial proved that the new introduction was worthless, and it has been discarded, leaving a v/hite or yellow raspberry, worthy of cultivation, yet to be supplied. Goos£;Bt:uuif:s. — Houghton's Seedling gooseberry, though not new, continues to be probably the best gooseberry for general cultivation that we possess, — the berries, though small, are sweet and luscious, and, what is a great recommen- dation, not subject to mildew or blight. Our climate does not seem suited to the gooseberry, neither, though highly esteemed in England, is it a favorite fruit. The lover of them, who wishes a ie^^ bushes for fruit for his own use, will probably find no variety better suited to his purposes than the Houghton Seedling. Cheuries. — Early Purple Guigne cherry, one of the ear- liest if not the earliest cherry, — handsome in appearance and rich in flavor, earlier and larger than the May Bigar- reau, though scarcely known, is worthy of general cultiva- tion. The Belle d'Orleans, another early cherry, of a light red or amber color, with flesh tender and of good flavor, ripened the last season, and, so far as an opinion can be formed from trying a few specimens, seems to be a desirable variety. A Seedling cherry, raised by Messrs. Hovey, fruited the past year, and promises to be worthy of preservation, — it is a Bigarreau, of large size, and of a light red or amber color. Walsh's Seedling Cherries — These are three in number, ripenhig successively at intervals of about ten days, and are, 62 Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. so far as known, the best seedling cherries yet produced in this vicinity, equalling, if not surpassing in quality, the choic- est kinds of European origin. These cherries bear a strong resemblance to each other, are of large size, of a very dark or black color, and of a very rich sweet flavor, are said to be prolific, and the fruit not apt to rot on the tree, from wet or other causes. They are presumed to have originated from the fruit of a tree brought from the south of France, many years since, that has not yet been identified with any known variety. Until the past season, when buds of them were dis- tributed by him, these cherries have been retained by Mr. Walsh in his own possession, and the only opportunities of forming an opinion respecting them, have been afforded by the examination of specimens presented by him. Should they, under general culture, and in different soils and situa- tions, continue to preserve their present claims to superiority, they will, it is believed, be considered among the very best cherries grown. Currants. — Gondouin currants, so called it is believed from a town in France, where it was originated, fruited the past season for the first time ; the berries are of good size, red color, and, from being rather later than the Red Dutch and so prolonging the season of this fruit, may prove valuable. The currants seem to have but little disposition to sport into varieties, seedlings generally bearing so strong a resemblance to, or showing so little superiority over, the parent as to be unworthy of preservation as distinct sorts. Occasionally a new variety, with some distinctive features, is produced. This was the case a few years since with May's Victoria, that was represented as a great improvement on the common, well known sort, — but after a trial of three or four years, it may be questioned, whether, under common culture, it is much, if any superior, to the old Red Dutch. The strings or bunches of fruit are longer than those of the common varie- ties, containing sometimes twenty-six or twenty-eight ber- ries, and under favorable circumstances the berries are some- what larger ; but not larger than those of the common vari- eties under equally high culture and as favorable circum- Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. 63 stances, — while in flavor it shows no superiority. As how- ever it makes a variety where so little variety exists, it be- comes desirable. Grapes. — Josling's St. Albans Grape, whose claims to superiority as well as to being a new distinct variety were sustained by expressed opinions in its favor of the highest authority,t^has now been fruited for the past two years. It is a very rich high flavored grape, bearing so striking a re- semblance to the Chasselas Masque, as to give rise to the be- lief that it would prove identical with that variety. This, however, has not been as yet decided ; it cracks and rots worse than the Chasselas Musque, an objection to which that va- riety is so subject, and has not matured its fruit so soon by fourteen days, going to prove, if this be not owing to some accidental peculiarity of soil or situation, that the two varie- ties are different. Mr. Allen is of opinion that the Josling's St. Albans, if not the Chasselas Musque, may prove to be the Raisin de Calabre, a variety similar to the Chasselas, but requiring fifteen to thirty days longer to ripen its fruit. The Austrian Muscat is a new grape, of a slight amber or pinkish color, and of very fine flavor. Mr. Allen, who has in his collection the greatest number of varieties of the grape probably in the country, embracing almost all the known varieties of any repute, for the purpose of ascertaining, by his own observation, the qualities of the several varieties, and thus enabling himself to arrive at just conclusions with respect to their merits, has, during the past season, fruited several new grapes, and the remarks on such, that follow, are mainly the results of his experience. White Bual, a new white grape, with roundish berries, of medium size, bunch very large, with large loose shoulders, very good, and promises to be an acquisition. Its season of ripening is after the Chasselas. Facure, a small round white grape, inferior in quality to the Chasselas de Fontainbleau. Fromental, a dark grape, strongly resembling the Black Hamburgh. Florentine, is a black grape, with round berries, of medium €4 Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. size, — it is of the cluster family, resembling the early Black July, and ripening about the same time with that variety. Falanchina, is a small, round white grape, inferior in qual- ity to the Chasselas de Fontainbleau. De Rhinelander, is another new white grape, with small round berries, bearing a strong resemblance to the Chasselas de Fontainbleau, and that has the reputation of being hardy in open culture. Opportunity of ascertaining the truth of this last named quality, by actual experiment, has not yet been atForded. White Rissling, a medium sised round v/hite grape, of the cluster variety, hardy, good, but inferior to the Chasselas de Fontainbleau. Deccan Superb, a very handsome, oval white grape, of large size, — in quality very unequal, — as some of the berries will be sweet and of rich flavor, while others will be insipid. Prince Albert, a black grape, with very large bunches and round berries, rather under a medium size, but of good flavor: apparently it is a small bearer; at all events it does not bear young. Xeres, the Sherry wine grape, has white berries, of me- dium size, very sweet, but not equal in quality to the Chasselas varieties. Poiteau Noir and Bishop, are both very late varieties, re- quiring six months to mature their fruit, — and being late, are on that account valuable, — both bunches and berries are very large, — the latter of a black color. St. Peter of Aliers has rather large berries, and resembles^ the Black July. Chaptal, has oval berries, of a white color, with a muscat flavor, — sets its fruit badly. Calabrian, is a small, white, round, sweet-water grape, of the cluster family, very inferior to the Chasselas de Fon- tainbleau. Callaiba, represented to be black, turns out to be a small, ■oval white grape, unworthy of a place in the vinery. Most of the above named grapes are of recent introduc- tion, having fruited the past season for the first or second time, and several of them are of very recent origin, — that for Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. 65 the most part, as appears by the remarks affixed to them, will probably prove unworthy of general cultivation. Mr. Allen has, the past season, fruited three seedling vari- eties of the grape, raised by him. One of them is from seed of the Verdelho. impregnated by the Grizzly, Frontignan ; it resembles its parents, — has a high rich musque flavor, and ri- pens early. Should its fruit by age improve in size, it will be an acquisition. Another of these seedlings is a very great bearer, and closely resembles the Black Hamburgh. The third is a small late white grape, probably unworthy of cul- tivation. Plums. — The De Montfort, a purple plum of medium size, and purple color, fruited for the first time the past sea- son. The flavor of the only specimen seen was delicious, and it promises, so far as an opinion may be formed from a single specimen, and in one year only, in a species of fruit where so few really very good varieties exist, to be an acqui- sition. The Reine Claude de Bavay plum has been fruited the past two seasons in this vicinity; it is a plum of medium size, round oval form, green color, sweet, but not high fla- vored ; it is a late plum, keeping into October, — disposed to shrivel rather than to rot on the tree, and that promises also to be worthy of cultivation. The tree grows vigorously^ but being as 3^et but young and small, its bearing proper- ties are not ascertained. By some mistake the Washington was first sent out from England for this variety, but trees of the true sort were received from Orleans, and from such the specimens, to which these observations apply, were produced. By some means the terra '' monstreuse " was in some in- stances applied to this variety, as constituting a portion of its distinctive appellation. — but this is an addition unaiUhorized either by the size of the fruit or its originator, — the true name being it is believed that above given. Pears. — Among pears of recent origin, that have fruited the past season for the first or second time, may be men- tioned Groom's Princess Royal, — a pear of medium size, ber- gamotte shape, dark green color, turning yellow when ripe^ VOL. XVII. NO. II. 9 66 Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. melting, juicy, sweet, and pleasant ; ripening in January. The trees seen do not grow vigorously. Nouveau Poiteau, a new Flemish pear, large, or above a medium size, with a pyriform shape, somewhat flattened, skin rather rough, of a dark green color, with some brown spots or blotches; flesh greenish white, buttery, melting, sweet ; whose season is October and November. The only specimens seen, were unequal in quality ; while some were of a somewhat peculiar, but delicious flavor, bearing some resemblance to that of a citron melon, others were rather insipid. The trees grow very vigorously, and promise to bear early and abundantly. Beurre Langelier is a new pear, with a reputation for great excellence, and that is of very good promise. It bore fruit the past season ; a single specimen only having been pro- duced the year previous. The fruit is of pyriform shape, above a medium size, and of very handsome appearance. The ground color of the skin is yellow when ripe, with a fine red in the sun ; the flesh is fine grained, melting and juicy, of a pleasant flavor. The true season of this pear is January and February, though owing to accidental circum- stances, some specimens this year ripened in November. The trees have a thick, handsome foliage, and are of very vigorous habit. Doyenne Goubault, a pear recently originated at Angers, in France, has a yellow somewhat russetty skin, an eye not very prominent, and a short stem set in a rather shoal cavity, with a round, somewhat flattened form, and whose flesh is white and melting ; fruited the past year. The specimens tasted, were deficient in flavor, but this may very probably be owing to the fact that they were unintentionally ripened somewhat prematurely by having been placed in a drawer near the pipe of a furnace. Fondante de Malines is a tolerably good fruit, but one whose European reputation was not sustained by the speci- mens examined ; such being, though melting and pleasant, rather deficient in flavor, owing perhaps to the same circum- stance as that referred to in the case of the Doyenne Gou- Notes on New Varieties of Fruits. 67 bault, both having been similarly treated, and therefore, in both instances, being a less correct criterion of quality, than specimens of the first year usually are. Inconnue Van Mons, though not high flavored or of first- rate excellence, is a good pear, and, ripening in January, val- uable. It is in color green, of a pyriform shape, medium size, not unlike that of the Dix, — melting and juicy. Notaire Minot is a new pear, that fruited for the first time the past year. It is a very handsome fruit, regular in form, of a pyriform shape, green color, with a very bright, deep red in the sun. The specimens produced were but indiffer- ent in quality, acid, and somewhat astringent. The tree which produced them grew in a stiff clay soil, that perhaps may be uncongenial to the variety, besides that the remarks previously made herein, with respect to specimens of the first year of bearing, also are applicable. These particular speci- mens were gathered before they were perfectly ripe, a cir- cumstance that may have affected the quality unfavorably. Although present indications are not encouraging, further trial may prove it worthy of cultivation. Lawrence is a pear that was first brought to the notice of cuhivators seven years since, by specimens brought from New York. It has now fruited for three years in succession, and promises to be worthy of cultivation here also. It is a melting, juicy, sweet fruit, ripening in November and De- cember, at a time when there is a scarcity of good pears, and is on that account, as well as for its own merits, desirable. Its cultivation has recently been much extended on Long Island, for the New York market, and it is there held in high estimation. Josephine de Malines is a new pear, about which very fa- vorable expectations were excited, in consequence of the re- ports of its quality that preceded its introduction from Eu- rope. The specimens produced the past season, as well as those of the year previous, do not, however, justify hopes of the realization of these expectations; but, as the specimens of the last season examined were produced under very un- favorable circumstances, such as would hardly warrant any 68 Notes 071 Neio Varieties of Fruits. attempts at description or expression of opinion as to qnality, and those of the previons year were gathered before ripe, a statement of the fact that it has fruited, is, on the present occasion, thought sufficient, and the deferring any further ob- servations concerning it deemed advisable. This also applies to several other varieties of pears of recent introduction, that have for the first time fruited the past year, and of which, for the reason above stated, or because a very hasty and im- perfect examination, of which no record was kept, was be- stowed upon them, and an account must be delayed until another season has offered another opportunity of judging of their quality. Among the pears of native origin, that give promise of being worthy of general cultivation, and of becoming estab- lished varieties, may be mentioned the Seedlings of Mr. Francis Dana, of Roxbury. One of these fruited three years since, — the tree then but five years from the seed. — and is a fruit above a medium size, of very pleasant flavor, ripening in November ; an apparent tendency to rot at the core, if kept at all too long, will, it is feared, unless this was acci- dental, detract from its value. Another of these pears is an early fruit, ripening in September; for the examination of which, only one opportunity has been afforded. The speci- mens tasted possessed a good deal of character, were vinous, high flavored, and juicy. With regard to a third variety, no personal knowledge is possessed, — but reports from good judges are, that it is of great merit. Considerable attention has lately been given by cultivators to the raising of new varieties of pears from seed, that it is hoped will result in the providing of some better suited to our soil and climate, than are those of foreign origin, yet equalling or surpassing them in quality. True, we have already varieties in almost count- less profusion, but very many of them, on trial, are found to be worthless, either because our climate or soil is imsuited to them, or that a desire for gain has induced a willingness to pander to the rage for novelties, by furnishing, under im- posing names, worthless kinds ; and though no addition to the number of varieties is desirable, the production of new Notes on JSlew Varieties of Fruits. 69 sorts from seed may furnish those that will be far in ad- vance of such as are now cultivated, and on that account should be encouraged. Apples. — The Northern Spy.apple was, for the first time in this vicinity, fruited by Dr. Wight, of Dedham, last season. Specimens of this fruit, sent from New York, by their beauty, size, excellence of quality, and capacity for being kept late in the season, created a very general desire for its possession. The trees when obtained grew vigorously, ri- pened their wood well, seemed hardy, and appeared to au- thorize the belief that the variety would succeed in this vi- cinity as well as in that from which it was introduced. The specimens produced do not, however, encourage such belief, being small and in every respect indifferent. It is of course /oo early, the first year of bearing, to decide tliat the variety Avill not answer or succeed : still, as the specimens produced were from grafts set in a thrifty, vigorous tree of mature age, and, though growing in grass groimd, favorably situated, there is strong reason to fear that disappointment will be ex- perienced, and affords ground, though not to reject it at once, to at least induce caution with respect to any very extensive cultivation of it. Perhaps upon a stiff soil, with very high culture, it would be more likely to succeed. Manomet Sweeting is not a very new apple, yet one of re- cent introduction, and whose cultivation is still confined to Plymouth, the place of its origin, where it is highly esteemed for its qualities. An examination of specimens for several successive years, induces the opinion that the estimation in which it is held by those familiar with the variety, as one of the very best sweet apples of the season, is well founded. It is an early apple, ripening the latter part of August, keeping for some weeks, of a medium or above a medium size, red color, and rich sweet flavor. The tree grows strong and vig- orously. Coggswell is another apple that, though not new, is com- paratively little known. It was, it is believed, procured some twenty years or more since, by Mr. Hyde, of Newton, from the interior or western part of the State, and by him somewhat disseminated, though its cultivation at this time is 70 Descriptio7is of Select Varieties of Cheri'ies. neither general nor extensive. It is a very handsome apple, of large size ; its color a yellow ground, nearly covered with blotches and stripes of a scarlet red ; the flesh is tender, of a very rich flavor, and it is in eating from December to Febru- ary. The tree is handsome, of a vigorous habit, bearing its fruit on the branches as it were on strings. The White Seek-no-further is one of the very best apples grown, — in quality equal to, and not unlike, the Newtown Pippin, while it is very much more tender ; upon trial, however, it does not seem suited to our climate. The fruit, which in situations congenial to it is fair, being here, though of good size, disfigured with black blotches or spots ; it has a peculiarity of bearing its fruit only on the ends of its branches. In addition to the foregoing, opportunity has been aff"orded during the past year, for testing other new or unknown va- rieties of the apple ; but as such were not distinguished by name, or identified with any known variety, any general descriptions, where no striking peculiarity or superior merit existed, would be of little or no value ; and if such was not the case, a want of information with regard to the habit and character of the tree producing them, as well as of their adaptation to, or unsuitableness for, general cultivation, would forbid more than a mere enumeration of their quali- ties; and therefore, further allusion to them seems uncalled for. Salem, January 15th, 1851. Art. IV. Descriptions and Engravings of Select Varieties of Cherries. By the Editor. 13. Davenport. Prince's Pom. Manual, Vol. II, p. 154. Davenport's Early. Fruit and Fruit Trees of America. Davenport's Early Black. Kenrick's American Orchardist. The Davenport {fig. 5} is one of the best of the early Descriptions of Select Varieties of Cherries. 71 cherries which succeed the Early Purple Guigne and the May Bigarreau. It ripens a little before the May Duke. It is of good size, of a rich flavor, and the tree is not only exceedingly vigorous, but forms a fine shaped head, is very hardy, and one of the most productive varieties cultivated. The Davenport was raised in Dorches- ter by Mr. Davenport, a fruit cultivator and nurseryman, whose name it bears. Mr. Prince first fully described it in his Pom. Manual, and he states on the au- thority of the originator, that it ripened two weeks before the Black Heart, from which it probably originated. We es- teem it better than that old sort, and the vigor of the tree and its other excellent qualities entitle it to general cultivation. ''' "*■ ''""^^'' ■ ^"'-"• Size, medium, about three quarters of an inch long, and three quarters of an inch in diameter : Form, roundish heart shaped, somewhat flattened towards the point, with a slight suture on one side : Skin, dark red, becoming purplish red when fully ripe, slightly mottled with pale red : Stem, medium length, about one and a half inches long, moder- ately stout, and inserted in a rather deep cavity : Flesh, deep red, tender, juicy, sweet and excellent : Stone, medi- um size, roundish ovate. Ripe from the middle to the end of June. 14. Mottled Bigarreau. Mag. of Hort., Yol. VIII, p. 283. Manning's Mottled. Fruits and Truit Trees of America. Mr. Manning briefly described this fine cherry {fig. 6,) in our volume for 1842, along with forty-three other varie- ties. It is one of several seedlings which he produced in the Pomological Garden, and we believe the best of them. It is of good size, of beautiful appearance, with a pale amber skin, delicately mottled with red. 72 Descriptions of Select Varieties of Cherries. Though called by Mr. Manning a Bigarreau, in the com- mon understanding of that term, which includes hard fleshed cherries, it does not belong in that class. It is so far hybridized with the tender cherries as to have a flesh between tender and firm, and as we do not admit of the arbitrary dis- tinction based merely on the firmness of the flesh, but follow the classification of Mr. R. Thompson in the Hort. Transac- tions, (Vol. VIII, p. 248,) founded on the character of the leaves, the name is of no consequence whatever, and an alteration only tends to confusion. The Mottled Bigarreau is a free and vig- orous growing tree, with a regular spread- ing head, and an abundant bearer. Size, medium, about seven-eighths of an inch long, and little more than the same in diameter : Form, obtuse heart shaped, flattened, with a shallov/ suture running all round, and an indented point : Skin, yellowish amber, covered with numerous large yellow mottlings, rayed with dark red, pale red on the sunny side : Stem, medium length, about one and a half inches long, moderately stout, and inserted in a rather shallow cavity : Flesh, pale amber, half tender, juicy, melting, rich, sweet and excellent : Stone, rather large, roundish ovate. Ripe from the end of June to the middle of July. Firr. 6. Mollkd Biga rcau. 15. Manning's Late Black. Mag. of Horticulture, Vol. VIII, p. 282. This variety [fig. 7,) is another-of the late Mr. Manning's seedlings, which he first described in our Magazine, in the volume above alluded to. It was produced from the Black Heart, and somewhat resembles that old variety it] apjiear- ance, but is nearly a month later, ripening the middle of July, about the same time as the Downer. The Rhododendron, as an Ornamental Shrub. 73 Last year, a tree which we budded from scions received from Mr. Manning, produced a fine crop, and as a late cherry we consider a very good addition to a large collection. Mr. Manning describes it as *' large," but proba- bly owing to the heavy crop, our fruit was not quite as large as usual. If its size was equal to the Tartarian, it would rank among the most valuable sorts in a collec- tion. The tree is vigorous, with a spreading head. Size, medium, about three quarters of an inch long, and seven eighths of an inch in diameter : Form, roundish heart-shaped, narrowing to the point, and slightly com- pressed : Skin, deep, shining purplish red : Stem, medium length, about one and a half inches long, slender, and inserted in a shal- low cavity: Flesh, dark purplish red, half Lite Black Cherry. tender, juicy, sweet and good : Stone, roundish. Ripe about the middle of July. 7. Jtlanninz'f Art. V. On the Rhododendron, as an Ornamental Shrub. By R. B. L. In the formation of gardens and shrubberies, one of the greatest difficulties I have met with, is in obtaining the rich masses of broad leaved evergreens which characterize the pleasure grounds of northern Europe, and give the peculiarly pleasing and picturesque character to the shrubberies of Eng- land. When, in other days, I was wont to labor among those beautiful masses of Rhododendrons, Kalmias, Andromedas, Azaleas, ^'C-caWed par excellence American gardens, I thought, in common with thousands of English gardeners, hoAv splen- did must be the gardens of America where these plants were indigenous. You tourists of taste and learning take a trip across the channel ; you visit the gardens of England, and VOL. XVII. NO. II. 10 74 The Mhododendron, as an Ornamental Shrub. find yourselves, to your own amazement, walking in the midst of grounds, formed exclusively of your own native plants, which, it would appear, they know better what to do with than you do yourselves. In hundreds of places that I could name, there are avenues and carriage drives, many miles in length, bordered and overhung with rhododendrons ; and in others, numerous acres covered with American plants. Rocky dells and old rabbit warrens are planted full of them, and which, without care or keeping, form those sylvan re- treats that constitute the chiefest charm of an English home- stead. If you want to see your native rhododendrons in their natural grandeur, do not look for it in the trim formal symmetry of a flower garden clump, or even in the nursery acres of Knap Hill, but go among the mountains of the north. Your American tourists seem to have a hygrometri- ■cal horror of crossing the Tweed, and some of you seem to liave the impression that it rains there every day. But to my subject ; go among the Grampians, among the gorges of the mountains at Dunkeld, and on the base of Ben Lawres, at Taymouth. On the margins of the lakes, and among the recesses of the rocks in the Scottish Highlands, there your unrivalled native rhododendrons and kalmias are prized and planted in thousands, mingling their masses of dark green foliage with the native foliage of the forests, as if nature, and not art, had planted them there. Visit the banks of the Forth, at Melville House, and the woods of Tyningham in East Lothian, and see them in the plenitude of their glory. And Avhat group of plants in the vegetable kingdom is capable of forming so magnificent a spectacle ? No American could look upon these rhododendron planta- tions when in bloom, and not feel proud of the evergreens of his country, when he reflected that they were natives of its soil. Why is it, that proprietors here will ransack half the globe for delicate novelties that will not thrive without protection, and let others take advantage of what they have at home ? Why is it, that your pleasure grounds, however well and ju- diciously planted, have such a comfortless and desolate ap- The Rhododendron^ as an Ornamental Shrub. 75 pearance for one half the year, with nothing to relieve the cold sterile monotony of bare and leafless branches, except perhaps a few balsam firs, or white pines, which seem as if they were doing duty for evergreens, till something better were planted? Just look at the plantations, usually called ^' Shrubberies,^^ around some of the spruce little villas in the neighborhood of Boston ; a bleak unplanted field on one side, and a swamp on the other; simply a barn, and a post-and- rail fence, with here and there a few fir trees, trembling at their own solitude and stunted proportions, adding only to the indescribable cheerlessness of the place, and freezing one's sensibilities to look at them. You may censure my severity, but you cannot deny that this is the character of too many American gardens. While the broad shining leaves of the rose-bay reflect the sun's rays on your mountain sides, and gorgeous masses of the kalmia glisten in your valle^^s like mirrors of glass, there they stand, braving the summer's heat and winter's cold, wasting their beauty in the wilds of your forests, while they remain total stran- gers to your leafless gardens, though they form the glory of the grounds of other countries. We are daily hearing of the gorgeousness of English pleas- ure grounds ; but take away the foreign trees and shrubs with which they are planted, leaving them nothing but na- tive plants, and what would they have to form shrubberies ? No evergreens would be left theili but the native pine, which rarely finds a place in the pleasure ground ; but they adorn their plantations with the hardy evergreens of other coun- tries, and from America perhaps, more than from any other, more especially in the northern portions of the British Island, where the Portugal laurel, the sweet bay, the common bay, the Lauristinus, and other evergreens from the south of Eu- rope are frequently destroyed by the frost in winter. The hardy rhododendrons however are never destroyed, even in the sterile gorges of Caithness, or on the cold bleak hills of Sutherland, whose bases are washed by the waves of the Northern Ocean. I believe the principal reason that rhododendrons are not 76 The Rhododejidron, as an Ornamental Shruh. planted as ornamental shrubs in this country is, because they will not stand the severity of winter. This may be account- ed for from the fact, that those which have been planted with that view, have either been delicate hybrid varieties, raised under glass, or plants imported from nurseries in Eng- land. Now, rhododendrons taken from the London nurse- ries, and planted among the bleak hills of Badenoch, would be in a worse condition than if they were planted on the hills of New England, They would not survive the first winter they were set out ; it has been tried over and over again. I happened to live for some years at a place situated on the southern slope of the range of hills that rises from the River Tay, and not a hundred miles north from Edin- burgh ; rhododendrons and similar plants were frequently sent from the London nurseries, and though planted with care, they seldom did much good, except they were kept un- der glass, while plants raised on the place, or taken from the nurseries in the neighborhood, throve luxuriantly. The masses of rhododendrons at the country seats of gentlemen in Scotland, are generally planted from seeds sown on the place, frequently self sown, as the young plants spring up in great numbers among the old ones. The removal, even of hardy trees from one part of the country to another, whose climate and soil may be some- what different, produces a very sensible effect upon their growth; sometimes they will not grow at all, and the disap- pointment resulting from this fact, is annually experienced by many planters in this country. Evergreens in general are more affected by this change than deciduous trees, and rhododendrons, kalmias, &.c. are more susceptible than any other hardy evergreens with which I am acquainted, and the consequence of this susceptibility has induced many to aban- don the idea of planting them altogether. To me, it appears evident that rhododendrons can never become useful as hardy ornamental shrubs, by importing them from Europe, or by raising delicate varieties under glass. Undoubtedly the best way is to procure seeds of the hardy native kinds, as the maximum, and catawbiense. Sow 71ie Rhododendron, as an Ornamental SJuub. 77 the seeds in pots or boxes, and protect them with some light covering for the first year or two, as they are peculiarly lia- ble to be thrown out by the frost. Their small hair-like roots take very little hold of the ground, and render them liable to be thrown out, even when of a considerable size. As a flowering shrub, there are few plants, — certainly no hardy species, — that can compare with the rhododendron ; but as a greehouse plant, it is generally an unsightly subject, and unworthy of the room it occupies in the house, except during the few weeks it is in bloom. It has nothing in its habit of growth to recommend it to the greenhouse. Its hard uncompliable branches almost defy the skill of the cul- tivator to bring it into anything like shape. It is either too low to be placed in the background of the arrangement, or too lanky to be placed in front. You may now and then see a handsome plant of the slender growing kinds, but for every one of such, you will see five hundred lean, lanky, bare, knotty skeletons, with a ^ew solitary leaves at the ex- tremity of the branches, the very tokens of desolation, stuck in some corner where it will not be seen — or only showing its few remaining leaves — as if it were ashamed of its own nakedness. The delicate rhododendrons hold a rather equivocal kind of place among greenhouse plants. They are neither hand- some enough, nor tender enough to be fit company for the camellias, and their somewhat coarse and uncouth aspect when out of bloom, almost forbids their association with other exotics. Some enterprising cultivators therefore, wlio have long been impressed with these views, have resolved to try what can be done in the way of acclimating them as hardy ornamental shrubs for the open ground, the only way in which these plants can be rendered most valuable in our gardens. Among the most successful instances of this kind which have come under my observation, one may be seen at the residence of Mrs. Pratt, Watertown, where, some years ago> Mr. McLennan, the excellent gardener of that place, planted a large quantity of hybrid rhododendrons on a well prepared 78 The Rhododendron, as an Ornamental Shrub. border, sheltered on the west by a hedge. Some of the plants have made remarkable growths, and all are in good health and full of blossom buds. Mr. McLennan protects them with a slight covering of fir branches, during winter, more, however, to keep the sun from them than the frost. And when we consider that these are chiefly delicate hy- brids, raised under glass, it will be freely allowed that Mr. McLennan has done something, not only worthy of the thanks, but worthy of the imitation, of all lovers of ornamen- tal plants. I am aware that this has been done in various parts of the states. But this is the most successful instance with which I am acquainted, so far north as the city of Boston. It must be considered, however, that this has been done by one of the most skilful gardeners in the country. Skill and experience are successful in many things, that would prove complete failures without it, and therefore, before the rhodo- dendrons can become general as an ornamental shrub in our gardens, we must have them to stand as the Norway spruce stands, without the benefit of covering, or the skill of the experienced gardener. I might here make some remarks on covering plants, but as I have already occupied too much of your columns with this paper, I will reserve that subject till another time. No person can be blind to the desirability of introducing foliated evergreens into our shrubberies : and no plants are better suited to the purpose than the native kalmias and rhododendrons. Suitable ground can easily be made for them as it is done in England, and plants in abundance can be procured from their native habitats, or, v/hat is better, seeds may be obtained from thence, and the plants raised where they are to remain, and I would seriously advise all those who are alive to the disconsolate cheerlessness of their shrub- beries, between the fall of the leaves in autumn and the expanding of the foliage in spring, to set about thinking of a remedy without delay. Boston, January, 185 L On the Culture of the Amaryllis. 70 Had we not so repeatedly called the attention of all lovers of beautiful plants to the superior merits of the rhododen- drons, kalmias, &c., which are natives of our own clime, for all purposes cf ornamental planting, we should now be tempted to embrace so fitting an opportunity to do so. But though a great deal must yet be written upon this subject before the true value of these plants can be made apparent to all, we do not deem it necessary to say more now on this point ; the views of our correspondent are correct, and fitly expressed, and Ave trust they may cause that due reflection which we are sure v/ill result in a change of opinion regarding the real beauty of our own native evergreen shrubs ; for all the fine hardy kinds are only varieties produced by cross impregnation from the common maximum, which grows abundantly in New England, and the catavvbiense, which comes from the Middle States. Resisting the most intense cold, and forming, with their large glossy evergreen leaves, whole masses of foliage, they contribute, aside from their magnificent flowers, more to the ornamental efliect of a pleas- ure ground or shrubbery, than all other sorts combined. We commend the above article to the attentive perusal of every reader, and shall endeavour to offer other articles in a future number in relation to our American plants, and the impor- tance of giving more attention to their cultivation. — Ed. Art. VI. On the Culture of the Amaryllis. By Nicholas Nolan. Most of the species of this beautiful family of plants, are natives of the Cape of Good Hope, China and South Ameri- ca. Some of them, as the A. aulica, and the A. halladonaj are nearly hardy, while others require to be treated as exotics. We will suppose the bulbs to have been procured in the beginning of January ; pot them any time between that peri- od and the beginning of April. They should not, however, be placed in a strong heat as is generally done, which has a 80 On the Culture of (he Amaryllis. tendency to make them grow luxuriantly without pushing into bloom. I have seen a large collection of amaryllises, grown in a high temperature and well watered, produce strong leaves without blooming at all. In this case, the best way is to give them a sudden check, which makes them throw up their flower stalks, when water may be applied more freely. The compost in which I have grown them very success- fully, is a mixture of equal parts of leaf mould and loam, and a little sand ; the pots chosen, should correspond to the size of the bulbs. In most cases, six or eight inch pots will answer the purpose, but if the bulbs are very strong, put them into pots of a larger size ; in potting, do not place the bulbs too deep in the soil ; one half at least ought to be above the surface of the mould ; when potted, place them in a pit or cucumber frame, plunging the pots half-way to the rim ; they ought to be grown rapidly and watered freely during their growth ; on this, much of their success in flow- ering depends. Water them occasionally with soot water, quite clean, and be careful not to check their growth until the flower stem makes its appearance, unless they show no dispo- sition to start, which will be in June and July. When the flowers begin to expand, take the plants into the greenhouse, and supply them freely with pure rain water. If they are allowed to get dry, the flowers will flag and they are done for the season. i Amaryllises are propagated by the side offsets or bulbs, and by seeds, to obtain new varieties. Growing them from seeds is a tedious business, as it requires some years to bring them into flower. To propagate them from bulbs in the spring, pinch of the off'sets, and pot them in small pots ; plunge them in heat with the others, and keep them moist. By the time the leaves turn yellow they will have formed good bulbs, which will flower the following season. In potting the amaryllises they ought to be placed in the pots in which they are intended to flower. They should not be shifted often, or if possible, at all, after they show signs of forming a flower stalk ; therefore pots of sufficient size should be chosen, as they require a good deal of nour- General Notices. 81 ishment in their growing state. The half-hardy varieties should be planted in rich soil in the open ground, and be well sheltered during their growth if the weather is very cold and wet. Tie them to stakes to prevent them from being broken by the high winds, and take them up after the flower stalks and leaves are thoroughly decayed ; put them on a shelf in a dry room, where they will not be subjected to severe frost. The first favorable opportunity should be taken, as soon as the spring opens, to plant all the half-hardy kinds in a warm sheltered place in the garden. On light rich soil, I have seen them do well by the side of a wall where they received the benefit of the radiated heat, as well as the protection af- forded by it from cold winds. A spot of this kind should, if possible, always be chosen for delicate bulbs ; their greatest enemy is excessive moist- ure in the spring, before they have attained vigorous growth. But when once fairly started into growth, neither moisture nor the droughts of our seasons will in the least lessen their luxuriance or injure their bloom. Chelsea, Mass., January, 1851. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Art. I. General JVotices. Pear Trees as Espaliers. — Whether should pears be planted as es- paliers or as standards ? This is a very important question, and one not sufficiently considered even by good gardeners. The French are mor® politic ; where standards are planted they take measures to secure them against the effects of violent winds. Such fruits for example, as Duchesse d'Angouleme and Beurr^ Diel, have no chance on standards of maintaining their hold during a heavy gale, consequently, they get blown down at the very period, when of all others, it is most important for their perfect maturity, that they should remain upon the trees. Autumn gales are uncertain as to the period of their arrival, but we never escape them ; and hence the neces- sity of guarding against them. How often do Ave not find pears condemned as gritty, tasteless, and sugarless, when the variety is not at fault at all, but when the evil lies in the treatment they have received. Such is most fre- quently the case with the larger kinds, which will hang on the trees very TOL. XVII. NO. II. 11 8^ Massachusetts Horticultural Society. well, -when the branches are perfectly secured, but which are not able to sustain their position during high winds, when the boughs are at liberty to be blown about. On this account experience is decidedly against planting heavy pears as standards, unless the whole tree is firmly fastened, and nu- merous schemes have been suggested for this purpose. The French use a central stake of wood or iron the height of the tree ; they then fasten strong wire to the top, bringing it out at the bottom, and securing it to tlie ground at five or six points, and at a similar distance from the bole of the tree, so as to cause it to exhibit the appearance of a cone. Wires are then fastened to the centre stake and brought out to the exterior lines of wire in a hori- zontal direction, as the branches may indicate. The latter are then firmly tied to these horizontal lines. It will be observed that the power of resist- ance is equal to the force of pressure, from whatever point the latter may come, and the numerous ligatures employed in fastening the branches in every part, protect the whole tree in the most perfect manner. I have also observed large and fine specimens of fruit secured individually. The French place more value upon pears than we usually do. Their pears are thinned with as much exactness as we employ in regard to our peaches, consequent- ly their specimens are much finer, and the flavor is superior ; but the latter is no doubt in some measure attribuiable to the climate. They do not per- mit their trees to grow into a thicket, consequently sun and air can pene- trate every part, a matter worth the attention of gardeners who live in less sunny climes. — ( Gardeners^ Chronicle, p. 821, 1850.) Art. II. Domestic JVotices. Liberal Donation to the Massachusetts Horticultural Socie- ty.— Mr. G. W'. Smith of Boston, presented to the Society, through H, W. Dutton, the liberal sum of one hundred and fifty dollars ; to be appropriated to the purchase of books for the library. The thanks of the Society were voted to Mr. Smith, and a committee appointed to report some appropriate card to distinguish the books purchased from Mr. Smith's fund, from those purchased by the Society. Art. III. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Saturday, Januai-y 4, 1851. — The stated quarterly meeting of the Society was held to-day, the President in the chair. The President, in opening the meeting, delivered the following appro- priate address : — Gentlemen : Laboring together, as many of us have done for nearly a quarter of a century, under, as we trust, the guidance of that all-wise Provi- Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 83 dence whose works have been our study and delight, we are again called to enter upon the respective duties assigned to us by the Society. That oneness of purpose and action which has been so characteristic of the members of the several committees, together with their increased knowl- edge from past experience, and the judicious rules and regulations that they have from time to time adopted for their future action, gives assurance that they will be able satisfactorily to discharge all the duties imposed upon them, notwithstanding the increasing exhibitions at the Hall, and the more frequent application for information respecting new fruits, &c., from abroad. It gives me great pleasure. Gentlemen, to state that the purpose for which this Society was established has, so far, as it appears to me, accomplished all that its most sanguine friends expected ; still there remains much to be done. The future action of its members will be stimulated by the reminiscence of the past, and the recollection of the labors and donations of its founders and benefactors ; these will cheer their path, and act as a talisman on their future aspirations, while the History of Mount Auburn will be a record, in all coming time, that the members of this Society, some of whom are now- present, were the founders of that " Garden of Graves ;" and that to its first President, General H. A. S. Dearborn, are the members of this Society and tlie public indebted for the beautiful and chaste arrangement of this — the last resting-place of so many of the great and the good. The Committee to visit Gardens, and to ascertain as far as possible the best mode of cultivation, in the vicinity of Boston, have had every facility afforded them by the courtesy and kindness of the proprietors of all the places they visited. In these examinations they found many things worthy of imitation, and much to admire. I would again respectfully recommend this interesting branch of our labors to the fostering care of the Society, and also call its attention again to that noble and interesting subject — Landscape Gardening. For my views more fully on this department, permit me to refer you to the remarks in my last Annual Address. The increasing taste for Horticultural pursuits requires prompt and cor- responding action to enable us to keep pace with the times. The question with us now, is not ichat can he done, but rather ivliat shall be done first to meet the demands of the community and the wants of the Society. An experimental Garden, enlarged and more extended annual exhibitions un- der tents, &c., are subjects full of interest, and may well occupy the atten- tion, and hereafter require the deliberate consideration of the Society. But, gentlemen, a permanent Temple of ample dimensions to meet all the wants of the Society and the wishes of the public, is the first thing that I would suggest for your consideration ; let us obtain a suitable location, a Home ; for this purpose let us economize our resources, tax our time and our ener- gies, and if needs be, our fortunes, for this desirable consummation of the wishes of our friends, and tlie founders of this Society ; many of them saw only through the vista with the eye of liope ; it is our duty and our privilege to carry out their designs, and to fill up the picture as it once presented itself to the vision of the Lowells, the Storys, the Lymans, the Brimmers, the 84 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Courtises, the Bradlees, and the Princes. Without a Hall to exhibit, to ad- vantage, all the specimens raised by horticultural efforts, we cannot fully accomplish our highest aim — the dissemination of a knowledge of and a love for Horticulture. Imbue the public with this, and the emulation that it will create between amateurs and the competition among cultivators for the market will be sufficient to fill, in a few years, the largest Hall we could desire to possess. Having expressed my views thus frankly, on this subject, permit me to touch upon details by suggesting whether a Hall, in every way suited for Horticulture, might not be built and fitted up with reference to its soul- stirring kindred spirit Music, where the warbling voice and the " Bird Song" might be wafted, like the gentle zephyr, among the trees, the buds, the blossoms and the flowers, to ravish the ear, while the eye should be charmed by the gems of lovely spring, or the golden drops and purple hues of gorgeous autumn. The third number of the Transactions and Proceedings of the Society, which will complete the first volume, will soon be published ; it has been delayed from causes over which the Committee of Publication had no con- trol, and which will be set forth in the introduction of that number. The History of the Society, by General Dearborn, is a document of great in- terest. The propriety of printing an extra number of copies of this part of the work, for the use of its present members, and for future reference, is respectfully submitted. The report of the Finance Committee will show the estimated value of the Society's property, together with its income and expenditures. The increased appropriations for premiums and gratuities for the present year, have my cordial approbation. I cannot close these brief remarks without again congratulating the mem- bers of the Society on the success which has followed their united efforts ; a continuance of the same spirit of disinterestedness, kindness and mutual esteem, that has attended their action thus far, cannot fail to reward their future labors, and render their ways ways of pleasantness, and all their paths paths of peace. The address was referred to Messrs. C. M. Hovey, B. V. French, J. S. Cabot, Dr. E. Wight and H. W. Dutton, to report thereon. Mr. Cabot, from the committee for establishing Premiums for 1851, re- poited the following list, which was adopted and ordered to be printed. LIST OF PREMIUMS FOR 1851. Amount appropriated, Twknty-two Hundred Dollars. PROSPECTIVE PRIZES. For objects to be originated subsequent to A. D. 1846, and which, after a trial of fiv: years, shall be deemed equal, or superior, in quality and other characteristics, to any now extant. For the best seedling Pear, the Society's large Gold Medal, valued at $60 00 u u II ti Apple, " " It ti _ . 60 00 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 85 For the best seedling Hardy Grape, the Society's large Gold Meda' valued at " " " " Plum, the A ppleton Gold Medal, " " " " Cherry, the Lowell Gold Medal, " " " " Tree Psconia, the Applelon Gold Medal, " " " '= Herbaceous Pseonia, the Lowell Gold Medal, " " " " Potato, the Society's large Gold Medal, . Afler a Trial of Three Years. For the best seedling Strawberry, the Lyman Plate, " " " '•■ Raspberry, the Braillee Plate, " " " " Hardy Rose, the Society's large Gold Medal, " " " " Camellia Japonica, the Society's large Go Medal. " '•' " " Azalea Tndica, the Lowell Gold Medal, " " " ■■' Blackberry, " " " " Gooseberry, " " " " Currant, Red or White, . PRIZES FOR FRUITS DURING THE SEASON. For the best and most interesting exhibition of Fruits during the season, the Lowell plate, valued at . For the second best do., .... Apples. — For the best twelve Summer Apples, on or before the last Saturday in August, .... For the next best do., .... For the best twelve Autumn Apples, on or before the last Satur day in November, .... For the next best do., .... For the best twelve Winter Apples, on or before the third Satur day in December, ..... For the next best do., ..... Apricots. — For best twelve, on or before the last Saturday in August For the next best do., ..... Blickbep>kies. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, For the next best do., ..... Cherries. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, . For the next best do., ..... Currants. — For the best spei;imens, not less than two boxes. For the next best do., ..... Figs. — For the best twelve specimens. For the next best do., ..... Gooseberries. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, For the next best do., ..... Grapes. — For the best specimens, grown under glass, on or before the first Saturday in July, .... For the next best do., .... Amount carried forward, $60 00 40 GO 40 00 40 00 40 00 60 00 $50 00 40 00 60 00 60 00 40 00 40 00 30 00 30 00 $750 00 $20 00 12 00 6 00 4 00 6 00 4 00 6 00 00 00 00 00 3 00 6 00 4 00 5 00 3 00 00 00 00 00 10 00 7 00 $129 00 S6 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Amount brought forward, . . . . . For the best specimens, grown under glass, subsequently to the first Saturday in July, ..... For the next best do., ..... For the best specimens of Isabella Grapes, For the next best do., ..... For the best specimens of Diana Grapes, . For the next best do , . Musk Melon. — For the best Musk Melon, in open culture, on or be fore the last Saturday in September, For the next best do., raised by open culture, on or before th( last Saturday in September, .... Nectarines. — For the best twelve specimens, ... For the next best do., ..... Peaches. — For the best twelve specimens, grown under glass, on or before the second Saturday in July, For the next best do., ..... For the best twelve specimens, grown in open culture, . For the next best do., ..... Peaks. — For the best collection, not exhibited before this year, with a written description of the same, the Society's plate. For the next best do., ..... For the best twelve Summer Pears, on or before the last Satur day in August, ...... For the next best do., ..... For the best twelve Autumn Pears, on or before the last Saturday in November, ...... For the next best do., ..... For the best twelve Winter Pears, on or before the third Saturday in December, ...... For the next best do., ..... For the next best do., ..... Plums. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, For the next best do., ..... Quinces. — For the best twelve specimens. For the next best do., ..... Easpbekries. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, For the next best do., ..... Strawberries. — For the best specimens, not less than two boxes, For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., ..... 1129 00 Amount carried forward. . $292 OU Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 87 PRIZES FOR FRUITS. To he awarded on the first day of the. Annual Exhibition in September. Amount brought forward, ..... $292 00 Apples. — For the best twelve varieties, of twelve specimens each, the Societjr's Plate, valued at ... . For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., . . . . . ' For the fourth best do., ..... For the best dish of Apples, twelve specimens, of one variety, For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., ..... For the fourth best do., ..... Pears. — For the best twelve varieties, of twelve specimens each, the Lyman Plate, valued at . For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., ..... For the fourth best do., ..... For the best dish of Pears, twelve specimens of one variet}-, For the second best do., ..... For the third best dish of do., .... For the fourth best do., . Assorted Fruit. — For the best basket of Fruit, of various kinds, For the second best do., ..... Grapes. — For the best five varieties, two bunches each, the Lyman Plate, ....... For the second best five varieties, two bunches each, the Bradlee Plate, ....... For the best two varieties, two bunches each, For the second best do., ..... Peaches. — For the best dish, of noi less than twelve, . For the second best do., ..... $500 00 29 00 15 00 12 00 8 00 6 ou 5 00 4 00 3 00 20 00 15 00 12 00 8 00 f) 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 10 00 7 00 15 00 10 00 6 00 4 00 6 •00 4 00 017^ The Prizes and Gratuities will be awarded on the following days : — For Cherries, forced Grapes, forced Peaches, and Strawberries, on the last Saturday in July. For Summer Apples, Apricots, Blackberries, Currants, Gooseberries, Summer Pears and Raspberries, on the last Saturday in August. For Foreign and Native Grapes, Nectarines, Peaches, Plums, and Musk Melons, on the last Saturday in October. For Autumn Aj)ples, Figs, Autumn Pear.s, and Quinces, on the last Saturday in November. For Winter Apples, Winter Pears, New Pears, and for the " Exhibition dur- ing the season," on the third Saturday in December. HZT" Competitors for Prizes are particularly referred to the Rules and Regu- lations, which will be strictly adhered to by the Committee. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. PRIZES FOR PLANTS, FLOWERS AND DESIGNS. Amount appropriated, Seven Hundred Dollars. DISPLAY OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS, IN POTS. To be exhibited at the opening of the Hall, on the first Saturday in May : — Pelargonium?. — C7c55 I. — For the best six new and rare varieties, grown in eight-inch pots, a prize of For the second best do., .... Class II. — For the best six new and rare varieties, grown in large pots, a prize of . For the second best do., .... Roses. — For the best six varieties of Tea, Bonrbon, Noisette, or Ben gal, in pots, a prize of . For the second best do., .... For the third best do., .... Cut Flowers. — For the best display, a prize of For the second best do., .... Fuchsias. — For the best six varieties, a prize of For the second best do., .... Cactus. — For the best six varieties, a prize of For the second best do., .... Calceolarias. — For the best six varieties, a prize of . For the second best do., .... Cinerarias. — For the best six varieties, a prize of For the second best do., .... Heaths. — For the best varieties, a prize of For the second best do., .... Greenhouse Plants. — For the best display of not less than twenty pots, regard to be had to new and rare varieties, and well grown specimens, a prize of . For the second best do., .... For the third best do., .... Hyacinths. — Prizes to be awarded second Saturday in May. For the best display, not less than twenty varieties, For the second best do., .... Tulips. — Prizes to be awarded the third Saturday in l\Iay. For the best thirty distinct varieties, a prize of For the second best do., .... For the third best do., .... Pansies. — Priiies to be awarded the fourth Saturday iu May. For the best twelve distinct varieties, a prize of . For the second best do., .... For the third best do., .... Amount carried forward, $151 00 3 00 2 00 5 00 3 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 4 00 3 00 2 GO Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 89 Amount brought forward, ..... $151 00 Hawthorns. — Prizes to be awarded the fourth Saturday in May. For the best display, a prize of . For the second best do., ...... Hardy Azaleas. — Prizes to be awarded fourth Saturday in May. For the best display, a prize of . For the second best do., ...... Shrcbby P^o.nies. — Prizes to be awarded fourth Saturday in May. For the best six varieties, a prize of . . . For the second best do., ...... For the best display, ...... Herbaceous Pjeonies. — Prizes to be awarded second Saturday in June. For the best ten varieties, having regard to the number of varie- ties, a prize of . For the second best do., ...... For the best display, ...... Pinks. — Prizes to be awarded third Saturday in June. For the best six distinct varieties, a prize of . For the second best do., ...... For the best display, ...... Hardy Roses. — Prizes to be awarded third Saturday in June, Class T. For the best thirty distinct varieties, a prize of . For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., ..... For the best display, ..... Class II. For the best twelve distinct varieties, a prize of . For the second best do., . For the third best do., ..... Class III. Hardy Perpetual Roses. — For the best ten varieties, a prize of For the second best do., ..... For the beat display, ..... Pkairie Roses. — For the best display, not less than six varieties, prize of . For the second best do., not less than four do.. For the third best do., not less than four do., Carnation and Picotee Pinks. — Prizes to be awarded third Saturday in July. For the best ten varieties, a prize of . . . For the second best do., ..... For the best display., ..... Hardy Rhododendrons. — For the best display of the season, prize of . Amount carried forward, 6269 00 VOL. XVII. NO. II. 12 8 00 G 00 4 00 3 00 5 00 3 00 2 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 5 00 m Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Amount brought forward, . , For the second best do., .... For the third best do., .... Double Hollyhocks. — Prizes to be awarded third Saturday in July For the best display, a prize of . For the second best do., .... For the third best do., Double Balsams. — Prizes to be awarded second Saturday in August For the best display, a prize of . For the second best do., .... For the third best do., .... Phloxes. — Prizes to be awarded third Saturday in August. For the best ten distinct varieties, a prize of For the second best do., .... For the third best do., .... German Asters. — Prizes to be awarded second Saturday in Septem ber. For the best display, a prize of . For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., ..... Delphiniums. — Best six varieties through the season, a prize of For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., ..... $269 00 3 00 2 00 5 00 4 00 2 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 BOUQUETS, WREATHS, DESIGNS, &c. Prizes to be awarded at the .Annual Exhibition. Vase Bouquets. — For the best pair suitable for the Bradlee Vases, a prize of the Bradlee Plate, valued at . For the second best do., ..... For the best pair for the Society's Marble Vases, . For the second best do., ..... Parlor Bouquets. — For the best pair suitable for the parlor, . For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., ..... For the fourth best do., ..... Cut Flowers. — For the best display and best kept through the exhi bition. a prize of ..... For the second best do., ..... For the third best do., ..... Pot Plants. — For the best display, of not less than twenty pots a prize of ...... For the second best do., ..... Amount carried forward, .... . 10 00 6 00 . 10 00 6 00 8 00 6 00 5 00 3 00 8 00 6 GO 4 00 .' 12 00 . 10 00 . 8420 00 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. m Amount brought forward, For the third best do., For the fourth best do., CocKsco.MBS. — For the best six pots, a prize of For the second best do , . Balsams. — For the best six pots, a prize of For the second best do., Dahuas. — Prizes to be awarded fourth Saturday in September. Division A. Premier Prize. — For the best twelve dissimilar blooms, a prize of Specimeji Bloom. — For the best flower, .... Various Colors. — For the best yellow, buff, or orange ; purple or maroon; crimson or claret; very dark; white; edged or tipped; scarlet ; pink or rose; striped lilac, a prize of f 1 00 each, ........ Division B. — Class I. For the best twenty-four dissimilar blooms. For the second best do., . . . " . Class II. For the best eighteen dissimilar blooms, .... For the second best do., ...... Class III. For the best twelve dissimilar blooms, For the second best do., ... Herbaceous Perennials. — For the best di.=play through the a prize of ..... For the second best do., .... For the third best do., .... Annuals. — For the best display llirongh the season, a prize of For the second best do.. Fur the thiid best do., Camellias. — Prizes to be awarded second Saturday in February. For the best twelve varieties of cut ilowers, with foliage, a prize of . For the second best do., ...... Summer Phloxes. — Prizes to be awarded third Saturday in July. For the best ten distinct varieties, a prize of . . . For the second best do., ...... For the third best do., ...... Greenhouse Azaleas. — Prizes to be awarded second Saturday in March. For ihe best six varieties in pots, ..... For the second best do. do., ..... Flowering Shrubs.— For the best display, during the season, a prize of . 11420 00 8 00 5 00 3 00 2 00 . 3 00 2 00 8 00 3 00 12 00 7 00 5 00 6 00 4 00 5 00 3 00 10 00 6 00 4 00 10 00 6 00 4 00 8 00 5 00 6 00 4 00 3 00 () 00 4 00 10 00 Amount carried forward, $582 00 92 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Amount brought forward, For the second best do., For the third best do. $582 00 6 00 4 00 Gratuities to he awarded at the Weekly Exhibitions. Amount appropriated, One Hundred and Eight Dollars, For the best six Pot Plants, of different varieties, a prize of . . . . . . $2 00 For the second best do., . . . . . 1 00 For the best large Bouquet for vases or parlor, composed of flowers gracefully arranged, a prize of . . 1 00 For the best pair of Bouquets, of any description, . 1 00 108 00 $700 00 PRIZES FOR VEGETABLES. Amount appropriated, Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars. Asparagus. — For the earliest and best, not less than three bunches, a prize of . . . . . . . . 3 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 2 00 Beets. — For the best (pure blood beet,) during the season, not less than twelve roots, a prize of . . . . . 3 00 Broccoli. — For the best three heads, a prize of . . . 5 00 Beans — For the best and earliest peck of string beans, a prize of . 3 00 For the best and earliest Lima beans, not less than two quarts, . 3 00 For the best and earliest variety of shell beans, . . . 3 00 Horseradish. — Best during the season, a prize of . • . 3 00 Cabbage. — For the best Drumhead cabbage, during the season, not less than three heads, a prize of . . . . 5 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 3 00 For the best Savoy cabbage, during the season, not less than three heads, . . . . . . . 3 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 2 00 Carrots. — For the best exhibited, a prize of . . . . 2 00 Cauliflowers. — For the best and largest, during the season, not less than three heads, a prize of . . . . . 5 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 3 00 Celery. — For the best and largest blanched, not less than six roots, a prize of . • . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 3 00 Corn. — For the best and earliest sweet corn, not less than twelve ears, a prize of . . . . . . . 3 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 2 00 Amount carried forward, $61 00 Horticultural Operations for February. 93 Amount brought forward, ..... $61 00 Coci'WBEKS. — For the best pair under glass, previous to the first Sat- urday of June, a prize of . . . . . 5 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 3 00 For the best and earliest of open culture, . . . . 3 00 Egg Plants. — The best display during the season, a prize of . 5 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 2 00 Lettuce. — For the best six heads, before the first Saturday in July, a prize of . . . . . . . 3 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 2 00 Potatoes. — For the best new seedling, of superior quality, for the table, a prize of . . . . . . 10 00 For the best and earliest peck, previous to August 1, . . 3 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 2 00 Peas. — For the best and earliest peck in June, a prize of . . 3 00 Rhubarb. — For the largest and best, previous to the first Saturday in July, not less than twelve stalks, a prize of . . . 5 00 For the second best do.. . . . . . . 3 00 Squashes — For the best pure Canada squashes, not less than six in number, a prize of . . . . . . 3 00 For ihe greatest variety exhibited, during the season, . . 5 00 Tomatoes. — For the best and earliest, not less than one dozen, . 3 00 Vegetables. — For the best display and greatest variety at the weekly exhibitions, during the season, . . . . . 5 00 For ihe second best do., . . . . . . 3 00 For ihe best display and greatest variety at the annual exhibition, 10 00 For the second best do., . . . . . . 8 00 For the ihird best do., . . . . . . 6 00 For the fourth best do., . . . . . . 4 00 For any new variety of vegetables suitable for the table, and worthy of cultivation, other than seedling potatoes, . .5 00 $ 142 00 For gratuities, . . . . . . . . Iu8 00 $250 00 The regulations are the same as last year. [Want of space compels us to omit the remainder of the doings of this meeting until our next.] HORTICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR FEBRUARY. FRUIT DEPARTMF-NT. Though this is comparatively a season of rest from active labor, there is, notwithstanding, considerable to be done. The frost •will of course prevent any out-door operations so far as the soil is concerned, but there is enough other work in a large garden to keep busy. Manure may now be got in 94 Horticultural Operatio7is for February. readiness. Stakes for trees and vines may be prepared, and labels for mark- ing got out ; cuttings of such trees, plants and shrubs as will grow in this way may now be made, thus saving many valuable hours when the season is more advanced, and other labor can be more advantageously performed. Grape Vines in the greenhouse will now begin to show signs of push- ing, and will start someAvhat sooner tlian usual, owing to the severity of the early part of the winter. See that an even temperature is kept up while they are breaking: syringe daily, and tie up the shoots to the trellis firmly, as soon as the eyes have all pushed an inch. Cold vineries will need airing in very warm days, so as to prevent the great heat from breaking the vines too early. Cuttings may now be put in where there is a stock wanted. Vines in pots may also now be brought into the house for an early crop. Isabella and other hardy grapes may now be pruned. Peach and Fig trees may be brought into the greenhouse now, and their fruit wUl ripen two months before the out door season. Blackberry, Raspberry and Currant Seeds may be sown now in pans or boxes, and placed in the greenhouse or hotbed. Scions of fruit trees may noAv be cut, and preserved in a cool cellar or shed, in earth or moss, until wanted for grafting. Strawberries in pots, now taken into the greenhouse or grapery, and placed on a narrow shelf near the glass will bear a fine crop. Keep them liberally watered. Orchards may now be pruned, and the trees carefully scraped if they need it. Root Grafting apples may be done, when everything has been got in readiness in the fall. Plant in boxes, place them in a cool cellar, and set out in nursery rows as soon as the weather will permit. flower department. This mcJnth is generally the most rigorous period of our New England winter, and tells most severely upon all exotic plants. All the means and appliances usually taken to preserve plants from injury during a long con- tinuance of severe weather, in consequence of the large amount of artificial heat necessary to sustain the temperature, should be pursued with increased vigilance. In hothouses, the cultivator can have no excuse for destroying his plants by an excess or want of the essentials of vegetable life, since the atmosphere of the house, as well as the moisture, is completely under his control. We have seldom seen plants lost in winter by insufficient supplies of water, except where they were subjected to the parching heat of brick flues in the vicinity of the fire place. But the numbers otherwise destroyed, annually, are almost incalculable, especially such tender things as young calceolarias, and plants with succulent watery leaves, and tender roots. Every plant has a greater or less number of young tender rootlets on which the health and vitality are wholly dependent, and when the soil in which these are growing is suffered to become wet, and slight frost enters the house, the water in the eartli congeals, and those roots inevitably perish. The soil, therefore, should be kept at a degree of dryness verging on abso- Horticultural Operations for February. 95 lute want, and then the night temperature may be reduced with impunity, even below the freezing point. Pelargoniums will require some attention. See that tlie green fly has not taken up his quarters on the leaves ; if he has, smoke him out directly ; if only a few plants are affected, take them out of the house into a back shed, or such place, cover them with a box or bariel, and fumigate ; this is a good way to smoke individual plants. See to the training of the shoots, but do not top or pinch at this season, unless you wish them to flower late. Al- low plenty of room between the plants for the circulation of air, and keep them free from dead and decomposing leaves. Those that have grown stronger than the others may receive a good shift, and towards the end of the month, all those intended for flowering specimens should receive their last sliift. They seldom do so well when shifted later. Camellias should now be watered more freely, and liberally syringed over head. We find it a good plan to practise syringing even when in flow- er, though a few flowers may be thereby destroyed. Plants should not be repotted at this season unless they be very much in want of it, which, by proper attention, should not be the case. Inarching and propagating may be continued with. The same kind of treatment is applicable also to orange and lemon trees, a class of plants frequently half neglected. We have re- ceived an excellent article from our correspondent Exoticus on this subject, which we will endeavour to find room for in our next. Japan Lilies may now be potted in a compost consisting of good loam and peat, rather sandy. They may now be increased by detaching some of the outer scales of the bulbs in separate pots, and planting them in the early part of spring in a sandy compost. The better way of propagating tliem, however, is is to grow the specimens vigorously, and allow them to form psuedo bulbs or offsets, in the natural manner ; the first method is only desi- rable for those who wish to increase them rapidly. Hyacinth and other Bulbs, now coming into bloom, should be placed in tlie most light and airy part of the greenhouse, and watered more liberally. Those grown in glasses should have the water changed every three or four days. Putting a small piece of carbonate of ammonia (smelling salts) in the water at the time of filling the glasses, increases the vigor of the plant, and improves the bloom. Those kept in dwelling-houses should have as much light as can be afforded them, this being of more importance than air. Heaths, Epacrises and hard wooded plants may be propagated success- fully at this season. Fuchsias, Salvias, Heliotropes, Verbenas, and all kinds of bedding out plants, which the continuance of artificial heat has now forced into growth, may be put into pots and placed upon a shelf near the glass, for summer use. Seeds of Mignonette, Viscaria, Rodanthe, Schizanthus, Nemophila, Clin- tonia, Phlox Drummondii, and such annuals as will form a fine show in pots in spring, may now be sown if not already done, and Ten-week, Russian, Prussian, and other stocks may also be sown, for turning out in the borders. Everything useful for adorning the bare, empty stages of the greenhouse in 96 Horticultural Ojperaiio7is for February. summer, should be attended to ; now is the time to begin providing for these purposes. Dahlias, where rapid increase is desired, may now be taken in and slowly started ; for propagation, they may either be potted, or plunged in earth, or old tan. But unless for propagation, it is yet too early to start them, as it only draws them up into long-stemmed, unsightly objects, when planted out. Now is the best time to sow dahlia seeds; sow in pots or boxes, and place in a warm spot near the glass, and they will succeed well. Ranunculuses should be planted out this month, if the beds were prop- erly prepared last fall ; if not, omit it till March. AcHiMENES, started last month, should now be potted off in proper soil, and if wanted for blooming early, they may be forwarded in a hotbed, if one is at hand. Roses in frames may now be brought into the house, and pruned, and tliey will give a fine succession of blooms. Climbing Plants, such as Kennedyas, Maurandyas, &c., should now be neatly trained up to circular trellises, and they will make fine plants for exhibition in May. Plants in Frames will need looking after towards the end of the month. In fine weather air freely, and if any of them are too dry, give a little water. Gladioluses for early blooming, may now be started in pots. Amaryllises, now beginning to grow, should be potted and placed in a warm situation, and sparingly watered. Maintain cleanliness and neatness in the houses and among the plants, keeping the atmosphere moist, and admitting plenty of air during the day, to carry it off before the evening, and keep the temperature as low as is con- sistent with safety to the plants. VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. With the month of February, activity in this department commences, and the industrious gardener will find much to do where a liberal supply of vege- tables is wanted for the table ; and even where very early forcing is not car- ried on, at this season, there is much to be done, in order to prevent hurry at the time of planting. All the tools should be got in readiness, sharpened if necessary, and mended if broken ; manure and soils should be carted ; frames and sashes put into good order, and all such work attended to. Hotbeds may now be made up. Properly prepare the manure by turning two or three times, and let the bed be made of good height so as to have abundance of heat. When it has been made a few days, and properly aired, to take off the foul gases, earth it over with good compost, and as soon as this is well warmed, seeds may be sown. Cucumbers, Lettuces, Radishes, Cauliflowers, Broccoli, Celery, Tomatoes, Cabbages, Egg Plants, &,c. should be sown immediately. Those which are to be transplanted to be put into pots, and the others directly in the soil. Give attention to air and water, and cover well with mats and straw until, the weather is mild. THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. MARCH, 1851. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Art. I. Trees in Cities. By the Editor. When we take into consideration the great number of trees which are annually planted in the streets of our princi- pal cities and towns, it will at once be admitted that few subjects could be discussed in our pages, of more importance to the public than this : none certainly are more susceptible of improvement, and few more imperfectly understood. We are therefore glad that Mr. Jacques has drawn attention to it, by his excellent remarks in our last Number, (p. 49,) and in- vited others to give their views in relation to a subject which touches the interests of so many landed proprietors, which contributes so much to the comfort of pedestrians, and which adds so greatly to the local beauty of every city. Any person who has visited the towns of Springfield, North- ampton and Worcester, or New Haven, Conn., will appre- ciate the truth of our remarks. As an evidence of the interest which is manifested on the- subject of Trees in Cities, we' annex the views of a Bostou correspondent, who has read Mr. Jacques's remarks : — " I have been reading Mr. Jacques's Article on Trees in Cities in your last Number, and think it contains many desira- ble hints. It appears to me, that rows of trees in narrow streets are- VOL. XVII. NO. III. 13 98 Trees in Cities. very much out of place ; they darken the houses and are very much in the way of carriages and pedestrians. If you plant in streets, select those which are at least 60 feet in width, and place the trees at least 15 feet from the houses. A row of trees, all of one variety and of one size, has too much "unity" for my taste ; they are too formal in their ap- pearance, and look like a long file of infantry. I should plant a variety of trees of the same character — say, round-headed, oblong, or pyramidal trees — then you have a variety without great contrast. A graceful weeping elm placed next a prim horse chestnut would produce any thing but harmony. The horse chestnut and sugar maple would harmonize well together. While on the subject of " Trees in Cities," I would sug- gest to the city authorities, the propriety of planting a row of beautiful trees in the centre of the wide part of the Neck. They would afford a delightful shade, and add greatly to the beauty of that wide avenue." Such we doubt not, in the main, would be the opinion of all individuals of good taste, who possess any knowledge of trees, of their characteristic beauties, and adaptation to pe- culiar places, could we have an expression of their views ; and we hope that a full and free discussion of a subject of so much interest, will lead to the dissemination of a more correct taste in planting trees. The question in regard to variety in the planting of ave- nues, is one on which much might be said. Our correspond- ent, differing both from ourselves and Mr. Jacques, is for variety, and thinks that there is too much, rather than " little enough" of " unity," when only one sort is planted. As this is a matter of taste, we might refer our correspondent to some of the ablest writers on the subject, in support of our position. If simply shade and shelter are all that are aimed at, it is of little importance whether a street is planted with a mixture of one or more kinds ; or if the individual beauty of the trees is only thought of, rather than their effect as a Trees in Cities. 99 whole, it is no great consequence how many kinds are select- ed. But all our ideas of an avenue are associated with grandeur, solemnity and depth of shade ; and if the mind is distracted by mere variety or contrast or novelty, its char- acteristic beauties no longer exist. The suggestion of our correspondent in regard to the planting of a row of trees in the middle of the widest part of Washington street on the Neck, is a good one, and worthy the attention of the city authorities. We now come to the consideration of Mr. Jacques's last query, viz : How ought the trees in a city common or park to be arranged 1 '' Take," says Mr. Jacques, " as an example, Boston Com- mon, Here we have, for the most part, a smooth grass sur- face, intersected by straight wide gravel walks, and these lined on each side with trees placed at equal distances from each other. But suppose no tree or walk were there, and a carte hlanche were given to any one, that he might arrange things in his own fancy, what would you do, Mr. Editor ? Would you plant straight rows of equi-distant trees there ? Probably not." The mode of planting a piece of ground must, in the first place, depend wholly upon its intended use ; and, in the sec- ond, upon the extent of surface to be covered. Thus, afield of an acre or two, laid out as a common, for the various pur- poses of a parade ground, or for assemblages of large numbers of persons, for the accommodation of tents or pavilions, or without them, would require an entirely different arrange- ment than if it was required simply for the purposes of promenade, or for recreation. In the former instance, large open spaces would be necessary ; the walks would require to be somewhat geometrically laid out, and only few trees could be admitted, and these mostly in lines or squares. In the latter, it should be laid out with walks, in curved or wavy lines, diversified with groups of trees and shrubs, and so arranged as to afford a variety of scenes or views. Of this style of planting, unfortunately, we have few or no examples in this country. The public squares of Philadelphia, though 100 Trees in Cities. planted with a variety of trees, scattered here and there, are as bare of beauty, and show as little good taste in their ar- rangement, as Boston Common. The same remarks apply to a larger extent of surface, whether of ten or of fifty acres ; the adaptation or fitness of the design to the intended use of the grounds, being the first object to be taken into consideration. With these general principles to be observed in laying out every piece of ground, we do not hesitate to say that we should not arrange the walks and trees in the same manner in which this has been done. Without going into, a full detail how we would accomplish a new arrangement, if we had, as Mr. Jacques says, a carte bla^iche to do so, we will now merely state what we consider the worst features of its present arrangement. These are first, the double rows of elms and other large growing trees, which are now planted on each side of the narrow walks which cross the ground in every direction. Second, the clumps* and single specimens of ever- greens, which have been recently set out ; and third, the confused arrangement of the walks, and the absence of all distinction as regards width, with two or three exceptions, between the main ones and those of secondary importance. Such being the defects of the present plan, it may be asked what alterations we would propose, and what arrange- ment we would suggest. This, however, we cannot well show, without the aid of diagrams ; but as a main feature, we would, after reserving a portion of it as an open space, to be kept smoothly mown for the purposes for which the Com- mon was originally reserved by the city, plant the remaining portion in a picturesque style, somewhat as Mr. Jacques has suggested ; not, however, with shrubs or small trees, so as to form " thickets :" for in all such public places we entirely disapprove of them, for various reasons which it is unneces- sary to enumerate. We would plant trees only — but these should embrace every hardy species and variety indigenous to our own country, as well as those of foreign growth — * One might almost suppose we had gone back to the days of " Capability BrowD," to look at the compact masses of arbor vilae planted ou the high ground. Trees in Cities. 101 and we would dispose of them according to a part of the annexed diagram, (Jig. 8,) which we reproduce from a former Fig. 8, Trees arranged in natural groups. volume ; that is, we would ^rowp them as they appear in the portion helow the walks, and we would have few or no trees, except elms, whose lowest branches were higher than six feet from the ground. Those tall, unsightly, lean trees, scarcely better than pollards, we would reject altogether. A single glance at our plan will, we think, show how greatly the general effect of the ground would be improved. The endless and unmeaning lines of trees, arranged in almost geometrical order, would give way to natural groups, whose broken outline and varied aspect can only afford that delight to the mind, which is the great result of landscape art. These are our views, briefly and crudely expressed in so limited a space ; and though we may not expect to see much alteration in what has been already done, we may hope for improvement in the future. The discussion of the subject cannot be otherwise than interesting to all who desire to see a better taste displayed in the design and arrangement of our public grounds. In another Number we hope to have something to say upon the present mode of performing the operations of street planting, &c. 102 Planting Belts of Trees, S;c. Art. II. On the propriety of Planting Belts of Trees on open, exposed Lands. By R. B. Leuchars. The title of this paper is no doubt calculated to surprise those of your readers who have all their life-time been accus- tomed to wield the woodman's axe with an unsparing hand and an indiscriminating eye, who have faithfully followed the customs of their progenitors, in clearing from the ground the tenants of the ancient forests, because they were most convenient for fuel, or because they bore nothing which they could carry annually to the market in the shape of fruit, without considering how much they deteriorated the actual value of the land, not only for the purposes of culture, but for subsequent sale. There is nothing that so much adds to the beauty, and increases the value, of selected portions of ground, especial- ly in the vicinity of large towns, as an undulating surface, covered with belts and groups of trees. Even when covered with the native forest trees of the country, it is much in- creased in value, and far more so, when liberally planted with choice evergreens, and other kinds of ornamental trees and shrubs. It is this feature which shows the peculiar char- acter of the scenery of Britain. It is this which adds so much to the beauty of Brookline, near Boston, and some spots on the Hudson, which want nothing but the " velvet turf," and the suffruticose evergreens, to be characteristic speci- mens of British landscapes. It is iiot my present purpose to enter into the science or minutiae of the picturesque, but to devote a few pages to the consideration of subjects connect- ed with ornamental trees, and the propriety of planting them in certain localities, with the view of increasing the value of the lands. In endeavoring to establish the propriety of what is here recommended, it is obviously useless to theorise upon what could or should be done j but fortunately we have not to search far for a striking illustration ; in two places, which are in this respect the converse of each other, arid showing conclu- On Open Lands. 103 sively the respective value of these places for the same pur- pose ; the one so increased in value and beauty by its trees and shrubs, as to be an object of pride to the State, and an object of imitation to the country ; the other, possessing equal capabilities and superior attractions, is decreased in value almost to worthlessness, by the want of these natural embellishments. It is useless to add, that Brookline is one of the localities which are here alluded to, and which is so well known to every one interested in landscape beauty that description would be superfluous. It owes none of its beauty, however, to its pe- culiar locality, but to the peculiar character of that locality — to its broken surface and to its umbrageous woods ; and by these features being heightened and increased by the art dis- played in the numerous pleasure grounds and villa gardens, which give so delightful an air of richness, beauty and grandeur to the whole place. It presents a harmonious com- bination of the rusticities of nature, with the embellishments of art, carried out in a manner which I have seen no where else, inasmuch as it has been accomplished by a unity of tastes and interests, which is rarely found among a commu- nity even of wealthy men. Brookline is one of those places which a foreigner admires in spite of his prejudice, and which the lover of landscape beauty cannot leave without a certain reluctance and regret. Without seeking for a converse example, we might point to that large tract of hilly ground which lies by the side of Chelsea Beach, formed by a congeries of hilly undulations, commanding a sea view of surpassing grandeur, and a land prospect, perhaps unequalled in the vicinity of Boston, — with a soil deep, rich and fertile, and an atmosphere healthy, salu- brious and mild ; and yet, though this ground lies within a ten minutes' ride of State street, it lies at the present day, tenantless and bare — as if nature's very self had condemned it to eternal solitude in the midst of the busy haunts of men. It is strange, indeed, that in the search for sites for suburban villas, this desirable spot, the summer resort of thousands of the gay inhabitants of Boston, should have been so long neg- 104 Planting Belts of Trees 4*c. , lected. Bat visit the spot, and it will tell you its sorrowful tale. Listen to the breezes that mingle their dying echoes with the sound of the ocean waves, and they will recite to you the mournful story of its present lonely and desolate cheerlessness. In years gone by, the axe of the woodman divested it of the arborescent foliage that once covered its nakedness, and gave it a claim to the picturesque ; "nor left a wreck behind," to give evidence of the barbarity that had destroyed its beauty, and condemned it to the abandonment of future generations. It is pleasing, however, in this age of progress and specu- lation, to learn that this estate is once more to be planted with trees and shrubs, and to take its place among the pic- turesque suburbs of Boston. And this work has not only been projected, but is being carried out by men who have, in general, but very vague ideas of building land being increased in value by the plantation of trees — men who accurately balance the return, against the outlay. The ground which I have spoken of, has been purchased by a company of gentlemen of wealth and taste, for building lots, who are making beautiful roads over the ground, and planting thousands of the best trees and shrubs that can be procured in the nurseries. There cannot be a doubt that this measure will be advantageous and profitable, both to the present proprietors and those who purchase the lots for build- ing ; and had the same trees been planted a dozen years ago, the land would undoubtedly have been worth at least twice its present value. The value of such landed property is enhanced in many ways by the plantation of trees — immediately, as Avell as prospectively. The purchasers of such land are now begin- ning to be more alive to the advantage of healthy trees, growing on their grounds previous to building. Besides the real, there is also an ideal, value attached to trees and shrubs, already established and in vigorous growth. It has an attrac- tive and pleasing appearance. It is more encouraging to build on such a place, than one where you must plant, and live on it a dozen years, before you can eat the fruit of your On Open Lands. 105 own garden, or sit under the shade of trees of your own planting. And how often do men, eager in search of fame or of fortune, spend every moment of their lives in the anxious pursuit, till they find themselves on the wrong side of three score, when they buy ground, build a villa, plant trees, and make orchards ; but ere the trees have grown large enough to afford shelter or shade, or the orchard to produce fruit, the planter has ceased to require them. But apart from these considerations, there are many other inducements to planting unsheltered and exposed grounds with trees. Adding value prospectively is in itself sufficient to induce any one, who has ground, to plant trees ; it is one of the easiest methods of leaving the world better than we found it. It does not happen to many to plant trees, and cut them down at a mature age, but this only renders planting a more interesting performance, because he is planting for the benefit of his children. He is placing money in the bank of nature, which seldom fails in returning a good interest, if properly invested. To the man who securely enjoys his estate, planting is a pleasing operation. In his full-grown trees he finds a link which connects him with his fathers, and in his young trees, he finds another which carries him down to the next succeeding age. These are the feelings which make our hearts cling with a pious reverence to the paternal homestead, and render it — however valueless — dear to our children. Trees are also powerful modifiers of the climate. They break the force of strong winds. They maintain an equability in the temperature of the air. They lessen the intensity of cold, and moderate intense heats. They afford the best means of concealing disagreeable and unsightly objects, and separ- ating one place from another. They heighten the effect of agreeable objects, by combination and harmony. They con- tribute to the beauty of objects already beautiful, by giving them new forms, and a greater variety of light and shade. They add to the cheerfulness of the homestead, not only by their own pleasing forms, but by the invitation they give to birds, to come and sing among their branches. They VOL. XVII. NO. III. 14 106 The Principles and Practice of Grafting. give an interest to objects and places, otherwise indifferent and uninteresting, and increase the value and beauty of flat, open grounds. Many a bleak and bare farm could be ren- dered interesting and agreeable to the eye, by planting a few trees along the boundaries of the fields, grouping them on the elevated heights, or scattering them on the less fertile portions of the surface ; all which would contribute to en- hance its beauty, and, as a natural consequence, to enhance its worth. There are many other topics connected with this question, to which I might advert. Indeed, the bearings of the sub- ject are extremely diversified. Tree planting is beginning to be carried on, from a principle somewhat different from that which generally actuates these operations, as may be seen from several examples within our own knowledge, and which, it is hoped, will be carried out more extensively than it has hitherto been in this country. Reserving further ob- servations till a future time, I would now merely add, that planting trees and shrubs on land intended for villas and sub- urban dwellings, is worthy of the serious consideration of those having such property — both in regard to beauty, utility, and prospective profit. Boston, February li9th, 1851. Art. III. The Principles ajid Practice of Grafting. From the Gardener's Chronicle. No subject will be read with more interest by all who are interested in Horticulture, than a full elucidation of the theory and practice of Grafting, In its most common forms, almost all cultivators are more or less acquainted with the art ; but in its varied and valuable methods, so generally in use among the experienced gardeners of France, we, as yet, know little or nothing. Even the English, who are well versed in nearly every department of horticultural science, are very far behind the French in the art of grafting ; and if The Principles and Practice of Grafting. 107 a better knowledge of the best system is important to them, how much more will our own cultivators be benefited by such a thorough acquaintance with its theory and practice, as will enable them to carry on its operations successfully ? With a view to afford this information to the English gardener, a translation of D'Albret's work on grafting has been commenced in the Gardener'' s Chronicle, to be accom- panied with wood cuts, illustrating all his descriptions, in such a manner as to render the process as familiar as pos- sible. " The French," says the Editor, " have long been famous for the variety, singularity and ingenuity of their modes of budding and grafting. In Thouin's ' Monograph of Grafts,' all that was known to that great gardener was carefully represented and described. But to his pupil, D'Albret, belongs the honor of separating the essential and non- essential, and of reducing his master's long practice to greater method and precision. It is D'Albret, whom we are about to produce in an English dress, and we feel confident that our readers, of every class, will agree with us in thinking that by the publication of his views, a real service will be rendered to practical horticulture. It will then be seen that our cleft grafting, whip grafting, saddle grafting, inarching, crown grafting, and budding, form but a small part of the methods which the great continental gardeners find it useful to em- ploy, one for one purpose, one for another." With these prefatory remarks by Dr. Lindley, we introduce the commencement of the series of articles, which will be continued in our future numbers, and we may apply the same observations to our own countrymen, in regard to their importance, which Dr. Lindley applies to his, viz., " that it cannot be denied, that superior as English gardening is in some respects, it is very far behind that of France, in all that relates to the management of fruit trees. Of course, we say this in a general sense only ; for we are bound to admit that in some cases the English gardener is not behind his continental friend. These cases are, however, the excep- tion, not the rule j but we believe it is only necessary to 108 The Principles and Practice of Grafting. teach the gardeners of this country something more than the meagre routine which they learn while young, in order to place them at once on a level with their friends across the channel." — Ed. A WORD ON THE HisTORY OF GRAFTING. — Many authors have written on grafting, and some of them have treated the subject with great clearness. Much has been contributed to it by the celebrated A. Thouin, who published in 1821 an excellent monograph, in which we find the best documents on its history ; after his death, that work was incorporated with his " Cours de Culture," published in 1827 by his esti- mable nephew, Oscar Leclerc Thouin. The author of this monograph states, that the discovery of the art of grafting is of the highest antiquity, but its inventor is not known. The Phoenicians transmitted it to the Carthagenians and Greeks ; the Romans received it from the latter, and spread the knowledge of it in Europe, where it has become such as we find it at the present day. He adds, that the authors who have treated of the art in some detail are Theophrastus, Aristotle, and Xenophon, among the Greeks ; Mago among the Carthagenians ; Varro, Pliny the naturalist, Virgil, Ag- ricola, in Italy, and Sickler, in Germany ; Bradley, Miller, and Forsyth, in England ; Olivier de Serres, La duintinie, Duhamel, Rosier, Cabanis, and the Baron Tschudy among the French ; and to these we now add, with veneration, the name of the late Andre Thouin, whose remarkable mono- graph contains all the principles and details essential for the guidance of writers and practical men with reference to the art of grafting ; for my part I could wish for no other. During the last 13 years of his long and honorable career, he entrusted me with the execution of all the models of grafts which he had collected, to the number of 119,* in his " School of Practical Agriculture," founded in the Jardin des Plantes of Paris in 1797. This fine and judiciously formed * In a comi)ilalioii published in 1825, we find a more extensive nomenclature, in con- sequence of the application of the same operations to different plants. This multiplicity of names seems to have been badly received by the public, the work being still in its first edition. The Principles and Practice of Grafting. 109 collection is altogether admirable ; but I shall here demon- strate only such portions of it as I consider most essential to amateurs and to practical men, who daily experience the ne- cessity of propagating plants, either for the agreeableness of their flowers or for the quality of their fruits, produced by species or varieties which frequently cannot be propagated except by grafting them on wild stocks, or on such as are, in other respects, of little value or interest ; but they must nat- urally belong to the same family, as we shall subsequently explain. Of the utility of Grafting. — Gardeners and connoisseurs in horticulture are aware that by grafting, many trees can be made to assume very picturesque forms ; and it is the means of propagating numbers of woody, resinous, soft, or herba- ceous plants, for use or ornament, of which very many give few or no seeds, and are difficult to strike from cuttings or layers ; by grafting we make sure of preserving the originals, whether valued for the quality of their fruits, the structure and form of their flowers, their colors, the perfumes which they exhale, or as regards the nature of their wood, the as- pect of the trees, the shades and variation of their foliage, (fcc. &c. Productions obtained by chance, or by fertilization, either natural or artificial, or in consequence of accidental disease, and many other sports of nature, which would other- wise be lost, or could be but rarely, and after long delay ob- tained from seed — are readily perpetuated by the art of graft- ing. It may therefore be viewed as a celestial boon for in- creasing the amount of our enjoyment. By this mode of propagation we can accelerate the fructification of species or varieties of fruits which are annually obtained from seeds, without however increasing their size, as some have asserted, but falsely, as will be demonstrated by the following experi- ments. I budded annually, for 15 years, a St. Germain pear-tree trained as a pyramid. It received the first opera- tion in August, a bud being taken from one of the lateral branches produced by the original, which had then been two years grafted. This bud was inserted about 10 inches from the base of the central shoot. Every year, at the same pe- 110 The Principles and Practice of Grafting. riod, a similar operation was performed ; and when the tree had received the fifteenth, it was about 19 feet high. At the age of 18 or 20 years, all the lateral branches from the respective buddings produced an abundance of fruits, which differed nothing from each other, and their flavor was the same as that of the original sort, A similar experiment was also made at the same time on the Reinette Franche, with corresponding results. I cannot therefore say that grafting increases the size of fruits. Their increase of size is always limited by nature, as are likewise all the variations which they sometimes take in form. Their fertility, the greater or less perfume and succulent quality of their flesh, are generally caused by the influence of the stocks which nourish them; nevertheless the situation in which these are placed, the quality of the soil from which they draw their nourishment, &c., frequent- ly modify the assertion I have just made, inasmuch as a sort grafted on a stock originally disposed to give large fruit of indifferent quality, and forced to live in a bad locality, cannot possibly give the result we might reasonably expect, were it placed in a more favorable position. On the Affinity of Grafts and Stocks. — I shall only say a few words on the affinity of grafts with the stocks on which they should be worked, in order to assist in destroying the errors of some ancient authors, and which are still cred- ited by some persons, who are led away with the false idea that they may successfully graft trees or other plants on each other, although these should have no family relationship. In consequence of this ignorance, it has been said, that in order to obtain black roses, you must graft on the black currant, and to hax'-e green, on the box. They would also wish to persuade us that all trees will take on the olive, and this on the fig ; the vine on the walnut and cherry ; the peach on the willow, and the apple on the great cow-cabbage, &c. &:c. Happily, our modern authors, and the enlightened men of our age, have entirely rejected these false assertions. It is now well known that, in order to graft with success any woody or herbaceous plant, it is necessary that the plant fur- The Principles and Practice of Grafting. Ill nishing the grafts be of the same family as the stock ; or. frequently, that both should belong to the same genus, or to varieties of the same species. There should also be some analogy between the saps of the two individuals, not only on account of their affinities, but also with reference to their proper juices. Thus we may graft, with success, the plum on the cherry, and vice versa, the apple takes on the pear, and vice versa ; but although these genera are of the same family, nearly related, confounded, or united by some learned botanists, yet they rarely exist united two or three years. With regard to the vigor of the stocks, v/e prefer those that are strong and hardy for large trees, and the weaker for those of smaller dimensions. As to the persistence of the leaves, and the movement of the sap in the subjects to be united by grafting, it is in general necessary that they should nearly correspond. We have, however, some examples to the con- trary. The Prunus Laurocerasus and P. lusitanica, both evergreens, live for some time grafted on the bird cherry, prunus padus, and are less sensible to the cold than those growing on their own roots. The Eriobotrya japonica and E. glabra, also evergreens, live a very long time grafted on the Mespilus oxyacantha. The cedar of Lebanon, Larix cedrus, grafted on the common larch, Larix europge, lives upwards of ten years, but it remains stunted and dwarf. There are other well known facts of this kind, which I need not mention here, as they only prove exceptions to the gen- eral rule. Or THE QUALITIES which branches and shoots ought to possess when cut from the trees, and the means to be adopted for preserving their vitality. — Many authors recommend takihg the shoots produced at the extremities of healthy vig- orous trees. The theory which they develope seems to be conclusive. It must, however, give way to the subjoined observations. Some years before the first transfer of the Ecole des Arhres Fruitier s du Jardin des Plantes, effected in 1824, I was obliged to take grafts from more than 400 of these trees, of the different sorts, which were found to be in a state of complete decrepitude, often covered with canker, 112 The Principles and Practice af Grafting. burns, &.c. Such grafts put on healthy young stocks have all grown with remarkable vigor. These trees, from 20 to 26 years old, and of which many had attained the height of more than 36 feet, all bore fruit in prodigious quantity, and were free from original disease, when they fell under the axe in 1841. The proper sorts of shoots for grafting and budding are not easily known by those not well experienced in the art. In taking shoots for buds, more especially, they make some- times enormous blunders by cutting either too early or too late. In general the shoots ought to be of medium thick- ness, excepting those having slender wood, and in that case the thickest ought to be preferred ; all ought to have made tho greater part of their growth, in order that a considerable number of the buds on the lower part of the shoots may be completely formed, for such only should be reserved for bud- ding, seeing that the bark adjoining these will be also in a firm state, for if the parts are too tender and too herbaceous when placed in the incision made in the stock, they are apt to be decomposed by the abundance of sap in the latter, which ought always to be in greater flow than that of the shoots which furnish the buds.* The shoots of this description being separated from the trees, the herbaceous extremities are immediately cut off, as are likewise the leaves attached to the eyes reserved, taking always care to preserve at least one-fourth of their petiole. The shoots should not be exposed to the free air, and they should be kept in a cool moist place till such time as they can be budded ; but whatever means may be employed for preserving their vitality, we should avoid too close packing, in order to prevent the fermentation of the substances em- ployed for that purpose. We know that the moss of our woods (hypmim) is very proper for this purpose. We, gardeners, often furnish our- selves with a large hollowed-out cucumber, in which we * I am anxious to impress upon my readers the necessity of payings particular atten- tion to this observation ; it is general for all the operations, and I shall pass it over when I come to treat of thenu The Principles and Practice of Grafting. 113 place the shoots. In this situation they maybe preserved in a good state for 10 days. If for a longer period, they must be put in a bottle, which must be filled up with honey, and then corked and sealed hermetically. In this state they will be preserved as fresh as possible during the journey. Scions, for grafting in spring, are of course much more easily preserved than buds. For these they prefer the ex- tremities of strong shoots, or any other part of which the thickness is about equal to that of a quill, and of the length of from 16 to 20 inches, with prominent eyes, not excepting the terminal, which ought always to be preferred, if it has not burst its envelopes. It has been long remarked in many countries, that, in or- der to preserve grafts, especially for transportation, they ought to be separated from the parent tree before they have commenced to vegetate. In the climate of Paris, the month of February appears to us to be the best time for taking them off; they ought then to be placed in a northern exposure, in a horizontal position on the soil, and covered over with some of that adjoining, to the depth of about 2| inches. They should remain in that position till their buds are well swell- ed, by which time the stock intended for their reception will be much more advanced, a necessary condition, as I have already explained. If the cuttings for grafts have to be sent to a distance, it is best to send them off as soon as they are taken from the tree. If the journey require only three weeks or a month, it will be sufficient to tie them up in packets, putting some dry moss between them, in order to prevent them from being bruised, and then insert their bases in a ball of moist clay, covered with fresh moss, the whole tightly enveloped in a thin coating of straw. But if the cuttings have to be sent to a great distance, so as to require several months on the way, they should be enclosed in a box, in small parcels, all laid with their tops in the same direction, their thick ends being covered with clay and fresh moss, the whole compactly fastened with laths likewise coated with moss. If for a long sea-voyage, care should be taken to close VOL. XVII. NO. III. 15 114 On the Production of new varieties of Corn. the box hermetically ; but if not, some holes may be made in the top to prevent the shoots from becoming mouldy. I have sent grafts packed in this way to St. Petersburg, New York, &c., and they have always arrived in good condition. Art. IV. Oji the Production of new varieties of Corn by Hybridization. By J. H. James, Urbana, Ohio. The article in your December number on the Old Colony Sweet Corn, and the remarks given on hybridization, recalled to my mind a letter written by Dr. Gideon B. Smith of Baltimore, many years ago, which, after a little search, I found in the Albany Cultivator for 1838, p. 64, and here send you : — " Judge Buel. — In the last number of the Cultivator I observe the following remark by the Conductor — ' The idea of improving our corn by artificial crossing, is novel, yet perfectly philosophical.' " Some ten or twelve years since, I instituted a series of experiments in crossing diiferent varieties of corn, and was perfectly successful. The variety of corn in Dr. Brown's list, (page 43 of same number) No. 16 Pennsylvania eight- rows, called Smith's Early White, was the result of one of the experiments. It was produced by what we call the Tuscarora or "New York cheat " with the Sioux, (No. 9 of Dr. Brown's list.) From the parentage of this new variety you would naturally expect a mulatto color; but I will explain why it is pure white as I go along. I had two objects in view, the one to get the large white grains of the Tuscarora on the small white cob of the Sioux; and the other to produce a variety earlier than either, if possible. To accomplish my object, I planted a piece of ground, say the eighth of an acre, with both varieties, one in each alternate hill ; but as the Tuscarora was known to me to be from fifteen to twenty days later than the Sioux, I planted the On the Production of new varieties of Corn. 115 latter fifteen days after the former was planted. Now, the process of crossing is performed in the following manner. The variety that has the cob that I wish to retain, is used as the female, and as the tassels (male flowers) appear, they are carefully cut off and suppressed ; the variety whose grain I wish to get, is used as the male, and its tassels are allowed to grow. It is unnecessary to interfere with the female flowers (the silk.) The ears of corn produced by the Sioux hills had the form and size of cob of the Sioux, but the grain was a beautiful sulphur color, and of the form of the Tuscarora, though smaller. This corn I planted the next year, and the result was a beautiful variegation of the grains, of pure yellow and pure white, though all the grains were alike as to size and shape. The cream color had evidently returned to its original elements. I then carefully selected the white grains, and planted them the third year, and the result was, the establishment of the variety called ' Smith's Early White.' (I do not understand how or whence Dr. Brown obtained the name of Pe?insylvania eight-rows.) My experiments established the fact, satisfactory to my mind,, that you can place the grains of any variety of corn upon the cob of any other variety, by the process detailed above ; and that there is no object more worthy the attention of farmers, than improvements of this kind. You have only to regulate the time of planting each variety to corres- pond with the time of flowering. I ought to observe that if you do not destroy the tassels of the variety that has the objectionable grain, the crossing will not be so perfect, because the impregnation will be from two males instead of one, and consequently the grains produced will be various. The crossing is equally important in producing the large late kinds, small and early. You can get the tall Virginia corn, (that is, the grain of it,) upon the early dwarf stalks. Indeed you may vary it, almost at pleasure. As you will perceive above, it requires three years to accomplish the object per- fectly. The first year afiects the crossing ; the second year certain characteristics return to their original elements, such as the color and somewhat of the flinty quality ; the third 116 On the Production of new varieties of Corn. year, the new variety is produced perfect — and will remain so, so long as it shall be kept distinct from other varieties, " Another experiment was combined by me, with the above, viz, — the first matured ears of good form and size were always selected for seed. By this process 1 was able in five years to make my new variety from fifteen to twenty days earlier than the Sioux, or any other variety. I had green corn on my table, for some years, two weeks earlier than the hotels who obtained early corn from Norfolk. I beg to observe that the Smith's Early White has but eight rows and the Sioux (the female parts) twelve. Now to account for this. After I had produced the variety, I was still desirous of putting it upon a smaller cob : hence I planted it with the Sugar corn — using the latter as the female. The result was the eight rows. I also once took a notion to give it a red cob, and had no difficulty in doing so, by using the red cob sugar corn as the female ; but I re- crossed and got rid of the red cob again, because it stained the lips and fingers while eating it. Excuse this from an old admirer. Gideon B. Smith, Baltimore, April 6, 1838." By this letter you will see that these experiments were long since made public by Dr. Smith, and it is partly to give him the due credit to which he is entitled for them, that I send the letter, but more particularly to call attention to the different results shown by his experiments as to the change of stalk and other qualities of the staminate plant. Ac- cording to Mr. Pope's experiments he found the stalks vary somewhat in the second year, but I am inclined to think he was mistaken in this, and that the difference was caused by a difference in the seed, or most likely by a poverty in the soil, of these particular hills : and the more so as he described his variety as now having the uniform characteristic of southern corn. My own observations in these matters accord entirely with Mr. Smith's. I have made no special experiments to hybridize varieties of corn by artificial im- pregnation, but I have for a long time noted the results of accidental crossing in my garden, and profited by them. For Oil the Production of new varieties of Com. 117 more than twenty years I have cultivated a small variety of corn, called Mandan, because the original supply, of which I obtained a few grains from Daniel Gano, of Cincin- nati, was brought from the Mandan villages on the Upper Missouri, by an officer of the army, just then returned from these villages, which at that time were far beyond our frontier and rarely visited. The variety has smaller stalks than any other, and as it is very early is well suited to garden culture. During the time I have cultivated it, the grains have several times changed their character, but I have never perceived the slightest variation in the size of the ears, in the cob or in the stalk. Several years ago I found a portion of it crossed with the sugar corn, which I saved and have since cultivated, not however to the exclusion of the original. This cross impregnaiion is very active in the culture of wheat, and explains what our farmers term ru7uiing out. They procure a grain and sow it with success for a year or two, when it ceases to attract attention because it has lost the qualities which caused it to be sought. It has in fact run out, because they or their neighbors have cultivated other kinds in close proximity, which have transferred their qualities to the new kind and in fact displaced the grain. If grains or other seeds are planted entirely remote from other varieties of the same kind, they will reproduce them- selves without change, and the varieties would never run out. But in the common mode of culture, a mixture is almost unavoidable, and if the grain fields were carefully culled, valuable varieties might often be found well worthy of exclusive propagation. This cross impregnation, which acts at once upon grains both in their color, their form and their quality, produces no change in the external appearance of fruits or in their quali- ties, but the seed of the fruits will follow the kinds from which the cross comes, and hence the disappointments that continually beset us when we attempt to reproduce fruits from seed. This I suppose to be true of all fruits, but the length of time needful to give us tested observations, pre- vents our having a proper series of ascertained facts. It is 118 The Pitmaston and Isabella Grape. promptly manifest in the Tomato ; we may select very choice specimens to propagate from, and yet, from the unknown cross impregnation, we may be, and I find myself apt to be, continually disappointed. But I am getting on to matters not intended when I began, and I desist. Urbana, Ohio, Jan. 22, 1851. Art. V. The Pitmaston and Isabella Grape : Open Air Culture. By A. Johnston, Jr., Wiscasset, Me. Dear Sir, — Upon opening your December number of the "Magazine of Horticulture," for a quiet "sit-down" of enjoyment at my own fireside, I was extefisively abashed at finding myself at full length therein, in an article entitled, " How to raise Isabella Grapes ;" just as though I could teach the good people of the old Commonwealth anything about " Grapes !" You say, however, " From the Maine Farmer," and so I feel relieved from a yard or two of ex- planation. I know I shall be excused by the horticulturists of the old Bay State, on the ground, that my conversation was not addressed to them, but to our own benighted brethren of the State of Maine. I write now simply to correct a few errors, probably of the printer, and add a few remarks which seem to be necessary to that " article," so that nothing may be lacking in the " how" to raise Isabella Grapes. On the 551st page, read, " all the laterals and tendrils were again pruned off," not pinched. In 1849 (same page) read seventy-Jive^ only, were allowed to grow ; not twenty-five : on the 553d page, at top, read bunches, not branches. I said nothing about " summer pruning" in that article, and many of my horticultural friends have inquired whether they should indulge that habit. I allow never more than two hunches to grow on the same spur, or little new branch, and always stop this bearing shoot, by pinching, in the mid- dle of the third joint beyond the outermost bunch, about the Pitmasion and Isabella Grape, 119 last of June or first of July. Other shoots, stragglers, I allow to remain, if they are not in the way, and do not shade the fruit too much. I keep the vine pretty snug, however, especially at the top of the trellis, as a great growth there would injure the fruit below. I never pluck a single leaf, with the mistaken notion of giving the fruit more sun. They do not want the direct rays of the sun on the fruit, but on the leaves, and it is curious to observe how the leaf twists about to present a fair surface to the sun, and how singularly the foliage shrinks away from the fruit, and seems to stand aside to allow of more sunlight, in autumn. The leaves seem to grow stiffer and close up more, as soon as the fruit begins to color, I have never seen any statement of this fact, but cannot doubt, as I have observed the same thing, of the Isabella vine, for years. All our native vines will not bear the close pruning, that seems so necessary to the for- eign varieties, being of a much more hardy and luxuriant habit. They look as though crippled, by severe pruning, and yield, next to nothing, by such treatment. I have been misunderstood, too, as regards showering or watering. I never put a drop of water on the foliage of the vine, until the fruit has " set," and has grown to the size of ^^ good sized peas.'^ I do not use a great quantity of water, but apply it with some force through a syringe. I use more, perhaps, than would be necessary in ordinary cases, as my vine is near the street, and the dust collects very fast upon the foliage and fruit, which would damage it much, if suffer- ed to remain. There is one more " item," perhaps of consequence, which I omitted in its proper place. The passage way to my dining room, from the street, is close by this vine, a little yard six feet wide and twenty feet long. The last spring (1850) I dug over all the old clay soil, added two cartloads of pasture loam, and one half of a load of old cow manure, mingled the whole together and then laid down a stone flagging (stones about four inches thick) as a walk, from the gate to the door. This walk is sixteen feet long by three feet wide. It would heat with the sun and remain warm all nisht. It 1^ Pitmaston and Isabella Orape. is, no doubt, of very great service to the vine. I never have seen a spot of mould, mildew, blight, or any other thing, that needed "doctor stuff" on this vine, its foliage, or fruit: and I invite aK lovers of this fine fruit, if they chance to travel this way in the season, to stop a moment, and satisfy themselves, that grapes of excellent flavor, good size, and perfectly ripe, can be grown in the State of Maine, in the open air, without trouble, at very slight expense, and a mini- mum amount of knowledge. I consider it much more diffi- cult to raise a crop of plums or pears, the certainty of the crop being taken into account. I purchased of Hovey & Co., in the spring of 1849, a little vine, in a small pot, called " Pitmaston White Cluster." It was very small, though it '•' leaved out" very pert and thrifty. We often laughed at the peculiar " ambitious" look and sturdy growth of our little new comer. In the fall I laid it down, two arms, about two feet long each. The next spring (1850) I unbound it as usual. It had the same important look when the eyes began to push, but I little thought what was going to happen. Passing by, one day in June, I was astonished to see eight very handsome bunches of grapes well set and quite large. It had scarcely been there a twelve- month. I cut out seven of them and hesitated some time over the eighth. It was suffered to grow. It rapidly gained on the Isabellas, and ripened off, first rate, October 1st, a full week before them, of a rich amber color, semi-transparent, free of pulp, and of most agreeable flavor. The vine grew also, beyond any vine I ever have seen — with fine stout wood, short joints, and maintained the same smart look the whole season. I laid down seven canes of it in November, pruning off three others. The seven are nine feet long, each. This is a vine, as is a vine, sure enough. It may bear ten bunches this year, but I have no doubt it will set forty, at least. One word about the border. Fifteen feet long, three wide, and three deep. Drained by a layer of old brick and mortar, six inches thick. Soil made of one load of old cow- manure, two loads of coal-pit earth from the pasture, two Pitmaston and Isabella Grape. 121 barrels of ashes, leached, a lot of bones, say a barrow load — all these well mingled together and overlaid with very old tan, say four inches thick ; watered with six or eight gallons of soap suds once a week ; precisely similar situation as the Isabella vine. The coal-pit earth, as we terra it, is the mound of earth remaining around an old coal-pit ; consists of old turf, ashes and small charcoal dust. The kind I use is at least twenty years old ; it is a most desirable soil for the grape, always moist without being wet, and dry without being parched. I never have seen Mr. Allen's treatise on the Culture of the Grape until within a month. It is a valuable work for those who have glass structures ; but I can never be made to believe that a putrifying carcass is desirable for the vine. I buried a goose, once, feathers and all, at the roots of a vine, and I never think of it without feeling " goosey" about it. Hike the bones, hair, hoofs, &c., of animals, but not the de- caying flesh. I am building a miniature grapery, (cold house,) 21 by 9 ft. This is every inch of land I can spare. It will be a very tidy afl"air, glass front, top, ends, and will cost f 3.50 per foot ojily. I cannot explain without diagrams, and it would not interest you. I may venture again one of these days to say " my say." A. J., Jr. Wiscassct, Me., January 2ith, 1851. Those of our readers who read Mr. Johnston's excellent article on the Isabella grape, will be glad to welcome him again to our pages. They will find the present article no less interesting than the previous one. To all cultivators of the grape it is invaluable ; and if all amateur cultivators were as observing as Mr. Johnston, and could " say their say" as he does, in regard to their practice, we should soon have an accumulation of facts which would be of the greatest value. We trust Mr. Johnston will send us the whole details of his cheap vinery, diagrams and all, that we may lay them before our readers. — Ed. VOL. XVII. NO. III. 16 123 The Fameuse Apple. Art. VI. The Fameuse Apple. By C. Goodrich, Bur- lington, Vt. The Fameuse Apple. Pomme de Neige — Downing. Chimney Apple — of Lake Champlain. Snow Apple — of Ogdensburgh, Detroit, &,c. Dear Sir: — In the January number of your Magazine you have a drawing and description of the Fameuse Apple, both of which are very accurate excepting in size, which is rather large. It is a great bearer in alternate years; its history I think not correct. It is here one of the most common as well as oldest varie- ties ; hundreds of barrels are sold in a single season in this town alone. It is very variable in size, quality and time of ripening, so much so that it is generally said " there are two sorts j" but I am satisfied the difference is from culture, as I have had apples from scions taken from the best bearing trees I could find in Montreal (which I marked when filled with ripe fruit) and grafted on old trees producing poor apples of the same sort, without the slightest variation from those growing on the old stock in which they were grafted. This variety requires a deep, rich, loamy soil, rather moist, and if inclining to clay it is still better. The soil on the Island of Montreal seems particularly adapted to it. In this valley they vary so much, depending on soil and culture, that they can hardly be recognized as the same apple. On light warm soil, with the best culture, I have never seen as good specimens as those produced on heavier and colder soils. The best in this valley are in St. Albans, where the soil is a deep strong loam, and rather moist. All American writers call it a Canadian apple ; of this I think there is no proof. One hundred and twenty years since, the French planted this variety on the Eastern shore of Lake Champlain, opposite Fort Frederick on Crown Point, at a place called " Chimney Point" — more than fifty years before any other permanent settlement. From these old trees scions have been scattered ' The Fameuse Apple. 123 through Vermont, and called the "Chimney apple." Avery intelligent and highly educated French Seigneur, residing on an old seignory eighty miles below Quebec, informed me that this was one of the first varieties of apples planted on the place ; that the trees were very old and were brought from France. The early French settlers planted the same variety at Ogdensburgh, Detroit, and other places on Lakes Erie and Ontario, where it has been known as the " Snow apple ;" also at Kaskaskia, Illinois, more than one hundred and fifty years since, where the old trees are still productive, and apples from them sent to St. Louis, &c. The same apple may be found in the markets in France, and in London of the growth of France. It is hardly to be supposed that a seedling apple was pro- duced in Canada at so early a day as to be distributed more than one thousand miles in every settlement made by the French one hundred and fifty years since ; and until our Canadian friends can give us some history of it of an older date, I cannot admit their claim to it. The Fameuse apple seems to be of a distinct class, as much so as the Esopus Spitzenburg, the Rhode Island Greening, or the Pearmain. The Rev. Mr. Dewey, first minister of Bennington before the Revolution, had trees from Sir William Johnson's " Castle " in the " Indian Country," which he called the " Johnson apple," evidently a seedling from it : six years since, his grandson sent me scions from them. This apple is smaller and ripens later than its parent. The St. Lawrence, a seedling of a recent date, is another. Rev. Dr. Wheeler of this town has a seedling from seeds planted by himself, which has fruited three or four years, which he thinks superior to its parent, and doubtless there are many others resembling it. Burlington, Vt., Jan. 1851. We are much indebted to our correspondent, Mr. Goodrich, for so complete a history of the Fameuse apple. We have ourself had doubts of its being a native fruit ; but as all our pomologists have generally considered it an American variety 124 On the Treatment and Cultivation of we did not wish to raise a doubt without having some facts to warrant it : from what is here advanced, however, respect- ing its history, it would seem conclusive that it is a foreign fruit, introduced by the early French settlers at the same time as the White Doyenne, St. Germain, Bon Chretien, and other of the old pears which are found in the same localities as the Fameuse apple. We shall take an early opportunity to look up the Fameuse in the French pomological works. — Ed. Art. VII. On the Treatment and Cultivation of Orange and Lemon Trees. By R. B. L. The Orange is, without exception, the most popular of all flower-bearing and fruit-bearing plants. So great favorites are they among all classes of the community that there is scarcely a family, in which a taste for flowers has found a place, tliat some one or other of this genus is not to be found in their possession. With the mere florist or seeker of rarities, the preference for particular flowers is as fleeting and inconstant as that for dress ; it changes with the season, and the favorite of one year is set aside the next, to make room for something else ; and the third year it becomes little more than a despised and abandoned outcast, not lessened iu its beauty, but displaced by the intolerant rage for novelties, which excite a more attractive, though no less transitory influence, till they also, in their turn, sink into oblivion, and their places in the aflections of the flower fancier become occupied with other favorites. Some of these neglected favorites, possessing more than ordinary merit, are all iu a sudden recalled to notice, placed in their former position, or even elevated a little higher. They are improved by attention, and invested with additional charms. They hold their sway over the enthusiastic mind for a season, and are again cast down from their high places in Flora's temple. I could name at least a dozen floral beauties, Orange and Lemon Trees. 125 that have been in and out of the fashion — " like Sir Roger de Coverley's coat and doublet " — at least a dozen times during the last dozen years. The orange and its allies, however, are a class that have maintained their position in the public favor not only for years, but for ages, undiminished, sometimes indeed subjected to neglect by enthusiastic votaries of fashion, but they have never lost the favor of people of taste ; nor has this been a misplaced favoritism, for it is impossible to find, among all our exotic trees, a more imposing and more truly beautiful object, than a healthy well grown orange tree, covered at one and the same time with foliage, flowers and fruit. What lover of the beautiful can look upon this noble and elegant tree, with its arborescent yet graceful habit of growth, its deep glossy green foliage, its deliciously sweet-scented flow- ers, and its conspicuously rich colored fruit, carrying one, with a kind of ideal enthusiasm, among the orange groves of southern Europe, to the orange gardens of Nice and Genoa; and we might add, the orange gardens of the southern States of the Union, though these are only the epitome of what they might be. It is difficult to discover the original habitat of the orange. Although largely cultivated on the shores of Italy, it does not appear to be a native of Europe. The oranges of St. Michael's, in the Azores, are generally considered the best that come to our markets ; they are not, however, indigenous productions of that island, but were sent there by the Portuguese, as they were originally sent to the south- ern States of America by the Spaniards. In the middle of a forest, on the banks of the Rio Cedeno, Humboldt found wild orange trees, bearing large and sweet fruit, which were probably the remains of some old Indian or Spanish plantations, for the orange cannot be reckoned amongst the spontaneous vegetable productions of the American con- tinent. The orange, when full grown, attains to the height of from twenty-five to thirty feet, and when healthy is most graceful when full grown. We have seen many oranges cultivated 126 On the Treatment and Cultivation of under glass in Great Britain, above twenty feet high, planted in the floor of large conservatories. At Castle Temple, near Olasgow, in Scotland, there is a citron tree which completely ■covers a wa'Il thirty feet in length and nearly twenty feet high, and when we saw it some years ago it was covered with large fruit, a noble sight. We have often seen them trained on the back wall of greenhouses, vineries &c., and producing large . 30. Tlie Westcott Pear. of Mr. Niles, in that State. It has but recently been intro- duced to notice, and has not yet fruited, we believe, only in the vicinity of the locality where it originated. Last year, we for the first time had an opportunity of tasting specimens of this pear. It is similar in quality to the Knight's Seedling and Pratt, which originated near Crans- 262 The American Pomological Congress. ton, but is handsomer than either of those varieties, having a clear yellow skin. We think it a decided acquisition. Size, medium, about two and a half inches long, and two and a half in diameter : Form, roundish, large and full at the crown, rounding off at the stem : Skin, fair, smooth, yel- lowish green, little russeted around the crown, and dotted with numerous conspicuous specks of the same color : Stem, very long, nearly two inches in length, stout, curved, consid- erably swollen at the base, and inserted in a shallow cavity highest on one side : Eye, medium size, open, and little de- pressed in a shallow basin ; segments of the calyx stout, rounded, projecting : Flesh, yellowish white, coarse, melting and juicy : Flavor, sugary, rich, perfumed and excellent : Core, large : Seeds, small, rather dark colored. Ripe in Sep- tember. Arv. V. Report of the American Pomological Congress, at Cincinnati, Oct. 1850. By the Editor. The first meeting of the combined pomological conven- tions, now known under the name above mentioned, was held at Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 2d, 3d and 4th of October, 1850. The meeting was organized by the choice of Dr. W. D. Brinckle, as President, with eleven Yice Presidents, and F. R. Elliott, P. Barry, and Dr. J. A. Warder, as Secretaries. After the usual preliminary business, the Congress pro- ceeded to the discussion of fruits, &c. The committee ap- pointed to bring in an additional list of rejected fruits and those worthy of trial, reported the following : — REJECTED LIST OF FRUITS. Pears. Spanish Bon Chretien, Princess of Orange, Gold of Summer, {true) Ah ! Mon Dieu, The American Pomological Congress. 263 Hessel, Bleekers Meadow, Summer Rose, Huguenotj Petit Muscat, Michaux, Rousselet de Rheims, Beurre Knox, Franc Real d'Hiver, Clinton. Apples. Egg Top, Cheeseborough Russet. FRUITS WHICH PROMISE WELL. Pears. Paradise of Autumn, Swan's Orange, Stevens's Genesee, Doyenne Goubault. Nouveau Poiteau, Apples. Northern Spy, Melon, Mother, Hawley. The discussion which took place in regard to the merits of the different pears was very brief, and does not afford any thing of interest. The Committee on Seedling Fruits reported the names of two apples which promise well, viz : — Wester?! Spy. — Originated on the farm of J, Mansfield, of Wells, Jefferson Co., Ohio. Was first grafted by Mr. Samuel Wood, of that place. The original tree is of more than twenty years standing ; it is a profuse and constant bearer, never being killed by the frost. The original tree, and that from which the specimen was taken, is growing in a lime- stone soil. A winter apple — January to May, Fulton. — A new seedling variety of medium size ; color a delicate blonde in the shade, with crimson cheek on the sunny side. Flesh fine grained, tender, rather melting, juicy, with a rich and agreeable flavor. An early winter apple — from December to March. The original tree stands in the orchard of Elijah Coppes, Esq., Fulton Co., Illinois. It has borne thirteen good crops in succession. 264 Floricultural and Botanical Notices. The remainder of the report is occupied with the Reports of State Committees ; that from Illinois, by Dr. Kinnicott, being very interesting and of considerable length ; at a fu- ture time we shall notice some of these reports. Art. VI. Floricultw^al and Botanical Notices of New and Beautiful Plants figured in Foreign Periodicals ; with Descriptio7is of those recently introduced to, or originated in, American Gardens. The Rhododendrons of Sikkimhimalaya. — In our vol- ume for 1849, (XV, p. 269,) we gave a brief account of the splendid new Rhododendrons, which were discovered by Dr. J. D. Hooker, in his journey to the Himalaya Moun- tains ; and of which Sir W. J. Hooker published a full de- scription with folio plates representing the flowers of the nat- ural size and habit. Since then, Dr. Hooker has not only sent home numerous seeds of the several species, from which great quantities of plants have been raised, but he has by further explorations discovered an additional number of spe- cies, amounting in all to 43. A second part of the beautiful work representing these new species has already appeared, and a third is now in preparation. The second part contains 10 plates, and it is stated, that of these 43 species, found in the mountains of Sikkim alone, many "exceed, in the size and beauty of their flowers or their foliage, the handsomest of those which had been previously discovered." From the Gardeners^ Chronicle we condense the follow- ing :— ■ " The first plate represents R. Aucklandii, a species from the lower ranges, at an elevation of 7 — 9000 feet. It is a bush 4 — 8 feet high, with large Laurel-like leaves, green be- neath, and huge white flowers, remarkable for a large broad red four-cornered calyx. It occurs in dry sunny situations, and above forests of Abies Brunoniana. FloricuUtiral and Botanical Notices. 265 Next comes R. Thomsoni, with loose bunches of deep blood-red flowers as large as those of arboreum, but with the foliage of R. campanulatuni, except that it is not rusty on the under side. It is found in damp woods, where it strag- gles to the stature of 15 feet, rooting from its branches. Third in order is R. pendulum, a species with small white flowers, hanging from the branches of tall pine trees, often covered with the Usnea lichen, at an elevation of 9 — 11,000 ■feet. ' Growing, as it does, an epiphyte, upon the trunks of trees, in the gloomy and almost impenetrable forests, it is a plant very diflicult of detection.' The fourth species is R. pumiliim, a delightful Alpine species, with the habit of a Pyrola, and small bell-shaped flowers of the most delicate pink. It is described as ' the smallest of the Sikkim Rhododendrons.' Dr. Hooker only gathered it twice, on Alpine slopes among moorland plants, ' where its elegant flowers are produced soon after the snow has melted ; and there its pretty pink bells are seen peeping above the surrounding short heath-like vegetation, reminding the botanist of those of Linn^iea borealis.' Then follows, in No. 5, a striking contrast, in the form of R. Hodgsoni — a tree with ample leaves, silvery white be- neath, and great rose-colored flowers containing 18 stamens. This and Abies Webbiana are described as the characteristic underwood and tree at the elevation of 10 — 12,000 feet in all the valleys of Sikkim. It will probably be found one of the most cultivable of all the species. Cups, spoons, and ladles are made of its wood. ' Nor is the foliage without its allotted use. The leaves are employed as platters, and serve for lining baskets for conveying the mashed pulp of AriscB- nia root, (a kind of Colocass); and the accustomed present of butter or curd is always made enclosed in this glossy foliage.' R. lanatmn, the sixth of the plates, again reminds us of R. campanulatum, but the wool beneath the leaves is white or tawny, and the flowers pale sulphur color. It is found ' on the rocky spurs of the humid mountains and gullies, at an elevation of 10—12,000 feet.' VOL. XVII. NO. vj. 34 266 Ploricultural and Botanical Notices. R. glauciim, No. 7, is a delicate little species, about 2 feet high, with scurfy leaves, and pale pinkish purple flow- ers. The leaves are remarkably glacous on the under side, and the whole plant has a powerful resinous smell. It is from ' rocky depressed ridges, at an elevation of 10 — 12,000 feet.' The eighth kind, R. Maddetii, has very large white flow- ers, and dark green sharp-pointed leaves, covered with rusty down on the under side. It has 18 — 20 stamens, and a faint perfume. It forms a bush 6 — 8 feet high, at an elevation of 6,000 feet. Finally, the work closes with R. triflorum, a yellow-flow- ered species, with scurfy leaves, something like the plant ex- hibited at the last Horticultural meeting, by Dr. Hussey's gardener, and R. setosum, a Box-leaved bush, looking like a Rhodora. This last inhabits extensive moorland tracts, and rocky slopes, at the height of 13 — 16,000 feet, and evidently belongs to a drier climate than the preceding. Dr. Hooker says, ' It is the Tsallu of the Sikkim Bhoteas and Thibeti- ans, who attribute the oppression and headaches attending the crossing the loftiest passes of the Eastern Himalaya to the strongly resinous odor of this and of the R. anthopogon Wall. (Palu of the natives.) The species certainly abounds to within a few miles of the summits of all the passes, and after hot sunshine fills the atmosphere with its powerful aroma, too heavy by far to be agreeable ; and it is, indeed, a sad aggravation to the discomforts of toiling in the rarefied medium it inhabits.' It is by studying details like those we have quoted, that gardeners will learn how to manage the species they have reared ; and, we trust, that in the next part of this important work, the learned and indefatigable author, whose return from India is daily expected, will furnish cultivators with an abundance of similar information." Undoubtedly but few if any of these will stand our north- ern climate in the open air ; they will however succeed in the South and West, and will therefore be desirable objects Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 267 for introduction. But their value to us, will be for the pur- pose of hybridization and mixture with our own hardy R. maximum and catawbiense ; by judicious intermixture a splen- did race of hardy kinds must be the result. 139. Nemata'nthus ione^'ma Mart. Violet-stemmed Ne- MATANTHus. (Gcstierkcess.^ Brazil. A stove plant ; growing two feet high ; with dark red flowers ; appearing in spring and summer ; increased by cuttings ; grown in loam, leaf mould and sand. Flore des Serres, pi. 498, 1849. A new and pretty species of the Nematanthus, similar to the longipes, but with darker colored flowers, and with the pedicels or stems of a violet hue. In other respects it differs but little. It requires the same treatment as the former spe- cies, and both of them, on account of their fleshy deep green foliage, are desirable additions to every collection. (Flore des Serres. Aug.) 140. Cappa^nia grandiflo^ra Decaine. Large flow- ered Cappania. (Gesneracese.) New Grenada. A greenhouse plant; growing two feet high : with while spotted flowers ; appearing in summer; increased by cuttings ; cultivated in heath soil, or leaf iiiould and sand. Flore des Serres, pi. 499, 1849. A new and unique plant ; '' elegant in its habit, ample in its flowers, gracefully effective in the lively spotting of its colors upon the soft ground of its corolla, entirely new in its introduction, easily cultivated in the greenhouse, we" hope to see a numerous offspring of hybrids combining the beauties of this with the other gesneraceous plants : we are confident it is a plant which will find a place among the choicest fa- vorites of our gardens." It was introduced from New Grenada, and was raised from seeds received from the environs of Santa Fe de Bogota, in the collection of M. Van Houtte. The drawing is from the species in its native locality. In general appearance it resembles a Gloxinia, but much larger and more spreading at the mouth : the color a creamy white, elegantly spotted with deep rose or carmine. It is one of the most unique plants of this tribe we have lately seen, and surpasses the Achimenes in the size as well as beauty of its flowers. It is easily cultivated in the 268 h^loricultural and Botanical Notices. same manner as the Achimenes or Gloxinias. {Flore des Serves. Aug.) » 141. Came'llia japo'nica, var. Candor Herb. Hon. and Rev. Mr. Herbert's Seedling. This Camellia which has been in cultivation some time, was raised by the late Mr. Herbert, and was pronounced one of the finest whites yet raised. The drawing represents a charming flower fully equal to the old double white, being regularly imbricated, full and regular. We believe it is in some of our American collctions, but it has not yet flowered. {Flore des Sevres. Aug.) 142. RiGiDE^LLA immaculata Herb. Spotless Rigidella. ( Iridacecc. ) Guatemala. A greenhouse shrub ; growing fifteen inches high ; with orange-colored flowers : appearing in spring; increased by ofisets ; cultivated in loam, leaf mould and sand. Flore des Serres, pi. 502, 1S49. An exqui'site little iridaceous tribe, with spikes of orange scarlet flowers, which depend gracefully from the stem : there are now three species, this being the newest : all are pretty, and deserve a place in every collection of Cape bulbs. Easfly cultivated in the same, manner as the Ixias, Sparaxis, &c. {Flore des Sevres. Sept.) 143. Sa'lvia pattens var. alba. White-flowered Sal- via. Garden hybrid. a greenhouse phun ; growing two feet high ; with white flowers ; appearing all summer ; in- creased by cuttings ; cultivated in light rich soil. Flore des Serres, pi. 503, 1849. The iSalvia patens is well known in our gardens as one of the most beautiful summer blooming plants turned out into the open border. The *$*. patens alba, is precisely like it in everything but the color of the flowers : bedded out with the blue and tlic scarlet, the white spikes of the alba wfll make a rich contrast, and render it one of the most desirable plants for general introduction. It grows as readily as the other kinds of salvias. {Flore des Serves. Sept.) Floricultural a7id Botanical Notices. 269 144. Li'lium Szovitsia^num Fisch. and Lallem. Mr. SzowiTz's Lily. (LilidcecB.) Caucasus. A hardy bulb ; growing two feet high -, with yellow "spotted flowers ; appearing in August and September; increased by ofisets ; cultivated in light rich soil. Flore des Serres, pi. 507, l&4g. A new and fine lily introduced by Messrs. Fischer and Lal- lem, of the Garden of St. Petersburg, who found it in their excursions in the Russian Provinces. It is a beautiful and hardy species, with pale yellowish flowers, spotted with dark brown : the flowers pendent, with reflexed petals like the Ja- pan lilies. It is a great addition to this splendid family of hardy plants, and we hope to see it speedily introduced. {Flore des Serres. Sept.) 145. CyDONIA (CHiENOMELEs) JAP'ONICA, Var. UMBILICATA. Umbilical Fruited Japan Pear. [Rosacece.) Japan. A hardy shrub ; growing six foet high ; with deep rose-colored flowers ; appearing in spring ; increased by layers ; cullivated in light rich soil. Flore des Serres, pi. 510, 1849. A new and beautiful rose-colored variety of the Cydonia or Japan pear, (Pyrus japonica, as it is best known) intro- duced by Dr. Siebold in his tour to Japan, and fruited for the first time in his garden in 1849. The flowers are of a deep and beautiful rose, and they are succeeded by fruits, which are green and handsomely tinged with bright red on the sunny side, and are almost as ornamental as the flowers. It is perfectly hardy, and requires the same treatment as the common Py- rus japonica. {Flore de Serres. Sept.) 146. Amhe'rstia no'bilis Wall. Noble -flowered Amhers- TiA. {Legiiminosoi,) East Indies. A stove shrub ; growing ten feet high ; with rose-colored flowers ; appearing in spring ; increas ed by cuttings -, cultivated in light rich soil. Flore des Serres, pi. 515, 1849. Few plants have had a greater reputation for beauty pre- cede their introduction, and few have better sustained it after their blossoms have been seen. The Amherstia is truly a noble plant. With a pinnate foliage similar to our hardy acacias, it has immense pendent racemes (4 or 5 feet long) of huge flowers of a brilliant rose or carmine shade, than which nothing in the floral world can be more beautiful. The credit of first flowering the Amherstia in England is 270 Floricultural and Botanical Notices. due to Mrs. Lawrence, at Ealing, whose collection of plants, and whose success in their cultivation is so well known. The Duke of Devonshire sent out Mr. Gibson, expressly to introduce the Amherstia and other East India plants : and a plant has been in his collection several years without bloom- ing. The plant of Mrs. Lawrence was given to her by Lord Hardinge, in 1847, and in 1849 it enriched her collection with its magnificent flowers. It has been supposed to be difficult to bloom : but the suc- cess of Mrs. Lawrence shows that with proper management it will readily flower, and that it should now find its way into all choice collections. It requires a light rich soil, a high temperature and a par- tial shade to grow it successfully. [Floi^e des Serres. Oct.) 147. Gramma^nthes gentianoides D. C. Gentian-like Grammanthes [Crassulacem). Africa. An annual plant ; growing six inches higli ; with yellow and orange flowers ; appearing all sum- mer ; increased by seeds ; cultivated in light rich soil. Flore des Serres, pi. 518, 1849. A new and beautiful annual, growing about six inches high ; with oblong elliptical fleshy leaves, and small star- shaped yellow and orange flowers ; it is a native of the arid sands of Africa, and, like the annual Mesembryanthe- mums, likes a warm and dry situation, when its little starry blossoms literally clothe the dwarf and bushy plants. It will prove a fine companion to the Portulacas. Easily raised from seeds which are abundantly produced. {Flore des Sevres. Oct.) 148. Bra'voa geminiflo^ra Llave &^ Lex. Germ-flowered Bravoa, (AmaryllidacecB.) Mexico. a greenhouse hulb ; growing a foot high ; with scarlet flowers ; appearing in summer ; increased by oflsets ; cultivated in light ricli soil. Flore des Serres, pi. 520, 1S49. A pretty bulbous plant with racemes of tubular orange scarlet flowers, which hang in twos upon a slender stem, and open successively until arrested by cold weather. The little bulbs may be treated like the amaryllises, that is, planted out in spring, and taken up after blooming and placed out of the reach of frost until the return of another season. {Flore des Serres. Oct.) General Notices. 271 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Art. I. General JVotices. Culture of the Dahlia for Exhibition. — The following- concise rules, to be observed in the successful culture of the Dahlia for exhibition. are not presented so much for any novelty in the practice recommended, as to point out a few of the most essential things to be done at the proper time, For economy in carriage, the plants are grown and sent out in small pots : therefore, on receiving them from the nursery, place them in a close frame for a day and a night to recover them from their confinement ; then repot them into 4-inch pots, using rich soil: the pots should be drained with coarse partly decomposed leaf-mould, so that in planting out there will be nothing to abstract from the ball of earth, A good start is of great importance ; therefore care should be taken that the plant is grown to a fair size without drawing during the lime it is in the pot ; the stouter it is the better, without being tall ; and it should not be potbound at the time of planting out ; both the roots and the point of the plant should be in a thriving condition, and free from aphides. It may perhaps be unnecessary to state that the plants must be carefully hardened off before they are turned out. If the soil and plants are in a proper state, the first week in June will be a good time for the general planting, which, with ordinary care and attention, will produce good blooms in time for the earliest exhibition. A short period will suffice to have plants of a good size"; but it should be borne in mind that hours lost in repotting them when in a young state will make a difference of days in the time of blooming, and it is important that this should be clearly under- stood, that no neglect in the matter may be permitted to take place. Ex- amine the plants often, to see if any require water ; by no means let them become dry so long- as they are in pots. Secure them with proper and strong fastenings at the time of planting ; water whenever they require it, and sprinkle the foliage slightly almost every evening with soft water. Tie out the branches, and, as the plant increases in size, secure the side-shoots firmly to extra stakes. Cut away all superfluous small shoots. Some va- rieties have scarcely any to remove, while others have a considerable num- ber. Fearless is of the class which has but few shoots requiring the use of the knife ; but such kinds as Shylock require it freely. Indiscriminate pruning must therefore be avoided. Study the habit of the plant, and con- sider if the flower will be improved by increased size ; all varieties need some thinning and disbudding, which should be effected at different periods. Small flowers require it as soon as the young shoots and buds can be remov- ed, while large flowers, such as Thames Bank Hero, Princess Louisa, and many others, would be rendered coarse and valueless for the purposes of ex- hibition if a number of buds were not permitted to remain till the plant was coming into bloom. Size in this case would be gained at the expense of 273 Genej'al Notices. quality ; besides, there is the advantage of having three blooms where two would be grown. On the other hand, size, in moderation, must not be lost sight of. It was not with small blooms that I have taken first prizes for these last fifteen years. I would therefore advise the young grower to avoid the two extremes. In shading blooms for exhibition, as a general rule, they should be one-third blown before they are put under the shade ; and take care to secure such as appear to be coming good, and at the time they are required, from injury by friction. Slugs and earwigs are very de- structive, and must be perseveringly kept down from the time the plants are put out till the end of the season. If you should be annoyed by a small black insect (which is often the case in July), use every means to encour- age the plants to make rapid growths, by watering and syringing them over- head, and by brushing the depredators from the points of the shoots. SnufF, tobacco-water, and various other remedies are often resorted to ; but these, if ellectual in killing the pests, generally destroy the points of the shoots ; if the plants are in a thriving condition, they will soon recover themselves. If the season proves dry, water freely two or three times a week ; but never let it be done by halves ; give a good soaking when you do water, if that should not be so often. Employ manure-water once a week as soon as they begin to throw up their buds ; but it should be used in a weak state at the commencement. Before concluding these remarks, permit me to bear wit- ness to the increasing interest taken both in the culture of the Dahlia for competition and in the raising of seedlings. The enjoyment and pleasing recreation attending the cultivation of florists' flowers add numbers to the fancy ; and I have much satisfaction in stating that no flower is more gener- ous in repaying the enthusiastic florist for his labor than the Dahlia. — ( Gar- deners^ Chron., 1851, p. 279.) Messrs. Lane and Son's new Rose-house. — It will be remembered that at a meeting of the Horticultural Society, held on the 1st of April last, Messrs. Lane contributed an exhibition of cut Roses, fresh and beautiful as in the month of June. So fine a display of the Queen of flowers in such vivid colors at so early a season necessarily attracted much attention, and therefore we have thought it expedient to furnish our readers with some in- formation on the subject, beyond what was stated at page 215. Some time last year, Messrs Lane put up a span-roofed Rose-house, 60 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 9 feet high, and glazed it with good sheet glass in large panes, in order that as much light might be admitted as possible. Having no stage in the centre, the floor of this house was filled last autumn with Roses standard, high in the middle, and gradually sloping off to dwarfs at the outer edges, the surrounding shelves being occupied with the smaller varieties. All were lifted and potted in the spring, previous to their intro- duction into the house, and when placed there, the only care they required was ordinary treatment and a healthy growing atmosphere. In order to supply the latter requisition, Mr. Lane, considering the principles of Pol- maise a step in the right direction, decided on adopting a modification of that system of heating, and the result has proved all that could possibly be desired; for with a very small consumption of fuel, any reasonable degree General Notices. 273 of warmth may be obtained, and when the apparatus is in full play, the cir- culation of the air is so rapid as to visibly move the foliage. Under such conditions it need hardly be mentioned that the plants not only exhibit luxu- riant health, but a brilliancy of coloring is infused into the blooms which in a sluggish atmosphere they could hardly be expected to have possessed, and all this has been effected by means of a peculiar arrangement of the common flue. On the outside of the house, near one end, is a furnace con- structed of Welsh lumps ; the flue from this is led along the inside of the house to near the other end, where it terminates in one upright shaft. This flue, during its whole length inside the house, is chambered or encased in another flue, out of which there are openings for the escape of hot air, which, after circulating across the house, is collected on the opposite side by cold air drains that restore it to the hot chamber, in which it is again heated, and dispersed over the atmosphere ; and thus the latter is kept in continual motion — a condition found to be not only conducive to the health of the plants, but so agreeable to one's feelings, that, although the heat is 75°, it does not seem to be above 60°. Indeed so rapid is the circulation, that no scorching can possibly be experienced ; in proof of which, tender Rose shoots overhanging the warmest opening above the furnace were unscathed and flourishing. In a house of this kind " the bloom " will continue in good condition for two or three months, provided the temperature is not very warm and the atmosphere dry. But in addition to the benefits which vege- tation derives from this plan of heating, it is also an advantage to the pro- prietors' pocket. This we think will be acknowledged when we mention that the whole cost of erecting Mr. Lane's Polmaise house, which, as we have stated, is 60 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 9 feet high, is just 88/. Is. 9^d. This is exclusive of rollers and shading, which would be about 5L more. Among the many fine varieties of Roses which this house contained, we saw few better than our old friends Baronne Prevost, Duchess of Suth- erland, Geant des Batailles, Lady Alice Peel, Madame de Lamoriciere, Madame Trudeaux, Marquise Boccella, Miss Pepin, Polybe, Regulata, Si- donie, William Jesse, Souvenir de la Malmaison, Adam, Devoniensis, Gou- bault. Moire, Souvenir d'un Ami, and Vicomtesse de Gazes. Most of these are budded on the Dog Rose, on which they are stated to withstand sudden changes from heat to cold, better than on their own roots. The other houses here were extremely gay with Cinerarias, end other early flowering plants, and the Camellias were beautifully in blossom. Among the latter, we remarked many, not more than four inches high, bearing large and well- shaped flowers. These are obtained by taking off the blooming points, and striking them in a little hea.t.^Id. p. 279.) Great Exhibition of American Plants and Roses. — Few persons, who know or care anything about flowers, need to be told of the magnificent floral display which took place in the Garden of the Royal Botanic Society in the Regent's Park during the last two summers : we refer to the collec- tions of American plants, from the great nurserymen at Bagshot and Knap- hill : Baker, Standish and Noble, and John Waterer. These nurserymen VOL. XVII. NO. VI. 35 274 General Notices. will again display their collections as on former years, and in a condition, as we understand, superior to anything which they have been enabled to do before. It is impossible to conceive more beautifully cultivated plants than the magnificent standards of Rhododendron, brought by Mr. John Waterer — last season especially. The experience of the last two years has pointed out means whereby improvements can be effected ; and the Coun- cil have just determined on an entire re-arrangement of the ground in which these plants are exhibited ; so that beautiful and effective as the whole thing was admitted to be, it cannot fail to be much more so during the com- ing season. That which was an experiment two years ago, is now no long- er so ; and can be treated from the result of experience, and rendered more than ever attractive and beautiful. The practice of shading plants from the direct rays of the sun receives an illustration on a broad scale in this exhi- tion. The result of which is, that the plants, which in the open air, ex- posed to the sun, would last in perfection two or three days at most, con- tinue here, shut out as they are from the sun, and exposed to a damp, cool, and still atmosphere, not less than a month, and some of them even longer. This, then, is ihe effect of shading plants while in flower ; and what results here to American plants, would equally follow with respect to all other plants, if treated in the same way ; varying the treatment, of course, accord- ing to the nature of the plants : some requiring more, some less of shade. In all cases, where it is possible, the shading ought to be movable, so as to be taken up and down at pleasure. With this treatment, the constitution of the plants themselves would be strengthened, and the delicate tints of coloring of the different kinds would be still more perfectly developed ; for we maintain that where Rhododendrons are grown in the open air, be the situation ever so favorable, if exposed to the sun, the display of bloom can never, under any circumstances, be at all 'comparable to that seen under such a shading as we refer to, to say nothing of the length of time the plants last in bloom in the one case compared with the other. If all this advantage accrue from the shading of Rhododendrons, and if they can be kept in bloom and in beauty for six weeks instead of one, the question nat- urally arises, why not apply it to other kinds of ornamental plants — such, for instance, as the rose ? The question is a very natural and a very proper one ; and we are very happy to be able to say, that the Council of the Royal Botanic Society, at a cost of from six to seven hundred pounds, have placed such a structure at the disposal of the great rose growers — Mr. Riv- ers, ofSavvbridgeworth ; Messrs. Lane and Son, of Great Berkhampstead ; and Messrs Paul of Cheshunt ; who, like the great Bagshot nurserymen, that display these American plants entirely at their own risk and cost, de- serve the special thanks and patronage of the public. These great rose growers, then, planted during the past autumn a piece of ground, not much less in extent than the American garden, with several thousand roses, each filling his own department with the kinds which he deemed the best for the situation and the experiment to be tried. This garden also is provided with a substantial iron frame-work, on which canvas blinds are to be run up and down as often as the weather and other circumstances may require. Ueie> General Notices. 9175 then, is another experiment to he tried, and the efficacy of shading plants in bloom on a large scale tested ; the result of which will prove to the pub- lic how far such a practice is deserving of imitation. Our own calculation is, that the rose bloom, which in the open air comes into flower, and is ex- ceedingly beautiful for an hour or two in the morning, before the force of the sun falls upon it to destroy the delicate coloring of the petals, and is tolerable only for a short time afterwards, will, by means of shading, last nearly equally beautiful for a week or ten days. If this calculation prove nearly correct, the result will be a large increase of expanded blossom at the same time ; turning what in ordinary cases, would be but a meagre dis- play from the paucity of open bloom into a gorgeous mass of flower, such as it would be impossible to see in the same space under other circumstan- ces. This, at least, is what we expect ; and, if the delicacy and beauty of the blooms do not incomparably surpass anything that was ever seen before in roses, we shall be greatly disappointed. Here, then, is something new for the year '51. Taking the American Garden, the Great Exhibition Tent, and the Rose Garden, joining each other as they do, they will form one en- tire awning upwards of an acre in extent, of open, uninterrupted prome- nade, during part of the month of May and the whole of June and July, such as no spot, similar in extent, on the face of the globe could supply. — {Gard. Journal, 1851, p. 131.) [The exhibition continues the whole of this month, and we invite the at- tention of our amateurs to the hints above thrown out relative to the ben- efits of shading, more particularly under our hot sun. — Ed.] A Garden of Bulbs. — How universally everybody, even persons com- paratively indifierent to gardens, admire the flowers of all bulbous-rooted plants ; yet how few gardens among those in the highest keeping make them form anything like a conspicuous feature in the general arrangement. How this happens I know not, nor can I imagine, because the temptation is great ; for be it known, that from February to July, aye, even to Septem- ber, there may be kept up a continual succession of the most neat and love- ly, as well as the most gorgeous bloom, according to the taste of the gar- dener ; not that I would recommend an entire reliance on bulbs, for there are many perennials of quite another class, that would wonderfully aid the general effect, and they might be so contrived as to supply those colors which may be most efficient at particular seasons. I am an advocate for bulbs upon the same principle that I am for perennials, apart from their great beauty ; that is, for the little trouble they give one. For the most part they need only be disturbed once in three years, and then only because the in- crease is so great that they want thinning, so also does a perennial : indeed so do most perennials, for they spread their roots in three years into large patches, and require to be parted, or they become uncouth. I have a bulb border; I cannot call it a bulb garden, but it completely eclipsed all the rest of my garden, until, with the increase in the third year, I was enabled to make bulbs a very important feature in the general arrangement, but I will confine my remarks to the bulb border; and although I write from memory and far from home, 1 will endeavor to convey an idea of its plan, 276 General Notices. arrangement, and effect. In February and March, the principal subjects are the Snowdrop, the early Daffodils, the brilliant Scilla sibirica, and the Crocus, of which there are several varieties ; then I have the white of the Snowdrop, the yellow of the Daffodils, the bright blue of the Scilla, and among the Crocuses the dark purple, the white, the striped, and the golden yellow. Here, then, is but one leading color deficient ; but there are dwarf trees of the Pyrus japonica upon the wall, and they, from Christmas to the end of spring, furnish a great abundance of red. But before my favorite bulbs already mentioned decline, I have early Tulips of many colors — the first of which show their colors before the Crocuses depart, and Hyacinths of many shades in blue, red, and an apology for yellow, and after this the late varieties of the so called early Tulips and the later Hyacinths and the Narcissus tribe assisting them, keep up a complete gallery of beauty all the month of April and part of May. The Iris family, which is immensely extensive, begin to help me, and the late Tulips take their full share of dec- oration until the Iris become numerous and various, when the Lilies render great service, and continue, with some of these species, to enliven the borders to about the end of summer. Now, during all these months very little aid is required to keep up a full bloom, and I have not once contemplated dis- turbing the ground, except by hoeing carefully, to destroy weeds, nor do bulbs require watering. I do not conceal the fact that I was a considerable time before I could please myself with the arrangement to keep something like a uniform quantity of flowers always on the border, for it was only four feet wide, but I derived infinite pleasure from the changes I made from year to year, and I will also confess that now that I have distributed bulbs mod- erately in the general borders, I am better pleased with the other part of the garden than with the border dependent on bulbs, except so far as it inter- ests me as an experiment ; for they are brilliant additions in early spring, and greatly assist the general effect all the year. At times the bulb border is almost too dazzling, yet I am convinced that I shall in time so regulate it as to secure a good bloom nearly the whole year ; at the fall, I now have, to succeed everything, the autumnal Crocuses in variety, and the (so called for many years) Amaryllis lutea, so that there is a fair struggle to keep up the flowers up to winter. My greatest trouble is in keeping the border neat as the various bulbs go out of bloom ; but as fast as the stems or leaves turn yellow I shorten them to the part that is a good color, and thus manage pretty well. I would not go so far as to recommend every body to try a border of bulbs, but I would seriously advise them to have in all the bor- ders a few patches (for all bulbs look best in patches), of Snowdrops, Cro- cuses, Scilla sibirica, and the earliest Daffodils in sixes. A few patches of Hyacinths in threes, early Tulips the same ; if these several patches were 10 yards apart they would still do wonders in " lighting up " the garden as it were. I have patches of dwarf bulbs six feet apart all along my border, but as I give all of them fair play, the patches of each family are a consid- erable distance from each other ; all these are within six or nine inches of the edging. Half way between them I have patches of taller bulbs, Iris, Lilies, &c., but I only plant these patches 12 feet apart, so that they come General Notices. 277 in the centre, but further back between every alternate two of the dwarfs. I may be a little particular, but I place the same kind in all cases opposite each other. I have strongly recommended one of the great importers of bulbs to make out his catalogue for the next season, with the names of all bulbs flowering in the particular months, so that a tyro may order exactly what he wishes. There are many bulbs of great interest, but little known by their names ; and London seedsmen are generally unable to inform us anything about them ; but a descriptive list, with the heights, colors, season of planting, and season of bloom, would be valuable. The principal points that require attention in the culture of bulbs are — 1st, to have the ground well drained ; 2d, to have the soil rich and light ; 3d, to plant them before they make the least effort to grow ; 4th, not to take them up until the leaves have died down ; lastly, while they are out of ground, to protect them against heat, frost, and damp. I feel assured that if those who do not make bulbs a feature in the gardens will but try the effects of a few Hya- cinths, a few Crocuses, a few Scilla sibirica, and a few early Tulips, they will very soon desire to add to their list of bulbs. — {Gard. Chron., 1851, p. 229.) Roses for Bedding. — "Are roses adapted for bedding in a flower gar- den?" is a question asked by Mr. M'Ewen, and answered by him in rather conclusive terms. I do not tax the experience, neither the opportunities of observation of your correspondent ; I grant that Geant des Batailles is one of the most brilliant, perfect, and most constant blooming roses in its class ; but to tell us that G6ant is the only rose to be tolerated in a flower-garden bed is, in my opinion, unfair to the " Queen of Flowers." I think there cannot be two opinions of the rose for the above purpose, with those who have seen well-managed beds of the following: Comte d'Eu, General Mer- lin, Pompon, C6r6s, Anne Beluze, Dupetit Thouars, Edouard Defosses, Souvenir de la Malmaison, Abricote, Carolina, Clara Sylvain, Eugene Hardy, Pactolus, Cramoisie Superieure, Mrs. Bosanquet, Moira, Prince Charles, Comte de Paris, Niphetos, Pumila Devoniensis, Miss Glegg, Nar- cisse, Nemesis, with a host of others of equal merit, many of which far sur- pass G6ant des Batailles in constancy and profusion of bloom. Let them speak who have seen these lovely roses grown to perfection, and I am con- vinced that they will, with one accord, admit that they are gay, elegant, compact, constant, blooming, effective — in short, that they are calculated to take a prominent place in any well-arranged miscellaneous flower gar- den. It is true, that very few Hybrid Perpetuals produce a sufficient suc- cession of bloom to render them eligible for bedding. Bourbons are prefer- able, many of them all that could be desired. China, tea-scented China, and Noisettes on their own roots, are, in my opinion, of all roses the best adapted for the purpose in question, but they must be grown, they must be well grown. Root-prune them, and their roots will be- multiplied, and a corresponding increase of blooming material will be the result. Not only does root-pruning produce a greater amount of bloom, it also tends to keep the plants dwarf and compact. Grow them in light rich soil, give them abundance of moisture, occasionally manure in a liquid state at the roots in 278 General Notices. dry woalhor, and no foar nood ho ontortainod of a lark of constancy and proriusion of bloom. Your oorrospondtMil " Kodopliilot;" roiriplains tlial Souvonir do la Maliunisou on its own roots docs not willi liini op«Mi its blooms frcoiy. I-asl soason 1 had several plants of it on a south honlor, (worked and unworkod,) in a soil neither of tho best nor the richest qnal- ity, and not half of its hloom-huds opened ; but in a bed in tho flowor par- den, with a soil as niontionod in a previous communication, whero the plants fjrew luxuriantly, its hold and inassivo blossoms expanded as freely OS any other rose, thus proving (at least with n\c) that this famous rose freely firown will freely open its blossoms ; and in sonui depree showing the advantaijes aeeruiiiij from an int(>ri'hait<^e of opinions and modes of cul- ture on this and other imporlant subji>ets. — {lianl. Jour., p. 100.) Stanpauo Se.vHi.KT (iKKANii'MS. — (irowii as a standard, six or eifjbt feet hioh, the scarlet iroranium is a very graceful object placed amonp the dwarfer plants in the conservatory. And it is eipially as easy {^rown in this way as in the visual dwarf foruj. Select in the spriujj, from the stock of yt>nn<; plants, such as have at least ono fine strong shoot. Cut all the oth- ers clean away from as near tho root as possible, and stake the shoot that remains carefully, as it is very apt to pet brvdien in the operation, and, in- deed, it is better to leave two or three of the best shoots «ui the plant until this operatitm is completed, in ease of any enieroency. The plants may bo placed in any moderattdy warm house, such as a vinery, whero they can command a sutliciency of lipht. My-and-by the uprij^ht stem will throw out Laterals, which should bo allowed to make a couple of leaf-buds, and then stopped ; by this means tho stem pets beautifully feathered with leaves all tho way up, and by stopping tho laterals the ascendinp lluid continues the growth of tho main stem. On this point the whole aiVair turns, for if any suckers are allowed to push out iViun the bottom, they ilivert the sap from lh(> proper channel, and the main stem almost ceases jjrowiny. This stem should never be stopped until it has attained the desired heipht, when it is stopped, and tho four or fivo laterals nt>\t the extremity eneouraped, in order to form a head. Treated in this manner, with liberal pot-room, and occa- sional waterinps witi> liiiniil manure, they will bloom in tho conservatory tho whole winter throuph. I see no reason why there should not be a rep- ular succession of peraninms and pelarpouinms in bloom all the year throuph. When visitinp Dalkeith, in September last, Mr. M'lntosh showed me several lots of beautiful bushy pelarponiums, in ilillerent stapes of prowth. for winter aiul sprinp bloominp ; and our conservatory is now pay with btuh sorts. Kliu-e plenn and uniiine are particularly useful for winter. — {Id., IH.M. p. lOl.) I'sioii'M rATTi.KYANUM (t^uAVA.) — Tlio I'sidium Cattloyauum is tho oidy iVuit that I know of that is improved in flavor and color by pivinp it abundance of water and copious syrinpinp when approachinp ripeness. The fruit will set freely in a cold preeuhouse or conservatory, and alter it attains the size of a small cherry, it remains a loop tinui without maUiiip any ap- parent prepress. The fruit in this state should be thinned ; and as soon as it begina to swell, it should have tho tumpcialuru uf tho pinu stove (30 to 70 Domestic Notices. 279 de^. ; syrinfriniT oHen ami watorincj frooly. Thus treated the fruit will swell to iliiiihlc its usoal si/.c, ami will ho much im|iroviHl in i-Dlor and flavor, ami will make an aifveeahle ailiiitioii to the dessert. The fruit will ripen in uhout three weeks after its reimtval to a higher temperature. — {Id., p. 101.) Select List ok Autumnal Roses AnAi'TEi) for Bedding. — [N. B. Those marked with an asterisk, are partieuhvrly beautiful.] •1 Moijador. Brilliant erimson. Damask perpetual. *2 CJeant des Hatailles. Scarlet crimson. J lyhrid perpetual. 3 Jeanne d'Arc. Pale llesh, lino, llyhrid perpetual. *4 Madame Aimee. Very light pink, llyhrid perpetual. *5 Matiamo Guillot. Very bright red Hybrid perpetual. 6 Due d'AuuuVle. Purplish red ; excellent. *7 Eiondard de Marengo. Very rich red. Hybrid perpetual. *8 Marquise Boccella. Light pink ; a stout and short grower; the petals are singularly rellexed. 9 Pourpre Hoyal. Rich red and jnirple. Hybrid perpetual. *10 Comto Bobrinsky. Scarlet crimson; excellent dwarf. Hybrid per- petual. •11 Comte d'Eu. Very deep crimson ; very dwarf. Hybrid perpetual. •12 Madame Angelina. Creamy fawn ; most lovely. Bourbon ; (this does admirably with the "Geaut.") 13 Souchet. Very dark purple ; opens well. Bourbon. 14 La CJracieuse. Bich i>ink. Bourbon. 15 Madame Margat. Deep rose. Bourbon ; very free flowerer. •16 Aimee Vibert. Good wiiiie ; very free llowerer. Noisotto. •17 Miss Glegg. Pinkish white. Noisette ; very pood. •18 Fabvier. Splendid scarlet crimson ; a little striped, and thin of petals. Cliina. •19 Cramoisie Superieur. Velvetty and rich crinison ; splendid; a little too lender for exposed situations. China. •20 Henry tho Fifth. Fine crimson ; sometimes striped. China. •21 Clara Sylvain. Creamy fawn , splendid; a little tender. China. •22 Boisnard. Hieh creamy fawn ; a little tender ; largo. China. 23 Fugime Beauhamaise. Purplish red ; excellent. China. 21 Madame Bureau. Pure white ; rather tender ; very good. China. — {Id., p. 100.) Art. TT. Domestic Notices. Birds Injurious to Fruit Trkks. — Some years ago, after a severe snow storm in April, I observed that the surface of tho suow under my peach trees was literally covered with blossom buds, and, on minutely ex- amining tho branches, saw with regret that all hopes of a good crop, for that year at least, had entirely vanisiied. At first, 1 thong lit that this might be the ellccts of the late storm, but on a closer examination, saw that the buds had been torn with violence from the branch, and that it must have been 280 Domestic Notices. the work of some living animal. The next morning, determined to solve the mystery, I took a gun, watched the trees, and soon discovered flocks of small birds, apparently sparrows, busily engaged eating the blossom buds, and scattering the refuse on the snow-covered ground. Having shot sev- eral of the petty thieves, 1 dissected a couple, and found them full of my missing blossoms, thus leaving no doubt on my mind, as to the cause of the bare appearance of the trees. One branch alone, which I showed to a friend, having ten buds eaten off, and only two remaining perfect. This spring, again observing the buds eaten in the same manner, led me to think that many persons, who complain of the peach blossoms having been killed by cold weather, may, with much more justice, attribute their loss to the real cause, that is, the bud-eating propensity of these birds. A neighbor complained to me to-day, that several buds from his newly budded trees had been, as he thought, rubbed off; but, from his description of the state the buds were in, I have every reason to believe that this likewise is the w^ork of birds. Not having seen any notice in your journal, upon this sub- ject, I thought I would take the liberty of making this fact known, as per- haps some species of bud-eating birds may cause more devastation in peach orchards than we imagine. The bird to which I allude, is the Purple finch, or American linnet — " Fringilla purpurea." Nuttall says, that " when reduced to necessity, they are observed to eat the buds of the beech, and those of fruit trees, probably for the sake of the stamens contained in them, of which they are greedy, when displayed in the opening blossom." How- ever, in summer they partly repay us, as then " their food consists princi- pally of insects," although at the same time " they eat small juicy berries, as those of the honeysuckle, and others." The Purple finch is about six inches in length, and has a sweet and varied song. The adult male. Nut- tall says, is of a crimson color, (but my specimens are of a dusky crimson shade, with the back dusky brown, probably young birds,) the belly is partly white. The females and young are of a pale brown, and dusky, beneath yellowish white, spotted with dusky brown ; the legs are of a brownish flesh color, and the bill dull dark brown color. As I am much opposed to shooting any small insectivorous birds, deriving as we do, from them, more benefits than most of us are aware of, as they destroy daily innumerable eggs, and insects, and larvae, which if suffered to multiply would totally destroy not only our fruit, but the very orchards themselves, — could not some plan be devised to frighten away these little thieves 1 as at one meal they destroy hundreds of peaches, for the sake of, as Nuttall states, merely the stamens. I would not thus intrude upon your time and patience, had I not suffered pretty severely from the depredations of these birds, and thought it might be well to warn others, who have been, or now are, in a similar situation. — Yours, D. R. April 18, 1851. [We have noticed this species of linnet frequently, in our grounds, but never having suffered much by the destruction of any quantity of the peach buds, we have not noticed their peculiar propensity to eat the flowers of this fruit. We gladly, however, insert the above, and would be glad to have Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 281 cultivators, who may suffer in the loss of their peach buds, notice the habits of this bird, which may be readily known by the description. In some lo- calities they may be much more injurious than others. — Ed.] Art. III. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Saturday, April 26, 1851. Exhibited. — Flowers : From H. Grundel, a fine plant of Weig^lea rosea. GRATUITY AWARDED. To H. Grundel, for afine plantof Weigelza rosea, the society's medal, ^5, May 3. An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the Vice President in the chair. No business of importance was transacted, and the meeting was adjourn- ed two weeks, to May 17th. Exhibited. — Flowers : Beautiful hyacinths, from J. Breck & Son and A. Bowditch. PREMIUMS AWARDED. Hyacinths. — For the best display, to A. Bowditch, a premium of $5. For the second best, to J. Breck & Son, $3. Vegetables. — From T. Needham, a brace of cucumbers, — varieties. Young's Victory of Suffolk and Young's Champion, — fine for the season. May 10. The opening of the Hall for the season, took place to-day. The display was not so large as we expected, but the specimens were re- markably fine. Owing to the earliness of the season, there were but few cut flowers, and those mostly from the greenhouse. The fruit was very good, particularly the cherries from Mr. Allen. Flowers: From Hovey & Co., twenty-five plants, in pots, among which were Jxora coccinea. Begonia sanguinea, and parviflora. Gladiolus pudibiindus ; two fine seedling mimuluses, Kennedza racemosa and grandi- flora, &c. ; also, six fine pelargoniums, viz., Blanche, Cassandra, Forget- Me-Not, Centurion, Pearl, and Mustee; six roses, six calceolarias, and six cactuses ; cut flowers, and a fine new striped seedling verbena. From J. Breck & Co., cut flowers, among which were Mahonia aquifoli- um, Pulmon^ria virginica and ofllcinalis, &c. From A. Bowditch, and E. M. Richards, cut flowers. From L. Davenport, beautiful specimens of cut roses. From R. M. Copeland, hyacinths. From G. Monachine, by Geo. Mountfort, U. S. Consul at Canea, Island of Crete, 80 dried specimens of native flowers, in beautiful condition. premiums and gratuities awarded. Greenhouse Plants. — For the best display, of not less than twenty pots, to Hovey & Co., $25. No second or third premium awarded. VOL. XVII. NO. VI. 36 282 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Pelargoniums. — For the best six new and rare varieties, in 8 inch pots, to Hovey & Co., #6. Roses. — For the best six varieties of Tea, Bourbon, and other roses, to Hovey & Co., $6. Calceolarias. — For the best six varieties, to Hovey & Co., ^3. Cactuses. — For the best six varieties, to Hovey & Co., $'3. Gratuities. — To R. M. Copeland, for the best display of hyacinths, during the season, $5. To L. Davenport, for fine roses, &c., $3. To A. Bowditch, for cut flowers, $2. To J. Breck & Co., J. Nugent, and Miss Russell, for cut flowers, $1 each. Fruit. — Pears, from Eben Wight — Easter Beurre, preserved by D. T. Curtis, and also two varieties for a name. Grapes, from J. F. Allen — Deccan Superb, Zinfindal, Chasselas Bar Sur Aube, Black Hamburgh, Red Chasselas, White Early of the French, Early Black July, Miller's Bur- gundy, and a seedling ; figs and cherries. The seedling grape is of a Muscat flavor — it has before been exhibited, and is of good promise. Vegetables. — From T. Needham, a brace of Young's Champion cucum- bers. May 17. An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. No business of importance was transacted, and the meeting was adjourn- ed two weeks, to May 31. Exhibited. — Flowers : From H. Grundel, eight varieties of Calceolaria, (fine,) one plant £rica tricolor. Azalea variagata, one Azalea seedling (Bi- jou,) twelve varieties new pelargoniums. Verbena Eclipse, Weigelia rosea, and a variety of Tea roses, &c. From A. Bowditch, pansies, roses, gera- niums, verbenas Iphigene, Reine du jour, St. Marguerette, Robinson's De- fiance, Jenny Lind, and two fine seedlings, &c. ; two bouquets, &c. Cut flowers, in variety, from J. Breck & Son, J. Nugent, L. Davenport, A. Bowditch, J. A. Kenrick, P. Barnes, Messrs. Winship, and others. gratuities awarded. To A. Bowditch, for cut flowers and bouquets, $3. To H. Grundel, gardener to M. P. Wilder, for pot plants, #2. To P. Barnes, Breck & Co., J. Nugent, J. A. Kenrick, L. Davenport, Winship & Co., and H. Grundel, for cut flowers, $\ each. Fruit. — From J. F. Allen, grapes. Black Hamburgh, Tottenham Park, Muscat, Xeres, and Seedling; cherries, Elton, extra large, Mayduke, fine ; figs. Black Fig of St. Michaels. From W. C. Strong, strawberries, and peaches, (without name.) Vegetables. — From A. D. Williams & Son, 13 stalks rhubarb, fine for the season. From Josiah Crosby, West Cambridge, 4 bunches radishes, large and fine. May 24. Exhibited. — Flowers: From the President of the Society, /)odecAtheon Meadia and alba, Spirae^a prunifblia pleno, and other flowers. From Winship & Co. , ten varieties of azaleas, cut-leaved horsechestnut, Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 283 and other shrubs and flowers. From Thomas Page, Waltham, fine calce- olarias and Prairie roses. From A. Aspinwall, a fine collection of splen- did Noisette and Bourbon roses. From A. Carter, a fine seedling Dode- catheon, very beautiful. From Hovey & Co., Lilac saugeana, grandiflora, Vattellina, &c. ; purple beech, purple oak, Carragana arborescens, Amalanchier florida, Double White and Double Purple primrose ; 15 var. of Beck's pelargoni- ums, 30 var. of tulips, &c. From Jos. Breck & Co., 30 var. of tulips, and other flowers. Fine pansies were exhibited by Dr. C. F. Chaplin, A. Bowditch, E. Smith, and P. Barnes. Cut flowers, from W. Kenrick, P. Barnes, A. Bowditch, J. A. Kenrick, J. Nagent, and others. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED. Tulips. — For the best 30 distinct varieties, to Hovey & Co., $8. For the second best, to J. Breck & Co., $6. For the third best, to J. Breck & Co., $3. Pansies. — For the best 12 distinct varieties, to A. Bowditch, $4. For the second best, to Dr. C. F. Chaplin, $3. For the third best, to P. Barnes, $2. Gratuities. — To A. Aspinwall, for fine roses, ^2. To A. Bowditch, for cut flowers, .$2. To J. Breck & Co., P. Barnes, Winship & Co., and Hovey & Co., for cut flowers, each $1. Fruits. — From W. C. Strong, Black Hamburgh (fine,) and Black Frontignan grapes; strawberries and peaches, unnamed. From B. Har- rington, Baldwin and Bowen's half-sweet and sour apples, in good condition. They were all preserved by being gathered and placed in a cellar on boards. From Hovey «Sz. Co., Golden Chasselas, Wilmot's Black Hamburgh No. 16, and Red Chasselas grapes, all very fine; also lemons, of extra size. From J. F. Allen, Hunt's Tawney nectarines, Elton and May Duke cher- ries, extra size and very superior ; also Chasselas Bar sur Aube, White Early of the French, White Bual, Black Hamburgh (fine,) and Violet Muscat grapes. Vegetables. — From A. W. Stetson, twelve stalks of Victoria rhubarb, weighing 19^ lbs., extra fine for the season. From W. F. Walsh, gardener to Jona. French, one dish China Dwarf beans, well grown. From A. D. Williams, rhubarb. From J. A. Kenrick, rhubarb. May 31. An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. The following Report of the Fruit Committee was read by the chairman, accepted and ordered to be printed : The Fruit Committee, to whom a communication from Mr. Daniel T. Curtis, in respect to a method discovered by him for ripening and preserving fruits has been referred, ask leave to report at this time but in part, upon the subject committed to them. Specimens of fruit, consisting mainly of pears, have repeatedly, during the past year, been placed upon the tables of the Society, by Mr. Curtis, 284 Massachusetts^ Horticultural Society. that had been preserved by him for a long time after their usual period of maturity, that were found on examination to be perfectly sound, and, in some instances, to have retained unimpaired their juice and flavor. Among these pears were specimens of the Seckel, Bonne Louise de Jersey, Duch- ess d'Angoulerae, and Easter Beurre. The Seckels, though a kind pecu- liarly subject to early decay, were perfectly sound, and retained in perfec- tion the peculiar flavor of that variety. Of the other varieties, the speci- mens exhibited were generally, though sound, insipid and tasteless, arising from the circumstance, as Mr. Curtis stated, and as their appearance indi- cated, that they were, when packed and subjected to his process, immature and imperfect. These pears were exhibited by Mr. C. as late as January and February, months after their usual season of ripening, thus proving, as no signs of decay were visible, that their season could be almost indefinitely prolonged. Mr. Curtis has sent pears preserved and packed in his peculiar method, to the Havana, to London, and St. Francisco, thus subjecting his method to the most severe trials. The following extract from a letter from his correspondent at Havana, shows the result of the experiment, so far as the shipment to that city is concerned. " The pears arrived in perfect order : they were delicious. I never thought they could be eaten in so perfect a state, except in the coun- try where they grow." The Gardeners' Chronicle of April 5th, states, that at the Exhibition of the London Hort. Soc, April 1st, a box of 15 Easter Beurre pears, re- ceived from Mr. Curtis, of Boston, were exhibited ; that cases containing seven of these pears were opened, and of them, four were found to be decay- ed and three good ; and then states, " These pears were stated to have been ripened by a method peculiar to Mr. Curtis, the nature of which was not explained. They were, for the most part, melting, sweet, and perfectly ripe, a condition which this fruit with difficulty attains with us in England." The society awarded Mr. Curtis its Knightian medal. The California Daily Courier of April 9th, acknowledges the receipt, through Mr, D. H. Haskell, of Adams's Express, of a " magnificent pear, as sound as when packed at Boston." The Pacific News, Alta Califor- nian, and other St. Francisco papers, make similar acknowledgments, and all concur in stating that the pears were perfectly sound, and that as they were sent for the purpose of testing the practicability of sending fruit to California, across the Isthmus, speak of the experiment as successful. These pears were shipped at Boston, January 27, and after a detention of 70 days, arrived in California in April. The papers referred to state, that the pears, though sound, were deficient in flavor, a circumstance to be im- puted, as with those exhibited to the Society, perhaps to the immature and imperfect state of the fruit when shipped, and not to the effect of the pas- sage, or a ditl'erence of climate. From the facts now detailed, as well as from their own observation, your committee feel justified in expressing a confident opinion, that after many unsuccessful trials of various processes and different methods, Mr. Curtis Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 286 has succeeded in discovering a method of preserving fruit for a very long, if not for any desired period, and that this method is capable of a practical application. Although Mr. Curtis has, as he states, preserved other varieties of fruit besides pears, yet so far as the personal knowledge of the committee ex- tends, the fruit subjected to his process has thus far been mainly of the latter description, and they feel, before arriving at a conclusive opinion re- specting the value of this discovery to the Society, experiments with other species of fruit, as peaches, plums, &c., &c., should be made, and oppor- tunity be offered for their examination, after being subjected to the process. With a view to the gratification of the committee in this particular, Mr. Curtis is about commencing, under their inspection, some experiments with the early and soft fruits, to be continued with other kinds, as they come into season. In addition to the discovery of a mode of preserving fruit, Mr. Curtis seems also to have succeeded in finding out a process by which such varie- ties as are difficult to ripen, may be brought to perfection, — a discovery of almost as much interest to cultivators, as that by which the season of all varieties is so greatly prolonged and their safe transmission to distant places secured. That the discoveries of Mr. Curtis are important, and that he is justly entitled to an honorary and pecuniary recompense at the hands of the So- ciety, as well as that a knowledge of the process should be, if possible, procured for the use of its members, your committee entertain no doubt, and they believe that it will be but fulfilling some of the objects for which it was instituted, in testifying by such recompense, a proper appreciation of the merits and discoveries of Mr. Curtis, and in procuring for the public the means of availing itself of the advantages to be derived therefrom. Under existing circumstances, however, while they wish now to place on record such evidence of the claims of Mr. Curtis as is afforded by this ex- pression of their opinions and statement of facts, your committee are of opinion that the final action of the Society, in relation to this matter, should be yet delayed until the result of the experiments referred to are ascer- tained, and such further information with respect to the expense attending the process and mode of practising it procured, as will enable them, in view of the beneficial results of which it is capable, the better to recommend, and the Society to adopt, such measures in relation to these discoveries, as Mr. Curtis seems to deserve and its own interest to demand. With these views, your committee ask that the whole subject may yet be left in their hands, and that further time be allowed them to consider what action it is proper that the Society should take in reference thereto. Joseph S. Cabot, Chairman. Mr. Wilder, in behalf of the Finance Committee, reported that they had purchased 20 shares of the Portsmouth and Saco Railroad Co., amounting to the sum of $1990, and that the certificate had been transferred over to the treasurer. Mr. Haggerston reported, that the specimens of dried plants, presented to the Society, by Mr. Monachine, had been preserved in the finest condi- 286 Horticultural Operatio7is for June. tion and put up in the best manner. The thanks of the Society were voted to him for the same. [Mr. Monachine sent with the specimens, a list of the native plants of the Island of Crete, which we shall notice in another number. He also kindly offered his services as a Botanist to the Society.] Henry Partridge, Medford, Geo. E. White, Boston, and James Ellison, Waltham, were elected members of the Society. Adjourned. HORTICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR JUNE. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. June, though a busy month to the ambitious gardener, is not attended with the hurry of April and May. The severe work has been already accomplished, but there is yet plenty to do in every garden of any extent. The weather during May has been mild and free from any injurious frosts, and there has been a sufficiency of rain to freshen and invigorate the trees, shrubs, &c. which have been planted during the spring ; indeed a more favorable season, in all respects, than we have had for several years. Grape vines in all the forward houses will have made good pro- gress by this time, and the berries have swelled sufficiently to finish up the thinning at once : the bunches should also be shouldered, as it is termed ; that is, the Hamburghs and other sorts of grapes which produce large bunch- es, should have the upper parts of the cluster or shoulders tied up with matting to the trellis so as not to press upon the lower berries. Air should now be given freely and a good moist temperature kept up by watering the floor, walks, &c. twice or thrice a day, according to the weather. Keep the laterals pruned in to the last bud next to the previous stopping, and tie up the leading shoots carefully where the vines have not made the entire length of the house. Grapes in cold houses will now just be in bloom or just setting their fruit, and will require to be kept at a slightly raised temperature, by closing up the sashes early in the afternoon. The border, if not over rich, may now have a slight dressing with guano, at the rate of two or three pounds to each vine spread equally over the surface. Peach Trees, in pots, may now be placed in the open air, selecting a warm sheltered place. Water occasionally with guano. Peach Trees should now be attended to. The fruit should be properly thinned, on no account leaving too much on the trees, which is only done at the sacrifice of quality. See that the branches are properly thinned out, so as to produce a succession oi young loood, on which alone the peach bears its fruit. Horticultural Operations for June. 287 Strawberry beds should now be coveied with short straw or grass to keep the fruit free from dirt. Blackberries should be firmly secured to tall stakes, and mulched with mowings of the lawn. Fruit Trees budded last fall or grafted this spring should be looked to. See that the suckers, which always break out after the tree is headed down, are rubbed off to prevent the robbing the bud or scion of the sap. This being done the young buds should be securely tied to the stock or to a stake to prevent their being broken off by the wind. Pruning Trees. This work may now be attended to at more leisure than in April and May, and if any have been only partially done, or if there are others which need the knife to bring them into shape, now is the best time to attend to it. FLOWER department. Attention should now be given to all such plants as it is intended to bed out for summer blooming, and the sooner they are got into the ground the earlier and stronger they will bloom ; not but the work may be done safely for all the month, and must be where there are extensive grounds : but a portion at least should be bedded out at once. This is the time too to tie up many kinds of plants and shrubs, such as Paeonies, Herbaceous plants of the tall sorts, and Roses, before they come into bloom, that the branches and blossoms may not hang upon the ground and have their beauty marred by the dust and dirt. This is quite too much neglected in most all gardens. The Greenhouse and Conservatory will soon require to be put in order for the summer, by removing the winter flowering plants, and filling their places with Achimenes, Fuchsias, Japan lilies, &c. Be careful in the ar- rangement of the Greenhouse plants, that they are not huddled together in some by-place, to be forgotten, and injured for want of proper care. Dahlias will now require to be planted out, the earlier the better for abundance of bloom : but not earlier than the 18th or 20th when wanted for exhibition. Make the ground deep and rich. Ranunculus beds will require to be occasionally watered if the weather proves dry. Camellias, as soon as they have made their growth, and set their flower buds, should be removed to the open air, selecting a place shaded from the noonday sun. Plants yet in the growing state may remain in the house a week or two longer. Japan Lilies should now be shifted for the last time into flowering pots. Ericas which require it should be shifted into larger pots, or they may be planted out in the open ground in a half shady aspect in a proper soil. Annuals of all kinds forwarded in frames, such as Asters, Coxcomb, Amaranthus, &c., may now be set out in the border. 288 Hortiailiural Operations for June. Gladiolus, TiGERFLowER, «fec., should now be planted in beds in the open ground. PoRTULACAs of the different sorts may now be set out in circles or in beds, where they make a dazzling show all summer. Roses should be planted out now, selecting a deep rich soil. Carnations and Picotees will now be running up to flower, and will require to have their stems neatly tied up to stakes. Azaleas will now need to be liberally watered and syringed so as to get up a vigorous growth, on which their successful blooming wholly depends. Hydrangeas may now be shifted into larger pots. Cactuses may be repotted as soon as they have done flowering. Pelargoniums, now in full bloom, should be shaded from the noonday sun — and they will keep in flower a long time. Greenhouse Plants of all kinds will need attention as they are re- moved from the house. Some should be shortened in, others re- potted, and the whole kept in as neat condition as if they remained in the house. flower garden and shrubbery. Owing to the abundance of rain in April and May we presume the gar- den and shrubbery is scarcely more than in good order now. If not let it be done immediately. The edgings should all be neatly clipped — if box — and mown if grass, and the vacant spaces allotted to flowers filled up as soon as possible. Dahlias answer a good purpose in many places, and Sal- vias and other tall growing sorts do finely in others. The earth should be stirred often, and kept entirely free from weeds : not neglecting to tie up every plant which, from the weight of the flower- stems or the foliage, is likely to fall to the ground. June is a good month to sow all the biennial and perennial seeds which are usually raised for producing seedlings, such as Blue Bells, Foxglove, Hollyhocks, Pinks, Sweet Williams, &c. In the hurry of the spring this is often forgotten till too late to have them bloom next year. Hyacinths may be taken up the last of the month and their places sup- plied with annuals or verbenas, &c. Attend to the destruction of insects, particularly the Green fly and the Rose slug ; oil soap will doctor them off in " no time." vegetable department. To keep up a succession in this department is the aim of a good gar- dener. This can easily be done with a little attention and by successive sowings of seeds. Tomatoes, Peppers, Egg plants, and all such tender things should now be set out. Celery should be pricked out in beds, preparatory to the final planting in trenches. Peas for a succession, as well as Sweet Corn, should be planted immediately. Attend to the frames, and bring forward the Cucumbers and Melons. Water liberally , and give an abundance of air in warm weather. THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE JULY, 1851. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Art. I. Ornamental Trees adapted for Parks, Lawns and Pleasure Grounds. By the Editor. Having in our two previous papers, noticed and describ* ed those kinds of trees of which there were two or more species adapted to the purposes of ornamental planting, we shall conclude the series by detailing the names and charac- teristics of those of which there are mostly only one well known and desirable species. 34. The Horse Chestnut, [JEsculus Hippocastanum.) Few trees are more popular or generally admired as a street tree than the horse chestnut : its large deep green foliage, and its huge clusters of beautiful flowers, making it when in bloom one massive but stiff bouquet, render it a pleasing and desira- ble tree. For picturesque effect, the horse chestnut has very little claim ; its regular round head and its compact form do not harmonize well with other trees. Gilpin calls it a " heavy disagreeable tree." It has neither lightness nor airi- ness, but on the contrary its qualities are the density of its foliage, casting a deep shade, the showiness of its blossoms, and the deep green hue of its large leaves. As a street tree, it pleases from the regularity of its growth ; and, as single specimens in large ornamental plantations, it has a fine effect : but it must be introduced sparingly, or its clumpy head will render the whole mass heavy and monotonous. VOL. XVII. NO. VII. 37 290 Ornamental Trees, adapted for It is only a moderate grower, and requires some time to attain a good size. When, however, well started it gets on rapidly and forms a very large head. 35. The Alder, {A'lnus glutinosa.) The trees gener- ally known as alders, are merely large shrubs of but little beauty, which abound in damp localities throughout the country. This, however, is a foreign tree, attaining a height of forty or fifty feet. It loves a rich moist soil, and thrives admirably in low land, where scarcely anything else will grow. Gilpin calls it a " more picturesque tree, both in its ramification and its foliage, than any of the aquatic tribe ex- cept the willow." In England, he states, it fringes the banks of the river Mole, and what beauty the stream pos- sesses " it owes chiefly to the alder." The trees become much more picturesque from age, and in suitable locations on wet lands and near running streams the alder may always be introduced, 36. The ash-leaved Maple or Negundo, (Negundo fraxinifolimn.) A light and rather graceful tree, nearly al- lied to the maple, but with leaves formed of three to five leaflets, and of a light green. The tree grows rapidly in a good soil, branches near the ground, and forms a low and rather loose spreading head. It is a very pretty tree, a native of the Western States, and should be more generally intro- duced into ornamental plantations. 37. The Judas Tree, {Cercis canadensis.) This is one of the most beautiful low growing ornamental trees, attain- ing the height of twenty feet, forming a parasol-shaped head, and with small, smooth, heart-shaped leaves. In spring, when in bloom, it is exceedingly showy, as the branches are profuse- ly laden with small pea-shaped blossoms of purplish pink, which appear before the leaves. This tree grows on the banks of rivers from Canada to Virginia. It grows in warm sheltered valleys on the Hudson, and seems partial to a light warm soil in a sheltered locality, where it soon forms a hand- some head. There is a foreign species, the C. siliquastrum, from the Parks, Lawns, and /"leastirti Oroumh. '201 soulll of Miin)|)(«, hill, wn lH>li(iV(( i(. is lidl (jiiild mo li.irdy jis tlio nlidVd. II. is riiinil.'ir in ^<^imr!il n|)|i(\irniic(\ WH. Tiir: Ti-mi- Thkio, [Liiiodnulnni liilipifrru.) 'I'liti (iili|) (rn 1)1! (III. oil ;ind iiolclicd nl iIn Nimiiml. 'I'lic IIowitm lun liir^o and linlli.'iiit, ol ti yirjlow tiiil, Hli.idrd or viirietMiliMl vvilli r^ij mid f.';r(!d Hiii'.;ly on llin Iciniiind nIiooIn, ;nid ;i|)|M!;ir in ;',r(!.i( !d»iiiiw(!d upon il.. 39. Till'; I Imiiiiki.i.a 'rnr.K (»ii IVI A(.rjictamnus rubra, paeonies, and other flowers. Cut flowers in variety from J. Nugent, P. Barnes, J. A. Kenrick, Wm. Kenrick, E. Burns, L. Spauld- ing, A. Bowditch, J. Mann, Jr., W. E. Carter, J. Hovey and others. VOL. XVII. NO. VII. 42 830 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. GRATUITIES AWARDED. To J. Breck, Hovey & Co., P. Barnes, A. Bowditch, Winship & Co., M. P. Wilder, J. Mann, Jr., J. Nugent, J. Hovey, and Miss Russell, for cut flowers, each $1. Fruits. — From Hovey & Co., Red Chasselas, Wilmot's New^ Black Hamburgh, No. 16, (fine,) White Frontignan, Gros Bleu, [netu and fine,) and Wilmot's Hamburgh grapes. From J. F. Allen, Cannon Hall Muscat, (fine but not quite ripe,) White Bual, Black Prolific, Wilmot's Hamburgh, and four other varieties grapes ; also, Grosse Mignonne peaches and figs. From W. C. Strong, four varieties of peaches, (handsomely grown and well colored,) and grapes. From Mrs. Jesse Bird, oranges and lemons. From E. Cleaves, apples for a name. From Mrs. Haven, Newtown Pippin apples. From J. Mann, Jr., Boston Pine and Hovey 's Seedling strawber- ries. From W. R. Austin, fine Boston Pine strawberries. From L. Jen- nings, Jr., Early Virginia and Boston Pine strawberries. Vegetables. — From A. W. Stetson, 12 stalks of Victoria rhubarb, weighing 20^ lbs. Mr. Stetson has produced from two roots, set out two years ago, 96 lbs. of stalks. From J. Mann, Jr., one peck Early Kent peas, the first exhibited. From Jos. Crosby, five superior heads curled lettuce. June 21. Exhibited — Flowers : From the President of the Society, pseonies in var., roses in var., spiraeas, iris, &c. From J. S. Cabot, pseonies, 21 varieties, including claptoniensis, Reevesa, grandiflora carnea plena, bicolor plena, delicatissima, Victoria, Duchesse de Nemours, Victoria modeste, elegantissima, papaveriflora, Bulphurea. From M. P. Wilder, 200 blooms pseonies, among which were the follow- ing : Festiva, sulphurea, tricolor grandiflora, speciosa striata, edulis su- perba, edulis alba. Lady Dartmouth, Reine de Francais, prolifera tricolor, Reevesu, Pottsu, Whitlejw, Buyckw, crysanthemiflora, delicatissima, for- mosa, carnea grandiflora, nivea plena, lilacina superba, &c., &c. A very large collection of perpetual, moss, and other roses, embracing many choice varieties. From Hovey & Co., upwards of 100 pseony blooms, of 20 varieties, among which were Reine de Francais, festiva, Humei, fragrans, edulis su- perba, rosea plenissima, grandiflora carnea plena, Hericartzana, Pottsw, speciosa striata, &c., &c. ; also fifty varieties of roses, including many new and splendid kinds, viz. : Perle des Panachees, Emerance, Rose Amiable, De la Grilferaie, Walter Scott, &c. ; Perpetuals and moss roses ; 10 varie- ties of azaleas, Kalmie latifolia, rhododendrons, and a new seedling verbe- na, beautifully striped. From Joseph Breck, roses, in great var., pseonies in vat., iVemophyla in var., clematis, spiraeas, campanulas, Philadelphus pleno, Martagon lily, delphiniums. From William E. Carter, phlox Van Houtten, Delphinium sinensis, spiraeas in var., Blitum capitatum, pseonies Campanula grandis. From Jonathan Mann, Jr., Sweet Williams in var., delphiniums, digitalis, spiraeas, roses in var., marigolds, Pyrethrum itali- Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 331 cum, Gilia capitata, Collinsia bicolor. Cut flowers were also exhibited by L, Davenport, A. Bowditch, P. Barnes, J. Nugent, E. M. Richards, I. Duncklee, J. A. Kenrick, W. Kenrick, and others, AWARD OF PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES. Roses. — Class I. — For the best thirty distinct varieties, to Hovey & Co., the premium of $S. For the second best, to M. P. Wilder, $6. For the third best, to J. Breck & Co., .f;4. For the best display, to M. P. Wilder, $3. Class II. — For the best twelve varieties, to M. P. Wilder, $5. For the second best, to #3. For the third best, to $2. Class III. — Hardy Perpetuals. For the best twelve varieties, to M. P. Wilder, $5. For the second best, to M. P. Wilder, $4. For the best display, to J. Breck, $3. PEONIES. — For the best ten varieties, to M. P. Wilder, $5. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., $4. For the best display, to M. P. Wilder, $3. Gratuities. — To P. Barnes, Winship & Co., and Breck & Co., for cut flowers, $'2 each. To A. Bowditch, for the same, $3. To J. Nugent, J. Mann, Jr., W. Carter, J. Kenrick, L. Davenport^ Miss Russell, J. Duncklee, and E. M. Richards, $\ each. Fruits. — From O. Johnson, peaches, Coolidge's Favorite, fine. From F. Blake, strawberries, Boston Pine, very fine. From J. F. Allen, necta- rines. Hunt's Early Tawney ; figs. Black and St. Michael's; grapes. Black Hamburgh, Wilmot's new, Wilmot's No. 16, Cannon Hall Muscat, very fine, Xeres ; peaches, Grosse Mignonne and New Jersey do. From J. B. Burgess, New Bedford, seedling strawberries. From H. Hewes, strawber- ries, fine. From L. Capen, seedling strawberries, first bearing. From A. D. Williams, cherries. From M. H. Simpson, by D. H. Burns, straw- berries, Hovey's Seedling, very fine ; Boston Pine, fine. From J. Rich- ardson, strawberries, Boston Pine, fine. From Hovey & Co., grapes, Wilmot's No. 16, White Frontignan, Red Chasselas, Gros Bleu, very fine ; Wilmot's Black Hamburgh, well colored and very fine. From T. Rice, Jr., strawberries, Hovey's Seedling, very fine. From M. P. Wilder, cherries. Belle d'Orleans. From W. C. Strong, peaches, unnamed, three varieties ; grapes, White Nice, Black Hamburgh, fine; Muscat of Alexandria, very fine; White Frontignan, very fine ; Black Frontignan. From H. Vandine, cherries. May Duke. From I. Fay, strawberries. Fay's Seedling, Jenny Lind. From L. Jen- nings, strawberries, Hovey's Seedling, very fine, Boston Pine, very fine, and Early Virginia. From J P. Cushing, Esq., eight varieties of grapes, unnamed, well colored and fine specimens, and 24 varjeties of strawberries, many of the specimens of superior quality. 332 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Fruits tested. — From M. P. Wilder, cherries, Belle of Orleans, a very fine early cherry, good size, light red color. From Hovey & Co., grapes, Gros Bleu, a new variety, similar to the Hamburgh, of fine flavor, very solid flesh, colors very freely. From I. Fay, strawberries, a seedling named Jenny Lind. This straw- berry is, in the opinion of the Committee, of good promise, but they defer the expression of any decided opinion until they have had further opportu- nity of testing it. It is a very solid berry, of fine flavor and good size. Vegetables. — From W. F. Walch, gardener to Jonathan French, three varieties frame cucumbers, Cuthill's Black Spine, Snow's White Spine and London Prize-Fighter, from 12 to 20 inches long, fine. From Jonathan Mann, Jr., House of Industry, Early Kent peas, well grown and fine. From A. D. Williams & Son, early peas and onions, fine. David Reed presented two ears of corn raised in Baltimore, by Seth Reed, 24 and 16 rowed, that attracted much attention for its size and beauty. June 28. Exhibited. — Flowers : From the President of the Society, roses in variety, pseonies, campanulas, &c. From M. P. Wilder, a large collection of roses, comprising mosses, hybrid perpetuals, &c ; also pgeonies and other flowers. From P. Barnes, Phlox Van Houtteu, Deutzia sc^bra, Spiras^a japonica, and other flowers. From J. Breck &l Co., roses in great variety, including mosses, and Prairie Baltimore Belle, Queen, &c., and a great variety of herbaceous plants and annuals. From Winship & Co., roses in great variety, Clematis viorna, verticillata and crispa, Deutzia glo- bosa, (?) A.m6rpha fructicosa, and a variety of shrubs and herbaceous plants. From Hovey & Co., 200 varieties of roses, including mosses, perpetuals, &c. ; and the following prairies : Mrs. Hovey, a superb white, Baltimore Belle, Queen, superba, perpetual pink, Mellidgeville, Jane, pallida. Mad. Caradora Allen, and Pride of Washington ; Tecoma jasminoides, Calyste- gia pubescens, Anemonies, Pseonw festiva. Delphiniums, eight varieties of phloxes, &c., &c. Cut flowers and bouquets from Jas. Nugent, Miss A. Sargent, A. Bowditch, J. C. Pratt, J. Mann, Jr., L. Davenport, J. A. Ken- rick, Mrs. George W. Allen, B. V. French, Miss Russell, B. Loring and others. GRATUITIES AWARDED. To J. Breck, P. Barnes, J. Mann, Jr., J. Nugent, Hovey & Co., Win- ship & Co.jM. P. Wilder, A. Bowditch, B. Loring, Miss Sargent, J. C. Pratt, Miss Kenrick, Miss Russell, Mrs. G. W. Allen, for bouquets and cut flowers, $1 each. Fruits. — From Anson Dexter, cherries, unnamed. From M. H. Simp- son, by D. H. Burns, strawberries, Richardson's Late. From Jona. Mann, Jr., strawberries, unnamed. From the President of the Society, strawberries, seedling, fine. From A. Bowditch, grapes. Black Hamburgh and White Frontignan. From Jas. Nugent, cherries, unnamed. From Dr. Nathan Durfcc, by J. H. Black, grapes, Zinfindal, Black St. Peters, Black Ham- burgh, and White Frontignan, all very superior, bunches and berries extra Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 333 size ; strawberries, a seedling from Alice Maud. From Tsaac Fay, straw- berries, Jenny Lind, very fine. From J. F. Allen, grapes, Cannon Hall Mus- cat, Purple Muscat, Violet Muscat, all very fine ; Black Portugal, Muscat of Lunel, Tottenham Park Muscat, White Frontignan, fine ; Wilmot's No. 16, White Bual, Garden Tokay, White Hamburgh, Chasselas de Bar sur Aube, White Hamburgh, fine ; Red Lombardy, Zinfindal, Victoria, Portu- guese Muscat, very fine ; Chasselas Musque, Austrian Muscat, Grizzly Fron- tignan, White Frontignan, Black Hamburgh, fine. From J. Breck, grapes, Black Hamburgh, fine. White Frontignan, fine. White Chasselas, Rose Chasselas. From M. P. Wilder, cherries, Waterloo, fine. Amber Heart, Seedlings Nos. 1 and 2. From W. C. Strong, grapes, Black Hamburgh, very fine. White Frontignan, very fine. White Chasselas, fine. From Francis Blake, strawberries, Boston Pine ; cherries. From Thomas Rice, strawberries, Hovey's Seedling ; cherries, Honey Heart. From Otis Johnson, cherries. Flesh colored Bigarreau, Hon- ey Heart ; strawberries, Hovey's Seedling, superior ; peaches, Coolidge's Favorite, superior. From J. P. Gushing, Esq., strawberries, of 32 varie- ties, as named below. From S. Downer, Jr., strawberries, Boston Pine, Jenney's Seedling, very fine, Hovey's Seedling, very fine. From Hovey & Co., grapes, Gros Bleu, Victoria, very fine. White Frontignan, fine, Wil- mot's Black Hamburgh, fine. Black Hamburgh; cherries. Early Purple Guigne, and Arch Duke. From A. D. Williams & Son, cherries. May Duke. Fruits tested. — Strawberries from J. P. Gushing, Esq., Ohio Mammoth, good, but not of first quality ; New Pine, high flavored and very fine ; Scar- let Melting, of medium quality ; Burr's Seedlins, do. ; Columbus, do. ; Sci- oto, very acid ; Late Prolific, acid ; Burr's New Pine, high flavored, very fine, of first rate excellence ; Crimson Cone, acid, lacks flavor ; Charlotte, medium quality, not much flavor ; Black Prince, below a medium quality ; Rival Hudson, high flavored, but very acid, of medium quality ; Unique Scarlet, of medium quality ; Montevideo Pine, fair ; Cornucopia, good, rath- er acid, well flavored ; Primate, indifferent; Bishop's Seedling, not ripe; Boston Pine, good ; Richardson's Late, very good ; Willey's Seedling, acid, indifferent ; Fay's Seedling, indifferent ; Early Virginia, good ; Aberdeen Beehive, very acid and indifferent ; 40 C. from Dr. Brinckle, medium ; 23 B. from Dr. Brinckle, good ; 24 H. from Dr. Brinckle, very indifferent. From Isaac Fay, strawberries, a seedling, named Jenny Lind, of good BJze and quality, promises well, first year of bearing. From the President of the Society, strawberries. Walker's Seedling ; this strawberry has now been fruited three years ; it is a dark colored ber- ry, of good size, a very abundant bearer, of high flavor, very fine quality, and will be, it is believed, an acquisition. It is a staminate, worthy, as the Committee think, of an extended cultivation. From Mr. Blake, cherries, unnamed, resembles Black Tartarian, not known to the Committee. From M. P. Wilder, cherries, Waterloo and Amber Heart, not ripe ; Seedling Nos. 1 and 2, dark colored cherries, of fair quality. 334 Horticultural Operations for July. From Hovey & Co., cherries, Early Purple Guigne, of first rate excel- lence ; Arch Duke, not ripe. From J. F. Allen, grapes. Grizzly and White Frontignan, very fine ; Gar- den Tokay, fine ; Black Hamburgh, Purple Muscat, indifferent. Vegetables. — From A. D. Williams & Son, early peas and onions. From J. B. Moore, fine Early White fiat turnips. From J. Mann, Jr., fine Early Turnip Blood beets. From Jos. Crosby, one brace of cucumbers, open air culture — the first of the season. HORTICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR JULY. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. The month of July brings with it additional work in this department. The pruning must be kept up the entire month, and besides this, which in a collection of any size will require some time to keep the trees in good or- ddr, the budding, where there is any to be done, must be attended to the last of the month. Insects must be continually looked after, and destroyed, both in-doors and out ; the labors of the month may be deemed as those of atten- tion rather than hard labor. Grape vines in the grapery will now be swelling their fruit rapidly, and will require to have a few more of their berries thinned out, if they are getting crowded. The bunches should also be properly shouldered, if not already done : keep up a good temperature by day, but not too high at night ; let the floors be well damped, but do not syringe until the fruit is cut : keep the laterals well pruned in. Vines in cold houses M^iU re- quire to have the thinning completed this month ; give abundance of air in good weather, but keep rather close when cool and rainy. If mildew should appear, it must be checked by the application of sulphur water. Vines in pots, intended for fruiting next year, will require to be kept in vig- orous condition ; as soon as the pots are filled with roots, give them a shift into the next size ; water with liquid manure. Vines in the open air will now require considerable attention ; all the wood intended for bearing next year should be laid in, and the remaining shoots headed off one joint beyond the fruit : this will keep the vines compact and free of useless wood. Whatever the method of pruning, it must be borne in mind that the grape only bears on the young- wood, and therefore there must always be a new growth to take the place of that of the previous year. Peach Trees in pots should be watered liberally as the fruit swells off. Young trees planted this year, should be kept in good shape by occasion- ally pinching off the terminal shoots. Fig Trees in pots should now be liberally watered. Strawberry beds should now have attentipn ; as soon as the fruit is all Horticultural Operations for July. 335 gathered, the beds must be all carefully weeded out, and if they are grown on the renewal system a portion of the vines should be dug under, and the surface manured so as to allow space for the young runners to take root. Where it is intended to grow them in rows or hills the runners should now be kept cut otf, and the ground free from weeds. Plum Trees may be budded the last of this month. Summer Pruning should now be attended to, and the trees will require looking over carefully every few days throughout the month. Pears and apples should have frequent stopping, so as to check the young growth, and throw the sap into the spurs on the old wood so that they may swell up and form fruit buds. FLOWER DEPARTMENT. July is the time to begin to prepare for filling the greenhouse and conser- vatory with winter blooming plants, of such kinds as will keep up a suc- cession of bloom from fall till spring. In the present number we have given a most excellent article on this subject, which, if attentively read, will ren- der any remarks here almost unnecessary. It should, however, always be remembered that to have plants bloom well during winter, they must he well established in the pots. Young newly propagated stock will scarcely pay for the room it occupies. Begin now, therefore, to select, pot and get ready all such things as will be wanted next winter, and proceed with them as advised in the article before named. Dahlias should now be carefully staked, and tied up ; pruning such as require it. Water freely if the weather proves dry, and mulch with old manure, leaves or short grass. Tulips and Hyacinths should now be taken up. Carnations and Picotees now coming into flower should be neatly tied up to stakes, and if fine large flowers are wanted the small buds should be thinned out. Water occasionally with liquid manure, if the plants are not strong. The last of the month is the season to layer the plants just as they are going out of bloom. Ranunculuses should be taken up this month. Camellias should nOw be all removed from the house, and set in a half shady place as before directed. This month is the best time to pot all that require it, as the plants get well established before winter. Azaleas should now be removed from the house to a half shady place, 'and be plunged in tan. If any require repotting now is the time to do it. Verbenas for early winter bloo^ming should be raised from cuttings or layers the last of the month. Pelargoniums should be headed down the last of the month ; cut the plants in short, and set them in a half shady place, keeping them rather dry till they are well broken, when they should be immediately repotted ; pot the cuttings if a stock is wanted. Fuchsias should now have a shift into larger pots, if fine specimens are wanted. Roses of all kinds, both hardy and tender, should be layered this month. Such kinds as it is intended to bud should also now be done. 336 Horticultural Operations for July. Gloxinias and Achimenks should now be potted for the last time. Pansies, for spring blooming, may be sown the last of the month. Mignonette for winter blooming should now be planted. Chinese Primrose seed should now be planted. OxALis HiRSUTA and Bowiei may be potted the last of the month. Chrysanthemums potted in May or June should now have their tops pinched off so as to make them stout bushy plants. Water occasionally with liquid maijure. Perennial and Biennial flower seeds of all kinds should now be planted. Greenhouse plants of all kinds will need some attention now : many will need repotting and pruning, tied up, and neatly arranged in some half shady place where they must be properly watered. Many of this de- scription are abutilons, myrtles, Pittorporums, Eupatoriums, acacias, &c. Others will require to be potted and plunged in a warm sunny border where they will make new wood, especially Euphorbias, Ponisettia, Begonias, Gardenias, scarlet geraniums, oranges, Veronicas, salvias, &c. This is the best season for repotting all hard wooded winter and spring flowering plants. FLOWER garden AND SHRUBBERY. Constant attention will now be required to keep the pleasure ground, bor- ders and flower garden in fine order, as they always should be. Hoe and rake as often as the surface of the ground becomes hard, whether there are weeds or not ; freshly stirred soil benefits the plants, and keeps the earth moist. Nearly all kinds of plants, with the exception of verbenas and such low growing flowers, require tying up to stakes ; phloxes, pinks, carnations, lilies, gladioluses, &c., all look neater and flower better to be tied up to a small stake ; indeed, nothing to our eye looks worse than to see the pinks, phloxes, spiraeas, and many of the tall annuals, all sprawling upon the ground, their shoots lying upon each other, and their flowers bespattered with dirt from every heavy shower. Keep all grass edgings neatly cut at least twice during the month. Clip box edgings, and weed and keep clean thrift, sedum or other sorts of edg- ings. Hoe, rake and roll the walks, and put in order if washed away by heavy rains. Bulbs taken up may now have their places occupied with an- nuals, or herbaceous or other bedding plants. Perpetual roses, just now going out of flower, should be pruned in short, and the plants top dressed with guano or old manure, and neatly dug around the roots ; this will invigorate them and cause them to make a rapid growth. Verbenas, petunias, Lantanas, and similar growing plants should be pegged down so as to fill all the ground and present one mass of bloom. Prairie roses should be encouraged in the growth of their new wood, as this gives the best flowers next year. Where the shoots are not wanted to in- crease the stock, many of the old ones may be cut away at once to make space for the new growth. THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. AUGUST, 1851. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Art. I. Ornamental Trees adapted for Parks, Lawns and Pleasure Grounds. By the Editor. {Concluded from p. 293.) 43. The Tree of Heaven, {Ailantus glandulosa.) — The Ailantus is very extensively planted in and around the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Washington. In Phil- adelphia, it is a prominent tree in the public squares ; and in New York, long avenues are lined wholly with this tree. It seems a tree just suited to the character of our people, who, impatient of delay, must have a kind which will grow up at once ; and the ailantus, of all forest trees, is the most rapid in its growth while young. A few years since, when nearly all Long Island was laid out in house lots, this tree was in great demand, and sold at enormous prices for a forest tree. Latterly, however, it has not been so much in repute, proba- bly from the fact that the planting of avenues and house lots by speculators in lands has fallen off. The characteristic beauties of the ailantus are the large size, and the luxuriance of its pinnate foliage, — a fine sym- metrical head without being clumpy, — a smooth and clean bark, and the agreeable contrast it forms with the round leaved trees ; these added to its rapid growth, attaining the height of twenty to thirty feet in five or six years, have rendered it a favorite tree. The ailantus is less hardy in the latitude of Boston than VOL. XVII. NO. VIII. 43 338 Ornamental Trees, adapted for around New York, and in low or wet situations it is often killed while young, and trees of some age often lose some of their branches. Care should therefore be taken that the trees are set in a rather light soil, on a dry substratum, where they will rarely suffer, as their growth is slower, and the wood has time to ripen before the winter sets in. It is rath- er apt to sucker, especially when raised from suckers, which is often practised. But if grown from seed, as they always should be, they rarely throw up any underground shoots. In extensive plantations or belts of trees, a few of the ailantus grouped with the others have a fine effect, their large foliage being admirably adapted for catching large masses of light. 44. The Virgilia or Yellow-wood, {Virgilia. latea.) The Virgilia is one of our most beautiful native trees, and it is somewhat remarkable that so few specimens of it are seen in cultivation, or that it should have so long remained compar- atively unknown. Few trees possess more beauty — certainly none of its class (the papilionaceous, or pea-blossomed kind), of which several are well known trees, can compare with it. The virgilia is a native of Tennessee, where it was dis- covered by Michaux the younger, and it was first introduced to England in 1812. It grows to good size, attaining the height of thirty or forty feet, and forms a dense, tufted and luxuriant head. Each leaf is from one to one and a half feet long, and composed of from seven to ten leaflets. The foliage appears late in the spring, and is succeeded in June by a profusion of its elegant pea-shaped flowers, of a pure white, which appear in terminal racemes, six or eight inches long, something in the way of the locust, but more gracefully arranged. The flowers are succeeded by small pods or legumes, which contain the seeds, and ripen in August. The virgilia is certainly one of the finest trees for a lawn, especially near the house, where its light and airy foliage, its broad and graceful head, its clusters of white flowers, the yellowish hue of its autumn foliage, and the smooth, olive- gray bark of its winter spray, will at all times render it one of the most attractive objects. Parks, Lawns, and Pleasure Grounds. 339 One of the finest specimens in the neighborhood of Boston, is growing in the nursery grounds of Messrs. Winship & Co., of Brighton, flowering abundantly every season. 45. The Black Walnut, {Jaglans nigra.) The black walnut is a fine ornamental tree ; and may be classed with the oaks and elms for the massiveness of its majestic head, and the spread of its branches. Its usual height, when fully grown in good soil, is seventy or eighty feet, and when stand- ing alone, so as to allow room on all sides, it forms a grand object. Its branches extend horizontally, and oftentimes droop with their masses of foliage upon the ground. It is an admirable tree for lawns of some extent, where it will not be crowded by other trees. The black walnut is of tolerably rapid growth, and soon attains a fair size ; it has been often objected to as of slow growth ; but this we apprehend has been on account of the specimens which have been planted having been fresh from their native locality. If raised from seeds in nurseries, or grown from very young trees, they make an abundance of roots, and when transplanted advance as rapidly as most other forest trees. 46. The Three-thorned Acacia, ( Gleditsch'xa. tria- canthos.) The three-thorned Acacia, or Honey Locust, as it is often called, though possessing no very great combi- nation of qualities as an ornamental tree, is still sufficiently distinct and beautiful to merit a place in plantations of any extent. Its delicate pinnate foliage is extremely light, airy and graceful, and as it is of a very light shining green, it pre- sents, both in its form as well as color, a marked contrast with the heavy masses of foliage and more sombre tints of other trees. The feathery leaflets, when agitated by a light breeze, glisten in the bright sunshine and light up with a bril- liancy unusual among trees. The acacia is of moderately rapid growth, attaining the height of twenty to twenty-five feet in eight or ten years. It rises with a straight, though somewhat twisted stem, and its branches extend horizontally, forming a handsome head. The bark is of a grayish brown, and is armed with strong 340 Ornamental Trees, adapted for prickles which stand out from tlie old as well as young wood, often in clusters, giving to the tree a somewhat formidable aspect. Where it is desirable to add lightness to a group of trees, the three-thorned acacia is one of the best to produce this effect. It is preferable to the common locust, as it does not sucker like that tree, nor is it so much attacked by the borer. 47. The Chestnut, (Castdnea vesca var. americana.) The chestnut is second only in rank to the oak. Like that tree it throws up a massive trunk, clothed with heavy verd- ure, and both in the amplitude of its head and general ar- rangement of the branches and spray, it forms a magnificent tree. The foliage is large, deep green, entire, and glossy, and in young trees, is nearly a foot long. The flowers are yellow, conspicuous and showy, and are succeeded by the nuts, which are enclosed in a kind of outer calyx which is covered with sharp prickles. The chestnut, when growing in its favorite locality, attains- the height of seventy or eighty feet, with a broad and hand- some head ; its rate of growth is two to three feet a year. It lives to a very great age ; one tree, the Tortmouth Chestnut, mentioned by Loudon, {Art. -Bn7.) being in all probably more than eight hundred years old, having been growing before the Conquest in 1066. As an ornamental tree, adapted to all situations, too much cannot be said. We have already noticed two superb speci- mens which we saw in the grounds of Mr. Manice, at Hemp- sted, L. I., (XV, p. 532,) and whether for the lawn, or for a picturesque arrangement of trees, the chestnut must occupy a prominent place. What we have said of the oak will in some degree attach to the chestnut, and we need not enlarge upon the merits of a tree so eminently ornamental. 48. The Sassafras Tree, {haurus sassafras.) This is a fine native tree, but little known and sparingly plant- ed. It is a native species, growing upon the banks of the Hudson to the height of forty or fifty feet. The foliage is deep green, glossy, oval or three-lobed, and forms an agreeable contrast with other trees. The flowers are yellow, Parks, Lawns, and Pleasure Grounds. 341 and appear in clusters moderately early in the season, and are succeeded by oval bright blue berries. The growth of the sassafras is moderate, attaining the height of twenty feet in eight or ten years. Its branches are irregularly disposed, and the head has a picturesque outline. Viewing it in all its characteristics, it is a tree which should be introduced into all collections of trees. 49. The Salisburia or Ginkgo Tree, (SaUshur'm adi- antifolia.) The Salisburia is a rare tree in American collec- tions, and but few specimens of any size exist in the coun- try. The largest stands in the garden of the late Mr. Ham- ilton, at Woodlands, near Philadelphia, and the next in size is that now growing on Boston Common, where it was re- moved several years since from the garden of the late Gard- ner Greene, Within a few years it has recovered from its removal, and as it is now growing rapidly it will soon ex- hibit the real character and beauty of this fine tree. In its native country (China or Japan) it attains to a large size, and according to Loudon, " resembles in form the wal- nut, but is more conical in its growth." It rises vyith an erect and straight trunk with ascending branches, and makes a " regular conical and spiry topped head." The leaves re- semble those of one of our native fern {Adiantum vulgar e,) from whence its specific name. They are thick, fleshy, and smooth on both sides, and the veins are all parallel with each other, and run from the base to the top in the same manner as in monocotyledonous plants. They are of a somewhat triangular form, wedge-shaped at the base, abrupt and notch- ed at the opposite end, thickest at the margin, and are dis- posed alternately along the branches. It is the singular and peculiarly formed leaf, added to the stately habit of the Salis- buria which renders it so strikingly ornamental. Few per- sons, even those not familiar with the forms and character- istics of trees, would fail to notice it wherever growing. Too rare and scarce to be introduced abundantly at pres- ent, what specimens are planted should be near the house, either disposed singly on the lawn or placed on the margin of ornamental plantations, where its beautiful spiral form, and 342 Ornamental Trees, adapted for its singular foliage, will add to the picturesque character of the grounds. It does not grow very rapidly, and a tree ten years planted in good soil will attain a height of fifteen feet or more. 50. The Weeping Willow, [Salix hahylonica.) The weeping willow is so universally known, admired and planted, that we need scarcely give any description of it ; and our remarks will therefore rather be confined to its disposi- tion in ornamental landscape, where it is too often intro- duced inappropriately, and without adding to the expression or beauty of the grounds. " The weeping willow," says Gilpin, " is a very pictur- esque tree. It is a perfect contrast to the Lombardy Poplar. The light airy spray of the poplar rises perpendicularly ; that of the weeping willow is pendent. The shape of the leaf is conformable to the pensile character of the tree ,• and its spray, which is still lighter than that of the poplar, is more easily put in motion by a breath of air. The weeping wil- low, however," he adds truly, " is not adapted to sublime subjects. We wish it not to screen the broken buttress, and gothic windows of an Abbey, nor to overshadow the bat- tlements of a ruined castle. These offices it resigns to the oak, whose dignity can support them. The weeping willow seeks a humbler scene — some romantic foot-path bridge which it hair conceals — or some glassy pool over which it hangs its streaming foliage ■ and dips Its pendent boughs, stooping- as if to drink. In these situations it appears in character ; and of course to advantage." This is the true office of this elegant pensile tree, whose streaming boughs and weeping form awaken the most inter- esting associations, poetical, melancholy and devotional. The tender and melancholy recollections of the captive children of Israel, when taken in conjunction with this tree, says Sir Thos. Dick Lander, "are of themselves sufficient to give it an interest in every human bosom that may have been touched by the strains of the Psalmist : ' By the waters of Babylon Parks, Lawns, and Pleasure Grounds. 343 we sat down and wept, when we remembered thee, O Sion ! as for our harps we hanged them upon the willows that were therein.' " A tree with such associations, and so long consecrated to the offices of grief and melancholy, is not fitted to ornament the lawn, or depend its branches from groups or planta- tions near buildings of any extent or architectural beauty. Here it is out of place : for it does not group well with the oak, the elm, and other stately trees. Its peculiar grace- ful and drooping spray and foliage are adapted to humbler scenes ; and around some neat and secluded cottage, situated in some sylvan dell, or near to some streamlet or lake, its pendent boughs are in perfect keeping : there, and on the mar- gins of rivers, and bordering low grounds, it harmonizes and adds expression to the scene. The genuine S. babylonica is the only beautiful species ; it grows rapidly, and attains a good size in five or six years. 51. The Scotch Larch, {Larix europcE>a.) The Larch is an elegant tree, and is generally admired and considerably planted ; but yet not to the extent which its merits de- serve. Not only is it a handsome tree, but it grows so freely, and thrives on such poor soil, that every individual who has any spare ground should make a plantation larger or smaller every year. The example of the Duke of Athol has been so often published that it is unnecessary to repeat it. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of land in New England which might be covered with a growth of larch in fifty years. But we speak more particularly of the larch as an orna- mental tree It forms a connecting link between tHe ever- greens and the deciduous trees. It rises with a straight and erect trunk, and the branches which are horizontal at first assume with age a graceful drooping habit. Its spiry top and picturesque outline harmonize with other trees, and give the boldness and expression of the scenery of its native lo- cality, where it overhangs rocks and precipices, and covers thousands of acres on the Alps of France, the Apennines of Italy, and the Tyrol mountains of Germany. 344 Principles and Practice of Grafting. The larch grows exceedingly rapid, and attains the height of twenty feet in six or eight years. The foliage is of a light and pleasing green, and appears early in the spring, while the evergreen trees have not put on their summer hue. Around the mansion it should be introduced sparingly, for when in too large quantities their spiry tops look formal and destroy the graceful effect. The American larch or hacmatack, though thought but little of, we consider a most picturesque tree : it is less regu- lar in its outline than the European, though in other respects similar. There are several other trees well deserving a place in every ornamental plantation. They are the Peperidge Tree, the Hop Hornbeam, the Liquidamber, the Paper Mulberry, &c. These we may notice and describe at another time in the same manner as we have done in our list now concluded. Art. II. Principles and Practice of Grafting. From the Gardeners' Chronicle. No. YI. — Section IV. General Observations on Bud- ding, {Greffes en ecusson.) — Previously to commencing the operations connected with this series, it is necessary to ex- amine the stocks, in order to ascertain whether their bark can be easily detached from their alburnum ; otherwise we must wait till it will do so. Other considerations, not less important, merit some details, because on them the success of the buds generally depends. Calm weather should al- ways be chosen ; and the work should be suspended when the sun raises the thermometer above 78° of Fahrenheit. We ought also to avoid performing the operation when the sky threatens rain ; for this, in falling on the budded plants, filters into the wounds made in them, and mixing with the sap, instantly decomposes it, and the bud consequently per- ishes in a few days ; thus rendering it necessary to recom- Principles and Practice of Grafting. 345 mence the operation, on the return of fine weather, and al- ways on another part of the stock analogous to the first. Biiddmg is practised exclusively on woody plants, either on their stems or branches, of which the size may vary from the thickness of a quill to that of three inches in circumfer- ence. We may insert several buds on the same stem, either for making it fork, or for other purposes ; or on branches, with the view of uniting upon them various species or varie- ties. I shall divide the different kinds of budding into two groups ; the first comprising those with pushing eyes, mil poiissant : the second, those with dormant eyes, mil dor- mant. Budding with Pushing Eyes. Figs. 35, 36, 37, 38. ( Greffc en ecusson a mil poussant.) — In temperate and cold countries, this operation ought to be performed during the first rise of the sap ; for by deferring much longer, the shoots springing from the inserted buds will be in danger of not being suffi- ciently matured for withstanding the frost : besides, this prac- tice has the effect of weakening the stocks, by depriving them of a large quantity of foliage which they will then have acquired, it being necessary to cut back the stocks an inch or so above the bud, in order that it may be induced to push immediately after its insertion, and care must always be taken that the portion of stock left above be furnished with one or two shoots or leaves. The object of leaving this small piece of stem is to attract and concentrate the sap for the benefit of the bud. For the better fulfilling this, and for preventing the inconveniences above pointed out, they now do not immediately cut off the shoots from the stock ; in- stead of doing so they bend them into the form of a hunts- man's horn, and keep them in that state till the buds have' fairly commenced to push, and then they cut them back tO' within about one-eighth of an inch of the bud. This operation, although less injurious than the preceding, causes the priva- tion of a great quantity of foliage at the time when the trees are most in want of it, for protection against the excessive heat and drought, which is almost certain to occur, at that VOL. xvii. — NO. viir. 44 346 Principles and Practice of Grafting. period of the season ; and the consequence is that the vigor of the tree is suddenly checked ; and nothing but abundant waterings can possibly re-establish it. This mode of bud- ding is only used for a few kinds of trees and shrubs ; among the latter, Roses are more especially included, the species or varieties called Hybrid Perpetuals (Remontantes), and Ben- gals being worked in this way ; but those amateurs who find themselves under the necessity of practising it, and who wish to maintain the vigor of their stocks, make a point of pre- serving as many leaves as possible, and bud only the strong shoots and branches ; and with re- gard to the weak, they only cut them back when the inserted buds are in a good state of vegeta- tion. There are also some fruit trees which we can- not bud by this mode be- fore the leaves make their appearance, such as the Mulberry, Walnut, Chest- ^^- ^'^- „ , ^^- nut, &c.; but in order to Figs. 35, 36, 37, 38. Budding with Pushing Eyes. ' ' succeed well with these, it is necessary to take buds from the two-year-old wood ; and in this case the branches had better be cut off in March, and preserved as has been directed for the shoots intended for cleft grafting. When the vegetation of the stocks destined for the reception of these buds shall have become decidedly active, the branches should be taken from their entrenchment, washed without much rubbmg, then wrapped in a damp cloth and placed from 30 to 40 hours in a moist atmosphere of between 60° and 77° F., in order to expand their latent sap, so as to render it possible to detach their bark from the alburnum without laceration. This state of the sap, almost indispensable for the proper raising of the buds, is also necessary for the budding per- Principles and Practice of Grafting. 347 formed later ; but whatever may be the season, the buds are removed as follows : — With the blade of the grafting knife, we cut the shoot obliquely (see fig. 35); then we place the blade about three-quarters of an inch above the eye, for the purpose of raising it, accompanied with a large slice of bark ; in order to facilitate this operation we make the blade de- scend, sloping towards the eye, cutting through the bark, and a small portion of the alburnum. The blade should preserve the same slope for passing under the eye, and continuing its course until it meets the first cut. This eye, furnished with its two appendages, should be keenly examined when turned up ; and for this examination, as well as for everything else requiring to be done before placing it in the stock, we take it lightly between the fingers of the left hand, and with one of these we gently bend down the portion of bark placed above the corculutn ;* then by means of the thumb of the right hand, and the blade of the grafting knife, placed in the same hand, we can take hold of the alburnum above the point, and remove it ; but this removal should not extend be- yond the corculum, which ought to be preserved entire. If in consequence of not being well habituated in raising the eye, the patch of alburnum is too thick (and this we shall always know to be the case when it brings the eye along with it,) we must thin the whole, in order that it may separate without tearing out that essential part. Then, in front of the stock, with reference to the place where it is to be plant- ed, proceed as follows : With the blade of the grafting knife make a horizontal incision, which shall embrace almost one- third of the stock, cutting through the bark as far as the al- burnum; another incision to the same depth should be made downwards and perpendicular to the first, the two represent- ing the letter T ; then slightly raise the bark at the circular cut, taking care that in doing so the handle of the budding knife does not bruise the cambium.-f * A scientific name, for which I am inclined to substitute that of root, seeing that this small fleshy body, already fibrous and half-woody, is attached to the germ, eye, or vita point, which cannot, without its assistance, implant itself in the stock. t A gummy semi-crystalized substance, which exists under the bark, and remains at. a ched to the alburnum. 348 Principles and Practice of Grafting. Thus prepared, as seen at fig. 36, the bud should be intro- duced under the two lips of the cut, then only partially open- ed, for it is generally by the bud being pushed and gently pressed in by the thin part of the handle of the budding knife, and in conjunction with it, that the opening is suffi- ciently effected. When the bud is perfectly fitted at the base, and placed as is represented, the portion of bark which extends above the transverse line is cut off. This operation is represented by fig. 37. The two lips are then brought to- wards each other, and fixed over the bark appertaining to the bud, by means of a ligature, generally of woollen or thick cotton thread ; the length of this thread being proportioned to the thickness of the stock ; two-thirds of the length should be kept in reserve in the right hand, the rest at the disposal of the left. Thus divided, we place it opposite the bud. and draw the two ends with a moderate force, crossing them above the bud, and as close to it as possible, without covering it. Two or three other turns should be made in the same manner. With regard to the finishing of the ligature, of which the object is to cover the rest of the wound, it will be sufficient to wind the thread continuously in the same di- rection, and finally secure it by a half-knot. When the stocks are extremely vigorous, it is prudent to inspect the ligatures soon after their application, and to loosen them occasionally, in order to preserve the buds from being strangled. When the bud shall have completely taken, the ligature may be re- moved ; and we then take care to cut off all shoots spring- ing from the stock below the bud, in order that the latter may appropriate the whole of the sap. Budding with Dormant Eyes. ( Greffe en ecusson a ceil dormant.) — Sometime previous to performing this operation, we ought to select the place on each stock which the bud should occupy, and remove all shoots likely to deprive the latter of the free contact of air. If this proceeding has been so far neglected as to be put in execution only a few days before budding, it is likely to occasion an interruption of the sap, and consequent adherence of the bark to the alburnum. If there has been such negligence, then the removal of the Principles and Practice of Grafting. 349 shoots should only take place at the moment when the bud is to be inserted ; and even with this precaution, there is a chance of bad success. It has long been known that this mode of budding has im- mense advantages over all others, seeing that, if the buds do not succeed, the stocks are but little deteriorated by the pro- ceeding ; there is frequently an opportunity of making a sec- ond operation ten or twelve days after the first ; and, as a last resource, these stocks may be budded the following sea- son by the same mode, or by any other which their size may determine. The various kinds of plants which may be budded, by dormant eyes, differ very much as regards the period of the flow of sap, and the length of time it continues; it is there- fore of great importance to watch attentively the growth of each species, in order to seize the most favorable moment for budding with chance of success. I confess that this requires some practice. Our experienced budders judge that it is time to perform the operation when three-fourths at least of the shoots of each stock have ceased to push ; in this state the bark of every tree is mature, and yet can be easily de- tached from the woody substance which it covers, and the sap being more stationary, we no longer dread its impetuous superabundance, which always proves detrimental to the suc- cess of the buds, frequently causing many of them to perish from plethora ; in this case we say the sap has drowned them. If, however, circumstances render it necessary to bud before this excessive flow of sap is over, which will be indicated by the great number of shoots still forming, it will be neces- sary to cut back all their herbaceous tops as soon as the bud is inserted. All that relates to the operation of this mode of budding is referable to that which has been stated concerning the pre- ceding. With regard to the ligature, it is best to remove it at the fall of the leaf, in order to avoid the stagnant moisture which it retains about the bud, and which is prejudicial to the latter during winter. The heads of the stocks thus bud- ded should be cut back in the following spring ; for we must 350 Principles and Practice of Grafting. not be in too great haste to perform this operation, more espe- cially on some delicate species having gummy sap. Where propagation is carried on in a small but careful way, they cut back the stock to within one-eighth of an inch above the bud. The principles of this operation ought to be based on those detailed in treating of pruning near a tertninal bud [sloping behind the bud, more or less, according to the thick- ness of the stock]. In extensive operations, the cutting back is done roughly at three or four inches above the bud, in or- der that the stump may serve as a support to the shoot pro- duced by the bud, which is temporarily fastened to it ; and then the stump is not cut back till May or later, when many of the shoots require taller supporters. Budding with the shield removed without Alburnum : fig. 39. ( Greffe en ecusson de- nuee de hois.) This mode, some- a what more complicated than the preceding, is employed for propa- gating delicate trees and shrubs with tender wood, and thin, ten- der bark. The shield is usually raised as follows : we trace its form with the blade of the grafting knife, cutting completely through the bark, and having removed a portion of that adjoining, (fig. 38,) we then press the shield between the fingers, and wrench it, in or- der to detach it from its position, accompanied with the small fleshy body under the eye ; for, if by mischance it be found bruised, or if it remain attached to the albur- num, the shield must be destroyed, and another substituted. The fre- quent occurrence of this inconve- nience has given rise to an infallible means of avoiding it. 39. 4«. Fig. 39. Budding without lemov ing the wood^ and Fig. 40. Budding with the Shield reversed. Market Gardening around London. 351 It consists in employing a fine wire, as indicated at 6, and maintaining it in that position, whilst pnlling the two ends; it is made to glide along the alburnum, easily detaching the shield with the eye adhering to it. The bud is placed in the same way as directed for those in the preceding modes. Budding with the Shield placed in an opening made in THE FORM OF A T REVERSED (j^); fig. 40. [Greffe 671 cciisson places dans une plaie faitc en forme de T renverse, ( j^). Operation. — Cut a shield of which the point shall be above the eye ; see a. Raise this shield by means of a wire, as above explained ; make in the stock an opening by cuts indicated in the figure, and there insert the shield by intro- ducing its point at the base of the opening ; unite the parts, and secure the whole by a ligature, which should commence below the eye. This mode of budding is preferable to all others for propa- gating the good species and varieties of oranges and olives, and all other tender trees with gummy sap. Art. III. Market Gardening around London. By J. W. Cuthill. Market gardening around London is carried on to a great- er extent than in the neighborhood of any other city. The quantity of vegetables and fruits, required to supply a popu- lation of nearly two millions, is immense, and thousands of acres of ground must be cultivated — and well cultivated too — for this purpose. Consequently the art df market gar- dening is thoroughly understood, and carried to the highest state of perfection. Very little, however, has been written upon this subject ; and though we have occasionally noticed brief articles on the growth of the grape, the strawberry and some other fruits, as practised by Messrs. Wilmot, Keens, and other extensive grow- ers, no particular or minute description of the vegetable garden- 352 Market Gardening around London. ing has been published until the present year, when a series of most excellent papers has appeared in the Gardeners'' Chron- icle^ by Mr. Cuthill, describing the whole course of cultiva- tion as practised by the most extensive market gardeners who supply Covent Garden, the greatest of the London markets. Mr. Cuthill has done a great service in giving to the garden- ing world the entire routine of practice of these London cul- tivators. Mr. Errington, one of the most thorough and skil- ful gardeners, and one who is familiar with the subject of market gardens, highly compliments Mr. Cuthill for his ex- cellent papers. He says : — " All the world has heard of the fame of the London mar- ket men, but not every one bred and located in the country can get an opportunity to be an eye witness of their excel- lent modes of cropping, based on long experience, and sought out with an anxiety sharpened by high rentals, and the severity of competition. Many of our farmers, who talk so much about land wearing out, would doubtless stare to see men taking first rate crops from a plot of ground on which, perhaps, the same crop has been repeated, it may be, at least forty times during the last fifty years. Now as these keen practitioners will not " write a book," but would rather retain a monopoly in the shrine-making art for the goddess Diana, it must be admitted that Mr. Cuthill has produced a series of papers which cannot but be of eminent service both to agri- culturists and horticulturists; and I can only wish that they may receive the attention they deserve." These papers of Mr. Cuthill are not all applicable to culti- vation in our climate, where there is, six months of severe frost and cold : but still they are full ,of valuable hints, and with the omission of some parts, which refer to crops not exten- sively cultivated here, we shall endeavor to find room for them in our pages. What Mr. Cuthill says in reference to repeated cropping will we hope be attentively read ; for in these days of " high farming," when -'rotation" is the only thing that will prevent the entire exhaustion of our farms and gardens, it is refresh- ing to read a bit of common sense, applied to agricultural and Market Gardening around London. 353 horticultural art ; and those scientific amateurs who have gathered all their ideas of cultivation from reading Liebig, and who would have us believe that charcoal, spent tan, lime, peat, gypsum, ashes, saltpetre, &c., are the only agents which are to renovate and enrich our poor, impoverished and worn out soils, may gather a useful lesson from Mr. Cuthill's observa- tions.— Ed. General Remarks touching Rotation of Crops, &c. — If we take a five-acre piece of ground, say in November, we shall find it fall of cabbages, which being planted out about the 25th of October, will be strong healthy plants. The mo- ment these are off, the land is again trenched and cropped with early celery, in well dunged trenches six feet apart, with two or three rows of lettuces or coleworts in the mid- dle ; for market gardeners do not mould up celery until it is very large (often 18 inches high), so there is plenty of time for a crop of cabbages, coleworts, or lettuces to come to ma- turity. When the celery is removed, the ground is cropped with winter-greens, and again cleared off, for nothing pays so well as the London, greens or young unhearted cabbages. In November, Mr. Fitch, of Fulham, has often upwards of 20 acres of these, besides 20 acres of cabbages ; every hole and cor- ner under trees, and all spare places being full. When the five-acred piece is cleared of coleworts, say by the 1st of March, it is again dunged and trenched and sown with onions, and very often lettuces are planted in the beds as well as in the alleys. When the onions are off, the ground is trenched and planted with cabbages or coleworts, &c.; next spring a crop of cauliflowers, gherkin cucumbers, French beans, or scarlet runners is taken off ; but the grand point in the course of rotation is to be continually sowing, and whatever plants are ready when the ground is empty to plant these. The land can well sustain so much cropping on account of the heavy dungings, trenchings, and hoeings which it receives. If you ask a market gardener what is to succeed this or that crop, the answer is, " Don't know, it depends upon what is ready for planting." Continued trenching two spades deep for any crop seems expensive : but a strong Irish laborer will VOL. XVIII, NO. VIII, 45 354 Market Gardeiiinsr around London. t) turn over from 12 to 14 rods a day, with comparative ease, and I may here state that if it were not for the Irish laborer the prices of vegetables would be much higher. Market gardeners know that after an active crop the top soil for several inches deep is entirely exhausted, and hence the reason for continual trenching, in order to bring up the top soil, that but a few months before had been turned down, Avith a large proportion of dung, to enrich it and fit it for active use along with the half decayed manure. Market gardening is well conducted about London, and if young gardeners were to spend only one year with such men as Messrs. Fitch, of Fulham, it would teach them a lesson which would amply repay a twelve month's hard labor. They would be taught there how to grow digestible vegeta- bles, and not those stunted blue cabbages and other things that are, in too many cases, huddled up in walled-in gar- dens. I am almost certain that the day will arrive when the latter will be converted into forcing grounds, and when vege- tables will be grown in the open fields, which are their prop- er places. If a farmer were to send his son to be a laborer in a market garden for a year or two, the value of such a school to such a man in after life would be great to himself, his landlord, and to the country at large. The expensive system of a market garden would not be required in a farm ; it could not be maintained ; but it would show him that one acre cultivated by the spade is equal to five by the plough. "We know that some market gardeners use the plough ; but how does it pay ? Their things are always the last sold, and that for the most part to the hawker, whose name will tell the price obtained. It is, however, necessary to have a scari- fier plough in all market gardens, in order to tear up the earth after the carts in wet weather. Some years ago I took the late Mr. Smith, of Deanston, over Messrs. Fitch's grounds. Till then he had no knowledge of the enormous expenses of keeping a large garden. " I have not seen," said he, " on the whole 150 acres, a weed ; all the ground exhibits a fine level surface ; every inch is cropped ; all the paths regular : the cart-roads in good order ; the hedges of the boundaries Market Gardenijig around London. 355 very dwarf; no ditches, and all the large plantations of ap- ples, pears, and plums, amounting to fifty acres, with every young shoot made during the summer, pruned down to a couple or three buds from last year's wood." Pruned after the manner of currant bushes, they look well and bear enor- mous crops. The ground under the trees is all cropped with rhubarb, currants, gooseberries ; and during the winter with coleworts and cabbages. I have seen eight acres of cabba- ges in seed beds, after the rest are all picked out for spring cabbages. Every spare piece of ground is filled ; when the asparagus haulm is cut down, the ground is forked over, and all planted with coleworts, alleys and all ; and when the rhubarb leaves die down, this ground is also filled, so that al- together, besides the other crops, there must be several hun- dred thousand heads of greens for winter market. All liquid manure from dunghills is collected into a large tank ; this is conveyed to and distributed over the ground before digging ; but the great objection to the use of sewage water after the crop is in, is that it fills up the pores of the earth, cements the mould, and prevents heat and air from acting on the roots. Some market gardeners keep large herds of pigs, which live night and day amongst the hot dung, and subsist upon the corn that they pick out of the straw and dung, as well as on green food. Mr. Fitch keeps twelve horses, whose whole employment is to cart goods to the various markets, bring home dung, and convey it to vacant pieces of ground, which occur every week. The carts and wagons in use in market gardens have generally broad wheels. The wagons are very large, and the carts will hold as much as a Suffolk wagon. The laborers employed by Messrs. Fitch on 1 50 acres, amount to about 70 in winter, and in summer to about 150. The rent per acre is from 9Z. to 10/., the tithes being from 10s. to 12s. per acre. Men's wages are 2s. per day ; women, from Is. to Is. 6cZ. Some idea of the amount of labor in small matters will be conceived, when I state that the whole of the frames, amounting to 1,000 lights, are all painted and repaired every autumn. The whole of the hand-lights, 4,000 in number, 356 Market Gardenitig around London. are also repaired ; and every description of vegetable is wash- ed before it is sent to market. When men are at piece-work, they receive 2|c/. per rod, for trenching two spades deep ; thus an acre highly manured, using cart-loads instead of bar- rowfuls, and trenching with spade, instead of shallow dig- ging, or what is worse, using a plough, pays just in propor- tion to the way in which it is treated. I have now thrown out a few general hints as to the man- agement of a 150 acre garden. In my next and following articles, I shall proceed to particularise some of the leading crops. Early Potatoes. — These being in great demand in spring, the following plan of producing them has been long practised by the London market gardeners. The kind which Mr. Fitch cultivates is the true Early Shaw, a large and beautiful white- skinned potato, whose only fault is its hollow eye. It is very prolific, either under hoops or in the open ground. The Ash-leaved Kidney was not grown to any great extent for market until my plan of managing it was made known, by which I caused it to produce as good a crop as any of the round ones, and it always fetches a better price. When po- tatoes are wanted early, a long bed, five feet wide, is dug out to the depth of two feet. This trench is filled with hot dung, on which six inches deep of the surrounding mould is put. Middle-sized whole potatoes are used for planting ; they are placed in close succession along the bed, covered with two inches of mould, hooped and covered over with mats and straw. In about a month they will have sprouted ; frames are then got ready, placing two feet of hot manure along the whole line of framing, which is sometimes a hundred yards in length ; the mould is put on to the depth of eight inches ; the potatoes are carefully taken up from, the striking bed, all shoots are removed except the main one, and they are plant- ed four inches deej). Radishes are then sowed thinly over them, covering lightly with mould. When the haulm of the potato has grown to about six inches in height, the points are nipped off; this is done, in order to give the radishes fair play, and, although it may stop growth for a few days, still Market Gardening around London. 357 the crop is always excellent. The plants are never moulded up, a plan which weakens the potato more than anything else. After planting, nothing more is required but to admit plenty of air, and give water ; the crop is not dug up until it has come to maturity. The above is the treatment frame potatoes receive, but they are largely grown in hooped beds in the open ground. In the latter case the tubers are sprouted, as 1 have before mentioned. The beds or ridges are dug out two feet deep in January, filled with hot dung and covered with the surrounding mould to the depth of ten inches. The potatoes are taken up and planted five inches deep, and above all, radishes are sown. The ridges are then hooped over, allow- ing about two feet of space in the middle between the mould and the hoop. They are covered with mats and straw, but as soon as the radishes come up they are uncovered daily, and covered again every night. This is continued till the potatoes are ready for digging in May ; for sometimes large losses are occasioned by a sudden change of weather on cold April nights. Nothing more is done to the hooped beds, be- yond attending to them with water. Market gardeners were wont to cut all very large potatoes for seed, but they are now getting more into the system of keeping the small ones for planting, and sending the large ones to market. What are called winter or new potatoes are the produce of old tubers kept back until July, and then planted. They grow very fast, but the crop never ripens before frost sets in ; as soon as the haulm is cut down, large quantities of straw are put on the ground, and towards Christmas the tubers are dug up, put into 1 lb. and 2 lb. baskets, and sold for new potatoes, at from 6d. to Sd. per lb. ; they are as full of Avater as a turnip, on account of the leaves being destroyed before the cells had time to become filled with starch. Cornwall Kidneys are the only ones used for this purpose. On exam- ining one you will find the skin firmly attached, which is not the case with a new potato, either grown in frames or in the natural ground. 358 Description of Browii's Patent Fumigator. Art. IV. Notice and Description of Brown^s Patent Fu- migator, for the Destruction of Insects. By the Editor. The attacks of insects are yearly become so destructive and annoying that every means should be taken to prevent their increase. Latterly, many of those which a few years ago were perfect pests, have become less injurioiis from the timely discovery of that great agent for destroying insect life — whale oil soap. Without this, our rose gardens would be complete specimens of devastation, so unconquerable is the slug by every foe, except oil soap. But while soap is so destructive to many insects, and sul- phur to others, there are some sorts which neither will harm, or, at least, there are some which are easier destroyed by other means, the principal of which is fumigation with tobacco. The aphis or green fly is invulnerable to sulphur, while a small stream of tobacco smoke will kill them off "in a whiff." Many persons make objection to the use of whale oil soap, on account of its strong and disagreeable odor. To us, no odor, however bad, is so objectionable as a horde of insects preying on a beautiful plant. But to those who do dislike oil soap, fumigation will at once suggest itself as one of the best means of destroying many of the same insects for which soap is generally made use of. The only trouble has been how to apply the fumes of tobacco to plants and shrubs, especially those growing in the open air ; this has always been attend- ed with much trouble, but at last it has been in a great de- gree obviated by Brown's Patent Fumigator, of which we present an engraving, {Fig. 41.) This is a new and improved instrument for effectually ap- plying tobacco smoke to conservatories, greenhouses, frames, &c., and to plants in the open ground; also to dwelling houses, closets, cellars, aviaries, heneries, &c.. where insects of various kinds are often very annoying, disagreeable or destructive. Description of Broioii's Patent Fumigator. 359 It has been extensively used in England, and has been recommended by Mr. Paxton, Mr. Beck, Dr. Lindley, Mr. Glenny, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Wood, and other editors, garden- ers, nurserymen and amateur cultivators. It has also been tried by amateurs and cultivators in the vicinity of Boston, and has been found to be well adapted to the purpose for which it was invented. The thrips and the aphis, two of the most destructive insects to grapes and roses, are killed immediately upon one good application of smoke. We are confident it will prove a valuable machine, and one which every gardener or amateur should always have at hand. An hour's application of the smoke will save hundreds of plants, trees, &c. Fig. 41. Broicn's Patent Fumigator. Formerly all the fumigating was done with a kind of bel- lows, hard to work, and not of sufficient capacity to fill a small house, or to throw out the smoke in such a cool, con- tinuous stream. All the objections to the bellows are obvi- ated in Brown's Fumigator. The machine, as represented in the engraving, is made of tin, and is sufficiently light and portable to be used with ease. It consists of a circular box, on the top of which is a copper pot, movable, in which the tobacco is placed. The interior of the box is so contrived with fans, as, by turning the handle, to throw out through the tube on the opposite side, a full stream of perfectly cool smoke. 360 Pomological Gossip. It should be worked as follows : — Fill the copper pot with tobacco, (leaf is the best,) placed in rather lightly; then, with a piece of lighted paper, ignite it : turn the handle immediately, rather fast at first, but very gently after the smoke appears freely at the mouth of the tube ; when the tobacco is exhausted, with a damp cloth remove the pot, and fill immediately, repeating the operation as long as may be required. Amateurs, and especially ladies, to whom smoke is ex- tremely disagreeable, can use the Fumigatbr without suffer- ing any of the disagreeableness, and often nausea, arising from the use of tobacco, as applied in the ordinary way. For fumigation in the open air, in the most effective way, an old cloth or sheet may be thrown over the bush, and the end of the tube applied at the bottom. The space will be immediately filled, and every insect destroyed. We can highly recommend this Fumigator as one of the most useful machines to every cultivator. With one of these, no one need complain that their plants have suffered from the green fly. Art. V. Pomological Gossip. Strawberries and the Strawberry Crop. — There seems to have been a general complaint of the failure of the straw- berry crop of the present year. In our vicinity it has been stated that there was not half the usual quantity, and by some cultivators, not more than one fourth. In Cincinnati, famous for the quantity of strawberries which are brought to market, the crop has been exceedingly small. A writer in the Horticultural Review gives the opinion of several of the most extensive growers whom he has consulted, and they estimate the crop to be only from one third to one sixth the usual quantity. The failure in Cincinnati is attributed to late frosts, which injured the first blossoms ; this, however, was not the cause in the vicinity of Boston, as no late frosts were experienced, of any severity. Pomological Gossip. 361 We are inclined to attribute the short crop here to the very great quantity of rain which fell during the latter part of winter and beginning of spring. The ground was so flood- ed with water, that a great many of the vines damped off, or were so weakened, that they did not start with sufficient vigor to perfect their fruit. But whether this was the true cause or not, remains to be ascertained ; such, at least, is our view of it, and we shall be glad to hear the opinions of others. But notwithstanding the very great failure of the crop in Cincinnati, we notice that the Horticultural Society of that city have awarded the prize of one hundred dollars, offered a year or two ago, for the largest strawberry, to Mr. McAvoy, Mr. Long worth's gardener, for a new seedling, which is call- ed McAvoy's Superior. From a report of the doings of the Society, we notice that a strong desire was expressed not to make any decision this year, when there were no fine speci- mens to compete with it, in consequence of the failure of the crop. The committee, however, made up the award, which was as follows : — " McAvoy's No. 12 seedling, proposed to be called Mc- Avoy's Superior ; pistillate, very prolific, large, dark color- ed, high flavored and luscious — a hardy plant ; the specimens exhibited superior to any other strawberry that came under the examination of the committee, and is entitled to the pre- mium of one hundred dollars offered by the Society in 1847." Certainly we get but little information in regard to this new prize strawberry from the above report ! It does not say whether the variety is round, oblong, or oval ; we have neither weight nor measurement of the berries, in order that we may make a comparison with other well known kinds. It is somewhat surprising that the committee were not more particular in the award of a prize, in which the reputation and good judgment of the Society are at stake. For the information of our amateur cultivators around Bos- ton, we would ask, what was the weight of the heaviest berry ? or of the six heaviest berries ? What the measure- VOL. XVII. NO. VIII. 46 362 Pomological Gossip. ment in circumference of the largest fruit ? These questions being answered, we may then judge of the size and vakie of the variety. The weights of Hovey's Seedlings, which have taken prizes, are on record, and for the convenience of those who do not wish to turn back to find them, we now give here : — Six berries exhibited in 1847, weighed three and a half ounces. Six berries exhibited in 1848, weighed three ounces seven- teen grains. The average measurement of these specimens was about five and a half inches in circumference. Comparing these data with those of McAvoy's Superior, when they are pub- lished, we may form some estimate, other qualities being equal, of the value of this new variety, and of the justice of the award of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society. We hope Dr. Warder will give us the required information, through his excellent journal. Several new seedling strawberries, as will be seen by our reports of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, have been exhibited this year, but though very good of themselves, they have not come up to that standard required of a new variety, viz., that it should be at least as good, if not better, than any kind already grown. We notice in the Rural Neiv Yorker, that a writer speaks of the excellence of the Bishop's Orange strawberry, a vari- ety discarded by the cultivators around Boston years ago ; and one whi<;h was struck from the list of the London Horticul- tural Society. It has greatly surprised us to see this old sort now spoken of, " as possessing the very finest qualities." Scarcely a new seedling has been raised the last ten years, of any merit at all, but what was better than Bishop's Orange. Indeed, any person, with carefully selected seed, could be cer- tain of a better variety. It is very acid, of only medium size, and the fruit is borne on such short stems, that it lies upon the ground, and is greatly injured by heavy rains. In our last Number, in the Report of the Massachusetts Pomological Gossip. 363 Horticultural Society, will be found the Report of the Fruit Committee, upon thirty varieties of strawberries, presented by J. P. Gushing, Esq. They included all the prominent kinds which have recently been brought to notice, and a careful perusal of the report will at once give a tolerably fair esti- mate of the kinds. Several of them were very fine, others good, while many of them were indifferent, and we might say, worthless. Though well grown, with much care by Mr. Gushing, none of them were what would be called large. The Black Prince was among the kinds ; but with all due deference to the opinion of others, we even do not class it so high as the committee, who call it "below medium quality." It is a very dark, dull looking fruit, with prominent seeds, and the flesh is coarse, woolly, and almost tasteless. Burr's New Pine is a pale looking berry, of moderate size, and deli- cate flavor, but wanting in the rich character of the Pine strawberries. It greatly resembles the Ghili, and appears to have been raised from that parentage. Most of the others were too ordinary to require particular notice. New Gherries. — Several new varieties of cherries have fruited the present year, but with the exception of some na- tive seedlings, none of them come up to the Black Eagle, Tartarian, &c. The Hon. M. P. Wilder exhibited the Gerise de Xavier, and Gerise de Spa, both acid cherries ; Buttner's Black Heart, of good size and firm flesh, but not tender or high flavored ; Bigarreau de Mezel, large, but not very rich ; Bigarreau Noir Tardif, of medium size, very dark, sweet and good ; Guigne Blanche; small, late and sweet ; it appears to be identical with the Transparent, of some writers ; De Hol- stein, a round red therry of medium size, very good. Messrs. Hovey &. Go. also exhibited their new Seedling, which is very late, of the largest size, extremely beautiful and excellent. The Kingsley Apple. — The specimens of this apple, which we noticed in our last, did not come up to our expec- tations. The fruit is below medium size, but of good appear- ance, and that it keeps well we had the best evidence before us in the remarkably sound specimens eaten the first week in 364 Description of Twelve New Verhenas. July : but beyond its late keeping, we cannot, from what we have so far seen of it, give it any other character than that of a late keeping fruit : perhaps our specimens were not in their best condition, but judging from them, we should set it down as only of medium quality, possessing very little flower — certainly bearing no comparison with the Roxbury Russet, English Russet, Baldwin and Northern Spy, all in eating nearly at the same period. Art. VI. Description of Tivelve New Verhenas. By the Editor. We continue our descriptive account of new verbenas, from our last volume (XYI, p. 275,) up to which time we have described in our pages all the valuable varieties which have been produced in this country, and most of the foreign ones, which have been introduced. Wq have often alluded to the very great great improvement which has been made in the verbena ; and last year, in notic- ing some of the new ones which originated with the French cultivators, we remarked that their seedlings were taking the place of those of the English florists : this appears to have been true, for of all that have been introduced into collections here, a larger part are of French origin, and they are generally superior in the richness and variety of their coloring, as well as in the large size of their flowers, and the fine habit of the plants. We trust our cultivators will not abandon a field, so rich and beautiful in its products, and where results are so speedily obtained, even with the fine sorts before them which have recently been received from abroad. There is no reason why we should not go on improving all the more ; for with the im- proved sorts to aid them, there is good reason to hope for still greater results. We have several new seedlings, a few of which are very remarkable ; one a magnificent white, and the other a superb striped one, which we shall hereafter de- scribe ; but with the exception of these, we have not seen an Description of Twelve New Vei^henas. 365 American seedling distinct or new in color raised the last year. We repeat, that we hope our amateurs and nurserymen will each make renewed efforts to produce seedlings, confi- dent that, with proper attention, they can raise varieties which will equal if not surpass any yet introduced. 1. Heroine (Diifoy^s.) Flowers large, light blue, with dark eye ; petals large, fiat, well formed and of good sub- stance ; umbels very large, moderately compact, and rather flat ; habit vigorous, similar to Defiance, but the trusses of flowers are rather short stemmed and do not elevate them- selves sufficiently above the lateral clusters of buds: foliage medium size, good. It is a superb variety of this color. 2. Paul and Virginia, {Demourecm.) Flowers medium size, pink with a deep rose centre ; petals medium size, some- what starry, nearly flat, and of good substance ; umbels large, well formed, moderately compact ; habit moderately vigor- ous, similar to Reine du Jour, but the flower stems are longer and more erect ; foliage good. A distinct and fine variety, blooming very freely. 3. Eclipse, (Diifoy^s.) Flowers large, pale rose, with a large and deep purple centre ; petals well formed, of good substance but rather too much cupped at the edges ; umbels large, moderately compact and well formed ; habit moder- ately vigorous, similar to Reine du Jour; foliage good. A distinct and showy verbena. 4. Morphe' (Dufoy^s.) Flowers large, of a deep bluish purple, with a light eye ; petals large, finely formed, and of excellent substance ; umbels large, moderately compact, and well formed. Habit vigorous, similar to Heroine, which it somewhat resembles in color, though darker ; foliage good. A superb variety. 5. Adele', {Chaiiviere.) Flowers large, rosy lilac, with a distinct light purple centre, and white eye ; petals large, flat, well formed and of good substance ; umbels good size, tolerably compact, presenting a fine circle and well up in the centre ; habit vigorous and good ; foliage good. 6. Talleyrand, {Defossc.) Flowers medium size, lilac mottled ; petals large, well formed, and of good substance j 366 Description of Tivelve New Verbenas. umbels large, compact, good shape, well up in the centre ; habit similar to Adele ; foliage good. 7. Eclipse, [Epps.) Flowers medium size, fine rose, distinctly lined on each side of the petals with blush white ; petals of medium size, rather starry and of good substance ; umbels good size, nearly flat ; habit moderately vigorous, ex- tending rapidly and very high up or trailing; foliage good. This is quite a new and distinct variety, and from its trailing habit well adapted for vases. 8. White Perfection, (Smith.) Flowers of medium size, pure white ; petals medium size, of fine form, and tol- erable substance ; umbels medium size, compact and fair form ; habit similar to Suzette, which it resembles, and is no improvement upon it. 9. SvNSET, (T'linier.) Flowers large, deep cherry ; petals very large, of good form and substance ; umbels very large, moderately compact, well formed ; habit vigorous, very simi- lar to Beauty Supreme, which it resembles, but the trusses are much larger. 10. Wonderful, [Perry.) Flowers medium size, blush white, with fine eye ; petals large, well formed and slightly cupped, and of good substance ; umbels of good size, com- pact and well formed ; habit moderately vigorous ; foliage good. 11. Union Jack. Flowers medium size, deep crimson scarlet, with a distinct yellow eye ; petals medium size, well formed and of excellent substance ; umbels mod- erate size, of fine circular outline, well up in the centre, rather compact ; habit moderately vigorous and good ; foli- age small, good. A very brilliant variety. 12. Beauty of Rye, ( Tiinzer's.) Flowers medium size, clear cherry, with yellow eye ; petals medium size, well formed ; umbels fair size and good form ; habit moderately vigorous ; foliage small. Several other foreign varieties have been introduced, but we have not seen them sufficiently to give a description. Their names are as follows : — Clotilde, Sir Seymour Blanc, (white), Ariadne, Sea Bird, Graciosa, (mottled blue,) Mal- vina, &rC. &.c. The Fruit Garden. 367 REVIEWS. Art. I. The Fruit Garden ; a treatise intended to explain and illustrate the Physiology of fruit trees ^ the theory and practice of all operations connected with Propagation^ Transplanting^ Prmiitig atid Training of orchard and garden trees as Standards, Dwarfs, Pyramids, Espaliers^ S^c; the laying out and aiTajiging different kinds of or- chards, gardens, ^"c. Illustrated with upivards of one hun- dred and fifty engravings, ^fc. By P. Barry, of the Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, New York : 1 vol. 12mo. 398 pages. New York, 1851. If any evidence were wanting to show the increasing in- terest which is felt in Horticuhural Science, that evidence would be the ready sale of the several works which have been published treating upon the subject. Where there was one reader twenty years ago, there are now hundreds, and notwithstanding the multiplication of works of this kind, a single edition of the ordinary issue forms no adequate sup- ply to the demand. Mr. Barry's work, of which we have given but a portion of the title page above, is quite unlike any of those which have preceded it, and consequently does not come in compe- tition with them. His volume is Physiological and practical, rather than Pomological and theoretical. He begins with the young tree, and traces it through all its modes of growth, under the hands of the experienced gardener, to a vigorous fruiting condition, and shows how this or that operation is accomplished, not hap-hazard, but on scientific principles established by long continued practice and study. The work is divided into four parts as follows : — " For the sake of convenient reference, the different branches of the sub- ject have been separated into four parts. The first treats of general prin- ciples, a knowledge of the structure, character, and functions of the differ- ent parts of trees, modes of growth, bearing, &c., &c. ; soils, manures, modes of propagation, &c. This must be the ground-work of the study of tree culture. The second treats of the nursery. The third of plantations, 368 The Fruit Garden, orchards of different kinds, gardens, &.c. ; their laying out and manage- ment, and of the pruning and training of trees in different forms. The fourth contains abridged descriptions of the best fruits, a chapter on gath- ering and preserving fruits, another on diseases and insects, and another on the implements in common use." — p. xii. We have not space to notice the volume in course, but opening at the chapter on the General Principles of Pruning, we marked the following as a good specimen of Mr. Barry's mode of treating the subject : — Pinching to promote Fruiifulness. — Those who have never practised this, or observed its results, may have seen, if experienced in tree growing, that a shoot of which the point was broken, bruised, or otherwise injured, during the growing season, frequently becomes a fruit branch, either during tlie same or the following season ; and this, especially if situated in the in- terior of the tree, or on the older and lower parts of the branches. The check given to the extension of the shoot concentrates the sap in the part remaining ; and, unless the check has been given very early in the season, or the growth very vigorous in the tree, so that the buds will break and form shoots, they are certain to prepare for the production of fruit. It is on this principle of checking the growth, and concentrating the sap in the pinch- ed shoot, that pinching to induce fruitfalness is performed ; and its effi- ciency may be estimated from tlie fact, that trees on which it has been prac- tised, have borne fruit four or five, and perhaps seven years, sooner than they would have done without it. It is a most useful operation in the case of vigorous growing and tardy bear- ing sorts. The best illustration, on a large scale in this country, is the specimen plantation of pear trees of Messrs. Hovey & Co., of Boston. A large number of these are pyramidal in form, and on pear stocks, very beautiful trees, in- deed the best specimens of the kind in any American nursery, and though, now in 1850, only seven years old (the oldest), yet they have as a general thing produced fruit, and many of them for two or three years past. This result has been obtained by pinching, which has been regularly, but not to the fullest extent, practised upon them every season. The mode of perform- ing it, is to pinch off the end of the shoot with the finger and thumb ; if a small portion of the remaining part be bruised, no matter, it offers a greater check than if a clean cut were made, as in pruning to a bud ; and in the general winter or spring pruning which follows, the bruised parts can be cleanly separated. The time to perform it depends wholly on circumstan- ces. If the object be to regulate growth, then the time to do it is, when the tendency to undue or ill-proportioned growth is first observable, and this will be from the time the young shoots are two to tliree inches long and upwards. The particular season of the year or day of the month will, of course, depend upon the earliness or lateness of the season, and on the soil and situation as well as on the habits of growth of the species or variety to be operated on. The true way is to be always on the watch. The Fruit Garden. 369 M. Dubreuil, formerly Professor of Arboriculture in the Garden of Plants at Rouen, in France, sums up the general principles of pruning as follows. (I may remark here, that in 1849, I visited the Rouen garden, and found M. Dubreuil's theory and practice beautifully illustrated on the trees in his charge. My visit was made at the time of his practical lectures and I was able to examine the whole with the most satisfactory minuteness. The trees there, under all forms, and embracing all the hardy species of fruits, were the best that I any where found, not even excepting the much ad- mired and famous pyramidal pear trees of M. Cappe, at Paris. They were not only perfect in form, but as regards vigor and fruiffulness, in the most admirable condition.) He says : — " The theor}^ of the pruning of fruit trees rests on the following six gen- eral principles: " 1. The vigor of a tree, subjected to pruning, depends, in a great measure, on the equal distribution of sap in all its branches. " In fruit trees abandoned to themselves, the sap is equally distributed in the different parts v,-/hout any other aid than nature, because the tree assumes the form most in harmony with the natural tendency of the sap.* " But in those submi '_j 1 to pruning, it is different; the forms imposed on them, such as espalier, • -iamid, vase, &c., change more or less the normal direction of the sap, an ' ; revent it from taking the form proper to its spe- cies. Thus nearly all t';o forms given to trees require the development of ramifications more or less numerous, and of greater or less dimensions at the base of the stem. And, as the sap tends by preference towards the sum- mit of the tree, it happens that, unless great care be taken, the branches at the base become feeble, and finally dry up, and the form intended to be ob- tained disappears, to be replaced by the natural form, that is, a stem or a trunk with a branching head. It is then indispensable, if we wish to pre- serve the form we impose upon trees, to employ certain means, by the aid of which the natiu^al direction of the sap can be changed and directed towards the points where we wish to obtain the most vigorous growth. To do this we must arrest vegetation in the parts to which the sap is carried in too great abundance, and on the contrary favor the parts that do not re- ceive enough. To accomplish this the following means must be succes- sively employed. "1. Prune tlie branches of the most vigorous parts very short, and tlvose of the loeak parts long. We luiow that the sap is attracted by the leaves. The removal of a large number of wood-buds from the vigorous parts, de- prives these parts of the leaves which these buds would have produced ; consequently the sap is attracted there in less quantities, and the growth thereby diminished. The feeble parts being pruned long, present a great * This is not iu all cases true. Peach trees, we know, left to themselves, exhibit a very striking' example of the unequal distribution of the sap. The ends of the branches attract nearly the whole, leaving the lateral shoots and lower parts to die out. In other species, similar instances might be quoted, and as a general thing, the proposition is un- sound, except in a comparative sense. VOL. XVIII. NO. VIII. 47 370 The Fruit Garden. number of buds, which produce a large surface of leaves, and these attract the sap and acquire a vigorous growth. This principle holds good in all trees, under whatever form they may be conducted. "2. heave a large quantity of fruit on the strong part, and remove the whole, or greater part, from the feeble. We knoiv already that the fruit has the property of attracting to it the sap from the roots, and of employing it en- tirely to its own growth. The necessary result of this is, what we are about to point out, viz., that all the sap which arrives in the strong parts, will be absorbed by the fruits, and the wood there, in consequence, will make but little growth, while on the feeble part, deprived of fruits, the sap will all be appropriated by the growing parts, and they will increase in size and strength. " 3. Bend the strong parts and keep the iveak erect. The more erect the branches and stem are, the greater will be the flow of sap to the growing parts ; hence, the feeble parts being erect, attract much more sap than the strong parts inclined, and, consequently, make a more vigorous growth, and sopn recover their balance. This remedy is more especially applied to espalier trees. " 4. Remove from the vigorous parts the superfluous shoots as early in the season as possible, and from the feeble parts as late as possible. The fewer the number of young shoots there are on a branch, the fewer there are of leaves, and consequently the less is the sap attracted there. Hence, in leaving the young shoots on the feeble part, their leaves attract the sap there, and induce a vigorous growth. "5. Pinch early the soft extremities of the shoots on the vigorous parts, and as late as possible on the feeble parts, excepting ahvays any shoots ivhich may be too vigorous for their position. By thus pinching early the strong part, the flow of sap to that point is checked, and naturally turns to the growing parts that have not been pinched ; this remedy is applicable to trees in all forms. "6. Lay in the strong shoots on the trellis early, and leave the feeble parts loose as long as possible. Laying in the strong parts obstructs the circula- tion of the sap in them, and consquently favors the weak parts that are loose. This is only applicable to espaliers. " 7. In espalier trees, giving the feeble parts the benefit of the light, and con- fining the strong parts more in the shade, restores a balance, for light is the agent which enables leaves to perform their functions and their action on the roots, and the parts receiving the greatest proportion of it acquire the most vigorous development. 2. " The sap acts tvith greater force and produces more vigorous growth on a branch or shoot pruned shoH, than on one pruned long. This is easily explained. The sap acting on two buds must evidently produce a greater development of wood on them, than if it were divided between tifteen or twenty buds. " It follows from this, that if we wish to obtain wood branches, we prune short, for vigorous shoots produce few fruit buds. On the contrary, if we The Fruit Garden. 371 wish to obtain fruit branches, we prune long, because the most slender or feeble shoots are the most disposed to fruit. " Another application of this principle is to prune short for a year or two j such trees or parts as have become enfeebled by overbearing. (This prin- ciple deserves especial attention, as its application is of great import- ance.) 3. " The sap tending always to the extremities of the shoots causes the ter- minal bud to push ivifh greater vigor than the laterals. According to this principle, when we Avish a prolongment of a stem or branch, we should prune to a vigorous wood bud, and leave no production that can interfere with the action of the sap on it. 4. " 2Tie more the sap is obstructed in its circulation, the more likely it will be to produce fruit biHds. This principle is founded on a fact to which we have already had occasion to refer, viz. — that the sap circulating slowly is subjected to a more complete elaboration in the tissues of the tree, and becomes better adapted to the formation of fruit buds. " This principle can be applied to produce the following result : When we wish to produce fruit buds on a branch, we prevent a free circulation of the sap by bending the branches, or by making annular or circular incis- ions on it ; and on the contrary, when we wish to change a fruit branch into a wood branch, we give it a vertical position, or prune it to two or three buds, on which we concentrate the action of the sap and thus induce their vigorous development. 5. " The leaves serve to prepare the sap absorbed by the roots for the nour- ishment of the tree, and aid the formation of buds on the shoots. Jill trees, therefore, deprived of their leaves are liable to perish. This principle shows how dangerous it is to remove a large quantity of leaves from trees, under the pretext of aiding the growth or ripening of fruits, for the leaves are the nourishing organs, and the trees deprived of them caimot continue to grow, neither can the fruit ; and the branches so stripped will have feeble, ill-formed buds, which will, the following year, produce a weak and sickly growth. 6. " Where the buds of any shoot or branch do not develop before the age oj two years, they can only be forced into activity by a very close pruning, and in some cases, as the peach, this even ivill often fail. This last principle shows the importance of pruning the main branches of espaliers particularly, so as to ensure the development of the buds of their successive sections, and to preserve well the side shoots thus produced, for without this, the interior of the tree will become naked and unproductive, and a remedy will be very difficult." If these principles and practices of pruning be carefully studied in con- nection with the habits of growth and bearing of the different fruit trees, pruning will be comparatively an easy matter. The mode of obtaining any particular form or character cannot fail to be perfectly plain and simple ; yet no one need hope to accomplish, in all things, the precise results aimed at, for even the most skilful operator is sometimes disappointed : but those 372 Pennsylvania Farin Journal. who give constant attention to their trees, will always discover a failure in time to apply a remedy. I insist upon it, because I have been taught it by most abundant experi- ence, that the most unremitting watchfulness is necessary in conducting trees in particular forms. It is not by any means lahor that is required ; but attention, that the most delicate hand can perform ; fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, say three times a week during active growth, will be suf- ficient to examine every shoot on a moderate collection of garden trees ; for the eye very soon becomes trained so well to the work, that a glance at a tree will detect the parts that are either too strong or too weak, or that in any way require attention. This is one of tlie most interesting features in the management of garden trees. We are never allowed to forget them. From day to day they require some attention, and offer some new point of interest that attracts us to them, and augments our solicitude for their pros- perity, until it actually grows into enthusiasm. Mr. Barry has given ns a book greatly needed, and he has performed his task in an admirable manner. The descrip- tions accompanying the figures are sufficiently explicit, with- out being too extended to be perfectly understood, and as they illustrate more particularly the different systems of pruning and training dwarf trees, which are now becoming so generally cultivated, the amateur will find it a safe guide to follow in the management of his fruit garden. The work is neatly got up, and the engravings are many of them very finely executed; altogether it is a volume highly creditable to our horticultural literature. Art. II. 1. The Pennsylvania Farm Journal^ devoted to Agricultnre, Horticulture and Rural Economy. S. S. Halderman, Editor. In Monthly Nos., large octavo, pp. 32. Lancaster, Pa. Nos. 1 to 4. 2. The Journal of Agriculture, W. S. King, Editor. In Semi-Monthly Nos. pp. 32. Boston. No. 1. These are the titles of two new agricultural publications which have been sent to us by their respective Editors ; Pennsylvania Farm, Journal. 373 the former issued in Pennsylvania, commencing in April, and the latter from this city, commencing in July. Pennsylvania, since the discontinuance of the Farmers' Cabinet, has been without any publication upon agricul- ture or horticulture, except such of the ordinary weekly publications as unite farming and general news, and we hail with pleasure the appearance of a neat and comely Jour- nal like that before us, edited by a gentleman so well able to make it one of the first of tlie agricultural papers of the country. Prof. Halderman's name is sufficient to secure an extended circulation of the work, and the aid which he will bring to his assistance cannot but be of the greatest benefit to the interests of agriculture and horticulture in the Key- Stone State. We notice the name of our correspondent, Dr. Brinckle, as a contributor to the horticultural depart- ment. The numbers which have already appeared contain some excellent articles on the destruction of insects, by the Editor, who appears familiar with the habits, history, and the best mode of preventing their ravages. The Journal of Agriculture adds one more to the six or eight agricultural publications issued in Massachusetts. Cer- tainly we must be becoming a farming State to judge of the prosperity of all these journals, which number thousands of readers. The Ploughman, Cultivator, Rambler, and New England Farmer, besides others in the western part of the State, circulate large editions, and now we have another aspirant for public favor. The more information, if of the right kind, and not too scientific, the better ; it will serve to open the eyes of our farmers to their own true interests, and assist them in tilling their lands to better advantage, and in reaping a great profit through the means of increased production. We say too scientific, because the word science, as now used, has often little meaning. A recent writer speaks of the '•' application of science to restore the productive energies of our soil," of the " application of science in the improvement of our horses, swine, &c." Some will suppose that this means the application of a peculiar something, forgetting that sci- ence is simply knowledge, and that knowledge is the result 374 General Notices. of practice combined wth the study of known laws and their results ; and we are afraid that some writers, in their zeal for science, may overlook that equally important matter of prac- tical experience, without which the appliance of science often fails. These remarks are suggested by the introduc- tory, in which the Editor says that science is the foundation of agriculture — and that he desires and designs " to give it a foremost place in his pages." The Editor has secured the assistance of Prof. Mapes, of New Jersey, and with such aid he cannot fail to produce an interesting paper. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Art. I. General JVotices. On the Preservation of Fruit. — We have frequently been asked, Avhat is the best mode of preserving fruit, and whether there are not chemical means of keeping it, so that it may be preserved fresh and wholly unchanged for a long time ; either by placing it in contact with some sub- stance which shall counteract its tendency to spoil, or by plunging it in some gas or liquid which will prevent it from decomposing. There have been a great many attempts to do this, but they have all been attended with but very partial success. Fruit, for the most part, consists chiefly of sugar, gum, starch, cellular matter, water, and a small quantity of albumen, and gluten ; but besides all these, it also contains. certain other substances, such as coloring matter, and a small quantity of some highly fragrant vol- atile oil, to which the taste and agreeable smell of the fruit is due. The most changeable component of fruit, therefore, is the azotised matter, which is generally that which first of all commences to decompose ; usually, too, air is necessary to its change, and consequently those fruits which have thick dense skins, dry and shrivel up, when they are kept, without being spoilt. In drying, of course they lose some portion of the volatile flavoring matter, but they also retain some, and they may be kept for a long time, without either putrefying or fermenting. The more delicate and highly flavored fruits, however, are not of this description ; their skins are so porous and open, that they very soon allow the air to pass into the interior of the fruit, and consequently it is impossible to preserve them by drying. The immediate consequence of air coming in contact with the pulpy mat- ter of ripe fruit, is that the azotised matters begin to absorb oxygen, and Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 375 decompose ; then the sugar, starch and gum are acted on ; the flavor is rapidly destroyed, sometimes spirit is formed, the sugar simply undergoing the vinous femientation ; at other tim.es, the change goes on more rapidly, and the fruit soon becomes putrid. All these effects may be easily observ- ed, by watching the ripening of any of the common varieties of fruit. The drying up of ripe grapes, which are left to hang with their skins uninjured, and the immediate change which occurs if the sldn is injured or punctured, is familiar to every one. The rapid change which takes place in ripe gooseberries, when the skins burst, and which, in the first instance, is a mere case of common vinous fermentation, is also well known. The injury which all fruit sustains from bruises, though it often does not produce the same effect, is yet in chemical nature very suTiilar to that which occurs in the gooseberry. The cause of the evil in all cases is the oxygen of the air ; and the mode in which it acts consists in the skin or cuticle being destroyed or injured, so that the air finds an easy entrance through the damaged part. In the case of delicate and thin-skinned fruits, they are so porous that the air enters on all sides, as soon as they are fully ripe, and even though they are not in any way injured, and this constitutes the chief difficulty in preserving them. The fresh juice of the grape readily ferments, as soon as it is exposed to the air, but the juice of a raisin or half-dried grape no longer has the power of doing so, because it contains too much sugar to ferment. A weak solution of sugar, under favorable conditions, soon begins to ferment; whilst a strong one is unable to enter into the vinous fermentation. It is in part, on this fact, that the common mode of preserving fruits by means of sugar depends. In making preserves, too, the fruit is heated, and heat, by rendering the vegetable albumen solid, makes it less likely to decom- pose. The preservative influence of heat on all fonns of organic matter is well known ; the value of heat in preventing the decomposition of food gen- erally, was minutely detailed by Apport in 1810, for which he was reward- ed by the French Government with a sum of twelve thousand francs. But both heat and sugar, though no doubt very useful agents in the preservation of fruit, are very far from being quite satisfactory; and though, by their use, the fruit may be prevented from undergoing actual fermenta- tion, yet more or less of tne flavoring matter of the fruit is always destroy- ed or lost. What is wanted is a means of preventing the decomposition of the fruit, without the use of any substance which could injure its flavor, either by the addition of a new flavor or the destruction of the natural one. — [Gardener'' s Chronicle, p. 35.5, 1851.) Art. II. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Saturday, June 28. — In our account of this meeting in our last Number, we omitted to give the complete award of all the prizes for Roses ; those omitted were as follows : — For the second best twelve varieties of Roses, to M. P. Wilder, f 3. 376 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. For tlie third best, to Jos. Breck & Son, $3. July 5. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day — Vice President Richards in the chair. There was no business of importance. Adjourned two weeks to July 19. Exhibited. — Flowers : From Hovey & Co., ten varieties of Prairie roses, as follows : Queen, Baltimore Belle, Mrs. Hovey, Caradora Allen, Eva Corinne, Ann Marie, Perpetual Pink, Superba, Miss Gunnell, Pride of Washington. From J. Breck, Phlox in great var., iris in var., martagon lily, delphiniums in var., clematis in var., Prairie roses, six var. From P. Barnes, Prairie roses in var., martagon lily, orange and white do, phlox in var., delphiniums in var., campanula. From J. Nugent, pelargoniums in var., prairie roses, dahlias, campanula phlox, delphiniums, &c. From Winship & Co., delphiniums in var., lilies, clematis, six var., Podo- laria alba, Phlox carnea, spirasas, 7 var., variety of shrubs and herbaceous plants. From J. Hovey, two bouquets, Prairie roses, lilies, digitalis, aconi- tum, dianthus, verbenas, spiraeas, &c. From J. Mann, Jr., Prairie roses in var., pinks, marigolds, gladiolus in var., digitalis, veronica, carnations, picotees, spiraeas, delphiniums. From A. Bowditch, Prairie Queen and Bal- timore Belle roses. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED. Prairie Roses. — For the best display of not less than six varieties, to Hovey & Co., $5. For tlae second best display of not less than four varieties, to J. Breck, $4. For the third best display of not less than four varieties, to Win- ship &. Co., $3. Gratuities. — To J. Mann, Jr., A. Bowditch, J. Breck, P. Barnes, J. Nugent, and Winship & Co., $1 each. Fruits : From M. P. Wilder, cherries, Bigarreau Gabaulis or Mon- streuse de Mezel, large size, very fine, Downton, fine. Black Eagle, superior. Cerise de Xavier, Cerise de Spa, White Tartarian, Lemercier, all very fine specimens. From Hovey & Co., grapes, Wilmot's Hamburgh No. 16, Vic- toria, both fine, Wilmot's Black Hamburgh, and White Frontignan. From Otis Johnson, cherries. Black Tartarian veiy fine,' Mottled Bigarreau, supe- rior. White Bigarreau, and Honey Heart, fine ; peaches, Coolidge's Favor- ite, superior. From J, Lovett, strawberries, Hovey's Seedling, very fine ; cherries. Black Tartarian, superior, and Elton, very fine. From J. S. Fay, apples, June apple ; grapes, Muscadine, both grown in the open air, in Washington county, Georgia. From G. Merriam, cherries. Black Tartarian, very fine, and Bigan-eau. From S. Davis, cherries, a seedling ; and a Lemon raised in pot, weighing four and a half ounces. From J. P. Cushiiig, Esq., grapes, white Frontignan, superior ; Black Hamburgli, Muscat of Alexandria, both very fine ; Syrian, extra large bunch, very fine ; Chasselas of Fontainbleau. From H. Vandine, cherries, China Heart and Black Tartarian. From A. Dexter, cherries, unnamed. From J. Hyde & Son, cherries. Black Tartarian, superior. From G. Walsh, Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 377 cherries, Seedling No. 1, superior. From Mrs. F. B. Durfee, by W. Young, grapes. Black Hamburgh, Victoria, Black St. Peters, Muscat of Alexandria, and Sweetwater, all superior, bunches large and the berries large, high col- ored and well ripened. From Parker Barnes, cherries. Black Eagle. From J. Mann, House of Industry, cherries, a Bigarreau, fine. From Breck & Co., grapes, Black Hamburgh, Rose Chasselas, both fine ; White Chasselas. From J. F. Al- len, peaches, Late Crawford, very fine, extra large ; grapes. White Ham- burgh, fine ; Portugal Muscat, Wilmot's Hamburgh No. 16, Black Ham- burgh, Flame- colored Tokay, fine ; Partridge Foot, small black grape, new. From F. Blake, cherries. Black Tartarian. From A. Bowditch, grapes, White Frontignan, Black Hamburgh, Black St. Peters. From A. D. Wil- liams & Son, cherries, four varieties unnamed. Fruits tested — From M. P. Wilder, cherries, De Spa, very acid ; Cerise de Xavier, acid, resembling the Duke ; Lemercier ? resembling the Mo- rello, all of medium size and dark red color ; White Tartarian, good ; Down- ton, good, both good sized cherries of a light or flesh color ; Bigarreau Ga- baulis or Monstreuse de Mezel, a large cherry, dark color, sweet and good, a &m meated cherry ; Black Eagle, very sweet and good flavored, a very superior cherry. From G. Walsh, Seedling, No. 1, good. From S. Davis, ^Seedling cherries, of light color, mottled. From J. S. Fay, apples, from Washington County, Georgia, called June Apple, very tender and good, resembles in appearance the Early Harvest ; also Muscadine grapes, raised in open air in Georgia, sweet and good. From J. F. Allen, grapes, Part- ridge Foot, a small black grape, late, new. From President of the Society, strawberries, Walker's Seedling, good. Vegetables. — From J. Mann, Jr., Early cabbages, var. Shilling's fine Queen, the first exhibited and very fine ; Early turnips ; Blood beets, fine. From J. Crosby, Long Blood beets and one brace of cucumbers, fine. From J. Nugent, Early Bush beans, open culture, the first exhibited for the season, fine. July 12. Exhibited. — Flowers : From J. Breck, phlox in var., delphin- iums in var., spiraea in var.. Stock gilliflowers, phlox in var. From P. Barnes, Campanula nobilis, delphiniums in var., Prairie roses in var., Cam- panula nobilis alba, dahlias, carnations. From J. Nugent, one round bou- quet, geraniums in great variety, dahlias, larkspur, &c. From Winship & Co., delphiniums in var., yucca in var., spiraea in var., azaleas in var., cle- matis in var., and a great variety of herbaceous plants. From J. P. Gush- ing, by G. Evers, Stock gilliflowers, pinks, carnations, picotees. From Dr. C. F. Chaplin, carnations, pinks and picotees. From VV. Kenrick, by Miss Russell, one basket of flowers, round bouquets. From Hovey & Co., Aphe- landra cristata, with two fine heads of its splendid scarlet flowers ; also, picotees and carnations. From J. Mann, Jr., gladiolus, veronica, roses, pinks, carnations and picotees, in var., Slg. From A. Bowditch, carnations and picotees in var., phlox in var., roses in var., verbenas, lychnis, single and double, Torenia asiatica, Cereus grandiflora, and bouquets. VOL. XVII. NO. VIII. 48 378 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. GRATUITIES AWARDED. To Hovey & Co., for a specimen of Aphelandra cristata, $1. To A. Bowditch, for plants and flowers, $2. To Miss Russell, J. Brack, P. Barnes, and J. Mann, Jr., for cut flowers, $1 each. Fruits. — From J. P. Gushing, Esq., grapes, Black Hamburgh, v?ry fine; Syrian bunch, extra size ; Muscat of Alexandria, very fine ; White Fron- tignan, superior; melons, Beechwood and Persian, both very fine. From W. Batchelder, cherries. Downer. From G. Merriam, cherries, Downer, very fine. From J. Lovett, 2d, cherries, Sparhawk's Honey Heart; rasp- berries, Knevet's Giant, superior. From H. Vandine, cherries, Elkhorn, very fine. From J. Hyde & Son, cherries, probably Bigarreau Noir. From M. P. Wilder, cherries, Seedling, Bigarreau Noir Tardif, Bigarreau Noir, Downer, superior. From Winship & Co., cherries, Bigarreau Noir, (?) Downer. From J. Mann, Jr., cherries, unnamed, probably Elkhorn; rasp- berries. From C. Newhall, raspberries, Knevet's Giant. From Hovey & Co., figs, Black of St. Michael's ; cherries. Black Eagle, very fine ; Seedling ; Monstreuse de Bavay, and one new variety unnamed ; grapes, Gros Bleu ; Victoria, very fine, and Muscat of Alexandria. From J. S. Sleeper, cherries, Seedling. From A. Bowditch, raspberries, Kne- vet's Giant ; grapes. Black Hamburgh and Black St. Peters. From S. . Sweetser, raspberries, Knevet's Giant. From J. W. Foster, raspberries, Knevet's Giant, fine. From Breck &l Co., grapes. Black Hamburgh, fine ; White Chasselas. From Messrs. Hyde, cherries, Hyde's new Black Seedling. From C. E. Grant, strawberries, Newland's Alpine and Monthly Alpine ; raspberries, Knevet's Giant. From H. B. Stanwood, cherries, Downer, very fine. From O. Johnson, cherries. Sweet Montmorency, Florence, Black Eagle, superior ; Napoleon Bigarreau, fine, and Seedling. From G. Walsh, cherries, Seedling Nos. 1, 2 and 3, fine. From J. F. Allen, grapes, Garden Tokay and Black Hamburgh ; White Hamburgh, very fine ; Cannon Hall, superior ; White Frontignan, very fine ; peaches. Late Crawford, extra size, superior ;' Tippecanoe, New Jersey, Grosse Mignonne, Old Mixon ; nectar- ines, Violet Hatif and Boston. Fruits tested. — From M. P. Wilder, cherries, Bigarreau Noir Tardif, a fine cherry, sweet, very dark color, of moderate size. From G. Walsh, cherries. Seedling No. 1, large, a fine cherry, sweet. No. 2 resembles No. 1. No. 3, of moderate size, very fine, sweet, superior to the others ; all of them of firm flesh. From E. Woods, cherries, seedling of light color, firm flesh, sweet and good; late. From Hovey & Co., cherries, Monstieusede Bavay, and a new Seedling; large, very dark color, firm fiesh, and a fine cherry. From J. P. Gushing, Esq., melons, Persian, very fine; Beechwood, fine. From J. F. Allen, grapes. Black Hamburgh, fine; Garden Tokay, small, amber-colored, very sweet and fine. From H. Vandine, cherries, Elkhorn, very large, dark, firm flesh. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 379 Vegetables. — From Josiah Crosby, cucumbers, carrots and Long Blood beets, fine. From J. Mann, Jr., Turnip Blood beets, and four heads Shil- ling's fine Queen cabbage : This variety is new, and excellent for an early variety. From J. B. Moore, Turnip Blood beets, and Early flat turnips, fiiie. From H. Bradlee, by Michael Gordon, two brace of cucumbers, var. Manchester Prize Fighter and Horticultural Prize, measuring from 16 to 22 inches, well grown and very fine. July 19. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day — Vice President French in the chair. A letter was received from Dr. J. V. C. Smith, accompanied witli a package of seeds. The thanks of the Society were voted to Dr. Smith, and the seeds placed in the care of the Vegetable Committee, for distribution. B. Harrington, Lexington, Dr. S. G. Howe and Thomas Powers, Boston, and J. B. Bright, Waltham, were elected members. Adjourned one week to July 26. Exhibited. — Flowers : From J. Mann, Jr., pinks, picotees, marigolds, spiraea, annuals, and herbaceous plants. From J. Breck, delphiniums in var., verbenas in var., gilliflowers in var., godetia, hollyhocks in great var., annuals, and herbaceous plants. From P. Barnes, Convolvolus minor, del- phiniums in var., carnations and picotees, .^conitum variegatum, spiraeas, annuals, &c. From R. G. Bell, Lowell, Seedling hollyhocks. From J. Nugent, carnations, dahlias, roses, pelargoniums, sweet peas, &c. ; two bouquets. From Hovey & Co ., a large collection of upwards of 400 blooms of car- nations, picotees, and pinks, named kinds and seedlings ; verbenas, Sun- set, Heroine, Eclipse, Striped Eclipse, Adel6, and a new seedling white, the finest ever raised ; color pure, and truss larger than any other verbena ; ten varieties of phlox, and a large collection of fine hollyhocks. The fol- lowing are the names of the carnations and picotees, which were awarded the prize: — Duchess of Devonshire, (Rose Flake,) Squire Clark, Kinfare Hero, King Alfred, Duke of Newcastle, (P. Picotee,) Lady Peel, (P. Pico- tee,) Queen Victoria, (P. Picotee,) Beauty of Cambridge, (Yellow Picotee,) and two fine Seedlings. From Dr. C. F. Chaplin, carnations, picotees and pinks, mostly seedlings. From Winship & Co., Yucca in var., Prairie roses in var., shrubs and her- baceous plants. ' From A. Bowditch, pinks and carnations, three bouquets. From J. P. Gushing, by G. Evers, carnations and picotees in great var. From W. Kenrick, by Miss Russell, two baskets 4 bouquets flowers. From J. A. Kenrick, by Miss Kenrick, basket of flowers. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED. Carnations and Picotees. — For the best ten varieties, to Hovey «Si Co., $5. For the second best ten varieties, to Dr. C. F. Chaplin, $4. For the best display, to Hovey & Co., $3. Hollyhocks, — For the best display, to J. Breck & Son, $5. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., $4. 380 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Gratuity. — To R. G. Bell, for a small collection of hollyhocks, $4. Fruits. — From J. P. Gushing, grapes, White Frontignan, Muscat of Alexandria, Black Hamburgh, and Syrian, all fine ; currants. White Dutch, and Knight's Sweet Red. From J. W. Foster, very large cherry currants. From J. S. Sleeper, Seedling cherries. From C. E. Grant, Late Duke cherries, fine, and Monthly Alpine strav/berries, good. From M. H. Simp- son, very fine George IV, Early Royal George, and Coolidge's Favorite peaches. From E. King, peaches, good. From Hovey & Co., fine Muscat of Alexandria grapes ; Coolidge's Fa- vorite, and Early York peaches ; and Black Bigarreau of Savoy, and Seed- ling cherries — the latter the same as before exhibited, very large, beautiful and fine. From George Walsh, Seedling No. 1 and No. 4, the former fine, very black. From Mr. Osgood, cherries, two kinds. From J. F. Allen, Franconia raspberries. Sweet Montmorency cherries, Crawford's Late and Old Mixton peaches, fine ; White Hamburgh grapes, and Violet Hative and Boston Nectarines. From S. Bigelow, by T. Willott, very large and fine bunches of Muscat of Alexandria and Black Hamburgh grapes, (the latter not well colored, but berries and bunches large.) From G. Merriam, Sparhawk's Honey (?) cherries. From J. Lovett, very fine Knevet's Giant raspberries. From H. Vandine, Elkhorn cherries, large and handsome. From A. D. Williams & Son, Red and White currants, and Downer cherries. From M. P. Wilder, Late Duke, De Holstein, Buttner's Black Heart, Guigne Blanche, and a variety unnamed. From E. Wight, Seedling Yellow raspberries. Fruits tested. — From J. F. Allen, cherries, Sweet Montmorency, fine as usual, with his late variety, a seedling from the Sweet Montmorency, fine. From Pomological Garden, cherries, and seedling, of a small size. From M. P. Wilder, cherries, Guigne Blanche, a handsome transparent fruit; Buttner's Black Heart, not worthy of cultivation. From G. Merriam, cher- ries, Sparhawk's Honey, fine. From the President, cherries. Downer, fine. From H. Vandine, cherries, Elkhorn, a large fruit, but liable to crack. From Hovey & Co., a seedling, and Black Bigarreau of Savoy. From G. Walsh, cherries, Elkhorn. Vegetables.^— From J. Crosby, Long Blood beets. Early Turnip beets, carrots, Early cabbages, cucumbers, and Early potatoes, fine. From J. B. Moore, Long Blood beets and Champion of England peas, very fine. From J. Mann, Jr., Early Turnip beets. Early Northern cabbage, and Shilling's Fine Q,ueen cabbage, well grown and fine. From J. Hittinger, by John Faulkner, Early tomatoes, open culture and first exhibited. From A. D. Williams & Son, Early White potatoes, fine. July 2(J. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, the President in the chair. The Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements reported that they had voted to hold the Annual Exhibition on the 17th, 18th and 19th of Septem- ber next, to commence at 12 o'clock on Wednesday, the 17th. Adjourned two weeks, to August 9. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 381 Exhibited. — Flowers : From J. Breck, hollyhocks in great var , gilli- flowers, verbenas, phloxes, &c. From P. Barnes, roses, delphiniums, sweet peas, carnations, marigolds and other herbaceous plants. From R. G. Bell, Lowell, pinks in var., seedling antirrhinums, hollyhocks, 12 var., geranium, new scarlet, (seedling) pansies. From J. Nugent, Sweet peas in great var., marigolds, carnations, dahlias, hand bouquets, &c. From J. Hovey, hand bouquets. From E. M. Richards, dahlias. From W. Kenrick, by Miss Russell, baskets and bouquets of flowers. From J. A. Kenrick, by Miss Mary M. Kenrick, basket of flowers. From Hovey & Co., Tecoma jas- minoides. From A. Bowditch, phlox, 10 var., and hand bouquets. From J. Mann, Jr., phlox, sweet peas, marigolds, carnations, &c. Fruits. — From Hovey & Co , currants, Victoria, fine; White Dutch, fine ; pears. Doyenne d'Ete ; grapes, Muscat of Alexandria, fine ; Syrian ; peaches. Early York, fine ; Clinton, Early Crawford, fine ; Bergen's Yellow, fine. From G. Walsh, Black currants. From J. Lovett, currants. White Dutch, Gondouin, very fine ; Victoria, Red Dutch From Hyde & Son, cherries. Seedling and Mazard. From W. Batcheler, Seedling Mazard cherries. From J. F. Allen, cherries, Sweet Montmorency ; grapes. Bishop, Rose Chnsselas, Poiteau Noir, White Hamburgh ; plums, Washington, fine ; nectarines, Violet Hative, Newington, Downton, &c. ; peaches. Old Mixon, Grosse Mignonne, Lafayette, &c. From C. E. Grant, Highblack- berries ; strawberries. Monthly Alpine, Newland's Alpine, fine ; pears, Madeleine. From the President, pears, Madeleine. From J. Breck, grapes. Black Muscat, Muscat of Alexandria, Black Hamburgh. From S. Bigelow, grapes, Muscat of Alexandria, and Black Hamburgh. From A. Bowditch, grapes, Black Hamburgh. From F. Tudor, figs, fine. From G. Wilson, currants. White Dutch, very fine ; Red Dutch, fine, and Gondouin, very fine. From O. Johnson, currants, White Dutch, fine. From J. S. Need- ham, White High blackberries. From J. W. Foster, gooseberries, seed- lings, fine. From J. Gordon, gooseberries. From J. Hovey, gooseberries; apples. Early Harvest. From E. King, peaches. Early Crawford. From M. H. Simpson, peaches. Late Crawford, large and fine. From C. New- hall, nectarines, Elruge, Vermash; peaches. Early Crawford. From E. M. Richards, apples, Early Harvest, Red Astrachan. From A. D. Williams & Son, apples. Early Harvest. Fruits tested. — From the President, pears, Madeleine. From Hovey & Co., pears. Doyenne d'Ete, which promises very fine as an early fruit ; peaches, Early York, fine. From W. Bachelder, cherries. Black Mazard, not fully ripe. From Hyde & Son, cherries. Red Mazard, fine. Vegetables. — From J. Crosby, Early potatoes and tomatoes, very fine. From A. Bowditch, Champion of England peas, very fine, and one of the best in cultivation, being remarkably sweet, tender and prolific. From J. Mann, Jr., fine early Turnip beets and onions. From A. D. Williams & Son, two varieties potatoes, very large and fine. 3S2 Horticultural Operations for August. PREMIUMS AWARDED FOR FRUITS. Strawberries. — For the best specimens, to S. Downer, Jr., for Jen- ney's Seedling, $6. For the second best, to O. Johnson, for Hovey's Seedling $4. For the third best, to T. A. Rice, for Hovey's Seedling, $3. To the President, for fine specimens of his Seedling, $3. To G. Evers, for a great variety of kinds, $3. Cherries. — For the best specimens, to J. F. Allen, for Elton, (forced) $6. For the second best, to O. Johnson, for Black Eagle. To M. P. Wilder, Hovey & Co., J. Lovett, G. Walsh, H. Vandine, G. Merriam, A. Dexter, W. Bachelder, Hyde & Son, F. Blake, and A. D. Williams &- Son, a gratuity to each, of the Bronze Medal, for fine specimens. Grapes. — For the best specimens before July 1, to Dr. N. Durfee, $10. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., $7. To J. F. Allen, a gratuity of $7, for fine assortment of grapes. To G. Evers and W. C. Strong, a gratuity to each, of the Silver Medal, for fine specimens. Peaches, — For the best specimens, (under glass,) to J. F. Allen, $6, for Crawford's Late. For the second best, to O. Johnson, for Coolidge's Favorite, $4. To W. C. Strong, a gratuity of $4. HORTICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR AUGUST. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. July has been an exceedingly dry and warm month ; very little rain has fallen, and many trees and plants have suffered, particularly those removed in the spring. The fruit crop has suffered some, particularly the smaller kinds, such as Raspberries, Currants, &c. But excepting this slight drought, the season has been warm, genial and favorable ; trees well es- tablished have grown well, and the fruit, particularly pears, though by no means an abundant crop, looks exceedingly clean, smooth and handsome, and so far unusually free from cracking, or mould, which so generally in- jured them the last cold and wet summer. The present month will be a busier one than July : budding should be commenced and mostly finished this month : new plantations of straw- berries should be made the last of the month or in September, and the ground should now be trenched and prepared. Another important matter, too often neglected, is that of thinning out the fruit on trees that are overloaded, as it accomplishes two objects ; one, the health and future prosperity of the tree ; and the other, larger and superior fruit. Those who have not tried the experiment thoroughly have very little idea of the effect which thinning Horticultural Operations for August. 383 has upon the excellence of the remaining crop. Insects should still have much attention. The autumn caterpillar is just now commencing its rava- ges, and if trees are neglected they soon overrun and devour every green leaf. Grape Vines, in the greenhouse or grapery, will now be ripening their crop ; give air freely in order that the black kinds may get well colored ; keep the laterals cut in as they require it. Discontinue damping the floors and walks, as the grapes acquire a richer flavor in a dry atmosphere. Vines in cold houses, from the continued warm weather of last month, have pro- gressed rapidly, and will now begin to color ; attend carefully to the airing of the house, and damp the walks in all warm days. Continue to shoulder the bunches if not already done. Vines in the open air should now be put in good order ; take off every lateral two eyes beyond the fruit except on such wood as should be laid in for next year. Peach trees planted in pots the present year, should be liberally wa- tered, occasionally with liquid manure ; nip off the ends of straggling shoots. » Strawberry beds should be made the last of the month. Plum, Cherry, and Pear trees should be budded this month. Summer Pruning should be attended to throughout the month ; shoota pinched off last month will by this time have started again, and will require another pinching in order to check the sap and throw it into the laterals. Trees planted this year will succeed better if mulched with short grass or stable litter. FLOWBR DEPARTMENT. The dry weather of July has greatly retarded the growth of verbenas, and other bedded out plants, and unless they have been liberally watered they will have but just begun to bloom. Keep the ground constantly stir- red, which will do more to keep the plants in vigorous condition than occa- sional watering. Continue to look over, and repot, re-arrange and put in order the stock of plants for next winter. Keep all plants intended for that purpose well watered, and topped, in order to have them bushy and strong. Sow bien- nial and perennial flower seeds now for a succession. Continue to layer and propagate all plants increased in this way. Carnations and Picotees should now be layered; the sooner it is done the stronger will be the plants. White Lilies may be taken up, divided and re-set this month. Pelargoniums not yet headed down should at once be attended to, so that the old plants may get well broke before cold weather. As soon as cut down put them in a half shady place, or in an old frame, and water them sparingly until well broken. Camellias should now be liberally watered and freely syringed every other day. Plants may be inarched and grafted now. Cuttings may also be put in. 384 Horticultural Operations for August. Chrtsaxthesiums planted out in the open ground should have their tops layered off into small pots, as these make fine flowering plants. Plants raised from cuttings should now be shifted into tl^eir flowering pots. OxALis HiRTA and BowiEi should now he potted. Dahlias will now be growing rapidly and will require attention. See that they are well staked, neatly tied and pruned, and if fine flowers are wanted, mulch with rotten manure, and water liberally in dry weather, sy- ringing the tops freely. Chinese Primroses rnay now be propagated from cuttings, particularly the double kinds. Pansy seed should now be planted for spring flowering ; choice kinds should now be propagated from cuttings. Roses should be budded, layered, and propagated from cuttings now. Canterbury Bells, Sweet Williams, Scabious and other biennial flow- er seeds should be planted now. Fuchsias may have a final shift now into their flowering pots. NiEPOLiTAN Violets should have liberal waterings in dry weather. Lemon and Orange trees should be budded tliis month. Calceolaria seed may now be planted. Callas should now be repotted and liberally watered. Tree Pkonies may be propagated now by grafting on the roots of the herbaceous kinds. Mignonette should now be sown in pots for flowering next winter. Greenhouse Plants. Continue to propagate such seeds as are want- ed ; repot others, and see that every thing is put in a state of preparation for housing in September. FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERY. If proper attention has been given to this department it will now be in fine order. The phoxes and other late flowering perennials will be in bloom, and the trees will put on their richest verdure. The lawn will not look as velvety as a few weeks hence, but if properly rolled and mown it will yet retain a good color. Continue to clean and rake the walks ; clip box edgings and hedges, and mow grass verges ; hoe and rake the borders at least once a week, and cut away all dead or decaying flower stems. Tie up all tall growing plants and peg down as they extend their shoots, verbenas, petunias, &c. Shrubs of various kinds which may be growing vigorously, should have the tops of the strong shoots or suckers pinched off", in order to bring them into good shape. Roses budded on briars should be kept free from suckers which rob the scion of all its nourishment. Tie and train up roses, honey- suckles, &-C. which may be planted against arbors or trellises. Get ready ground to be planted with bulbs or plants next month or later, and look out that the season does not pass by without too many things being left un- done. THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. SEPTEMBER, 1851. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Art. I. A Few Words upon the Cultivation of the Pear upon Quince Stocks. By the Editor. Nothing is just now attracting more attention in fruit cul- ture than the growth of the pear upon the quince. It is but a few years since this mode of cultivation began to attract notice from American pomologists, though long and extensively prac- tised in France, and to some extent in England. A prejudice seems to have existed among oiu* cultivators generally, that the trees were so short lived upon the quince that it was no object to plant them ; and, strange to say, this prejudice has been kept alive, to a considerable extent, by several of our pomological authors, whose knowledge and means of infor- mation, on the contrary, should have enabled them to remove rather than increase erroneous opinions upon a subject of so much interest to all fruit cultivators. We quote from the Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, by Mr. Downing, (last edition) : — " A variety of pear grafted on a healthy pear seedling, lasts, almost as long as upon its own roots. Upon a thorn stock it does not endure so long. Upon a mountain ash, rather less. Upon a quince stock still less, until the average life of the pear tree, when grafted on the quince, is reduced from fifty years, — its ordinary dm-ation on the pear stock, — to about a dozen years. This is well known to every practical gar- dener, and it arises from the want of affinity between the VOL. XVII, NO. IX. 49 386 Cultivation of the Pear upon Quince Stocks. quince stock and pear graft. The latter is rendered dwarf in its habits, bears very early, and perishes equally soon." Now with such information in one of our standard pomo- logical works, can we wonder that a prejudice should still exist against the quince as a stock for the pear ? Can we wonder at the objection which too many yet m-ge against its introduction into their gardens in consequence of its brief existence ? But the growth of the pear upon the quince, though so extensively practised in France, has been confined mitil re- cently to a limited number of varieties, which have flour- ished with vigor and yielded abundant crops. All kinds, however, do not grow freely upon this stock ; and with the accession of the hmidreds of new varieties, which have been produced by the Belgian cultivators, in the eagerness of the French nurserymen to increase their stock and supply trees which would speedily fruit, they have overlooked this mat- ter, and have indiscriminately worked all sorts upon the quince, without knowing or waiting to ascertain what the result of proper experiment would be. The consequence has been just what every well informed practical man would have seen, viz., that not more than one half, if even one quarter, of the new pears succeed upon the quince stock. The trees grow for a year or two, but with the first crop of fruit they sicken and eventually die. A recent French writer has made the following statement, which has been translated from the Annales of the Central Society of France, by Mr. Meigs, and read by him before the last meeting of the Farmer's Club of New York : — " I have long ago been struck with a theory to which no one seems to have paid attention, and that is, upwards of one hundred years ago, nurseries of fruit trees were established at Vitry, at Paris, at Orleans, at Antwerp, at Rouen, «fcc., &c. All these nurseries have delivered, for setting out, many millions of pear trees, every year, to be planted in France only. Now if all these pear trees had prospered, France is not large enough to contain them, and still the nurseries every year sell millions of them. A pear tree on the quince Cultivation of the Pear upon Quince Stocks. 387 ought to last thirty to forty years, if properly taken care of, and those grafted on pear stocks should last from sixty to one hundred years when planted in proper soil. So that there must be something about this matter not well under- stood, seeing how few pear trees are now found in France." This statement at once conveys a great deal of meaning ; it shows that either unsuitable soil, bad cultivation, improper selection of stocks, or varieties not adapted to the quince, or perhaps each and all of these causes combined, have con- tributed to produce such a result. The question arises. What are the proper kinds of quince, provided there is a difference in this respect ; — 2d, What are the kinds that will succeed upon the quince ; and, 3d, What soil and locality is best suited to the quince. We have not space to consider all these propositions now, but shall take the second one, which to us seems the more im- portant of the three, and one upon which there is the least information, though it is by far the most needed. The short lived character of the pear on the quince has been, in some degree, attached to it from the grafting of un- suitable kinds upon that stock. Almost every variety will flourish tolerably well for a year or so ; but such as do not like the stock soon show signs of feebleness, and a few crops of fruit are generally fatal to them. They die off, and their death is attributed to the usual cause. Disappointed at the loss of his trees, the cultivator abandons the quince and grows only those on the pear, losing all the advantages which the former offers over the latter. This being the case, how important it is to ascertain, by careful experiment, what the kinds are that will succeed upon the quince, — not a hasty trial of a year or two, but one of a series of ^'■ears, say at least six or eight ; this we think would be satisfactory, and cultivators could then rely upon the character of the trees which they purchase. We hear many complaints already of the death of trees upon the quince ; and we are not surprised, for we see kinds adver- tised for sale upon that stock, which under the greatest care could not be made to flourish more than three or four years 388 Cultivation of the Pear upon Quince Stocks. with any success. Every year brings additional experience, and we have found it a constant source of annoyance and disappointment to have a fine row of trees broken up by the death of one here and another there, from the unsuitableness of the scion to the stock ; and we have found it necessary to remove others of these new sorts, which have Hngered along, breaking the uniformity of the row by their weak and stunted growth. We have before stated, that of the large number of Ameri- can pears which have been brought to notice but few would succeed upon the quince, and we are more and more con- vinced of the truth of this. We are not aware of one native pear, grafted upon the quince, which for beauty of growth, vigor, and abundance of fruit, can compare with the Le Cm-e, Louise Bonne of Jersey, &c., upon the same stock. Such being the case, we must advise all cultivators to be cautious in the selection of pears on the quince. Take only such, especially when a quantity is to be planted, as are known to attain to a good age on that stock, and, unless a tree or so for trial, reject those whose introduction is alto- gether too recent to have had their growth satisfactorily tested. The Beurre Diel, Passe Colmar, Glout Morceau, and many other fine sorts, grow with almost increased vigor upon the , quince ; these will answer every purpose until others shall be added to the list. But of our American varieties, particu- larly the Dix, Heathcot, Tyson, Lawrence, and indeed nearly all the others, take only those upon the pear stock. We are now instituting a series of experiments to ascer- tain what varieties will succeed upon the quince; one or more of each of the new sorts are budded upon that stock, and we shall at a future time give the results in our pages. At another opportunity we shall review the first and third propositions which we have mentioned, relative to the most suitable variety of quince for stocks, and the soil best adapted to their successful growth. Principles and Practice of Grafting. 389 Art. II. Principles and Practice of Grafting. From the Gardeners' Chronicle. No. VII. Square Stamped out Shield Budding, (fig. 42.) {Greffe en ccusso7i, de forme carree ; dite emporte piece.) Operation. — From a strong tree cut out a square patch, to be immediately thrown aside ; raise from a strong branch another similarly shaped piece, but larger, and fur- nished with an eye ; fit this piece into the place of the first ; and it had also better be covered with a piece of paper, pierced with a hole for the eye, the whole being secured by a ligature. This mode, but little used, ought to be employed for trees with very thick bark and large eyes, such as walnut and mul- berry trees. It may be performed in spring, at the particular time mentioned for budding with the pushing eye, or that for the dormant eye, in August, or later. Tubular Budding. ( Greffe en tuyau dite en flute.) — For performing the operations of the modes of budding included in this series, we ouRht to ^ ' ^ Fi^. 42. choose the moment when the sap is in most abund- Square ant flow, in order that the barks of the two parts liddd^ bud- may be detached with the least possible effort. This *"=' disposition manifests itself at two periods : in the spring, when the ascending sap is in its greatest flow ; and in Au- gust, when it is governed by a contrary disposition, known under the denomination of the descending sap. A knowl- edge of the use of these modes is very ancient. At the present day they are only employed for propagating a small number of fruit trees, principally such as chestnuts, walnuts and mulberries. They may be practised with success on vigorous branches destined to continue the leading shoots of young trees ; or on some that are very large, when we would wish to make branches grow similar to those preceding them, for this mode cannot be successfully performed except the woods of both parts are young, or not exceeding one year old. 390 Principles and Practice of Grafting. Although the modes of budding in this series are not nu- merous, yet they present some slight differences, and each of them has received a number of vulgar names, such as pipe budding, en chalumeau ; flute budding, en flute on fleau- teau ; whistle budding, en sifflet ; ring buddmg, en anneau horn budding, en cornnchet ; cannon budding, eji canon ; tu- bular budding, en tuyan. The last name appears to me the most analogous to these modes of budding, inasmuch as they all have this form before being fitted on their stocks. Of all these I shall only speak of those that are the most in use, and in demonstrating the best of each, I shall men- tion but two, — the first, tubular budding, with the pushing eye ; the second, tubular budding, with dormant eyes ; and, such as they are described, they ought to be preferred for propagating the few plants for which they are suitable. Tubular Budding with Shooting Eyes, {fig. 43.) {Greffe en tuyaii a ceil poussant. Opera- tion.— In spring, when the bark of the stocks, and that of the shoots aff'ording the buds can be easily detached, the branches with the lat- ter are cut off from theii- parent tree, and immediately wrapped at full length in a moist cloth, and in this they may be kept four days ; but it must be better if they are not cut till within a short time be- fore the buds are taken off, and these ought to be very soon put on. Before attempting to remove the bark with the buds from the branch or shoot, we ought to cut off all angular parts above the place where the removal is intended, and the same as regards the stock ; then at the summit of the reserved pai't of the latter we make three or four longitudinal incisions in the bark, in order to separate it the more easily, as is represented by letter a. Then, from among the shoots or branches bear- ing buds of the sort intended to be worked, Ave choose al- 43. Tubular budding shooting eyes. Principles and Practice of Grafting. 391 ways one a little stronger than the stock, and we trace on it two circles which mark the length of the tube of bai-k, on which there should be at least one good eye, and two when they are not widely apart ; see letter b. This part should then be held in the hand during one or two minutes, in order to warm and expand the bark, which will consequently be more easily detached from the alburnum by a strong twist. This tube should be immediately trans- ferred to the denuded part of the stock ; but this being smaller, we strip down the bark till the tube in descending fits tight, all its interior part being then in contact with the alburnum of the stock. Thus adapted, we sometimes bring up the strips of bark around the tube, to protect it from the too great contact of aii'. At other times, and more generally, the loose bark is cut off; but in this case it is necessary to pare down the naked part of the stock above the tube into thin strips, so as they may form a fringe to protect the parts operated upon from air and water. Tubular Budding with Dormant Eyes, [fig. 44.) {Greffe en tuyau a ceil dormajit.) — This is practised exclu- sively dm-ing the month of August, with wood pro- duced by the spring sap. The part from which the buds are taken ought to be as thick as possible ; and as soon as it is separated from the parent tree, we cut off the leaves, preserving a small portion of their petioles ; then we should adopt means to raise the buds. This operation differs not from the preceding, except in slitting the bark longitudinally, laying the tube open through its whole length, and thus giving the facility of extracting it from all obstructing or adherent parts. This done we present it to the stock destined to receive it, and of which we preserve the top ; the lower part of it should be of the same TuiJir thickness as the tube of bark to be applied to it. ^'lf,fj^. From this pait we remove a tube of bark of the manteyes same dimensions as the other, by which it is immediately replaced, and so as the edges may everywhere coincide ; then it is kept in its place by a ligatiue, which had better be re- 392 Market Gardening around Lo7idon. moved before winter. We defer cutting off the head of the stock till spring, in order that the budded part may partake of the growth. This mode, difficult to perform, is only used for propagating some delicate trees, of which the barks are not easily raised in spring, and of which the descending sap is absolutely necessary for the success of buds applied to them. I here finish the description of the few modes of inarch- ing, grafting and budding, which I consider of indispensable utility to amateur proprietors. This small collection will, I trust, supply for all that I have rejected, the greater part of which are minute, and of which the descriptions would be tedious and uninteresting to my readers. Art. III. Market Gardening around London. By J. CUTHILL. Cabbages. — These being general favorites with the public, their cultivation is extensively carried out by market-garden- ers. Seed for the general crop of spring cabbages is sown between the 25th of August and the 1st of September, in in beds 5 feet wide, which collectively occupy several acres, Mr. Fitch, of Fulham, generally sows about 8 acres. When the plants are up, hoers are sent over the beds Avith 3-inch hoes ; the plants are thinned out, and at the same time all deformed ones are removed. No particular time is set apart for transplanting ; this entirely depends upon the season, and how other crops are got off the grounds. Last year cabbage planting commenced about the 25th of October ; the plants were then very large, and as the ground is dunged and trenched the planters follow the trenchers. I have frequently seen as many as 30 workmen upon one piece of ground, with their foreman walking along the line, in order to see that " every man did his duty," and it is his place to move the measuring sticks ; for every man had his 12 feet measured Market Gardenhig around London. 393 out for him down the whole piece. The spades in use in market gardens are 12 inches long by 9 inches broad, and the work is performed by them in a masterly style. Land for cab- bages is heavily manured ; a two-horse load is emptied down (as if it were a barrowful) for every 30 square feet. As soon as a four or five acre piece of ground is ready for planting, men with lines are pat to work on it. The first line is trod out, and after it the rest 2 feet apart ; the lines are then shifted crossways 2 feet distant, but this time the men only tread in the angle of the previously made line, so that the main crop stands 2 feet plant from plant ; but, in case of a nmaway, as well as to help to pay, a middle row is generally introduced ; this row is, however, cleared off" for coleworts during this winter. I may mention that the existence of slugs is almost unknown in well managed market gardens ; their disappearance is owing to the double trenching which is continually kept up in such gardens. Immediately after planting, hoes are sent through, to loosen the ground, and at all other favourable opportunities during winter and spring the earth is stirred and aerated ; but the plants are never moulded up — a bad practice for almost any crop. Under the above system of treatment most delicious cabbages are pro- duced. Cauliflowers. — The seed of spring cauliflowers is gen- erally sown about the 20th of September in open beds. Towards November, when the weather is beginning to get cold, frames and hooped beds are got ready in light rich land. The plants are pricked out, not more than 4 inches apart each way ; during the winter they are kept dry ; no rain is allowed to fall upon them ; but whenever practicable plenty of air is given them : frost has but little effect on them under hoops ; but when excluded long from aii*, and kept in dark- ness, they sometimes suffer from damp to a considerable ex- tent. They are planted out in the richest and earliest ground in February, or the beginning of March. I have known one grower to save nearly all his cauliflowers for seed, instead of sending them to market. In this way he has secured nearly a ton of seed from large plantations of many thousands. VOL. XVII. NO. IX. 50 394 Market Gardening around London. When the cauliiiower is permitted to seed the whole of the centre portion or flower is cut out except a rim to run up for seed. If this is not done the mass of flower is so great, that unless a very fine season occurs the seed will not ripen. Celery. — For the first crop this is sown early in February ; and in March and April for late crops. The first is sown either in a frame or under a hooped roof, with hot dung under it. Celery generally succeeds cauliflowers, cabbages, or lettuces. The system is to dig out a trench two spades deep, banking the mould up on either side, then to fill in a foot of the strongest manure, such as cow-dung, and to cover this with 3 or 4 inches of mould for planting in ; if the gromid is very rich half the quantity of manure is applied, and it is dug in. The rows are generally from 4 to 6 feet apart, the plants are then taken from the seed-bed, and plant- ed root and head entire — not trimmed in, a plan which ought to be discontinued in everything. The plants are placed about 8 inches apart, the intermediate ground being planted with coleworts, lettuce, or any other light crops which are likely to be ofi" before the celery wants moulding up ; but market-gardeners do not commence blanching until the plants are about 18 inches high, as it prevents rain and air from acting on the roots. The sort of celery now grown for vciai- ket is entirely changed ; solid celery is not used, but a much moue spongy tall kind, which is ready for market in half the time Ihe red solid (such as they grew 20 years ago, or what gentlemen's gardeners now grow) occupied, but the latter is by far the best. Market-gardeners cultivate a pink kind (no white is grown) which, on account of the richness of the land, is brittle and tender, and grows rapidly ; but it would be much better flavoured if it had more time to blanch. The operation of earthing up is all performed by the spade, no hand earthing is employed. Parallel lines are stretched on either side of the row, 18 inches from the plants, and the mould is cut out of the alleys to form the blanching ridge. Late earthing up is effected in about three different times. Cakkots- — The Early Horn is the only kind employed. It is sown in frames and hooped beds in November and Jan- Market Gardening around London. 395 uary. The plants are thinned out to 4 inches apart. Long carrots for winter use are grown largely in the red sandy soil in the lower parts of Surrey as well as in Bedfordshire, (fee. Early Turnips. — The Early Stone or Dutch being in great demand in spring, various ways of producing it are practised, such as growing it in frames ; but the best plan is to raise it like potatoes, in hooped beds, i. e., in trenches dug out and filled with 2 feet of hot dung. Sow in February, hoop and cover with straw, and expose the plants daily ; the quality of a turnip depends much upon quick growth and plenty of moisture. Late turnips are not cultivated upon the dear land about London, they generally come from 10 or 12 miles off. The reason why a farmer cannot raise turnips like a gardener is owing to the poverty of the land ; so small a seed wants immediate and available nourishment the moment it vegetates. It is then able to grow away from the fly, and if the seed was mixed with Irish peat charcoal it would greatly assist in effecting this. Early and forced turnips fetch from 2d. to 3c?. apiece in Covent Garden market. Onions. — The ground for the main crop is dressed with strong dung, such as night-soil or cow-manure. The seed for this crop is sown in February or the 1st of March, in beds 5 feet wide, the soil from the alleys being thrown on to cover the seed. The beds are then raked, and a light wooden roller passed over them. When up, small two-inch hoes are sent through them, which is all the labour they receive, the ground being so clear of insects, owing to its being often turned over. Market gardeners seldom fail to obtain a good crop of onions. Where insects occur, however, a good dose of salt and soot sown with the crop will kill them. Another way of managing onions is to sow about the middle of Au- gust, to allow them to stand in beds all the winter, and to plant them out on well prepared land 4 inches apart in the rows, and 6 inches row from row. A third plan is to save all the smallest bulbs, and plant them out in February, the same distance apart as the last. Horse-Radish. — The root is like that of seakale, as re- spects propagation ; the whole roots are thickly studded over 396 Market Gardening aj'oiind London. with eyes, and in order to make a new plantation all that is needed is to plant small pieces of them, or the tops cut off, in the bottom of a trench 1 foot apart each way, and about 15 inches deep. Horse-radish is generally planted in February. When it comes up all the weakest shoots are pulled up, leav- ing only one ; and should any more make their appearance afterwards, they are destroyed by the hoe. When taking up time arrives in autumn they are trenched up, cutting them down to about a foot or more with the spade. They are knifed after the mould is moved. The roots are sorted into best and second-best. The best are tied into bundles of 12 heads or more for market ; the ground is then well manured with rotten cowdung, and the roots are again left to come up for another year's crop. The best ground for horse-radish is the "Jerusalem level" between London-bridge and Green- wich, and some parts of Battersea, where the river Thames, in days of yore, had thrown up a deep deposit. This ground also produces the best seakale ; hot dug ground or clay ren- ders it hard and indigestible. Winter Radishes. — These are sown from the first to the last week in December, choosing as warm ground for the purpose as possible ; but acres of them may be seen in very exposed places. The ground being prepared the seed is sown broadcast. The alleys are marked out, and the mould from them is thrown over the seed. A wooden rake is then used to make all level ; no iron rakes are employed in market gar- dens. After sowing, straw which has been previously shaken out of the London stable manure, is put over the beds 2 or 3 inches in thickness. When the plants come up, which de- pends upon the winter, the straw is removed every day and put on every night until all danger from frost is past ; it takes 5° to hurt a radish after it is half-grown. When off, the ground is again dug, for French beans, or vegetable marrows, &c. Leeks. — These are sown in February or early in IVlarch, in rich ground. When the plants are strong, and about 10 inches high, they are planted or dropped into holes 8 inches deep, made by the dibber. After they are planted, hoes are Market Gardening around London. 397 sent through them, to loosen the ground. In this operation mould drops down upon the roots, and the next hoeing fills the holes up loosely, which is what is wanted, for the soil must not be pressed tightly round the stem, as that would prevent its thickening. White Cos Lettuce. — This variety is grown by the mill- ion, and is highly esteemed by every body. The seed is sown from the 10th to the middle of October, in frames, which axe filled with soil to within 6 inches of the top, giving a slope of one foot in four, the length of the lights, which always face the north. As soon as the seeds are sown the sashes are removed, and a man is placed in this de- partment, to keep oflf the sparrows, give air, and shut up in case of rain ; the great secret being to keep them as dry as possible, and to let them have all the air they can get. They are planted out in February, or early in March, in rich well trenched ground, (after celery,) one foot apart each way. Gentlemen's gardeners buy the same seed, but owing to their mismanagement during winter, and the poor state of the ground, they cannot grow such fine lettuces as the market gardener. Some of the latter are, however, too greedy in re- gard to crops ; for instance, they have often three crops in the ground all coming forward one after the other ; but the best cultivators do not do this ; it tramples the ground, and does not give any crop fail' play. The rapid growth of a let- tuce depends much upon hoeing or stiiTing the soil. When well grown no tying is required ; but badly managed plants have to be tied up a fortnight before they are sent to market. Ridge Cucumbers. — I have seen 14 acres of these in one man's ground ; they are germinated under glass, hardened off, and planted out 6 feet asunder, and 10 feet row from row ; hand-glasses are put over them. When they begin to grow, the ground is well mulched Avith straw, to keep the earth moist and the fruit clean. Gherkins are sown in the open ail- at once, in well prepared ground, at the above dis- tances ; and I have known one party to cut in one day 200,000 fruit, which were all bespoken by oil merchants. 398 Market Gardening around London. Ever since the commencement of the potato disease, how- ever, gherkins will not grow round London. Scarlet Runneks. — These are very often sown among lettuces, 6 feet apart, about the first of April ; but by far the best plan is to sow in beds thickly, and transplant by means of the dibber. No plant lifts better, and the moving makes them show flower much sooner. The usual practice is to take the heads oS. all the plants, leaving them a foot high, and to keep topping all the summer, which induces them to bear heavy crops ; but the way of getting them to bear earli- est is to save the roots in autumn, pack them away like dah- lia roots, and to transplant them again in March, 6 inches root from root, in rows 5 feet apart. It should be borne in mind, that if beans are left to ripen, the roots will not be near so strong as they otherwise would be. French Beans. — The best are the Negro, on account of the beans being all green, and not marked or blotched like some others. They are also all one breadth, very narrow and handsome, and they are very dwarf and first rate bearers ; they are generally sown amongst lettuces, cauliflowers, &c., to succeed the standing crop ; but the best way is to give them a piece of ground to themselves. The French bean transplants nearly as well as the Scarlet runner ; therefore it might be treated in the same manner ; they would also come in much earlier and grow less robust. The crop would not be quite so heavy ; but earliness is everything for the Lon- don market. Parsley. — The main winter crop is sown in April and May, and thinned out to 6 inches asunder, and a foot apart in the row. In picking, all the large or oldest portions are removed first, the head is never cut off" at once, but not one bit is allowed to pass perfection. Parsley pays well for the attention it receives. Pomological Gossip. 399 Art. IV. Pomological Gossip. New Pears. — The last two years, it is well known to most, if not all our readers, were rather disastrous ones to the pear cultivators of this neighborhood. In 1849 there was scarcely any fruit, and in 1850 the quantity was but little greater, with the addition of being poorer, as scanty as the crop was. The Flemish Beauty, and many other well known pears which have never failed before, were last season almost as blighted as a St. Michael. This year the crop, though light, is, notwithstanding, far greater than the two previous ones, with the promise, thus far, of being greatly superior. Indeed, we may say, that what there is, was never fairer or more perfect ; we have scarcely seen a cracked or blighted fruit. This better state of the crop has already begun to show its good effects, in enabling amateur and professional cultivators to present specimens of some of the new sorts of pears ; and the exhibitions of summer varieties have embraced among others two, which will undoubtedly be valuable additions to our collections. These are as follows : — Beurre Giffart^ a new pear, ripening about the 25th of August. In general form, size and color, it very nearly re- sembles the St. Ghislain, but has rather more color than that variety, and on this account is a very beautiful fruit. The flesh is melting and juicy, and the flavor rich and spicy, be- tween the Rostiezer and St. Ghislain. We think it will prove, on further trial, to be a fine fruit. It should be gath- ered from the tree before fully ripe. Supreme de Quimper. — This is another summer pear, which fruited in our collection this year ; we believe for the first time in the country. It is of good size, somewhat pecu- liar form, and certainly one of the most beautiful of pears. It is roundish in shape, very obtuse at the base, with a short and thick stem ; the skin is of a lemon yellow when matiu-e, and deeply mottled and dotted with bright vermillion on the sunny side. The flesh is rather coarse, but full of a rich, 400 Pomological Gossip. sugary, melting juice. It is decidedly the best summer pear which ripens between the Doyenne d'Ete and the Rostiezer. The tree appears to be an abundant bearer, and the fruit, like the Beurre Giffart, must be gathered while yet apparently green ; for we found that those left upon the tree till they became yellow, lost much of their juiciness and flavor. Strawberries. — In our July number we gave some ac- count of the exhibition of strawberries by the Genesee Val- ley Horticultural Society ; and in the last number of the Genesee Fanner we find the following notice of Ellwanger & Barry's new seedlings, probably by Mr. Ellwanger, who has charge of the horticultural department while Mr. Barry is absent : — Genesee, (E. & B.) This is decidedly the finest looking berry I ever saw ; of good size and flavor. Monroe Scarlet, (E. & B.,) is another desirable variety, of larger size, and more round than the Early Scarlet, [Early Virginia;] very productive, and ripening about the same time as the Early Scarlet. Two new strawberries have been raised in England, which are highly spoken of ; one of them was produced by Mr. Myatt, the most successful of all the cultivators who have introduced new kinds. He has not, we believe, yet given a name to this new one, but we find the following editorial account of it in the Gardener's Journal: — Myatfs Seedling. — " Your new strawberry is the largest we have seen, the sixteen sent to us weighing exactly one and a half pounds. The flavor for so large a fruit is very good indeed, — not certainly equal to some of the smaller growing sorts, but the color and size of the fruit are beyond comparison. It appears to be a prolific bearer, — a single truss of unripe fruit of all sizes numbers fifteen berries." Trollope's Victoria. — This is a new variety from the same person who raised Princess Alice Maude. Mr. Trollope ad- vertises his seedling as possessing the following qualities : — " The Seedling Victoria combines qualities which no other kind at present in cultivation does possess ; being very early, a dwarf robust grower and free bearer, throwing strong Pomological Gossip. 401 trusses of fruit, (above the foliage,) which is of large size, globular form and good color, and possesses such a flavor as no other early strawberry can boast of." To this statement several cultivators affix their names as corroborating its quali- ties. Unless better flavored than the Alice Maude it would be a rather inferior fruit. Josling's St. Alban's Grape. — This new and reputed seedling variety is now in fruit in our vinery, and it has proved to be, just what we stated it would, when the account of it was first published by Mr. Thompson, the Chasselas Musque, (or Muscat Blanc Hatif ) It cracks in the same mamier of the Chasselas Musque, and in no one thing, foliage, size of the bunch or berry, color, shape, or anything else, can the least difference be detected ; thus showing conclu- sively that Mr. Thompson's acquaintance with grapes is very superficial, and his account of them not to be relied upon. It was wholly upon his opinion that the pretended raiser of the variety sold upwards of a thousand vines at ojie pou7id sterling ($5 each, the price we paid for two.) The same game is now being played over, we think, in another new grape now advertised as Judson's Richmond Villa Black Hamburgh. — It is thus described : — " The foliage is more deeply serrated and the wood shorter jointed than the Black Hamburgh ; the berries- are oval and rather elongated, and are remarkable for a fine bloom, not unlike that of an Orleans plum ; when fully ripe are a fine deep black, having a fine rich flavor and very juicy. It colors full ten days earlier than the Black Ham- burgh, and being a most abundant bearer and good setter, will prove a most desirable kind for pot culture. One very remarkable property this grape possesses, which much en- hances its value, and makes it so much superior to the Black Hamburgh is, that it never produces abortive, or, as they are termed, ' vinegar berries ;' after careful observation, extend- ing over three successive seasons, not one could be detected, although in each season the crop was abundant and good." Now any person, familiar with grapes, will at once see that the above description applies, in every particular, to Wilmot's VOL. XVII. NO. IX. 51 402 Cultivation of the Neapolitan Violet^ in Pots. No. 16, Black Hambui'gh. It could not be described more accurately by the most skilful pomologist ; and to our mind there can be no doubt of the identity of the two. Nothing is said of its origin, or whether it is a seedling. It is adver- tised at 07ie guinea a plant. Art. V. On the Culture of the Neapolitan Violet, in Pots. By the Editor. Few flowers are more admired than the double violet, and none are more valuable for their delightful odor. They bloom, too, at a season when flowers are always a rarity, and their pale blue, delicately perfumed, blossoms, are indis- pensable in a winter bouquet. They are also of the most simple cultivation, and with a little care may be grown, merely with the aid of a common sash and frame, to the highest perfection. They may be cultivated either in frames planted directly in the soil, or in pots, the former of which method is as well when they are only wanted for the cut flowers ; but when they are wanted to decorate the parlor or drawing room, and exhale their sweet odor, they are far better in pots ; the plants may then be brought in successively as they show their flowers, and may be kept constantly in bloom from Jan- uary to May. September is the proper season for potting the plants, pro- viding that they have been duly managed through the sum- mer. We begm with the potting : For this purpose a good stock of rich turfy loam, which has become well decomposed by turning over during the summer, should be mixed with about an equal quantity of thoroughly rotten dung ; that from an old hot bed will answer well, or any other equally decomposed. Do not sift or riddle this compost, but let the whole be evenly mixed, and it is then ready for use. Next select a suitable number of pots about seven inches in diameter, and a suflUciency of good potsherds for drainage, Cultivation of the Neapolitan Violet, in Pots. 403 as well as a small quantity of ground bones. When all is ready commence taking up the plants ; select only the strong- est and best, and divest them of all superfluous runners which may have been made. Put only one in each pot, unless weak, when three may be put in. Use a small handful of bones over the drainage, in which the roots may ramble and get food. Finish the operation with a good watering, and they are then ready for their winter quarters. For this purpose select a good hot-bed frame, or if none is at hand, make a common frame of boards. Make choice of a good dry, warm, sheltered spot, where the sun's rays shine a larger part of the day. Place the frame upon the ground, and proceed to arrange the plants, placing the strongest at the back, and finishing off with the weaker ones in front. Set the pots about three inches apart each way, if the plants are large, and when all arranged fill in between each with old tan, even with the rims of the pots. Put on the sashes, sprinkle slightly, and shade for a few days till the plants have established themselves, when the lights may be removed in all good weather. In this way they are to remain all winter. On the approach of cool weather the frames should be well banked up with sods, earth, leaves or manure, and the arrangements are completed for the winter. When the weather is severe the lights should be covered with thick straw mats to prevent freezing, for although the plants will stand several degrees of frost they are susceptible to frequent changes. In stormy or snowy weather they will need more protection, and we have found a loose covering of straw or hay to be the most eff"ectual when the thermometer falls below zero. A safe rule is to keep them as cool as possible, but not to freeze them. In this way the plants remain until they are wanted for the greenhouse, conservatory or parlor. They will be full of flower-buds, and a few pots taken out of the frame, and car- ried to the above places, will display their flowers to great advantage, throwing up large blossoms on long stems, and perfuming the house with their refreshing odor. All through the months of January, February and March, to May, they will aflbrd a fine show of flowers. 404 Cultivation of the Neapolitan Violet, in Pots. The plants should be looked over attentively to see that there are no dead or dying leaves, which often injure them. Guano, rather weak, may be given occasionally and the plants will acquire a deep green hue. In this way violets succeed admirably and yield a quantity of flowers almost beyond calculation. We have seen a state- ment in the Transactions of the London Horticultural So- ciety, by Mr. Oldacre, the gardener of the late Sir Jos. Banks, that three hundred pots of plants yielded, from January to June, upwards of one thousand do ze7i flowers. The English violet may be cultivated in the same way. By many this is preferred to Neapolitan. But its flower stems are shorter, and though highly fragrant it is not so suitable for bouquets as the latter.' So little trouble is there in culti- vating these delightful plants, that we are surprised they are not more extensively grown. We hope our article will in- duce all lovers of fragrant plants to make the attempt. The preparatory treatment of the plants, previous to pot- ting, is as follows : — After they have all done blooming in May, a half shady, rather moist situation should be selected, in which they are to be set out. First, mark out the bed, which may be four feet wide and any length desired. Add an inch or two of well decomposed hot-bed manure or old cow-dung, and dig the whole well over. Then take the plants, turn them out of the pots, and cutting oif all loose leaves and runners, divide them and set them out about four inches apart each way. Finish Avith a good watering to settle the earth around the roots, and if an old frame is at hand it may be put over them and the lights put on, carefully shaded during the day, removing the covering at night so that they may have the benefit of the dews. They will soon take hold of the ground, when the frame may be removed, and no further care is necessary, only to water the plants in very dry weather. A larger number of plants should always be set out than will be wanted, so as to have a selection at the time of pot- ting. If these directions are followed an abundant bloom may be obtained. Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 405 Art. VI. Floricultural and Botanical Notices of New and Beautiful Plants figured in Foreign Periodicals ; with descriptions of those recently ititroduced to, or originated in, American Gardens. Alo^na CtELESTis. This beautiful plant, described in a former volume, (XI, p. 32,) has been in our collection two or three years, without showing a disposition to flower, or at least so sparingly as to render it of little value. This year we determined to try it as a bedding-out plant, and to our great surprise it has grown rapidly and flowered abundantly up to the present time, and will undoubtedly continue to display its gay blue and white corols until overtaken by frost. A good way to have it in perfection is to raise young plants in September, in the same manner as heliotropes, scarlet ge- raniums, &c., and after wintering in the greenhouse, to bed them out in May ; as the plants advance in growth the shoots should be pegged down the same as verbenas. So treated they soon cover the ground with their heathlike foliage, and when profusely laden with their flowers form a beautiful mass of azure and silver, set in a frosty net work. Aphelandra Crista^ta. This gorgeous stove plant has displayed its magnificent flowers the last month in our collec- tion, and a more brilliant display camiot well be imagined. The specimen was about three feet high, with two branches from the main stem, and each branch was terminated with two of its vivid scarlet heads of blossoms. It is of simple management, and may be easily cultivated where there is a good greenhouse, by wintering it in the warmest part, keep- ing it rather dry until it shows its flowers, when it should be liberally watered. Seedling Japan Lilies. We have had a rich treat in the flowering of our collection of seedling Japan lilies. Nothing indeed can excel this tribe in the depth and brilliancy of colors of the dark colored varieties, or the delicacy and rich- ness of the lighter ones. These seedlings were raised from L. punctatum and speciosum and album, impregnated with each other, and also with canadense, chalcedonicum, super- 406 Floricultural and Botanical Notices. bum, &c., and a great variety of tints and some variation of form has been the result ; some being lessened in beauty by the union, and others greatly enhanced in their attractions. We shall, in a future article, give some account of these seedlings, and the results to be expected from cross fertiliza- tion of these varieties and species. Lantana lilaci^na. All the lantanas are elegant plants, and extremely valuable on account of their easy cultivation and the long time they continue in bloom. We have had in our collection some six or eight species as follows : — L. cam- mara, purpurea, aurantiaca, Selloww, and one or two others raised from seeds ; recently we have added L. lilacina, a new kind from France, with pale lilac flowers, changing like cam- mara. It is a free grower, of neat bushy habit, and blooms abundantly planted out in the open border. Petunia Enchantress. This new petunia is one of the largest we have seen, good blooms measuring four inches in diameter. The color is not remarkable, being of a pale pink, slightly pencilled, with a darker throat. In size it is very remarkable, and as the habit is compact, and the plant a most abundant bloomer, it will form a fine addition to this showy family of plants. Eclipse is another fine one, something in the way of Hebe, but rather better in its colors ; both are kinds which should be in every collection. The Victoria Lily. We learn from our Philadelphia correspondents, that the splendid new Victoria regia will probably bloom in the collection of the president of the Hor- ticultural Society the present month, if it is not already in flower. The plants were raised from seeds sent to the Penn- sylvania Horticultural Society, and Mr. Cope has taken espe- cial pains to fit up a house on purpose to bloom it, thus afford- ing amateurs an opportunity to see this queen of the water lilies in all its native beauty. In England, where it has bloomed in several collections, and almost in the open air, it has been proved to be of easy cultivation, the only thing necessary being a tank of water of moderate depth, (about 3i feet,) and kept up to a temper- ature of 75° or 80°, Messrs. Weeks & Co., horticultural Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 407 architects, have flowered it in great perfection, at their garden in Chelsea, in an open tank, the water in which was warmed by hot water pipes running through it. The plant was set out on the third of March, a frame was placed over it till it was well established, when it was allowed full exposure in fine weather. The plant continued to grow rapidly, and pre- sent a healthy and robust appearance, and on the sixteenth of June the first flower expanded. As it may be so easily grown we hope to see the experiment tried by some of our amateur cultivators around Boston. A house of ample di- mensions to grow it successfully might be erected for a few hundred dollars, and the magnificence of this most remarka- ble of plants would well repay all the outlay. The leaves are foiw feet in diameter, and the flowers nine inches to a foot across, and though only opening twice on successive evenings they are produced abundantly throughout the sea- son. The color of the flower is white and pink, and it ex- hales a rich and powerful fragrance even before fully ex- panded. Geranium Lucia rosea. All who admire the scarlet gera- nium as a summer flowering plant, — and who does not ? — will know how to appreciate the introduction of this new member of this brilliant tribe, both on the score of novelty as well as variety. The flowers are of a clear pale rose, and as they are displayed in the same abundant manner as the scarlet, and have the same habit and foliage, it will form a fine companion to the latter, its masses of rosy hued corols contrasting gayly with the glittering tints of Tom Thumb and other varieties. 158. Cu^phea verticilla^ta H. B. K. Verticillate LEAVED Cuphea. (^LythraricB.') Peru. A ereenhouse plant ; growing two feet high ; with purple flowers ; appearing all summer ; increased by cuttings and seeds ; cultivated in light rich soil. Flore des Serres, 1850, pi. 540. A new and pretty species of the interesting tribe of cu- pheas, recently introduced from Peru. It is similar in habit to the platycentra and other species, and the flowers are of a rich purple tint. The leaves are verticillate, with a solitary bloom from the base of each whorl. Its culture is the same as the others. {Flore des Serres, May.) 408 Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 159. Passiflo^ra filamento^sa Cav. Thready Passion Flower. {Passifidrece.) A greenhouse climber; growing ten feet high ; with red and wild flowers ; appearing in spring ; increased by cuttings ; grown in light rich soil. Flore des Serres, 1850, pi. 543. A new and beautiful species of the passion flower, with large bluish flowers, exceedingly showy, and well worthy a place in every collection. It requires the same management as the other species, and blooms during spring and summer. (jP/ore des Serres. May.) 160. Triomphe de Valenciennes Rose. Garden Hybrid. A beautiful striped hybrid perpetual rose, said to be a sport of the La Reine, obtained in 1845 by M. Baudry, of Auran- ches. The petals are of a pale rose, more or less striped with dark red, and shaded with violet. It is the beautiful blending of tints which constitutes its great beauty. In other respects it is like La Reine in habit, size, form, &c. It is known in some collections under the name of Madame Campbell d'Islay. {Flore des Serres. May.) 161. Fu'cHsiA coRYMBiFLO^RA vur. ALBA Salter. White Co- rymb-flowered fuchsia. Garden variety. Precisely like Fuchsm corymbiflora, except in its flowers, the sepals of which are pure white, and the corroUa vermil- ion red, the contrast between the two colors producing a charming effect. This variety was produced by some of the French florists, and was introduced into English collections by M. Salter, of Versailles. It is a magnificent addition to this beautiful family. Plants in our collection are growing rapidly, and we soon hope to have the gratification of seeing them in bloom. Its culture is the same as that of corymbiflora. {Flore des Serres. May.) 162. Cle'matis grave^olens Lindl. Sweet scented Cle- matis. {RanunculacecB.) Tartary. A hardy climbing plant ; growing ten feet high ; with yellow flowers ; appearing in summer ; increaaed by layers and ieeds ; cultivated in good rich soil. Flore des Serres, 1850, pi. 548. A pretty species of the Clematis from Chinese Tartary, where it was found in the snowy passes, at an elevation of Floricultural and Botanical Notices. 409 12,000 feet. The leaves are small, three lobed, with long straggling footstalks, and the flowers are solitary on the ter- minal branches. " The grand dame," says the writer, "of all the clematises, if we should say, would be Clematis azurea ; the country lass, we almost suggest, the grisette, is the Clematis graveol, — paltry surname ! Ah ! Monsieur Lindley, for a gallant man like you it is wrong to betray the defects of a poor stranger, who humbly demands a small corner in our gardens." It grows freely and flowers abundantly all summer. {Flore des Serves. May.) 163. Callia'ndra bre'vipes Benth. Short-pet alled Gal- liano ra. {LeguTuinoscB.) Montevideo. A greenhouse plant ; growing three feet high ; with crimson flowers ; appearing in summer ; increased by cuttings ; cultivated in leaf-mould, loam and saiid. Flore des Serres, 1851, pi. 549. Calliandra constitutes a natural genus, recently defined by Mr. Bentham in his excellent work upon the Mimosese. It embraces more than sixty species, which are mostly found in California, and in the region of the river La Platte. In habit of growth and foliage it resembles the I'nga pulcherrima, (now Calliandra.) The flowers are of a brilliant crimson, and are disposed in clusters along the slender shoots. It was found in the vicinity of Montevideo by Mr. Tweedie, and plants were raised from seeds sent to M. Van Houtte in 1842. {Flore des Serres. June.) 164. Abu^tilon insi'gne Planch. Superb Abutilon. {^Mal- vdcem.) New Grenada. A greenhouse plant ; growing six feet high ; with crimson flowers ; appearing all summer ; in- creased by cuttings ; grown in rich, loamy soil. Flore des Serres, 1851, pi. 551. A new and very superb variety of the well known and admired Abutilon, quite diff'erent in color from either of the three which we now possess in our collections. The flowers have a nearly white ground, elegantly striped and shaded with deep rosy crimson. Here we have tints which are al- ways pleasing, and which harmonize with other colors far better than the dull buff" and brownish yellow of the A. ve- nosum, BedfoTdidnum, &c. Like the latter species the leaves VOL. XVII. NO. IX. 52 410 Notes on Gardens and Nurseries. of the insigne are very large, of the same form, and- the flow- ers are disposed in axillary clusters of six or eight each. This species has been recently introduced by Mr. Linden, whose collectors found it in the cold regions of the Andes of New Grenada. It succeeds perfectly in the open ground, in the open air, during the summer season, and should be win- tered in the cold greenhouse. Under these conditions it has flowered abundantly at Mr. Linden's establishment, and it is recommended as one of the most charming novelties of the day. {Flore des Serres. June.) 165. Colu'mnea auranti^aca Dne. Orange Colored Co- LTJMNEA. {Gesneracesd.) South America. a stove plant; growing two feet high; with orange colored flowers; appearing in sommer; increased by cuttings ; cultivated in leaf mould, peat and sand. Flore des Serres, 1850, pi, 552. C. Schneididna, a well known species, will convey some idea of this plant, but the present subject is far handsomer ; the flowers are of a deep orange, and they are borne on long and graceful stems, at the axil of every leaf. It was found by Mr. Linden on the Andes of Merida, at an altitude of 9000 feet, and was introduced by him to Belgium, from whence it has been disseminated. It is a fine addition to our summer flowering greenhouse plants. {Flore des Serres. June.) Art. YII. Notes on Gardens and Nurseries. Residence of George Leland, Waltham. — A pleasant morn- ing, in the latter part of July, reminded us of a visit which we had promised ourselves sometime since, to the garden of Mr. Leland, of Waltham. The cars on the Fitchburg Road set us down within a few minutes' walk of his fine place, which is situated just south of the road, on Newton street, leading to Newton village. It comprises some nine or ten acres, only a few of which are devoted to gardening pur- poses, the remainder being occupied for farming products. The grounds are just upon the edge of a declivity, and the Residence of George Leland^ Waltham. 411 flower and kitchen garden are reached by descending a flight of steps from the garden front of the house. The whole grounds have been laid out and planted, and the house built, since 1847 ; but from the thorough manner in which the work was done, the trees present the appear- ance of having been growing much longer. The main en- trance to the house is on the south or garden front. The lawn is well grouped and diversified with trees and shrubs, and is about half an acre in extent. Among the groups we noticed two, planted with rhododendrons and azaleas, which have a fine appearance now, and which must have been very showy when these brilliant shrubs were in bloom. Descending the steps we reach the garden, which covers an extent of two or more acres in the form of a parallelogram, the end next Newton street. The slope is laid out in terraces on the right of the steps, and on the left is located the range of forcing houses, which is 104 feet long, comprising a centre and two wings, the former the greenhouse, twenty-five feet, and the latter vineries, forty feet each. A main walk extends around the garden, with alleys leading from one side to the other ; beyond the range of houses the bank is again terraced and planted with strawberries. The houses are thoroughly built of the best materials, and have a fine appearance. The vines have only been planted four years, and were now bearing a fine crop, which was well ripened and colored. Mr. Burns, Mr. Leland's present gardener, is a successful cultivator of the grape, and the vines showed his judicious treatment. In the border, in front of the house, Mr. Burns has made a splendid display of verbenas, featherfew, &c. We never saw finer grown plants ; the verbenas were one mass of bloom, and plants of Defiance, St. Margaret, &c., covered yards of ground. The border on the opposite side of the walk was planted with flowers of various sorts, backed with a fine row of hollyhocks, which are now becoming so gen- eral a favorite. The dry season has been unfavorable to the pears, stand- ing as they do on raised terraces, but some of the trees were 412 Notes on Gardens and Nurseries. bearing full crops, particularly the St. Michael and Louise Bonne of Jersey, on the quince, which were very fine. The trees are yet young, but in a year or two they will produce a heavy crop. Among other things, we noticed twenty or thirty peach trees in pots, planted last year, and intended for forcing next. This plan of growing peaches is yearly attracting more attention, and, with the facility with which they are grown, we often wonder that any person who has a grapery, warm or cold, does not have a quantity of peaches in pots. The fruit is remarkably fine in this way, — finer, in fact, than can be obtained in any other, — ^for the trees are placed in the open air early in June, and have two months of the hottest season of the year to ripen the fruit, the thermom- eter often at 90° and upwards, a temperature which they cannot enjoy in September. Trees, properly managed, will produce from three to four dozen fine peaches each the third year, and continue to do so for some time. The kitchen garden department was in the highest order ; we have rarely seen finer cabbages, celery, beets, &c. This, of course, can only be done with the aid of manure ; and of this article Mr. Burns is not sparing, for Mr. Leland, with his horses, cows and swine, produces a yearly stock of some hundred cords, which is applied to the farm and garden. This is, in fact, the true secret of good cultivation, as any one will see who reads Mr. CuthilPs papers on Market Gar- dening. Mr. Leland's place was laid out by Mr. Cruikshanks, now in charge of the Maiden Cemetery. The arrangement is excellent for the position of the ground, and Mr. Leland has spared no expense to have everything done in the best man- ner. Some alterations are now in progress, which will make it one of the neatest suburban residences in our vicinity. General Notices. 413 MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Art. I. General JVotices. Method of Preserving young Fruit Trees from the attacks OF Hares and Rabbits. — All lovers of gardens know by experience that hares and rabbits devour with great avidity the annual bark of young fruit trees, and particularly of dwarf apple trees, among which the most healthy and vigorous are always destroyed the first, in consequence of their bark being the most tender and savory. As soon as the ground is covered with snoAv, these animals, no longer finding anything in the fields on which they can browse, begin their depredations in the gardens. If they are nu- merous, and the fall of snow heavy, a few nights only are sufficient for them completely to ruin the most beautiful plantation, and to annihilate the re- sult of many years of labor and care. Happily, nothing is more easy than to place these trees beyond the attacks of these marauders protected by law. The following is the plan I have adopted with complete success, during the last six or seven years. I mix about 4h pounds of quick-lime, in lumps, with 2h gallons of water, and add a few handfulls of soot, stirring the liquid until the two substances are intimately incorporated. I then take a hand- ful of rye-straw and bind it on a stick to form a kind of brush, with which I grey-wash the trunk and branches of my trees from the ground to at least a yard above it ; for, should the snow drift by the wind against the foot of the trees, the hares, by means of the inclined plane thus afforded them, would be able to attack the trees at a much greater height. The wash, applied hot, has also the advantage of preserving the bark of the trees in a state of perfect health, and preventing the increase of moss, which is often pernicious in its effect, and always very disagreeable to the eye. It is de- sirable that this preservative application should be made in dry weather, in order that the mixture on drying may adhere to the bark ; for, should it rain at the time, or immediately afterwards, the mixture would be washed from the trees, and it would be necessary to re-commence the operation. If the mixture also is applied during a frost, there would be little chance of perfect success ; as that part of the bark on which it would be laid would be thawed. If, however, through want of foresight, a frost sets in during the course of the operation, and it becomes urgent to complete it, we may do so with perfect success by choosing that moment of the day in which the sun strikes most strongly with his rays the trees on which we wish to operate. Three gallons of this wash are sufficient to secure two or three hundred dwarf trees from the ravages of hares ; a result that may be ob- tained for a pennyworth of lime and the day's work of an active laborer. This plan is equally infallible for the preservation of grafts and all nursery collections. From the Fixnch of the Baron Vander-Straeten, {in the Journal Agricole de Verviers.) — {Gard. Chron., 1851, p. 343.) Trough-Growing Grape Vines. — Trough-growing is a modification 414 General Notices. of pot-growing, but is a great improvement upon it ; and we understand that it has attracted much attention from Mr. Assheton Smith's friends. In the first instance vines are struck from eyes and grown in pots as usual. After- wards, " When the buds are regularly broken, and each shoot advanced to the length of 6 inches, prepare to plant the vines in a trough, as shown in the plan. The advantage to be derived is immense, by securing to them all the benefit of a border, independent of giving every root and branch an equal temperature, which is so essential to promote their perfection. First place upon the laths forming the bottom of the trough, a layer of pieces of turf of about 3 inches square, to prevent the fine mould from being washed down ; next put a layer of 2 or three inches deep of the following compost, viz., equal quantities of rich turfy loam and rotted manure from the farm- yard, with the addition of a little sand. Proceed to remove the vines from the pots by turning the ball upside down on the palm of the hand, having a convenient bench on which to rest the hand and ball whilst cautiously re- moving the crocks, and objectionable soil, or worms, and taking the utmost care in so doing not to injure the roots. When so prepared, place the ball on the surface of the soil in the bottom of the trough. Proceed with an- other vine, and so on till the whole are done, leaving a space of about 3 inches between the ball of each, to be filled up with the same compost as used under them. Cover the surface of the roots about 1 or 2 inches deep ; the soil, previous to being put round the roots of the vines, must be warmed to the same temperature as the house. As soon as all are tied in their proper places, a good syringing will much assist them ; but do not water at the roots for a few days, except it be absolutely necessary. If any water is given, let it be done by pouring it immediately on the balls. " Before a week has expired after removing the vines into the troughs, they will begin to show the benefit they are deriving from the change. When sufficiently advanced, stop each shoot one joint beyond the fruit, and leave only one bunch to each, and from 8 to 12 to every vine, according to their strength. A heavier crop would deteriorate both from the size and color of the berries. A plentiful supply of water will now be necessary, which can be given abundantly without fear of injury from stagnation; pro- vided the directions given for the formation of the trough have been strictly attended to." ( Gard. Chron., 1851, p. 327.) Blooming of the Victoria Lily in an open pond. — The Royal Wa- ter Lily has been fully exposed here in an open pond, night and day, for the last three weeks, and it is growing and flowering most satisfactorily, the total number of blossoms it has produced being sixteen. The leaves are four feet across, and perfectly healthy ; but as yet they have exhibited little in- clination to form rims ; their whole surface prefers laying quite flat upon the water. A new leaf developes itself about every fourth day, and a flower every third day ; the appearance of the plant would indicate a likelihood of its blooming for some considerable time yet to come. The water in the basin is kept at between 80° and 90°, and the boiler from which this heat is derived also warms five houses and two pits of moderate size. About two General Notices. 415 dozen gold fish were introduced into the pond some short time ago, and they have since multiplied so abundantly that the water literally swarms with their young, which all present the fine color of their parents. Indeed so well do they succeed and breed in the warm water, that Mr. Weeks is of opinion they will ultimately almost pay the cost of heating it. We need hardly mention that this experiment points out another purpose to which waste steam might be employed both profitably and for pleasure. It is the Thames water in which the plant is growing at Chelsea, and we understand that it is the intention at present to widen the pond next year, and plant in it the various other kinds of tender Water Lilies. It may be worth notice, that the overflowings of this tank are collected into a cistern, from which the tepid water can at all times be had for the purpose of watering plants with. — { Gard. Chron. 1851, p. 439.) Hints on Judging Plants. — In judging plants, various things must be taken into consideration ; not only the health and general appearance of a specimen, but also the excellence of individual perfection — qualities which appear insignificant when considered separately, but which, when viewed collectively, constitute perfection. Thus, supposing a plant had been beau- tifully grown, was of fine form, had short-jointed wood, and clean and heal- thy foliage, but had flowers in insufficient quantity, ill-formed or badly col- ored, or flowers insufficiently above the foliage, or with unusually long foot- stalks — these would be great defects, inasmuch as flowers being the end and aim of the cultivator, and the main object of attraction, it is indis- pensable that they be of the finest and most perfect form and color. How- ever fine a plant may be, if it is deficient in flower, or the bloom is of bad quality, it is a defect ; and, in like proportion, if a plant is ill-formed, or has bad foliage, that also is a defect ; but if a plant is unhealthy, that is a decided disqualification ; for as prizes are offered to reward skilful cultiva- tion, if the exhibition shows the want of skill, that is a disqualifying point. A plant, to be perfect, must be of symmetrical form, short-jointed, and fur- nished with robust and healthy foliage from the base upwards. The form should not be formal, neither should the plants bear a rough and unculti- vated appearance, but it must be graceful and easy in character, and while it bears the impress of art, must be sufficiently removed from formality to have some of the easy grace of nature about it. The bloom must be large and profusely produced, brilliant in color, finely formed, and if scented, rich in odor. At the time the plant is shown, sufficient bloom to present a uni- form head should be expanded, and it should have a rich, crisp and glossy appearance. Cleanliness is a great point ; consequently, every leaf must be free from dirt of any kind, and not an insect must be seen. Plants thus appointed, whether they be hard or soft, come from the tropics, or be deni- zens of a milder climate, will always please ; and it matters not whether they be large or small, they all alike show the skill of the gardener, so long as they are sufficiently large to show some mark of cultivation since they left the nurseryman's store. It must be remembered that a plant may be large and finely formed, and yet not meritorious in point of management ; for it may be a plant of very easy cultivation. For instance, the Choroze- 416 General Notices. ma, though admirable in its way, would not bear comparison with a plant of C. triangularis augustifolia, or Henchmanni, of the same or even smaller size ; while a plant of Burtonia conferta or violacea, Boronia serrulata or pinnati, or Gompholobium splendens, not half the size, would be infinitely- superior and more meritorious. Hence it is necessary that censors should be persons of experience and practically acquainted with the management of the plants they undertake to adjudicate upon. Plants also should har- monize in pomt of size, so that when grouped together they may look as if they came from the same place, and not as if they had fallen together by chance. We once saw a collection of splendid heaths, averaging from two to four feet in size, lose the first prize, through the gardener putting in a small but admirable plant of Erica Sprengelii ; and only last year we saw a Cytisus racemosus five feet high, and Hoya bella about as many inches, shown in the same group. Such arrangements show bad taste, and ought to be publicly reprobated. It may perhaps so happen that several collec- tions of plants may be so nearly equal in point of merit, as to render it dif- ficult to say which is the best. In such a case it is the duty of the censors to examine the plants in each collection separately, both as to form and in- florescence ; and then, if they were equal, the difficulty of cultivation would decide the point ; for if one collection contained plants of more dif- ficult management, that of course must have the first prize. In a few words, the leading principles to be observed in plant judging are : First, that the plants be dean, healthy, and finely formed. Second, tliat they be profusely covered with bloom, the individual flowers being finely formed, large, and finely colored. Third, that the plants be choice — novelty and moderate size being always superior to age and large size. Thus, if ten plants were competing, one introduced ten years back, and the other only two, and if each required the same skill in management, the new plant, if it had been well cultivated, would be the most meritorious, and should have the first prize. — ( Gard. Jour., 1851, p. 502.) Pois Gros Sucre' de Croux. — The horticulturists of Paris have ob- tained a new kind of late pea, which is at present greatly esteemed. It was introduced from Switzerland, by M. Croux, of VUlejuif, Seine. Ac- cording to a report upon it, by a special commission of the National Soci- ety of Horticulture of Paris, this new late pea, which they have named in compliment to its introducer, Pois Sucre de Croux, possesses in a high de- gree the valuable property of flowering and fruiting abundantly late in au- tumn, and until checked by frost. It is well known that other peas sown for a very late crop, are apt to push long stems which flower only at the tops, and produce badly filled pods. They are, moreover, very subject to mildew, and this, with even a short period of drought in August, renders their produce almost nothing. A new variety which appears to be free from all these disadvantages, must be considered an acquisition ; and we therefore take the earliest opportunity of directing attention to it. — ( Gard. Chron., 1851, p. 519.) Gathering Fruit. — The chief merit of the gardener, in this respect, [the Domestic Notices. 417 management of ripe fruit], is the supplying of the table with thera in the ut- most perfection ; and the art of gathering, which is very little understood or thought of, is a very essential and material article. I have seen one com- mon custom among gardeners, which is, to go out for fruit an hour before it is to be served at the table ; and this they think very meritorious, because it will be fresh. I have seen also a contrary practice, which I shall explain, together with its reasons ; but, first, in order to show its real use, this fact must be inserted. Two gentlemen, relations and neighbors, who had the same soil, and the same kind of trees, and those, to all appearance, managed in the same manner, found a vast diflTerence always in their fruit ; it was so great, that their company never failed to perceive it as well as themselves ; and when it came at last to be explained, the whole cause was, that the gardener of him whose fruit was worst, gathered it just before it was wanted, and the other much earlier. This seems to contradict reason, freshness be- ing esteemed the great article in the nicety of fruit ; but it is only a seeming contradiction. Let any one examine the state of plants in general in sum- mer, and he will find it this ; as the great heat of the day comes on, their leaves begin to flag, and they droop more and more till the cool of the even- ing. The reason is, the great evaporation of their juices by the sun's heat: they grow flaccid from toward noon till near sunset, then, the heat is over and the dews refresh them : they continue recruiting and recovering during the whole night, and they are firm and lively in the morning. The case is the same in fruits, only it is not so easily perceived. At noon they are ex- hausted and flattened, and they are heated to ttie heart : all this renders them dead, and unpleasing. They begin to recruit towards the evening, as the leaves ; and in the same manner are in the full perfection at early morning. One hour after sun-rise is the time for gathering them : this was the secret of the successful gardener, and this every one should practise. Let him take some fruit-baskets of open work, cover them with large leaves, and at seven in the morning go out to gather his fruit. When he has carefully chosen what is ripe, and laid it handsomely in the basket, let it be placed in a cool, but not damp room, till it is wanted. — [Card. Chron. 1851, p. 439.) Art. II. Domestic JVotices. Exhibitions of Horticultural Societies. — The present month all the principal horticultural and agricultural societies hold their annual exhi- bitions. It is to be regretted that the officers of the several societies do not make such arrangements with each other as to hold all the principal shows successively, beginning early in September and ending the latter part of October. If something of this kind was attempted, there would be a far greater interchange of civilities between the members of each, and a corresponding benefit in the spread of valuable information. Wo. wish " another year something of this kind could be effected. VOL. XVII. NO. IX. 53 418 Domestic Notices. The Massachusetts Hortkvltwal Society hold their twenty-third annual exhibition Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the 17th, 18th and 19th of September. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society hold their annual exhibition on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the 16th, 17th and 18th of September. The JVew York State Agricultural Society vfiW hold their fair at Rochester on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the 17th, 18th, and 19th of Sep- tember. The Michigan State Agricultural Society will hold their next fair at De- troit, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the 24th, 25th and 2Gth of September. The Cincinnati Horticultural Society will hold the next annual exhibition at Cincinnati, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the 1st, 2d and 3d of October. American Institute. — The annual address before this institution in October next will be delivered by Dr. C. T. Jackson, on the evening of the 16th of that month. The Weather and Crops in Michigan. — The spring, with us was wet, cold and backward. We are now having fine weather. The farmers commenced haying about a week since. In some parts of the state they have commenced harvesting their wheat. Last week I passed through Macomb er and Oakland, two of our northern counties, and I never saw a more beautiful sight than the wheat fields now present. The harvest in this state will be more abundant than ever. Our fruit was mostly cut off by late frost in the spring, but we will have some. Our State Agricultural Society will hold its annual fair, on the 24th, 25th and 26th days of Sep- tember next, and I hope to see you here with a good delegation from Bos- ton.— Yours, J. C. Holmes, Detroit, July 16, 1851. Toads destructive to Strawberries. — We notice by the doings of the Farmers' Club, in New York, that our friend. Prof. Mapes, made the somewhat remarkable statement that " toads are fond of strawberries, and select the best for their own eating." How the professor ascertained this fact he does not say, but if he or any body else ever saw a toad in the act of devouring a berry we shall believe it, but not otherwise. We suspect Prof Mapes imagined this must be so, on account of the great number of toads which are usually found in strawberry beds ; but we had always sup- posed, and still think, they were attracted there by the quantity of wire worms, which " are fond" of them, and which the toads eagerly devour, to the great delight of every cultivator. Tan LiquoR for Strawberries. — At the same meeting Prof Mapes remarked, that " having observed the tendency of soil in which much tan- nin existed, from old bark of trees, to give heavy crops of strawberries, he tried it by putting a gallon of tan liquor into two hundred gallons of water, and sprinkled some strawberry beds with it, leaving otliers without it, and the difference Avas remarkable." We do not learn, however, whether the difference was owing to the tan liquor or the water with which it was Domestic Notices. 419 diluted, as Mr. Mapes does not state whether the other beds had the same quantity of pure water as those sprinkled with the tan liquor ; for we do •not imagine that even the professor would compare the crop of a bed not watered with one which had heen freely sprinkled. But after all, how much good did the tan liquor do ? Mr. Mapes exhibited some of Hovey's Seed- ling from his farm at the same meeting, Avhich measured/oitr and a half inches in circumference ! Now we have grown this variety without manure and without water, more than five and a half inches in circumference. The professor must try again, or we shall not set him down as a very successful horticulturist, notwithstanding his wonderful farming achievements. We hope we shall not get another such a cruel punch under the ribs for saying this, as that which the professor hinted we received from another contem- porary some time since. It would annihilate us — quite. Boston Notions. — So famous has our city become for its notions that no chance is lost sight of, either individually or officially, to lay a proper claim to it. The latest notion is that of painting the iron paling in front of the court house, on School street, of a dirty buff! Another one, of simi- lar character, is that of painting the neat fences around the huge clipped evergreens on the common of a deep green ! probably that they might be mistaken for part of the branches and foliage of the trees. If we were to suggest any further notion, or perhaps we might say improvement, it would be to paint the iron paling around the common the same color of that in School street, as neutral tints harmonize better with the foliage of the trees, and there would be no danger, of its being mistaken for iron. In matters of rural taste our city seems to be determined to appear as ignorant as possible. Advantages of taking a Horticultural Magazine. — A writer in the Soil of the South, an excellent paper published in Columbus, Ga., in urging the importance of agriculture and horticultural periodicals, brings forward several examples, of Avhich the following is one : — Last winter, while I was in the low country, " George Newland's celebrated Mammoth Alpine Strawbeny" made its appearance in Charleston, accompanied by flaming engravings and endless certificates. " Price, $5 per hundred, $30 per thousand." " Phelps, 102 Church street, opposite Planter's Hotel," was the agent. Three of my friends became purchasers to the amount of $5 each. What do you suppose was their mortification when their atten- tion was called to a number of Hovey's Magazine of Horticidture, in which this prince of humbugs had been exposed the year before ? These gentle- men had paid .$15 for nothing, Avhen two or three dollars paid for a horti- cultural paper would have saved them the disappointment and given them much other useful information. — {Soil of the South.) The Latest Potato Bug — or Humbug. — It is well known that the Legislature of Massachusetts, at their last session, passed a resolve, offer- ing $10,000 premium for the discovery of a remedy for the potato rot. Such a liberal offer has not been without its use in tempting many well meaning persons, but who know no more about the potato rot than they do about the cholera, to suppose they had discovered the real cause of the disease, 420 Domestic Notices. and to claim the premium. Among them, is a Mr. Flanders, who says, in his communication to Gov. Boutwell, that it is a " black bug which preys upon the leaf until it destroys the vine and causes the root to rot, »fcc." J. W. Proctor, Esq., of Danvers, having written to Dr. Harris, to know his opinion upon this matter, the Dr., in his usual familiar style, does not hesitate to denounce all the insect theorists, including Dr. Alfred Smee, of England, who even published a whole pamphlet upon the subject, showing, as he thought conclusively, that it was owing to the attacks of a kind of aphis, or plant lice, similar to the common green fly. After showing that insects have nothing to do with the rot, the Dr. concludes his letter to Mr. Proctor, by remarking that, " though perfectly willing, as in the present case, to ex- press an opinion when asked, I have no wish to sit in judgment upon others, and might have maintained a reserve upon the latest humbug concerning the potato pestilence, if your own sagacity had not led you to suspect the smallness of its pretensions." We think the offer of the premium by the Legislature, was an absurd one, but all the claims for it, so far, have been more absurd. What con- nection insects on the vines have with a disease which often does not make its appearance until several days after they are severed from the potatoes, we are at a loss to conceive ; and we hope that sufficient information has now been elicited to prevent any person from ever applying for the state premium, unless he shows the rot to be caused by something besides in- sects.— Ed. Strawberries for Six Months in the Year. — We have been some- what surprised to learn that the secret has been discovered, — for secret it must be, — of cultivating the strawberry so as to have the fruit from six to eight months in the year; not the Monthly Alpine, but Hovey's Seed- ling, which has now added to its other qualities that of a perpetual bearer. The gentleman who has made this discovery is Mr. C. F. Peabody, of Co- lumbus, Ga., one of the editors of the Soil of the South. His success has greatly elated him, — and well it may, — for Mr. Peabody thus breaks out, in speaking of us and the Magazine : " We of the south, owe him eternal gratitude for his Seedling strawberry, and we look into his Journal, each month, as it comes to us, with a feeling of gratitude — and why should we not ? For we began picking Hovey's Seedling in March, and our beds are now (July 20,) in full fruit and bloom, with a prospect of continuing so till October." But he says nothing of his mode of cultivation. Fortunately we are not without the information, for Uncle Solon Robinson, who has visited Mr. Peabody's garden, and eaten the fruit, thus details the " how" all this is done. We quote from Mr. Robinson's article in the August No. of the American Agriculturist : — The secret has been discovered and practised by Charles F. Peabody, of Columbus, Georgia, one of the editors of the " Soil of the South," for sev- eral years, not as a theory or mere experiment, nor accidental production, but as a science — a study of time, successfully carried out for profit ; for he sends his market wagon into tlie city, loaded with this rich luxury, from Domestic Notices. 421 March till September ; and last year, his vines continued to ripen fruit until Christmas. What is the secret ? our fair readers exclaim. What new variety ? No other than Hovey's Seedling, impregnated by Early Scarlet, and never ma- nured, but kept continually moist by artificial watering ; for which purpose, he uses a garden engine. For four years, Mr. P. cultivated the same variety in rich garden mould, manuring liberally every year, and at any time during summer could have mowed a heavy swath of green luxuriant vines, which would have made very good hay, but that was not what he wished to grow. Failing to get fruit by garden culture, he commenced the experiment which for six years has proved so eminently successful. He cleared off a strip of low land along a little rivulet, the soil of which is coarse sand and loose gravel, in- termixed with clay slightly, and of course covered with forest mould ; dig- ging out the roots of a thick growth of bushes sufiiciently prepared the land. The vines were then set in rows, six of Hovey and one of Scarlet, and the surface has never been disturbed since by spade or hoe, except so far as going over the ground once or twice a-year to cut out here and there a decaying vine or bunch of grass or weeds — few of which, however, in consequence of using no manure, ever make their appearance ; neither do the plants run to vines, spreading all over the surface every year, as they did in the garden. The whole strength seems to be exerted for the produc- tion of large rich berries to such a degree that the ground is red ivith fruit, not green iinth leaves ; and this not upon a little plat, but over a field of five acres. And does he never manure them ? is undoubtedly asked by every tyro in the business of growing strawberry vines. Mr. Peabody grows roots, stems, and fruit. I repeat, he never manures, never digs the ground, nor turns under the old roots to give place to new ones. In autumn, he gives a light dressing of the surface soil of tlie forest, and covers the ground with leaves ; tliese remain until decayed, and serve to keep the berries clean during the long bearing season. This, and the watering every hot day Avhen it does not rain, is the great secret of growing strawberries, not only six months, but last year he actually had them upon his table every month but two — January and February. Of course, at the north, the bearing season could not be of equal duration, but it may be greatly extended by the same course of cultivation. Of course this cannot be done in our cold climate and short summers to any great extent ; yet Mr. Peabody has succeeded so well, we should like to see the attempt made here. Perhaps they might be made to bear from June till frost. Will some enthusiastic cultivator try ? Return of W. R. Prince, Esq., from California. — We are glad to learn from the Flushing papers, that our old correspondent, Mr. Prince, the well known nurseryman of Flushing, L. I., has recently arrived from Cali- fornia, Avhere he has resided for more than two years. Mr. Prince has en- joyed excellent health during his absence, and has devoted much time to an exploration of the country, and has, probably, acquired a better botanical 423 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. knowledge of California, than any other individual. Mr. Prince, in a note to the Editor of the Flushing Journal, thus briefly sums up his visit : — " I began at the southern mines of California, on the Tuolumone and the Stanislaus Rivers, and having placed my men at mining there, I rambled over the mountains and ravines, for a great distance, in all directions — thence I removed to the northern mines, and there traversed the north, south, and middle forks of the American river, the Yuba, Feather, and Sacramento rivers, and their numerous forks. I have sent and brought home the seeds and bulbs of above 300 species of trees, shrubs, and plants, new to the Atlantic states and to the rest of the world. Also, a large col- lection of minerals, comprising the gold-bearing quartz, and all others found throughout that mighty volcanic region, where nature must, in times of yore, have displayed her wildest paroxysms. In returning, I spent ten days in crossing the mighty range of the Cordilleras, then descended into the vale of Mexico. I sojourned some days at each of the principal cities of that interesting country, visited several volcanoes, and mountains of eternal snows, and also the various battle-grounds, rendered glorious and immortal by American chivalry. True to my first love, I gathered from the summits of the loftiest mountains the seeds of all the interesting trees and plants, and in one case collected the seeds of strawberries and blackberries from an immense volcanic mountain whose fires are now extinct. To all inquir- ers as to the extent of the gold deposits of California, you may answer most assuredly that her quartz mines are absolutely inexhaustible, and that tlieir product cannot fail to be increased in geometrical progression." We welcome Mr. Prince to his home again, and trust he has not only enriched the flora of the Atlantic states, by his accessions from the Pacific coast, but that he has piled up a sufficiency of the golden rocks of that au- riferous region, to reward him amply for the privations and toils of such a protracted visit. Art. III. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Saturday, August 2, 1851. Exhibited. — Flowers : From M. P. Wilder, fine specimens of Japan lilies. Cut flowers, bouquets, &c., from J. Nugent, P. Barnes, J. Brack, J. Mann, E. M. Richards, John Hovey, and others. Fruits. — From J. F. Allen, figs, two var.; nectarines ; grapes. Bishop, Poiteau Noir, fine. White Hamburgh, fine ; peaches, fine ; Improved High blackberries. From J. Hovey, apples. Early Harvest, very fine. From Jos. Brock, grapes, Black Hamburgh, Muscat of Alexandria. From A. Bow- ditch, grapes. Black Hamburgh and Muscadine. From J. Lovett, 2d, rasp- berries, Knevet's Giant, very fine; Improved High blackberries, fine; goose- berries. From A. D. Williams & Son, apples, unnamed. From E. M. Richards, apples. Early Bough, Williams, Sugar Loaf Pippin, Red Astra- chan, fine. Summer apple, and Early Harvest. From H. D. Gray, orange, grown in a pot in a parlor, extra large. From S. Bigelow, by T. Willott, Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 423 grapes, Black Hamburgh, very large bunches, fine ; Muscat of Alexandria, fine. From G. Merriam, Improved High blackberries, superior. From Hovey & Co., grapes, Muscat of Alexandria, fine, Syrian ; Improv- ed High blackberries, very fine ; peaches. Early Crawford, very fine ; nec- tarines, Hardwicke, Elruge, and Red Roman ; pears. Doyenne d'Ete, and Madeleine ; cherries, seedlings, two varieties. From J. Richardson, Im- proved High blackberries ; plums, Jaune Hative. From H. Vandine, apri- cots, Breda ; plums, Jaune Hative ; pears, Madeleine. From S. Crosby, South Boston, plums. From J. Mann, House of Industry, apricots. From A. M. Withington, Improved High blackberries, very fine. From F. Dana, currants, White Dutch. From W. C. Hubbard, cherries. Late Duke, large and fine. From G. Walsh, black currants, apples, unnamed, handsome. From C. E. Grant, strawberries. Wood ; Improved High blackberries, very fine. From Rev. M. Morse, apples. Early Harvest. From A. Dexter, Im- proved High blackberries, fine. From M. H. Simpson, grapes. White Fron- tignan and Grizzly Frontignan, both very superior; peaches. Late Craw- ford, superior, extra large. From B. F. Dunham, White whortleberries. Fruits tested. From Hovev & Co., Seedling cherries, two varieties, one an amber colored cherry, mottled with a dark red cheek, sweet, high flavor- ed and very fine, of large size, with a firm flesh ; the other, a small cherry, of ordinary quality. Vegetables. — From J. Crosby, cabbage, var. Early Battersea ; beets and carrots, tomatoes, fine, basket of potatoes. From J. B. Moore, Early Turnip Blood and Long Blood beets. From J. Mann, cabbage, var. Early Battersea ; Early Turnip Blood beets, and onions. From A. D. Williams & Son, Early Savoy cabbages, and basket of potatoes, fine. August 9. An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. Voted, That a committee be appointed to prepare suitable resolutions on the decease of the first President of the Society, Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn : the following gentlemen were appointed on the committee — Messrs. French, Leach, and Cabot. Some beautiful specimens of pressed flowers and grasses were presented by a lady, of Roxbury, which were entitled to the thanks of the Society. William S. King, Manton, R. I., and 4. C. Warren, Boston, were elected members. Adjourned two weeks, to August 23. Exhibited. — Flowers : From J. Mann, Jr., 25 var. of annuals, balsams, gladiolus. From J. Breck, phlox, balsams. From P. Barnes, phlox, lilies, gladiolus, annuals. From J. Nugent, two bouquets, balsams, gladiolus, roses, phlox, gloxinias. From J. A. Kenrick, basket of flowers. From J. Hovey, two bouquets. From Wm. Kenrick, by Miss Russell, one large bouquet. AWARD OF PREMIUMS. Double Balsams. — For the best display, to James Nugent, #3. For the 2d best display, to J. Breck, $2. For the 3d best display, to Jonatlian Mann, Jr., $\. 424 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Fruits. — From J. Lovett, 2d, Improved High blackberries, superior. From Brack & Co., grapes. Cannon Hall Muscat, Muscat of Alexandria, and Black Hamburgh. From G. Merriam, Improved High blackberries, su- perior. From A. Bowditch, grapes. Black Hamburgh and Muscadine, From A. D. Williams & Son, apples, Williams, Early Bough, fine ; pears. Jargonelle, From E. M. Richards, apples, Early Harvest, Early Bough, Williams, Summer Apple, Summer Rose, Sugar Loaf Pippin, Red Juneat- ing and Red Astrachan. From J. Mann, pears. Jargonelle ; apricots, un- named, probably Breda. From C. Judson, plums, unnamed. From Mrs. J. H. Wilson, lemons. From C. E. Grant, Improved High blackberries, su- perior plums, probably Royal de Tours. From A. Dexter, Improved High Blackberries. From A. W. Stetson, Seedling plum, small, handsome. From Hovey & Co., Improved High blackberries ; peaches, Early Craw- ford, extra fine, Morris's White, Late Crawford, and Mammoth ; nectarines, Murray; grapes, Syrian and Muscat of Alexandria. From J. F. Allen, peaches, fine. From H. Vandine, plums, marked Royal de Tours, proba- bly Peach, very fine ; Royal Hatif, Italian Damask and Early Cross. From B. Harrington, apples. Early Bough, fine, River, Juneating, Sopsavine, Williams ; pears, Jargonelle. From F. Burr, apples, Red Astrachan, fine. From J. Hyde &. Son, apples, Curtis's Early. From R. L. Colt, Esq., Patter- son, N. J., grapes, Cambridge Botanic Garden, raised in a house fronting the east, on Hoare's plan, with an outside border added — a coldhouse, to which fire has been applied but nine times ; Seedling, a hybrid, between Black Hamburgh and Cambridge Botanic Garden ; Fontainbleau — both raised in same house ; Muscat of Lund, (?) and one marked Syrian, but probably the Red Chasselas. These grapes, unfortunately, were much bruised and in- jured by the carriage, so much so as not to aflford a fair criterion of quality ; they were well flavored and ripened, and no doubt, when in good condition, of fine quality. Vegetables. — From C. M. Furbush, Grafton, Peach Blossom potatoes, good. From B. Harrington, Lexington, one Marrow squash. From J. Mann, Jr., one dozen Turnip Booted beets, one dozen of onions, and three heads of Battersea cabbage, all good. From A. D. Williams & Son, five heads of Savoy cabbage, two pecks of potatoes, one of Whites and one of Chenangoes, good. From E. M. Richards, one peck of Chenango potatoes. Augxist 16. Exhibited. — Flowers : From the President, a fine variety of phloxes. From M. P. Wilder, a large collection of phloxes and Japan lilies. From J. Breck, a fine collection of phloxes, delphiniums, &c., &c. ; among the phloxes, some good seedlings. From Hovey & Co., a fine collection of phloxes, and a seedling Japan lily, very dark, large and superb. The following are the names of the phloxes in the winning stand: — Reevesii, Blanc de Neuilly, Nymphse^a alba, speciosa. Princess Marianne, Breck's No. 5, and four beautiful seedlings. Cut flowers, &.c., from E. M. Richards, J. Nugent, J. Mann, Jr., A. Bowditch, J. Hovey, J. C. Pratt, Miss Russell, P, Barnes, and others. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 425 AWARD OF PREMIUMS. Phloxes. — For the best 10 distinct varieties, to Hovey & Co., $'6. For the second best 10 distinct varieties, to Joseph Breck, $4. For the third best 10 distinct varieties, to M. P. Wilder, ^3. Fruit. — From Jos. Breck, ^apes, Muscat of Alexandria, fine, Cannon Hall Muscat, fine, Black Hamburgh, White Frontignan, very fine. Black Muscat. (?) From E. M. Richards, apples, Early Strawberry, Gravenstein, Williams, Summer Apple, Benoni. From J. Nugent, grapes, Sweetwater, Black Hamburgh, and White Frontignan. From J. F. Allen, grapes, Poiteau Noir, fine ; White Hamburgh, very fine ; Whortley Hall Seedling, well col- ored and fine ; peaches. Manning, Violet Hatif, and Malta, very fine ; nec- tarines, Elruge ; plums, Coe's Golden Drop, very large, forced ; Improved High blackberries, fine. From A. W. Stetson, plums. Seedling. From G. Walsh, apples, three varieties for a name. From B. Harrington, apples, Seek-no-Further, Sopsavine, River and Williams, fine ; pears, Jargonelle. From C. E. Grant, Improved High blackberries, superior. From W. R. Austin, pears. Franc Real d'Ete, fine. From A. D. Williams & Son, apples, Williams, very fine, and Early Bough ; pears. Jargonelle, fine. From J. Lovett, 2d, pears. Jargonelle ; Improved High blackberries, supe- rior; apples. Early Bough and Red Astrachan, both very fine. From A. Bowditch, grapes. Black Hamburgh, fine. From Hovey & Co., grapes, Chaptal, White Frontignan, Muscat of Alex- andria, and Syrian ; Improved High blackberries ; nectarines, Murray and Golden ; peaches, Old Mixon Freestone, very fine, Mammoth, Late Craw- ford, and Stetson ; pears. Supreme de Quimper, very fine. Autumn Jargon- elle, (?) Rousselet, (?) Jargonelle, Windsor, Beurre Giffart, and two varie- ties unnamed. From H. Vandine, plums. Peach, superior, Italian Damask, Early Yellow Gage, Lawrence's Favorite, Royal Hatif, and Yellow Honey ; apples, Sopsavine, Williams, and Early Harvest. From Daily Journal Of- fice, White whortleberries. From J. Hyde & Son, apples, Curtis's Early ; pears. Jargonelle. From E. Wight, pears. Skinless, Julienne ? ; plums, My- robalan ? From J. Mann, Jr., plums. Prince's Imperial, and Red Gage ; apricots, Breda. From J. S. Cabot, pears. Jargonelle. From G. Merriam, Improved High blackberries, superior. From A. Pope, apples. Red Astra- chan, fine ; nectarines, unnamed ; grapes, Sweetwater. Fruits tested. — From Hovey &. Co., pears. Supreme de Quimper, and one unnamed ; peaches. Stetson's Seedling, sweet, juicy, and very fine. From A. W. Stetson, plums, Seedling, a small, oblong, purple plum, early and of very fine quality. From J. F. Allen, peaches. Manning ; grapes, Raisin de Calabre, a small grape, of very rich sweet Muscat flavor; Caillaba, (?) very small oval transparent grape. From J. Breck, grapes. White Frontignan, and Muscat of Alexandria, both fine. From the President of the Society, pears, Bloodgood and Rostiezer. Vegetables. — From J. Mann, Jr., two vars. Sweet corn. Turnip Blood beets, onions and carrots, fine. From J. Crosby, Saba beans, fine, the first VOL. XVII. NO. IX. 54 426 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. exhibited this season ; also Sweet corn, very fine. From J. Gordon, Lima beans, the first exhibited this season, well grown and fine. August 23. An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. The committee appointed to prepare suitable resolutions on the death of Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, the first President of this Society, made the fol- lowing report, which was adopted: — Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to remove by death the Hon. Henry Alexander Scammel Dearborn, the first President of this Society, — Therefore Resolved, That we would cherish with profound respect the memory of the departed, and would seek to impress upon our hearts his many eminent and noble virtues. Resolved, That we acknowledge with gratitude the many obligations of this Societ}' to the late Hon. H. A. S. Dearborn, for his untiring zeal in pro- moting its best interests, and for his exhibition of classic taste in all that adorns and refines social life. Resolved, That we tender to the family of the deceased, our warmest sympathies in their bereavements. On motion of B. V. French, it was Voted, That the Corresponding Secretary transmit a copy of the forego- ing resolutions, signed by the President and Recording Secretary, to the afflicted family. Voted, That the thanks of this Society be presented to the Hon. Samuel A. Eliot, fur his valuable donation of books to the Society. The following gentlemen were elected corresponding members : — Hon. Allen W. Dodge, of Hamilton, and James J. Mapes, LL. D., of Newark, N.J. Exhibited. — Flowers: From the President of the Society, phloxes, &c. From J. Nugent, Erythrina crista-galli, dahlias, roses, phloxes, and two bou- quets. From P. Barnes, dahlias, zinnias, asters, gladiolus, &c. From J. Breck &. Son, hollyhocks, delphiniums, phloxes, &-c. From J. Mann, 28 varieties annuals, (very fine.) From Mrs. M. Daggett, one plant Vall6ta purpurea, finely flowered. From B. Harrington, A. Bowditch, Miss Rus- sell, J. Frothingliam, E. M. Richards, and Miss Kenrick, a variety of cut flowers, bouquets, &.c, Frlit. — From the President of the Society, apples, Williams ; pears, Tyson, and one unnamed. From O. Johnson, apples, Early Bough, supe- rior. From N. Whiting, apples, Williams. From E. M. RichardH, apples, Benoni and Williams ; pears, unnamed. JVom Messrs. Breck & Son, pearB, Summer Franc Real, Passans du Portugal, and Belle d'Aout; grapes, Cannot Hall Muscat, fine. From A. JJowditch, grapes, Black Hamburgh, very fine. From J, Lovett, 2d, Improved High blackberries, superior pears, Bloodgood, and one unnamed variety ; aj)j lightly tinged with blush on the sumiy side, sometimes rus- seted around the stem, and thickly covered with minute rus- set specks ; Stem, short, about half an inch long, stout, thick, little swollen at the base £uid inserted in a small uneven cav- ity ; Eye, medium size, open, and little sunk in a rather small furrowed basin ; segments of the calyx thick, short, project- ing ; Flesh, yellowish white, fine, melting, buttery and juicy ; Flavor, sugary and rich, with a high musky aroma ; Core, medium size ; Seeds, medium size, broad, plump, light brown. Ripe the middle of September. 134. Smith's Bokdenave. Mag. of Hort., Yol. XIII, p. 450. Smith's Bordenave, (fg. 4.6,) is a new pear of recent in- troduction into our collections. It first fruited in the garden of A. Smith, Esq., of Hartford, Conn., and was the product of a tree imported six or eight years ago, by Mr. Bordenave, of that city, from Bordeaux, in France. Under what name it was purchased is unknown, as the original label was lost, but as it proved to be such a fine fruit, in compliment to Mr. Bordenave it has been named after him. It is certainly un- like any variety at present existing in our collections, and the probability is that it is some new kind which originated in the vicinity of Bordeaux, and has not yet found its way into the large nursery collections from which the greater part of our foreign pears are received. This fine pear is a decided acquisition to our summer vari- eties ; it comes in just before the Bartlett, at which season we have not an over abundance of fine kinds. It cannot, of course, compare in size or beauty with the Bartlett, or Flem- ish Beauty, but in its rich, sprightly and vinous juice, it sur- passes either of those excellent sorts. It has that rich Brown Beurre "smack" which is found in but few of our new varieties. Descriptions of Select Varieties of Pears. 437 The tree is a moderate grower, of upright habit, with rather slender wood, small foliage, and shoots of a yellowish shade. Fig. 46. Smith's Bordenave Pear. Size, medium, about three inches long and two and a half in diameter ; Form, pyramidal, with a somewhat uneven sur- face, large at the crown, suddenly contracted below the mid- dle, and tapering to the stem ; Skin, nearly smooth, deep green, mostly covered with tracings and patches of dull rus- set ; Stein, rather long, about one and a quarter inches in length, moderately stout, curved and obliquely attached by a slightly fleshy base, without any cavity ; Eye, medium size, partially open, and moderately sunk in a round smooth basin ; segments of the calyx, long, pointed j Flesh, greenish white, 438 Descriptions of Select Varieties of Pears. rather coarse, melting and juicy ; Flavor, rich, vinous and sprightly, with a spicy aroma ; Core, medium size ; Seeds, small, nearly black. Ripe in September. 135. DucHEssE OF Berry. The Duchesse of Berry, (Jig. A7,) has now fruited in our collection for three years, and proves to be an excellent pear, of much of the character of the White Doyenne. It is about the same size, of similar form, and possesses the same melting flesh and rich flavor. Fig. 47. Duchesse of Berry Pear. Of its origin we have no knowledge; we do not find it described in any accessible pomological work, and it is proba- bly a new French or Belgium pear. Our first knowledge of it was from the Catalogue of M. Jamin, in 1844, and from him we received our trees, with many other new kinds. The tree is of a spreading and somewhat rambling habit, of moderately vigorous growth, with reddish brown wood. It succeeds very well upon the quince. Size, medium, about two and a half inches long, and nearly three in diameter ; Form, roundish, regular, very full Descriptions of Select Varieties of Pears. 439 at the crown, and rounding off to the stem ; Skin, fail', smooth, clear pale yellow when matm-e, very regularly dotted with small russet specks ; Stem, short, about half an inch long, stout, somewhat swollen, and obliquely inserted in a small contracted cavity ; Eye, small, open, and little depress- ed in a small round smooth basin ; segments of the calyx small, narrow, reflexed ; Flesh, yellowish white, rather coarse, melting and juicy ; Flavor, rich, sugary, perfumed and ex- cellent ; Core, medium size ; Seeds, large, rather long. Ripe in September. 136. Inconnxte Van Mons. The Inconnue Van Mons, (fig. 48,^ is believed to be one of the unnamed seedlings which were raised by the great Fig. 48. Inconnue Van Mons Pear. pomologist whose name it bears. It was sent by him to Mr, T. Rivers, nurseryman, of Sawbridgeworth, England, some 440 Descriptions of Select Varieties of Pears. years since, who has disseminated it from his establishment. It proves to be a fine late pear, ripening in January and Feb- ruary, and though only of medium size a desirable kind in our present limited supply of good winter varieties. The tree appears to be hardy, vigorous, and productive, bearing early, and the fruit ripens off as readily as the d'Aremberg. The wood is strong, short-jointed, and of a brownish olive color. We have not tried it upon the quince. Size^ medium, about three inches long and two and a half in diameter ; Form, pyramidal, rather full at the crown, and tapering regularly to the stem ; Skin, fair, smooth, dull pale green, traced with russet around the crown and dotted with russet specks ; Stem, medium length, about one inch long, rather slender, curved, and inserted Avithout any depression upon a somewhat obtuse point ; JEJye, medium size, open, and inserted in a rather abrupt and moderately deep basin ; seg- ments of the calyx, short, often wanting ; Flesh, white, fine, melting and juicy ; Flavor, rich, sugary, perfumed and excel- lent ; Core, medium size. Ripe from December to February. 137. Beurre'' Sprin. This new and excellent pear, (fg. A9,) was imported into the collections in Salem, several years ago, but it has attracted very little attention until recently. It proves to be a fine ad- dition to our autumn varieties, being of good size, and fair appearance, somewhat resembling the Marie Louise, and pro- ducing abundant crops. Our specimens were from the gar- den of our friend Capt. Lovett, of Beverly, who has exhibit- ed large and beautifully grown specimens at the meetings of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. We find no published account of this pear. It appears in the catalogue of M. Jamin, of Paris, where it is set down as a pear of the first quality, a reputation which it maintains with us. Size, large, about three and a half inches long, and two and a half in diameter ; Form, pyramidal, narrowing slightly towards the crown, and tapering to the stem ; Skin, fair, slightly rough, yellow when mature, much covered Avith Descriptions of Select Varieties of Pears. 441 patches and tracings of crimson or russet ; Stem, short, about half an inch long, uneven, swollen at the base, somewhat fleshy, and obliquely inserted on one side of a projecting lip in a small cavity ; Eye, small, partially closed, and moderate- Fig. 49. Beurri^ Sprin Pear. ly depressed in a small round basin ; segments of the calyx very short ; Flesh, yellowish white, little coarse, buttery, melting and juicy ; Flavor, rich, sugary, pleasantly perfumed and excellent ; Core, medium size ; Seeds, large, long, point- ed, brown. Ripe in October. 138. NouvEAu PoiTEAU. Joumal cV Horticulture, de Bel- gique. This new pear, (fig. 50, j is one of the seedlings of Dr. Van Mons, and was raised by him in 1827, but the tree did VOL. XVII, NO. X. 56 442 Descriptions of Select Varieties of Pears. not come into bearing until 1843. According to M. Bouvier, who described it in the work above quoted, it was named at his proposal, by the sons of Van Mons, after the intimate friend of their father, M. Poiteau of Paris. Fig. 50. Nouveau Poiteau Pear. The Nouveau Poiteau was first introduced into American collections in 1845 or '46, and first fruited in 1850. It proves to be a large, handsome, and excellent variety, ripening in November, and keeping up the succession of large, showy and fine kinds. The tree is of an exceedingly vigorous and fine habit, bears rather young, and appears to be a most abun- dant bearer. It succeeds upon both the quince and pear stock. Size, large, about four inches long, and two and three quarters in diameter ; Form, pyramidal, full at the crown, tapering into the stem ; Skin, fair, smooth, clear deep green, Market Gardening aromid London. 443 marbled with brownish red in the sun, and dotted with russet specks ; Stem, medium length, about three quarters of an inch long, moderately stout, fleshy at the base and obliquely in- serted without any cavity ; Eye, medium size, open, and moderately sunk in a contracted basin ; segments of the ca- lyx, short, partially reflexed ; Flesh, greenish white, rather fine, melting and juicy ; Flavor, vinous, rich, sugary and delicately perfumed ; Core, small ; Seeds, medium size, sharp- ly pointed, dark. Ripe in November. Art. II. Market Gardening around London. By J. CUTHILL. Asparagus. — There is but one kind of Asparagus. A Mr. Grayson, an extensive grower on the south bank of the Thames, introduced what he called his "Giant" Asparagus; but it proved to be only the usual kind. He made it' a "giant" by putting mould over the very largest heads he could find on his extensive beds, which covered about thirty acres. The heads were cut and shown in market as a new sort. They were about 18 inches or more in length, and 100 heads weighed 42 pounds ; but unfortunately, like other asparagus, only three or four inches were fit for eating. There can be no doubt that the present plan of saving seed from the strongest plants has much unproved asparagus. Im- mense quantities of roots are forced on two feet of dung in trenches having six inches of mould to plant in. These are then hooped over, and blanched, to make it look fine and white ; the beds are prepared by putting on an immense quantity of manure, and trenching the ground three or four feet deep, mixing the manure as the work proceeds. In March the ground is measured out after the following manner. Suppose that a fence runs south and north, or otherwise, three feet is allowed between it and the first row ; a drill is drawn about two inches deep, and the seed is sown thinly — say six inches or a foot apart, which gives choice of drawing 444 Market Gardening around London. out the weakest, in order that the permanent crop may stand one foot apart. The next row is sown eighteen inches from the one just mentioned ; then for the alley and two sides of the bed five feet are allowed ; then another row of seeds and so on, which gives two rows to each bed. The first year onions are generally sown all over the ground ; the second season lettuce, or any dwarf growing vegetable that will not choke the asparagus, and so on until the third year, when the beds are formed out, and a few inches of mould dug out of the alleys and put on the crowns ; only a few, however, of the finest heads are cut this year. Autumn arrives, and when the haulm is cut the whole of the ground is forked over, and planted with cabbage, coleworts, or winter greens ; then in spring the beds are largely supplied with mould out of the alleys, covering the crowns from eight to ten inches deep. The finishing of the cutting must be left to the grower. A fair crop of heads must be left after four or five weeks' cutting, in order in some measure to strengthen the young buds for the next year's growth, and to restore to the roots what has been taken from them in the shape of a crop ; but not one head must be alloAved to grow until you leave off cutting entirely at the end of the fourth year. When the haulm gets ripe it is all cut down, and the mould thrown into the alleys, and there enriched, and the whole of the beds and alleys are planted again with cabbages, greens, &c. Seakale. — This is propagated by roots, or portions of them, after the following manner : — Towards spring, after the produce has been all cut out of the hooped beds, the roots are removed, all the "thongs" are cut off, and laid in large heaps ; and as soon as the cut part or upper portion be- comes calliced, ground is prepared for its reception, by manur- ing and trenching. The roots are then planted out a foot apart, in rows eighteen inches asunder, and a crop of lettuces is planted between them ; as soon as the buds become visible, all are cut out, except the strongest, the ground is kept clean, and nothing more is done until November, when forcing is commenced. Then all the frames are removed, the dung and mould where cucumbers grew during summer are taken Market Gardening around London. 445 away for cabbages or coleworts. The trenches, which are two feet deep are again filled with hot dung, and mould to the depth of eight inches is put on the dung. The seakale roots are dug up, all the small buds round the main eyes are pared off, leaving that by itself, which induces it to push stronger and finer ; and now planting is commenced, a furrow is cut out by the spade across the bed, and they are put in as thickly as possible. Five feet across will hold from twenty- five to thirty roots ; the next furrow is cut out four inches from the last, and so on until the Avhole is finished ; from four to six inches of straw is placed immediately on the crowns. The beds are hooped over, and straw is put over the hoops ; and in this way I have seen 50,000 plants forced during the winter and spring and by one man. All roots are removed from where they grow in summer, as they can be put in a much smaller compass elsewhere. Such is the way in which this delicious vegetable is grown by market garden- ers, who thus bring it on slowly, excluding all air, and pro- ducing excellent food. Mr^ Martin's plan of increasing sea- kale is this : At taking up time all the thongs are cut off be- fore the plants are put in to force. In November the small prongs or end roots are at once cut into four-inch pieces and laid altogether in a heap for the winter. In February they are deposited thickly in beds, and covered with mould an inch deep ; when sprouted it is seen by the buds which is the top, and by the roots which is the bottom. The ground being prepared, they are planted out as above. This last plan makes finer plants, as the whole of the strength is in the roots when cut off in winter, which is not the case after they have produced a crop. After forcing, the pores of the thongs must be empty, and they take a long time in re- cruiting. Rhubarb. — Mr. Joseph Myatt, of Deptford, who is cele- brated for his fine rhubard, was the first to cultivate it on a large scale. It is now nearly forty years since he first sent his two sons to the Borough Market with five bunches, of which they could only sell three. Next time they went they took ten bunches with them, which were all sold. Mr. 446 Market Gardening around London. Myatt could even then see that rhubarb would, in time, be- come a public favorite, and the result has proved the correct- ness of his views, for it is now generally used both by rich and poor; it is no longer called "physic," as it was wont to be in bygone days. Rhubarb will grow in almost any soil provided it is rich ; but light land, well manured, will always produce a better flavored stalk than a stiff, retentive clay. We have had a great deal of rain this winter, and rhubarb in consequence is not near so well flavored as in a dry and rather frosty season; the stalks are full of watery juice, which the roots have taken up ; and in some places the tops of the leaves are beginning to rot amongst the straw. This has led some market gardeners to adopt means of keeping the roots dry. Mr. Mitchell, of Enfield, has grown his Early Rhubarb this winter in the following manner. He lifted the roots, packed them, with a little mould between them, on the floors of long sheds, and covered the crowns two feet thick with tree leaves. These produced sufficient heat to bring it forward gently ; and I never saw better or finer rhubarb at Christmas. The usual plan of forcing it about London con- sists in digging long pits to the depth of two to three feet, introducing eighteen inches of hot dung, and then packing the roots closely together in a little mould, covering the crowns with hoops or with six inches of straw ; then hurdles or mats, and finishing with six or eight inches of straw, the amount of the latter depending on the severity of the winter. In this way strong well flavored stalks are produced, provided the weather is dry. The color is bright red, and the leaf is always very small. Many prefer forced rhubarb on account of its tender fibre. No skinning is required, and it is much less acid than that from the natural ground. Those who de- sire this kind of rhubarb, therefore, might easily obtain it by placing about a barrowful of straw over each crown. This covering would be cheap, and, besides bringing it on a little earlier, it would help to manure the ground and keep off frost. Rhubarb growing out of doors is so simple that little can be said respecting it. The ground being heavily ma- nured, a plant is taken up and divided into as many eyes or Market Gardening around London. 447 buds as it possesses. These are planted four feet apart, and by the autumn they will have produced roots from six pounds to ten pounds in weight. The oldest roots are' generally taken up for forcing ; and by always having a good rotation, the grower has the power of continually changing the ground, and thus obtaining a heavier crop. The forced plants will furnish eyes for a continual succession, without growing plants for the purpose, and the eyes may be divided and planted again for a main crop. I have practised this plan on a small scale many years ago, . The following are four first-rate sorts : Mitchell's Early Albert, Randall's Early Prolific (this is as yet little known, but it is eight or ten days earlier than the Linnaeus ; it is high colored and well flavored,) Myatt's Lirmaeus is next in earli- ness, and Myatt's Victoria is the latest. Twelve heads (leaves and stalks) of the latter weighed seventy pounds. Early Peas. — These are sown in rows three feet six inches apart, in December, on borders under walls, and by the sides of hedges ; cabbages or White Cos lettuces pricked out of the frames, or from under the hoops, where they were becom- ing crowded, are planted between the rows. The peas are never staked up. The sorts used are the Early Frame and Improved Bishop's and Groom's Dwarf. Peas do not now pay the London growers. They are therefore largely grown in Kent, Essex, Surrey, and Bedford, where the ground is equally early and cheaper. Beans. — The Early Mazagan and Early Long-pod are groAvn upon warm borders in rows two feet six inches apart, with some other crop between the rows. The only care they require is taking their heads off after the plants show a fair quantity of blossom. This concentrates the sap, and makes them a week earlier. The main crops of beans are obtained from the counties above mentioned. Mushrooms. — These are much sought after in Covent Gar- den market where their annual sale amounts to several thousand pottles, each pottle weighing a pound. Mushroom beds are made after the following manner : — ^As the fresh manure is brought home from the London stables, the short material is 448 Market Gardeni7ig around London. ' shaken out of it, and the long strawy part is kept for the pur- poses of covering as well as for forming the interior of ridges, for all mushroom beds out of doors are made into ridges. The manure is not allowed to heat before it is put into the beds, if that can be prevented ; for previously heated mate- rial does not produce such fine mushrooms. The fresher the horse-dung is the longer will the crop last ; and every gar- dener who makes up beds with unheated droppings, knows how superior they are to fermented manure. If this is properly attended to, it does not signify what kind of mould is used for surfacing the bed with. Market gardeners obtain enormous crops from ridges covered with common light well-enriched mould. When the interior tem- perature of the ridge gets down to 80°, it is spawned with pieces about two inches square, placed about a foot apart : the bed is then moulded over two inches thick, pressed with the feet and afterwards beaten with the spade. It is then watered and beaten again with the spade and smoothed down. The more the mould is pressed the finer the crop is, and the more solid the texture of the mushroom. This and green or unheated manure constitute the two grand secrets in mushroom growing. Mushroom beds made up in this way want but little watering, and when they are watered it ought to be with liquid manure. The ridges are covered with straw and mats ; such ridges as these are continually being made, and when well formed, they last from two to three months in good bearing. I believe I am correct in saying that there are about ten acres of ground round London continually under mushrooms, which are all wanted for the various me- tropolitan markets. Mulching. — Summer covering, or mulching, with stable litter, is extensively practised by many of the first-rate mar- ket-gardeners, not only in the case of strawberries, but also in that of plantations of gooseberry and currant trees, as well as in some orchards. This mulching not only keeps all fruit clean, but it has many other advantages ; for instance, it maintains the surface of the earth in a moist state, thereby preserving all top fibres, and, in addition to keeping down Pomological Gossip. 449 weeds, when dug iii, it enriches the ground. Unfortunately, if this covering or mulching was practised in private kitchen gardens, it would be considered slovenly. Nevertheless, it is my opinion that, during summer, all crops ought to have a good mulching. This would greatly assist hungry gardens, in which a necessary quantity of manure is not allowed. Art. III. Pomological Gossip. Hovey's Seedling Strawberry. The character of c Seedling strawberry is so well known, and generally appi ciated, that it seems superfluous to say anything respecting . We have no desire to do so, otherwise than to introduce letter from a gentleman, who has been a most successful ci tivator of this fruit, and who has written several articles up( the subject in a contemporary journal. Mr. Pardee, as he states, is a stranger to us, except so far as we are familiar with his articles on the strawberry ; and his remarks, we presume, are dictated by a desire to do justice to a variety about which there appears to exist a difference of opinion, as respects its general character. But we will let Mr. Pardee speak for himself : — C. M. Hovey, Esq. Dear Sir : — Although I am a stranger to you, yet I am possessed of some facts respecting your Seed- ling strawberry, which I suppose will interest you, and this is my apology for writing to you. I have a neighbor, an interesting old gentleman of the old school. Col. Jas. S. Stoddard, the very same man who orig- inated and sent out " Stoddard's Seedling," but who, by the way, entirely abandoned both the raising and selling his own seedling after one season's selling, or as soon as he became convinced that the extraordinary production and size of the berry was more the result of his attentive cultivation, than any superior quality in his seedling, over and above its parent the Alpine, which, I believe, generally produces its like or very nearly so. VOL. XVII. NO. X. 57 450 _ Pomological Gossip. As soon as the Col. entertained a doubt about his berry not sustaining his expectation, he obtained a dozen strong plants of Hovey's Seedling, of J. J. Thomas, and planted them in his garden and gave them the most careful attention, until, in a year or two, he filled his garden entirely with Hovey's Seedling, and banished entirely his seedling, leaving but a small number of scattered plants of the Lord Spencer, as a staminate plant, on one border of his garden. His bed of Hovey's, at first cultivated in hills, bore astonishingly during four successive years, and although he allowed them to cover the ground the last two years, yet every plant appeared to bear perfect fruit and in the greatest abundance. He sup- plied his neighbors with some of the same plants, which would with their care fail to bear. This summer he has re- newed his beds and planted out 8000 Hovey's, two plants in a hill, with a care and perfection I have never seen equalled. He steadfastly refuses (from all quarters) to try even any other kind, and does not believe any other kind worth trying compared with Hovey's. Having nothing to do but to watch (he is a most careful observer) and take care of his garden, which is almost entirely or at least mainly devoted to those strawberries, he cultivates them with a skUl and assiduity I have never seen at all equalled. He set out his new beds in July, and has carefully hoed them every week since, keeping them perfectly clean, and if a dry time occurs, he will sprinkle them with two hundred pails full of water per day. His vines are in hills full two feet or more apart, and, even now, almost cover the ground. I never saw so fine looking plants in my life, and from the dark color and thrifty appearance, I risk nothing in saying, if the Col's life is spared, he will show next season, the finest strawberry bed, of the same size, with the most fruit on, this or any other country ever produced. He is doing his best to sustain the reputation of Hovey's against any and every odds, and he takes great pleasure in it. He says he believes the excellen- ces of Hovey's Seedling is yet but imperfectly appreciated anywhere, and he is going to see if it can be beat. He thinks by a careful selection of plants, and attentive cultiva- Pomological Gossip. 451 tion, sufficient stamens will be produced on Hovey's to fer- tilize them. Some parts of his Hovey's, have been the dis- tance of one to two hundred feet from any other kinds. He never alloAvs the plants to receive a check Avhile on his ground, but constantly thriving. It is no ordinary privilege to visit monthly, or oftener, such beds of berries as he raises, and if you come West next June, I can assm-e you it will be worth your stopping to see the Col's bed of Hovey's, for they will astonish you ; and I doubt whether even Boston can equal the Col. in skill in cultivating them, and om- soil in Western New York is very favorable for strawberries. The Col. never trenches over a spade deep, and puts none but the most completely rotted manm-e on his ground. Excuse my hasty letter. I tried to persuade the Col. to write, but he is too old, he says, and I am so much interested in his success, I could but write the originator of the fine Seedling. I am very respectfully yom's, R. G. Pardee. Palmyra, Wayne Co. N. Y., Sept. 11th, 1851. It is really gratifying to meet, occasionally, with some of these gentlemen " of the old school," as Col. Stoddard ap- pears to be ; whose solid judgment and sterling common sense are not warped and influenced by every whim of the day ; who look upon quackery in gardening, as upon all oth- er quackery, and would no more lend their influence to one, than to the other. We have no doubt but that he is perfectly willing cultivators may burn up whole beds of plants, an- alyze their ashes, and experiment to their hearts' content, if they choose to do so, while he, in the mean time, goes on in his own way, reaping the most abundant harvests. The example of Col. Stoddard in discarding at once his own seedling strawberry, which, at the time, was so highly spoken of, is well worthy of imitation ; if other cultivators would do the same, our catalogues of strawberries would soon be " beautifully less" in number, while the public would be great gainers. We believe we stated at the time, not with any view of lessening the value of his seedling, but in ac- 452 Pomological Gossip. cordance with what we considered to be our duty, that it would be found to be nothing more than the Wood under high cuhiue ; and though to this day we were not aware that Col. Stoddard had given up its cultivation, it only shows that we were correct in our remarks. After the achievement in the culture of Hovey's Seedling, by Mr. Pell, of New York, by which he raised them eight inches in circumference and weighing two ounces, we are ready to admit with Col. Stoddard, "that its excellences are but im- perfectly appreciated," and we hope we may have the gratifi- cation of witnessing, another year, what he has done to sus- tain, as Mr. Pardee says, "its reputation." If he equals Mr. Pell he will accomplish a good work ; if he excels him, he will do more than has yet been done in the culture of this fruit. Exhibition oj Pears at the Annual Exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. — Our report of the fine display of fruit on this occasion, will be found in another page. It was certainly, notwithstanding the dry season, one of the finest exhibitions of the pear, ever made in this coun- try. It would have done some of the croakers, who talk of our " sandy soil and rude climate," a deal of good, to have looked in upon the huge specimens of Duchesses, Beurre Diels, Bartletts, Louise Bonnes, &c. &c., weighing, some of them, more than a pound each. It quite astonished us to see such results, after the great drought of the summer. The specimens for premium were extraordinarily fine, and it was with no little difficulty, we believe, that the committee made up their award, so nearly equal were the fruits of the competitors. The varieties in the premium stands were as follows : — From Jos. Stickney, Le Cure, Bartlett, Dix, Flemish Beau- ty, Belle Lucrative, Duchess of Angouleme, Colmar d'Arem- berg, Andrews, Thompson, Napoleon, Beurre Diel, and Louise Bonne of Jersey. From S. Downer, Jr., Columbia, Passe Colmar, Beurre Diel, Napoleon, Duchess of Angouleme, Urbaniste, Leon le Clerc Van Mons, Chaumontelle, Glout Morceau, Bai'tlett, Louise Bonne of Jersey, and White Doyenne. Summer and Autumn Greenhouse Plants. 453 From M. P. Wilder, Leon le Clerc Van Mons, Beurre d'Anjou, Columbia, Duchess of Angouleme, Dunmore, Beurre Diel, Urbaniste, Le Cure, Passe Colmar, Golden Beurre of Bilboa, Glout Morceau, and Louise Bonne of Jersey. From W. Schimming, gardener to J. P. Cushing, CatiJ- lac, Bemre Diel, Duchess of Angouleme, Seckel, Gansell's Bergamot, St. Andre, Easter Beurre, Doyenne Gris, White Doyenne, Winter Nelis, Louise Bonne of Jersey, and Glout Morceau. From Hovey & Co., Beurre Langelier, Swan's Orange, Beurre Diel, Doyenne Boussock, White Doyenne, Duchess of Angouleme, Flemish Beauty, Louise Bomie of Jersey, Leon le Clerc Yan Mons, Belle Lucrative, Glout Morceau, and Bartlett. Art. IV. Notes on Summer and Autumn Flowering Green- house Plants. By Hortus. Plumbagos. P. capensis and P. Larpentte are elegant decorative plants ; the flowers of the former are of a pale blue, and those of the latter of a deep clear blue color, forming a beautiful object when well grown. P. capensis is a strong, free growing plant, of a straggling habit, requiring frequent pinching in the young shoots to form a good shaped plant ; it should be spur pruned, like a grape vine, after it has done flowering, kept cool and dry all winter and repotted in spring. P. Lar- pentfE is of more recent introduction and slender in growth ; it was found growing on the city wall of Shanghae, in China, so that it requires good drainage and rather moderate supply of water, at least when young or newly potted ; it seems to grow with the greatest vigor without any more water than it receives from slight syringing once or twice a day ; it may prove hardy on a dry border and also make a good plant for flower beds in summer, in shady situations. Blue flowered plants, adapted for the flower garden, are not numerous and 454 Simmier and Autumn Greenhouse Plants. if this subject be found suitable for this purpose, it Avill be a decided acquisition. Cuttings, rooted in the fall, should be kept in small pots all winter, and turned out in the floAver garden in May ; they should be kept rather dry all winter ; they grow best in a porous sandy loam, pots particularly well drained. ACHIMENES Can hardly be dispensed with for greenhouses during sum- mer ; the varieties are numerous and distinct, both in foliage and flower. Grandiflora, longiflora, picta, patens, coccinea, rosea, pedunculata, and multiflora, are good varieties. They are chiefly propagated by the tubers which are plentifully produced at the roots ; these should be started in succession from February to May, covering them slightly with soil ; when sufficiently advanced for potting they can be placed singly in small pots, or in masses in large ones ; a moist shaded atmosphere is indispensable to their proper develop- ment ; they are not particular to soil, so that it is sufficiently porous to allow free percolation of water and air. After the plants have done flowering, and the tops die down, the tubers may either be allowed to remain undisturbed in the pots, or shaken out and preserved in sand, merely keeping them dry and free from frost. Thunbergias. These are showy, slender-growing plants. T. alata and its different varieties are very ornamental if allowed to hang naturally over the pot. There are several species of this genus. The simplest method of raising them is from seed ; sow early in spring, and pot singly when of sufficient size ; they grow well in rich turfy soil, and require plenty of pot room. They must have plenty of water while flowering, and are much benefited by applications of manure water. To save seed, set a plant out of doors towards the end of summer ; the seed will form and ripen better than in the house. Cuttings may be rooted in August and kept all win- ter at the warmest end of the house \ very little water will suffice them at this season. Summer and Autumn Greenhouse Plants. 455 Fuchsias Are everywhere esteemed as the most graceful of green- house plants ; they thrive well in light turfy soil, — if mixed with pieces of charcoal or broken bones, so much the better. Old plants should have all the old soil shaken from their roots early in spring ; shorten in the roots and repot them in small pots, to be subsequently shifted as they require. Frequent syringings are very be^ieficial to them when starting into growth. They look best when grown in a pyran^idal form, to effect Avhich a good strong shoot should be selected as a leader, and tied to an upright stake ; by pinching out the points of the side branches a dense conical bush may be ob- tained. When the blooming season is over, they should be set out of doors, duly supplied with water, to ripen the wood perfectly, otherwise they will start feebly in the following spring. When deciduous they require no water. Cuttings rooted in the fall, and shifted in spring in fresh soil, make the finest plants. Seeds sown in early spring will flower the same year in five-inch pots. The following kinds are pretty : Acantha, corallina. Napoleon, flavescens, globosa major, One m the ring, Goliah, Recurva, Snowdrop, Beauty of Salisbury, and Magnificent. Hibiscuses. The Chinese rose Hibiscus and its varieties are very showy flowering plants. The single varieties seed freely and may be increased by this means. Cuttings of the double varieties planted in August, and kept in small pots carefully watered all winter, will attain a large size the following year if at- tended to. A soil of a rich turfy character is requisite, to which may be added a portion of decomposed manure. Re- pot in spring if requisite, and supply abmidantly with water, both at root and top, when in leaf. Keep them dryer as the flowers fade, and place them in a dry warm situation in winter. Gardenias. These are familiar as the Cape Jasmines, and although many of the numerous species require a hothouse to bring 456 Summer aud Autumn Greenhouse Plants. them to perfection, G. radicans and G. florida succeed well in the greenhouse ; they are beautiful evergreens, flowers white, and very fragrant. Their management is comparatively easy, although in winter they require care in watering, very little being necessary. As a general rule all plants of a tender nature should be kept rather dry in cold weather. The soil for them should be sandy loam, with rubbly stones mixed in it ; perfect drainage of the pots is indispensable. Shift in spring or early summer. Towards the end of summer they may be fiilly exposed to the weather for a month or two. Cuttings of the young shoots strike root pretty freely. Clerodendrons. These are very robust, strong growing plants, with large foliage and magnificent heads of bloom. They require plen- ty of pot-room and a strong turfy soil to grow them well ; they become deciduous in the fall and must be placed in the warmest end of the house during winter, or at least kept per- fectly free from cold or damps. As soon as' they show signs of growth they must be repotted, all the roots shaken out and pruned in, so that they may be placed in small pots to admit of shiftings as the plant progresses. Plenty of moist- ure is their principal requirement when once they get estab- lished in the pots. They are easily increased, either from seed or by cuttings from the young wood in spring. Nerium Oleander. This is a very plentiful plant, but seldom receives proper treatment, many specimens being lanky and scanty of foli- age. Old plants of this character should be well cut down, and when new shoots are formed, turn it out the pot and clean away most of the old soil and repot carefully shaking the soil properly about the roots. To enable them to have fine clean foliage, they should be frequently syringed over- head during their growth. This plant can be made to form a fine shape by proper pruning in over luxuriant shoots. The pyramidal shape is certainly best for all plants, as it ex- poses the largest surface to light and air. They can be set Drainage of Plants grown in Pots. 457 out of doors towards the end of summer, and kept in a warm light place in the house during winter ; kept rather dry than otherwise. Cuttings root freely. Chrysanthemums. The chrysanthemum is one of the best autumn flowering plants ; their various colors enliven a greenhouse at a season when few plants are in bloom. It is of the easiest culture, and fine specimens for the house may be obtained from old stools in the border, potting them in August, setting them in a shady spot for a few days, afterwards fully exposing them to the sun' to keep them dwarf and stocky. Cuttings struck in May and shifted as they require will make fine bushy plants if the tops are constantly pinched out of every shoot, until the end of July, when they should be allowed to form flower buds. Very fine dwarf flowering plants can be ob- tained by layering the stems in August in four-inch pots. Giving the stem a twist at the desired height, and secure them in the soil with a peg, they will soon form roots, when they can be separated from the stock. Any good strong loamy soil will suit them. They should be duly supplied with Avater, otherwise the bottom leaves will yellow and fall off. Watering with manure water after the flower buds are formed, will increase the size and beauty of the flowers. After they are past flowering turn them out in the flower border, and cover slightly with leaves. September 1, 1851. Art. V. Drainage of Plants grown in Pots, By H. Bock. The general laws which regulate the vegetable economy are applicable alike to plants grown in the open ground, and to those cultivated in pots ; the vegetative principle is never changed or altered either in plants subjected to artificial treat- ment, or in those which may be said to occupy a more natu- VOL. XVII. NO. X. 58 458 Drainage of Plants grown in Pots. ral position. In accordance with this theory there is a trite saying, that plants, when grown in pots, should be treated in all essential particulars like those grown in the open ground, or, in other words, that the gardener should do in pot culture what the farmer practises in a field ; and since the system of drainage effects astonishing results in agriculture, it is not unreasonable to expect similar advantages from its application to the purposes of horticulture. But the operation of draining a pot requires to be per- formed with a perfect understanding as to the mode in which it is likely to have a beneficial effect. When only a piece of broken potsherd or any other substance is placed over the hole at the bottom of the pot which is being drained, the percolation and escape of superabundant moisture will, in all likelihood, be prevented by the pressure of the soil around it ; the water will lodge at the bottom of the pot, and the roots of the plant will suffer, owing to the free circulation of air being impeded. It is, therefore, reasonable to infer that, be- sides the principal crock that covers the hole, other or addi- tional materials are necessary. In the first place, the crock should be placed so that it does not lie fiat over the hole ; for when lying positively flat it is very apt to stop up the passage of the water. When the crock has been properly placed it should be covered with a quantity of small pieces of brick, broken pots, angular stones of any kind, or similar materials ; above this superstructure, which may range from an inch to two inches in depth, (ac- cording to the size of the pot,) should be placed a layer of the same kind of material, broken considerably smaller, so that the soil, when placed in the pot, may not choke up the interstices of the under layer ; or even fill them too much in being pressed or shaken down. It is now well known that pieces of bricks, from their porous texture, act in the manner of a sponge for the azote, Avhich is so essential to the nour- ishment of plants. Such substances become, in fact, by their physical action and chemical properties, an actual manm-e for plants. By means of them the soil in the pot becomes aerat- ed, and the water passes freely off ; the plant must in conse- quence be under the best condition to secure its health. Drainage of Plants grown in Pots. 459 It may be readily conceived that if, iii this under-layer of drainage materials, there was placed a physical body consti- tuted so as to operate in a threefold manner to retain one of the elements of air the most useful to vegetation, to allow the air to penetrate the mass of soil, and to facilitate the proper passage of the water from the roots, and which, at the same time, by gradual decomposition, incessantly transmitted from below fresh nourishment to the roots, — a substance pos- sessing these advantages would certainly be the most suita- ble to be used in the cultivation of plants in pots. In countries where great progress has been made in the cultiva- tion of the soil, we see that not only is the ground traversed with drains and properly aerated, but it is also manured with substances which, by their gradual decomposition, minister to the daily requirements of the plants grown. Are similar re- sults not attainable with plants cultivated in pots ? We can- not hazard a negative reply to such a question. Some cultivators have adopted the system of draining the pots by means of broken or crushed bones, which, having the same absorbing qualities as the pieces of brick, even in a higher degree, are still more susceptible of gradual decompo- sition, especially after they have been treated with sulphuric acid, weakened by water. The bones thus throw off or dis- engage ammoniacal gas, and furnish a quantity of sulphate and calcareous phosphate, all of which are essential to the nourishment of plants. Even for plants which admit only of being grown in peat, the beneficial effects of broken bones have been fully proved to be considerable and decided. Cushing^s Gardens, Watertown, Mass., August 1851. We commend the above excellent paper to every cultivator of plants, as a complete rationale of the philosophy of drain- age. More plants are injured from a want of the knowledge of proper drainage than from almost any other cause. — Ed. 460 Notes on Gardens and Nurseries. Art. VI. Notes on Gardens and Nurseries. Linniere, Residence of R. S. Fay, Esq., September 1. In our volume for 1849, (XV, p. 399,) we gave some account of this new place, and the improvements which had been made, and of others in contemplation. Since that time, now more than two years, a great alteration has been made in the grounds. The proprietor has been abroad in Europe since 1849, but he has not neglected anything in regard to the im- provements upon his place. The improvements are mainly the planting of quantities of trees, mostly evergreens, over the very large tract of land which is comprised within the limits of Linmere. The proprietor has sent home large quantities of seedling evergreen trees, which have been planted in nursery rows, and these, together with such as were previously set out, and others raised from seed upon the grounds, now num- ber many thousands — enough already to very essentially change the features of the place, when they are removed to their appropriate places. But these are only the beginning, for Mr. Fay will spare no ordinary expense to render his grounds the most interesting in their arboricultural character, of any in the vicinity. Our visit was made at the present time, mainly to inspect the evergreens, particularly those of which we made mention before, and some of which were new sorts whose hardness had not been tested in our climate. But we are gratified to state that all, with but one or two ex- ceptions, have grown finely, though not so thriftily as they would have done in some places. The kinds were as fol- lows : — Pinus cembra, 1 foot high, now 4 feet, fine. Pinus excelsa, 2 feet, now 5 feet, very fine. Picea pinsapo, 2 feet, now 5 feet, handsome. j4^bies Smithmwa, 2 feet, now 5 feet, and beautiful. Cedrus Deodara, 2 feet, now 6 feet, beautifully branched, and an elegant drooping tree. There are many specimens of these. Cryptomeria japonica, 2 feet, now 5 feet. This has been Garden of O. Johnson. 461 protected with cedar boughs only, and has grown well, though not set out till the fall of 1849, It will undoubtedly prove hardy. An Austrian pine, brought home by Mr. Fay in 1848, in a small 6 inch basket, was now nine feet high, and proportion- ally broad. The principal evergreens which have been planted in nursery rows for future removal, are the Austrian and Scotch pines, Norway spruce. Silver fir, White pine and Arbor vitse — also many thousands of the Scotch larch. The success of Mr. Fay is encoiu:aging to all lovers of orna- mental improvement ; for how different must be the effect of our winter scenery, with all the above kinds of trees, inter- mixed with the common sorts, which have exclusively been planted. It is no longer a matter of doubt in regard to the hardiness of all we have enumerated, particularly the Deodar cedar, for which many fears were entertained in regard to its capability of withstanding our severe winters. All the trees planted on the avenue leading to the house have done well, saving the drought of the season, and many of the silver leaf maples have made a very great growth, and add more to the beauty of the avenue than the others. The oaks have done the poorest ; but this, we think, was owing much more to the size and character of the trees, than to the kind of tree. At another time we hope to give a more particular account of several of the new deciduous and other trees which have been planted, as well as Mr. Fay's success in raising seed- ling oaks, beeches, &c. with which he has had good success. Garden of O. Johiison. Taking advantage of a visit to Lynn, we called upon our friend Mr. Johnson, in order to have a look at his fine garden. We found it, as usual, in the finest order as regards good keeping, but suffering very severely on account of the long contiimed drought, which appeiirs to have been unusually severe here. The flower garden was entirely divested of its beauty, and the fruit and kitchen garden had not the vigorous and healthy appearance of previous seasons. The pear trees were, indeed, in some 462 General Notices. instances quite yellow, so much had the foliage been affected. The pear crop has been unusually light this year here, and the only notable things were the Green Gage plums, which were very fine, the trees being loaded down ; and the Duchess of Angouleme pears, which Mr. Johnson always raises, of large size and great beauty. The Duchess is trained to a trellis, and has not failed to bear a fair crop every year. It is well known that this variety is a shy bearer, in most places, always flowering full, but the flowers immediately falling before the fruit is set. Whether it requires the protection afforded by a fence, to make it set or not, we cannot say ; but that this tree should always bear, seems to prove it. In a more favorable time we should have found much more to note, than at om' present visit. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Art. I. General JVotices. Floriculture of the Toilet. — One of the favorite amusements of infancy is to plait crowns with the wild flowers of the woods and fields. The timid lover expresses his passion by the homage of a bouquet ; and the young belle naively abandons to her favorite the flowers which decked her brow or withered on her bosom. Old age itself smiles on flowers. Crowns and other garlands may be traced to the most remote antiquity. Among the Greeks and Romans the crown was, so to speak, the ordinary hair-dress of the great philosophers. Socrates had always his head encircled with flowers. Alcibiades changed his crown three times a day. At eighty years of age Anacreon mixed roses with his white hairs. Csesar, who was bald at thirty years of age, was indebted for a long time to the crown of flowers to conceal this defect from the beauties of Rome. At Athens, as at Rome, no one could present himself in public without his crown. At the present day there is an evident inclination to return to the better cus- toms of Greece and Rome, and no fashionable lady can present herself respectably at a ball, or an evening party, without having a rose or a ca- mellia in her breast. Let us hope that in a short time the crown and the bouquet will be rigorously enforced in every re-union which has pleasure for its object. Why should not our ladies abandon the ungraceful cap for the odoriferous crown of flowers ? Flowers are, besides, the natural emblem of luxury, riches, and abundance. By-and-by, we feel pretty sure, they will replace the absurd cap, however costly it may be made. In order to render this part of horticulture directly realizable, we shall pass on to the General Notices. 463 descriptions of head-dress in fashion — the first since 1847 ; the second dur- ing the present year, 1851 ; and the third, with some exceptions, at inter- mittent periods. Coiffure A LA Flore, (Head-dress of Flowers.) This is suitable for those persons whose proportions and forms are of the most perfect character, and which come nearest the Grecian type. The profile especially must be one of those which are commonly found represented on ancient bas-reliefs. This head-dress is worn with the hair arranged in graceful wavy locks, the back being tied in a bunch, merely with a narrow band, and the ends floating down. The crown of flowers does not in this case form a diadem, but is tied in a knot behind, and at the lowest part of the head, from Avhich point it gradually enlarges till it reaches the front, or the point immediately above the brow. This form of crown is composed of high-colored flowers, as the rose, narcissus, hyacinth, camellia, carna- tion, and sometimes an orchid ; and it is bordered with ericas and distichous cypress, terminating in leaves, with the more slender or fine parts of branches of flowers, which take an upright, and at the same time a nodding form. The ancient ear-rings, and the string of pearls around the neck, har- monize admirably with this head dress, which, invented more than a thou- sand years, is not the less handsome, and in keeping with good taste. Coiffure a la Ceres, (Head-dress of Cereals.) — This kind of head- dress," says M. Lachaume, " is worn with either even or wavy locks. It is very graceful, but only suited for those ladies who have the head well pro- portioned. It should always be made in the form of a diadem in front, from the top of the brow. It is best formed (plaited) of the small flowers of roses or of camellias, mixed with violets, pinks, &c. The erica, or any very light foliage, is indispensable." We shall only add that nothing can be more graceful or appropriate than one or two spikes of Hordeum zeocri- ton, H. hexastichon, Triticum monococcum, and other ornamental grains. They are used dry for this purpose, and decorated, by means of gum, with gold or silver in leaf. Ladies make elegant bouquets of these cereals, which last throughout the winter. Cereals for head-dresses should be sown in spring, and the golden yellow spikes when matured have a charm- ing effect among the flowers which have been already named. In winter the forced flowers of Pyrus japonica, as well as the Coelestina, will be found very serviceable. Coiffure a la Pomone, (Head-dress of Fruit.) — This form is chiefly suitable for those who have a large and robust figure and a healthy, high-colored complexion. The crown is large, formed of fruits and leaves of the most select sorts. The top of the corset is also furnished with a garland formed in a similar manner. This style of ornament has many resources which are much ignored by artistes. The pretty red ber- ries of Ardisia crenulata have a fine effect, resembling bunches of coral beads, and which may be obtained during the whole winter in our stoves. The short-fruited spikes of Cham^rops humilis are equally desirable, and may be as readily obtained. Many of the common thorn, or Cratiegas, also furnish abundant resources. The white berries of the Mistletoe, (Viscum album,) with their leathery leaves, which do not soon fade, are excellent for this purpose, as well as the pearly berries of Rhipsolis. Besides many 464 General Notices. varieties of natural fruits, imitations in glass, especially small bunches of grapes, are very effective. — [Gard. Journal, 1851, p. 582.) New Flowers and Fruits in the Garden of the London Hor- ticultural Society. — Among new plants raised are some from Cali- fornian seeds. They consist of a shrubby Spiraea, said to have pink flow- ers ; a Philadelphus, with spikes of white blossoms, said to be fragrant ; some purple and white flowered bulbs, a white Lupin, a shrubby Pentste- mon, reported to attain a height of three feet, the blooms being white and purple, and produced in early spring ; a blue Pentstemon, (apparently a Scutellaria,) Erysimum Arkansanum, stated to reach three feet in height, and to be more beautiful than E. Peroffskianum ; and some other plants, whose true characters it will require some time yet to prove. A few Rus- sian and New Holland plants have also been raised, to which the same re- mark applies. Among the former may be mentioned Araucaria Cookii, an interesting kind in the way of, but distinct from, A. excelsa. A quantity of oaks, said to be evergreen, has been raised from seeds received from Koor- distan. They are nice plants, and will soon be ready for distribution. In one of the vineries we observed the Chasselas Musque grape nearly ripe, but not split, as ia customary with it. This is prevented by keeping the border in an equable state. If the latter is permitted to become too dry, and suddenly saturated with water, the fruit is sure to split. The same thing happens with plums in certain stages of growth, on the occurrence of much wet after drought. Reeves' Muscadine was bearing largely. It is a Cape grape, of good quality, and a certain bearer. A good crop of peaches has been secured on the wall, coping boards having been the chief protec- tion in spring. Among the varieties was the Shanghae peach, introduced by Mr. Fortune. It resembles tlie Late Admirable, and is very good, but hardly adapted to our cold springs. It is reported to succeed admirably in the climate of Paris. Ripened there the fruit is said to be delicious. The Pucelle de Malines and Malta peaches are both good kinds. The latter is, however, rather a shy grower. The Imperatrice and Balgowan nectarines are worth attention. If the former is allowed to hang on the tree till it shrivels, it is very rich. Some fruit of the latter, which is like the Violette Hative, measured eight inches in circumference. We also remarked Den- yer's Victoria plum, which is identical with the Alderton, a place in Sussex, where old trees of it are growing. Apples are a tolerable crop. They are better on standards than on dwarfs. Pears have been much thinned by the spring frosts. Among apples in the fruit room, we remarked the summer Golden Pip- pin, a first class variety ; Reinette de Laak, a handsome sort, something like the Golden Reinette, but rather more Pearmain shaped ; the Graven- stein, tolerably perfect notwithstanding our cold season ; Kerry, Oslin and Wormsley Pippins ; the latter is a good apple, both for kitchen and table use. Associated with these was also a little known apple called Baleboro- dova, a Russian variety, large, ovate, red next the sun, and bearing a deli- cate bloom like that of a plum. It is a fine looking apple, with an agreea- bly brisk flavor.— {Gard Chron., 1851, p. 5U8.) General Notices. . 465 Gatherijtg and Storing Fruit. — The gathering', storing, and subse- quent care of Avinter fruit, does not in the majority of instances receive from the gardener that degree of attention which the importance of those partic- ular branches of his calling entitle them to. That such should be so, be- comes a matter of astonishment, when we recollect that from such fruit the kitchen and dessert are to be principally supplied for so long a period — at least, so far as the winter produce of the garden is concerned. So that the fruit is gathered, and conveyed to the fruit room, or to some nondescript structure dignified with that appellation, is often all that is cared for. The performance of the operation is entrusted to laborers and boys, who possess not the least idea of the importance of their occupation, or of the manner in which it should be performed. Stems are plucked out by careless gath- ering, leaving wounds Avhich soon destroy the fruit. Baskets are heaped one upon another, bruising the majority of the fruit, and inducing ultimate decay. Good and bad are huddled promiscuously together, to be heaped up in the fruit room, till leisure, or a wet day, gives a more fitting opportu- nity to assort them. The latter operation is often delayed till sad inroads are made in the better as well as the more inferior of the fruit. Where well kept fruits are desired, too much care cannot be bestowed on the gath- ering and storing. In the former operation, they should be carefully select- ed from the trees at a proper season, which a practised eye will alone ascer- tain. In the baskets, or in whatever receptacle they are conveyed to the fruit room, they should not be allowed to press one upon another in too great quantities. None but the very prime specimens should be associated for long keeping. All inferior or damaged fruit should be put aside, to be used immediately, or as occasion requires. When your fine fruit reaches the fruit room, delicate handling should by no means be disr;^garded. They should, one by one, be carefully placed where they are to remain ; and not, as is often done, turn them out of the baskets in a mass, damaging lialf the contents in the process. After storing has ceased, frequent and careful examination, at least among the superior fruits, should be made. Different kinds of fruit exhibit peculiarities in their mode of decay, and these pecu- liarities are constant. Some of them are, however, more infectious than others. Many early ripening pears decay rapidly, witliout any outward in- dications, becoming what is technically termed " sleepy." Various other kinds, which remain in perfection to a lengthened period, decay naturally in a similar manner. The Swan's-egg pear decays in spots on its exterior, which gradually enlarge, till the whole fruit is rotten. The peculiar flavor of the decaying portions of this fruit is confined entirely to itself The nearest approach to the latter mode of decay takes place in the Ribstone Pippin apple, especially if stored in a damp and impure atmosphere. Many kinds of decay — premature decay, and the most to be dreaded in a fruit room — arise from tlie decomposing substance being attacked by minute fungi in the form of mildew. These minute vegetables disseminate their invisible germs in myriads, ever ready to establish themselves in suitable situations for vegetating. Bruised and damaged fruit offer the necessary situations ; and, being once established, their progress is rapid. Speaking VOL. XVII. NO. X. 59 466 Domestic Notices. of the Ribstone Pippin as decaying in a confined and impure atmosphere, we may mention an illustrative instance. Calling one day at a garden, the superintendent of which was somewhat of the old school, we were shown into the fruit room, and our attention was directed to a number of this fruit, nearly all of which were decaying in the manner before described; and the flavor of those not decaying was artything but palatable. The gardener assured us that he had lost his fruit in the same manner every season since the fruit room had been built. We may observe that the room, which was very small, appeared to be the receptacle of every kind of rubbish. On the floor were heaps of potatoes, many of them decaying, and emitting no very attractive odors. In one corner, a quantity of half-rotten apples ; in another, a heap of damp rubbish ; there a quantity of cucumbers and vege- table marrows retained for seed, the former half putrid ; with numerous other matters, equally foreign to a well regulated fruit room. But of the Ribstone Pippins. Previously to this fruit room being built, the fruit had for several years been stored in a large airy room, at some distance from the garden. There, no such symptoms as have been described evinced themselves, and the fruit was invariably of a proper flavor. It is hoped that no comment is necessary on a case like this. It may, however, be observed that the fruit room is often the receptacle of things which good management would exclude. A remarkable proof that careful gathering and storing have much to do in the preservation of apples and pears to a lengthened period, is afforded by the examination of such kinds of fruit in the hands of good garden amateurs, who possess but limited quantities, and are careful of its preservation. Such persons Avill produce a dessert of such for their own tables, or to grace the tables of a provincial horticultural show, when the majority of larger establishments are unableto do so. — ( Ganl Jour., 1851, p. 515.) Art. II. Domestic JVotices. The N. Y. State Agricultural Society's Fair, at Rochester, on the 16, 17 and 18th, was one of the best the society ever made. The vicinity of Rochester is celebrated for its fine fruits, and on this occasion •amateurs and nurserymen were well represented by fine collections of ap- ples, pears, &c. The report for premiums has been published, and we no- tice our friends Messrs Ellwanger & Barry come in for a good share of the premiums. The best and largest collection of apples, and the best collec- tion of new pears, came from these nurserymen ; they also carried off" the prizes for the greatest variety and quantity of flowers, and the best green- house plants. Mr. Morse, of Cayuga Bridge, had the best collection of good pears. The premium for the best grapes grown under glass, was awarded to Messrs Bissell & Hooker of Rochester. Pgmological Discussion at Rochester. During the fair, a meeting >of amateur cultivators, pomologists and nurserymen, Avas held, at which the merits of the Hawley, Northern Spy and Wagoner apples, were fully dis- /■ Domestic Notices. 467 cussed. The principal speakers were Messrs L. F. Allen, Col. Hodge, Barry, J. W. Bissell, Hooker, Smith, of Macedon, Lang-worthy, and Ford. The discussion, which was of some length, and which we may refer to again, resulted in the passage of the following votes : — Hawley. — That it belongs in the first class, but we have not sufficient experience upon the subject to state what kind of soil is best suited to it. JVorthern Spy. — That it be regarded as a fruit of the first quality, of excellent flavor, and of high, good keeping qualities and that it be recom- mended to general cultivation. Wagener. — That it is a good apple, a fine bearer and worthy of extensive trial. Plumbago Larpe>'t^ hardt. — This beautiful plant which we recently alluded to, has proved quite hardy in the garden of Mr. Jas. Jackson, of Boston ; with merely the slight protection of a few leaves or straw, it stood out last winter, and has flowered abundantly all summer. Mr. Jackson's garden is in the heart of the city, and consequently protected by buildings, but we see no reason to doubt its proving equally hardy in all localities around Boston, where there is a dry subsoil and a slight but loose covering afforded to the plant. It will be doubly valuable if it proves quite hardy. Annual Exhibition of the Providence Horticultural Society. — The annual exhibition of this society was held on the 10th of September, in the large hall over the Providence Depot, in that city, and in connection with the Mechanics Fair. By invitation of the committee, we attended the Exliibition, and we were highly gratified at so excellent a display, particularly of apples. On Wed- nesday, the first day, the plants, as well as the flowers and fruits, were not all arranged, and consequently did not show to good advantage : we no- ticed, however, several superb large orange trees, and very well grown plants of achimenes, fuchsias, &,c. &lc. The dahlias and asters were also very fine ; particularly two of the stands of dahlias, one from the gardener of A. Duncan, and the other from a contributor, whose name we omitted to note down. Among the pears we noticed several dishes of the Rhode Island pears ; viz.; Capsheaf, very large ; Knight's Rhode Island Seedling, large ; Abbott, medium size, handsome ; Buffum, fine ; Pratt, fine ; Wescott, large and fine. L. C. Eaton exhibited quite a number of varieties, but the specimens were ratlier small, and several under synonymous names. The peaches were excellent, but, in most instances, without names. The exhibition was well attended and attracted much attention. American Ploughs at the Exhibition of all Nations. — We are glad to learn that our friends Messrs. Prouty &. Mears have been success- ful in obtaining a medal for one of their excellent ploughs at the great Exhibition. Notwithstanding the prejudice against our American ploughs, and the great fears of the English farmers that they would not answer in consequence of their light construction, so very different from the clumsy, lumberly implements in general use, they have proved, on trial, to be all that was claimed for them. It was with much difficulty that the Exhibitors could obtain a trial ; and as soon as they did, tliey at once silenced the 468 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. sneers of those who had looked upon the American portion of the Exhibi- tion as of no interest or material importance in the general display. A writer says, " Great anxiety was manifested to see the American plough tried, and when the first one was put into the ground, the exclama- tion I heard from many was, ' Those ploughs (the American) will break ; they can't do the work !' But when the plough went through, with great ease to the team, and the ploughman, an Englishman, who had never before held an American plough, said, ' It holds easy,' the tide began to ebb, and soon to turn, before we got through with Prouty & Mears' plough, which was tried next. If we had an assortment of our ploughs here, I have no doubt many of them could be disposed of, the prices being from one third to one half of the English, and doing their work as well. The farmers who have seen, much approve of them. A light two horse plough was tried in the ground with one horse, and ploughed with great ease. They were astonished at this, as it is well known that the prize English ploughs are so heavy that they are a load for one horse to draw without being put into the ground at all. The jurors decided to award the prize medal to the Centre Draught Plough, manufactured by Prouty & Mears, of Boston." Art. III. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Saturday, August 30. Exhibited. — Flowers: Cut flowers and bouquets from P. Barnes, J. Mann, Jr., J. Buck, J. Nugent, E. M. Richards, B. Har- rington, Will. Kenrick, and others. Fruit. — From J. Lovett, 2d, melon — Christiana ; improved high black- berries ; plums — Green Gage, superior, Black Imperial, superior, Washing- ton ; pears — Rostiezer, very fine. From C. Newhall, plums — Washington, superior. From C. Stone, apples — Williams, superior. From A. Dexter, apples — Deacon ; pears — unnamed ; plums — Diamond and Green Gage. From S. H. Perkins, nectarines — Boston, superior, extra large. From E. Wight, apples — Benoni, Red and Green Sweet, fine, and Orange Sweet ; plums — Nectarine. From G. Newhall, melon^ — Christiana. From J.Wash- burn, pears — Beurr6 Goubault, Franc real d'Ete, very fine, and Watson; plmns — Denniston's Superb. From W. R. Austin, pears — Bartlett. From Dr. N. Durfee, grapes — Syrian and- Muscat of Alexandria, both very superior, bunches of extra size. From S. Sweetser, plums — Princess, Im- perial Gage, and two varieties unnamed. From J. Mann, Jr., plums — Princess, Yellow Gage, very large and fine. Green Gage, Imperial Gage, Coe's Golden Drop, Yellow Gage, Black Imperial, and one variety, un- named. Peaches — unnamed. From Hovey & Co., pears — Valle Franche, Julienne, fine. Franc Real d'Ete, Doyenne Boussock, Passans du Portugal, Frederick of Wurtem- berg, (?) Franc Real d'Ete striped, and Seedling ; grapes — Palestine, Mus- cat of Alexandria, Cannon Hall Muscat, and Black Hamburgh ; peaches — Early York ; melons — Beechwood, Trcntham Hall, and Christiana. From Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 469 G. Merriam, peaches and pears — Bartlett. From Mrs. L. Spaulding, Crab apples ; figs and plums, unnamed. From A. D. Weld, apples — Williams', superior. From J. Burnett, apples — Porter, superior ; pears — Bartlett. From W. C. Strong, nectarines — Boston, fine, Elruge, and one unnamed variety ; peaches — unnamed, very fine ; grapes — White Chasselas, Black Hamburgh, White Frontignan, fine, St. Peter's, very fine, Black Frontig- nan, fine, Blanche Vyron. From B. Harrington, apples — Williams, supe- rior. River, superior, Seek-no-further, Porter ; pears — Bartlett, St. Cath- arine's. • From J. F. Allen, pears — Bartlett, Belle Lucrative, very fine, and Franc real d'Ete ; figs — Black St. Michael's, and Black Brunswick ; peaches — Late Crawfiard, and Violet Hatif. From O. Johnson, plums — Reine Claude Violet, (?) very fine. From G. Walsh, plums — Green Gage, superior ; ap- ples— ^unnamed. From J. Nugent, plums — unnamed ; pears — do. ; grapes — Black Hamburgh. From O. N. Towne, gi-apes — Black Hamburgh, fine. From Breck & Son, grapes — Golden Chasselas, Frankendale, Chasselas Musque and Black Hamburgh. From T. Reed, Jr., peaches — Crawford's Early. From John Parkinson, mulberries. From H. Vandine, plums — Cruger's, Scarlet Gage, Bottle, Sharp's Emperor, Duane's Purple, Wash- ington, Large Yellow Gage, Smith, Orleans, fine, New Orleans, Columbia, very fine, Huling's Superb and Prince's Imperial Gage ; pears — Sugar of Hoyerswerda. From E. M. Richards, pears — Dearborn's seedling ; apples — Rambour of France, and one unnamed ; melon — Christiana. Fruits tested. — From D. Marcellus Wheeler, seedling pears — a seedling from the St. Michael's, resembling that variety in size and form, juicy, of a pleasant flavor, and promises well. From Hovey & Co., pears — a native seedling ; peach — Early York, very fine. From W. C. Strong, grapes — Blanche Vyron, probably McCready's Early White. From John Parkin- son, mulberries, fine. Vegetables. — From A. Bowditch, large Lima beans, fine. From S. Sweetser, large Lima beans, fine. From A. D. Williams & Son, Mammoth Drumhead cabbages. From J. Mann, Jr., assorted vegetables, fine. September 6. An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day. [The report of the doings of this meeting will be given in our next] ^ Exhibited. — Flowers. Dahlias, verbenas, asters, bouquets, &.c., were exhibited from J. Nugent, Miss Russell, P. Barnes, J. Breck, J. Mann, Jr., L. Davenport, E. M. Richards, Miss Kenrick, J. C. Pratt, Winship & Co., and others. Fruits : — [The report of the committee is unavoidably omitted til! our next.] Vegetables. — From J. Gordon, large Lima beans and Purple Egg plants, fine. From C. Stone, Long Blood beets. From J. Mann, Jr., Tur- nip beets, carrots, and Silver Skin onions. From A. D. Williams & Son, cabbages — Drumhead, fine. September 13. Exhibited, — Flowers. Fine German asters, for premium, were exhibited by Hovey & Co., J. Nugent, J. Hovey, P. Barnes, J. Mann, Jr., and L. Davenport. 470 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. AWARD OF TPREMIUMS. Germax Asters. — For the best display, to Hovey & Co., $4. For tlie second best, to P. Barnes, $3. For the third best, to J. Nugent, $2. The Twenty-Third Annual Exhibition. — September 17, 18, and 19. The Annual Exhibition took place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the 17, 18, and 19th of September, in the Society's Hall in School street. On this occasion, as on the last, the store below and the library room were fitted up so as to accommodate the increasing number of exhibitors and specimens. The arrangements were precisely the same as last year, with the exception of a portico in front, fitted up with three arches, and a hand- some frieze and entablature, and the whole elegantly wreathed and inter- twined with evergreens, and surmounted with the inscription, " Twenty- third Annual Exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society." Owing to the long and severe drought, the display of flowers was ex- ceedingly meagre ; the dahlias had hardly yet commenced blooming, and the phloxes, asters, and other autumn flowers, had been almost ruined for the want of rain. The plants in pots were few, but most of them excel- lent specimens : but, in consequence of the want of space, they Avere not arranged so as to show them to the best advantage. The large bouquets for the Bradlee and Society vases, Avere much poorer than in previous years, and added but little to the general effect of the display. The glory of the shoAv was the display of fruit, — more particularly of pears. This splendid fruit was never, in this country — and we believe we may say, in any country — equalled, certainly never excelled. We fancied that we had heretofore seen as fine specimens as could possibly be grown, but they would bear no comparison with tliose of the present year. In truth, it ad- ded an entirely new character to many of the varieties ; for some that have been claimed as scarcely medium sized pears, would now demand a place among those of the largest class. All this has been accomplished, too, in one of the dryest seasons within the memory of any cultivator ; and it sug- gests the question, if such specimens can be produced in a most unfavora- ble year, what may we expect in a favorable one ? The exhibition establishes the fact, that we have but just begun to cultivate the pear in its highest perfection, or to appreciate the value of many of the superior varie- ties which have recently been introduced. It would not be possible for us to enumerate here one half of the remark- able specmiens exhibited ; every collection contained more or less of them ; but we cannot omit to particularize a few. These were the Duchess of Angouleme of Capt. Austin, which Avere huge in size, and brilliantly col- ored ; tlie Dix and AndreAA's of Mr. Stickney, superb specimens of superb fruits ; so, indeed, Avere the Beurr6 Diels in the same collection, all highly colored on the sunny side, unusual Avith this fine pear ; the Beurr6 d'Anjou of Mr. Wilder, Avith a glossy, ruddy cheek ; and very large Leon le Clercs ; the Doyenne Boussock of Messrs. Hovey, large and beautiful ; as also the Swan's Orange and Beurrtj Langclier ; the Bartletts and Passe Colmar of BIr. DoAvner ; the Winter Nclis and St. Andre of Mr. Gushing, and the Louise Bonne of Jersey, from each of these gentlemen ; the Flemish Beauty Massachusetts Horticultural Society. ATI of Jos. Richardson ; the Buerre Bosc of J. F. Allen, unusually large, and slightly colored ; the Beurre Diels of Capt. Lovett ; the Le Cur6, from the President ; the Easter Buerre of Mr, Gordon ; the Louise Bonne of Jersey of Mr. Stetson ; the Beurr*^ Diel of Mr. Bacon ; and several others, which we do not now recollect. The grapes were not remarkable, and the apples were inferior to last year. The peaches were exceedingly large and fine, a lot of Early Crawford, from Mr. Gushing, measuring 12 or 13 inches round. For the new kinds of pears we must refer to the lists below. Plants. — From Messrs. Hovey & Co., a collection of twenty plants, among which were Maurandya alba and rosea, finely trained ; Stephanotus floribiindus, Schubertta graveolens, Ixora rosea, Rondeletia speciosa, Guphea platyct-ntra, three or four kinds of achimenes, fuschias, &c. &.c. From Messrs. Winship and Jas. Nugent, collections of twenty plants each. From H. Bradlee and Mr. McLennan, very fine cockscombs. Designs, Gut Flowers, Dahlias, Asters, &c. — From J. Mann, Jr., a floral temple, containing a rich basket of fruit. From C. Byrnes, gardener to F. Webster, Esq., floral baskets ; the same from Miss. Russell. Two large bouquets for the Society's vases, by J. Nugent. Two smaller for the Bradlee vase, by H. Schimming, gardener to J. P. Gushing, Esq. A hand- some guitar and harp, composed of flowers and evergreens, by Mrs. Wm. Kenrick. Other fine bouquets came from J. Nugent, Miss Mary M. Ken- rick, Winship & Co., C. Copeland, Dr. N. Durfee, Thos. Page, Mrs. J. Walsh, W. E. Garter, F. Webster and others. A fine display of dahlias and phloxes, from the President. Fine German asters, and a superb seedling white verbena, from Hovey & Go. Gut flowers, in variety, from J. Mann, Jr., J. Breck & Co., J. Nugent, P. Barnes, A. McLennan, Mrs. M. B. Rumney, J. Hyde & Son, W. E. Carter, A. F. Page, and others. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED FOR PLANTS, FLOWERS, &C. Plants in Pots. — For the best display of not less than twenty plants, to Hovey & Co., 812, For the second best, to Winship & Co., f 10. For the third best, to J. Nugent, $8. Vase Bouquets. — For the best pair, for the Bradlee vases, to J. Nu- gent, $10. For tlie best pair, for the Society's vases, to H. Schimming, $10, For the second best, to F. Webster, $6. Parlor Bouquets, — For the best pair, to J. Nugent, $8. For the next best, to Dr. N. Durfee, $6 For the third best, to Winship & Co., $5. For the next best, to Miss Mary Kenrick, $3. Gut Flowers.— For the best display during the Exhibition, to J. Mann, Jr,, $8, For the second best, to G, Copeland, $3. For the third best, to Winship & Go,, $4. Coxcombs, — For the best six plants, in pots, to H. Bradlee, $3. For the second best, to A. McLennan, $2. 472 Massachusetts Horticidtiiral Society. Gratuities. — To J. Mann, Jr., for a floral temple, $10. To Miss S. A. Russell, for flower vase and basket, $5. To Mrs. W. Kenrick, for harp and guitar, $5. To A. Bowditch, for orange plants, f5. To Mrs. J. Walsh, for grass bouquets, |3. To H. Schimming, for six vases flowers, $6. To S. H. Jenks, for dozen of cotton grass, $3. To A. W. Stetson, for Oleanders, $2. To W. E. Carter, for bouquets, $\. Fruits : — From the President of the Society, 52 var. of pears, among which were tlie Colmar Van Mons, Figue, Van Mons Leon le Clerc, Knight's Monarch, Inconnue Van Mons, Lawrence, Oliver's Russet, Oswego Beurr^, Beurre Langelier, B. Duval, Hull, Charlotte de Brower, Josephine de Malines, Beurre Goubault, &-c. From M. P. Wilder, 181 varieties of pears, embracing with the older kinds the following: — Beurre Goubault, B. d'Anjou, B. Esperine, B. Sprin, B. Langelier, Brougham, Barronne de Mello, Smith's Bordenave, Bonne des Zees, Belle Apres Noel, Beurre Richosstier, B. Navez, B. Storkman, Bezi des Veterans, Bezi d'Esperine, Rameaux, Chas. Van Iloogliten, Corail, Col- mar Invalides, Charlotte de Brower, Comte de Paris, Cent Couronne, Doyenne Sterkman, Doyenne d'Afillis, D'Alencon, Excelentissima, Elize d'Heyst, Francis (Edwards's,) Princess Royal, Gris Rouchard, Grand Soliel, Howell, Josephine de Malines, Knight's Monarch, Lawrence, La Marie, Millot de Nancy, Nouveau Poiteau, New Haven Beauty, Rondelet, St. Francois, Soldat Labourer, St. Germain de Pepin, Tea, Triumph de Jodoigne, Vessouziere, Westcott, Wm. Prince, &c. From Hovey & Co., one hundred and forty six varieties of pears, among which were Swan's Orange, Doyenne Boussock, Beurr6 Tjangelier, Bar- nadiston, Lawrence, Rameaux, Nouveau Poiteau, Coter, Calhoun, Berga- motte Esperine, Bergamotte Boussiere, Beurr6 Goubault, Sabine, Jean de Witte, Sanspariel, Vessouziere, Charlotte de Brower, Oliver's Russet, Adele St. Denis, Poire d'Albret, Beurre d'Anjou, Figue, Whitfield, Knight's Mon- arch, Beurre St. Quentin, Jersey Gratioli, Duninore, Stone, Diunortier, Caennais, Rondelet, Bergamotte Verte d'Automne, Bezi d'Esperine, Duchesse of Augouleme panache, Serrurier, Graslin, Princess Marianne, Poire Ronde, Poire Cire, Poire des Ridelles, Poire de Groselle, Parmentier Dauphin d'hiver. New Spring Beurre, Beurre Benoits, Guernsey Beurre, B. Gens, B. Bremont, B. Thouin, B. Beaumont, Frederic of Wurteniburg, (ncAv,) Cross, Van Mons Late, Las Canas, Rousselet de Meester, &c. &c. ; also 13 var. of apples, among which wCre the Hormead Pearmain, White Doc- tor, Hunt's Pearmain, Pleasant Valley Pippin, Porter, &c. ; 7 varieties of grapes, viz. : Cannon Hall Muscat, Muscat of Alexandria, Black Hamburgh, White Frontignan, Zinfindal, Black Prince, Tottenham Park Muscat, &c.; Beechwood, Trentliam Hall, Bromliam Hall, and Early Cassabar melons; St. Michael Figs; and 20 varieties of peaches, among them Stetson's Seedling, White Ball, Cambridge Belle, Grosse Mignonne, Ives's Orange Free, &c. From J. S. Cabot, GO varieties of pears, among which were the St. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 473 Nicholas, Smith's Pennsylvania, Poire Neill, Poire Carisie, Tarquin de Pyrenees, Triumph de Jodoigne, Rameaux, Beurr6 Judes, Poire Rigoleau, Soldat Labourer, Doyenn6 gris jaune d'hiver, Belle Excellent, Las Canas, Seedlings Nos. 1 and 2, &c. &c. From B. V. French, 45 varieties of pears, among them the Beurr6 gris d'hiver nouveau, Doyenn6 Goubault, Suzette de Bavay, Oswego Beurre, Beurre d'Anjou, B. Goubault, Duchesse of Orleans, St Germain d'Ete, &c ; also, 92 varieties of apples, some of which were as follows : — Williams, Vermont Sweet, Esopus Spitzenberg, Jonathan, Mother, Holmes, 20-oz., Jewett's fine Red, Hartford Sweet, Lyscom, Melvin Sweet, Loring SNveet, Mexico, Fameuse, Minister, St. Lawrence, Chandler, Lucombe's Seedling, &c. &c. From John Gordon, 50 varieties of pears, among which were the Queen of the Low Countries, Beurr6 Langelier, Stevens's Genesee, Bonne des Zees, Dunmore, Dix, Jalousie de Fontenay Vendee, St. Ghislain, Beurre Bosc, &c. ; also, 9 varieties of apples ; Coe's Golden Drop, Jefferson, Orange, Green Gage and 6 other kinds of plums ; and Watermelons. From Winship & Co., 50 var. of pears, among others the following : — Colmar d'Aremberg, Beurr6 de Waterloo, St. Michael Archangel, Bezi de Vindre, De Lepene, Reine d'hiver, Oregon, Dunmore, Vicompte de Spoel- berch, &c. ; also, 12 var. of apples and 5 var. of plums. From Jos. Lovett, 2d, 42 varieties of pears, among which were the Bouc- quia, Oliver's Russet, Edward's Elizabeth, Garnons, Soldat Labourer,, Beurr6 de Rhine, Washington, Beurr6 Sprin, B. Goubault, Cranston Seed- ling, &c. &c. ; also, 10 varieties of apples, viz. : Minister, Drap d'or, 20-oz., Benoni, Gravenstein, &c. ; and Green Gage and Smith's Orleans plums. From A. D. Williams & Son, 40 varieties of pears, embracing Beurre d'Anjou, Buffum, Knight's Monarch, Belle Lucrative, Andrews, &c. ; also, 27 varieties of apples. From R. Manning, 38 varieties of pears, among which were the Dun- more, Walker, Coter, Lawrence, Mollett's Guernsey Chaumontelle, Figue, Dr. Jacob, Calhoun, Dallas, 1295 and 1325 Van Mons, Beurr6 d'Estrapa, Bergamotte Zappe, Miel de Waterloo, &c. From Jos. Stickney, 30 varieties of pears, viz : Andrews, Belle Lucrative, Columbia, Fondante de Malines, Dix, Colmar d'Aremberg, Dunmore, &c. &c. ; also 17 varieties of apples, viz, : Minister, 20-oz., Fameuse, Maidens' Blush, Gravenstein, Porter, Hubbardston Nonsuch, &c. &c. From Wm. Scliimming, gardener to J. P. Gushing, 25 var. of pears, among them the following : Gansell's Bergamot, Muscadine, Las Canas, St. Andre, Lawrence, Moyamensing, St. Ghislain, Doyenn6 Gris, Belle Lucrative, &c. ; also. Black Hamburgh and other grapes ; Boston, White, and other nectarines ; and Early Crawford and other peaches. From J. Washburn, 25 var. of pears, viz. : Figue, Moyamensing, Swan's Orange, Bezi Tardif, Laivrence, Stevens's Genesee, Beurr6 Goubault, Sol- dat Labourer, Belle Lucrative, Mc. Laughlin, &c. ; also, Peck's Pleasant, and Gravenstein apples. VOL. XVII. NO. X. 60 474 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. From F. & M, Burr, 20 varieties of pears, viz. : Henry IV, Heatlicot, Buffum, Harvard, Frederic of Wurtemburg, Van Mons Leon le Clerc, Bartlett, Brown Beurre, &c, ; also, 13 var. of apples ; 7 var. of plums, and 5 var. of peaches. From H. Vandine, 24 varieties of pears, as follows : Beurr6 d'Aremberg Dix, Marie Louise, Lawrence, St. Ghislain, McLaughlin, Dunmore, Collins' Paradise of Autumn, Stevens's Genesee, &c. ; also, 10 kinds of plums, among which were the Huling's Superb, Corse's Admiral, Coe's Golden Drop, &ic. ; and two kinds of apples. From S. Downer, Jr., 18 varieties of pears, viz. : Napoleon, Van Mons Leon le Clerc, Chaumontelle, Columbia, Andrews, White Doyenne, Urban- iste, Le Cure, Belle Lucrative, Duchess of Angouleme, Beurr6 Diel, Louise Bomie of Jersey, Passe Colmar, &c. From J. Breck, 7 varieties of grapes, viz. : Black Hamburgh, Franken- dale. White Chasselas, White Frontignan, Grizzly do.. Black Prince, De la Palestine ; also, 13 varieties of pears. From J. F. Allen, 18 varieties of grapes, as follows : Black Hamburgh, B, Hamburgh No. 16, Wilmot's B. Hamburgh, Golden Chasselas, White Nice, Red Chasselas, Rose Chasselas, White Chasselas, White Tokay, Bishop, Bowker, Josling's St. Albans, De CandoUe, White and Grizzly Frontignan, Reigne de Nice, Poiteau Noir, Chasselas Bar sur Aube, &c. ; also, 7 varieties of pears ; Elruge nectarines, and Lombard plums. From W. C. Strong, 1 1 varieties of grapes, viz : Black Hamburgh, Mus- cat of Alexandria, Lombardy, Black Muscat, (?) Rose Chasselas, White do., W^hite and Black Frontignan, Syrian, White Nice, and Chasselas Musque ; Snow peaches ; Golden and Roman nectarines ; one large dish of assorted fruit, and three varieties of pears. From Cheever Newhall, 10 varieties of pears, viz.: Andrews, Heathcot, Belle Lucrative, Dix, Fulton, Frederick ofWurteraberg, Urbaniste, &c. ; also, 6 varieties of apples ; Coe's Golden Drop, Purple Gage, and Drap d'Or plums ; and Old Mixon peaches. From Messrs. Stone & Co., Newton, 7 varieties of pears ; and 18 varieties of apples, viz. : Golden Russet, Pumpkin Sweet, Orange Sweeting, Garden Sweet, Hubbardston Nonsuch,*&c. From J. B. Moore, 4 varieties of pears ; and 8 of apples, viz. : Porter, Hubbardston Nonsuch, Orange Sweet, Hawthornden, Pomme Royal, Mel- vin Sweet, Minister, Fall Harvey, &c. ; also, Orange quinces and seedling peaches. From E. M. Richards, Bartlett, Gushing, and Colmar d'Aremberg pears ; 12 varieties of apples, viz : Minister, Porter, Dyer, Fameuse, Lyscom, Ort- ley, &.C. ; and peaches and nectarines. From J. C. Pratt, 1 1 varieties of pears, viz. : Flemish Beauty, Van Mons Leon le Clerc, Buffum, Napoleon, &c. ; also, 7 varieties of apples. From B. Wheeler, 3 varieties of plums ; White Doyenne pears. Porter apples, and 4 var. of peaches. From A. D. Webber, Bartlett pears, R. I. Greening apples, and Beechwood, Christiana, and Nutmeg melons. From MassacJmisetts Horticultural Society. 475 C. E. Grant, Black Hamburgh, White and Grizzly Frontignan grapes ; 4 var. of peaches ; and Alpine strawberry, and Improved High-bush blackber- ries. From Josiah Richardson, 6 var. of pears ; among them, Flemish Beau- ty, Colmar d'Aremberg, Beurr6 Diel, &c. From Mrs. E. Wolcott, Roman nectarines. From R. Choate, peach from a tree imported from Shanghai. From H. B. Stanwood, Green Gage plums, Bartlett pears, and 2 var. of ap- ples. From S. Philbrick, Andrews pears. From B. Bradlee, Crab and Dutch Codlin apples. From W. Bacon, 8 var. of pears, viz. : Chaumontelle, Long Green, Le Cure, Duchess, &c. ; also, Early Crawford peaches, and 6 var. of plums. From S. Sweetser, 7 var. of pears ; among them the Glout Morceau, White Doyenne, Passe Colmar, &c. From A. Dexter, 4 var. of pears, and 4 varieties of apples. From Miss Parsons, Gloucester, apples. From J. W. Gates, Cambridge, 4 var. of plums, and Early Crawford peaches. From A. W. Stetson, Louise Bonne of Jersey pears ; Vinson peaches; and Black Hamburgh and Sweet- water grapes. From A. Lackey, Marblehead, Urbaniste, St. Ghislain, Henry IV. and Citron of Bohemia pears ; 7 var. of plums, among them the Golden Drop, Green Gage, Frost Gage, Corse's Field Marshal, &c. ; and Prolific and Spanish filberts. From Geo. Walsh, Bartlett and White Doy- enne pears. Green Gage plums, and two var. of apples. From W. R. Austin, Duchess of Angouleme, Le Cure, Bartlett and White Doyenne pears. From J. Hyde & Son, Bartlett and Seckel pears, and 11 var. of apples. From Geo. Wilson, Jersey Gratioli, Paradise of Autumn, Beurre Bosc, Chaumontelle, and three other var. of pears. From R. Morse, Groton, Foundling apples. From Mrs. Sarah Greene, Ports- mouth, Washington plums. From T. Waterman, Diana grapes. From B. Harrington, Porter and River apples, and Buflfum and Fulton pears. From J. C. Blaisdell, Lexington, Golden Drop and Diapree Rouge plums, and two var. pears. From P. W. Pierce, Seckel, Andrews, and Bartlett pears. From Wm. A. Crufts, Andrews, St. Ghislain, Urbaniste, and five other kinds of pears. From H. Bradlee, three var. of pears, and Imperial Yellow and Persian melons. From Miss Parker, peaches, unnamed. From Jona. Mann, Jr., Beurre Bosc, Flemish Beauty, and White Doyenne pears ; Green Gage, Purple Gage, Coe's Golden Drop, and Purple Egg Plums ; and seed- ling peaches. From A. D. Weld, 7 varieties of apples, among them the Esopus Spit- zenberg. Porter, Pumpkin Sweet, Seaver Sweet, &c. ; and Bartlett pears. From F. Dana, Andrews, Seckel, Winter Nelis, White Doyenne, and Louise Bonne of Jersey pears. From N. Stetson, Beurre Diel and White Doyenne pears ; and Early Crawford peaches. From G. Merriam, Bartlett pears ; and Early Crawford, Morris White, and Bergen's Yellow peaches. From Lewis Wheeler, Bartlett, Dunmore, and Louise Bonne of Jersey pears ; and Early Crawford peaches. From Henry Poor, Andover, Porter, Hubbardston Nonsuch, Roxbury Russet, and Rhode Island Greening ap- ples. From S. B. Pierce, peaches. From Miss Parker, peaches unnamed. From L. Pierce, Lincoln, Porter apples. From Wm. Mcintosh, Lincoln, Baldwin, Porter, Wine, Maiden's Blush, and Winter Sweet apples ; and 476 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Early Crawford peaclies. From W. R. Gregory, Marblehead, 4 varieties of pears, and Coe's Golden Drop plums. PREMIUMS AND FRATUITIES AWARDED FOR GRUIT. Apples. — For the best twelve varieties, of twelve specimens each, to B. V. French, the Society's plate, $20. For the second best, to J. B. Moore, $15. i For the third best, to J. Stickney, $12. For the fourth best, to Hyde & Son, $8. For the best dish of apples, to L. Pierce, $6, for the Porter. For the second best, to J. Stickney, $5, for the Gravenstein. For the third best, to J. Lovett, $4, for the Fall Harvey. For the fourth best, to J. B. Moore, $3, for the Hubbardston Nonsuch. To F. & M. Burr, Wm. Mackintosh, E. M. Richards, Hovey & Co., Winship & Co., J. C. Pratt, B. Harrington, J. Gordon, J. Burnet, and H. Poore, a gratuity of the bronze medal to each, for fine specimens. Pears. — For the best twelve varieties of twelve specimens each, the Lyman Plate to Jos. Stickney, $20. For the second best, to S. Downer, Jr., $15. For the third best, to M. P. Wilder, $12. For the fourth best, to H. Schimming, $8. To Hovey & Co., a gratuity of $8, for twelve varieties, of twelve speci- mens of each. To Hovey & Co., M. P. Wilder, S. Walker, J. Gordon, Winship & Co., J. S. Cabot, R. Manning, for fine collections, a gratuity of $8 to each. To F. & M. Burr, C. Newhall, A. Dexter, and J. F. Allen, for col- lections, a gratuity of $4 each. For tlie best dish of pears, to W. R. Austin, $6, for the Duchess. For the second best, to J. F. Allen, $5, for the Beurre Bosc. For the third best, to J. Richardson, $4, for the Flemish Beauty. For the fourth best, to A. W. Stetson, $3, for the Louise Bonne of Jersey. Grapes. — For the best specimens, five varieties, two bunches of each, to W. C. Strong, $15. For the second best, to Dr. N. Durfee, $10. For the best two varieties, two bunches each, to J. F. Allen, $6. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., $4. To A. W. Stetson, a gratuity of the Bronze Medal, for a grape vine in a pot. Baskets of Fruit. — For the best, to Hovey & Co., $10. For the second best, to W. C. Strong, $7. Peaches. — For the best specimens, to H. Schimming, $6, for the Early Crawford. For the second best, to N. Stetson, $4, for the Early Crawford. To W. Bacon, a gratuity of $4, for fine Early Crawford. Watermelons. — To J. Gordon, a gratuity of the Bronze Medal. MusKMELONS. — To A. D. Webber, a gratuity of the Bronze Medal. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 477 Vegetables. — The display of vegetables was exceedingly fine, and em- braced some superior specimens. This was not anticipated after so dry a season ; but, on the whole, the exhibition of the culinary department has never been better. The Custard squashes by Mr. Marsh, were very fine ; and the show by Mr. J. B. Moore, was excellent. Mr. Mann had some fine Purple Eggs ; and the Rev. Mr. Pope sent fine specimens of his new hybrid sweet corn. Messrs. Williams &l Crosby, as usual, sent a good variety, and finely grown. From J. B. Moore, a large collection, viz. : Chenango and Sealsfoot pota- toes ; Okra ; five varieties turnips ; tomatoes ; Darling's Early sweet corn ; three kinds onions ; two of carrots ; four of beets ; Marrow squashes ; salsify ; pmnpkins, &c. &c. From F. Marsh, nine Custard squashes. From F. Webster, by C. Byrnes, celery ; Purple Eggs ; cauliflower ; salsify ; two varieties of tomato ; Marrow squashes ; four varieties corn, &c. &lc. From S. W. Cole, eleven varieties of potato, among which were Danvers Red, Hall's Early, Sealsfoot, &c. ; also, twenty-five varieties seedlings ; and six Connecticut Pie squashes. From J. C. Blaisdell, Marrow squashes. From Messrs. Stone & Co., a variety of turnips, &c. From Josiah Lovett, six cauliflowers. From Rev. A. R. Pope, new Hybrid Sweet corn. A. D. Williams & Son, and J. Crosby, sent Marrow squashes, Drumhead cab- bages, tomatoes, cauliflowers, lettuce, &c. Collections were also con- tributed by A. Bowditch, J. Mann, Jr., J. Gordon, E. M. Richards, J. Davis, and others. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED. Vegetables. — For the best display and greatest variety, J. B. Moore, ^10. For the second best, to F. Webster, $8. For the third best, to Josiah Crosby, $6. For the fourth best, to A. D. Williams & Son, $4. New Vegetables. — For a new variety of sweet corn, to A. R.Pope, $5. Gratuities. — To J. B. Moore, for the best variety of turnips, the society's silver medal. For blood beets, the best, $5. For squash peppers, $3. To A. McLennan, for egg plants, $3. To A. R. Pope, for Old Colony Sweet corn, (a new hybrid,) the society's silver medal. To J. Lovett, 2d, a special gratuity for winter crook-neck squash, raised in 1850, weighing 70 pounds, a silver cup, $10. To J. Mann, Jr., for Drumhead cabbages, $4. To Joseph Davis, for celery, $'3. To A. Bowditch, for display of vegetables, $4. For Lima beans, $3. To Thomas Page, for Snake cucumbers, $2. To J. W. Brown, for Carolina sweet potatoes, $2. To N. Stetson, for tomatoes, $3. To J. Lovett, 2d, for cauliflowers and broccoli, the society's silver medal. 478 Horticultural Operations for October. To E. M. Richards, for squashes kept from 1850, in fine condition, $2. To F. Marsh, for custard squashes, the society's silver medal. To Messrs. Stone & Co., for beets and turnips, ^\. To S. W. Cole, for display of seedling and other potatoes, f 10, For Connecticut pie squash, $5. To J. Gordon, for display, $4. For large Lima and Saba beans, $3. To A. Hatch, for seedling potatoes, ^3. To J. Crosby, for squashes, $;3. To B. V. French, for tomatoes, $3. To F. Webster, for cauliflowers, $2. HORTICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR OCTOBER. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. The dry weather of August continued throughout nearly the whole of last month, and in many places trees were severely injured by its severity. On the 21st, a short but heavy rain greatly revived vegetation, and a suc- cession of rains, from that time up to the present, (27th) has pretty thor- oughly saturated the ground. Light frosts were experienced on tlie 15th and IGth, and an unusually heavy one for the early season, on the 25th, killing nearly all tender vegetation. The quantity of work will now increase ratlier than decrease, until win- ter sets in. As the season arrives for transplanting, a great deal of prepar- atory work should be done, in order to prevent hurrying next month. Con- tinue to trench and drain where trees are to be planted. Keep down all weeds, as neglect of this now will only increase the labor next spring. Gathering fruit, where there is much of a collection, will occupy much time, and as this is a thing which should not be done hurriedly, begin in good season. On this head we would direct attention to a capital article in our last number, (p. 416.) Grape Vines in the early houses will now be ripening oif their wood rapidly, and will need but little care for the remainder of the season. In late houses the fruit will now be fully ripe, and attention will be necessary to regulate the temperature and moisture of the house. Keep it as dry as possible ; discontinue syringing and watering, and allow no superfluous moisture. Continue to cut and prune in the laterals, where they have be- come too thick, or entangled. It will be necessary to admit of the free rays of light to ripen and mature the wood. Where it is intended to have the fruit hang late, tlie bunches should be looked over occasionally, and all decayed berries cut out. Vines in the open air may now be divested of tlie superfluous, unripe, and small wood, which will not be needed next season. Horticultural Operations for October. 479 Strawberry Beds will yet require attention. Keep the earth stirred often, and keep down all weeds ; lay in tlie young runners carefully, if there are any vacant spaces in the rows. New beds may yet be made. Raspberries and Blackberries may be set out this month. Currants and Gooseberries may be planted this month. Peach Trees in pots should now be sparingly watered, in order to ripen their wood. Trees budded last month will require to be occasionally looked over to see that the ties are not cutting or injuring the stock or buds. flower department. The early frosts of the season will probably have caught some cultivators " napping." The morning of the 25th was one of the most severe we have known for several years, so early in the season. All the Dahlias were more or less touched, except in very sheltered locations, and in most places they were entirely spoiled. All tender things were much frosted. But few of the plants have probably been housed, as the first of October is usually the season for taking in even very tender things. In all probability we shall have a warm October, but yet it Avill not be safe to leave any work undone ; all plants, therefore, should be got in now as fast as possible, except such as are quite hardy, and intended for late blooming. Wash, clean, top dress, and tie up, all the plants as they are put in ; it will save a deal of dirt and confusion after they are housed. What we hinted at last month should be borne in mind. Continue to propagate all such things as are wanted next spring, and lay up a stock of good soil for use in winter. See to the neatness of the houses ; and put in the best order all running plants which may be growing on the columns or rafters of the houses. Label all plants, either in the open ground, or in pots. Dahlias now done blooming, should soon be taken up and placed in a dry cellar, or under the stage in the greenhouse. Azaleas should not be exposed, at this late season, to too much moist- ure. It is best to house early, or place in a cold frame, where they can be sheltered from heavy rains. Chrysanthemums will now require protection from severe frosts, either by removing to the house, or by sheltering in frames. Water freely Avith liquid manure or guano. Tulips and Hyacinths may be planted out, the last of this month. Fuchsias now done flowering may be placed away under the stage till spring. Pelargoniums, repotted last month, will require a light, dry and airy situation now ; on a shelf near tlie glass is the best place. Water spar- ingly. Young plants rooted in September, should now be potted off. Oxalises, Ixias, &c., may now be potted and placed in a frame. Chinese Primroses may now have another shift if they require it: keep the plants out in frames as late as possible. Shift young seedlings as they require it. 480 Horticultural Opetations for October. Pansies may now be propagated from cuttings ; it is the most favorable season. Seedlings in the open ground should be properly thinned out. Verbenas should now be propagated from cuttings. Roses in the open ground, of tender kinds, should now be taken up and potted. Keep them in a frame till December. Mignonette and Sweet Alts sum, in pots or boxes, should be placed in frames, and have an abundance of air. Japan Lilies, in pots, should be placed in a cold frame on the approach of severe cold. Carnations and Picotees may be taken from the old plants, and set out in frames where they can have a slight protection. Calceolarias, sown in August, will now require repotting. Cyclamens will now require repotting. Schizanthuses should now be potted off. Cinerarias should now be repotted. Cactuses will now require attention in watering ; with the exception of the Epiphyllums, soon to bloom, they should be kept rather dry. Gladioluses, Tiger Flowers, and other tender bulbs should be taken up before severe frost. Heliotropes may be potted now if they require it. flower garden and shrubbery. There is yet considerable to do in the pleasure ground and among the shrubbery. The falling leaves still require that it should be often raked, to prevent its assuming its winterish hue too soon. As the frost has blackened the tops of tender things, all these should be taken off out of the way as speedily as possible. Continue to roll the walks and mow tlie edgings, which will have revived after the late rains. Now is a good time to fill up vacant places in the shrubbery; take the earliest opportunity after the leaves begin to fall freely to do it. This is also the time to transplant, reset, and fill all vacancies in the flower borders. Bulbs of all kinds may be got in, and biennial plants, raised from seeds, put out in tlieir places in the borders or in beds. PEONIES may yet be taken up, divided and reset. Lilies of all sorts should be set out this month, as they do not remove so well later in the season. Hollyhocks, raised from seeds, should now be set out when they are to bloom. Pinks of all kinds, raised from layers, should now be planted where they are to bloom. Roses and Shrubs of all kinds may be safely removed as soon as the foliage begins to drop. Herbaceous plants of all kinds may now be transplanted. Trench and prepare ground intended for planting next spring, and, as far as possible, accomplish everything which will lessen the accumulation of work next year. THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. NOVEMBER, 1851. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Art. I. Hoio are we to obtain a correct knowledge of the ^ finest Pears 7 By the Editor. The day, we presume, has gone by when the question shall be asked, ^^ Which do you consider the three best pears ?^^ If it has not, then we must certainly admit a retrograde movement in pomological science. Thirty or forty years ago, when the White Doyenne, Brown Beurre and St. Ger- main were the three prominent kinds cultivated around Bos- ton, by such amateurs as the late Hon. John Lowell, E, Preble and Gorham Parsons, Esq's, such a question might have been apropos to the subject. Twelve varieties then formed the sum total of all the kinds recommended by intel- ligent cultivators, as will be seen by the following statement. In an excellent article in the Mass. Agricultural Repos- itory, written by the Hon. John Lowell, and published in the third volume, (1815) a list of all the best fruits for general cultivation is there given, with some general remarks on the importance of selecting and cultivating only the best sorts. The whole article is well worthy of perusal, as showing the rapid progress of pomology during less than half a century. But we shall only refer to that portion of it which has a bearing upon our subject, viz., pears : — '' The pear," says Mr. Lowell, '' is a fruit remarkably well adapted to the climate of Massachusetts. It is much to be doubted whether any country in the world produces finer pears than have been raised in this state." VOL. XVII. NO. XI. 61 482 How are we to obtain a correct knowledge "But the cultivation of them has been, in a great degree, confined to the vicinity - of the metropolis. We probably have in this state every good variety of pear known in France. We mention France, because in that country more successful attention has been paid to this fruit than in any country in the world. To the Huguenots, who fled from France on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, we owe almost all the fine pears we have. They are to be traced to the gardens planted and owned by them. Although there are near an hundred species or varieties of pears cultivated in France, yet there are not more than twelve which we would recom- mend to general cultivation." With some further general remarks on the importance of gathering and storing fruits, Mr. Lowell concludes with the following list as " the sorts of pears for common use which .may be recommended :" The Little Muscat, a small summer pear, August. The several varieties of Catherine pears, Summer. The Jargonelle, a fine summer pear and a great bearer. The Summer Bergamot, a green pear of an apple shape, September. The Brockholst Bergamot, a delicious pear, ripe early in October. [Probably Brocas or Gansell's Bergamot. Ed.] The Brown Beurre, the best pear which is known, but short lived, ripens in October. The St. Michaels. It has a great variety of names — most commonly known under the above. It is a great bearer, will grow in any soil, is in eating from October to Christmas if taken good care x)f, and is among the most valuable pears which grow. The Mons lean is another valuable pear. It is ripe about the 1st of November, and will last till the middle of December. [Probably the Mons. Jean is meant, and the error may, possibly, have been a typographical one. Ed.] The Ro7isseline is also a fall pear and will sell well. The Winter Good Christian is a pear which keeps well, and may be transported a great distance, being very hard when gathered. of the finest Pears ? 483 The Virgoulouse and Colmar resemble each other and are very fine. They are December pears, and "Will sell well at market._ The Chaumontelle is also a fine, late fall pear, and a great bearer. But the pear which may be cultivated to the greatest profit, the most uniformly good, the best of the excellent pears for keeping, is the ^S*^. Germain. It is a hardy tree, and will endure a century. The pears, barrelled up, might be transported a hundred miles in December or January, and will always command a good price. Perhaps, however, they could not profitably be transported more than forty miles. This very imperfect list of fruits has not been made out with a view so much to increase the profits of the farmer, as to show him that, with a little pains, less than he often bestows in procuring things which are injurious to him, he might always regale his family and friends with what the richest and greatest men consider the most acceptable things they can offer to their guests, most excellent fruits." Here then is the list of the best pears cultivated in our gardens thii-ty-five years ago, and if the " richest and great- est men," of that period, wished to regale their friends with fine fruits, according to our ideas of excellency there was then, certainly, great need of knowing " which were the three best varieties." But the question at this time ex- poses one to little less than ridicule for its absurdity ; for among the multiplicity of fine varieties now fully proved, well known and generally cultivated, it would be almost impossible to find three unworthy of a place in the choicest collection ; we do not, of course, refer to the hundreds of newly introduced pears, but the comparatively older ones. One word as to Mr. Lowell's opinion of the excellence of our climate for raising pears. Mr. Lowell says, in no quali- fied terms, that " no country in the world produces finer pears than have been raised in this state." Shall we from this infer, that since 1815 our climate has become '■'■rude'''' and the soil rather sandy ^ so that these fine pears will not flourish well now around Boston, as we are told by later writers. 484 HoiD are we to obtain a correct knowledge upon Pomology ? or shall we set down Mr. Lowell's experi- ence as worthy of some consideration, and doubt the knowl- edge of those who make statements to the contrary? If the experience of twenty-five years is any guide, we must still agree with Mr. Lowell that the world does not produce, nor has probably ever produced, finer specimens than have been raised in the vicinity of Boston during that time. If, then, it is believed, as we think it must be, that the question of " Which are the three best varieties of pears " is of very little importance to cultivators, the next question, and one which is of real value, is, " How shall we make a selection from the great number of fine sorts?" To do this is not difficult to a certain extent, but to accomplish it in its fullest sense is a work of no little labor, from two great and important reasons, viz., want of experience and of time, A great many pears have been sufficiently proved and tested, to satisfy the most credulous ; while there are others of the highest reputa- tion, upon the general merits of which there yet remains a doubt. To get at this important result more speedily, a new sphere of action has been opened, viz., that of pomological conven- tions, composed of delegates, conversant with fruits, from all parts of the country. Three or four of these have been held and their opinions given to the public ; and although they have, perhaps, confirmed what had been already ex- pressed by able pomologists, they have, as yet, done little towards adding anything new to our stock of knowledge on this subject ; for a single reference to some of the cata- logues of the most extensive nurserymen of the country, will show that the very fruits these conventions have com- mended, were previously and publicly pronounced unexcep- tionable in all respects. We would not, however, have it understood from this, that we doubt the good effects of such conventions, but that we look upon them as confirming the labors of individual cultivators, rather then leading in the accomplishment of the object in view. The labor of proving and testing new fruits must be an individual one. Societies may do much through the coope- ration of cultivators and the exhibition of fine specimens, of the finest Pears ? 485 and conventions ratify the results obtained by its members, but it must yet remain an individual eifort achieved only by long experience, close observation and attentive study. To what sources, then, must the amatem- look for his in- formation in regard to a selection of kinds ? Why, certainly, to pomological works, and periodicals treating upon the sub- ject. To both of these he must turn for the knowledge he would possess. The one, concentrating all the information up to a certain period ; the other, treasuring it up month by month and year by year, noting now the failure, and again the success of each and every kind, until judicious treatment and an acquaintance with each sort shall render success pre- dominant over failure, and the merits of each variety become established. Such being without doubt the result, how im- portant it is that the information given should be that of care- ful experience, and not the hastily or crudely formed opinions of those who have not had the means, or the opportunity, of obtaining the requisite knowledge. It cannot be denied that the indifferent reputation of many fruits is to be attributed to the dissemination of opinions respecting them, by individuals who were not sufficiently acquainted with their merits to pronounce an opinion ; and to a careless and premature observation of varieties growing under the most adverse conditions. These two causes have in many instances, some of which we shall note, tended to pre- vent the more general cultivation of some of our most valua- ble pears. No better evidence of this is needed than the fact that many, of what we call new varieties, have been culti- vated from thirty to fifty years, in France, and yet we have but just found out their real merits. As an example of what we have said, take the Dix pear. It was first introduced to notice in 1828 or 1829, but scions were not generally disseminated from the original tree until four or five years afterwards. Prom its peculiar habit of coming very tardily into bearing, many trees to our knowl- edge, which were grafted at that period, have just come into fruit. The Hon. Mr. Cabot, of Salem, had a tree grafted sixteen years before it fruited. Mr. Wm. Bacon, of Roxbiuy, 486 HoiD are we to obtain a correct knowledge had another grafted fifteen years before it produced fruit, and several other trees might be named which have varied in the time of fruiting from eight to fifteen years. Indeed, so httle known is this fine pear that it has not yet been added to the list of kinds recommended for cuhivation by the Pomological Congress. Notwithstanding this, we find it stated in books upon fruits that the Dix ''is one of the most uncertain of all pears.' In light soils it generally cracks and blasts, and often in strong moist soils" ! Is there sufficient evidence for such a statement ? Has sufficient time elapsed to know this ? The response will be, no ! but that, on the contrary, when the trees have ac- quired age, this variety has invariably proved fine, and that the exceptions are when young trees have first fruited, or have been in indifferent health, or had poor treatment. Yet how many individuals may be deterred from planting so fine a fruit from such a statement, and thus lose years of valuable time when the tree might be acquiring that age necessary to the development of its true characteristics. The Easter Beurre is another pear whose value has been impugned by similar statements. Witness the following from a notice of this variety in a contemporary journal, by a dis- tinguished cultivator : " The Easter Beurre is so variable and uncertain that it cannot, from our present experience, be rec- ommended for general cultivation." This is a qualified ex- pression certainl)^, for the addition of " our present experience" so makes it ; yet it is equivalent to saying that it should hardly find a place in a collection. But from what Ave have seen of this noble pear, this is not so. It only requires age and good cultivation to make it as certain as most any of our pears. A tree ten or twelve years old, in the garden of a neighbor, is now (Oct. 18) loaded with splendid fruit, and has borne a fine crop every year, which ripens off in the high- est perfection. The Glout Morceau is another. Many cultivators have stated that it has one great fault, viz., of dropping its fruit when about the size of a small plum ; and from this they haye doubted its merits for general cultivation. But this, too, of the finest Pears 7 487 must be attributed to the same cause before mentioned — the age of the trees. Those five or six years old, we admit, occa- sionally do so ; but when they arrive at a mature growth, this does not happen. A single tree in the garden of Mr. Van- dine, of Cambridge, is annually loaded with fruit of immense size. It must rank as one of the very best winter pears. Many other varieties might be enumerated, but we shall only mention one, the Marie Louise, one of the most luscious of all our autumn pears. Mr. Rivers, in a communication in the Horticulturist, says that he has '' one hundred and fifty trees just twenty years old. They are, as usual, full of blossoms, but it is five years since I had a crop." In the climate of England this is undoubtedly true, and such information may be valuable for that latitude ; but it does not apply to us. Mr. Cole, in his Fruit book, says, " it cracks and is very un- certain." This, too, we must doubt. It is a very tardy bearer, and, on young trees, the specimens are not large ; but let the trees acquire age, and it is not only one of the most certain pears, but produces enormous crops. A standard tree in the garden of Mr. Vandine, twenty-five years old, bears its barrels of fruit annually. It is, while small, a rather crooked grower, but, by a little tutoring, it can be made as upright as many other kinds. But this certainly should not disparage so delicious a fruit. Mr. Vandine has proved that it will pap, though Mr. Rivers may prefer the Capiaumont ! Under all these cii'cumstances, then, how are we to obtain a correct knowledge of the various pears ? Not by doubting the merits of a variety from information prematurely obtained. Not by rejecting it because it does not immediately produce large specimens of beautiful appearance. Not by cutting off and mutilating the trees of a kind which has done well, when properly managed, to put on one of less merit, or of doubtful excellence. But rather wait for those results, which time only will enable us to obtain. If one cultivator has been successful imder ordinary circumstances, others will be equally so ; and with those kinds whose reputation is established, no ordinary cause should induce us to change them for others. 488 Market Gardening arourid London. The question will then be, not " which are the three best varieties," but, out of the number of superior pears, how shall we decide which to select ? The Bloodgood, Bartlett, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Seckel, Belle Lucrative, Beurre Bosc, Le Cure, Winter Nelis, and Beurre d'Aremberg, are nine pears pronounced unexceptionable by some of the most experienced cultivators in our vicinity. But are these all ? Where are the Glout Morceau, Paradise of Autumn, Dix, Beurre Diel, Doyenne Boussock, Beurre d'Anjou, Fulton, Andrews, Ur- baniste, Tyson, Gansell's Bergamot, Rostiezer, Passe Colmar, St. Ghislain, Easter Beurre, Heathcot, Thompson's, Stevens's Genesee, Golden Beurre of Bilboa, Sieulle, Flemish Beauty, Compte de Lamy, Duchess of Angouleme, Long Green, Ma- rie Louise, Wilbur, Buffum, Lawrence, «fec., not to mention more recent kinds of equal merit ? It must be apparent that a selection of anything less than a dozen, must necessarily exclude some of the very finest pears. New varieties should, of course, be added with caution ; but they must not be condemned in haste. They are entitled to a thorough trial, and those who do not wish to test them because there are already plenty of fine ones, should not for- get that there are others who do ; not for the simple object that they are new, but because, knowing of no limit to im- provement, there may be found among them varieties far superior to anything we have yet obtained. Art. IL Market Gardening around London. By J. CUTHILL. The Strawberry. — This most delicious and wholesome fruit is very largely cultivated for the London markets, and more fruit is even consumed in the villages surrounding the metropolis than in the largest provincial town in England. It is difficult to discover the correct acreage devoted to this kind of crop in the different counties surrounding London ] but at a rough guess it may be estimated at near 100 acres. Market Gardening around London. 489 In cultivating strawberries the runners are generally plant- ed out upon well prepared ground in August, but in the case of dry weather the operation is often deferred until about the 1st of September. They cannot, however, be planted out too soon ; and for the British Q,ueen the old-fashioned plan of saving the runners amongst the old plants, or what is better, pricking them out into winter beds 4 inches apart, and planting them out in March between lettuce or some other dwarf crop, answers best ; any blossoms that are thrown up afterwards are picked off. Mr. Joseph Myatt, of Dept- ford, who has been so long justly celebrated for rearing and growing straAvberries, has kindly furnished me with the fol- lowing answers to questions which I put to him respecting this fruit. Q. What number of acres have you under strawberries ? A. Seven, Q. What sort of soil and manure do you use, and how much ? A. Sandy loam, horse and cow-dung, mixed, and applied at the rate of 30 loads to an acre. Q. How many years do you allow the plants to bear ? A. Two, but if the sorts are very productive, three. Q. What distance apart do you plant ? A. My beds contain three rows of plants, which stand 18 inches apart each way, leaving 2| feet alleys, and clearing out the middle row after the fruit is picked off the first year. Q. At what time do you straw them ? A. As soon as the first fruits are set. Q. Do you use any water ? A. I have none within a mile of me, or I would employ it, Q. What regulations are observed in the picking season ? A. The best fruits are put into 1 lb. punnets ; the " sec- onds " into pottles ; the pottles and punnets are made up professionally. Q. Do you approve of sending them to market in the 4 or 5 lbs. wicker baskets, which are used by some growers ? A. This plan is only fit for hard ones, and strawberries for 'preserving. VOL. XVII. NO. XI. 62 490 Market Gardening around Lojidon. Q. How do you transmit your fruit to market ? A. To the latter by means of a spring-van ; to shops, on women's heads. Q. What sorts do you grow ? A. British Q,ueen, Eleanor, Deptford Pine, Comte de Paris, Surprise, Goliah, Keens' Seedling, and many other seed- lings. Such are the answers of one of the best cultivators we have around London. Having no water near him, Mr. Myatt depends entirely upon the immense quantity and quality of his manure for keeping the ground moist, together with a good coat of straw ; but where manure is scarce, perhaps my plan, which I have practised for many years, would be the best. I always mulch between the rows with fresh straw, mixed with horse droppings, laying it on at least an inch in thickness, just when the plants are coming into flower ; and if the weather is dry I water frequently, but not over the flowers, until all the fruit is set. By the time the latter is ripe, the strength of the manure is washed down amongst the roots when they most want it, leaving the straw clean and sweet. Some market gardeners plant the British Q,ueen 2 feet 6 inches apart between the rows, and 18 inches plant from plant. By this means large fruit is obtained ; and should the autumn prove so dry as to ripen and set the buds properly, the crop in the following year is very heavy. Keens' Seedling does not require such treatment ; if it is planted out in July or August it makes fine plants, and bears a heavy crop the first year, but the plantation must consist of runners from plants that have produced a good crop. And the safest plan is to go over them when they are coming into flower, and before they are mulched, in order to pull up any plants that are unproductive. In some years acres are destroyed on account of their not bearing fruit. This happens after a wet autumn, which causes the plants to grow into leaf without forming flower buds, and this occurs oftenest on light land. In the strawberry season market gardeners provide them- selves with thousands of pottles, called quarts. These are formed of white fir, or laths split up very thinly. The length Market Gardeniiig around hondon. 491 of the London pottle is 11 inches. The inside diameter at the bottom is an inch, but it gradually enlarges until it is 3 1 inches wide at the top, which is finished with a handle rising about 4 inches above the rim. This pottle properly filled with fruit ought to weigh from 12 to 14 ounces. For the first early strawberries, what are called pint pottles are used. These are the same size at the bottom as those just men- tioned ; but they are only 7 inches long, and not quite 3 inches in diameter at the top, finishing with a handle 2 inches high. They hold, when filled, about from 4 to 6 ounces of fruit. " Punnets " are made of the same material as the pottles. They hold \ lb., 1 lb., 2 lbs. and upwards, accord- ing to the piuposes for which they are wanted. Considerable skill is exercised in what is termed " topping up of a pottle," so as to give to its top the form of a cone. The first row of fruit sits partly on the rim, and exhibits its best broad side half way round the pottle. The next row occupies the bosom of the last, and so on to the top. The other side of the pottle is then " put up " in the same way, and Avhen well done the fruit is not easily displaced ; the pottles are then sent ofi" to market in light spring vans, which hold two tiers of light white wicker baskets ; the latter con- tain 36 pottles, but in the case of the best fruit these baskets are divided by first putting in a layer of 1 lb. punnets, and then a division, filling up with punnets. The supply for the shops is conveyed to them by Welsh or Irish women, who carry them on their heads ; these women being paid for every journey they make, earn a good deal of money at this occu- pation, in which they often walk 48 miles a day, i. e., three times, say, from Isleworth, and three times back. This is, however, hard work, which I hope some day to see performed by the cheap steamboats which now ply so plentifully up and doAvn the Thames. Market gardeners exercise much ingenuity, in order to se- cure early fruit, such as planting closely in beds, and placing frames over them early in the spring ; taking up plants with good balls and putting them into frames, in a little bottom heat ; as well as planting at the foot of old walls, &c. 492 Market Gardening around London. They have also tried all sorts of ways to forward the ripening out of doors, as well as to keep the fruit clean, without en- couraging insects. Among the materials used for this pur- pose may be mentioned slates, tiles, flints, boards, &c. ; but the great fault of all these is, that they breed and harbor insects, whilst they cook the fruit before it is ripe, rendering it spongy and acid. All those contrivances have been aban- doned, in order to give place to the much more sensible and economical plan of mulching with litter, which answers every purpose for which it is intended perfectly. For private growers, terraces faced with burrs, as recom- mended in the Chronicle for last year, would, I have no doubt, be found everything that could be desired. By plant- ing close behind the burrs, the latter running east and west, the fruit would hang over the burr without touching it, and so circumstanced would experience all the benefit arising from the reflection of the sun's rays, and would ripen much earlier than it otherwise would do, in addition to which the free play of air round it would give it a very superior flavor. This plan reminds me of our native banks, where the straw- berry grows wild, and from which such high flavoured fruit is obtained, especially where the situation faces the sun. In small places within the sight of windows, such strawberry terraces would not only be useful but might be made very ornamental and agreeable to look at. Water-Cresses.^- When the late Sir Joseph Banks came home from circumnavigating the globe, among the first things he asked for were Water-Cresses, so highly did he value them as a purifier of the blood, and so important did he con- sider them in this as well as in other respects, relating to the animal economy, that he presented one of our water-cress grov/ers for Covent Garden with a Banksian Medal, in order to encourage him in carrying out their cultivation. I am sorry to state, however, that notwithstanding this, and al- though the plant is a native of Britain, and therefore easily cultivated, it is not half so extensively grown as it should be, there being only about four or five producers of it for the London markets, the main supplies for which are obtained Market Gardening around Lotidon. 493 from Springhead, Gravesend, Kent ; Waltham Abbey, Essex ; and from two or three places in Hertfordshire. The Graves- end and Waltham Abbey cress grounds are far the best, more attention being paid in these than in other places to its cultivation ; this is apparent in the robust and healthy appear- ance of the stem, as well as in the leaf, which is broad, and has a brownish-green aspect. The supply of cresses to Cov- ent Garden every market morning, according to Mr. Steptoe, an old herbalist there, may be estimated at nearly 500 dozen small bunches. , In the height of the growing season every greengrocer buys them for the tables of the rich ; but the great consumers of this useful herb are the middle and lower classes, who get them chiefly through the medium of street venders, who purchase 20 times as much as the greengrocers ; and by taking so many they not only obtain them cheaper in the first instance, but when they get them home they make every market bunch into two or three, and in this way pick up a tolerable living. Cheap, however, as water-cresses are admitted to be, I consider them much too dear ; and there is room for spirited individuals to form new cress grounds, not the beds of small rivulets, but regular plantations on large slopes, with the land cut into canals, similar to the lamb grounds in many places. There is one of those early grass- producing contrivances at Mistley Hall, nearly two miles in extent, and occupying about 30 acres. This large space is capable of being all flooded at once, and for any length of time. Now this is the kind of cress ground that I would recommend, and in such a place cresses should be regularly planted, and as much attention paid to their growth as to that of any other plant. In this way, instead of the grass and rubbish choked article now sold us, we would have cress at least as fine again as that we at present receive. I consider that no gentleman's establishment is perfect without its water-cress plantation. There is hardly a park which cannot boast of one of those crystal streams for which our country is famous, and a small piece could easily be en- closed and protected from cattle for cresses ; but there should be the means of shutting the river off in case of floods and 494 Market Gardening around London. heavy storms. The artificial canal system mentioned above would, however, answer best ; for floods and heavy waters might then pass on in their natural course without disturbing the cress beds. If this plan cannot be followed, then plant the bed of some stream, driving down stakes or laying large stones, so as to impede or lessen the force of the current. They would not be so fine produced in this way, but at the same time they would be plentiful enough to answer every purpose of a small family. Of this I am certain that no gentleman would object to have a water-cress bed for the use of his table, knowing its produce to be one of the most efficient purifiers of the blood and the very king of salads ; and as far as the London markets are concerned, I am sure that if 10,000 bunches more than they already receive were brought every market morning they would all be sold. In forming plantations, it would be necessary to have strong planks to walk upon, a few inches higher than the plants, so as not to trample on the latter, nor get wet-footed in picking them. In case of frost, it would be necessary to have plenty of water at command, in order to cover the plants well. The latter should always be raised from seeds, as, managed in this way, they do not "run " so soon, and by sowing at different seasons, we might have fine young cresses all the year round. " But," I hear some one say, " you have provided for the wants of the wealthy, where is the ama- teur's bed ?" Well, few small places are without water, and nothing need be easier than to introduce it into a nicely formed trench, two or three feet broad', and to plant the cresses. This trench might be hooped over, and covered with roses, or some favorite creeper, and I imagine few spots in the garden would be found more useful or ornamental. Since writing the above, the idea struck me that water- cresses might be cooked like the tops of radishes, a)id that they would make a useful addition to our delicate culinary vegetables. I therefore tried the experiment. The first time I cooked the stems and leaves together. They required but a few minutes' boiling, but the leaves were done long before the stems. The second time I had the leaves only, with a Market Gardeniiig around London. 495 small proportion of the top stem, boiled in a little salt, and the result was a very delicate dish ; but, like spinach, it takes a good basketful to make one. For invalids and impaired constitutions, I am of opinion that it will prove ^ first rate vegetable. Is Market Gardening Profitable ? — To this question only an approximate answer can be given, owing to the difficulty of getting at the truth of the matter. An acre of early cabbages on the best land, 18 inches apart, in rows 20 inches asunder, would contain about 17,000 plants or so, which, if all sold at Id. each (and good early cabbages fetch more than that,) would realize about 701. ; but then more or less of them always fetch a much lower sum, and, therefore, we must descend in our scale of prices. The above number at 9d. per dozen would fetch about 501., at 6d. per dozen about 351., and at 3d. per dozen about 18/.; an acre of early white cos lettuces, grown after celery upon the richest land, a foot apart each way, would realize Is. per score of 22 to the score, and if all sold at the above price, the aggregate sum would be 90/., but, like the cabbages, many are sold for much lower prices. Then after cabbage or lettuce take cel- ery. Some plant this in rows 4 feet distant, while others place it 5 and 6 feet apart, and if large fine heads are desired the plants ought to be 10 inches asunder in the rows — say 8000 plants to an acre. This number, at Id. each, would fetch about 351. ; but like other crops, if early and fine, they fetch 15c?. and 18c?. per dozen, and there is always an inter- mediate crop of lettuce or coleworts to come ofi" before the celery wants moulding up. This intermediate crop will fetch about 51., so that the average receipts of an acre may be set down at 90/. The expenses involved in the production of cabbage and celery crops, which occupy the acre nearly 15 months, are as follows : — Trenching an acre, about 21. 10s. ; 30 loads of manure, at 7s. 6d. each, say 12/. ; dunging the trenches for celery, say 6/. ; planting the crops, 1/. 5s. ; seeds of various things, IO5. ; hoeing several times, 21. 10s, ; rent 9/. ; tithes 10s. ; clearing off the several crops, say 4/. ; washing and 496 Mai^ket Gardening around Londoti. packing of produce, moulding up celery, &c., 4/. ; horses, waggons, carts, carters, market fees, &c., about 31. 10s. Total, about 45/. I am acquainted with a garden which contains 60 acres of choice fruit trees, whose blossoms were all destroyed by frost during three consecutive years. Now, on these 60 acres, the same expenses are incurred every year, whether they bring forth fruit or not ; so that taking this loss, that of broccoli from frost, and other things, into consideration, the profits of the market gardener are not so large as at first sight they would appear. No doubt, in favorable seasons, they make a considerable sum of money ; but owing to the vicissitudes of climate, the introduction of duty free foreign productions, and the fluctuation of prices, this desideratum is, at least, rendered very precarious. We have few instances, indeed, on record, of market gardeners becoming rich. By means of perseverance and great industry, however, they manage to live comfortably, and effect much good in the country, by spending large sums of money in labor ; but as I have just shown, the profits of the occupation are small. I have endeavored to ascertain the number of acres under cultivation for the supply of the various London markets, and the result of the inquiry is, that about 12,000 acres are occupied by vegetables, and about 5000 by fruit trees. These lie chiefly in the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Hert- ford, and Bedford, on the north side of the Thames ; and Kent, and Surrey, on the south side ; and some 35,000 peo- ple are employed on them. But this is not taking into account those more distant counties which, by fits and starts, send up the produce of acres of turnip tops, cabbages, peas, and other things ; while hundreds of acres in Cornwall and Devonshke are employed in growing early potatoes, broccoli, peas, &c., which reach London by rail. In writing these papers, I have endeavored, as far as possible, to stear clear of mentioning names of vegetables, knowing well the labyrinth into which such a subject would lead me ; for their aliases are endless. Besides, what wfll suit one soil wfll not suit another, and the march of improve- Descriptions of Three Varieties of Pears. 497 merit is so rapid that sorts highly valued to-day will be thought less of to-morrow, and will ultimately disappear al- together to make room for more valuable kinds. These then are some of my reasons for not mentioning varieties. In conclusion, I trust that some benefit may have been derived from what I have written on the subject of market gardening ; and although a few errors may have crept in, I hope that on the whole they may have given satisfaction. This paper concludes Mr. Cuthill's series of articles upon market gardening around London ; and we believe their peru- sal will confirm all we said in our prefatory remarks. They show a system of thorough cultivation which can only be effected in the manner he names, viz., by deep and frequent trenching, and liberal manuring ; to rely upon anything else than these, the market gardener around London could not pay the rent and labor of his land. We trust these papers have awakened attention to th© importance of trenching ; if they have not, anything; which we could say upon this point would fail to do so. It is the key to all successful cultivation. — Ed. Art. in. Descriptions of Three Vai'ieties of Pears, with Engravings of the Fruit. By B. Desportes, Angers, France. In our last volume (XVI, p. 489,) we presented our readers with a communication from M. Desportes, describing three new varieties of pears ; we now have the pleasure of present- ing the descriptions of three other varieties of recent intro- duction to our collections, and one of which, the La Juive, has not yet, we believe, fruited here. We are gratified to add, that M. Desportes will keep us informed of all the new sorts of merit, which are introduced to the extensive col- lections at Angers, as soon as they are fully proved. — En. . VOL. XVII. NO. XI. 63 498 Descriptions of Three Varieties of Pears. Dear Sir, — I take great pleasure in sending you the out- lines and the descriptions of some new pears, which have fruited on the specimen trees in M. Andre Leroy's nursery at Angers, (France.) If you find them worthy of insertion in your estimable journal, please do so. 1. Beurre' St. Nicolas, Fruit, large, long, pyriform, but not uniformly shaped ; Stem, large, irregular, stout at the base, curved ; Skin, gray, Fig. 51. Beurrd St. Nicolas. shaded with yellow spots towards the stem, and with speckles towards the eye, lightly colored on the sunny side ; Flesh, Descriptions of Three Varieties of Pears. 499 white, very nice, very melting, buttery ; water abundant, sugary, perfumed, and highly flavored. It is a very excellent pear, not surpassed in quality by any other. Ripens about 15th September. It was raised in the garden of St. Nicolas, at Angers, ten or twelve years ago. 2. Fig. 52. Saint Michael Archange. Saint Michael Archange. Fruit, of middle size, long, regularly, but sometimes un- dulated, pyriform ; Skin, very slight, yellowish gray and 500 Descriptions of Three Varieties of Pears. green spotted ; Flesh, greenish white, nice, very melting, buttery ; water abundant, agreeably perfumed, and deliciously aromatized. This very excellent pear is one of the best of the season ; ripens end of September and October. 3. La Juive. Fruit, pyriform ; Stem, short, stout, inserted at the surface ; Skin, slight, yellow colored, sprinkled with gray specks and Fig. 53. La Juive. lines ; Flesh, yellowish, nice, melting, buttery, juicy ; water very abundant. A very delicious pear ; first rate. Ripening in September and October. Vigorous tree, pyramidal shaped, straight branched. Angers, France, September 2, 1851. Pomological Gossip. 501 Art. IV. Pomological Gossip. The Pomological Discussion at Rochester. — In our last number we briefly noticed the pomological discussion which took place at Rochester, during the week of the Fair of the New York State Agricultural Society, and gave the results of the discussion upon the Hawley, Northern Spy and Wagener apples. Our notice, however, was not complete, as, since then, some further debate has been published in the Rural New Yorker, upon two other varieties, viz., the Melon and Early Joe. We therefore embrace the opportunity to give a short account of the discussion upon the several kinds, and the decision of the meeting upon the last two varieties above named. Haioley. — Mr. L. F. Allen, of Black Rock, said that it ap- peared to him the object of these meetings should be to deter- mine something for the government of fruit growers in rela- tion to soils as well as the species [varieties] of fruits. His reading on the subject had been extensive, but he had been unable to form definite conclusions as to the soils, localities, &c. best for particular fruits. If, in the discussion of these things, each would state his own experience as to soils, &c., it would better satisfy people who are engaged in cultivating fruit, and be more profitable. J. W. Bissell moved the Hawley is a first-class apple, but should be grown on heavy soil. Mr. Barry thought there had not been sufficient evidence on this point. He had seen fine crops of it on light soil. Two trees on different soil might present different results. We need a variety and a good many facts before settling upon the soil required for its growth. Mr. Frost, of Chemung, said this variety had been grown near Binghampton, upon light gravelly soil, and it was highly esteemed there. The crops were frequently heavy. The resolution of Mr. Bissell was amended so as to read as we gave in our last number, page 467. 602 Pomological Gossip. [We are inclined to the belief that Mr. Allen attaches too much importance to the particular composition of soils suited to particular sorts of fruit, and the facts, as stated above, seem to support our view of the subject. Mr. Bissell offered a mo- tion that " it should be grown on a heavy soil." Mr. Barry states that he has seen " very fine crops on a light soil." Both of these gentlemen are nurserymen of experience, and ought to know something about it. The truth is, that locality does have a material influence upon trees, and in most instances, where we hear that they do not thrive or do well, and the fault is laid to the soil, it belongs rather to the locality, which may be exceedingly wet or exceedingly dry, or subject to these two extremes alternately. But let the subsoU be right, neither subject to over-saturation or too great aridity, and it matters little what the surface soil is, provided it is deep, well trenched or pulverized, and judiciously manured. We might give abundant evidence of this, but have not the time or space now.] Northern Spy. — Col. Hodge, of Buffalo, was sorry to hear it remarked that the Northern Spy would prove a failure. In the vicinity of Buffalo, upon a rich soil and with good culti- vation, it had succeeded admirably. Mr. L. F. Allen said he had gone into the raising of the Northern Spy pretty extensively. He put the trees into stiff soil, part clay and gravel. They disappointed him in not bearing early. The other day, however, he was surprised to see the fine growth the Spy had made in comparison with other kinds. He intended to go into their cultivation largely. The tree is apt to get a bushy head. Last spring he thinned them out, and found great benefit from it. If people would cultivate their orchards as well as they do their potatoes they would find the Northern Spy one of the best apples grown. Mr. Langworthy thought that there was a possibility of our being deceived yet as to the Northern Spy. The expe- rience had been with young trees. In Bloomfield he had seen some quite inferior fruit of this kind. They had no distinctive flavor, and their chief excellence was their fair size, freedom from blotch and warts, and their long keeping. Pomological Gossip. 503 Mr. Allen asked if the orchards in Bloomfield were well taken care of. Mr. Bissell replied, that they were old, and overgrown with suckers. The only wonder was, that there should be any fruit on them at all. In Mendon there were trees fifteen years old, that bear uniformly well. Mr. Hooker said, the test of an apple should be applied in its season. He thought there was no apple that suited more generally in its season. Mr. Barry concurred in the last remark. He had seen them in high condition on the 4th of July. Mr. Smith, of Macedon, thought it would sufier in com- parison with the Baldwin. Mr. Allen regarded it as an objection, that the Spy was tardy in bearing. The perfume of this apple was very pun- gent, a single one sometimes perfuming a large room with its delightful scent. Mr. Lang worthy said the perfume of the Spy was wholly in the skin, and had nothing to do with the flavor of this apple. Mr. Allen's motion, which we gave in our last, was then agreed to. [It is no wonder that cultivators are puzzled to learn the merits of this fine apple. Three years ago it was said that " oiAy seventee7i barrels out of mwe^y were found fit for market." And now Mr. Langworthy states, that the only good qualities of the Spy are its ''fair size, freedom from blotch and warts .'" As to the perfume of the Northern Spy being wholly in the skin, we should like to see any apple which had much perfume after its skin was taken ofi".] Wage7ier. — Mr. Barry said this apple had obtained a high reputation throughout the country. He had been to Perm Yan to see the old tree, to ascertain its qualities, and he found some fine specimens. As compared with the Northern Spy and Esopus Spitzenberg, he regarded it as inferior in some respects. It keeps until May, and the tree bears well. Mr. Thomas had seen some fine specimens, but wished for further information. 504 Po7nological Gossip. Mr. Frost said the tree grew finely, yielding uniformly good fruit, and was a long keeper. He had tested it with the Spy, and gave the preference to the Wagener, in respect to flavor and fineness of the grain. Mr. Bissell thought the test not a fair one, because the Spy was not mature at the season of the Wagener. Mr. Allen gave the history of this apple. He would not, perhaps, call it a first rate apple, but as a good apple of high quality for its season. The knowledge of it was not suffi- cient yet to admit of a more decided opinion. After some further discussion, of no particular reference to this apple, the vote was passed which we have already given. Melon. — Mr. Barry regarded this as the best of all apples. He had taken specimens to Europe, and, on all hands, it had been received with great favor. Many who grew apples ex- tensively, said they did not know that a variety of such ten- derness and fine texture, existed. The tree is a poor grower, but a good bearer. It keeps till May, and may be eaten all winter. As to the soil best suited to it he could not say ; but he considered a good substantial loam best. Mr. Smith endorsed all that Mr. Barry said. Its great beauty, and other desirable qualities, should give it a place in every orchard. It is so delicate, however, that it is apt to be injured in gathering, so as to prevent its long keeping. Mr. Allen thought it might be recommended as a good ap- ple for family use, as far as tested. After some further dis- cussion, it was considered " as a first rate apple, as respects flavor, and general good qualities, and that it is an excellent fruit for family use." [We do not wish to be hypercritical, but to what other purpose would the meeting put a good apple to but " family use ?" We think if the last ten words of the above resolve had been omitted it would have, at least, shown a better taste.] Early Joe. — Mr. Langworthy's opinion of this apple was, that it was one of the first rate September apples. It ripens in the peach season, and was, therefore, not valuable. It is a fine apple in all respects, and a good bearer. For richness and delicacy he regarded it excellent. Pomological Gossip. 505 Mr. Thomas spoke well of the fruit. In its prime it was excellent, but it must be eaten by a chronometer, from the tree. Mr. Bissell recommended every one to have one or two trees of this apple. Col. Hodge regarded it as a very good apple, and coincided with what had been said of it. Mr. Langworthy moved that it be recommended as a good apple for limited cultivation and family use, which was agreed to. [Our Rochester friends appear to be jealous of our Boston reputation as a city of " notions." For certainly that must be only a notion, and a queer one, which denounces an apple as "not valuable," because it ripens in the "peach season." From this are we to infer that no fruit is eaten in Rochester in September but peaches ? Taking this as a rule, the Bart- lett pear is " not valuable," for it ripens when peaches are in the heighth of perfection. Yet, in our Boston market, Wil- liams and Porter apples command ^2 to $3, and Bartlett pears ^5, per bushel ; and extra fine specimens much higher prices. The able chairman of the Fruit Committee of the Massachu- setts Horticultural Society, in his last annual report, particu- larly alludes to the paucity of fine September apples, and truly remarks, that " we need, among others, an apple suited to our soil and climate, and general cultivation, and of supe- rior quality, to succeed the Early Harvest." Just the time when it is said apples are " not valuable." — Ed.] Pear Blight. — The further discussion related to the pear blight, and curculio, but nothing new was elicited. Mr. Thomas believed the disease contagious. His remedy was the knife. Mr. Hooker supported Mr. Thomas's views. He said he believed some varieties of the apple more subject to the dis- ease than others, and so of the pear. Mr. Barry's impression, after much experience, was, that it was caused by insects. One strong evidence of this, he said, was, that not only the pear, but the thorn, quince, and med- VOL. XVII. NO. XI. 64 506 Pomological Gossip. lar, were alike attacked by the "blight." The knife he thought was, and is, the best remedy yet known. Dr. Warder, of Cincinnati, remarked that the disease some- times attacked the tree below the ground. What avail then will the knife be ? The Passe Colmar, and Seckel, are more subject to the blight than other varieties. Mr. Barry offered a resolution, " that we look with favor upon the theory that the pear blight is the work of an in- sect." 5 ayes ; 16 noes. Curculio. — Mr. Pardee had tried whitewashing the fruit, and found it a successful preventive against the attacks of this insect. Mr. Hooker said, jarring the trees, and catching the curcu- lios in a sheet, was a very effectual remedy. Mr. Thomas said, the best way to jar a tree was to saw off a limb, and strike the end with a hammer. Mr. Allen regarded the " jarring" as being well established ; also, that poultry and pigs were good preventives. Mr. Barry would plant plums so that pigs and other animals [not two legged ones, we presume,] may have access to the trees, so as not to injure them. No motion was made in regard to the curculio. Rough and Ready or Primate Apple. — In our volume for 1850 (XVI, p. 450) we published a full account of this new and fine variety, communicated by Mr. C. P. Cowles, of Syracuse, N. Y., and accompanied the same with an en- graving of the fruit. It was the first knowledge we had of such an apple, and we supposed it to be, as Mr. Cowles stated, a new seedling which originated in New York, in the vicinity of Onondaga. But immediately after the appearance of Mr. Cowles's com- munication, Mr. A. Fahnestock, now of Syracuse, informed us that it was not a seedling variety, but, on the contrary, a very Avell known and considerably disseminated apple through Onondaga county, and was called the Primate ; and he kindly offered to communicate what he knew in regard to it for publication ; but for some cause, at that time, the subject was overlooked, and it was not until a few weeks since that Pomological Gossip. 507 Mr. Fahnestock fulfilled his promise, sending us, at the same time, three or four dozen of the apples in the finest condition. Mr. Fahnestock's letter is as follows : — Dear Sir: — As we failed to get the Primate apple at Gen- eva we procured them at Benton, where the original and first grafting was done by Mr. Lyman Tubbs, the Eastern grafter, who brought the scions from the East with him, and grafted them on a farm which he purchased at Benton. We procured the specimens we now send you from these trees. They are called by him the Harvest apple. They were disseminated afterwards around Benton, Geneva, Brighton, near Rochester, and in Onondaga county, in which last place Mr. Cowles saw the apple and concluded it was a seedling. The oldest trees near Benton are from thirty to forty years of age, and are the largest of all in the county. Mr. Lyman Tubbs now lives in Michigan, and, as I am informed, in Kalamazoo city. Mr. Peter York, at Benton Centre, when his trees came into bearing, called it the " Primate apple," as it was about the first and best, as he has so informed us. Mi*. Powers, near Geneva, also had his trees grafted, and when they came into bearing and grafts were taken from his trees, they were called the " Powers apple." These apples have been cul- tivated by Mr. York upwards of thirty years, and by Mr. Parsons upwards of twenty years, and by Deacon Bronson twenty years. These apples commence ripening with the Early Harvest, and last for two or three months ; they are more mild and pleasant and of larger size. The tree is stocky, upright, with a broad, deep green, heavy leaf. We hope you will notice this fruit as it deserves, for we consider it one of the best of its season, both in size and quality. Our firm has cultivated this apple for several years, and we now have a large stock of fine saleable trees. Perhaps, from the above, you may be able to find out what the apple is and the true name. In the mean time I would suggest that it be called the Harvest or Primate apple ; per- haps the latter name would be more appropriate, as the former 508 Pomological Gossip. might be confounded with the* Early Harvest, and it is gen- erally known by the name of "Primate." Yery respectfully yours, A. Fahnestock. Syracuse Nursery^ Syracuse, N. Y., Sept. 2(1, 1851. We are glad to publish the above, as it not only gives what appears to be a correct history of one of the very best apples, but fully establishes the priority of the name of "Pri- mate " over that of Rough and Ready, a common-place and objectionable cognomen. Mr. Cowles, undoubtedly, was not aware that the variety had been so long or so extensively cultivated, or he would not probably have suggested a name. But as it was desirable so fine a fruit should be made known to all cultivators, he was justified, in the absence of a full history of the variety and a knowledge of its former name, to give it one of his own. If, however, Mr. Fahnestock is correct in his statement, it must now be set aside for that of " Primate." It only remains for us to say that the specimens sent us, came fully up to the character given to it in the description referred to in our magazine. It is, without doubt, one of the richest of our early apples ; of good size, fine form and beau- tiful appearance, and certainly the tenderest fleshed apple we have. The tree bears well, and the fruit ripens in succession for a long time. The Walwokth Apple. — In our last volume (XVI, p. 541) we gave a brief account of this new variety, which originated in Plattsburg, N. Y. At that time we thought it might prove identical with the Bailey Spice, another apple which originated in the same town. This year, however, we received a quantity of the two varieties, the Bailey Spice, from Mr. Bailey, and the Walworth from Mr. Battey, and we have been enabled from these to make a description of the former, and to satisfy ourselves of the difference of the two sorts. They are certainly quite distinct, and had Mr. Bailey's description been accurate, even without the speci- mens themselves,' we should not have supposed they might be identical. Had he said that the Bailey Spice was ribbed. Pomological Gossip. 509 as it is quite prominently, it would have, at once, prevented us from falling into such an error. In all other respects the two are similar, except in the quality of the fruit, the Wal- worth being the best. The Walworth we shall figure in our next volume. In the mean time we would state that it is a superior apple, bearing a great resemblance to the Porter, of nearly the same form and color, but with a deeper red cheek, which renders it even more beautiful than that variety. It is also a little later, and has a softer and more tender flesh and a less acid juice than the Porter. With the Early Harvest, Primate, Porter and Walworth, not to mention other equally as fine apples, a succession may be kept up from the ripening of the first summer sorts until the fall apples become abundant. Frederick of Wurtemburg Pear. — There can be no doubt in our minds, that the pear so long confounded with the Capiaumont, but now known as the Frederick of Wurtem- burg, is the true variety raised and so named by Van Mons. The present season, however, we have fruited in our collec- tion another and distinct pear under this name, and, to our taste, a better pear than that, in the best condition of that variable variety. It has the same peculiar beauty of the original variety, viz., a rich yellow skin heightened by a deep, vermilion cheek ; it is also nearly or quite as large. In point of excellence it is much superior, possessing a peculiarly rich, sugary and aromatized flavor, scarcely surpassed by our very best pears. It keeps a long time, and specimens gathered four weeks ripened ofl" finely, showing no appearance of decay outwardly or inwardly. The flesh is firm, yet ex- ceedingly buttery, melting and juicy. Season, September to the middle of October. Whatever may be its true name, it is a variety deserving of extensive cultivation ; and we shall describe and figure it in our next volume. In the mean time we may be able to ascertain its correct name, as a continuation of its present one Avill be likely to lead to confusion and repeated mistakes. 510 Watering Plants in Pots. Art. V. O71 the Evils of indiscriminately Watering Plants in Pots immediately after being shifted. By H. Bock. To insert cuttings of plants, particularly those of a soft, woody or succulent nature, into moist materials, before the wounds made in preparing them are healed over, is often attended with fatal consequences, from the moisture finding its way into the pores of the plant, thereby causing putre- faction and decay. The woody parts of plants being more consolidated and less porous than their roots, are altogether less calculated to imbibe an undue portion of moisture, yet we find that even these do so to a most injurious extent ; therefore, we may reasonably conclude that roots mutilated and placed in the same circumstances would have a greater chance, from their peculiar organization, to suffer from such a cause ; nor can there remain a doubt that they do so. This points out as most injudicious, the practice of turning plants out of their pots, reducing their balls, as the case may be, thereby lacera- ting every fibre, and placmg every rootlet in a worse position than a cutting, and then finishing the operation by giving a good drenching of water, which, as we have already seen, must make dire havoc aniong the previously reduced chan- nels by which the plant receives its food. Such is, in a great measure, the cause of delicate plants suff'ering so much from shifting, of the check they receive unless the operation be carefully performed, and consequent loss of time in recovering from its effects. Still this is an every-day practice, that has descended to us hallowed by the customs of ages, and sanctioned by the highest authorities. Who ever heard of directions for shifting or potting plants, that did not end thus ? — Give the whole a good watering to settle the mould in the pots, and the operation is completed. After shifting or transplanting plants in hot dry weather, when arid atmosphere causes, by excessive evaporation, an unusual drain upon the roots, the necessity of a supply will soon become apparent ; and administering it under such cir- cumstances is less injurious than under any other, from the Watering Plants in Pots, 511 activity maintained in every part of the plant rendering stag- nation an unlikely occurrence. But even then, when practi- cable, it is better to confine them in a close moist atmosphere, which, with water over head and shade, will enable them to exist through the medium of the leaves until grooving has commenced, and the roots are in a condition to receive, with- out injury, the necessary supply. Jt is, however, when there is a deficiency of heat, vege- tation languid, and a corresponding danger from excess of moisture, that such precaution is most requu'ed, and the con- trary practice most hurtful. Among seedlings of tender sorts the mortality from such maltreatment is truly great ; and when the impossibility of transplanting such without, in some shape, hurting their few and almost unformed spongeoles, scarcely more consolidated than the fluid in which they are thoughtlessly immersed, is considered, their certain destruc- tion is not to be wondered at. The advantages these derive from the treatment described, led me first to examine more closely what I deem a matter of much importance. Before quitting the subject for the present, I may here add, that the injmy inflicted by such treatment is not confined to plants alone ; the soil, also, is oftentimes irreparably injm'ed. It has been placed between the sides of the pot and the root- bound ball containing the plant, where, being in a compara- tively loose state, it receives the whole of the water that is considered sufficient to moisten the whole mass ; as, where there is so little resistance, it is as effectually repelled by the hard, and much more by a dry, ball as by the sides of the pot. Tl.is reduces what has been added to the condition of a puddle, and in this state it stands a good chance of being baked as hard as a brick. At all events, it has been totally unfitted to afford that nourishment to the plant it otherwise would have done. Such consequences may be avoided by applying moisture gradually ; but if some time is allowed to elapse there is not so much to fear, even from the usual soak- ing, as the old and new material must, in the interim, have become equally dry ; a state, let it be remembered, indispen- sable to the thorough incorporation of such materials. Cushing''s Gardens, Watertown, Mass., Sept. 20, 1851. '612 The American Pomologist. REVIEWS. Art. I. The Americmi Pomologist ; containing Finely Col- ored Drawings, accompanied by letter-press Descriptions of Fruits of Am,erica?i origiti. Edited by W. D. Brinckle, A. M., M. D. No. I. Vol. I. Philadelphia: 1851. This is the title of a new work, published by Mr. A. Hoffy, of Philadelphia, in the same style as the Orchardisfs Comr panion, which was abandoned after the fifth number, but dif- fers from it in being exclusively devoted to fruits of American origin. It is to be edited by our correspondent. Dr. Brinckle, who is abundantly able to do justice to his department of the work. The plates are drawn on stone, by Mr. Hoffy, and are colored under his direction. We are glad to see that there is an increasing demand for works of this description. Our Fruits of America was com- menced with a view to supply information of this kind, and to make known all the fruits worth growing, both of foreign and native origin. For we have long thought it important, and indeed absolutely necessary, to have some better guide than mere descriptions, to lead us out of the confusion into which the nomenclature of our fruits has fallen. A work of the kind of Mr. Hoffy's, though of much less importance than one which embraces the foreign fruits, be- cause our native kinds have not yet become encumbered with synonymes, is, notwithstanding, a pleasant contribution to our Pomological literature. It is interesting to become acquaint- ed with the many choice varieties of native origin, even before we may have seen them in fruit. The work is published in quarto form, and each number contains ten colored plates, and ten pages of letter press. It is to appear not oftener than once in three months, and four numbers complete a volume. A Muck Manual for Farmers. 513 Art. II. A Muck Manual for Farmers. By Samuel S. Dana. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 345. Third edition, revised and enlarged. Lowell : 1851. This is a new and revised edition of Dr. Dana's Muck Manual, which we reviewed at some length when first pub- lished in 1842. What we said then we may repeat now, that it is a valuable work to the agriculturist and horticul- turist. Of the additions and alterations the author says, in his preface, " That he has in this, presented more fully the results of soil analysis, and hopes that he has substantiated the posi- tion, that there is great uniformity in the chemical constitu- tion of the soil. It is a great step. Time will show whether agriculture is to be still further benefited by chemical analysis of soil. Too much has ever been expected from this appli- cation of science, and the disappointment which has resulted has led some of the most sagacious and acute agricultural chemists to declare that ' soil analysis is more curious than useful.' " It is gratifying to hear of such an admission by so eminent a chemist as Dr. Dana. For one would judge, to see the notices in some of our agricultural papers, that every man's garden was made of an entirely different soil, so different, in- deed, that nothing will grow in one, which will produce the most abundant crop in another. '' Too much has ever been expected from this application of science," says Mi\ Dana, and we trust this will be borne in mind. We commend the volume to the attention of all who are in any way concerned in the cultivation of the soil. It will be found a valuable aid to the better improvement of soils, and the application of manures. VOL. XVII. NO. XI. 65 514 General Notices. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Art. I. General iN'otkes, On Agricultural Chemistry, especially in relation to the Mineral Theory of Baron Liebig. — In a recent article in the Agri- cultural Journal, Mr. Pusey had quoted the experiments of Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert as being conclusive against the "Mineral Theory" of Baron Liebig, which asserts that the crops on the farm rise and fall according to the supply within the soil of the mineral constituents indicated by an anal- ysis of the ashes of the plant. To these observations of Mr. Pusey, Baron Liebig has replied at some length in the new edition of his "Letters on Chemistry," just published, and in doing so, has asserted that the experi- ments alluded to are without value, and that the statements of the authors could only be made in ignorance of the rationale of agricultural practices on the large scale, fhe authors have therefore given in the present paper an outline of their investigations in agricultural chemistry; comprising an ex- tensive series of experiments in the field on the growth of the principal crops entering into a rotation, as well as on the chemistry of the feeding of animals, and that of the functional actions of plants generally, in relation to the soil and atmosphere : in connection with all of which branches much laboratory labor has constantly been in progress since the commencement of the experiments themselves in 1843. The results selected by Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert, in justification and illustration of their views, were those of the field experiments on wheat, grown continuously on a previously ex- hausted soil for the last eight years, and in each season, by means of many chemical manures by the side always of one or more plots unmanured, and one manured continuously by farm-yard manure. Some of the results thus obtained were illustrated by a diagram, from which it appeared that mineral manures had scarcely increased the produce at all when used alone, whilst the effects of ammoniacal salts were very marked, even when repeated year after year on the same space of ground from which the entire crop — corn and straw — had been removed. Indeed, in this way, a produce had been attained even in the sixth and seventh succeeding years of the experiment, exceeding by nearly two-thirds that from the unmanured plot. It was then shown that the mineral constituents of the soil continued to be in excess, relatively to the nitrogen available for them from natural sources. The history of several plots was then traced down to the last harvest (1850,) and it was argued that the statements assailed by Liebig, viz., that ammonia was specially adapted as a manure for wheat, was fully borne out when speaking of agriculture as generally practised in Great Britain. In other words, that in practice it was the defect of nitrogen rather than of the min- eral constituents that fixed the limit to our produce of corn. The authors next called attention to the fact of the exhalation of nitrogen by growing plants, as proved by the experiments of De Saussure, Daubeny, and Draper, and they referred to some experiments of their own, with the view of show- ing the probability that there is more of the nitrogen derived from manure General Notices. 515 given off during the growth of cereal grains than by leguminous and other crops ; and hence might be explained the great demand upon nitrogeneous manures observed in the growth of grain. The authors suggested that here was an important field of study, and that we have in the facts alluded to much that should lead us to suppose that the success of a rotation of crops depends on the degree in which the restoration of the balance of the organic constituents of crops was attained by its means, rather than on that of their mineral constituents, according to the theory of Liebig ; whilst the means adopted to secure the former were always attended with a sufficient supply of the latter. Again, Prof. Liebig has quoted the processes of fal- lowing and liming, as being in their known results inconsistent with the views of Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert ; but these gentlemen considered that the experiments of Mulder and of Mr. Way on the properties of soils jus- tified them in supposing that the processes of fallowing and liming owed their efficacy more to the accumulation of nitrogen in the soil from natural sources, than to that of available mineral constituents ; the latter did, how- ever, undoubtedly thus accumulate by those processes, and this fact should give us more confidence in views which, on independent evidence, supposed that they were not so easily liable to be found in defect in relation to other necessary supplies. It was next shown, by reference to what happens in actual practice as generally followed in Great Britain, where corn and meat constitute almost the exclusive exports of the farm, that the mineral constituents of the crops, taken collectively, — that is, as shown by the analysis of their ashes, could not be considered as exhausted : of these, however, phosphoric acid was lost to the farm, in much larger proportion than the alkalies ; whilst the latter would generally, by the combined agencies of disintegration of the native soil, and import in cattle food, be liable to diminution in but a very insignificant degree, if not in some cases to accumulation. Practical agriculture had, indeed, decided that phos- phoric acid must be returned to the land from sources external to the farm itself — viz., by bones, guano, or other means. But, on the other hand, artificial alkaline manures had generally been found to faU in effect. In- deed, taking into careful consideration the tendency of all experience in practical agriculture, as well as the collective results of a most laborious experimental investigation of the subject, both in the field and in the labora- tory, it was the authors' deliberate opinion that the analysis of the crop is no direct guide whatever as to the nature of the manure required to be provided in the ordinary course of agriculture, from sources extraneous to the home manures of the farm, — that is to say, by artificial manures. Re- viewing, then, the actual facts of practical agriculture, the authors could not agree with Baron Liebig when he asserted that our grand object should be to attain an artificial mixture to substitute for farm-yard manure, which he admitted to be the universal food of plants. The very practice of agri- culture itself as followed in this country, necessitates the production of farm-yard manure, and all our calculations should be made on the supposi- tion of its use. — [Mr. J. B. Lawes and Dr. J. H. Gilbert, in a paper read before the British Association for the advancement of Science.) [Gard. Chron. p. 564, 1851.) 516 General Notices. ' ■ Cultivation of the Strawberry. — Mr. Beach, a market gardener at Isleworth, having surprised every one this year with his British Queen Strawberries, both in Covent Garden, at Chiswick, and the great exhibition, they having been not only extremely large, but fine in flavor, I got an intro- duction to him in London, and he at once asked me to go down with him to Isleworth, and see his place. He is one of those John Bull ready-witted class of men, dark, and sun-burnt, somewhere about 55 years of age, and looking altogether as if he had spent a month on the south side of the Rocky Mountains. We took the train at the Waterloo station, and turned off by what is called the loop line, at Mortlake, through a large tract of market gardening ground. Mr. B.'s garden lies near the bottom of a gentle de- clivity, about a mile from Hounslow ; there is a large pond at the east end of his land, with about twenty springs continually flowing into it, and this pond affords the means of irrigating the whole of his ground. His straw- berry land, Avhich consists of about ten acres, forms a parallelogram, whose longest side runs south and north, the south end being about six feet below that on the north, while there is also a declivity from west to east ; making it altogether peculiarly suitable for irrigation. When Mr. Beach took this osier ground, for so it was", about five years ago (and there is part in willows now,) he saw that owing to the springs and the two falls of the ground, as well as the texture of the soil being a sandy, dark, loamy, soapy, vegetable material, that it would answer the purpose to which he has applied it well. He took a lease of it, and the first thing he did was to make a cart-way on the west upper side, throwing up the earth some two feet above the general ground, so that the path where the horse goes is from ten inches to a foot deeper than where the wheels pass along, thus forming water-courses all along. The next thing he did was to form his ground into ridges, about 40 feet wide, running the short way of the square ; the centres of these ridges are planted with pears and apples, and between with black currants, with crops, such as never were seen before. About three feet from the trees on either side are water-courses, leading to the bottom of the ground, where there is a mill stream, and on the two declivities between the rows of trees are his strawberries, some five or six rows of which are planted along the sides of the two feet broad ditches, between the ridges. These ditches re- ceive the irrigating water, which percolates under the plants down into them. It is unnecessary to describe the size and strength of the plants, as well as the enormous crops they produce. His heaviest queens weighed three ounces ; all his plants stand two feet apart each way. — ( Gard. Chron. 1851, p. 485.) Flower Garden Plants. — There are few things connected with gar- dening which require more, or receive less thoughtful attention than the management of flower garden plants, during the winter and spring months. The well known fact of verbenas and many other bedding plants being half hardy, has encouraged the idea of a slight protection, only, being necessary for their preservation from frost ; and the only provision made to secure this has, in many places, been the erection of ranges of brick pits with glass lights ; and as any means of applying artificial heat was con- sidered unnecessary, none have been employed. As I have for several General Notices. 517 years watched the effect of this treatment, I will just describe what I have seen. About this time, or a little earlier, the cuttings are struck ; after a while they are potted singly in small pots, and then placed in the pit, where they enjoy plenty of air and light. For a time they grow most vigorously, but then comes short days and frosty nights ; a thick covering is now indis- pensable. Sometimes a day or two, occasionally a week, passes without this covering being removed ; when it is, the damp is found to be making sad havoc ; a little air is given, which, with the feeble heat of the sun, causes the plants to flag ; and well they may, for the soil in the pots is very dry, but no water can be given, it would so fearfully increase the dampness of the pit. The month of February is reached, mildew is spreading in all directions, and continues to do so, in spite of sulphur or any appliance whatever, until at last a third of the plants are found to be dead, and the remainder so much diseased, that half of them at bedding-out time are valueless ; in consequence of this, the flower beds are so thinly planted that it is late in the summer before they are .covered, and hence arises one of the principal objections to this mode of flower gardening. Now, con- sidering the expense of building these pits, the space of ground they occu- py, the cost of mats, the frequent breakage of glass, and the amount of labor involved in their management, with the unsatisfactory result of their use, it must, I think, be admitted that the contrivance is anything but a good one. This being my opinion, I have for the last three years ceased to store flower garden plants of any kind in pits, using in preference a small greenhouse. In this house (the dimensions of which I am unable to furnish, having now left the place,) I had a trellis made nearly on a level with the bottom of the front lights ; these being hung on hinges were capa- ble of being raised by wedges to admit air, as circumstances might require ; this trellis was filled with 5-inch pots, in each of which about 20 cuttings had previously been struck. Now, as 49 of these pots, containing together 980 plants, would stand upon each square yard of trellis, ample means were thus afforded of keeping an immense stock of verbenas and plants of similar habits, independently of the stage, which was kept for geraniums and calceolarias. Under the stage I made a mushroom bed, and under the trellis I placed, for rooting, the potted bulbs intended for winter forcing. My mode of treatment with the plants thus preserved, was to make the cuttings a little earlier in the season than this, choosing the points of short jointed liealthy shoots ; to strike them in a close frame without heat, gradu- ally harden and stop them, then fully expose them to the weather, when at all fine, till the middle gS October, the time of housing. After this, I regularly dusted a little sulphur over them once a fortnight, brushing it well about the leaves, and attended very particularly to the watering ; for I am convinced that nothing tends more to the increase of mildew and the injury of all plants in pots than dryness at the roots. By strict atten- tion to these points, and by keeping the house both cool and airy, the plants made but little gro^vth, and were always healthy and hardy. About the middle of February tlie points of all the shoots were taken off and struck in an early vinery. Early in April all the verbenas I had wintered were 518 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. turned out of their pots, carefully separated, and planted deeply in the newly-dugf flower heds at once ; here, for about six weeks, they made no growth; I did not expect they would. Then why, it may be asked, were they planted so early ? Because at that time they were very hardy, and I considered that the longer they remained in-doors the more tender they •would become ; besides, it made room on the trellis for the newly-struck cuttings, then in small pots, to grow and acquire strength, before they were planted out between the old ones, about the middle of May. By this method the beds were always well filled, and the house (the like of which any builder could erect and heat for 50/.) was available for the cultivation of fuchsias, and other plants for the conservatory, during tlae summer and autumn months. — [Gard. Chron., 1851, p. C45.) Art. II. Massachtisetts Horticultural Society. [We complete the reports of the meetings omitted in our last.] Saturday, September 6. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. Voted, that three or more delegates be appointed to attend the New York State Fair, the Exhibition of the American Institute, Pennsylvania Horti- cultural Society, and Rhode Island Horticultural Society, and the follow- ing members Avere chosen : — To the Riiode Island Horticultural Society, Messrs. Ncwhall, Hovey, and French; to the New York State Fair, Messrs. Cabot, Weld, and Breck ; to the Americtjn Institute, Messrs. S. Walker, D. Leach, W. R. Austin ; to the American Institute, C. M. Hovey, Wilder, and Lovett. Adjourned one week to September 13th. Exhibited. — Fruit : From A. D. Webber, melons — Christiana. From E. Wight, pears — Valle6 Franche ; plums — Caledonia, and Egg ; apples — Red, and Green Sweet. From P. Barnes, pears — Washington. From J. Gor- don, plums — Jefferson ; pears — unnamed. From J. Mann, Jr., pears — Bart- lett ; Peaches — Tliorp's Seedling ; plums — Imperial Gage, Green Gage, Yellow Gage, Diamond, Coe's Golden Drop, Wilmot's Orleans, and one un- named. From J. M. Lord, apples — English Codlin. From Isaac Fowle, apples — Fall River. From Mrs. E. Wolcott, nectarines — Roman. From C. E. Grant, peaches — Coolidge's Favorite ; superior Improved High black- berries. From E. H. Wakefield, plums — unnamed, probably Diamond. From J. Lovett, 2d, melons — Christiana, very fine ; pears — Bartlctt ; plums — Green Gage, very fine ; Improved High blackberries. From E. M. Rich- ards, peaches — Coolidge's Favorite, and other varieties ; melons — Chris- tiana ; apples — unnamed. From C. A. Hewins, plums — Prince's Imperial Gage. From Francis Dana, apples — Orange Sweet, very fiine. From A. D. Webber, Christiana melons. From Breck & Son, grapes — Franldndale and White Frontignan. From Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 519 G. Merriam, pears — Bartlett, very fine ; peaches — Morris White. From M. H. Siinpson, plums — Wasiiington and Green Gage, both superior. From O. Johnson, plums — Smith's Orleans, very fine : Prince's Imperial Gage, and Green Gage. From J. F. Allen, pears — Gushing, very fine ; Belle Lu- crative, supfM-ior ; Dearborn's Seedling, Passans du Portugal, and Bartlett ; nectarines — Elrugc ; grapes — Bowker, a new seedling ; Black Hamburgh, very fine ; Golden Chassclas, superior ; Grizzly Frontignan, fine ; White Frontignan, fine ; figs — St. Michaels and Black Brunswick ; plums — Green Gage, fine ; peaches — Coolidge's Favorite, superior. From Ilovey S>l Co., grapes — Black Hamburgh, White Frontignan, and Muscat of Alexandria ; melons — Bromham Hall ; pears — Poire d'Ambre, and Vallee Franche. From W. C. Strong, nectarines — Roman, Golden, and Elruge ; grapes — White Frontignan, very fine ; Black Frontignan, very fine ; Black Ilamburgli, fine ; St. Peters, superior ; Blanch Vyrose, (?) and White Chasselas ; peaches — Coolidge's Favorite, very fine. From C . Stone, apples — Williams's. From W. R. Austin, pears — Bartlett. From S. G. Perkins, nectarines — Boston, very fine. From A. D. Williams &. Son, pears — unnamed. From H. Vandine, pears — Chelmsford, Flemish Beauty, and Julienne, (?) and two sorts unnamed ; plums — Red Gage, Hu- ling's Superb, Aspinwall, Columbia, Scarlet Gage, Yellow Gage, and Lom- bard. From Dr. McKinstry, plums — two varieties, unnamed. From G. Walsh, plums — Green Gage, very fine. Fruits tested. — J. Lovctt, 2d, melons — Christiana, very fine. This, on ac- count of its earliness, flavor and fine quality, maintains its character as the best melon for general cultivation. J. F. Allen, grapes — Bowker, a new Seedling White grape, of an obo- vate form, largest at the stem end, of medium size, and sweet, pleasant flavor, and Flame-colored Tokay ; pears — Gushing. Septeinber 13. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. Messrs. Breck, Richards, and Wight, were appointed delegates to atttend the meeting of the New Haven Horticultural Society. A letter was received from Mrs. General Dearborn, and it was voted to enter it upon the records of the Society. The following persons were appointed a committee to nominate officers for the ensuing year : — ^Messrs. Wight, Richards, and Lovett, to report one week previous to the election. The following members were elected : — Joseph Nickerson, West Rox- bury ; George W. Reed, Charlestown ; J. C. Pratt, West Roxbury ; Wil- liam Young, Fall River. Adjourned one week to September 20th. September 20. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — but there being no business of importance, it was adjourned one week, to September 27th, September 27. — An adjourned meeting of tJie Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. C. M. Hovey appointed Secretary pro tern. The committee to nominate a list of officers for the ensuing year, made a 620 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. report, and submitted a printed list of the nominations, but at the request of the chairman, it was recommitted for alteration. On motion of W. S. King, it was voted, that the thanks of the Society be presented to tlie Committee of Arrangements for the last annual Exhibition, for the able and satisfactory manner in which they discharged their arduous duties. Meeting dissolved. Exhibited. — Fruits : From C. H. Hutchings, Diana grapes, bunches well clustered and fine. From A. Bowditch, Diana grapes, of good color and well ripened. From J. Livermore, Cambridgeport, White Doyenn6, and Louise Bonne of Jersey pears, all fine specimens. From Hovey & Co., Rogers's Blue plums, and Wheeler's Clingstone and Oldmbcon Free peaches, both fine specimens. From R. F. Burgess, quinces. From H. Humphreys, peaches, without name, fine. October 4. — The annual meeting of the Society, for the election of offi- cers, was held to-day, — the President in the chair. The Secretary being absent, C. M. Hovey was appointed Secretary pro tem. The committee to nominate officers for the ensuing year, submitted their amended list, which was laid on the table, and the meeting proceeded to the choice of officers for 1852. AV. R. Austin and E. M. Richards were ap- pointed a committee to sort and count the votes. The polls remained open thirty minutes. The committee reported the whole number of ballots to be 34, and the follo-n-ing officers were elected : — The term of office commenc- ing on the first Saturday of January, 1852, and terminating on the first Sat- urday of January, 1853. President — Joseph S. Cabot Jlce Presidents — Benj. V. French, Cheever Newhall, Edward M. Rich- ards, Josiah Stickney. Treasurer — William R. Austin. Correspo7^di;jg Secretary — Eben. Wight. Recording Secretary — W. C. Strong. Professor of Botany and Vegetable Physiology — John Lewis Russell. Professor of Entomology — T. W. Harris. Professor of Hoiiiadtural Chemistry — E. N. Horsford. STANDING COMMITTEES. On Pi-uits — Eben. Wight, Chairman ; Josiah Lovett, Joseph Breck, C. M. Hovey, W. R. Austin, F. Lyman Winship, J. S. Sleeper. On Flowers — D. Haggerston, Chairman ; Alex. McLellan, E. A. Story, P. Barnes, L. Davenport, J. Nugent. On J^egetables — Henry Bradlee, Chairman ; A. D. Williams, J. Mann. Jr., A. C. Bowditch. On Library — C. M. Hovey, H. W. Dutton, R. M. Copeland, Daniel T. Curtis, W. S. King. On Synonymes of Fruit — M. P. Wilder, Chairman; P. B. Hovey, Jr., R. Manning, E. M. Richards, E. Wight. Executive Committee — J. S. Cabot, Chairman; W. R. Austin, M. P. Wilder, S. Walker, O. Johnson. Massackiisetts Horticultural Society. 521 For estahlishing Premiums — E. Wight, Chairman; D. Haggerston, H. Bradlee, Josiah Lovett, P. B. Hovey, Jr. On Finayice — M. P. Wilder, Chairman ; J. Stickney, O. Johnson. Of Publication— Ehen. Wight, Chairman ; Josiah Lovett, Joseph Brack, W. C. Strong, E. Wight, D. Haggerston, H. Bradlee. On Gardens— J. S. Cabot, Chairman ; J. Breck, A. D. Weld, J. Lovett, W. R. Austin. A few pamphlets were presented to the Society, by L. A. H. Latour, M. P., of Montreal, Canada, and the thanks of the Society were voted for the same. A collection of catalogues was received from A. Vattemare, Paris. A vote of thanks was presented to H. B. Stanwood, for the loan of a beau- tiful Lepergne, at the annual exhibition. The following gentlemen were elected honorary members : — Hon. A. N. Morin and Rev. N. Villeneuve, Montreal ; and corresponding member, L. A. H. Latour, M. P. Adjourned four weeks to November 1st. Exhibited. — Flowers: From Hovey &■ Co., 4 varieties of Seedling ver- benas, one of them their New White, the finest yet raised ; also, a superb velvety purple variety. Cut flowers were exhibited by J. Mann, Jr., P. Barnes, and W. Kenrick. Fruit : From E. Bemis, pears — Louise Bonne of Jersey, superior ; Beurre Diel, Glout Morceau, both very fine ; Duchess of Angouleme and Bartlett. From J. Washburn, quinces ; seedling apples. From E. Cleaves, grapes — Black Hamburgh and White Frontignan, fine ; pears — Beurre Bosc, Flem- ish Beauty, fine ; Beurr6 Diel, fine ; Marie Louise, superior. Prom S.. Downer, Jr., pears — Louise Bonne of Jersey, St. Ghislain, Washington, very fine ; Bartlett, and Flemish Beauty. From J. Lovett, 2d, quinces ; plums — Coe's Golden Drop, very fine. From J. V. Collins, by J. Hyde & Son, pears — Collins. From C. Ricker, apples — Hubbardston Nonsuch ; pears — Louise Bonne of Jersey, Duchesse of Angouleme, and Beurr6 Diel. From G. Merriam, peaches — Warren's Seedling. From Hovey & Co., pears — New Frederick of Wurtemberg, Beurr6 Beaumont, and Doyenn6 Boussock. From W. C. Strong, grapes — Black Muscat, (?) superior ; Muscat of Alexandria, superior ; Grizzly Frontignan, very fine ; Black St. Peters, very fine ; Syrian, very fine ; Chasselas MiTsque, Rose Chassel'as, White Chasselas, all fine ; Black Hamburgh. From S. Downer, Jr., pears — Bart- lett, Louise Bonne of Jersey, very fine. From A. W. Stetson, nectarines ; pears — Louise Bonne of Jersey ; grapes — Seedling No. 1 and 2, Catawba ; melons — green fleshed. From Mrs. Crehore, grapes — Diana. From J. S» Ballard, quinces, superior. From J. A. Bates, by I. Bradley, pears — Seck- el, very fine ; Gansel's Bergamot, and Passe Colmar, From J. Mann, Jr.^ plums — Coe's Golden Drop, very fine ; grapes — Isabella. From P. Barnes, apples — Fameuse, Minister, Rox. Russet, and one unnamed. From S. W- Dudley, plums — Thomas. (?) From J. F. Allen, grapes — Black Hamburgh, Wilmot's New Black Ham- burgh, Golden Chasselas, superior ; Bishop, White Frontignan, De Caii- VOL. XVII. NO. XI. 66 522 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. dolle, and Josling's St. Albans ; pears — Beurr6 Diel, very fine ; Belle Lucrative, superior; Seckel, superior; and Flemish Beauty. From H. Vandine, pears — Flemish Beauty, Marie Louise, superior ; BufFum, Bartlett, Seckel, and St. Ghislain ; plums — Huling's Superb, Autumn Gage, Coe's Golden Drop, ShurtlefF's Lilac Seedling, Yellow Egg, Red Gage, Lombar- dy ; grapes — Black Tokay, Catawba, Miller's Burgundy, Isabella, Black Missouri. From J. Hill, peaches — Crawford's Late, superior ; pears — seed- ling. From J. Longley, pears — St. Michael, small, but very fair. From J. S. Sleeper, pears — BufFum. From F. Tudor, Naliant, pears — Beurr6 Diel, Duchesse of Angouleme, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Columbia, Glout Mor- ceau, all fine ; Napoleon, from tree 70 years old, transplanted 1845 ; Beurr6 d'Angleterre, and seedling. From A. D. Webber, apples, unnamed ; mel- ons— Beechwood. Fruits tested. — From J. Lovett, 2d, pears — Beurr6 de Rhine, new, a green pear, of pyramidal shape, large, melting and juicy, good; Beurr6 Sprin, a yellow and red pear, pyramidal, large and excellent. From J. Hyde & Son, pears — Collins, very fine, juicy and brisk. From J. S. Sleeper, pears — Buffum, excellent. From Hovey & Co., Jersey Gratioli, large, obovate in form, with a yellow skin, dotted witli russet, of a fine vinous flavor ; Frederick of Wurtemburg, new, large, obtuse pyramidal, yellow, with deep Vermillion cheek, sprightly, and excellent; Beurre Beaumont, very fine; Bonne de Zees, large, oblong, yellow skin, melting, sweet, and fine. From A. W. Stetson, grapes — seedlings, of two varieties, resembling the Isa- bella. Vegetables : From J. Crosby, fine celery and cauliflowers. From J. Lovett, 2d, fine cauliflowers. October IL Exhibited. — Fruits: From J. Mann, grapes — Isabella; quinces, superior. From C. E. Grant, grapes — Isabella, very fine ; Cat- awba, very fine ; pears — Duchesse of Angouleme, and Seckel, both very highly colored and very handsome. From T. Dowse, pears — Urbaniste, fine ; and Andrews. From C. Kimball, pears — Louise Bonne of Jersey. From Rev. J. Means, by A. Lawrence, apples — Cathead ; pears — Seckel. From W. C. Strong, pears — Louise Bonne of Jersey, very fine ; Duchesse of Angouleme, and Flemish Beauty ; grapes — Syrian, very fine ; Muscat of Alexandria, superior ; Rose Chasselas, very fine ; Josling's St. Albans, or Chasselas Musque, Grizzly Frontignan, do. ; Black Hamburgh, very fine ; White Chasselas, Black Muscat, (?) very fine ; Black Prince, very fine. From C. F. Chaplain, pears — Seckel, very highly colored. From J. Dane, pears — Van Mons Leon le Clerc, superior ; SieuUe, very fine ; and Louise Bonne of Jersey, superior. From W. Maynard, quinces — Orange, very fine. From J. S. Sleeper, pears — Ananas, and Louise Bonne of Jersey, very highly colored ; apples — Hubbardston Nonsuch. From S. Driver, pears — Marie Louise, very fine ; Seckel, handsome ; Dix, superior ; and Beurre Bosc, very fine. From C. Brigham, quinces, extra large. From P. H. Kimball, pears — Chelmsford (?). From E. Brown, pears — Angle- terre, McLaughlin, Frederick of VVurtemberg, Pitt's Prolific, Surpasse Vir- galieu, Bleeker's Meadow, Beurre d'Aremberg, Winter Nelis, Iron Pear, Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 523 Piatt's Bergamot, Oswego Beurr6, Fulton, fine ; Secke], fine ; Pound Pear, and Flemish Beauty, very handsome. From J. Wheeler, President of Champlain Valley Horticultural Society, an exhibition of 28 varieties of pears, 53 of apples, and 3 of quinces. From Hovey & Co., pears — Passe Colmar, Van Mons Leon le Clerc, Sieulle, Beurr6 St. Quentin, Swan's Orange, very fine ; St. Michael Arch- angel, Plombgastel, Adele St. Denis, Las Canas, Compte de Lamy, very fine ; Louise Bonne of Jersey, very fine ; St. Michael's, very fine ; Bcurr6 Beaumont, new; Swan's Egg, very handsome, and highly colored ; Fig of Naples, Belle Epinc Dumas. From J. P. Wyman, peaches — liate Craw- ford, very fine. From J. A. Kenrick, Orange quinces. From H. Vandine, plums — Scmiana, very fine ; and Coe's Golden Drop ; pears — Napoleon, Lawrence, Stevens's Genesee, Heathcot, Paradise of Automne, Bcurr6 Diel, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Marie Louise, Seckel ; grapes — Miller's Burgun- dy ; apples — Porter. From J. Lovett, 2d, pears — McLaughlin, superior ; Cranston's Seedling, Beurre Sprin, Heathcot, very fine. From J. F. Allen, pears — Seckel, superior ; nectarines — Golden. From N. Dana, pears — Duchesse of Angouleme, very fine ; Seckel, and Belle et Bonne. From G. Walsh, grapes — Red Chasselas, open culture ; Isabella, and Sweet Water. From J. Haines, grapes — Isabella, and Catawba, from a graft of 2^ years old, inserted in a native stock. From J. Fowler, pears — Louise Bonne of Jersey, Colmard'Arcmberg ; apples — Beef Steak. Fruits tested. — From the President, plums — Rcinc Claude de Bavay; pears — Beurr6 Triquer, Bcnoist, melting, juicy, and fine ; Bonne dc Zees, Deliccs d'llardenpont, Urbaniste, Capiaumont, Paradise of Automne, Figue, Duchesse of Orleans, Oliver's Russet, Dana, Sullivan. From Hovey & Co., pears — Poire d'Albret, Adele St. Denis, St. Michael Archangel? Knight's Monarch, Bergamot Verte d'Automne, Beurri Beaumont, Swan's Orange, Van Mons Leon le Clerc. From W. C. Strong, grapes — Black Muscat, (?) large and handsome. From J. Battey, Keeseville, apples — Wal- worth, a new apple, large, handsome, yellow, deeply tinged with blush, ten- der, pleasant, and of fine quality ; and the Northern Sweet, a very hand- some sweet apple, of fine quality. Vegetables. — From J. Crosby, celery and cauliflowers, fine. From J. Lovett, 2d, broccoli, very fine ; cauliflowers, fine. From J. A. Kenrick, six heads cauliflowers, very fine. October 18. Exhibited. — Fruits : From Hovey & Co., Diana and Isa- bella grapes, fine. From J. Stickney, Napoleon, Urbaniste, and Louise Bonne of Jersey pears, all very fine. From W. Everett, Pound, (weighing 22 ounces) and Catillac pears, and Baldwin apples. From J. Whitney, Shirley, Porter apples, fine. From M. P. Wilder, Urbaniste and Duchesse of Angouleme pears, very fine. From S. Leeds, fine Duchesse of Angou- leme pears. From J. F. Allen, Wilmot's Black Hamburgh, (fine large ber- ries,) Syrian, Muscat of Alexandria, and Black Hamburgh grapes; and Long Green of Autumn, Seckel, Beurre Bosc, and Beurr6 Diel pears, very fine. From Capt. Lovett, Isabella grapes, fine ; and Seckel pears, fine. From W. C. Strong, 14 var. of grapes, same kinds as last week ; all fine. ^4 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. From S. Downer, Jr., Urbaniste, Duchesse of Angouleme, Beurr6 Diel, Colmar d'Aremberg, Marie Louise, Fulton, and Van Mons Leon le Clerc pears, all very fine. From J. Mann, Jr., fine Glout Morceau and Beurre Diel pears. From Miss A. C. Sanborn, Sherburne, fine Lemon. From D. S. Smalley, Glout Morceau and Beurre Diel pears, fine. From C. E. Grant, fine Isabella grapes. From J. Cass, fine Isabella grapes. From T. Dowse, fine Seckel pears. From J. H. Morrison, Milton, fine Winter Nelis pears. From H. Vandine, Marie Louise and Beurr6 Diel, fine, and Seckel pears ; Orange quinces, fine ; Semiana plums, and one kind unnamed. From J. Burnett, fine Lyscom, Baldwin, Hubbardston Nonsuch, and one kind of apples without name ; all fine. From F. & M. Burr, Iron pear, from a tree planted in 1650. From Dr. J. V. C. Smith, yellow fleshed watermelons, raised from seeds sent to the Society, by Dr. Smith, from Lower Egypt. Tlie seeds were sown since July. From J. P. Wyman, Late Crawford peaches. From J. Arnold, Milton, Black Hamburgh and Zinfindal grapes, extra fine. From A. W. Stetson, Isabella grapes, fine. From E. Cleaves, Black Hamburgh grapes, fine. From B. D. Emerson, Black Hamburgh grapes. Fruits tested. — From J. W. Bailey, Plattsburg, N, Y., Bailey Spice, handsome, and of fine quality. From S. Downer, Jr., Colmar d'Aremberg, good ; Van Mons Leon le Clerc, fine. From M. P. Wilder, Urbaniste, fine. From Hovey & Co., Swan's Orange, fine ; Serrurier, promises well. Mer- riam pear, presented by the President, good ; also, the Delices d'Har- denpont, good ; Doyenne Dore, (?) good ; Charlotte de Brower, new. From A. McLellan, seedling pear, small, but sweet and good. From A. W. Stet- son, Isabella, and a seedling, very much resembling the Isabella, but said to be two weeks earlier. From Hovey «& Co., Isabella grapes, sweet and fine ; and the Diana, which continues to sustain its high reputation. From C. E. Grant, Isabella grapes, sweet and fine. Vegetables. — From M. Davis, very fine Seedling potatoes, raised from seed planted from the Nova Scotia vars., since 1846. This variety the committee would be gratified to have a more particular statement than was given, in regard to the yield since that time. From J. Crosby, celery and cauliflowers, very fine. From J. Mann, Jr., two varieties of turnips, carrots, and celery, fine. From A. R. Pope, Old Colony Sweet corn, 18 and 20 rows to the ear. From the farm of B. B. Tottingham, Shoreham, Vt., by Capt. L. Hunt, Dog's Foot potatoes, very curious. October 25. Exhibited. — Fruits: From H. Vandine, apples — Porter; pears — Marie Louise, very fine ; Beurre Diel, Lawrence. From K. Bailey, grapes — Isabella, very fine. From J. Cass, grapes — Isabella, very fine. From A. W. Stetson, grapes — Isabella, very fine ; peaches — gathered Sep- tember 30th, preserved on the method of Mr. Curtis. From J. Richardson, grapes — Isabella, fine. From C. E. Grant, grapes — Isabella and Catawba, both very fine. From E. C. Hitchings, grapes — Diana, fine. From S. Downer, Jr., quinces — extra large and fine ; pears — Fulton, very fine ; Duchesse of Angouleme, superior ; Van Mons Leon le Clerc, extra fine ; Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 525 Beurr6 Diel, superior ; Long Green of Autumn, Louise Bonne of Jersey, Napoleon, superior; two for a name. From W. C. Strong, grapes — Black Prince, Black St. Peters, White Frontignan, Grizzly Frontignan, Rose Chasselas, Muscat of Alexandria, Black Muscat, (?) Black Hamburgh, Josling's St. Albans, White Gascoigne, Syrian ; all the specimens were very fine, berries and bunches of good size, finely colored and well grown. From H. Humphries, by Pettes & McMullen, pears — Duchesse of An- gouleme, fine. From J. F. Allen, pears — Duchesse of Angouleme, superior ; Cross, Seckel, very fine, and Moccas ; grapes — Syrian, West's St. Peter's. (?) From J. Mann, pears — Seckel, Glout Morceau, very fine; Chelmsford; (?) quinces, fine. From J. Stickney, pears — Dix, superior ; Colmar d'Arem- berg, do. From J. H. Sweet, apples. From S. Stevens, quinces, very fine. From J. Merritt, grapes — Black Hamburgh, raised in open air. From M. P. Wilder, pears — Beurre Diel, Beurre d'Anjou, Soldat Laboreur d'Es- perin, Nouveau Poiteau, Bezi des Veterans. From G. W. Wilson, pears — three varieties for a name. Fruits tested. — From the President, pears — Beurr6 Spence, probably Beurr6 d'Hardenpont, McLaughlm, (?) Doyennd Dor6, same as Bezi de Montigny, Eyewood, good. From S. Downer, Jr., pears — Long Green of Autumn and Napoleon, both fine. From M. P. Wilder, pears — Nouveau Poiteau, large, promises well ; Soldat Laboreur, good. From Hovey &l Co., pears — Rondelet, a medium sized pear, of obtuse form, yellow color, sweet, and fine ; Dumortier, small, of a russety green color, rich, sugary, and fine ; Vesouviere, a greenish yellow pear, melting, sugary, and good. From W. C. Strong, grapes — Black Damascus, fine, very large berries, of fine dark color, and very pleasant flavor. From J. F. Allen, grapes — Whortly Hall Seedling, have been hanging in the house since last Decem- ber, yet the berries were perfectly sound ; and Red Tokay, and Black Fron- tignan, gathered from the same house, hanging for the same length of time, that had become perfect raisins. PREMIUMS AWARDED FOR FRUIT. Grapes. — For the best Isabella, to C. E. Grant, $5. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., $3. For the best Diana, to Hovey & Co., $5. For the second best, to E. C. Hutchings, $3. To J. Lovett and K. Bailey, a gratuity of the bronze medal, for fine specimens of Isabella. Nectarines. — For the best specimens, to S. H. Perkins, for the Lewis, $6. For the second best, to J. F. Allen, for the Lewis, $4. Figs.— For the best, to J. F. Allen, $5. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., $3. Plums. — For the best, to J. Lovett, for the Green Gage, $6. For the second best, to H. Vandine, for the Peach, $3. To O. Johnson, J. F. Allen, and J. Mann, Jr., a gratuity of the bronze medal, for fine specimens. Melons. — For the best, to J. Lovett, for the Christiana, $5. 526 Horticultural Operations for November. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., for the Beechwood, $3. Note. — In our award of premiums, at the annual exhibition, we inad- vertently omitted the name of Capt. Lovett, who was awarded a gratuity of $8, for a fine collection of pears. HORTICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR NOVEMBER. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. The month of October has been unusually fine. Fine rains, without much wind, have been frequent, and vegetation now wears the aspect which it ordinarily does in the latter part of September. With the exception of the Dahlias, and a few other tender things, the frosts have as yet been so light as to do no great injury. If advantage has been taken of the fine weather, much of the work to be done in the autimin will have been completed ; but the more open and fine the weather, the more there is to do, and as long as severe frosts hold oflT, everything which can be completed this autumn should be attended to. Continue, therefore, to trench and prepare ground for spring. Protect Raspberry plantations and Strawberries with a light covering of leaves, straw, or coarse manure ; and finish up the transplanting of all kinds of fruit trees. November is the best time to apply guano, or other manure, to fruit trees. Grape Vines in cold houses will now have their fruit fully ripe. Keep the houses as dry and airy as possible. As soon as the fruit is cut, open the house day and night, in order to ripen off and harden the wood. Vines in greenhouses may be pruned this month. Vines intended for early forcing should be pruned immediately. Dig and manure all the grape bor- ders, and protect with a good coat of manure such as it is intended to start before February. Strawberry beds should not be allowed to get the least weedy ; a little attention now will save a deal of labor next year. Cover the vines on the approach of severe cold. Raspberries, Gooseberries, and Currants, can be transplanted safely all the month. Peach trees in pots, for forcing next year, should stand exposed to the weather as long as possible. Fruit trees of all kinds should be transplanted this month; it is by far the best period of the year. flower department. From the continued open and fine weather the garden, in rather sheltered situations, is as gay as June. But in most places around Boston, the frosts Horticultural Operations for November. 527 have already despoiled all tender plants of their beauty. Roses, &.c., con- tinue to bloom freely, after the welcome rains of September. It is unnecessary to repeat the hints which we gsfve last month. Keep the gi'eenhouses as cool as possible, as nothing is more injurious than a high temperature so early in the season. Water sparingly, and kindle no fires only on very frosty nights. Attend to the repotting of all plants that require it. Take up and protect all choice plants which have been turned out of the pots. Get up all summer flowering bulbs, before the ground is frosty. Camellias will now require to be kept well watered, occasionally using weak liquid manure. Thin out the buds, not leaving more than two on each shoot, and syringe every mild night, to invigorate and clean the plants. Chrysanthemums in pots should now be liberally watered, giving liquid manure, or guano, once a week. Tie the plants up neatly, to one or more stakes, and, whether placed in the conservatory or in the parlor window, turn round the plants once a week, to prevent their growing one sided. If very large flowers are desired, thin out the small and weak buds. Ixias, Sparaxis, Gladioli, and other Cape bulbs, should now be potted. Unless the pots are already crowded with bulbs, it will be as well merely to shake out some of the dry soil, and top dress with fresh compost. They often flourish better in this way than when divided. They should, however, not be grown more than two years without separation. N^poLiTAN Violets may yet be potted, if not already done. Japan Lilies for early flowering in pots in the conservatory, may now be repotted, as we have directed in an article in a former volume. By do- ing so at this early season, the plants are much stronger, and flower better than when left till February. All the lily tribe make strong fleshy roots, which often get injured when the bulbs are placed away under the stage, and get too dry ; but if potted now, these roots at once begin to grow, and thus are better prepared to start with vigor when removed to the greenhouse in March. They may be kept in a cold frame, or cool cellar, as they are perfectly hardy. Pansies now taken up out of the border, and potted, flower finely all the spring. Verbenas propagated last month should now be potted off" singly, or several plants may be put round the outside of a four inch pot. Keep them on a dry shelf, near the light. Schizanthuses and other annuals, for winter blooming, will need another shift into larger pots. Monthly Pinks and Carnations in pots, raised from early layers, may now be shifted into larger pots. Keep the flowering stems tied up as they advance. Roses of the Tea and Chinese kinds, taken up last month, may now be pruned in, and taken into the greenhouse, where they will flower finely in February and March. Azaleas should now be sparingly watered. Ericas will need attention. Repot if they require it, and keep the plants well pinched in if dwarf bushy specimens are wanted. Water ju- 528 Horticultural Operations for November. diciously, and syringe occasionally, overhead. Top dress any that may be benefited by it. Dahlias, in the immediate vicinity of Boston, have never done more poorly than this year. The dry summer and early frosts have quite used them up. Dig and store the roots carefully, and hope for better things next season. Cinerarias growing vigorously will need another shift into their bloom- ing pots. Stephanotus floribunda. Large plants of this fine climber, should now be placed on a light, cool shelf, to ripen its wood. ToRENiA AsiATicA, kept in a warm temperature, will flower freely till late in the season. Plants for forcing should now be taken up and potted. Where there is plenty of room, the Deutzia, Persian Lilac, Azaleas, Kalmias, &c., make a fine show during all the spring. Attend carefully to watering, which at this season should be carefully done, not spilling any more than is absolutely necessary. Keep a rather low night temperature, and give abundance of air in the day ; by so doing t he plants will be hardened off, and stand the winter much better. « flower garden and shrubbert. The month of November closes the operations of this department for the season. Proceed rapidly to clean off all the decaying tops of plants, and give the shrubs a little manure ; it is better now than in the spring. Fill up any vacant spaces, whether of shrubs or trees, and let everything have the air of neatness and order. Look to the flower garden. See that the carnations, picotees, daisies, polyanthuses, and similar half-hardy plants, are protected, either in frames or where they stand. Set out tulips, hyacinths, narcissus, crocuses, &c., and prepare the ground for ranunculuses, which should be set out in Feb- ruary next. Lilies. Give a covering of three or four inches of leaves, strawy ma- nure, or litter of any kind, to the Japan sorts. Herbaceous plants of all kinds should be slightly protected, on the approach of severe frost. Roses of the hybrid perpetual, and Bengal kinds, flower much better next year, if they have a little protection. Pegging down the plants to the ground, alone, is even a very good plan, as the snow then serves the pur- pose of straw or leaves. The new and rare evergreen trees and shrubs should have a little pro- tection, especially if they have just been set out. A good covering at the root will answer very well ; but if a few pine boughs are put up round the plants to keep off the hot sun they will do much better ; when they get once well rooted they will not require it Rhododendrons and kalmias, planted this year, may have the same care, and the brightness of their foliage in the spring will repay all the labor. THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE DECEMBER, 1851. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Art. I. The Mineral Theory of Manures. By the Editor. To any one familiar with the agricultural press in England, it is unnecessary to say that quite a reaction has taken place in regard to the views of Baron Liebig and his mineral the- ory of manures. While some of our agricultural and horticul- tural periodicals have been filling their columns with analyses of the ashes of various plants and fruits, and propounding "recipes" for the successful cultivation of both, founded on their analysis, the better informed and less credulous readers of our British contemporaries have set to, work systemati- cally to test the truth of the theories in question. It is emphatically a case of "Theory versus Practice," and has re- sulted, as many intelligent cultivators believed it would, viz., that the verdict has been rendered in favor of the defendant. We need not say to our readers, that we have been no ad- vocate of the mineral theory ; they will have known this from our remarks from time to time, when incidentally the subject has been alluded to in our pages ; and it is with no little degree of satisfaction that we now find our views corroborated by such eminent practical men as Mr. Pusey and Mr. Lawes. In taking this ground, however, we have studiously avoided the opposite extreme ; for whUe we will go as far as any one in admitting the importance of modern chemistry to agricultiu-al science, we will not acknowledge that to be chemistry which is only the wild speculations of some of its professors. This remark is perhaps unnecessary, but when opinions, briefly expressed, VOL. XVII. NO. XII. 67 530 The Mineral Theory of Manures. are caught up, twisted, and misrepresented, as may please the views of some writers, we deem it of more consequence to reiterate the assertion that we do not undervalue chemistry and its importance to agricultural improvement, but the de- ductions which are drawn from it, and the crude theories which are based upon it, which have no practical value. The ash theory has been a particular hobby with some of our horticultural writers, and if we were to judge by what we read, it is little less than gross absurdity to call that an art, which can be at once effected by a recipe from some musty Encyclopedia. Fifty years hence, should the progress of gardening ever arrive at that point in this country as to re- quire such a work, all the information necessary for cultivat- ing fruits to perfection, according to the ash theorists, would be half a dozen recipes founded on the analysis of the ashes of each sort. Thus, suppose we wish to grow the finest pears ; we turn to that fruit, and find the following : — " To every cart-load of peat and ashes, (in the proportion of twenty-five bushels of the former to ten of the latter) add half a bushel of ground or dissolved bones, and two bushels of leached ashes, (or five pounds of potash dissolved in water.") This compound contains "the mineral manures so absolutely essential to the production of fine fruit." Now it is against such crude, speculative, and visionary theories, that we deem it necessary to warn all cultivators, assured that they will as utterly fail when put to the test of practice, as have the patent manures of Liebig. The subject is one of great interest and importance ; and in the haste of our people to farm and garden well, they ea- gerly seize upon those methods which are said to accom- plish the best results, founded upon chemical theory, and in the cheapest manner, without waiting to ascertain how far such methods are justified by well knoAvn practical facts. Their failure, which eventually takes place, only adds one more illustration of the fallacy of book -farming or gardening, and straightway the whole fraternity of book-farmers are de- nounced, because they failed in achieving valuable results The Mmeral Theory of Manures. 531 from a false theory, promulgated by teachers of " doubtful chemistry." The cultivators of England have been slow to believe all that has been advanced by Baron Liebig, as laid down in his works on agricultural chemistry. And among those, stand- ing high in the agricultural community, and justly acknowl- edged to be thoroughly acquainted with the subject, who have taken this stand, is Mr. Pusey, who has recently assail- ed the mineral theory of Liebig, and so successfully that he has called forth quite a sharp reply from the great chemist. We cannot better occupy a page or two, than in quoting some remarks in relation to this controversy, by Dr. Lindley, which we find in the Gardeners' Chronicle : — A smart skirmish has lately taken place between Mr. Pu- sey, on the one hand, as the champion of practical cultiva- tors, and Baron Liebig on the other, as the representative of theoretical men of science. As is usually the case, both par- ties place themselves a little in the wrong ; but as is not al- ways the case, the dispute is instructive and useful to the spectators. Setting aside the mere question of profit and loss, we must say a few words on the subject, treating it as a broad question of vegetable physiology, and the nourishment of plants, for the pm-pose of placing before om* readers what we believe to be the true state of the case. It appears, then, that the English country gentlemen com- plain that they have been misled and deceived by the crude chemical speculations of the celebrated German chemist; that they have been taught visionary theories in the place of sound facts, and that, trusting to the weight of a great name, and a high scientific reputation, they have been led astray, even further from the real truth than they previously were, when he first undertook to instruct and enlighten them. It is stated that "the mineral theory of Liebig has broken down, and no other has taken its place ;" and following out this observation, Mr. Pusey goes on to say " it is a great mis- take to suppose that men can be made farmers by teaching them doubtful chemistry ;" and, in conclusion, he remarks. 632 The Mineral Theory of Manures. " I should not have said so much, but that the pubhc are sometimes led, by a false estimate of chemistiy, to under- value our real progress in other sciences." At the same time, however, whilst thus condemning the views of Lie big, and very properly objecting to the teaching of false science, Mr. Pusey does not wish to condemn chemistry altogether, but is desirous of drawing a marked distinction between crude spec- ulations or scientific errors, and sound practical facts and well established knowledge. When Liebig's " Chemistry of Agricultme " was published, a dozen yeai's since, it natm-ally excited a great deal of inter- est ; the reputation of the author commanded attention and respect, and the decided and plausible manner in which his book was written, soon gained for it plenty of believers and admirers. The agricultural world Avas divided into two classes, those who obstinately refused to listen at all to such new-fangled doctrines, and, on the other hand, those avIio, blindly adopting as true all the views put forth, even without attempting to weigh the evidence by Avhich they were sup- ported, received every theory of the great German chemist as an established fact, and believed in the most extravagant re- sults as likely to spring from the application of chemistry to farming. There were some few, too, who neither ridiculed the idea of applying science to practice, nor yet blindly adopted whatever was asserted, but, suspending theii- judg- ment for a while, set seriously to work to investigate for themselves ; but certainly the loudest voices raised were those of the country gentlemen and rich landlords, who, without much knowledge of science, and certainly without attempting to ascertain the truth of the views put before them, eagerly seized on Liebig's theories as the true key to farming, and lauded his book as the dawn of a new reforma- tion. If the landlords IiaA'e been misled, it is hardly fair to blame the unfortunate chemist alone, for the fact is, that having let their wishes and hopes far outrun the facts, or their own convictions, they have necessarily fallen into a wrong path, and now, having found out their error, they seek to put all the blame on the man who tried to help them, for- The Mineral Theory of Manures. 533 getting altogether how much was caused by their own want of consideration and caution. It has all along been a matter of regret, that the new chemical theory of agriculture was so very warmly taken up, and so highly praised by some of its supporters ; and we must take some credit to ourselves for having from the first object- ed to such blind hero-worship. At the same time practical men are so slow to receive what is new, and so little inclined to receive favorably a more theoretical probability, that had not Liebig's views been put forth with the utmost decision, and in the most positive manner, they would probably never have excited one-tenth part as much attention as they really did ; and, therefore, even though his conclusions were ul- timately found to be AvhoUy incorrect, he would nevertheless have done good service, by the impetus which they could not fail to give to farming, and by the effects which must ncces- sai'ily result from the desire for knowledge which they would produce in practical men. The fault, then, of Liebig in the first instance was, that when he ought to have said, '' I think it is probable," he said, "it is an undoubted fact;" and the error of the landlords was, that forgetting for once their usual caution and fear of being misled, they blindly adopted all he taught them, and, not even satisfied with that, imagined a great deal more. That Liebig, though in error, was perfectly honest and sincere, is proved by the fact, that he even went so far as to connect himself with a trading speculation, endeavoring to make money by a patent manure, and thus risked his scientific rep- utation on the pecuniary success of a doubtful, though plausi- ble scheme. As the mere fact of his taking out a patent for the manufacture of artificial manure, naturally lowered him in the estimation of many, seeming to convert the high and independent lover of science into the petty money-seeking trader, so the subsequent failure of the patent manure still further tended to bring his views and opinions into discredit. Mr. Pusey remai'ks, that very little practical service has yet been rendered to agriculture by chemistry, and the manner in which he mentions the failure of Liebig's mineral theory, 534 The Mineral Theory of Manures. produced a somewhat angry and hasty reply, published in the second edition of " Liebig's Letters on Chemistry," (p. 479.) He begins by stating, that Mr. Pusey's remarks are quite in- correct, which, however, is not to be wondered at, because he is not a chemist " by profession," a fact which he endeavors to prove, by observing that on two occasions Mr. Pusey has made chemical mistakes in his writings. No one imagines that Mr. Pusey is a chemist, but if a writer is to be condemned because he has made two mistakes, we fear Baron Liebig must surrender his own chemical reputation ; for it would be easy to show that he too has occasionally made mistakes, per- haps even more serious than those of Mr. Pusey. In answer to the complaint of the landlord, the chemist re- plies " We have in the last ten years given you the most complete explanations of the nutrition of plants, and the sources of their food ; we have shown you that plants must obtain from the soil, as well as from the atmosphere, certain elements ; we have explained the nature of the soil, the ef- fects of liming, rotation of crops, and fallowing ; Ave have given agriculture a scientific basis, which it did not before possess. Besides all this, chemistry has taught the farmer the importance of phosphoric acid, about which nothing was known ten years ago (\ ) ; the true source of nitrogen, the value of ammonia, and the modes of fixing it ; these and many other practical facts have been discovered during the last ten years. All this sounds very Avell ; and if only one half of it were true, it would certainly make out a strong case for the chem- ists ; but we fear the picture is much too highly colored, and that the facts themselves do not warrant such a boast. The scientific basis of agriculture is still but a very crude and im- perfect theory ; and so far from the nutrition of plants being now thoroughly explained, there is hardly any one part of the subject which is not still, to a great extent, enveloped in doubt and uncertainty. The assertion that the value of phos- phoric acid has only been discovered by chemists during the last ten years, is also one we cannot for a moment admit ; indeed, Liebig himself, in his " Chemistry of Agriculture," The Mineral Theory of Manures. 535 refers to Saussure, to show that the importance of phosphoric acid to plants had long been known ; and quotes from his work, published nearly fifty years ago, the remark, "we have no right to suppose that plants could exist without phosphate of lime." Or to cite a more recent authority, we may refer to Sprengel, who says, in 1832, '' there is not a single known plant which contains no phosphorus;" and again, speaking of the application of bone as manure, he observes, " that the phosphate of lime of bones constitutes their chief value as manure, is proved by the well known fact that burnt bones, which contain no organic matter, act very powerfully on vegetation." He also points out the value of mineral phos- phates of lime, such as fossil bones, apatite, &c., and states that all marls which contain phosphate of lime are excellent manures. It would in fact, be easy to show, that so far from it being true, that ten years ago " nothing was known in agriculture of phosphorus, or phosphate of lime," or that " no one knew what it was in the bones which really acted," it has been long known and fully recognized that phosphate of lime or phosphoric acid is essential to the healthy growth of plants ; this, therefore, cannot be claimed as a new dis- covery. The benefits which it is stated agricultiu*e has derived from the progress of chemical science, dining the last ten years, are so vague and of so general a nature that it is hard- ly worth while to discuss them point by point very minutely. As regards the food of plants, very little more has been done than to confirm the experiments of older observers ; and as for the explanations respecting rotation and fallowing, we are quite at a loss to discover which part is new — it seems that pretty nearly all this part of the scientific system of agricul- ture was already known and acknowledged ; all that portion which is really new is also, at the same time, theoretical and unconfirmed ; and we must confess that Mr. Pusey's remark is not in any way really met or disproved by the reply of Baron Liebig. At the same time, having the greatest possi- ble respect for the labors of chemists, we must say that we still look forward to them for much real assistance in all de- 536 The Mineral Theory of Manures. partments of the arts of cultivation, and that even if no very important practical application of chemical science have been made during the last ten years, that is no reason to despair of the most valuable results hereafter. Such experiments as those of Mr. Way, on the absorptive power of soils, cannot fail in time to lead to improvements in practice, though they may take years to carry out and apply. Mr. Pusey observes very truly, that larger experiments, not conducted merely in the laboratory of a chemist, but carried out in a large scale in the farm itself, and devised and executed by a scientific man, are by far the most valuable contributions which can be made to our knowledge of the phenomena of vegetation ; and he quotes the excellent experiments of Mr. Lawes in illustration. As may be supposed, these experiments do not meet with the approbation of Liebig, and in his reply to Mr. Pusey, he characterizes them as being ^'entirely devoid of value as the foundation for general conclusions." In the last part of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, Mr. Lawes has published the details of his experiments, and every one is, therefore, able to judge for himself of their accuracy, and the conclusions which he draws from them. We shall reserve a few observations on those experiments for another week. Unfortunately, we do not see the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, and consequently we must rely mainly upon the above article, as a synopsis of the contents of Mr. Pusey's paper. Neither have we seen the article communi- cated to the same journal by Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert, but we refer to their excellent paper in our last number, (p. 514,) as a brief statement of their views in relation to the mineral theory. It is enough, we think, to offer such good evidence as that of Dr. Lindley, that the attempt of Baron Liebig to refute what Mr. Pusey has stated, and Mr. Lawes confirmed by actual experiment, has been another failure. In a subsequent paper, Dr. Lindley alludes to the contro- versy again, and gives the following summary of the facts, as set forth by Mr. Lawes, in opposition to the theory of Liebig : — The Mineral Theory of Manures. 537 We must again invite the attention of our readers to Mr. Lawes' long and laborious series of experiments, on the Chemistry of Vegetation, which, as we recently observed, are characterized by Liebig as being of no practical value for the foundation of general conclusions ; a remark probably made in a moment of haste and ill humor, perhaps even with- out being thoroughly aware of the true nature and aim of the experiments there condemned. In order to explain the mat- ter fully, it will be necessary to advert once more to the so called mineral theory of Liebig, which is in fact the founda- tion of the whole discussion, and to which its author appears inclined to adhere with a good deal of tenacity, in spite of all that may be urged against it. It is perhaps hardly to be wondered at, that the small quan- tity of inorganic matter which plants contain was formerly considered as being accidental, or at least of no real value, and not in any way essential to their growth and prosperity i at all events, such was certainly the case, and even after th& minute and laborious investigations of Saussure, it appears that very little attention was paid to the subject, for Davy evidently thought them of little or no importance, when, he wrote his celebrated lectures on agricultural chemistry. Iso- lated writers have now and then drawn attention to the exist- ence of these substances in plants, and have indeed pointed out the necessity of their being present in those plants which serve as the food of animals. Thus, for example, it has been long known and admitted that cattle derive a large portion of phosphate and carbonate of lime, the earthy matter of their bones, from the grass and other plants on which they feed. Liebig Avas the first to insist on the paramount importance of' these inorganic substances to plants, which he asserted were absolutely essential to their growth ; and, indeed, he went so far as to say that vegetation was healthy and luxuriant just in proportion to the supply of these substances. In accordance with this view, he put forth his theory of exhaustion and fal- lowing, asserting that the sole reason why a plant could' not be cultivated year after year on the same soil, was, that the supply of soluble inorganic matter, necessary for the plant,. VOL. XVII. NO. XII. 68 538 The Mineral Theory of Manures. soon became exhausted, and that this loss must be remedied either by leaving the soil for a year or two to recover itself under the agency of atmospheric influence, or by the addition of suitable mineral manures. It is often stated that Liebig discovered the real office performed in the nutrition of plants by these inorganic matters, and hence threw a good deal of light on the subject ; but this is not really the case, for of the true use of the inorganic constituents of plants very little in- deed is even now understood. We know that they are essen- tial to vegetation, but we do not know why, or in what manner they act ; this still remains to be discovered. The two great facts which Liebig brought forward in a prominent manner, were, the necessity of these substances being present in a fertile soil, and the fact that different tribes of plants require the presence of different inorganic matters ; some requiring phosphate of lime, some needing alkali, and some requiring silica. These facts are certainly of the very first importance ; but it is obviously impossible to arrive at any very satisfactory conclusion as to the mode in which these substances influence vegetation, until we fully under- stand the office which they perform, and the effects which they produce. It is quite plain that these inorganic matters cannot in any way serve as food, or at least cannot directly contribute to the supply of carbon, nitrogen, &c. ; but at the same time there is no doubt some very simple relation be- tween the absorption of these earthy and saline compounds, and the absorption or assimilation of carbonic acid, ammonia, and water. The practical problem to be solved was, is it most important to supply inorganic matter, or ammonia, to plants ? or, in other words, must we give plants ammonia, and will that enable them to absorb enough inorganic matter from an exhausted soil, or must we give them inorganic manures ; and will they then be able to absorb from the air and soil all the ammonia which they require ? The answer which Liebig gave to ^;his important question was, that inorganic manures were of far more value than those which merely contained ammonia ; an assertion based solely on hypothetical conclusions, and therefore, especially The Mineral Theory of Blanures. 539 when we bear iii mind how little is really known of the ac- tion of these substances, one which ought to be viewed with the greatest caution and circumspection. A great many per- sons were at once satisfied that Liebig's view of the subject must be correct, but there were some who Wished to have proofs before they admitted it, and Mr. Lawes was one of those ; he accordingly instituted, in conjunction with Dr. Gilbert, a very careful series of experiments, and the result of these experiments is now published, in the Journal of the Royal Agricultiu-al Society. These investigations of Mr. Lawes, as far as they go, are very satisfactory ; and whilst we should be the last to admit them for more than they are worth, we feel that the manner in which they have been ar- ranged and conducted is such as to render them wholly trust- worthy. They plainly lead to certain conclusions, Avhich we may safely adojit, without fear of being misled. At an early period in his experiments, Mr. Lawes was led to the conplusion that very little real information can be de- rived from the analysis of a soil, because our chemical tests are not delicate enough to detect the less abundant constitu- ents, or to render evident those changes in its composition which the growth of one or two crops could possibly produce. The soil of an acre of ground, supposing it to be six inches in depth, would weigh about 1,344,000 lbs., and consequently the subtraction of a hundred weight of any one ingredient would only amount to about one 13,000th part of the whole, a quantity far too minute to be satisfactorily determined by analysis. Mr. Lawes, in his experiments, therefore, proceeded on a plan in which this difficulty was obviated ; he took a field, the soil of which was thoroughly exhausted by heavy cropping, so that without manure it would only produce a poor crop, showing, therefore, that something was deficient ; and, dividing it into several portions, he manured each separ- ately, giving to some ammoniacal manure, to some inorganic ones, and to others a mixture of the two. These experi- ments were continued on the same fields, and with the same manures, for seven years ; so that the value of each class of manure was fairly tested with diiferent plants ; and the whole 540 The Mineral Theory of Manures. of these results are now before us. The paper is well worthy of careful study, and though we shall mention briefly some of the conclusions to be drawn from them, yet we would recommend every one to read the original account of the ex- periments, and to judge for himself of their value. Mr. Lawes found that the ashes of farm-yard manure did not increase the yield of wheat on exhausted land at all, whilst a small dressing of sulphate of ammonia increased it five bushels per acre ; and when a mixtm-e of inorganic mat- ter and ammoniacal salts was contrasted with the effects of either taken singly, it was evident that the restoring influence of the latter was far higher than that of the former alone. The practical conclusion, therefore, to which Mr. Lawes ar- rives is, that in this country the soil becomes exhausted of its ammoniacal salts much sooner than of its soluble inorganic components ; and, therefore, that ammoniacal manures are more important than mineral or inorganic ones in the cultiva- tion of wheat. In considering these results, one important fact must be borne in mind ; the land on which these experi- ments were made is by no means a poor soil, for, even though exhausted at the commencement, it bore successively for sev- en years, without any manure, an average crop of seventeen and a half bushels per acre ; it is plain, then, that it would not be expedient to deduce from such experiments any gen- eral conclusion for all soils. Mr. Lawes denies that inorganic manure is all-important for wheat in all situations, but he does not deny that there may be poor soils and peculiar circum- stances in which the supply of ammonia is greater than that of inorganic matter, and which, therefore, the nitrogen being in excess, relatively to the mineral constituents of wheat, would be less easily exhausted. Under such circumstances, a mineral manure would be more useful than an ammoniacal one. We must be careful, in rejecting the assertion of Liebig, that we do not fall into the opposite extreme. After having found that mineral manures are not the best in all cases, we must not conclude that ammoniacal ones are always best ; neither would be true, as a generalization. The Mineral Theory of Manures. 541 It will be here seen that Mr. Lawes makes the same admis- sion as Dr. Dana, in his Muck Manual, which we reviewed in our last, viz., "that very little real information can be de- rived from the analysis of a soil," and for a very good reason, that our chemical tests are not delicate enough to detect the less abundant constituents. The great fact that the loss of one hundred pounds of any one substance on an acre, would be only one 13,000th part of the whole, is sufficient to show that the mineral constituents are not so readily exhausted as cultivators have been led to believe. But, without reference to the statement of Mr. Lawes, Dr. Dana has shown, in his Ma?iual, (section 74,) that a barren pine plain contains potash enough on a single acre to supply a crop of wheat for three thousand years ! and that the lime contained in an acre of the same pine plain is ample for a crop of rye of twenty bushels per acre, for seven thousand four hundred years ! And more than this, Dr. Dana pronounces it as a FOURTH leading principle of agricultural chemistry, that SOILS CONTAIN ENOUGH OF ALL THE MINERAL ELEMENTS TO GROW ANY CROP. Talk about " the how and the why of the operation of lime and alkali," says Dr. Dana, this is the fact : yet we are told that the reason why the White Doyenne pear does not suc- ceed, even in soils containing far more potash than a pine plain, is because it is exhausted of its mineral contents ! Do not the sages who give such advice, teach a somewhat " doubtful chemistry ?" We have not room to follow the subject farther at this time, but shall do so hereafter. We have now discussed the so-called mineral theory, more with a reference to its horticultural than its agricultural bearing, desirous that none of our readers should be led astray by the visionary notions of those who would have our fruit growers substitute ashes and peat in the place of good substantial ma- nure, assured that they will regret the day when they listened to such advice. 542 Descriptions and Engravings of four Pears. Art. II. Descriptions and Engravings of four Pears. By B. Desportes, Angers, France. We are happy to present our readers with another commu- nication from our French correspondent, B. Desportes, of An- gers, describing four varieties of pears, three of which, we believe, have not yet fruited in the country. From his ac- count of them, they appear to be exceeding valuable acquisi- tions, and as we have trees of them already in our collection, we hope soon to see them in fruit. One of the following kinds was among the specimens of fruit sent to the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society, by M. Leroy, and it was fully equal to the character given to it by M. Desportes ; this was the Delices d'Hardenpont de Belgique, which will be found noticed with others in our Pomological Gossip. — Ed. 1. Beau Present d'Artois. We have cultivated, under the name of Beau Present d'Ar- tois, this variety {fig. 54,) for several years, but it came into bearing for the first time the present year. We regret, very much, not to have known this fine sort sooner, because we would have propagated it in large quantities, both on ac- count of its beauty and excellent qualities. We have but very few other kinds which merit a more extensive cultivation. The tree that produced these fruits, of which the outlines are annexed, is only four years old, and planted in our speci- men school of fruit trees at Andre Leroy's nurseries. It is about six feet high, and vigorous ; the branches are upright and well pyramidal shaped ; it has proved this year to be very productive, — it bore twetityfive fruits like the outlines, some of which weighing near a pound, and the others half and three-quarters of a pound each. The pear, of which the largest outline is a copy, weighed one pound, and the small- est ten ounces ; the first was one of the largest, and the other one of medium size. The largest fruit was four and a half inches long and three and a half in diameter about the middle, of pyri- Descriptions and Engravings of four Pears. 543 form shape, surface uneven ; Stem, large, short, about one- third or one-quarter of an inch long, largest at the two ex- tremities ; Eye, broad, shallow, segments of the calyx short Fig. 54. Beau Present d'Arlois. and rigid ; Skin, gray and green, spotted about everywhere ; Flesh, half fine, white, somewhat mixed with green lines, tender, juicy, sugary. It is a first rate pear, ripening in Sep- tember, and well deserving extensive cultivation. 544 Descriptions and Engravings of four Pears. 2. Delices De Mons, A Belgian pear, introduced into Andre Leroy's nurseries, some years ago, came into bearing this year for the first time. Fruity of medium size, pyriform, uneven surface, narrow- ing towards the stalk, where it ends in rounding ; Stalk, half Fig. 55. Delices de Mons. an inch long, inserted in a shallow cavity ; Eye, small, set at the surface and in a shallow cavity, on one side more than the other ; Skin, yellow, greenish on the shaded side, and russet on the sunny side, covered everywhere with gray dots, of different size, and spotted with gray in some parts ; Flesh, yellowish, very fine, buttery, melting, very juicy, and very agreeably perfumed, delicious. Ripens end of September. This kind is one of the best pears, and not surpassed in quality by any other. Descriptions and Engravings of four Pears. 545 3. Delices d'Hardenpont du Nord and Belgium. Fondante Pariselle du cornice horticule. Beurre Curtet, of Andr6 Leroy's nurseries, at Angers. This very handsome pear is known under the three above names. Fig. 56. Delices d' Hardenpont du Nord and Belgium. The above fruit is one of the largest; generally it is smaller, and the lines about the middle height are not so curved ; the fruit is more regularly pyriform, and narrower VOL. XVII. NO. XII. 69 546 Descriptions a?id Engravings of four Pears. near the stem ; this stem is short, obliquely inserted at the surface ; Eye, small, and equally set at the surface ; Skin, coarse, yellow and gray spotted ; Flesh, not fine grained, very melting, water abundant, sugary, perfumed, very pleas- ant and very excellent. Ripens from the beginning to the middle of October. This kind is the true Delices d'Hardenpont of Belgium and the North of France ; but we have at Angers another Delices d'Hardenpont, of which the outlines and description are very different. We call this last Delices d'Hardenpont of Angers, to distinguish it from the first, which we call Delices d'Har- denpont of Belgium or North, it having originated in this last country. Vigorous tree, pyramidal shaped, stout wood, rather short jointed. 4. Delices d'Hardenpont of Angers. Fig. 67. Delices d'Hardenpont of Angers. Fruit, of medium size, about two and a half inches high, and two and a half inches diameter ; Form, about roundish. The Culture of Strawberries. 547 at surface uneven, irregular ; Stalk, short, half inch long, and sometimes less, stout, straight or curved, larger at the upper end, inserted in a small round cavity, and almost at the sur- face ; Eye, small, almost closed, set in a small cavity, or at the surface ; Skin, gray bronze, rather shaded with yellow, rough ; Flesh, greenish white, fine, melting, buttery, very juicy, vinous, agreeably perfumed. It is a first rate kind, very productive, and a constant bearer, which well deserves the most, extensive cultivation. It ripens in October. The tree is of medium vigor, well pyramidal shaped ; the branches are slender, short jointed. Leroy^s Nurseries, Angers, France, Sept., 1851. Art. III. On the Culture of Strawberries. By Gustavus Everts, Watertown, Mass. During the short time since I have resided in this country, I have seen various methods of cultivating the strawberry, but in very few instances to my satisfaction ; as I have always found the beds over-crowded with plants. If cultivators adopt the following plan, they will never have an unfruitful plant in their beds. It is generally ac- knowledged, that strawberries like a deep, rich, moist soil, in order to make luxuriant plants, but these, however, will not always produce the best fruit. Many persons have the idea that strawberries grow naturally among bushes in the shade ; but I have always found those fruits the highest flavored when fully exposed to the sun, and grown in a soil not too rich. My method of treatment is as follows : — Select a spot of middling dry ground, lying, if convenient, to the southeast ; trench it in the autumn eighteen inches deep. If such a soil is not at hand, but is of a heavier nature, inclining to clay, I would recommend a compost of leaf mould, stable manure, and char- coal dust, in equal parts, (as charcoal dust and leaf mould will keep the soil loose and porous. ) If, on the contrary, the 548 The Culture of Strawberries. soil is sandy loam, use only manure and leaf mould, in equal parts. Spread the compost over the surface, and let it be well spaded in. Where strawberries are cultivated to a great extent, I think spring planting is preferable to the autumn, as there will be less necessity of shading or watering the plants in dry weather. Select a moist day in the early part of May, for setting out the plants. Make the beds six feet wide, and two feet apart. Mark out four rows in each, fifteen inches distant from each other, and they will be ready for planting. Select the strong- est rurmers of the previous year, and take them up with great care, so as to preserve as many of the roots as possible ; set them fifteen inches asunder in the rows, and avoid the error of deep planting, which is often attended with the loss of the plants, by covering up the crowns and causing premature de- cay. Keep the beds clean and free from weeds, until the fruit is set, when the whole surface should be covered with clean straw, or short grass ; this will keep the fruit clean, as well as keep up an equal degree of humidity in the soil. After the fruit is gathered and the plants begin to make runners, the covering of straw or grass is removed, and the runners are all cut off", with the exception of as many as are wanted to place one between each parent plant, because we cannot always depend upon the old ones to produce a good crop. On the approach of cold weather, which is usually the last of November, we cover the beds with sea or rockweed, which we have found to afford the best protection from frost. The next season the original plants will be in their full bearing, and the runners of the previous year will have suffi- cient strength to become substitutes for the old ones. The third year the old plants should be removed altogether, the soil freshly manured, and the same routine of laying in one runner between each, followed as above directed. This is the practice we have adopted in the cultivation of strawberries here, and a great crop has been the result. Cushing^s Gardens^ Watertown, Mass., Nov., 1851. Pomological Gossip. 549 Art. IV. Pomological Gossip. New Pears, from Angers, France. — The facilities of steam navigation are beginning to be felt in the diffusion of pomological information. Heretofore we could only import with safety, fruit trees of various kinds, and patiently await their fruiting before we could decide whether we had ob- tained the correct kinds ; and even then, we were not certain as to the results ; for the great similarity of many kinds ren- ders a mere description of the fruit of only comparative value. With the rapidity of steam communication, however, we are now enabled to interchange specimens with foreign cultivators, and thus settle all doubts regarding the identity of varieties ; and not only this, but we can learn the value of the newer sorts immediately, by the inspection and trial of the fruit, without waiting for the tree to bear. The first instance of this kind, on anything of an exten- sive scale, has been the receipt by the Massachusetts Horti- cultural Society, of upwards of 175 varieties of fruits, sent by A. Leroy, nurseryman of Angers, France. They embraced 116 of pears, 36 of apples, and 19 of other small fruit, including nuts. The package containing them was sent to Liverpool, to be forwarded to Boston, to the care of Messrs. Hovey & Co. ; but from some cause, it laid over a w6ek or more, in the former place, and then went to New York, from whence it was forwarded to Boston. But, notwithstanding this^delay, many of the pears and apples came to hand in per- fect order, and enabled the committee to examine the kinds, and test the quality, of such of the new ones as were in fine condition. We have not time now to enumerate all these kinds, but we give a brief account of a few of the best of those that are new, or have not yet fruited in our collections. The specimens were, some of them, very fine, but no better than those of the same kinds which have been exhibited by our own amateurs and nurserymen. The Uvedale's St. Germain weighed 34 ounces. To us, the result of the expedition 550 Pomological Gossip. proves that we can, as Mr. Lowell has said, raise as fine pears " in this state " as the " world produces." Doyenne du Cornice. — Size, large ; Skin, yellow ; Stem, short ; Eye, medium size ; Flesh, yellowish, melting, and very juicy, with a rich, sugary, perfumed and delicious flavor. October and November. Delices d' Hardejipont de Belgique — quite distinct from the Delices d'Hardenpont of our collections. Size, very large ; Form, irregular oblong ; Skin, yellow ; Stem, medium length, stout ; Eye, small, open ; Flesh, yellowish, half melting, juicy, high flavored, sugary, rich and excellent. November. Pater Noster — quite unlike the Pater Noster of the Salem gardens. Size, large ; Form, oblong ; Skin, yellowish ; Stem, medium length ; Eye, medium size ; Flesh, yellowish, melting, juicy, rich, sugary, highly aromatized and luscious. November. Belle Julie. — Size, medium ; Form, ovate oblong ; Skin, yellow and russet ; Stem, short ; Eye, medium size ; Flesh, greenish white, melting and juicy, with vinous and rich and sprightly juice ; perfumed and excellent. November. Beurre Millet. — Size, medium ; Form, ovate ; Skin, dull yellow ; Stem, very short ; Eye, small ; Flesh, yellowish white, melting and juicy ; Flavor, rich, vinous, and delic- iously perfumed. November. Serrurier. — Size, medium ; Form, roundish oval ; Ski7i, yellow, russeted ; Stem, short ; Eye, medium size ; Flesh, yellowish, melting and juicy, with a rich saccharine and pleasant perfume. November. Biemont. — Size, medium ; Form, broad oval ; Skin, yel- low, thickly dotted with russet ; Stem, short ; Eye, large, open ; Flesh, yellowish white, melting and juicy, with a rich, sugary and highly perfumed flavor. Ripe in November. Beurre Beaumont — quite distinct from the Beurre Beau- mont of our collections, as described in our Magazine. Size, large ; Form, obtuse pyramidal ; Skiri, cinnamon russet ; Stem, short ; Eye, medium size ; Flesh, yellowish, melting, juicy, sweet, pleasantly perfumed, and good. October and November. Pomological Gossip. 551 Fondanfe du Cornice. — Similar to the Doyenne du Corn- ice in general appearance and quality. Beurre Ranee. — Though prematurely ripened, was one of the finest pears we have tasted, and almost, or quite, equal to the Winter Nelis. The specimen weighed nearly a pound, and was exceedingly fine. It scarcely seems possible that our Beurre Ranee can be the same ; though it is hardly possi- ble that it should be otherwise, as it has been received from the London Horticultural Society and other sources, both in England, France, and Belgium. Mr. Thompson has de- scribed it as the "best very late pear;" and we may add, so far as this specimen would allow us to judge, that he has not overrated its excellence. We trust that, another year, the Society may receive spe- cimens from the same source again, making such arrange- ments previously, as to cause no delay in their transmission to their destination. If put up carefully, we are very certain that not one in ten of the specimens would be in the least injured. M. Leroy not only deserves the thanks of the Society, which were unanimously voted to him, for the transmission of these specimens, but is entitled to something more than this ordinary mark of courtesy ; and we hope one of the So- ciety's Medals will be awarded to him, for the interest which he has manifested in the dissemination of a better knowledge of these fine fruits, by an exhibition of the fruits themselves. The Frederica Bremer Pear. — Through the kindness of Mr. J. C. Hastings, of Clinton, New York, we received a small basket full of this new pear, which was described in our last volume, by our correspondent, Dr. Brinckle, of Phil- adelphia. They came safe to hand, but were quite too ripe when gathered, or at least when forwarded, for every one of them had begun to decay at the core, and imparted the disa- greeable taste to the exterior part, so common with pears which exhibit such a characteristic. Mr. Hastings, in his note accompanying them, says, " they are rather too ripe ;" and regrets it was not convenient to have sent them some- what earlier. The specimens were very large (8 to 10 ounces 552 Notes on Climbing Plants. each,) and very handsome ; and we should not judge of the variety by these specimens, waiting another year for an op- portunity to get them in good order. We are fearful, how- ever, that it has a tendency to decay prematurely at the core, which will lessen the value of this, otherwise fine, new pear. Art. V. Notes on Climbing Plajits for the Greenhouse. By HoRTus. Climbing plants are most useful adjuncts in decorating greenhouses ; and, where grape vines are not introduced under the rafters, they add much to the beauty of the house, hanging in graceful festoons from the roof, and are rather beneficial than otherwise, in breaking the direct rays of the sun from the plants on the stage, if kept in due bounds, and not allowed to form a dense mass of foliage under the whole surface of the glass. In span-roofed houses, a series of semi- circular arches, running along the top of the house, covered with flowering climbers, have a fine effect ; and single, long- roofed houses are much improved in appearance by similar arches, springing from upright pillars, placed about the middle of the rafter, stretching to the back wall, adding strength to the structure, and breaking the uniform sameness in houses of this description. These climbers may be planted inside the house, in borders prepared for their reception ; or some of the hardier kinds planted outside, and introduced through openings in the wall. Should it happen, however, from the internal arrangement and construction of the house, that these methods cannot be adopted, the plants will flourish as well in pots or tubs, pro- portionate to their size and habit of growth. Indeed, many persons prefer this mode, rather than planting them out perma- nently, especially with delicate rooting plants, as they can be better attended to, and are more under control, than when allowed unlimited space. Moreover, when they are planted Notes on Climbing Plants. 553 out permanently, and have filled their allotted space, the house becomes, as it were, stereotyped in appearance, and uninteresting to the frequent visitor, which is not the case when placed in movable pots, as these can be changed, when requisite, and admit of fresh and more ornamental additions and arrangement. Where large pots are objectionable on the stage, they can be placed out of sight under a shelf, or other convenient situation, and the plant trained to the desired location. In general, they should not be too rigorously tied or trained, as these ramblers of the jungle dislike formality, and show to best advantage when allowed to assume a natural irregularity of growth. On the other hand, it is necessary to guard against confusion, and prevent them from getting into entangled and inseparable masses. In most cases, the leading shoots only require securing and training, allowing the lateral branches to assume their natural position. What- ever position they are intended to occupy, they should be trained to it at once, as it is difficult to alter them afterwards, without injuring the foliage. The less robust growers should be trained to trellises attached to the pots. These may be of any shape to suit fancy. Cylinder and globular forms answer better than flat or shield shapes. The pyramidal outline is more pleasing than either, and admits of better arrangement with other plants on the stage. The following are very brief remarks upon a few good plants, that will suit the tempera- ture of a greenhouse : — Plants adapted for Training on Pillars, Back-walls, &c. Mandevillea sauvolens. — This is a fine-foliaged, free-grow- ing plant, bearing beautiful white sweet-scented flowers, and is not grown so generally as it deserves. Potted in good loamy soil, with plenty of pot room, it grows fast, and flow- ers abundantly. During winter, it will require very little water : propagates easily by cuttings. Ipomceas. — There are a great many varieties of these, all pretty. I. Learw and I. Horsfalloj have splendid flowers. The latter is frequently treated as a stove plant, but succeeds vol . XVII. NO. XII. 70 554 Notes on Climbing Plants. well in the greenhouse. They require a light, rich soil ; pots well drained, so that water will pass quickly through the soil. This is necessary, as the roots are very susceptible of damp during winter. Easily raised from seeds, or extended by cuttings. Stephanotus jinribu7ida. — This is a beautiful evergreen, with fine dark green foliage, forming a fine contrast with the clusters of white flowers, of exquisite fragrance. Unfortu- nately it is a little tender, but has been grown to great per- fection in greenhouses, by watering carefully and sparingly in cold weather. In summer it luxuriates in moisture. The soil should be turfy loam, mixed with sand and charcoal, and the pots, of course, particularly well drained. It is propa- gated by cuttings. Bignonias. — These are very rampant growers, and do not succeed well unless the roots are allowed plenty of room. B. venusta and B. Lindleyz are of more moderate growth. They should be planted in good loamy soil, and pruned back annu- ally, when deciduous. Many of the species are hardy, and all easily raised from seeds or cuttings. Passijioras. — These are common and much admired. P. alata is of strong growth, and will speedily cover a large space, especially if it gets near to the top of the house, where it will receive more warmth. P. racemosa, P. caerulea, P. Kermeslv^a, and P. LoudomV, are also good sorts. They an- swer well to plant in a prepared border, in a well-drained loamy soil. Allamanda cathartica is a beautiful plant, of recent intro- duction. It should be planted in good open soil, properly drained. It is of vigorous growth, requiring plenty of mois- ture in summer ; but, being a native of South America, re- quires careful treatment during winter. By keeping it near the warmest part of the house, and watering sparingly, it will succeed well. Stigmaphyllum dliatum. — A slender growing and rather elegant climber, with yellow flowers, formed in clusters, and produced plentifully towards autumn. The roots are some- what fleshy, and should be kept nearly dry during winter ; Notes on Climbmg Plants. 555 but likes plenty of moisture at roots, and syringing overhead, whUe growing. Cohma scandens, Maurandia Barclayana, (varieties, pur- ple, white, and rose-colored,) and Lophospermums, scandens, HendersonzV, &c., are all pretty, and of the easiest culture. Raised from seeds sown in spring, they will attain a large size, and flower profusely all summer, in any light, rich soil. Eccremocarpiis scabra also forms a handsome object ; it grows very quickly, and flowers all summer. It can be raised annually from seeds ; or cuttings, rooted in the fall, will keep during winter. Plants adapted for Pot Trellises. Manettia hicolor. — This is a fine orange and scarlet flowering climber. Cuttings, rooted in early spring, grown in the greenhouse all summer, and placed in flowering pots about the end of July, will form good sized plants before win- ter. It must be kept at the warmest part of the house. Sollyas are pretty blue-flowering plants, of easy culture ; cuttings root readily. S. heterophyla and angustifolia are good species. Light, sandy soil suits them well. Schuhertia graveolens. — A very fine, new plant ; flowers white, produced in clusters, deliciously fragrant, and stand a long time in bloom ; requires to be kept rather warm, and free from cold draughts. Soil should be well supplied with porous materials, and watered sparingly when done flowering. Kennedias. — These requue a lightish soU, well drained. There are many varieties of color. Some of the more dis- tinct are, K. inophylla, purple ; K. prostrata, red ; K. Marry- attff, scarlet ; and K. nigricans, yellow and purple. They luxuriate in a moist atmosphere. Seeds are plentifully pro- duced, and can be increased by these, or cuttings. Gonipholobiunis. — G. polymorphum, versicolor, and venus- tum, are desu-able climbers. They should be kept from currents of cold aii*. Soil, sandy loam. Hardenbergias. — H. macrophylla, and H. monophylla. These require a light, sandy soil. After they bloom, they can be placed out of doors, to harden and ripen the young 556 Notes on Climbing Plants. shoots. When taken into the house, the old soil should be shaken from the roots ; both tops and roots should be pruned back, the plant potted in fresh soil, and placed in shaded situation. Brachysema latifolia, Buddlea Madagascariensis, and Physianthus abus, — scarlet, yellow, and white. The former should be kept in the warmest part. Buddlea, rather coarse growing, but flowers well when the roots are confined in a small pot. The last must be kept short of water in cold weather. TropcBolums. — This is an extensive and lovely genus, com- prising flowers of different colors, and flowering principally in winter and spring. Those that form tuberous roots should be potted as soon as they commence growing, watering spar- ingly, until they gain strength of foliage. When the flower- ing season is over, they should be kept dry until the stems decay, then shaken altogether out of the soil, and placed in an airy, dry situation, until they again begin to push fresh shoots. YiObhianuin is a handsome species ; cuttings of this, struck in spring, will make fine plants for flowering in Octo- ber and following months. Particular care is requisite in having the soil for these of a fibry nature, and the pots thor- oughly drained. November^ 1851. The above excellent article, on climbing plants, is one of the most interesting we have published from our correspond- ent. Nothing adds so much to the appearance of a house, as a few climbing plants ; and, especially in our sunny climate, where shade is actually essential part of the year, it is sur- prising that so few of these are generally grown. It is a mistaken idea that they will injure the plants, if they are kept duly pruned and tied up to the trellis. On this head the re- marks of Hortus are to the point ; and if they are carefully followed, whether the plants are in pots or in the border, — whether trained up the rafter, or to trellises, — they will be the most attractive objects of the conservatory. Norfolk Agricultural Society Address. 557 REVIEWS. Art. I. All Address before the Norfolk Agricultural Society, at Dedham, Septeinher 24, 1851. By G. R. Russell. Pamphlet, 30 pp. Published by the Society. Among the multitude of agricultural addresses annually de- livered before various societies, it is refreshing to get hold of one out of the common course, — one abounding in original thought and lofty sentiment, — and such a one is that before us. Usually we find it no difficult task to mark, here and there, passages well worthy the attention and study of every culti- vator, in any address of this kind ; but, in the present instance, we find ourselves at a loss which portion to reject, or which to lay before our readers, so brimful is every page of valuable suggestion and sound advice ; while, running through all, is a vein of humor which must have riveted the attention of every hearer of the address. As, however, we have but a limited space to devote to a review, we must be brief in our extracts. After alluding to the utilitarian character of the present age, Mr. R. remarks : — It is not advisable to go back to the early ages, tracing the progress of agriculture from beyond the flood. It may be taken for granted that the antediluvians entertained a due consideration for dinner, and very well com- prehended the small chances of procuring it without paying their addresses to the soil. Neither is it expedient to explore what is generally understood by antiquity. It may be a matter of curiosity what the people of that in- definite period did to the earth, but, as for any practical application of the information, we might as well consult a model of one of their war galleys for the purpose of improving a line of battle ship. Whether tillage was first practised in India or China, whether the Egyptians pulverized the Delta of the Nile with a wooden hoe, or the Romans scarified the Cam- pagna with a crooked stick, are matters of no great moment, except to the antiquary. A thorough investigation into the agriculture of the ancients would give no hint for the management of our farms, adding neither to the corn-bin, hay -mow, or market cart. They wrote much, and, not content 558 Norfolk Agricultural Society Address. with plain prose, gave some, now useless, advice in very excellent verse. Hesiod's poem of " Works and Days" sleeps on the shelf of the library, and the " Georgics" of Virgil serve only to worry school-boys with rather tough Latin. Homer says, that the master farmer was accustomed to meet his ploughmen, at either end of the furrow, with the " crowned goblet," to reward and stimulate them with hearty draughts. He does not describe the quality of the beverage, but it is to be supposed that it was such as would meet the approbation of a temperance society, or that the furrows were very long ; the employers of those days doubtless being as anxious as at the present for a good day's work, and, however partial they may have been to " the serpentine line of beauty" in art, it can be presumed they did not fancy an irregular series of them in their ploughed fields. We give the past ages credit for very good intentions, and, in some things, must acknowledge their superiority. The huge monuments, whose construction is an unsolved problem, puzzling the science and art of modem times even to raise from the ground the fragments which time or the bar- barian has laid low, compel us to confess that they beat us in laying stone wall. But, in positive usefulness, we entertain a belief that we have made an advance in the management of the earth. If the Carthagenian general, who wrote twenty-eight books on husbandry, every word of which is now as little known as his military exploits, were present at the exhibition of to-day, his astonishment would be equal to that of his soldiers, should they rise up, to find themselves confronted by a battery of flying artillery. And could Cincinnatus walk through our agricultural warehouses, his wonder would be, not that he left his plough, but that he ever returned to it. In fact, we flatter ourselves that we know something more about farming than did the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans ; and doubt whether the most inde- fatigable research into their modes of cultivation would increase our knowl- edge, or induce an imitation of their implements and the manner in which they used them. We respect them for their veneration of the plough, and can excuse them for worshipping the ox that drew it, he being, unquestion- ably, superior to the average of their deities ; but we think we could show them an article calculated to increase their bump of reverence, and stock that would essentially diminish the divine honors of all the cattle of an- tiquity, from Apis downward. The following, in reference to the respectability of other professions as compared with that of the farmer, will be ac- knowledged, unhappily, as too true : — Another cause, operating against the farm, is the supposed superior re- spectability and emolument of other pursuits, acting as a continual drain on our agricultural population. The young man, toiling in homespun, sighs for the joys of broadcloth and fine linen ; and his visions of earthly bliss bring before him, not the green fields, with trees, and flowers, and the sing- ing of birds, and the murmur of bees, and running brooks, and all the Norfolk Agricultural Society Address. 559 beautiful sights and sounds of his daily life ; but his imagination dwells on paved streets, and brick walls, and muddy streams of gutters, amid the rattle and din where men herd and jostle one another. His beau ideal of life is to pass it in a dingy office, where the blessed sun never enters ; to "achieve greatness" in the foul air of a court-room ; to feel a consciousness of importance and patronage, where humble greetings, and the lowly rev- erence of obsequious money dealers tell Vr^ho is noted on " 'Change." He thinks of the opulent city, and numbers up those whose ability or wealth has built them up a name, and originated many a fable for country circula- tion, stirring up young ambition to shake off, not the dust of the farm only, but the shoes themselves ; to jump from caterpillar to butterfly, without any intervening chrysalis ; to enter into that state of beatitude which erects a standard of gentility on the disdained or forgotten occupations of early life. The love of rural occupations has probably been lessened by the in- creased intercourse with more artificial employments. It is sometimes, perhaps ungallantly, intimated, that railroads and omnibusses have dimin- ished that undivided attention to the dairy which was the pride and glory of our grandmothers ; that the ease and rapidity with which country is ex- changed for town, cause sudden and frequent transitions from the churn and cheese press to the variety store and confectioner's shop. Calumny has even gone so far as to insinuate, that the operations of the old home- stead are considered unmentionable things ; and that the farmer's daughter is not presumed to know more about the making of butter, than her exquis- ite brother, from the counter, does of a potato row ; the one fearing it may not be " genteel" to acknowledge acquaintance with a milk pail, and the other thinking, poor fellow ! that there is more respectability in a yard stick than in a hoe handle. The shortness of our New England summers are thus al- luded to, as another obstacle to higher excellence in our agriculture : — There are obstacles to excellence in Massachusetts agriculture, indepen- dent of any moral agency of the farmer, and against which he can only oppose discretion and continual watchfulness. Our climate barely allows sufficient space between seed time and harvest. Our northern winter lays his cold hand upon the earth, and it is locked in such deep sleep that the vernal sun can scarcely waken it. We bound from snow to scorching heat, having summer upon us while we are yet expecting spring. Work, in all its variety, is crowded into a period so limited, that one thing presses on another with discouraging rapidity. Our rough soil, though requiring to be coaxed by all the appliances our resources can muster, before it can be pre- vailed upon to start a potato or push up a blade of corn, yet manifests an amazing alacrity in producing weeds ; as though that were its legitimate occupation, and it took pride in doing it well. At last, when, by perpetual 560 Norfolk Agricultural Society Address. entreaty and unremitted ■warfare, the right things grow, and the useless are relieved from immediate duty, there " comes a frost, a killing frost," like a straggler from the rear guard of a retreating army, taking a last shot. Then arrive caterpillar, canker and cut-worm, bugs " too numerous to men- tion,"— every genus and species that can crawl or fly, amateurs of various tastes, but uniform appetite, — hastening to appropriate whatever portion of the banquet may best suit each particular palate, as though the sole object of planting was to set a table for their special accommodation. As regards these numerous families of visitors, which appear yearly to increase, the only alternative left may be suggested by quoting the brief but comprehen- sive and very intelligible address of a colonel to his regiment, when leading it into action : — " There's the enemy. If you don't kill them, they'll kill you." Mr. Russell thus hits off those cultivators who prefer to jog along in the old beaten path, rather than experiment for them- selves, and endeavor to discover new and superior modes of practice : — A blind reverence for the past is the great stumbling-block of the present, and flagrant injustice to the future. Do as our fathers did ! It is well we should, when we can do no better ; but man has been made a progressive creature, is endowed with aspirations after excellence, has implanted in him a restless energy that is continually urging him onward. He could not stop if he would. He partakes of that law of motion which governs all things, from the smallest particle of animated dust, up to the infinite worlds, which, cluster on cluster, system within system, whirl in endless revolution round the throne of God. The fanatic who threw a stone at the Earl of Rosse's telescope, because it pried into mysteries intended, as he believed, to be concealed from human curiosity, was a type of that conservatism which would have no new farm- ing. It would not encourage the undutiful longings of children, who strive to know more than their parents. It would level the school-house, enter- taining Jack Cade's opinion of men, " that usually talk of a noun and a verb, and such abominable words." Of what use is education, but to en- gender self-conceit and encourage wasteful expenditure .'' Why buy vol- ume on volume, and cover blackboards with cabalistic characters, when " our forefathers had no other books but the score and the tally ?" Advancement is the destiny of man. He who stops in the race is run over and left behind, crippled and forgotten. Whatever may be the limit to human attainment, it has not yet been discovered. We press forward to an eminence from which we hope to behold all created things, but it is reached only to find heights to be climbed and difficulties to be surmounted. Mr. Russell commences his address with great misgivings as to his ability to do justice to the subject j but we think Norfolk Agricultural Society Address. 561 what we have ah'eady quoted is abundant evidence that he does. If it did not, ^e think the following paragraph would : — It was a saying of Napoleon, that " battles make Soldiers," It is equally true, that hard work makes farmers. He who would " thrive by the plough" must leave his gloves with his Sunday coat. He must not expect to walk daintily over the earth, in holiday garb, emd have her productions spring up in his footsteps. He who courts her favors must go manfully to the work. She is not to be trifled with, and does not yield to coy wooing. The badges of her successful suitors, are the dust of the ploughed ground, the sweat of the hay-field, the marks of honest industry wrought out in shirt sleeves. She loves the pressure of the cowhide boot, smiles on the tanned counte^ nance and the sinewy limbs, on which the insignia of manhood have been ingrained by the elements. But she does not look less winningly, if the calculating head, which guides the laboring hand, has drawn information from recorded wisdom, gathered hints from the periodical, interchanged opinions with fellow workers, and brought thought to bear on tlie great mystery of nature. Excellence in agriculture is neither the result of closet study, nor of assiduous labor. It can be effected only by a union of both. May the sagacity of government consult the best interests of this people,, by establishing the means of producing that as yet unknown prodigy, Cj, perfect farmer. Though our review is extended to a greater fength thmt we intended, we cannot omit the following, which so vividly portrays the active spirit of the age in which we live : — Our lot is cast in an age of extraordinary activity. We dwell amid per- petual change. The wonder of yesterday is forgotten in the novelty of to- day, which to-morrow will be cast aside among the things that have been. We move with such rapidity, that we can hardly get acquainted with our native land. The tourist rushes through it on a railroad, alternating between ditches and sand-banks ; now driving with headlong speed on the ridges of a precipice, and, anon, plunging into the recesses of the earth. Woods, fields, farms, villages, swarm in an indistinct medley before his bewildered vision. He looks on some smiling landscape, but before he can muster up a little sentiment, he is rattling over a bridge or rumbling through a tunnel. Now creation seems a flood of light, when the locomotive, that modern con- juror, yells out its unearthly incantation, and, presto! the scene changes, and he is whizzing amid the sepulchral damps of caverns, where sunshine can never come. The magnificence of nature, the wonders of art, the eternal works of God, and the passing marvels of man's invention and in- dustry, are fused in his memory in one conglomerate mass, — and he calls this, seeing the country. The man who returns to his own land, after a ^eyf years' absence, can. VOL. XVII. ^NO. XII. 71 562 Foreign Notices. scarcely find the places of his boyhood. The plough has passed over glade and woodland, and the wild haunts he loved to frequent are bustling with populous life. On the banks of the lovely stream, in whose peaceful seclu- sion he once found tranquillity, utility has erected her altars, and marshalled in grim array her abominations of brick and mortar. The placid water, which knew no sound save in murmuring over its pebbly bed, has been turned into flume and raceway, and is doomed to groan on, in never-ending torture ; insult being added to injury, in estimating its value by a calcula- tion of horse power. Where the wild flower blossomed, and the vine fes- tooned the trees in beauty, the tavern sign creaks in the wind, the court house and jail have been planted, and the lawyer's office has sprouted up in their shadow. The freshness and grace of nature have departed, and have left behind the long crude street, stifled in dust and glaring with newness. If there have ever been fairies in this country, their reign is over.. They have forsaken a people who love the music of the spindle and loom, and think that the greensward can be used to more advantage than for dancing by moonlight. Verily, this is not their abiding-place ; and the sentimental maiden, who watches in the dew for their coming, may find, instead of their tiny figures revelling in magic circle, the unromantic, mundane-looking doctor prescribing at her bedside. The guardian genius who presides over the New England cradle is a very matter-of-fact, working-day spirit. Should he embody himself to mortal sight, there would appear no ethereal being, wreathed with flowers, hover- ing between earth and heaven, but a burly, solid actuality ; fixed on the firm ground, his hair filled with hay-seed or cotton, his throne a counting- house stool, his wand a shovel or hammer ; decked,' not in fairy gi-een, but in stout frocking, or factory shirting, rolled up at the elbows. There is nothing green about him. MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. Art. I. Foreign JVbtices. ENGLAND. Dahlias and Dahlia Exhibitions of 1851. — The dahlia still continues to be one of the most popular of flowers ; easily cultivated, requiring no pecu- liar attention, and blooming for a greater length of time than any other flower, except the pansy, it still holds its own as one of the most splendid of gar- den plants, and without which the autumnal season would be shorn of hali its beauty. It is gratifying to see the interest which is shown in the cul- ture and exhibition of the dahlia, by the English florists, and we only wish a tithe of the same interest was manifested by our own amateur cultiva- tors. The exhibitions of the past season, in England, have been unusually fine, and judging from the long reports of some of the societies, the blooms must have not only been more numerous, but finer than on previous years. Foreign Notices. 563 The same success has not, however, been attained by cultivators in this vicinity. The unusually dry summer seriously injured the plants ; and the unusually early frost of the 26th of September, touched many of the buds and blossoms, and so marred their beauty that no exhibition of flowers for the premiums of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, has been made this autumn. In New York they were better, and our correspondent, Mr. Thorburn, gives a favorable account of some of the new ones of this year, which we have copied in another page. As usual, heretofore, we give the names of the winning flowers in the stands of some of the best growers at the metropolitan and other exhi- bitions. Slough Dahlia Show. — Best twenty-four: John Edwards, El Dorado, Mr. Seldon, Leda, Negro, Duke of Wellington, Yellow Superb, Mngnifi- cent, Fearless, Black Prince, Queen of Lilacs, Grenadier, Mrs. Seldon, Princess Louise, Richard Cobden, Mr. Palmer, Sir C. Napier, Beauty of Kent, Andromeda, Snowflake, Mrs. Saunders, Princess Radzville, Mar- chioness of Cornwallis, and Julien, — to Mr. C. Turner. Norwich Horticultural Society. — Best twenty-four : Queen of Li- lacs, Sir F. Bathurst, Marietta, Magnificent, Duke of Wellington, G. Glen- ny, Negro, Earl of Clarendon, Richard Cobden, Mrs. Seldon, Meteor, Princess Louisa, King, Fearless, Marchioness of Cornwallis, Mr. Seldon, Queen of the West, Grenadier, Gem, Summit of Perfection, Yellow Stan- dard, Queen of England, Essex Triumph, and Andromeda, — to Rev. C. Fellowes. The North London Dahlia Exhibition. — Best twenty-four : Mr. Seldon, El Dorado, Fame, G. Glenny, General Fauchier, Essex Triumph, Toison d'Or, Sir R. Peel, Miss Chaplin, Shylock, Queen of Beauties, Pri- vateer, Duke of Wellington, Mrs. Herbert, Admiral, Barmaid, Earl of Clar- endon, Queen of the Lilacs, Queen of the West, Sir F. Bathurst, Hon. Mrs. Ashley, Carmina, and Seedling, — to Mr. Bragg. Bath Royal Horticultural Society. — Best twenty-four : Snow- flake, Imbricata, J. Edwards, Sir R. Peel, Mrs. C. Bacon, Mr. Seldon, Beeswing, Queen of Lilacs, Queen of Beauties, Sir F. Bathurst, Shylock, Seraph, Lady St. Maur, Portia, Queen of Whites, Duke of Wellington, Mrs. Seldon, Essex Triumph, Earl of Clarendon, El Dorado, Miss Chaplin, and Marchioness of Cornwallis, — to Mr. Drummond. Southampton Dahlia Show. — Best twenty-four: Earl of Clarendon, Richard Cobden, General Fauchier, Mrs. Seldon, Baltic, Thames Bank Hero, Leda, Beeswing, Admiral, Miss Herbert, Sir F. Bathurst, Barmaid, Nil Disperandum, Duke of Cambridge, Essex Triumph, Duke of Welling- ton, Elizabeth, Model, Fearless, Yellow Standard, Sunrniit of Perfection, Sir C. Napier, Nepaulese Chief, and Mrs. Herbert, — to J. Edwards. Taunton Dahlia Show. — Best twenty-four: Queen of Lilacs, J. Ed- wards, Fearless, Mr. Seldon, Duke of Cambridge, Model, Thames Bank Hero, Earl of Clarendon, Negro, General Fauchier, Princess Radzville, Shylock, Queen of the East, Lady St. Maur, Miss Vyse, Richard Cobden, Una, Triumphant, Miss Chaplin, Magnificent, Beauty of Kent, Douglas Jerrold, Sir F. Bathurst, and Yellow Standard,— to Mr. Keynes. 564 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Fancy Varieties. — The fancy sorts which have been the most success- ful in the winning stands, are as follows: — Miss Compton, Gasparine, Highland Chief, Mrs. Hansard, Elizabeth, Contribution, Lady Grenville, Queen of the Fairies, Mrs. Labouchere, Jeanette, Lady Callum, Forget- me-Not, Rainbow, Striata Perfecta, Flying Dutchman, Rachel, Elegantis- sima. Discount, Charles Perry, Madame Wachy, Emperor de Maroc, Floral Beauty, Miss Blackmore, Master Geo. Clayton, Picotee, &c. Seedlings of 1851. — Quite a number have been exhibited, and among them the following received first class certificates: — Una, (Keyne's,) a fine, bold white ; Morning Star, (Turner) a bright orange ; Malvina, (Turner,) a mottled one; Miss Mathews, (Bragg,) fancy color, bright mellow red, with white tip ; Triumphant, (Keyne's,) outline first rate, centre fidr, splendid, pur- plish crimson ; Dr. Frampton, (Rawling's) outline good, centre first rate, color white and purple; Sir F. Thesiger, (Rawling's,) rosy lilac; Laura Living- stone, (Keyne's,) fancy color, pinkish buff, with folds of rosy purple and light bluish tip; Nancy, (Keyne's,) fancy color, rich pinkish maroon, with white tip; Miss Ward, fancy bright lemon, with white tip; Ariel, (Tur- ner,) a bold white ; Comet, (Bushell.) a fancy flower ; Bob Drummond (Drummond.) bright scarlet. Many others were exhibited, but were not certificated. Our dahlia fanciers will see by this list, that the rage for new seedlings continues unabated. Art. IL Domestic JVotices. New Dahlias. — Our new dahlias, except Baltic, which is very uncer- tain, and not as fine as Seraph, are beautiful ; Beauty of Kent is grand, so Summit of Perfection ; Duke of Cambridge ; Forget-me-Not ; Nepaulese Chief; Queen of Lilacs; Mrs. Seldon ; Primrose Invincible; Miss Pope; and many of last year's ones are superb, and all, this day, in prime bloom, Oct. 25th, and no frost yet. Many of the old ones are superb : Magnificent; Mr. Seldon ; Beauty of Hastings ; Box, grand — only decent one Drummond ever sent out; [quite true. — Ed.] Grant Thorb urn, fine; Sir F. Bathurst — noble — noble ; Buffalo Girl, do. ; Belle de Paris ; Elizabeth — a wonder ; Mons. Alfree, &lc. ; all indescribably fine now, and in quantities. Yours, G. C. Thorburn, Astoiia, Oct. 25, 1851. Art. in. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Saturday, JVovemher 1, 1851. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was Jield to-day, — the President in the chair. Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 565 C. S. Holbrook, Randolph, and Rev. A. R. Pope, Somerville, were elected members. Adjourned two weeks to November 15th. Exhibiied. — Fruits : From Andre Leroy, Angers, France, one hundred and sixteen varieties of pears ; thirty-six of apples ; twelve of crabs, wal- nuts, chestnuts, &c. ; only about 30 of the pears, and about the same num- ber of apples, arrived in good order. Among them were some fine new kinds, which we have noticed in a previous page. From F. Tudor, pears — seedling, raised at Nahant. From S. Downer, Jr., pears — Beurre Diel, superior. From F. Marsh, apples — Hubbardston Nonsuch, Marigold, Baldwin, R. I. Greening, Seaver Sweet, Peck's Pleas- ant, and four varieties unnamed ; pears — Lewis, fine ; Tomato figs. From W. C. Strong, grapes — Black Hamburgh, very fine ; Damascus, (?) Grizzly Frontignan, Muscat of Alexandria, Syrian, Red Chasselas, Black Prince, White Gascoigne, and St. Peters, all fine. From Hovey & Co., pears — Althorpe Crassane, Beurr6 de St. Quentin, Glout Morceau, Beurre Lange- lier, and Caennais. From J. Cass, grapes — Isabella, very fine. From J. H. Blake, pears — Napoleon, extra large, superior. From H. Vandine, pears — Lawrence, superior ; Marie Louise, superior ; Seckel, Beurre Diel, Buffum, MacLaughlin ; grapes — Catawba, very fine ; quinces — Portugal. From J. Hyde & Son, apples — Danvers Winter Sweet, R. L Greening, Baldwin, very fine ; Seaver's Sweet, Nonsuch, and Hubbardston Nonsuch. From J. Fowler, pears — Sieulle, Beurre Diel ; apples — Beef Steak. From J. Stickney, pears — Beurre Diel, superior ; Coffin's Virgoulouse, very fine ; and Dix, superior. Fruits tested. — From H. Vandine, pears — Lawrence, fine ; Marie Louise, very fine ; MacLaughlin. From F. Tudor, pears — a seedling, raised at Nahant, of medium size, obovate form, with a yellowish greenish skin, tinged with blush ; pleasant, sweet, and good. From J. Stickney, pears — Doyenne d'Hiver, or Cofiin's Virgoulouse, handsome, but only of medium quality. From S. Downer, Jr., pears — Beurre Diel, very fine. From Hovey & Co., pears — Glout Morceau, Vicompte de Spoelberch, good ; Belle Epine Dumas. JVovember 8. ExJnbiied. — Fruits: From J. S. Sleeper, pears — Passe Colmar, Glout Morceau, Winter Nelis. From John E. Lodge, pears — Glout Morceau. From Abel Gushing, pears — Beurr6 Diel. From M. P. Wilder, pears — Grand Soliel, Soldat Labourer, Fondante de Malines, Nou- veau Poiteau, and two kinds without name. From J. Stickney, pears — Thompson's, Coffin's Virgoulouse. From W. Bacon, pears — Beurre Diel. From J. F. Allen, grapes, — Wilmot's new Black Plamburgh, Syrian, Black Hamburgh, Muscat of Alexandria ; pears — Emerald, Urbaniste, specimen weighing over one pound. From J. Cass, Isabella grapes. From R. Man- ning, pears — Sieulle, Emerald, Lawrence. Fruits tested. — From M. P. Wilder, two specimens of pears without name ; Nouveau Poiteau, melting and good ; Fondante de Malines, promises well ; Grand Soliel, Soldat Labourer. From J. Stickney, Coffin's Virgoulouse, 566 Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Thompson's. (?) From R. Manning, Lawrence, excellent ; Emerald. From J. S. Sleeper, Winter Nelis. From Hovey & Co., Beurre Langelier, Cross, Bezi d'Esperine ; Poire Mallot gives promise of being a good fruit. JVovember 15. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — but there being no quorum, it Avas adjourned two weeks to November 29. JVovember 22. Exhibited. — Fruit : From F. Dana, fine specimens of Knight's Monarch and Winter Nelis pears. From S. Downer, Jr., beau- tiful specimens of Glout Morceau pears. Fruits tested. — Knight's Monarch, from Mr. Dana, rich, melting, high fla- vored and fine ; Belle Epine Dumas, from Hovey &- Co., excellent. JVovember 29. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — tlie President in the chair. It was voted, that the President, with Messrs. Wilder and Breck, be a com- mittee of three, to propose some mode by which the reports of the several committees awarding premiums, shall be made to the treasurer. The President, from the executive committee, reported that the same amount of money appropriated last year, for premiums, be appropriated for the year 1852, and to be divided among the several committees in the same manner as the present year. On motion of Mr. Cabot, a committee of three was appointed to consider the propriety of awarding a premium or gratuity to Capt. Lovett, for the Christiana melon. Messrs. Cabot, Wilder, and Breck were appointed the committee. Adjourned two weeks to December 13th. Exhibited. — Fruits : From J. B. Moore, fine Hubbardston Nonsuch ap- ples. From Capt. Lovett, Drap d'Or. From C. Newhall, fine apples, sup- posed to be the Calville Blanche d'Hiver; also, Glout Morceau pears. PREMIUMS AWARDED FOR FRUIT. Grapf.s. — For the best specimens, subsequent to July 1, to W. C. Strong, $10. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., $7. To M. H. Simpson, a gratuity of the silver medal, for fine speci- mens, $5. Peaches. — For the best specimens, out-door culture, Coolidge's Favor- ite, to J. F. Allen, $6. For the second best, the same variety, to C. E. Grant, $i. Pears. — For the best autumn pears, the Louise Bonne of Jersey, to E. Bemis, $6. For the second best, the Duchesse of Angouleme, to S. Leeds, $4. To S. Downer, M. P. Wilder, H. Vandine, and J. F. Allen, each, the silver medal, for fine specimens. To E. Cleaves, W. R. Austin, J. Dane, S. Driver, and Jos. Stickney, each, the bronze medal, for fine specimens. Appi.ES. — For the best autumn apples, — the Hubbardston Nonsuch, — to J. B. Moore, $G. Horticultural Operations for December. 567 For the second best, — the Drap d'Or, — to Jos. Lovett, $4. To C. Newhall and Jos. Barrett, for fine specimens, $4 each. Quinces. — For the best, to J. Mann, Jr., $5. For the second best, to W. Maynard, $3. Figs.— For the best, to J. F. Allen, $5. For the second best, to Hovey & Co., $3. Tomato Figs. — To F. Marsh, for extra fine samples, the silver medal. HORTICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR DECEMBER. The early part of November was mild and pleasant, and exceedingly fa- vorable to the forwarding of all flill work ; but on the 11th a sudden snap of cold weather caused the thermometer to fall to 15°, and at intervals, since then, cold rains and frost, with snow and ice, have retarded planting, and the usual routine of the preparatory work for the winter. Grape Vines will now be at rest in the greenhouse and coldhouse, and if they are properly pruned and protected in the latter house, they will require no further attention till February. In the stove now will be the time to commence forcing ; and the vines, if they have been gradually brought to that point, by proper treatment, will break as regularly, on the application of heat, as two months later. But in early forcing, many things are required to ensure success ; the border must be thickly covered with manure, to keep out frost ; and if protected with boards or sashes to keep out the cold rains, so much the better. Fires must be cautiously applied, so as not to hurry the breaking of the buds ; and, finally, constant care in relation to air, syringing, &c., &c. Fruit Trees, &c. — Nothing can now be done, unless the weather is open, in this department. If it should turn up mild, any planting, necessa- rily cut oflfby the cold, may now be completed. Protect and manure all kinds of trees, vines, plants, &c. Now is the best time, unless the cold is very severe. FLOWER department. Referring to our last, for hints regarding the temperature of houses, in the early months of winter, we have now little to say on that head, and if our hints have been acted upon, everything will have a hardy and healthy look, and will be not only better able to stand the winter more safely, and at less expense of fuel, but will come out brighter and healthier after the five months' confinement. Colder weather having set in, and the out-door work nearly finished, now 568 Hoj'ticiilhiral Operations for December. will be the time to set everything^ to rights in-doors. Let all the plants be gone over carefully, — pruned of dead wood, as well as ill-shaped branches, — staked up neatly, — top dressed, — cleaned, and re-arranged on the stage. December is the month for this. With January other work will require at- tention. Camellias will now be blooming freely, and should be kept liberally watered. Attend to the directions already laid down. Chrysanthemums, done blooming, may now be pruned of the old stems, and placed away in a cold frame or cellar. Japan Lilies may now be potted, as advised in our last. Protect beds in the open a ir, with 3 or 4 inches of old manure or leaves. Pansies, in the open ground, should now be protected with a frame and a covering of leaves. Seeds sown now in pans, in the house, will make fine plants for blooming in May. Cinerarias will need repotting, if it has not already been done. Keep them in a light situation, near the glass, in order to get a good root action, without endangering the too rapid advance of the shoots. Roses, taken up in October, and placed away in frames, may now be pruned, and placed upon the stage, when they will push anew and bloom finely, from February to May. Gardenia Florida. — These plants should be kept cool and rather dry, unless it is desired to bloom them early, when they should be placed in the warmest part of the house. Sparaxis and Ixias may yet be potted, if not already done. Ericas and Epacrises need some attention; repot if they require it, and be careful to nip oiF the tops of all rambling shoots, if fine bushy plants are wanted. Chinese Primroses. — Repot if they require it, and keep in a cool, light, but not sunny aspect. Nemophila insignis may now be repotted. ScHiZANTHUSES will need another shift; into large pots, if the roots are crowded. Astromerias may be divided and repotted this month. Petunias intended for training on trellises, should now be shifted into their blooming pots. Pelargoniums will now require repotting ; keep them in an airy situa- tion, near the glass, for on this the compactness and beauty of the speciinens depend. Nip off the tips of the shoots, in order to have them throw out good laterals. Water sparingly, and fumigate as often as the green fly makes its appearance. Kennedias, and similar running plants, growing in pots, should be kept neatly trained as the shoots advance; a little neglect at this time will greatly mar the beauty of the specimens. Begonias, now in a dormant state, should be kept rather dry; the winter flowering sorts should have a warm place, and be moderately watered. Hyacinths and Early Tulips, as well as other bulbs for early bloom- ing, should be planted immediately, in pots in the house.