iliMliiil:
312066 0326 7434 8

•^ 'W

? w

*^ i*- V.

»^^

.,^.:.: y

1-.;:^

^^$3^

'■'V^-^

4 ,4Pi TA

^"-1.1 ^ -=■ O "yir

LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

No._.^_Z.Ca.O____ DATE..L.:-J.S.85:
souRCE^A iLLinni kivud.

CHAPEL

This book may be kept out

T \y O WEEKS

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

■ ;03

,^ *• ■■

®\xt dSardeiur'^ Pontlilir,

AND

HORTICtTLTURAL ADA^EKTISP^^R.

DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE, ARBORICULTURE, BOTANY AND RURAL AFFAIRS.

Edited by THOMAS MEEHAN,

'ORMKRT.Y HkAD GaRDEXER TO CALEB COPE, ESQ., AT Sl'lUNOWKOOK, AND AT THE BARTUA3I BOTANIC GAR-
DEN, NEAR PlIII-ADELPHIA ; GRADUATE OF THE ROYAI. BOTAXIC GARDENS, KeW, (LONDON.) ENGLAND,

Member of the Academy of Natural Sciencfj^. Author of "The American Hand
Book of Ornamental Trees," &c.

VOT.TJMTT. XIIT, 1871.

TERMS. — Two Dollars per Annum, Invariably in Advance

IMIILADEI^rniA:
BRINCKLOE & MAROT, PUBLISHERS,

No. 23 NoKTH Sixth Stheet.
1871.

c

CHAPEL

iilie (Sard^itjjr'^i MaittHir.

DEVOTED TO

Rorticultiire, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.
Old Series, Vol XIIL JAJ^UARY, 1871. New Series, Vol. IV. No. 1.

HIISTS FOE JANUARY.

FLOTVER GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

This is the head under which we give monthly
hints for a certain department of gardening, but
as to flower gardens we can of course say little at
this season. Not so, however, with the pleas-
ure ground, which indeed every garden should
be,— for here, to our mind, we derive as much
enjoj'nicnt as in any season of the year. In no
season can we so well appreciate -the beauty
which the spray of deciduous trees afford. The
Larch, for instance, beautiful as it ever is, wheth-
er when pushing forth its brilliant crimson flow-
ers in spring, or bending later in the season be-
neath a burden of green foliage, is still anoth-
er thing in winter when its cone-covered
branchlets swing in the storm. The Beech, the
Sassafras, the Tupelo, the Oak, — indeed almost
all trees have distinctive and peculiarly striking
features, which can never be so well admired as
when a crisp carpet of snow covers the ground,
and there is just cold enough to make one's
cheeks ruddy, and give elasticity to our steps
And as for Evergreens, — winter is their grand
fuatival time. AVe plant them for winter in a
great measure. We have green enough in sum-
mer time ; it is not that we want them to be
over green, — but that Ihey furnish their color tor
the painting of nature's winter scenes.

But the varying forms of evergreen, as exem-
plified in the Pine, the Spruce, and the Fir, — or
in the Rhododendron, Box or Yew, arc not by
;iny means the chief sources of winter garden
l)leasures. To us there is nothing more beauti-
ful than all trees when covered with frost crys-
tals, or even when bending lightly under the

icicles which a half rainy, half frosty morning
breeds. Their forms and attitudes are then as
various as their natural specific differences,
and many a time we have looked at the
sweet picture, wondering why the warm sun
should need to ever come again and make it all
a dream. I am quite sure that all who have a
heart to enjo}^ the delightful phases of each sea-
son's garden scenes, will find much to feed their
souls with at this season of the year. They will
note well the various beautiful features they see
everywhere about them, — and will, when the
spring season comes around, plant to produce
the best effects for another season. It may be
well to remark here that one of the great pleas-
ures of gardening is the creation of beauty. It
is very nice to have handsome flowers or beauti-
ful trees, —but even the "heathen" has these.
Any one who walks the woods or the wilds, has
trees and tlowers for the journey. It is the com-
bination of these, so as to make effects never
seen in a state of nature, that gives the charm to
gardening, and makes it really an art. It is
well enough to plant to give us shade— to screen
disagreeable objects— to make our places look
larger— to break the force of strong wind cur
rents— to have a fine botanical collection — to
possess some rare gems which the uttermost
ends of the earth have been ransacked to find, —
but to plant so that a joyous thrill shall leaj)
within us every time we behold the fairy scene,
is not often thought of, yet very easy to do. It
is part of our mission to suggest these things,
and to urge thinking about them now. Wc
want to learn our readers how to bud, and graft,
and reap, and sow,— but what is the use of all

2

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOKTHLll. January,

the material after we get it together, if we make
no joyous use of it ?

Turning now to more practical matters, we
would say that before any walk is located, te
^ure it is absolutely required. A pretty outline
\ i^hould be subservient to this. Utility is the es-
sence of beauty in a garden walk. "With these
general hints on first cost and maintenance, we
can only give, this month, the more practical
advice to get ready for regular work.

The manure heap is one of those items that
can receive attention at this season to advan-
tage. Without a good pile of rich compost, very
little success can be hoped for in any kind of
gardening alHiirs. Leaves and litter of every
tiescription should be collected whenever possi-
ble, and stored in suitable places, where they
will not be offensive by their littery appearance.
For flowers, generally leaf mould from the
woods is very acceptable — not the half-rotted
leaves that are immediately on the surface, but
such as have been powdered b3' age, and
amongst which the roots of the trees have al-
ready penetrated, and rendered of a spongy
consistence. We like all manures to be thor-
oughly decomposed before using, if the garden
soil is already light and friable; and to this
purpose the manure heap should be occasionally
turned over and lightened, to assist fermenta-
tion. This, also, is aided by watering the heap
with a solution of potash, and which also gives
additional value to the manure.

It is a very good practice to cover lawns with
manure at this season. Two good results tlow
from this course : the frost is prevented from
penetrating so deeply, and the ground being
warmed much sooner in spring, is green and
cheerful some lime before unprotected lawns,
and ihen the grass itself is strengthened, and its
color brightened by the operation. But stable
manure has the objection of introducing many
coarse kinds of weeds, that would not otherwise
exist on the lawn ; and so where the grass grows
poorly, and strength and luxuriousness are de-
aired, guano and the phosphates are preferred.
Many use bone dust, ashes, etc.; but the mowers
are apt to feel somewhat indignant, in mowing
time, through this material taking the edge of!
tlneir scyllu'S.

Manure for flower beds, borders, etc., may be
hauled convenient to where it is likely to be
wanted in spring. aMany spread it on at once—
but if the soil is frozen very thick, it prevents

the early thawing of the soil in the spring, and
so no time is gained.

Evergreens set out last fall in windy or ex-
posed situations, will be benefited by a shelter of
cedar branches, corn stalks, or mats set against
them. Whether hardy or tender, all will be
benefited thereby.

GREENHOUSE AND PLANT CABINETS.

The season of the year has arrived when this
department of gardening is more attractive than
any other. It is one that calls for a great part
of a gardener's skill— indeed intelligent garden-
ers can seldom be found willing to accept a situ-
ation where there is "no glass."

The best kind of earth to use is the surface
soil, containingthe spongy mass of surface roots,
from a wood ; the first two inches of an old pas-
ture field ; the turfy spongy mass called peat
from sandy bogs or swamps ; a little well de-
cayed hot-bed manure; some sharp sand ; are
now about the only "elements " that the most
skillful gardener cares to have beside him ; and
many a good gardener has to find himself minus
of some of these, and be satisfied.

The soil for potting should be used rather dry;
that is it should be in such a condition that it
will rather crumble when pressed, than adhere
closer together. Large pots — those over four
inches, should have a drainage. This is made
by breaking up broken pots to the size of bean*:,
putting them in the bottom a quarter or half an
inch deep, and putting about an eighth of an
inch of old moss or any similar rough material
over the mass of " crocks '' to keep out the earth
from amongst it. Little benefit arises from
draining pots below four inch, the moisture fil-
tering through the porous pots quite fast enough;
and the few pieces of" drainage " often thrown
in with the soil placed right over, is of little or
no use.

Ferneries are now so deservedly popular, that
we must have a word to say for them at times,
though their management is so simple there is
little one can say. It is probably their ease of
management, and the great results obtained for
the little outlay of caro that has rendered them
so popular. It should not, however, be tbrgot-
ten that the case in wliich they are enclosed is
not to keep out the air, but to keep in the mois-
ture, as ferns will not thrive in tiie dry atmos-
phere of heated rooms. A few minutes' airing
every day will, therefore, be of great ben^'tit to

U71.

THE GARDE JEER'S MO^THLL,

3

them. Decayed wood, (not pine), mixed -with
about half its bulk of fibrous soil of any kind,
and a very small proportion (say a tenth of the
bulk) of well-rotted stable manure, makes a good
compost. Most kinds particularly like well-
drained pots. This is usually effected by filling
a third of the pots in which tbe ferns are to
grow with old pots broken in pieces of about
half an incli square, on which a thin layer of
moss is placed, before filling the pots, to keep out
the soil from choking the drainage.

Daphnes like a cool, humid atmosphere, and
are very impatient of heat. The best we ever
saw were grown by a farmer's wife, who had an
old spring-house converted into a grecnhou-se to
preserve her oranges, oleanders and daphnes
over the winter. The natural heat from the
spring was quite sufficient to keep out frost, and
it was surprising how charmingly the plants
throve in this, to a gardener, rough-looking
plant-case.

Where the air is dry, if rooms or greenhouses, j
frequent syringings are of much benefit to plants.
Besides, cleanliness keeps down insects and
checks diseases in plants as in animals. Most
old flishioned lady gardeners (and may we ever
l)lessthem for the many lessons they have taught
us !) take every opportunity to set their window-
plants out of doors whenever a warm shower hap-
pens to occur In winter a rain at a temperature of
40'' or 45^, which often occurs, might be called a
"warm shower.'' Cold water does not have
half the injurious effect on plants that cold air
has. When plants get accidentally frozen, the
best remedy in the world is to dip them at once
in cold water and set them in the shade to thaw.
It is better to keep in heat in cold weather by
covering, where possible, than to allow it to es-
cape, calculating to make it good by fire-heat,
which is, at best, but a necessary evil. Where
bloom is in demand, nothing less than 55^ will
accomplish the object ; though much above that
is not desirable, except for tropical hot-house
plants. Where these plants are obliged to be
wintered in a common greenhouse, they should
be kept rather dr}', and not be encouraged much
to grow, or they may rot awaj'.

After Cyclamens have done blooming, it is
usual, at this season, to dry them off; but we
do best with them by keeping them growing till
spring, then turning them out in the open bor-
der, and repot in August for winter-flowering.

Mif;nonettc is much improved by occa.«ional
waterings with licjuid manure.

In managing other plants, where there arc
several plants or varieties of one species, and
command of different temperatures, it is a com-
mon plan to bring some forward a few weeks
earlier than others in the higher heat, thus
lengthening the season of bloom. This applies
particularly to camellias and azaleas; the former
are, however, not so easily forced as the latter,
being liable to drop their buds, unless care be
taken to regulate the increased temperature

gradually.

There is a plan of making some plants bloom
very early, that is not generally known, namely,
by pruning them. There are two classes of
flowering plants,— one perfects its buds on the
wood of the past season's growth ; the other
flowers on the new growth of the present season.
AVhenever you want the latter class to flower,
all that is necessary is to prune the plant in
closely and induce a new growth. This is fre-
quently practiced with roses to get a fine fall
bloom, but it is not often done with house-plants,
though the principle and advantages of the prac-
tice are, in both instances, the same. Watering
of pot-plants should be always done as early in
the morning as possible, and the water be as
warm or warmer than the temperature of the

house.

Window plants suffer much at this season
from the high and dry temperature at which it
is necessary for human comfort to keep our
dwellings. Air can seldom be admitted from the
lowness of the external temperature. Saucers
of water under the plants do much to remedy
the aridity under which room plants sufier. In
such cases, however, so much water must not
be given to plants as to those without saucers.
The water is drawn up into ihe soil by attrac-
tion ; and though the surface will appear dry,
they will be wet enough just beneath.

The more freely a plant is growing, the more
water will it require ; and the more it grows, the
more sun and light will it need. In all cases,
those which seem to grow the fastest, should be
placed nearest the light The best aspect for
room plants is the south-east. They seem hkt;
animals in their aflection for the morning sun.
The first morning ray is worth a dozen in the
evening. Should any of our fiiir readers find her
plants, by some unlucky calculation, frozen \i\
the morning, do not remove them at once to a
Avarm place, but dip theui in cold water, and set
them in a dark spot, wlieie they will banily es-
cape freezing. Sunlight will only help the frost"s
destructive powers.

^

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY,

January,

COMMUNICATIONS.

BEAUTIFUL FRUIT.

BY "DELAWARE COUNTY."

I suppose, Mr. Editor, you know all about the
old Scotchman who was opposed to his son mar-
rying a poor girl. "You know, Sandy," he said,
'it is as easy to get a good girl, and a pretty
<'irl, and one who has got money, and to love
her, too, as to get one who has none." I don't
know how this may be, being a bachelor, and
never having been in love, but it seems like com-
mon sense, and I believe in it. If I were about
to marry, I should try it ; that is, if I were a
student of girldom with a view to wedlock, for
in truth, I am a marrying man. I am wedded
to Pomology, and those various branches of gar-
dening which have occupied my whole heart so
for to the exclusion of all else.

At any rate, I believe the Scotchman's maxim
is true in Pomology. I would say it is as easy
to '^et a good fruit with beauty, as a good fruit
with a villainous look. I have a contempt for
the man or— for lam independent of the sex-
woman either, who hands mc a sort of green
jmmpkinoid affair, with the apology, "Dont
mind its looks, you will find it first-rate fla-
vor." There is no reason at all why the mis-
erable looking things we see should be handed
about and praised and rated No. 1 in the fruit
catalogues, merely because under their harsh
and austere looks a little sugar, cinnamon and
honey, should get mixed with the watery juice.
Look at some Pears, for instance. What could
jiny one see in a Chancellor, a Dcs Nonnes, a
AVinterNelis, a Glout Morceau, Bleeker's Mead-
ow •, a Lodge, Duchesse, Totleben, Fulton, Leon
le Clerc, Merriam, Monarch, Jones, Vicar, St.
Germain, Ilosenshenk, Selleck, Rutter, Moya-
mensing, Philadelphia, and similar things which
occur to me as I write V Even a Belle Lucra-
tive 1 regard as a libel on the Pear's good name.
I don't want the old objection made to me that
it is better to have a good eating fruit, with a
poor form or skin, than it is to have the one with-
out ihe other. I want both in one. I want my
table to look well, as well as to be well, and I
a<'rec with the Scotchman as aforesaid, — that it
is^as easy to have both together, as to have one
alone. Some of our pretty fruits are, to be sure,
mere passing flashes— not good to the core. No, j

I one would tolerate the B3urre de Montger-
ons, the Zoar Beauties, Marie Louise, Kuigsess-
ings and Brandywines, Bilboa Beauties, and so
on. But there are others which, like the Seckel,
Bartlett, Clairgeau, Bosc, Tyson. Washington,
and Beurre d'Anjou, are pretty and good, and
well worth any one's having.

Mr. Editor, I wish to protest against the in-
sult to Pomona, in the naming and disseminating
these ugly looking things. I believe the Pomo-
logical Society have, or once had, rules for nam-
ing and describing fruits. Why cannot they
place " Beauty " as their article No. one ? If a
fruit presented for their consideration has a hog-
gish look, at once let it go to the hogs. If it has
this first essential, then handle, weigh, smell,
cut and taste,— inquire about its vigor, its har-
diness, its productiveness, and its other virtues,
and set it down accordingly. Many of our fruit
growers already have a horrid sense of disgust
at an ugly tree. They will go through a thou-
sand trees in a nursery to get a handsome one.
A crooked one they cannot bear, and yet they
pretend to go intoecstacies over a so called fruit
that has no more claim to admiration than a sua
ripened potato. Yerily, man is a curious ani-
mal, but his tastes are more curious still.

Yet I do not deem the cause hopeless. So at
this season I ask a corner in your magazine for
ray protest. This is the season when schedule
committees of exhibitions sit. They could help
in this good work if they would. For instance,
let them offer some premiums for the best look-
ing fruit,— this to be the first quality, and then
flavor and other points to rule. Of course there
would be some ditliculty. A little discretion
would have to be left to the committee. Some
beautiful looking fruit might be but as whited
sepulchres, — all loathsomness within, and in
such cases one not quite so pretty, with excellent
other properties, would commend itself to the
Judge's decision ; but there would be no ditli-
culty in this, that those fruits which iiad no
beauty of form or color, should be absolutely
ruled out of competition in such a class as con-
templated here. I do not know how the propo-
sition strikes you, l)ut I do want to see the idea
of hcaulfid fruit something more than a mere
pi 1 rase.

1S7L

THE GAEDEJVER'S MOJVTULY.

ENGLISH WATER CRESS.

BY MR. C. W. HALL,

Gardener to Captain Cooper, Sunni/side, Baltimore.

Permit me to recommend throui^h your valu-
able Monthly the most wholesome and most pro-
ductive of all salads grown in winter and spring,
and yet the cultivation of it is little known, and
almost entirely neglected by those who do know.
This AVater Cress is a native of Great Britain,
and is found wild in the small streams more or
less through the whole country, and is cultivated
on a large scale around London. Although this
Cress is considered amphibious, it thrives better
in an ordinary hot-bed, from October until
April, than it will at any season growing in its
natural element, exposed to the climate. I find
three sash ample for a moderate family from
October until April, and requires no re-plant-
ing. I vvhitewash the glass, and give very little
air except when raining, which saves watering,
which it requires at least once a week. A full
crop can be cut every three weeks. I generally
cut one-third of a sash each time, so always get
a succession. About the first of April a quan-
tity of plants should be transferred to some cool,
wet place, where they will live during summer
and be ready for the hot bed in the fall.

[We are very much obliged to Mr. Hall for
this valuable hint. It will be news to the great
body of gardeners that the Water Cress can be
grown in this way ; and no doubt it will be
found that the quality is improved by this mode
of culture. In some parts of the United States
the AV^ater Cress has been naturalized in ditches
and running streams, — about Philadelphia es-
pecially it has become rather common. But it
is found that the plant is much more " peppery"
when grown in an American climate than in the
shadier one of Great Britain— hence many who
have rejoiced at the prospect of enjoying this
great English luxury here have soon lost the
taste. We think it quite likely that the shade
of the sashes as employed by Mr. Hall would
give a more tender and delicate flavor to it, and
if so, there is a prospect of its getting as great a
popularity on our tables as it enjoys in England.
—Ed.]

CIDER.

BY W. n. W., NEW WIXDSOn, CONN.

Under the above name, great quantities of
fluids are sold and drank daily, much of which

is quite unwholesome, and shows its effects on
the human system in various ways. No wonder
that so many think and claim that cider is an
unhealthy drink, observing the results from
drinking the beverage so freely sold as cider.

Cider is the expressed juice of apples without any
admixture, pure as pressed from the apple, hav-
ing passed the vinous fermentaticm under favor-
able circumstances. The manufacture of good
and pure cider is a simple process, requiring no
very great amount of labor or extraordinary
skill, yet it is one wherein very many fiiil who
make the attempt. Why they fail, I leave for
others to judge, or say.

The great abundance of apples the past season
has caused considerable inquiry concerning the
mode of making cider, and preparing it so that
it will keep good and palatable the longest time.
I think, from experience, that if the following
processes are strictly followed there will be little
difficulty in making and preserving cider for
almost an indefinite period of time, and it will
be good too :

First, we must have apples ripe and sound, I
care not how kuarly or uneven the surface, as
the best part of the juice comes from near the
surface. An apple that is bruised has com-
menced a decaying process, the juice has com-
menced to deteriorate, and such juice cannot
make the best of cider, if far along in the
change. The warmer the weather the more
rapid the decaying process.

Gather the apples, clean, free from leaves or
any other foreign matter, put them in piles, not
very deep, or they will heat too much, let them
lie, in cool weather, four to eight days before
grinding, etc. Grind or mash them fine, with-
out crushing the seed, in a wood mill-fluted
cylinders— without any metal of any kind to
come in contact with the apples, pomace or
juice. As the apples are crushed let the pomace
fall into a suitable vat of capacity for a middling
sized cheese ; grind it full and stir to mix it well
befonj commencing to "lay up cheese.'' Let
the press bed and follower be wood, — oak or
chestnut,- also the vat or tub to catch the juice ;
let there be no metal to come in contact with
the juice at any time, especially any that will
oxydize or corrode. The press bed should have
a channel cut, an inch deep, around the outer
edges with a projecting lip at one side to carry
the juice off and conduct it to the tub. Lay up
the cheese, in cakes, with rye straw cut in two

6

TEE GdRDEJ^ER'S MOJ\rTELl. Januarjj,

lentrths, between to bind the cheese, and also to
facUitate extracting the juice. Lay on sufficient
])omace to form a cake four inches thick ; have
a board four inches wide, long as the press is
■wide ; set this on edge one side, and draw the
pomace to it, pressing it firm ; go around in like
manner, on the four sides ; fill up the centre
level ; now spread on a thin layer of straw, buts
out two inches all around, a little scattered over
the middle; lay up the whole cheese in like
manner, finishing with straw on top ; put on
follower and press gently, be in no hurry, see
that no pomace falls out to obstruct the flow o^
the juice in the channel on the press. Increase
the pressure gradually as long as there is a good
How ; remove the follower and cut off about
three inches of the outside of the cheese, pick it
in pieces, and lay on top, evening all around ;
J^PPly pressure again as long as juice flows. It
will often pay to cut again and press for vinegar.

The apple juice will need be dipped from the
tub, filtered through straw and flannel into goofi,
.sound, srveet and dean casks. Chestnut makes the
best cider and vinegar casks ; rum and brandy
casks make good casks for cider, if they are fresh
and clean. The middle running of the cheese
makes the best cider and should be saved by itself.
The great secret of good cider is to remove all
pomace, etc., and then to place the cider at once
in a cool cellar, never allow it to be disturbed
while fermenting. As soon as it has ceased its
most violent ferment, and thrown ofl" all foreign
matter, which it does in a few days, insert the
bung tight with a syphon tube, one end in the
bung and the shorter leg dipped in a cup of water,
to exclude all access of air to the cider, while it
admits the escape of the carbonic acid gas.
When the cider has about ceased fermentation,
which may be known by only an occasional bub-
ble escaping from the tube, remove the bung
and put in another air-tight, and do not disturb
again till the following April, when it should be
drawn into bottles and corked tight. No rack-
ing off is necessary, as it only causes the cider to
absorb oxygen of tin; air, causing it to acidify.

To make cider keep the best, the latest ripen-
ing apples are the ])est, and then made in No-
vember, or after cold weather comes. Tliere is
a great difference in apples in making cider;
Honic will make cider with a heavy '"body,"
rich and good, while others will make it thin,
watery and flavorless. A great difference will
])e found in apples of the same variety grown in
different soils and different locations. Crab or

natural fruit I have always found superior for
making good cider to grafted or finer fruit.

NOTE ON GROWING VIOLETS.

BY S., STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.

While renewing my subscription to your val-
uable magazine, I offer, if you think worth pub-
lishing, the following in respect to growing the
Violet. It has ever been one of my favorite
window flowers. In former years when brought
into the house from the cold pits to flower, they
were placed at once in the sitting-room window,
where we had a regular temperature of about
sixty degrees ; but the stalks were always slen-
der, and the flowers rather small. Thinking it
was too hot, I kept them other years in a cooler
room, w^here the heat might perhaps not range
over between 45 and 55, and the result has been
much healthier looking plants and finer foliage.
Besides this, they were not much behind what
I have had in warmer places in other 3-ears. I
am sure they want very little heat to do well.
Another fact. — I have learned that a manure
water made of rotten wood is a capital fertilizer
for them. Once I thought as shady places were
the natural places where Violets grow, rotten
wood would be a good thing in the soil, but they
sometimes get sick in it ; but the liquid of steeped
wood does not seem to have this effect ; on the
other hand, a lively green is the result. We
never water them excejjt when they show signs
of drying : in our room this is about twice a
week. This may not be new, but it is true.

[And therefore the more acceptable. It is
just the sort of any article we like. We wish
'•subscription time'' came twice a'year.— Ed J

DISEASE IN PEARS.

BY W. P. P., ONARGO, ILLS.

In the note under the above head in the No-
vember number of the Month?)/, 1 studiously
avoided advancing any theory as to the cause or
origin of the disease that had made its appear-
ance among my pear trees. As there are proba-
bly many thousands of pear trees now in the
grounds, gardens and orchards of the coun'ry,
in a condition similar to that of those described
in the aforesaid note, I have thought it might be
well to give a more detailed history of the trees
since the}- came into my possession, and as far
as is known, previous to that i)eriod, in the hope
that light may be elicited in regard t^ the oriij n

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLI.

7

of the disease, and that remedies and preven-
tives may be suggested.

The trees in question were grown in a nursery
ill central New York, and were shipped to me
soon after the occurrence of the seveie cold
weather that prevailed throughout the country
about the 15th of October, 18G9. A large pro-
portion of the trees had made a growth during
the summer, of from four to five feet; and in
Color, thrift and general appearance thej* resem-
bled much the succulent water-sprouts that often
put out from an apple tree after a severe prun-
ing. A portion of the trees were set out in the
fall, and the remainder were heeled in and set
out in the spring. The trees were in the main
of the following varieties, to wit : Seckel, Law-
rence, Bartlett, Sheldon, Belle Lucrative, Doy-
enne Boussock, Beurre Clairgeau and Howell,
all standards.

COXDITION^ OF THE TREES THE FOLLOWING
SPRING.

On the opening of spring a ring of bark about
one inch wide peeled off around many of the trees
just at the surface of the wound. The bark also
of man}- of the trees had a pinched and shriveled
appearance. In a large proportion of the trees
the pith or heart of the wood of the previous
summer's growth was black.

CONDUCT OF THE TREES DURING THE
SUMMER OF 1870.

About one-third of the trees in which the black
heart made its appearance only in the tips of the
branches, have made a moderate growth, and I
have some hopes that I may be able to make foir
trees of them. But a large proportion of them
have simply put forth their leaves and remained
stationary throughout the summer. Quite a
number have put up a vigorous sucker just be-
low where the ring of bark peeled off. About
one-sixth of the two hundred trees have died.
The outside bark on the south side of many of the
trees that still have life in them, has crumpled up
and peeled off, and the wood under this crumpled
bark is in a condition of only semi-vitality.
The provoking cases are those that will neither
grow nor die, nor put up a sucker. For the
most part, however, I vote all such as good as
dead, and dig them up and throw them away.
One more statement and I have done with the
history of the trees. A portion of the trees were
well heeled in during the winter of 1860. Near-
ly the entire tree was covered with earth. In
the s-pring they came out looking plump, fresh

and fair. The condition of those trees is now,
however, much the same as that of those that
were set out in the fall.

TIIEJRY AS TO THE ORIGIN OF THE DISEASE.

These trees were undoubtedly stimulated to
an unnatural growth in the nursery. A young
tree in California or southern Illinois, may
make a growth of four and five feet in a season
and mature its wood, but not so in central New
York. The severe October freeze of 18139 found
these trees in a succulent and immatured con-
dition. Their wood of the summer's growth
was about as readily frozen as the apples then
upon the trees. For the same reason the stems
of thousands of Osage Hedge plants in central
Illinois, six and eight feet high, were killed
down to the ground. For a like reason the new
wood of many of the young and thrifty apple
orchards of the country, and especially on the
lich prairies of Illinois, had died during the
summer just past. I do not call this malady
the '■ Frozen sap blight or the frozen wood
blight," nor do I give it any other name. In
the case of the pear trees it is believed that the
wood and sap of the trees were simply frozen be-
fore the wood was matured, and that they were
thus more or less disorganized ; and that the de-
gree of injury thus sustained by the different
varieties of trees was just in proportion to the
degree of immafuruy of their neio wood at the
time this freezing took place. The Howell sus-
tained the least injury, while the Bartletts, the
Boussocks and the Beurre Clairgeaus were dam-
aged the most. These three last varieties had
also made the largest growth of new wood of
any of the lot.

Item 1. Had these trees all been set out in the
fall, there Avould have been room for the infer-
ence that they were damaged during the winter.
But such was not the case, and hence the infer-
ence can not be made. The winter was more-
over very mild, and trees that could not endure
such a winter must have been immaturo and
worthless.

Item 2. The black heart of these trees is con-
fined to the new wood, the heart of the old woo i
of the previous year's growth being of the
natural color and appearance. But while this
is true of the heart, the new wood that was put
into the stem of the trees during the summer of
1869, was apparently about as succulent and im-
mature as the new growth at the top.

Item 3. I do not find on the surface of the

8

THE GARDEJVER'iS MOJ^TELY.

January.

bark of these trees the "black blotches" of
which mention is made in the comments upon
my note in the November number.

Query. Is it probable that the new stem that
is putting up from some of these trees from near
the ground, can ever make a health}' tree ? Can
the roots of such trees be in a perfectly healthy
condition ?

GARDENING FOR THE YOUNG.

BY JAMES LAMONT, PITTSBURGH, PA.

How is it that we have no millionaires in our
profession ? Often I have thought, and I have
come to the conclusion that it is because we
have not taught the young and rising genera-
tion the arts of gardening. There is not de-
mand enough for our wares. Look how the
dry-goods men decoy both old and young into
the love of dress. Therefore they have mil-
lionaires amongst them.

See how quick even a candy shop rises from a
few shelves to a well filled "store;" and the
small window has to give way to a large and
beautiful one, filled with the best, and made
showy with French plate-glass Then follows
plenty of work to the dentists, and doctors, and
druggists,— some of these are millionaires.

Have we one young lady in America that
could take a bouquet, and dissect it, and name all
the flowers in it ? I think we have not one ; but
we have plenty that can tell us all the names of
dry-goods and candies.

Mr Editor, by your teachings you have done
wonders for horticulture among the old ; and I
think you might do as much among the young.
The young must be taught and when they are
old they will not depart from the way they were
started in.

I wonder if it would do for a lesson, for Mr.
Greeley to ofler a prize of one hundred dollars to
all the young ladies in the State of New York,
at their next floral exhibition, to have a bouquet,
made for that purpose, and the young lady who
could take it in her hands, and name all the
flowers in it, to give her the bouquet and the
hundred dollars. I think this would do more for
horticulture than the Greeley prize for the best
grape. "We all knew the Concord was king, but
we do not know who wuuld be queen among the
flowers and bouquets.

Had Mr. Osgood been a lover of horticul-
ture, he certainly would have given a wood-
cut of a green-house for the edification of our !

children here. I must confess it is scriptural for
it says, "the first shall be last, and the last shall
be first." So we muft be contented with our
lot. We would rather know about the flowers
first and green-house after.

It is evident that the people who are lucky
enough to take up the hint afforded by the fig
leaves and Adam's needle, as a profession are the
luckiest so far as cash goes.

Have we not great evidence of the needle and
leaves in all our large cities, in all the show win-
dows,—some of them, truly it is beautiful to
look at, but I am sure a nice sized green house,
filled with the new varieties of Azaleas, and all
in full bloom, is the loveliest show one could
see.

Mr. Editor, for over twenty years you have
been teaching the people of these United States
all the branches of horticulture, and you have
done it well. But I think we have too
much orthodox and not enough of orthodoxy,
and I think if you would take this in hand, I am
sure you could help it very much.

I hope this will not find its way into the scrap
basket ; but I must conclude, for fear I am in-
truding on your columns. I think there is a
good deal of roguery in all trades but ours, and
we must have a good solid head of cabbage, or
the cooks would condemn it and us, whether we
have flowers or no. The useful before the
beautiful, you mitjht say, — but let us have even
utility clothed in beauty at least.

RHODODENDRONS IN NATURE.

BY EDWARD, BALTIMORE, MD.

Can you or any of your numerous correspon-
dents account for the following facts : Some two
weeks since I was travelling on the Philadelphi.-i
and Erie railroad through the Allegheny Moun-
tains, where the Rhododendron is at home, but
for 150 miles I did not see a single jilant grow-
ing in the vicinity of the white pine, except in
one case, and then the pine was as yellow as a
peach with that disease. Its home seems to be
with the hemlock, th)ugh some were growing
amongst other varieties of pines, but not so
vigorous as with the hemlock. In last June
number you have a chapter on the culture of the
Rhododendron, the mode of growing them, etc.;
but to see them in their natural state would sur-
prise those vvho think so muc;h extra care neces-
sary ; for there you see them growing in every
conceivable way, soil, shade and full sun ; stifl'

1S71.

THE GdRDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

9

clay, soliil rock, sand and every variety of soil
you can name. There was one thing I particu-
larly noticed, which was, those which were in
the full sun were the best color, and healthiest
plants, and ten to one more flower buds on
them. I learnt to plant the Rhododendron in
the sun and as you remark, not too dry a
situation.

Should any lover of Rhododendron wish for a
rare treat, let him take a trip from Sunbury,
in Northumberland county, to Warren, in War-
ren county, as I did, the 2d of last July ; my
word for it, he never will regret it. It eclipsed
an3'thing I have seen since I used to visit
Waterer's exhibition, in London ; with this dif-
ference, his were artificial, but this was natural.
Picture to yourself 150 miles of flower garden, in
one full blaze of beauty, such as art never could
accomplish. But it must be seen to be appre-
ciated.

[We never heard before that there was any-
thing antagonistic between the white pine and
the Rhododendron. The writer's impression is
that he has seen the pine and Rhododendron to-
gether in their native localities— that is with
young pine, for nothing will live under a forest of
dense white pine. But we are not sure about
this — only certainly they exist in the same
region of country and not very far from these
trees. — Ed.]

ESSAY ON HORTICULTURE.

BY JACOB STAUFFER.

Read before the Lancaster County (Pa ) Agricultural
Society.

Mr. Presfdrnt and Gentlemen : We all
know that the word Horticulture is compounded
from the Latin hortiis, a garden, and colo, 1 cul-
tivate—the culture of the kUchen garden and
orchard Consequently the subject would prop-
erly confine my remarks to all kinds of roots,
herbs, flowers and fruit used in cookery ; that
is, culinary vegetables and fruits. This might
be called gardening.

Floriculture, which includes the culture of
ornamental and curious flowers, shrubs and
trees. Arboriculture, which implies the culture
of trees and shrubs, used for various purposes in
the arts and general economy ; and may also be
embraced as separate and apart from agricul-
ture, a name also from the Latin aycr, a field,
and colo., I till or cultivate. This properly in-
cludes all the field crops, and the rearing and

managing of domestic animals on a large scale,
and constitutes the farm or farming.

I will, however, endeavor to glance rather at
the history and peculiarities of the kitchen gar-
den, and things connected therewith, that I
may deem to be new to some of you at least,
and either of interest or instruction, without
entering into a minute description of the plants
referred to.

In order to make a beginning, I will introduce
the natural order of plants known as the "cru-
ciferffi," or the '■ mustard family." The flowers
are composed of four leaves or petals, with claws
or prolonged ends, forming a cross, hence the
name "cruciferoe." They have six stamens,
four long, and two shorter, called " tetradynam-
ons." Fruit, a pod or capsule, two celled by a
partition ; when the pod is elongated it is called
a "silique," when short and broad, a "silicle."
This family includes our cabbages, turnip, water
cress, etc.

It may be new to some that, botanically, the
mustard ranks in the same genus with the cab-
bage ; brassica, which is the ancient Latin name
of cabbage.

Brassica oleracea— Our cabbage. The original
is a sea-coast plant of Europe, with thick and
hard stem, and pretty large, pale, yellow flow-
ers ; the leaves collected into a head through
cultivation, which blanches the inner leaves and
renders them so desirable for the table. The
variety called broccoli is a state in which the
stems divides into short, fleshy branches, bear-
ing clusters of abortive flower-buds; the name
is from the Italian and French, and means
"sprouts:' it is only a variety of the "cauli-
flower ;" French, chou-jleur. Webster says from
the Italian, cavolfior, also caulis, a stem and
flower ; have the nourishing matter mainly con-
centrated in short, imperfect flower branches,
col'ccted in a flat head. The variety "kohl-
rabi" has the nourishing matter accumulated in
the stem, which forms a turnip-like enlargement
above ground, beneath the cluster of leaves.
The " kale " or crambe, which is the Latin
name for cabbage ; the Crambe maritlma is the
wild British plant, which yields sea-kale under
the hands of the gardener, and furnishes one of
the most delicate esculent vegetables ; the parts
used being the blanched leaf-stalks, with more
or less of the young stem, all in a succulent,
crisp condition.

Before I continue the list of these remarkable

10

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELY.

January,

jJterms and its varieties, I will glance at some
historical notes.

The close-headed variety, which is now more
I)cculiarly called cabbage, was for many years
imported into England from Holland. Sir An-
thony Ashley first introduced its cultivation,
and made the English independent of their
neighbors for a supply. This planter of cabbages
likewise rendered his name known by other
deeds less creditable to his character. It is re-
lated that lie had a command at Cales (Cadiz),
where he got much by rapine, especially from a
lady who entrusted her jewels to his honor ;
whence the jest on him (like on Butler about the
spoons, whether true or false). The saying is
that he. Sir Ashley, got more by "Cales" than
by "Cab" and cabbage. As tailors are said to
be fond of "cabbage" (my worthy friend S. S.
will excuse me) may not this circumstance have
given rise to the accusation of "cabbaging,"
When cloth entrusted (o them was appropriated
to their own use.

It is recorded that cabbage was first intro-
duced into the J^orth of Scotland by the soldiers
of Cromwell. Scotland is more peculiarly the
" land of Kale." Old Scotch songs point to the
fiict. The poet says :

"There's eauld Kale in Aberdeen,
An' castock's in Stra' bogie."

These castocks are the cabbage stems, having
the fibrous parts jieeled off, and the remainder
softened by boiling. Sauer Kraut, that excel-
lent preparation of the Germans, is merely fer-
mented cabbage. The history is lengthy and
the varieties of cabbage numerous, which I can-
not take time to record, unless I meant to de-
vote two hours to cabbage alone ; but will
hasten to other varieties of this genus of Bras-
sica.

Brassica campestris, of the Old World, like
the "kale,'' but with brighter flowers: these
are represented in cultivation by the var. Volza
or Bape with small annual root, cultivated for
the oil of tlie seed. This is the parent of the
turnip li. napus, yielding the nourishing napi-
form white root. The variety Rutabaga or
Swedish Turnip has a long and yellowish root.
Then comes (he Brassica, Sinipaitrum or Sinapis
nrrensis, the "charlock, a troublesome weed of
cultivation in grain-Melds, a rough-lcavod an-
nual." The white mustard or Sinapis alba is
also a Brassica as well as the black mustard,
Sinapis nigra.

My object in bringing this wonderful genus to

your notice is to show the diversity of the varie-
ties, apparently so diflerent, and yet in reality,
in the flower and fruit, by which plants are
classified, they are inseparable and necessarily
form one genus. This shows how cultivation
has made the single talent, that God has be-
stowed upon us, five, yea tenfold, in its yield
and utility to man, who is thus a co-laborer with
the Creating power, as man should be, to pro-
mote the natural and spiritual kingdom, by his
diligence and close attention lo the means placed
to his hands.

I must pass over several kinds of Cress,
Scurvy Grass. The lladish, Raphanus sativus, a
native of China. The Horse radish, Cochlearia
armoracia, which is now called by its older
name, "Nasturium armoracia." The pun-
gency is in the root. The water-cress, "Nas-
turtium officinale," has the pungency in the
leaves. The mustard in the seed, showing a
diversity of location in the uuit3' of the principle.

Being on Root Plants, the Beet suggests it-
self: Grafting the Beets. Ex President Dr.
Allen Maclean, of Colchester, grafted the White
Silesian on Red Beet, and Red on AVhite, when
as thick as a straw, unite by mere junction of
cellular matter ; each class of cells secretes its
own matter and color.

Beta vulgaris, the common Beet, from south
Europe, is cultivated in many varieties. The
IMangel Wurzel, or scarcity root, is a mere va-
riety used for feeding cattle. The beet was
known as an esculent root in the time of Pliny,
who has given an accurate description of it in
his work. One kind, called the great white or
sweet beet, is esteemed for the foot stalks and
mid-ribs of the leaves, which are stewed and
eaten under the name of Swiss chard.

Sugar is manufactured from a variety of this
beet, which has a red skin, but is white intern-
ally. The beet belongs to the natural order of
Chenopodiacea, or goose-foot family, as does the
"Spinach," Spinacea oleracea, which latter
comes from the Orient. The blight and pig
weed come here.

Among the plants that have their flowers and
seed in an umbel, the natural order umbellifera;
cultivated, is the Carrot, Daucus carota. These
have run wild and become a pernicious weed.
It is, however, suspected that the garden carrot
dilfers since the attempt to cultivate the wild
has proved unsuccessful. This ma}' arise, how-
ever, from the fact that the long continued cul-
ture and coming from a warmer climate makes

1.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^^TELY.

11

the difference. Dioscorides describes it as grow
iug wild as \vc41 as beinu cultivated for an escu-
lent root. The central portion of the root being
naturally wood}', cultivation in 1 ght, mellow
soil, inixed with sand made friable by being well
mixed to prevent the root from sp'itting or
growing forked, and to increase the outer por-
tion, or so to speak, the bark, and dimiuish the
central portion or woody fibres.

The carrot is used in cookery — but it is af-
firmed that for stock, especially for horses, for
preserving and restoring the wind, it is adminis
tered in Suffolk, England, as a secret specific for
the complaint of wind-broken horses. Cows fed on
carrots increase the quantity of milk. They are
liighly recommended for calves, sheep, and
swine. In the short space of ten days, says an
emjnent writer, a lean hog was fattened by these
roots, having consumed during that period 196
pounds. Its fat proved very white, fat and firm,
and did not waste in the dressing.

Tiie parsnip, " Pastinaca sativa," runs wild
also in low meadows, and then rather jwisonoits.
The word pastinaca, from "pastus,'' nourish-
ment, is one of the names given to the daucus of
the Greeks.

The skerret, Slum sisarum, is a perennial tap
root, like the two former introduced from Chi-
na, and little known among us. Our slum li-
neare, or water parsnip, growing in water or
wet places, of which both root and herbage are
poisonous.

The parsley, Petroselinum sativum, or pro-
perly carum Petroselinum variety, curled-
leaved ; the foliage is used in cookery. The cara-
way, "Carum carui," yields the caraway seed,
Fennel anethum foeniculum. The garden cel-
ery, Apium graveolens, and variety "Rapaceum
turnip rooted celery,'' as also the coriander, Cori-
andrum satirra, all belong to the umbelliferous
plants ; besides others used medicinally, and
not enumerated.

In the order compositse, we find the artichoke,
" Cynara scolymus.'' The receptacles of the
young flower heads are fleshy, and edible when
cooked. This must not be confounded with the
Jerusalem artichoke, which belongs to the sun-
flower genus, and is the Ilelianthus tuberosus,
the tubers of which are pickled and edible.

In the privy-purse expenses of Henry VIII,
of England, in reference to the first named nrti-
choke, is this entry : " Paid to a servant of
Maister Trcsorer, in reward for bringing arche-
cokks to the King's grace to Yorke Place, 4s. and

4d " A treatise was -written in the reign ot
Mary on it.

Our salad or lettuce (La^tuca sativa) belongs
to this family. Turner mentioned the lettuce as
being in 16.V2 well known. In the privy-purse
expenses of Henry VIII., in 1530, it is stated
that the gardener at York Place received a re-
ward for bringing " lettuze '' and cherries to
Ilaniptcm Court. We have a wild lettuce — the
lactuca canadensis, but tliis does not form in
heads or dense leaves. Wliat a series of years
under cultivation would efl'ect is not known, nor
likely to be tried, so long as better sorts are to
be had.

The endive, "Cichorium endivia ;" the
blanched leaves are used. Succory, chicory or
wild endive, cicorium entybus, is cultivated in
England and Britain. The root is used as a sub-
stitute for coffee, or mixed with the exotic ber-
ry. The Cichorium intybus, so common along
roadsides, and a pernicious weed, has a deep
root, and is used as a substitute for coflFee by
many persons in this country.

The rhubarb family—" Rheum "—belongs to
the order polygonese. But alas! what shall I
say of the order leguminosse, including the pea,
bean, kidney bean, Vetch, lentel, &c., with nu-
merous varieties obtained through long culture.
The solanacejB, or night shade family; embra-
ces the potato, Solanum tuberosum. The toma-
to, Lycopersicum esculentum. The cayenne or
red pepper, "Capsicum annum,'' and the C. ce-
rasiforme has an ornamental cherry-like fruit,
either bright red or yellow, of peppery taste.
This differs from the Jerusalem cherry, " Sola-
num pseudo-capsicum," a shrubby house plant
from Madeira, cultivated for the ornamental
bright red berries, resembling cherries.

The strawberry-tomato, "Physalis alkekengi,"
or ground cherry closed, within the bladder-like
inflated calyx in fruiting, with a red beri-y, edi-
ble ; is an introduced species, but differs little
from our native species, P. Pennsylvanica and
P. viscosa, which are also edible. This family
embraces the tobacco, many medicinal plants
and ornamental flowers.

Before leaving this family I would notice the
potato more fully. Loudon wrote, many years
ago, that "the varieties of the potato are innu-
merable," they differ in their leaves and bulk of
haulm : in the color of the skin of the tubers ;
in the color of the interior, in time of ripening ;
in being farinaceous, glutinous or watery ; in
cooking readily or tediously, etc., etc. ; and final-

n

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOMTHLT. January,

ly, in the soil which they prefer. The m.inner
of raising now varieties and their culture are
treated at ijreat length Anionu other things
he says : " It is ascertained beyond a doubt that
sefs taken from the top or watery end of the po-
tato, planted at the same time with sets taken
at the mot or mealy end, will ripen their tubers a
fortniirht sooner. It is ascertained, also, and
accounted for on the same general principle,
that the i)lants raised from unripe tubers are both
vigorous and more early than such as are raised
from tubers perfectly ripe Sets should always
be cut some days before plantincr, that the
wounds may dry up ; but no harm will result
from pcrformincr this operation several weeks or
months beforehand, provided the sets are not
exposed too much to the drought so as to de-
prive them of their natural moisture."

After enlarging on the various modes of cul'
ture, he says : " Pinching off the whole of the
potato blossoms is a part of after-culture not un-
worthy the attention of the farmer. This mav,
at first sight, appear indifferent. But when we
consider that the seed is the essential part of
every plant, to perfect which the ultimate efforts
of nature are always directed, it will be allowed
that an important part of the nourishment of
every vegetable must be devoted to this purpose,
since the weight of the potato apples grown by a
single plant is considerable. Apples may be
produced instead of tubers in early potatoes;
hence more tubers will be produced in late ones
by preventing the growth of the apple."

He mentions the mode of afterculture in De-
vonshire, England, which is somewhat singular,
and deserves to be noticed; it may be new to you,
as it was to me. He says : " The sets are there
generally cut with three eyes, and deposited at
the depth of three inches with the spade or dib-
ber ; when the first shoot is three inches high,
prepare a harrow with thorns interwoven be-
tween the tines, and harrow the ground over till
all the weeds are destroyed, and not a shoot of
the potatoes left. It may seem strange that
such an apparent destruction of a crop should
cause an increa'^e ; but it may be affirmed as an
incontestable fact, that by this means the pro-
duce becomes more abundant; the reason ap-
pears to be this : although these eyes are left to
a piece of potato, cne always vegetates before the
others, and the first shoot is always single, that
being broken off, there is for the prejcnt a cessa-
tion of vegetation. The other eyes then begin
to vegetate, and there appear fresh shoots from

the broken eye, so that the vegetation is trebled,
the earth made loose, and the lateral shoots
more freely expanded. If these hints are ob-
served, the produce of potatoes, it is said, will
exceed a fifth of the crop obtained by the usual
mode of cultivation."

Much more useful information for sprouting in
order to raise earh' crops : it is common among
the corn raised, after a crop of potatoes, to find
plants that sprung from tubers preserved there
all winter in consequence of having been buried
by the plow dee]>er than the frost could reach,
is evidence that they may be planted ver}' early
in spring.

Before closing the subject of the potato, I would
state an opinion that presented itself to my
mind in the study of the potato disease so prev-
alent— which is, that by excess of culture, or
using tubers for sets that were large and thor-
oughly ripe, there was not enough vegetating
principle left to yield a healthy plant, and pre-
mature rotting was the consequence. Apart
from insect devastaticm, those intended for seed
should be taken up before fully matured, as in
that case a latent energy will be left in the tuber;
this I am aware may seem exceptionable, as all
other seeds seem to require to be thoroughly
ripe ; but a potato is not, strictly speakinir, a
seed ; it is rather a 8eed-root, and this makes a
difference.

The Sweet Potato belongs to the natural order
of convolvulaceK, which includes the morning-
glory: the Batata edulis, a native of India. It
is remarkable that this belongs to the same ge-
nus as the "Batata Jalapa," which is a Mexi-
can purgative species— the Jalap of the drug
store. The sweet potato is also known as the
" Ipomoea batatas," and the root yielding the
Jalap as "Exogonium pnrga,'' butisgenerically
the same in the estimation of some authors. Dr.
Gray includes it among the Ipomoea Morning-
glory fjimily, among which are many ornaniental
flowers. The Cypress vine is the Quamoelit
vulgaris, formed}' included among the Ipomrea
— the cucurbita, cucumber, pumpkin, squash,
&c , verbal.

The order Lilacerc, containing so many differ-
ent genera and species of pretty flowers, also
embraces the Onion, Leek, Garlic, Shallott,
Chives, &c.

The onion, " Allium cepa,"and its numerous
varieties The garden garlic, "A. sativum."
The garden leak, " A. porrum. '' ThcShallott,
"A. ajscalonicum.'" The chives, "A. schoenopra-

i8'n.

THE GAT^BEXEB! i^ MOJ^TELl,

IS

sum.'' The asparagus is a sub family. The A.
officinalis, cultivated for its esculent spring
shoots. The liliacea; is a very extensive order,
grouped in families : Trillium, Melanthium, bell-
wort, asparagus, lily proper, as types; each fam-
ily has numerous genera, and these each again
numerous species. As I have said so much
about culinary vegetables, I may be allowed to
be a little liowery, and simply refer to the culti-
vated genera of the lily family proper : first, the
orange red and southern red, wild species of
sandy soil ; the wild species in moist meadows
and bogs : the Canada, American, Turk's cap,
and Carolina. Among the introduced is the
bulblit, bearing in the axils of the scattered
leaves, and the tiger, bulblit bearing, with its
cottony stem ; the turban, flowers small, some-
what bearded inside, from Europe ; the Turk's
cap or martagon ; the Japan ; the golden band-
ed ; the common white ; the Japan white, and
the long-flowered white, also from Japan— all
beautiful flowers ; and the lilies, the crown im-
perial— Petilium imperialc,is the fritillaria, from
the Latin fritillus, a dice box, from the shape of
the flower' F. iraperialis." Theguinea-henflower,
mostly solitar}-, purplish, tassellated with blue
and purple, or whitish, is the F. meleagris. The
common and the svveet tulips, of all colors, sin-
gle and double. The dog-tooth violets, growing
wild ; Erythroneum, including the "adder's
tongue," yellow and a white species. The Star
of Bethlehem, called ornithogalum — the name in
Greek means " bird's milk," a current expres-
sion for some marvelous thing. On the first of
April I have heard of boys being sent for " pig-
eon's milk." Why the plant was so named, I
do not pretend to know.

The hyacinth, dedicated to the fiivorite of
Apollo hyacinthus. The " Agapanthus," which
in the Greek means "amiable flower" The
Funkia, named after a German botanist, Funk,
is a white day lily. The F. ovata has blue or
violet flowers. The " day lily " also refers to
two sj^ecies of " Hemerocallis,'' which in the
Greek means "beauty of a day," as the flowers
speedily wither. The II. fulva, a familiar spe-
cies, with tawnj'. orange flowers; II. flava, fls.
light yellow. The curious flower tritoma, as the
Greek signifies, thrice cut. The T. uvaria, from
Cape of Good Hope a specimen was given me by
H.L. Zahm, the name of which I could not find
nor make out till after a long search. Then
comes the yucca, "Adam's Needle,'* or com-
mon bear grass, tall and beautiful plants. The

Yucca aloifolia, or Spanish bayonet or daggers,
I saw in flower for the first time last summer in
the garden of C. B. Grubb, Esq., of this city.
He had it about nine years growing, but it
never bore flowers till last summer— truly a
beautiful plant, with its pyramid of white flow-
ers ; terminating a bushy stem, with the leaves
all elevated about ten feet from the ground, and
pointing nearly vertically above, gradually de-
clining to horizontal ; then more depressed till
almost vertical again, in regular order, forming
a singular top of rigid leaves tipped with a spine
strong enough to kill with, while above these
spreading leaves is a large, dense pyramid of
flowers, a very interesting ornamental tree ; but
like the century plant, it takes too long to flow-
er, and it is said that after it has flowered it
loses its pretty form, and flowers "no more."
An excellent closing sentence.

NOTE OX POTATOES.

BY J. M.

Great diflerence may be observed in the rais-
ing of Potatoes. In planting ray sets, last spring,
of Early Goodrich, I was compelled, from scar-
city, to use some very small ones, and some
made from what is called a second growth. The
yield was very poor, and the quality inferior.
Very many of them were knotty, and showed
a disposition to make many additional growths,
lessening the value of the crop very much. My
slight experience will lead me to the selection of
sets macle from Potatoes of fair size, and cut in-
to one or two eyes. It is no matter if they are
cut small so that the cut is from a good sized
Potato,

The soil should be ploughed or dug very deep
for their culture. Some sets planted in a lot of
ground much poorer than a lot opposite, pro-
duced a better crop, though planted later. The
cause, I think, being in the former having been
ploughed deeper.

THE LOMBARDY POPLAR TREE.

BY CHRONICLER.

Popiihia dllatafa'xs^ native of Italy, and by be-
ing distributed first from nurseries in Lonibardy,
it got its common name, "Lombardy Poplar."
It has been grown as an ornamental tree through-
out Europe, for the past six score of years, and
is still a deserving favorite there. It is one of
the fastest and tallest growing trees we have in
cultivation, and flourishes in a great variety of

u

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTELY. January,

soils an:l situations. It thrives well upon the
Isle of Alalta and the Island of Orkney ; and af-
ter beinj^ properly set out, it requires no further
care. In habit, it is erect, lean, stiff and very
lofty, with a comely transparent foliage. Dur-
ing the first twenty-five years of its growth, it
forms a very ornamental tree, and retains its
beauty for ten to twenty years longer, according
to circumstances ; after that, it rapidly declines,
and becomes an eye sore among other trees. Im-
provers may set out a ^avf young trees every ten
years to keep up the species and maintain the
fullness and beauty of their arboretums, and
eradicate the old trees when they fail. The
young trees should not be set near to buildings,
nor near roads, as their surface roots are half
above the ground, and make the surface around
them ver}' rough and uneven.

During the past ten years, the Lombardy Pop-
lar has been extensively set out as street shade
trees in cities and towns, and seems admirably
suited for the purpose; being of rapid growth,
and by the annual pruning it gets there, it forms
a round headed and bushy tree, and free, so far,
from insect ravages.

In the early quarter of the present century,
our wealthy citizens were smitten with a sort of
mania, by the healtliy, rapid growth and simple
growth of the Lombardy Poplar tree, and set it
out plentifully as embellishments to pleasure
grounds, and long lines of it were set on river
fronts and alongside principal roads leading out
of cities and towns. They all grew handsomely
in their early years, but were not time *iiroof.
So now, wherever we go, we see the ghosts of
those early planted trees standing like shadows
of death to bring discredit upon our arboricul-
ture. We earnestly beseech all patriotic citi-
zens, who love the beauties of modern rural im-
provements, to have those old, unsightly trees
uprooted, and plant young trees of the same spe-
cies upon other spots of their pleasure grounds.
To let those leafless and half leafless emblems of
death stand longer, will bring us national dis-
grace, and a slur upon our boasted civilization.

[We have recently seen it stated in an Knglish
periodical, that the J-,ombardy Poplar is subject
to a disease in the United States, which is car-
rying them oil'. This is surely a misinforma-
tion. As our correspondent well says, they soon
arrive at maturity, and then decaying branches
die away, and give an unsightly look. But for
a quarter of a century at least, young trees keep
up as healthy an ap['earauce as any tree can i

have. In the AVest, they are being largely
planted as street trees and wind breaks on farms.
Some towns in Illinois have little else but the
Lombardy Poplar in them. — Ed.]

BEAUTIES OF AMERICAN FOREST

CLUMPS OF DECIDUOUS TREES

IN SPRING.

BY WALTER ELDER, LANDSCAPE GARDENER,

rniLADELPniA.

They are in winter like "desolated wastes."'
"Yet soon reviving plants and flowens

Anew shall deck the plain.
The woods shall hear the voice of spring

And,flourish greon again."

Early in April before any of the trees expand
their foliage, the Judas Tree garnishes the skirts
of the clumps with its deep, rosy blossoms, like
a glowing fire to warm up a wintery desert ; and
before its blooms fade, the Doijivood puts forth,
and illuminates with its large blossoms of spotless
white. The famous limber Cheriy tree, of gi-
gantic stature, accompanies the Dogwood, also
with blossoms of white. The Sheepherry follows
in rotation, with hawthorn like blossoms of
white in profusion. Next comes the White Lo-
cust with blooms, both gorgeous and grand, and
delightfully perfumed. The Tulip tree so lofty
and wide, expands its large tulip like blooms of
yellow ; a masterpiece picture magnificently
grand. The Wild Cherry next puts forth neat
spikelets, with florets of white. Then the Ca-
taJpa tree is clothed in gorgeous profusion, with
blossoms of rich waxy white. The EUler and
Sumach accompany each other, with blooms in
large clusters, of yellowish green and sweet
scented white. T-he Magnolia glauca, so famous
for beauty and fragrance, displays its glory in
June. Then comes the noble At)ierican Linden
with florets of yellow so sweetly perfumed. t)ur
native Chestnut, magnificent, comely and grand,
brings up the "vanguard,'' with spikelets of
blooms of yellow and green, in great abundance.

Among imder shrubs, the Azaleas of various
species and colors, blooni in April and May.
The Kalmias are also of various species and
shades, from pink to deep rosy red, and come
on in time to succeed the Azaleas ; the beauties
of both are almost indescribable. The humble
Bramble (Blackberry) is also very showy with
its white blossoms.

The surface of the ground is also clothed with
dwarf, showy, herbaceous'flowers, which are the
Violets, both white and blue. Anemones of

1871.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^'THLY.

15

white, and Ilejmtkas of blue. FiitiUaria(<^ white
and pale yellow ; and along with them are Tril- \
Hums of various species and colors. The Epiycea
repens creeps upon the ground with its white !
waxy blooms of Hyacinth perfumes. Theie are !
many other species of beauty, but too numerous ^
to mention. Oh 1 that we could induce our peo-
ple to teach the rudiments of botany to our
youth in our common schools, then they would
admire the beauties of vegetation in all their
travels, and exult in their praises of the great
Architect, who first commanded the ground to
bring forth "the grass, the herb and the fruit
tree."

NOTES FROM CONTINENTAL
JOURNALS.

BY THE EDITOR.

Diseases of Plaxts.— TVe think we in
America suffer some from Plant diseases, but
Linden's Illustration Horticole, published in Bel-
gium, says: "The number of maladies which
ravage cultivated plants is truly disheartening."
"There is the grape oidium, the potato disease,
the Verbena rust, the China Aster trouble, mil-
dew of all kinds, the Phylloxera, and many
others forming a vast army which is daily rein-
forced by new recruits." Perhaps our lot in
America after all is not so bad as we often think
it is. AVe did not know before that the Ver-
bena rust prevailed in Belgium, — we suppose it
is an introduction from thence to our shores.
They now complain that there is serious trouble
with their Aucubas, from a disease which baf-
fles all treatment.

Plum Insects. — In France the plums and
cherries are being damaged to an alarming ex-
tent, by a small insect [Hyponomenue pudtlla).
Oil floated on water, and applied with a syringe,
is the most popular remedy.

Irises.— The Continental Journals report that
the collection of Iris grown by M. Max Lichtlin,
whose articles in past numbers of the Gaidener''s
MontJdij^ on Lilies, have interested so many of
our readers, is one of the finest in the world.
M. Duchartre is getting out a descriptive cata-
logue of them.

M. LINGER, an Austrian, and one of the rising
botanist of Europe, was recently assassinated at
Vienna. He had barely reached middle age.
It is surmized that a prejudice, that his science
was opposed to established trutlis, was the causo

of the violence offered him. lie was as out-
spoken in what he believed truth, as Huxley, in
England.

The Botanic Garden at Brussels, in Bel-
gium, has been purchased by the government for
the benefit of the people, as the Kew Garden is
in England. L^ Illustration Ilfrrticole says, that
the names of the commission entrusted with the
matter is a guarantee that science as well as the
community will profit by the change.

Egyptian Agriculture.— A new work en-
titled the Egyptian Agriculturist, was started at
Cairo, in Egypt, on the 1st of June. This looks
like returning toward its ancient glory, when
there was " corn in Egypt," though other lands
failed.

A NEW German Horticultural Journal has
been started in Hanover, at Ringelhiem. It
has a French title, Beveu Horticole, the same as
one already in existence in I'aris. It has the
peculiarity of being published in three lan-
guages—English, French and German.

Changing the Colors of Flowers.— The
Mirror of Science says, that a case is known of a
yellow primrose, which, when planted in a rich
soil, had the flowers changed to a brilliant pur-
ple. It also says, that charcoal adds great bril-
liancy to the colors of Dahlias, Roses and
Petunias ; carbonate of soda reddens pink hya-
cinths, and phosphate of soda changes the colors
of many plants.

PoLYMNiA EDULis.— Last year we noticed
the introduction of this new vegetable to the
United States, and that seeds were for sale by
Thorburn and other leading seed men. If any
of our readers succeeded in raising any, wo
should be glad of their experience for the readers
of the Monthly. It continues to attract much at-
tention in Europe, where it was introduced from
Bolivia.

Dactylanthus Taylorl— This is a won-
derfully curious plant, from New Zealand ; and
is there a parasite on the branches of Pittos-
porum tataka. It forms in appearance a lar<^e
warty excrescence, without any leaves, but has
very sweet white flowers, which are sometimes
tinted with rose. The odor is rei)re;ented as
being like a well ripened melon. No very clear
descriptions have been seen by us, but we sup-
pose it may be a Loranthaceous plant, which
abound in that quarter of the world, and to
I which order our mistletoe belongs.

16

TEE GARDEJSTER'S MOMTELJ, January,

EDTTOH lAL.

TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS.
As long as we can recollect, Syracuse, N. Y.,
has always been a point we wished to reach.
Its extensive nurseries, its wonderfully healthy
trees, and the great reputation of Brown Smith
for intelligence and business integrity, made a
call on the firm now known as Smith, Clark &
Powell, a necessary part of our ride through
New York State. We found the firm still young,
notwithstanding the length of time the busi-
ness has been going on. Mr, Powell is son-in-
law to Mr. Smith, and will be a Avorthy successor
when the hand of time shall tell more heavily
on the senior than it has yet done,

Syracuse is a remarkably pretty town, deriv-
ing its chief commercial importance from its
salt springs. Salt manufacture is carried on to
an enormous extent, and adds largely to the
wealth of the place. A very curious study for
the naturalist is the salt plants of this region ;
that is plants which are usually only found by
the sea shore, and are usually denominated in
works on botany as marine. When the first
settlers came to Syracu.se, there was but one small
.salt spring known, and that not flowing freely.
The Indians, it is said, used this spring. It is
most pi'obable that the water from this little
spring did not cover many yards, and the ma-
rine plants one would expect to be very few if
any. Now, since wells have been sunk, and the
water pumped to the surface, of course salt
streams flow every whex*e. These salt water
plants now abound. We had not time to note
how many spt-cies could be found there ; but it
seemed as if one might find as many as there is
in any average locality by the sea side. But it
is not set down in the works that species can
originate in different places, and yet be of the
same kinds. That is spontaneous generation, and
it will not do, — or it is not in accordance with an-
other modern view, that species are the result of
circumstances, the one species outgrowing from
something else. The circumstances are never
exactly the same in two distant localities, there-
fore, all individuals if one species must be emi-
grants from one central point. It is hard to
believe all these maritime plants of Syracuse
emigrants, — harder yet to suppo.sc they are
spontaneously generated, — and yet if not here
at the foundation of the town, how did they
come y

But to more horticultural recollections. It is
pleasant to note that Syracuse is fast becoming
a horticultural (own. Unlike many places we
saw in New Y ork State, there was a very large
amount of gardening amongst the wealthier
classes, and many of them exhibit admirable
taste. The town gardens of the following gen-
tlemen were amongst some that arc particularly
worthy of mention : Hon. E. W. Leavenworth,
Hon. Allen Munroe, Messrs. John Greenway,
Frank Hiscock, J. W. Barker, N. S. Geddes,

Harvey Stuart Geddes, Thompson, George

M Kennedy, Hon. George Comstock, Hon. C. B.

Sedgwick, Fowler, D. P. Wood. This last

had a particularly pretty place. It seems to be
about six acres, and was laid out, if we recollect
Mr. Wood right, by Mr Hastings, of Connecti-
cut. The surface is made beautifully undulat-
ing, and the directions of the walks combining
utility with elegance, in a very unusual degree.
Excellent use is made of arbors, weeping trees,
masses of shrubbery and single specimens. Even
the common hop was turned into an object of
beauty by being mxde to run over an octogonal
wire frame, and then led on to wires connecting
over head, forming at once an arbor, and grow-
ing the hop at the same time.

On the ground, a little distance from the
house, and on a slightly elevated spot, showing
vvell as an object of great beauty, is a block of
plant and fruit houses. I'caches and grapes
were chiefly grown in the main wings, — the
smaller one was tastefully arranged, for the
plant department. Usually a place planted for
effect affords little scope to the lover of rare frees
and plants. Here the two tastes were happily
blended. The number of rare trees and shrubs
was remarkably large— a specimen of Virgilia
lutea, a more properly Cladastrus tinctorea was
particularly fine. Mr. Wood is quite an enthusi-
ast in rare trees, and takes as much priilc in
them as in the general beauties of the place. It
is rarely tiiat we enjoy so much pleasure as our
visit here afforded us.

Quite near to Mr. Wood's is the residence of
Dr. Boynton, who, to a very high fame as a geolo-
gist and man of science, unites a great love of
fruit culture. In pear culture, the name of Dr.
Boynton is particularly well known. Some of
the finest pears ever exhibited at the Pomolf)gi-
cal Society's meetings, were undoubtedly those

1S7L

THE GARDEJ^ER'S

MOJVTEL Y.
— ^

17

from Dr. Bovnton, which were exhibited in
Philadelphia at one of its past meetings. We
did not expect mu(;h here, because it was gener-
ally conceded that his fruit trees were "gone to
the dogs," as remarked by a speaker at one of
our horticultural meetings. It was, therefore,
with extra pleasure that we noted that they
were on a very prosperous return from the said
canine excursion. There were indeed traces of
a severe struggle— many of the trees had passed
away altogether, and a few were still stunted
and sick, but the majority had recovered, and
those which were fully in bearing had the most
lovely fruit, and the most healthy, vigorous
leaves and branches it was ever our good fortune
to see. The story of this orchard, its troubles,
and its recovery is not without its moral, — both
to that class which advocate the " Luciferian,''
as well as to those who adhere to the " Nebu-
chadnezzarian " manner of culture. Dr. Boyn-
ton was at one time a zealous advocate of clean
surface treatment, — and perhaps rather disposed
to persecute those who did not adhere to the laws
of the pomological prophets of the past times.
His phosphates and peculiar manures had an
undoubted effect ; but in spite of some theories
about the injury of over manuring fruit trees,
there is no doubt that they are benefited by high
feeding, if the food is given them in a proper
manner. Then another advantage was, that
the trees had all been set on terraces made for
them on a hill side — not deep terraces, which
often hold so much moisture as to defeat the
ends for which they were formed, but shallow
lines but a few feet at the deepest point. Until
the roots extended, so as to get pretty well in
the way of the cultivator, all went right. The
growth of the trees was all one could wish, as
they generally are under such circumstances.
Gradually, however, they began to sutler, and
every year more and more, until one year, about
seven years ago, if we recollect right, after the
usual heavy summer cultivating, the trees had
evidently received a severe shock. The leaves
were red long before the proper time for them
to fall in autumn, and the next winter and sum-
mer many had an immense number of dead
branches amongst them. The doctor was dis-
heartened, and about this time Mrs. Boynton
dying, and other matters iesseuing his zeal, the
whole orchard was abandoned to utter neglect.
Canada thistles, wild carrots and other coarse
weeds grew up about them in every direction,
and came up, grew and died away just as they

came, without any interference from the owner.
But a few years ago he noticed that under this neg
lect they were gradually mending. His interest
was renewed. He cut the dead and half sick bran-
ches away. In many cases they Avere cut down to
just above where they were budded, and the result
is marvellous. He cares nothing more for clean
surface. He top dresses, using considerably of
salt, in spring ; and all or nearly all pruning is
done by hand as growth is going on. He is
very anxious to always have a good, vigorous
growth, continually renewing itself from near
the ground, if possible. Hence if he sees a strong
shoot coming out from the trunk, instead of pul-
ling that shoot out as most people would do, he
encourages it to grow more and more ; and this
is how he docs it : He pulls or breaks oflT all the
strong shoots on the branch above it, leaving,
however, all the leaves possible which are neces-
sary to ripen the fruit on it, and after a year or
so when this sprout is strong enough to bear its
own fruit the part above it is cut off. This
shoot itself is to go away if it is at all probable
a better one can be got out from below it at any
time. He thinks, and we are half inclined to
agree with him, that by this species of renewal
system, any old sickly trees can be rejuvenated
and recovered, as thpse certainly have been. On
the southwestern side of the orchard is what
was once a carefully pruned and trained vine-
yard. The annual expense of "' culture '' of this
was some hundreds of dollars. Under the pres-
ent system grapes were particularly abundant,
and of excellent maturity and quality. Certain-
ly we think that some little attention more than
what they now received, would have been better
for them,— but here was the self-evident fact
that they were much better^ even under a totally
let alone system, than they were under the
generally received plans, while there was the ad-
vantage of no expense. The ivpple and the plum
were equally luxuriant. We think that for pro-
ductiveness and quality Combined we never saw
a better tree of the Primate apple. We are, by
the way, astonished that this good variety does
not rate higher as a very early variety.

Now we do not wish to be understood that
this orchard should be held up as a model to
copy after. We should not like to have an or-
chard in which we had to beat the th(>rus and
thistles away before we could get near the tree
to gather the fruit. We- arc too fond of beauty.
It would suit us even to sacrifice a little of the
health of the tree for the sake of appearances

18

THE GARBEJ^^EKS MOJ^TELY.

January

But we do hold tliat the Dr. Boynton's experi-
ence here illustrates the true principle on which
nm orchard should be managed, if we would have
the best results in health and productiveness,
namely, the best possible encouragement of the
fibrous feeding roots at the surface, with tlie
least loss of food to the tree. This last point
Pr. B. still thinks an unsettled problem. lie
does not think grass altogether the best thing.
Of all vegetable matter he thinks so far the wild
carrot is the best. When it comes up in spring,
its leaves spread many inches flat on the ground
on each side, and smuther out every particle of
vegetation but its own. Its own roots go deep
do\^-n, and bring up its food from some depth,
leaving considerable of the surface food, for the
fibrous roots of the pear. Hence there is the
greatest possible surface covered with darkness,
and a cooling vegetation, whilst there is the
least possible quantity of roots to dispute on the
food question with the pear tree. Then the im-
mense amount of decaying vegetable matter left
by the decaying mass of carrot stalk, which he
would suffer to lie as it fell, helps to increase
rather than to decrease the fertility of the soil.
He thought that under some such a system as
this, the soil might annually be kept up in fer-
tility, without the addition of much top dressing,
and with a perpetual health and vigor in the
trees. Of course these are mere ideas, aS we did
not understand Dr Boynton that he should ac-
tually sow his orchard in carrots ; but we were
much struck with the view of true philosophy
with which he discussed these things, and have
no doubt our readers will profit by them. Al-
together our visit to Dr. Boynton was one of the
pleasaniest experiences of our visit to this inter-
ebting town.

But we must not •forget a call on Mr. AV. Da}',
an English gardener, who has been very success-
ful in establishing himself as a florist. He is
famous in the place for the superior native
grapes he raised. Truly they were marvels of
beauty. They were trained on rather tall hori-
zontal trellises. They were, we believe, in the
second year of their bearing. It is said that
Mr. Diy has often been pressed to communicate
to his friends and visitors the secret of his won-
derful success in producing such fine bunches,
but always has decline d to satisfy this natural
curiijsity. On the pn;sent occasion, however, feel
ing honored b}' a representative of the Gardener s
Montlily being so much interested in them, he
communicated to us in a whisper what the mys-

tery was: " I lets 'em alone." He didn't know of
anything else he did. His soil was one through
which water passed rapidly awaj*. He "laid in"
all strong 3'oung wood he could get room for, cut-
ting away the small useless spray, — and perhaps
cutting off a few bunches at the end of a bearing
shoot, when there was perhaps too many to ma-
ture properly — only this, and nothing more It
was not a great secret, — yet judging by what we
hear and see all round, it is one which with many
seems very hard to understand. As we said of
Dr. Boynton's orchard, we don't know that we
should follow it exactly. We are too much en-
raptured with a little art,— but it is only the
principle we would illustrate. Mr. Day's vari-
eties were the Delaware, Israella and lona, and
Hartford Prolific, besides another, a seedling of
that town raised, if we remember right, by a
Mr. Latham, which was as good, but seemed
much earlier than Hartford Prolific.

Grapes do very well about Syracuse as a gen-
eral rule. Across the way from Mr. Day's were
some very fine vines trained on upright stakes.
Here we saw the Allen's Hybrid, finer than we
ever saw it in the open air before. We feel like
taking back an opinion that Ave have given be-
fore in our magazine, that this is not a true hy-
brid. Of course Mr. Allen applied the pollen of
two species, and raised this as the result, but
our idea was that, the cross impregnation was
not real. The pollen did not " take " as ene
might sa}', though supposed to have done so.
But here in these vines, there were much less of
the characteristics of the foreign — more of the
native than we had ever seen before. We begin
to feel that we know nothing at all about the
sj^ea'es of grapes, and .shall leave the classification
of varieties — that is the referring the varieties of
our native grapes to their original species, — to
those who know more about the matter than we
do. We had, as we thought, tolerably clear
ideas about this ten years ago ; but we have lost
confidence in our own wisdom now.

But the great centre of Horticultural attrac-
tion is the Syracuse nurseries These contain
over 500 acres, and are chiefl}' devoted to fruit
trees, of which the pear and apple are grown in
immense quantities. Some varieties — the Bart-
lett and Seckel pears for instance — arc grown by
the acre. The soil and climate here seem es-
pecially adajited to fruit trees, for we have never
seen nursery stock healthier, and very few in
fact so healthy as those we saw here. The ex-
tent of the busiucs? done by this firm may be

18'fl,

THE GABDEJ^^ERb MOJ\''THLy.

JO

appreciated in no way better perhaps than by
the fact that they use one thousand of those
large eight or nine feet packing boxes a year for
the transportation of their trees. No doubt
much of the fertility of the soil is due to the
presence of saline particles in the soil or atmos-
phere ; but in addition to this Mr. Smith tells
us he employs salt freely in many ca.ses as a
manure, and tinds it of jiarticular benefit to the
plum and peach. He had often recommended it
to di.stant customers, but finding a general im-
pression that his advice was given because "pos
sibly he was interested in some salt works, ' he
had not said much about it of late years. His
first discovery of the great benefit of the use of
salt was in the treatment of the larva? of the
cockchafer or May bug, that terrible scourge of
many a nursery. He found them in large num-
bers devouring the roots of the peach trees — and
drawing a drill on each side of the row, put in a
little salt. The grubs left in disgust He ex-
pected some injury to the trees, but they grew
as never trees grew before, — and he has since
profited b}' the lesson.

A feature of the nursery of which Mr. S. is
justly proud, is a hedge of Honey Locust, along
the turnpike road, bounding his nursery. It is
strange that such examples as is before the
public, showing how cheap a live hedge is— how
beautiful they are — how easy they are managed
— how really protective is their character instead
of the "get over me if you please" look of a post
and rail fence— should have so little effect. It
would seem as if the whole world delighted to
spend money for the fun of it, and have nothing
to show for the money spent The Honey Lo-
cust is an admirable plant for cold climates, and
is lar better than any other plant where the soil
is rather poor or thin. There is one advantage
in the Honey Locust which no other plant has.
The Osage Orange, for instance, has thorns on its
young growth, and that is the end of them, —
but thorns come out of the old wood and con-
tinue to come out year after year, — branching
and growing simply as thorns, and nothing will
ever dare to go through a hedge of this plant
even though there should be a tolerably large
gap invitingly open.

Across many parts of the nursery, breaking
off the cold winds from the rough quarter, are
hedges of Norway Spruce. These are left to
grow up rather larger than usual, but this we
think rather an advantage where land is abun-

dant. We would rather let them grow up to be
trees, thinning them out as they approached each
other, until at last we should have timber of val-
uable size for use. Land is however, not so
very cheap now at Syracuse. It always goes up
in the vicinity of an active, enterprising nursery
firm. At Geddes, a small suburb of Syracuse,
land worth only S200 per acre four years ago,
when these gentlemen bought some for their
nursery purposes, sells for S400 now.

The trees about the beautiful residence of the
senior member of the firm shows how rich is the
soil of Syracuse. The Horse-chestnut is particu-
lai-ly a good measurer of a soils fertility. Here
they grow with an unsurpassed fre.';hness, as
also does the Mountain Ash— a specimen of the
English variety— or rather Scotch, for it is not a
native of England, is the largest we know of—
perhaps one of the largest in the Union.

Not by any means the lightest of the attrac-
tions of Syracuse to a horticulturist, is Oakwood
Cemetery— a tract of about 100 acres very well
laid out with walks and drives through the
prettily rolling ground, covered rather thickly in
many places with a natural timber of red and
white oak and hickory. These have of course
been thinned out considerably to allow of burial
purposes,— and in many of the more open spaces
evergreens of the more common nursery form
planted. The Norway Spruce is of course em-
ployed, but it is kept cut down to form a thick
bush in many cases, which, if continued, will
keep it from growing too large to be an annoy-
ance. There is here one of the prettiest pieces
of natural scenery we have ever seen of a perfectly
rural character. The main road winds around,
in one place, the base of a rather steep hill, clothed
thickly with the deciduous trees bef )re said. The
under-brush, however, had all been taken out,
and its place completely occupied with mosses,
ferns and herbaceous plants like Solidagos, As-
ters and others which are at home in such a
shaded situation. Natural as the efiect was, it
was yet like no natural woods one geiierally sees.
The woods were well kept, and the grass matly
mown, and what good landscape gardeners
would call an easy blending of nature and art,
was never better secured than as we saw it
here. Still, art has not been content to yield
quietly the palm to nature, for there is a magni-
ficent reception vault, the cost of which is said
to have been about $10,00^.

20

THE GARDEJVER'S MO^fTHLY. January,

SCEATS AND aUERIES.

Use for Tree Trimmings.— What to do
with the clippings of trees need never be a ques-
tion. The rough twisted and gnarled pieces
make excellent rustic work, which always gives
a garden much interest. The worst of thislind
of mechanism is, that if exposed to all weathers /
it soon rots, and it does not seem worth the la-
bor it takes to put it together. So only that
should be made up with the bark on, which can
be placed under cover in winter. Where rustic
work is to be left out at all seasons, it should be
built of pieces with the bark removed. This, to
be sure, detracts from its interest. The bark
rough and shaggy, is one of the charms of rustic
work. But this effect may in a measure be re-

stored to the denuded branches, by painting with
various shades to simulate diflering barks as
much as possible. All this is for ugly and
twisted pieces. But neat artistic things of
many designs can be made of straight pieces.
To make a long settee, for instance, the kneed
pieces make the back and legs, and a seat is
made of rough pine boards. Then various fig-
ures which can bo made of straight pieces, such
as diamonds, squares, octagons, or any fancy
forms whatever, are chalked on the frame, and
the straight pieces are sawed to the lengths re-
quired, split, planed with a knife, and nailed on
— the whole when finished, varnished. Even
tree roots may be made into very nice garden

ornaments. Wc saw a combined aquarium and
plant vase recently made entirely of roots of
Bronible and wood laurel, of which we have
made the sketch wc give herewith. Even the
little fisherman standing on the edge is a natu-
rally formed root, the which if any such had
btcn dii^covcrtd in ancient limcSj would assuredly

have been supposed to portend some great dis-
aster to the human race, as so many similar
things in plants have done. On the two sides
of the aquarium are the two vases, formed by a
hexagon of boards, two of the sides havingjmir-
rors, and the rest faced by the little pieces of
roots aforesaid.

1S71.

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJfTHLY,

^1

Now, the straightened brush wood, or trim-
ming, can be turned to other useful purposes.
Of course everybody knows how nice it is to have
plenty of rough stakes to tie up things to ; but
aflcr all this remains the small twiggy stuff",
which is usually burned. But recollect what we
have before said in the Gardener''s Monthly about
its value in growing llhododendrons. You have
to dig out the ground, say two feet deep ; put in
a layer a few inches of this small trash, then a
few inches of the soil thrown on it, more brush,
more soil, until the hole is full, and you have the
best Rhododendron bed in the world.

^Ir. S. iliLLER, formerly of Lebanon, this

State, is now associate editor of the Western
Gardener.

Death of a Nurseryman. — Mr. Wills, a
well known and respected Nurseryman of Blooni-
ington, Illinois, is among the recently deceased.

The Trophy Tomato seems to bear out a
very good reputation, after a year's trial. We
hear it well spoken of all round.

Vitality of Evergreen Seeds. — A Cana-
dian correspondent says: '"I had some ever-
green seeds tried for me by a friend in his green-
house two years since. The pans were laid
aside with the seeds as it was tlio\ight they
would not groAV. More than a year after, they
all came up in full trim "

[These were probably sucii as Holly, or Juni-
por, or Yew. They will reniain several years
sometimes in the soil before they grow, — but
such evergreens as Pines and Spruce soon die in
the ground, — generally, if they do not sprout
within two months, they will never come. This,
too, is remarkable, as out of the ground, in a
place that is not very hot or dr}', their vitality
remains for several years ]

Castor Oil Pomace.— JF, 1L G., St. Louis,
3/0., says : "There is nowoflered in our market
as a fertilizer the pomace of the castor bean, or
the residuum after the oil has been expressed.
It is claimed for it that if spread upon a lawn
the moles will leave the premises ; also that a
small portion of it spread about the roots of cab-
bage, egg or totnato plants, in the spring, will
drive ofl' the cut- worm. Will you please let me

know what truth there is in this, and what value
it possesses, if any, over ordinary barn-yard ma-
nure. All in this neighborhood last year lost
almost their entire potato crop from the ravages
of a yellow strii^ed bug. I have thought of
sprinkling this over the ground next spring
after planting my potatoes, if you think it ad-
visable. A^^ould it do any good to spread it un-
der peach and apple trees to drive off the borer
and curculio. If valuable, any amount of this
pomace can be had here at a low price.''

[We have had no experience with this article,
and can lay our hand on nothing that gives any
information about it. We know that, as a gen-
eral rule, all oily matters are very odensive to
insects ; and if there is any left in the Pomace,
it is very likely to have the effect claimed for it,
and will be of much value as a manure.]

St. Louis Tower Grove Park —We see it
stated that this is going on to very nearly com-
pletion. §200,000 was the sum appropriated for
the purpose, and the total cost will be within
this sum. This is a very unusual thing in
works of this description, and is highly credit-
able to all concerned.

Viburnum plicatum.— This beautiful plant,
so named by Thunberg, is now getting pretty
we'd known. It is found, however, not to be a
good species ; but the sterile form of anr»ther
kind, also named by Thunberg, namely, Vibur-
niivi tomentosum. It is a native of .Japan.

Woods of Cnix a.— Southern China was
once, in all probabilit}^ a densely wooded coun-
try ; but the populousness of the country has de-
manded every strip of ground for cultivation.
Almost all the arboreal vegetation of China is
confined to the grounds around the temples.
Liquidamhar formosanitm exists near Canton,
but <;)nly in the shai)e of sprouts ; as soon as they
push up to be half an inch in diameter they arc
again cut down for fire icood.

Cor.FAX Strawuehry.- "We saw some beds
of this last year, without a single berry, and the
owners were denouncing it in high terms. It is
a pistillate, and must have another near it to
fertilize. In this respect it is like Ilovey's Seed"
ling, and others of that class. Where it has
had this opportunity, we have seen^it with very
hcav}' crops, and every^way satisfactory.

9.9.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY.

January,

Pjeak's Emperor strawberry is very much
like Agriculturist. Mr. Purdy, of Palmyra, says
it docs well on the sandy soil of South Bend,
%vhile the Agriculturist does not. It seems bet-
ter suited to this than the Agriculturist. In the
sandsof New Jersey, however, the Agriculturist
docs very well.

The Sxow Cactus. — xVu exchange says:
'• Along tlie Sierra Nevada, close to the line of
snow, a plant grows of sizes varying from an
inch to two inches in thickness, and height to
the dimensions of the largest cabbages. It is
known as the snow cactus, and depends for
moisture upon the melted snow. It has been re-
cently proposed to treat the plant as a table veg-
etable, and it is said that, boiled and served up
as asparagus, this cactus is found equally suc-
culent and satisfactory."

We suppose this is the new cactus recently
named by Dr. Engleman Ediinocoxtas Simpsoni.
"We are fortunate enough to possess a living
plant of this species, and it is truly beautiful,—
round as a globe, and completely covered with
snowy-white spines. Its hardiness will be a
great point in its favor. It has the appearance
of a mammillaria, but Dr. Engelman is sure,
fr,)m an examination of its tlower and fruit, that
it is an Eddnocactus.

Xames of Plants.—^. H. C, Shepherds-
town, Pa.: " Enclosed I send you a small ever-
green vine and branch of a small tree and shrub,
with bright red berries, for name. The small
evergreen vine with red berries grows mostly
in partly shaded situations, banks of streams,
&c. The other is always found in low, wet pla-
ces, margins of streams, ttc. Please give names
through Gardener's Monthly, and oblige "

[The red-berried shrub is a kind of Holly,
only that the leaves are deciduous. It is the
Prinos verticillatus. We often wonder it is not
more often seen under culture. Its red berries
give much beauty to a winter scene. There are
three kinds — (me with mnle flowers, which
never bears berries, the other female, which re-
quire the other kind to be planted nearby to get
berries ; the other with perfect tlowers.

The creeping plant with the berries is the
Mitdtella repcni^, in Pennsylvania called Teaber-
ry ; but tlieTeaberry of New Jersey is Gaulthe-
ria procumbens]

Patent Laws and Seedling Fruits.—
We have the following note from Mr. Haskell :

"It has been often suggested, during the last
few years, that the originators and discoverers of
new and valuable fruits and plants ought to
have protection for their productions similar to
that which the law provides for authors and in-
ventors. The Justice of such protection is gen-
erally conceded ; but it is often said that the
patent and copy-right laws cannot be thus ap-
plied.

To meet this objection, a Bill has been pre-
pared, the provisions of which are all taken from
the patent and copy-right law passed at the last
session of Congress, with only such modifications
and changes as are necessary to adapt its pro-
visions to a new subject-matter.

A copy of such proposed bill is sent herewith,
to which your attention is respectfully requested.
If you think this or any similar law for the pro-
tection of Horticulturists desirable and just, it is
hoped you and 3'our neighbors who concur in
that opinion, will petition Congress therefor.''

AVe believe as strongly as any one, tliat the
originator or discoverer of a new fruit, or flower,
should be as fully rewarded for it, as he who
studies out a new principle in the arts, or stum-
bles over any other good thing. Our objection
to the proposed plant laws is not here. But it is
that there is no way to define a new plant or
fruit so clearly that the officers of the patent
office can judge by the record, whether it is new
or not, and there would, as we think, be no end
of litigation. Lawyers would thrive on it much
more than the originators of new fruits. Take
Ilomeyn's Seedling Strawberry, for instance.
The "Patentee" of Triomphe de Gand would
assert that it was identically the same as his,
and that to call another llomeyn Seedling was
an infringement of his "right" in the sale, —
but the latter would prove that he raised it from
seed, if even it w;is the same. What then could
be done ? This is only one case of hundreds
that would arise. We should be glad to know
from the friends of the bill what they would do.

"Ground Pine."— S. A Co., Quinc;/, 111.
" Enclosed please find sprigs of an evergreen.
If it is not asking too much, please inform us
its name, where plants can be had, and how
propagated."

["Ground Pine" — Lycopodiuin cnmplnnntum.
This is the material so largelv used in Philadol-

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLy.

28

phia, New York, Boston and Baltimore at
Christmas times for decorations. It has never
been tried under cultivation, but in view of its
growing scarcity, it is quite likely it might be
found profitable b}- those who have dense shady
woods under which it grows. It is found more
or less in almost every State of the Union, but
most abundantly in New Jersey. Rooted plants
could no doubt be easily furnished by New Jer-
sey Nurserymen.]

Mildew.— yl. S. (?., 31ansJieJ(l^ O., asks for a
remedy for mildew on Roses. The best remedy
for mildew is that for which the premium was
awarded to the discoverer of the cure for the vine
mildew, or Oidium Tackeri of Europe. A little
fresh lime is put into a tub or barrel ready for
slacking, and a small quantity of powdered sul-
phur put on it. ^Vater is then added, and the
lime slaked with the sulphur. It stands till all
settles and the water is clear. This yellowish
water is then syringed over the diseased part,
and it certainly checks the progress of the dis-
ease. The vine mildew of Europe, as has been
before noticed in our columns, has never made
its appearance in our country yet ; but we have
found that this remedy is as good against our
form, which is little less destructive than the
OiVZami of the Old World. It does not seem to
kill insects, but we have noticed that where this
water is occasionally syringed over greenhouse
plants, inst cts are not near as numerous or ac-
tive as in ordinary cases. It is a good thing to
alwa3's have about in a plant establishment.

commences,
an injury.

But in heavy, clayey soil, salt is

Late Blooming Apples — "We have from
time to time furnished lists of late blooming ap-
ples, which are useful, inasmuch as such kinds
are more liable to e<<cape injury from late frosts.
Nothing has yet been done for the Pear, Mr.
Parker Earle has commenced this useful work,
by noting in the Journal of Ilorticnlture that the
Lawrence is more likely to open earlier than the
Bartlett, and thus the latter escape when the
former is injured.

Salting Asparagus.— O. T., Genera, Kane
(^0. III., asks : " Is it necessary to use salt on
Asparagus beds?" "Where the soil is of a light
or sandy nature, salt is an excellent manure, ap-
plied so as to be about one-eighth of an inch
thick over tlie bed in Spring, just before growth

Pears at Boston.— The Journal of Horticul-
ture notices that at the annual exhibition at Bos-
ton, there were 99 contributors of Pears. O'
varieties, Duchess and Bartlett were the most
numerous, there being C5 plates of the former,
and 4(3 of the latter, — the Seckel, however, had
45. Of others, the most numerous dishes were
in the order as named. It serves to show which
are the most popular varieties there. Beurre
d'Anjou, Urbaniste, Beurre Diel, Sheldon, Law-
rence, Belle Lucrative, "VYinter Nelis, Beurre
Clairgeau, Beurre Bosc, Andrews, Swann's
Orange, Beurre Superfin, Vicar of "Winkfield,
Beurre Hardy, Doyenne Boussock, Ilowell, Marie
Louise, Doyenne du Comice, De Tongres, Dana's
Ilovey, Beurre Langelier, Merriam, St. Michael
Archange, Buffum.

Of grapes, the highest number of dishes were
of Delaware.

Double Philadelphus — M. Carriere of
the Reveu Horticole has some original notions
about describing plants. "We not long since
noted, that although he knew Messrs. Ellwanger
& Barry raised "Tom Thumb'' from our
American Arborvitse, Thuja occidentalis, he de-
scribed it as a new Retinospora ! Recently he has
taken the double Mock Orange of our gardens
—well known also in German gardens,— and
catalogued as Philadelphus cor onarius fl.pl.,—
and re-named it Philadelphus primulaiflorus.
This naming things over again is an unmitigated
nuisance, leading purchasers to buy over and
over again what they already have. In Ameri-
can gardening this Philadeli)hus has not proved
very valuable, owing to a tendency to go back to
the single state. By the way, it is a matter of
surprise that the old Philadelphus coronarius
is not more grown It is the only one that is de-
cidedly sweet ; and is alone worthy of all the ge-
nus to the appellation of " mock orange."

Coal Gas and the Roots of Trees.— The
Gardener s Chronicle says that a Dr. Posclger
has "shown by repeated experiments" that
coal gas escaping from pipes under ground near
the roots of trees will not injure them. A\'e
should like Dr. Poselger to come to Philadel-
phia, and try its gas. We rather think his ex-
periments would take another turn.

2J(.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^^TBLY. January,

PrCKA picnxA — Dr. Moore, in a recent num-
ber of the Proceedin2;s of the Royal Dublin So-
ciety, Hays that any English tourist fond of ar-
boriculture, on arriving in Russia is particularly
struck with the grand appearance of the Sibe-
rian Silver Fir, which he says grows there to
the height of 70 or 80 feet.

Purple-leaved Poplars. —Dr. Moore says,
in Russia, in spring, one of the most beautiful
plants of the season is a purple leaved Poplar,
which he thinks is not known to arboriculture
outside of that country.

AsPAKAGUS IN Soup— Dr. Moore says, that in
Russia, Asparagus is the most popular of all veg-
etables. It is especially a favorite for soups.
The white part, and not the green, is the part
chiefly used for this purpose.

The Yello^v Locust. — A native of the
United States, is now cultivated almost all over
the world ; but it thrives better in Prussia than
anywhere else, not excepting its own native
country. Berlin travelers speak with enthusi-
asm of its great beauty there. It is very popular
among the Germans, and they have scores of
garden varieties.

'I'liE Radishes of Russia are not quite like
ours in general cultivation. They are more pur-
ple. It is the custom in Russia to eat Radishes
before dinner proper, in order to sharpen the ap-
petite.

TIybuidizixg. — European writers seem to use
this term at random. Mr. Ad;iir, in a scientific
paper before the Royal DuV)lin Society, says the
Peach shows what hybrldi/ation will do — as hy-
bridization is understood to be a crossing of dif-
ferent species together, it would be worth know-
ing what two species originally produced the
peach. It is generally supposed to be a mere de-
velopment by selection from the Almond, with-
out the intervention of any other species what-
ever.

on acclimatization in the Royal Dublin Societj',
says that the Tomato would not at one time ri-
pen in the gardens of North America, where it
is cultivated for its fruit, — but now it docs, and
is extensively used in consequence. We suppose
once no one thought of forwarding the plants in
hot-beds, and now they do, and that makes all
the difference.

Propagating BouvARDiAS.—>4. P. S.. Pho?.-
nixvillp, Pa. — These are raised from roots cut
into pieces about half an inch long, buried in soil
about one-quarter of an inch, — and the pot of
roots put-inio heat of about 60 degrees.

Acclimatization.— It is strange how men of
science, usually so careful of their facts, some-
times take up with the merest surmise on which
to build up a theory. Thus Mr. Adair, in a paper

Hardiness of Deodar Cedar. — .1/., Har-
rhbuni^ O., inquires about the hardiness of Deo-
dar and Cedar of Lebanon. About Philadel-
phia, most of those exposed have been killed, —
but it has been found by experience that where
they have the protection of other trees from cold
winds they do very well. There is a very fine
Deodar Cedar on the grounds of Mrs. G. "\Y. Car-
penter, at Germantown, and Cedar of Lebanon
at Laurel Hill, both thus sheltered.

CoL. Harris stirts the now year in the Bu-
ral New Yorker. His energy, uprightness and
intelligence has endeared him to agriculturist^
and horticulturists, — and he has our best
wishes wherever he goes.

Propagating Irish Junipers.— -4. P. /S ,
Phcenixville, Pa —It makes no difference how old
the shoots of Irish Juniper or Siberian Arborvi-
tre are for propagating purposes. They will root
at any age. Usually, however, propagators use
only well ripened one year old wood,— that is to
say, wood on which the bark has just turned
brown. It is not essential that tliey h:ive heat,
so that they are iirotected from frost,— but heat
makes them root quicker, and one saves a year
by it. Sometimes "fungus" gets in among a
lot of cuttings, and destroys large numbers be-
fore they root, and it thus is another advantage
of heat that it roots them sooner, and gets them
out of tlie ^v•^y of this enemv.

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^'TRLY.

25

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, &C.

Lancaster Codxtt Farmer.— Lanrasfe'-, Va.

We havu before noticed this excellent monthly
magazine. Its articles generally are very origi-
nal, and are written by practical men who unite
great intelligence with their work. The Editors
are ever alive to good matter. The essay of
Mr. Staufter on Horticulture, first appeared in
this paper. "We should like to know that the
Farmer had a "big'' subscription list, — perhaps
it has. It at least well deserves it.

Wkstern Faemer. — Madison, Wi^.

There are few papers we read with more
pleasure than this. It is the only agricultui-al
paper published in Wisconsin, — but it covers the
whole ground so well, that there is no room for
any more. The editors are industrious and not
afraid of work ; and hence'the paper is a perfect
encyclopedia of a full week's news.

Horace Greiley's Essays," What I Knzw oj Farming,"'

"Which have been published in The Tribune
every week during 1S70, are to be printed in
book form, and a copy will be sent, post-paid, to
each subscriber who sends SIO for the Daily,
S4 for the Semi-Weekly, or S2 for the Weekly
Tribune, and requests the book at the time of
subscribing. This will enable old subscribers to

secure the Essays for preservation, on renewing
their subscriptions, and new subscribers will, of
course, be glad to obtain them, free of cost.

Proceedisgs cr tbe Fruit (i rowers' Society op Pa.

We do not think that any publication of this
kind will surpass in interest the present issue.
Beautiful lithographs of insects have been given
which arc engraved in Uie highest style of art.
The essays of the President, Josiah Iloopes,
and of the Entomologist, Prof. S. S. Rathvon,
have long been looked for. The copious ex-
tracts of Mr. Iloopes' address, in which he
enters so minutely into the fungoid diseases of
fruit trees, which have appeared in so many of
our Agricultural papers, have only whetted
public interest to see the whole. Usually the
proceedings are for the use of members only —
one dollar per annum constituting one a mem-
ber—but in this case, the Publishing Committee
has decided to sell to outside parties for 50 cents
per copy. This can be sent to Alexander Har-
ris, Secretary, Lancaster, Pa., or to Brinckloe
& Marot, the Printers, Philadelphia. We hope
the efforts of the Publishing Committee to give
a wide publicity to the Proceedings, will meet
with the success which the volume undoubtedly
deserves.

NEW AND KAHE ERUITS.

Fortune's Double-Floaverixg Peaches. —
The two double-flowering peaches known as
" Fortune's," though by no means the least im-
portant amongst the many v.aluable plants in-
troduced by the great explorer of the far east,
have certainly obtained less attention than most
others which are known in connection with his
honor.able name. These peaches are remarka-
bly ornamental when in flower, and not sur-
pa.ssed by any early-flowering trees known in
the effect they produce when freely planted along
the front lines of shrubberies. Mr. Gibson, of
]}attersea Park, has so shrewd an eye for good
things that he embraced an early opportunity
of adorning the shrubberies there with these two
trees, and in their season of flowering tlu^y con-

stitute conspicuously beautiful features of plan
tations that are in other respects richly and
plentifully furnished. During the past season
they have produced an abundance of fruit,
which, we are glad to say, is by no means de-
spicable, though not to be compared with such
peaches as are grown for the dessert. The fruit
of the double red is ol)liquely conical, with a pro-
found suture, the skin greenish yellow on the
shaded side, soft rosy red on the side next the
sun. The flesh of this fruit is dry, mildly sweet,
and pleasant, freely parting from the stone. It
is, in fact, an eatable peach, but as such scarcely'
to be desired ; the peculiar dryness of the flesh,
however, suggests that it might be turned to ac-
count to make an excellent preserve. The fruit

^e

TEE GAREEJs'-EB'S MOJVTELl. January,

of tlio (lonlile white is smaller, nearly round
with a shallow suture, the color pale green h\\
clinin^; to white, resembling, in fact, an imma-
ture and unripe ISToblesse. The flesh is slightly
juicv, and decidedly sub-acid. The white vari-
ety does not ripen so perfectly in this climate as
the red, and can scarcely be described as eat-
able ; yet, no doubt, if these trees were planted
for ornament, means would be found of utilizing
the fruit of both sorts, and we cannot doubt that
they might be made the base of a compote that
would be valued in th^ household.— S. II., in
Gardcner''s Magazine.

A New Gkape. — I send you a bunch of a new
grape, and would like your opinion of it. It
took the prize at the Essex County Fair last
week— is a splendid grape, vigorous grower, and
a very prolific bearer. — J, T. Doxoiioo, Port
Henry, K. Y, Oct. 10.

[A dark black grape with double shoulders
and of excellent quality. If it should always
come as good as the specimen received, we think
it will be an useful addition to the list of grapes.
— Ed.I

Speckled Apple.— This beautiful fruit,
brought prominently to notice by Mr. Lorin
Blodgett, is again coming into our market, from
western Xew York. They generally come here
without any name, though some have supposed
them to be the Fall Orange. They are, however,
we believe, quite distinct from this.

Fkee Mason Peach— I sent to the express
office this morning a small box, containing three
specimens of the "Free Mason" peach, (as first
brought to notice, and named by Rev. R. W.
Todd, of this county,) addressed to you at Ger-
mantown. Pa. The aforenamed gentleman has
favored me with a history of this valuable mar-
ket i)each, in which is stated, that from a small
quantity of seed, sowed from an Early Rareripe
variety, by his father, (since deceased) trees
were raised, from which Avas planted a small
orchard (about one hundred trees.) In this were
varieties, good and worthless, early and late,
yellow, white and red, cling and freestone. All
from the seed of the Rareripe. Among this lot
of trees, was the original "Free Mason tree."
It truly and evidently is a very fine and valua-
ble fruit of its kind. In 1808, having then but
a single tree in bearing of the kind, it was the
only tree, of 'an orchard of 1000, that produced

fruit, on the farm of Mr. Todd. Ripening three
days later than the Smock, is another strong
point of merit in its favor. The tree is very
vigorous, and somewhat spreading in its habit,
leaves serrated without glands.

Living in the centre of the greatest peach
growing district in the world — where, too, the in-
terest, in reliable market varieties, as exhibited
by the many extensive cultivators, determines
justly the merits in that relative of all, we are
thereby aflbrded opportunity to d^cide with cer-
tainty as to the character and value of new va-
rieties, in comparison with the old and well-
tried. A large majority of the people in the
metropolis of the "Keystone," and New York,
who consume the fine peaches shipped there
from the peninsula, have little idea, in respect
to the magnitude of the peach groicing business
here. And methinks that if the efficient and
courteous editor of my favorite journal of horti-
culture [The Oardener'>s 3lonthly) was to take a
trip through this section, while the car-loads of
kind old mother nature's juicy and luscious pro-
ductions are daily being gathered from the
loaded boughs of thousands of trees, and have
his palate moistened with the rich juice of a
"Golden Drop,'' or the spicy sweetness of a
"Stump the Woi'ld," freshly plucked from the
tree, he would 5'ield agreement in the opinion,
that though Pennsylvania and the north can
raise heavier crops of wheat and corn, they are
far, far back in the rear in point of truly ex-
cellent peaches ; that is when put in comparison
with this favored peninsula. Try it, Mr. Mee-
han, if you and we live till next year, me would he
VERY glad to see you here.

And would it be selfish pride for me to here
state the truth, that Caroline County, Md., bids
fair to lead all her thriving sisters on the shore,
in this relation ? The natural adaptability of
her soil to the peach, (both tree and fruit), and
her facilities for prompt and speedy shipment,
of the productions of her very rapidlij increasing
orchards, both by land and water, gives to her
" the long end of the stick." There arc numer-
ous facts relative to the orchard culture of the
peach, that are daily developing themselves,
under my observation, which, should leisure
time present itself, I will perhaps try to classify,
and send you. AVith very high regard, I am
sincerely yours. — J. W. Keru, .Denton, Md ,
September l.'J, 1870.

[Unfortunately this fruit did not reach us, but

1S71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJs^THLY.

0,'y

we have heard such good accounts of it from
others, that we have uo doubt it warrants the
enthusiasm Mr. Kerr exhibits in writing about
it.— Ed ]

The Wealthy Apple.--! lieheve that you
gave some account, some montlis ago, of the
Wealthy apple, a seedling raised by Peter M.
Gideon, of Excelsior, ^linnesota, a few miles
west of Minneapolis. He also had another seed-
ling, which he thought about equal to the
AVealthy, called Molly. It is a large red apple,
very fair and handsome; its quality is '" best."
AVe class apples " good," "very good," "best."
I think its quality will not stand high in the
first class, but too good to go in the second class.
It had a very beautiful shade of light red
through the Hesh of the apple, and very distinct
streaks of red towards the core.

Such being the character of the Wealthy— its
tree and fruit— it cannot fail to be of very great
value to a large portion of our whole continent,
in the latitude of St. Paul, and a long distance
south of that, and how far north it will stand
the climate remains for trial.

I omitted to mention in the proper place,
that the apple appeared to be at its proper stage
of maturity when I cut it, on the first day of Oc-
tober. It had been picked some days, and
bruised a little by its long carriage in the mail.
It is prob;ibl3' a mid-autumn apple. And even
here, in latitude 44p, it may take the place of
our very excellent and popular variety, the
Maiden's Blush, which is rather tender for this
latitude.— SUEL Foster, in Western Farmer.

The Ouachita Grape— The Southern Sfand-
nnl, published at Arkadelphia, Ark., says : "It
is not generally known that we have growing
wild in the woods of the Ouachita, one of the
best wine grapes in the world. It is known as
the " Ouachita Grape," and is of large size, and
delicious flavor. Several years ago it was intro-
duced into France by layers from this country,
and is now the most popular grape in France,
their finest wines being made from it. It is not
subject to diseases as other varieties of grapes, is
much liardier and does not require as much cul-
tivation. Mr. Win. A. Brown exhibited to us a
sp'cimen of this grape a few days since, which
he has been cultivating, which demonstrates its
susceptibility of improvement, it being large and
luscious as the best varieties of what is general-
ly known as the English grape."

New Grape from Ellwanger & Barry.
—We send you a bunch of our new seedling
grape. We think it is now the sixth year
fruited, and it has been uniformly of high char-
acter. Many bunches weigh a pound.

[This is a bunch of remarkable beauty. It
has two shoulder;', and thus makes a symmetrical
bunch. The berries are about the size of Diana,
with the color of a well ripened Catawba, and
are remarkable for tapering very suddenly to a
small narrow point at the junction with the
pedicel or stalk. We counted one hundred and
sixty perfect berries on the bunch. The skin
was thick and the fle-sh pulpy, but sweet and
good. The leaves are coarse and strong.

We do not think it will take rank with the
best n-e have in quality ; but its beauty and evi-
dent vigor will we think ensure for it as wide
spread popularity as the Concord, Hartford, and
other good kinds of that class. — Ed.]

President Wilder Straavberry.— A few
days before starting to California, Col. Wilder
very kindly presented us with a dozen plants of
this variety. This is the first opportunity we
have had of seeing the plants since we saw them
a couple of years ago on his own ground. Not-
withstanding the extraordinary hot and dry
weather to which they have been subjected,
their vigor and health is remarkable. To be
sure "we don't grow strawberries for their
leaves ;" but vigor and health of foliage under a
trying ordeal, we regard as a good augury of
success.

The Jaxie Wylie Grape.— In 1800, I pro-
cured pollen, by mail, from Lyon's Grapery,
Columbia, S. C, of mixed foreign varieties, with
which I fertilized a number of native varieties,
and, among other, several blooms of Clinton.
From the seed thus impregnated, I raised three
Clinton and foreign hybrid plants in 1861, one
of which was Clinton Hybrid, No. 1, since
named by Mr. II. W. Bavenal, Janie Wylie.

'i'he formula of its parentage is— F. Clinton
[Cordlfolia). M. Foreign [Vdis Vinifcra).

It was planted in most unfavorable soil— a te-
nacious yellow blackjack clay— which cracks
widely in dry weather, and is sobbed with water
in wet weather. In this soil it grew until 18G4,
when it showed its first fruit. In 180^, owing
to the destruction of my fence by soldiers, it was
broken down and almost destroyed by cattle ;

^8

THE GARDENER'S MOKTRLY. January,

but still it survived, and lias borne ever since.
Until recently I bad no otbcr vine of tins vari-
ety except one grafted on a strong Isabella stock.
This floui-isbed and bore for two j'^ears and then
died. I have now two vigorous young vines in
a better locality, which have borne this season
for the first time, one of which bore the bunch
represented in the painting sent you.

Owing to various circumstances, which I will
not take space to detail, it has never been fairly
tested anywhere. A few plants have been dis-
tributed, but sufficient time has not elapsed to
get a report of their bearing. In the part of my
lot where the old vine grows, about one-fourth
of an acre of hybrid seedlings were planted at
the same time with this hybrid, but owing to
bad soil and drainage, the greater part are en-
tirely dead, whilst this vine has survived with
scarcely a sign of mildew or disease.

The vine is a pretty vigorous grower ; wood,
short jointed ; foliage resembling the foreign,
except that the leaves are thicker and heavier,
and not inclined to mildew or scorch ; bunch
very large, shouldered ; berry very large, some
of the largest ones globular, (and an inch in di-
ameter,) but mostly oblong ; color, dark purple;
flesh, crisp and solid.

The fruit hangs well on the vine. During the
incessant rains this season about the time of
ripening, where too much shaded, it inclined,
for the first time, to rot. It has proved much
more reliable with me than Herbemont, or Ca-
tawba, and has been pronounced b}^ Parsons,
Bcrckmans and Ravenal of excellent quality.

Upon the whole, we think it may proVe quite
an acquisition, particularly at the South. It

will, probably, be too tender for the North with-
out laying down and covering during the win-
ter. I only raised two other Clinton Hybrids
during 18G1, the fruit of both of which has
proved worthless.

But I have many new Clinton Hybrids just
coming into bearing, which are of the most
promising character. All my Clinton Hybrids
set their fruit well. Bad setting of fruit renders
many hybrids of the finest qualities in other re-
peats worthless.

A. P. Wylie, M. D , in Carolina Farmer.

A New Crab Apple— Mackies Beauty.
— Matthew Mackie, Clyde, Wayne Co., N. Y.,
sends me a seedling from the small Siberian
crab, which I have never seen equalled in size or
beauty, except by the Astrachan crab — a varie-
ty I had and fruited j'ears since, but of late fail
to find in an}'- catalogue. This crab of Mr.
Mackic's is truly beautiful. It is roundish oblong,
oblate in form. Specimens grown in the s tin are
of a deep, rich red, with a blue bloom, and scat-
tering light dots and marbled lines. In the
shade, the color is of a pinkish red, with a gray
bloom. The stem is long, moderately slender,
set in a broad, deep, open cavity. The calyx is
closed, with long or half-long segments clasped, as
it were, by the lower ribs or furrows of the basin,
which is broad and moderately deeji. The flesh is
white, tinged in its lines with faint 3'ellow ; is
crisp, only moderately juicy, and a pleasant,
mild subacid— better than many a well recog-
nized apple. Tlie core is medium, or small,
with flattened, obtuse, pyramidal seeds.— F. K.
Elliott, in Hural New Yorler.

TsEAY ATsD HARE PLA]\TS.

The .Japanese Hydrangea.s have long been
familiar in gardens as ornamental shrub-, the
old-fashioned 11. Hortensia being one of the
fnost popular of decorative i)lants. II. Japonica,
too, is a handsome species, but the comparative
paucity of its neuter flowers renders it less orna-
mental Uian II. Hortensia. We had before us
a few weeks since specimens of two others of re-
cent introduction, which arc subjects of great
beauty, namely :

H YDUANGEA Otaksa and Hydrangea pan-
ICULATA OUANDIFLORA. The former is ad-

mirably figured in Sierold and Zuccarini's
ItOncs ct De)<crip/iones Hifdrangcarum, forming a
portion of the Florcn Japonkce. It is a bold
shrub, with obovate serrated leaves, cuneate at
the base and shortly cuspidate at the apex, and
bears great globose cymes of pale or sky-blue
flowers, which are all, or nearly all, radiant
with five (or sf)metimes four) roundish, ol)()vate,
entire sepals. In the work just noted the cymes
are said to measure 8 to 12 inches across, and in
the sample referred to— the ramified termination
of a natural shoot— the compound fioner-luad

1S71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTnLl.

29

measured just 42 inches in circumference. It is
a grand ornamental plant, very nearly related to
11. Ilortensia, and, like it, having the whole
head composed of radiant or neuter flowers.
The flowers themselves are somewhat smaller
than those of the common Hydrangea, being
1| inch in diameter, but they are more numer-
ous, and of a moi'e elegant form, and more
pleasing color^ the flne pale blue, which, more-
over, pervades all the ramifications of the pani-
cle, being, it would seem, natural to them, since
they are 5o described by Siebold, and the speci-
mens sent us entirely confirm his statement.
Otaksa is the native Japanese name. It is a
plant of great beauty, and will prove to be one
of marked utility, about equalling the other
Japanese Hydrangeas in respect to hardiness.
The Hydrangea paniculata grandijlora is an-
other remarkably ornamental plant, but of a
totally different character, approaching in its
inflorescence nearer to the IT. quercifolia of
Xorth America. II. pauiculata itself is a
branching shrub, with ovate, or ovate-oblong
acute leaves, and the flowers in small cymes,
disposed so as to form a pyramidal panicle, but
mostly fertile and inconspicuous, with a few
large, white, sterile or radiant flowers on the
outer part of the panicle. II. paniculata grandi-
flora diflTers in having a much larger proportion
of radiant flowers, the whole of the small, color-
less, fertile flowers of the type becoming enlarged
and converted into while petaloid blossoms, so
that instead of bearing a sparse inflorescence,
each branch produces a dense panicle of white
flowers of about a foot in depth and two feet in
circumference. As a hard}', deciduous flower-
ing shrub, blooming in August, it has few
equals, while it entirely supplants the old II.
paniculata. For the opportunity of noticing
these choice novelties we are indebted to ]Mr.

Anthony Waterer, of the Knap Hill nurseries.
— Gardener''s Chronicle.

Rare Maples in Europe.— The London
Journal of Horticulture say : We find a series of
Acers of which we have heard from time to time
during several years past, all the several names*
of which appear to be condensed into the new
specific designation ornameiUum. These Acers
are related to a type which may be said to have
only a hypothetical existence; we ma}- call it —
using established technology —

Acp:r polymorphum, and under that head we
group a lot of beautiful trees with decply-lobed
palmate leaves, some of them delicately lacini-
ated and almost fern like in their divisions, all
of them displaying splendid tints of golden green
or bronzy purple, or brilliant crimson or car-
mine. Many of our readers will lemember a
purple-leaved maple called

Acer japoxica, which nobody could propa-
gate, and of which there is scarcely to be found
any authentic record. It is highly probable that
if a tree of the so-called A. japonicum could be
found, it would prove to be one of the polymor-
phum section, an old friend under a new name.
At all events, these maples, varieties of A. poly-
morphvim, are deserving of a place in every gar-
den where beautiful-leaved trees are appreciated ;
and no doubt we shall soon see them planted out
in groups in the promenade gardens, in the same
way as the ghostly variegated negundo has been
employed, but to produce the different effect of a
brilliant display of color. Some new forms of

A CER PSEUDO-PLATANUShave been introduced
with the palmate maples, one of which, named
Frederici Guiliehni is notable for its brilliant
colors, the leaves being streaked and splashed
with tones of rich brown, red, rose and creamy
white.

DOMESTIC IISTELLIGENCE.

Effects of Changf^s. — If any one were to
write a treatise on the laws of life, and include
change amongst them, he would be very likely
be laughed at. Yet how much do we owe to it I
A sick person, after every effort of medicine and
kind attention fails, is ordered to travel, and
he gets cured. So also of plants. We may
grow them on the same soil, year after year and
they fail to produce a crop, though we are as

careful as possible to return to the soil the ele-
ments supposed to 1)e taken away.

AVc know what chemists tell us. They say
that though we do not know it, thei-e is still
something lost Avhich we have not altogether re-
stored. But the practical f;\rmer, though he
cannot controvert this, hardly believes it, as
there are so many things which scarcely come
out right under the explanation. For instance,

'0

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY.

January,

he grows a certain variety of potato year after
year, until it fails to produce the Siime good
crops it once did. lie sends a few hundred of
miles for new seed of the same variety, and it
will at once, and without adding anything to the
soil, produce as good crops as it ever did. We
have hoard agriculturists deny the possibility of
this, but we think that most practical farmers
know that this is really the case. Yet surely
the same variety of potatoes require only the self
same elements. There has been no other differ-
ence but the change.

So also in the matter of manure. People
sometimes find benefit from phosphates, or
guano, or some other commercial fertilizer.
But in a few years it turns out to be no better
than brick dust ; but any other kind of manure
will have a wonderful effect. We knew a friend
once who used to raise enormous crops in his
vesetable garden, which was anually manured
from his horse stable. It failed at last. Even
weeds seemed to despise it. lie changed from
horse to cow manure, and again wonderful crops
rewarded him. Chemically there was not much
difference in the manure. The change was more
than all.

It is well to remember this as a general prin-
ciple. Nature loves change. There is a seem-
ing contradiction, for we speak of the certainty
of nature's laws. But those who know her best,
know that she has laws which seem contradic-
tory. The same elements that make fire, largely
make water, which is the enemy of fire ; and
some of her most harmless elements will often
unite to make the deadliest poisons. At any
•rale, constant as she generally is, we know she
sometimes likes a change— J^orwe^'s Press.

Mammoth Peaches.— Mr. W. F. ITowell, of
Lexington, sent us a box of Peaches, recently,
which astonished us. The peaches would aver-
age fully one half pound each in weight. We
considered them rather large until presented with
some by Mr. D. L. Shead, of this city. The lat-
ter were of tlic same variety — late Crawfords —
and twelve of them weighed just seven pounds.
Tluy measured from 0] to 10^^ inches in circum-
ference. We doubt if that can be beat — San
Jose{Cal.) Mercury.

Knox Nurseries, at Pittsburg, has passed
to II. Cummings & Co. Mr. K. has done a
valuable work in showing how much can be done

with small fruits, v^'hen managed with judgment
and good sense. It was a great work for him to
do, for we think that when once a man is placed
on the grandfathers list, it is time for him to
take the world easy. But it seemed necessary
for him to set young men an honorable example,
and we have no doubt those who succeed him
will profit by it. They have commenced very
well. Their descriptive and illustrated catalogue
of fruits will interest any one at all horlicultu-
rally inclined.

ErCE Paper Plant. — The beautiful Paper

Plant or tree, Tung-tsau of the Chinese. This
grows wild in the forests of Formosa, and often
attains a height of thirty feet. It grows much
like the palm, with a slender trunk and corru-
gated bark. At its top it is crowned with large
leaves, and above these, on slender stems, is a
profusion of clusters of small, but delicate yellow
flowers. In the flowering season, the tree is
very pretty. But its value consists not in its
ornamental qualities. Like the elder (Samhu-
cus.) it has a large pith; this, in a full-grown
tree, is not less than two inches in diameter.
This is driven out by a punch, after the tree has
been cut into sections, and then put into hollow
bamboos, where it dries straight. After this it
is removed, and by a machine, something like
that by v.iiich leather is -split, is by a spiral mo-
tion cut into sheets about four feet long. These
are then pressed until they become firm and
smooth, after which they are cut into sheets of
the desred size.

This makes a very good paper, and is exten-
tensively used in eastern countries It has the
peculiar quality of swelling w hen it is wetted,
and then of retaining its enlarged size. This
makes it very desirable for fancy work, such as
taking the impress of leaves and flowers ; also
for draAvings, as the moistened surface rises and
gives the cflect of relief.

This paper has been in use for a long time by
the Chinese, though they make other kinds, of
different materials. ^ome is made of bark,
which they macerate and then work into a thin
pulp, that is allowed to settle upon a fine sieve
placed in the bottom of the trough. This is
then brouglit up and dried, and beaten witii
mallets until it is firm and smooth. 1 have
often seen the n itives at work at this, and a
very usable paper they make. By i)utting color-
ing matter in the pulp, it can be made of any
shade they desire.

I

1871.

THE GARDEjy-ER'S MOJ^'THLY.

Paper of some kind has been long in use, but
probably at the first the skins of animals were
generally used.

We ar^ told that the early Arabs made their
inscriptions on the shoulder-blades of their
sheep.

The papyrus was early used in Egj-pt for
jiaper, and continued in use for a long time after
the Cliristian era. This paper was prepared by
separating the different layers of tlie bark, and
then, by pressing several of them together, with
each alternate one laid crosswise. This is said
to have made a strong and durable paper.

But this gradually gave way, and some form
of vegetable pulp was used in its stead, and this
will probably be used in all coming ages by the
civilized world. Doubtless most would be as-

tonished to see how well the world got along be-
fore the days of paper mills, and how neatly
paper was prepared for public and private use.

The budhist priests of the East still write their
sacred literature cm sections of the leaf of the sa-
cred palm. I have often seen them reading from
these books, and have a part of one now in my
possession. They are neat in appearance, and
not inconvenient.

Modern invention has done much for the
world, but not as much as one at first would
naturally suppose. — Ohio Farmer.

Hutchinson Peach. — Fruit of medium size
and quality, much like old Red Rareripe ; said
to have borne regularly for forty years in the
vicinity of Reading, Mass.

HOETICUTURAL NOTICES.

FRUIT GRO\VERS' SOCIETY OF PENNA.

As announced in our last, the winter meeting
of this society is to be held this year at Cham-
bcrsburg, Pa., and promises to be one of the
most interesting ever held. It will begin on the
18th of January. The Cumberland Valley R R.
will reduce their fore for the occasion. It is so
very seldom that eastern roads will make this
concession in such cases, that it is worthy of par-
ticular praise. In the West the roads always do
the handsome thing, which, considering that
most of those who attend these meetings do so
in a great measure for the public good, is just as
it should be. It may be added that to get the
benefit of the reduced rates, parties must apply
at the ticket oftice at Harrisburg for the Fruit
Growers' excursion ticket. The meeting of
friends is always in itself pleasant,— it is hoped
that the interchange of ideas will be also profit-
able lo all.

In addition to this liberality, the citizens of
Chambersburg, propose to entertain as many
members as possible at their private homes.

PEXXSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

A few years ago the Penn«;ylvania Society
suffered terribly from the burning of their grand
liall. Every year afterwards it took all they
could collect to extemporize a place for the an-
nu\l exhibitions. However they built one for

themselves ; but still they could not raise enough
to reward contributors for their generous sup-
port to it. Every year, however, the revenues
of the society has been increasing, and the
society feel encouraged to offer for next year
something commensurate with the liberality ex-
tended to them. We understand that it is in
contemplation to appropriate over thirteen or
fourteen hundred dollars for this purpose,— a
larger sum it is believed than has ever before
been offered in one 3-ear in the United States.
Several premiums of from §25 to $30 are amongst
them,— and we understand there will be some of
S'jO, and silver watches suitably engraved for
successful competitors.

Although this Society was established for the
encouragement of Horticulture in Pennsylvania
alone, with a liberality which does them honor,
the eompefitiou is entirely free to the whole United
States.

In order to give every chance to exhibitors to
grow especially for competition, the schedule
committee is now engaged in preparing one,
which we believe will be ready early in February.
It can be had of A. W. Harrison, Secretary.' If
wc might make a suggestion to the Sf)ciety, it
would be to advertise the whole schedule in the
Gardencr''s MonVihj. It would save much time
to their hard worked secretary in mailing, re-
quire a less number of copies to be printed, —
and let the whole world of horticulturists, ex-

32

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLl. 'January,

hibitors or not, see exactly what the Society is
doing.

ILLINOIS STATe'iIORTICULTURaL

SOCIETY.
The great number of intelligent horticulturists
in the Stale of Illinois, always renders their an-
nual meetings particularly instructive. As we
go to press we find some account of the recent
meeting at Galena, in the Chicago Tribune, from
the pen of the Hon. ]\I. L. Dunlap.

President Flagg delivered the annual address.
From reports of committees we gather that the
fruit crop was Ught, except grapes, which were
better than usual. The pear blight has been
severe "but no cause can be assigned for it."

Robert Douglass read a paper favoring shelter
of evergreens for orchards, which seemed to meet
the approval of members. Half hardy varieties
live well under the shelter of the more hardy
ones. On transplanting Mr. Douglass gave
some very excellent advice ; he would prefer the
spring season, before the swelling of the buds,
and in planting pack the earth on the roots very
solid. In case the soil is a little dry, it should
have water poured into the hole so as to form a
puddle ; after filling up with earth, it is to be
rammed down firmly. lie obsei'ved that this
was not very scientific, yet it was good for the
trees. This is a point that should not be ne-
glected in the planting of evergreens.

Dr. Warder lectured" on variations. The Rus-
sian apples were discussed, aud opinion favored
the value of many of them.

C. Y. Riley, Entomologist of Missouri, read a
paper on snout beetles, embracing only the
plum, quince and apple curculios. The number
of insects that prey upon the plants of culture
are almost like the sands of the seashore. These
attack the plant in all stages of its growth as
well as in all its conditions.

The plum curculio is the most destructive of
any member of this family of insects.' He stated
that it is single brooded, and passes its winter
in the beetle state, under rubbish, and never
under ground. Mr. R. presented a bottle with
several of these insect.s, all alive, and ready to
feed on the apple.

Another habit of this insect is that it flies,
feeds and lays its eggs at night ; in short, is a
nocturnal insect. The Michigan method of cap-
turing this insect under the chips was com-
mented upon, and shown to be neither new or

very useful, unless it be resorted to early in the
season.

lie described two insects that feed on the
larvse of this curculio, from which he had hopes
of great good.

Apple Curculio. — This insect differs from the
former ; it is smaller, aud never infests tlie stone
fruits, and, like the former, is a native American
insect.

Quince Curculio, Mr. R. stated, was very in-
jurious to the quince and pear — very common at
the East.

Arthur Bryant showed the profitableness of
timber when planted on forms.

Dr. Yiele, of Rock Island, showed the im-
mense advantage of birds to the husbandman.

Prof. Turner showed that horticultural edu-
cation had made a great gain during the past
few years. An university education was not as
necessary now as in the past to distinguish a
man in the social position or the iuduslrial pur-
suits of life. Parker Earle spoke on pears ; Mr.
Dunlap says, one of the best and most instruc-
tive ever he heard on the subject.

Mr. Talbot, of Burlington, and Shaw, of Lewis-
ton, spoke of pear orchards productively success-
ful about them when not treated to surface
stirring.

A. M. Brown road a paper on this transporting
fruit. Close packing, to avoid injury from
railroad friction, is deemed essential. Close
packages, such as barrels, are best for the pear.
In case they are fully ripe, wrap in paper or soft
grass. Grapes should be exposed to the sun
some hours before putting into boxes of from
three to five pounds.

Dr. Spalding would place the grape directly
from the vine into the boxes. In this way the
bloom is preserved, and the fruit presents a bet-
ter appearance. The boxes are placed in the
shade lor the day, in orjcr to allow them to
throw ofl' the extra moisture, and then closed up
for shipment. In all cases of harvesting the
grape crop, the weather must be dry.

The wine question raised an exciting discus-
sion. It was thought horticulture ought not
to favor anything that tended to drunkenness.
The pure wine men denied that it did. Mr.
Dunlap says, the discussion was very earnest ;^
but in good temper, just as such discussions
ought to be. Mr. Manning, of Boston, made .an
address on the cflTects of fruit culture, which wa8
highly ajipreciatcd.

Arthur Bryant was elected next President, —
and the next place of meeting, Jacksonville.

ded

fine

best

able

arly

ong

and

lap-

irub

able

not

The

this

dra-

:hof

^nus

tion

:om-

ec is

wers

lyas

urea

as it

seen

I dry

)il it

use

The

and-

on —

.awn

d its

very

itioii

)iuca

sira-

s

hib
doi

I

1

nuf

go
mei

llie

I

rr(

fru

bet
scv

I

off

the

live

one

sor

spr

an(

sol

lia''

pui

rar.

wa

tre

gle
I
sia
the
C
pa]
pill
of
are
att
wc

r

an;
thf
in
un'

8C\

fee'
J
fee
no(
tui
mc
vei
sea

^'■^»"LLE. HUDSON ^°

l^oUVAKDIA \ ivlvi'.J.ANI)

PURE WHITE.

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Fiural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAX.

Old Series, Vol. XIII. FEBRUARY, 1871. New Series, Vol. IV. No. 2.

HINTS FOE FEBRUARY.

FLOWER GARDEN AXD PLEASURE
GROUND.

In most parts of the Union planting does not
commence till March ; but as in many sections
it is getting in order, we may as well make a few
suggestions here as in the next month. And
lirst, as regards selections of trees and shrubs.
We are very glad so much more attention is
given now than formerly to the matter of variety;
not only for the many more prettj' combinations
which can be made, but also for the pleasure
^vhich so many forms of stately trees and beautiful
)lower bushes give. AVe are particularl}' pleased
that shiubs are so increasingly popular.

If we have any truly beautiful natural land-
scape scenery pointed out to us, and analyze the
materials that go to make it up, we sh find
shrubberj', or '■ buslies," as we should then term
it, going far towards making the place so charm-
ing, unless, indeed, it is a distant view ; when,
of course, masses of vegetation in wiiich trees are
undistinguished from shrubs, play a more im
porta nt part. Not a wall is built, or a fence set
up, but bushes and shrubber}' of various kinds
spring up, and take from the view the roughness
of the outlines. This observation will furnish a
good guide as to the proper positioJf and uses of
shrubbery. There are now fine collections of
slirubbery in most nurseries to select from. Of
those which are bciutiful and can be readily and
cheaply obtained, we may name Dwarf Horse
Chestnut, flowering in June. The different Dog-
woods, particularly Cornus florida, C. sanguinea,
C. mascula, C. alba, and particularl}' the varie-
gated English. The Hawthorns are very pretty

when in a cool soil, and situation partially shaded
from the sun in summer. There are many fine
double varieties of the English which do best
when grafted on American stocks. The Double
White and Double Red and Pink are particularly
desirable. The Laburnum is a rather strong
growing shrub, also wanting a cool soil and
situation. When the season, as the last, hap-
pens favorably, it is the most ornamental shrub
we liave. The Sea Buckthorn is very desirable
for its pretty silvery foliage ; but it should not
be set on a lawn, as it suckers somewhat. The
shrubbery border is the place for it. Of this
silver-leaved class the Oleasters are very desira-
ble. The yellow is not hardy, probably north of
New York ; but the small-leaved (^Eleagnus
parvifolia) is perfectly so. It has in addition
very sweet flowers and pretty berries to recom-
mend it. The Silver Bell or Snow drop tree is
also a large shrub ; but iis early white flowers
give it a claim on most shrubberies, especially as
it blooms quite young. The magnolias purpurea
and glauca are very desirable. The latter, as it
grows in swamps when wild, is not often seen
cultivated, as it is supposed it will not do in dry
soil. This is a mistake. In a deep rich soil it
thrives amazingly. It requires a free use
of the pruning-knife on transplanting. The
European Bird Cherry is one of the hand-
.somest strong-growing shrubs of its season-
June. For a single specimen on a lawn
it is not well excelled. Its habit is good, and its
flowering abundant. Its berries are also very
enticing to birds, which form no mean addition
to the pleasures of a garden. The Pyrus japonica
every one knows. The white variety is desira-

3Jf

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOKTELY. February,

ble, though it is more pink than white. The
Mist tree is indispensable, Ironi its striking pe-
culiarity of flowering. The White Fringe, with
leaves like the lilac, and large pendent clusters
t)f white flowers, no less so. There are several
Willows which, as shrubs, we would on no ac-
count be without, for their flowers large and
sweet, so early that the first sun that thaws the
March snow, brings them out also. The Goat
Willow, and the Villars Willow— male varieties
of course — are especially to be mentioned. The
Indian Cherry (Amelanchier), following the
AVillow in flowering, and very beautiful ; and the
Double Pink, and Double White Dwarf Almond,
are also early and pretty. The Yellow, Wliite,
and Crimson Azalea.s are magnificent, but so
scarce in nurseries we are almost afraid to have
them in this list. The different Berberries can be
scarcely spared for their pretty red berries in fjxll
The Sweet Shrub or Virginia Calycanthus, is one
of the sweetest of all flowering shrubs, though
its color is dull. The Bladder Senna is very de-
.•-irable for its love of our summer heat, flowering
profusely during July and August. The Meze-
reon is particularly sweet and attractive, bloom-
ing very early, but like the azalea, rather scarce
in nurseries. The Deutzias are w^ell known—
scabra and gracilis are the two best. The Burn-
ing bushes are beautiful in the fiill ; the Mis-
sissippi Purple (a^rojjurjHu-ea), and the European
are two most desirable. The Golden Bell and
early Spiroeas, as prunifolia, Blumeana and
Ileevesii, everyone wants, as well as the Wiegelia
rosea. The public taste is divided onthe Althea,
yet there are few gardens without some one
variety or other. The variegated-leaved is
scjirce, but as desirable as any shrub grown.
The Oak-leaved Hydrangea makes a very striking
object in a collection ; and the common garden
Hydrangea indispensable for dense shade. For
flowering in August, and for dwarf compact
liabit, Hypericum Kalmianum, or the H. pro-
lificum, is perhaps unrivalled. A rather scarce,
but particularly i)retty native shrub is Itea Vir-
ginica, which, like the Magnolia glauca, a swamp
plant, cultivates well in dry ground. The Jas-
minum nudiflorum should be trained to a stifl'
stake, and get a pruning with the shears twice
a year; it then grows very compact, and will
support itself after the stake rots away. Then,
it makes (tne of the ])i('lticst shrubbery bushes
imaginable. As an oriental looking plant, the
common Privet is good ; indeed, its pure white
flowers, fragrant ae they are, and jet black ber-

ries, always attract attention. It is a plant also
that will thrive in the most gravelly soils. The
Upright Honeysuckles are perhaps the most
common in gardens ; the Tartarian deservedly so,
few things are prettier. The Fly Honeysuckle
also is desirable, for though the flowers are not
quite as showy as the Tartarian, the habit is
more graceful. Then the Mock Oranges or Phil-
adelphus, though all white flowering, afford, by
their diversity of habit, many good shrubs. The
sweet one, (P. coronarius^) one of the oldest and
best, is least common. The Large-flowered and
Gordon's upright are the two next beat. The
Tree Pa^onies, though rather expensive, every
one wants. The Red and White Snowberry
make a good show in winter by their interesting
fruit. As for the Lilacs, we need scarcely recom-
mend them. Common as they are no garden is
complete without them. The Persian is a very
distinct one from the common kinds. There are
many new varieties, but they are but shades of
old colors. The Tamarix is not often seen, but
a great favorite of ours. In the class of Vibur-
nums the Snow ball is well-known ; also the
high bush or false Ci-anberry ; the Black Haw
and the Wayf;iring tree are the best.

Amongst large sized trees of the evergreen
class, that are almost indispensable in grounds
of any size, ar6 the White or W^eymouth Pine,
Austrian Pine, Scotch Pine, all well known ;
but there are a ^c-w others which are scarcer, but
which when common enough to be cheap, will be
quite as much appreciated as these. Amongst
these are the Bhotan or Himalayan Pine, Pinus
excelsa. This has been unpopular because of a
few fine specimens having been killed by some
insects or fungus, it is not clear which ; but we
know some specimens thirty feet high, and be-
lieve they are no more subject to disease than
the White Pine. Pinus Australis ; the long-
leaved Pine of the South, is hardy in Philadel-
phia, but it has to get strongly rooted before it
grows fast, and has to reach age before it branches
much ; we cannot speak of its value in orna-
mental gardening. Pinus maritima is somewhat
like it in it.f long leaves, but is the most rapid of
all pines. It is not pretty when young ; but
makes a very striking appearance with age on
large lawns. It is just hardy in Philadelphia,
but we suppose would be too much injured to be
poj ular north of this generally. Pinus mitis
and Pinus r/'yida, arc two very pretty native
Pines of large growth, equal in beauty to any
foreign kinds, but so rarely grown in nurseries

1S7L

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJ^TRL Y.

35

that wc are afraid to name them here, as we do
not know Nvhere the planter could obtain them.
Pimts pyrenaka. is much like the Austrian, but
has longer and finer foliage, and the wood is
reddish instead of a grey brown, as in the com-
mon Black Austrian. Amongst the spruces the
best known and most essential is the Norway.
Then we may use the White Spruce, and, in
Northern regions, the Black Spruce. AVe believe
it does no good .south of this point. The Hem-
lock Spruce is very desirable so far south as
North Carolina, below that it dwindles away.
Amongst the rarer ones are A. Menzicsii, and
south of Philadelphia, A. Doiiglasii. Of the fir
tribe the Silver is extremely desirable, and the
Balsam Fir in northern regions, or in low rich
soils, but not wet. Amongst the rarer ones very
desirable is the Siberian, the Nordmanu, and the
Cephalonian Silvers — the last the tenderest we
believe — the nchilis and (/ranr/Zs will also prove
very hardy and desirable, although we have seen
no very large specimens. We think we may
class the Crypt'-nieria jnponica amongst the
larger class of Evergreens which is hard^' and
desirable, and then close our list, no very exten-
sive one. Of Evei'greens which make only a
medium sized tree, we also hav^e Pines, Spruces,
and Firs ; of the former, the Cembran Pine is
indispensable ; and if we could find them in our
nurseries, we would like to add Pinus inoj)s and
Pinus Banl-stana. Of Spruces we have no com-
mon ones of medium height, but a rather rare
one, Abies orientalis ought to be in every small
garden where choice and good things are desira-
ble. When we get to the smaller size evergreens
or dwarfs, we have a great variety amongst
.Junipers, Arborvitces, Yews. Of this class how-
ever are three which deserve especial mention,
because we think that any one who will make
them common enough to plant cheaply every-
where, will be public benefactors. We mean
Lawson's Cypress, Nootka Sound Arborvitce,
and the Llbocedrus decurrens, all hardy and very
beautiful evergreens of medium growth.

For a collection of desirable trees, not par-
ticularly scarce, but which could be had in most
nurseries, we would telect the Norway, Red,
Sycamore and Sugar Maples ; English Horse
Chestnut, where the soil is not too hot or dry ;
Elnglish White Birch ; English Hornbeam, a
rather small tree ; Judas tree, either English or
American ; European Beech, also the blood-
leaved variety ; European Ash, including the
weeping variety and flowering Ash [ornus]; Euro-

pean Larch, and the American to make a pretty
tree when mature; the Sweet Gum; Magnolia tri-
petela ; Mimosa tree {Jullbrissln), south of Phil-
adelphia ; Paulownia for those who like sweet or
showy flowers regardless of an ugly growth ;
Oriental Plane for grandeur and rapid growth ,
and of the Oaks, the English, Scarlet, Mossy-
cup and Swamp White are the best. The de-
ciduous Cypress, American Linden, and where
the Elm-worm is not troublesome, the American
Elm.

FRUIT GARDEN.

Pruning of fruit trees, when required, should
be proceeded with at favorable opportunities.
AVe write when required, for in our climate, more
injury is done by the knife than by the neglect to
use it. Gooseberries, for instance, are usually
ruined by pruning. In Europe, it is customary
to thin out the centre well to " let in the sun and
air." Here it is the sun and air that ruin them,
by inviting mildew ; and so the more shoots, the
better. Our country farmers are the best goose-
berry growers, where weeds run riot, and grass
and gooseberries affect a close companionship.
Wherever, in fact, the gooseberry can find a cool
corner, well shaded from the sun, and with a
soil, Avhich, never wet, nor yet by any means
dry, there will gooseberries be produced unto
you. The English kinds mildew so universally,
as to be almost gone out of cultivation south of
the St. Lawrence. Nor, indeed, is it to be so
much regretted, since the improved seedlings of
large size and fine quality, raised from the
hardier American species, are becoming known,
and their merits appreciated by growers.

The rule, in pruning grape-vines, is to shorten
the shoots in proportion to their strength ; but, if
the advice we have given in former summer hints
has been attended to, there will be little dispro-
portion in this matter, as summer pinching of
the strong shoots has equalized the strength of
the vine. 1 hose who are following any particu-
lar S3'stem will, of course, prune according to the
rules comprising such system. As a general rule,
we can only say, excellent grapes can be had by
any system of pruning ; for the only object of
pruning in any case is to get strong shoots to
push where they may be desired, or to increase,
with the increased vigor of the shoot, which
pruning supposes will follow the act, increased
size in the fruit it bears.
All fruit trees like a rather dry, rich soil. On

36

THE GARDEJVEIl'S MOJ\fTHLY. Fehmary,

a cold, clayoy boltoni, diseases are usually fre-
quent. Do not plant deep; cut ofl'tap roots, and do
all you can to encourage surface fibres. Surface
manuring is the best way of doing this after the
tree is planted. Do not allow anything to grow
vigorously around your trees the first year of
l)Ianting, uor allow the soil to become hard or
dry. Let trees branch low, and prune a little at
transplanting.

The Strawberr}', where it has been covered
during the winter, should be uncovered as early
as possible in spring, that the warm spring suns
may exert all their intluence on producing an
early crop. As soon as growth commences, a
sowing of guano has been found to be of great
benefit to the crop of fruit.

Easpberries and Blackberiies may be planted
towards the end of the month ; they should be
cut down to within a foot of the ground at
])lanting ; they will of course, not then bear the
next season after planting. But this is a benefit ;
no fruit tree should be allowed to bear the same
season.

As to the best varieties of fruits to plant, that
is a question which a woi'k, intended as ours is
for the whole United States, cannot answer.
We are continually publishing fruit lists adapted
to the different sections in the body of our work,
and to them we refer.

VEGETABLE GARDEN".

The work for February will, for the most part,
consist of preparations for future operations, and
particularly for dealing with the manure ques-
tion. All those kinds that are grown for their
leaves or stems, require an abundance of nitro-
genous manures, and it is useless to attempt
vegetable gardening without it. To this class
belong cabbage, lettuce, spinach, etc. The other
class which is grown principally for its seeds or
pods, as beans, peas, etc., do not require much
manure of this character, in fact, they ai'e in-
jured by it. It causes too great a growth of stem
and leaf, and the earliness— a great aim in vege-
table growing— is injuriously afiected. Mineral
manures, as wood ashes, bone-dust, etc., are
much better for them. For vegetables requiring
rich stable manure, it is best that they have it
Avell rot'.ed and decayed. IS'othing has yet been
found so well fitted for the purpose as old hot-
bed dung ; though to the smell no trace of " am-
monia" remains in it.

One, of the most interesting parts of a vege-
table garden is a hot-bed for starting seeds early.
The end of the month will be time enough for
those who have not command of a large supply
of stable manure, as the very low temperature
we often get at the end of the month, soon ab-
sorbs all the heat the hot-bed possessed. It is in
any event best to put up the beds in the warmest
and most sheltered spots we can find, and to keep
cold winds from the manure, by covering it with
branches of trees, or mats ; and the glass shou'd
always be covered with mats at night. Tomatoes,
egg-plants, peppers and cucumbers, are the first
seeds to be sown this vfa.y. Cooler frames can be
got ready for cauliflower, lettuce, beets, celery
and Early York cabb.age, a little of which may
be sown about the end of the mouth for the ear-
liest crops. The Cauliflower is a particularly
valued vegetable, and no expense spared to get
them in perfection will be regretted when one's
efforts ara successful.

Those who have hot-bedis will now sow Toma-
toes, Egg-plants, Peppers, and other vegetables
that can be forwarded by this means; and those
who have not, will sow them in boxes or pans,
and forward them in windows. Every garden
ought to have at least a few hot-bed sashes to
forward early vegetables ; for if they have no
means of applying artificial heat to them, the
sash will of itself forward some things consider
ably.

Many parties like to have Turnips sown in
spring. The only way to succeed with them is
to sow as early as possible, and on a very rich
piece of ground, where they may grow speedily.
If they do not swell before the hot weather comes,
they will certainly run to seed.

About the middle or end of the month, or still
later at the Xorth — say the middle of March —
Celery and late Cabbage may^ be sown. Here
we usually sow the second week in March.

All gardens should have beds of herbs. Tliey
are always looked for in the fall, and nearly al-
ways forgotten in spring. N'ow is the time to
plant Thyme, Sage, Mint, Balm, and other per-
ennial herbs, and Parsley and other seeds of
hardy kinds may be sown. When we say now
it is of course understood to mean where the
frost has evidently broken up for the season.
Our readers in less favored climes will not forget
it when it does.

187L

THE GARDEJ\i^ER'S MOJVTHLy.

37

GREENHOUSES.

This is the season when many things will re-
»iuire ro-ijotting. Many have a set time and
season to do this ; but some things require re-
potting at various seasons. The best time is just
before they are about to make a new growth.
Camellias, Azaleas, and many plants, for in-
stance, start at this season. It is not necessary
to repot so often as some think, especially if
bloom, and not very large specimens, is chiefly
wanted. If the pot is very full of roots, and the
plant growing weak, it maj' need re-potting.

In potting, sec that some provision is made
for allowing the water to readily escape, by put-
ting broken crocks over the hole. Use soil rather
dry, and ram it firmly about the oKl ball. Prefer
pocs only a little larger, to very large shifts, as
less liable to accidents. Trim the plants in a
little, if unshapel}', toeacourage the new growth
where wanted.

Many who have but small houses and wish to
have a variety, are troubled with valued plants
becoming to large. To keep them low, as soon
as the plant has niatured its growth, cut it down
as low as may be desired. As soon as it shows
signs of breaking foz-th into a new growth, turn

it out of the pot ; shake or tear away the old ball
of roots, and put it into a small pot as it can be
got into, and when it grows again, and fills the
pot with roots, re-pot again as before.

Sometimes the plants get "sick," which is
known by unhealthy, yellow leaves. This is
usually by over-watering, generating a gas, or,
as gardeners term it, a " sourness," destructive
to the roots. The remedy is to cut the plant
back a little, shake out the soil, and put the plant
in a small pot with new soil, and place the plant
in a house only moderately warm, and which is
naturally moist, so that the plant can live for a
while without requiring nuich water. It will
generally recover.

Every one interested in plant growing must be
continually on the watch for small insects, which
destroy more i)lanls than many are aw\are of.
The little Black Thrip is very troublesome to
Azaleas ; the green fly to all soft-wooded plants ;
the scale to CameUias, Oleanders, Cactuses, and
the mealy bug to almost all hot-house plants.
Continual syriiigings with warm, greasy watei,
in which svilphur has been mixed, is the best
remedy. Tobacco smoke is still the most ap-
proved mode of destroying green fly and thrip.

COMMUNICATIONS

A FLOWE?t snow IN THE YEAR 1830.

EY 3IU. W. T. IIAKDING, PIIIIvA.

Some forty years ago, when a novice in the
profession I had selected to follow, I was placed
under the instructions of an uncle, who was
celebrated in his day as a skilful landscape
cardener, and. successful nurseryman. "Fair
Flora,''" with whose charms I was early smitten,
liad wooed and won my youthful heart, and " for
better, for worse," we have since been united for
so many long i'ears. It has been said "the
course of true love never did run smooth;'
probably not, as most of us are aware who have
crossed the stream. Yet throiigli all the vicissi-
tudes of life which the writer has since e\'i)cri-
enced, he can truly say, his afTections have Jievcr
been estranged from his first love.

" F<»rtlie \wM-l that hns truly loved never forgets,

But will fondly love on to life's close;
A*- the Hiinflower turnp to tier Go'l when he pete,

Tlic Willie look which she irave when he rose."

But I am wandering from the subject, and
what I wanted to say when I began this, is not
what I have been saying, as my intentions were
to describe a Flower Show which took place long
ago. In those days there were no "Grand Hor-
ticultural Exhibitions,"' like the last September
one, held in this city ; v.-hich was, indeed,
a grand affair. In those days they were
simply called '' Flower Shows," where prizes
were awarded to the growers who showed the
best.

Early in 5k[ay, 1830, I, in company with a
relative, went to Crigglestone, to the Annual
Show of Tulips, Ranunculuses, Polyanthuse:=,
and Auriculas ; also fruits and vegetables. Of
the two judges, my iustructor was one, who
awarded the premiums to the successful ex-
hibitors and whose decisions were as binding
as the laws of ancient Media and Persia.
Gravely tliey seemed to discharge a serious and

S8

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJYTELY February.

important duty, " without either fear or favor."
A singing match between canary birds and
meadow larks was announced to take place in
the room, after the show was over, as an inter-
lude while supper was preparing, which was to
conclude the day's doings. The rector of the
parish presided as chairman ; just such a man
I f-hould think as would compare well with
'• The Vicar of Wakefield."

Good and benevolent old man, I think I see
him now, in his old style habiliments; knee
breeches, black silk stockings, and silver-buckled
shoes.

He addressed the members of the society and
visitors present, and in his remarks alluded to
the antiquity of gardening, and the first gar-
dener, Adam, who lost his situation from a
strange propensity he had for eating unwhole-
some fruit ; and during the time he was out of
the business he tried his hand at tailoring, which
was something new to him, and so unlike the
gentle art he formerly followed, that after making
liimself a garment, he returned to his former
occupation, with this diflerence : that at first he
was gardening for pleasure, but afterwards for
profit. I thought then, what a lucky thing it
was for me to have chosen so desirable a calling,
as to live among fruits and flowers like our pro-
totype. He also spoke of the humanizing effect
the love of hcrticulture had upon society, and
remarked that wherever it attained to a high
standard of perfection, it proved the people to
be refined, peaceful and good. A list of the suc-
cessful competitors having been handed to the
chairman, their names were called out, and the
premiums announced somewhat as follows :

"To John Goodman, Avho has exhibited the
best collection of Tulips, five shillings and a
strong pruning knife ; which knife should ad-
monish him to cut a becoming figure through
life, in the iwsitiou God had called him to."

(Jeorge Digwell was the winner of a similar
sum, lor the best display of llanunculuses, and
a new spade, which implement was to remind
him of the words addressed to the "father of
gardening," "in the sweat of thy face shalt thou
cat bread." Notwithstanding it has been so
8aid, honesty and patient labor would surely
meet with its due reward.

]Jichard Smoothraker was the recipient of four
shillings, a rake, reel and line, for the best twelve
I'olyanthuses exhibited. One of the three im-
plen>ents, the rake, should call to his mind the

evil results of "The Tfakc's Progress," a course
of folly he hoped he would endeavor to shun ;
and thfit when cultivating the soil, to rempmber
that although it had been decreed that "thorns
also and thistles shall it bring forth," yet with
industry well applied, both fruits and flowers,
would flourish in place of weeds ; a fact so plain
that all present could see.

The reel and line were fit emblems to point out
how to make "The crooked straight, and the
rough {)laces p'ain," as, no doubt, he would find
frequent opportunities for so doing.

Thomas Potwell obtained the highest premium
offered, namely, ten shillings and «i copy of
j" Abercrombie's Gardener's Callcndar,'' for the
best twenty-four varieties of Auriculas, which
embraced white-edged, alpines, green-edged and
selfs, as they were then designated.

It was there I first saw the famous and beau-
tiful Auricula, Colonel Taylor, which was never
excelled by any other kind of ils class, and al-
ways maintained its price, f\xG pounds per plant.

I much regret having lost sight of such really
beautiful flowers for so many j'ears. Athough
frail and naturally d,>licate. they may be culti-
vated with success when properly managed.

Fruits and flowers were well represented, for
which suitable premiumswere given, and similar
remarks -made by the chairman, who, after in-
voking a blessing upon all present, mingled with
the pleasant company. " The merr}- larks " and
canary birds, -were next called "^ for. The little
cantatrices were "famed in song," prima donnas
in feathers Several mysterious looking bundles,
covered with dark colored cloth, were brought
in and placed upon the tables, which afterwards
proved to be cages containing the birds.

All the time I was wondering how they could
be induced to sing for a Avager or premium, but
was soon made aware, for " when the cloth was
opened the birds began to sing," they having
been kept in darkness for some time previous,
and when suddenl3' exposed to the light began
such a warbling, piping and singing, as was
truly astonishing

The canaries followed suit, after removing the
larks, and such a thrilling, ear-splitting chorus
was given, wMiich, for the time, was almost
deafening. Wiiether it was the loudest or sweet-
est singer that won the i\\v shillings and a brass
wire cage, I do not now remember. Well, .ificr
flowers and music came .supjjer, the grind finale
of the occasion. The venerable and worlhv

1871.

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJs'TELY.

89

rector took a seat at the head of the table. On
his right hand was seated one of the judges,
while vlza-viz from the opposite end looked uj)
the associate judge, and Boniface, the joll}^ host
of the " Red Dragon " Inn, where the show was
held. O, mighty roast beef of Old England, and
strong October ale ; with what a gusto it seemed
to be relished by all, as it disappeared from view !
A more jovial or happy party, never met to dis-
cuss the merits of beef and ale, than had assem-
bled there. Song and sentiment followed after
the inner man had been comforted, which was
equally shared and enjoyed, with the happy old
rector as well as the merry laymen. Such was
the first Flower Show I attended, little thinking
then of the grand gala days of Chiswick an(f
Regent Park, where we exhibited in after j-ears.

IIow changed are the times since then, and
h )w varied has been the writer's experience !

The good old rector has left us, and gone to a
higher life ; to bliss unchanging, and the goodly
company- over which he presided, are one by one
passing awa}', and resigning their situations for
more exalted positions in the mystical Eden,
where all good gardeners go.

REMARKS ON THE DAPHNE CNEORUM.

BY MR. ANTOINE WINTER, WEST GROVE, TA.

This little plant is hardy, and retains its
foliage during winter. It is a perpetual bloomer.
The flowers are of a pink color, and very fragrant.
Its best season for bloom is in the month of
April and late in the fiall, when other flowers are
nearly all gone. No good garden should be
without a few plants of it.

It can be propagated several ways. In the bed
it can be layered, or the large plants may be
divided. Biit the best plants by far are those
grown from cuttings. There are several ways of
doing this. The best plants that I ever raised
were cuttings made from plants in the open
ground, in November. They were planted in
sand on a table with some bottom heat, tluMi I
])otted them as soon as they were rooted, and
planted them in the open ground in the month of
IMay. In November they bloomed, and had
roots enough to fill a six-inch tlower pot. In my
experience I found that a good sandy loam is the
best soil for this ])lant. "When grown from cut-
tings, they are easily transplanted. I have often
moved them in spring, when they were in full
bloom, and it would not even aflfoct the flowers.

The plant can also be propagated from green
wood, the cuttings being taken off, and tin'
plants forced in the green-house during winter.
This I consider the surest way of rooting them.
When potted and planted with care, they will
make good plants by fiiU.

ON THE RAISING OF NEW VARIETIES
OF POTATOES FROM THE SEED-BALL.

BY MR. GEO STJCn, SOUTH AMBOY, N". J.

No doubt since the excitement about the Early
Rose and other new seedling potatoes, many per-
sons have been inclined to try their luck at pro-
ducing new varieties. It is also doubtless a fiict
that they have generally been deterred from
making the trial from the supposition that it
would be a long and tedi )US operation to begin
with a small seed, no larger than a pin's head,
and grow it on till full sized potatoes resulted.

The directions usually given for raising these
seedlings certainly tend to encourage this idea ;
and Mr. Patterson, to whom the English are
indebted as the originator of man}' good potatoes,
gives it as his opinion that the production of new
varieties from seed, is attended with so much
labor and expense that it should be undertaken
by the British Government, and not by indi-
viduals.

But the supposed difficulties could hanll}- be
more absurdly exaggerated than thoy are in a
late number of a well-known English horticiil
tural journal. The article on the subject is long
and most elaborate— specific (firections being
given for the exact proportion of each kind of
enriching material to be. used in the seed-bed ;
also suggestions as to the shape of the bed, the
sort of cotton covering it should have over it ;
the composition of a wash to be used on the cot-
ton,- in fact, details almost without number —
the upshot of the whole being, that if the writer's
directions are followed with care for two years,
some potatoes may be had large enough to pass
judgment on.

I cannot, of course, say decided'y that no one
will be found bold and self-sacrificing enough to
submit himself to this two years' discipline ; but
I am inclined to the opinion that if the experi-
ment should be made, it will be in the garden of
a Lunatic Asylum, where one of the occupants
has a piece of ground set aside for his anmso-
ment.

Now, the simple fact i.-< that it is an easy mat-

40

THE GAUBEJ^EWS MOJVTHLl. February,

ter to get a tolerably good crop of potatoes within
five or six months from the time (the small seeds
are sown. I have now in my cellar more than
two hundred varieties of potatoes — very many
of full size— all of which were produced from
seed taken from the potato-ball a year ago. All
who have seen these potatoes, differing, as they
do. in shape, color, and in various other ways,
have been so much interested that I cannot re-
frain from detailing to your readers the very
simple means by which such gratifying results
can be obtained.

I bought the potato seed from a seedsman. It
was said to be " Early Rose, fertilized with white
peach-bLow and other varieties," w^hich, from the
appearance of the seedlings, is probable. The
seed was planted about the end of March, just
as tomato seed is planted. It germinated readily,
and the little seedlings were soon pricked out into
pans. In fact, the plants were treated precisely
as tomato plants, except that they were moved
to a cooler position than the tomatoes required.

Toward the end of May, the potato plants
were set out in rows, just as potatoes are usually
planted, plenty of room being left between the
rows. Only this difference was made — very im-
portant, however, I think— the potato plants
were not set on the level of the ground, but four
or five inches below it, like celery in trenches.

They soon struck root vigorously into the
good soil prepared for them, and grew rapidly—
the soil being gradually filled in, as fast as the
strength of the stalk seemed to admit of.

By the end^f .Tune the trench was all filled in
to the level, and after that only one slight earth-
ing up was given. In August the potato vines
were as large and flourishing as if grown from
sets. In this month, too, the first of the potatoes
were dug, and from that time others matured,
some varieties being early, and some late, until
the last of October.

Every variety has been kept separate. Many
show decided evidence of Early Hose parentage,
as they vary in color from the very slightest
flush of pink to nearly the redness of a scarlet
radit^h. Several have the dark and distinct ap-
pearance of the old-fashioned " Blue Mercer.''
Among the whites some are extremely promising.
>«'carly all show distinct characteristics ; in seme
the eyes being deep set, and in others hardly to
be noticed. One variety was particularly re-
markable, as all in the hill were about the same
size, smooth in skin, and shaped cxactl}' like a
hand.

As regards flavor, those that we tried were very
satisfiictory. Some were really excellent, many
very good, and but few abominable ; none, I
think, so bad as the Cusco.

EVERGREENS FOR WINTER.

BY WALTER ELDEIl, LANDSCAPE GARDENER,
PIIILADELPUIA.

We are now in the "dead of winter," as the
phrase goes, but nature is neither dead nor
asleep ; although deciduous vegetation has gone
to rest, to recuperate its exhausted vitality, so
as to come forth again in spring, with great vigor
and beauty, to adorn the earth with foliage and
4 blossoms afresh.

The evergreen trees and shrubbery are still in
life, and decorate the general landscape and or-
nament private grounds,far more beautifully than
they did in summer. In hedges and groups, or
singly set, they are all beautiful ; and now hav-
ing the whole field to themselves, their verdant
hues shine with greater lustre, and we admire
them the more. We have a very numerous
and diversified list of evergreens in culture, to
make embellishments with, and very many new
species and varieties are 3'early introduced by
our enterprising nurserymen — some of them
make a tour among the nurseries of Europe
every year, and bring home every new and valu-
able plant they can purchase, so as to keep our
arboretum in the front rank. Henry A. Dreer
made a tour in 1869, and Robert Buist made a
tour in 1870, (both of Philadelphia.) We have
seen their importations, and highly admire them.
Other nurser3'men throughout the union also
make tours, and appoint agents, to send every
plant, choice and new. The catalogues of
nurserymen lor 1871, will give details of late im-
portations— improvers should get and study
them.

Let us contrast a few cf the species and varie-
ties we have in cultivation. Some of the I'ines,
Piceas, Spruces, etc., attain nearly a hundred
feet in height. Some of the large Arborvitais,
Cupressus, Cedars, Libocedrus, etc., grow less
in height, Lut form largo massy columns of
glossy foliage. Some lesser Arborvita's, Biota,
Juniporus, Yew, lioxwood-lrec, Evergreen Pri-
vet, Thujnpsis, Euonymus japonica, etc., make
stately shrubbery. Then the dwarf Aiborvil.'es,
Cephalotaus, CotdUeaster, Kalmia latitblia,
Retinospora and Rhododendron, of species and
varieties, Mahonia. dwarf Boxwoods and creep-

18'fl.

THE GARDE J^EB!b MOJVTHLY.

41

in«; Junipers, are classed as dwarf shrubbery.
Of th( ir hues, Boxtree, Yew and some Pines
and Piceas, are very dark. Some of the Juni-
pers, Cedrus deodara, etc., are of light lively
hues. Biotas are pale grass green ; then there
is a numerous class of various Genera, with
variegated leaves ; some have mixtures of green
and white, others have yellow and green variega-
tions, others again are splashed with white and
yellow over their greens ; some are tinged with
3'ellow, and look as if gilded with goM. What a
beautiful picture the evergreens make in winter,
when they are judiciously arranged upon a fine
lawn, and ail in sight of each other ! the con-
trast of their various statures, forms foliage and
hues of verdure ; makes rich food for the intel-
lect—area? rural feast.

Our wealthy citizens, who intend to make
arboral decorations at some future time, should
take notice of the evergreen trees and shrubbery
on the way of their walks and rides in winter,
and note down such species as they may most
admire, and let them read and study the "Book
of Evergreens," by .Josiah Iloopes, Esq., and the
'• Hand Book of Ornamental Trees," by Thomas
Mechan, Esq , then they will observe the beauties
of trees and shrubs wherever they go, both in
summer and winter.

DISCOVERIES OF ANCIENT BONES AT
WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS.

BY MR. K. DOUGLAS.

You know that I am a believer in scientific
men, especially when they ti'cat on bones; and
that I did not doubt our friend, Dr. Warder,
when he picked up the bone on my grounds and
said it was a horse's bone; nay, when he picked
up a second, and called it an ox's bone. I did not
doubt, but only asked him how he knew it; and
when he turned it over and showed me where
the butcher had sawed oflf the roast, I did not go
back to examine whether there was a ring-bone
or spavin on the horse's leg-bone, by which he
might have distinguished it, but took it for
granted that scientific men (especially directly
after attending a meeting of the American Asso-
ciation, in Chicago) knew whereof they aflirmed
by other modes than those resorted to by ordin-
ary mortals ; and for this firm belief in scientific
men's opinion on old bones, as you will yet re-
member, I was rewarded with a good joke at
my expense in the Piiiladelphia Press.

I bore the joke bravely, supposing that science

would never again disturb my old hones ; but I
was mistaken. They have been ground througli
the Chicago papers several times within the past
three or four months. They have been boiled in
glue at Chicago, and sent labelled to Washington,
but these are not the bones used by yourself and
the doctor to get the joke on me. They are the
bones of an Elk (or Moose) that our men dug
out of a bed of peat.

You seemed so much interested in all that
appertained to the Indians and the first settle-
ment of the country, by white men, when you
Avere out here,that I incline to think the following
facts may amuse you ; I will, therefore, try to
give you the details seriously, although it is bet-
ter worth a laugh than the bones you saw here :

We have a peat bed or muck hole in a corner
of one of our nurseries, from which our men dig
muck in summer for composting, throwing it up
in ridges to be dried by the sun before hauling it
out in winter. We usually dig as deep as the
water will allow. Three or four years since, be-
ing a very dry summer, we were able to dig to
the bottom, six or seven feet, when we dis-
covered what appeared to be the bottom of a
lake, showing clear sand, gravel and small
shells, exactly like the shores of the lakes, so
common in this county. Imbedded in this gravel
we found a boulder, and around it were charred
sticks, looking to all appearances like the re-
mains of a camp lire, and near to it we found
several poles that had evidently been pointed at
the thickest end with an instrument noi very
sharp, proving, at least to my satisfiiction, that
Indians had camped there, and that the
sharpened saplings were their tent poles cut

with a stone hatchet.

While digging last summer, about three rods
from the spot named, we found the bones of the
Elk,— the horns, a jaw-bone, a leg, etc., and
would have got them all, but the water pre-
vented. They are the bones of a good-sized Elk,
but I think I have seen larger.

A neighbor asked for them to take to Chicago,
thinking them a great curiosity. I advised him
not to trouble himself, as the Elk was recently
in this locality, and is yet to be found at no
great distance ; that an old Elk could easily get
mired in that slough, even as it was when I first
knew it, twenty-five years ago ; that the Indians
might have killed it there, or possibly it had
died of old age. lie took them, however, and
judge of my surprise, on reading in the Chicago
papers, that this is a diflTerent species from any

J^-

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY, February,

ever foiinil on this continent, that it is identical
witli, or very closely resembling the Irish Elk,
and that it is much larger than the American.
Tlien in a few weeks we read of it again as be-
lonfring to a pre-Adamite race, etc.

Now, if these writers had examined the bones,
on the ground where they wei'e found, as you
and the Doctor did, they might have come to
the conclusion that the pre-Adamite, Darwini-
an and Erinian, theories would apply to tliem
about as consistently as to the horse and ox
bones above spoken of.

The slough of which this muck hole forms a
part, is about a mile long by a half mile in
width, the adjoining land rising gradually,
from five to fifteen feet above the level of the
muck deposit. It is undulating, several points
jutting out into the slough, forming small bays.
The bones of the Elk, and traces of Indians, lie
between two of these points.

Across the outlet to the slough, or former lake,
the remains of a very strong Beaver dam could
be seen for several years after I came here to le-
side, and after a great deal of digging and plow-
ing and leveling, it is not obliterated yet. I
think this had a good deal to do with the change
in the deposit in the bed of the then lake, for it is
plain to be seen that the surplus water found
another channel on the east side of where the
bones were found, while the channel dammed by
the Beavers is on the west side, and in digging
we find in some places rank vegetable matter
pressed solid but not decayed, lying under three
or four feet of clear muck with little or no fibre
— indeed within the past few years we have had
freshets, carrying haycocks nearly a mile and
depositing them near the same spot, and also
filling up ditches, four feet wide, with a deposit
of muck brought from over a mile up stream.
Now it is easy to be seen how his Elkship might
have been caught on an island, (tlierc are
several in the slough) and carried down stream
and swamped, much easier than to see how he
could liave lain there for ages on ages, or even
to have swam over from Ireland. Now I have
told you how this Elk may have got there, tak-
ing a common-sense view of the matter, but I
cannot tell how the Indians managed to camp
on the bottom of the lake ; can you ?

P. S. — Nine p. M. and down to zero. We
have had three days of very cold weather, and
no let up yet.

[This letter was not intended for more than

the editor's personal enjoyment, — but so many
I of our readers take an interest in every branch
I of natural history, that we could not resist the
[ temptation to publi-sh !Mr. Douglass' pleasant
epistle. In regard to traces of Indians, we have
often seen and heard of pieces of wood dug up
from wells in Ills., which were supposed to have
been sharpened by stone hatchets, but which we
prefernsd to believe were peron by beavers. "We
have seen specimens certain!}- done by Beavers,
which any one would believe to be done by
stone hatchets, if not aware of the Beavers' great
skill in this matter. As to fire— well, fire ex-
isted before the Indians, — but even granting the
Beaver, it shows that some extinct species like
this Elk existed down to modern times, and are
not perhaps quite so ancient as supposed. "We
should like, for some of our Philadelphia pala;-
ontologists, to have a chance at some of these
bones. Send some to Professors Leidy or Cope,
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science. —

^^•^ -

«•«•* —

WELL RIPENED TOMATOES.

BY L B , PniLA.

I veuture to send you a basket of tomatoes,
illustrating the capacity of this fruit for keeping
beyond the season, when the grocer's boy re-
ports, in his emphatic jihi'-ise, that ^'■tomatoes is
done^'''> and refuses to bring you more from the
market. I have had no difficult}', in former
years, in securing the keeping of two or three
bushels until near Christmas, and this year I
have been more successful than usual ; cutting
most of them from the vines Nov. 7th, and the
last Nov. IGth, after which date they would no
longer grow out of doors, even in this unequaled
season.

The secret of being able to preserve them is to
train them off the gi'ound. I will not insist that
thoy shall be trained on a wall, as my preference
is, but in some manner train them up, and give
them light as well as heat. I did not spade up
five square feet of ground for tomatoes this year,
giving them room only in nooks and corners, on
walls and on grape vines, yet I had a larger
crop than ever before, and cut some eight or ten
baskets of gi'een and half ripened ones on the
dates named abov«^. Of (hese I liave lost per-
haps thi'ee per cent, by decay, not more ; and I
think have enough left to see good specimens of
my own in hand when Bermudas are first shown
in our market.

1871.

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELY.

43

Canned fruit does much to relieve us in the
winter, but I, of course, find it very pleasant
to be able to extend the use of fresh tomatoes
from July to January, with no cost beyond a
little care, and I venture to assure any one who
will plant afjainst the south or cast side of a
wall, and will fertilize highly, that he can also
gather an abundant crop from August 1st to
November, and can keep what he last gathers at
least a month longer,

[Xever on any Christmas day did we enjoy
tomatoes as delicious as these. "We are pleased
that L. E. keeps this plan of perfectlnr] tomatoes
before the public. As we have before said, it
may not be the most profitable way for a market
gardener, — but for all those with whom quality
is worth paying for by a little extra pains, there
is no way of raising tomatoes like this — Ed.]

BUD YARIATIOXS.

r.Y MR. CIIAKLES ARXOLD, PARIS, ONTARIO,
CAXADA.

I -end you by mail two specimens of fruit, and
wi.^h you to give your opinion of them as to
whether the3^are apples or pears.

You will observe by the accompanj'ing letter
from Dr. Lawrence, that they grew upon the
branch of a pear tree. "When the Doctor first
showed me the fruit, I thought there must have
been some mistake as to their origin, and said,
that even if.truc as to their growing upon a pear
Ijranch, the case was so extraordinary, that to
make it puWic, would be at the ri.sk of our repu-
tation for veracity. The Doctor, however, is
very positive ; therefore, after some further con-
versation with ^Irs. Lawrence, we took the fruit
to C. Whitlow, Esq., Mayor of the town and
President of the Horticultural Society, and after
calling together several other members of our
society, with the Secretary, Mr. Henry Hart, we
j)roceeded to examine and taste the fruit. All
l)arties present were of opinion, that the fruit
much more resembled apples than pears, both in
llavor and appearance. Some fancied they could
])erceive quite a pear flavor, but all were unani-
mously of opinion that there was no trace of 11.
I. Greenings in the fiavor.

The readers of the Monihiij will doubtless ask,
arc the statements of Dr. Lawrence correct ? I
will* only say, th;it no one who is acquainted
with the Doctor or his wif', will for a moment
doubt their veracity. This year seems to have
been remarkal)lc for the production of sports in

cereals and fruits, in this section of countrv.
Several varieties of my cross-bred wheat have
shown a disposition to sport in every direction.
One gentleman in this vicinity has a Spitzenberg
apple that was grafted in the root long, long ago,
and for many years it has borne genuine Spit-
zenberg fruit ; but this year one branch of this
old tree produced fruit that had no resemblance
to the fruit of former years. This last men-
tioned case, is no doubt an instance of bud vari-
ation. It will be observed that the pear tree of
Dr. Lawrence was full of blossoms in the si)ring,
but that the fruit did not set. This would seem
to indicate that some portion of the fiower was
defective. If then we venture to assume that
this fruit did grow upon a pear branch, may we
not conjecture that the defect in the pear blos-
som, was remedied by the perfection and super-
abundance of the same material in the a]>ple ?
We all know that if we plant a few grains of
dark purple corn, and near by we plant white
sweet-corn, that we will find in the fall both va-
rieties of corn in the same ear. These two vari-
eties of corn are as unlike each other, as apples
are unlike pears. Therefore it may not be amiss
for all of us, who have been in the habit of
treating such statements as those now made by
Dr. Lawrence, as absurdities, or as facts existing
only in the disordered imaginations of a few, to
ask, are such phenomcnons possible under cer-
tain circumstances, although, perhaps, very rare
and improbable ?

The following is the letter of Dr. Lawrence re-
ferred to :

Paris, 21st Dec, 1870.

Chas. Arnold, 'Esq— My Dear )S/V.--The
two specimens of fruit, which I handed you a
day or two ago, were picked from a small pear
tree, (dwarf,) I have reason to think a Tyson,
on or about the 10th of October ult., by myself
in company with my wife. The tree had been
' full of fiouri.sh in spring, but I had not seen any
! fruit on it till that day, when we were picking
I apples from a Rhode Island Greening, which
grew near it— to my astonishment I saw what
I appeared to be two apples on the pear tree.
1 They had a very slight resemblance to the
Greening, but yet were not the same. I imme-
diately suspected that it might be a twig of the
! (Jreening mixed with the pear branches. I
' therefore got my wife to hold them quite separ-
ate, and convinced myself that they grew on the
pear tree when 1 removed t'.iem. I would have

M

THE GARDEJVER'S MONTHLY,

Febrii ctry,

called the attention of yourself or some other of
our fruit growers to the phenomenon, but I did
not think it anything extraordinary, considering
it a case of hybridizing, having heard so much
of it 1 itcly, and not myself have given tlic sub-
ject any consideration. I am, my dear sir, yours
very truly,

John Lawrence.

[Tills is a highly' valuable communication.
There is no mistake here, for on opening the
specimen sent the seeds furnished undisputed
evidence that the fruit is a pear, and not an
apple. Then the insertion of the stem is not the
insertion of an apple. In the apple we know
that the stem gradually fits in tlie cavity, until it
is tigiitly clasped,— tliat is, the basin is funnel
shaped, the i'unnel scarcely having any outlet at
the point as one would say,— but in this speci-
men the basin is rather bell-shaped, just as one
could imagine it would be if a pear had its stem
pushed in, the pulp and skin <.'o'ng with it. In the
seed and the stem cavity or basin, there is not the
slighest relationship to the apple. The curious
part of the affair is, tliat the pulp is undoubtedly
that of an apple. The apples were rotten when
they got here, we could not judge of the perfect
flesh,— but there is one character by which the de-
cayed pulp of an apple can be always distmguish-
ed from that of a pear. Apple pulp is fibrous —
pear pulp is granulated. We carefully washed
this pulp, and there was not the slightest trace
of the gritty masses whicli characterize pear pulp.
It was apple pulp most undoubtedly.

AVe regard this, therefore, as one of the most
wonderful discoveries in all our experience.
We hold, as our readers know, rather advanced
views of the important part played by bud vari-
ations in the origin of species— what importance
this new item will have in this discussion re-
mains to be seen. — Ed.]

NEW FOREIGN GRAPES.

I5Y MR. JAMES TAPLTN, MANAGER TO GEORGE
SUCH, ESQ., SOUTH AMBOY, N. J.

A few remarks on the new varieties of English
grapes may be possibly acceptable to some of
your reaflcrs, and also answer the numerous in
quiries we receive as to tlie qualities of varieties
as yet but little known in tliis country.

The Royal Ascot cannot be called a very new va-
riety in England— there it is generally well spoken
of. I had the pleasure of tasting it from the

original seedling vine, and then considered it a
valuable grape, and since its extra free-bearing
qualities have been proved, it has increased in fa-
vor. I am not prepared to call it a perpetual
bearer, but it will show bunches at every eye, or
in some cases four or more from a small side
shoot and also from the laterals. It is one of
the most prolific varieties for pot culture I have
seen. This season we had a few small plants
left over, which we considered too weak for sale.
They were left in an old cold frame, with only wa-
tering each plant, and they not only showed fruit,
but ripened nice bunches. It is a beautiful
black grape— very juicy and refreshing — very
thin-skinned, but not liable to crack from that
cause, but will rot if allowed to get wet from any
cause after it is ripe. That is the only fault I
have heard complained about in English garden-
ing periodicals.

"Mrs. Pince's Black Muscat " This is an-
other excellent variety which, previous to being
sold to the public, was not dene justice to by
the growers, who looked at the number of
bunches grown m 'a certain space in preference
to fine show grapes. A fact which I mentioned
to Messrs, Pince on receipt of some fruit for my
opinion. I advised them to place some plants in
the hands of Mr. ileridith, the noted grape
grower, near Liverpool. The next time I visited
Mr. Meridith he had the fruit in perfection ; it
looked like a totally different variety. It is a
fine black grape with a full muscat flavor. It
requires a hot grapery to bring out the full
flavor. Yine freely growing and fruiting. Fruit
keeps well.

"Golden Champion.'' AVithout doubt the
handsomest of all the white grapes— large bunch
and immense berries. Mr. Thompson the raiser
of it sent me berries of it when ripe, which wei'C
certainly the largest grapes I ever saw, but those
were not perfectly ripe, but I should judge them
equal to Black Hamburgh. The growth of vine
is short-jointed, like the Champion Hamburgh,
from which I believe it was a seedlin.i.

"Dutchess of Buccleuch.'' Anotlier of ^Ir.
Thompson's seedlings, and named after his em-
ployer. It is one of the finest flavored grapes
grown ; in fact it has taken ihe prize in open
class, wherever shown for flavor. It is a long
bunch of small berrii^s wliere I have seen ij;, hue
&ome growers in Scotland arc saitl to exhibit it
with quite large berries.

Madrcsfic'ld Court Muscat. This is a splendid

1S71.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ\''TBLY.

45

grape. Mr. Cox, the raiser, when visiting me
fit Chatsworth, told me he had a grape that
would beat Mrs. Pince, and on receipt of some
^ruit some time after, it certainly did, at least in
ippearance, for these had been grown for
quality; but since seeing I^Irs. Pince well grown,
I have arrived at the conclusion that they are
both excellent varieties, which would give satis-
faction to the most foslidious taste if well grown
in a n^arm grapery.

Frankenthal. Although not a new variety,
this docs noc appear to be generally known in
this country — growers generally planting the
old Black Hamburgh in their cold graperies.
The above is a ti.ne variety of the Black Ham-
burgh ; in fact the variety is exclusively grown
by English exhibitors for competition.

FUNGI AND ITS STBUCTUEE.

BY JOSIAn HOOPES.

From an EiSdy Read Before the Peiina. Fruit Groivers'
Society.

Gentlemen, we will now pass to another source
of disease in our fruit trees, and one which is
nmking terrible depredations in most sections of
our co\mtry, — it is no less than that of Fungi,
the lowest forms of vegetation.

The minute parasitic species are so insiduous
in their approach, so infmitessimal in size, and
increase with such fearful rapidity, that they
prove no mean enemy indeed to contend against.
And now some remarks on their general struc-
ture and mode of propagation.

Of the larger species, including Puff-balls of
various kinds, Mushrooms both edible and pois-
onous ; the delicious Iruffle (Tuber cibarium)
and the highly nutritious Morel (Morchella es-
culenta), 1 shall have nothing to say, although
exceedingly interesting in their structure and
classification. I merely propose to inquire into
the microscopic members of the fivmily, — those
parasites which cause the pomologiat so much
vexation and loss in various ways. Our notifi-
cation of their existence, is mainly visible in the
form of Mould, rust, mildew, smut, etc., and
wherever these are detected, disease will surely
follow. The reproductive fragments of fungoid
plants, known as spores, are not unlike the
seeds of flowering plants, inasmuch as they
germinate and produce a new generation after
their kind. They are unlike, because the spores
contains no embryo as in the higher orders. As
the manner of reproduction in these crypto-

gramic jjlanls is not altogether fully known, my
remarks on this subject will have to be some-
what speculative, although founded on scientific
fiicts It is often questioned among horticultur-
ists, how the spores of one season can contami-
nate or find its way to the young plant of a suc-
ceeding season's growth. The prevailing theory
is as follows : "When we closely examine the
spores, we find they are not unfrcquently larger
than the stomates or breathing pores in the cu-
ticle of the leaf, which it is destined to destroy ;
thus admittance in this direction is rendered im-
possible. The next plausible suggestion is, can
they not penetrate into the roots ? But here,
another barrier is interposed, the spores being as
large as the root celh. Wc now call to our aid
a mycological fact, which will assist us in our
inquiries : Spores undergo a primary change he-
fore forming young plants, as after falling to the
ground, and coming in contact with moisture,
they throw out slender hair-like fibres, which
enter the apertures in the roots, and thus work
their way into the tree itself. Or, as is some-
times the case, changed into a fluid state, be-
come absorbed, and thus enter into the vessels
of the plants. Some species are reproduced in
the same manner on the external portions of

trees.

It has also been surmised on reliable grounds,
that seeds of plants not unfrcquently become in-
oculated with the poisonous virus, and during
germination and growth, carry with them the
destroying power, which, not until maturity
shows its baneful presence The first process of
development of fungi, is from the spore or seed-
like fragment, to the mijcelium ; the latter cor-
responding to the roots of plants. This is in the
form, either of fine silky threads, or, more or
less closely compacted cells. Says Berkele}', the
eminent English Mycologist, "there can be
neitlier a perfectly free mycelium, nor free or-
gans of reproduction, except in aquatic rerial
species, which are of very rare occurrence ; even
if floating, there will be something in the shape
of roots, and the spores will always spring di
rectly from the threads at the expense of the end
ochrome.''

By some naturalist. Fungi have been considered
capable of spontaneous generation ; but I firmly
believe this view to be diametrically opposed to
those beautiful and unchanging laws that Na-
ture has so plainly shown in all the higher
orders of creation, and which arc, at the same
time, so essential to vitality.

AG

-H-

THE GARDE jYER'S MOXTRLl. Fehiuary.

" Tliat Fungi,"' acconling to Berkeley, "should
spring up everywhere under fitting conditions,
is readily explained by the enormous quantity of
fruit ■wliich they produce."

•'Multitudes of spores find at once a proper
nidus, and throw out their mycelium, which in
some cases, may exist for years without produc-
ing fruit, and in other instances, is essentially
perennial, yielding an annual crop for almost an
indefinite period." "Other spores are wafted
about in the air, where they may remain for a
greater or less period, till, obeying the natural
laws of gravity, they descend in some distant
region." It is said the Trade winds carry spores
of Fungi thousands of miles before they are
deposited.

The reproduction and dissemination of most
fungoid plants, depends very materially upon the
condition of the atmosphere ; hence we find that
many of the diseases caused by their presence,
have been attributed to atmospheric changes.
The terrible Potato disease is the result of a
very destructive mould, which, during warm
and moist weather, luxuriates in a wonderfully
rapid manner ; but, on the contrary, soon
perishes, should a drought set in. It has been
proven that this disease is caused by a mould,
but it is not necessary for me to enter into its
history at this time. Somes pecies of Fungi, how-
ever, grow as readily during a dry season, as if
it were rainy, but as a rule, they are far more
immerous in wet weather. " A moist autumn,
after a genial summer, is most conducive to
their growth, but cold wet summers seldom are
productive.'' Again, quoting from Berl-eley,
"The localities they effect, are as various as
their forms.''

Wherever there is moisture combined with a
proper degree of temperature, together with or-
ganic matter. Fungi ax'c cajjable of existence
The spores of the FenicilUum, which infested the
bread some years ago in Paris, to such an alarm-
ing extent, were capable of sustaining a heat
equal to that of boiling waier, without losing
their power of germination, and it is certain that
they can bear many degrees of frost without in-
jury. Som"^- species at least are to be found in a
growing state, wherever the soil is actually free
from frost, and many seem to flourish most
vigorously at a low temperature. Sweden with
its various soil, large mixed forests, and warm
summer temperature, seems to produce more
species than any part of the known world ; and
next perhaps in order is the United States, as

far as South Carolina, where they absolutt'ly
swarm.'' As a general rule, they decrease in
numbers as we approach the colder regions, and
increase toward the temperate. In Torrid cli-
mates they are prevalent, but much less frequent
than further north. Several species of fungoid
plants present two distinct and dissimilar states,
before arriving at maturity, and what were form-
erly considered diflerent plants, are at present
known to be one and the same. This is termed
dimorphii^m. An excellent illustration of this
change, is presctited in the Fungus familiarly
known as the Barberry Mildew, and at the same
time affords a useful hint to the practical ob-
server. English farmers for many years have
contended that this disease was contagious, and
liable to be introduced into their wheat fields
from the Barberry, when growing in near prox-
imity. The Cryptogramic botanists endeavored
to prove, that the mildews affecting each, were
two entirely distinct plants, nowise related, and
therefore the contagion was simi)ly impossible,
and the farmers were voted by unanimous con-
sent, ignorant and superstitious. Unfortunately
for the assertions of the scientific gentlemen,
what were formerly considered two aistinct
plants, are now known to be only forms of one
and the same species, and able to disseminate
the disease from Barberry to Wheat. This same
character is often illustrated on the leaf of the
Rose : the under side being covered with a com-
plete net work of mildew, whilst above are seen
numerous spherical yellow bodies, producing
spores. Both states belong to the same plant.
The mildew is merely a primary condition,
which afterward developes into beaded bodies
bearing spores. Fungi, when in the form of
mildew or mould, although but in the earlier
stages of growth, produce disease and deatii by
appropriating the juices of the plant \ipou which
they are found, as in the case of all parnsites.
They also impede a free circulation, by destroy-
ing the I'espiratory organs in the epidermis,
known as the stomata. In regard to the very
small size of the seed-like bodies produced by
Fungi, an Engish Mycologist has recorded, that
" a single spore of the PoJifporus cceaius, meas-
ures one 10,000th of an inch in extreme length,
and in width, one 20,000th of an inch, thus tak-
ing the inconceivable number of 200,000,000 ot
spores to cover one inch superficial.'' M. C.
Cook, in his interesting little wo.k on Fungi,
says : "On the Goatgbread (Tragopogon praten-
sisj the leaves have the appearance as if sprinkled

7871.

THE GARBEJfER'S MOJVTELl.

47

with goUl-diist. and each speck of dust is a little
cup containing spores, or more properly proto-
spoves. Each of these bodies is doubtless capa-
ble of reproducing its species, and if we compute
2000 cluster-cups as occurring on each leaf, and

it the specific name of Tuckeri, in honor of the
gentleman bj^ whom it was first brought to
notice. The presence of this Fungus is first de-
tected by the appearance of the vine, which
changes to a j-ellowish hue, soon a white stud-

■v\-e have found half as many more on an ordin- ' like substance is noticed, and the little parasite

ary sized leaf, and suppose each cup to contain
250,000 spores, which again is below the actual
number, then we shall have not less than 500,-
000,000 of reproductive bodies, on one leaf of the
Goalsbread, to furnish a crop of parasites for
the plants of the succeeding year. We must
reckon by millions, and our figures and faculties
fail in appreciating the myriads of spores which
compose the orange-dust produced upon one in-
fected cluster of plants of Tragopogon " *'Xor
is this all, for our number represents only the
actual protospores which are contained within
the peridea ; eacli of these on germination, may
produce not only one, but many vegetative
spores, which are exceedingly minute, and indi-
vidually may be regarded as embryos of a fresh
crop of cluster cups " Most of you are ac-
quainted with the sooty patches on wheat. It
has been computed that 8,000,000 spores of this
fungus, would merely cover one square inch of
surface. "For every ear of diseased wheat,"
says Cook, " 10,000,000 spores have been dis-
tributed for a future crop." A curious feature
in Fungi is, that they exhale carbonic acid, and
absorb oxygen, thus being diametrically opposed
to Floicering or Phcenogamous Plants; and ren-
dering them useless in keeping up the balance
between animal and vegetable life. To this
cause is attributed the absence in their cells, of
chlorophyll,— the green coloring matter seen in
the higher orders of vegetation.

FUNGOID DISEASES.

We will now pass to the consideration of
the disease caused by the presence of Fungi ;
but, in so doing, I will merely select such as
have proven the most injurious. The Grape ap-
pears to offer a fair field for these pests, for we
find different species luxuriating upon it, at
every period of the vine's growth, and in various
ways preying upon the fruit with remorseless
avidity. Commencing with the terrible Grape
disease, that ravaged the vineyards of all Europe,
and which was entirely unknown previous to the
1(545. "We are informed that it was at first attrib-
uted to numerous foreign agencies, until the
true cause was di.scovcred by Berkeley. Find-
ing it belonged to the old genus (Jidium, he gave

then emits a musty odor, and spreads with al-
most inconceivable rapidity. In the later stages,
when the Fungus is about developing its fruit
and discharging its spores, dark-colored spots
take the place of the'mildew, — the leaves curl up,
and the grapes split open, or dr^'- up in most in-
stances. The very valuable paper on this sub-
ject by a French Vineyardist, — II. 11. Mares —
has lately been incorporated in Flagg's work on
European Vineyards, which is well worth a care-
ful perusal. In regard to the species of mildew
aftccling our hardy grapes, I am afrail I cannot
give you any very definite information, but I am
decidedly of the opinion, that they are all quite
distinct from the Oidiion Tuckeri of Europe,
although nearly related to it. Of the many va-
rieties of grapes grown in the Northern States,
those of foreign parentage, are the most su.scepti-
ble of mildew and rot, so that by our glass struc-
tures we are enabled to produce an atmosphere,
uncongenial to the growth of these cryptogams.
Dr. Engelmaun, of St. Louis, describes two forms
of our Grape disease under the names of "Brown
rot," and "Black rot," both of which I have de-
tected in this State. ForafuUdescription of these,
I will refer you to the "Trans, of the Acad, of
Science, of St.Louis," vol. 2, p. 165, 1803. Prof.
Silliman also refers to the same, in the Horticul-
turid, vol. 18, No. 10. During the past summer,
my attention was called to a curious disease in the
vinery belonging to our worthy Secretary at Ger-
mantowu. I procured a few specimens of the
fruit of a Black Hamburg, and placing a portion
of the diseased skin under a microscope, I soon
found unmistakable signs of Fungus, which,
upon examination, presented two very distinct
forms. One, which I presume to be nothing
more than the ^lycelium, was very like the
usual grape mildew in general character. The
other, and more dangerous form, was of a na-
ture to create suspicion in the minds of every
giape grower, for it answered in many particu-
lars the greatly to be dreadi d Oidium of Europe.
The small rust-like spots and patches, were not
unlike the puff-hall family, on long stems, — those
most advanced, splitting open, and discharging
their myriads of dust-like spores. This last
form I take to be the culmination of the disease,
and was similar to many species of our worst
parasites.

48

TEE GARDE^'ER'S MOJ^THLY. February,

E D T T 0 ]ll A L .

TRAVELING RECOLLECTIONS.

The early morning of a fine summer's day at
the end of Augnst, found us in the midst of
Geneva, New York.

Much has been said and written in praise of
tbe Geneva of the old world ; but if its beauties
arehalf so attractive as its American namesake,
it must be a pretty place indeed. There is no
doubt but that the accumulations of art, which
give ripeness to the scenery of the old world,
add much lo the interest of the famous places
there. There may be a softness in the skies, a
dreaminess in the air, ghostly whisperings from
the dead past in every breath that stirs about
' one ; but in these young places there is a virgin
beaty peculiarly their own, — a living, acting
force of growing strength, far more enticing to
those who would be heroes in life's battles, than
in any place other parts of theAvorld can offer.
After seeing the beauty of Seneca Lake and its
pretty little village of Geneva, we can appreciate
the sentiment of an eminent Philadelphian, who
after a two year's tour in Europe, remarked
that an American who could not live in his own
country, was not fit to die.

But we have a good friend tugging at our coat
?leeve, whispering to " stop this nonsense, and
tell us something about the horticulture of the
place." So, standing on the platform, we shut
our eyes to the lovely beauty of the lake scenery,
and turning in the opposite direction, find at
once two capital subjects for our editorial pencil,
in the shape of Messrs. Willard, of Graves,
Selover, Willard & Co., and T. W. Smith. The
latter gentleman was on his way West, on some
foraging expedition, in which kind of business
he is, as is well known, so eminently successful,
lor he has been one of the most prosperous of
the many hundred nursery firms in the United
States. But he grac(!fully yielded to the mag-
netic influence of Willard's buggy, and afforded
us a chance to pick a good many valuable ideas
out of him, of which our readers will reap the
benefit all in due time.

A half hour's drive up the beautiful Washing-
ton street, brings us to the nurseries of Graves,
Selover, Willard <& Co. A handsome oflice, with
which all who get their catalogues are familiar,
welcomes the visitor at the entrance. It is sit-

uated on an eminence, and from a turret on the
top, a magnificent view of the surrounding
country is obtained. On the east, a lake ; on the
west, another; on the south, the beauti full}' culti-
vated farms for which this section of the country
is so famous, and of which those of Messrs.
Seldon and John Johnson are types ; and on the
north, the two thousand acres of nursery land, of
which Geneva boasts.

The village, we should suppose, does not con-
tain over two thousand inhabitants, and so ixt
as we could see, carries on little business but
that of the nurser}' trade, boarding visitors,
and furnishing homes for retired f)rtunes,whch
come to close the autumn of their daj-s in this
lovely spot.

Of course, one of our first efforts was to solve
the problem what had made Geneva come to be
one of the leading centres of the nursery trade.
We had always heard fabulous stories about the
" soil," in order to account for it. And truly
the soil was good ; but we found that not half
the story had been told. Just as good soil and
plenty of it can be found in almost any part of
the Union ; but this spot was fortunate iu
having half a dozen good men settle on it a
quarter of a century or so ago, who loved their
business, who never allowed their love for it to
be distracted by other loves, and who, remain-
ing true to it, have been rewarded by that pros-
perity which true love always brings forth.

The Smith Bros, and the Maxwells have made
Geneva what it is ; and even Graves, who,
though not amongst the oldest in Geneva, must
come in for a fair share of the praise, for though
not exactly of Geneva, is the oldest nurseryman
of that section of the country.

We have said that the land is good ; but hard
manual labor is spent to get it into good nursery
condition. It is a happ}' mixture of gravel, sand
and cla}^ which contains all the elements of
fertility, but holds water very near to its surface.
Hence most of it has to be under-drained with
tile, at some expense, before trees can be planted
on it. Yet, with all this, it did not appear to us
that trees suffered to grow up to orchard pur-
poses throve by acy moans amazingly. Wher-
ever we go we get some fun poked at us, for
being supposed to advocate " neglecting trees iu

1871.

THE GARDEJyER'S MOJ^THLY.

40

grass." If there should be a half-starved speci-
men of a fruit tree anywhere, with its owner out
at the knees, or with the remains of his old felt
hat smashed over his shaggy brows, staring at
us aloug our route, it is sure to be particularly
pointed out to us as the " results of Meehan's
system of fruitgrowing."

But our friends here were more considerate.
They took us to an apple orchard to show the
good results of clean surface culture. "We had
heard of this orchard before ; but the trees were
young, not over twelve years of age, and had not
time, in our opinion, to show the merits of any
system, for it is only when trees are about bear-
ing abundantly that constitutional vigor tells.
At any rate, we did not note anything very re-
markable about these trees, except the handsome
deep green of their foliage, which certainly was
typical of good health, but the growth was not
very vigorous. It struck us as not having aver-
aged over a foot a year during the past six or
eight years. We did not, however, lay this to
the charge of any system, but took it as an indi-
cation that there was nothing so very far ahead
of other places in the soil of Geneva, and it was
therefore the men themselves whom we had to
thank for the marvelous results we saw.

The leading items in the nurseries here are
fruit trees, and especially the Standard Pear.
These seem to be propagated much in the old
way, but in apples, a very large number of
growers had returned to the old practice of sum-
mer budding, instead of, or rather in addition to
winter root-graftmg. The idea seemed to be
not that the plants were any better budded than
root-grafted, but that a stronger and straighter
stem could be had in this way, than from root-
grafted trees, and they were therefore more
saleable. The plants used for budding were not,
however, as the catalogues say, "too small to
graft, but good enough for budding." The very
best stocks are used, as would be for root-grafts.
One would suppose that this would not be so
profitable as root-grafts ; but the general way in
which the plan was being followed by new be-
ginners, showed that there was " something in
it."

The most extensive nurseries here are those of
the Maxwells, Smith, and Graves, Selover &
Willard. But these deal considerably in orna-
mental things, while the scores of others, whose
names are familiar to the public, keep chiefly to
fruits. The Maxwells, particularly, are very

enterprising, and add to their collection every-
thing new. The new Golden Arborvitje, not
yet sent out, was being largely propagated, but
will not yet be ready for sale for a year or two.
Gladiolus, Roses, and similar things were grown
by the acre. At Graves, Selover & Willard's,
the ornamental stock was particularly inter-
esting, not only for the amount under nursery
culture, but for the many fine specimen plants
which they are getting up about the ground.

Very reluctantly we took our leave from so
much horticultural enjoyment, and so many
good friends, and took the steamer down the
celebrated Seneca Lake, for the little town ot
Watkins, which bristles at its head. It is s"!iid that
this lake never freezes over ; but some residents
along the shores whom we found on board,
spoke of having walked across sometimes during
their lives. Still it seldom does so, audits almost
fathomless depth makes the foundation of many a
long story. The banks on each side were frequent-
ly clothed with healthy fruit trees, of which the
grape appeared to thrive in wondrous luxuriance.
Arriving at Watkins, we had a warm recollec-
tion of our first Tompkins county King Apples,
which we ate at the hands of our friend. Colonel
Frost, who did so much to make this excellent
variety widely known ; and we, of course, step-
ped aside for an hour or two, to see what other
good things he had to put in our way. We
found him still in the harness, pushing along his
nursery business in his old energetic and success-
ful way ; and yet devoting much of his time, as
a good citizen should, to the general welfare of
his fellow citizens at large. His capacious and
hospitable dwelling is quite an ornament to the
little town, and the ground in front of the house,
with its little fountain, evergreens, walks, and
flower-beds, have a very cheerful look to the
passer-by. The colonel and his good wife enter-
tained us with such fascinating stories about the
beauties of , Watkins' Glen, that in spite of the
twittings of our conscience, for having been too
long away from our editorial stool, avc could do
no less than hold over for another day. Any
one who has seen this beautiful spot need not be
told how heartily we tlianked our kind host
and hostess for persuading us to stay. Every-
body should of course see Niagara, the falls of
Minnehaha, and the pictui-ed rocks of Minne-
sota—the grand blufls of the Illinois and the
Missouri, Harper's Ferry, and the beautiful
scenery of the Virginia mouutaius, and the

50

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJ^THLY. February,

drives of the "Wissahickon and Fairraount Park.
All these, and other places as celebrated, will
always be worth a traveler's attention. Yet we
doubt whether any one can say they have seen
the beauties of the American continent, until
they have seen Watkins' Glen. Here is a rift in
a mountain, only a few hundred feet wide at the
best, and often but a few score, and yet, with its
walls from one hundred to perhaps three hun-
dred feet high. A stream, which has formed
this chasm, flows over its bosom, now forming a
small lake, now a rapid, now a whirlpool, now a
rushing cascade, and now eddying around in
caves and chambers of wondrous architectural
beauty. A "mountain house" for summer
boarders has been established hei-e, and the pro-
prietor has spent considerable money and in-
genuity in enabling visitors to explore this en-
chanting spot. After wandering along some
narrow ledge of rock, until it becomes impossible
for art to do any more for a foot-hold, a bridge
or stairway to some ledge on the other side is
skilfully thrown across, until again we have to
cross to the other, back again. In this way we
managed to proceed several miles, until both art
and nature gave out, and we had reluctantly to
retrace our steps, with the poor satisfaction
in regard to the unseen beauties beyond, of
having trod our foot as high up the ravine as
any other man ever did.

While we were there, the geologists were fight-
ing terrific battles over the origin of the chasm.
Paper bombs of awful power, in the shape of
pamphlets and newspaper articles, abounded,
and it seemed to us that some body would un-
doubtedly get hurt ; yet, to our unprofessional
eye, the matter seemed simple enough. Here
was an immense deposit of lower Silurian rock,
which had been, at one time, the bottom of a
still water lake, but subsequently thrown up, as
many similar deposits in other places had been.
The sand and mud which formed tlys rock, had
been deposited, in the ancient times, in annual
or periodical layers of from a quarter of one, to
one or two inches thick. These layers are harder
or softer, according as their mechanical com-
position— more sand or more clay — composed
them ; and, of course, the softest wears away
the easiest, making the bays and inlets, we now
see, under the dominion of modern elements.
But the i)resent stream, say the geologists, even
when at its highost volume of water, could never
make the chasm as wide as it now is. IJut to us
frost would do all this. The freezing water in

the innumerable crevices throws out the loose
pieces, which fall on a thaw, and are little by
little carried away by the rapid water flowing at
the base.

There is one great attraction which Watkins'
Glen possesses, almost alone, and which will
ever attract the lover of nature to it— the natural
history of the place. While at Niagara, one has
to be satisfied with stunted arborvitiies, and
wild raspberries, perchance a few asters,
Penguiculas, and Buffalo berries, as the vegeta-
tion of the place. Here we have a remarkably
varied and interesting flora, and the other
branches of study offered as rich material ; and
though there is mineral water here as supremely
nasty as any to be found at Saratoga, that spe-
cies of society which makes it unfashionable for
people to enjoy themselves naturally, as rational
beings should do, has not yet been established,
so that for years to come we expect Watkins'
Glen will be the resort of people whom the sen-
sible portion of the community love to meet.

Watkins' Glen has also another advantage. It
is on the line of the Northern Central Railroad,
between Harrisburg and Canandaigua, one of
the most beautiful railroad routes in the world,
and one which many a traveler, who has time
on his hands for pleasure, goes miles out of his
way — which he might save over shorter routes —
expressly to enjoy.

BOUVARDIA VREELANDI.

( See FronUs2)iece . )

Almost every gardener of the past generation
is familiar with a plant known to many of them
as Hoiistonia coccinea, and to most as Bouvardia
iriphylla. The former name was given to it by
Andrews, in the Bepository of Botany, and
the latter b}' Salisbur}^, a more recent writer.
But it had been previously named by Humboldt
and Bonpland, who were the discoverers of the
plant in Mexico, Bouvardia Jacquini, by which
name it is known in herbariums and botanical
works, though few gardeners ever heard it so
called. It is yet one of our handsomest fall
blooming plants, and an old plant grown for
many years in a tub, and set out on a lawn, is
possibly one of the handsomest ornaments one
could have in a garden.

But it was about twenty five years ago that
the Bouvardia first became popular as a winter
flower, through the introduction of B. leiantha.
This is now so well known, and is so indispensa-
ble to professional florists, that near lai'ge towns,

1871.

TEE GARDEJfER'b MOJ^THLY.

51

greenhouses are often entirely filled with it. Its
beautiful crimson flowers are particularly striking
in combination with white camellias, and then
the blossoms are produced in succession so easily,
that it may be said to be always being cut, and
yet always in bloom. It was often said that if
one could only get a good white one, with all
the good points of leianiha, a florist's fortune
could be made.

Eventually Bouvardia longijlora, a white spe-
cies, was introduced, but its almost solitary
flowers on the ends of the branches did not suit
the ends of the bouquet maker, but it served a
good purpose in making a parent, for hybridiza-
tion ; and the European improver, soon produced
a race of intermediates, of which, perhaps, the
variety called "Hogarth" is the best known
and most useful.

It has been left to art to do, what all Mexico
has not so far been able to furnish— a good
white, equal in all respects to B. leiantha ; and
of this we furnish to-day an illustration.

B. Yreelandi is all one can wish, and no doubt
another year will And it in every collection in the
land. An account of its origin has already ap-
peared in our magazine.

In regard to the culture of Bouvardias, it is
about as simple as anything can be. Few plants
are more easily grown. No special directions
need be given for potting, and as for flowering, a
heat of over sixty degrees will bring them on rap-
idly. Usually, they are very hard to propagate.
This is best done by little pieces of roots, made
into lengths of about half an inch, and the pots
containing them plunged into heat of about
sixty or seventy degrees.

Most of the hybrids hitherto raised have so
much of the character of the original B. longi-
jlora, that they do not flower very freely — or at
best have not many flowers open at a time ; but
in the case of this new variety of Mnyrceland's
we have seen beds which had over two hundred
expanded blossoms at once on a single panicle,
more, indeed, than we believe we have in B. lei-
antha.

HOT-WATER BOILERS.

It is not so common as it was once, to hear
scientific education decried. It is now found
that exact knowledge — which, after all, is what
science really amounts to— is far more profit
able than the mere smatterings of what is
generally called education. But yet, how little

of exact knowledge exists in horticulture is
painfully evident in every thing about us. But,
perhaps, in nothing is the immense loss which
we suffer for want of true science more apparent
than in the usual experience with hot-water
boilers, and hot- water apparatus in general.

We go into some establishment which has the
houses heated by hot water, and it is a rare
chance if we are not to hear complaints about
the apparatus. Something docs not work right.
A hot-water man has been consulted, and he
advises a new boiler — such-and-such an im-
proved one will do all the work easily and well.
Another thinks there is not enough pipe, or too
small pipes, or too level pipes, or something
another of this character. But if we question
why any of these things are suggested, we find
that they know nothing of the principles of the
circulation of hot water. Strange as it may
seem, we find men who make a business of
fitting up hot-water boilers— men who are noted
as improvers— geniuses — who mistake entirely
the law on which success depends. They tell
you that hot water ascends, and all the machinery
is arranged with this one thing in their mind.
^Now, water does ascend, but not in the way all
these men understand it. When Pat. Murphy
up the ladder treads, with a pile of mortar in
his hod, he does ascend — he is the motive
power. The mortar in Murphy's hod also as-
cends, but the ascent of the mortar and the
ascent of Murphy are two very difierent affairs.
There is no motive power in the mortar ; Mur-
phy's ascent is an active principle — the mortar's
ascent is a purely passive one. Hot water ascends
as the mortar does, and in no other way. It is
a purely passive action ; but no one that we have
met with ever imagines that this is the case —
has the slightest suspicion that there is a Mur-
phy behind it.

Now the active power in hot-water circula.
tion is cold water. Water when warmed does
not ascend because it is the warmest, but that
the colder water pushes it up ; not because warm
water is the lightest, but because cold water is
the lieaviest. It is a simple act of gravitation.
The cold water displaces the lighter bulk.

But, says the boiler man— and we have heard
it argued scores of times in this way — what dif-
ference does this nice distinction make ? If the
hot water flows out, the cold must come in to
take its place. Just so, but the trouble is start-
ing with the idea that hot water is the motive
power of the circulation, little or no considera-

5^

THE GARDEJ^MR'S MOJVTHLl. February,

tion is given to the cold-water force. Examine
any case we may, where any complaint is made
that things don't work right, and we see at once
that there is something ofvakie in the distinc-
tion. We would most likely find that the boiler
has been so set that the return pipe gets heated
nearly as much as the flow, and the full flow of
cold water is thereby checked. It is almost im-
possible to get water to " circulate" freely under
such circumstances. Hundreds of boilers are
torn out or changed for others, or pipes set up or
pulled down, when there has been nothing at
all the matter but a simple warming of the re-
turn pipe.

N'ow, what is the result of application of this
simple principle ? Simply that tvater can be
made to go along a level, or up or down, or any
way, if only care be taken to get a good volume
of cold water behind it. Take care in setting
the boiler to have the place of entrance of the
cold water as far away from the fire, and as
carefully guarded from the heat as possible. It
is very well to seek for the best boilers and the
most approved size or style of pipes, but all these
are of no use without cold water. In short,
we would lay down this maxim for all young
gardeners to get by heart : Look after the cold-
water pipes and the fl,oio will take care of itself.

SCRAPS AND aUERIES.

The Promises of the Monthly.— We sel-
dom like to refer to the good things our friends
say of us,— as we do not want any one for
readers unless they themselves are fit to judge
whether the magazine is worth reading or not,
—but we have been tempted to let the following
letter, written by a professor in Cornell Univer-
sity speak for itself :

"I am reminded b}'' the non -reception of your
January number, that my subscription has ex
pired, and that for a continuance, the necessary
yearly remittance must be made, which please
find enclosed. On looking over my list of publi-
cations there are several that can be dispeiised
with, — chiefly those promising largely, but per-
forming little— those that have borrowed both
illustrations and matter, too frequent without
credit, and are filled with cuts and descriptions
of fruits and flowers, with which every school
boy in gardening is familiar. We have in this
section of country, far away from horticultural
exhibitions, fine gardens and greenhouses, and
arc dependent on horticultural magazines for in-
formation.

On my list are two journals that give it to us,
and do not make any particular parade about it
either, — The Gardener'>s Monthly and Shirley
Hibberd's Gardener'' s Magazine. Both are in-
dependent, and give their own prac^tcaZ experi-
ence, that all may profit.

The very modest promises of the Oardener^s
Monthly to its readers, for 1871, are sufiicient ;
for those of 1870 were kept. Without larger pre-

tensions of being better than ever, it is content
to rest its future success on its record of the
past.''

The German Eevtje Horticole.— In our

last we gave notice of a new German Horti-
cultural magazine, printed in English, French
and German. The idea was an excellent one.
When we made that note we did not know that it
could be had in this country, but we see by an
advertisement in this number, that Mr. Raoux,
can obtain it.

How Leaves are Formed.- A correspon-
dent sends us the following quotation, which he
says he finds amongst some manuscript which
has come into his possession, and asks us who is
the author. We are not sure ; but it reads like
Herbert Spencer :

"Every leafofa Phanerogamous plant begins as
a cellular out-growth, the base of which em-
braces a portion of the stem proportioned to the
space which will form the insertion of the leaf at
a later period. Thus the leaves, whose sheath
envelopes the axis on all sides (Platanus occi-
dentalis) commences by an annular out-growth
surrounding this axis. This is likewise the case
with certain opjjosite and sheathed leaves, which
.appear simultaneously under the form of a singu-
lar annular out-growth [Oalium). The highest
powers of the microscope show nothing in this
out-growth but a homogenous structure, which

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLl.

63

is called the primordial leaf. From this primor-
dial leaf, are developed all the parts which make
up the adult leaf. These parts appear in suc-
cession. Those first-formed, which arc called
plants of the first order, spring directly from tlte
primordial leaf ; and those of the second order
spring from the first, and so on in succession.
Parts of the same order form themselves, some-
times from below upwards, — sometimes from
above downwards. Moreover, the formation of
plants of the same order may take place in the
same direction, or in an opposite one to those of
the order preceding. The primordial leaf can
produce appendages, not only on the lateral
margins, (stipule) etc., but also on its posterior
surface (facing the axis, the anterior faces the
observer). Ordinarily the appendages of the
posterior surface grow after those of the side.

Such is a brief resume of the five researches of
Steinpeil, Trecul, Xegali, Schacht and Eichler.

Stipules are appendages of the primordial leaf,
and not the products direct of the stem.

The successive development of parts of the
leaf, often in a basifugal direction, lead to its be-
ing likened to a branch of limited growth. Such
a definition would be inconvenient, as it takes
no account of the fact that many leaves do not
appear to possess appendages except on their
lateral margins, and that these appendages often
grow from above downwards, while the leaves of
a branch are always developed from below up-
wards.

A leaf is a branch with the posterior surface
atrophied.

Primordial leaves are primordial oflf-shoots of
the terminal cone, the auxiliary branches of
which represent subsequent oflF-shoots. Each
primordial off-shoot, or primordial leaf, can, in
its turn, produce other oflf-shoots, primary, sec-
ondary, tertiary, etc. Sometimes throughout
its circumference, (Acer pseudo platanus,) some-
times on one side only (as in most leaves).

Road Making, etc.— A Subscriber, Tonl-ers.
— Will you please state through the Monthly the
title of an American work whi(!h gives estimates
of the cost of road-making, ditching, draining,
paving and moving of soil by hand and team,
and of all those various operations, which occur
in the laying out of places, and greatly oblige an
old subscriber.

[What you want is scattered through many
works. Mahan's Civil Engineering will help
you for the general principles of mechanical

work. French's Farm Drainage will do more
On the cost of moving soil, we know of no
other work to which to refer you.]

Arnold's Grapes.— These have given great
satisfaction in the northern parts of our country.
Further south the reports are not so encourag-
ing. A Maryland correspondent planted most
of them last year, and does not find any as good
as Clinton. Xo. 16 he thinks was the best.

Pruning Pear Trees.— -F., Odorora, Md.,
says, " I am a little at a loss between the ad-
vice of some to prune, and of others not to prune
at all. I have some very fine Duchess Pears,
now six years in bearing. They have not grown
as much the two past years as before, and the
fruit is fixiling in quality. I was told that a good
pruning, which they never have had, would
help them; what say you?'' [Those of our
readers who have followed us closer, will, we
think, not find that we recommend " not to
prune." Our opinion is, that a thorough
surface manuring, a thinning out of weak and
inferior branches, and possibly a shortening of
the stronger ones, would be a benefit to you.]

After the Pirates.— We find that there is
a wide spread movement amongst the nursery
and seed trade, to protect themselves from the
fangs of those reptiles who have so long preyed
on them— in many cases bringing honest, hard-
working firms to the verge of bankruptcy by their
enormous losses. It is indeed time that the
Xorrisses and Colics and similar well-known
"firms,'' should find the length of their ropes,
and if anything can be done to aid in so goodly
a consummation the whole fraternity will be
l)lessed.

The programme, as we have seen it, is a
friendly interchange of " experience.'' A high
court in Pennsylvania has recently decided, that
such a "confidential" communication of experi-
ence between mutual friends is "privileged"
and within the law, and does not constitute a
libel. The greatest care is to be exercised to
prevent anything like malice to operate in pre-
paring the "black list."

In spite of all this, those having the matter in
charge, must use great care. It is often hard to
judge of the merits of a disputed case. Both
parties often think they are badly treated. We
would recommend that no one be placed on the

54

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY. February,

list, on the testimony of anything less than half
a dozen witnesses,— unless the testimony of a
single witness is so direct, as to leave no room^
for doubt as to the swindling nature of the trans-
action.

After all, the best security is strict business
rules. Sell to no stranger without care first to
know his means to pay, and disposition to do so.
Ko one whose custom is worth having, objects to
this test. Above all do not be too easily tempted
by a show of good conduct. It is a very com-
mon thing to buy twenty or even fifty dollars'
worth, and pay well ; and then order one or two
hundred, which is never settled for, — or trees
are ordered, sent C. O. D., and then on arrival
fault found with something, and rather than
risk getting back perishable goods, the shipper
agrees to take anything ; or references are given
to unknown parties ; or to good parties for that
matter, the swindling concerns knowing that it
is not likely the shipper will seek for the neces
sary knowledge. We know of a firm, for in-
stance, who was referred to '^ Peter Henderson."
Shipping was almost over, as summer was ad-
vancing, and to save time, one hundred dollars'
worth of goods were sent. A few days after-
wards several hundred dollars more were or-
dered. Henderson was then referred to, and in-
stead of recommending him, he reported, that
he had been actually swindled by him. The
balance was saved ; but these parties should
have sent at first to Mr. Henderson. But even
then he might have paid Henderson a small bill
in order that he might praise him to others, and
thus be made an agent in the transaction. It is
a difficult subject, and we wish those who are
studying it evei-y success in their labors.

The Vine Mildew of Europe.— A friend
thinks, contrary to the opinion given in a former
number, that the Oiclium TucJceri, does exist in
this country. We have made arrangements with
a friend, skilled in fungoid microscopy, and who
is acquainted with the European plant, to ex-
amine the matter closely next year, — and wo
shall be particularly obliged by specimens of
what any reader may suppose to be this plant.

Pears for Market.— Jlf., Rarrishurg, Pa.,
asks: "What eight Pears would you plant for
market, standard ?" [So much depends on lo-
cality in answering this question. But for cen-
tral Pennsylvania, we should certainly have
some Bartlett, and then Howell, Beurre Clair-

geau, Yicar of Winkfield, Beurre D'Anjou, Buf-
fum, Lawrence, and, though slow to come into
bearing, a few Seckels, for when toell-gi-ovm,
there is nothing pays better than Seckel pears.

The CoisrMissiONER or Agriculture.— Gen-
eral Capron takes every opportunity to prove
that he is the right man in the right place. No
sooner was the San Domingo Commission a cer-
tain fact than he urged the President to add
naturalists to it. The result was, that Dr.
Parry as principal, and Mr. Brummel as assis-
tant, were appointed botanists, and Prof. Blake,
geologist. The knowledge gained by science, is
always of a permanently useful character. Po-
litical information, of course, has its uses, but
"all things should work together for good."

Eire Blight in Pear Trees.— We supposed
that the old theory, that "fire blight" was
caused by anything in the constitution of the
tree ; was about given up. But we note that
Dr. Warder, in a recent address, still thinks that
some varieties are more liable to it than others.
We were surprised at this, as we think experi-
ence has proved, that every variet}'^ in some place
or other is about equally liable. In this immedi-
ate district we may say none are "liable " We
have never seen a case in Germantown. Though
it has been within four miles of it.

Mr. Meehan's Nursery.— jEJ. S. B , Galena,
says in a note to Mr. Meehan : " I send subscrip-
tion through you, in order to suggest whether it
would not be a good plan to send your nursery
catalogues to every subscriber of the Monthly.'''
[We note this for the purpose of saying, that
Mr. M. has never seen the subscription books of
the Gardener''s Monthly, and does not know who
are subscribers to the Monthly, except as he may
gather from outside sources, as " any other
man " may do. The reason for this is, that
when the Monthly was first started, many
friends of it in the nursery trade furnished lists
of their correspondents and customers, most of
whom became sul)scribers. Mr. M has always
felt that it would be dishonorable under such
circumstances to profit personally by an act in-
tended solely for the good of horticultural litera-
ture. For the same reason we have always de-
clined tempting ofters to allow our books to be
used for the purpose of mailing catalogues for
any firm. Mr. ^Moehan is paid for his services
on the Monthly ; and in his nursery and seed

1871.

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJSTTHLY.

55

business his relations to the Monthly are pre-
cisely the same as that of any other nursery firm.
AVc are glad of the opportunity to make this ex-
planation, as we find the idea not uncommon,
that Mr. Meehan has a proprietory interest in
the magazine.

RoBiNsoK's Parks and Gardens of Eu-
rope.—G. A. Z., Waltham, il/ass.— "Willyoube
so kind as to inform me where " Robinson's
Parks, Promenades and Gardens of Paris," can
be procured. Please answer through the Gar-
dener^s Monthly, if it does not interfere with your
rules to notice this publication."

[There is no American edition, — but it can be
had through any bookseller, who imports from
Europe. Any of your large Boston importers
would get it for you.]

Dr. Hall's Curculio Catcher. — We are
glad to note that this useful invention, which we
saw in such successful operation on the Doctor's
grounds at Alton, is now being manufactured
by a firm in Ottawa, Illinois, for the general
public — we rejoice particularlj'^ as we know this
means more plums for us all, and we hope the
sale will prove a "good plum'' to the ingenious
inventor of the machine.

SrEVA Bean. — In our notice of things about
Troy, N. Y., we noticed a very early bean liav-
ing relationship to the Lima ; but which the
market men who sold it called "Selah,'' and
considered it, in the north a month earlier than
the Lima. The southern Planter and Farmer
thinks it recognizes an old acquaintance, the
"Carolina Sieva," extensively grown in the
South on account of its earliness and prolific-
ness. It is hardly six weeks earlier than the
Lima, however.

Dr. Wylie's Hybrid Grapes.— A corres-
pondent from Aiken, South Carolina, writes,
that so far the hybrids of Dr. Wylie, of Ches-
ter, exhibit great promise.

Disease of HoLLYnocKs.— 2?. S., West Phil-
adelphia, Pa., inquires, what is the matter with
his Hollyhocks. The leaves get 8i)otted during
the summer, and appear as if burnt, and the
spikes of flowers are poor and weak in conse-
quence. We have before noticed thi.s in our
pages We suppose it results from the attacks

of a minute fungus. The best way is to raise
fresh plants occasionally from seed. With care,
the varieties usually come true from seed. The
improved English varieties are very beautiful,
and the seeds are usually ofl'ered every spring by
our leading seed stores.

Grape Culture in Virginia. — An intelli-
gent correspondent of the Southern Planter and
Farmer referring to some remarks of ours, says :
"Is it true, as Mr. Meehan says, that 'we still
go on failing day after day under our old sys-
tems. ' I am inclined to think, Mr. Editor, that
grape culture has been and is a great success in
all portions of this continent, lying betweasn
those parallels of latitude within which the
grape has ever been known to flourish. Canada
and Maine do not produce grapes abundantly it
is true, but they do pretty well in Virginia, and
Mr. Husman doubtless thinks they do well in
Missouri. One thing is certain— there has not
been a failure reported in Virginia during the
past five years."

Rocky Mountain Evergreens. — An Oma-
ha correspondent sends us branches of Coniferse
from the Rocky Mountains. It is not easy to
name them from branches alone ; but we believe
the foUowmg is near right :

1. Pinus contorta. 2. Abies Menziesii. 3
appears to be a form of a common white spruce,
Abies alba. 4. Abies Engelmanni. 5. Pinus
flexihs, or it may be P. aristata. 6. Abies Doug-
lasii. 7. Abies Williamsoni, but it may be A.
Albertiana ; no body seems to know how to dis-
tinguish these, — and yet they appear different.
The Juniper appears J. occidentalis, although it
is much like western forms of J. communis.

The broad-leaved small evergreen is arctos-
taphylos uva-ursi, and this is one reason why
we think the Juniper and the arctostaphylos
growing together is perhaps but a form of J.
communis.

We should like another specimen of this Juni-
per. Our Postmaster was friendly enough to
let us examine the specimens a few moments at
the post-office ; but the whole bundle was " con-
fiscated, " in default of our willingness to pay
letter postage on it, because there was writing
inside — when will our correspondents learn this?

Fruits in Kentucky.-A correspondent from
Calhoun, Ky., says : " While you have, from ac-
counts, plenty of apples and pears on your side

56

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJYTELl:. February,

of the mountains, we have very few here. Our
apples nearly all fell from the trees during the
warm, dry weather of summer. My pears and
grapes did as well as usual, but were not much
in demand during the summer. I sold all of my
best winter pears at 15 cents per lb. They were
nearly all winter Xelis, which I consider the
most valuable of any other winter pear.

OiTR Colored Plates.— Few magazines have
ever received more kind notices, unsought, than
ours. Though not in the habit of parading our
friends' good opinion of us, their good feeling is
not the less appreciated. But we feel particu-
larly their kind commendations of our colored
plates, and quote them occasionally, inasmuch
as the editor had no hand in getting them up,
he can refer to Messrs. Sinclair's excellent work
without feeling that he is helping to "blow his
own horn." We copy, therefore, the following
from the Philadelphia Iforninrf Post, with much
pleasure, and particularly because it was very
much of an experiment that we introduced them.
We were told by numerous friends that they
" could not be done creditably in this country,"
and we had better not try. But the Post says :

"In addition to the usual excellent table of
contents, this number presents an admirable
colored engraving of the "Martha" grape, one
of the best specimens of the art we have seen in
any magazine."

Passiflora arborea {Bot. Mag., t. 5864).—
"Though displaying none of the beauty of the
commoner cultivated Passion-flowers, and want-
ing their scandent habit, copious festoons of
leaves, aud elegant tendrils, the subject of the
present plate is still a very interesting one, from
its erect habit and large foliage, in which re-
spect it stands almost alone amongst its 120 con-
geners." It grows from one to twelve feet high,
"bearing few but beautifully smooth dark-green
pendulous leaves, one to three feet long, and
looking like a green umbrella stuck in the
ground." The flowers are two or three inches
broad, greenish-white.

Catalogue of C. L. Allen & Co., N'ew
York. — We often take occasion to notice im-
provements in catalogues, which are amongst
the best methods of spreading information
amongst the people. This one has 9, very interest-
ing feature in addition to its other merits, that
it gives with the derivation of the names of the
plants, little bits of history which always please.
Many names seem to novices hard and mean-
ingless, that are reasonable enough when their
derivation is explained. Messrs. Allen are,
however, in error in giving for Poh/anthiis the
tuberose, the derivation Poly many, and anthos
a flower. But we have corrected this so often in
the Monthly that we tire of referring to it.

NEW AND EAEE EEUITS.

Grape— Morrell's Seedling— Raised by
a gentleman of that name in Germantown, has
been placed on our table. It is a blue grape of
medium size, sharp and pleasant flavor, not
equal to the best grapes now out, but superior
to a very great number which have been dis-
tributed of late years. It is certainly a better
grape than Hartford Prolific or Concord, but
not equal to them in earliness.

Burlington Grape,— Mr. A. Taylor, of
Burlington, Vermont, exhibited a new seedling
grape at the State Fair recently held at that
place, which seems to be a real acquisition to
the small list which are hardy in northern New
Englaad,,and at the same time of good eating

qualities. This grape, which Mr. Taylor, origi-
nated, and which he has named " Burlington,
from the place of its origin, is perfectly hardy,
being entirely exposed throughout the winter-
As a table grape it is full}^ ccjual to the " Adiron-
dack,''and approaches the " Delaware," while
it is much more hardy tlian the latter. This
grape deserves the attention of horticulturists.
It is not understood that Mr. Taylor has any
vines for sale at present.

"Parks' Cling"— A New Peach.— The
" Parks"' originated in the grounds of Mr. A. L.
Parks, at Alton, 111., from a chance seed. This
is a magnificent looking peach, and in point of
beauty is not surpassed by any of the earlier

1871.

THE GARDEJVER*S MOJVTELl.

57

peaches. Specimens were exhibited at the late
Fair of the IlHnois Asricultural Society that
measured eleven inches in circumference. The
tree last year, and acrain this, bore well ; leaves
with globose glands ; fruit of the largest size
and heavy, broader than deep ; suture deep,
extending quite around the fruit, dividing it
equally ; skin not verj' downy, light creamy
yellow, mostly covered with red ; flesh also of a
light creamy color, stained with red, but deeper
red at the stone ; very juicy, but not of the
highest flavor ; ripens eight to ten days later
than the Heath Cling. — Prairie Farmer,

New Pear— Bkockwokth Park. — This is
an English seedling, and far in advance of nine-
teen-twentieths of the continental trash which is
year by year forced upon us. It is, indeed, a first-
class pear, and the standard is now placed high.
It has been awarded a first-class certificate by
the Fruit Committee of the Koyal Horticultural
Society. At the first glance, it greatly resem-
bles the Louise Bonne of Jersey. The fruit is
large, pyriforra, rather bulged in the centre ;
skin smooth, pale yellow, slightly flushed and
streaked with crimson on the exposed side ; eye
small, close, segments of the calyx pointed, set
in a shallow basin, the end of the fruit being
frequently blunt ; stalk about an inch long,
stoutish, obliquely inserted without any depres-
sion ; flesh white, delicate, buttery and melting,
very juicy, rich and vinous, exceedingly pleasant
to eat, greatly resembling in texture the well
known Marie Louise. This we welcome as a
valuable addition, and congratulate the raiser
on his success. We believe it will be sent out
by Messrs. J. C. Wheeler & Son, of Gloucester.
— London Journal of Horticulture.

Fulton Apple. — We received from Mr T.
W. Willson, Iowa City, Iowa, by his daughter,
Mrs. Coolidge, of Leavenworth, Kansas, a very
fine specimen of this handsome apple, for a
name, it not being recognized there. The fol-
lowing is the description of the apple
sent us, which is fully worthy all we say
of it : Fruit large ; weight ten ounces ; form
round, truncated, or flattened, slightly oblique,
compressed and faintly ribbed ; skin rich, bright
deep yellow, with a soft buff" blush ; dots numer-
ous, small, green and gray ; stem short, slender ;
cavity wide, deep, regular, green ; eye large,
open ; basin wide, abrupt, deep, furrowed,
ribbed and leather cracked ; core small, slightly

open, regular ; carpels wide ; seeds large, mostly
imperfect, dark brown ; flesh yellow, tender,
rich, juicy, sprightly, subacid and fragrant ;
quality very good ; use, table, kitchen and mar-
ket ; season, October to February. Tree very
thrifty, healthy, upright grower when young,
making a handsome, symmetrical tree, very /
productive when about twelve years old, and
then becomes spreading and bending to the
ground with its weight of handsome yellow

fruit.

The above is a good average specimen, except
they are generally more oblate and compressed,
dots irregular, indented, and sometimes crimson
cheek, and often deeply cracked at the eye. This
fruit is worthy of cultivation not only for its
size and beauty, but it fills a place in the sea-
son when we have but little ripe fruit and very
few good varieties to fill its place. The fine
specimens raised by Mr. Willson prove that the
tree succeeds well in Iowa, at least under his
cultivation. It does remarkably well here. We
have seen, at Mr. Mackamer's and other places,
trees loaded to the ground with fruit, and some
specimens raised by Mr. Van Winkle, of Pleas-
ant Ridge, weighing fourteen ounces.— Dr. Stay-
man, in Pomologist.

A Sweet Quince.— T, B. Jenkins, Cham-
bersburg, Pa., sends F. R. Elliott specimens of
the quince, of which the flesh is almost sweet
and nearly void of astringency. It is new to
me, and for the purpose of the sauce of the
quince alone, must be of value, and per-
haps prove superior to the Japan or Sand
pears for such use. But for the purpose of
flavoring the apple, for which the quince is often
used, I doubt its value as compared with the
orange or apple-shaped variety. Mr. Jenkins
writes that "the variety was raised from seed
some forty years since, and has been bearing
regularly ever since. The tree is a good grower
and abundant bearer." Description: Fruit oi
medium size, oblate, somewhat ribbed ; color
much like the apple-shaped, but when the bloom
is rubbed off" it is not a.s bright. The stem is
set in a broad, dull brown, rough, knob-like pro-
jection, while the calyx has large, long seg-
ments, set in a deep basin; the flesh is deep
yellow, coarse grained, not very juicy, a little
tough, and of a mild subacid character.— Eura?
Neio Yorker.

58

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

February,

NEW AND MIIE PLANTS.

Anemone Japonica— When passing Ken-
dall's nursery, Queen Elizabeth's Walk, Stoke
Newington, a few days since, I observed this
noble autumnal flower to be quite a wonder in
its Avay. There stands near the entrance gate a
specimen which must be full a yard high and a
yard through, and there cannot be fewer than a
hundred flowers fully expanded, with perhaps as
many more in bud to keep up a succession. The
flowers are of a paler tint than the common
variety, a sort of very pale i)inky rose, most
fresh and charming. I make note of this in
order to arrest the attention of cultivators of
hardy plants, not for the purpose of advertising
Kendall's nursery, which is not, so far as I
know, managed with any other view than to
supply the markets, and is therefore (probably)
beyond being benefited by publicity. The au-
tumnal anemones are all blooming earlier than
usual, and' as I have at least half a dozen varie-
ties, I will venture to say of them that they are
the handsomest autumnal hardy plants we have.
Mr. Kendall's plant is the largest I have seen,
and no doubt has been left undisturbed many
years past, that being the way to secure the full
development of such a handsome specimen. —
Passer-by, in Gardener's Weekly.

Leptosiphon ROSEUS.— "If an exception be
made in favor of the admirable Phlox Drum-
mondii, none of the annual Phloxworts are more
popular, or so well deserve popularity, as the
plants included in the genus Leptosiphon. Of
dwarf and compact habit, yielding profusely
their star-like blossoms of various shades, and of
the easiest cultivation in almost any soil, it can
scarcely be a matter of surprise that they have
from their earliest introduction taken place in
the first rank. For twenty years the genus was
represented in our gardens only by the well
known L. androsaceus and L densiflorus, with
their white varieties. To these were at length
added the charming L. Inteus and its variety
aureus, both introduced by Messrs. Veitch, of
Chelsea ; and another, though it may be hoped
not a final addition, may now be chronicled in
the Leptosiphon roseus, a most charming plant,
closely related in habit to the two last named,
which it equals, if not exceeds, in beauty and in
usefulness.

This elegant and attractive little annual dif-

fers from L. aureus almost solely in its color
which is a most pleasing tender rose, a shade by
no means easy to represent adequately on paper.
Like that of its congener, its habit is very dwarf,
rarelj'' exceeding 3 or 4 inches, with similarly
palmate foliage, the flowers being produced in
clusters terminating the stems and branches.
The elongated corolla tube, so characteristic of
the genus, is fully three times longer than the
limb, which is about three-fourths of an inch in
diameter. In most of the specimens the rose-
color is uniform, but in some there is an ap-
proach to a stripe or flake, which, however, in
no degree detracts from the appearance of the
plant. Well-grown, strong plants -ivill yield
their flowers for several weeks in succession. To
obtain specimens, however, that will give the
maximum number of flowers, it is essential with
this, as with the other species, indeed with all
other annuals, to sow thinly, or to transplant
the seedlings while young to such a distance
from each other as will afford full space for de-
velopment. When the same care and attention
that are bestowed on bedding plants are given
to the hardy annuals, then, and then only, will
their capabilities be discerned." — Florist and
Pomologist.

CoRONiLLA Glatjca.— The flowering of the
nerine reminds me of one of its companions in
misfortune. This is an old plant of Coronilla
glauca with a head about as large as an ordin-
ary umbrella. It is in a 32-size pot. In that
same pot it has stood for fully seven years with-
out the aid of a particle of fresh soil. When I
say it has " stood,'' you perceive that I over-
shoot the mark, for it cannot stand ; it has to bi^
held up, being outrageously top-heavy for the sizo
of the pot. How it lives I know not, for it be-
longs to the company referred to above, a ne-
glected lot that are simply not dead because they
won't die, and we cannot spare time to kill
Ihom. But why make a note of this ? Just for
this reason, that the plant not only lives, but
thrives and flowers twice a year profn.sely. Last
winter a lot of these unfortunates were packed
close together on the floor of a cold lean to, and
there the Coronilla made himself at home by
rooting through and forming a perfect mat of
fibres under the pot, and he bloomed so magnili-
cently, that when I went to that house on a

1871.

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJVTELY.

59

destroying expedition (which was disguised un-
der the designation of " a clear out"), it was
simpl}^ impossible to wring his neck, he was so
beautiful. Since writing thus far I have been
out to have a look at him. He stands near a
north wall, propped up by a few empty pots to
prevent the wind blowing him over, and looks
as nearl}' dead as can be, having, as 1 guess, had
no water for at least a week. Kot a word have
I said about it, but I would wager "Lombard
Street to a chaney orange " (as O'Connell used
to do) that in the next spring he will be found
stuck in a corner of one of the houses, rooting
through as before to suck moisture from a damp
tile, with his head gloriously bedight with
healthly leafage and brilliant flowers. — Gar-
dener''s Weekly.

Crat^gus Crus-galli (Cockspur Thorn
— The family of the Crataegus embraces amongst
its members some of the most ornamental as
■vfell as useful of our flowering trees and shrubs,
from the beautiful and more choice scarlet, pink
and white flowered varieties of the gardens down
to the common, but scarcely less beautiful sweet
May of our English hedgerows. It is, however,
to the particular variety named at the head of
this note that I now wish to draw especial atten-
tion. It is, in my opinion, one of the most
beautiful of the whole family, forming, as it
does, so conspicuous and striking an object in

autumn scenery, owing to the bright tints of its
leafage at that season of the year. Probably,
most readers of the Magazine are acquainted
with the rich colors of the foliage of the Virgiviia
Creeper as it is dying oft" in the autumn. Well, let
those, then, who have not seen or not noticed
a plant of C. crus-galli at this season of the
year picture to themselves a tree some 20 feet
or more high, clothed with foliage of the same
hue and tints as that worn by the leaves of
the Virginia Creeper, and they will then be
able to form a fair idea of its beauty, as re-
gards its foliage. The claims of this plant,
however, for autumn effect do not end with its
foliage ; it also bears abundantly large clusters
of bright red berries, which are retained on the
tree (birds permitting) far into the winter, thus
prolonging its season of beauty for some time
after its foliage is shed. Some large trees here
are at this moment (Sept. 27) is really magnifi-
cent, and have been so for nearly a fortnight
past. To any one about forming new shrub-
beries, or who may not possess in their present
collections any specimens of the Cockspur Thorn,
I would strongly recommend the planting of a
few specimens in conspicuous positions, amongst
plants having dark sombre-colored foliage, and
the effect will be grand. I ought, perhaps, to
add that where the plants are young the foliage
is not so richy colored as it is upon old and well-
established specimens.— J. H. Mason, in Gar-
dener's Weekly.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

The Organo Cactus. —The "cactus fence''
is an institution peculiar to Mexico. The va-
riety of the plant used for this purpose is called
the Organo. It is eight sided, and shoots up
straight as an arrow from ten to twenty-five
feet in height and five to eight inches in thick-
ness. The fence builders cut the cactus in sec-
tions of the right length, stick the cut end into
a trench, cover the eartli around it to the depth
of a foot, and the fence is made. The pieces
are set as closely together as possible, and, as
they take root and grow for centuries, the fence
improves with age instead of going to decay like
other fences. — Daily Paper.

The Codlin Moth. — The larvae of the Cod-
lin moth, such as leave the fruit late enough in
the season not to transform— that is, become
winged— remain over winter in the pupa state,
and about the time the trees bloom in the spring
they change to winged moths, and a few days
afterward the females are ready to begin to lay
their eggs. These are deposited low down in
the calyx of the young apples or pears, and are
hatched by a few days of warm weather. The
young worm, a& it emerges from the egg, imme-
diately begins to eat its way into the centre of
the fruit, which it soon reaches and remains,
consuming the interior until it has perfected

60

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELY February,

itself as a larvae, when it bores its way out. It

then crawls down the branches, or lowers itself

to the ground by a web from the mouth, and^ larger beads were called roses.

after crawling about for some time, it goes under

cover of some loose substance, where in a few

days it surrounds itself with a pupa case, in

which it rejuains until it takes on the winged

form.— Dr. Hull, in Prairie Farmer.

Color in Autumnal Foliage. — Mr. I.
Warton, in the American Journal of Science,
observes : If chlorophyl, the green coloring
matter of leaves, should be like many other
greens, a compound color, it must have for one
of its elements a vegetable blue, capable of
being reddened by acids. If the juices of leaves
kept in a neutral condition by vital force, or by
alkaline matter brought in the sap from the
earth, should, when the circulation ceases, be-
come acidified by the atmospheric oxygen, those
juices would then be capable of reddening the
vegetable blue of the chlorophyl. If, however,
the vegetable blue should be thus reddened, it
ought to become blue again when exposed to an
alkali ; or in other words if green leaves should
be reddened in the autumn in the manner here
suggested, by the action of the oxydizing at-
mosphere, they ought to return from red to
green, if immersed in an alkaline atmosphere.
He exposed under a glass receiver, in the light,
with a capsule containing ammonia, a variety
of autumnal red leaves, and had the gratifica-
tion to perceive that in most cases the green
color was restored, the restored green color re-
maining from some minutes to hours.

Prost probably plays no other part in causing
the autumnal tints, than merely to arrest the
circulation by killing the leaves. When a sharp
frost occurs early in the fall, while the pulp of
the leaves is still full and plump, the red colors
come dut brilliantly, because there is plenty ol
the blue substance to be acted upon by the
juices then also abundant. When, on the other
hand, the leaves die slowly, and are at the
same time slowly dried in a late and dry au-
tumn, the pulp becomes so meagre and the cuti-
cle of the leaf so dry and hard, that an abundant
production of fine red tints is impossible, and
brown, the color of decay, predominates.

The Rose — Some of the Leyencls Connected
Therewith. — The Catholic " rosary," which the
Germans call Rosenkranz, or rose-wr^th, sug-
gests that originally the worshipers may have

counted their prayers with roses ; at any rate,
it seemed certain that for a long time the

But this was
the case in Germany before the introduc-
tion of Christianity. The rose Avas held to
be the fevorite flower of the maternal goddess
Holda, who, as we have before seen, was often
called "Frau Rose," or "Mutter Rose." It
was partly transferred, with all other symbols
of Holda, to the Madonna, who is frequently
called "Marienroschen.'' Mary, it is said,
dries her veil on a rose bush, which thenceforth
bears no more roses. But there has been a ten-
dency to associate the white rose particularly
with the Virgin Mary, that being chiefly chosen
for her fete days, while the warmer and more
earthly feelings associated with "Frau Rose"
are still represented in the superstitions con-
nected with the red rose. If a white rose blooms
in autumn, it denotes an early death ; if a red,
an early marriage. The red rose, it is held, will
not bloom over a grave. In Pozen the rose-ap-
ple is carried by the country maiden in her
breast to keep her lover true. In Thuringia
she who has several lovers may name rose leaves
after them and scatter them on water ; the leaf
that sinks last is that of her truest lover, or
predestined husband. Some of the superstitions
concerning the rose in Germany are singular •,
as for instance, the custom found in some places
of throwing rose leaves on a coal fire for good
luck, and the saying that a rose bush pruned on
St. John's Day will bloom again in the autumn.
The relation of the flower to blood is widely be-
lieved. Thus one may find in France and Italy,
as well as Germany, the saying that a drop of
one's blood buried under a rose bush will bring
rosy cheeks. The rose is also associated with
an ancient charm once universal in Germany,
still frequent in Swabia and Westphalia, against
nose-bleeding, and indeed all kinds of hemor-
rhages. This formula in Westphalia runs thus :
" Abek, Wabek, Fabek : in Christ's garden
stand three roses —one for the good God, the
other for God's blood, the third for the angel
Gabriel : blood, I pray you, cease to flow." In
Swabia it is said : " On our Lord Jesus' grave
sprang three roses — the first is Hope, the second
Patience, the third God's Will : blood, I pray
you be still." Sometimes again it is '" In God s
garden bloom three roses— Blood-drop, Blood-
stop and Blood-still," etc. These runes have
curious modifications. In St. Louis, Missouri,
a German named Stretgcr last year committed

187L

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELY,

61

murder, and afterward suicide. In his room
was found the following charm against hem-
orrhage : "At the grave of Christ bloom three
flowers— the first is Jugend, the second is Tu-
gend, the third is Gubel (Uebel) ; repeat three
times and the blood will cease to flow.'' I have
somewhere met with a legend that the thorn-
crown of Christ was made from the rose briar,
and that the drops of blood that started under
it and fell to the ground blossomed to roses. The
fable has been recalled to me, though I cannot
trace it, by the felicitous lines of the most gifted
American poetess (Mrs. Howe):

" Men saw the thorns on Jesus' brow,
But angels saw the roses."

A similar idea pervades the story of " Doru-
roschen," known to English readers as "The
Sleeping Beauty,'' or "Rose Bud," who, it will
be remembered, sleeps in a palace surrounded

by formidable thorn thickets, in which all who
approached perished, save the true prince, to
whom the thorns were all roses, through which
he passed with ease. There is, by the way, in
the same legend, as it originally appears in the
Edda of SaMiiund, a curious remembrance of the
original symbolism which connected the rose
with silence and sleep. When Sigurd there
enters the castle and arouses Brynhilda she tells
the story of her trance in these words : " Two
kings contended ; one hight Hialragunner, and
he was old but of mickle might, and Odin had
promised him the victory. I felled him in fight,
but Odin struck my head with the sleepy thorn,
and said I never should again be victorious, and
should be hereafter wedded. —Prom the " Sacred
Flora," by M. D. Conway, in JETarper's Maga-
zine for December.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Fruiting of the Blue Laburnum.— What
is the Blue Laburnum ? you will ask. Well I
venture this as a popular name for that glorious
old climber or twiner, Wistaria or Glycine sinen-
sis. The flowers are not blue, and the tree is
not a laburnum ; nevertheless we want popular
names for popular plants, and " blue labur-
num'' is, to my thinking, not, altogether
outre. To see fruit on this tree is a rare
event, and its occurrence should therefore
be chronicled. The past season appears to have
wrought up to the utmost pitch of possi-
bility the fruiting powers of all kinds of trees,
and at Mr. Xoble's Nursery, Bagshot, a Wistaria
produced and matured two good pods of seed.
It happened, too, that the fruiting plant was a
seedling raised from seeds brought home by
Fortune, which gives to the occurrence addi-
tional interest. — S. II., in Gardener' s Weekli/.

Insects. — It requires a philosophical mind at
a time like the present to contemplate the havoc
which in.sects make among our choicest wall-
fruits. Though, fortunately, all gardeners are
not tormented with hosts of hornets, as we are
here in Herts, I doubt not they have enough to
do to contend with the many other pests. The
question is asked over and over again, " What
is to be done to save my peaches and necta-

rines?" Many advise covering with hexagon
netting. I think it is patent to all who have
tried this, that any protection which is capable
of keeping away w^asps, blue flies and earwigs,
so impedes the circulation of air and light as to
cause the fruit to be flavorless. The last plan I
have adopted is to hang some old and almost
worn out fish netting in front of each tree, fast-
ened securely at a short distance from the
foliage, and to paint the meshes carefully over
two or three tiiaaes a week with gas tar. The
odor given ofi" by this exceeds that of the ripen-
ing fruit, and consequently neutralizes the fra-
grance emitted from the fruits, and which
entices the enemy. Should any Avasp approach,
the chances are that when entering between the
meshes of the nets it will come in contact with
the tar, which, from its caustic properties, will
give the insect a hint that it is not likely to
want aiinin.— Gardener' s Chronicle.

American Potatoes in England.— All
Bresee's potatoes have been fairly tried with us
once more, and now forever and forever have we
done with them. The crops raised in our new-
ly-broken pasture land are, in respect to size and
numbers, the grandest we have ever seen ; for, as
good luck would have it, we planted early and
iu a perfect seed-bed, and they made a free

62

THE GARDE^EWS MOJVTHLy, February,

growth before the drought could tell upon them.
If I were to keep any one of them, it would be
Climax, a large, round, handsome root, as per-
fect in form as a cricket-ball, and when served
on the table white as snow. It is, perhaps, the
whitest potato in cultivation. Early Base is
handsome and immensely productive ; Prolific is
prolific. In every case the haulm grows like a
tree, a few frosty nights in May scarcely injure
it ; and those who want potatoes may pretty well
make sure of obtaining them b)-- planting any of
this peculiar strain. We shall discard them
henceforth because they are not eatable. If well
cooked, Ihey are waxy, and would that they were
tasteless ; but in truth they exhibit (as a medical
critic would say) a mild flavor of earthiness that
no one who has been accustomed to eat good po-
tatoes could endure. If badly cooked (as pota-
toes too often are,) they are wet pasty things,
emitting a sickly odor, offensive alike to sight,
smell, and taste. It may be that in America
these potatoes are better in quality than with us,
and it may be, too, that the Americans are not
fastidious on the subject of good potatoes, and
value quantity above quality. On tlia4 matter
I can say nothing, for the good reason that I
know nothing. But judging these potatoes fair-
ly as candidates for garden culture in Great Bri-
tain, I must record my opinion that they are
worthless, save and except that they are im-
mensely productive and handsome, and adapted
very well for pig and poultry food. — Shirley

HiBBERD.

Large Wistaria Sinensis. — I quite agree
with !Mr. 'I horpe when he says that a few notes
on the Wistaria sinensis will be interesting, and
accordingly send the measurement of a, standard
specimen now growing in my nursery at Kirk-
dale, Upper Sydenham. It has been in its pre-
sent position twenty-three years, and was for-
merly trained over an outhouse, The measure-
ment is as follows : Height of stem, 5 feet 3
inches ; height through head, 4 feet ; total height
9 feet 3 inches ; girth of stem at base, 2 feet 3
inches ; diameter of head, which is the shape of
an open umbrella, 1.5 feet. The number of race-
mes, 5,000. The first flowers expanded this year
about the 10th of May, which is rather later than
others in the neighborhood, it being on the north
side of the house. The magnificence of its ap-
pearance when in full flower can be more easily
imagined than described.— George Selby, in
Gardener's Magazine.

DnMORPHisM IN Gladiolus.— Is it generally
known that there are two distinct forms of
flower in Gladiolus gandavensis ? In the one,
all the parts are, as it were, upside-down, the
stamens, of course, are attached to the outer
petals ; in one they are •.* — in the other . •. The
lower " labellum" is outside in the one case and
inside in the other, but that this structure is not
a mere turning-upside down of the parts, is
proved by these lower segments being orna-
mentally marked, while the top segments never
are. As a rule, one form of flower belongs to
one set of spikes, and the other form to another
set ; the two forms are very seldom seen in
company on one spike, although at times thei-e
appears to be both forms, because the flowers
are often a little pushed aside. The ovary and
stigmas are also reversed from the beginning.
It gives the spikes quite a diflerent aspect from
each other when once noticed, but the charac-
ters should be sought for in good, well-grown
specimens — not ill-grown ones. — W. G. Sinqth,
Gardeners'' Chronicle.

Scarlet Laburnums. — Having noticed an
observation by the editor, at page 270, ^o. 12,
of The Record, relating to the flowering of pur-
ple Cytisus and yellow Laburnum on the one
plant, I am induced to give you the result of
some observations made by me in relation
thereto. About seven or eight years ago, I
observed an old scarlet laburnum commence to
produce purple cytisus blossoms, at the same
time that it was bearing scarlet blossoms. The
following season the plant bore scarlet and
yellow laburnum blossoms, and at the same time
purple cytisus blossoms, and continued to do so
until the plant was headed down a few years
later. The reason for this last operation I in-
tend to explain further on, together with some
curious results — at least to me — which followed.
Now, in this particular instance, can any one
say whether this " sporting" was the result of
the influence of the stock or the scion, or was it
the tendency which many plants exhibit of re-
turning to the parentage from which they
have sprung ? that is, if it be true, as I have
read, that the scarlet laburnum was the produc-
tion of the union of the yellow laburnum and
purple cytisus.

As I have stated above, it became necessary
to head down the scarlet laburnum, owing to
the crowding in of two plants on each side of it,
which it was determined should stand ; and be-

187L

TEE GARDE JEER'S MOMTRLY,

68

ing anxious to preserve it, I grafted a few yellow
laburnums with it. Two of these latter were
old plants, one having four arms or boughs. On
one of each I put a scion of scarlet laburnum,
and the result is, that this year and last, three
grafts were scarlet, the other one yellow ; but
the blossoms of this last were of such unsual
proportions that I have been reluctant to re-
move it. It was about three times the length
of the common j^ellow, and remained longer in
bloom. But what was to me the strangest por-
tion of the grafting operation was that which
took place on a young and very robust stock of
common yellow, and grafted on at the same
time as the old ones were done. Last year this
graft showed scarlet blossoms ; this year it was
covered with yellow blossoms, and possessing
the fine length of flower mentioned above. Now,
if any of your readers have any knowledge of a
like occurrence, I shall feel much obliged and
interested by their giving me the benefit of it.
Before I close this paper, I may remark that
the old headed-down laburnum has produced
this year the foliage of the purple cytisus and
scarlet laburnum. — W. D., in Gardener's Becord.

Best Pot Plants for Summer Exhibi-
tion".— The following from the report of the
Royal Horticultural Society, July exhibition,
indicates the most popular plants for exhibition
purposes :

'• Stove and Oreenhouse Plants. — Mrs. Cole &
Sons also send the best collection of nine stove
and greenhouse plants in flower. This consists
of excellent specimens of Ixora coccinea, Dipla-
denia amabilis in fine bloom, Aphelexis macran-
tha purpurea, Kalosanthes punicea, Dipladenia
crassinoda, Gompholobium polymorphuiu splen-
dens, and fair examples of Ixora javanica, Alla-
manda grandiflora, Dipladenia crassinoda, and
PhcEnocoraa prolifera Barnesii. The second
prize goes to Mr. F. Perkins, Leamington, who
has fine plants of the large- flowered AUamanda
Ilendersoni. Statice imbricata, Vinca rosea, and
others of less note. Messrs. Bell & Thorpe also
show in this class, and have a very good plant
ot Dipladenia amabilis, the yellow-flowered Cas-
sia corymbosa, and well-bloomed Statices. The
special prize oflered by F. J. MorrcU, Esq., for
the best specimen stove plant in flower is taken
by Mr. Balnea, gardener to II. MichoUa, Esq.,
with a specimen of AUamanda cathartica, form-
ing a balloon 5 feet by at least 4^ feet across ;
3.nd the second prize, given by the same gentle-

man, goes to Messrs. Standish & Co., of he
Royal Nurseries, Ascot, for AUamanda Hender-
soni, not large, but in excellent bloom ; while
the third prize is awarded to the singular-look-
ing Aristolochia ornithocephala, fi'om Mr. F.
Perkins, nurseryman, Leamington. Me.ssrs.
Gill's prizes for the best and second best speci-
men greenhouse plants go to Mr. Baines, for a
very fine plant of Erica Fairreana, four feet in
diameter ; and the second to Mr. A. Wright,
gardener to C. H. Crompton Roberts, Esq.,
Regent's Park, London, for a very good speci-
men, though rather past its best, of Kalosanthes
Madame Celeste Winans. In the local class for
six stove or greenhouse plants, Mr. G. Harris,
who is first, has a very well-grown Clerodendron
Thomson EE, but its bloom over, a very good
Rondeletia is also exhibited, and Asclepias cur-
ra.savica, a showy plant, but seldom seen, and
in this instance straggling ; the others do not
require notice. The second prize goes te Mr. J.
Walker, for a good pot of Lilium eximium, Cala-
diums, and Coleuses. The "-Florist aud Pomol-
ogisV prize for soft-wooded greenhouse plants
was awarded to Messrs. Bell & Thorpe, Strat-
ford-on-Avon, for a collection in which there is
Abutilon Thompson! with a few flowers, two
Petunias, a Lantana, Diplacus grandiflora in
good bloom, and Lilium auratum.

The Swallow's Flight, Thirteen Hun-
dred Miles in Twenty Hours. — On the pas-
sage from China, on board Her Majesty's ship
Donegal^ upon the 27th of August last, when in
9 deg. north latitude and 19 deg. west longitude,
about 250 miles oft' Sierra Leone, I observed a
flight of six swallows, flying about and resting
on the ship. As there had been no strong winds
to blow them off" the land, concluded they were
en route from Africa to America, or vice ver^a.
On the 28th I caught one ; he was in good condi-
tion, and voided a quantity of white natural col-
ored feeces, so apparently was not long from land ;
therefore I inferred that the party were crossing
from Africa, that being the nearest coast, and I
was confirmed in this opinion from my captive
showing no signs of fatigue, such as swallows
exhibit after a severe flight. I found the adven-
turous voyageur to be our mutual friend Hirundo
rustica, whose family is so familiar to English
homes.

They continued following and roosting upon
the ship for several days and nights, during which
time I watched them very narrowly, as I was

ejf-

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOXTHLJ. Eehruary,

very curious to ascertain upon what they fed,
there being no flies about the ship. They spent
their time in "hawking'' over the waves, pretty
much the same as they would on shore, but I
never saw them touch the surface. On the 3rd
of August curiosity got the better of humanity,
and I Ivilled one and held a post mortem on him.
Very diflerent indeed was he from the first one ;
he smelt like a sea bird, his tail was draggled and
covered with greenish yellow faeces, his feathers
were becoming rough, and he felt clammy and
sticky, and a miasma of gnano pervaded him.

Upon the 4th of August the remainder of the
flight had disappeared, having traversed a dis-
tance of 1,022 knots. When they left we were
going 10 knots on a strong "north-east trade,"
and I have no doubt they reached America in
20 hours, as a trip of 1,300 miles is a mere baga-
telle to birds able to fly 50 knots an hour easily,
with a strong wind behind them. Possibly in-
stinct warned them to stay by the ' 'floating island ' '
until it blew strong enough to waft them across
the Atlantic.

I see no reason why at sea they should not be
supposed to eat the Queen Fly and Crustacea,
which must form the food of the petrel, a bird
similar in shape and form and flight to the swal-
low. Many atfirm that they cannot take flies on
the water ; but as not only myself but others
have seen them do it frequently on jjonds, that
does not hold good, as surely they can do the
same on the sea. I certainly did not see them
do so in the neighborhood of the ship, but what
they did beyond that I cannot say. Messrs.
Buckland and Lee, of Land and Water ^ to whom
I have forwarded "the intestinal canal," I sin-
cerely trust may throw some light on the subject.
Virgil says : —

"Aut arguta lacus circumvulitavit hiruudo" —

"The twittering swallow skims the dimpled
lake ;" but the brave and dashing way in which
these tiny birds navigate the air and iiiake long
and rapid passages across the "wide, wide ocean"
is worthy of the admiration of a nation of sailors.
Apologizing for intruding on your valuable space
what may, after all, prove idle conjecture. — Cad-
VVALLAUER Waddy, in the Times.

/ How TO Cook Vegetables.— There is one
important objection which has often been made,
through ignorance of the first rule in cooking
vegetables. It is observed that a meal from
them is not satisfying. I have found it frequent-

ly happen that the persons who thus objected did
not know even how to boil a vegetable. The rule
is simple, but must never be forgotten. Every
kind of vegetable intended to be served whole
should, when put to boil, be placed at once in
boiling water ; and this applies especially to po-
tatoes and vegetables from which the outer cover
has been removed. Now, it often happens that
potatoes, &c., are, to save time, placed in cold
water and left to boil gradually. It is just this
which allows the nutritious matter to escape, and
renders the meal unsatisfying. AVhen. on the
contrary,' the water boils from the moment the
vegetable is immersed in it, the albumen is par-
tially coagulated near the surface, and serves to
retain the virtue of the vegetable. The reverse
is, of course the rule for making soup, or any
dish from which the water will not be drained.
By placing the vegetables in cold water the albu-
men is slowly dissolved, and actually mixes with
the water— a process most necessary for the pro-
duction of nutritious soup. It is to be hoped
that the poor, who have a special need for the
most their money can produce, will learn, in
whatever haste they may be, not to boil all the
albumen from their potatoes, reserving for their
need only the starchy matter. -^!Foo(Z Journal. /

Gardening Notes.— If you find people, un-
invited, planting their foot in your garden, run
the roller lightly over their potatoes — likewise
their corn. You will be sure to find them groan ;
so the process promotes vegetation. We haven't
tried the following, but commend the notion to
our readers' attention By boiling your peas
before planting them you ought to ensure their
produce being ready boiled. Boil a few and
plant them. If they don't come up at once, you
can soon get them up. With a spade. This is
the cheapest mode of forcing. The ordinary
marrow may be grown without glass. Spinal
marrow requires a frame — in fact, a human
frame. It will not do much without it, indeed.
Don't mix your mustard before planting. Once
mixed it will go to (mustard) pot. Water-crease
jnust of course be cultivated in water. Popi)ing
crease will be found to flourish best in fields
where cricket is cultivated. Don't grow onions
for sale, if you do not wish to be compelled to
hawk them about. The influence of these plants
is so great that we have seen people who wished
to sell them forced to cry in the streets all day.
—Fun.

DEVOTED TO

Horti cult are, Arhori culture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEIIAX.
Old Series, Vol. XIII. MARCH, 1871. ^^^^ Series, Vol. IV. No. 3.

HIKTS FO]l MARCH.

FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

It is often said by those who have plants to
set out, that they give so much more satisfaction
than sowing seed. "We hardly think so ; and
then see the thousands who can have some
flowers from seeds, who could have no plants in
other ways. In going among amateur horticul-
turists, we scarcely find a place where we are not
shown some choice flowers which we are told,
with a pardonable air of triumph, was bought
of Henderson, or Drcer, or Thorburn, or Bliss,
or Vick, or some other of the well-known names
familiar to the readers of our advertising
columns. During this month of March, and
the next April, millions of little packages will
have traveled through the mail, and find their
resting place on the bosom of mother earth ; and
here we find we are giving a hint unconsciously,
but one which is a capital one to the seed sower,
namely, to sow the flower seeds on the surface,
and not beneath it. Much of the ill luck with
them comes from rotting in the ground. A rain
comes after sowing, and if the seed has partly
swelled, it easily rots by being a few hours under
water. To avoid this, sow on the surface, and
close the earth over with a trowel. It is even a
benefit i$) make a little mound of a half-inch or
80, before sowing. Then it will make no dilTer-
ence if the rain continue for a week, the seeds
will always be above the level, and never get satu-
rated. Another little thing, often neglected by
seed sowers, is to mark the place where the seeds
are sown. A little stick set in will always be
found useful, as all who liave not done so will
readily understand. In olden times this was

always attended to, and a little slit made in it,
in which the name on the paper was neatly
folded and set. Of course a neat label looks pret-
tier, but somehow those people of the olden time,
who followed these primitive ways of naming
their plants, knew more about them than many
of the moderns. Only the hardy Annuals must
be sown in March ; those which are tender mu.st
be reserved until the soil and weather is settled
warm. AVe need not give a list of these, as every
seedsman has now these particulars on every
package he sends out.

If flowers have been growing in the ground
for many years, new soil does wonders. Rich
manure makes plants grow, but they do not al-
ways flower well with vigorous growth. If new
soil cannot be had, a wheelbarrow of manure to
about every fifty square feet will be enough. If
the garden earth looks grey or yellow, rotttn
leaves— quite rotten leaves — will improve it. If
heavy, add sand. If very sandy, add salt— about
half a pint to fifty square feet. If very black or
rich from previous year's manurings, use a little
lime, about a pint slacked to fifty square feet.

Prune shrubs, ro^cs and vines. Those which
flower from young wood, cut in severely to make
new growth vigorous. Tea, China, Bourbon
and Noisette roses are of this class. Whjit are
called annual Howering Roses, as Prairie Queen
and so on, requires lots of last year's wood to
make a good show of flowers Hence, with these
thin out weak wood, and leave all the stronger.

To make handsome, shapely specimens of
shrubs, cut them now into the forms you want,
and keep them so by pulling out all shoots that

66

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELl.

March ^

grow stronger than the others during the sum-
mer season.

Do not transplant extensively till the ground
is warm and the buds are about to push. Many
things die by exposure to winds for a few weeks
before they have warmth to push roots and leaves
into growth.

The rule for pruning at transplanting is to cut
in proportion to apparent injury to roots. If not
much Ihe worse for removal, cut but little of the
top away. Properly pruned, a good gardener
will not have the worst case of a badly dug tree
to die under his hands. In a nursery, where
these matters are well understood, trees " never
die."

Box edgings lay well now. [Make the ground
firm and level, plant deep, with tops not more
than two inches above ground.

Eoll the grass well before the softness of a
thaw goes away. It makes all smoo h and level.

Graft trees or shrubs where changed sorts are
desirable. Any lady can graft. Cleft grafting
is the easiest. Split the stock, cut the scion like
a wedge, insert it in the split, so that the bark
of the stock and scion meets ; tie a little bast
bark around it, and cover with Trowbridge's
Gralting-wax, and all is done : very simple when
il is uuderstof d, and not hard to understand.

Chrjsanthemums are now indispensable for
autumn decoration of the tlower garden. Now
is the time to procure a supply. They do well
in any rich garden soil that is not too dry. The
Lilliputian, or Pom pone class are still popular
for conservatory or pot culture, but the large
flowering kinds still remain the gems of the open
ground.

Hyacinths, Tulips, Liliums, and other hardy
buUsset out in the fall, and covered through
the wintir, should be occasionally examined,
aod wh»:n they show "signs of active growth,
must be uncovered, in this latitude this is not
safe until towards the end of the month.

Most things have been pruned, but Koses are
alwa} s left to " see what damage the winter may
do." In ihe " summer" roses, or those which
bloom only once in the season, the rule is to thin
out the weak shoots and leave the stronger ones,
merely shortCHing their tops. If pruned severe-
ly in the usual shortening style, they will not
bloom freely. The hybrid perpetual roses, if
wanted for early flowering, should also be served
much in the same way ; but as their chief value
is as fall flowerers, a severe pruning now pro-
duces a vigorous autumn growth, bearing large

and luxurious blooms. The Tea, China, Bour-
bon and Noisette roses which flower best on
young wood, should be well cut in.

FRUIT GARDEN.

It will ofi.en be found that Pear trees blo.«som
freely without producing fruit. At one time, it
was thought this failure resulted from late spring
frosts. It is now known to result from weak-
ness, a "general debility," a disease of which
our best poraologists of the last generation never
heard. The best temporary remedy for this is a
vigorous pruning. Trees which have this bad
habit, should have many of their weaker
branches thinned out, leaving the stronger ones,
many of which will then bear. But a permanent
remedy must be sought in encouraging the sur-
face roots to feed. This is done by heavy top
dressings, and not injuring, more than can be
helped, the surface roots during the growing
season. There are differences of opinion as to
whether the soil about fruit trees should be kept
stirred, or left entirely under grass or mulch ;
but there is no difference about the value of not
destroying the roots during the growing season.

If Pear or Apple trees are infested with white
scales, cut away all the weaker shoots, and wash
the bark with a composition of lime and sulphur.
Sometimes Pears are affected with a disease,
known in nurseries as frozen sap blight. In this
case, just as the leaves are pushing, the branches
will have spots of slimy black, and the leaves
often have this appearance also. The only
remedy is to cut back below any of these appear-
ances.

Grape vines' in the open air, on arbors and
trellisses, should have their pruning finished be-
fore warm spring days set in, or they will bleed.
It does not injure them much, but it looks bad.
The pruning must be regulated by the condition
of the vine. If the vines are young and the
shoots weak, cut them all back, to make a new
and vigorous growth. If already a fair quantity
of strong shoots of last season's growth exists,
cut out the weaker ones, so as to leave enough
of stronger ones. The cane system, slightly
modified, is best for arbors and trellissrs in the
hands of amateurs generally. This implies a
new set of canes every year or two. If, as fre-
quently happens from bad management, all the
young and strong-bearing wood exists only at
the end of the vines, and these latter have be-
come nothing but long, ropy-looking apologies

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S M0J^TEL1[.

67

for what a vine should be ; the whole cane may
be buried down in the soil to where the strong
shoots spring from, and the young wood of last
season trained up from this. The plant will
then recover its good appearance quite as well
as by cutting down, with the advantage of not
sacrificing a year's crop of fruit. Grapes that
have become weak from age may be renewed by
layering down a branch some feet just under the
surfjico, and then cut back, so that one good eye
only he loft at the surface of the soil.

Apple trees in orchards are often so thickly
matted with branches, that none of the leaves
get their full share of light and air. This should
never have been permitted, but as it is, a vigor-
ous thinning should be effected, though the axe
and saw be called in to effect it. Sprouts will
come out thick next summer, after such pruning,
but they should be torn out while green.

Peaches, it is said, grow too strong generally,
and should not be pruned ; but the same rule
holds good as with apples. Thin out all weak
or crowded shoots. Our experience is that if a
Peach tree's constitution is not impaired by bad
treatment, it seldom grows too strong for its
own good.

Plum and Cherry trees are often injured by
the knot. These can often be renovated by a
eevere pruning. Cutting away all branches on
which the swelling came the last season, a new
growth will follow, which never has any knots
on that season. The spores of the knot fungus,
however, find their nests, and the next season
prow, and then, if the trees are examined in
May, the swelling will appear as soft frothy
masses, which, if then taken out by the finger
and thumb, usually destroys the crop at once and
forever. Horticulture has made great progress
the few past years in many of these things ; and
now, if Entomology shall prove its great value
to gardening, by fixing the end of curculio, as
mycology has, in its way, done us good, America
will be the paradise of fruit growers.

In setting out Raspberries and Blackberries,
remember the hints we once before gave, not to
set out deeper than the plant grew before. A
currant or gooseberry set deep, will root from
the cane, but a raspberry will not. The new
buds have to come up from the roots. Thousands
of these plants die every year. In nurseries
there are two kinds of plants— plants which are
simply suckers, taken off in winter, and plants
taken up as they sprout during summer, and set
out to grow awhile before fall. These are called

transplanted plants, and are worth much more
than others. Transplanted plants seldom die.
Both Raspberries and Blackberries should be cut
down within six inches or a foot before planting.
Transplanted plants may be left longer, and be
allowed to bear a little ; but if these plants are
allowed to produce much the first year after set-
ting out, the suckers for next year are very weak.
Little is gained by having fruit the first year.

Strawberries, like Raspberries, are often de-
stroyed by planting deep. Only the fibrous roots
should be set under the ground— never the bud.
Sometimes the excuse is that the plant will not
set firm in the ground without ; in this case,
make the ground firm by rolling or beating down
before planting.

People often complain that their Currants
drop their leaves early, in which case they don't
mature a very large crop the next season. The
Currant is a native of cool regions, and the cool-
est ground should always be devoted to it. The
leaves do not fall early then. In this section the
currant borer is the worst insect pest About
this season the larva? will be found in the pith,
and the shoots containing them should be cut off
and burned. If the shoots look weak and
starved, like on plants, v/hich have some of them
very strong and vigorous, it is quite likely they
have the larvpe of these borers in the weak ones.
This can then be determined by examination.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

In the open ground Peas and Potatoes receive
the first attention. Then Beets and Carrots.
Then Lettuce, Radish, Spinach, Onions, Leeks
and Parsley. Beyond this, unless in more
favored latitudes than Pennsylvania, little can
be done till the first week in April There is
nothing gained in working soil, until it has be-
come warm and dry.

Those who have no Spinach sown in the fal
should do that right away ; no amount of stab'e
manure but will be a benefit to it, though guano,
in even smallish doses, will kill it. (ruauo i re-
duces excellent Cabbage, mixed with the ground
while it is being dug for that crop. Cabbage,
by the way, may be put in as soon as the ground
is ready ; and Potatoes are better in before the
beginning of next month, if the ground is not
too wet ; many plant Cabbage between the
Potato rows.

Onions are better put in early, but the ground
ought to be dry, and trodden or beaten fiim

68

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY.

March,

when the sets are planted ; the ground ought
not to have rank manure — wood-ashes and pure
undunged loam will alone produce an excellent
crop.

Where new Asparagus beds are to be made,
now is the time ; the ground should be rather
moist than drj', and be trenched two feet deep,
mixing in with it a good quantity of stable dung,
and, if the ground be inclining to sand, add some
salt ; the beds should be marked out four feet
wide, and the alle3-s about two feet. If pegs are
driven down at the corners of the beds perma-
nently, they will assist operations in future
years. Having marked the positions of the beds
and procured a stock of two year old plants,
place them on the soil nine inches apart in rows
one foot asunder, making three rows in each
bed ; then cover the whole with soil from the
alleys and rich compost a couple of inches.

To have Turnips good in spring they must be
sown very early ; they are hardy, and must be
put in as soon as the ground can be caught
right.

Parsley delights in a rich gravelly loam, and
should be sown very early.

Parsnips, another crop which should receive
early attention, also delights in a deep gravelly
soil, but detests rank manure.

Lettuce and Radishes continue to sow at in-
tervals.

ITirbs of all kinds are best attended to at this
season — a good collection is a good thing.

The Carrot will thrive in soil similar to the
Beet ; lime is an excellent manure for it— we
use the long Orange. Celery may be sown about
the end of the month, in a bod of very light rich
soil, and Tomatoes, Egg Plants and Peppers
sown in pots or boxes, and forwarded. It is as
bad to be too early with these as too late, as they
become stunted.

GREENHOUSE.

This is the season when the most plants will
require re-potting previous to their making their
new season's growth. The difficulty always is
to find the increased room the re-potting requires.
Usually room is made by turning out the bed-
dinj; plants into hot-bed frames, protecting them
Irom frosts at night by mats. Much may be
gained also by not increasing the size of pots, as
pointed out by a correspondent ; but merely
changing the soil ; where, liowever, plants are
not shortened in previous to the repottal, care

must be exercised in shaking out the soil, or
serious results may follow. The ball of roots
should be soaked in water, so that the particles
of soil may fall away easily from the roots. The
soil for potting, too, should be nearly quite dry,
and then rammed into the pots about the roots
very hard and tight. Immediately after potting,
the plant should be well watered, and placed in
a close and partially shaded atmosphere till the
roots take hold of the new soil again. Where
the roots are not much disturbed these precau-
tions are unnecessary. In addition to dry soil
for potting it should be fibrous, that is, it should
have a good portion of old fine roots through it
to give it a spongy texture. It is this which
gives the top soil of a pasture such value in the
eye of a good gardener for potting purposes, as
the innumerable fine roots of the grass through
it renders it particularly spongy or " fibrous " as
the technical term is.

Look out for a good stock of bedding plants
in time ; by striking cuttings of such things as
grow rapidly and speedily, and sowing seeds of
such annuals as may be advanced to advantage.
Fuchsias may now be readily struck from the
young growth of the old plants, which will make
excellent blooming plants for the next summer
season.

Dahlias should now be brought forward. A
good plan is to shorten the extremity of the roots,
put them in six inch pots, and place in a warm
greenhouse. In a few weeks they will sprout,
when they should be sliaken out, divided with a
piece of root to each sprout, and separately pot-
ted in 4-inch pots.

Pansies are coming now into flower. They
like an airy frame, where they will not be roasted
at mid-day nor exposed to drying winds, and yet
have a free circulation of air and plenty of light.
Planted out in such a frame, and the old shoots
cut away as soon as the plant has done flower-
ing, the plants will keep healthy over till the
next season. Superior varieties can be raised
from seed. Choose those with the roundest
petals, best colors, and the first flowers that
open, to raise seed from.

Camellias will require rather more water while
growing than at other times. Just before they
grow is a good season to graft. Cut down the
stock, cleft graft in the crown, wax, and plunge
in a bottom heat of 70". A great many kinds
may be had on one plant by the bottle system :
A shoot about to grow is obtained, and attached
to the stock as in inarching, the end of the shoot

U7L

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

69

being put in a small phial of water suspended
beneath it. This plan does best, however, with
the young wood in July.

Geraniums, Pelargoniums, Cinerarias, and
Chinese Primroses, must be kept as near the
glass and light as possible ; they do little good
in shad}^ places. Keep ofTthe green Aphis— for
this on a small scale there is nothing like hot
water ; on a large scale, tobacco smoke, in
several successive light doses, is still the best |
remedy.

Azaleas succeed well by grafting with the half
ripe shoots of the present season's growth on
plant-; raised either by seeds or cuttings. Old
wood does not take readily.

Auriculas, Carnations, Pinks, and Polyanthus
—the prettiest of tlorist's flowers, must be kept
cool, just free from frost, with plenty of air, if
the best results are desired.

Chrysanthemums should n w be raised from
cuttings for fill flowering. They make better
blooming plants than olT-setts.

New-Holland and Cape plants, such as Epa-
cris, Acacia, Heaths, etc , are now the glory of
the greenhouse ; hot bursts of sun on them
should be avoided, as it lays in them the seeds of
"consumption," which frequently carries theiu
ofl' the following summer.

COMMUNICATIONS.

PEARS.

An Address d'> v'^ed hr'n^e 'hf Pn. F'u't Grmre s' Society, at
C>tfrnbertbwg, Januarp Idtli, 1871.

BY E. SATTERTHWAIT, OF MONTGOMERY
COUNTY, PENNA.

At the request, or to speak more properly, by
command, of our most worthy President, I have
prepared some remarks on the subject of Pears
and Pear culture, which are submitted, however,
with great difiidence, because, as I must confess,
I found the task more difficult than I had sup-
posed it would be. I could very easily have
written an article on this subject for the general
public, that would have been satisfactory, at
least to myself, if not to the public. But to
produce an essay to be submitted to the criticism
of a body of skilled and professional fruit grow-
ers, and which must be supposed to be either
interesting or instructive to such a company, is
a quite different matter. If I have not suc-
ceeded in doing this, the only excuse I have to
offer is, that the task is not of my own seeking,
and that I have done the best 1 could under the
circumstances ; having been able to snatch but
very little time from the cares of business to de-
vote to the purpose.

It would be very desirable, if it were possible,
at these, our annual gatherings, to be able to
present, each year, a statement setting forth the
progress that has been made from year to year,
and the exact state of each important branch of
the science which it is our object to promote.

But from the nature of things, this is not possi-
ble.

Fruit growing, in common with every other
branch of horticulture, does not belong to the
exact sciences. We cannot in that, as we may,
with many other branches of knowledge, pro-
ceed, step by step, to add to our stock of infor-
mation, and by reasoning from ascertained Hicts,
arrive at certain and infallible conclusions.
Here, on the contrary, all is vague and uncer-
tain. Xot only are there no well settled prin-
ciples established ; but we find the greatest dis-
crepancy existing amongst the most intelligent
observers as to matters of every day observation.
Accordingly I find, on taking a survey of
the field, an immense mass of crude observa-
tions, and conflicting theories, a vast amount of
which has the tendency only to confuse and dis-
courage the honest inquirer after truth. To at-
tempt to reconcile these conflicting theories,— to
bring order out of chaos,— to sift the few grains of
wheat from the many bushels of chaff,— would be
a herculean task, which I shall not attempt ; but
shall confine myself to noting such facts and ob-
servations as have occurred to me, that seemed
to be practically useful : and I shall endeavor to
do this without being biased for or against any
disputed theory ; but with one single object in
view,— to find out the truth.

Taking up the subject in the order in which it
is commonly treated, I suppose I must say
something in regard to soil and cultivation. On

70

IHE GARDEJV'ER'S MOJ{TELY.

March,

this brancli of the subject I shall be brief, as I
have had occasion frequently before this society
and elsewhere to express my views on this sub-
ject. In regard to the kind of soil and cultiva-
tion most suitable for Pears, I have only to say,
that the results of my observation and experi-
ence are all favorable to "high culture.'' I
mean by that, bountiful manuring, and constant
tillage of the soil. In this, as iu every other
branch of productive industry, I know of no
royal road to success. Hence I have no consola-
tion to offer to those who expect to grow good
crops of pears in a grass sod. But I do not pro-
pose to argue this question. It is one that has
been already sutficiently discussed, and can be
determined only by actual experiment. As it
would seem to be proper, however, to give the
results ot my own experience, I would state, that
I give my trees, as a general rule, a good ma-
nuring annually, with stable or barn-yard ma-
nure, and cultivate by plowing alternatety, to
and from the rows uf trees with a light plow.
My trees that have been so treated, have, thus
far, generally produced satisfactory crops. It is
proper for me to state, however, that I have
but few trees that have been planted more than
ten or twelve years, which is not long enough to
establish any theory conclusively. And it may
be, that older trees will not do with this kind of
treacineut. All that I can say at present about
that is, that the older my trees get, the better
they seem to flourish under it.

I would not be understood as contending, that
Pears will never do well in a sod ; on the con-
trary, I have seen many old and flourishing pear j
trees, bearing valuable cr,.ps of fruit too, that
stood in grass, or in situations where they could
not be cultivated. But these have always been
in peculiarly favorable situations, often near
the farm buildings, where the drainage from the
barn-yard or kitchen found its way ; sometimes
in city yards, where the roots can seek out rich
spots of ground under the pavements of gutters,
and among sewers and foundation walls ; and it
must be borne iu mind, that the roots of an old
tree will run for hundreds of feet, where they
find a congenial soil.

IVar trees in such situations will often thrive
and bear good crops in spite of the grass ; but I
liavc yet to see the first Pear orchard in grass
that was either thrifty or productive.

I am Well aware that there are those who are
considered high authority, who strt'nuously ad-
vocate the system of keeping a pear orchard al-

ways in grass ; and when I consider what an
easy and common thing it is to slide into the
practice of allowing an orchard to become a sod
by lack of cultivat on, I confess I am not as-
tonished at finding advocates foj- the practice ;
but if it was not for the fear of being thought
personal, I should be tempted to say, that in many
of these cases, ''the wish was fother to the
thought.''

However, as I have said, success alone must
be the test in this question ; and when those
who practice on the grass theory', show the best
crops of fruit, then I also will "go in'' for grass.
For of one thing I am positively certain, that
the eternal laws of the Creator will not change,
not even to suit the theories of the most wise
and astute, and no matter how stubbornly they
may be insisted on.

A word more in regard to manuring. The
pear is unquestionably one of the most hardy,
as it is the longest lived of all fruit trees ; but it
is unreasonable to expect that a tree, standing
for generations in one spot, can continue to
draw from the same soil, year after 3-ear, the in-
gredients requisite for a large crop of such high-
flavored and delicious fruit as a fine variety of
pear, unless the soil happen to be of inexhausti-
ble fertility, or has its supply of plant food, in
some way, frequently renewed.

It is easy to imagine a tree, (like the pine for
instance) that produces no edible fruit, to thrive
and continue to grow for centuries in a soil al-
most destitute of fertility, but the requirements
of food-producing plants are different. They re-
quire a soil containing more or less of organic
matter. Fruit trees I believe require to be
fed as much as domestic animals. Everybody
knows, for instance, that dairy cows to yield
abundantly must be constantly supplied with a
liberal amount of nutritious food ; and I think
this as necessary for pear trees.

I have been speaking now of soils of moderate
natural fertilit}', such as the average soil of
Pennsylvania or New Jersey : of course the
same amount of manuring will not be necessary
in deep alluvial or otherwise unusually fertile
soils.

The question is frequently asked, whether a
stifl' clay soil, or a light sand}- soil, is suitable
for pears ? I cannot answer these questions ; but
am inclined to the opinion, that almost any soil,
that is not too wet, will do, if made sufficiently
fertile by manuring.

I have seen it frequently recommended to seed

IS71.

TEE gardejYeh's monthly.

71

down nn orchard with clover. Probably this tage in it.
might do well if nothing but clover would grow ; drained,
but, as every one knows, who has tried the ex-
peiiment, clover will only live a year or two,
and then if the soil is good enough to grow pears
at all, a dense sod of other grasses will succeed
it. I know of no way of keeping an orchard
in clover, but to plow and re-sow at least every
other year, and this practice, I apprehend, would
be liable to all the objections which are urged
against constant tillage. "Mulching is also fre-
quently recommended. But I have never known
it tried to any extent ; and I suppose, simply for
the reason that it is too expensive.

There is one advantage that I must claim for
tlie system ot culture whicli I practice, that has
great weiglit with me, and must be an impor-
tant consideration wherever ground is very valu-
able, and that is, that I get large and valuable
crops ofotiier products from my pear orchards ; —
almost the same, in fact, as if there were no
Pear trees there ; — the space in the rows between
the trees being filled with currants, gooseberries,
raspberries, rhubarb, etc , and the rest of the
ground planted with other small fruits, vegeta-
bles, and nursery trees. And it is a remarkable
fact, that pear trees do not seem to injure other
crops growing near them, as apple, cherry and
other fruit trees do. Some of my pear trees are
now five or six inches in diameter and twenty-
five feet liigh, and yet I cannot perceive that
they injure anything growing near them. In
fact, I am convinced, that the protection afforded
by rows of pear trees, at intervals through the
vegetable and nursery grounds, is a decided ad-
vantage to many things ; and as my trees get no
manure and no labor in cultivation, except what
is applied to the other crops, the pears would
seem to be almost clear gain.

Soils that are wet, of course must be

I find I have forgotten to say anything about
tlie preparation of the soil before planting, and I
confess that I do not attach as much importance

I have already spoken of one prolific cause of
failure, to wit : starvation ; and I will now pro-
ceed to notice such others as have occurred to
me : Of diseases of the Pear, properly so called.
I know nothing, having had no experience with
an}^ unless the premature shedding of the leaves
of trees otherwise apparently healthy, and the
consequent failure of the fruit to ripen, be a
disease. Whatever this may be, or whatever its
cause, it is certainly the most serious drawback
to pear growing that I have to contend with.
The mischief from this cause varies with the
season and with varieties amounting sometimes
to a total failure of some varieties, and greater
or less injury to most other. As nothing seems
to be known of the cause of this malady, it will
be very difficult to sugest a remedy ; and per-
haps it is useless to speculate upon it ; but as it
seems to be a difficulty of so serious a nature,
anything that can throw any light upon it would
seem to be interesting. And in connection with
this, I will mention what has always appeared
to me to be very remarkable, and well worthy of
the most careful investigation. I allude to the
fact, that Pears grown in cities appear to be en
tirely exempt from this, and every other malady
that Pears growing in the country are subject
to. There would seem to be some mysterious
atmospheric influence in cities which is pecu-
liarly favorable to the growth of pears ; not only
rendering the trees exempt from disease, but
causing the fruit of every variety to bo free from
blemish, and of a complexion so brilliant and per-
fect as to be recognized with diflRculty as the same
fruit, when compared with the same variety grown
only a few miles distant iu the country. This
influence, whatever it may be, seems to be en-
tirely atmospheric, as no ditlerence in soil or
culture, seems to produce the effect mentioned.

In the present state of our knowledge on the

to this as is generallv done by writers on this subject, the only remedy for this leaf-blight,
subject. I have said 'enough, I think, to show seems to be, in the selection of such varieties, as
that I consider a highly fertile and well culti- ! appear to be least liable to it. And here I can-
vated soil essential ; and I certainly should not ! not refrain from maVlng a suggestion in regard
advise any one to think of planting a pear or | to a pear, which, from its remarkable vigor and
chard in ground that was not in a good state of | exemption, under all circumstances, from leaf-
tillage, such :i8 would be necessary for garden 1 blight, would seem to be well worth experiment-
crops ; but I consider that much more depends ing with. I allude to the Chinese sand pear,
on the after treatment, than on the original pre- And I would like to enquire if any one has ever
paralion of the soil. And as to deep su' soiling tried, either by hybridizing with other kinds,
and trenching, I had never found any advan- I or otherwise to obtain from seedlings oi this va-

72

TEE GARBE^/'ER'S MOJVTRLl.

March,

riet}' and edible fruit, with the very desirable
properiies of this tree.

Another serious evil that I have cnoounlored,
is injur}' to the trees from severe cold I have
had whole rows of Bartletts, cither killed out-
right or so injured as to require years to recover,
from the effects of an unusually severe winter.
There is, of course, no remedy for this ; but I
have reason to hope that as the trees advance in
ai?e their liability to injury from this cause will
diminish.

In consequence of the injury from cold, I have
found a northern exposure not desirable for
pears, and for the same reason, I would recom-
mend protection from winter winds in any way
liossible.

The Apple or Quince borer has become very
destructive with me of late, and I have lost
many fine pear trees by them ; the mischief being
mostly done, before T had made the discovery
that the borer would attack the wood of the
pear. In localities where this insect is trouble-
some, it will be necessary to take the same pre-
caution with the pear, as with the apple and
quince, to guard against its ravages. This,
however, is so easily done that no further mis-
chief ought to result from this cause, when once
it becomes known that the borer will attack the
pear.

The cracking of the fruit of some varieties,
worse some seasons than others, is a very seri-
ous objection to those varieties subject to it.
As no cause or remedy has ever been dis-
covered for this, the only way to avoid it, seems
to be, to discard the varieties subject to it. I
might say here, however, that I have noticed
tliat tiie fruit of trees that are unthrifty from
any cause, appear to be most liable to crack,
and this would seem to be another argument in
favor of high-culture.

The pear seems to be less subject to the at
tacks of insects than other tree fruits, but cur-
culio and other similar insects arc sufliciently
troublesome to make a remedy very desirable,
if such were possible : and I will repeat here the
opinion that I have often before urged, that the
true remedy for this, and most other insect
l)csts, is to be found in the protection, cncour
agement and domestication of insectivorous
birds, and I earnestly advise attention to this
subject. 1 intend myself experimenting with
the European sparrow, and I hope others will
also.

I have every year many bushels of fine pears

spoiled by wasps, hornets and bees eating
into them ; but I feel satisfied from experiments
that I have made, that these can be almost en-
tirely destroyed, by catching them in wi<le-
mouthed bottles, hung in the trees for the pur-
pose, half filled with vinegar and water.
{To he Continued.^

RUSTIC TREES.

BY CHRONICLER.

Platanus occidentalism is the American Button-
wood ti-ee. "While young, and growing in forest
or nursery rows, it forms a straight, regularly
branched tree, but when set out singly upon
good soil, it frequently throws out a few over-
vigorous branches, nearly as large as the main
stem above, and thereby becomes an object of
deformit3\ If the ends of the rampant branches
are nipped off" every three feet of their growths,
the main leader will shoot upwards more rapidly,
and the other branches will be made to grow
equally. The tree will then become a model ot
perfection— a colossal leafy column, a hundred
feet hi^h : an ornamental arboral giant. The
tree is of rapid growth upon various soils and
situations, the leaves being pale green, and the
bark nearly white ; it contrasts beautifully with
other trees of darker shades.

Populus nlba, is called Abele tree, and white-
leaved Poplar. It is of quick growth upon vari-
ous soils and situations ; both bark and foliage
are pale green. It is seldom that we can get a
tree Avith strai£;ht stem ; it too, throws out a few
rami)ant, horizontal branches, which it thrusts
into the heads of other trees within its reach,
and deforms both them and itself ; but by nip-
ping off the ends of over-strong branches, every
two feet of their growth, the tree assumes a
handsome form, and becomes highly ornamental.
It throws up many suckers from its roots, wliich
disfigure a fine lawn ; they should be pulled up
as the}- appear, for that reason they siiould be
set far off from the roads.

Paulotcnia imperialis, is a rapid growing tree,
with very large leaves, and blooms of bright
blue in Ma}', whicii are produced in great
profusion, and very fragrant. AVhen ton to
twenty feet high, it branches out and makes no
leading stem upwards, leaving the heart open
and bare ; but by nipping ofl' the ends of
branches every two feet of their growth, the
tree will then send up a strong main leader, and
by a continuance of tlic nipping process, the

ISll.

THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY .

/v ay

tree will become very ornamental, and attain a
great size. AVe can perceive its fragrance a
hundred feet oft' on still evenings.

Catnlpa syringa^oUa, takes the same habit as
the Paulownia, when left to itself, and can be
made handsome by the same practice. It is one
of the most showy and profuse blooming trees
in existence ; grows thirty feet high, upon good
soil, and having its branches checked frequently.

GMitschia horrida, commonly called Thorny
Acacia. When grown singly, It requires its
over-luxuriant branches checked by nipping off"
their ends. "When well trained, it forms one of
our most ornamental trees ; thrives upon vari"
ous kinds of soil and in different situations. The
leaflets are very small and transparent, clothing
the wood admirably. It is well suited for mak-
ing strong hedge fences ; its many strong thorns
makes it a sure bai'rier against trespassers and
live stock. It is a blessing that it does not bear
oranges, as it would be hard to get at them for
the dreadful thorns.

"We have chosen these few rugged trees, for
our subject this time, to show unskilled im-
provers how beauty can be evolved from the^
most awkward lookincr trees.

BOTAXY AXD ITS INFLUENCE ON
HORTICULTURE.

BY THOMAS MEEHAN.
Read before the Wisconsin St He Horticulturcl Socie't/.

I have received an invitation from your es-
teemed Secretary to be with you, or at least to
prepare an essay for your winter meeting. No-
thing would delight me more than to be able to
accept, but I am nearly borne down by the
weight of work. The alternative I will try at
least briefly to do. I am frequently forced to
decline even such requests, — but I have so often
received kindnesses from Western Horticultur-
ists, far beyond, as I have thought, my ability to
requite,— that I gladly avail myselfof any oppor-
tunity when it is at all iiossible for me to render
a trifle in return.

Your Secretary suggests that a fevv thoughts
"on the necessity of a botanical education to
the success and greatest enjoyment of the Horti-
culturist," might not be unacceptable. I am
not 80 sure about the necessity to the success of
a Horticulturist, as that success is generally un-
derstood.

I remember that, when a young man, and in
the midst of a very large circle of young men,

all studying horticulture, it was often that we
heard the taunt, '■ What is the use of all your
botany ? can we not grow cabbage and potatoes
as well without all this nonsense, as you can
with it?'' j-t was true. And to this day,—
and I often think of it,— they are doing nothing
but growing potatoes and cabbages, mostly toil-
ing day by day for their daily bread, and hardly
knowing to-day what to-morrow's field will
bring them forth. The little band of botanical
students, however, then with no means nor any
desires beyond a thirst for knowledge, are all in
positions of honor, trust and profit. One of
these poor horticultural students Is the present
Dr. Berthold Seemann, whose title of L. L. D.
has been awarded to him for his distinguished
services in Horticultural Science, and whom, as
the editor of the leading botanical journal in the
world, is probably not unknown to many of you.
At the present moment he is in the wilds of
Central America, seeking what he may find use-
ful or ornamental to add to the pleasures or
comforts of his fellow man. Another of these
poor gardeners has charge of a considerable
tract of land, used for scientific experiments by
the East India Company, at Otacamund in the
East Indies-a position of the highest responsi-
bility and usefulness. Another is director of
the celebrated gardens of the Britsh government,
at Melbourne, in Australia, and so on all of the
others. Indeed, whether in professional life, or
as mere amateurs in Horticulture, I never knew
one who united to mere practical gardening a
love of botany, who did not succeed in produc-
ing results far beyond his fellows.

I hate egotism, and for fear of fostering it in my-
self, say little of my own personal career. I de-
part from this rule now, only in the hope that I
may teach from experience. I will then say,
that if I have achieved any success in horticul-
ture, it has been all owing to the love of botany
which was communicated to me by niy honored
father, himself an humble working botanist, and
at the same time one of the most successful of
the practical gardeners of his day. He was one
of the pioneers in the wonderful success in the
culture of the grape and pine apple under glass,
which has of late years made English gardening
so famous, that even Italian potentates have
borne testimony to the fact, that the fruits of
their clear and nature favored skies, could not be-
gin to compare with the artificial products of

these island gardeners.
Botany, 1 know, as often taught, fails to carry

'Jf

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY

March,

with it any idea of utility. In my wanderings
throux'h the Union, during the few weeks of
what I call my summer vacation, I often come
to some country town, and in reply to inquiry, am
directed to some one locally celebrated as a
botanist. After introducing myself, it is quite
likely he says: "Yes, I studied botany closely
once, but I collected all the plants of the place,
and as there was nothing more to learn, I have
given it up; but here are my specimens."

Poor fellows ! they h id but really got together
the letters of the alphabet. At the point when
the real botanist begins to understand the true
language of the science, they gave up the ghost,
—or rather kept the " skeleton in the house," in
the shape of an useless herbarium.

Collecting specimens is an excellent help to a
beginner in botany. It educates his eye to see
differences, in a way which nothing can better ;
and by preserving the specimens he is enabled
to refer to these differences whenever his mem-
ory fails him. Then he learns to combine re-
semblances into groups-^ike with like— and thus
commences the education of the reasoning flicul-
ties, without which no great undertaking ever
succeeds. Any aid to reason helps one,— but in
our daily undertakings, those things aid most
which are in the nearest relationship,— and what
is nearer to horticulture than botany ? Chemis-
try, Geology, Entomology all have intimate con-
nection with plant culture,— but the knowledge
of the plant itself is the crowning glory of them
all.

Powers of reasoning and of judgment on the dif-
ferences one sees in plants, being once awakened,
he will be sure not to stop there. He will want
to know the causes of these differences. Then
he fuels that he must know something of the
structure of plants ; how they grow and how
they feed, and of the laws which control their
organization and their functions.

It is well known, that when a man knows the
nature of his horse, or the parent the character
of his children, he is better able to manage them
than without this knowledge. So it is with
plants, — the one who understands all about
them, is at once prepared to act in an emer-
gency, where one who knows not is entirely in
the dark.

It is hard to .show to one who knows nothing
of botany, how great is the assistance to be de-
rived from its knowledge in his horticultural
operations, or how much it will add to his

pleasures. But I will try one or two illustra-
tions.

One not acquainted with botany would
hardly suppose there was any close relation-
ship between the Tulip tree and the Magnolia.
Now we have in American gardens a beauti-
ful tree, — the Chinese Magnolia — which ia
clothed with numerous fragrant white flowers,
before the leaves are out, or other things much
in blossom, in spring. It is in great demand
rom its surpassing loveliness ; but because it
does not perfect seeds here, will not root from
cuttings, and layers take two years to root,
is scarce and dear. Knowing from botany
that the Magnolia and Tulip trees are closely
allied, I last year tried to graft half a dozen
of this Chinese variety on the Tulip. They
are so far alive, and the experiment prom-
ises to be a complete success. If it should this
rare tree will become comparatively common,
much lower in price because tulip trees can be
more readily obtained than even more closely
allied magnolias, and thousands enjoy this
beautiful flower who would not perhaps but for
this little bit of botanical knowledge as to the
affinities of the tulip tree.

And now as to the pleasure which a knowl-
edge of botany confers. During the past year or
so cases have occurred where a potato has b3en
found, apparently growing out from and origin-
ating in the centre of another one. Leading
New York papers have even illustrated this as
something wonderful. It would be wonderful if
it really occurred ; but it is only apparently so,
and yet how is this appearance made so plausi-
ble. A lady botanist took it in hand. "First,"
says she, "a potato, by the laws of botany, is
but a thickened stem, filled with starchy matter.
If it grew above the ground, and lengthened out
a little, with less starch, it would be woody, and
with its eyes and buds be like any other branch.
In this case the centre of the potato represents
the pith.'' Now we know that a bud cannot form
and develop within the pith of a tree, therefore
this inside potato did not originate there. This
of course sot her to watch for other instances
where the development of the mystery could be
better traced. She was successful, and found
that a young stolon or thread of a potato will
strike against, and penetrate another potato
already formed, and as you know the potato
forms at the end of this thready stolon, the new
potato was thus formed inside of its elder fellow.
All this resulted from her botanical ku )wledgo

187 1.

THE GARDE^'ER'S MOKTELY.

75

of the nature of pith. Think you no pleasure
resultetl from this discovery V Scores had passed
by tliis mysterious sepulchre, within which was
laid up a treasured bit of knowledge, and saw
nothing. For her the stone, which barred the
entrance was rolled away, and she was permitted
to sit therein, an angel.

The untutored savage, who sees a spirit in
every huge rock, or numberless gods in the un-
usual occurrencesof regular natural phenomena,
is not more to be pitied than they who with the
most beautiful processes of nature as exhibited in
plant life, go to their graves as ignorant of them
as a still born babe.

But I would not urge its study on the ground
of pleasure alone. For me I know it has laid
bare the successful practice of horticulture in a
way nothing else has or could have done, — and
this has brought, if not wealth exactly, yet a
omfortable competence, I should certainly not
have had without it. But beyond all this is the
wonderful pleasure the knowledge itself brings.
I can honestly say, that if it were a bare choice,
either to go through the world, and die worth
millions, or have a knowledge of all the beauti-
ful things about me, with only the bare neces-
saries of life otherwise, — I should not hesitate
which side to choose.

In conclusion, let me say that if my poor pen
could have the weight equal to my will, every
fruit grower, gardener, or tiller of the soil in any
shape, should be a student of botany, as one of
the surest means of making his practice lucra-
tivel}- successful, as well as adding to some of
the dearest pleasures of his life.

DBYXESS OF SOIL AN AID TO THE
RIPEXING OF WOOD.

BY J. M., rniLADELPIIIA.

I sent you some notes a few months ago,
under the above heading, which you inserted.
My object was to show that in the cultivation of
grape vines in pots, it was sometimes an object
to get them stored away for winter, before, un-
der the usual treatment, the leaves would have
been shed. I advocated the withholding par-
tially of water from them, believing there would
be no injury, and finding they would shed their
leaves earlier. As an illustration, I mentioned
the case of some Silver Maples. Three of them
were growing in front of my house, and the
ground being very dry, had shed the greater
part of their leaves, before another tree of the

same kind, growing near a wall, had shed a leaf.
The communication, together with your remarks
disagreeing partly with what I said, having re-
ceived some attention, I again refer to the sub-
ject. Soon aftur I wrote the former letter, came
on a heavy rain, soaking the parched ground,
and the effects of it on the three Maples, with
leaves partly shed, was to infuse, as it were,
new life into them, and in the end the one near
the well, which had not at the previous writing,
shed a leaf, was the first to be entirely clear of
leaves. The facts to be learned from this seem
to be, that the three having a certain amount of
duty to perform, could not for a time do it, from
lack of water, ultimately obtaining it the few re-
maining leaves had double duty to perform, which
required the presence of the leaves long after the
one by the well had dispensed with its foliage.
This would seem to imply, that the withholding
of water from grape vines, that they may ripen
their wood quicker is an injury ; but is it so
much so as to counter-balance the advantage
above as desired ?

Would not the wood of Roses, some Ever-
greens, Paulownias, and plants of like nature, be
killed back less in winter, if their place of growth
had been a tolerably dry one, not favorable to
late growth, rather than a wet situation, foster-
ing late growths ; or in other words would partly
tender ^ilants winter better after a wet or dry

fall?

••••*

FUNGI AND ITS STRUCTURE.

BY JOSIAH nOOPES.
From an Eisayrcai before the Pennn. Fruit Orowes' Soeiity

{ Concluded. )

In passing to the Apple and Pear (for the
species of Fungi, that attack them, are almost
one and the same), I desire first to call your at-
tention to the very dangex-ous disease, popularly
known as the fire-hliyht. Our observing Secre-
tary, in a paper read before the American Pomo-
logical Society, at its eleventh session, minutely
described this malady in all its stages ; and in
fact, was the first to take decisive ground in fa-
vor of the fungoid theory. Subsequent research
has fully proven to my mind, how true was his
reasoning. Certain requirements are undoubt-
edly necessary,— or rather the little parasitic
plant greatly prefers some particular condition
in the growth of a tree to locate, for we find it
destroying some varieties, to the total exclusion
of others. lu large blocks of Nursery trees, it

THE GARDEJVER'S MOXTIILY,

March.

will frequently follow a particular row its whole
length, and studiously avoid all others in the
near vicinity. Thus we see, as in all other
species of fungus, the form under notice, acts in
precisely the same manner. Early in the season,
this microscopic pest commences its operations,
and at the point where it first makes its appear-
ance, a slight discolorization will he apparent ;
which, rapidly working its way round the tree,
in fact completely girdles it, and produces stran-
gulation. As the hark darkens and dies, we
need not then examine the locality, for the
criminal has performed its mission antl departed.
Those who suppose the withering leaves and
shriveling tender twigs embrace the diseased por-
tion, are wonderfully mistaken. All the func-
tions of the branch above the girdled parts will
be found uncontaminated. This particular para-
•ite propagates itself in the following simple
manner, according to my observation. The
spores falling upon the bark, soon change into
little thread-like rootlets (if I may be allowed
the term). These soon work their way into the
openings of the epidermis, or outside skin of the
tree, winding down through the cellular fibre of
the bark, and here in the form of mycelium,
grow directly on the wood. Occasionally, how-
ever, they ])enetrate the wood-cells, and in that
case the disease is alwa5's, and quickly fatal.
Berkele}' asserts, in corroboration of this fact,
that " the wonderful power of penetration pos-
sessed by Mycelium, may be easily seen in any
dark-colored Fungus, by making thin vertical
sections through the wood. Xot onl}"^ do the
threads penetrate between the cells, but into
their cavities themselves, at length completely
blocking up their apertures, after traversing
them in every direction." But while the little
pest is rapidly spreading by means of its root-
like formation, it is also developing lar^e num-
bers of little capsules with their millions of
spores, to reproduce its species in other spots
So that the sooner the branch is eradicated and
burned, the better it will be for neighboring
trees.

A few weeks since, I had an opportunily of
examining a twig from a pear tree, which was
thickly m irked with indentations, closely resem-
bling the result of insect depredations. Under
the lens, it showed an occasional remnant of
Mycelium ; but the plant itself had perfected its
growth, burst through the skin of the bark, and
disappeared, thus causing the disfigurement
mcnlioncd above. As it appears to be an entirely

new form, or at least it works on a new method, I
should like to obtain fresh specimens at an earlier
season. Meehan, in the paper referred toin speak-
ing of leaf-blight, alludes to ihe theory of its un-
der-ground introduction. In this I think he is
entirely correct. English Mycologists have as-
serted, that many species of Fungi, that appear
in their perfect state on the external portion of
plants, have first intruded themselves into the
roots — up through the body, — out the branch.
— and become apparent on the leaves ; there to
flourish, throw out their spores, and perish;
leaving always behind them, a devastating mark,
after they have passed away. Such I firmly be-
lieve to be the nature and habits of the leaf-
blight fungus, as in nearly every instance the
Mycelium will be found on the roots of such
diseased trees or plants. Growers of Pear Seed-
lings should note this fact, and apply some
powerful remedy to the soil, and thus destroy
the seeds of growth. Canker and cracking of
the fruit, have each been attributed by the afore-
said writer to the presence of fungus, and justly
so, according tom}' own observations during the
past year.

The disgusting, sooty patches on the skin of
the apple becomes, under the microscope, one of
the most enchanting sights — resplendent with
all the i-ainbow tints At one point, we see a
rich golden-yellow ; then, merging into a brilli-
ant orange, or a charming shade of red, — the
whole, forcibly reminding one of a bright mass
of Fuugi, consisting of thousands of dots and
fibres, radiating in every direction from the
outer edge, whilst in the interior, the djnse bulk
becomes confluent. To the n iked eye this im-
mense multitude of miniature plants covered a
space no larger than a niedium-sized pea We
frequently hear complaints of the Apple, Pear,
etc., rotting on the tree. Thisisnotunfrequently
the work of an Oiiliam, allied to the origin of the
Grape disease of Europe. It commences with a
small dot or speck on the skin of the fruit, and
as the Mycelium rapidly increases, the decaying
portion soon marks its course, until at last the
whole fruit is in a manner diseased, and ren-
dered worthless. The terrible pest of the silk
growers, that occasionally sweeps olf their
worms by thousands, is also closely related to
the Oidium, and can be transferred artificially
from one insect to another, thus proving its true
character. My own views relative to the disease
in the Peach, known as the " Yellows," are, I
admit purely speculative at present, but at the

187 L

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TBLY.

77

same time founded on personal examination and
comparison with not unsimilar aflections in
other trees. For some years past I have care-
fully considered the many theories advanced in
regard to this mysterious malady, but all proved
unsatisfactory to my own experiments. The
idea occurred, can it possibly originate from the
presence of Fungi ? I immediately commenced
a series of critical observations on the organic
structure of the wood of such unhealthy trees,
and allho'.igh I detected very many suspicious
traces of these minute pests, I candidly admit
that ni}- labor was not rewarded with success.
'i'he Yeiloios, to my mind, present every feature
of an organic disease, caused by some poisonous
species of cryptogamic plant ; as we find like
traces of their existence, commencing in the
roots, up through the main body of the tree,
working their way out the various branches, and
finally ending their career externally on the
leaves and tender twigs of the present season's
growth. During the life of the fungus, it makes
scarcely a perceptible sign to the unaided eye of
the observer, but after its functions have been
performed, and the plant itself has ceased to ex-
ist, then the change in its victim becomes ap-
parent. The dissection of various portions of
the tree, plainly shows that a poisonous virus
has penetrated into every part of its organiza-
tion. This theory is sustained by many facts ;
as for instance, orchardists are well aware that
a knife used in dissecting one of these diseased
trees, will communicate the Yellotos to a healthy
one, by the simple act of pruning. This is an
undisputed fact, and is an excellent argument
in favor of the transfer of mycelium from one
point to another. I feel confident that future
and careful investigation, will confirm all that I
have advanced in this direction. Some varieties
of the Peach and its curious sport the Nectarine,
are liable to mildew ; in a few instances, injur-
ing the tree alone, but occasionally destroying
the fruit, whilst ignoring the limbs and foliage.
This fi>rm of fungus is exceedingly partial to
particular organizations, and will not spread
from its chosen variety to another, whether near
or distant therefrom.

The knot on IHums and Cherries is so evidently
caused by the presence of Fungi, that it seems
scarcely necessary to refer to it at all. But only
80 late as the past summer, I read in one of our
Agricultural magazines, an article by a corres-
pondent, arguing strenuously that the excre-
scences were caused by insects ; "for had he not

seen them in all their various stages disorganiz-
ing the cells of the Plum and Cherry ?" It is
merely necessary to say that the insects in ques-
tion select these soft spongy excrescences to de-
posit their eggs, as they would the young fruit,
and if the writer of the article in question had
commenced his observations sufficiently early in
the season, he could readily have satisfied him-
self that another enemy was already at work.
Our worthy honorary member. Dr. Ezra Mich-
ener. a cryptogamic botanist of high standing,
emphatically asserts in the columns of the
'• Medical and Surgical Reporter," that this di-
sease is caused in the manner which I have
stated. The spotting of the leaf in Plums and
Cherries, is caused by a similar species of Fungi
to that found on the Apple and Pear, only dif-
fering in a few unimportant points, of no parti-
cular interest to the fruit-grower.

On the smaller fruits, we have numerous an-
noying diseases, classed under the general head-
ing of mildew; as for instance, the foreign
varieties of Gooseberries are often completely
disfigured, by a fine, meal like dust or w^eb-likc
growth, covering every portion of the plant and
fruit, and rendering the latter entirely useless.
Then again we find the leaves of Currants spot-
ting badly, and Raspberry leaves shriveling and
falling off prematurely. A very pernicious spe-
cies of fungus has occasionally been found on
Raspberry leaves, cup-like in character, and of a
beautiful orange-color. I judge it belongs to a
class of parasitic plants, which ascend from the
roots, up through the whole structure of the
canes ; as we have ample evidence in the numer-
ous weakened shoots usually forced into growth,
as the result of its presence. I am informed,
however, that it rarely occurs on properly
drained soils. On Blackberries, both high-bush
and trailing, in a wild state, I have frequently
noticed this pest ; but never in cultivation in the
eastern portion of our 'State. I understand in
some sections of New Jersey, it is presenting
rather a formidable appearance, and increasing
rapidly. I should feel obliged for specimens
next year, and will gladly give any information
in regard to it, that I may possibly discover.

9EMEDIES.

There are various receipts for destroying these
pests ; but the most certain and least expensive,
is to cut away and burn all diseased portions of
the tree or plant, as soon as the malady is de-
tected. Sulphur is perhaps the most powerful

78

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOKTHLl.

March,

remedy for destroying them, but heat is abso-
lutely essential, as in a volatile state, it will
penetrate into the most difficult places. A
writer in the Gardener^s ClironkJe says: "The
crude sulphur, it should seem, combines with
oxycen in a nascent state, and so forms sul-
phurous acid, which is eminently destructive to
nuicedinous bodies, as appears from its eflfect in
stopping fermentation. The more finely the
sulphur is divided the better, and therefore it is
more efllracious when applied in such a form, as
to cause a chemical deposit of sulphur, or, as it
is called in the old chemistry, a mafjisterinm on
the leaves." Lime, air-slacked to a powder, is
likewise a valuable destructive power, either ap-
plied to the diseased spots, or incorporated with
the soil. A combination of the above two
agents, is occasionally used, and regarded by
some, as more serviceable than either separately,
for in solution, it forms a hydro-sulphate of
lime.

English writers say that a successful agent in
destroying smut on wheat, is a strong solution
of GUn^ler's Salts applied to the seed, to be fol-
lowed by a dusting with quick-lime, a short
time before planting. Caustic Soda is also bene-
ficial in ridding us of some species ; and Carbolic
{icid has proven useful as well. According to
Berkeley, "substances which would prove fatal
to many other vegetables, as solution of arsenic,
opium and many other poisonous chemical sub-
stances, do not prevent the growth of moulds.''

USES OF FUNGUS.

Before leaving this subject, I wish to add a
few words in favor of this class of vegetation.
In addition to the many nutritious esculent
species which are valued as articles of food,
Fungi have another useful ofilce to perform,
and may be classed among the most beneficial
scavengers of decomposing bodies. The moment
vitality eeases in any organized matter, whether
animal or vegetable, millions of spores floating
in the air, are ready to alight upon it, and assist
in its dissolution. Whether Fungi is tiie cause
of disease, or merely a natural consequence of
some disarrangement of the organs of a tree or
plant, has long been a much disputed point ;
many scientific gentlemen being arrayed on
cither side. Of late years, however, the ques-
tion appears to have been pretty generally set-
tled in favor of the advocates of the former be-
lief. Yet it is an undisputed fact, that these
pests will attack a feeble tree or plant, in prefer-

ence to one in a healthy condition, after the
manner of all parasites, whether animal or vege-
table.

THE PEOPLE'S FRUITS.

BY MR. C. ANDREWS, MARENGO, ILLS.

The Early Richmond Cherry is now consider-
ably disseminated, and may fairly stand as a
representative of all the other classes of what
are termed "iron-clad" fruits, which have of
late been attracting so much attention in the
northwest. The value of this hardy fruit is at-
tested by the fact that it is being planted exten-
sively even in some districts where the best
cherries flourish. Asa canning and cooking
cherry it is not excelled by any other ; and
when well ripened, both birds andmen accept it
as a desirable dessert fruit. It is the cherry for
the million everywhere. If either species were
to be annihilated, doubtless the Morello would
be retained as being of the greatest value to the
human famil}', on account of its intrinsic worth
and the greater extent of territory in which it
flourishes.

We lately saw it stated that " Sweet Cherries
bring two or three times as much as the Early
Kichmonds," in Chicago. It also appears that
they cost two or three times as much ; for among
the expenses of their cultivation in Southern
Illinois, we find the items of " carefully bugging
the trees to destroy the curculio, and using
proper care to prevent the bark from being rup-
tured."

The same writer gives figures to show that the
Early Richmond Cherry has already " in some
districts been planted so extensively, that the
fruit brings but little more than the cost of
marketing.'' Now, we aver that this is just the
condition of things to be desired in regard to all
our fruits. Give us plenty of fruits even if they
become so cheap as to bring down the profits of
the commercial orchardist. The more fruit
grown directly by the consumer, and the cheaper
it can be furnished to ail classes, the better.

Horticulturists, as a class, are supposed to be
public spirited citizens, not a close corporation
of craftsmen. Is it not proper to "sink the
ship" in our estimation of the pul)licgoi>d ? Tl e
fact that the Early Richmond Cherry has been
produced so plentifully in Northern Illinois, as
to render them cheap in the Chicago market, is
the strongest reason why every farmer or cot-
tager who owns a half acre of land, should plant

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY,

79

this variety. It shows that they will get returns
for their outlay, while the sweet cherries cannot
be ,c:rown here at all.

The same principle holds true of all our other
so called " iron clad " fruits— the native plums,
the wild crab of the country, and more especially
of the improved varieties of that hard and ex-
cellent race of apples — the Siberians. The value
of fruits grown for home use and for commercial
purposes, is two distinct questions. In our sec-
tion, the question of what to plant for the first
is liable to be complicated by the rival interests
of the latter. This, we take it, occasioned the
comparison of the writer alluded to, between
the Sweet and Early Richmond Cherries. Now,
we are always glad to see our markets supplied
with the best fruits grown in other sections ; but
we want no monopoly or influence from any
quarter to discourage the growing of such fruits
as are adapted to our climate, by the masses of
our people. Let " rings " of this sort be gotten
up in the interests of whisky, or whatever else,
but let us have none of them in Horticulture.
"What becomes of the ''humanizing influences
of Horticulture," if we are to regard fruit-plant-
ing invariably as a mere matter of pecuniary
profit to a limited class ? The Early Richmond
Cherr}' and the other classes of fruits mentioned
above, are of incalculable value to the people of
the Northwest, both in a pecuniary and social
point of view ; and knowing the leadioLr char-
acter and influence of your journal as authority
in Horticulture, we hope to see its sphere of in-
fluence con'^tantly widened, by discussing the
questions which belong to the Horticultural
necessities of all sections.

PRUNING WITH REFERENCE TO
FRUIT PRODUCTION.

BY MR. WILLIAM SAUNDEIiS.
Read htfiyre, the Penna. Fruit Growers' Soricli/, Jnnunry 20. ^^'^.

Natural laws are constant and unvaried in
their operations. Our knowledge of these laws
is derived from accurate observations of causes
and eflects Science is the systematized expla-
nation of these observations. The science of
pruning fruit trees is, therefore, the explanation,
or concentrated evidence of effects produced by
manipulation on the branches and other por-
tions of plants, derived from the accumulated
knowledge of centuries of observation and ex-
I)erience ; and when we consider the lengthened
period, during which pruning has b;en per-
formed —the general intelligence of the operators,

and the countless repetitions of similar processes
ending in similar results, it is reasonable to sup-
pose that a suflTicient number of facts have been
observed to establish a very perfect science.

I do not propose entering into an extended
review of modes of pruning ; neither do I intend
to discuss, what is of far more importance, the
principles that science has established for our
guidance in performing the operation, but will
at once proceed to state that, so far as the pro-
duction of fruit is concerned on trees that form
fruit buds on short spur branches, such as the
Apple, Pear, Plum and Cherry, I am convinced
of the evil of shortening in, as it is technically
termed, the young growth or points of shoots,
at any season, either summer or winter.

When we wish to form a thickly branched,
bushy plant, such as we desire in a hedge, the
end is accomplished by frequently pruning or
cutting back the growing shoots as they project
beyond the ideal limit, thus encouraging lateral
twigs or side branches, slender, but numerous,
as the object of a close hedge requires ; but when
the development of numerous lengthy shoots is
the aim, as in willows for basket making and
similar manufacturing purposes, pruning is per-
formed during winter only, and the more decided
or severe the operation, the stronger and better
the resulting gx'ovvths.

Similar treatment to the above, will produce
similar results when applied to fruit trees.

I will take the Pear as an example ; and cer-
tainly no variety of fruit tree has been so tor-
tured under the sanction of both science and
ignorance, as this has been. When the tree is
submitted to a regular course of winter pruning,
together with a regular pinching of young
growths during summer, a thicket of slender
growths is produced, and, if it U followed up
with skilful persistence, may produce that great
desideratum, a beautiful pyramidal shaped tree.
On the other hand, when summer pruning in
its every shape, is abjured, and thorough, or
severe winter cutting the s^'stematic rule, a pro-
fusion of upright growths, of more or less luxuri
ance, are yearly produced, and yearly removed,
just as practiced in the culture of willows, ex-
cepting that the pear growths are useless, and
the willows are valuable.

All who are familiar with pear culture, will
recognize these widely ditferent modes of treat-
ment, and the distinct forms so produced ; also
that they both agree in one important particular,
that is, they produce but very little fruit.

so

THE GABDEJYER'^ MOJVTHLY,

March,

Ilfivin;^ practised both of these systems to my
entire satisHiction or rather dissatisfaction, it oc-
curred to me some twelve years ago, to let the
trees alone. I had pruned, pinched and disbud-
ded, until my trees were acknowledged to be as
finel}' formed as any in the country, and they cer-
tainly were as perfectly outlined as the most
beautiful of Norway Firs. I felt the risk of
abandoning an orthodox custom, and of being
classed among negligent cultivators, but my eyes
were opened, I saw that these orthodox managed
trees were naked of fruit, and resolved, that
however much it might shorten in my reputa-
tion, I would not, for the future, shorten in my
fruit trees.

To illustrate more particular the plan now
pursued, I may state that in the spring of 1863
I planted a collection of 60 varieties of pears,
those were set in duplicate, one half being on
the quince roots, the other on pear stocks.
These have received the same general treatment
throughout. AVhen planted they were pruned
down very closely, many of them cut so as to re
semble a smooth walking cane from two to three
feet in length. In the fall of tbat \ear, they
were cut back in order to establish a proper
spread of branches, but with the exception of
taking a few scions from some of the varieties,
the branches have not been shortened since ;
some few tall branches have been removed en-
tirely where they have become crowded, and a
young shoot encouraged at the point of cutting,
which ensures the healthy healing over of the
cut and is essential in this mode of management,
to take the place of future removals.

During the second and third years' growth,
young shoots of three, four and live feet lengths
were not uncommon, and it required some firm-
ness to repress the inclination to prune, but the
pruning resolution had not been lightly formed
and was not to be lightl}' abandoned ; and even
the longest of these shoots became thickly stud-
ded with fruiting spurs, and in due time fur-
nished wi.h blossoms, and subsequently with
fruit.

Tf) show the Society what I mean by a thickly
studded system of fruit buds, and the rapidity
with which they form when allowed to grow as
nature designs, T have here a few branches of
various ages which I submit for inspectiou.

GRAPE SEEDLINGS AND HYBRIDS.

BY MR. G. W. CAMPBELL, DEL A WAKE, OniO.

Your remarks on the Concord and Martha
grapes, in the December number of the Monthly,
induce me to offer a few words upon the same
subject, and to expi-ess the belief that we have
more reason to hope for real improvement in
hardy, native grapes, through seedlings, and
crosses upon the Concord than from any other
source, the Delaware not excepted.

The Martha seems to have been the first "new
departure," from the Concord in the way of a
white grape that has come into general notice ;
but it is by no means the only one. And it is a
somewhat singular and remarkable fact, that
Concord seedlings exhibit not only an unusual
tendency towards improvement, but also to pro-
duce a large proportion of white grapes. One of
the most interesting of these, within my knowl-
edge, is a natural seedling which I have had an
opportunity of testing for two years past ; in
bunch and berry somewhat larger than the
Martha grape, in flavor and quality fully its
equal, and without apparent foxincss, either in
taste or odor. The vine seems admirable, both
in hardiness, health offoliage and vigorof growth ;
and I can really see no reason why this variety
should not become one of the most popular and
valuable grapes, unless its thin skin, and ten-
der, delicate flesh may unfit it for handling and
shipping profitably as a market fruit. It has re-
ceived from its owner the name of "Lady," and
I believe will be found an advance in improve-
ment upon Martha, and worthy of especial at-
tention. I feel less hesitancy in speaking favor-
abl}' of this variety, as it is not of my own pro-
duction. I am not permitted to give the owner's
name at present, as he has no vines to dispose
of, and does not wish to be annoyed by corres-
pondence.

As an indication of the tendency of the Con-
cord to produce white grapes, I will mention,
that several years since I grew a lot of hybrids
or crosses between Concord and Chasselas
Musquc, from Concord seed. From this lot I
saved seven, whose habits of growth and foliage
were satisfactory ; and three of these— all which
have yet borne — have produced white grapes,
and have also proven as perfectly free from foxy
odor or taste as their foreign, or male parent.
One of these was the grape sent you last fall ;
and which must be regarded as promising.

I, at one time, regarded the Delaware as
probably the most promising variety from which

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

81

to raise seedlings, as its unsurpassed quality and
perfect hardiness required only the addition of a
better and more enduring foliage to render it
adapted to the most extensive cultivation.
Mauy years of experimenting, however, pro-
duced little but disappointment. Out of hun-
dreds of seedlings, nearly all thai showed any
improvement in vigor of growth, or health of
foliage, produced also grapes of the wildest and
most worthless character, resembling very close-
ly the small, acid and seedy varieties of the aes-
tivalis as found in our forests.

With me, a majority of Delaware seedlings
have been black grapes ; a few white, and less
still, red. The black ones have been invariably
worthless ; and none of the red ones equal the
parent Delaware. The white ones have been
the best ; and I am glad to say one of these now
promises to be a substantial improvement, in
that it is of much stronger habit of growth, with
large, thick and heavy foliage, while in flavor
and qualit}' of fruit it is certainly equal, and to
my taste, even superior to the Delaware. The
only lack, so far, is in size. It has borne but
two seasons, and only upon the original, or
parent vine ; the bunches and berries not ex-
ceeding in size those of the Delaware under
similar conditions. It is not unreasonable to
expect an improvement in this respect, as the
vines acquire age and strength, and should ray
hopes in this particular be realized, I shall feel
that I have achieved a result for which I have
long and patiently labored— a genuine imprwe'
ment on the JJelaioare Grape.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

FOREIGN.

Horticulture in Berlin.— Vrov'ided the war is
over, it is proposed to hold a grand exhibition
at the end of June, in Berlin, open to all the
world, similar to what was held in Hamburg
and St. Petersburg, a few years ago.

Horticulture in Portugal. — At a meeting held
under the auspices of the Royal Portuguese
Agricultural Society, at Lisbon, last autumn,
Monsieur Jose Martiuo Pereira de Lucena Nor-
trona a Faro, the leading nurseryman of Lisbon,
exhibited one hundred and fifty species and
varieties of Begonia. This beats Philadelphia
collections of this interesting plant.

Hardy Palms.— "M. Xaudin, at Montpelier, in
France, has found Ph'.enix reclivata withstands

the severe weather whichsometimesoccurat that
place, making no less than thirty-one species in the
open air there. Our Southern nurserymen should
take this hint and add to their collections. The fol-
lowing is the full list : Brahea diUcis, Chamcerops
excelsa, C. arborea, C. Fortuni, C. Ghiesbrechtii, C.
humilis, G. palmetto., C. macrocarpa. C. tomtn-
tosa, Corypha australis, Gorypha gebangce. Gory-
pha sjjmo.sa, Gocos australis, G. campestris, G.
chilensis, G. flexuosa, G. coronata, G. lapida, G.
Peruviana, C. Ttomanzoffiana, Diplothemium
maritimum, Jubea spectabilis, Phoenix dactylifera.,
Farinifera, sylvestris, teneis and canariensis ;
Rhapis flahelliformis, Sabal Adamsoni, S. Black-
burniana and S. palmetto; Thrinax jjari'(/!ora.
These were all out unprotected during the severe
winter of 1869-70, when the thermometer de-
scended to 12° (Reaumur.)

Phylloxera vastatrix, the insect which is so
alarming European vine growers, is said to be
an introduction from "des Etats-Uuis d'Amer-
ique," but it appears more is laid to its charge
than it deserves. Another chai>—Dactylo2jius
longispinis of Targoni— M. Planchou says, is the
cause of the "JBZacA- eviV {ihaladie noire) in the
grape vine.

Glasses of Foreign Grapes. — In Europe these
are divided into five classes : The Ghasselas,
the Muscats, the 3forillons, the Goulards and the
Gonais.

Death of Baron HugeJ. — This gentleman's
name is associated with so many plants, that it
will be familiar to many of our readers. He
was founder of the Imperial Society of Horti-
culture at Vienna, and was Austrian Ambassa-
dor to the Court of Belgium. His death has
recently been announced.

The Senasqua Grape, raised by Mr. Stephen
L^'nderhill, of New York, is receiving notices
from horticultural works in Germany.

Pomology in England. — This department of
horticulture has not had the attention given in
the United States, but it is proposed to have an
International Fruit Show in Liverpool next
autumn.

Plants as Gharity. — Miss Burdett Coutts, the
philanthropist, presented plants as a Christmas
gift to the people of the poor house in her dis-
trict, and it is said nothing could be more highly
prized by them than these were.

Neic Vegetables. — These are attracting unusual
attention in England. The leading agricultural
journals are all filled with portraits of new peas

82

IHE GARBE^fEWS MOJVTHLY.

March,

and snap-short beans, as ours are with outlines
of apples.

Hardines:^ of Selac/inella denticulata. — This
Lycopodium, the commonest and oldest in cul-
tivation of all the kinds in our greenhouses and
hanging baskets, has been found quite hardy in
England.

Standard Boses are still popular in England.
These are made by budding the ai)provcd kinds
on the Dog rose, which is a specie? very clo.sely
allied to the Sweetbrier. This is trained up to
a single stem, and budded about four feet from
the ground. The}' form pretty heads, and are a
nice bordering to walks in geometrical gardens.
They have never been a success in the United
States, our dry, hot summers injuring the stems,
which soon die.

Ifeio Late Caidiflotcer, Veitch's Giant, is highly
praised in the English papers.

A Rival to Coffee has appeared in the seeds of
the Paullinia sorbilis, a native of the Amazon
region.

Giapes to King William. — Mr. Meredith, prob-
ably the best grower of foreign grapes in Eng-
gland, referred to in our magazine recently b}'
Mr. Taplin, sent one hundred and thirty pounds
to the King of Prussia, at Versailles Palace, and
received an autograph letter from the King,
saying they were the best he had ever seen.

The Mannetti Stock, which became popular in
England after it was abandoned here for Rose-
grafting, is now experiencing the same fate there.

The Ktw Collection is the finest living in the
world. No modern catalogue exists. The writer
of this has one he made for himself in 1845, which
is jirobably the latest one ever made.

Botany in Africa. — They have a thriving
Botanic garden at Natal. Mr. McKean is the
director. They have just started a Society of
Natural History. Its first publication gives
much attention to Botany. A new climbing
Scrojjhxdariaceous plant, to which our well known
MaurandiaBarclayana belongs, is described in
it, under the name of Buttonia Natalensis.
I. Awpelopsis Vietchii is getting to be better known
in Europe under its prior name of A. tricuspidata.
It is one of the many new plants of Japan intro-
duced by J, Gould Veitch, recently deceased.

rarks in America. — A lecturer before one
of the English scientific societies says America
is now forming public parks about the principal
towns, equal if not superior to the best in Eng-
land or on the continent.

The Wines of California — We see by French
sources that attention is excited in Europe to the
' wines of California. Count Toucher de Careil,
who examined particularly the vine3'ards of
Sonoma county, reports that the returns from
wine culture are undoubtedly " more certain,
and more permanently so, than placers d''or.
He refers to Dr Wetherell's analysis, that the
white wines of Sonoma yield eight and a half
per cent of alcohol, the red ten, and Hock often
fourteen.

Htat in the Flower of Philodendron. — This
curious plant is well known to lovers of rare
plants, both by its curious leaves and by its
delicious fruit. A new interest is being found
in it in Germany, on account of the discovery
of M. Brogniart, that a considerable amount of
heat is evolved during the expansion of the
flowers. It is not a mere temporary burst of
heat, but the temperature is higher for five or
six hours about the flower, than in other parts
of the atmosphere of the house.

A7nmonia from Mushrooms. — Dr. Eugene
Fournier, in the Revue Bibliographique de la
Societe Botanique of France, says that Mons El
Borscow, of St. Petersburg, has discovered that
mushrooms give off" ammonia during their
growth. It is thrown off" from the mycelium or
spawn, as well as from the complete mushroom ;
also, in light as in darkness. The exhalations
increase with the development of the plant.

Cider Makers'* Society. — They have in Flan-
ders a society for the study of cider fruits. The
last meeting was held at Ypres, on October 9th.

DOMESTIC.

Horticulture i7i loxva. — Iowa was admitted into
the Union in 1846. She has now nearly a quar-
ter of a million of people. The Legislature and
people of the State have always fostered every
art and science having a bearing on the culture
of the soil ; but the Legislature does not, any
more than in Pennsylvania, aid the Agricul-
tural or Horticultural Societies. In the State
Agricultural College, however, they have a
Professor of Horticulture and a Professor of
Pomology. Professor Bessey fills the chair of
Horticulture and Matthews of Pomology.

Over-production of Fruit. — Our exchanges are
discussing whether this is possible They all
agree that su2)erior fruit always sells, and at
highly remunerative prices.

Death of Mr. McMinn. — This gentleman, for-
merly of Williamsport, Pa., and well known to

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTHLY.

SS

the horticulturists and botanists of Pcnua.,
died a fevv months a^o in Virginia, where he
settled soon after the war. He was the author
of valuable papers relating to agriculture, and
especially known as a writer on the grasses of
Pennsylvania.

Grasses in yebraska.— It was at one time sup-
posed the ordinary grasses of agriculture would
not thrive in jSTebraska. Col. Furnas, who has
resided there for fifteen years, finds this to be an
error. They do as well there as in any part of
the Union.

Primrose "JV/7-s. John Saul.'^ — Thisnew variety
is becoming very popular. Mr. John Saul, of
Washington, is the raiser.

Oravge, or Golden Sweet Apple, Dr. Housely,
of Kansas, thinks one of the most desirable
September apples for that State.

Fall Queen Apple, Dr. Housely decides to be
the same as the Buckingham.

White Winter Pearmain Apjyle is known in
eastern Kansas and western Missouri as the
Campbellite.

Pryors Bed AjyjAe, Dr. Housely tinds one of
the best winter apples for Kansas.

Blue Grass, in Kentucky and Missouri, is the
same as June grass, or Green grass in Pennsyl-
vania and the East — that is, botanically. Poapra-
tensis.

Making Honey. — Mr. Quinby thinks bees
gather honey, according to popular thought,
and do not make it out of the sweets they collect,
as some believe.

A Seedless Grape. — The currant of commerce
is but a seedless form of the European grape.
A Mr. W. M. Lausfield, of some place in Kan-
sas, is said to have a seedless variety of a native
kind.

Screw-flmvered Camellias. — These are occa-
eionally seen in the usual varieties, but some-
times they are produced from seed, and are
characteristic of the variety. In the collection
of the Hon. Mr. Macpherson, near Toronto,
Canada, the local papers report a beautiful red
variety, the "Count Esterhazy," as attracting
much attention.

Australian Ivy. — This is often called German,
or Austrian ivy. It is a species of Mikania. and
is a native of Australia. We suppose it may
have been used asa parlor plant first in Germany.

The American area of Grapes has been put at
2,000,000 acres, of which California claims
200,000, or one-tenth of the whole.

Stamens and Pistils of the Grapevine. — There
are three distinct kinds of flowers on the grape-
vine. Some time since, Dr. Engelman wrote
to us to know if any one had ever seen a
purely pistillate grape. He never had. We
now think it does not exist. But there are
certainl}' three forms : First, purely stami-
nate, in which there are no trace of ova-
riuras ; secondly, small ovaries, with defective
stamens, which never produce seeds, though
often swelling enough to make small grapes
with no seeds ; thirdlj'^, hermaphrodite, which
we believe alone produces fruit. We suspect
all the male flowers throw their efforts away.

Cost of Wooden Fences. — In Illinois it costs
11,000 to fence 160 acres, and S4,000 more for
repairs during the next twenty years— S5,000 in
all, according to M. L. Dunlap.

The acreage of Central Park, N'ew York is
843 — 1.36 being water. The cost of land and
improvements, $12,000,000. Up to this time
politics have not been heard in its management
but we are very sorry to note that that <^ood
time, like so many others, is passing away.

A Californian Horticultural Society has been
established. Dr. Bolander, of San Francisco is
President. Amongst the active members are
R. Turnbull, C. Schuraan, El. Reimer, and T.
Suiedeman, all of the same place.

The Eumelan Grape is not the product of skill
but a chance seedling of Fishkill, New York.

Rudheckia hirta and B.fulgida, two coarse-
growing weeds, are said to be considerably
spreading over the United States. Ihe seeds
are distributed with grass and clover. Thev
give "beauty to the landscape," however, which
is more than some weeds do; and if the "rass is
cut as early as it suould be, the flowers t^et their
" taking off'' before their seeds mature.

Sprouts of Ailanthus and other suckerin^ trees
are often troublesome By cutting off the sprouts
two or three times during the growino- season
they may be destroyed. We have noticed this
before, but have it again suggested by an ex-
change.

Loam. — This is a technical term used in <Tar-
dening. All know what is sand and what clay
is. Loam is a mixture of both. Light loam has
more sand — heavy loam more of clay.

Hanging Basket>f, to grow plants in, can be
made of bark, thin wood, branches, wire shells
pottesy ware, or even of roots hollowed outj
such as carrots, turnips, beets, etc., but in all

8Jf

THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY.

March,

cases holes must be provided for water to escape.
Root baskets are very pretty things. Of course
they should be inverted, and then the beet, car-
rot, or whatever it may be, pushing out its own
leaves, unites with the plant grown in the hol-
low of its own root, to add to the interest.

Dryincj Succulent Plants for herbarium speci-
mens, is often difficult. Dip them momentarily
in hot water ; let them nearly dry before putting
between the paper to press, and afterward run a
hot iron over. Too much artificialal heat, how-
ever, may makes them brittle.

White Wine Vinegar is made from light colored
wine, just as cider vinegar is, or colored dark as
cider is— that is it should be, for it is often uncer-
tain what any particular brand of vinegar is
made from, unless made by oneself.

Vinegar 3Iaking.—A capital article of cider
vinegar is made by setting a barrel of cider in
the full sun— on blocks of course— taking out
the bung, and in its place inserting an inverted
porter bottle. This will admit light, but not
insects or vermin, which, though they may not
affect the quality, spoil the mental enjoyment of
the liquid.

A Successful Professor of Horticulture. — Prof,
Beal, of Chicago, is lecturer on botany, at Lan-
sing, Michigan. This is one of the earliest and
most successful Agricultural Colleges in the
United States. It is said that sixty per cent of
the students, after leaving, go into horticulture
or agriculture, or some kindred pursuit. What
a contrast to Pennsylvania. It has an Agricul-
tural College, at an expense of thousands of
dollars a year, and about half a dozen students
to each professor. But, so far as we know,
none of them •' follow the soil" after leaving it.
But here is the difference : In one case the
students are taught to love science — in the other
case the result is their despising it.

TheYelloio Corchorus. — This pretty plant, now
nearly banished to old farm houses and other
out of the way spots, has recently been illus-
trated by the American Agriculturist, of which
honor it is well worthy.

The Double Blackberry is another very pretty
old thing brought prominently to notice by an
illustration in the Jmerican Agriculturist.

EDITOR lAL.

TRAVELLIXG RECOLLECTTOXS.

Why people dislike to travel in winter, we
could never understand. To us all seasons have
an equal interest, and certainly the winter is
capable of affording much more pleasure than
many people imagine. Moralists have a fashion
of likening Avinter to death. Its " icy hand '" is
a favorite simile,— and " cold as death '' a com-
mon phrase ; but neither cold, nor ice, nor snow,
convey a death scene to us. The delicate pallor
of the snowy field, is enlivened by the little rills
of water, which, like dark bhie veins course over
it. We do not miss the birds, the green fields,
or the little (lowers, —their voices, to be sure,
whisper nothing to us,— but seasonable nature
tells us of a thousand things. Rocks and stones,
— hills and valleys,— earth, sky and water, with
their hundreds of forms and circumstances, —
and moreover the living people, from all of whom
we can learn something, make as much pleasure
as any one of us can enjoy at once. This last
consideration is especially one of the best fea-

I tures of winter traveling. Persons are always
j more sociable, and every way more communica-
tive, when gathered around the cheerful fire,
than when wishing, as Sidney Smith was wont
in hot summer to do, that he could get out of his
flesh, and sit in his bones, in order to enjoy him-
self seasonably as a human being should.

Early in February we were on a train which
was making its way through the beautiful Cum-
berland Valley,— one of the choice bits with
which Pennsylvania tempts the soul-hunger of
those who famish on the husky sameness of many
other States. It is her boast that no other belt
of similar extent in the Union can show as fer-
tile a soil, combined with as much natural
beauty. In former times, so it is said, the In-
dians reserved this as one great hunting ground.
Young trees grew up on it,— but every few years
the brush was burned off. This grew again, —
and as often as it grew was again burned ; and
so on through countless generations. This is
the way much of the fertility is accounted for ;
but it is doubtful, we think, that the facts were

7^77.

THE GABBEKER'S MOJV'THLl.

85

quite as represented. At any rate some excel-
lent modern philosophers credit the utter ab-
sence of trees on the prairies to the ijroat and
repeated prairie fires. Timber, mostl\' of oak
and hickory, is very abundant all through this
region, and the belief is that it has all appeared
since the advent of the white man. Evergreens
are very scarce. To a stranger, the immense
quantity of Yellow Locust (Bohinia psued-
acada) is a very interesting sight. It seems
here to bid defiance to its great foe in other re-
gions, the locust borer, perhaps through the im-
mense quantity— it is "too much for it.'' The
wood is used for ever}' purpose but nailing to.
This is so hard that after the nail's expan-
sion by the heat of summer, the wood does not
follow the nail's contract in winter, and thus
the hold is loosened and the nail drops out.
Another peculiarity of the locust is that the
T0]ie-like roots seems to prefer to feed on the
subsoil, and hence a crop can be grown almost
up to the trunk of the tree without much injury
by "robbing of the food" as other trees do.
Amidst all the natural beauties and advantages
there is, however, one thing which stril<es the
horticultural stranger painfully. Along the
whole route, from Harrisburg to Chambersburg,
there is barely any sign that any one knows
■what horticulture means. The contrast with
the line of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad,
in this respect is very marked. There we see
some little gardening every where from Pitts-
burg to Philadelphia, — here we believe that
ninet}' nine hundredths of the inhabitants would
look with as much wonder on a Norway Spruce,
or even a well-managed osage hedge, as our
friend Hoopes did last year on the mammoth
Sequoias, or the great surprizes of the Yosemite
Valley, as described in his Calfornian trip in
our magazine.

But things are not destined long to be this
wa}'. Breaking through this frozen sea, we
found open water at Chambersburg. Here was
the great polar basin of liorticulture, — tliawing
by its own inherent warmth, the icy circle which
bound it, and stretching away towards the
gulph waters on its eastern and southern lines.

There is here a very earnest Horticultural
Society, which i.s doing good work. Previous to
its organization there was very little horticul-
tural or agricultural literature received here ;
now we were informed there were many hun-
dreds of wliich over one hundred were credited

to the American Agriculturist, and nearly as
many to the New Torh Tribune, which was
taken, we were told, solely for the agricultural
and horticultural information which it conveyed.
The Horticultural Society is indebted chiefly for
its success to the great interest taken in it by
citizens generally. Some of the chastest horti.
cultural addresses we have ever listened to were
deUvered here by the Eev. Mr. Davis, of the
German Reformed church. As we have often
said, much in all these social improvements de-
pends on one man. Here, a quarter of a century
or more ago, Mr. Jacob Heyser, a leading citizen
of the place, did much to develop horticultural
taste, and at various times established nurseries,
though actually engaged in other business. He
still does considerable in this way, although oc-
cupied with an extensive paper mill, which
turns out about a thousand tons of paper a year.
Mr. B. L. Ryder, near Chambersburg, has also
done much. He was the originator of the
' Nursery Association" of the place, which
is now managed by Mr. T. B. Jenkins, for the
gentlemen who now constitute the Association.
They have a very handsome office in the town, con-
nected with which is a considerable tract of land,
on which thev have their greenhouses and other at-
tractive departments. The houses were well
filled with flowers, which we were glad to learn,
found a ready sale amongst the citizens. The
tree nurseries are about a mile out of town, and
we found them well filled with thriving nursery
stock, of which the apple seemed the great
staple. The nurseries do a very large business
for so young a firm, and with their admirable
location and good soil and climate, will, no
doubt, soon rank with the leading firms of the
country.

The great fertility of the soil here cannot per-
haps be better indicated than by the fact, that
though immense quantities of straw are annu-
ally sold ofl' the farms here to supply the paper
mills, the crops seem to ])e nearly as good as
ever. Heyser's mill uses about 1500 tons a year.
There was a circumstance in regard to the
refuse of this paper mill as a manure which is
worth recording. In preparing the straw for
paper, lime water is used. The straw is thrown
inio large vats, and Jets of steam introduced, by
which it is rapidly boiled down. The lime water
is then poured in. The straw is afterwards
wheeled out into a large square heap like ma-
nure. It heats very rapidly, and in the course
of a few days goes in as pulp to the cylinders

SG

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJVTHLl,

March,

around which il gathers to form the paper
sheets. The thickest and coarsest of this matter
forms the refuse, and altliough nothing but Hme
and straw, makes a compost of the richest fer-
tilizing nature. Mr. Ileyser informed us that
crop after crop of the same kind could be raised
on the same ground by its aid.

In the fields about here, were immense quan-
tities of the troublesome weed Camellna sativa,
which, as a "pretty flower," the seed depart-
ment of the Patent office so extensively dis
tributed through the Union some years ago.
We supposed it would be called Patent office
weed, Washington weed, or some such designa-
tion ; but found it called Skuter weed,— so we
suppose some unfortunate Mr. Shuter will have
his name handed down in ignominy to future
generations, through being unfortunate enough
to be in advance of the government, in the intro-
duction of so vile a thing.

Here, as in most places where no immense
wealth has accumulated in the hands of any one
family, and many are well off, without being
rich in a large city sense, small gardens are
numerous, and of a pretty uniform character.
Flowers and fruit ti'ees are combined without
any thought of a separate system. Pears, apples,
cherries, grapes, crowd up to tlie back doors, or
sitting room windows,— but beneath all these
are well kept patches of grass, neat flower beds,
— or tasteful walks, with roses or perennial
flowers bordering on them. Some have evi-
dently wished for more style without the
requisite knowledge to carry it out tastefully.
There was, for instance, one very handsome
4)uilding, now used as a seminary for young
ladies. The former owner of the building had
evidently been educated to the knowledge that
architecture was an art demanding genius. The
building was as near faultless as the generality
of our best ones are. Landscape gardening,
however, seemed to have been placed in the
hands of some one who could do the work
"cheapest and best" The result was seen in
some "highly original" ideas. A summer house,
for instance, is an idea with which we are ac-
customed to associate cool and shady tlioughts, in
some quiet nook, where unseen and alone, a
party can have together a pleasant chat Here
we liave tiu; structure set between the house
and the road, — along the side of the turnpike in
fact, — and as if the designer had in his mind, that
the extreme of publicity was the essential idea

of an arbor or summer house, the earth had
been first elevated into a mound of some ten or
twelve feet before building on it. Probably this
was a ruse to sell the property ; for it has since
been bought for a female seminary, in which,
judging by advertisements we often see, it is a
part of the duties of madame, the principal, t»
"keep a watchful eye" on the young ladies
committed to her care. This certainly was the
spot for such a one to secure.

In all these places, small or large, there was
something to learn. At Dr. Seusserott's, for in-
stance, we came across a plan for blanching and
preserving celery, which has never been in print,
and now we think, to those who don't know, it
will be, as some publishers would say, " alone
worth the price of the magazine for a year."
Ko care is taken to blanch celery as it grows ;
but before frost it is taken up and put into bar-
rels in this wise : A few inches of slushy mud is
put in the bottom of the barrel ; the roots of the
celery put in the mud, and the tops upright and
dr5^ The plants are crowded in by the help of the
spade until the barrels are full. Then the bar-
rel is sunk in the open ground, and when severe
weather is likely to set in the top is protected.
The affair is then frost-proof; stalks can be
taken out as wanted, and the earth heat is suf-
ficient to blanch the stalks beautifully.

As we have said, rare trees and plants are not
yet found here to any extent. The Nursery As-
sociation, however, is taking up these things, and
the taste will soon grow. On the grounds of
Mr. Chambers, there, was one of the finest
Sophora japonica we know of It was about 20
j^ears old, and had not bloomed yet.

We have left ourselves little room to speak of
the surroundings of Chambersburg, — of Mercers-
burg with its wonderful fruit gardens — one of
them of 200 acres, where the pear trees grow
with the freedom of willows, and thousands of
dollars are invested in fruit with better prospects of
success than have followed many suchenterprizes,
— of Hagerstown, with its orange and camellia
houses, where growing in the open air, under
glass, the trees laden with golden fruit, and
lovely flowers rival the magnolia of Carolina or
the celebrated groves of Florida. At some other
time our thouglits may tuin again to these
pleasant impressions, when we will note them
for the reader.

1871.

TEE GARDEJYER'S MOJ^THLY.

87

ROSE GARDENS.

There are few things sweeter or prettier than
roses, — nothing more interesting than a Rose
Garden. A small plot devoted exclusively to
their eulture, can be set apart even in a very
small place.

The chief objection, is that unless one have
some of the tender kinds, they will not keep in
bloom all the year round. For the hardy ones,
known as pei'petuals, do not flower very freely
more than once a year. This does not apply to
the South, of course, where even a Devoniensis —
the " Magnr>lia Rose" of many Northern gar-
dens— though one of the tendercst, lives out in
all seasons. Roses in the North, as a general
thing are not the ever-blooming "dailies,'' or
"monthlies," they are supposed to be ; and yet
there is some ground for the idea, and quite
enough to make us all try to have them, and as
much more as we can.

Now, though we say we would have exclu-
sively a place set apart for ro-es, we mean not to
have it distinctively a place for roses ; but be-

tween the roses, to have verbenas, or other low-
growing annual flowers, which will not interfere
with the stronger bushes, for which the garden is
designed. This will make it a point of interest
for the whole season, and not interfere with the
growth or flowering of the Roses.

We thought to call attention to this now, be-
cause we have recently seen some plans for
Rose gardens, in a horticultural channel of some
pretentions, which are uot at all adapted to the
purpose. Large circular beds, the very worst
for the purpose, enter largely into the idea.
Everybody wants to cut, or at least handle, or
closely examine the tiowers, and to get in
through the mass of twigs ;* is enough to make
any lady feel that she is a rose between thorns,
as the young men often tell them. Whatever
plan is adopted, the beds should for this reason
be as narrow as possible. The best walks be-
tween the beds is grass kept neatly mown. We
give with this a very good design, taken from
the Enajdojjedia of Cottage Architecture.

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, cS^ C.

Gray's School and Field Botany. By Asa Gray. Ivison, Blake-
man, Taylor A Co. New York, 1870.

It is very rare that one who reaches the head
of any science is able to descend to the average
intellect, and make the most abstruse subjects
plain to the commonest understandings. Prof.
Lindley, in England, had much of this rare
power, — and in our own country Prof. Asa Gray
in a remarkable case of this kind. Any one con-
versant with the history of Botany is satisfied,
that without Prof. Asa Gray, this interesting

.study — the amiable science — would be far behind
what it is now, — and this not so much for his
own mastery of the subject, as for his wonderful
capacity for teaching it understandingly.

All who have read Prof Gray's former works
will feel the force of these remarks, and yet they
will be particularly struck with the clearness of
the present work, A child capable of reading
well, would get a good idea of Botany by read-
ing this book ; while the most advanced botan-
ist will find pleasure and profit from its perusal.

88

THE GARBEJ\''EWS MOJVTHLY

March,

It gives an account of the growth of the plant
from the seed, through all its phases, of stem,
leaves and fruit, — of how one organ is morpholo-
gizedorchangediutoothcrorgans,— of how plants
grow, and in what way the various tissues are
formed, — and of plant-life in general. Then there
are directions for collecting plants, and forforming
them into herbariums, — a glossary of all the
"hard'' words used by systematists, — and
finally, a description of all the leading plants,
whether wild or cultivated, which the student is
likely to meet with east of the Mississippi river.
It is hard to understand how Botany could be
made more pleasing, or its study made easier by
any other work than this. It seems all that is
wanted, and we could wish no better for the suc-
cess of scientific horticulture, than for everybody
to possess a copy.

Dr. Gray has now passed the meridian of life
— his three-score has been reached. It is diffi-
cult to understand what more he can do in this
especial field of Elementary Botany, to make it
clearer or plainer ; but the hundreds, who will
become botanists by the reading of this little
book, will heartily wish that he may yet live
many years, so that they can thank him for
the great pleasures which only those who have
been fortunate enough to be led into the study
knows how heartilv they enjoy.

Iransactions of Worcester Cgunty (Mass.) Horticultural Soc'y

"We are always pleased to receive this annual
document, giving the doings of the year of one of
the most prosperous societies in the country.

During the past ten years there has been an
average increase of 40 new members, and the
roll embraces over 800. Amongst the grapes
we note that the variety Fedora, recently noticed
in our pages, is called by the committee, a
"beautiful white grape, reputed hardy."

Amongst the exhibitors of plants, 01m Broth-
ers, of Springfield, figured largely.

In ]iears there is great competition, and we
should judge their culture is a great success
thereabouts. There were 242 contributors of
4441 articles at the annual exhibition last year.
The lil)rary is increasing largely in size, and the
demand for loans very active — 544 volumes
being taken out last year, The Secretary's
notes on Piasj)berries are interesting. The Phil-
adelphia has been discarded, simply because the
finer foreign varieties can be grown to perfec-
tion. Brinckie's Orange is the most prolific. A

letter of Charles Downing is quoted, which says,
with him the B. Orange is "the highest flavored
and most productive of any," we presume of the
foreign kinds.

Grape success has been unexampled. Roger's
Seedlings, and lona, seem to be the favorites.

The pear and apple crop was wonderful, — the
Secretary intimating his opinion that the ab-
sence of rain, while in blossom, had much to do
with this success.

The report closes with a i^arting shot at the
unfortunate robin, which seems to be to the Bay
State what the curculio is to us.

The CMpyrnii HorVculturist.

We have to hand the first three numbers of a
new magazine to be devoted to horticulture, pub-
lished at San Francisco. The editor's name is not
announced, but we suppose it is managed by Mr.
F. A. Miller, who has quite an excellent reputa-
tion as a landscape gardener. With his talent
and intelligence, the California Horticulturist
ought to be a great success.

Catalogue of a .lapnn Nursery.

And only one month getting here ! both cir-
cumstances seem strange. All who want Japan
plants should write to Mr. C. Kra-mer, Yoko-
hama, Japan, care of W. H. Smith, Esq., for his
catalogue.

Catalogue of Grasses.

Many of our nursery and seedsmen are adding
features to their catalogues, which give them the
value of regular w^orks published at high prices.
We have from time to time referred to some of
these as they caipe before us. We now have be-
fore us the catalogue of Messrs. J. M Thorburn
& Co , of New York, in which there is an excel-
lent description of grasses. This will make the
catalogue extensively sought for.

CATALOGUES.

As usual at this season, our tables arc loaded
with catalogues of the nursery and seed trade.
Wc are pleased to notice the marked improve-
ment in typographical accuraov and general
beauty of most of t1icm. They far excel the
average catalogues of the Old World. Many are
l)rofusely and expensivel3- illustrated, and give
information worth the price of many volumes.

Wc do not give addresses in full of these, as

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY.

89

our space is limited, and especially as they all
advertise in our columns. Amongst the best
are the following, received :

Allen & Johnson, general nursery slock ;
Graves, Selover, AVillard & Co., general; B. K.
Bliss, seeds; R. Buist, Sr., general nursery
stock ; P. J. Berckmans, nurser3' ; Bird & Co.,
nursery ; R. Douglas & Son, wholesale ever,
greens ; Dingee & Conard, nursery ; Evans &
Co , nursery ; Ellwanger «& Barry, general nur-
sery ; Dr. John E. Ennis & Co., general nursery ;
Frost & Co., general nursery ; E. C. Frost, gen-
eral nursery ; Gould Bros. ; .] . H. Gregory,
seeds; Harden, Cole & Co., trees, etc ; Joseph
Clark & Co., grape vines, small fruits ; Peter
Henderson, new and rare plants ; Bennett &
Davidson, new and rare plants, etc.; J. M.
Thorburn & Co., trade list of seeds, and retail
list ; R. Buist, Sr., rare plants, etc.; Henderson
& Fleming, vegetable and tlower seeds ; AV. H.
Lyman, new plants ; "W. P. Robinson, general
stock; J. AVentz, general wholesale; J. Knox's
Successors, fruits, etc.; Brown & Templin,
fruits, etc.; A. F. Chatfield, orchids; Olm

I Brothers, tlower seeds, etc.; J. W. Manning,
fruits, evergreens, roses ; Otto & Achelis. wliolc-

j sale ; Pellet & Conovcr, seeds ; C. L. Allen &
Co., seeds, plants, etc.; Hargis & Sommer,
wholesale nursery ; S. S. Jackson, general nur-

[ sery ; Louis Ritze, general list ; Charles Black,

I fruits ; Iloopes Bros. & Thomas, general list ;
J. M. Jordan, trees, fruits, etc ; Miller & Hayes,
roses, plants and trees ; Hubbard & Davis,
plants, roses, etc.; F. K. Phoenix, wholesale,
etc.; L. C. Baumann, roses, etc.; Wm. Grassie,
plants, etc. ; Sulzer &> Bro , general fruits, trees ;
George Such, orchids and rare plants; Smith,
Clark & Powell, general nursery ; W. C. Strong,
nursery and Florist ; James Yick, seeds ; T. G.
Yeomans, nursery ; D. Land re th & Son, vege-
table seeds; Collins, Wetherill & Co, seeds;
Thos. J. PuUen, fruits ; H. A. Dreer, seeds,
and nursery ; E. Moody «& Son, nursery ; Gould
Bros., wholesale trade list ; Wood & Hall, trade
list ; Storrs, Harris & Co., American Chestnuts ;
Hovey &• Co., seeds and plauts ; Washburn &
Co., seeds ; Joseph Breck & Co., seeds ; Feast

1 & Sons, rare plants.

SCRAPS ATS^D aUERIES.

PiCEA Frazeri.— It is singular that this
beautiful tree does not get more into cultivation.
Very few persons can distinguish it from the
common Balsam Fir ; but it is very distinct. We
have seldom seen it so well defined as in some
specimens received from Mr. J. M. Nelson,
gathered in Huntingdon county, Pa. In the
common BalsamFir the leaves are inclined to be
what botanists call spathulate, or thicker at the
upper end than the lower ; but in these the
leaves taper at both ends Tlie habit of the tree,
also, is spreading, much as in the European
Silver Fir. Mr. Nelson says the lower branches
which trail on the ground, root, as the Yew
does.

Seedling Geraniums.— We have received
from Mr. Philip Shteffer, gardener to Jay Cooke,
Esq., specimens of nine Seedling Geraniums,
some of which are fully equal to many of the
popular named kinds. It is very dillicult to get
Seedling Geraniums distinct from the man}"
varieties in cultivation. We should hardly look
for one in a thousand. Or.e of these, however,

strikes us as being worthy of separate mention.
It is labelled "Mr. Cooke, Jr." The truss is
large, the flowers of good size, and the petals
tolerably well formed. There are many like this
of the full scarlet class ; but this is a rosy pink,
not a usual shade in these large bunched varie-
ties.

Writing for Copies of the Monthly. —
Every spring we receive innumerable letters
from friends, offering to write for us if we will
send the Magazine in exchange Many of these
are from friends whose writings we highly value.
But xre have no li.-^t of the kind. The vast amount
of voluntary matter we receive, renders it out of
the question. AVe did it the first year or two,
but it seemed to us great injustice to send the
Magazine to those correspondents who asked for
it, and not to those who did not, and it was
too much to send to all. AVe have endeavored,
as the most .jusc plan, to give muck more than
the two dollars'' xoortk in our Magazine,
and to trust to the consciences of those who are
able to return the overplus in hints and other
pen contributions.

90

THE GJnDEJVER';^ MOJSTTHLy.

March,

Varieties OF Asparagus.— ,7. E. H. Man-
alapan, K J., says, " T wish to have your oi)in-
ion in regard to Asparagus ; whether there is so
much differeuce in kinds, or is it in cultivation ?
Some writers say it is in the variety ; others say
it is in culture, while others say it sports. If so,
the plants from one pound of seed, (of any sort'
there will be likely to be many varieties. I
want to set a patch for market next spring, and
wish to set the best. If there is much difterence.
the price is nothing ; if not, it will make quite
an item. Mr. Dreer says his Mammoth is equal
to the " so-called Conover's Colossal." He asks
$G per thousand. Mr. Bliss says there is a very
great difference in favor of C. Colossal. He asks
S25 per thousand; but I can buy it much cheaper,
or what would be cheaper yet, buy the seed and
wait. If the Grant or Mammoth is as good, it
is better to get the roots, as America is fast, and
cannot wait without extra pay."

[There is no more reason why Asparagus
varieties should not come true from seed, than
corn, or wheat, or beans. All these have been
raised from one common stock, and yet they
come true. Our opinion is that Asparagus varie-
ties, when the variation has become fixed, will
repeat themselves tolerably true from seed.]

A Ne-w Hickory.— .7. L. writes : " In a
Cyclopedia recently published in this city, under
the caption ' Hickory,' it is stated with regard
to one of the species, that ' it is also known as
the KM-;/ Thomas nut.'' We suspect that a
'period after the first word, and a tall syllable to
terminate the last, would bring the features of
this old friend of our boyhood into better shape. "

Pruning Evergreens.— ",!5'it6.scr<7>e/-," Pitts-
huryh, says : '• The Park Commissioners of our
sister city of Allegheny, are now planting a
large number of Austrian Pine trees throughout
their City Park. The trees are very large, but
vigorous and fine-looking — fully fifteen years old.
The proportion of top to root is about same as
enclosed rough sketch. Tlie writer, being ig-
norant in such matters, would like to have your j
opinion, through the columns of the Montkh/,
about planting, without pruning, such large
trees. It is customary to prune, when trans- '
planting, deciduous trees. Why not Evergreens ?

[The evaporation from such a large mass of
foliage will be much against the success of the
experiment, and very much benefit would result

from pruning them. AVe should cut away one
half the branches This, however, must be done
judiciously. It must be remembered that Pine
" needles " are not leaves, but branchlets acting
in the place of leaves ; and are not reproduced
as readily as true leaves on regular flower-bear-
ing plants. Hence, Pines suffer more from the
loss of this substitute for foliage than other
things with true leaves do. If the tree be cut
too much to curtail evaporation, it may suffer
for want of enough leafy matter. Great judg-
ment is necessary.

Oil for Insects— F., Walworth, K. T.,
writes: "I wish to inquire, through the
Gardener''s Monthly or otherwise, whether oil
— animal, vegetable or coal oil — are known to
be injurious when applied to the body or branches
of trees ; and if not, whether thei'e may not be,
in some of these oils, the best protection against
a large part of the insects which are so injurious
to fruits of various kinds,"

[Some oils have been found injurious to the
bark of trees ; others not. Again, the same oil
has been found an injury in some stages of
growth, and not at others. No doubt, if accurate
experiments were made, and oils graded so as to
guard against these exceptions, something might
result of great benefit to horticulturists, as oils
in general are destructive to insect life ]

The Codling MoTii. — A correspondent, re-
ferring to a quotation from Dr. Hull in our last,
says the larvfe of this insect never remain over
winter in the pupa state. Also, where Dr. Hull
says, " it surrounds itself with a pupa case," it
should more correctly read, "It transforms to a
pupa, and surrounds itself with a cocoon."

WiLLOAV Trees. — J. P. S.^ Frankford, Pa ,
writes : " A road, crossing my property, will
take down a willow tree some twenty years old.
which we value very highly. Is there any way
to transplant this without any great expense ?

[You can do this without tranf<2)lanting at all,
in the common sense of the term. Willow
branches of any age or size will grow as cuttings,
as well without as with roots. For this, we
have to head back all the branches, leaving only
the main stem. In this ca.se, we should cut off
the tree close to the ground, and then cut away
from the top all excepting the main stem ; plant
this heavy piece so as to be two feet under

1871.

TEE GARnE.]\rER'S MONTELJ.

91

ground, and it will grow as well as if you were
to spend much money in transplanting root and
top in the usual way.]

Transplanting an Osage Orange Hedge.
~J. P. iS., FranJcford. Pa., says : "I have an
Osage Orange Hedge, now ten j^ears old, which
I value very much. The line of road along
which it is planted issomewhat undulating The
road is now being graded, and in the hollow part
the earth will come up nearly to the top of the
hedge. Could T, in any way, lift these plants
without destroying their value as a hedge ?''

[You cannot lift them, but you can, what is
much better, cut notches or tongues upward in
each main branch. Cut into the pith, that is,
halfway through. Do this in several places, all
the way up as high as the earth is likely to be
filled in. Roots will then come out from them.
and be near the surface just the same as if they
were seedling plants. You can then let the new
growth grow up as high as you require, and it
would soon form a hedge as high as desired.

Trial of a Seedsman. — A case of much in-
terest to seedsman was tried, a few weeks ago,
before .Judge Hare, in the District Court of
Philadelphia. A Mr. Kessler sued Mr. Dreerin
damages somewhere about S1500. for the loss of
his cabbage crop. Tn the fall of 1868, he bousht
seed of Early York Cabbage of Mr. Dreer. The
next season the cabbage yielded only soft heads,
and Mr. Kessler's conclusion was that it was not
Early York Cabbage. On this ground action
was brought. Mr. Dreer might have s< ttled the
matter, to avoid trouble, but he preferred to
vindicate his honor as a seedsman before a Jury.
It was clearly proved in evidence that the soft-
ness was owing to culture and season, and the
verdict was in favor of Mr. Dreer.

In Florida.— Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry,
and numerous other Horticulturists, are winter-
ing this year in Florida.

A rPLE Insects— r. O. Y., Walworth, N. Y.:
We will endeavor soon to give the p<per you

suggest.

Botanical.—" At the last meeting of the
American Philosophical Society, Mr. Thomas
Meehan, editor of the Gardener's Monthly,
and agricultural editor of the Weekly Press, was
elected a member of that time honored institu-
tion as a tribute to his botanical researches,'' —
Philadelphia Daily Paper.

Credit to tiik Kural Carolinian. —
"The Gardener's Monthly copies Dr. Wylie's
article on " The Janie Wylie Grape, " and gives
credit to The Carolina Farmer. The article
appeared originally in The Eural Carolinian."

Our Colored Plates.— ]Sro one has had
more experience with the Martha Grape than
Mr. Campbell, of Delaware, O. He "knows''
what a good representation of it should be. The
following note from him is therefore very agree-
able to the publishers :

" The chromo of the Martha is truly a ' distin-
guished success ' I think it is the best and
most truthful grape plate I have ever seen pub-
lished in this country, and your publishers may
justly feel proud of it."

HoopES' Trip to California— .7. G , El-
mira, N. Y. , writes: Josiah Hoopes' account
of his trip to California, and what he saw, is
alone, worth a year's subscription to the Month-
ly ; but on reading his account of the Yo-
semite Valley, was quite anxious to hear how
the Merced river got out of said valley, but of
which he does not inform us. Please have the
goodness to have him inform your readers how
said river gets out of the valley, for if it has to
pass over that rocky band of 4,000 feet, there
certainly o;ight to be quite a deep lake in said
valley.

American Pomological Society. — The
next meeting will be held at Richmond, Virginia,
on Septemper Gth, 7th and 8th. The horticul-
turists of that section are making efforts to
render the occasion worthy of themselves, and
we hope they, in time, will be seconded by our
friends everywhere.

Dendrobium J^obile.- In our notice of Mr.
Geo. Such '8 place last year, we referred to a
magnificent plant of Dendrobium nohile in his
collection, and suggested that Mr. Newett,— who
perhaps might claim the honor, if his modesty
would allow him, of being the "orchideaking" of
this country,— should look to his (TOWu. This
.seemed to put him on his mettle. His plant has
.seven hrmdred and fifty-seven flomers.. Now let
us hear from South Amboy.

9^

TEE GARDEJSTER'S M0JVTHL1,

March,

NEW AND RARE PLANTS.

Centaurka Clementei. — The beautiful
Silvery-leaved .' Centaureas have proved admira-
bly adapted to our climate. C. ragusina was
the first of great merit. Then, last year we had
O. gymnocarpa, Avith leaves much finer divided.
"We have now another, with foliage of still
greater elegance. We hope to see it introduced
next season.

f^^ ... .

New CiiiMsox Flowered Mignonette.—
l^ecently we gave an account of a new Mignon-
ette. Any improvement of this popular llower
always interests. AV' e now give give an illustra-
tion of another. The anthers are of a dark
crimson instead of a brown, as in the common

variety. Our illustration is from an European
source, but we note that it is already offered
for sale in this country.

187 L

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

93

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

Productive Pear Orchard. — Many of our
readers will remember the fine collection of pears
exhibited at the State Fairs and Ilorticnltnral
shows in years past, by John Morse, of Cayuga,
X. Y., and the first premiums which he was in
the practice of carrying off. His young trees
have now become more mature, and his fine
orchards of some three thousand standard pears
are now bearing full crops, A few days since,
in company with several horticultural gentlemen
of Geneva, we had the pleasure of visiting his
grounds. His fruit farm is three miles north of
the Cayuga station on the Central road, on the
banks of the Seneca river. A few of his trees
have been planted nearly forty years, but the
most, from twelve to eighteen years. An orchard
of about five hundred trees, planted eighteen
years ago, was bending under heavy crops. The
Bartletts were most conspicuous, and the fruit
was all that the trees could hold. The proprietor
thought it would have been better, both for the
specimens and for the trees, if they could have
been thinned early in the season. The Yirgalieus
had been worked over to the Beurre Bosc, which,
for market value, stands next to the Bartlett, if
not its equal. The tender character of the tree
has been obviated, at least in some degree, by
being worked standard height on the Virgalieu.
These trees were bearing heavy crops of large
and handsome pears. Some of the Bosc trees
had been grafted in the nursery rows near the
ground, but they were not so fine as the others,
the growth of this sort being somewhat crooked
and feeble. The Doyenne Boussock, although
a free, hardy grower and good bearer, and which
Mr. Morse formerly regarded as one of the best
^orts, has not proved profitable for market, as
the pears do not sell well in New York, and he
intends to work them over. The Autumn Para-
dise, an excellent pear, is not profitable, and will
l)e changed to other sorts. The Winter Nelis is
largely planted. Many trees of the Anjou have
been recently grafted. Another orchard, about
twelve years planted, contains over two thousand
trees ; many of them were heavily loaded.

These orchards afford a strong contrast to
most of the trees in this region, in their profuse
crops the present season, while pear trees gener-
ally bear very scantily. Mr. Morse has found of
late years that he gets more pears and better

ones by keeping the ground cultivated instead of
allowing it to run to grass. The corn crop proves
one of the best for this purpose, as it represses
the growth of weeds, and in this respect is l)et-
ter than potatoes. Buckwheat is likewise re-
garded as well suited to these orchards, as the
ground may be kept mellow and clean during the
first part of the season, before the grain is sown.
When gathering time arrives, such of the buck-
wheat as happens to be in the way is trodden
under foot, where it mulches the ground, and
the rest is cut and threshed.

Lime has been found decidedly beneficial, be-
ing first slacked into powder and then spread
broadcast over the ground, at the rate of over
a hundred bushels per acre. The time of year
for applying is not important. The trees thus
treated had a perceptibly better growth and bore
better than the others.

Nearly all the trees are standards, but some
dwarfs were growing on a low, rich, alluvial
spot, among which we saw trees of the Duchess
d'Angouleme fourteen feet high, and of corres-
ponding spread of branches, bearing each several
bushels of fine pears. They had not been cut
back, and appeared scarcely to need it, although
the fruit would probably have been larger and
the trees of better form, if the operation had
been performed as needed. Possibly they would
have been less productive.

We did not learn what annual revenue had
been received from this pear orchard of nearly
three thousand trees ; but if one-half the trees
should bear each year, and yield a bushel each,
which must be below the actual product, and
the net receipts amount to only three dollars a
bushel, the returns would be from three to four
thousand dollars. Mr. Morse said his pear trees
yielded him five times as much as his apple trees,
and he has certainly established the truth that,
under bis good management and fine locality,
"pear orckardswillpaij.''^— Country Gentlemmi.

California Evergreens. — The Abies
Douglassii extends from Mexico to Alaska along
the Rocky Mountains, west to the Pacific and
east to the " 1000 mile tree,'' on the Pacific rail-
road, which is a Douglass Spruce or Fir, though
the "guide book " calls it a Pine. This tree is
described as straight ; but it has the habit of

94

TEE GARDEJSTER'S MOJYTHLi.

March,

being what botanists denote ascending. It never
rises perpendicular from the ground, but grows
obliquely for ten or twelve feet, (as seen in trees
one foot and more in diameter ) and then becomes
perpendicular. In using many hundred trees,
it was always necessary to reject a portion of
the butt when a long, straight stick was wanted.
This peculiarity is most obvious where the tim-
ber is somewhat scattered ; but never wanting
in dense forests, so far as my observations ex-
tended during three years spent for the most
part amid forests of this tree. The branches in
dense forests are slender, and scattered along the
main shaft near the top ; but in open places are
much larger, and the tree assumes a form more
or less ovate.

The Douglass Spruce should be called the
Douglass Fir, as it has more affinity with the
firs than the spruces. It has numerous balsam
blisters on the bark of young trees as the other
firt?, and its cones have bracts like some of the
American firs, as Picea nohoUs. The bark,
branches and general appearance of this tree are
so much like the hemlock, that a casual observer
would think them the same.

The lumbermen, mill wrights and carpenters,
•who cut and work this timber, call it Red Fir.
The wood contains a large amount of pitch. In
other respects, it resembles the hemlock more
than any other eastern wood.

In Prof, Newberry's excellent report, (Vol.
VI. of the P. li. R. Reports,) the fine portraits
of Abies Williamsonii and Abies Douglassii
have evidently been exchanged, as the figure
labelled Williamson's Spruce is a perfect figure
of the Douglass' Spruce, growing in open forests;
but the figure labelled Douglass' Spruce is very
diflerent from any tree of that species I ever
saw.

The Abies Menziesii usually grows in places
more wet and shaded than the Red Fir, and
ranges higher up the mountains. The wood is
said to be like the Red Fir ; but it is much
whiter, softer, lighter and not so strong, and
much less durable. It contains no pitch, save
in some small lenticular cavities in a semi-fluid
state. The Red Fir is more durable than the
Pitch Pine ; vvhile the Menzie's Spruce decays
nearly as quick as the Balsam Fir.

Prof. Newberry, in Vol. VI of the P. R. R.

Reports, gives a very good portrait of this iree ;

but it often assumes the form of the figure given

as the Douglass Fir.

The wood of this Spruce, save in very old trees,

j is very white,* and receives a very fine finish
j with a marked satin or pearly lustre. No
I coniferous tree of the American forests furnishes
any more beautiful finishing lumber than this —
i save, perhaps, the Pinus coniorta The wood of
i this pine is harder, about as white, and receives
I a fine polish with a satin lustre which, with its
I numerous bird's eye markings, make it very
I beautiful.— G. C. S., in ColmaWs Bural World.

*lt is called " White Spruce '■ or " While Pine " in the moun-
tains.

Thick Grass a Protection against
DROUTn. — One of our best farmers makes it a
business always to have a thick close set of grass
I — this, for one thing, to guard against the drouth
j which becomes so frequent ; and he succeeds.
His land is drained, either natui'ally or other-
wise, and this helps. It is well cultivated, pul-
verized, and rich when put in, so that it is sure
I to '' catch," and equally sure to grow. The first
crop is clover ; then timothy, which is sown with
the clover; and other grasses come in, and they
form a thick mat. To do this they are aided by
plaster and ashes, and manure rotting in heaps
on the farm. Hence there is a thick sod, a dense
growth, affording a great amount of pasture and
good tender feed. The drouth never overcomes
this growth ; it is, in all the lots devoted to it,
green, and affords fresh cropping ; but it is never
permitted to be cropped too close. It is this
thick turf, soft as a cushion, that defies the sun.
A little rain greens it up at once ; it is not evap-
orated as on a barren soil. The ground is less
hard, porous and somewhat moist. The thick
grass prevents the ground from being heated, not
coming in contact with the sun a.s in the case
with thin set herbage. Grass itself is cool ; it
keeps the earth cool ; hence less evaporation.
The winter receives this turf with much grasg
upon it, much feed. But the spring finds it in
resurrection, early, and early to be turned on,
springy, yet firm. Better have half or a third of
the land, and have it like this, than to have the
stock starving over large areas. The drouths
will come, almost yearly, either early or late, or
in the middle of ihe season ; seldom that we
have no drouth at all. And in a rainy time this
turf is a good protection against the tread oi
cattle, so that it is good all round — good for
drouth, good for rain, good for feed, and most
excellently good to turn down for grain. — F. G.,
in Country Gentleman.

1S71.

THE GARDEJfER'S MONTHLY.

95

F 0 ]^ E T G N T N T E L L I G E TS C E .

Introduction of the Potato in France. | moulds in which bronze is cast. M. Hazard re-
— There has been an extremely interestino; con- [ ferred to a bishop's charge of the seventeenth
versation at a recent meetinir of the Societe Cen- | century, in which the cultivation of the potato
trale d'Asrriculture upon Parmentier and his i was recommended to the whole diocese. M.

share in introducintj the Irish potatoes into gen-
eral use. I hope some notice of this conversa-
tion will not seem out of place here, especially
as the bibliography of this question was touched.
Marshal Yaillant opened the conversation by
mentioning that one of his friends had discovered a
treatise dated 1749, which contained some curi-
ous details about the potato, and indicated the
various methods of preparing it for food It is
consequently an error to say Parmentier was the
first person who introduced the potato ; for he
merely propagated it. M. Boussingault shared
Marshal Yaillant's opinion upon this subject ;
Parmentier had not done as much to introduce
the potato as was commonly beHeved. It was
while returning from the siege of Mayence, Par-
mentier discovered the potato in the fields. M
Boussingault. referring to a previous discussion,
added : Maize is a native of South America, but
has never been found in a wild state, and has
always lived under man's protection. M. Chev-
reul, President of the Societe, said Duhamel du
Monceau is the first person who mentioned the

Payne confessed Parmentier's merit did not lie
in the introduction of the potato, but in its pro-
pagation by ingenious means, and successful at-
tempts to overcome the prejudices of his day
which opposed the general use of this vegetable
as an article of human food. In the "Grande
Encyclopedia," which was commenced in 1750,
it is stated, at the close of the article Pommes de
terre, which was published in 17G5, tliat potatoes
are eaten in various ways by peasants of differ-
ent provinces, but they were coarse food and ex-
tremely indigestible. All Parmentier really did
was to make this vegetable popular by a curious
stratagem. He planted a field of potatoes, and
had it guarded by gendarmes, spreading the re-
port that it was an exceedingly^ valuable article
of food, to attract public attention to it. In a
short time he ordered the gendarmes to relax
their watch. Some peasants stole a few pota-
toes ; others imitated them ; and at last the
whole crop was disseminated among the inhabi-
tants of the neighboring villages, and the good
qualities of this article of food were sufficiently

potato ; M. Boussingault is right in saying Par- | well proved to efiace all traces of old prejudices,
mentier's share in the introduction of the potato i Parmentier likewi.se introduced the potato to
has been exaggerated, and that he first saw it in the tables of the wealthier classes. One day he
Germany as he returned from the seige of May- ; appeared in Louis XVI. 's presence with a nose-
ence. AI. Renou. Professor of Natural History j g'lj of the modest tlower of the Solanum tube-
at the Ecole Centrale of Angers, told him (M. I rosum. The king questioned him about it, and
Chevreul i how his friend Parmentier had studied | he easily persuaded his majesty to introduce its
the cultivation of the potato in Germany. Upon cultivation upon the royal estate. The courtiers
Parmentier's return to France he exerted him- soon imitated the royal example, and the ne-
self to bring by every means of publicity the j glected plant was carefully cultivated. It is
potato into use. to recommend it as an article of \ consequently incontestable Parmentier made the
food, and to propagate it. Justice should be potato popular not only among the poor, but
done Parmentier in this matter ; but Parmentier '< among the wealthy classes. The potato was in-
believedjlhe potato was equal to wheat in nu- troduced into Germany in 1710; it was then
tritive properties, because he had not compre- confined to gardens ; it was introduced slowly to
hendedjthe importance of gluten (which Beccaria farms, and nothing less than the famines of 1771
had discovered in wheaten flour in 1727) in nu- ' and 1772 were necessary to overcome the pre-
trition. Marshal Vaillant said manufacturers judices which militated against its general use.
could| not use potatoes to powder with. M. | M. Pepin said there were few varieties of pota-
Chevreul replied, the coarseness an<l trans- I toes at the beginning of this century, and these

parency of the grains of potato stanh prevent
its being used for this purpose, but that this
very coarseness of its grains enables it to be used

were cultivated almost exclusively for animals.
It was only in 1818 or 1820 potatoes appeared on
the tables of the wealthy. Several members

insteadJ,of powdered charcoal to powder the combated this assertion, and declared potat^^es

96

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

March.

were to be seen on the tables of the rich long be-
fore the dates indicated by M. Pepin. — Corres-
pondence of Publishers'' Circular.

Cultivation of Tree-Carnations.— It re-
quires a considerable amount of care and judg-
ment to grow these delightfully-fragrant flowers
satisfactorily. The cuttings should be struck in
February, March and April, Take cuttings of
two or three joints in length, remove the lowest
leaves only, put them into pots or pans in sand
alone, and place the pots in a brisk moist heat —
like that aftbrded by a melon or cucumber frame,
for instance. When well furnished with roots,
put them into thumb-pots, and then shift from
thumb-pots to three-inch size, and so on, always
observing that they should not be shifted till
they really need it, nor be allowed to become
pot-bound for want of a shift. As soon as they
have recovered from the first shift, nip out the
growing points, and then stop no more. Con-
tinue to shift as required till the middle of July,
when they may be in either eight or ten-inch
pots, as both are good sizes in which to flower
them. After the plants are established in the
thumb-pots, they should be grown with fls little
artificial heat as possible, and after they have
had their last shift put them out of doors in an
open situation, and stand the pots upon a bed of
coal-ashes not less than six inches in thickness.
When the pots are well filled with roots, water
with very weak liquid manure. The pots must
be drained efliciently, and the compost should
consist of good turfy loam quite free from wire-
worm, with about a third of its bulk of old cow-
manure, and a liberal proportion of sharp silver-
sand. House from the 21st of September to the
7th of October, regulating the exact date by the
time they ai'e wanted in flower and by the
weather. Keep them near the glass in a cool
airy house for a fortnight ; then transfer them
to a warm greenhouse, where they will begin to
bloom towards the end of November, and, by ju-
dicious management, continue in flower through-
out the winter. — Gardeners'' Weekly.

notice should be given on either side. After re-
maining in the employ about 16 months, and
having been generally paid by the week, he re-
ceived notice to quit, signed by the defendant's
mother. He lived with his wife and family in
the lodge on the grounds. The son of the de-
fendant said he gave notice to the defendant to
leave his mother's employ personally, and
handed him a week's wages in advance. (The
notice to quit was in three places dated 1869.
and his honor said it could not be held a good
one.) The defendant was also called, and she
denied that any words had passed between the
plaintiff" and herself as to notice being given oa
either side. She engaged him in the ordinary
way, at so much per week. His honor said a
gardener with a family living in a lodge could
not be disposed of so readily as a cook or house-
maid, or a single man, as they could get into
lodgings directly. The law was in favor of a
yearly hiring in this case. Payment by the
week was merely the mode, as such persons re-
quired their money as early as they could get it,
and he was strongly of opinion that a man who
brought his wife and children into a lodge on the
premises really came under the ordinary mean-
ing of a domestic servant. In that case he was
entitled to a month's warning. He was inclined
to think that gardeners hired generally, without
any special agreement being entered into, were
entitled to a month's warning, and therefore he
should give a verdict for the plaintiff" for the full
amount claimed. — English Gardeners'' Weekly.

Can Gardeners Claim a Month's No-
tice.— The plaintiff" in this case, which was re-
cently tried in the Tunbridgc Wells County
Court, is a gardener, and an action was brought
to recover th(^ sum of t'3 6s., three weeks' wages.
Plaintiff" said he was engaged by the defendant ,
as gardener and farm bailiff" at the rate of 22s |
per week, on the understanding that a month's '•

Love of Flowers in New York.— The
passionate love of flowers the New Yorkers have
borowed from the French. Flowers enter very
largely into all the solemnities, fetes, and events
of New York life. The gentleman who wishes
to testify his devotions to a young lady does so
by dail}^ off'erings of magnificent flowers. States-
men, orators, opera-dancers, divines, are alike
accustomed to receive these floral tributes. The
bride is married beneath a magnificent floral bell ;
the coftin is decorated with exquisite crosses,
crowns and wreaths of flowers. The Rev. H,
Ward Beecher preaches with a floral basket by
his side. Mr. George Francis Train has equally
floral tributes, which he waves in the course of
his denunciation of British influence and the old
fogies of the Bible. On the occasion of a bene-
fit-night to a favorite actress lately, a basket of
choice flowers was brought on to the stage, as
an oft'ering from some of her admirers, which
had to l)e carried by four men. — Behjravia.

DEVOTED TO

horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAK.
Old Series, Vol. XIIL APRIL, 1871. New Series, Vol. IV. No. 4.

HUNTS FOE APEIL.

FLOWER GARDEN A^'D PLEASURE
GROUND.

Some one has said that men are but children
of a larger growth. Possibly the writer of that
wise sa3'ing had been visiting Philadelphia, and
been amongst the gardens there. The child
thinks the little conical bits of green which the
toy maker calls trees, just the thing trees should
be ; and the children of a larger growth, in the
Philadelphia gardens, have their trees clipped
and shaved, just as these toy trees of infancy are
made for them. LIr. Robinson, in one of his En
glish letters, says he saw very little real gardening
in America, excepting Germantown as one of the
places creditable to the art. We are sure he forgot
the outrageously clipped trees when he wrote this
paragraph. Now we like a little trimming on
some trees. It often helps to restore a certain de-
gree of uniformity which is pleasing. But this
regularity of form and thickness of foliage, is
only pleasing when it looks natural.

Where evergreens can be benefited by prun-
ing, April is a very good month to attempt it.
If a tree ia thin in foliage at the base, the top of
the tree, leader and all, must be cut away. It
makes no difference what the kind is, all will
make new leaders after being cut back, if pro-
perly attended to. We make this remark be-
cause there is a prevalent idea that Pines will
not stand this cutting. Of course the trimming
should be done in a conical manner, so as to
conform to the conical style of the evergreen
tree. Sometimes an evergreen, especially a
Pine, will rather turn up some of the ends of its

side branches than push out another leader ;
when this is the case, cut these away, and a real
leader will form the second year.

Evergreen hedges should be trimmed now,
cutting them conically, so as to give light to the
lowermost branches.

There is so much to be done in April, that
the briefest hints must suffice. First, of course,
we must prepare the ground for planting. Soil
loosened two feet deep dries out less in summer
than soil one foot deep. Rich soil grows a tree
larger in one year than a poor soil will in three.
Under-drained soil is cooler in summer than soil
not under-drained. The feeding roots of trees
come near the surface ; therefore plant no deeper
than necessary to keep the tree in the soil. If
there be danger of its blowing over, stake it, but
don't plant deep. One stake set an angle is as
good as two set perpendicular. Straw or mat
set round the tree keeps the bark from rubbing.
Laige stones placed around a transplanted tree
are often better than a stake. They keep the
soil moist, admit the air, and encourage surface
roots. Shorten the shoots at transplanting.
This induces growth, and growth produces roots ;
and with new roots your tree is safe for another
season. Unpruned trees produce leaves, but
little growth, and less new roots.

Place broad-leaved evergreens where they will
get no sun in winter, yet away from where the
roots of trees will make the ground dry in sum-
mer. Deep soil, but shallow planting, is all im-
portant for them. In transplanting, take care
of the roots. Good roots are of more importance
than irood ''balls."' Balls of earth are useful in

98

2 HE GARDEJVER'S MONTHLY.

April,

keeping fibres moist ; but don't sacrifice the best
fibres five or six feet from the tree for the few
fibres in the ball at (he base. "When roots are
rather dry, after filling a portion of soil, jwur in
water frcel}-. After all has settled awa}', fill in
lightly the balance of the soil, and let it rest for
a few days. This is as a remedy, not as a rule ;
for watering this way cools the soil, ultimately
hardens it, and in other respects works to the
injury of the transplanted tree.

Unless inside of a round ring, or circular walk
don't plant trees or shrubs in formal clumps.
They are abominations in the eyes of persons of
taste. Meaningless iri'egularities form the oppo-
site extreme. Eemember, "art is nature better
understood."

In your flower-beds, if the plants sickened last
year, change the soil. Renovated earth is re-
newed health to consumptive flowers. Sow An-
nuals as soon as the ground is warm. Too early ;
sowing and deep covering, rots seeds very often.
This is frequently the cause of one's seeds being
"bad." Prepare flowers in their winter quar-
ters for the summer campaign, by gradually in-
uring them to the air before setting out finally.
Set out when all danger of frost is over. Don't
set out a plant with a dry ball ; but water well
while in the pot an hour or so before.

In arranging flowers in beds, aim at varying
from last year. And to obtain this everchanging
and pleasing variety, annuals are the very things
for the purpose. But they must have good soil
and careful attention, or the seed will be sure to
furnish a good excuse for neglect or bad
practice in many instances. Very Sue seeds
may be sown quite on the surface, and a little
moss, dried and powdered, spread thinly over
the seeds. The common cause of failure is deep
sowing. The nearer the .surface, the better,
provided they do not ever become dry — which is
as fatal as deep planting. It is a happy practice
that can just hit the middle way. Climbing an-
nuals are particularly interesting Tuberoses
are best planted out as soon all danger of frost
is over, in a rich, moist, warm, .sandy soil, if
perfection is desired. Roots that flowered last
year will not flower again for two seasons.

FRUIT GARDEN.

Fruit trees that have proved undesirable from
any cause, may be re-grafted with more favored
kinds. This is an advantage with some varie-
ties—it takes an age, for in4ance, to get the

Seckel Pear into bearing condition from a nur-
sery raised tree ; but by grafting it on one that
has already "arrived at years of discretion," the
advantage of placing a young head on old shoul-
ders, in this way is soon made manifest.

Grafting can be continued till the buds of the
trees are nearly pushed into leaf Sometimes,
from a pressure of other work, some valuable
scions have been left on hand too late to work.
It may be interesting to know, that if such scions
are put into the ground much the same as if
they were cuttings, they will keep good for six
weeks or two months, by which time the bark
will run freely, when the scions may be treated
as buds, and will succeed just as well as buds
taken from young summer shoots.

Those who have vineries will have them, at
this time of the year, in various stages of growth.
The "extra earl}''' houses will have their fruit
ripe ; but we suppose most of our readers whom
these hints are likely to benefit, will have the
crop about coloring as their earliest efforts. It
is the critical period, as if any check be expe-
rienced by the roots, they will not color well.
Hence, great care must be taken to keep the fo-
liage healthy. Sudden bursts of sun on tender
foliage, or red spider, are the chief points to
guard against. The roots in the outside borders
also, if the borders have been covered with lit-
ter through winter, should be aided by having
the covering removed. If, however, any of the
litter has decayed, it should be left as a covering
to the roots. The outside grape border should
never be disturbed by digging. Hundreds of
graperies are ruined by this "surface culture."
No grape grower of any excellence digs up his
vinery boi'ders that we know. The importance
of keeping grape roots at the surface is now so
well understood, that it is very common for good
grape growers to uncover and lift their roots oc-
casionally ; and to do this and j'ct get a first-
class crop of grapes the same season, is consid-
ered by the English journals an eminent achieve-
ment. With reference to the coloring of grapes,
most good gardeners use the syringe very spar-
ingly, and admit more dry air during this pro-
cess than at any other period of grape growth.

Other houses of early vines, started later, have
the berries about setting, as soon as which is
accomplished, thinning out of the berries with a
slender nosed scissors should be forthwith pro-
ceeded with. The bunches should not be han-
dled in the operation, as it predisposes the ber-
ries to rust.

i8n.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^TELY.

99

In late houses, where there is no artificial
heat, grapes are often injured by the houses
being kept too close. The temperature rises un
der warm suns, and the buds burst only to be
sadly affected by our cold March and April
nights. Many try to remed}' this by flues ; but
the best way is to keep on all the air possible to
keep down the temperature of the house, and
where practicable, the canes may be laid down
along the front of the house out of the sun's
reach.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

South of Philadelphia, the more tender kinds
of garden vegetables may now be sown, beans,
corn, cucumbers, squashes, etc., that it is not
prudent to plant in this latitude before the first
of May ; and tomatoes, egg plants, etc., may al-
so be set out in those favored places. Cucum-
bers, squashes, and such vegetables can be got
forward as well as tomatoes, egg-plants, etc., by
being sown in a frame or hotbed, and potted off
into three inch pots. They will be nice plants
by the first week in May. Kotten wood suits
cucumbers and the squash tribe exceedingl}^ well
as a manure. Tomatoes and egg-plants that
are desired very early are best potted, soon after
they come up, into small pots. They can then
be turned out into the open air without any
check to their roots. Of course, they should be
gradually inured to the open air— not suddenly
transferred from a warm and moist air to a very
dry one.

Bean poles may be planted preparatory to
sowing the Lima Bean in May. AVhere bean
poles are scarce, two or three hoop-poles, set in-
to the ground one foot from each other, and tied
together at the top, make as good a pole, and
perhaps better.

Dwarf b3ans should have very warm and deep
soil,- sow them only 2 inches apart. The Val-
entine is yet the best early, take it all in all.

Peas should be sown every two weeks for a
succession,— do not make the soil very rich for
them.

Lettuce, for a second crop of salad, should be
sown about the end of the month. The Drum-
head cabbage is usually sown for a summer crop ;
but the old kinds of Cos lettuce would, no doubt,
be found very valuable in rich soils.

Early York Cabbage for early use should be
set out early this month. It is an excellent plan
to make the holes with a dibble first, where the
cabbage is to be set ; then fill up the holes with
manure-water ; and, after the water has soaked
away, set in the plants. It is rather more labo-
rious than the old way ; but the cabbage grows
so fast afterwards that it pays pretty well.

It is not a good plan to cut all the asparagus
as soon as they appear. A few sprouts should
always be left to grow from each, to strengthen
the plants.

Celery, with most families, is an important
crop, and should be sown about this period. A
very rich moist spot, that will be shaded from
the mid-day April sun, should be chosen ; or a
box in a frame by those who have the conveni-
ences.

Few things mark a well-kept garden better
than an abundance of all kinds of herbs. Xow is
the time to make the beds. Sage, Thyme and
Lavender, grows from slips, which may be set in
now precisely as if an edging of box were to be
made of them. They grow very easily. Basil
and Sweet Marjoram must be sown in a rich
warm border.

Salsafy and Scorzonera like a damp rich soil.

COMMUNICATIONS.

COLOR IN AUTUMN FOLIAGE.

BY PROF. AL15ERT N. TRENTISS, CORNELL UXI-
• VER.S1TY, ITHACA, N. Y.

In the Gardener^s Monthly for February, page
60, some very interesting statements are made
in regard to the color of autumn leaves, based
upon the observations and experiments of Mr.

' Warton as related in the American Journal o
Science. That the oxidation of the chlorophyll
is the principal cause of the varied tints of au-
tumnal foliage, I think there can be no doubt ;
but the subsequent remarks in regard to the ac-
tion of frost do not agree with my own observa-
tion. The statement is there made, that when a

100

THE GARDEJYER'^ MOJVTELy.

April,

sharp frost occurs early in the fall, while the
pulp of the leaves is still full and plump, the red
colors come out most brilliantl}-. I do not agree
with this opinion, but think that our most bril-
liant autumnal tints occur in those seasons
when frosts hold oflT until very late— never when
vegetation is arrested suddenly. The maturing
of the leaf is a ripening power, which reaches
its greatest perfection in rather warm and dry
autumns, especially when there is a considerable
proportion of that beautiful weather known as
Indian summer. Fruits of all kinds ripens most
perfectly during similar seasons.

The richest color I have ever observed in
leaves, were in some seedling maples, growing
in rich open woods, the colors being developed
before the appearance of fiost. In the soft ma-
ple, I have sometimes observed a single branch
take on the most brilliant crimson, while the re-
mainder of the tree was still green. Apparently
some injury to the branch had caused it to ripen
its leaves in advance of its neighbors. Xext to
the soft maple, the sassafras of our northern
woods takes on the most brilliant color. During
several years, I noticed in a grove of these trees
that the lower branches colored earlier than
those higher up. Gradually the change in color
progressed upwards until the whole seemed al-
most like a mass of llame. In some seasons,
when an early frost has killed the upper leaves
of small trees, they turned brown without ex-
hibiting the bright colors, while the lower ones,
protected from ihe frost by those above them,
are left to ripen during the succeeding warm
days, and subsequently took on the usually vivid
hues. Even in the tropics the foliage of some of
the few deciduous trees, properly so called, be-
comes quite richly colored during the process of
ripening. Some of the Palms display rich, if not
brilliant colors in the ripened foliage. I call to
mind especially the foliage of the Assai, that
most graceful of all the Palms of the Amazon
valley, on which I have observed the lower and
ripened leaves to he of the softest and richest
brown, passing imperceptibly into bronze, thus
pre.sentinii a striking and beautiful contrast to
the mass of green foliage. For the most part,
however, it is the young and tender foliage of
tropical plants, especially of exogens, which pre-
sents the brightest colors, as though it needed ex-
posure to sun and air before the chlorophyll could
assume the exact chemical composition most fa-
vorable 0 plant growth.

In our northern deciduous trees, the fall of the
leaf is provided for by a joint formed at the junc-
tion of the base of the petiole and the surface of
the stem on which it rests ; this joint does not
exist at the time the leaves unfold from the bud,
but is formed during the season's growth. If
now an early frost arrests vegetation before this
joint has been completely formed, we might ex-
pect that the leaves would not fall at the usual
time, and this is actual!}- what occurs. A few yeai'S
ago, in this vicinity, a severe frost occurred at
an unusually early date ; the leaves being thus
killed became brown, or in many instances re-
tained their green color more or less perfectly,
and remained for a long time attached to the
tree. In i-ome instances apparently the entire
foliage remained upon the tree until the succeed-
ing spring. None of the usually bright colors
were observed.

Prof. AV. W. Daniells, of "Wisconsin Universi-
ty, Madison, says, that on the 20th of October,
1809, the thermometer sank to VT in that vicin-
ity. This severe and sudden freezing had a very
injurious efliect upon orchards, nurseries and
vineyards ; freezing the plants so suddenl}' while
the season's growth was still incomplete, that in
many cases the leaves, perfectly green, dried
as if heated in an oven, and remained on the trees
all winter.

It very frequently occurs that small trees at
the edge of a forest, and second growth trees gen-
erally, retain their foliage for .some time, not un-
frequently until spring, when it appears to be
pushed otr by the expanding buds. This may
be attributed to the vigor of growth of such
trees, which continues until late in the season,
and thus prevents the perfect ripening of the
leaves. Very often the leaves are for some time
retained on the lower branches of certain trees,
while those of the upper branches have fallen
off. As the sap in man}^ plants tends most
strongly to the upper parts, these become more
perfectly ripened, and the leaves fall at the usual
time ; while the leaves on the lower branches are
less perfectly matured, and are retained more or
less firmly according to the degree of ripening.
It would, therefore, seem possible that a lack of
sufficient nourishment, as in the latter case,
where certain parts of a plant receive less than
their due share, would present the mo* perfect
maturation of the leaves ; while on the other
hand, an overstimulus to growth, as is sometimes
seen in highly manured orchards, especially dur-

1871.

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ\'THLY.

101

ing warm and wet falls, -would produce a similar
effect. Of course the greater or less exposure to
wind will have an influence wpon the fall of the
leaf; but this cannot be a detcrnuning cause, as
the branches most protected, and small trees
quite thoroughly protected, very often retain the
greatest number of leaves.

BEDDING GERANIUMS.

BY MR. J. TAPLIN, MANAGER TO GEO. SUCH,
ESQ., SOUTH AMBOY, N. J.

From seeing fine masses of Geraniums in flow-
er out-of-doors for a number of years in England,
I was disappointed to find that few varieties
made even a tolerable appearance in this coun-
try, the sun spoiling both flowers and foliage I
was pleased to see a few variet'es doing well in
the neighborhood of both Boston and Philadel-
phia. On inquiry, I found these sorts were
American seedlings, evidently raised from some
of the old varieties which were grown before the
present strain of fine shape and large sized flow-
ers were raised. "When I found that some few
varieties did well, I concluded that there was no
reason why some of the fine European sorts
should not do well also ; to test which, I planted
a number of plants of all the varieties we grow,
and of which we are continually receiving fresh
varieties from Europe. These plants were plant-
ed in the full sun without any ext^-a preparation
of the ground, and never watered or mulched,
and I find we have five varieties of rose and pink
colors, about twenty distinct varieties of scarlet,
five various shades of salmon, and one fine pure
white, which grow and flower fine all through
the summer until cut with the frost. The above
are all fine large and good shaped flowers, worth
growing as pot plants, their hardiness adds very
much to their value.

I do not admire the taste, or rather want of
it, which requires Scarlet Geraniums and yellow
Calceolarias to be planted by the hundred thou-
sands, which is done in some English gardens.
My friend, Mr. "\Vm. Robinson, calls it the thun-
der and lightning style. But a few good beds
of fine Geraniums are indispensable in a garden
of any pretemions, and not out of place in the
smallest flower plot.

ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOMS.

DY MR. .JOHN JAY SMITH, GERMANTOWN, THILA.

Why is it that these two delicious articles for
the table arc either so de\r or so rare ? is a ques-

tion often asked. I fear the cultivation of
neither is understood. Lately coming into the
possession of a large farm in Montgomery coun-
ty, almost within stone's throw of Philadelphia,
I found on it an acre, more or less, of Aspara-
gus, but it was, according to my preconceived
and book knowledge, good for little and probably
nothing. It was overgrown with the worst kind
and most persistent of grasses, inclu :ingthe couch
— the farm having been rented to a careless fellow
—and I expected nothing less than to plough up
the whole, and try to get rid of the nuisance.
In this frame of mind, came on the Asparagus sea-
son of 1870, when, behold ! I had the most deli-
cious crop — so declared by all who partook of iti
that they had ever tasted ; abundant and most
succulent and flavorsome. I gave it away by
bushels daily, and had an over-supply besides.
Now how is this ? We learn from books that it
must be planted so and so ; stones must be placed
to keep the roots from roaming, no grass or
weeds, plenty of manure, and hogsheads of salt.
The two latter are no doubt very useful, as I
proved on a small corner, where the product
was larger, but no more toothsome, as I thought
on one year's trial.

Soon after the cutting season, it became neces-
sar}' to make a deep road through the bed We
cut down five feet in some parts, and everywhere
the Asparagus roots were to be seen, often four
feet deep and more. Here was the secret : the
covering of grass on the top seemed to have no
influence whatever, the roots strayed and re-
joiced in their liberty, and derived nourishment
from great depths. I was willing to believe a
discovery had been made. Now how does this
tally with Mr. Editor's theory, that surface stir-
ring is so all important ? [Which Editor ?— Ed.
G. il/.] Let him answer. And now for

Mushrooms I find, like m}' own case, very
few are able to get Mushrooms from their own
greenhouses, or to buy them, except where na-
ture^provides f )r a few short day's supply. Tell
us why ? Every gardener your engage says he
knows the secret — that they can be grown any-
where and everywhere, in cellars and oulhouses,
and under the slats of the walks of the green-
house ; and in all these situations have I seen
them ; but the sight was the exception, and I
have come to the conclusion that gardeners either
don't like to gratify their employers, or don't
like the trouble. To say I have spent many dol-
lars for spawn — very many — would be to say the
truth ; but I never had more than a tureen full

102

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ\rTHLY,

April,

of the fruits all told. A lady near Baltimore,
some years ago, did find a gardener who under-
derstood the culture, and undertook to pay the
cost of a fine greenhouse and large garden by
selling mushrooms. She did so, and showed me
her accounts, with a profit on the right side.
Xow we liave in our great cities fruit stores
selling, in winter, readily, long cucumbers at 75
cents each,— and by the way I priced Yicar of
Winkfield pears there in January, and the
modest price was 75 cents a piece,— they were
large and fine. ]^ow let somebody who don't
mind a little trouble, engage in raising Mush-
rooms, which it is easy enough to do. I will
take at once, product to the value of two dollars
a week, and be thankful.

DOUBLE GLAZING.

BY MR. W. C STRONG, BRIGHTON, MASS.

If my recollection is correct, you have quoted
me as having found the double glazing of green-
houses to be a saving of coal in one 3ear equiva-
lent to the extra cost of glass. This is putting
the case twice as strongly as I ventured to do it,
and as my experience will permit ; and indeed
no uniform rule can be given for all positions
and every kind of structures. High and exposed
positions would be more benefited by double
glass than low and protected houses. Still it is
very apparent that a second covering of glass
will insure a great saving of coal in all houses,
and the only questions are, whether the saving is
sufRcient to warrant the extra cost, and also
whether attendant evils are more than counter-
balanced by benefits. You state your experi-
ence, Mr. Editor, to be confined to hot-beds. Of
course such a trial must be considered as made
under most unfavorable circumstances. Hot bed
sashes are almost invariably so flat that the sun's
rays strike very obliquely. The rule is well
known, that as the angle of the rays with the glass
becomes more acute the deflection rapidly increa-
ses. This is a sufficient reason why frames with
sash of single glass even are so unsatisfactory for
growth when the sun runs low. It is because
the sun rides high in March, equally as because
of the higher temperature, that frames then warm
up. For any such flat surface it is unquestion-
ably best to give the least possible obstruction
to light and heat, securing protection by outside
cover iigs. And for roofs facing east and west,
it is to be presumed that a second covering of glass
would deflect and obstruct the sun's rays too se-
riously, except for plants recpiiring a partial

shade. But there are houses where the sun's
direct rays are not wanted, such as Camellia-
houses, propagating houses' and the like. For
these I have no hesitation in re-affirming that
double glazing is a very great economy. For
roofs looking southerly and of ordinary pitch,
my opinion is that there is a decided gain, suf-
ficient to warrant the cost. The advantages are as
follows : First, a very great saving of coal and
consequently an ease and certainty in manage-
ment of the house ; and secondly, an increase in
the humidity and a softening of the fierce glare
of the sun, which is better than any shading can
be.

On the other side, what are the objections ?
Snow does not melt and slide from the roof as
readily as upon a single roof This is not a seri-
ous objection Dust is liable to accumulate on
the under sheet, so that in the course of time the
house might become too much darkened. This
evil can be remedied by cleaning the glass, which
Avould not be an expensive process, since the un-
der glass is made to slide and could easily be re-
moved. And indeed I have never found the ob-
struction of light any objection whatever where
I have used two thicknes.ses. Our houses are
large and light, so that the softening of the glare
is a positive benefit. My experiments have been
conducted, as the great majority of experiments
are in this country, where a multiplicity of cares
and various interests prevent careful compari-
sons. Yet I have been so impressed with the
economy and advantages of double glazing, that
we have had all our new structures, amounting
to an acre of roof, constructed for double glazing.
Onl}' a part is as yet supplied with the inner
sheet, but it is our intention toadd it as we need.
It may be of service to give a section of the sash
bar which indicates the simple mode of con-
struction.

h

which the under
is made a one-six-
deeper than the
of usual form for

The groove h in
glass is to slide,
leenth of an inch
rabbet n, which is
glazing. The work being done at the mill, the
groove does not, in the slightest increase the cost
of the work, as it is done with the same run as the
rabbet ; hence the only extra cost of double glaz-
ing is in the cost of thin glass and the labor of
sliding it in from the top of the bar. This can
be done from time to time after the house is in
use. It occurs to me to add, that possibly a
heavier sash bar might be required for double

1S71.

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

103

glazing than would otherwise be used, and in
that case the extra cost of stock would require
to be taken into account.

HOT-WATER BOILERS.

BY JIR. JOHN ELLIS, WHITE PLAINS, N. Y.

With 3'our permission, T propose to reason a
little on the theory advanced by you in the Feb-
ruary issue of the GanJ€ner\s Monthly^ relating
to tlio circulation of hot-water, its motive pow-
er, and the causes of imperfection in structures
where this medium is eniploj-ed. Should Idilfer
in opinion from you in some points that I may
advance, it originates from the fact that I see
the matter in question in a different light, and
also that I feel a great interest, as well as many
of 3-our readers, in getting at the positive truth.
If I understand you correctly, Mr. Editor, your
theory is that circulation through the pipes and
from a boiler is solely dependent on the specific
gravitation of the water, or the difference be-
tween the heated water and cold. All the au-
thorities I have read on this subject entertain
the same theory, including the English author
Hood, who, I think, has written the most prac-
tical work. To open this question clearly, I
take the ground that '"cold water'' is not the
"active power in circulation." Let us now see
where the "Pat Murphy" is, and whether the pas-
sive mortar ascending in the hod, and that as-
cending in the boiler are both on the same plan
of passivity. I think that it is perfectly legitimate
to say that the first particle of water that moves in
a boiler in which there is fire, is that particle
that has absorbed heat, and a particle of water
cannot absorb heat without expanding, and
where expansion occurs, is the evidence of power
and force. What does this power and force in
expansion do ? Press against the non-expanded,
and compel it to move up and down in all di-
rections, until its positive power and heat be-
comes absorbed or given off. Xow is there not
some dilference between the passive mortar going
up the ladder in the hod on the shoulder of Pat
Murphy and the heated particle ascending in the
boiler ? Can we say truthfully that the particle of
water after receiving power and force from the
agency of heat, is as passive as the sleepy mortar
in Pat Murphy's hod ? If water has the property
to expand by the absorption of heat and thereby
manifest a positive power and force, are these
properties after being cre;ited, (I use this term
figuratively) and brought into existence in the
conditions found, to be of an illegitimate use ?

If cold water were the motive power, these forces
in question certainly could be of no use ; the
first thing in nature without a use.

"Hot-water ascends as the mortar does, and in
no other way." This statement seems to me to
entirely ignore the principles and properties of
the real positive motive power heat, and gives
all power to cold water. This seems to be quali-
fied in the statement, "water, when warmed,
does not ascend because it is the warmest, but
that the cold water pushes it up." Now if I in-
terpret this quotation correctly, in other words
it means this; warm water has no inherent pi'O-
perties that will cause particles to ascend, but
they are pushed up by some power inherent to
cold. Now what is this power that pushes up
cold water ? We see from the statement that it
has to be puslied up ; that it is puslied up, is our
belief, and that this pushing force is produced
by and from heated particles of expanded water
behind it.

Again, it is further stated that "water can be
made to go along a level, or up or down, or any
way, if only care be taken to get a good volume
of cold water behind it. '' Now let us ex-
amine the "up and down" principle for a
moment and see how this is. To illustrate,
suppose a boiler to be set up in the gar-
ret of a house, and the flow pipe carried directly
down into the cellar, and from there, by what is
termed the return pipe, back, and up to the bot-
tom of the boiler; how is it possible for the water
to circulate on the theory alone of specific grav-
ity, when it is self evident that the column of
water in the so-called return pipe is so much
heavier than that contained in the other? It
certainly appears evident to my reasoning facul-
ties, that if circulation is dependent alone on the
pushing force of cold water, it would push both
ways, — push up at the flow pipe warm water, as
well as at the boiler warm water, for there is no
law under the theory to prevent it, and if so,
there would be a statu quo in the circulation.
Now the common sense of this is, that if a body
of water in a return pipe, the upper portion
being cold and of course so much the heavier
than the flow pipe, it must take some force to
push it up into the boiler, for its seems evident
tliat it cannot get there on the theory of specific
gravitation In the demonstration of this theory,
we must look directly to first cause, and in the fig-
urative illustration of Pat ^lurphy carrying up
the mortar in the hod, you have shown the first
cause in that particular case ; but the simile is

lOJf

THE GARDE^'ER'S MOJ^TELl.

April,

not a just comparison as to the moving agency
of water. Let us look a little more steadily at
frst cause in the boiler ; the particles of water
first heated, are those resting immediately on
the iron surface presented to the hottest fire, they
then move up. Was there any cold water un-
der these particles to cause the upward move-
ment, or did they move up through the agency
of heat expanding them, and thereby giving
them the power and force to pass up and through
to the top of the boiler, where the specific
gravitation of all the particles of water at the to})
of the boiler, as icell as that at the hottom of it, in-
cluding the end of return pipe, presented a sur-
roundinrj heavier weight ? "We must not forget
that, when the/i st particle ofjheated water moves
up from the heated iron surface of a boiler, it
has much weight against it at the lop of the
boiler as it has at the bottom of it, or at the
point where the return pipe or pipes enter it. If
we look calmly at this fact, we think it will be-
come self-evident to any rational understanding
that these particles of water first heated are the
first particles that do move ; and that they move
themselves, in and of their own power, depen-
dent on a property of their nature — absorbing
heat and then becoming forcibly expanded by it.
If then, the first particles of water move through,
having a power to do so, (power by expansion)
the following particles come under the same
natural law, and instead of being a passive ele-
ment, like the passive substance going up the
ladder on the shoulders of a man ; it really is the
positive motive power causing circulation. If
it were a truth, that the colder the water at the
return pipe entering the boiler the better the cir-
culation, what would be the use in trying to im-
prove the heating capacity of boilers? The in-
tention or design of improvements in boilers by
their makers, is to heat agivennumbcrof feet of
pipe in a shorter space of time than other boilers
in use, and this fact can only be determined by as-
certaining the amount of time it takes to bring
the return pipe at the boiler to nearly the same
temperature as the flow pipe at the top of the
boiler, length of pipe and bore being tlie same in
various boilers to be tested. Now if all our boil-
ers in use, after driving their fires for half a day,
had no better effect than the finding of the re-
turn pipe at the boilers cold, who could deter
mine the superiority cf one boiler from another ;
or where would be the use in trying for improve-
ment if it be necessary to perfect circulation,

that the return pipe at the boiler must be cold ?
Rapid circulation is what we want through the
boiler and pipes, and my experience in the mat-
ter has taught me that the colder the return pipe
at the boiler is, the slower is the circulation, and
vice versa.

I have endeavored to show in this article, that
cold water is not the motive power in circulation,
but on the contrary, that it is the expansive
power that circulates water ; and on these two
questions rests the theory of construction of
boilers with the practical results manifested of
heat given off from a given surface of pipe ; or in
other words, one man purposes to heat one
hundred thousand cubic feet of air in a glass
structure with a boiler and a given number of
feet of pipes, whose return pipeat the boiler shall
be cold. Man the second, with his boiler and
the same length of pipe, but possesses the power
of heatnig the return pipe at the boiler to nearly
the same temperature as the flow pii)e, heats the
body of air to a much higher temperature in a
given time, whereas man the firstcould not effect
the same result were he to fire up a whole year.

This is the difference that would result from
the application of the two theories. Cold water,
motive power of circulation, and Expansion the
motive power of circulation.

Having, we fear encroached already too much
on your valuable space, we are led to cr}', halt !
for the present, and say a little more next mouth
on other points of the same subject, if deemed of
use.

[We are not convinced by our correspondent's
reasoning, but as he proposes to continue the
subject in our next, we may think differently af-
ter reading his further remarks. — Ed.]

PEARS.

An Address d'l-vrrei, be''o-e 'he Pi. F-nit G'-o^re s' S/cift;/, at
Cfuimbersburg, J^munri/ 19t/j, 1S71.

BY E. SATTERTIIWAIT, OF MONTGOMERY
COUNTY, PENNA.

{ Concluded. )
Before proceeding to consider the question of
varieties, it would, perhaps, be better to say
what I have to saj-, upon the relative merits of
standard aud dwarf trees. It will probably be
recollected that I, years ago, before this Societ}',
expressed my disbelief in the existence of dwarfs
to any extent worth talking abmit ; and I have
since seen no reason to change this opinion. I
long ago discovered that all my quince-rooted

isri.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^'THLY.

105

trees, soon took to themselves pear roots, and
abandoned the quince ; and though there is
probably a difference in soils in regard to it, my
belief is that this will always be the case sooner
or later, where they are planted as always
recommended, with all of the quince stock below
ground. Some varieties strike root sooner from
the pear than others ; the Bartletts, for instanc;->,
will root in a year or two. IIow pears would do,
worked on the quince so high as to prevent them
from getting pear roots, I do not know. I have
never tried it, for the reason that it would be |
troublesome to save them from being killed by
by the quince borer, and I never had faith that
they would live or thrive very long. A good
deal has been said about keeping trees dwarf by
root-pruning and other such appliances, but I
presume this is not much practised in this
country, nor will it be, at least till we get
a plentiful supply of Coolies, or some other sys-
tem of cheap labor. It will be seen from what I
have said, that I do not make much account of
dwarfs, and in treating of varieties, I would be
understood as speaking entirely in reference to
trees on pear roots. And here I would remark,
that I do not find, in my own experience, the
difference that I was led to suppose there would
be, in some varieties, when grown on the pear
or quince.

I do not wish to be understood from what I
have said, as wishing to discourage the planting
of quince-rooted pear trees. On the contrary, I
think it a very good way of getting standard
trees : the habit of bearing they acquire when
on the quince, seems to stick to them for some
time, and is an advantage, where it is considered
more of an object to have a few pears soon, than
it is to get trees a few years later large enough
to bear a great man}'.

I have thought these remarks on the subject
of dwarfs proper, in order to put planters on
their guard against the mistake that I was led
into myself, of planting quince-rooted pear trees
too close, under the mistaken idea that they
would never get large. I give it as my deliber-
ate opinion, though I know it is not generally
admitted, that pears on quince stocks will, in a
few years, if they live at all, be found to have
nothing but pear roots, and then, if the ground
is good enough to grow pears, they cannot be
kept dwarfed, without a great deal more labor
than will be likely to be bestowed on them. So
that very close planting, less than fifteen or
twenty feet should not be practised, unless it is

done with the intention of thinning out in a few
years.

An interesting question here occurs to me,
which would seem to have an important bearing
upon the relative merits of pear or quince-rooted
trees ; and that is, whether there is an advan-
tage or otherwise in having the cultivated varie-
ties of pears on their own roots, or on the roots
of wildlings, as is the case with all standard
trees as they come from the nursery. I am un-
able to throw any light on this question, and it
is one that I have never heard discussed. There
is at least one disadvantage in the wild stock,
and that is its tendency to sucker, which is often
troublesome. It might seem probable that the
wild seedlings used for stocks would be more
hardy and make more thrifty and longer-lived
trees, but I do not know that there is anything
in this. I have never yet observed any diflcr-
ence either in vigor or hardihood.

I now come to consider the most important
branch of my subject : the selection of varieties.
Unfortunately, this question is as difficult as it
is important. So much has already been said
and written upon this question of varieties, that
I should feel like skipping it altogether, if it was
not that I believe that very many of the opinions
that have been put forth on the subject, have
not been derived from observation and experi-
ence sufficient for so difficult a question. It is
very common to hear the most decided opinions
on this subject, urged by those who have had no
experience worth mentioning. For my own part,
I must confess, that I feel that my experience
is entirely too limited to speak upon it with
much confidence.

In considering this subject, it must be borne in
mind, that varieties vary very much with soil
and location, and from this cause alone it is im-
possible to lay down any positive rule. And
then there are few localities where many of the
numerous known varieties have as yet been
fairly tested. From my own experience, extend-
ing over about a dozen years, and with about
six hundred varieties, I have come to the con-
clusion, that the most skilled and experienced
have much to learn on this subject. And it
seems to me that the proper course in treating
' of varieties, unless one has had far more cxperi-
ence than I have, is to simply state the results
' of their own observations, with varieties that
j they have tested, without recommending any.

And this is what I propose to do.
I In giving my estimate of a variety, I confess

106

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLJ.

April,

that I am governed to some extent by its value
as a market fruit. I do not consider any apology
necessary for this, though I know that it is
strongly objected to by some. I will say, how-
ever, that as it has always been my practice to
attend personally to the sale of my own fruit in
the market ; I have had the best possible oppor-
tunity of judging of the value of the different va.
rieties for this purpose : and though I am aware
it is very distasteful to some, to recommend a
fruit because of its value as a saleable com-
modity, yet knowing tbat there are many situ
ated Hke myself, who follow fruit growing, in'
part, for a livelihood, and who might be bene-
fited by my experience, I do not feel at liberty to
withhold it. And T will here state what, in my
opinion, are the desirable properties in a pear
for a market fruit. These are, good color, size
and flavor, and above all, it should keep well. I
have placed color first, for without this no fruit
is of much value for market. A handsomely
colored pear of medium qualit}', is much more
valuable for market purposes than one of first
quality that has no beauty of color. Size is of
great importance in estimating the value of a
fruit for market, not only because large fruit
sells better than small, but the time spent in
handling small sized fruit is a serious drawback.
There are many pears of first rate quality in
other respects, that seem to rot the moment
they are ripe, these are of course worthless for
market purposes.

In giving m\' experience with different varie-
ties, I do not propose to tire your patience by
going over a very long list, but shall confine my-
self to those that are most generally known and
recommended, and to such others, as I have
found upon trial to be worthy of particular
notice.

There are a few varieties of indisputable ex-
cellence, that are so well known as to need no
comments, and are justly considered indispensa-
ble in every collection. These are IJartlett,
Seckel, Lawrence, Duchesse d'Angouleme and
Beurre d'Anjou. And since they cover the
greater part of the pear season, and are found to
do well in most situations, the question will
naturally be asked, why not stop here V since,
to multiply varieties unnecessarily, only makes
confusion and trouble. Mr. Quinn, in his "Pear
Culture for Profit," names these and one or two
others, and argues strongly against increasing
the number of varieties AVhile T admit the force
of the objection, I must contend that I have

found advantages in having a much larger num-
ber, and this for several reasons. In the first
place, we want early pears, ripening before the
Bartlett ; and as summer pears last but a short
time, it takes several varieties to fill up the sea-
son. I do not agree with Mr. Quinn, that early
pears are of not much account for market. This
may be the case, where they have to be sent a
long distance ; but I have found a number of the
early sorts quite profitable. The worst time to
sell pears, I find, is just when Bartletts are in
season, for it is then that peaches, melons,
grapes and other fruits are most abundant.

Another advantage in having a number of va-
rieties, is, that it seems to be the only way to in-
sure a supply every year ; for as the most pro-
ductive are liable to fail in some seasons, by
having only a few sorts, you may miss a crop
entirely.

Another advantage, I think, I have gained by
testing a great many sorts, is, that I have d s-
covered, by that means several varieties, not
much known, that I think will prove more valu-
able to me, than the most of those that are uni-
versally recommended. And besides all this,
there is a satisfaction in having a number of
sorts to suit all tastes ; "variety is the spice of
life," and there is as much difference in the
flavor of pears as there is in their shape and ap-
pearance, no two being alike.

I propose now to take up the list in the order
of their ripening : commencing with the earliest,
and treating first of the leading, well-known va-
rieties :

Doyenne d'Ete — generally does well ; it is of a
fine color, good quality and productive, but
small and sometimes cracks.

Madeleine— fair size and qualit}'' and produc-
tive, but does not commonly color well, and soon
rots.

Beurre Giffard — one of the very finest of early
pears, fine size, first-rate quality and productive,
and colors beautifully, but sometimes cracks
badly.

Osband's Summer — does well, good color,
fair quality and productive.

Manning's Elizabeth— rather small, but first-
rate in every other rcspert, very productive and
profitable.

Ott's Seedling— variable in quality, sometimes
equal to Seckel, fair color, but rather small, a
splendid grower.

Doarbi)rn's Seedling— fine color, fair quality
and productive, but too small.

1S7I.

TEE GJlRBE^^EWS MOJ^TELY.

107

Early Catharine— valuable on accout of its
vigor and productiveness and good quality.

Rosticzer — productive, but of little value for
market on account of its poor color and ten-
dency to rot.

Bloodgood — fair color, size and flavor, pro-
ductive, but a poor grower.

Julienne— has proven one of the most valua-
ble of early pears, a regular and good bearer,
fair quality and size, colors most beautifully and
keeps well.

Tyson — fine size and color, and of the very
best quality, but a very poor bearer.

Kirtland— a beautiful russet color, fair size
and quality, productive, and a splendid grower.

Of most of the above named I have had a
number of trees in bearing for several years ;
and will now mention a few others, which pro-
mise well so far as can be judged from two or
thi'ee trees of a kind :

Pendleton's Early York — very early, hand-
some and good.

Puhifer— fine color and size, handsome, pro-
ductive and good.

Jefferson — large and handsome, fair quality.

Muskingum — fine color and size, handsome,
productive and good.

Beurre Benoist — A most beautiful and good
pear of fair size, would seem to be valuable.

Hull— medium size, fair color, good quality
and productive.

The above all ripen before the first of Septem-
ber, and are mostly gone before the market is
glutted with peaches, melons, and grapes, and
on that account are more valuable than they
would be a few weeks later.

We next come to a season comprising the last
few days in August, and the first half of Septem-
ber, when varieties of good pears are so numer-
ous, and peaches and other fruit generall}' so
plentiful that nonebut the very best are of much
account. This is the season of the Bartlett, and
it must be a very fine fruit indeed that can com
pete with it ; and, as a consequence, there are
many good varieties ripening about this time
that are hardly worth mentioning, and I will
notice only the most prominent, commencing
with the earliest, which ripen about the first of
September :

Ananas d'Ete— a fine, large and beautifully
colored pear, of good quality ; valuable.

Andrews— fine size and color, fair quality, but
rots too soon.

Gushing— beautiful light lemon color, medium

size, first-rate quality ; productive and valuable.

Golden Beurre of Bilboa— a most beautiful and
first-rate pear in every respect, but the tree ap-
pears to be tender and does not thrive.

Doyenne Boussock— this would be a first-rate
pear, but it rots so quickly as to be utterly
worthless. [Note.— This is one of Mr. Quinn's
select few, one of six, I think].

Beurre d'Amanlis-poor color, medium quaU-
ty, and rots quickly.

Belle Lucrative— good size, of the best quality,
and exceedingly productive, bui does not often
color well ; and on that account not a valuable
market fruit.

Bartlett— of course, stands at the head of the
Ust in its season ; being first rate in every re-
spect, though its peculiar flavor is not liked by
every one ; and, with me, the tree has proved
more tender than most other varieties.

Steven's Genessee— not satisfactory ; tree not
thrifty.

Flemish Beauty— a splendid large pear of the
very best quality, but does not commonly color
well, and rots very quickly ; the tree, although
a very vigorous grower, one of the worst to shed
its leaves prematurely.

Ananas, or Henry IV —an insignificant little
green pear of no account.

Washington— a beautiful and first-rate pear,
but the tree appears to be tender, and does not
thrive well.

Onondaga, or Swan's Orange-a very large and
showy pear of medium quality ; very produc-
tive, but rots badly.

Howell— a very productive and very beautiful
pear, of foir quality ; a profitable variety.

White Doyenne— always cracks.

Kingsessing— a fine large pear, of excellent
quality, but does not often color well ; a splendid
grower,

Beurre Capiaumont— a very beautiful and pro-
ductive pear, of poor quality.
' Des Nonnes— an exceedingly productive and
excellent pear, of medium size ; does not often
color well.

1 Marie Louise— a fine, large and very produc-
tive pear, of good quality, and sometimes colors
beautifully.

I have given my experience in the above-
named sorts, because they are amt)ngst the va-
rieties that are most recommended in the books
and nursery catalogues ; and as 1 cultivate most
of them largely, I have had good opportunity to
judge of their merits. I will now mention a few

1G8

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJVTHLl.

April,

that ripen about the same time, that are not so
common, but wiiicli seem to do remarkably well,
so far as I can judge from a few trees only of a
sort :

Boston, or Pinneo— very fine ; like Golden
Beurre, but a more thrifty tree

Clapp's Favorite— I consider this quite an ac-
quisition ; it is a splendid large pear of the best
quality, and colors even better than the Bartlett,
having a beautiful red cheek ; it has, however, a
bad fault, it rots too soon.

Ananas de Courtrai— a fine, large and most
beautiful pear, of good quality, and a regular
bearer ; would seem to be valuable.

Apothecary— a very large and showy pear.

Gerhard's Butter— a large and very handsome
pear, good quality, and productive.

Wredow — a remarkably handsome and good
pear, but an unthrifty tree.

Westcott— a handsome, good and very produc-
tive pear ; fair quality, medium size.

Beurre de Montgeron, or new Frederick of
Wurtemberg— the few trees I have of this va-
riety, have proved the most valuable of any that
I have. It is the most beautiful pear I ever saw;
size from medium to large ; quality generally
good ; most remarkable for coloring uniformly,
with a brilliant red cheek, and remaining this
way on the tree for weeks, a most beautiful sight.
It has always proved to be a regular and good
bearer, and an excellent keeper, after it has col-
ored ; tree thrifty and vigorous A large dish
of this variety that I had on exhibition last fall,
at the exhibition of the Pennsylvania Horticul-
tural Society, attracted more attention, and was
more admired than any, out of three hundred
varieties I had on exhibition. Its season is a
little later than the Bartlett.

We next come to a season comprising the lat-
ter part of September and the remaining fall
months, when pears are far more valuable than
they are at the heighth of the peach and melon
season.

Seckel— stands at the head of the list at this
season, on account of its remarkably high flavor.
It unquestionably has no superior in this re
spect. It is not, however, a very valuable mar-
ket fruit, on account of its small size and gener-
ally poor color, and tendency to rot before ripen-
ing.

Louise Bonne de Jersey— has not proved satis-
fiictory ; it bears abundantly, but is often of poor
quality, and sometimes cracks.

Buffam— a very productive and profitable va-

riety ; the tree is remarkable for its vigor and
beauty of growth, though rather small and not
of the highest flavor, its fine color and produc-
tiveness make it a valuable fruit for market pur-
poses.

Urbaniste — has generally proved good in every
respect.

Duchesse d'Aagouleme— does wonderfully well
some seasons, but has not proved a regular bear-
er, probably from being allowed to overbear.
[Note. — I think it would pay well to thin out
the fruit of this, and perphaps also of many other
varieties, when the trees are overloaded].

Beurre Diel — has not proved satisfactory ; it
is sometimes first-rate, but generally of a poor
color, and sometimes cracks.

Dix — remarkable for being the only sort out of
five or six hundred that never bears. I have a
number of quite large trees of this variety, one
of them more than twenty years old, and nine
inches in diameter, and they have neer borne a
dozen pears.

Napoleon— very productive ; of a good color,
but often spoiled by being spotted with a sort of
mildew.

Oswego Beurre — productive, but often cracks.

Beurre Superfin— a splendid large pear, of ex-
cellent quality, but does not often color well, and
rots too soon ; tree a very handsome grower.

Sheldon —generally does well ; productive and
good but sometimes cracks.

Beurre Bosc — A very fine, large, handsome,
productive and good pear ; one of those sub-acid
pears that are preferred by many. It seems to
have one fault, however, that I think is common
to all dark russet pears, that of rotting badly be-
fore ripening.

Paradise d'Automne — very like Beurre Bosc,
but smaller, and seems to be no better in any
respect.

Beurre d'Anjou— has proved first-rate with
me in every respect ; I consider it one of the
most valuable of all pears.

Beurre Clairgeau — a very large, showy and
productive pear, of poor quality, and very liable
to be spotted with mildew, and oflen drops pre-
maturely from the tree. [Note — Another one of
Mr. (^uinn's pet varieties].

Some of the above varieties will sometimes
keep half through the winter. They are all
from among the sorts in common cultivation,
and such as I grow largely. I will now name a
few others ripening at the same season, that are
not so well known, but have proved valuable

1S71.

THE GARBE^fER'S MOJVTHLY.

109

with me. I have not, however, growQ many of
them extensively :

Doyenne de Fais-exceedingly productive, good
quality, valuable for keeping long after it has
become 3'ellow.

Doyenne Rose— a beautiful and productive
pear, also keeps well after it has colored.

Oswego Incomparable— a fine large and beauti-
ful fruit, keeps well after it has colored ; tree a
splendid grower.

St. Micliael Archange— alarge, handsome and
good pear ; tree a most beautiful, erect and vigor-
ous grower.

Baronne de Melo— a very handsome, dark rus-
set pear of good quality and productive.
Philip Goes — very like the preceding.
Bezc de Quassoi d'Ete— a beautiful and very
productive pear, good size and first-rate quality,
appears to be quite a valuable variety.

Surpasse Virgalieu — almost equal to "White
Doyenne, and does not crack.

Butter— a splendid, large and exceedingly
productive pear of first-rate qualit)'^, very re-
markable for bi aring enormous crops from the
time the tree is first planted, and the tree all
the time making the most vigorous growth. It
is also an excellent keeper. I consider this a
fruit of great promise.

AVe come now to winter pears. !N'ot having
paid as much attention to the ripening of these
as I might have done, I do not remember but a
few varieties that I think worth mentioning
here. I have quite a number, however, on trial,
some of which, I am in hopes, will prove valu-
able.

Lawrence — without dispute stands at the head
of the list of early winter pears, and probably
taking all things into account it is the most
valuable of all pears. It is not, however, a late
keeper, and frequently commences to ripen the
the first of October. It has done with me ex-
ceedingly well.

Winter Xelis— a good early winter pear, does
not keep late.

Doyenne d'Alencon — very productive and
sometimes very good.

Vicar of Winkfield— very productive and valu-
able as a market pear for cooking ; has never
been anything more than that with me.

Glout Morceau — sometimes first-iate, does
not often do well, a splendid growing tree.

Easter Bcurre — productive and sometimes very
good, but does not generally ripen well.
I shall not trespass further on your time, by

extending this list, though I might have men-
tioned many others that I have on trial,
that I consider well worthy of attention, quite
a number of them having done better for me
than the majority of those on the lists generally
recommended for cultivation.

If I had been writing a book instead of only
an essay, I should have treated this branch of
my subject with more minuteness and at much
greater length. But knowing how exceedingly
tiresome and uninteresting these dry details
must be to all but the very few who, like myself,
have made this a specialty, I feel that I owe an
apology already for having extended my remarks
beyond the limits proper for an occasion like
this ; and I shall, therefore, be compelled to
omit a number of minor topics, and some of
more importance, such as planting, pruning,
gathering, ripening and marketing the fruit, all
of which would be interesting in a more ex-
tended treatise.

Before concluding, however, T desire to reiter-
ate, that it was not intended that the foregoing
remarks should be taken for anything more than
what they really are, the views and opinions of
a single individual. In preparing them I have
consulted with no person, and have looked into
no books or authorities on the subject ; had I
done so, I could have compiled a treatise that
would, doubtless, have been entitled to more
weight and consideration. But I did not sup-
pose that that was what was required of me. I
understood my instructions to be, " to give my
views on the subject ;" and what I have done,
is, at least, as far as it goes, emphatically just
this, " what I know about pears ;'' and for that
let it be taken.

One word more in conclusion, in regard to the
general subject of pomology. At the commence-
ment of my remarks, I hinted at the difhculties
there were to contend with in the advancement
of this science ; and while it is undeniable that
in our attempts to investigate the hidden secrets
of nature in this direction, we are met at every
step by the most discouraging obstacles ; that
those of us who consider ourselves the most
practical and the least likely to be carried away
by subtle and plausible theories, find ourselves
constantly at fault, and often compelled to turn
back and take a new departure. But while ad-
mitting all this, I do not wish to be understood
as taking a discouraging view of the situation.
On the contrary, I see much to encourage and
stimulate us to future efforts. That pomological

110

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY

April,

science is making rapid progress, in spite of all
obstacles, (Iocs not admit of a doubt. (But I
should be traveling entirely out of my province
to speak of that here.) It is these very diffi-
culties, when viewed in their proper light, that
are in reality the greatest stimulus to exertion
It is wisely ordered, that the road to success in
every useful and laudable pursuit, is beset with
difficulties ; if it were not so, there would be
little to stimulate to that exertion and industry
which developes the higher and nobler qualities
of our nature ; the ignorant and the slothful
would be equally successful with the industrious
and the skillful.

Pomology is so far from being a perfect science,
that those who have made the greatest progress
in it must admit that they a)-e only beginning
to see how much there is to learn. There is
then every inducement to persevere in the good
work, and if we do this properly, and are actuated
by motives that are higher than merely selfish
considerations, and in that spirit that loves the
truth for its own sake, and above everything
else, we will surely have our reward ; and not
only will these meetings continue to be an an-
nual source of agreeable recreation and pleasant
social enjoyment, but we will have the far
greater satisfaction of beholding our efforts suc-
cessful in assisting in the advancement of a
science which is behind no other in practical
usefulness and in the bcnefi'ts it confers in im-
proving the health and happiness of our race.

MALE FLOWERS ON THE EAR OF CORN.

BY PROF. HENRY SHIMER, MT. CARROLL, ILLS.

The Editors of llie American Naturalist, page
125, in the April number, have mentioned this
phenomenon as being so rare that they would like
to see specimens. It then occurred tome as not
very rare, and that I had frequently observed it
from a youth up ; and I presume the same is true
of everybody who has ever husked corn on a farm.
I asked an intelligent farmer if he had ever no-
ticed the corn tassel on the ear, he replied often,
and turning to his son of 11 or 12 years standing
by, said I guess that boy has noticed it ; the boy
replied that lie liad frequently seen it, sometimes
so long, holding his hands 6 inches apart.

In August, while we were gathering and dry-
ing about an acre of sweet corn, I observed great
numbers of si)ik('S of male flowers on the end of
the ear, perhaps hundreds of them, compar-
ing well in numbers Avith the ears on the stanii-

nate spike (?) in the same patch. It is usually a

single spike of flowers from one to six inches
long, being a prolongation of the receptacle or
"cob," and may be produced by an arrest in de-
velopment, or by any cause that weakens the
extremity of the cob, so that it transforms its
usual habit, and developes male instead of fe-
male flowers.

Mr. Meehan, (Proceedings of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1870, page 71
and 72,) has shown that in certain docks the
male flowers gradually increase with the weak-
ening of axils, until only male flowers were pro-
duced at the end of the racemes ; and that in
coniferous plants female flowers are only born
on strong vigorous shoots, and that "these vig-
orous shoots would in time be crowded and weak-
ened b}^ shade, when they would eease to bear
female and produce male flowers onl3\"

If weakness was the cause of this unusual pro-
lific development of abnormal or misplaced or-
gans, what were the weakening causes in this
instance ? I can observe, four. First, the seed
was old — 3 or 4 years old. Second, the corn was
planted entirely too thick. Third, the season
was very dry, unusually dry. Fourth, the cultiva-
tion was not entirely perfect, a great deal of fox-
tail grass grew among it. The ground was well
manured as a counteracting cause.

On the page of the Naturalist ?CooyQ alluded to,
Mr. D. Milliken believes that after rains in a dry
summer, plants make haste to produce new or-
gans, regardless of all order and harmony. But
it becomes us ever to bear in mind, that law and
order is the rule in every department of nature,
and when we behold a departure from the usual
course of things, we may also see in that the
beauty of Divine law, if we are onl}' wise enough
to search it out. In this case, the theory of Mr.
Meehan, in my judgement, is more applicable
and consistent with the laws of nature than that
of Millikin.

From the specimens before me, I sometimes
find perfect grains scattered here and there along
the spike among the male flowers. The male
flowers in other instances are mingled among the
grains on the last inch of the well formed ear,
the power of development being about equally
divided between the male and female forces ; and
on this ear is a very robust spike of male flowers
about two inches long. Sometimes at the end
of a spike of male flowers five or six inches long,
a small receptacle of imperfect female flowers

JS71.

THE GABBEXEE'S MOJVTBZy.

Ill

appears, but seldom develops grain, or this oc-
curs at the middle of the spike ; sometimes the
spike of male flowers springs from the side of
the ear at the base. More than all this, I some-
times find all the grains of an ear developed into
long membraneous tubes like the blades of the
husk with the edges joined, proving that even
the grains arc but modified leaves.

Mr. Milliken, I think, might more safely con-
clude that abortive ears are more frequently pro-
duced through lack of fertilization of the pistil
on account of isolation ; a lateness in the devel-
opment of the ear, it appearing only after the
male flowers had all shed their pollen ; than to
refer it to any hasty, irregular or ungoverned
action on the part of the plant itself.

I herewith enclose you a few short spikes of
male flowers that I have broken from the ears,
and will gladly send you the cars with the spikes
on if I can find a convenient way.

MAJEURES OR PLANT FOOD.

BY MR. JACOB STAUFFER, LANCASTER, PA.

The two iraportanr elements in the food of
plants, are carbon and nitrogen derived from the
atmosphere, the other elements are found in wa-
ter, oxygen and hydrogen.

The dark substance called hiiraus, is the fin d
result of the decomposition of animal and vege-
table matters. It forms an important manure
or element of plant food, and where abundant,
constitutes a rich soil. This humus is rich in
carbonic acid and anmionia. These two are the
sources of nitrogen and carbon, for the supply of
plants, and are produced in immense quantities
on the globe, and diffused through the atmos-
phere.

There is a law of proportions in the combina-
tion of one element, with that of another ; thus,
carbonic acid, a compound, is always composed
of 16 parts of oxygen, with 6 of carbon, by
weight. Ammonia always contains 3 of h^'dro-
gen and 14 of nitrogen. Water, oxygen 8, hy-
drogen 1. Carbonic acid, ammonia, and water,
are believed to constitute the food of plants, con-
taining an excess of oxygen, which is set free to
restore the balance necessary for animal life, as
the great supporter of respiration.

Thus plants elaborate the various products.
Some compounds arc rich incarbonand h3'drogen,
but devoid of nitrogen, such as starch, gum, su-
gar and the various fiitty matters ; while others
are rich in nitrogen, such as the albumen, fibrine

and casicn. These compounds drawn from the
atmosphere through the mediation of plants,
are for the service of animals by which their cor-
poral frames are built up, so that in one sense,
man "Krcs wpon the c«"r." But as Schleiden ob-
serves, in connection with this subject, on the
combustion so-called in the respiratory process,
for the maintenance of the necessary heat:
"But from these slow invisible flames, there rises a
new-born Phoenix, the immortal soul, into re-
gions Avhere our science has no longer any value "
I quote this here, since I find modern scientists
prone to preach up materiality in such a man-
ner, as if spiritual relations between the creature
and creator was a myth and a mental delusion.
All is chemical action, say they, and the growth
and decay of tree or animal without exception.
Man, himself, it is argued by such, is only a de-
veloped monkey, in like manner as some of your
choice apples were only crab, originally, etc. But
to my subject. Ilumus is considered a most valua-
ble element of soils, being carbon in a state of mi-
nute division, and almost indestructible ; its im-
portant action is to absorb water and retain it
for the use of the plants. The carbonic acid
and the ammonia from the air, this combination
of gaseous matters constitute this humus into a
food bearer, the store-house to supply the plant
as circumstances demand its use.

There are also mineral elements wanted that
do not come from the atmosphere, but from the
soil ; each peculiar class of plants demands cer-
tain peculiar accessory food. Liebig (a good au-
thority) tells us that wheat does not flourish on
soils that are rich in pure vegetable mould, be-
cause this plant needs Silex as an element ne-
cessary to its healthy constitution, and without
which indeed it cannot exist. This substance it
does not find in vegetable mould. By burning
plants, the organic elements are dissipated by
forming gaseous compounds that escape, while
the ashes remaining are found composed of lime,
silex, soda and potash, salt, bone-earth, gypsum,
&c., substances that are not vitalized; each
class produces a diflerent composition of uniform
mineral constituents, all things equal, so as to
determine the specific plant subjected to the or-
deal.

It must be remembered that the efllcacy of
manures lies in the inorganic constituents ; and
startling as it seems, it is essentially diflerent,
whether we convey manure to the field or burn
it first and strew the ashes on the soil, since its
eflicacy is dependent solely on the constitution

m

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^'TELY.

Arpil,

of the ashes, if we admit that manure is plant
food, tlioiigh the mechanical effect of some kinds
of manure would not be had by their ashes alone.

The fcedingof stock for the sake of making barn-
yard manure, and itsapplication to the soil, guided
by experience, is well enough ; but .science de-
mands some attention not to rob the soil of
some necessary elements which is not returned to
it, and which is essential to the perfect develop-
ment. Large exposed manure heaps lose much
by fermenting, — the best or volatile portions are
dissipated in the air. Heaped up during sum-
mer, the ammonia which wasted from the ma
nure can be chemically fixed or rendered non-
volatile, by making a compost of loam, sods,
road-scrapings, swamp-muck, etc., and to apply
cypsum to the mass whenever they could detect
ammonia escaping from it. Some cover their
heaps of manure by sheds, and even supply
pumps to return the drainings from a well
back upon the pile ; thus the manure is greatly
improved, the woody fibres decomposed, and
many seeds of noxious weeds loose their vitality.
A compost, half loam and half peat, is thought
better, load for load, than fresh yard manure.

We may divide vegetables into four classes,
according to Leibig, as one or the other of the
Important inorganic elements predominates in
the ashes.

1st. AlJcali plants, those that contain double
alkaline salts, such as beets, potatoes and the
vine.

2d. Lime plants, containing lime and magne-
sia, as clover, peas, beans, etc.

3d . Sikx plants, those containing silex, wheat
and the grasses.

4th. Phospjliorous pdants, those containing the
phosphates, also wheat, corn, rye, oats, etc., in
short the cereals and fruits.

"With these guides understood and considering
all ntanurcs as plant food, with the stimulus of
heat, light and perhaps electricity, we may have
some basis to exercise our judgement upon what
may be the most conducive to producing good
results.

It will 1»e our duty first to a.scertain the chem-
ical character of the whole of the plant to be
fed or manured ; in other words, the crop to be
grown : then whether the soil upon which we in-
tend to sow the seed contains the needed inor-
ganic elements for said crop ; if deficient, let it
be supplied at once, guarding against excess. It
is well also to ascertain whether there may be

an excess of alkaline earth in a caustic state,
that may prove injurious to certain plants. Lime
is soon neutralized by exposure to the air, hence
the needful constituents demanded by the vege-
table is a matter of serious consideration. In
ihe application of manures of any of the various
kinds, care should be exercised to have these
well incorporated, and when mingled with com-
mon soil, they can be more regularly distributed,
especially such as guano, boiled or ground bones,
oil-cake, poudrette, etc.

As to the application of barn manure, whether
fresh or green, or well fermented and compost-
ed, much depends upon the character of the soil
and upon the nature of the crop. For corn, po-
tatoes and other field crops, apply it green and
in the spring, especially on clayey soils. For
gooseberries, currants, shrubbery, etc., as a
mulch on the top of the freshly dressed soil, in
the fall is better than in the spring of the year.
So with grass lands, without regard to the moon's
phase— gai'dens, vineyards and the like, where
the soil needs not the disintegrating influence of
decaying vegetable fibre,and to avoid introducing
weeds. The manure thoroughly fermented and in-
timately incorporated with the soil and in close
proximitj' to the roots. Manure, during fermenta-
tion, loses ammonia, which is great ; let it be
understood, that the soil is so wonderfully con-
stituted as to absorb and retain all the plant food
contained in the manure, and that the rains do,
in no wise leach it out, but remains fixed in the
soil ready for supplying the roots of plants.
This wonderful plan of Divine wisdom, Baron
Leibig announces thus : "There is not to be
found in chemistry a more wonderful phenom-
enon, or one which more confounds all human
wisdom, than ii pi'esented by the soil of a gar-
den or field. By the simplest experiment, any
one may satisfy himself that rain water, filtered
through a garden or field, does not dissolve out a
trace of potash, silicic acid, ammonia or phos-
phoric acid. The soil does not give up to the
water one particle of the food of plants which it
contains. The most continuous rain cannot re-
move from the field, except mechanically, any
of the essential constituents of its fertility. 1 he
soil not only retains, firmly, all the food of the
plants, which is actually in it, but its power to
prcbcrve all that may be useful to them extends
further. If rain or other water, holding in solu.
tiou ammonia, potash, phosphoric and silicic
acids, be brought in contact with the soil, these

1871.

THE GARDEjYER'S MOJ^THLY.

113

substances disappear almost immediately from
the solution ; the soil draws them from the wa-
ter. Only such substances are completely with-
drawn by the soil as are indispensable articles of
lood for plants, all others remain wholly or part
in solution.

If a funnel be filled with soil, and a dilute so-
lution of silicate of potash be poured upon it,
there will not be found in the filtered water a
trace of potash, and, only u»der certain circum-
stances, silicic acid. If freshly precipitated
phosphate of lime or phosphate of magnesia
be dissolved in wa er saturated with car-
bonic acid, and filtered in like manure through
soil, there will not be found a trace of
phosphoric acid in the filtered water. So al-
so with phosphate of lime in diluted sulphuric
acid, or of phosphate of magnesia and ammonia
in carbonic acid water. The phosphoric acid
in each case remains in the soil. Charcoal re-
acts in a similar manner with many soluble salts
—by chemical attraction acting from its surface,
in which the constituents of the soil perform
their part.

This wonderful property found to exist in the
soil, only in reference to such substances required
for plant food, is such an evidence of the good-
ness and wisdom of God, as to excite our adora-
tion. Every reflecting mind must see the value
of these interesting facts in an agricultural point
of view.

Clay is well known for possessing, in a high
degree, the absorbent and purifying properties
in earth«closets, and for absorbing the properties
of liquid manure; and for arresting the escape of
amraoniacal vapors, it is of great value. Thus
soil may be saturated, and form the very best
manure.

It is a mistake to suppose that all plant food
must be reduced to a liquid state, in order that
the rootlets (spongioles) should be able to appro-
priate them. Water is indeed essential as a sol-
vent. But Liebig contends that the roots have
the power of taking in these matters without
their previous solution, and adds, 'these sub-
stances arc present in the soil, in a condition fit
for absorption by the rootlets of the plants,
though not themselves soluble or removable by
the rain water, until the soil is saturated with
them. It is more than probable that the major-
ity of our cultivated plants receive their nour-
ishment directly from these portions of the soil
which are in immediate contact with the root-

let, and that they die when their food is pre-
sented to them in solution. The action of co)i-
centraied manures burning the young plants,
seems to support this supposition." The plants
themselves, in the absorption of their food, select
from the soil those substances which they re-
quire, by and through the co-operation of a cause,
which resides in the capillary attraction and
the rootlets. Plants, as organized living struc-
tures, are yet not fully comprehended in their in-
tricate yet simple functions.

In presenting the foregoing, I claim no origin-
ality, but deem the facts set forth of such value,
that they cannot be repeated too often, nor be too
widely spread for the benefit of a large class of
intelligent and progressive farmers.

BOILERS.

BY A. L. PENNOCK, PHILAD'A.

Being a "Boiler man," your article on hot-
water boilers particularly attracted my attention;
but not agreeing with your conclusions as ex-
pressed in the Monthly^ I give my reasons. So
far as I am acquainted, all persons who make a
business of putting up hot-water apparatus, un-
derstand that the greater weight of the cold wa-
ter displaces the hot, and causes circulation ; and
because the circulation is so caused, your maxim,
taken literally, "Look after the cold water pipes
and the flow will take care of itself,'' will not
answer. The flow pipes require more care in
setting than the return pipes, because they are
under less pressure, and in nine cases out of ten,
where the water does not circulate properly, the
trouble is in the flow.

Last season I put up a boiler heating 3500 feet
of 4 inch pipes, which worked admirably, but
during the summer, the ground under the flow
settled, and on firing up for winter, three of the
houses were not heated. We raised the flow,
and all went right again. On another occasion,
where the pipes dipped under a road, the water
stopped circulating, on account of air which a
little dirt in the air cock of the flow prevented
from escaping. Again, where there was an ele-
vation in the flow, and the water was allowed to
get too low, the circulation was stopped, and
upon filling up the water, the return pipes acted
as flows, and continued to do so for several days,
until the fire was put out, when the circulation
ceased, and the cold water settled to the lowest
part, and on firing up, the water circulated pro-
perly again. I could give a number of instances

lljf

IHE GARDE JEER'S MOA^TELY.

Api il,

of trouble from the flow pipes, but have never
yet seen difficully (although such a case could
readily be) where the cold water pipes alone were
the cause. As you say, "water may be made to
go along a level or up or down,'' and upon that
idea my first boilers were constructed ; but I
have taken them all down. Experience has also
taught me that the flow should rise to its ex-

tremity without a depression, and to a great ex-
tent the return should follow the same rule.
I believe it to be the most satisHictory plan.

I should not have noticed the article in any
other magazine, but I consider the Monfhlu the
Horticultural Journal of America, and desire
that the fullest experience shall be given for the
benefit of its large circle of readers.

EDITOR lAL.

EMBRYONIC INARCHING.

Some years ago, we regarded the idea that two
cells of distinct kinds would unite ar;d form a
third variety, as a fable. Thns, when Mr.
Blodgctt represented that his sweet and sour ap-
ple resulted from an union of buds in grafting,
we dissented. It was not that we doubted that
the experiments were made as represented, but
that we thought the results obtained were due
to other laws than that of cell union ; and that
the manner in which the two buds were united,
in the one budding operation, had nothing to do
with the case. It has always been our custom,
however, not to feel too sure that our own notions
of things are right, and in this spirit, though
starting with the idea of this cell union being
impossible, we have looked about to see what the
wild waves of nature are saying about the ques-
tion ; and gradually we have been brought to be-
lieve that this cell union, and consequent pro-
duction of new forms, is not the absurd thing
we once thought it was.

The writer of this has at various times called
the attention of scientific institutions to facts
which cannot be explained in any other way,
than that the appearances were due to Embry-
onic inarcliing. This has gradually taken shape,
until with similar observations in Europe, both
prior and subii-equent to his own, we think the
point is fully established ; and the great point
contended f(jr by Mr. IJlodgett is gained, name-
ly, the pcrlect possibility of the fruit production
for which ho contends.

Some of the renuirks of the writer before the
Academy of Natural Sciences of riiiladelphia,
have been the occasion of other valuabli^ notes in
addition by the Editor of the Loudon Gardener^s

CJircnicJe and one of its correspondents. As it
will, no doubt, interest a large number of our
readers, we give the paragraphs in full :

"In a previous number (p. 104) we reprinted
some observations of Mr. Mcehan's on the sub-
ject of Embryonic Inarching, a point of some in-
terest horticulturally, as certain anomalous
"mixed products," as a chemist would call them,
have been supposed to have originated in such a
manner. In reference to the same subject we
have received, through the courtesy of an un-
known correspondent, the following extract from
the Frieiich'' JnttlUyencer, accompanied by a
specimen, on which we shall make some com-
ment further on :

'At the last meeting of the Academy of Nat-
ural Sciences, Thomas Mcehan exhibited several
specimens of the Madura aurantiaca, t^ com-
mon Osage Orange, in which the plants were
inarched together in pairs in a remarkable way.
He said : — The Osage Orange was extensively
grown as a hedge plant, and in digging up the
one-year plants these united twins were usually
found in the proportion of about one score in ten
thousand. Double kernels were common occur-
rences in many seeds. There were double
Peaches and Almonds, but these bad their sepa-
rate seed covering or membrane, consequently
the separate embryos produced distinct plants.
But these indicated that there had been two
separate embryos under one seed covering, and
that the radicular portions of this double em-
bryo, having no membrane to separate them,
had inarched themselves together while passing
to the ground. If this were the true explana-
tion, he thought there was no such case recorded.
That it was true seemed probable from the fac

7cS7i.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJVTHLl.

115

that all the specimens were uuited in exactly the
same manner, showing that time, place, and the
circumstances of the union were uniformly the
same. The scars showed that there were four
cotyledons and two germs, and that the place of
union was midway between the pairs of cotyle-
dons. From the base of the cotyledons, extend-
ing the whole length of the radicle, the union
existed. The length of this united part was
from half an inch to an inch, according to the
vigor of the plant. Another lesson, he hoight,
was afforded by these specimens. Dr. Asa Gray
had recently remarked in "Silliman's Journal,"
that European botanists still believed what
American botanists had learned to doubt, that
the radicle was a true root rather than a mor-
phologized point of stem. Here was, he believed,
au illustration of the American view. These radi-
cles, which had evidently united together under
the seed coat, hadelougated after protrusion, just
as a young shoot, with all its parts formed in
the bud, elongates after the bursting of the bud
scales. They com pi-ised the half inch, or inch
united portions referred to. If these radicular
portions of the seed were of the nature of root
rather than of stem, we might expect to see lat-
eral fibres push from them as we see do from the
true roots which start out below the union. But
these parts are as free from rootlets as any por-
tion of the true stems above the cotyledon points,
indicating, as has been suggested, that their
properties were rather of stem than of root. S.

B. 7?.'

"The double Almonds and Peaches referred to

by Mr. Meehan are of course due to the devel-
cpmentoftwo ovules or two seeds in place of
one ; but in the case of the Osage Orange, as we
understand it, two embryo plants were produced
in one and the same ovule. This, though as-
suredly unusual, is yet easily intelligible, from
the fact that under ordinary circumstances there
are several germinal vesicles in the same embryo-
sac, though usually only one of these vesicles
becomes fertilized and developed into a new
plant. Plurality of embryos in the same seed
has been noticed in several genera, and is indeed
frequent in the seeds of the Orange Several
such instances are recorded in Dr. Masters' work
on 'Vegetable Teratolgy,' wherein instances of
the adhesion of the double embryos so produced
are alluded to, though Mr. Meehan seems to
have overlooked them, in particular one case
cited by Mr. Thwaites, 'wherein two embryos
were contained in one seed of a Fuchsia, and

had become adherent. What is still more re-
markable, the two embryos were different, a
circumstance attrilnUablc to their hybrid or igin
the seed containing them being the result of the
fertilization of Fuchsia coccinea (Ilort.), i. e.,
magellanica, by the pollen of F. fulgens.' This
last is a very important fact for horticul liritt
as bearing on the question of graft hybridiza-
tion. Potato grafting, and the like, while it af-
fords confirmation of the much doubted 'Trifa-
cial Orange,' produced as is affirmed by causing
the seeds of the Citron, the Orange, and the
Lime to adhere together. 'The fruit produced
by this tree exhibits three distinct species in-
cluded in one rind, the division beingporfectly visi-
ble externally, and the flavor of each compart-
ment as different as if it had grown on a sepa-
rate tree.' The specimen kindly forwarded us
by our correspondent, consists of two seedling
plants of the Osage Orange, free above the scars
which indicate the position of the cotyledons,
and free from the commencement of the root
downwards ; the caulicles (tiijella), which are
nearly 2 inches in length, are firmly united to-
gether. There is nothing in the specimen before
us to indicate when the union took place ; it may
have done so in the seed itself, or it may have
occurred in the early stages of germination from
the close contact of two seedling plants."

The Correspondent of the Chronicle says :
"Embryonic Inarching.- This is common in
Aurantiacca?, and something akin to it is com-
mon in Sterculia acuminata. I also have seen
a specimen of Dolichos throw two stems from
one seed, in 1S70. Similarly, in 1868, a seed of
Cocos Romanzoffiana, and of Areca rubra, both
yielded plants which are growing in the Botanic
Gardens, Kew, at the present time, and which,
on examination, you will find originated from
one embryo. T. Croncfiei; Gr. to F. T. Peacock,
Eaq.^ Sudbury House, Hainmersmith.''^

There is one paragraph in the extract from the
Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences
which may be misunderstood by some botanists.
That in relation to the radicle being a morpholo-
gized stem, rather than of the nature of root.
Of course roots will come from any stem, and
with this idea one might wonder what this
proved here. But Osage Orange stems do not
produce rootlets readily. It has been found an
exceedingly slow process to root them by lay-
ers. It was in this re.'spect that we noted the in-
arched radicles resembled the stems. Though

116

TEE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^'THLY.

April.

under the ground, no rootlets came from the in-
arched portion, while from the points immedi-
ately below the union, fibres pushed freely. As
one of America's most venerated botanists has
called our attention to this point, we think it
may serve a good purpose to point out the applica-
tion of the remarks at the Academy in the way
in which they were intended.

ABOUT CABBAGES.
A case was recently tried in Philadelphia, in
reference to cabbage seed, which suggested to us
how very little is known of things which pass
before our eyes every day. There is no one but
knows a cabbage, yet, how it grows in its native
localities, — whether it is annual, biennial or per-
ennial,— or whether it grows wild with or with-
out a head,— how many cabbage growers can
tell?

The writer has been fortunate to come across
the cabbage in a wild state, in some of his early
botanical excursions. These natural locations
are usually on chalky cliffs by the sea-side, in
various parts of Europe. The flowers are
marked in our herbarium specimens as ap-
pearing in June. The seeds fall at once when
mature, and grow immediately. The plant
makes a stem about as thick as one's little fin-
ger, at best, but usually stouter by fall. There
arc no signs of any head, although the leaves have
a slightly involute tendency. Early next spring
the plant pushes up its flower s'ems, blooms,
seeds and dies. In one sense the plant is but an
annual : it lives only twelvemonths, — from June
or July, till the next year at the same time. In
the language of botany, it is a biennial, for it is
produced in one year, and lives over to the next.
If now the seed is not suffered to fall and grow-
naturally in July, but is saved by the hand of
man till late in the fall, or even till the following
sprini:, the immediate flowering property is
checked. Some would say it was not strong
enough to flower ; but philosophically we hardly
know what "strong enough" in this sense means;
as strength merely is not a law of flowering.
However, the fact is, it does not flower, but in-
stead continues to grow, adding great strength
and vigor to stem and leaves, and then flowers
at the usual time next year. Thus it will be
seen that the only reason why a cabbage heads,
is because the natural growing season of the plant
has been delayed by man several months after seed
ripening.

We know that it is customary with horticul-
turists to attribute a wonderful origin to our im-
proved vegetables. "We give pyramids of credit
to the good old monks of the middle ages, who
handed down the cabbage-head to us. But we
believe the "knowledge'' and "skill" engaged in
this matter was not in the past much more than
is found to be the case where the "patient ef-
forts" of our would-be patentees of new fruits in
these modern times, resolve themselves into the
cutting off of a few scions, or the digging up of a
few bushes or canes from some plants in old
cow pastures or waysides.

Buck man has taken the common wild Pars-
nip, and in a few generations has produced
as good as any grown forhundreds of years ; and
in this cabbage business, we have strong faith
that one could take the seeds of the wild species,
as we have described them, sow in October, pre-
serve during the winter from severe cold, and get
tolerably good heads the next summer or autumn .
Now this is but theory, but there seems to be no
other conclusion from the facts we have re-
corded.

Now, to the practical man, many lessons are
taught here. No matter how large or solid his cab-
bage head might be, if sown in July when the
seed ripened, he would get no head next year.
If he sow in August, his chances would be a tri-
fle better,— in September it is still improved ; but
he is hardly safe until the end of this month or
I even the beginning of October. Nay, the month
I has less to do with the matter than the season, —
for if the October, November and December be
open or fine, or the plaut stimulated h\ heat,
still the plant will run to seed as naturally as a
cauliflower will "button" in a warm winter hot-
bed.

LECTURE ON HORTICULTURE IN CALI-
FORNIA.
On the 13th of April, the Hon, Marshall P.
Wilder, President of the National Pomological
Society, will deliver a lecture for the benefit of
the Pa. Horticultural Society upon the subject of
Horticulture, Agriculture and Social Life on the
Pacific coast. It will be recollected that Mr.
Wilder, Chas. Downing and P. Barry of New
York, made a horticultural trip to California
jast year. In the proposed lecture, Mr. Wilder
will embody the result of his observations, which
will aftbrd matter of the highest scientific and
practical interest.

Ibll.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTELT.

117

Mr. Wilder has delivered this lecture before
the Mercantile Library Association, at Boston,
with the highest commendation.

One Hundred Dollars, from the proceeds of
Mr. Wilder's Lecture before the Horticultural
Societ}-, will be offered as a Premium for the
Best Collection of Fruits, from any State, Socie-
ty, or individual, comprising Apples, Pears,
Peaches, Plums and Grapes, three specimens of
each variety, to be shown at the Autumnal Ex-
hibition of the Society, Sept 12, 187L

It is proposed to make the Autumnal Exhibi-
tion of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society,
in some degree a National Exhibition, as in
1869. 'I'he National Pomological Society will
meet in Richmond, Va , Sep. 8th and 9th ; and
the Phi'adelphia meeting will open on the 12th.
The discussions will be held in Richmond, but
the chief exhibition of fruits may be held in
Philadeli)hia, or there may be one exhibition of
fruit in Richmond, and another, and the greater
one, under the auspices of the Pennsylvania
Horticultural Society immediately afterwards.
The Horticultural Society has greatly increased
its premiums for fruits and flowers, and will
make an effort to excel even the exhibition of
1869. We shall soon publish an abstract of the
iist of premiums.

'I he monthly exhibition for April, occurs
on the 18th of this month. The list of
premiums is libera], and we understand that spe-
cial prizes will be offered for display of ornamen-
tal foliage plants and plants in bloom, profes-
sional Florists, which has not heretofore been

done.

The public interest in the Society seems to be
increasing, and the members exhibit very com-
mendable enthusiasm in making a fine display
at the exhibitions.

THE SALAVAY PEACH.

[See Frontispiece ]

A few years ago, the late Mr. PuUen sent us
some "first fruits" of the Salway Peach, even
then quite new in England, where it originated.
It was beautiful to look upon, and withal re-
markably good to eat, though an orchard house
fruit is by no means to be compared to an
out of-door ripened one.

It is somewhat remarkable, that though
peaches grow here so easily, and seedlings ap-
pear by the thousands, our best varieties are
mai:.ly those brought from the Old World. There
are few native varieties that will compete suc-
cessfully with Grosse Mignonne, George IV,
Barrington, Royal George, Bellegarde, Walbur-
ton. Chancellor, Newiugton, Early York, No-
blesse, Old Mixon, and perhaps some others.

Our engravnig is not taken from one grown in
the open air in this country, but from one grown
in the climate of England. So far as w^e know,
it has not yet fruited outside of orchard houses
in America. Generally we should not go to the
trouble of so costly an engraving of an untried
fruit ; but in view of the great value which other
peaches with foreign reputations have proved to
us, we feel safe in giving this fine variety promi-
nent notice.

SCRAPS AND aUERIES.

Management of HonTicuLTiTRAL Socie-
ties.—Alluding to the Pennsylvania Horticul-
tural Society, we recently noted in effect, that it
was strange these institutions ignored the ser-
vices of the horticultural press in making their
objects known, and that a few advertisements of
what they were doing and wanted to do, would
do them more good than the managers have the
least comprehension of. Here is the Pennsylva-
nia Society for instance, which spends annually
in advertising in "secular* papers and pam
phlets, perhaps SIOOO, has probably not- spent

one cent of this on any horticultural paper. Yet
why horticultural publishers should exert them-
selves to sustain horticultural societies, and hor-
ticultural societies do nothing in return for hor-
ticultural journals, we cannot understand.

In the remarks referred to, we stated that the
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society had offered,
probably, a larger sum for premiums than any
other Society has done. Now some good friend
sends us a marked copy of the schedule of the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, by which
we see that 847J0 is the Bum of what they offer.

ns

TEE GARDEJVER'S M0J\''T11LY.

April,

Some of these ai-e very liberal, as witness the
following :

For objects originiited subsequent to 1800, and
which, after full trial, shall be deemed superior
in quality and other characteristics to any now
extant.

For the

Best Seed'ing Pear, rtflar a public trial of five years $60 00

Best Seeding Apple. Mfter a public triul of five yejirp ro 00

Best Seed'ing Hardy Grape, after a public tri\l of 3 yrs. . 60 00

Best S-'eedling Clieny, aftpr a public trial of 3 year.'' 40 00

Best '-epdllng Strawberry, after a public trial of 3 years.. 50 00
Best Seedlinj; Ka.-<pberrv, after a public trial of 3 years.. 40 Oi

Best other .'^eedli g Fru t, after a puMic trial of 3 yrs 40 (0

Pest Seed ing Kose, after a public trial of 3year.« 40 00

Best ."-eedling Camellia, after n public tri*l of 3 yenrs 60 00

Best Seedling Azalea iodica, after a public trial of 3 yrs. 40 CO
Best Seed ing Tree Ffcony, nfter a public trial of 3 yrs.... 40 OU
Best Seedling Hi rdy Khododetidror., after a public trial

of 3 years 40 00

Best Seedling Hardy Azalea, after a public trial of 3 y ».. 40 (0

Best -eodlino Flower, after a pub ic trial of 3 year.-* 40 CD

BestSi-edling .ate Potato, nfter a (.ublic trial of i years... 30 00
Best Seedling early Potato, after a pnli'ic trial of 3 yrs.... 30 lO
Be.«t Seedli- g Vegetable, after « pub'io trial of 3 yrs 30 00

AVe suppose our good friend sent us this marked
copy as a reflection on our ignorance in rating
the offers of the Pennsylvania Society so much
above ^Massachusetts, and we accept the rebuke
with thankfulness. ]5ut yet we submit that if
these institutions are really in earnest in wish-
ing the best kind of competition, they should
make use of the best agencies for that purpose.
This placing of valuable lights under bushels,
and then depending on horticultural editors to
advise the public individually to lift them and
dazzle their eyes by the brilliancy that lies buried
beneath, all lias it.s usefulness ; but the better
plan would to apply those celebrated measuring
utensils to more legitimate uses, and let the lu-
minous institutions speak in a glory of their
own.

Mr. Douglas' Letteh.— ^1 , Galtnn, Ills ,
says: "AVhat an interesting letter from'our' Dou-
glas, we always learn something from what he
says Why don't you get him to write oftener?"

[Well ! that is just the point. AVe don't know
how to get him.

Some of our nu).';t intelligent men write little,
for fuar they can write nothing notalretidy known.
Tliis is is a very proper feeling ; but so much is
forgotten that has been told, that every one who
transgresses in this way is seldom civught, and
if caught, readily forgiven.]

Pkau Culture.- A' JI S., Suspension Bridi,e,
N. Y., says : "I wish in your next number you
would give us your views on pear culture and

pruning, whether the fall or now is the best for
pruning, and whether summer pruning is gener-
ally followed. I see by the 'Agricultural Tleport'
that it is condemned, and also disturbing the
ground with the plough, further than removing
weeds with scythe or hoe. Let us hear from
you on this matter. Please state when you take
up this matter, what manures you approve of
for the pear."

[The essay of Mr. Satterthwait, which is con-
cluded in this number, will no doubt furnish our
correspondent with much valuable information.
Some of us might perhaps differ from the author
on some minor points ; but he speaks from a very
successful experience, and we regard the Fruit
Growers' Society as fortunate in getting for the
world one of the best Pear essays ever seen la
print.]

Deaths of Horticulturists.— During the
past month we note, with regret, the decease of
several distinguished Horticulturists. One of
the Messrs. Vilmorins, of Paris, was shot through
the head at Le Mans — Henry Vi morins. The
other two were in the army, but escaped. San-
ford Howard died at Lansing, ^fichigan ; he was
formerly Editor of Bo.^'ton Cnhii-ator, and one of
the earliest friends of the Ganlener''s Monthly.

Mr Stephen Pieison of Alton, Ills., one of the
leading spirits in the excellent Alton Horticul-
tural Society, has also passed away.

London Vridk— Miss Kate 3f., of Washing-
ton, Ohio,, asks where this old plant, Saxifraga
vvihrosa, amlthc old yellow Asphadel,can be had.
AVe have not seen them for many years ; if any
of our readers have either or both, we should be
obliged for a root.

Name of 1 -last.— Mary McA., Bowling
Green, Kentticky. "Enclosed you will find a
small i)lant wliich you will i)lease examine, and
tell me through tlie Monthly what it is. I have
been a close observer of plants many years ; this
is the tirst time I ever noticed this plant. It
came up in my flower beds voluntarily ; it is very
hardy ; the cold spell before Christmas did not
injure it in the least ; it begun to bloom Feb. 14.
It may be a similar case to one before. The
' Leptosiphon alba" had never been seen before
18(54, wluiu it first appeared, covering the entire
tield, whi(rh had a cropof Maize the year before."

[Arabis thaliana. It is an European species,
but is gradi'.ally spreading all over the United

1871.

THE GARDE.YER'S MOJVTELy.

119

States. It is a very pretty thing to examine un-
der the microscope, as the hairs are star shajxjd,
a not very visual circumstance in the cruciferous
order, to which this plant belongs.]

N'a-me OF Plant —C. D F., Catharine, JV.
Y — ^'Enclosed find branches of a tree, which
orrows wild in this part. It is quite ornamental.
What is it? The common and botanical name ?"

[Euoni/mns Americanii.-i, — very beautiful, aud
worthy of g-arden culture.]

Value OF Some Pkars.— TF. H. E., Hamburg^
K. Y. — ''I wish to ask for information through
3-our valuable ^[onthllf, as to the following varie-
ties of pears : Yicar of Winkfield, Buftum, Doy-
enne Boussock, Madeline. These are fine grow-
ing trees, not yet bearing. I am told they are
not good varieties. If you will please inform a
subscriber to the Monthly, you will ever be held
very kind bj' a lover of good fruit.''

[These varieties are amongst the most popu-
lar. It is not a bad sign they grow so well Pa-
tiently hoar with them while they are sowing
these wild oats, and they will no doubt reform
by aud by.]

IjAte Strawberry.— J. Morristown, Ind.,cor
re^pondeni saj's : " I have a strawberry, that for
growth of plant, beats all others on poor soil. It )
will grow thirty inches across, the plant bearing ]
its fruit on stocks ten to 12 inches long-
It is a pistillate, and blooms so late, the Dow- i
ner, Wilson, etc , cannot act on any but a few of]
the first blooms on it. It has just passed one of |
the most trying seasons I have ever known, and j
corae out all right. It has yielded about a quart !
to the plant. All the berries that get properly
fertilized, are of large size and good flavor. I j
think it would be a good kind to get a cross from, j
if I knew what to use as the male parent. Will
you please tell me in thecolumnsof the .1/ouf/t?(/ " ,

[It is not generally known that pollen will re- j
tain its vitality in paper, like seeds. For fertili I
ziug purposes, our correspondent could, there- '
fore, preserve the pollen of any of the early kinds, '
and use them for his purpose when these later
blooms came out.]

of a Musk Melon, or the appearance of one, being
more of a squash look than melon ; color chiefly
white ; aa excellent keeper, as good Feb. 1st as
the day it was cut from the vine. He considers
it a decided acquisition."

New Musk Melox— Mr. Phojnix has sent
home a few seed of a Musk Melon ; he describes
it of very luperior flavor. It has not the smell

Arrangement of a Flower Bed.— Mrs.
S. E. N , Phelps, Ontario Co., If. Y. "An
oval bed, ten by fourteen feet, being already
planted with Hyacinths for spring blooming, has
had for two summers past Ricinus, ithree varie-
ties) Jive pZcujts, which grew twelve feet high.
Also the same number of Japanese Maize with
Caladiuni esculentum, and three or four Tube-
roses to fill the outside vacancies It was as orna-
mental and as much admired as I could wish, but
'a lad}' no more wants her flower garden to have
the same look every year than she wants her new
spring bonnet to last forever' {Gardener's
Monthly, April, 1864) ; sol, following her exam.
pie, apply to j'ou as a lady does to her milliner,
hoping that you will, if possible, in your next
number give me a few suggestions as to what
kinds of tall ornamental-leaved plants, aud how
many to plant.

How would the Erianthus Baveuna do for a
centre, and other grasses to fill out with. I want
something to make a show the first )-ear. Do
the seeds of all these grasses in our floral cata"
logues germinate easily ? If you could suggest
other things better adapted to the purpose, please
do so, and oblige not only myself, but probably
many others.

Cannas I have tried often, but do not succeed
with the finer kinds, though following closely
our catalogue directions."

[The Cannas require longer summcr.s than
your d'^trict afl'ords. For a change, substitute
Bocconia japonica for Ricinus. Its height is
about the same, and it has much the same habit.
As the Ricinus was found to please, something
of the same character would be the best to ex-
periment with. A very strong plant of Erian-
thus liavenna would do. Small plants flower too
weakly and too sparsely. Its feathery spikes will
not Contrast disagreeably with the flowers of Boc-
couia, which are ' 'sprayey " also. Jlumea eJegans is
also another strong growing plant, with much
elegance when in flower ; but there is no dee
color in it as there is in the leaves of Ricinus.
Color can be given, however, by planting among
them some of the strong Gladiolus, especially O.
Brenchleyensis or of Tritoma uvaria. We

no

THE GARDEJVEWS MOJiTHLY

.April,

should still add a few Tuberoses, for none of these
groups are perfect without some Trlnte, cither in
leaves or flowers.

Seeds of ornamental grasses usually grow
readil}' ; but in Pampas grass, or the Erianthus,
t takes two or three years to get a seedling plant
strong enough to make a show.]

TnuJA QTGANTEA.— 3/., West Phila., Pa ,
writes : "When look'ng at my plants two years
ago, you said what I had as Thuja gigantea was
incorrectly named, and that it was Libncedrus de-
currens. I was almost sure it was the name I
had with it from Parsons & Co., but did not like
to contradict you. Last year I imported a few
things from Europe, and amongst others, a
Tliuja gigantea^ so as to have it correct. I en-
close a piece ; you will see I was right in the first
instance. It is the same as the other. With
your love of accuracy, I know you will be glad
to be corrected, or I would apologize.''

[Of course we desire to be correct, and thank
our friend for his good intentions. In this case,
however, the English and Parsons are both
wrong. See Gardener^s Monthly, Vol. I., where
the whole subject was investigated.]

now, and "Downing only knows" when this
thing is to stop. Our rule for sometime has been
to name and describe only those fruits which we
feel tolerably sure are different from and in some
respect superior to others existing.]

Pruning Hemlocks andEvergrkens.— /.
C. S, Philadelphia. "Will it do to clip and
shape our Hemlocks and Norway Firs in the
spring ; if so, when is the best time ?"

[For specimens on lawns, the best time to prune,
to reduce trees to shapeliness, is as soon in spring
as danger from very cold winds is over. For
hedges, the best time is about three weeks after
the buds have pushed.]

Seedling Apple.— -4 Subscriher, Cadrz, O.—
"Last fall I sentyou anew seedling Apple, raised
by a friend of mine in this county, with a re-
quest that it be figured and described in the
Gardener's Monthhj, but I have not seen any ac-
count of it. Did you receive it V"

[We have to ai)olf'gize to our correspondent
for the oviTsight in not noticing it. We remem-
ber its receipt, and thouL,'lit it a very good fruit,
but not equal to Henoni, which in general char-
acteristics it very much resembled.

We regard the indiscriminate describing of
every good seedling fruit that may come up, as
an evil, which, so far as in ()urpf)wer, we set our
face against. We have over 2UUU named apples

Laiino ottt a SmallGarden — 3frs /. 3/ ,
Norwich, iV. Y., writes : 'My husband is de-
sirous to obtain some hints or suggestions in re-
gard to laying out our jard and garden. The
house is a square stone house ; the yard is 200
feet in front, and the same on the south side,
with a garden extending on the same side about
the same number of feet. The house is a corner
house, fronting two streets. Can you give us
any directions as to how it should be laid out or
direct us to some work on the subject of laying
out yards, gardens, &c.''

[It is difficult to advise without seeing the
house, or a ground plan of it. Much depends
on where the doors are, as the location of the
walks depends on this ; and again, the groups of
shrubs and the trees will depend on the location of
the windows, and indeed of the walks them-
selves. As a rule, in small places, straight walks
look better than curved ones ; and trees of medi-
um size or bushes are better than trees that %vill
grow large. If the street lines are of wire, iron,
or some other kind of very open fence, an orna-
mental hedge inside the line looks well. This
may be of Purus japmnca if the brilliant blos-
soms are appreciated ; or of Hornbeam if good
foliage is preferred ; or of Arborviiseor Hemlock
Spruce if it is desirable to have something green
in the winter. In small places, open spaces of
neatly kept lawn are always admiixnl, — the more
so as there is so much tendency to plant things
about, and at last leave no lawn worth speaking
of. Along the boundaries of the lot, borders
planted with shrubbery look well, these to bo
kept always clean from grass The contrast of
the brown earth with the green grass is always
pleasing. In front of these borders hardy low-
ers which bloom early, like Polyanthus, Crocus,
Snowdroi)s, do very well. The borders may be
bayed out in some instances, and a clump of
larger growing bushes put in the wide part.
This will make shady and sunny nooks, and give
variety in this way. These, to be sure, are very
general hints. They may be summed up thus :
First locate the walks with the view to conveni-
ence, then aim at the greatest variety of pretty
objects— in surface, outliues, lawn, shrubbery,
llowers, &c.

1871.

TEE GARBEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLy,

121

There is no very <»ood American work on small
places. Kemp's '■How to lay out a small garde)i'>'>
can be had through any importing bookseller,
and with a little modification of the kind of trees
mentioned, and other smaller matters made to
accomodate our climate, is an invaluable work.]

Pink Blossoms from A "White Geranium
—Mrs. S S. T., Carbon Cliff, i/?s , sendsa speci
men ofiroranium, and says : "I enclose a truss
of the pink blossorasborneby a cutting from a pure
white geranium. The color is not quite as deep
as in the more congenial summer time ; but you
will see it is quite distinct from the pink flush
sometimes seen on white varieties. You may
remember,! mentioned some months since thesin-
gular freak of the branch of a White Zonale Ge-
• ranium, whicJi being divided into four parts, pro-
duced two ])lants bearing white fiovvers, and two
pink, of which the enclosed is one. It is impos-
sible that I should be mistaken with regard to
the identity of these plants, for I had no other
cuttings at the time, and none tor months before
and afterward."

[There is no mistake in our correspondent's
observation. We put the truss sent, in water,
and some of the flowers, mostly pink, came out
of a j^ure while.]

Dahlias.— J/rs. S. S. T., Carbon, Cliff, Ills.,
asks : "May I ask that you will add to the
obligations under which I am already to the
Gardener's Monthly, by giving me some direc-
tions for the cultivation and care of the tubers
of the Dahlia, and how to raise them from seed?"

[Dahlias are best set out very early in the
ground after danger of frost is over. As soon as
they are sprouted, take them up and divide, and
set out the pieces again separately. They make
better plants than when several stems come from
one old root. The seed is to be collected in the
fall sown early in spring in hot-beds, and the
plants will flower the same year.]

Flowering of Wistaria sinensis - Mr. B.
H. Sherwood, College Wharf, Pa., writes : "In
reading an article in the Monthly of February, I
was quite surprised to see that you consider the
fruiting of the Glycine sinensis a rarity. We have
an old j)lant that Ix-ars fully a half bushel of pods
annually. We have also a G sinensis alba, that
fruits, but less freely."

[The paragraph referred to, was written, not

by us, but by Mr. Shirley Hibberd, in the En-
glish Gardener^s Marjazine ; and he was referring
to plants growing in England.

Mr. Sherwood's note is interesting, as suggest-
ing whether new varieties may not be raised
here of this popular favorite. We should very
much like to know from Mr. Sherwood, whether
seedlings have flowered with him, and whether
they show any tendency to vary.]

Pear on Oak Roots.— A Delaware county
correspondent writes to us about this. He is
not by any means a novice, or one easily per-
suaded unless facts are strong. He says :

"I have been promised grafts from a winter
pear growing in this neighborhood, grafted on
the root of an oak tree Its growth has tar out-
stripped trees grafted on pear roots, and it bore
pears last year weighing twenty ounces.

I do not send this statement to the Monthly,
for I do not suppose any one will believe it, but
if necessary, 1 can give sufficient proof of the
fact."

Wire Fences.— We have repeatedly referred
to the annoying habit in solid wire fences and
trellisses of getting loose and "kinky"' by the
changes in our temperature. Fences of woven
wire have been found to be safe against this ; but
too expensive for general use. Mr. Yeomans
made a useful advance by his invention of a lever
tightener; and we now have another capital
thing in the advertisement of Mr. Philip S. Jus-
tice, in our columns this month. AVe are evi-
dently in the Hue of cheap and good fences.

New Fuchsia.— 3f?ss A.B.N, Phelps, K
Y., asks us to name the best new Fuchsia. So
many new ones are good, it is hard to choose the
best. But Madame Deproost is good ; it has a
bicolored corolla. Starlight and Marksman are
are also two very good varieties. The same lady
encloses a Fuchsia for name, the flower of which
is scarcely a quarter of an inch long, and leaves
to correspond. This is the very old, but nearly
lost Fuchsia reflexa. There are two species in
cultivation, with these minute flowers. This
one has the tube of the corolla somewhat taper-
ing ; the other one has it as thick at the attach-
ment with the stem, as further down, cylindri-
cal in fact. This is the F. microphylla.

n^

THE GABDEJVER'^ MOKTBLl.

April,

Dendroriums.— Mr. Such sends a branch of
D. iiohih clothed with magnificent flowers ihrct
inches across. N'othing is said about the num-
ber on the plant, so that we suppose the palm in
this ri'spect is conceded to Mr Xewett,— but we
infer that something is to be claimed by South
Amboy in the matter of fine flowers at least.
TN'ith these was a single specimen of the rare D.
macrophyUum giganteum, in which the flowers
are of a brilliant rose, from a plant having sev-
enty six flowers, which is remarkably good ; and
of Eucharis yrandiflora, the third set of flowers
this season.

OxALLS LASiANDKA.— T. II iT , says : The

tap roots of Oxalis lasiandra, that are broken ofl"
when the bulbs are taken up in the fall, make
viost exrelknt jnckles, und owing to their beauti-
ful pearly translucency, elicit much wonder and
admiration when brought to the table. This
Oxalis is a very pretty border plant of the easiest
growth, and I plant a good many of them, as
much for the roots as the flower?.

[AVe do not know this species. Similar use
has been made of Oxalis Dejjjiei.]

Errata. — The concluding words in the por-
tion of ]SIr. E. Satterthwait's essay, published
in March number, should be "molasses and vine-
gar."

Heating Railway Cars.— i?. D , Hingham,
3/a.s's., says : "Every year the papers have much
to say about heating railroad cars. What is there
against heating them by hot water as we
heat our greenhouse ? It seems a very simple
thing to do, and I wonder no one has thought of
it."

[It has probably been thought of; but the dif-
ficulty, no doubt, is that fire has to be kept con-
tinually in such a heated car, or else the water
continually drawcd ofl" and refilled, or the pipes
would freeze and burst. Thus it would be dan-
gerous in one way, and troublesome the other.]

FORNWALDER OR FALLAWATER ApPLE.—

J. S , Pcnns Orove, Pa — "Can you tell me any
thing of th(! "Pollywogger" apple. I bought a
barrel from a friend in the lower end of the
county under this name They seem to much
resemble the Tornwalder,' but are smaller. V>y
the way, what is the correct name of this apple?"

[No doubt it is the same apple, the smaller
size being due to bad cultivation. As to the
"right'' name ; there seems no right about any
nama for it The original seems to liave been
"Pharrar "Walther ;'' but Fallaicatfria the name
in universal use, and we so accept it ]

Hybrids and Varieties. — S., Saco, Maine,
inquires : "Will you i)lease define the separate
character of hybrids and varieties in ])lants. I
notice some writex-s seem to US3 the term indis-
criminately."

[We don't know that there is any difference,
although there is a sort of conventual idea that
there is In past times it was supposed that
when two species intermixed, the progenies were
hybrids, and then in many cases sterile; but,
there is no absolute sterilit}-. The mule at times
brings forth young. All we can say is, a cross
between nearly related things ai'e called varie-
ties ; and they are "hybrids" when the relation-
ship is wide apart.]

Quinces.— Jl/. E , Burlington, N. J , Alpha.
'Some of us here have an idea that the country
about us is especially adapted to the culture of
Quinces, and that they ought to pay well. Some
few trees bear very heavy crops, but we do not
find in any books or essays on fruits in the pa-
pers how many could possibly be gathered from
an acre. Have they been grown extensively
anywhere that you know ; and with what re-
sults ?"

[Mr. X. Ohmer, of Dayton, O., is very suc-
cessful and his trees yield him about 200 bu.shels
to the acre ]

Planting the Buffum VEAii.—Medicus,
near Monoracy, Md , says : "I am setting out
some pears this spring — standards — and propose
to set them 20 feet apart ; but a friend who is
'posted' on pears says some require more room
than others, and that he would vary the distance
to suit the kinds. He would put Buff"um for in-
stance but 14 feet apart, Lawrence, 18, and
Bartlett 20. How would this work V"

[AVe should put all of one distance. Most of
the varieties get about the same in time. Law-
rence for instance seems a more slender grower
than Bartlett, but there is no difteronce certain-
ly in the room they ultimately occupy. As for
the Bulfum, though ujiright when young, it be-
comes as round headed as any when of age.]

1S71.

THE GARDEA'ER'S MOJ\''THLY.

123

Pitch OF Greexiiouse Roofs —G. (J. Jf,
Phila , writes : 'lam thinking about putting
up a small greenhouse, say 18 by 25 feet, woukl
you oblige me by letting me know what is the
best pitch to give the roof, I thought of one foot
in ever}- two, but this hardly seems enough."

["We are in favor of steep pitches, for many
reasons, though there are some disadvantages
45' is steep, that is a foot of rise for every hori-
zontal foot ; but we recommend it ]

PoprLATiON OF Geneva.— In our notes of
Geneva, we guessed the population to be about
2000 inhabitants. A correspondent ol)ligingly
corrects these f3<iures. It should be about 6000.

I

"Weeping Plum.— A Xew York correspon-
dent inquires whether any one has ever seen a
"Weeping Plum ?

Salisburia or GiNKo Tree.— G^. G. A sug
gests that this tree should be more widely known.

Probably the reason it is not, is that it has been
difficult of propagation ; but seedlings are now
getting common, and doubtless the public will
soon get better acquainted with it.

Curious Results of Hybridization or
Pollen.- Dr. Wylie of Chester, South Caroli-
na, who has experimented more ably in grape
liybridization than perhaps any man in the coun-
try, informs us that there is a great ditference in
the pollen of grapes under a microscope. The
pollen grains of the Scuppernongare nearly glob-
ular, and all of one size. All other varieties
that he has examined are ovate and double the
size of the Scuppernong. In a hybrid of his be-
tween the Hamburg as a female parent, and the
Scuppernong as the male, the pollen is small,
globular, and large ovate mixed. We regard this
as a scientific discovery of great moment, and
one of high practical value.

EOOKS, CATALOGUES, &C.

Mt Tbw Rod Farm.

A correspondent of one of our daily papers says:
" Now, you will say who is "Jane Kingsford? "
She is first Mr. Barnard, C. F. Barnard ; second
an agreeable gentleman and a musician, though
not exclusively devoted to the divine art, since
he is nearly as much interested in and writes as
■well upon horticulture as music. He is the au-
thor of " My Ten Rod Farm,'' which he wrote
as Mrs. Maria Gilman, whose name appears
upon the cover. This inspiring story was one
of the greatest successes, under an assumed
name, that I ever knew. I do not think it ever
occurred to any one, till the secret was divulged,
that the struggling but finally successful Mrs
Gilman, who told her story with such simplicity
and pathos, was an interesting and prosperous
5'oung man. He has also written " Farming by
Inches ;" uniform with '"My Ten Rod Farm."

The GarrZencr's Monthly does nr»t claim to see
through mill-stones any further than other peo-
ple, but it will be recollected, that in reviewing
the work on its first ai)pcarance it stated, that
" whoever is at all familiar with female character

will feel that this book was never written by a wo-
man,'' and that we objected to it, on the ground
that it was "an effort, which always reacted in-
juriously to make people believe something had
really been accomplished which never was done."

VlNFlANI) WeRKLT.

This good representative of Yineland's inter-
ests, has recently added to it an Agricultural
Department, under the editorship of Oscar Clute,
formerly professor of mathematics in one of the
leading colleges in Michigan, and for some time
one of tlie editors of the Western liurul. Mr.
Clute was always an intelligent and able writer,
and his engagement by the Weeklt/ is a very po-
litic one.

L'ltLn.-TSA'IOX HORTICOIE.

One of the most interesting of our European ex-
changes is this monthly magazine, published at
Ghent in Belgium, under the direction of Mr. J.
Linden. It is beautifully illustrated by four colored
engravings of new plants or flowers, and has a

124

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJ^THLl.

April,

large amount of miscellaneous Horticultural
reading. It is issued at five dollars, American
gold, per annum, free of postage, we believe, at
this price. It is in the French language, and
this will make it welcome in many families
where practice is required in this tongue,— and
with much better effect on young minds than
the trashj' novels which now so generally serve
that purpose. Perhaps it could be had of Mr.
Raoux, New York.

Catalogues of European Firhs.

These interesting lists are now abundantly sup-
plied to our tab'.e, and all highly valued ; and
we return our best thanks to our correspondents
for them. We have before expressed our in-
debtedness to Mr. Bull for his catalogue of new
plants, which comes regularly ; and one of new
seeds by Messrs. Carter, Dunnett & Beale, of
Holburn, London, is also received and read
with much interest.

NEW AND RARE FRUITS.

Sour and Sweet and Speckled Apples.
Mr. Blodgett sends us, with some excellent fruit,
the following note: "After a month of most
unlucky detention, I have received a box of ray
sour and sweet apples from xwy orchard, intend-
ed fur the State Pomological Society's meeting-
The best mixtures are in the worst state of de-
cay, and in picking out a good dozen to send to
Mr. Downing, I find that I got all the wholly
sweet ones, so that these I send you are not so
good as representatives.

An old friend of my father's writes me (from
Sugar Grove, near my farm), re-afl^rming the
facts I have stated as to the origin of the speckled
and sour and sweet apples ; his name is Green
Clark, and he says that the first known of the
speckled apple was, that he, Green Clark, graft
ed it into the orchard of his brother, Alanson
Clark, in the township of Middlesex, Gates Co.
N. Y., and he. Green Clark, brought it to my
father's orchard with other new fruits he was
grafting. This corresponds with ray recollec-
tion of my father's statement ; which was, that
it originated on the farm of a Mr. Westbrook,
his residence in Ontario County, N. Y., (Gate
and Ontario are adjacent Counties). It was
Bimultanfcouply given to Alanson Clark, in Onta-
rio County, and to my father in Chatauque Co.,
by whom it was generally distributed, rbelieve
our frionds Downing and Barry will find it diffi-
cult to trace an apple known only in WesUrn
Ntw York^ to Iloldcn (or Hogpen), in Mass.

And as to the graft or bud hybrids, time will
fbow that I am rinht.''

Pyle Apple.— TF. G. B , Glen Mills, writes:
" I send you some specimens of apples from a
seedling tree in Thornbury, Delaware County,
Pa. It may be called the Pyle Apple, as it
grows on the farm of Walter Pyle. For many
years it has never failed to bear fruit regularly
every year It does not ripen perfectly till in
the winter, but it is a most valuable apple for
cooking, long before it becomes suitable for eat-
ing otherwise. If the samples I send have not
suflfered from freezing, you will be able to judge
of the quality. It keeps quite sound through
the winter and spring.

[These were very handsome apples, with yel-
low fleshed pulp ; not of the highest flavor, but
with a sort of " try me again " air. which left a
suspicion that under some circumstances it
would hold its own with the best.]

Dana's Hovey Pear.— We are indebted to
our friend, W. L.Schaffer, Ei>q., the distinguished
amateur pomologist, for a specimen of this new
pear. It was fully ripe at the beginning of this
month, and was tlie best quality of any autumn
pear, as we suppose it is, we have ever tasted so
late in the season. It origina ed in Massachu-
setts, and we undcr.stand promises to be a valu-
able addition to our list of autumn varieties. —
Germantown Telegraph.

Old Adam Apple.- The Adam Apple wa
supposed had been in every man's throat for
.^rres^—but here is the Oliio Pomological Society
bringing it out as something new. It says in it3

1871.

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^'THLY.

1S5

report: "An apple presented by Adam Luck-
haiipt, of Columbus, and named by him Old
Adam, is remarkable as a long keeper, the fruit
of two seasons beinfj exhibited at the Fair. It
is of fair quality, and valuable where the fruit
crops are subject to failures. The variety was
Imported from Germany about eight years ago.

rels of fruitfulness. Mr. MacLaohlan has propa-
gated it extensivel}', and has now nursery plots
of fine young bushes, which we believe he will
send out at the price of ordinary currants. The
Orangefield Tomato is, we believe, regarded by
gardeners as an acquisition. We regard the
Orangefield Red Currant as a greater. — Irish
Farmer''s Gazette.

The Orangefikld Red Currant.— When
recently in the neighborhood of Belfast, in com-
pany with one of the most distinguished fruit-
growers in England, we paid a visit to Orange-
field, the residence of J. Blackiston Houston,
Esq Among the many objects of practical in-
terest pointed out by Mr. MacLachlan, the very
clever and intelligent gardener, none impressed
us more than two bushes of the " Orangefield Bed
Currant,'' which we found carefully netted,
with a view of preserving till the close of the
year the myriad bunches of beautiful fruit that
trom soil to summit clustered on the branches.
We never saw anything like them, and our En-
glish friend would have about a span-length of
branch to carry away with him as a wonder.
We were anxious to see this currant, from read
ing in December of last or preceding year a no-
tice of the reception from Mr. MacLachlan of a
sample of its fruit in splendid condition, not-
withstanding the occurrence of a week or so of
very severe frost at the time. Besides the pro-
fusion and excellence of its fruit, its late keeping
properties further enhance its value. It appears
too, to retain the folage till very late. Raby
Castle and other varieties were growing along-
side ; but it appeared distinct from any of them.
The name given above is only a provisional one,
which we venture to give it, as we believe Mr.
MacLachlan has not yet met with any one able
to identify it. The bunches are short, and in
form like these of the grape currant, not a one-
sided raceme, as in other varieties. The berries
are full size, brilliant in color, and to our taste
what a red currant ought to be — sugary and pi-
quant. It is a very strong grower ; the wood of
Some young trees trained to the wall was mar-
vellously robust. In its cultivation Mr. Mac-
Lachlan informed us that the growth required
at first to be checked by lifting and replanting.
When once in full bearing, its wonderful fruit-
fulness sufficiently checks the production of wood.
Indeed, we never saw bushes less burdened with
superfl.-is wood than these closely spurred
plants of this variety, which were certainly mar-

New Pear— Earle's Russett.— Since the
commencement of this report, a pear has been
exhibited at one of the weekly re-unions of the
Society, that may well exact a word of notice.
A seedling originated by Hon John Milton Earle,
to whom this Society has been so long indebted
for many and various services, and with whose
parentage it is but vaguely identified, under the
name of Earle's Russett ; its apparently con-
firmed excellence should render it alike a source
of pride to him and of interest to ourselves.
Additions to the list of fruits, of approved good
quality, are too rare to justify the unhesitating
acceptance of every new candidate. It may be
said of Earle's Russett, that it has been nursed
with care and developed to an almost pefec*
assurance of decided superioritj'. Not entirely
dissimilar to the Beurre Easter, in flavor, though
with more sprightliness than that coy variety,
the proof of this pudding also is evolved from the
, eating. The shrinking modesty of him to whom
we owe the origin of this seedling, will, it is
hoped, suffice to excuse the loudness of the blare
which thus unblushingly trumpets his achieve-
ment.— Transactions of Worcester Co. Ilort. So-
ciety.

IfOTTENSTEix AppLE.— Under this name of
IIf)ttenstein, we have long been familiar with one
of the best apples grown. It has somewhat the
characteristics of the Northern Spy. Though
supposing it to be anativeof north-eastern Penn-
sylvania, we were unable to get at its history.

Recently we discovered its whereabouts, and
have been favored with the following memoran-
dum by a correspondent :

"The apple you have reference to, originated
in Berks County, Pa. The original tree, a seed-
ling, was owned by a man living in Kutztown,
Pa , about 90 or 100 years ago, by name Lippert,
after whom the apple was named with us ; and
it appears that those persons who obtained the
grafts from us gave the name of llottenstein.
The apple is an excellent one. The tree with us
is about GO years old, and bears regular crops of
lartje and excellent fruit."

126

THE GARDEJV'ER'S MOJ^THLl.

April,

NEW AND EAEE PLANTS.

SoLANUM CILIATFM.— A fow Weeks ago we
received from Mr Dreer a fruit of a new Sola-
nuni, which proves to be the S. ciliatum of Lam-
bert. It was about one and a half inches in di
ameter, globular and of a brilliant scarlet red,
with a bloom on it like a plum. As it will no
doubt prove a very desirable ornament to our
summer gardens, we give the following account
of it from the London Gardener''s Chronicle.

"Among the novelties for the year 1871, we
may mention the above named plant, fruits and
seeds of which have been imported from Porto
Eico, by Messrs Carter & Co., of Holborn, and
of which they have succeeded in raising young
plants. The great attraction of this species,
from a horticultural point of view, will no doubt
consist in the exceedingly beautiful berries,
which are of a globular shape, depressed at the
top, of the size of a Tangierine Orange, and of
an intense pure scarlet color, overlaid by a glau-
cous bloom. Nothing more brilliant can well be
inaagiued.

The plant is described as a branched annual

prickles, but sometimes destitute of them. The
leaves are stalked, oblong, and irregularly
lobed. The flowers are solitary or borne in ra-
cemes. The calyx is saucer shaped, pentangu-
lar, 51obed, and increase in size as the fruit ri-
pens. The corolla is three-quarters of an inch
in diameter, white, 5-parted, with acute, spread-
ing, or reflexed lobes. The anthers are orange
colored, aggregated in a cone-like mass. The
ovary is white, sub-globose, furrowed, surmount-
ed by a white style, which is terminated by a
green. 2-lobed stigma. The fruit is greenish at
first, marked with green lines, and becomes
scarlet as it ripens Some of the flowers, it ap-
pears, are sterile, and do not produce fruit.

AVe have ourselves only seen the fruits and the
seedling plants, so that we are not in a position
to say anything as to the habit of the plant, but
from the great beauty of the fruit we imagine
that the plant will prove to be a great acquisi-
tion. Probably, like most of the annual Sola-
nums, it will be found a plant of very easy cul-
ture, requiring to be kept growing on briskly, in
good soil, and to be kept free from insects, the
red-spider especially.

Spirea jafonica {syn. Hoteia japoxica)
AUREA variegata — This an extremely beau-
tiful variety, one of the most popular plants in
cultivation. ^.t ditlers from the green leaved
plant, with Avhich all are f\inn!iar, in its elegant
leafage, being traced with golden ve'ns, and
borne on ros}' tinted stems. For this valuable
novelty we arc indebted to Mossrs. E. G. Hen-
derson & Sou. — Garil. Chronicle.

Croton corxutum.— An interesting number
of the large group of new Crotons introduced by
Messrs Veitch & Son. It is characterized by a
peculiar extension of the midrib, which forms a
horn-like process at the apex of the leaf It is a
compact growing variety, with leaves which
vary slightly in form, and are richly spotted and
blotclied wiliv yellow. — Gard Chronicle.

At page 20(5 of last year's Gar. Weckhj will be
found a classification of all the known varieties
of Croton variegntiim., accompanied with figures

(sub-herbaceous), 12 to 18 inches high, generally of five of the neAvest, namely, irrcyHhirc, inter-
covered with straight, very sharp, yellowish j r»j)ti(»i, ai(c«('a/cii/ia}i, J/t7/m>ium and jj/ox/mum.

187 1.

THE GAUBEKER'S MOJVTHLy.

127

P 0 R E I G ^^ I N T E L L I G E ^' C E

A ^rusimooM Cave. — Acorrespondont of the |
Lovdon Journal of Hortkidture thus descrihes a
visit to a French uiushroom cave :

We first found out Madame Froment, whose
son kindh' Jiccompanied us, and we wore in due
course conducted to one of tliese openings, hav
ing first provided ourselves with caudles, etc.
To those who have descended coal mines or such
other suhterranean retreats, and who, like Lieu-
tenant A\''arren in his exploration of Jerusalem,
are said to delight in groping, it is nothing ; hut
to staid and sober people like myself, who affect
the upper air and level ground whose backs do
not bend so easily as they used, and whose
heads are none of the steadiest for such work,
the descent is an ordeal of no common nature
You looked down a large opening of about 70 or
80 feet in depth, and bj- an ingenious contriv-
ance had to swing yourself on to a very rickety-
looking swing ladder, which had to be repaired
before we could venture on it ; but I was com-
mitted to it, and so down we went. AVhen we
reached the bottom we were very soon in medias
res. Galleries stretched on all sides, and into
these we soon dived. As we wound along, the
owner narrated to us sundry funny adventures
he had had with visitors, amongst others of a
certain Lord Mayor from the Emerald Isle,
whose copious rotundity was considerably in his
way in some of the passages, and who pufied,
fumed and steamed through them. Our con-
ductor, besides being thoroughly used to it, be-
ing a thin spare man, could thread his way
along easily where his more corpulent compan-
ion found considerable difficulty. All along
these passages were long, narrow beds of vary-
ing heights and sizes, but all small, and entirely
different from anything we are used to in mush-
room culture. On these beds, which were
covered with a peculiar calcareous soil, were
mushrooms of all sizes, from tiny little pins'
heads up to good-sized teacups, some as white
as driven snow, others with a taint tinge of buff.
On we went. Sometimes we had the greatest
possible difficulty to get along, so very low was
the ceiling ; and now and then we came upon an
opening where a larger portion of the stone had
been obtained, and here the beds were some-
times four, five and six deep, but all of the same
form- slightly rounded and low. The clunn-
Ij'ujnoniate vrould every now and then stoxj, bid

us admire some fine cluster of his productions,
and expatiate on their beauty. Some idea of
the extent to which this culture is carried on,
may be gathered from the fact that this one man
had ten miles of these beds in this subterranean
garden, from which all through the year im-
mense quantities are daily sent into Paris

A Strong Cement for Iron. -To four or
five parts of clay, thoroughly dried and pul-
verized, add two parts of iron-filings free from
oxide, one part of peroxide of manganese, one-
half of sea salt, and one-half of borax. Mingle
thoroughl}', and render as fine as possible ; then
reduce to a thick paste with the necessary quan-
tity of water, mixing thoroughly well. It must
be used immediately. After application it
should be exposed to warmth, gradually increas-
ing almost to white heat. This cement is very
hard and presents complete resistance alike to
red heat and boiling water. Another cement
is to mix equal parts of sifted peroxide of manga-
nese and well-pulverized zinc white ; add a suf-
ficient quantity of commercial soluble glass to
form a thin paste. This mixture, when used
immediately, forms a cement quite equal in
hardness and resistance to that obtained by the
first method.

Serine undulata.-Is it customary for
this plant to flower as a piece of mine has done
this season ? An old clump in a pot has been
standing out with a lot of other plants that we
might as well have destroyed lor all the care
that has been bestowed upon it, and the Nerine
is now a mass of flowers, and very healthy and
bright in leafage. I have removed it to the
greenhouse to save it from injury by frost;
though if it liad not flowered it would probably
have been left to perish I seem to remember
that this particular pot of bulbs belongs to a lot
of plants that have been treated with contempt
for two or three years, and probably our neglect
of it has promoted a perfect maturation favor-
able to flowering. If so, we shall have to des-
cribe the cullivation of Nerine undulata in
these few words : The best way to grow this
pretty amaryllid is to forget that you possess it,
until reminded by its flowering tliat your riches
exceed your knowledge. — S. II , in Oardener^s
Weeklj/.

US

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOKTHLY.

April,

HORTICULTURAL iXOTICES.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The February meeting was one of the most
successful monthly exhibitions held for a good
many years. Instead of confining it to the
Foyer, as has been customary, the large hall
heretofore kept for the annual displays was
thrown open, and some thousands must have
visited the building during the evening. The
society is also gradually increasing the amount
of its premiums, so that the working gardeners
and florists are encouraged to exhibit, and the
public induced to see— two very essential ele-
ments of great success. Hundreds of persons
will have the taste for horticulture implanted in
them by these displays ; aiid thus the society ac-
complishes one of its grand objects.

Amongst the objects that struck every one's
attention in the hall, was a magnificent specimen
of Azalea Phoenecia, in the collection of Mr.
Robert Buist. This plant was a somewhat
conical globe, about 3 feet high by 2| feet in di-
ameter,—though one of the oldest, its vigorous
grov,'th, and free flowering habit renders it a
favorite in collections. The flowers of the
modern kinds are rounder in outline. In this
respect the Kinghornii, rosy crimson kind, was
in striking contrast with Phoenecia, Mr. Buist
had a seedling white with well-defined cai-mine
stripes, which promises well. There were many
collections of Cinerarias exhibited, but none
which attracted so much attention as Mr.
Dreer's ; they had more novelty in the density
of their flowers than any before exhibited. They
appeared so regularly on the surface as if they
had been set on a wire frame. One of them was
a sort of spreading dwarf, about one foot high,
and two feet in diameter. Mr. T. J. Mackenzie's
collection of Camellias, was, as they always are,
of the most superior character. A very nice lot
also came from Mr. John Sherwood. To our
mind there were few things more worthy of
credit on the tables, than the Hyacinths in pots,
exhibited by Mr. Alex. Newett, gardener to II.
P. McKean, Esq. Usually these plants are so
grown that they are either nearly all leaves with
the flower down in among them ; or else with
tall lank stems without much foliage. These
were in excellent proportion ; the leaves being
about six inches in length, of a healthy green.

and self-supporting ; while the spikes were about
fifteen inclns, and about one-third forming the
truss of flowers The whole was so perfect a speci-
men of good culture that we doubt whether it
could possibly be excelled. Mr. Newett had
also some very fine pots of the rare "'Queen of
Violets." They are lighter than the Neapolitan
in color, and are said to be very sweet scented.
He also had a collection of Orchidea. Amongst
these were Mnxillaria tetrayona, with six spikes
of flowers. It is not on the whole a showy
species, but the flowers are large for this short
stalked section of this genus, being about two
inches across, of a lemon-yellow color. He also
had in this collection an Oncidium Sjikacellatuniy
vvith the panicle about two and a half feet ; and
an O. altissimum, with about a four feet panicle.
What are called "■French" pansies, would not
lake at an English Pansy show, where the flowers
have to be flat, and round, and 'cat-f^\ced," and
so forth ; but tlie public cares more for these we
think than the English sorts. Mr. Thomas, gar-
dener to Mr. Buckner, had some of the prettiest
of these that we ever saw. Mr. Dreer had a new
style of this French race, called '• Odier " breed.
They are of a golden bronzy hue, and promise
much novelty and interest. A collection of the
"coming " plant the Echeveria was on exhibi-
tion, we believe, by Mr. Sherwood ; but so many
things not having contributors' names on them,
render a reporter's duties somewhat uncertain
as regards accuracy. From Meehan's German-
town nurseries, a lot of the wild Engli.-h Prim-
roses— the Primrose of the poets — was con-
tributed. These were arranged so as to form a
bank of blossoms. There was not much in the
way of hardy novelties. Mr. Buist had Vibur-
num macroQephalum, one of the Japanese Snow-
balls, quite as beautiful as its colleague, T'. ^)/ica-
tiim, now becoming much known and admired.
Mr. Meehan exhibited from Mr. George Such,
of South Amboy, a plant of Eaphiolepis obovata,
a plant with white flowers like the wild Ame-
lanchier or Indian Cherry, but with leathery
evergreen leaves like Pittosporum ; it is believed
to be hardy. Mr. Buist also had some new tri-
color and double-bedding (Jeraniuins.

"With the present encouragement, there will no
doubt be competition from great distances ; and
schedules cau be had from Secretary Harrison.

Tc (SHivdeiur's Moittltlij.

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIII.

MAY, 1871. New Series. Vol. IV. No. 5.

HIINT^ FOll MAY.

FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

We are very glad to note ihat the purely nat
ural style of gardening is finding its proper place
in popular estimation. Like most good ideas, it
was taken hold of by abstractionists, and
stretched so thin, that it would not cari-y the
pleasure anticipated. No doubt nature is pretty
in itself, if not altogether lovely,asthe sentimen-
talists tell us ; but we think gardening is an art
which is to produce for us something rarely or
never seen in nature. Indeed, *ve are almost
tired of the talk about the natural style in gar-
dening, and find ourselves often in the position
of those Israelites who longed for the onions and
cucumbers, and Hcsh pots of Egypt, in spite of
the pictured beauties of the promised land. We
often look back on the old Dutch or Italian gar-
dens, with their walls and terraces, and vases,
and clipped trees, and see a great deal of beauty
which we altogether miss now. There was, to
be sure, often exaggerations of taste— frequently
many things in such gardening which was ri-
diculous ; but there were flowers of all kinds —
sweet flowers, which when bathed in the dews
oftheearl}- morning, gave us something worth
rising with the lark to enjoy, instead of as now
making us feel that an hour or two, more or less,
in the early day is nothing particularly lost, so
far as the garden is concerned. We should l>y
no means like to part with the beautiful group-
. ings of trees and shrubs which arc amongst the
most admired characteristics of modern garden-
ing. Those beautiful ideas which float in the mind
of the land.scape gardener, and which he manages
to make speak to us through his combinations,

in the most musical of nature's language, could
never be conveyed to us in the dead utterances
of the past style of gardening. We do not want
to part with our gay bedding plants, either when
grouped for their gaudy colors, or for the bril-
liant and subdued hues of their foliage ; but we
do want to see again those sweet innocent things,
clothed in a glory greater than Solomon's, which
that system did so much to fill up our gardens
with. We have so much more to fill up the beds
with than they had ; and could make them still
more charming. Even the beds themselves
could be bordered with things which they never
thought of. For this they were confined to
dwarf box. AVe have now for edging, several
things quitd as good, which adds^much to the va-
riety. A very good thing is the arborvitfc named
by EUwanger & Barry, called Tom Thumb,— or
the closely allied Heath leaved, which the writer
of this introduced from Germany. The Globe Ar-
borvita?, Thuja occidentalis globoaa ; and the bluish
Booth's Globe, Thuja occidentalis pumila., are
both excellent edging plants. Another very pretty
I thing introduced by the writer for this purpose,
I is the Evergreen Caudijtiift., which, in additionUo
' the pretty dwarf evergreen habit, has pure white
I flowers in April. It is likely to be cut by cold
winds in winter, but in the average of places it
does very well.

Who of us who has any gray in his hair, but re-
members how beautiful the gardens used to look
studded all over witli the plants which used to
be kept in tubs or large pots during the winter
in cellars or the "orangery," expressly to be used
in summer decoration. We hope to sec these
times again. The following are some of the
plants we used to liave.

ISO

IJIK GARBEJ^EKS MOJ^TBL^.

May,

Map;nolia fuscata, Pittosporunis, Cleroden-
(Iron Bungei, Hydrangea, Figs, Oleander, pink
and white ; Ponicgr-inate, single for fruit, and
double for show ; BiLrnonia capenscs, Bouvardia
tryphylla. Oranges, Lemons, Laurel ]3ay, Lau-
rustinus, New Zealand Flax, Mahonias, particu
larly M. Darwinii, Euonynius japonicus. Aloes,
Agaves and others. In very cold climates
Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots and Plums might
be grown in this way. and would not only charm
the eye during the Howcring season, but add
their mite to more material pleasure in a way
agreeable to most persons ol* taste, if not of re-
finement.

The first week in May is usually the time to
set out Dahlias. Thoy do best in a trenched
soil, say 18 inches deep at least, and prefer cow-
manure to any other when il can be obtained.
If planted on thin or dry soils, they will not
bloom till near the ap])roaoh of frost, when the
chief enjoyment of the Dahlia is lost. It is best,
wliere possible, to plant a duplicate of each
kind.

Tuberoses and Gladiolus like a warm rich soil,
and may be set out at once.

In transplanting any thing that has roots large
enough to admit of the practice, it is best to dip
the roots, immediately before planting, into wa-
ter. This will obviate the necessity of after-wa-
tering, and its consequent injurious effect. If
the plants appear to Hag, shade or put an in-
verted tlowcr-pot over the plant for a few days ;
if this do not bring the plant to, it must have
water.

Flower-gardening, as we have ofien said be-
fore, affords scope for many pretty fancies, be-
sides arrangement of color, which, in the hands
of a person of taste, render a garden a ])aradise
of enchantment. Borders and edgings of Iv}',
Periwinkle or variegated plants, may be made
to appear as frames t<> the i)ictures of pretty
fiowers enclosed by them Waves and fringes
of green may be led along through a large flow-
er-bed, and the various divisions formed be filled
with its own color, making a natural and living
l)ouqu(t ; diflerent colored gravels may be chosen
for paths between beds ; diflerent shades of green
may be made by the selection of grasses of dif-
ferent hues, where grass walks are cmjdoyed.
Old stumps or roots may be occasionally intro-
duced in the centre of beds, and covered with
green vines, or flowering climbers, as taste may
dictate ; rustic liaskets .rn;! vases, and even in

many instances where artificial styles prevail,,
the topiary art may be called in, and good effects
result from the use of the knife and shears on
certain plants.

Trellisses and stakes for climbing plants and
vines should be put in at or before setting out
the ])lants. These plants always seem to grow
with more freedom and vigor when they can find
something at once to cling to. Climbing vines
add greatly to the interest of a garden. They
can be trained into all sorts of forms and shapes ;
and many of them, for gracefulness of form, or
beauty of their flowers, cannot be excelled by
any other tribe of plants.

In planting extensive flower gardens, it is best
to retain a few plants in pots, in case a frost or
other accident should, by chance, destroy some
of those set out earlier.

Pansies and Daises should be set out in rather
a shady and moist place, — not under the shade
of trees, as the roots of these dry the soil too
much.

The Hollyhock has become one of the most
popular and useful of summer bedding plants.
They like a rich, warm, and rather dry soil.

The Carnation likes a deep, rich soil ; the
plants should be raised from layers afresh every
year. July is the time to do this.

FRUIT GARDEN.

Watch all young fruit trees against bearing
too abundantly while young, or the first season
after planting. There can be no objection to
the ripening of one or two fruits on a tree the
first season of setting out, in order to test the
kind, or to administer to curiosity, if the tree be
otherwise growing freely. If little growth is
making, no fruit at all should be permitted. It
is a better practice to disbud or take out soon
after shooting all shoots that are needless to the
perfect shape of the tree, than to wait till fall or
winter. The pruning knife need then only to
be used to shorten a branch into where several
branches are desired to push, or to induce a
more vigorous growth from the pruned parts.
In the gooseberry, rasi)berry and strawberry
also, no more shoots should be suffered to grow
than will be required to bear the next season.

In summer pruning or disbudding, it is also
worth while to watch for shoots pushing stronger
than others, and always take them out. This
is the only way that shoots of equal strength can
be encouraged in every part of the tree. This is

1871.

THE GAUBEKEKS MONTHLY.

131

particularly true of grape vinos. If a shoot once | Cauliflower, and Brocoli are to bo set out at this

get the start of the others in strength and vigor,
the others will gradually get weaker to the
other's increasing luxuriance.

When the strawberry crop is about to ripen,
raalch with clean straw, to prevent rain soiling
the fruit. Short grass from the lawn is often
used; but it mildews as it decays, and detracts
from the flavor of the fruit. Hot suns increase
flavor, and strawberry tiles were once in fashion
to put around the hills, which, by absorbing
heat, added greatly to the fruit's rich quality.
All that we have said of strawberries supposes I
them to be fruited (ui the hill system, with the
runners kept off. Those who desire the best re-
sults, will grow them no other way.

It is gratifying to note that the great scourge
of American fruitgrowing, insects and birds, are
getting more and more under control. We re-
cognize the fact, that we must do something
ourselves,— that in the "sweat of thy brow''
only shall we have fruit as well as bread. Wher-
ever there has been any care taken to drive
away birds, or gather insects together, there has
been success quite commensurate with the la-
bor bestowed. It may be well to remind the
reader that for a great variety of insects, there
is nothing so good as wide mouth bottles, with
sweet liquid to trap them with.

VEGETABLE GARDEN,
la raising vegetables, it is particularly impor-
tant that the soil should be very rich. In fruit
or grains, good soil is of course requisite to suc-
cess ; but in vegetable growing, great succulence
is the first great aim, and this cannot be secured
without great abundance of manure. Cabbage,

season, and these particularly want rich soil.
This is also the case with Lettuce. As the wea-
ther gets warm, it soon runs to seed, and only very
rich soil will produce it good enough for sum-
mer use. String Beans are truly stringy when
grown in poor ground, but when sown in rich
deep soil, any kind is a "snap-short" as well us
the early "Valentine," which usually bears this

name.

Melons, Cucumbers, Corn, Okras, Squash,

Beans, Sweet Potatoe.«, Lima Beans, Peppers,

Egg-plants, Tomatoes, and other tender vegeta-

1 bles that do not do well till the sun gets high.

and the ground warm, should go into the soil

without delay.

Bean poles should be set before the beans are
planted ; and near cities where they are com-
paratively high priced, their ends should be
charred. This will make them last some years.
Keep weeds of all kinds down from the time
they first show their seed leaves. It not only
saves labor "in the end," but the frequent stir-
ring of the soil vastly serves the crop. Sow a
succession of vegetables every few weeks, —
sometimes insects, sometimes ffost, or occasion-
ally other accidents will cut oflf a crop, and then
there is some chance for its successor not wholly
to disappoint.

In planting Tomatoes, remember the advice
of Mr. Blodgett, and others in our magazine, to
plant them to stakes, or against a wall or fence.
The fruit is much better, and the plants more
productive. Set the stakes in the ground before
planting, as we do for the Lima Bean. The
stakes need not l)e over 0 feet high, and if they
have snaggy portions on them, all the better for
[ sustaining the plant.

COMMUNICATIONS

L

REMINISCENCES OF AUSTRALIA.

HY MR. W. T. IIAUDING, BRIGHTON, MAi^!^.

The hot winds with which all are unhappily
familiar, who cast their lot in Australia, had
been blowing with an unusual degree of intensi-
ty, which has often been described as a "red-hot
wind." Withering and enervating, it eflects

both man and beast ; neither does it spare the
vegetable kingdom its liery blasts. "The
flowers of the forest," the trees and shrubs, and
even the grass becomes flaccid, and seem for the
time while passing through so scorching an or-
deal, to have lost their vitality. The noisy par"
lot-and cockatoos were happily silenced for a

132

THE GARDENER'S MOJVTELY

May,

time; and for once a sympathetic feeling of su-
piueness.langourand prostration was shared alike
by all treated things.

The third day, with its attendant miseries, had
passed; and the morning was ushered in with a
more life-breathing atmosphere. "We "struck
tent." and proceeded onward, followed by a
number of aborigines, who carried the pan-
niers, which were well filled with specimens of
plants, roots and seeds which I had collected, la-
beled, and carefully packed, with the remainder
of our scanty provisions. Of what subsequently
occurred during that eventful day, I will brietty
relate.

One of the party, who had assumed the name
of Boston, after his native city, accompanied us,
having met with him on his way back to civili-
zation and the "States,'' as he termed it. He
had been a "stock-rider" or keeper, five long
years in the wilderness ; and his heart fondly
yearned for the 'home of his youth and its hap-
pier days.'' Poor waif, he had been a luckless
wanderer "o'er many lands." By his knowledge
of the bush he proved useful to us as a guide,
whose footsteps we followed through a deep gorge
to a more open valley, which was thickly covered
with the most varied and beautiful specimens cf
New Holland plants I ever beheld mingled to-
gether. Memory went back to Chiswick, when
in its palmy days; and the Regents Park exhibi-
tions, where the choicest of England's floral
gems were gathered ; but they seemed meagre
when compared with the grand exhibition around
u.o. But sad is the sequel to so fair a scene.
Ascending from the valley, and listening to the
dulcet tones of "Boston's'' flute, as he played the
plaintive air, "Home, sweet Home ;" in a mo-
ment up rose one of the most hideous serpents I
ever saw, and reared its disgusting body some six
feet high, and with distended jaws, hissed in the
face of our guide. Poor fellow ! the melody sud-
denly ceased, and the musician staggered and
fell. At the sight of so fearful a monster, all
fled in terror from the spot, excepting the
"blacks," who immediately "showed fight.'' In
the meantime, the loathsome creature stood
erect, and with its devilish looking eyes stared
around. Whir-r r went a "boomerang," dexter-
ously thrown by one of the "blacks, ' ' which struc;k
down the snaki-, and while floundering about,
was sorui despatched with tlieir "waddies."
'i'hinking poor "Boston" was in a swoon, we
carried him a si oil dislaiKi- and laiil him be-

neath the shade of some magnificent tree ferns,
Cimbotium Billardii,' whose elegant fronds
waived some forty feet high. Near by, grew
some fine she-ak trees, — Casuarina quadrivalvis,
C. torrulosa, C. equiselifolia, and Exocarpus cu-
pressiformis. The landscape around was grand
indeed ; just such a sublime scene as an artist
would select to portray, or a lover of nature to
linger in and exclaim, "how manifold are Thy
works, in wisdom hast Thou made them all!"
Every effort was made to restore our com-
panion. Supposing he was in a protracted syn-
cope, venesection was tried, which failed to
show any signs of life. Alas I all was in vain,
for the heart had ceased to beat, and the hand
that had so tenaciously held on to life, had re-
linquished its hold, and the spirit had fled. Si-
lently our vigils were kept through the night, as
we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead.
" The windows of heaven were opened," and
through them poured a flood of light, as the
moon looked serenely down from her vaulted
casement above. Towards midnight, a breeze
shook the foliage around, and gently waived the
long pendant branches of the Casuarinas, which
produced a most peculiarly wailing sound, so
like a requiem for the dead. Duriuij the pas-
sing excitement, we had forgotten the "blacks,"
having left them with the snake. Returning to
look lor them, while preparations were making
for the interment, to our great surprise they
were not to be seen. Scattered around the em-
bers of a fire, were portions of the vertebra of
the snake. They had evidently cooked and eaten
the body and then deserted us, carrying off the
panniers which contained the provisions and spe-
cimens, which were somewhat mixed together.
While looking around, my attention was called
to "Boston's" flute, which rested upon a beau-
tiful bush of Pimelialinifoliain full bloom, which
I carried away and laid in the grave with ail
that was mortal of its owner, who had so sud-
denly passed away, literally frightened to death.
With feelings of sadness, we left his grave, after
planting an Epacris pulchella, a Boronia serru-
lata, a Eutaxia and Gompholobium, four of the
prettiest plants I could find.

Returning to the Casuarina subject, I may
say they are trees of large dimensions, whose
long and slender branches have much the ap-
pearance of a hiirse's tlowing mane. Casuarina
etiuiselifolia is a lofty and wide spreading tree,
so is </. ti>rrii]<wv and C. quadrivalvis. I saw

1871.

TEE GARDEJVEIVS MONTHLY.

1S3

the trunk of a very large tree an icjuorant fellow
had cut down, which was not a "labor of love''
by any means. It grew near to his hut, and as
he said, "he could stand it no longer, for when-
ever the wind got up, it sighed and lamented so,
it made him feel miserable.'' Evidently he had
no music in his soul, or he would have known
that he was chopping at "the harp with a thou-
sand strings." The wood is almost as heavy
and hard as iron, and is used by the natives to
make their weapons of, and is known to them as
the She-ak, which the settlers have somehow
twisted into the oak

The Exocarpusis an evergreen much like a cy-
press in growth and appearance, and attains to
a height of sixty or seventy feet It has been de-
scribed as "the native cherry, with the stones
growing outside the fruit." The name certainly
indicates such to be the case ; but why called a
cherry I cannot imagine, unless it is on account
of the color being "as red as a cherry," and
there being a bare possibility of swallowing a
^Qw. The fruit resembles that of a Taxus.

It^isa singular fact, that there is neither a
fruit or vegetable indigenous to Australia worth
growing or eating, the mushroom excepted;
and yet may it be called a land of paradise. Of
which, more anon. '

WINTER FLOWERS.

BY .T M., PHILADELPHIA.

Passing through the greenhouses of Mrs. Geo.
AV. Carpenter, a few dajs ago, I noted in bloom
many plants, the list of which I propose to give,
as a guide to those who wish to grow plants for
winter decoration. It will be seen that the list
contains not so much new plants, as those which
have been proved useful and good : Siphocam-
phylos bicolor ; Chinese Primula, beautifully
fringed ; Abutilon album, a splendid plant, with
over one hundred expanded sulphur-colored
flowers on, probably the best of the commonest
known ones out ; a new variet}' Abutiloii i)etu-
niajflora, a rosy flesh, i)romiscs to be a good thing;
Bignonia venusta, climbing over the rafters, and
covered with its trumpet-shaped flowers, was
really uncommon : ibis is growing in a large tub,
and lias been undisturbed for some time ; it is
not usual for it to blo»m so abundantly, speak-
ing well for its treatment ; Daphnes, Salvia his-
pidula, S. involucrata and splendens ; Gesnera
oblongata, a good kind for winter, easily kept?
and with handsome leaves • Ilcleroceutron ro-

seum, nearly over ; Lopezia rosea, one of the
prettiest and easiest cultivated of all winter
plants ; Belleporone oblongata, Ilabrothamnus
elegans. Fuchsia syriuga^ flora, with flowers in
bunches, like a lilac, and i^retty leaves ; Aphe-
laudra Ghiesbrechtii, White Lantanas, Eran-
themum pulchellum, just opening ; Bouvardias,
Heliotrope, Olea fragrans ; Sparraannia Afri-
cana ; Chorozemas, just opening ; Leonotis nep-
etafolia, a rather scarce plant with tubular
orange flowers ; an Ardisia, with much larger
leaves than crenulata and blackish berries, name
unknown ; Chorozemas, Camellias— of these
Lady Hume's Blush is the first to open— followed
by a great variety of others. As desirable plants
of Geraniums as could be wished, can be seen
here. I have never seen better flowers in win-
ter, the house being steep and dry, suits them
well. The heads of bloom on General Grant,
Chance and Eosamond, could not be excelled.
Mr. Joyce, the gardener, considers Rosamond
the best of all for winter. Its color is rosy
salmon and white. Another large house is de-
voted exclusively to the care of the large speci-
mens of Bamboos, Fan Palms, Sweet Bays,
Evergreen Magnolias, and Australian Plants,
used extensively for decorating the grounds in
summer. The fine old Sago Palms, so often
seen at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society,
are in this house. Mrs. Geo. W. Carpenter,
with members of her family, have been for some
time sojourning in Europe, and we understand,
contemplate staying there a considerable time.
A visit to these grounds in summer, when the
large tub i)lants are intermixed with the statu-
ary, would well repay one ; or in winter, when
its storms drives you within doors, how doubly
welcome is its shelter, when the charms of such
greenhouses as these are added.

FLOWERS.

AN ADKRESS DELIVERED UEPORE THE FR*NKU» COUNTY (PaV HORTI-
CULTDRAL glCIETV.

BY REV. P. S. DAVIS.

Mr. President., and Ladies and Gentlemen: —
My professor of natural science at college gave
me credit for being the best ground squirrel
catcher that belonged to our botanical class.
Tiiat was the only compliment the conscientious
man could ever ])ay me ; for durin.; all our ram-
bles over hill and through dale, I had no sympa-
thy with a science that made the rose a monster,
and the most beautiful varieties of tliat queen of

134

TEE GARDEJSTER'S MOKTELY.

May,

flowers more hybrids. So I furthor concludiMl
that iiullin;; plants to pieces and counting the
petals was like the child's play of breaking the
drum to see where the sound came from ; and
that chasing "chip-monks" was more refresh-
ing. I have changed my opinion on the sub-
ject as the hairs on n)y head have become loss.
And although I know nothing about Botany, I
have long since coincided with wiser men, that
the science of plants opens a vast field of useful
and delightful knowledge to those who press
their inquiries on her domain.

True, science has sometimes "run mad.''
There have been botanical fools as well as chem-
ical fools and theological fools, in the times that
are past. Mary Ilowitt, to whom I am indebted
for some facts,* speaks of a very curious book
published about 1631, by a German, on the rose,
in which (wc) hundred and fifty mortal pages are
devoted to the curative properties of that flower
in every disease— making it a universal panacea.
The author also claims for it supernatural pow-
ers, particularly in driving away evil spirits.
He also speaks of the re-production of the rose,
as something that could be affected from its own
ashes, like the fabled Phoenix, an idea which is
gravely re-produced in a French work published
as late as the beginning of the 19th century-
This was called the miperial secret, because the
Emperor Ferdinand III. purchased it of a for-
eign chemist at a very high price.

And yet the fact that men have failed to ex-
tract the elixir of life from the rose is no objec-
tion to Botany, any more than the failure of the
old alchemist to find the philosopher's stone is
an argument against chemistry, or any more
than the failure of the old-school men to deter-
mine how many angels could stand upon the
point of a needle, is an argument against Theol-
ogy.

But independent of the classification of plants
and the uses to which they may really be put by
the man of science, every little incense breathing
llowrct has a rich store of joy for any man who
will but study it closely. For example, I
have copied before me an extended statement
by'a distinguished man in regard to the tiny
flower known as the Daisy, in which he shoivs
that this little beauty, so small and delicate,
contains between two and three hundred flow-
ers ; that every leaf and stamen and pistil is
itself a perfect flower, having each its corolla,

* »ett • itliorl article ID M volume of Doha's IlluBlratod Li-
brary.

stamens, jiistil, and fruit, so that we can see
how much is compressed into the calyx of that
one little gem ; and I cite the instance to show
how our pleasure may be increased by a close
examination of these thuigs.

But flowers aflbrd pleasure to those who may
see and handle and trample on them all their
lives, without ever suspecting the multiplied
glories revealed by a minute examination of
their structure Poor Burns appreciated the
wee crimson-tipped daisy he turned down with
his plowshare, more than Bosseau, to whose
description 1 have just referred. There are no
grotesques in nature, no ridiculous fancies made
merely to fill up space, and God has scattered
his beauties for men who cannot, like Solomon,
discourse on all the plants, from the cedar of
Lebanon even to the hyssoji on the wall. Our
Divine Redeemer did not address a Botany class
when he said, "Consider the lilies of the field."
Indeed the multitude of men must be satisfied to
use and enjoy what the few are given to know
and understand. I know nothing of materia
medico. I apply an arnica plaster and take
senna and Peruvian bark, when my phywcian
says I ought to do so, and in this I show more
faith than some people when they listen to their
preachers. In fact, it is a law of our being that
we must use and may delight in most things,
before it can be expected that we should come to
any proper understanding of them. The man
who would refuse food until he knew all about
albumen and how much is in his bread and po-
tatoes, would be set down as a fool, deserving to
starve, as he surely would have done before he
was old enough to make the inquiry.

The same truth holds good when we leave the
sphere of the strictly useful, and go out into the
realms of what men call the purely beautiful.
Wc opine that Noah never thought of analyzing
the hues of the rainbow, and yet the old patri-
arch doubtless had more delight in it than Hum-
boldt had in anything be ever found while study-
ing the cosmos.

The u.sc 1 would make of this general fact in
its apjilication to the rt'orld of flowers, is to
show that the masses of men who can never
expect to have any scientific knowledge of it, or
even to be close observers of the wonderful
organization found there, may yet liud great and
varied enjoyment in it. And in tliis connection
it may be well to call attention to the fact that
men have almost everywhere and ;ilvvays obeyed
the promptings of nature, and usiil flowers for

Ib7i.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTELy.

135

the purposes of ornamentation. I was aston-
ished some time ago to see it stated by Mrs-
Gore, that there are roses indigenous to the ex-
treme Arctic regions. "Not only do they un-
fold their pink corollas there, but the Esquimaux
decorate their hair, the reindeer and the seal
skins in which they are clothed, with the beau-
tiful blossoms." Indeed the whole world seems
to have said with Solomon, " Let us crown our-
selves with rose-buds before they wither." A
few facts in regard to this may not be uninter-
esting to those i)reseut.

1 he cultivation of dowers for ornament is nii'u-
tioned in the oldest Coptic manuscripts, and the
celebrated hanging gardens of Babylon, built by
Semiramis 1200 years B. C, in which the choicest
plants were raised, are familiar to you all. All
the Eastern nalionshad a superstitious regard for
flowers. Zoroaster tells us that every flower is
appropriated to a particular angel, and that the
Rosa centifolia (our common hundred leaved
rose) is con.secrated to an arch-angel of the
highest order The Turks suppose that the rose
owes its origin to the perspiration that fell from
the brow of Mahomet, and they never tread upon
a rose leaf nor suffer one to lie on the ground.
The Bosa Damascena (Damascus rose) was
brought from Syria by the Crusaders, and it
would be impossible for U3 to say here, how
fully flowers have entered into the history of
heraldry : that is, when used as devices on
standards and banners, as the symbols of heroes,
families and nations, in ihe'it struggles for honor,
fame and power. The lilies of France, and the
red and while roses of the houses of York and
Lancaster during the thirty years' war in Eng-
land, are good illustrations of this.

Among the Greeks, whose idea was that the
highest good culminated in the beautiful, there
are many references to flowers. This idea en-
tered into their mythologies, and all their his-
torians and poets constantly refer to flowers.
Every school boy who has had his ears boxed
over Homer, knows how he describes Aurora
with rose-tipped Angers filling the air with their
perfume.

The Romans, however, carried the luxurious
use of flowers to the greatest height, covering
the couches of their guests and their bancpiet
tables with them. Some of the Emperors scat
tered the hall of their palaces with them. When
Cleopatra went to Cilicia to meet Mark Antony,
«he gave him a succession of festivals which dis-
played a royal magnificence. On the fourth day

the Queen carried her sumpluousness so far as
to pay a talent for a quantity of roses, with
which she caused the floor to be covered to
the depth of eighteen inches. But the greatest
profusion of flowers mentioned in ancient his-
tory, and which seems scarely credible, is that
which Suetonius attributed to Nero. This au-
thor says that at a fete wliicli the Emperor
gave at Baiae the expenses incurred for roses
alone were more than 4,000,000 sesterces, which
equals £20,000, or nearly ^100,000. At this, or
some other reception at Bai:U'. when the enter-
tainment was given on the water, the whole
surftxce of Jyake Lucina was covi^red with ro-ses.

At first, the Romans brought their flowers
from Egypt at those seasons of the year when
Italy could not produce them. But afterwards,
to render these luxuries more easily attainable
during the winter, the Roman gardeners erected
green-houses, warmed by " hot water pipes,
and by artificial temperature kept roses and
lilies constantly in bloom 'J'liey carried their
hot houses to such perfection, that in the reign
of Domitian, when the Egyptians thougt'" *o
pay him a splendid compliment by sending roses
on his birthday in winter, their present excited
ridicule. It was like hauling coals to Newcastle.

If any one thinks of furnishing this society
with the means for a grand display from year to
year, and wishes to be encouraged by precedent,
I would refer him to the following scrap of his-
tory taken from a French Universal Biography :

"Clemence Isaure, a French lady who lived
in the latter part of the 15th century, bequeathed
to the Academy of Toulouse a large income, ex-
clusively for the celebration of floral games, and
the distribution of five prizes for as many poems.
The prizes consisted of an amaranth and a rose
of gold, and of a violet, marigoM and lily of sil-
ver. The will also required that every three
years, on the day of the commencement of the
floral games, the members ul" the Academy
should scatter flowers on her toiult. Bonsard,
the French poet, took the first prize, and received
in lieu of the accustomed rose a silver image of
Minerva. Mary, Queen of Scots, was so much
delighted with the poem that she sent him a
magnificent rose valued at ,l'')00. "' lUu enough

on this point

The general sentiment the world has ex-
pressed by flowers are those of lovt-, honor, re-
(inement, charity, holiness and happiness. In
looking up tills subject at the re([uesl of this
society, I have fr)uud one or two exceptions to

1S6

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJYTHLy.

May.

this. A synod at Nismcs, about A. D. 1284,
ordered the Jews to wear a rose on their breasts,
that they might be distinguished from Chris-
tians and not receive the same attentions. At
one time, too, in certain parts of Germany, a
crown of red roses was the punishment f)f im-
morality. As an offset to this, we may mention
a beautiful custom that prevails in the Valley of
Engadlne in Switzerland. If a man accused of
a crime is able to justify himself, the day on
which he is delivered from prison, a young and
beautiful girl presents him Avith a white rose,
called " the rose of innocence."

Seneca made a raid on the green-houses of
Eomc, and denounced them as tending to efle-
minancy and vice. He tells one rich old cur-
mudgeon that he could not sleep if one of the
rose-petals, with which his bed was spread,
ha])pened to be curled. And Cicero, who ren-
dered Verres immortal by the unmercifuV cas
tigation he gave him, tells that citizen not only
that he is a robber; but such a lazy, effeminate
libertine, that he would not know when spiing
came if he did not see the flowers in bloom.
But Seneca, great as he was, could not do away
with the green-houses. It appears, however,
that some of the nobles did appoint a board of
eminent physicians to determine what kind of
flowers were suitable to place in crowns, with
out detriment to health ; and that the doctors
reported the parsley, the ivy, the myrtle, and
the rose as possessing peculiar virtues for dissi-
pating the fumes of wine.

Less men than Seneca and Cicero might have
told emperors and patricians that if their palaces
had not been hot-beds of iniquity, seething with
drunkenness and licentiousuess, the wreath ]iut
on their virtuous brows Avould not have killed
them, even though their courts had smelled like
the city of (Jologne. where a great English poet
says he recognized seventy two separate and well
defined odors, some of them not very pleasant.

"We of course repudiate the idea of the old
German already alluded to, who found in the
rose a universal panacea even for physical evils.
Had this virtue been found, Nero and Marc
Anthony might have been spared. 15ut to re-
lieve all the disorders with which our humanity
is afllicted, thrre must l)e in the remedy some
inherent (|uality suflicient to cure sin. Tlu're is
only one lialm in TJilcad suflicient for that. And
tliis leads me, to remark that what I have yet to
say will be in regard to flowers viewed from a
Christian sUnul point, and if you will hear with

me yet longer, I would like to inflict a few of
what my little daughter calls my *' Gliristianary
ideas'*' upon you. I must premise "i.owever, that
the world has its a;sthetic tastes. The beautiful
can be looked iipon and enJo}'ed in its measure
in the sphere of nature, as over against the
sphere of grace. Athens w^as once the most re-
fined city in the world, and at the same time the
most idolatrous and immoral. During the mid-
dle ages, the cultivation of tlowers, as well as
art, in the northwest of Europe, was confined to
the monks and nuns, who kept their gardens
while every one else was off at the wars. But
the church does not now monopolize these
things. Some people who make no pretentions
to Christianity appreciate flowers more than
many very pious persons do. There is a worldly
thrift and taste that often expresses itself in this
way, and although Christianity without flowers
is better than flowers without Christianity, it is
certainly better to have the flowers alone than
neither Christianity nor flowers.

We do not usually find the people who love
and cultivate flowers to be the worst and most
improvident members of any community. Peo-
ple whose ideas are entirely utilitarian — in
whom the beautiful things of the world excite
no emotions, are oftenest contracted and illiberal
in all their views — moral dyspeptics ; and when
all the innocent and legitimate i)astimes by
which the toils and cares of life may be relieved
are ignored, we are apt to have great stupidity,
or what is worse, gossips and busy bodies in
other men's matters. Louis Napoleon under-
stood this. lie was always amusing the French
to keep them from malicious mischief— to him-
self. The ancients had this idea, too. They
consecrated the rose to Harpocrates, the patron
of silence, of which it was the symbol, and they
]n-esumed that when they could say anything to
a man — or woman — under a rose bush, they
could say it in confidence. That was just the
meaning of their sub rosa.

It was the custom in some of the northern
countries, too, to suspend a rose over the table
at their feasts, to remind the guests that honor-
able silence was to be preserved in regard to
every thing said during their meals. A little of
that old Unman honor, pagan though it was,
would not be amiss now. You may think this
suggestion imcharitable, but if you were up
here speaking, you would say that if you could
enforce the code, you would make many that
you wot of take breakfast, dinner and tea, lunch

1871.

THE GARDEMER'S MOJ^'THLY.

U7

between meals and strawberries at niiibt, .sm^-
rosa. You would pen tbcm up between silence
and starvation. And it would do you good to
see two chronic gossips chewing and swallowing
opposite to each other, with the dread consci-
ousness that they dare not say one dishonorable
■word about what they might hear. The effect
upon them would be such as arsenic and water
are said to have had upon rats, in the good old
times when adulteration did not belong to the
apothecary's art. Many a person's first mouth-
ful would prove the death dose, but you would
say, "If the rose can drive awaj' the evil spirit,
let the bush be planted, even though he tear
some as he gooth out '' The preachers and
churches would have a good time generall}' ;
the law3'ers certainly, and even the doctors
would have more leisure, for there would be less
sickness because less wounded, troubled, broken
hearts Ah ! though the rose ma}- be appointed
of God as means to help keep the mind in proper.
Ijealthful channels, they cannot, as the old Ger-
man supposed, exorcise the Demon. The strong
man keepeth his palace, and until a stronger
ONE come his good.< are in peace. Only He who
met and conquered the old enem}'. when He was
manifested to destroy the works of the devil, can
vanquish him now.

All this by way of parenthesis. I started out
to sav- only that even in a worldly point of view,
honor and flowers ought to go together. More-
over, I have noticed during a ministry that has
extended through half of my life time, and
chiefl}' among the poor, that those people in the
humbler walks of life, whose natural promptings
have led them to whitewash their cottages, and
train the jessamine and morning-glory by the
door, or plant the marigold in the yard during
the summer, are not cjfnerally the persons to
whom my deacons have had to carry coal and
potatoes in winter.

Conceding, then, the beneficial effects that
may be said to flow from the cultivation of flow-
ers in a worldl}' point of view, what we wish to
insist upon is that nothing can find its true
meaning outside of Christianity, which alone
can s.mctify our tastes and make our joy in them
perennial, and that in all this we have higher
incentives than the old Greek had when he
taught his boy to study and admire the works of
Phidias.

Even refined paganism taught that the high-
est beauty culminated in the service of the god.«,

and if they were impelled to invest deities as the
patrons of flowers, why should we ignore Him
who "clothes the lilies of the field ?" Indeed
it is wonderful how flowers have entered into
the religious life of the world, and how in al^
heathenism we have dim adumbrations or sha-
dowings of what is told us by revelation. Into
this field I may not enter, but let me give one
instance. Zoroaster tells us that the stem of the
rose had no thorns until the entrance of Ahrim-
anus (the evil one) into the world. Here we
have evidently a stray gleam from the burning
bush, for this is just the truth that the Bible de-
clares. "When God made man, he placed him in
an Eden of beauty, and when man fell he in-
volved his whole heritage. The earth was cursed
for his sake and doomed to bring forth thorns
and thistles. Every one who contends with
weeds and briars, feels that this curse is a dread
reality, that reaches away down to the very soil
on which we tread. Flowers, then, comport
with innocence, and thorns with sin.

But now this law of sin and death is to be re-
versed. A Deliverer is promised, by whom the
curse is to be removed, and when bis triumph is
predicted it is in this language : " The wilder-
I ness and the solitary places shall be made glad
j * * the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the
I rose. It shall blossom abundautly and rejoice
even with joy and singing ; the glory of Lebanon
shall be given unto it, the excelleucy of Carmel
and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the
I Lord and the excellency of our God.— Is. 35 : 2.

If then the restoration is to be as much of a
I historical reality as the curse is. the bloom of
i Eden must be renewed, and the evil one will not
be permitted to say, " Although man has been
redeemed, I hold his heritage." He will not be
I able to say, " The blighted Eden spoken of in
I the firi^t part of your Bible was a fact, but the
■ new heavens and the new earth described by St.
John, in the last part of your Bible, and pro-
mised as the restored paradise into the which
, the redeemed shall enter, must ever remain a
fiction." No, even the plants and flowers
; of the earth are to "see tlie excellency of our
God," and this thought is one to which the
Christian ought not to be indifferent.

It is remarkable that He by whom all this is

to be effected, has many names given to Him

I from the world of plants, as "the Root and

! Stem of Jesse," "the Branch," "the Balm in

Gilcad,'' " the Kose of Sharon," and " the Lily

1S8

THE GARJ)EJ\^£R'S MOJVTHL >

May,

of the Valleys." And it is further remarkable
that iu the song of Solomon, the love of Christ
for Ilis Church is set forth uodor the imaue of a
(over in a J,^arden of flowers. But I would yet
•all attention to the fact that the use of flowers
jn relii,'ious decoration is spoken of iu the Bible.
The high priest's dress, and some parts of the
tabernacle, with its sacred furniture, were deco-
rated with the blossom of the pomegranate and
the almond, and as this was done by Divine di-
rections, no one dare cavil at it.

He whose lips were touched with a live coal
from off God's altar, and who spoke as he was
moved by the Holy Ghost, uttered this predic-
tion: "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto
thee ; the fir tree, the pine tree and the box to-
gether, to beautify the place of my sanctuary,
and I will make the place of my feet glorious."
This prediction has been fulfilled in the custom
of the churches that adorn their houses of wor-
ship on festival days. And this custom is no
longer confined to the old German and Eng-
lish ehurches, but is coming mto vogue among
those who do not lay so much stress upon the
regular festivals. The latecentcnnary celebra
tion of Methodism in this country witnessed
many a tloral oftering, and at the meetin<r of the
united Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church,
just held in Philadelphia, the sacred edifice was
festooned with evergreens, and their pulpit and
communion table were crowned with flowers.
I like my Alethodist and Presbyterian brethren
all the better for that. And if any long faced
croaker should speak to me of it as an evidence
of a decline in what he would be apt to call their
"vital godliness," I would respectfully differ
from him ; but if he should go farther, and seri-
ously say that they were worshipping flowers, it
would take all the little grace I have to keep
from thinking him a donkey that had been feed-
ing on thistles all his life. But even if it were
established that a man must make an idol of
everything brought into our churches, it vTere
t)etter then U) adorn our chancels with flowers,
than to litter them up with hats, overcoats, um-
brellas and nuiddy gum shoes, which you would
expect any refined pastor to leavf outside of
your parlors.

A minister of our own (thurch (mut pn-achod
a sermon against the time honored custiun nf
decorating churches, because, as he said, it was
tiostile to spirituality ; as if tiiere was some-
thing css(!ntially spiritual in bare walls He
look the t<!Xt, " Worship the fiord in the beauty

of holiness." Unfortunately, he found it in the
book of Chronicles, where we are told God built
the most gorgeous temple the world ever saw,
and the text itself means in the original, " Wor-
ship the Lord with the ornaments of the sanc-
tuary.'>^ If he had quoted the whole song from
which his text was taken, he would have read
these words, " Then shall the trees of the wood
sing out at the presence of the Lord." Men will
find out one of these days that it is a terrible
slander to say that our most holy Christianity is
to be represented only by what is poor and
uiily and mean, and that if that is only done, the
spirituality may be takiu for granted. God
ordered the richest and best of everything for
His temple of old. The wise men from the East
brought gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh to
the infant Jesus. AVhen the palm-branches
were strewed in the Saviour's way, it was the
Pharisees that protested, and not Christ Him-
self. The woman who poured the precious oint-
ment made of the nard plant at the Saviour's
feet was commended by Him, and built herself
a monument lasting as the gospel itself. It was
not the most spiritual of the disciples, but a gold
loving Judas, who said, "AVhy was all this waste
made?'' The early Christians had a great
many flowers in their services on the festival
days. AVhitsuntide, or AV'hite-Sunday, received
its name, as is generally supposed, from the
white dresses and flowers used on that day.
These things could not then, nor can they now,
add anything to Christ, any more than Mary's
ointment could, but He can add something to
them, by sanctifying our tastes and associating
them with that which is holy, and thus symboliz-
ing the Paradise of God, which will re-appear
whenevcn the creation shall l)e delivered from
the bondage of corruption unto the glorious
liberty of the sons of (lod.

Tell me not, then, that the gold does not sanc-
tify the temple. It is enough for me to know
that the temple sanctifies the gold. I love flow-
ers, and I love them all the mure because, as I
hope, I love God, and I do not see why they
should be excluded from our holiest activities
and associations. I like !M . Heecher's bou-
quets on his pulpit more than I like some of his
smart but erratic .sermons. I think if any one
could be found with such a scrofulous mind as
to object to a bunch of (Jod's innocent flowers
on His own altar, one might say to him what
.lohn Calvin said to the only person he ever
heard object to tin; rupetiticni of the Lord's

187L

THE GAHDEJVER'IS MOJ^TULy

139

prayer, "Poor creature!" You can imagine
such a one at his public devotions. You would
be apt to sec him witli any of our modern hymn
books in hand, standing on Jordan's stormy
tanks, and casting

•' A wishful eye
To Canaan's fair and happy land.
Where his possess^ions lie "

You would hear of a "land of pure delight,"
and he would sin^

" There eTeriastiui; sprinji abides.

And never withering flouers,
De^th, hke a narrow sea. divides

That heavenly land from our.*."

Oh, yes, his " land of pure delight " is full of
flowers, by Divine appointment, of course, and
it is, perhaps, well that he can't see all, for he
might be impelled to commit suicide by drown-
ing, for —

"Could^e hut climb where Mose.s ,«.t.ood.

And view the landscape o'er.
Not Jordao'.'i stream nor death'.s cold flood.

Could keep him from that shore."

See ! anxious to get over where the flowers
are, but he don't want any such superstitious
nonsense here, and could hardly pray, " Thy
will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. ' ' There
are such jewels of consistency in the world, who,
though they think flowers very wicked, do not
obiect to thorns, especially if they stick them
into some person's side.

My own opinion is, that the greatest enemies
of our holy religion are not open revilers. but
those professors who look upon our Heavenly
Father as a merciless tryant, and his service as
a series of inexorable hardships. They may
profess to be the antipodes of the Carmelite
monks, but they differ from them only in placing
purgatory on this side of the grave. They rep-
resent Christian duty as a heavy premium we
must all pay in this world, as an insurance
against fire in the next ; and they would never
take a policy themselves if they were not afraid
of a future scorching.

These pcoj)le make religion seem harsh and
forbidding. They drive all the best music out
of the churches into the opera houses, and then
storm at their children if they go after it. And
fiucli people ought to have in reality, as they
have to all intents and purposes, two sets of
eyes, one set to "roll up in meeting," and an-
other set with which to look at God's green earth
and starry heavens. As it is, their Christian
eyes see nothing but skulls in the rose bushes
and cross bones in the skies. With them Chris-

tianity is a dry, hard, harsh, abstract theory,
whereas it is, in truth, a new life, that ought to
underlie our natural life and give lone and color
to the whole constitution of the world in which
God has placed us. For no one is bound to give
up anything as a Christian which he ought not
to be ashamed of as a man. And Christianity
does not ignore any of our relations, or any en-
joyments or pleasures growing out of them ; it
simply sanctities them in such a way as to make
them truly joyou.s Nay, more, in the second
Adam we may gain everything we lost in the
first ; and even the outward world, instead of
being irredeemable, is to be restored finally,
though it may be through catastrophe, to its pris-
tine glory and claiuiod for the service of God.
His grace and power are to be as far reaching
as the blight of sin. He came that even the
matter of which the outward world is composed
— not simply the coarser parts of it, not simply
what we see at Golgotha and Calvary, jagged
rocks and bare earth wet with blood ; not simply
the rude wood to which lie was nailed ; not
simply the wormwood that He drank, and the
thorns with which He was pierced, but that all
things, the richest and best of everything should
praise Him ; yea, that even the aroma of the
plant and the fragrance of the rose should be
brought to Him, (Luke 24: 1), not to purchase
favor indeed, but as the offerings of joy, and the
ointment of grateful love poured out at his feet.
The Christian who does not a ppreciate this fact,
comes short of his high privileges, if not of his
most solemn duty.

These are my views, which, however, none of
you are compelled to adopt. I would not force
even my roses upon you. If you prefer t/iorns,
you pay your money and can take your choice.
But I love the flowers.

ACORITS JAPONICUS VARIEGATUS.

BY MR. JAMES TAPLIN, MANAGER TO GEO. SUCH,
SOUTH AMP-OY, N. Y.

I bog to call your readers' attention to this
plant, than which there are few striped-leaved
plants more ornamental. It will grow nearly a
yard high in one season from small plants ; one-
half the leaf is a bright green, and the other
white, which gives it a very striking appearance.
Grows best in moist soil, or kept well watered;
is nearly or quite hardy ; makes a splendid edg-
ing to Cannas, Castor Oil plants or any other
tall foliage plants.

140

7 HE GARI)EJ\'EWiS .MOJVTRLY.

May,

IThe pretty "Calamus" is also interesting by
its very curious flosvers.— Ed.]

FLOWER GARDEN DECORATIONS.

J?Y AVALTEU ELDER, LANDSCAPE GARDENER,
ririLADA.

IMay is the famous montli in the year for dec-
orating the flower garden with "bedding plants,"
which consist of annuals, biennials and pcrcMini-
als. The}- are propagated in glasshouses, and
sold in small pots ; but when transported great
distances by mail or express, they are tapped
out of the pots with the balls of soil at their
roots, and packed more closely to lessen the
price of transportation. Our leading commer-
cial florists are so very skillful in packing and
shipping, there is scarcely any chance of failure
or miscarriage. We have inspected the collec-
tions oftho.se around us, and have received the
beautifully illustrated catalogues of many at a
distance ; we arc both surprised and delighted
at seeing and learning of the many new species
of merit introduced, and the numerous varieties
of superior excellence originated since last year.
The vast collections of indescribable beauty and
diversity which all the leading florists have, are
wonderful in the extreme ; every fancy and every
purpose of floral ornamentation can be suited.
Among the genera of ornamental leaves for mak-
ing "ribbon beds," we mention Achyranthus,
Alternanthcra, Caladiuin, Coleus, Centaurea,
Cineraria, Panicuni variegatum. There are
many other genera with varegated leaves, the
Silver-leaved Geraniums, &c As for tho.se of
splendid blossoms, they are legions, and the
beauty of their flowers is beyond our ability to de-
scribe ; even the Verbena, Pel\mia. Piilox Drum-
mondii, Carnation, and Picotee Pinks, and all
the species of gre(!n leaved i)inks. like Cliinaand
Mule Pinks, are wonderfully improved, and sur-
j)asH in ilie brilliancy, constancy and beauty of
their blossoms, many of the new species. IIow
can we describe the extraordinary improvements
made upon the (Jeranium and Fuchsia families.
Their blossoms are enlarged, made double, and
ma.:e more liighly beautiful, and their jicrpet-
ual blooming established; their foliage is also en-
larged and splendidly variegated ; the same may
be said ol" Chrysantiiemums and Dahlias, and so
witii the Rose which illuminate the autumnal
flower garden ; and we cannot pass, unnoticed,
the smiling dwarfs of spring, the Daisy, Prim-
rose, Polyanthu«. \'iolet, Forget-me-not, I'.msy,

Calceolaria, Cineraria, Feverfew, the Lobelia,
&c. ; Heliotrope, Sweet Alyssum, Mignonette
for fragrance ; the Lemon Napoleon, Variega-
ted Mint and Geranium, with sweet scented
leaves. Antirrhinums, Salvias. Larkspurs, Nier"
embergias, Ij-vn tanas, Gazan'^as, «.Vc. The new
Hydrangeas are splendid in l)loom and variega-
ted foliage ; the ornamental grasses are also
showy and beautiful ; but the Carinas are alto-
gether too coarse and clumsy for small gardens,
but if grouped upon large grounds, they make a
show. The annual climbing vines are very beau-
tiful to train upon fancy wire-work, and they
are needed for a diversity ; and to complete a
whole, the double Zinnias, double B.ilsams, dou-
ble Gillyflowers, the rich Cockscomb, and Globe
Amaranthus, are all of hish value in floral dec-
orations. The tender hidbs too ^are needed for
their diversity and splendor of blooms ; the Ja-
pan liilies. Gladiolus, Tuberose, Tigridia, and
the grand Golden Lily. Oh what a gracious
Providence we are blessed with to make life
pleasant.

BLIGHT AND INSECT COMPOSITION.

BY MR. .T. M MATTISOX, JACKSONVILLE, TOMP-
KINS CO , N. Y.

Some of our townsmen, with myself, paid S50
for a blight composition, but I do not think it is
equal to the following. My mode is :

25 ozs. of Salt, fine or coarse.

5 ozs. of Copperas.

H ozs. of Blue Vitriol.

1] ozs. of Saltpetre.

1 or li ozs of Oil of Vitrol.

1 lb. of Babbitt's Concentrated Lye.

5 lbs. of hard soap, or 1 gal. soft soap.

Take an old iron ])ot, and put in the salt, with
a suflicient quantity of water, then heat. Pound
up the Blue Vitriol thentlie balance of the com-
pound ; if too hard, put in lard or harness oil
until it is thin enough to brush on. Clean the
roots of the tree, and cut out the borer ; have a
small brush somet bin;]; like a marking brush, and
cover the wound. Then take the body and
limbs. On the largest parts of the body and
limbs I use a very small whitewash brush, 4 to
5 inches wide, and not very thick. This will
make the varnish regular, and kill every insect.
To every man that owns an orchard, it is inval-
uable. I have some :U)(K» pears and 1000 to 2001)
aj>ples, plums and peaches, I intend to hire a
man in the spring, and let him go all over my .
orchard.

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

IJfL

If this is worth anything to your valuable
journal, please use it.

AN ABSTRACT OF REMARKS UPON THE
PLAN'IS OF SCRIPTURE.

BY GEORGE D. PHIPPEN.

(Bcfrne the Esaej- Institute)

The lectures, of which this was a condensa-
tion, were prepared for an entirely different pur-
pose than presentation before a scientific asso-
ciation. There is much greater obscurity in our
version regarding these plants, than would be
the case were a new one now made which should
include a better knowledge of the productions of
Palestine and the neighboring countries, than
was then possessed. The copiousness of allu-
sions to the vegetable kingdom, throughout the
Hebrew Scriptures, impresses with an interest,
amounting to astonishment, all those whose at-
tention has been called to the subject.

A large portion of the rich and glowing pas-
sages, from both the greater and lesser prophets,
that have chimed their measured cadences into
our ears from earliest childhood, are of this class,
examples of which are here cited. So marked is
this quality of Hebrew poetry, as seen in the
Bible, that it was declared, by a learned man of
the last century, to be botanical poetry, and who
states that upwards of two hundred and fifty bo-
tanical terras can be found therein.

The glory of Lebanon, the excellency of Sha-
ron, and the waving forests of ^Carmel have lent
their aid to illustrate sacred themes.

The Lord is described as riding upon the wind,
but his more gentle going is heard in the tops of
the nmlbcrry trees. The righteous shall cast
his roots as Lebanon— they shall flourish like
the palm tree — they shall sit under their own
vine and fig tree. The thorn shall give place to
the fir tree, and the myrtle grow instead of the
briar— and all the trees of the fields shall clap
their hands.

The New Testament is not so rich in meta-
phor. The lily of the field, the grain of mustard
seed, the wild and good olive tree, the seed sown
in weakness but raised in power, are familiar
examples.

The remarkable range of temperature of the
land of Palestine, from the snow-clad summits
of Lebanon and Ilermon, to the coast plains and
to the deep and almost tropical valley of Jordan,
is productive of a more varied vegetation than
can be found anywhere within the same territory
upon the surface of the earth. On her heights

are to be found natives of the colder zones, while
HI the Jordan valley grow plants not to be found
nearer than India.

The mountains abound in oaks, cedars and
pines -, while the palm, the fig and citron find a
congenial home in the plains or lower declivities.

Our familiar garden bulbs flourish along the
water courses, and numerous species of Legumes
and Labiates render the sandy regions less deso-
late.

Its anciently terraced and artificially watered
hills were capable of a luxurious cultivation, and
though now comparatively desolate, once sup-
ported a numerous population.

The region of ancient Jericho with its palms —
the enchanting valley of Sechem — the gardens of
Engedi — fig and olive groves and vineyards in
great numbers, altogether impress us with its
former wonderful fertility.

Immense grain fields and gardens of cucum-
bers and melons, each with its hut or lodge for
the abode of a watchman, who remained during
the ripening season to guard the fruit, were nu-
merous and in some i)arts are still to be seen.
Isaiah compares Zion "as desolate as a lodge in
a garden of cucumbers."

The plants represented might be divided into
plants ornamental ; plants used for perfume or
incense ; fruits, grains, woods, &c.

Of ornamental plants, the Rose, strange as it
may appear, is not found in the Scriptures. The
two solitary cases, in Isaiah and the Song of
Solomon, where our version has the word Rose
are thought to indicate a bulbous plant— an
Amaryllis or Narcissus. The Rose of Sharon is
therefore supposed to be the Narcissus Tazzeta,
a plant that freely abounds in the wilds of Sha-
ron. The Rose of the Apocrypha is supposed to
refer to a shrub, extremely common around the
Sea of Gallilee and the water courses of that
country generally, that is the Nerium Oleander,
well known and cultivated among us.

Our native Apocynea3 are of the same order
with it, and all of them, though so beautiful,
are more or less poisonous ; indeed most milky-
sapped plants should be regarded with suspicion.
The sap of the Oleander is most virulently poi-
sonous, and has even caused death. The pow-
dered wood is sometimes used as a rat extermi-
nator.

The Lily is the ornamental plant of Scrip-
ture ; its flowers adorned, in relief, the brim of
the Moulton sea ; and furnished Solomon in his
wonderful sont: with with one of its choicest

U2

THE GARDEJVEB'^ MO.lVTBLy.

May,

images. The Lily of the Old Testament di fliers
from that of the N'ew. The Hebrew word "Shu-
san" (hence our name Susan) is thought to mean
the Nelumbium .speciosjtm, [a species of the Lo-
tus, sacred and venerated by the Egyptian, Hin-
doo and Chinese. It is a water plant and once
common in the rivers of Egypt and Syria. It is
the most beautiful of all the Nymphfea, exam-
ples of which we have in our native water lilies
and the famous Victoria Itegia. The Lily of the
New Testament, the Greek "Krina," is now un-
derstood to be the Lilium Ckalcedonicum, a
scarlet martagon, and not the Crovvn Imperial,
as formerly supposed, which latter is a Persian
plant, and never common in Palestine. The
imported bulbs of this Lily [once compared to
the scarlet robes of Solomon], can occasionally
be purchased at the seed stores in Boston.

"Caniphiie with t-pikenard."
"My heioveil. is unto ma a cluster of
Cainpfiire in tlie vineyHrd's of Eiigedi."

The plant thus rendered Camphire, is believed
to be the Henna plant of Egypt and Palestine,
the Lanisonia inermis; a most beautiful and deli-
ciously fragrant shrub, whose flowers have been
used both in ancient and modern times as an ar-
ticle of luxury and adornment. It belongs to
the Loosestrife family, types of which we have
in our cultivated and native Lythrums.

The Balm of Gilead and that rendered
Myrrh, are the exuded sap from two species of
Balsamodendron, i. e. the B. Gileadense and B.
myrrha^ belonging to the order Amyridacaj, the
plants of which abound in balsamic juices and
yield frankincense, olybanum, balsam copaiba
and other fragrant resins and gums. This or-
der belongs exclusively to tropical India, Africa
and America. It has some alliance to the Orange
tribe, but differing greatly in its dry nut-like
fruits. The Balm of Gilead is believed to be one
of the earliest articles of commerce known, even
as far back as the time of tliu patriarch Jacob,
518 the Midianite merchantmen, to whom .Joseph
was sold, were then on their way to Gilead to
complete their camel loads with a clioice supply
of that costly balsam fcr tlie Egyptian market.
It often sold for twice its weight in silver. It
was cultivated only in the King's garden in Ju-
dea, tlic revenue from wliuli liclongcd exclusive-
ly to the Crown.

Strabo speaks of it. Titus carried some of it
to Home. Pompey exhibited one of the trees in
a triumphal entry. When Alexander visited
Judea, one teaspoonful per day and seven gal-
lons per year was the entire product.

Frankincense, so often mentioned in Scrip-
ture, is a gum from a tree of this same order
with the last. It has been used from the re-
motest times l)y the Hebrews and Egyptians in
their sacrifices. It exudes from the straight
trunk of the Bosvcllia-serrala, a lofty tree, na-
tive of the mountains of Central India. Frank-
incense is still used as incense in Catholic
churches, and somewhat as a medicine.

The LiGN Aloe, Aquilnria Agallochum. or Ea-
gle-wood, is found only in Asia. Itgrows some-
times to the height of one hundred and twenty
feet. The heart wood is loaded with aromatic
properties, and is one of the most grateful of
perfumes. It has been held more precious than
gold. "All thy garments shall smell of myrrh,
aloes and cassia.''

This was one of the drugs, one hundred pounds
of which Nicodemus brought after the Cruci-
fixion, in which, v/ith the linen clothes, was
wrapped the body of our Lord ; it was therefore
•» vu-y costly preparation. We have no plant
of more approximate affinity than our hedge
buckthorn. The aloe of the apothecaries is an
entirely different article, and uljiajnej from a
plant of the lily tribe.

Spikenard, of the Valerian family, has a
most rare and agreeable perfume. Our garden
Heliotrope and the Centranthus are of this or-
der. Several of them yield a fragrance which
intoxicates the cat tribe, and that from one of
them is said to be sufficiently powerful to throw
even man into convulsions.

The NnrdosfacJiys Jatamansi, of the mountains
of upper India, seems conclusively proved by
Sir William Jones and Dr. Royle, to be the plant
which furnished the "Alabastar box of Spike-
nard very precious," with which Mary anointed
the feet of Jesus, and which Judas declared
might have been sold for three hundred pieces of
silver ; which price, among other unguents, is
given by Pliny, who remarking on the extrava-
gance of such preparations, says, "We have
known the very soles of the feet sprinkled there-
with." He also intimates the form of the ala-
bastar ointment box.

"Spikenard and Salf'ron. Ciilnmiis siid CinnMroon. — S. of S.

Saffron is the yellow stigma of the Crocussa-
iivus, or fall Crocus, belonging to the well known
Iris family, very common in cultivation among us.
SallVon was and still is used as a perfume, spice,
confection, dye and medicine. Its collection re-
quired great patience, four thousand flowers
yielding but one ounce, and the entire product

1S71,

THE GARDEJ^ER'S M0:N'THLY.

US

of an acre for the season averaged but about ten
or twelve pounds. It was formerly extensively j
cultivated at Welden in Essex, England, which
hence has borne the name of Saffron-Welden.

A totally different plant, the Carthanms tine- '
toria, once familiar under Hk; name of Saffron in
our gardens, has been successfully used to adul-
terate the true Saffron.

Calamus aroynaticus ''the Sweet cane, from a
far country,'' is allied to our sweet vernal grass.
[In fragrance. — Ed.]

Cassia and Cinnamon, well known spices,
were in the time of Ezekiol common articles of
trade with the merchants of Tyre. They belong
to a ftimily of which our Sassafras and Laurus
benzoin are examples. Camphor of commerce is
from a tree of the same tribe.

The Hysso]} and Mustard of Scriptures, around
which many inquiries cluster, are not so satis-
factorily identified by modern investigation as
would seem reasonable to expect. The former
is declared by the best authorities to be the Cap-
paris Egyptica, or Caper plant, and not the offi-
cinal herb. Hyssop ; the latter, the Salvadora
Persica, a tree-like plant, sufficiently large for
birds generally to lodge in its branches. Some
still adhere to the common Mustard as that al-
luded to on two occasions by our Saviour. The
uses of Mustard were well understood and de-
scribed by Pliny, who was nearly contemporary.
The Fruits were identified and described.
Among them the Pat.m tribe, a family acknowl-
edged by botanists to be the princes of the vege-
table kingdom, and to which, in Scripture, the
righteous are most fitly compared. ''They shall
flourish like the Palm tree ; they shall bring forth
fruit in old age." The whole Palm tribe are of
immense importance to the countries in which
they grow. The Dale PaZm yields year by year,
an even crop of perhaps three or four hundred
pounds, and that for a century together, scarcely

ever materially failing. I ••••.

The Apple of Scripture is, without doubt, the KEEPING EGG PLANT SEED.

Citron, Citrus medica. "A word fitly spoken is J:'i MH. ^v\ l. akeks, johnstown, pa.

like apples of gold in pictures of silver," might | Ilaviug frequently observed that Egg-plant
be rendered, "like golden citrons in silver has- j seed which was exposed during the winter to
kets," in allusion to a custom of the Jews of low temperature, did not germinate freely, I
presenting that fruit in this manner at their sa- kept a portion during the past winter in a warm
cred feasts. room, and another portion in a closet in an out-

The Fig, Sycamobe-fig and Mulbkrry, of building, wheretheteinperature wasas lowasze-
the Morads, a family peculiar for the manner in ! ro. The result was, that of the portion kept in a
which their fruits are formed, being an aggre- 1 warm place, nearl}' every seed grew, while of
gation of calices consolidated into round, succu- the other part, not more than one in ten came
ent heads. The manner of the flowering of the 1 up. The seed was equally good in both cases.

fig, inside of the fruit, but] having all the requi-
site organs of true flowers, was satisfactorily ex-
plained.

The Olive and Vine are among the moHt
signal of the bountiful gifts of Providence, and
would in their history and economy exhaust
volumes, yielding as they do such indispensable
products, as fruits, wine, oil, molasses, &c.

The Almond and Pomegranate, with the
numerous texts in which they are mentioned,
received a share of attention and were found full
of interest and instruction.

The Crab- TREE, Ceratonia siUqua, with its-
sweet pods or husks, furnished food for the poor ;
but the copious crops of the tree were generally
fed out to mules, asses and swine. No doubt
this fruit is referred to in the parable of the
prodigal son, upon which he was obliged to feed,,
"ihe husks that the SAvine did eat "

CUCU3IBERS and Melons are invested with
great historical interest on account of the extent
of their ancient cultivation and the gi-eat place
they filled in the diet of the ancient Ilebrewa
and Egyptians.

The Lintel of Jacob and PJsau ; the Papy-
rus, from which paper was made, and which is
alluded to in the epistles of John ; the Zysyphus,
the plant from which the "Crown of Thorns"
was probably made, have each an interest pccu-
liarly their own.

The Timber Trees of the country, and such
as were used in the building of Solomon's tem-
ple, received a passing notice.

Jonah's Gourd, Elijah's Juniper, the
mythical Apples of Sodom, and the Rose of
Jericho, received severally their share of ex-
planation.

The foregoing i)lants were illustrated by color-
ed representations, which served to fix their
identification in the mind, and added greatly to
the interest of the subject.

lU

FEE GARVEJ^ER'S MOJ^TRLY.

May,

lias any one else obscrvod circumstances. of the
same kind ? If exposure to cold was the cause
of failure in this case, mii^ht it not be so in re-
gard to some other seeds V

OIRCULATIOIN OF HOT-WATER.
i!Y 15., Illinois;.
Having experimented to some extent, I was
much pleased with your article on hot-water
boilers. Your remarks are in the main just and
correct. 1 cannot agree with you when you
state " the active power in hot- water circulation
is ctW vcaUv ;'' but do, when you say it is a sim-
ple act of gravitation, and caused by ditierence
in temperature. Water attains its maximum
activity at 39', and sinks at 32-; it is 70 degrees
colder, remains on the surface and forms ice. In
this state of affairs, is Pat Murphy standing on
his head V

NOTES BY MISS A. G.

TO KEEP TIIK CUKCIILIO FRO^I PLUM TREES.

Another Remedy.

The following remedy was tried by a friend,
•of Maryland, with success.

As soon as the tree is in blossom, and every few
weeks afterwards, paint the trunk of the tree
from the ground up, two feet, with turpentine.
Turpentine is obnoxious to insects.

THE YELLOW'S IN PEACH TREES.

I give the experience of a friend, in restoring
his sickly yellow trees to vigorous fruit bearing.

The earth around the trunk of the tree was
taken away, until there was a hole made of the
size and depth of a common wash-basin, coal
tar from the gas works was then poured on the
roots, up to the edge of the ground ; rags and
bronze paper were wrapped around them to keep
■off the earth, and the soil filled into the former
level. The trees sent out new leaves, and were
cured. The worms in them, also, were destroy-
ed. Tlii.s iirotection will last for two years.
Another lleatoration..

A lady Unding some coal dust in the cellar of
a house she had rented, ordered it thrown around
a forlorn old peach tree in the yard, which she
expected to have cut down ; but its new dressing
seemed to inspire it with life. It snon put forth
an (xtra growth, and had a fine ciopof p(>aches.
Perhaps the sulphur in the coal iiiii)arted In altli
to this "ancient citizen," or exterminated its
riKMiiit's, — the worms. There is an acid appa-

rently in coal, which destroys the fish in the
Schuylkill. Perhaps it is this acid the peach
needs, as Prussic acid is found in the kernels of
its fruit.

CHINESE "WATER LILIES.

Since writing of our native water Lily, I have
read an account of the Chinese Water Lilies.
The root is used as food, and the seeds sold as a
nut in Europe. The colors are white, yellow,
pink and crimson; they are said, by Hue, to pre-
sent a dazzling appearance on the lakes and
ponds of China. Could not these be introduced
and cultivated in tubs ? Who will favor this
! side of the world with their beauty ?

I have heard of a large white lily growing in
the hollows of our Western prairies. It might
be possible to cultivate these also.

HOT-WATER BOILERS-Il.

j BY MR. .1. ELLIS, AVIIITE PLAINS, N. Y.

I I must quote you in order to find a text to my
I subject, and I suppose you will have no more
objection to that, than Blackstone would in
being quoted by all the lawyers in the land when
necessity requires it. But Blackstone is not
Imv, only an explanatory opinion of law. So it
is with all of us, Mr. Editor, including 3'our very
humble servant.

'•We would most likely find that the boiler has
been so set that the return pipe gets heated nearhi
as much as the flow, and the full flow of cold wa-
ter is thereby checked. It is almost impossible
to get water to 'circulate' freely under such cir-
cumstances."

For several years past I have been endeavor-
ing to devise some contrivance to apply the sec-
ondary heat of the fire from the boiler to the re-
turn water l)eforo the heat in question passes up
the chimney, and recently I have discovered
hoio to do it. This of course would be diamet-
rically opposed to the theory of keeping the re-
turn pipe cold. You want it cold, and we want
as much heat driven into it as is possible to be
got there. Xow what would be the jtractical
result of the latter suggestion ? AVe cannot call
to our recollection at the present, a more forcible
example of heating a return pipe, than is mani-
fested in the boiler of Burbridge and Ilealy of
ihe English make. In this c;ise, lott return
pipes ( nter the bottom of the boiler, and with it
rest or sit immediately over the hottest of the
fire. Now, whoever found anything imperfect

7^77.

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^TTHLJ,

145

in the circulation of these boilers if the ever ne-
cessary precaution was taken to so arrange the
pipes thai air could not he shut in. You, Mr.
Editor, I know have worked this boiler as well
as I. It seems to my mind a matter of impossi-
bility for such an arrangement to interfere with
proper circulation, and for the following reasons:
First, because the ends of the returns being over
the hottest fire, the water in those portions of them
are placed precisely in the same conditions as is
the bottom of the boiler — the force of heat being
equal to the square inch of iron surface acted on
by the fire. Now the water being moved by the
power of expansion, and the boiler itself con-
taining more of expanded water than do the
pipes at the commencement of heating, the
heated water at the ends of returns have less re-
sistance in passing to and up the boiler, than
they would receive in trying to force themselves
against a colder body and backward in the re-
turn pipe. The pressure is also lessened by tak-
ing to the boiler from its upward tendency,
whereas, if it were disposed to travel some por-
tion of the return, pipe, its course, probably, would
be horizontal, and friction would be the result ;
for water, when expanded by heat, is propelled
upward, so that the point of friction would be
against the upper side of the horizontal return
pipe, hence the conditions would be more favor-
able the other way— into the boiler and up.

Now again, if your theory of circulation be
correct, — plenty of cold water in the return pipe,
and that it is cold water that pushes the hot-wa-
ter out of its place, — what law is there to pre-
vent it so acting in the return pipes ? But you
manifest much fear about the warming at the
return at the boiler ; fear of what? Why that
the hot-water would push the cold water back,
a fear that the hot-water has more power and
force than the very cold water on which you say
depends the whole total sj'stem of circulation.

Should I be thought to be personal in my x"e-
raarks by your readers of the Monthly^ I beg to
say here that my personality is directed at (/leo?-?/
in that, and in no other sense.

That there are such things as ])ad working
hot-water apparatuses we know full well, and
have had in our time to contend with them ; but
with all due respect towards the various boiler
makers of Old England, I have never worked
boilers and pipes with so little fault connected
with them, as those made in New York City.
Something is more necessary to a boiler than
merely its capacity to generate heat, if the cir-

culation is to be perfect, and one thing is requi-
site to this end is to see that it docs not gener-
ate air. Once in our time, I worked a boiler
whose flow pipe came out of the side, and not
six inches of the top, and the consequence was
a contintial war of heavy sounds and slaps, both
in boiler and pipes ; but in those days I thought
I knew a great deal more than I do now, and of
course thought it was all right for the fire to
make the boiler do such wonderful things. A
boiler whose flow pipe does not come out at the
top of the boiler, or at the highest point of it
containing water will contain air. If there be
a vacuum or space in the boiler above the upper
water surfiice of the flow, that space is filled
with air, and never will fill with water, unless
an air pipe be placed there to let it out, and then
scalding water will be drawn out as well as air.
Again, every socket joint of the pipes contains
air, more or less, so that with a boiler contain-
ing air with what rests in the joints of the pipes,
you have to commence with obstructions to the
proper circulation of the wate/. Now if we
place the pipes level through a house, there is
but little chance of such air getting out, but if
we give to such pipes a quarter of an inch rise
to every pipe from the top of the boiler to a point
where there shall be a drop to the boiler, and at
the highest point place a cast-iron tank to re-
ceive such pipe, the tank having sufficient ca-
pacity to retain the water when expanded to its
fullest capacity ; we then have something that
kills two birds with one stone,— the relief of air
farmed or generated, and the expansion of the
volume of water by heat.

How ridiculous is that system of wooden box
tank, having a supply tap with a lead pipe run-
ning into the return pipe near the boiler. This
supply tank is supposed to be always full of cold
water to guard against lack of water in the pipes ;
but the moment the water in the pipts gets
warmed, expan.iion forces it back and over, and
continues to run over and run in, wasting the
heated water as well as the cold fresh water.
We have this goosey system in America to-day,
and scarcely any other in England, causing the
consumption of coal and time for no purpose
whatever. ;

Water cannot be made to work "any way ;"
there is only one way that water can be made to
work properly, and that is the right way ; any
boiler will work the circulation right (if it has
capacity to warm the water) if the boiler and
pipes contain no air, and an intelligent person

U6

7 HE GARDE J^EM'S MOJ^THLY

May,

putting up such apparatus will so put it up that
it shall not shut in air. Yerj- often it occurs that
pillars or posts on which pipes rest sink down,
thereby dropping the pipes in various places out
of their original grade or level ; where this oc-
curs, it is impossible for the water to circulate
properly, and often times this alone stops the
circulation. But agardener should always have
his eyes about him as well as his thoughts, and
try the grade of <.he pipes by taking a straight
edge and a spirit level on the top of it, and if the
pipes have been set, giving each a rise from the
boiler, determine how much that is, and allow it
at the proper end of the straight edge, and so
try the pipes through their whole length. If
this matter was attended to, we should not hear
so much about "bad circulation." It was only
the other day that we happened to be in a larije
crapery, where "Pat Murphy" was in the act
of taking out a valve, to be replaced by another,
when Ave inquired of him the reason for taking
it out, "shure it is not big enough to let the wa-
ter pass through it ;'' why, I said it is as large a
here as the one you intend to replace it with V

"Well I have tried it, and the water won't go
through it." I told him that the valve he had
placed there first, was set upside down, and con-
sequently had shut in the air, which was the
cause of the non-passage of the water. This
was altered, and the water flowed all right,
saved the expense of another pattern, and the
old one left to retain its original character of
adaptation.

Through the settling of pipe supports, which
causes the locking in of air, arises many difficul-
ties. "Pat Murphy" says that the water boils
out of his expansion tanks, and still there is but
very little heat in the pipes, and if he drives his
fire stronger, it will boil all the water out of the
pipes. I suggest to test the truth of the boiling,
but putting the thermometer into the boiling
water it is done, and the thermometer only in-
dicates 90'; I further suggest that it is air that
is throwing the water out, and not expansion
caused by the boiling point, 212\ Sfquel— pi))fs
out of level. Consequence — water lifted out by
air.

EDTTOU lAL.

OVER-DOIKG THE STRAWBEERY
TRADE.

"We notice that all through the country the
question is seriously discussed, as to whether
the culture of small fruits for market is likely to
be overdone. Thisisparlicularly questioned in re-
ference to the strawberry. It has been a diffi-
cult thing to answer. It is a well known fact
that hundreds have lost heavily by strawberry
jirowing ; while as many have made handsomely
by their labor and investments in them. So few
people keep books or accounts that we have had
little chance to judge of the elements of success or
failure in this particular crop. "We have had to
be content with the statement of this grower,
"that with him the strawberry was the best
paying crop, and the profits were enormous ;''
or of that one, " that strawberry growing
does not pay at all."

Fortunately wc can now get at some facts
which will place the mater on business princi-
ples. Mr. Wm. Parry gave an essay to the late
meeting of the Penii.sylvauia Fruit Urowcro' So-

I ciety, at Chambcrsburg, in which he detailed
the average expenses and profits of a series of
years. "We have not those figures, at this mo-
ment, before us; but they are not necessary, for
our purpose which is to show an approximate
rule for the guidance of those who would make
strawberries pay expenses.

The one great fact is, that from $300 to -^350
per acre is about the best that one can get for
the crop, taking a series of years— sometimes
more and sometimes less. The whole question
of profit then is in this :— can the expenses be
kept below that ? In Mr. Parry's case the ex-
penses were about one half— leaving a good mar-
gin of profit. But it must be remembered, that
in his case land is cheap ; while he is so near the
poorest part of a great city as to get the cheapest
kind of labor possible to work amongst the plants
and gather the fruit. Outside of the city limits
his taxes arc low ; while with cheap land, cheap
labor, low freight charges, and proximity to the
seat of the greatest demand, he is situated more
favorably than it is possible for a large number

1871.

THE GARDE.YER'S MOJ^THLl,

147

who would follow in his successful wake, to do.
It is then barely possible for many to make one-
half profits. Some may excel Mr. Parr}' in some
single advantage. For instance, if we mistake
not, Mr. Parry allows about !?10 per acre for in-
terest on his land, at 6 per cent. There are
plenty of strawberry patches in land worth SoO
per acre, or .$2.50 per annum interest ; and this
betters Mr. Parry's figures by $^7 50; but then
this is most likely far away fr«m the headquar-
ters of the market ; and thus the extra profit,
and uncertaint}', much more than counterbal-
ances the little interest saved.

There is yet another profit to be remembered.
Mr. Parry is not only a practical man, but a
man of science, one who reads and thinks, and
strives for excellence. In this S300 or S350 per
acre, much of it is for superior fruit. We ques-
tion whether the average grower would make this

average yield. It would be wise, therefore, for
those who are studying this strawberry business
to make the figures for their average receipts
still lower than this ; and, then, after calculating
what all their expenses are likely to be, they
will have one of the best rules forjudging what
can be done in it, than any thing yet offered.

And then as to being " over-done," of course
there is dangt;r. There is this danger in every
thing. Manufacturing, store keeping, cotton
raising, grain, fruit,— all are at times overdone.
No one can calculate exactly how much will be
wanted, or how much to raise. But when it is
overdone, it is only those who allow the smallest
margin for profit who go out. Those who cal-
culate wisely and well, and for whom we now
offer these figures, need never fear failure. For
them the strawberry business will never be over-
done.

SCRAPS AND aUERIES.

Early GERMiNATioif of Seeds.— P. H. F., 1
Babylon, writes: — I write a line on the subject I
of seed envelope, and the artificial germination
of seeds, and hope you will publish it with your
comments, in order to give the readers of the
O'arcZencr's Monthly information on the subject
of raising seedlings in this country, particularly
those who have had practice. I think I have
discovered a universal law pervading all seed
creation, i. c, the Mucous envelope, which dries,
hardens, and becomes insoluble in water. John
Grigor says the Ash will not germ the next sea-
.<ioa after ripening, but requires fifteen to eigh-
teen months. In order to test the Mucous theo-
ry, I placed American White Ash seed in a ves-
sel with yeast, allowed fermentation to take
place, then a partial acetic fermentation ; plant-
ed seed in a warm room, in four weeks it came
up beautifull}'.

[Our correspondent has started a question
alike interesting to the mere practical man, and
the man of science. It is a great feat to
get Ash to grow in the way described. If this
could be done every year as a regular thing, it
will rank as on»of the most valuable horticultu-
ral discoveries of the age. But we have often

met with circumstances which produced simi-
lar results, but failing to repeat themselves,
proved that we attributed the results to the wrong
causes. We never could get an ash, or a chio-
nanthus, or a privet, or anything that we re-
member of this natural family of Oleaccve to grow
the first year from seed, except last year a few
dozen seeds of tlie green ash, Fraxinus viridis
sent us by a friend, and kept dry till May before
sowing, were all growing by June ; yet we never
expect again to have ash seeding growing by
sowing in May. Last year also we had some
seed sent us from Virginia of t'ydonia sinensis.
It was sown in the spring, in a large pot. The
half grew at once, the balance remauied in the
ground a year, and are only just now coiuing
through.

This is probably the experience of every seed

sower ; and yet no one can give any philosophical

reason for it. The hint of our correspondent

may put students of this phenomenon on the

I right track. It is quite possible there is a ''wa-

I ter-tight" substance which has to be decayed

' away by some means beiore the embryonic gerni

' of life can be reached. AVe think one of oiu

; western correspondents, Mr. Douglass, if wc ar.

U8

2 HE GARDE JfER'S MOJ^THLY,

May,

not mistaken, once look in hand to treat Eed
Cedar seed on some such a principle, with some
prospects of success, but we have heard nothing
of it lately.

AVe do not know any subject of more practical
importance than this now sugf^ested, and we
shall be very glad to have any further hints or
observations that any of our correspondents may
have to offer.

In raising many hard shelled seeds, the preva-
lent idea now is that frost is necessary to cause
xhem to germinate. We have long since found
this to be an error. Frost is rather an injury
than a benefit ; some kinds, esi^ecially peach,
will grow well in the spring, if put out in the
ground in the fall ; when the same seeds saved
under cover till spring will not grow till the next
year, and this is placed to the credit of frost ;
but this is a mistake. It is the moisture, not the
frost which acts liavorably. It must have been
the observation of all peach growers who lay out
their peach pits in layers to freeze in tie fall,
that it is those at the bottom, in contact with
the damp earth, which grow tirst in spring, al-
though the fartlierest removed from the action
ut Irost. In fact i the pits had the same mois-
ture with a little heat, instead of with frost,
it would no doubt be better lor the seeds.
This is again exemplified in the case of
J nported Mahuleb cherry. Though put out in
tuc ground in fall bclore frost, and with the aid
of frost all winter, they yet oftener fail to grow
than to sprout in the next spring ; but if kept
barely warm and moist, yet secure from mould
all winter they will usually grow very well when
p. anted in spring.

'1 his expcriLUce accords also with our corres-
\ oiideufs observation ; for if it is a gelatinous
wattr-provf fcuLstauce which preventsthe vivify-
ing actiou of the elements, warmth and moisture
Will hasten the decay of this much sooner than
Host, or moibture aiune without warmth with it.

A Floweiung Hedge.— jlfrs. L. P. JU.,
2iundiCtUr, If. 11., writes :— "Visiting a friend
recently, who has a very neat Buckthorn hedge,
It was ier„arked by one of our company that it
vas a miblortune so pretty a thing had such
mean looking tlowers, and some one remarked
that pljiuts should be chosen lor hedges which
baa pretty llowers, as well as made effective
hedges. A gentleman of the party, who is a
guod amateur, said that pruning plants properly
lor hedge purposes, preveuted their fiowering,
and there was nothing thus suited to have this

effect in our part of the country. Is this really
so ? A flowering hedge plant would be very de-
sirable.''

[It is not one of the things we court to decide
questions between ladies ; but the Gardenev''s
Monthly must fearlessly do its duty. The Pyrus
japonka and the Privet will do well about your
section,^ bear pruning well^and yet produce flow-
ers abundantly. The last named is sometimes
badly attacked by a fungus, in the same way as
the pear tree is by the fire blight ; this is an ob-
jection, but the Pyrus japonica has no enemy,
and is a blaze of blossoms in spring. We never
saw a hedge of the red and white mixed, but we
should think this would have a pretty effect.]

Mr, Souciiet. — X., Cincinnati, 0., writes: —
'^'I wish to get some information regarding the
origin of the Souchetti Raspberry, and have ad-
dressed a letter to Mr. Souchet accordiiig to his
advertisements in former numbers of the Gar-
dener''s Monlhhjy but have my letter returned.
Can you give me his address V"

[It is unknown. He and his family took pas-
sage on the City of Boston for Europe a couple
of years ago, since which time neither steamer
nor her passengers have been heard from. ]

Garlic ON Lawns— Cj West Philada.—'^l
am very much annoyed by garlic on my lawns,
which in spring gives it an unkempt wild ap-
pearance, anything but agreeable to a lover of
neatness and order. You will not wonder at
my desire to be rid of it ; but how can I do it ?'^

[Easily enough. Let a man go over with a
sjiade, dig down well under it, loosen the soil,
and with one hand grasp the tuft and draw it
out, roots and all. Afterwards fill the hole with
earth, and roll level ; the grass will soon grow
through it, and all be green again. Next year
a very few may grow again ; but these are soon
disposed of in the same way.]

White Flowered Lahch.-L.B , Manchester^
Ills., asks : — "Is there such a thing as two spe-
cies of European Larch ? A nurseryman here
asserts that there is one a white flowered, and
the other a red flowered species. I supposed
there was only one.''

[There is but one species. As to the color of
the flowers, we suppose the idea of two species
originated from these different colored flowers.
The Larch has the sexes separate in diflerent
flowers. The males arc whit(^ — the females
(which afterwards become cones] arc of a rosy
crimson.

1871.

TEE GARDEJ^EWS MONTHLY.

149

There may be variations in the quality of tim-
ber grown in various localties, and yet be little
or no difference in the appearance of the trees.
It is generally admitted now that there is con-
tinual creation of new species. The elements of
this change probably exist in the cell long before
we can take cognizance of them in outward form.
What it is that causes this elementary change
beyond what wehumbl}' style infinite power and
wisdom, no one knows ; but after this elementary
matter has been prepared, the theory of Darwin
— natural selection, or the survival of the fittest
— comes into play, and the external organs are
modified so as to be better able to sustain the
new form than the old one was.

In this way we think it quite likely that they
are right who think there are two kinds of Larch,
although there may be yet, no character which a
botanist could take hold of so as to separate
them.]

Tomatoes from Cuttings.— W. W. , Canada,
says: The Canada Farmer of Feb. loth, con-
tains an article upon the Tomato, in which it is
stated that cuttings of this plant should be taken
in the fall, kept through the winter, and set out
in the spring, and that this mode of propagation
is better than sowing seed in spring, &c. j^ow
it seems to me that the tomato being an annual,
cannot be propagated by cuttings taken in the
fall and kept through the winter. Am I right,
or is the writer in the Canada Farmer correct.''

[Any annual can be perpetuated for an in-
definite number of years, by cuttings each year.
It is reasonable that Tomatoes would be some-
what earlier this way, — of course it involves ex-
tra trouble. AVe supposed the Canada Farmer
was dead, as we have not heard of it for two
years.]

CnRYSANTHEMUMS.— TF. TF., Ottawa, Cana-
da. "How can Chrysanthemums which have
flowered out of doors, be best kept through the
winter ? In the Temple Gardens (London, En-
gland,) they stand the winter, but I suppose no
amount of protection would enable tliem to stand
out in our climate."

[A foot of dry leaves, and a board over all to
keep out the wet, will enable the Chrysanthem-
um to stand the winter in Canada.]

as a quiet trade in the hands of those who love
it as well as live out of it. I may be wrong, but
around here it looks like it."

Our Future Xukserymex — A Bochester,
If. T., correspondent says: "The nurserymen
who have followed the business for the dollar
only, must shortly I think step out, leaving it

Climate of Port LA\^\CA, Texas.— A sub-
scriber says : "Our plan:3 here become dor-
mant about 20th of November. By end of Feb-
ruary, China Roses, Verbenas, Plums and Spi-
roeas are in bloom. By March, we have terrifie
dry winds which almost kill well established
young trees. Very dry weather then sets in,
which usually lasts till April or May. This is
our most trying time on vegetation. Very few
evergreens get through well ; but a grafted Li-
hocedrns decuriens which I have, is thriving
nicely."

FoRSYTHiA SUSPEXSA.— 3f. JB., P'lkesville,
Md., writes : "Can you tell me whether there
is such a thing distinct from others as Forsythia
suspensa ? I bought one at a high figure some
years ago, but it seems the same thing as the
common Golden Bell."

[Forsythia suspensa does look like the common
one Forsythia viridissima, but it is a better
thing. The petals are much broader. There is
also some difference in the leaves, which, no
doubt, our correspondent can. detect on a close
examination. "We may say that Forsythia sus-
pensa is the same as the common one, only
much improved f^jr ornamental purposes.]

Fine Calceolarias.— Mr. Herman Kriger,
gardener to John Welsh, .Jr., Esq , places on our
table a pot of Calceolarias which reminds of the
"olden time" when these plants were wellgrown,
and amongst the greatest ornaments of our
greenhouses. They have declined of late,— it is
said because our climate is too hot for them ;
but neither heat nor cold ever stands in the way
of a good gardener, as this specimen shows.

California Pitciiek Plant.—.!. Salem,
Mass —"Can you tell me whether the Darlimj-
tonia or Californian Pitcher plant is in cultiva-
tion yet, and whether plants can be had of it V'

[Of the last part of the question we may say,
we think not. It was in cultivation, as Prof,
Thurber told us a year or so ago that some
friend of his near New York had flowered it.
Mr. Robinson, author of Parks and Gardens of
Paris, wrote to us from California, that he had
found a location, and would take plants to En,
gland with him. It is not unlikely thxt through
English sources, it will soon get into cultivation.

150

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLJ,

May,

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, &C.

MoNETijt THE GARTBif. A VpRatftble MoTiunl, prepared with ft
Tiew to oponomy and profit. By P. T. Quinn, N. Y. Pub"
]is)ied by the Tribune Associ«(ion.

This is the title of a very useful work, written
by one of our most successful vegetable and fruit
growers — truckers — as they are called about
Philadelphia, Mr. Quinn tells us he is not a
literary man,— and claims only to set down in
his every day language what courses he has
found in his practice produce the best results.
Thus we accept the book as we find it, not even
stopping to enquire whether by "economy" in
the title page he means gooH economy or had,
economy ; but assuming that as he writes to tell
how to make money, the former is what he means.
Like everything from the pen of Mr. Quinn, the
ideas expressed have evidently grown up and
matured their seed on their own legitimate
ground. The roots have not spread out and
robbed their neighbor, as we too often see literary
plants do in these book-making days. This
honest course is not always the best for the reader.

"When a writer depends wholly on his own re-
sources, his ideas are not all of them of the best.
Yet there is this great advantage, that there is
sure to be something which will interest all.
Some new thoughts come up to everybody's
profit. This is what we see in Mr. Quinn's book-
No matter how full the library may be of simi-
lar works, this one will be found welcome.

Be*utipcl Catalooce".

Ellwanger »fe Barry sends us a set of their cata-
logues, Nos. 1, 2 and 3, bound beautifully, and
illustrated with a nice colored plate of the double
Deutzia crenata ; and John Saul, of "Washington,
D. C, sends with his catalogue one of the pret-
tiest plates of Geraniums, which we think ever
appeared in this country. The liberality of our
nurserymen in going to such expensive illustra-
tions, is very praiseworthy ; yet we doubt not
in educating public taste, in this way, they wiU
have their reward.

NEW AND llAEE FRUITS.

The Buffalo Cherry — Some twenty years
since Smiley Shepherd, one of the first settlers
of Ilennepen, on the Illinois River, received a
large number of cherry trees from the Buffalo
Nursery. "With the exception of one variety, or,
rather, one tree, tl^cy have dropped off one by
one, and whether this one is a graft, or the ori-
ginal stock that has sprouted up from below the
graft, is not certain ; but, what is of more im-
portance, is the fact that it is a valuable sweet
cherry, and that the tree has proved hardy and
productive. "When we contrast this with the
fact that we have no known variety of the sweet
cherry that is of any particular value for our
jirairie orchards, one can appreciate the value
of the new cherry. Fortunately, Mr. Shepherd
is not only one of our best pomologifts, but an
honest man. His experience teaches him that
too much reliance is not to be placed on a single
tree, in a single location, for that niiiy be efVect-
td by some local cause producing the favorable
result, and, of course, leading to a failure in

other locations. The old French pear trees at
Detroit and the mammoth pear trees at Vicen-
nes are marked specimens of this kind, as scions
of these sent to other localities have most signal-
ly failed to produce like results— that is, either
remarkably large trees or remarkable crops.
"With numerous facts of this kind before him,
Mr. S. is a trifle conservative, and yet the ex-
j)eriraent is well worthy of a trial. In the mean-
time, other eyes than those of Mr. S. have been
turned toward the annual crops of this single
tree, remarkable as compared with its fellows.
Those eyes are owned by the plant speculator,
the dealer in new things, the man of Missouri
miimmoth blackl)orries, of joint pop-corn, of
Mexican everbearing strawberries, etc , for he
knows that a cherry, or in fact any thing endors-
ed by Mr. S., or even coming from his grounds,
would sell ; hence he makes a large oiler for the
entire stock of scions of this remarkable tree.
Xo I says Mr. S. ; the thing needs a further test ;
it must go out from the shelter of my grounds,

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTELY.

151

from the influence of the river climate, beyond
the peculiar geological formation where it has
produced such happy results ; in short, it must
go out of its Eden and take the rough usage of
the world, If it can stand that test and main-
tain its integrity, then will it find a place in the
gardens and orchards of the people, to make glad
the hearts of the household. We say noble and
patriotic, and thanks to the venerable Smiley
Shepherd, whose locks have been frosted by SO
winters, and whose memory will go down the
vistas of time as a bright example of the noble
and the right.

The speculator in new varieties is moved aside,
and Mr. S., with his own hands proceeds to
sheer the tree of its scions, to carefully wrap
them in small packages for the mails, pre-pay
the postage, and direct them to our most care-
ful pomologists. The satisfaction to him in this
work is greater than the counting of the proffer-
ed thousand dollars, and is an example that
others may follow. Out ofihe several scions
sent me last year, one survived, and has stood
the past remarkable cold winter unharmed.

Let no one be in a hurry, for it will require
some years to make the test ; in the meantime,
those having the scions will distribute them to
others in a limited manner, so there cannot pos-
sibly be any speculation in it, unless some bold
operator, as in times past, sends out the coun-
terfeit. Therefore don't purchase scions or trees
of this new cherry, for no genuine ones are for
sale, and are only to be had of Mr. S. or those
friends who have been favored with them— not
for money, but as a gift to the good cause of
progressive industry. Though I have hope that
the new comer may prove hardy and productive
in all parts of the Xorthwest, yet we should not
be over-sanguine from its limited history, unless
it should prove to be some old, though long-
neglected variety, well worthy a place in front.
— Rural, in Chicago Tribune.

BuRonLEY Park Cherry. — We first saw
samples of this cherry at the Royal Horticultu-
ral Society's Exhibition at Oxford, and shortly
afterwards we were favored with samples from
Mr. Gilbert, head gardener at Burghley Park,
Stamford, which enabled us not only to 5ce it
again, but to taste it. Although this comes be-
fore us a neio fruit, being now published as such
for the first time, it is more than thirty years
sin^e the original seedling tree fruited and proved
its right to a position in the world. The sole

reason of its remaining so long in obscurity is
that it was considered shy in bearing, which,
strange to say, is now proved to be a mistake.
The truth is, the fruit was annually pruned out
of it; but Mr. Gilbert determined to adopt another
course, and accordingly left on the tree at the last
winter pruning a lot of young wood which in or-
dinary practice would have been removed. The
tree has amply rewarded him, the crop of the
past summer being most abundant and the quali-
ty as good as ever. The fruit is large, usually
round with an obscure suture, but occasionally
compressed or flattened, the skin very thin and
transparent, the color rich deep red with shades
of maroon. The flesh is of a tawny color, juicy
and melting with a good trace of styptic flavor,
very pleasant and refreshing. It belongs to the
Red Duke class, and in general characters comes
nearest to Reine Ilortense, though is appears to
combine the best qualities of that fine cherry
with the best qualities of the Red Morellos. —
Gardener''s Weekly.

Garibaldi Apple. — In the Gardener's Maga-
zine, of December 8th, 1862, we presented our
readers with a notice of this apple, which was
then for the first time offered by M. A.Yerscha-
ffelt, of Ghent. Having lately received samples
of the fruit from an amateur cultiv^ator, we can
now give it a good character from our own ob-
servation. In the original notice, it was stated
that the variety was raised by M. Fontaine, of
Ghelin, from seed sown in 1842, which fruited
for the first time in 1860. The samples sent are
large and handsome, the form an oblate spheroid
the skin lemon-yellow with spots of russet ; the
stalk long, slender, deeply inserted, eye large
and open ; the flesh white, crisp, juicy and agree-
ably aromatic. The Garibaldi Apple is one of
the Calville class, and a decidedly superior des-
sert fruit. — Garclener''s Weekhj.

Monte Bello Apple. — President Hammond
brought it to the notice of the Illinois Horticul-
tural Society, and presented specimens of a seed-
ling apple from the orchard of Dr. Chandler. It
is a most magnificent apple, of the highest qual-
ity, and is certainly a great acquisition.

Description.- -Tree rather upright, moderately
vigorous, healthy, very hardy, early and con-
stant bearer ; shoots, grayish brown ; leaves me-
dium.

Fruit large, blate, very handsome, surface
smooth, color yellow, striped and splashed wilj^

152

THE GARDEJ^TER'S MOJVTHLl.

May,

deep red, Avith which it is almost completely cov-
ered ; dots large and scattering ; basin wide,
regular or wavy ; eye medium, closed ; cavity
wide, regular ; brown, stem short and slender ;
core medium, regular, melting; seeds small,
pointed ; flesh white, fine grained, tender, deli-
cate juicy; flavor mild, sub-acid, sprightly, vin-
ous ; quality very best ; season, September to De-
cember. A. C. Hammond, Warsaw^ Ills, in
Pomologist.

The Oblong Siberian Crab.— The varie-
ties of the Siberian crab are becoming quite nu-
merous, and its merits as a hardy fruit bearing
ornamental tree more generally recognized than
licretofore. They are all among the most hardy
of fruit trees, enduring the most rigorous cli-
mates. They grow rapidl}^ generally symmet-
rical in foim, have ample foliage, a profusion
of beautiful flowers and brilliantly colored

fruits. Either as single specimens or in groups
on the lawn, they are highly interesting and or-
namental. One of the most attractive varieties
among all those in cultivation is the "Oblong,"
imported some years ago from France, by Ell-
WANGER & Barry, and it is now considerably
disseminated.

Size medium, averaging a trifle over an inch
in diameter ; form oval, oblong ; stalk about an
inch long, slender ; calyx closed, projecting ; skin
brilliant scarlet, crimson with a thin bloom, and
sprinkled with gray dots; tree vigorous in growth,
with large leaves; season, latter end of Sep-
tember.— Rural New Yorker.

New Strawberry, Monarch of the West.
— This is an Illinois seedling, and claim for
excellence is founded on great size. It is said
from 12 to 15 berries fill a quart.

NEW AND EARE PLATsTS.

New Double Wistaria.— Mr. Francis Park-
man of Jamaica Plains, Mass., received a small
plant of AVistaria from Japan, several years
since, which bloomed last summer, when it was
discovered to be a new and valuable variety,
with double purple flowers. The plant is per
fectly hardy, resembling the old Wistaria sinen-
sis so well known as one of the most beautiful of
all our climbing plants. It is to be hoped that
Mr. Parkman will be successful in propagating
this new and charming sort, for the more varie-
ties we have of this beautiful genus the better.
There are quite a number of distinct sorts to be
found in the larger nurseries, among the best
we will name. Wistaria sinensis, with deep bluc-
ish flowers and very long trusses ; W. S alha,
flowers pure white and trusses nearly a foot in
length ; W. frutescens, a native species, with
small, compact clusters of purplish flowers. The
plant is a vigorous grower and usually blooms
twice in a season. The W. frutcsccm alba is a
charming sort with white flowers, excellent for
forcing under glass, as the plant is rather a

stocky grower and not inclined to climb as much
as other sorts. The W. magnifica, with pale
blue flowers, is also a handsome sort, and one of
the most vigorous of growers. The IV. hrachy-
X)oda resembles the frutescens, the flowers smaller
and deeper purple. — Bural New Yorker.

Van Houtte's Flores des Serres recently
described the following plants, which will be of
interest to American cultivators.

Lachenalia luteola.— An exceedingly
pretty little cool greenhouse bulb, with yellow
tube shaped pendulous flowers, slightly tipped
with green, the top flowers on the spike being
almost red. Valuable from the long time it re-
mains in bloom, and of the easiest culture pos-
sible.

Clematis patens, John Gould Veitch.—
This beautiful and evenly double-flowered va-
riety of that well known family of climbing
plants, the Clematis, was introduced direct from
Japan, by the distinguished collector and horti-
culturist whose name it bears. It produces its

187h

TUB GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTRLY.

153

fine porcelain blue flowers in great abundance ;
thej' are four inches in diameter, and of nearly
perfect form. It is, like other Clematis, perfect-
ly hardy.

lMANT0PnYL"LTJMCYRTAXTIlIFL0RUM.-Ah5'-

brid of Imantophyllum obtained bj'^ crossing the
I. nobile with the 1. miniatum. The shape of its
flowers resemble those of a Cyrtanthus.

Cypripedium barbatum grandiflorum. —
A fine variety of slipper plant, x-emarkable for
the exceptional size of its upper segment, the
beauty of its markings, its fresh clear coloring,
and the extreme robustness of its habit of growth.
It is a great improvement on the old Cypripedi'
wn barbatum.

Brugmaxsiaor Datura sangtjinea. — This
handsome flowering shrub is a native of the
mountains of Peru, where it was found by Hum'
boldt, growing in stony places at a height of
nearly 700 feet above the sea level. It reaches
with us a height of from six to nine feet, requir-
ing the protection of a greenhouse in winter, and
passing the summer in the open air. It pro-
duces its flowers during August and September.
Antigoxon septotus. — A most beautiful
and exceedingly free-flowering greenhouse creep-
er, introduced by Dr. Seeman, and sent out by
Mr. Bull. It comes from the neighborhood of
Oaxaca, and covers any trellis or bush which it
is allowed to trail over with a profusion of bright
rose-colored flowers ; produced in the autumnal
months.

Desmodium penduliflorum.— One of the
most beautiful and free-flowering of recent in-
troductions from that mine of horticultural
wealth, Japan. It is perfectly hardy, and its
long, drooping branches are sometimes entirely
hidden by the millions of deep rich purple flow-
ers, of a pea shape, which are successively pro-
duced from the end of August to the beginning
of winter. On a lawn the effect of a good speci-
men of this plant is exceedingly striking.

Hydrangea stellataprolifera.— A very
ornamental semi-double flowered variety of this
well known, hardy, flowering shrub ; color pink
and white. It is likely to be an acquisition.

IIeMEROCALLIS DISTICIIA FLORE PLENO. —

An exceeding handsome variety of the double-
flowering day lily introduced from Japan. It
produced a succession of very double flowers of
a brilliant golden yellow, with bright red spots
at the base of each petal, and is perfectly hardy.
GUKNERA ClIILENSIS, OR SCABRA.— This is a

plant of immense size, and by some considered

to be also of great beauty, as Mr. "Van Iloutte
christens it queen of herbaceous plants. It cer-
tainly requires a great deal of room, and most
resembles an exaggerated and overgrown plant
of rhubarb. In sub tropical gardening on a very
large scale it may be found useful.

Xanthoceras sorbifolia.— a beautiful and
apparently free-flowering hardy shrub, sent from
China by one of the French missionaries there,
to Professor Decaisne, of the Paris Museum.
The height of the plant is between three and
four feet ; the flowers pure white, with an orange
centre, and produced in large and handsome
bunches.

Vanda c^rulescens. — For the introduction
of this Orchid gem we are indebted to Lieuten-
ant-Colonel Benson, who discovered it growing
in Burmah, at an elevation of 1,500 feet above
the sea. Though the flowers are much smaller
than those of the well known Vanda cczruka,
this species is equally worthy of cultivation, the
sepals and petals being of a decided azure-blue,
whilst the labellum is of the richest violet color.
The number of blooms on a spike averages from
fifteen to twenty. The plant is a dwarf grower,
resembling in habit the Vanda Boxburghii ; it is
a free bloomer and of very easy culture. A fig-
ure of this beautiful novelty has been published
in the May number of the Botanical Magazine
for this year.

Yanda Denisoniana.— We are indebted to
Colonel Benson for this lovely Vanda, and it
must certainly rank amongst the most striking
of his discoveries. A figure of this beautiful Or-
chid will be found in Curtis^s Botanical Maga-
zine for December, 1869, and we give the follow-
ing description by Professor Reichenback, takea
from the Gardener^s Chronicle of the same year,
page 528: "The white Burmese Vanda was
one of the secret treasures of the Royal Exotic
Nursery for a while. It has just flowered, and
Messrs. Veitch have kindly placed in our hands
the beautiful spolia of this striking novelty. The
habit of the plant compared to that of Vanda
Bensoni, though, as far as our recollection goes,
the new one is much stronger. The leaves, Mr.
Veitch informs us, are wider ; they are ligulate,
unequally bilobed at the attenuate apex, and
very shining. Our inflorescens are four-flower-
ed, the flowers larger than those of Vanda Ben-
soni. There can be no doubt that this lovely

15J{,

TEE GARBE:N'EKb MOMTELY.

May,

plant will create a sensation amongst amateurs. ! the Bensonian Fairies." "We have dedicated
We need scarcely say that it is one of Colonel this Yanda to Lady Londesborough, naming it
Benson's most striking discoveries, though we j V. Denisoniana, in appreciation of Lord Londes-
should not care to be appointed the modern j borough's great and generous love for Orchids."
Paris to decide which was the loveliest amongst — Gar. Chronicle.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

A Grapk Vine Bearing Peaches.— The
San Antonio Express says : Western Texas is
a land of strange growths. We saw last year
on exhibition, at Austin, a Mustang grape vine
which had produced perfectly formed acorns;
and another grape vine which had undertaken,
with some success, to produce a crop of peaches.

Of the unique production of nature named
above, but little is known, and we are informed
that it has never been scientifically described. —
(I I Ed. G. M.)

DwARFiN-G Trees.— A foreign correspondent
of the Boston Traveler relates with how much
curiosity he witnessed some remarkably suc-
cessful specimens of dwarf trees in Japan. I
have seen in the gardens, more especially those
about Ovvari, a Maple, a Pine, a Peach, and a
Camphor tree, all more than fifteen years old,
with their limbs, leaves and trunks as perfect as
any in a forest, and all grew from a box not a
foot square, and not one was over two feet high.
The trunks looked like old trees, and the limbs
were gnarled and rugged as the mountain tree
of the same kind. The owner told me that
these trees would grow no larger for fifty years.
In one garden there was a complete fruit orchard
in a box four feet long and two feet wide— Pears,
Peaches, Plums, Apples, Oranges, Lemons,
Olives, Bananas, and Cherries, represented by
perfect trees, the tallest of which was not over
three feet. Whether these ever bear fruit I
failed to ascertain ; neither could I learn the
process by which the tree is kept so small. But
I am satisfied that it is done by killing a large
tree and keeping a sprig, which starts from the
old root, for the dwarf. The climate and soil
favor this torturing process, for a root will not
die as long as it remains undisturbed in some
localities. I saw great trees near the gateway
of a temple yard at Sinara, which were bent

over, making a large circle, like the curls in the
pipe of a bugle. They must have been bent
around something fifty years ago. At another
place a large Oak tree was bored out from the
joint of two limbs near the top to the roots, and
a magnolia tree set out down in this hollow,
which grew up inside the Oak until it spread out
its branches in the top, making of it an "Oak
Magnolia." This tree has been spoken of by
Japanese writers in native newspapers as an
Oak tree with a Magnolia graft upon it. The
system of grafting is carried to great perfection,
and Yacca said that they successfully graft
Orange into Apple, and Pear into Cedar.^Jibr-
ticulturist.

Native Georgian is the name of the Irish
potato grown by Pr. B. Hamilton, Dalton, Ga.,
which took both premiums at the late State Fair.
This potato was originated from the seed of the
long red potato, grown in the mountains of North
Georgia. The Native Georgian is remarkably
prolific, and come in two weeks later than the
Early Kose. It does not rot in this climate, and
in point of flavor is unsurpassed. Samples of
this excellent potato may be seen at the seed
store of Samuel A. Echols, who is the sole agent
for its sale. — Southland Weelcly.

MirLCiiiNo Bearing Fruit Trees. — There
is no doubt now by our most intelligent horticul-
turists about the practical advantages to be
gained by mulching the surface of the orchard
and fruit garden. This should be more general-
ly practiced in fruit producing districts, for it is
the least expensive and most effective method
of protecting the fruit trees against the bad re-
sults often following the frequent and sudden
changes of temperature during the summer and
fall months, when the surface of the ground is
left exposed to the direct rays of the sun. Again,

1871.

THE GARBEJ^EB'S MOJ^THLY,

155

■when the mulch is put two or three inches in
thickness, the surface soil is constantly moist
and loose, even when no rain falls for a term of
several -weeks, and the trees or fruit receive no
check for -want of moisture and food under such
circumstances.

My method is to cultivate the spaces between
the rows of trees in the orchard, using a small
one-horse plow and cultivator, running not more
than two inches deep, during the early part of
the season. From the 1st to the 15th of July
I have put on a heavy coating of salt hay, cover-
ing the surface as far as the branches extend.
After this there is no more trouble with weeds

or grass. There may a few scattered ones start
up, but they are easily destroyed.

Every fruit grower knows that two or three
weeks before the time of gathering the main
crop of fruit, fine specimens are constantly falling
oft' by strong winds. When the ground is mulch-
ed the majority of such specimens are not bruised
or injured for sale. This saving alone I consider
pays me for the trouble of mulching the orchard.

There is only one serious drawback to the ap-
plication of mulch, that is the danger of the hay
or straw getting on fire when rendered dry by
continual warm weather. — P. T. Quinn, in If.
Y. Irihune.

FOREIGTs' INTELLIGENCE.

Alpine Strawberries. — Mr. Radycliffe says
in London Journal of Horticulture : " The Al-
pines have been most abundant. Galande is a
splendid red Alpine. I wonder people do not
grow Alpines. With a litte sugar, I think they
are the finest flavored of all Strawberries.

Preserving Frtjit.— Having read the let-
ters on Preserving Fruit frdm " A Head Garde-
ner," "Another Head Gardener," "A. I. H.,"
and " A Constant Reader,'' I beg to add a few
more observations on the same subject. It ap-
pears to me that these several correspondents
only assert their various theories, without giving
any reason for their opmion ; and the public is
little benefited by this war of words. In gather-
ing fruit for making preserves, due account should
be taken of the sort or kind to be made, whethei
jam, jelly, or cheese. Jam, in the ordinary ac-
ceptation of the term, is the entire fruit, skinj
pulp, juice, seeds, all boiled together, with a
certain proportion of sugar. Jelly is the juice
only of the fruit boiled to a consistency with
sugar. Cheese is the juice and pulp of certain
fruits divested of all skin, seeds, or fibre, and
submitted to the same process of cooking or pre-
serving. Now, it must be evident to any one
who thinks at all on the subject, that the ripest
fruit will yield the largest proportion of juice and
soft pulp, and therefore is the most suitable for
jelly and cheese, and the most u?isuilable for

jam ; for, as '' A. T. H." justly remarks, a toa
juicy or watery fruit, like cherries, makes a poor
preserve, unless such a quantity of sugar is used
as entirely destroys the flavor of the fruit, or it
is boiled so long to give it consistency that both
color and flavor are lost. By taking fruit for
jam before it is thoroughly ripe, all the fine fla-
vor is drawn out, and there is no waste from
long boiling to obtain the desired consistency.
Thus all your correspondents have some degree
of light on their side, if they intend to speak of
jelly or jam, when they insist on fruit being ripe
or half ripe; but on this important point t^iey
are silent. As to the various kinds of Straw-
berries for preserving, I cannot agree with "A
Eead Gardener," that all sorts are equally good.
Those that are white in the centre or at the end,
as so many of the best table varieties are, do not
make jam of so fine a color as those which are
red all through, though the flavor may be equally
good. Then, again, fruit for "bottling," if
" ripe," will fall into a perfect mash in the bot-
tles from its own steam, arising from the heat to
which it is exposed. For preserving in this way
fruit, whether currants, gooseberries, plums, or
cherries, should be quite soft enough to yield to
the finger, or the result will be, as I have said, a
sort of jntrec, instead of the entire or unbroken
berry. I know it is difficult to overcome popu-
lar prejudice ; but it is worth trying to do so by
giving reasons and practical experience, when

156

THE GARDE:N'ER'S MOJ^THLl,

May,

we consider the enormous quantity of good fruit
and sugar wasted every summer by these un-
skillful-and, may it not be added, ignorant ?—
and consequently prejudiced avtisizs of the
kitchen. In a former communication (July 16),
I gave some directions for making the varieties
of preserves I have spoken of in this letter, and,
as I said before, ray remarks are the result of
personaland practical observation.— Georqiana
James, in Gardener's Weekly.

Strawberries of Dr. iSTiCAiSE.— Dr. Kicaise
has come out by a master-stroke in obtaining at
one eflbrt La Chalonnaise, which equals in qual-
ity the excellent British Queen, but which is
more hardy and fertile. By force of a good se-
lection of seed bearers, and of operating on suc-
cessive improvements, he has been able to obtain
very large strawberries, of most regular shape,
and baving superior qualities. This is the means
of improving "breeds," and it is thus true
raisers proceed to bring to perfection the original
varieties they obtain.

This method of operation is the I'eason that
each seed-raiser obtains particular types. Thus,
Myatt has given us varieties of strawberries of
perfect quality and taste, but the plants of which
leave hardiness to be desired. De Jonghe has
obtained strawberries dwarf and hardy, without
being too free, producing generally strawberries
medium- sized or large, good in quality and taste
but, above all, of fine shape.

Certain raisers have had strawberries very
early ; others very late ; so that the same have
obtained varieties either very fertile or very
hardy ; others new forms, or superior qualities
to those we have already ; but of all the raisers
of seedlings, we believe none have obtained va
rieties so large as those of Dr. Nicaisc.

so early by a fortnight or three weeks. I have
grown it largely for many years past, and am
therefore able to speak with confidence as to its
merits. It appears to adapt itself to every soil
and climate, the plants with the most ordinary
management producing on an averge 2 lbs. of
fruit each, and it is worthy of notice, that out of
several thousands of plants I have not j'et seen
one barren. In good seasons it will produce a
very fair second crop, and to-day I gathered a
fine dish of fruit from a small bed, the plants of
which it consists having produced a heavy crop
in the early part of the season. Drought and
frost alike do not affect the plants, and it ap-
pears worthy of remark that it forces well. As
a proof of its fruit-bearing qualities, it may be
mentioned that, at the exhibition of the West of
Scotland Horticultural Society in July last, Mr.
Campbell, nurseryman, Blantyre, exhibited a
number of plants carrying 3 lbs. of fruit each.
In addition to the synonyms mentioned at page
441, that of Garibaldi may be added, as the so-
called variety under that name has been proved
beyond doubt to be identical with it. — A Straw-
berry Grower, in Gardener'' s Weekly.

Cherry— Governor Wood.— This Ameri-
can variety seems to do well in England. A
correspondent of Cottage Gardener says : " This
is a delicious cherry, large and fleshy ; it bears
abundantly on walls, and as a pyramid it is not
inferior to any of the varieties previously noticed.
It is a dessert fruit."

Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury Straw-
berry.—At page 441 of the Gardener's Maga-
zine this fine strawberry is recommended as a
good variety for mid-season. This recommenda-
tion hardly does it justice, for here we are able to
gather from it quite as early as from the Black
Prince, which is generally considered to be the
earliest strawberry grown. Vicomtesse Heri-
cart de Thury may, however, be planted for fur-
nifvhing a mid-sea.son supply, becau.sc it con- ]
tinucs in bearing so long tiiat we are able to I
gather fruit from it quite as late as from several I
other popular sorts that do not ripen their fruit

A Supposed Hybrid Pear.— The ninth vol-
ume of M. Decaisne's excellent work, the ''Jar-
din Fruitier du 3r»sewnj," contains the comple-
tion of the account of the more important Pears
in cultivation, of which M. Decaisne describes
and figures no less than 317 varieties. To make
the history of the genus as complete as possible,
M. Decaisne now adds, in the 104lh part of his
magnificent publication, an account of certain
species or varieties growing wild, or apparently
80, in different countries, and which have been
regarded as distinct species by various authors.
Great interest attaches to these trees, inasmuch
as they, or some of them, are the parents of our
domestic varieties. Among the trees so men-
tioned is the Pol wilier IVar (Pyrus Polvilleri-
ana), a hybrid form, thought by Bauiiin to be
intermediate between the Apple and the Pear.
The Polwiller Pear, says M. Decaisne, affords a
remarkable illustration of the persistence of

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MO^''THLY.

157

character in a hybrid tree, perpetuated for three | amply justifies its name as commemorative alike
centuries by grafting, and which atfords strong of its discoverer and the firm by whom it has
evidence against the opinions of those who main- been introduced to cultivation.
tain that our old varieties of fruit trees degener-
ate and disappear. The only plants of the Pol-
wilier Tear known are those derived originally
from the hybrid form described by Bauhin. In
1860, out of 150 fruits collected in the garden of
the museum, M. Decaisne found only 13 seeds
well formed, and these seeds, when sown, pro-
duced four very different forms. In 18G4, 139
of these small Pears furnished 62 seeds ; in 1867,
50 seeds which were obtained from the Jardin
des Plantes of Dijon all proved sterile. Lastly,
in 1865 — a very hot and dry summer — it was
found necessary to cut open 356 fruits in the
Museum garden in order to obtain a single well-
formed seed. Among the four forms derived
from the seed of the Polwiller Pear, three were
remarkable for the small size of their leaves,
while their pubescence was like that of the
parent tree, on that of Cratregus Aria. The
seedlings belonging to the fourth form seemed to
M. Decaisne to belong entirely to the category
of cultivated Pears, but were not referable to P.
communis, the leaves of which are roundish.
On the other hand, the bark of old trees of P.
Polvilleriana remains smooth and grayish, like
that of Crataegus Aria, instead of cracking and
becoming blackish like those of the Pear.

CnoTON UNDULATUM. — This variety be-
longs to Messrs. Veitch & Son's valuable series
of these plants. It is of free growth, the edges
of the leaves elegantly waved and undulated, the

The Manufacture of Tar Pavement.—
Tar pavement may be made of the ordinary cin-
der dirt produced in gas works, of shingle, or of
a mixture of both. The material is burnt in heaps
like ballast, and when hot is mixed with hot tar.
In practice a small fire of coke is made on the
ground, and covered with cinder dirt or shingle.
When this layer is hot another is added, and so
on in succession until a large enough heap has
been provided. The tar is now boiled in an iron
copper, and taken when hot and mixed with the
hot material from the heap already described, in
quantities of two bushels at a time, in about the
proportion of one gallon to every bushel of cin-
der dirt, and slightly less than a gallon for the
gravel. . It is turned over and over with the
shovel until every part of the material has got a
covering of tar. Then the whole is passed
through a sieve with | inch mesh, and part of it
through another with \ inch mesh, and put in
heaps until required. Indeed, it may be kept
for months before being laid down.

Before the pavement is laid, an edging should
be provided about two inches thick, and project-
ting 2 inches above the surface of the ground to
be covered, which should be tolerably even. It
is advisable to have the ground next the curb
well trodden on and rammed before the pave-
ment is laid, otherwise there will be an unseem-
ly hollow next the curb. In laying, the rou^h

young leaves richly mottled with yellow, which | stuff is put down first and rolled tolerably firm

changes to pink and crimson, and ultimately,
as the leaves attain maturity, to tht brightest
crimson on a dark green ground. As the colors
have a most brilliant appearance under artificial
light, this plant is admirably adapted for table
decoration ; and as a subject for cultivation in
the stove, whether for exhibition or otherwise,
it is without question the finest of all the Crotons.

Croton Veitcdi.— This handsome variety
has leaves of great size, averaging 10 to 14 mches
in length and 2 to 3 inches in breadth, slightly
undulated, and quite new in coloring. The
young leaves are traversed by bands of creamy
yellow, which change with age into rose and
carmine purple, the whole of the coloring ac-
quiring increased intensity as the leaves attain
maturity. Th s is a remarkably fine plant, and

then the second quality is put on, then the third,
and when the whole has been raked level, a little
of the finest material is sifted on through a sieve
with ^ inch meshes, and a little fine white shin-
gle or Derbyshire spar is sprinkled on the top
The whole now must be well rolled. The best
roller is a water ballast roller, which at first is
u.sed without ballast, and well wetted to prevent
adhesion of the material, and, when the pave,
ment is slightly consolidated, the full weight
should be applied.

For heavy cart traffic the material should be
made of shingle only, heated and mixed as above
and well rolled. Both descriptions of pavement
are laid best and most easily in warm weather,
and should be rolled when the sun has warmed
it well. Those parts in angles should be well
rammed and trimmed with a light shovel.

158

THE GARDEJVER'S MOKTELY.

May,

Though apparently a simple manufacture,
there is a little difficulty in ascertaining the pro-
portion of tar to gravel or cinder dirt. A little
experience will only be necessary in this, as well
as in all other manufactures, to enable any one
to carry it out successfully.

This pavement cannot be spoken of too highly,
as it is cheap, wears well, and can be easily re-
paired. The color, which never can be made to
equal York flag, and the smell for some time
after it is laid, are the only objections to its use ;
it can be laid with a good profit in any district at
Is. 4d. per square yard ; and besides being a
boon to the public, who must otherwise walk on
gravel, is a great advantage to gas companies. —

"Fertilization" of Grasses.— The French
botanist, M. Bidard, has paid attention to the
fertilization of grasses, and finds a set of phenom-
ena with a ditferent signification. He states that
the pollen of Gramineae does not exhibit any
trace of pollen tubes, and that self fertilization
takes place before the anthers are extruded
beyond the scales of the flower. The heat of the
breath or a ray of sunshine is sufficient to bring
about the phenomena of fecundation ; and the
natural hybridization of grasses is impossible,
owing to the exact closing of the chamber con-
taining the fecundating organ.

the earls, barons, and bishops, and of the citi-
zens of the City of London," petitioned the
Maj^or, John Hamond, that they might "stand
in |;eace in the same place where they had been
wont in times of old, in front of the church of St.
Austin, at the side of the gate of St. Paul's
Churchyard, there to sell the garden produce of
their said masters, and make their profit.'' But
the Mayor, finding that "the scurrility, clamor,
and nuisance of the gardeners and their servants
there selling pods, cherries, vegetables and other
wares to their trade pertaining daily, disturbed "
the priests in the church of St. Austin, as well
the reputable inhabitants, ordered that hence-
forth the gardeners "should have as their place
the space between the south gate of tlie church-
yard of the said church and the garden wall of
the Friars Preachers (Black Friars) atBaynard's
Castle."— City Press.

Mr. John Gould Veitch, the eldest son of
the late James Yeitch, of Chelsea, died at
Coombe "Wood, Kingston Ilill, after three years'
illness, aged 31. The loss which botany and
horticulture alike sustain by this gentleman's
decease cannot be otherwise than one of the
severest, for as a traveller and introducer to this
country of new and valuable plants, he had long
since become a formidable rival of the veteran
Fortune. When we glance through the li.st of
plants of recent introduction for which we are
indebted to the industry and prescience of Mr. J.
G. Veitch, we feel how great is the gap amongst
scientific explorers which his death occasions,
and can most sincerely join our griefs to those of
his bereaved family. — Oardener^s Weekly.

London Gardeners in the Olden Time.—
The following may be interesting, as illustrative
of the manners of the gardeners in the olden
time. In 1345 (19 Edw. III.) " the gardeners of

Pot Vines. — The economical value of pot
Vines has often been called in question ; indeed
I have often heard people say, "Grapes produced
on pot Vines are never worth eating." It is
quite true they are often very inferior, nor is it
surprising that such should be the case. Badly
grown and badly ripened canes are often fruited
in pots ; and frequently where no fault can be
found with the Vines they are expected to bear
far too many bunches, and are not half fed nor
attended to during their growth.

Gardening must generally be considered a lux-
ury except in the case of the commonest vegeta-
bles. Supposing the problem to solve be how to
get Grapes when they are worth, say, from 7s.
to 10s. a pound in the market, 1 think it is a
great question whether this cannot be done more
cheaply by growing pot vines than by forcing
permanent ones ; besides which, nothing is more
beautiful than a pot vine loaded jwith well ri-
pened fruit.

Ilaviug seen at Chats worth last spring the
best house of pot vines I ever saw grown, I asked
Mr. Speed to tell me how they had been man-
aged. They were standing on a shelf covered
wilhw liite spar, such as is brught out of tlHJ
Derbyshire lead mines, consequently not a I'ooC
had grown out of the pots. Every eye had been
allowed to break and produce a shoot, and each
shoot had made six leaves before being stopped.
From the time leaves were produced, till the
fruit began to color, the vines had- never had wa-
ter without guano in it, the plan being to give

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MO^N'THLJ.

139

\Qvy weak doses constantly in place of stronger
ones at longer intervals. A quantity of Peru-
vian guano broken small and passed through a
fine sieve stood in a large pot, and the foreman
put as much as his closed hand grasped into a
large watering pan each time he filled it. I have
never weighed this quantitj-, but it must be a
small amount to the gallon.

One think struck me — that was the very care-
ful way the watering was performed. The man
had in his left hand a small wooden hammer
with which each pot was struck, and if the sound
produced did not indicate a want of water, the
plant was passed by. During the hot weather
the pots were examined twice-a-day, so that no
plant could suffer from want of water, or receive
it before it was required.

T should think the vines carried on an average
8 lbs. of Grapes, and yet many of them had only
four bunches, and none more than five, and
they were as well colored as one would wish to
see. As the vines were trained to meet in the
centre of a narrow double-roofed house, and the
leaves of the vines just met all the way up, the
whole roof was covered by foliage, and the crop
looked a very heavy one. It was one of the
prettiest sights I ever saw. Where less skill
and attention can be bestowed on pot vines, it is
a question if they had not better be placed on a
rich bed of soil and be allowed to root through ;

but as I never before saw so good a lot of pot
vines as these were, I thought some of 3'our rea-
ders might like to know how they were cultiva-
ted.— J. E. Pearson, Chihcell^ London Journal
of Horticulture.

Caladium Culture in England.— In re-
ply to a correspondent, the London Journal of
Horticidture says: The party you mention says
his mode of growing them differs but little from
that described in more than one place in our
pages, excepting that he uses poorer soil. His
mode of culture is as follows :— After the plants
are no longer ornamental they are set aside in
some dry place, often a vinery, and but very
little water given ; still they are not kept quite
dry, and when the foliage is quite gone the pots
are stored in some place warmer than an ordi-
nary greenhouse. In spring the Caladiums are
brought out and repotted, and placed in heat,
using for the first potting a mixture of rough
peat and maiden loam, with charcoal for drain-
age, and adding sand to the mixture if the peat
does not contain enough of it. After growing a
little while repot, using a much poorer soil this
time ; very often the sweepings of the potting
shed, as a too rich material to grow in, however
conducive to robust health, diminishes the high
coloring which constitutes the beauty of this
plant. He considers it unnecessary to maintain
the high temperature so often recommended, as
plants so reared are unable afterwards to endure
a position in the conservatory.

HORTICULTUEAL iXOTICES.

PEXNSYLVAXIA IIORTICULTURxVL
SOCIETY.

This has been a grand month for the Society.
In the first place, Col. Wilder" s Lecture on the
13th was the leading attraction. The lecture
business has been very much overdone in Phila-
delphia, and with the multiplicity of evening at-
tractions, it is hard to get a big audience. But
the prospects of a full house for Col. Wilder were
80 good, that the committee decided not to have
it in the Foyer the usual lecture room, in which
was held the great meeting of the Pomological
Society ; but to have it in the large exhibition
hall, capable of seating, with the galleries, be-
tween two and three thousand persons.

It was very gratifying to the Society, that not-

withstanding the drawbacks to the success of
the Lecture, the spacious galleries and the hall, up
to the range of the speaker's voice, was well filled.
Col. Wilder never appeared to better advantage,
and while giving the account of his California
trip, with the comments which his ripe experience
suggested, was frequently and enthusiastically
applauded. It was conceded to be one of Mr.
AVilder's best efforts. The proceeds of the lec-
ture will be offered as a premium at the Septem-
ber exhibition of the Society.

The exhibition on the 17th was undoubtedly
the grandestspringcxhibition ever held ; whether
we consider the immense throng of spectators, or
the quality of articles exhibited. It was estima-
ted that at one time over five thousand persona

160

THE GARDEJVER'S M0:N'TELY.

May ,

were present, and considering the number of
those Avho went out to make way for others, it
is computed that not less than six thousand j^ct-
sons witnessed this exhibition.

It is impossible in a brief magazine article to
do justice to the contributors ; we will only at-
tempt to note a few of the most striking features.
In the collection exhibited by Mr. Huster, gar-
dener to J. B. Heyl, was a rare orchid Dcndro-
hium densiflorum, which though it had but one
spike, was eight inches in length The old Iler-
mannia odorata was also here, showing by its
sweet scented yellow blossoms, how well old fa-
vorites will sometimes please. N. H. Harris,
florist, on the Darby Road, had a very fine col-
lection of double and single Zonale Geraniums.
One of them, the General Lee, was perhaps the
finest geranium ever exhibited here. The truss
was about four inches across, and the numerous
cherry scarlet single flowers were as regular as
if the truss had been sheared over. Amongst
Mrs. Bissett's Roses, one, Charles I., was an ex-
cellent flower. Mr Newett, gardener to H.
Pratt Mc Kean, had some remarkably fine plants.
One of them a Dendrohiwnx dcnsifloriim, though
the single trusses were not so large as in the case
of the one above referred to, had eighteen of
them ; this is an orange yellow, and a very de-
sirable April flowering kind. He had also an
Oncidium Cavendlshii, and a CatJeya amethystina,
a Very rare kind of orchidese, with nine blooms
on it. In Mr. Mackenzie's collection, we noted,
we believe for the first time on exhibition, Scu-
tellaria Moquiniana^ with scarlet tubular (lowers
about two inches long, and one fourth of an inch
thick; its growth is upright, and not calculated
to form showy specimens Amongst Dreer's
Hoses, Merveille d'Anjou attracted much atten-
tion, though to us it seemed too much like the
old La Keinc ; his Villc de Lyon was very good,
as was the pretty yellow Mercchal Xeil, now so
well known. Buist's Azaleas were grand, — not
only the old kinds of which magnificent speci-
mens were exhibited, but the small plants of the
newer kinds made a good show. A rosy varie-
t}', Juliana, pleased every one by its waxy petals
and regular form ; and Admiranda, a white
striped one, was also worthy of much praise^
Count Borsig, a semi-double wliite, is, we think,
the best of its class yet raided. Baroness lies
ter, a purjjle rose, and Scharenkherst, vermil-
ion ro.'^e, promise to l)e good ac(iuisitions. Souv-
enir de I'rince Albert, a while and i)ink blotched,
gave a pretty cflect. He had also a splendid

specimen of the beautiful fern Lomaria gibba,
with fronds about 18 inches in length. Dreer
had his usually fine pansies, besides a bank of
Echcverio.s^ in which E secxmda and E. metalli-
ca were conspicuous. Amongst Robert Scott's
roses, the hybrid perpetual, M. Thiers, was very
conspicuous for its beauty.

Thos. Smith, gardener to Matthew Baird,
Esq., had a beautiful collection of Draccenas and
other plants ; but perhaps one of the most at-
tractive plants in his collection was Dendrohium
macrophyllnm with nine beautiful flowers on it.
The numerous rare orchids which are being con-
stantly exhibited at this Society, is one of its
most valued features to lovers of flowers.

Amongst some rare variegated plants one of
the prettiest was a Polemoniuvi cceindeum vario-
gatum by Mr. Buist In this collection also was
a Caladium "Beethoven," which had the leaves
chiefly white, but veined with pink and green.
He also had a cut specimen of Camellia "Coch-
lea ta." This flower was four inches across, and
the pink and white petals were arranged like
spoons, whence its name. Mr. Buist's double
Petunias were remarkably fine ; one "Dandy,"
a crimson white, and another "Beauty of Rose-
dale," almost all white, only a small spot of pur-
ple in the centre ; these appeared two of the
best. From Meehan's nurser3'came AJiiga rej)-
tans^ with spikes of blue flowers, and adapted to
shady places, being a companion plant to Ly-
simachia. Mr. Hugh Graham besides a beautiful
collection of house plants, had a splendid show
of designs and baskets of cut flowers.

There appeared to be many exhibitors in this
department, but the incessant throng of ladies
around them, prevented anything in broadcloth
from getting within twenty feet of them. "We
tried at various tiuies within a couple of hours
to break through this charmed and charming
circle, but all in vain. "Whose they were and
what they were, will be long held in remem-
brance by the many hundreds of Philadelphia la-
dies who saw them, but "not for me" was the
sigh of our discomfited reporter. The numer-
ous contributors deserve great credit for their
spirit and enterprise in sustaining the Society,
and the Society in turnshouldeudeavortodolhem
honor. It is well enough to award them high
premiums, but if the list of those to whom the
awards were made, was published in full in the
horticultural journals, we think it would be but
full justice to the exhibitors, and redound to the
interest of the Society.

DENDP.OBIUIyl KO3ILE.

DEVOTED TO

Rorticiiltivre, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAX.
Old Series, Vol. XIII. J JJJ^E, 1871, ^^^ Series, Vol. IV. No. 6.

HI]\TS FOR JUNE.

FLOWER GAEDEX AND PLEASURE. I
GROUND.

The time will soon come wlieu the greatest 1
source of enjoyment in gardening— the lawn— |
will be, so to speak, in season. It used to be the |
most expensive part of a place ; but thanks to
the introduction of lawn mowers, it is now a
comparatively easy ta.sk to keep the lawn in or-
der It is now well to remind our readers that
the Gardener^s Monthly has been the means of
developing the fact, that we have been cutting
too close with these machines. This is the great
cause of machine mowing ruining lawns. The
implement should be set so as to leave the grass
a half inch at lea;3t above the roots, and where
the grass is weak, an inch will be better. To
those who have not yet a lawn mower, but have
still resort to the scythe, we would say mow
lawns often, if you would have them green and
velvety. Keep the scythe sharp ; usually mow-
ers do not use the grindstone often enough.
Common farm scythes are not fit for lawn use ;
rivetted and short scythes are the kind to get.
If a lawn is mowed often, the grass need not be
clean,— the sappy blades soon wither, and make
a manure for the roots. The longest should be
raked off, or the lawn will have a littery ap-
pearance.

Evergreen hedges will require attention as
they grow. Where the height desired has been
attained, the top and strong growth should be
cut back while they are still watery. The side
shoots need not be touched till past midsummer.
All wise people now employ the conical shape
for hedges. In cutting back the top growth at
this season, the conical form can still be pre-
served. When we commenced to advise this,

the square top form was very common, and as a

result the sides soon became thin towards the
ground. AVe have kept reitei-ating this advice
every year, till now we have the satisfaction of
rarely seeing one of the old miserable things.

The Rose season reminds us to say that we are al-
most sorry they are so generallygrown on their own
roots, for it was such aniceemployment for many
people, not professional gardeners, to bud them on
the Manettistock. But the suckers from these wild
stocks came up, and in time so weakened the
grafted part, that it soon died. Florists would say
that amateurs should keep the suckers cutaway ;
but it is not easy for amateurs to distinguish
one from t..e other. Yet we hope the pleasant
practice of budding roses will not fall into disuse.
Any hardy kind can be used for a stock, and one
may have a dozen or more kinds on one plant in
this way. In budding roses, or indeed in bud-
ding any kind of plant, strong healthy stocks
should be selected, and above all, strong healthy
buds. It is chiefly when weak stocks or weak
buds are used, that failure follows.

The rose bug is a great pest in some districts,
but these are easy kept down by being shaken off
into a bucket of soap-suds ; and the larvse of the
rose fly, which in the form of small green cater-
pillars, which skeletonize the leaves, are so easily
kept down by pinching them, that we know at
once there is no reader of the Gardener's Month-
ly, wherever we see roses denuded of foliage by
these little "worms." If the job is too severe
for delicate nerves, there are plenty of boys will
clear one's whole rose patch of them in an hour
for 25 cents.

Propagation by layering may be performed any
time when strong vigorous growing shoots can

162

TEE GARDEJVER'S MO^TTBLY

June,

be had. Any plant can be propagated by layers.
Many can be readily propagated no other way.
Cut a notch on the upper side of the shoot, not
below, as all the books recommend, and bend
down into, and cover with rich soil. In a few
weeks they root, and can be removed from their
parents. Stakes for plants should be charred at
the ends before using, when they will last for
years.

Flower-beds should be hoed and raked, as soon
as the ground dries after a rain. Loose surface
soil prevents the under stratum drying out. Peg
down bedding plants where practicable. Split
twigs make the best pegs. In dry weather do
not water flower-beds often ; but do it thoroughly
when it is done. See that the water does not
run ofl', but into and through the soil.

Xo trees. Evergreens especially, should be suf-
fered to have grass grow about them for a year
or so after planting. It becomes "rank" in the
deeply loosened soil, abstracts moisture, and
otherwise seriously interferes with the tree.
When the tree gets a fair start, grass does less
injury, and when it becomes a tough sod, and
the tree by its shade, or say by frequent mowing
keeps the grass short, the grass roots do not pene-
trate deep, and the sod is of benefit, by keeping
the surface spongy, and the substratum cool.

Many herbaceous plants, such as Phloxes,
Hollyhocks and similar things, that are scarce
and valued, may be propagated now very easily,
by taking portions of their flower-stems before
the flowers open, and inserting them as cuttings
in a half shaded, cool, and not dry situation.
Layering of many things, shrubs, half shrubby
perennials, etc., should be done before the young
wood becomes too hard, if good plants are re-
quired the first year. Most plants root more
quickly by having a notch cut in the layered
shoot. Good, rich soil, put just about the layers
ie very important. Good soil favors an abun-
dance of roots. One of the greatest mistakes in
gardening is the prevalent notion that plants in
a poor soil have a greater proportion of roots
than in a rich one.

FRUIT GARDEN.
The test of a good gardener is to be found in
how he thins his fruit. Your shoddy fellow
takes all nature will give him ; he buys the largest
trees he can find, because they will bear 'right
away," and he expects not merely a specimen or
80 of a kind, but pecks if not bushels from newly

planted trees. But as he becomes amongst the
refined and educated in the pursuit, he gradually
learns that nature loves best the patient waiter.
He learns that good luscious fruit— fruit truly
enjoyable— only comes from healthy vigor, and
that this never folio ws a tree which bears too m uch .
Even good gardeners often say that if a tree is
healthy, it may be permitted to bear all it will ;
but that kind of tree is very rarely seen. Cer-
tainly half the trees which bear fruit every year,
would be benefited by having half the fruit taken
off", as soon as it is well set ; that is after they
commence to swell a little. The grape vine es-
pecially suffers from overbearing ; two or three
bunches usually come out from each fruit bear-
ing branch. We should always cut away one,
the one farthest removed from the main stem ;
and in many cases leave only one— the nearest
one— to mature. When this is decided on, cut
away these superfluous bunches at once.

Fine rich color is always esteemed as one of
the criterions whereby to judge of the excellence
of a fruit. Sun-light is of first importance ; but
it is not generally known that this is injurious
when in excess. In a dry atmosphere, with
great sun heat, where the evaporating process
goes on faster than the secretive principle, v/hat
should become a rich ros}' blush in a fruit, is
changed to a sickly yellow ; and the rich jet
black of a grape becomes a foxy red. Some
Grape growers of eminence, in view of the facts,
shade their vineries during the coloring process ;
but others, instead, keep the atmosphere as
close and moist as possible.

We again report the advice to trap insects
with wide mouthed bottles filled with sweet
liquid.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Peas for a Fall crop may be sown. It is, how-
ever, useless to try them unless in a deeply trench-
ed soil, and one that is compai'atively cool in the
hottest weather overhead, or they will certainly
mildew and prove worthless. In England where
the atmosphere is so much more humid than
ours, they nevertheless have great difficulty in
getting fall Peas to go through free from mildew ;
and to obviate these drying and mildew-produc-
ing influences, they often plant them in deep
trenches, made as for Celery, and are then much
more successful with them.

Cabbage and Brocoli may still be set out for
Fall crops, also requiring an abundance of ma-

187L

THE GARDEJ^EH'S MOJ^THLJ.

16S

nure to insure much success. Lettuce, where
salads are much iu request, may yet be sown,
The Curled Indian is a favorite summer kind ;
but the varieties of Cos, or Plain-leaved kinds,
are good. They take more trouble, having to be
tied up to blanch well. Many should not be
sown at a time, as they soon run to seed in hot
weather.

At the end of June, some Celery may be set
out for early crops, though for the main crop a
month later will be quite time enough. It was
once customary to plant iu trenches djg six or
more inches below the surface ; but the poverty
of the soil usually at this depth more than de-
creases the balance of good points in its favor.
Some of our best growers now plant entirely on
the surface, and depend on drawing up the soil,
or the employment of boards or other artificial
methods of blanching.

Beans produce an enormous crop in deeply
trenched soils, and are improved as much as any
crop by surface manuring. We hope this method
of fertilizing the soil will be extensively adopted
for garden crops this season. Those who have
not yet tried it will be surprised at the economy
and beneficial results of the practice.

Cucumbers for pickling may be sown this
month, and Endive for fall Salad set out. Pars-
ley for winter use may be sown now, in boxes of
rich soil, and set in a cool, shady place till it
germinates.

Asparagus beds should not be cut ofi" after the
stalks seem to come up weak, or there will be but
a poor crop the next season, and the beds will
"run out" in a few years.

Tomatoes, after trying all kinds of trellisses
recommended, will be found to do best on slakes
tied up singly. It is best to plant a strong pole
as for Lima Beans, with the plants when first
set out, and tie up as they grow. Marketmen
generally let them grow as they will, on the
ground, which, perhaps, although not yielding
as much, costs less labor, and may thus be most
profitable.

The Swede Turnip or Ruta Baga should be
sown about the end of the month. A well en-
riched piece of ground is essential, as by growing
fast they get ahead of the ravages of the fly. Ma-
nures abounding in the phosphates — bone-dust,
for instance, — are superior for the Turnip.

Sweet Potatoes must be watched, that the
vines do not root in the ground as they run,
whick will weaken the main crop of roots. They
should be gone over about once a month, and
with a rake or pole, the vines disturbed some-
what from their position.

Parsley for winter use may be sown now in
boxes of rich soil, and set in a cool, shady place
till it germinates.

Herbs for drying for future use, should be cut
just about the time they are coming into flower.
Dry them in the shade, and after sufficiently dry
to put away, tie them in bunches, and hang in a
cool shed, or place them loosely between the pa-
per, and stow away in cupboards or drawers, —
the last mode is by far the cleanest and mo.st ap-
proved plan with the best housekeepers. Some,
indeed, powder the leaves at once after drying,
and put them away in bags, ready for use.

COMMUNICATIONS.

HOW TO MAKE PRODUCTION POPULAR.

BY E. T. POWELL, ADRIAN, MICU.

It is an undoubted fact that farm life is unat-
tractive, and is like a treadmill. One must rise
at light and toil into the night, and cannot have
a dazzling prize to lure him on— and he must
feel that a roaring world is busy all about him,
and he is hid from the sight of it. He feels sepa-
rated from the beating pulse of the world ; and
in our age when a railroad runs within easy

range of every man, it goes hard to feel that the
world is alive with new ideas and new schemes,
and inventions, and discoveries, iu which we
can have no part.

This difliculty must be reached and obviated
by bringing the world home to the farm— I mean
that production will become popular just when
you make it as enlivening, thoughtful and poet-
ical as the work of the professions and city arts.
Heretofore it has been supposed that a meagre

UJf

THE GARDEJVER'S MOKTHLY,

June,

knowledge of reading, writing and the rudiments
of geography were sufficient for a farmer. When
you lay it down that our farms must have their
high schools and the farmer his college training,
you will make agricultHre the most bewitching
employment under the sun ; you will make it
what it was to Virgil and Horace, and what it
is now to Greeley and Beecher, and what Auer-
bach in his Villa on the Rhine makes it to Son-
nenkamp. Now the farmer walks ignorantly
over thousands of beauties, of discoveries, of
laws, of thoughts, of sources of wealth, and he
does not see them. With a thorough education
he will recognize them ; for instance, many a
man has tilled over a silver mine and not known
it ; he has walked over untold wealth and discov-
eries which he had no power to recognize. Give
him now a knowledge of chemistry, and he will
understand the composition and nature of the
soils that he works, and his brain will be alive
with study and thought while his hands hold
the plough. He will know the value and use of
a mineral spring — what to do with a deposit of
peat or marl. Indeed you have ^et him on a
search, taught him to expect something and you
may be sure he will find something. Teach
him botany, open before him the organic world
of plants, trees, and flowers. Every flower that
is to another but as a grass spire is to him a cup
brimful of wisdom. Emerson sings as he looks
on the farmer's work,

"One harrest from thy field
Homewnril brouglit the exen strong,

Another crop tliine acres yield
Which I gather in a song."

There is no reason why the farmer should not
be educated to see the beauty and the wisdom
that receives his booted heel. Give him a thor-
ough scholarship in horticulture, so that he can
keep even paced with all improvements in varie-
ties of fruits and vegetables, and try experi-
ments himself in the origination of new varie-
ties. It will bring his soul into quick thinking
connection with such experimenters as Van
Mone, Verschaflelt, Downing, Warder, Presi
dent Wilder ; it will lead him into sympathy and
a comprehension of such princes of enquiry as
Agassiz, and Tyndall, and Faraday. What
matters it that he is on a farm ? His very feet
tread the volumes of nature, and these volumes
are open books to him. We cannot go into his
pasture, or his garden, or his orchard, but new
truths meet him, quicken him, and incite hira.
I do not know a pleasure much more exhilarat-
ing and healthy than that which comes from

success in hybridizing, or by seedlings origina-
ting an improved fiuit or flower. Last year I
brought to Ijloom several seedlings of Gladiolus,
one of them proved to be a variety hardly ever
equaled . Do you kno ^ what pleasure, what a fresh
draught of life that gave to me ? I absorbed its
life and beauty into my life, and felt for even
that one flower my life had not been in vain.
There are farmers who are every year, by these
experiments and scholarly zeal, proving them-
selves royal benefactors of their race. Take Dr.
Kirtland of Cleveland, who started our Gov.
Wood and several others of the best cherries. —
take Seth Boyden of Jersey City, who originated
the Agriculturist and more of the finest straw-
berries,—instance Rogers, and Allen, and Barry,
and Longworth, who, by patient care, have
added much wealth to our list of grapes and
pears. I think I should like to have my name
go around the world embodied in a strawberry,
or labeled on a peach. No one who sucked the
sweet juices but will breathe a blessing on me,
and my immortality will be secured by the ever
recurring spring giving a new bloom to my
cheek, 'ihat will be better than publishing
a volume of priceless sermons, or being immor-
talized in Latin or by two d's in capitals. Why,
do you think farm life could have been dull, or
production drudgery to Goodrich of Utica, who,
after years of patient culture, gave us as the re-
sult, the Harrison, the Goodrich, the Garnet,
the Cuzco, and the Gleason Potatoes ? Such
men are putting spires to progress, — they are do-
ing more than all gold miners to increase the ma-
terial prosperity of the land, and they are doing
only what any young man may do. The field is
absolutely infinite. We need new apples and
pears still, — new strawberries and churrios. I
prophesy that in ten years we shall have quinces
more soft and delicious and fragrant for eating
than peaches, — berries that utterly supplant
what we now use, — and such an advance in fruits
and flowers as will make past progress seem to
have been slow.

For one, I hail the Agricultural Colleges
with intense joy. I deprecate every at-
tack upon them. Correct their errors, but give
them every encouragement. Let us have rural
schools of the highest order of merit. It is not
enough to educate our lawyers and ministers ;
educate also in the fullest sense your tillers. In
England it is becoming quite common to educate
the second son for the ministry, and the third
for a professional agriculturist. That is it I

18'7L

THE GARDE JVJEB'S MOJ^THLl.

165

Giv'e us professional farmers ; make fanning as
much and as truly a profession as law, and
preaching, and healing.

Last Fall, at our State Fair, one of the most
interestingsightsihat Isaw,orhaveeverseeii,was
a collection of somewhere near a hundred. varie-
ties of potatoes, and some two or three score va-
rieties of tomatoes from our State Agricultural
College, each labeled, and all presided over by a
young student who was as well skilled in such
roots as ever a classical student was in the roots
of Latin and Greek. Now I do not care to eat
tomatoes, but I can wax very enthusiastic in
raising them. Fejee, Early York,TiIden, Sim's
Cluster, Cook's Favorite, Lester's Perfected. I
like to know the origin, history, color, and so-
lidity of each ; just the shade of color, their pro-
lific rank, and season of ripening. And really I
esteem acquaintance with every new potato from
the old Western Red at SI 50 per barrel, to Ear-
ly Rose at $90, as much as my acquaintance
with Cicero, Virgil, Sallust and Homer.

Nor is there any reason why the farmer
should not be taught astronomy. Thank God
one does not leave the stars behind when he
leaves the city gas lights. There is no reason
why every farmer of moderate means should not
have his small telescope mounted in an observa-
tory on his roof, and with it take many a tour
far wider and more useful than the tours of the
wealthiest tradesmen. "Whereas the one goes to
buy dry goods, the other goes to buy truth ; the
one goes to the metropolitan towns of his native
earth, the other visits the metropolitan worlds
of space-
Let the idea be thoroughly adopted, that no
one needs a more thorough education than the
farmer, that he must have a thorough discipline
of mind. Send him out into the fields to meet
sciences, inventions, discoveries, art, poetry and
law, and you have utterly transformed him. You
have turned the drudge into the king, you have
made hlra Lord of the soil. Now you rarely find
a farmer who has skill or information that goes
farther than a well covered mow, and a well cur-
ried stall. His farm is only so many acres of
pasture, and meadow, and woodland, out of
which to get the heaviest crop and the best
livins:.

of more notice than they receive. They are the
Golden Yew {Taxiu baccnta aurea) and the Sil-
ver Yew {Taxus haccata elegantissinia). They
are two of the most beautiful evergreeus in cul-
tivation, and are well ada|)ted to our climate.
They are varieties of the English Yew. The
great peculiarity of the Golden one, is that the
young growth is of a bright yellow color, which
gives it the appearance of being tipped with gold ;
and when the wood ripens it retains its beauty,
as the leaves are still edged with a golden color.
Unlike most of the variegated plants, it is not
affected bj^ the burning sun. It is as well
adapted to small gardens as larger ones, and is
hardy in most parts of the United States. It is
easily propagated by cuttings. It is of slow growth
however, and a much quicker way to raise it is
by grafting on some of the stronger growing
sorts on which it takes quite freely.

The Silver Yew differs from the Golden in
having its young growth more of of a silver col-
or, which gives it a very delicate appearance ;
but it does not stand scorching by the sun quite
so well as the Golden. The propagation is the
same. Either of these evergreens are well worth
cultivating, and deserve a place in every garden.

THE GOLDEN AND SILVER YEWS.

BY EMILE W. WINTZER, MOURISVILLE, PA.

There are two evergreens which are worthy

THE NANKEEN COTTON.

BY W. G. B.

Fift3' years ago, a common and popular mate-
rial for summer clothing for men and boys was
an article imported from China, and commonly
called Nankeen This fabric retained its repu-
tation for many years, but was finally driven
from the market, as many other excellent fabrics
have been, by worthless imitations introduced
from Europe, or manufactured in the United
States. I am surprised that no effort has been
made in this country to prcduce an article iden-
tical with that originally imported from China.
If such an attempt has been made, I never have
heard of it. Would it not be profitable for .some
enterprising southerner to obtain seed and intro-
duce the culture of the kind of cotton necessary
for the purpose ? I was induced to make the
inquiry whether this has ever been done, by
reading lately the work of Fortune from which
the enclosed extract is taken :

"The yellow cotton from which the beautiful
Nankeen cloth is manufactured, is called " 1 ze
mie wha'' by the Chinese, and differs but slight-
ly in its structure and general appearance from
the kind just noticed. I have often compared

166

THE GARDE JfER*S MOJ^THL^,

June,

hem in the cotton fields where they were grow-
ing ; and although the yellow A-ariety has a more
stunted habit than the other, it has no charac-
ters which constitute a distinct species. It is
mereh' an accidental yariet}' ; and although its
seeds may generally produce the same kind, they
doubtless frequently yield the white variety, and
viccvnsa. Hence specimens of the yellow cot-
ton are frequently found growing amongst the
white in the immediate vicinity of Shanghai ;
and again a few miles northward, in fields near
the city of Pouchon on the banks of the Yang-
tse-kiang. Where the yellow cotton abounds, I
have often gathered specimens of the white va-
riety."— Fortwn.t''t Wanderings in China.

RECOLLECTION'S OF VAN DIEMEN'S
LAND, OCEANICA.

BY MR. W. T. HARDIXG, BRIGHTON, MASS.

I thought of the old song addressed to

"Ye geutlemen of England, who live at home at ease.
How litt'o do you think upon the dangers of the seas."

and how applicable it seemed as I staggered
about the deck of our tempest tossed barque,
anxiously waiting for daylight and the sight of
land. The night had been stormy and wet, and
the wind seemed to blow from every quarter but
one, and what with tacking about and knocking
about, and involuntarily performing some "won-
derful acrobatic feats," "balancing and postur-
ing" with many "marvelous gyrations, " I fancied
I was more skilled as a tumbler when at sea, than a
horticulturist, in which capacity I lived when on
shore,— although I well remembered performing
some "remarkable feats of lofty and ground
tumbling" when a boy, from a Jargonelle pear
tree which grew in my old school-master's or-
chard, and which I visited one evening during
the fruit season ; a fact that certainly indicated
an early enthusiasm for pomological studios. So
forming a committee of one, I climbed up the
tree with a view of testing the merits of such
luscious looking fruits, when a voice, I had often
heard, and a form with a hazel stick I had seen
and felt before, warned me of the wrath to come,
which surely did on the following morning,
when I was "beaten with many stripes." I was
made to smart for it to be sure ; but that was
slight when compared with the bruising I re-
ceived on the ill-fated "Merope," which after-
wards foundered, with the writer on board.

liut to make amends for the trespasses I com-
mitted (although the sin was only in pro-
spective, for I did not get a taste of the fruit I

so much admired) when in after years I returned
to my native village, I asked the old man's for-
giveness, when his time furrowed features seemed
i*adiant with goodness, and removing his specta-
cles, which were dimmed with tears, he grasped
my hn,cd silently, admitting that it was even so.
Subsequently I planted a St. Helena weeping
willow over his grave, which I brought from
there

"Where the spring water flow.s
And the willow tree grow.s
By the frr>ive of the Great Napoleon."

But I fear this is rather a rambling story,
which memory seems to recall again, and lead
me back to "the long ago."

The first gray streaks of morning light showed
land in view, which the gallant Tassman named
in honor of his lady love. Maria Yan Diemen,
Van Diemen's Land. Literally it was a land of
demons at one time, having been for many years
a penal colony, which held in durance vile those
"who left their country for their country's good."
It was an agreeable surprise to find Hobart
Town such a flourishing and beautiful city, with
well macadamized streets, good stores, comforta-
ble dwellings and public buildings, that would
do credit to more favored and older settled coun-
tries.

Leaving the city and looking around, I was at-
tracted to an enclosure which contained some fine
Date Palms in full fruit,also fine Loquats, Mangos,
Figs, Oranges, Shaddocks, Guavas, Limes,
Pomegranates, Peaches, Raspberries, Currants,
and Strawberries ; most of which were well
loaded with fruit, and growing luxuriantly.

Grape vines seemed very vigorous and fruit-
ful, bearing larger bunches than two of the
biggest white Syrians put together, I ever saw
grown under glass I feel certain that many of
the bunches would weigh more than the famous
one grown bj- Speochloy. The kinds grown were
chicHy Syrians, ^Malagas, Tokays, Lombardies,
Muscats and Hamburgs.

It has been my good fortune to see some ex-
cellent vineyards along the shore of Lake Erie,
of which the owners maj' justly feel proud ; and
also the oxten.'<ive ones at the foot of Table
Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, which supplies
Europe with the celebrated Constantina wine ;
but I never saw elsewhere bunches grow to such
an enormous size, or of better flavor. Austra-
lia is producing a good domestic wine, for which
the demand is steadily increasing, and it will, no
doul)t, become generally u.><ed instead of theliery
fluids with which the country is cursed.

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

167

In the suburbs of the city were some beautiful
cottages, nestling beneath clustered masses of
Chorozeraa ilicifolia, Podolobium scandens, Ed-
wardsiagrandiflora, Kenned3a monophylla.Jas-
minum divaricatum, and other handsome
climbers, which in many instances completely
hid the houses, all but the doors and windows.
Most of the gardens and yards enclosed and di-
vided with hedges of Ilakea uliciua, Epacris
exerta, Eugenia mj-rtifolia, and Eriostemon bux-
ifolium ; Banksia serrata, and B. dentata make
quite a defensive hedge

Leaving the city as soon as I could make ar-
rangements for the journey, I hastened onwards
towards the "bush,'" as the forests are so called,
and had not traveled far, when, to my great
surprise, I beheld in the centre of a large and
beautiful garden, a group of the brilliant Telopia
speciosissima trees in full bloom, which in the
distance appeared to be a pyramid of tire. Such
a gorgeous sight I had never gazed on before,
and will ever remember it when thinking of the
many floral beauties I have seen. The proprie-
tor's mansion was situated in the rear, and ap-
proached through an avenue of Cyathea glau-
ca, alternated with some fine Livistonias iner-
mis, and faced with a row of Foucro}'a Australis
of good size, which was margined with a hedge
of Hovea Celsi of a uniform height, and com
pletely covered with its beautiful blue flowers.
Such a paradise, and such temptation, I could
not resist entering ; so opening the gate I ven-
tured within, and was met by a venerable look-
ing old man of a patriarchal appearance, who
invited me to examine his grounds ; and seeing
how delighted I was, he volunteered to accom-
pany me and show me the choice fruits, trees,
and flowers, so abundant and beautiful on every
side. The sun was at its meridian, "high noon,''
and hot indeed was the atmosphere when we
sought the shade of a rustic arbor, and took a
seat within, which was well shaded by a Billar-
dia fusiformis. Pointing to a tree near to
where we .tat, my aged companion said he valued
it more than all the trees or flowers his grounds
contained, as oUlen memories returned whenever
he saw it. 'Why, it isallawthorn, I remarkefl."
"Yes,'' he replied, and the haw from which ihat
tree was raised I received from dear old England,
years ago ; my brother aent me the seed, which
he gathered from a tree that overhung my fa-
ther'.s cottage door, and which I had often
climbed when a boy, and the recollections of my
mother seem to return again with all the fresh- |

I ness of youth, as she sat beneath its shade one
' summer afternoon busily engaged with her nee-
! die repairing my little jacket, (and I believe the
only one I had,) for she was very poor, and had
a large family to care for. I was then an inno-
cent boy, free from guile, little thinking of the
mysterious future in store for me. Enquiring
what part of England he formerly lived in,
imagine my suri)rise when he mentioned the vil-
lage where I was born, and told me his name
was * * * * Good heavens 1 how nervous I felt,
and how the perspiration streamed from every
pore, as the thought occurred that I was con-
versing with the man who burglariously entered
my father's house and stole his watch and other
things, for which he was arrested, tried and
found guilty, and sentenced to s-even years trans-
portation to Yan Diemen's Land. Oh how
sorry I felt for him, poor tottering old man,
what a career his must have been.

Hastily rising from the seat, and thanking him
for his kindness, I made the best excuse I could
for my abrupt departure, assigning as a reason
urgent business. Thus leaving and bidding him
adieu, I felt somewhat relieved from the embar-
rassment under which I was laboring ; as I
closed the gate behind me and returned to the
road, and in a thicket of Metrosideros near to,
gave vent to my feelings unseen.

God knows I pitied him, and to spare his feel-
ings, hurriedly withdrew, fearing that he might
enquire where I came from, and ask my name.
I afterwards learned that he obtained a "ticket
of leave" soon after his arrival for his good con-
duct, and hiring himself to a farmer, whose
daughter he afterwards married at the expira-
tion of his term, and having obtained a fortune
with her, speculated in business, became wealthy,

and I hope hapjiy too.

Oxleya xanthoxylon, a singular tree, often at-
taining to two hundred feet in height, Metrosi-
deros robusta, Melia Australis, and the noble
Eucalyptus amygdalina, and E. obliqua, made
excellent shade trees along the roadsides. Cu-
pania Cunninghamii was abundant, and wher-
ever I saw it, I invariably found its branches
entangled with dense masses of a beautiful climb-
ing plant, Thysolobium carinatum. bearing scar-
let, pea-shaped flowers. Epacris coreaflora,
Chorozema nana, and the lovely Yeronica nivea,
with its snow white flowers mingled with Tass-
mania aromatica, and Trymalium odoratissima,
which perfumed the air. Large patches of Ge-
ranium parviflorum, Thysanotus proliferus, aud

168

TEE GJI^DEA'EB'^:^ AlOA^TBLJ.

June,

the curious Stylidium fruticosum were both sin-
gular aud beautiful. Of Ferns, I will note a few,
namely : Pteris Kingeana, Polystichuni proli-
feruni, Lomaria lanceolata, llypolepis rugulosa,
Drjnaria diversifolia, Dictyopteris attenuata,
Adiantum pubescens, Schizoea bilida, Aspidium
coriaceum, Polypodium scandens and other
kinds were plentiful in their favorite habitats,
the shad}' groves.

Orchideje were well represented, and the name
of a few which were conspieui>us, are as follows:
Thelymetra longifo]ia,Dendrobium cassy thoides,
and D. rigidum, Neottia Australis, Cymbidium
suave, Crystostyles longifolia, Sarcochilus fal-
catus, and Gastrodia sesamoidcs,— kinds which
will be recognized by some of the Monthly''s sub-
scribers as favorites of the olden times.

THE CODLING MOTH.

BY SIR. D. N. BROWN, ST. JOSEPH, MO.

R(ad befo'ie Ben it n Co., Sin t. Suriety.

It has pleased you to call on me to address
this county association of fruit growers on the
nature of and habits of the codling moth. I re-
gret exceedingly that you have so overrated my
ability. After a moment's hesitation I consent-
ed to do so, only through tlie strong desire I feel
for the entire success of every fruit grower in
this county and elsewhere. It is known to some
of you, that I have for a few years past, devoted
much time to learn from my own observations
the nature, habits and character of this insect
most destructive not only to the apples and pears
of this section of country, but of all parts of the
United States, aud Canada, except that portion
lying west of the Rocky Mountains ; and as ap-
ples are being transported to California, I see
not why this codling moth will not find her home
that favored land.

As I am not a great r»;adcr, I shall not be able
to inform you whore this moth originated, or by
whom it was first discovered. I well remember
when a boy, how in my father's orchard in Con-
necticut the Seek- no-further and Greening ap-
ples were nearly all destroyed by this same ugly
looking ui)plc worm ; and for tlie last 40 years,
wherever I have traveled, 1 have seen lier
mark of destruction upon the most valuable fruit
of our land.

Last year, this insect was more destructive
than usual, owing to the warm, dry and long
season, which is more favorable to the insect
tribes than cool or wet Sitasous. My young oi-

chard, which promised some 20 barrels of apples,
was by the larva; of the codling moth cut down
to less than one bushel of sound fruit; also my
Bartlett and Secke! pears were chiseled out to
give them nutriment, and shelter from the eagle
eye of many of the feathered tribes who are seek-
ing such for food.

The codling moth is a gray, dirty looking mil-
ler, about three-fourths of an inch in length,
very quick in her movements and when still her
wings lie close to her body. Early in the month
of June, she makes her appearance, and may be
seen by jarring the limbs of the trees. She makes
many angular motions while descending to the
ground, and conceals herself instantly.

"When the apple reaches the size of a hazelnut,
she deposits her egg in the down of the blossom,
where it hatches in a few days if the weather is
warm. Immediately the young larva begins to
cut its way toward the centre of the fruit to feed
upon its flesh and seeds. If, however, the end
of the fruit is too hard, the larva will leave and
enter some more tender part It is common for
them to leave one apple and enter another ; and
thus a single worm may destroy a large quantity.
There are continuous and consecutive crops of
these insects from early summer until late in the
fall, or until the apple crop is gathered. They in-
crease rapidly as the warm weather advances.
In the spring their commencement is but small,
owing to the wood pecker, aud many other birds
which pre}' upon the larva whilst slightly pro-
tected in its silken case, and deposited about
stumps, hollow weeds, and especially under the
scales of dead bark on the apple tree. On ex-
amination you will see many of these scales per-
forated by birds, who subsist during winter upon
insects. I have often wondered to see with
what precision they strike their game. When
you see a small hole through one of these old
scales, pull it ofl' and notice the accuracy with
Avhich this natural mechanic hits the cocoon
whiclv contained his morning meal.

Many apples containing the larvje of this moth
are barreled, and you will often find a large
number of these cocoons, about the hoops and
joints, which should be carefully destroyed.
Should you make any of your lighted rooms a
storehouse for apples in the spring, you may find
your windows dotted with this miller. Owing
to the many methods by which this larvas ia
winter is destroyed, the early brood is small.
These, however, deposit their eggs, which hatch

1871.

TEE GARDE JfER'S MOJ^THLY.

169

into a perfect moth in about thirty days, which in
their turn are ready to make in the apple a sec-
ond deposit of eggs ; which, as we are not able
to ascertain the number of eggs each female
can lay, atc may safely conclude that this crop
can out number from fifty to one hundred times
the spring crop. "NVe have now reached about
the middle of July, or the tirst of August, when
the fruit bitten by the first crop of the larvae are
falling to the ground, and some of the early va-
rieties beginning to ripen. A fair crop of early
fruit may be expected, for they escapti the latter
broods of this sweeping pest.

In August and September we shall find issuing
from the blossom, and of many of our fine smooth
apples, a dark liquid matter, indicating that
another brood of this loathsome insect has com-
menced its work of destruction. You will also
see small red spots on the fair perfect fruit, show-
ing that another brood of these larvae are cut-
ting their way through to the completion of
their work. Thus one brood succeeds another,
until in many cases, nearly our entire crop of
winter fruit is pierced with holes and lies with-
ered on the ground.

The worm, when small, is dark, and has a
black head ; when about half an inch long it
moults, after which it grows rapidly and soon
completes its work of destruction ; when of full
size, the worm — yellow or reddish, with a copper
colored head — prompted by instinct, leaves the
apple and hunts a place of concealment to wind
into a cocoon, and pass its transformation to the
perfect moth.

The larvae is seldom seen outside of the fruit
by daylight ; but in the dark hours, it is quick
in its motions, and travels from one apple to
another ; it travels up and down the branches
and trunk, either to enter new fruit or a place of
concealment. When it reaches maturity, it
hunts a hiding place to pass from the worm to
the perfect moth ; a period, in very hot weather,
which does not exceed ten or twelve days.
Should the worm fall with the apple to the
ground, it will on reaching maturity, in most
cases return to the tree. These characteristics
we have carefully noted ; on these habits we
have extensively experimented, and have de-
monstrated beyond the possibility of a doubt the
certainty, and the practicability of their de-
struction.

Few have ever cnntemplatod the vast injury
done throughout this continent tu the apple by
this self-sustaining, unyielding and greatest of

all destroyers, the codling moth. I now feel
called upon to show you the amount of damages
sustained by this unlimited destroyer. Here I
find myself wholly incapable, when we look at
this vast country from Maine to Florida,
and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast,
anil so extensively populated by farmers and
nearly every one has his apple orchard, and
from 25 to 2,000 trees each ; and that all these
have suffered from 10 to 95 per cent, annually,
from near the first settlement of this counliy to
the present time ; and that Europe and many
other parts of the world have suffered equally
with us, from this same muddy looking miller,
we can only compute the injury sustained by
untold billions.

Other insects, or many of them, seem to have
their time, and pass away like the army worm,
the weevil, the hessian fly, the forest and can-
ker worm ; not so with the codling moth — he
lived many hundred years ago, and from that
without intermission to the present, and unless
the future shall call out and develop a class of
fruit growers who shall more earnestly study
and learn the nature and habits of this (to me,
the most hateful and destructive pest,) we may
look in vain for a remuneration from our fair
and beautiful apple orchards.

Mr. Eansom, my respected friend and col-
league,in the study of worm and ' bugology," who
with his untiring diligence, has done such am-
ple work in leading out our armies of orchard-
ists, to destroy the curculio, may have led some
of us to conclude, that as fruit growers we have
no enemies to fight but the curculio ; but when
we look at the little local patches of from 10 to
50 miles square scattered up and down this coun-
try alone, and all lying east of the Rocky Moun-
tains, its destruction to fruit, when compared to
that of the codling moth, is as St. Joseph to the
remainder of Uncle Sam's vast domain.

We now invite the attention of all apple-or-
chardists to a simple, practical method of exter-
minating this pest from any given locality, at an
expense which will not exceed $1 50 per acre.
About the first of June, take a whisp of rags,
cotton or woolen, woolen preferred, which will
wrinkle and afford concealment, — say about the
sizeof a sleeve doubled, — and place these rags
in the lowest forks of the apple tree, or wind
several thicknesses of rags about the base of the
tree, or both. All the worms descending and as-
cending will crawl in and remain. Now we

170

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJYTELl.

June,

know where the apple worm is. How shall we
kill him ?

Take a clothes wringer, place it on a light
frame, then carefully remove the rags from a
tree, for some of the worms will be attached to
the bark, place an end in the jaws of the wrin-
ger and run the rags through, every worm is an-
nihilated ; after this replace the rags.

This work should be repeated every ten or
twelve days during the season, and uutil the fruit
is gathered, varying according to the heat of the
season. The rags should not be used unless the
wringer is also ; for unless the worm is destroyed,
you have only given it a comfortable and con-
venient concealment, close to the favorite fruit it
greedily destroys.

Various methods are recommended to aid the
orchardist to defend himself against this most
formidable destroyer ; among them is that which
turns our orchards into hog yards. This is not
practicable ; for many of our orchards are open to
corn and potato fields and to our strawberry
and vegetable gardens. I have for the last two
or three years considered it as necessary to de-
stroy the apple worm as to look after any other
interest. We often find from fifty to one hun-
dred at a time in our simple rag traps. One of
my neighbors killed from a single tree over four
hundred in one season. Another of my neigh-
bors with the rag traps slaughtered in his or-
chard of a few hundred trees, from fifteen to
twenty thousand.

These are facts which many here present can
verify ; for the men who make these statements
are our neighbors, practical fruit growers, whose
truth and veracity are beyond a doubt, and in
whose word we place implicit confidence ; and
yet certain profi-ssional entomologists throw the
influence of their reputation against this testi-
mony. Young men with a smattering of Latin,
a powerful microscope and a drawing pencil, dis-
credit practical fruit growers whose lives have
been spent in an orchard, because they have not
the key to the ear of the public. We would re-
spectfully ask : Can Mr. Riley, or any other
professional entomologist, tell us by what means
so simple and so cheap as the rag trap this
wholesale destroyer of our precious fruits can be
taken in such quantities and used up ?

This Mr. Riley, the State entomologist of Mis-
souri, and one of tlie editors of ihc American
Entomologist and Botanist^ when on a visit to this
grandfruitbeltjOntheeasternshore of Lake Michi-

gan, acknowledged this far ahead of any previous
discovery in our battle with the codling moth ; but
on his return to Missouri, he changed his mind
and went back to the hay and straw bands. His
reasons he omitted to give. To my mind there
is but one solution to this mysterious change of
opinion ; and that is perfectly reasonable and le-
gitimate.

Mr. Riley, when here, was brought into the at-
mosphere of several of our most progressive and
successful fruit growers ; and therefore looked
upon these improvements from the standpoint of
common sense ; but on his return to St. Louis,
he struck an old atmosphere, that carried a grist
to mill with a stone in one end of the bag and
corn in the other ; the atmosphere that recog-
nizes no advancement outside or beyond, and
sees no merit in the lower walks of life. Yet, I
believe were he hereto day, he would discard his
straw bands as out of date and too complicated
for common use, and again approve the trap of
rags.

The proposed method is better than making a
hog-yard of the orchard, for we have already
stated that many of the worms, we believe that
all of the worms have left the apple, except
windfalls, before it falls from the tree. Wisps
of straw and hay have been recommended to aid
the fruit grower to wage war successful!}' against
this hateful pest ; but the successive broods fr(mi
summer until autumn require many bands, and
make this plan too laborious, since it consumes
too much precious time. Loose bark should be
removed from the trunks of old trees, thus re-
moving a natural hiding place.

In the opinion of the speaker, but one thing
remains to complete the destruction of the apple
worm. It is united and combined action, and I
would respectfully ask that a resolution may be
passed, recommending all apple orchardist to
unite in applying this simple remedy.

THE CABBAGE HEAD.

BY MR. H. W. RAYKXAL, AIKEK, S C.

I SO often derive instruction as well as interest
from your ''record of facts'' in vegetable pliysi-
ology, and your speculations and conclusions are
so generally apt and appropriate, that when I
read your article in Ajiril numiier of Gardenpr''s
Monthlij, "About Cabbages," I liesitated about
expressing dissent from your conclusions You
say '•'•the onhj reason jchy a Cahbar/e heads, is be-
cause the natural growing season of the plant has

1871,

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TBL^.

171

heen delayed by man several months after seed ri-
pening.''^ I think the "heading" of Cabbage and
Lettuce is to be explained otherwise, and that
the delayed tune of seed sowing is only an auxiliary
in affording to the })lant the best season of the year
for developing its poxoers.

In your latitude, the seed sowing is delayed
some mouths after seed ripening, to get the best
season. Here in our latitude, we sow (or ought
to do so) our green glazed Cabbage in May or
June, just after the maturing of seed of previous
crop. They grow all summer and head in fall
and winter. About February or March they run
to seed, and then ripen towards the end of
spring. So there is no delay (or need not be) in
sowing after maturity. This fact would seem to
destroy your conclusion as stated above.

The true reason "why and how a Cabbage
heads" is, I think as follows : All plants have
an aptitude and inherent capacity for storing up
supplies of plant food for future use. Among
the annuals the growth is so rapid, that this ten-
dency is not so perceptible. The biennials and
perennials show it in various ways ; sometimes
it is in the thickened root, sometimes in the rhi-
zoma, the bulb or the tuber, but oftenest in the
buds. Preparation being thus made for the fu-
ture, there is a period of rest, more or less ex-
tended ; then follows a rapid growth, — inflores-
cence, maturing of the seed and exhaustion.
Among the perennial and woody plants, this is
done towards autumn in the form of buds, and
it is here I find the explanation of the Cabbage
heading process.

A bud, as it stands in winter on the tree, with
its compact folds of leaves and shortened axis,
is only a small "head ;'' and a Cabbage head is
only a large "bud'' with compact leaves and
shortened axis, resting for a period, and accu-
mulating starch and other plant food for the
supply of the flowering proce.ss and ripening of
seeds.

It is perhaps a universal law in all vegeta-
i tion which is prolonged for any time, that the
I collecting and storing up of plant food takes

■ place preparatory to the exhaustive process of

■ maturing seeds. The Turnip, Beet, &c , store

■ theirs in the root ; the Cauliflower in the flower

■ stems ; some do it in the thickened leaves, but
I the most common mode is by buds.

B. The Cabbage, after growing for a certain pe-
B riod, begins to form its "bud," and as in other

■ cases, there is a shortening of the axis of growth

future inflorescence. Starchy matter accumu-
lates and other peculiar compounds are elabora-
ted, the leaves become blanched by exclusion
from light, and it becomes a hard, solid bud.
After a certain period of rest, a new growth
commences, the axis elongates rapidly, inflores-
cence takes place, and as the process goes on the
leaves become green from exposure to light, and
finally flaccid and exhausted. The same process
takes place in spring-time, in the bursting of every
bud, and the rapid growth and elongation of the
axis. The "bud" and the "head"are the same
process taking place under different conditions
of growth.

[Mr. R. is right in his view of the Cabbage
head being simply a terminal bud. He has made
the matter much clearer than we did in the ar-
ticle referred to, and we are much indebted to
him for the paper. But it is after all the season,
or other circumstances not well known, which is
the auxiliar}^ in the formation of this bud. For
instance, in the European Ash,jPraxmi/s excelsior^
there is a strong terminal bud, with four well
formed scales over it usually,— but if the ash
makes a second growth in the season, as it often
does, the bud is naked, and has no scales, only
minute specks, which develop the next growing
season into true leaves. So that the element of
time enters into the case, as we suggested. ~Ed.]

SOLANUM CILTATUM.

BY MR. W. G. CLARK, CLEVELAND, OHIO.

I have a plant of the Solanum ciliatum raised
two years ago from seed, which I believe came
from Peter Henderson, which I have bedded out
in the summer and taken up and potted and kept
in my window through the past two winters.
The repotting of course checks it, so that it has
to be cut back to get new growth ; but I am un-
der the impression that if kept in a pot it would
continue to bloom and bear fruit. During the
summer it has fruit and flowers at the same
time, and all the time until checked by repot-
ting. A valuable feature of the plant is the du-
rability of the fruit, making it very desirable for
parlor and Christmas decoration. Scattered
among evergreen branches it has a brilliant ef-
fect. I have branches on my mantel now
with fruit but little shrivelled, which were out
in November. 'I'o make a handsome bushy plant,
the ends of the branches should be pinched oc-
casionally.

172

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJYTBLY,

June,

NOTES FROM MEADVILLE, PA.

BY MR. A nUIDEKOPER.

It is too early to speak of fruit pi'ospects in
this region, but the winter lias been a fiivorable
one, the thermometer falling a degree or two be-
low zero twice during the season. Pear and
peach trees are making :i fine show of flo«er
buds, and fruit will be abundant if not cut off by
frust.

Mr. Saunder's article on pruning, in the March
number of the Gardener\s Monthh/, will commend
itself to manj' fruit growers. "While some re-
gard should be paid to balance and symmetry of
of form, too free an application of the knife pro-
duces more sprouts than fruit.

We are gradually outgrowing some theoretical
errors. A few years ago it was thought the life
time of a dwarf pear was about 20 years, whereas
it takes about that time to get some varieties into
their best condition, and there is no reason for
supposing they will not thrive much longer. I
compromise between the theories of "sod" and
"clean culture'' by inverting the sod for a circle
of three or four feet around each tree in the fall,
and mulching on this for the winter. The mulch
is removed in the spring, and before the hot-
weather of midsummer a new turf has formed
around the tree, keeping the roots cool but
not dense enough to interfere with the trees'
growth. In this way dwarfs make a satisfac-
tory annual development and keep healthy,
growing almost as fast as the}' do in the garden.
Mr. Satterthwait's "Address" is just such an
article as one of your readers at least likes to see
in the Gardener's Montldij. Novelties in the way
offruitareso apt to be overpraised, that one
likes to have the best result of experience.

I am building a new grapei-}-, with inch sash
bars five inches deep (and stiflened with two
rods the length of the building tacked on at equal
distance below) between each row of glass.
What I hope to obtain by this, the building
standing north and south, is a full measure of
solar light in the morning and evening, and
some modilication of heat by the deep sash bars
intercepting a portion of the sun's rays at noon.
If I find it works well, I will report hereafter.
By-the bye, we are often told of the great amount
of heat grapes will bear, but seldom of the de-
gree of cold. Several times when the thermome-
ter in a cold grapery has indicated at least four

degrees below freezing, I have noticed no injury
whatever to the just opened buds.

BOILERS AND CIRCULATION.

BY MR. A. L. PENNOCK, PIIILADA.

In the April number of the Monthly, from Mr.
John Ellis we have a new theory, that expan-
sion is the motive power of the circulation of
hot-water. He says the first particle of water
that moves, is the particle that has absorbed
heat and expanded, which is correct. He then
says the following particles come under the same
natural law, which is correct also ; but he does
not explain how the following particles come
there to be acted upon under the same natural
law. Expansion of the first particle could not
make room for them ; but if the only force of opera-
ting, and he acknowledges no other, would crowd
them back, instead of allowing them to enter the
boiler. In support of his theory, he says in
substance, that in order to heat a glass structure
the Avater in the return pipe should be nearh' as
hot as when it left the boiler in the flow, and if
it returns cold, little heat is given out. In other
words, in the first case, the water leaves the
boiler in the flow boiling at 212', and returns at
200^ ; in the second case, it leaves boiling at 212',
and returns cold, say 80-. In the first, accord-
ing to Mr. Ellis, it heats the air in the glass
structure, although it hasgivenoutbuttwelve de-
grees of its heat, while in the second case, a year's
firing would not heat the same air, although one
hundred and thirty-two degrees of the water's
heat were being continually given out. He says
his experience is, the hotter the water in the re-
turn pipe, the more rapid the circulation, but he
does not tell us how he judges of the rapidity of
circulation. If the water in the first case circu-
lates eleven times as fast as the second case, it
will give out as much heat to the air, but not
otherwise. I suppose if the Avater in the return
pipe could be the same heat as the flow, there
would be no circulation ; and my experience is,
when it approaches that point something is
wrong in the circulation. I have never made
any accurate experiments to ascertain the ve-
locity of circulating water, but on one occasion
I tried the circulation of water in a propagating
tank, with sullicient accuracy to show that cold
water in the return pipe causes quicker circula-
tion than hot. The fire had gone out, but was
renewed when I first tried the temperature,
, which with subsequent trials are here given.

1S71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELY.

173

Flow Return
88° & 9G° 53° ITo circulation in the tank, wa-
ter circulating both ways in
flow.
98 54 Circulation very slow.

106 54 " more perceptible.

112 56 " faster.

120 58 " faster.

122 61 " no change.

120 64 " slower.

At this point I made another opening over the
water in the tank, allowing a chip to float
through.

122 66 2i rain, chip floating through.

122 66 2| " " "

126 66 2 " " "

126 70 2 " " «'

120 70 3 " " '*

122 72 4i " " "

114 75 12 *' " "

The true theory is, that the fust expanded
particles are moved, so far as circilatioi is con-
cerned, by the heavier cold water panicles sink-
ing to the bottom and displacing them, and cir-
culation is effected by no other cause.

HOT- WATER BOILERS.— NO. 3.

BY MR. JOHN ELLIS, WEST PLAINS, N. Y.

It seems as though many persons, when they
have purchased what is termed a good boiler, think
that is all they need. It would seems also from
the manner in which they express themselves,
that boilers are expected to do a vast amount of
heating with a very small amount of coal, and
that if Ihey should put their hand over the top
of the chimney and find heat escaping, they ex-
claim, oh, whac an enormous loss of heat 1 This
may be so, or it may not be so, but those who
suppose that it is possible for any form of boiler
to absorb all the heat generated or given off from
a burning body of coals or any other material are
very much in error. Such results are not mani-
fest in the constitution of nature. What enor-
mous fat oxen we should see did they but appro-
priate the whole total of hay, water, meal, oil
cake, and all the various compounds that go in-
to their stomachs without any loss ; but we all
know that this is not so, and the facts aie that
nothing but the constituents of the grass pro-
duce llie positive results, let them be what they
. may. Another person says "1 will save this loss
of heat bycarryingitinaflue through the house,''
and when this is done it is found that the (Iraji

is impeded and the boiler fails to do what it did
before the flue was carried through the house ;
and the consequence is dissatisfaction with both
flue and boiler. The escape of some heat at the
top of a chimney cannot be prevented, because
the water in a boiler will only absorb so much
and no more, and then it is necessary that the
chimney should be kept warm, for if it were cold,
the rising heat would be condensed, and thereby
the draft very much affected. I have used cast
iron chimneys and had to discontinue their use,
solely on account of the cold in winter acting
with greater force on iron than brick, or more
correctly speaking through the iron giving off
its heat quicker than brick.

That there are many poorly constructed
boilers we know from experience, although their
makers claim by the mode of their construction
to have placed a surprising number of square
feet of iron surface containing water in imme-
diate connection with the fire, much of such
claimed surface becoming non-effective ; not be-
cause the radiant rays of heat is not in direct
line with such surface, but because the surface
in question is not in position to receive the proper
/orce of heat. Let me illustrate what is meant,
by a man standing out at night in the external
atmosphere without a wind, and the thermome-
ter standing at zero ; and on another occasion he
shall stand out with the thermometer indicating
the same low temperature, but the north wind
driving with powerful force; in both instances the
thermometer indicates no more cold, but the
man, what does he think ? why that the ther-
mometer ought to indicate double zero. Now
what is this that has produced such powerful
sensations and so intensified the cold ; the force
or pressure of the wind. Hence we have boiler
makers who construct according to the scientific
theory of ITood and others, and woefully fail in
the results aimed at, because they never take
into consideration the pressure or force of heat.
Hood and his contemporaries have said nothing
about it, and consequently we never heard any
boiler makei speak in reference to it ; but still
they wonder why their boilers presenting the re-
quisite square feet to the action of the fire do not
heat as many feet of pipe as the scientific au-
thority has laid down as a rule should be heated.
The man in the wind cannot understand how it
is so much colder when the thermometer indicates
the same temperature in both cases.

Let us look a moment at an ordinarj' con-

17Ji.

TEE GARDE JEER'S MOJVTELY.

June.

structed horizontal boiler with a good draft,
here we see the Hues of radiant heat drawn down
to a horizontal line, and forced by the pressure of
the draft out at the cud of the boiler to come
against some crook or bend in the brickwork,
and then made to pass along the boiler's sides
or some such position before the heat reaches the
chimney ; this much done, and there is a wonder-
ful achievement on the most scientific principles.
We conclude by calling such arrangements mis-
erable botches.

In such cases as this cited, it will be seen that
i\\Q force of heat is thrown against some portion
of the brickwork in order to turn the heat around
the outsides of the boiler, where it could never
do any good were it made to travel round it a
million times over. My readers may think this
a strange manifestation of scientific principles,
but wait a wee while, and let us see. You will
recollect that the. force of heat is thrown against
the brickwork in order to turn it round the sides,
that/orce is lost there ; and when once round the
sides of the boiler in form of flue heating, this
heat becomes a secondary heat, that is, heat hav-
ing less intensity than that which is given from
the fire resting on the grate surface. Now we
must bear in mind that of the water in a boiler,
that portion of it that is placed immediately
over the fire remains there until it has absorbed
all the heat from the iron surface that is possi-
ble it can absorb, and consequently the hottest
water in a boiler is that surrounding the top
sides. Now if this water has been made the
hottest by the agency of the hottest fire, how is
it possible to add one more degree of heat to its
temperature by placing a secondary heat in con-
nection with it ? I contend it cannot be done.
All flue arrangements are worthless, otherwise
than in protecting boilers from the action of ex-
ternal air, and forms of boilers, whether horizon-
tal or conical, should be cased in with brick, or
there will be a great deal of heat lost. A boiler
standing exposed to cold icy air, may just as
well be standing in icy-water. When it is stated
that such and such boilers require no brickwork
in setting them up, as everything is iron, le-
meraber tliat if no bricks are used, you have to
pay for it in coal and time in getting up the heat.
One great objection to the majority of boilers,
is their incapacity to hold coal enough during
the night, and when wc speak of this, the ques-
tion is instantly asked,— "do you want the boiler
to bold a cart-load of coals?" I reply yes,
If it is necessary ; for if it is necessary

to burn a cart-load at night, is it not much bet-
ter to do it at one operation, than to have a man
standing the greater portion of the night by the
boiler shoveling in coal at intervals and in small
quantities ? I should feel most secure under the
cart-load principle, at the same time giving some
thought to health and comfort. It is a mistaken
notion in supposing that small grate surfaces or
small fires are economical ; my experience is
quite the reverse, for they have, most of the
time to be on full draft, and constant stirring
and breaking up the coals, causing the combus-
tion of coals to be rapid, imperfect and wasteful.
Another point regarding coals is the size used. It
is customary to use large coals, known by the name
of broken, as when once hot it will throw off an
immense heat. This is comparatively true, but
does it effect what may be supposed it does ? Not
by a very great deal, for unless large coals are
in a very large body, a large volume of air is con-
stantly passing between the lumps and carries
the heat away as well as lessening its tempera-
ture, and often we shall find such fires burnt out,
or rather gone out, and the grate left nearly full
of large cinders or coke. There are many boil-
ers that would heat more feet of pipe than they
do at present if a small sized coal were used,
and it would keep a fire for a much greater length
of time, as well as its effect on the water be more
powerful, all owing to a better combustion. In
stating what has, it is our experience after using
large coals for a number of years, and in some
fourteen or fifteen boilers of different makes, and I
must sa3' ,that this much of experience came to me
against my inclination, and in this way: I had or-
dered large coals, and when the delivery came,
came egg ; this is no good for our boilers, we ex-
claimed 1 "Well this is all we can do now.^^
Compelled to burn it, as it were, by accident,
we could scarcely believe our own senses at the
difference in the results. I have never used large
coal since. Now I do not wish your readers to
run into extremes through what I have suggest-
ed by getting coals so small that will lie so com-
l)act that the air cannot get through them, but
think a little and try, as well.

There is no system of heating, to my mind, so
efficient, so equal, that can be depended on, as
well as healthful to vegetable and animal, as
that from heated water, not that there is any
diflTerence in caloric, for the latter is the same,
whether from a hot air chamlx^r or steam pipes ; .
but there is a life depending difference on the
amount of heat radiated or thrown off* to the

1871.

TEE GARBEJ^ER'S MOJVTELy.

175

square foot by these different modes employed ;
one healthful to man as well as vegetables ; and
the others vitiating every vitalized property of
the pure air sent for our existence. The beauty
and perfection of hot-water, I say, lies in the Icno-
ness of the temperature given from the pipes,
and the perfection of a heated structure even if
it be required at 100" should be dependent on the
amount of iron surface radiating a low tempera-
ture, than half the amount of surfiice giving off
double the heat. How much we lose in our at-
tempted culture of plants and fruits through not
giving this subject its due consideration. How
many abortions in our undertakings may we
truthfully trace back to our artificial creation of
that great principle of light— heat — and then
again see what is the result of our imperfectly
understandiug the subject, — mildew, spider,
mealy bug, and oftentimes things belonging to
the animal world that seem to have none of
man's excellent classification. We always make
our mind that we are wrong somewhere when
we get results not wanted nor expected. But
here I find my pen getting into that fuuny sub-
ject, horticulture, which I did not intend to
speak of.

Hot-water heating, beautiful as it is in its ap-
l)lication to horticulture, is very expensive, we
must confess, and nearly worthless when needed
no longer. This fact arises from the manner the
pipes are put together, who all know who have
recourse to their use ; and few we think have felt
the annoyance more than I have, so I came to
the conclusion that it was possible to make a por-
table pipe that could be put up or taken down by
an ordinary laborer. This much I hsCve done,
and can now put any length together and make
tight without using either screws or bolts, or ce-
menfc or caulking, in a very little more time than
it takes to place the pipes in their positions.
Shortly I will send you a drawing of this porta-
ble pipe, with explanations for the benefit of your
readers interested in hot-water. The cost of the
pipes will be no more than the current value of
the present mode of making, and will be found
very convenient, for they can be removed from
one house to another when required, and addi-
tions made to suit necessities, without having to
send (as is often the case) a great many miles
for an original mechanic.

["We shall be very glad to have the drawing re-
ferred to. "We do not know a more important
question at present in gardening than this one

of boilers, and hot-water generally, and do not
regret the occupation of any amount of space
that it occupies or may yet require. — Ed.]

PEARS.

BY E. P. POWELL, ADRIAN, MICH.

I thought, when reading Mr. Satterthwait'a
review of Pears, that taking his list as a basis,
reports might be sent in from all parts of the
country giving supplemental information, so that
we might have a really valuable standard of
judgment. My own experience in Michigan,
would iu reference to many varieties, be quite
unlike that of Mr. S. I would add to Madeleine
that the tree is the first of all to feel blight, is
exceedingly brittle, and the fruit sometimes ex-
cellent, but more often flavorless.

Tysen is with me not a poor bearer, but in al-
ternate years very fruitful, and in quaUty, as he
says, "best."

Flemish Beauty, as I grow it, does not rot
quickl}', but is an excellent keeper ; its growth
surpasses all others ; its productiveness unsur-
passed, and it is with Seckel, Lawrence, and a
few, most hardy. With me there is never any
premature shedding of leaves from any variety,
certainly not Flemish Beauty.

Onondaga does not rot, but keeps admirably ;
some years it is nearly first-rate, then for two or
three seasons it is simply unendurable.

White Doyenne only seldom cracks.

Seckel has no tendency to early decay, but just
the contrary.

Buffam is a remarkable keeper, but does not
show well nor sell well ; trees unsurpassed for
symmetry and color.

Sheldon never cracks with me, but is everyway
superb, only not prolific.

Beurre Clairgeau, not of "poor quality," but
extra fine ; handsome in the highest sense ; and
Mr. Quinn is not the only one who pets it.

Winter Nelis does not like my style of culture,
that is in sod with careful mulching ; the fruit is
scarce, and poor, and small.

Otherwise than as noted, my experience tal-
lies with that of Mr. S's., so far as we cultivate
the same varieties- I would add a good word
for

Beurre d^Aremberg as an unusually good win-
ter pear, a good bearer and of fine quality, and
an admirable keeper, ripening well in February
and March. I would not ask for anything more
toothsome in late winter.

176

TEE GARDE:N'ER'S MOJ^THLY.

June,

EDITORIAL NOTES.

DOMESTIC.

Layering of Grape Vines. — It is not generally
known that when a plant is layered, the main
plant is injured. But it is so. AYe are remind-
ed of this by some excellent observations on the
grape vine, in a catalorjue of grapes and fruits
issued by Mr. A. M. Burns of Manhattan, Kan-
sas, who is probably the most western grape
grower this side of Utah.

Protection against Swindlers. — It is a curious
commentary on these organizations, that in one
especially designed we are told to guard the agri-
culturists against "humbugs," the name of one of
the most notorious rascals in the community ap-
pears as a leading officer.

Figs for Profit. — The Rural Carolinian be-
lieves Figs may be grown for drying, so well as
to compete profitably with the foreign fruit.

The Christine {Telegraph) Orape is praised by
some correspondents of AVestern papers, for
being quite ripe when the Hartford is yet sour.

Martha Grape —John H. Heyser writes from
Hagerstown. Md , that with him Martha proves
the best white grape in that region.

ArnokPs Hybrid Grape. — Mr. John H. Hey-
ser writes to the Grape Cidturist, that Cornuco-
pia and Canada ripened last season at Hagers-
town, Md , together with Adirondac, Rebecca
and Ives.

Grape Tendril PicMes. — The tendrils of the
grape vine make a very pleasant pickle, so says
an exchange. This is a good thing, as the tak-
ing off of the tendril is good for the vines.

Formation of Bark.— In the earlier numbers of
the Gardener'^s Monthly there were many in-
stances given of trees making a new bark, when
thoroughly divested in June of their old one
down to the wood. By our Western exchanges
we note that Mr. D. B. Wier has been making
similar observations recently.

Sequoia gignntca. — The mammoth tree of Cali-
fornia does not do well in the Eastern States.
Some few still continue to do so ; perhaps the
best is on the grounds of EUwanger & Barry,
Rochester, N. Y.

Georgia Blackberries. — Mr. Van Burcn writes
to the Country Gentleman, that the Blackberry is
one of the greatest pests the planter has to contend
with in (Georgia. He intimates that they bear
fruit as large as the Lawtons, and says they can
be bought atClarksville for about $1 per bushel.

Country Gentleman says no one will plant peaches
in that section in heavy ground. Light soil is
always sought for by the experienced.

Buclthorn Hedges. — A Canadian paper says
Buckthorn is the only plant that will make a
really good fence in the northern part of America.
Festuca gracillima is a grass recently di.tcover-
ed in California by Dr. Bolander, and believed
by him to be identical with one found in the
Straits of Magellan. This makes one hundred
and forty species of grasses he has discovered on
the eastern coast since 1861.

The Sparto Grass. — Immense quantities of this
grass is imported into the United States by
American paper makers. There has been con-
fusion in regard to what plant this comes from.
Some regard it as Juncus fenacissimus ; but it
seems to come from Macrochloa tenacissima or
Lygeum spartum ; perhaps from both.

Wood in Kansas is tolerably abundant. Every
stream bank is well supplied, and it can be
bought by the cord for from three to four dollars.
Western Michigan as a Fruit Region, promises
to be equal to Delaware. A correspondent of a
western paper says :

I came here ten years ago last Spring, from
loAva, for no other purpose than that of growing
fruit. I selected a splendid piece of land near
Troy village, and set out seven hundred apple
trees of choice Winter varieties, one thousand
peach trees, and one hundred pear trees ; also
cherries, blackberries and strawberries. I raised
GOO boxes of peaches this year, 100 barrels Wine
apples, 500barrelsof Baldwins, seventy-five Rus-
sets ; Wageners, 105 ; King of Tompkins Coun-
ty, eighty ; Rhode Island Greenings, 100 ; Seek-
no-furthers, twenty-five. The apple trees have
been set out eight years. I am raising apple and
peach trees, and will set out a thousand addi-
tional trees in two years.

Water in IVees.— Just before the leaves push,
there is more moisture in wood than at any
other season, because the roots continue absorb-
ing all winter, while there is little evaporation.
At this period one-half the weight of wood is wa-
ter. As soon as the leaves are fully expanded,
the moisture diminishes about 5 per cent.

Hale'^s Early Peach. — A correspondent of Col-
jjmn's Rural ^Vorhl says a neighbor has an or-
chard of Hale's Early, half of which were in oats,
and the other well cultivated in potatoes. There
was no other dillercnce. Those in the oat lot

Peach Soil— A Maryland correspondent of bore well ; the others all rotted.

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ\rTHLY.

177

Fruit in Iowa City. — lj. Kauffman commenced
planting in ISoo ; his trees have all borne some
fruit, and he tinds that in that time he had as
many bushels of pears as of apples ; but while
the apples brought §1 to $1 bO per bushel, the
peara sold from 3 to 5 dollars.

Saftertkwaif^s Pear Orchard near Jenkintown,
Pa., bore a tremendous crop last year. A re-
porter of a city paper asking him the secret, he
replied 'thorough cultivation and bountiful ma-
nuring." It should be remarked that Mr. S.'s
idea of thorough cultivation is the continual
stirring of the soil.

Grape Vines Growing over Tree TrelUsses.- -The
paper we published last summer on this subject,
has had a pretty liberal run through our ex-
changes. We are never so wedded to our own
opinions as to suppose those of others are not
sometimes better. We therefore give the objec-
tions of Mr Geo. Husmann from the Grape Cul-
turist. Few persons are better qualified to give
an opinion about the grape than Mr Husmann.
We should perhaps value the opinion more, if we
felt sure that he had read our article attentively ;
but when he talks about 'letting vines scramble
at will over trees," while we were recommend-
ing trimming the trees into trellisses, and then
carefully training the vines ''according to a sys-
tem," it would seem as if there were something
wrong in Mr Ilusmann's reading of the paper.
However, this is what he says :

In copying the above from the Gardener'' s
Monthly, we could not but think that the vivid
imagination of our friend Meehan had run away
with him, and that his love for trees, and all
that is beautiful in nature, had blinded his eyes
to what is useful and practical. No one, cer-
tainly, who has planted a vinej^ard along a for-
est, where the vines were shaded by the trees,

or the sun's rays reflected from a belt of timber
on the vines, can have failed to see that the two
will not agree.

We love trees as well as friend Meehan, in
their proper places, but think they are decidedly
"out of place" in a vineyard. We have seen
peach and apple ti'ees planted in vineyards, at
the same time with the grapes, but they invaria-
bly killed the vines around them, as far as their
shade extended. The owners of such vineyards
had either to dig up the trees or the vines, and
make one or the other of it— orchard or vine-
yard.

The isolated cases friend Meehan quotes, will
do as little to prove the point, as one swallow
will make a summer. The vines as well as the
trees may have been planted in a very rich spot,
or may have been heavily manured. He quotes
the Italian vineyards as an illustration. Let
us ask him in all friendship where is the reputa-
tion of Italian wines, compared with those of
France and Germany V Except a few isolated
brands, they are unheard of in trade or imports,
while the wines of the former are known and es-
draated throughout the civilized world. We all
know that even where vineyards are planted too
closely, the product is not so good nor the vine
so healthy ; how much more so, then, when the
poor vines must "scrape up a living" under tho
shade, and among the roots of trees.

This may be all very fine and poetic on paper,
but it will hardly work in practical life. Nor
will it do to say that it will require more work,
and therefore is not practical. Just because it
is easier to let the vines scramble at will over
trees, do the Italians follow^ it ; for if it required
additional labor, they would certainly abhor it,
being one of the most indolent nations upon the
earth.

EDTTOE lAL.

FLOWERS.
In former numbers we have devoted consid-
eiable space to fruit culture, and in our last
number, flowers retaliated as "coals of fire" on
our heads. But we doubt whether any punish-
ment would Ijc more bearal)le than the beautiful
es.say of Mr. Davis, which ajjpeared amongst the

others. The youth talks of the chains of love,
yet willingly endures his slavery ; and we doubt
not but those who missed the accustomed feast of
fruit articles, were as well .satisfied after reading
this charming address.

Mr. Davis is minister of one of the branches
of the Lutheran denomination at Chambersbnrg.

17S

THE GARDEJSTER'S MO XT ELY.

June,

and we need scarcely tell those who follow him
through, a gentleman of eminent mental power
and attainments.

There is a peculiar interest in the stud}' of the
ancient history of flowers. Of course a large
amount of it is pretty, but not true. The icono-
clasts of literature are perpetuall}' tearing down
some idols which we love to worship. "We see
some of these venerated points in Mr. Davis's
address. It is wonderful how such ideas come
to prevail. We remember well with what force
a passage in a great writer struck us in our
younger days, that "if the Quakers had any
hand in the creation, not a bird would be allow-
ed to sing, or a flower be allowed to bloom."
As we came to know these people better, we
found none loved flowers more, and recently we
learned that George Fox, the great Quaker pa-
triarch, actually left in his will a tract of laud
in the city of Philadelphia for t/ie purpose of
founding a botanical garden. On account of some
legal technicalities the will was broken, and the
property diverted to other uses ; but the mind of
the great founder of the ISociety of Friends is
photographed in the bequest, and is a strange
commentary on the above idea of the Quakers
as well as what we often hear of as the
truths of history. So we doubt many of the
facts given in Mr. Davis's epitome of the ancient
history of flowers ; but they are history, and as
such quite germane to his text.

It is well for those who are enthusiasts to paint
the objects of their adoration in the most invi-
ting colors. But yet this often does injury, and
in the midst of so much that is apocryphal, it is
"ratitymg to note how truly some of the real
lacts are presented in the essay before us. How
often have we not seen it stated, that no one
who loves flowers is really depraved. This
is a standing assertion with a certain class of
writers. Every cut flower dealer in any popu-
lous town, knows that this is not true ; and it is
one of the great merits of this es^say, that in the
midst otso much that is poetical and pure, the
truth is so pleasantly, yet so plainly told.

The true history ot (lowers we fear would show,
alas I that it is not the very good people who
love them. Some, many indeed there may be,
but the great mass is lost to us. Amongst good
men espcLially there is a great disposition to look
on the culture of flowers as an occupation fit
only for women or children. True, this feeling la
fast wearing away ; but not as rapidly as we
would like to see it. Mr. Davis's address will

do much to hasten the good time

We hope that after our readers have read it,
they will hand it to some of their friends who
are not among our subscribers, so that the good
seed may be sown as widely as possible.

THE CODLING MOTH.
We publish to day an essay by Mr. Brown, on
the Codling Moth, to which we invite the earn
est attention of all our readers. It is impossi-
ble to estimate the value of this paper ; and we
know if well weighed, it will be of immense bene-
fit to the fruit interests in the United States.
We regret that it should be marred by a reflec-
tion on the motives of Mr. Riley. We deprecate
all such manner of argument in discussions of
this kind. If Mr. Rile}- chose to give it to the
world as his opinion, that straw bands are bet-
ter than woolen traps, demonstrate, if you like,
that this is an error ; but a man s motives are
his own. These may be good or they may be
bad. It is unfortunate when they are the lat-
ter ; but as they cannot be demonstrated, we
should leave them alone. As far as Mr. Riley
is concerned, he is too good a scientist not to
know that "the truth will surely find him out ;''
and he would be loth to risk his reputation on a
motive not of the purest character.

DENDROBIUM NOBILE.

{See Frontispiece.)
We give to day, as an illustration, an engrav-
ing of a plant, the superior growth ol which is
always a leading aim with first-rate gardeners.
One recently exhibited at the rooms of Pennsyl-
vania Horticultural Society, had over five hun-
dred blossoms on it. This was grown by Mr.
Newett, gardener to H Pratt McKean, Esq., of
Philadelphia, and the specimen used in our draw-
ing was taken from this plant. This plant, —
Dendrobium nobilc — we may say for the informa-
tion of those not well learned in the higher
branches of horticulture, belongs to the orchid
or air plant family. This species is a native of
the East Indies ; but orchids are found in all re-
gions from the arctics to the equator There is,
however, a great diflereiice in their habits in dif-
ferent temperatures •, for though in the tropics
they are mostly "air'' plants, as we get further
north the number of those which live in the
earth greatly increase. Those which grow on
trees or stumps are called Epiphytal orchids,
and those are terrcstrmi which live in the ground.
Those which live on trees, simply attach them-

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTHLY.

179

selves by long worm-like roots, and probably de- | flowers seem to delight in simulating the forms

rive but little support from the dead matter ,
among which the roots run. They live chiefly i
on tbe air and moisture of which this half dead j
matter about old bark aflbrds a pretty regular 1
supply. The Epijihytal orchiteda do uo extend !
far into the United 'Slates There are two found
in Florida, Epidendrumconopticum and -B. venus
<um ; but neither of these are anything like as
handsome as the one we give iu the plate. In
our northern States the handsomest orchids are
the Mocassin flowers, [Cypvipediam) but these
are becoming very scarce. Indeed orchids arc
seldom very plenty anywhere, as the flower is so
constructed that it cannot fertilize itself, but is
dependent wholly on external aid. It is to Mr.
Charles Darwin we owe this knowledge His
work 'on the fertilization of orchids^ ^ will prob-
ably be one by which he will be remembered
longest It completely reversed old opinions. It
was thought most plants had arrangements es-
pecially adapted to self-fertilization. Writers
on the Fuchsia, for mstance, were sure to tell us
that the flower was made pendulous especially
that the pollen might easily drop on the stigma ;
but now it is universally conceded that plants in
general avoid self-fertilization, and in some cases.
as this of orchidsea, it is impossible to be fertil-
ized at all without msect aid, which carries the
poUen from one flower to another. Mr. Darwin's
theory of the "origin of species" may not ulti-
mately be accepted, but this on the fertilization
of orchids will always mark a great historic
phase in botany and horticulture.

Orchids are peculiarly interesting to the plant
cultivator, from the fact that almost all of them
are delightfully fragrant ; while most of them

of the insects which aid in fertilizing them.
Some are like bees, others moths and butterflies,
and some like birds. The Dove plant of Pana-
ma is so called from the resemblance of the flow-
er to this bird ; and "Flower of the Holy Ghost"
follows from this in the natural habit of Spanish
America to associate such resemblances with
their spiritual ideas.

Their peculiar service in the economy of nature
from a human standpoint is not clear. With
the exception oftlfe VaJiilla Bean, which is the
seed vessel of an orchid, called Vanilla planifo-
lia. they are of no immediate service to the wants
of mankind, as we usually understand them ;
but if we beheve that human wants are not limi-
ted to food and medicine and raiment, but that
the mind was destined to crave for the lovely
and the beautiful, as the "hart panteth after the
living waters," surely these wonderful flowers
are amongst the choicest necessities of life.

As for their cultivation, it is not near as difli-
cult as it was once supposed to be ; though to
be sure if one wishes to excel in their culture,
the highest skill is requisite. Thou^ands, for
instance, could grow the Dendrobium nobile we
have figured ; but not one in ten thousand could
grow it as a Newett or a Taplin has done.

In former times the orchid house was a very
expensive affair. A thousand dollars was but a
drop in the bucket. Hot-water, tanks, peculiar-
ly constructed glass, and we know not what
were thought to be essentials. In such places
orchids were "coddled ;'' but now it is enough
to hang them from the rafter of any well con-
! structed greenhouse ; and if the plants in winter
do not get a temperature lower than fifty-five,

have particularly handsome flowers. These | they will for the most part grow and do well.

I

SCUAPS AND QUERIES

Roots and Water —7?. S., New Haven,
Conn., says :— "I observed recently a quotation
in some paper from the Gardener's Monthly that
ii was not water, but watery vapor which plants
absorbed from the soil, and that water in soil
was an evil, and would kill the roots. U this is
correctly your views, how does this tally with

the observations of other scientific men ? Prof
Dana, one of the Editors of Silliman's Journal,
believes the contrary. I have his assertion that
trees <xrow in swamps, some kind or another, all
over the world. I have myself seen willow trees
growing along streams, and also grape vines, if
not many other trees, which had their roots

180

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ^TKLY.

June.

completely under water,— and they seemed to
go to the water in preference, as they were fre
quently fotmd in immense masses I hope you
will not think I am criticising your views ; but
your admirable journal so encourages one to
think about these things, that 1 should really
like to know how your views and Prof. Dana's
can be so different."

[We do not know exactly what Prof. Dana's
views are. Possibly they may not be quite as
our correspondent understands them, for every
observer knows that trees grow in swamps all over
the world. But the roots of these trees are by
no means all under water. Along under the
moss, and grass, and weeds, and ahovt the sur-
face of the water, our correspondent will find
myriads of rootlets So in regard to his own il-
lustration of mats of roots going to water It
is only some of the roots. Let him try the ex-
periment of growing a willow wholly in water,
and he will lind that it will not live a year. Any
one who travels through Indiana, may olten see
scores of acres of trees which grew for many
years ''in swamps,'' entirely killed by having a
few feet of water turned on them either by a new
railroad embankment, or by an unusual overflow
of some kind. The writer remembers seeing a
striking instance of this kind once, a few miles
out from Marquette, on Lake Superior. It is
therefore not true that a plant will live long with
allita roots under water ; at the same time it is
a very interesting fact, as our correspondent sug-
gests, that some rootlets seem to prefer to get
under water if they can.

'Lhc true stale of the case is, that there is an
immense amount of knowledge yet to be devel-
oped from a study of roots, and it is a very in-
viting field for those who are fond of original re-
searches.]

Flowkring of Daulingtonia.— Lastmonth
a correspondent enquired whether this was yet
in cultivation. Since our last reply, we have
seen a note in reference to it in the Bulletin of
the Torrey Botanical Club, from the pen of Dr.
Torrey, in which he speaks ol examining some
flowers which were produced in New York ; but
these were from plants recently brought from
California.

Branched Trusses in Geraniums,— F.,
Vicksbury, Miss., writes:— "I enclose you a flow-
er stalk of a Geranium, a seedling raised by me

more than nine years ago. It is a seedling of
the 'Queen of Summer," and resembles the pa-
rent somewhat in foliage, which is a rich light
green on the edges of the leaf, shaded to almost
entire white in the centre; but the growth and
habit of the plant are entirely difll-rent. This
plant is disposed to be bushy ; the body of it fre-
quently entirely white, striped with green. The
flower stalks almost invariably green. This
constitutes one great beauty of the plant.
Another beauty and peculiarity is, that after the
first cluster of flowers is past its best, but not yet
out of bloom, out of the cluster of flowers there
springs one or two small green leaves, and another
flower stalk, in a day or two another and frequent-
ly a third ; these bloom quite as finely as the first,
giving the plant a very unique appearance.
After testing it two years, and finding this to be
I he regular habit of the plant, 1 gave a plant of
it to Mr Charles Allen, formerly a florist of this
place, who propagated and sold it under the
name of "Madam Balfour."' I have always
called it 'Louise."

This may be nothing new to you, but I have
never seen the same thing in any other Gerani-
um. Please let me know what you think of it
in your answers to correspondents.''

[This Geranium has taken on something of
the thyrsoid character of allied species, and
which is seldom seen in this one. It is, how-
ever, occasional, — and only occasional. If, as
our correspondent says, he has one which has
the flower stems almost always branching as
this flower stem sent us does, it will be a valuable
variety well worth disseminating.]

Heating Railroad Cars by Hot- water —
/. G., Yjjsilanti, Mich., kindly sends us the fol-
lowing note: "In reply to B. D. 's query, page
122 of the April Monthly, would say that the cars
of the Michigan Southern Railroad are heated
by hot water. The apparatus (made I think in
Chicago) consists of an ordinary cylindrical
stove, jacketed by a galvanized iron boiler. It
works very well."

Circulation of Hot-water.— Corrccfjojj. —
Mr. Editor, please correct the quotation given
in the May number of the Gardcmr'^s Monthly.
I wrote 'that water attains its maximum den-
sity at thirty-nine degrees, F.,and sinks at thir-
ty-two degrees. It is scxea degrees colder, yet

187 L

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MO. N'T HL 7

181

remains on the surface and forms ice. In this
state of affairs, is Pat Murphy standing on his
head ?"

Galena, E. H. B.

Sour and S"weet Apples.— J/., Eochesfer,
N. y.— Sour and sweet apples, that is apples
having both tliese peculiarities in the same fiuit,
have been known for at least a couple of hun-
dred of years. We did not mean that Mr.
Blodgett's father originated the first sOur and
sweet apple, but that it is possible from the facts
we gave in embryonic inarching, that he origi-
nated a sour and sweet apple. The tenor of our
remarks was not, however, to show that sour
and sweet apples originated this way. We be-
lieve that such an apple could originate just as
well from seed, and no doubt has done so. Our
point was the possibility of varieties originating
by inarching of embryos, as w^ell as by seeds.

Fruit TREES ON City Lawns — ^'Old Sub-
scriber''^ says: — I have ray garden in town plant-
ed with fruit trees, and want to know if it would
injure those trees which are small and young to
keep the ground in grass, which would certainly
look well, and looks are of some importance in
this case. Can I get some advice from some of
the contributors to your useful magazine."

[Some of the best pear trees we know in Phila-
delphia are in grass. If top-dressed with fertil-
izing substances occasionally, they will do bet-
ter in grass than any other way — the grass of
course mowed as a lawn should be.]

Fancy Gourds —A correspondent suggests
that more attention should be given to fancy
gourds for ornamenting grounds. Some beau-
tiful effects can be had from a judicious arrange-
ment of them.

Origin of Souciietti Raspberry.—/. E.
M., Philada., writes: "Your correspondent L.,
Cincinnati, is Informed that the Souchetti Rasp-
berry was introduced in this country 1850, by
Mr Souchet. (of firm of Aubrey «fe Souchet) was
named after his father, a famous raspberry
grower for the Paris (Franco) Market He also
introduced the Hornet, Pilot, Imperial, and
.Jouet, and the four first named have probably
never been excelled, unless Mr. Ilerstine's seed-
lings 8houl4 prove to be superior. The Jouet

was a yellow fruit, smaller than the "Souchetti,"
but not equal to it either in flavor or produc-
tiveness.''

Notes from Jacksonville, Fla.— J. W.
S., writes: "I send by mail, this day. three
plants for the want of a better name, we call
them the 'Air Plant.' They grow on the live
oak, generally found in the forks of the limbs ; a
larger variety takes to the smaller limbs pf the
oak, and grasp it firmly with a net work of roots.
Will you name this for me? I suppose it be-
longs to the Orchis family, or is it one of the
Bromeliacese, say Tillandsia caespitosa. The
plant is not quite so pretty as others, yet its sin-
gular habit invests it with some interest.

I will try to get you a yellow Jasmine vine
root, one of our earliest spring flowers ; very
fragrant, with its brilliant yellow bloom, mixed
with its deep green leaves, make it very attrac-
tive. Unfortunately its flowers do not last long,
commencing about middle of February and last-
ing until end of March, only 4 to 6 weeks.

The Caladium esculentum grows in great per-
fection here. I have a large quantity now grow-
ing, the leaves being from 8 to 14 inches broad
and 18 inches long."

[The Tillandsia is rightly named. The "Jas-
mine" is Gelseminum nitldum, and is already in
northern collections. It is barely hardy in Phila-
delphia.]

Transplanting Tree-box. — "OZcZ Subscri-
ber,''' Philada., writes: "Can you give me in
the Monthly, any information about the Tree-box.
I have some large ones to transplant. I think
they bear transplanting well. Which is the best
season, spring or autunm ? I know they flour-
ish in the shade. Will they bear sunshine ? All
directions will be very acceptable to your old
Subscriber.''

[Tree-box is one of the easiest plants to re-
plant. April or October are perhaps the best
months ; if in the latter month, a good watering
to settle the earth well about the little fibres,
will be an advantage They bear sunshine bet-
ter than shade ; but it requires in any case an
abundance of rich earth, or it will soon get
yellow.]

L'Illustration Horticole.— Mr. Such,
says: "Some time ago one of your readers was

182

THE GARDEJVER*S MONTHLY.

Jy ne.

asking how he could procure the above named
interesting puhHcation. Tlie cheapest and best
way is to buy a draft on London, for one pound
sterling, make draft payable to the order of J.
Linden. Enclose in a letter to
J. LINDEN,

Kue du Chaume,
Gand,

Belgique.
telling him it is for subscription to L' Illustration
Horticole. For this sum it will he »ent, postage
pre-paid^ for one year. The letter containing the
draft should he pre-paid, a ten cent stamp being
needed."

Dychostoremma. As the flower possesses a good
deal of be;iuty, I am anxious to know something
more of it Should it possess any rarity, and
ray bulb increases, I shall be happy to send you
one of them "

[This is Brndicea macrantha, bj' some botan-
ists called D/rhelostemma grandiflora. We should
be glad of a bulb, as we never saw the living
plant ]

Worcester Co. (Mass.) Horticultural
Society.

"Worcester, Mass., May Sth, 1871.
Thomas Meeiian, Esq.,

Ed. Gardener\s Monthly^ Philada.
Dear Sir:— I have the honor to inform you
that you have been elected an honorary member
of the AVorcester County Horticultural Society.
Very respt'y your obd't. servant,
George C. Francis,
Sec. Wor. Co. Hort Society.
[It is now twenty-eight years ago since the
first honor of this character came to the hand of
the writer in the shape of a notice of election as
member of the Royal Wernorian Society of En-
gland. Since then some scores of such notices
of election to societies, agricultural, horticultu-
ral and scientific, have been received, which
seemingly more of a personal than a public char-
acter, have been gratefully accepted, and quietly
left to the records of the institutions themselves
The present one seems owing to the influence
of the Gardener'>s Monthly, and it is due that the
magazine itself should return thanks. The
Worcester County Society, though with a local
name, has been established thirty years, and is
one of the most useful in the country, and we
are jiroud of our connection with it.]

The Yellow Asphodel — We are indebted
to some unknown friend for this plant, which we
have sent to the lady at Washington, Ohio, for
whom we requested it. We have also received a
"London Pride" from a Boston correspondent.

Peaches in Virginia.— A Williamsburg
correspondent writes, that in spite of the frosts
which have been rambling about, the Peach
crop, May 4th, was promising.

Fruit in Ohio.— J. Delaware correspondent
says: "The fruit is about all killed here, and I
am glad of it. The insects will have no place to
lay thfir eggs "

[Not quite so fast, good friend ! The curculio
will take to your pumpkins or egg-plants, when
the plums nnd cherries are gone There is a
wonderful adaptation in nature. The peach and
plum were no more born to wait on the curculio,
than a waiting maid was born with Eve in the
Garden of Eden. Servants are nice ; but the re-
sj>ected grandmother of all of us got along with-
out one, and so will the curculio when the plums
are gone. We hope the curculio hunters won't
stop work on this account. J

CALiFOJiNiAN Flower for Name. — f?. L
<V. , South Framinghani, Mass., writes: "I take
the liberty of sending you the enclosed flower
for naming, as I see others do in your column ot
answers in the Monthly. This flower forms one
(jf an umbel of 12 or 15, on the summit of a stalk
about Ifi inches high. The plant is a bull), and
has flat recumbent leaves of little beauty. It
was sent me from Calitbrnia, and was labeled

Outlines and Description of Seedling
Fruits.— i). E. H., Vacaville, Cal , says: "I
fully agree with you as to the naming and intro-
ducing so many new fruits, no way sup^u'ior to
others of the same season. There arc now a
thousand too many fruits in cultivation as desira-
ble, which might better be dropped from the
lists."

LlHOCEDRUSDECUNENS &ThUJA GIGANTEA.

— J). E. H., Vacavillc, Cal , writes: "I send you
a sani-i)lt^ of the leaves and seeds of both kinds."
[Thanks for the specimens. No one can fail
to see the difierence between these two plants.]

1871.

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJS'THLY.

183

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, & C.

The Practical Pchltry Keeper. By Wm. M. L«wis, New York.
Published by D. D. T. Msore Received thrrugh Claxtop,
Remsen. A Co., Philada.

That we like poultry, we verily hope and be-
lieve ; and that we desire to see their "culture"
extend, we prove in deeds as well as in thoushts
and words. Mr Lewis is no doubt moved to
his work by similar feelings ; but we do not
know that he is more likely to accomplish his
desire by reckless statements, than by a clear
elucidation of sober truths. He tells us, for in
stance, that "fowls can be reared with little ex-
pense, by nearly every housekeeper, and can be
made to pay an hundred fold ou the investment."
If we understand what is meant by "hundred
fold" — one hundred for one— this is wild ex-
travagance. In another sentence he tells us that
the pleasure can well be imagined, when a per-
son knows that by keeping "a dozen or twenty
fowls," he will be "able to supply his table with
birds of his own rearing, and his larder with
fresh eggs the year round '' "We imagine the
wants of some people's tables the "year round"
must be smaller than those of people with whom
we have been accustomed to come into contact.

"We look through the book to consult the fig-
ures as to such wonderful profits and abundance,
but find none. The only clue is that Mr. Lewis
thinks "every farmer should make a couple of
hundred dollars worth of their products yearly ;"
but by the "hundred fold" process, this will
give a capital of two chickens atone dollar each.
Surely one might venture on more than this ?

Mr. Lewis, however, does not seem so clear,
as he proceeds, about the profits. He settles
down finally on the assertion, that at least he
"knows there is no money lost in keeping and
rearing a few fowls, and a great deal of jileasure
and profit derived from it." Of course, if there
is "profit," there is no "money lost;" but in
connection with pleasure, we presume mental
profit is meant, and this may be some comfort
to those who notoriously do lose their chickens^
if not their money, by the numerous diseases
and aceidents which fowls are heir to.

Our author seems no less confused when he
comes to matters of detail, than whenla\ingdown
his general i)rinciples. In one place he tells us. poul-
try to be "remunerative, 7»».st have good manage-
ment,'' which is true ; but when he says the care
of them can be left to wife and children, we

doubt whether "good management'' will always
follow. The "labor incurred'' in the "prices
which he receives'' can be "performed by the
junior members of the family,'' we suppose
meaning that the children can be sent to market
with the eggs and poultry ; but we imagine this
would not be found good in practice, and that
marketing would be much better done by juniors
pretty well advanced in years.

He claims the credit of having in his book
placed the experience of breeders and fanciers
in juxtaposition with each other. This would
be of value if the views were reconciled when
they conflict,— but when one's view is that
"fowls can be bred in cities and villages equally
as well as on the farm,'' and "it requires but a
small space to keep a dozen or twenty fowls,"
while another is quoted to show that "for every
hundred fowls you must give up at least an
acre ;" we pity the women and children by whose
"good management" the "farmer'' is to profit
in poultry raising.

In regard to the general matter of the book,
the main part is occupied with description of va-
rieties, which are better than the cuts, for we
suppose a Bantam should be much smaller than
a Shanghai, though they appear of the same
size here. The chapter on diseases will also in-
terest many readers, leaving out the fact that
we think the author imagines chicken troubles
yield to remedies much easier than they really
do.

What I Know About Farming. By Horace Greeley. New York.
Pnhlislied by the Tribune Association.

We are indebted to the author for a copy of
this book. It runs counter to many views which
we hold sound. This is to be expected, how-
ever, as Mr. Greeley lays no claim to be a prac-
tical agriculturist. He offers it as some common
sense thoughts on ii subject he loves, and has
really done a great deal to serve. We are in no
danger of suffering from too much thought, and
feel that any one who thinks at all about the
subject, will profit by reading Mr. Greeley's
book.

iNsrcTS — Noxious, Beiceficul andOtbepwiu. Being the third
annual report of Chas. V. Riley, btate Entomologi.st of Mis-
souri.

While looking over the vast amount of useful

^8Jf

THE GABDEJVER'ib MOJYTBLy.

Ju ne,

information liere gathered together, one cannot
help feeling a regret that every State does not
follow the example of Missouri, in thus encour-
aging science. The paper on mimicry, with re-
marks on natural selection, is worthy of the pen
of Darwin, whose views it materiallv aids.

Rhioodendiions akd Amsricak Plants. By E. 8. R«nd, Jr,
Boston Published by Little, Brown, & Co. Through J. B.
Lippinc'tt * Co.. Philridn.

This is a neat little volume of 188 pages, in
ihe style of Mr. Rand's former works. Its ob-
ject is to bring into better notice a class of plants
which are worthy of being better known by cul
tivators. They have been found somewhat dit-
Hcult to cultivate in the ordinary waj' of garden
plants. Yet with a little labor easily given,
ihey may be grown to great peifectiou.

We do not notice anything new in the work — very
la tie in fact with which the readers of the Gar-
dener's Monthly are not familiar, — while many
things are omitted which might be told to ad
vantage, such for instance as the grafting of

Rhododendrons, the treatment of plants from
the woods. &c. The whole practical part con-
cerning propagation is dismissed with six pages,
in fact ; while over twelve pages are devoted to
descriptions, which even as descriptions, are
very brief indeed, —about the same in fact as we
find in common nursery catalogues. Although
we thus feel that the "book of Rhododendrons"
is to be written ; yet as in all of Mr. Rand's
books there is a great amount of useful matter
collected together, which gives it much value,
and until those who think ihey can do better,
really do it, we shall thank Mr. Rand for his
very useful contribution to our floral literature.

Amsrican Hobticultdeal AsMiAL, 1870. Orange. Judd 4 Co.
New York.

This we have ever regarded as a model "an-
nual," giving the chief discoveries of the year.
It confines itself to new varieties, and imple-
ments however, and has little to do with record-
ing new ideas.

NEW AND MRE PLANTS.

The European journals describe many new
plants, the following of which may have an in-
terest to our cultivators :

ACHIMENES ( EuCODONIA) N^GELIOTDES DIA-

MANTiNA - A charming stove perennial, the
large cordate ovate leaves of which are hairy,
and the Gloxinia-like flowers of a pleasing rosy-
purple color marked down the lower side of the
tube with a yellow band. A garden hybrid,
raised in M Van Iloutte's nursery.

ALTEUNANTIIEItA AMABILIS TRICOLOR. —

This genus of Amaranfhaceous herbs has become
highly popular for carpet bedding, and we have
in the present plant an addition which promises
to be an acquisition for that purpose. It is
dwarf, but erect and much braneluid in habit,
and is clotiied with broadly ovate, glabrou.s
leaves, which are dark green at the edge, and
1 ave a centre of vivid rose, traversed by purple
\eiD8. an irregular band of orange-yellow inter-
vening between the centre and margin It has
been introduced to tht; establishment <>(' M. T.in-
deu, from Brazil.

Callipsyche aurantiaca.— An Amarylli-
daceous bulb, requiring a warm greenhouse. It
throws up a few oblong-acute, bright green, con-
spicuously-veined, stalked leaves, 6 inches long,
and an erect scape, which is nearly 2 feet high,
and bears an umbel of several spreading, deep
golden j^ellow flowers, which are much flattened
sidewa3'S, and have green stamens, which are
more than twice the length of the perianth. It
was obtained by Mr. Wilson Saunders from M.
Linden, who received it from South America,
but the exact locality does not appear to have
been stated.

Callipsyche MiRABiLis.— A mo?t remarka-
ble Aniaryllid from Peru It is a warm green-
house bulb, and produces about two oblong
spathulatc green leaves, a foot long, and a scape
."{ feet high, bearing an umbe late head of about
30 small pale greenish yellow flowers, with sta-
mens three times as long as the perianth, and
spreading out on all sides, so that the general
contour of the flower head may be compared to
that of an expanded parasol. This very pecu-

187

THE aAiWEMEB'S MOJVTHLl.

185

liar plant— more curious than beautiful, was al
so received bj' Mr. Saunders from M. Linden

Deutzia cuenata albo plena. — a fine
dwarf, hardy, deciduous shrub, which, like its
allies, is valuable for forcing It resembles the
ordiunry double Deutzia crenaia, but the flowers
instead of biiusj jiinkish are pure white, both in
the bud state aud when expanded. The same
plant appears to have also received the name of
candidissima. It is a Continental garden va-
riety.

Dorstexia argentata.— a pretty variega-
ted-leaved stove herb, having an erect dull pur-
ple stem, which bears numerous oblong lanceo-
late leaves, each from 3 to 5 inches long, deep
green at the margin, with a broad, feathered,
central, silvery band. The receptacles of the
flowers are orbicular. It was imported from
South Brazil by "W. Wilson Saunders, Esq.

GoDWiNiA GiGAS — The largest Aroid known,
whence the name gigas. It has a tuberous root-
stock upwards of 2 feet in circumference, a sin-
gle leaf, with a thick aculeolate petiole, which is
yellow, beautifully barred and striped with pur-
ple, 10 feet high, and terminates in a broad tri-
chotomously divided supra-decomptnind limb,
nearl}' 4 feet long, the ultimate divisions of which
are coufluently pinuutifid. The inflorescence
succeeds the leaf, and consists of an erect, con-
volute, leathery, dark colored spathe about 2 feet
long, blush-brown outside, brownish-red within,
supported on a peduncle 3 feet long. Found by
Dr. Seeraan in the mountains of Nicaragua,
whence living roots were sent to Mr. Bull.

Hyacintiius candicans.— This magnificent
Liliaceous bulb, which requires greenhouse treat-
ment, is so totally dissimilar in aspect from the
ordinary Hyacinth as to raise some doubt whether

it really belongs to the same genus. However
this may be, it is a grand plant, with large
round bulbs, from which proceed several ovate-
lanceolate, sub-erect leaves, 2i feet long, re-
curved in the upper part. The flower scape is
erect, glaucous, 4 to 4^ feet long, including the
raceme, which is a foot long, and consists of
from 15 to 20 large drooping, funeral bell shaped,
pure white flowers. It is a native of South Af-
rica, whence it was introduced by Mr. Cooper to
the collection of W. Wilson Saunders, Esq.,
who observes :— "This very free-flowering bulb
is of great beauty, and very valuable as an or-
namental plant, its large nodding white flowers,
produced in an elongated spike, giving it a pecu-
liar and graceful appearance."'

Hyacinthus princeps. - A very fine green-
house bulb, with the general habit and foliage of
H candicans, and closely related thereio, but
less ornamental, having broader and shorter ra-
cemes, and smaller greenish-white flowers, the
segn^ents of which are spreading ; the flowers
are nodding, but the capsules become erect. It
is a South African species, and has been intro-
duced to and flowered at Kew. Mr. Baker re-
marks of this and the preceding:— "These are two
magnificent additions to our list of cultivated Li-
liacese. Although so different in habit from the
previously known species of Hyacinthus, the
principal technical diflerence is in the much
more numerous and angular seeds As we have
characterized it, Hyacinthus includes Belleval-
lia, Peribfea and Strangweia. The extremes
difler from one another a good deal in the shape
of the capsule and the number of seeds, and in
the insertion and shape of the filaments, but we
do not see that any line distinct enough to sepa-
rate genera can be drawn."

r 0 T^ E T G N INTELLIGENCE.

DroQiNG amongst the roots of Fruit tries are not progressing as well. A correspon-
Trees.- Although we have made much pro- dent of the London Jour?iaU/ Horticw^ttre com-
gre88 in America the Gardener's Monihhj tak- plaining that his fruit trees don't bear, the Edi-
\\vz credit therefor— towards al)andoning the tor thus enlightens him as to the causes thereof :
old time notions about digging amongst fruit "The; above letter, just received, describes in
trees, it must not be supposed that other coun- ; forcible language the state of many gardens aud

186

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLy.

June.

individual fruit trees— trees and plants growing
luxuriantly, and bearing little or no fruit. I be
liove, in tbe majority of cases, keeping tbe land
loose by digging and forking is the cause of
failure.

Some years since I was sent for by a gentle-
man to inspect his Peach trees (standards plant
ed out in a border of his orchard house), which
he told me always cast their fruit. No trees
could look Ix'tter ; they were a.s clean and healthy
as could l)e wished. After askintr hia gardener
all the questions I could think of as to the man-
agement, and receiving satisfactory replies, I
all at once thought of the soil, stamping upon
which with my heel I found it almost as light as
a feather bed. "How is this ?" I asked, know-
ing the gardener had often been to see my trees,
and tliat he knew the borders had never been
disturbed since the houses were built. "Oh,"

he said, "Mrs will have winter salads grown

here." "Give my complimenlsthen," I replied,
"and say she must not expect Peaches." The
border was made solid and kept so, and there
was a full crop the next season The fact is not
80 easy of explanation as some people think, but
fruit trees like solid soil, not loose.

That difjaing amongst such plants as Raspber-
ries and Strawberries must be a stupid practice is
patent on the least consideration. Why manure
a piece of land and then destroy the roots seek-
ing to occupy it ? When the roots have been mu-
tilated, how can the plant be expected to bear
drought or carry fruit ? I saw at Berry Hill,
near Mansfield, the other day, a large bed of
Ilaulbois Strawberries with as much fruit as any
common variety might be expected to carry,
and this on light land. Other varieties were
loaded with the largest crop I ever saw in my
life. I asked Mr Cope, the gardener, how Ihey
had been mana<j:ed. He said as soon as the crop
was gathered, all weeds, runners and dead foli-
age had been removed, and the ground between
the rows covered with a very thick dressing of
manure. The rows had also been watered two
or three times with manure water. The plants
were then encouraged to make a strong healthy
growth in the autumn. The whole land was
full of roots, and covered, as the surface was
with the remains of the manure, the plants had
not suffered from want of rain, whilst Strawber-
ries in th(! neighborhood, on better soil, which
had been dug in the winter, were burning up.
Ram the soil hard whilst dry when potting
Vines, Peaches, or any other fruit trees, keep

fruit tree borders solid and mulched with ma-
nure, and there will be fewer failures in fruit
culture.

Eugenia ugni. — All who possess orchard
houses should procure a plant or two of this
myrtle. It fruits profusely, and possesses the
most delicious flavor imaginable. In general
appearance it bears a close resemblance to the
common m}^rtle (Myrtus communis). It may be
propagated freely from cuttings of the young
wood in a moderate heat. — Gardener's Weekly.

LiNUM TRIGYNITM — The following about a
pretty old plant often seen in American green-
houses, is from the Dublin GrctrcZener'.s Record

"I see your London correspondent. R D., has
mentioned mj' name in the Gardener's Record
of the 9th of April, and asks if I would say some-
thing about the manaiiement of that fine old
winter-flowering plant, Linum trigynum. Then
he adds : — 'I know Mr. N. Blanford is a reader
and an admirer of the Gardener''s Record.'' In
this statement R. 1). is quite correct ; for I do
both read and admire The Gardenei 's Record,
and where is the gardener that does not after
having once seen it ? I read it because it is in-
structive, truthful, and original ; I admire it for
its noble object, its freedom of expression, and
its decided Christian tone ; and since I have been
a reader of it, I nuist own I am brought very
near to the heart and homes of the Irish people
— "gardeners at all events." In fact, I begin to
know many of them in heart, and, as the increase
of friends lends to the increase of happiness, I
certainly enjoy more intellectual pleasure through
the reading of its pages.

But to return tf> my subject Linum trigy-
num is a hard-wooded, greenhouse plant, a na-
tive of the East Indies, introduced, I believe,
about 1802. My plants have done flowering,
and are pruned so I shall just mention the way
that I treat them from this time -May 1st— till
flowering time again.

I have said they are [jruned, and someof j-our
readers may ask how ? By shortening the last
year's wood to about three inches ofl" the old
wood. And then I put them out by the side of
an old fence with a lot of other things, such as
forced roses, weigelias, &c. ; but giv<! them very
little water at the roots till they make new
growth. — Then, when they have fairly started
into growth, the young wood being about half

1^71.

THF. GAnDEJVER'S MOJVTHLy.

187

an inch long, I bring them to the potling bench,
turn them out of the pots and examine the roots ;
if healthy, remove a little of the old soil, then
re-pot them, using a compost of sandy loam, two
parts, liixht fibrous peat, one part, with a little
sharp sand, and a pot large enough to allow the
soil being projierly placed round the ball
of the plant. If, however, the roots have not
well filled the pot, or do not appear to he in a
healthy state, I leave the plant in the same pot
f )r an )ther year, in the former case, and reduce
into a smaller in the latter. The plants are now
put inti) cold pit with azaleas, Ac, and kept
close for a few days. But I do not allow them
to remain under glass longer than is necessary
to give them a fresh start, which is from one
week to three, according to circumstances. They
are again placed out by the old fence, and there
remain in compai\y with anything that requires
a turn with the syringe in the evening after a
hot day ; till having time in the autumn, when a
cool airy place in the greenhouse is allotted them
for a week or two. And now the finishing stroke
of training is performed— a good syringing with
clean water against the underside of the foliage,
in case a red spider should be lurking there ; and
I take them to the conservatory (for conveni-
ence) where the first beautiful yellow flower
makes its apjjearance about the first week in De-
cember, and the plants continue to flower with
me till the latter end of March, when they are
kept rather dry at the root till opening time
again.

A little care is required in watering, all through
the year. Xow, I beg to say, I do not mean to
tell others what to do, but only tell them what I
have done, and been successful. —N. Bland-
ford.

Exhibition Ferns.— The London Journal of
ITorticulture says :

"Exotic FEUNS.-Of these there is not so la rge a
show as on some former occasions, but the want
is more than made up for by the quality of those
shown. Mr. Williams, of Holloway. is first for
nine, with large and fine examples, with fronds
of the greatest freshness, consisting of Cyathea
dcalbata, Todea africana, two good Gleichenias,
Cibotium Schiedei furcans, Dicksonia squarrosa,
Davallia dissecta, very beautiful, Dicksonia ant-
arctica, and a particularlj' fine and very wide-
spreading Cyathea princeps. Messrs. Bell &
Thorpe. Paddock Nursery, Stratford-on- Avon,
are second with a very good Bird's-nesl Fern,

and small well grown specimens of Cibotium,
Alsophilas, Blechnum corcovadense, &c. Mr.
J. J. Chater is third. In the amateur's class
for six, Mr. Baines takes the first position for a
specimen of Gleichenia speluncai most beauti-
fully furnished, and measuring nearly 5 feet in
diameter ; good examples of Cyaihea deal ata
and medullaris, Davallia bullata fine ; Daval-
lia tenuifolia, and a fine pan of Todea superba.
The second prize goes to J Mapplebeck, Esq.,
Woodfield, Moseley, Birmingham. The first of
the special prizes given by II Giisewood, Esq.,
was awarded to Mr. Wright, gardener to C. H.
Crompton Roberts, Esq., Regent's Park, for a
collection containing a beautiful Adiantum Far-
leyense, A. cuneatura, Cibotium Schiedei, Lo-
maria gibba, Dicksonia antarctica, and a Cya-
thea princeps. Messrs. Bell & Thorpe are sec-
ond A first-class certificate was awarded to
Messrs Wood & Ingram for a new variety of
Lomaria nuda.

The best pair of Tree Ferns are from Mr. Wil-
liams—viz., Dicksonia antarctica, and Cyathea
Smithii about 12 feet high ; the second best come
from Mr. C. Walton, Cowley Road, Walton, and
are a well grown pair of considerably less size,
round the trunks of which is trained white va
riegated Ivy.

Change in the Habits of Bees. — "That
the praises I have vented on the Californian cli-
mate are not exaggerated may be inferred from
this circumstance. It was some time after set-
tlers had flocked here from other parts of the
American continent and from Europe before the
honey-bee was introduced. This useful little in-
sect soon made itself at home, and filled hives
with honey. After a year or two had elapsed,
the store of honeycomb was diminished to a
minimum. The bees found that as flowers were
in bloom all the year round, there was no neces-
sity for laying up a large su|)ply of honey against
a barren and blossomless winter season. Con-
sequently, arrangements had to be made to deal
with the bees as with hens, abstracting the
honey in small portions in order that the forma-
tion of tlu; honeycomb might go on uninterrupt-
(uUy. Perhaps it may prove interesting to add
what I have learned at second-hand, but from
unprejudiced sources, that the highest eulogiums
passed upon the soil, sky, and climate of Cali-
fornia are literally applicable to Vancouver's
Island also ; and that if Americans arc to be
congratulated on having such a Garden of Eden

188

THE GABDEJSTER'S MOXTHLY.

June,

as (California among the States of the Union, the
English people are quite as fortunate in num-
bering Vancouver's Island among the posses-
pions of Great Britain. My informants were
Americans, who did not conceal their desire to
substitute in British Columbia the Stars and
Stripes for the Union Jack. It is hardly credit-
able that a possession so valuable should be al-
most disregarded. Those who are concerned in
the organization of emigration from England,
might do their fellow countrymen a service by
investigating the advantages of settling in Bri-
tish CoUmibia. - W. F. Rae, in Cot. Gardener.''

Saponaria ocymoides should not be class-
ed with Silene pendula, a hardy annual of a
somewhat weedy nature, though well adapted
for spring gardening. When well grown, S.
ocymoides, seldom attains to more than a foot
in height ; hence should be encouraged to make
as much growth as possible, as whatever growth
is made during the season ultimately becomes
masses of dense bright rosy pink flowers, which
have an exceedingly pretty effect.— G. Chronicle.

Rhododendrons for the Conservatory.
— I would strongly advise those who have plenty
of room for cultivating the tender kinds,
whether in several small houses or one large one,
to grow the following : ./i rboreum., deep crimson.
Ciliatum, blush-white, dwarf and compact ; one
of the very best for pots. Countess of Hadding-
ton, white tinted with pale rose ; flowers very
stout and waxy, and of large size ; grand either
Cor pots or for planting out in the conservatory
border. Formosum grandiflorum, pure white ;
flowers large and waxy, and produced in won-
derful profusion. Fragrantissimum, pure white,
top segments spotted with deep yellow, and ex-
terior of tube stained with pale rose ; a hybrid
between Edgeworthi and Formosum, combining
the delicious fragrance of the former with the
fr(;e-flowering qualities of the latter ; the flowers
are, moreover, very stout, and when fully ex-
panded average five inches in diameter. Jas-
miniflorum, pure white ; flowers very similar in
shape to the well-known Stephnnotis floribiinda,
and, like that fine old subject, very sweetly
scented. Princess Ah-xandra^ of a similar char-
acter to t.l»e preceding, but the flowers are
larger an<l hniirer in the tube, and thi' stamens
are jjink wliicii adds considerably to the beauty
ot thi; flowers. J'rinrcss Jlclcnu, also in tlw wav
of Jasminiflorum, but the flowers are much

larger, and beautifully tinted with rose. iVuf-
talli, pure white, magnificent when in flower,
but only suitable for large winter gardens.
Retusnm, reddish orange. Veitcldamim. white ;
flowers large and stout, with fringed margin.
There are several other sorts worth growing,
but the above selection includes the best and
most distinct.

The proper way to deal with this section is to
plant them out in the conservatorj'^ border where
they can have room for their full development.
All will do well in a good camellia-house, and
should be planted alternately with them, as they
commence to flower just after the principal
bloom of the camellias is past. To say anything
about the magnificent appearance of large speci
mens of such kinds as Arboreum or Xuttalli is
unnecessary. Few who have seen the grand
specimens of the former in the conservatory of
the Royal Botanic Garden, Regent's Park or
that of the conservatory of the Royal Horticul-
tural Society at South Kingston, will readily for-
get the extreme grandeur of their appearance
when in bloom. There are also several fine
specimens at the Crystal Palace, which are
loaded with magnificent trusses of bloom ever}'
year. — T/ie Gardener's Magazine.

Gooseberry Show at Akroydon. — The
second annual gooseberry show, in connection
with the New Town and Booth Town Allot-
ment Gardens, was held at the house of Mr.
George AV^ood, Flying Dutchman Inn, Akroy-
don. It was a complete success, and reflected
great credit on the exhibitors. The heaviest
gooseberry, weighing 20 dwts. 3 grs , was ex-
hibited by Mr. Thomas Murgatroyd. The first
prizes in each class, with the weights of goose-
berries shown, were the following : Red goose-
berries, 16 dwts. 17 grs , Mr. John Clayton ;
white ditto, 12 dwts. 6 grs , Mr. .John Clayton ;
green ditto, 14 dwts. 15 grs , Mr. Thomas Wat-
son ; yellow ditto, 15 dwts. 7 grs., Mr. John
Clayton ; best pair of twins, 10 dwts. 10 grs.,
Mr. John Clayton, The other prize-winners
were Messrs. J. Clayton, T. Murgatroyd, T.
Watson, T. Barrett and .lames Greenwood.
One or two fine specimens were exhibited for
non-competition by Me-^srs. Richard Parker and
William Town. Mr. Samuel Sutclifle, of Oven-
den, olfieiated as weigher, and gave general
satisf;Vction. — Gai-dener's Wtckht

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJSTTHLY.

189

Mr. J. G. Veitch.— So many new plants
have been named after this enterprisinfj collec-
tor that the followiuir from the Gardener''s Chron-
icle will have ireneral interest :

"John Gould Veitch was born at Exeter, in
April, 1839, and had, therefore, only reached his
32nd year. He was at an early age initiated in
the mysteries of the nursery trade, and took
an active part in the management of the estab-
lishment at Chelsea. It was in April, lv%0,
almost as soon as he had attained his majority,
that he started on his voyage to Japan and
China, whence he proceeded to the Phillippine
Islands. The result of this journey was the en-
richment of our collections with many choice
plants, amonor which the lovely Primula cortu-
soiclets amcena would of itself form no mean mon-
ument to his memory. Various handsome coni-
fers, as Abies Jirma and Alcoquiana, Crijptomeria
elegans, and other plants, as Lilium auratum^
Ampelopsis tricuspidata {Veitchii^) and japonica,
&c., were, however, also obtained as the fruits
of that first journej', and our volumes forl8G0-61
contain from his own pen the interesting record;*
of his journeyings and discoveries during the two
years wich elapsed previously to his return in the
spring of 1862.

The spirit of enterprise, and the desire of
making discoveries, which prompted him at the
first to set sail for Japan, then lately made ac-
cessible to Europeans, did but slumber for a sea-
son, for in 1864 we find him again en route^ this
time bound for Australia and the South Sea
Islands, whence he returned in February, 1866,
after an absence of some eighteen or twenty
months, bringing with him some of the most
beautiful plants of modern introduction : witnes.s
the numerous richly colored forms of Croton and
Dracoena, which are only now becoming known
Of the Crotons alone no fewer than than twenty
iree distinct kinds were obtained; and of Dra-
coenas, Tieyina, Mnynijica^ Mooreana^ Chehoiii,
Madeayi, and .several others; to these added such
distinct and popular subjects as Acalypha Wil-
kesiana (tricolor), Antaran/hus melancholicus ru
her, (Joleus, VeitcMi, and Gihsonii the more
choice and valuable Fandanus Veitchii, Aralia
Veitchii, and many others. During this jour-
ney, Cape York in Northern Australia was visi-
ted, and here was obtained a new palm, which
has since been dedicated to his honor under the
name of Veitchiu J'Jiannlf. The record of this
second journey, specially interesting as referring
to many little known and rart-ly visited islands,
will be found in our volume for 1866.

In the early part of 18t)7, Mr. Veitch, then
recently married, was taken seriously ill with an
affection of the lungs, and for some time his life
was despaired of He, however, rallied under
careful treatment and the potent aid of his in-
domitable spirit, and though subsequently
obliged to winter in a warmer clime, his friends
were not without hope that his life might have
been for some time spared to them. But this
was not to be. On the Oth inst., hjemorrhasje
from the lungs, under which he gradually sank
set in, and he expired on the evening of the 13th
inst.. at his residence at Coombe Wood, leaving
behind him a widow and two boys On Thurs-
day last he was laid beside his father in the
Brompton Cemetery, having been borne to his
grave by the same trusty workmen ; some of
whom had, moreover, assisted to carry his grand-
father to his last resting place."

LiNUM TRTGYNUM— ^jioi/ier Plan.— This is
a fine winter flowering plant, a native of the
East Indies. It is often treated as a greenhouse
plant, and it is said, that it may, durin" sum-
mer, be grown out of doors ; but I have not
had it to do well in either situation If it
is expected that this plant should give that
satisfaction which it is capable of i>ivin<'-, it must
be well grown during the summer and autumn
months, and to do that, it will require warmer
quarters than either of the above. The cool end
of a moist stove, an intermediate house, or a
close pit or frame, with a gentle bottom heat
and a humid atmosphere, will grow it well. In
such a situation, a partial shading from the mid-
day sun will be beneficial during the brighter
and warmer days of summer. At other times
and seasons the plant will require as much li<'ht
as it can obtain to ripen the wood before the
approach of winter A temperature of from 65o
to 75" will suit it during summer, and from 50°
to 60° during winter. A sharp look-out will
have to be kept to guard against the appear-
ance of red spider. If they should attack the
plant, they will, in a very short time, make
fearful ravages ; therefore the necessity (if for
no other purpose) of a moist atmosphere and the
daily use of the syringe. It strikes very freely
from cuttings of the half-ripened young wood,
any time during the autumn. Cut tings In.serted
from the end of July to the middle of August
will, if grown on in heat, make nice 8lufi;°iud
tlower well the following winter. They are even
when small, very useful and effective, with' their

190

TBE GARDEJ^:ER'S mojvtrly

June,

fine, rich, golden flowers. I strike them singly
in small thumb pots. As soon as they are
rooted, and that growth has commenced in
earnest, I pinch off the top down to three or
more eyes, according to strength of cutting. As
soon as the buds have fairly burst into leaf, they
are shifted into throe or four inch pots, using a
soil composed of good turfy loam and peat, in
equal parts with some silver sand. After shift-
ing, a slight watering through a fine r^ se will
suffice, just enough to settle the fresh soil about
the balls and to prevent the plants from flagging
until such time as they have recovered from any
check which they may receive during the opera-
tion ; after which, a little weak liquid-manure,
at least once a week, will be of service. The
same rules hold good in the case of older plants
shifted or rc-potted during the spring.— C. P., in
Gardener'^s Record.

An English Gladiolus Show. — The follow-
ing from the Dublin Gardener''s Htcord des-
cribes how these were put up at an exhibition in
England :
The thirty-six spikes were arx'anged in two box
es, each having three lines of .■-ix spikes At each
end of the front line lises a short stout brass rod,
about eight inches in height, which supports a
horizontal rod of a similar character, running
the length of the box. The second line has the
rods about two inches higher ; the third or back
line, still higher by two inches. The spike
stands in a zinc tube of water, as in the case of
dahlias, and is neatly tied to the horizontal rods.
The boxes are also nicely covered with green
baize. It is an ex< client mode of showing this
truly superb flower, and displays the spikes to
the best advantage. In the arrangement of his
flowers, Mr. Kelway is a true artist, and the
most is made of each individual spike. How
largely this firm cultivates the gladiolus may be
inferred from the fact that at this season of the
year they are found exhibiting at all the leading
shows. On Tuesday, the 16ih, I had the pleas-
ure of awarding them a first prize for a splendid
eighteen spikes, at Shejiton Mallet, in Somerset ;
and the next day they were exhibiting at Trow-
bridge, in Wiltsliire, as well as at South Kt n
sington. The following were the thirty-six va-
rieties shown at the the exhibition of the Royal
Horticultural Society: — Homerc, Ncemie^ Anim^
Cavovu, Van Dijck, Stdtane, Moiia de Jirrnjiiinrt,
a beautiful variety, the petals edged with pink,
and f( athered and flaked with carmine ; Orphic^

very fine ; Leonora^ Malilde de Landevouin^ Vir-
gile, Norma, very fine ; Due de Monibello, very
fine ; Prince Imperial, De Humboldt, very fine ;
Schiller, Newton, rich deep crimson, very fine ;
Lacepede, a very fine rose colored variety ; Le
Gouve, very fine ; Vilkda, Eugene Scribe, very
finely feathered ; Formosa, Eosivi, very fine and
beautifully colored ; Stella, Mayerbeer, Elizabeth,
James Veifch. Agnes Mary, Robert Fortune, very
fine ; Madame Desportes, very fine, and a noble
spike ; Freemason, very fine ; Rosa Bonhevr, Le-
Titien, Moliere, very fine ; Sjiectabilis and Mad.
Vilmorin, also very fine. In addition. Messrs.
Downie. Laird, and Laing, London and Edin-
burgh ; and Messrs. Stuart and Mein, Kelso. X.
B. among Nurserymen ; and the Rev. H. II.
Dombrain, West AVell Vicarage, Ashford, and
Mr, Fry, gardener to V. Stuckey, Esq., Lang-
port, among amateurs, showed very fine also.
As a gladiolus exhibition it was a great success,
and very encouraging for the future.

LiLiUM AURATUM. — I had between 400 and
500 seedling varieties of this glorious Lilium in
flower this summer ; and being nearly all in
flower at one time, the display was gorgeous in
the extreme. The seed was sown in April,
1866, and some of it did not vegetate that year,
but formed little bulbs in the soil In 1867 they
were pricked out into shallow boxes, the soil
being peat and sandy loam ; and the year after,
thej' were all potted singl}^ into small pots. A
few of the plants flowered last year, but the
great bulk of them did not flower till this season
when many of them yielded from seven to eleven
flowers on the stem. A great diversity of color
and of form was to be seen in these seedlings
Many of them had a broad red band instead of
the yellow, which changed to a brownish tint
when the flowers got older. Some of the pods
of seeds sown were crossed with L speciosunt,
but none of the seedlings showed the reflexed
shape of .sjjfcio.sion, only a darker spotting, and
the red band in several which have been marked
and crossed again this year with a very dark ciini-
son seedling of s2)eciosum.--Gardener''s Record

Never sweep a gravel walk witii an old broom.
It not only tears the edging, but it also scrapes
up the walk itself.

Keep a journal of cardiuing, with memoran-
dum of wlien everything is sown, planted, and
cut or gathered for the house ; with as many
otiier |>articulars as you please.

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTHLY.

I9i

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY,

MAY MEETING.

In consequence of the immense throng which
crowded the large hall on tlie April meeting, and
which made it very difficult for any one to see
the half of what was exhibited, the managing
Committee determined on a grand flank move-
ment, in the shape of a pretty heavy charge for
admission to all persons not members of the So-
ciety. We are sorry to say this brilliant ma-
n(euvre was a complete failure. It appt3ared as if
the whole beauty and fashion of Philadelphia
had been gathered up by a floral whirlwind, and
then poured out in a huge mass, for the especial
sw^nping out of the unfortunate Society. Here
were to be seen the leading politicians, from the
popular Collector of the Port down to members of
Citj- Councils, hob nobbing with high dignitaries
of the church, as if the aflairs of the other world
and the schemes of rulers had but one thing in
common. Lawyers, and Merchants, and Doc-
tors ; forgetting their briefs, and prescriptions,
and account books ; were scattei-ed amongst
myriads of elegant ladies, and seemed of no
more account than as so much cement in a pretty
piece of mosaic work ; and as for the ladies
themselves, all we can hope is that they will en-
deavor to take somewhat from their personal
charms and attractions As it was that night,
the Roses became jealous, and the Lilies paled ;
and it was clear that in the interests of horticul-
ture, the managers must do something to lessen
the popular tide of entlmsiasm which is setting
in towards these exhibitions. However, this is
their business, — ours simply to note for our dis-
tant horticultural readers such items as may in-
terest them.

Our note book opens in front of the collection
of "Wra. C. Harris. This is a new name on the
roll of honor connected with the Penn.sylvaiiia
Horticultural Society. From the past and pres-
ent month's exhibition, this gentleman prom-
ises to take liigh rank amongst Philadelphia
Florists. Now he has some gems in the Fuch-
sia way. One, Elm City, was grown just to our
taste. Not a Mammoth of the paiaiozoic age,
but just such a modern little pet, that would
make itself at home as well on a dinner table, an

, in a grand conservatory. Not over two feet in
! height, yet regularly conical, and with hundreds
of pretty semi-double, crimson and red flowers ;
it was all one could desire. Alfred, a light red
with large corolla, also distinguished itself.
Another very good one was Symbol, with re-
curved scarlet sepals, and double white corolla.
Here was also a nice collection of double Gera-
niums, Madame Lemoine, and E. G. Henderson,
were two of the best ; but thei'e is too much
sameness between all these doubles.

JSIr. Smith, gardener to Matthew Baird, Esq.,
had a circular table filled with plants — Rhodo-
dendrons, Azaleas, and leaved plants. As a
"collection, " altogether, they made a good show ;
especially an Ixora crocata, was to many some-
what of a novelty.

In M». Graham's collection we noticed a very
good specimen of Guzmannia nidularis. With
their pineapple-like leaves, and flowers of rich
bracts nestling in the centre, these always have
an interest to the spectator. One of his best
plants was Med/nella maynifica, which, besides
being a very well grown and striking foliage
plant, had several fin*^usters of pendulous pink
blossoms. Amongst his rarer plants, we note a
Caladium fulgens in the way of the old C bicol-
or, but with a much richer tint of foliage. His
collection of Coleus was very attractive. There
are few to our mind more effective than the old
C. Verschafl'eltii, unless perhaps one in this col-
lection, C. aurea marginata m ly prove to be so.
From the old garden of the late Peter Raabe,
was a collection of Iris, received recently from
Alsace ; also a double white anemone-leaved
"butter cup," which we think has not hitherto
been in cultivation in the United States.

Mr. Thos. J. Mackenzie contributed in his
collection some things which were striking.
Amongst the others, a well grown Hibiscus
Cooperi, for instance, with tricolored leaves, was
as handsome as some DracuMias Fudiaia au-
cubcefolia with large white blotches on the leaves,
is very ornamental under greenhouse culture. A
variegated ivy-leaf— Duke of Edinburg— though
evidently not a true ivy-leaf, is an excelleni
thing ot this class. Here also was a good speci-
men of oi' Aralia Sieboldii, which though not in
any way variegated, is a striking leaf plant.

19^

TRE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^'TBLY,

June,

Mr. Newett, gardener to H. Pratt McKean,
has as usual a grand collection, with many
plants as well grown as they were rare. A cy
lindrical plant of Clerodendron Bnl/ouri^ 2^ feet
high, had some hundred of its crimson and white
Howers. Azalea variegata, usually of slow
growth, about three feet high. A Begonia ama-
na in a flat pan with scarlet flowers and dark
green leaves, was very well grown. Phyllocac-
tus crenatus had three expanded cream colored
flowers, about 6 inches long. A pretty pan of
I'anlcum variegatum, about two feet over, was
also very well done. Agave Jilifera, a curious
dwarf species from Mexico, with threads like
the common Yucca filamentosa is a striking
kind, and very valuable for some forms of con-
servatory decoration. There were not so many
rare orchids as usual in the collection. There
was, however, a Cypripedium barbatum with
three flowers, and an Acanthophippium bicolor
with fourteen. A few Pelargoniums were re-
markably well grown for Philadelphia; they
were about 2^ feet high, and nearly as thick,
and pretty well covered with flowers.

Mr. G. Huster, gardener to J. B. Heyl, had
some very fair specimens of some old fashioned
plants That beautiful old Cactus, Epiphyllum
Jenkinsii, had about 50 of its cup-shaped scarlet
flowers ; also a Begonia Sandersii, about three
feet high, well flowered. He also had a nice
collection of Fuchsias.

Mrs. Bissett's collection had more well grown
ferns than any other collection ; amongst these
was a very nice plant of Cyrtoyoneuni falcatum
Amongst ihe other plants was a good specimen
of the delicate leaved MulUenbackia rotundala, or
as it is sometimes called in greenhouses. Polygo-
num rotundatum. It is a neat little basket plant.

Mr. II. A. Dreer had the new spotted Calla,
Kichardia albo maculata, amongst his plants.
His Petunias were also attractive ; so also were
the Fuchsias, and especially Montrose with a
very narrow red tube, and large double white
corolla.

For rare and lovely plants, the collection of
Robert Buist is always sought. Here we believe
tor the lirst time in Philadelphia, Begonia Bo-
liviensis was exhibited. The leaves are "all
right," but the pretty pink flowers are unlike
the conunou styles ol Begonias. In Ericas, usu-
ally so hard to grow Well in our summer climate,
lu; had a gootl reprcsentalive in one labeled
"WeslphcUgi." He Imd also a very pretty plant

of the old, liut very rarely seen, Mussienda fron-
dosa. This has yellow flowers, in shape like a
short and thick Manettaor Bouvardia which are
surrounded by large white bracts, similar to the
dark red ones in Poinsetta. He had also a
Clerodendron Balfouri, about four feet high.
Plants of this, either larije or small, were in most
I collections, showing how popular it is becoming
} as a spring blooming plant Amongst his re-
1 markably well grown Geraniums, we noted
i Christine Nosegay as one of the best. The dou-
ble Petunias were also well grovvn. Indeed it is
one of the good points of Buist's plants, that
they are alwa3's well cultivated. The Pelargo-
niums were particularly fine, and attracted
much attention, especially a dark one. Presi-
dent Lambourg. Among his other rare plants,
which are acquisitions, weie Peristrophe au-
gustifolia, and a variegated Pampas grass.

Mr. David Fergusson, of Laurel Hill, had a
very well grown Adamia versicolor am^g
his plants, another old and good plant seldom
seen ; here also was a very good Clerodendron
Balfouri, besides numerous Azaleas Verbenas,
&c.

From Meehan's Germantown Xurseries came
a collection of cut hardy shrubs, &c.,— to bloom
early in May Among them were Spiroea Ilee-
vesii, and S. Hookcriana ; Persian white, and
common lilac ; Tree Paeony ; white and purple
Wistaria ; Tartarian Honeysuckle, English Bird
Cherry. Ilalesia tetraptera, and Magnolia pur-
purea.

The cut flowers were chiefly exhibited by
Messrs. Graham, Huster, and John Dick. The
presence of the latter gentleman amongst the
exhibitors was taken as a liap))y sign of the
times, as he never takes his place among things
which "don't i>ay. " His basket of cut flowers
was well worthy of a first ajipearance, and struck
us as being very original In style. Usually
there is no dillerence in the kind of flowers used
tor small or large baskets. This was a large
one, and the flowers selected also large, such as
Callas, large Hoses, trusses of Geraniums. Yet
gracefulness was imparted to it by a liberal use
of Deutzia gracilis anil Heliotrope The bas-
kets of cut flowers exhibited at this Society, are
usually models of good taste, anil this one of
Mr. Dick's well sustained the Society's reputa-
tion.

Fruits were scarce. Two collections of forced
Strawberries, one by Mr. Blair, and the other —
ver} line Triomphe de Gaud IVom Mr. George.
Hughes of Cluster County. 1 ho.s J. Pullen, of
llightsti'wn, had .some i)retty white Peaches, the
name of whieli we did not recognize.

Tlie \'eL;etable department was very well sus
tained by Air. Huster and Mr. Felten.

She dSitrdencr'^ p;DiitIiI]r,

DEVOTED TO

Rorticitltare, Arboriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAX.
Old Series, Vol. XIII. JULY, 1871. J^'ew Series. Vol. IV. No. 7.

HIjN'TS for JULY.

FLOWER GAHDEiN" AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

We suppose by the time this page gets before
the public, mauy of our readers from the large
towns and cities will be far more interested in
what the wild waves are saying along the lakes
or sea shore, than in anything we may write
here. Yet we should not mind so much their
non-attendance on our monthly discourses, if
we were assured they did not neglect the lessons
on gardening which we have been regularly giv-
ing them ; for the average of these " summer
resorts" are a disgrace to the civilization of the
age. How most of the branches of tine art fare,
we shall leave other tongues to tell,— it is in our
province to refer only to gardening, aud what
this is, every one who loves a plaut or tlower
knows ! But we hope that those of our readers
who are among the ''world's people'' — the world
of people who have no appreciation of the great
pleasure or love of art in nature brings, — will
endeavor to sow better seed, aud realize a better
state of things. It is really wonderful that those
who start these summer boarding speculations,
do not understand how much more profitable
these several institutions would become if some
attempt at tasteful gardening were made about
their establishments. Animal comforts are of
course essential. A good table, and good at-
tendants can by no means be dispensed with ;
nor perhaps conveniences for quiet walks and
fashionable displays ; but it is an en-or to sup-
pose that the average American is all animal ;
aud this we are assured any leading hotel or
boarding house that would give us a first-class
garden, in addition to other good things, would
speedily and most profitably discover. .^

But we will say no more about those who are
for this month lost to us ; but will ofler a few
words to thousands who are enjoying the com-
forts of home amidst the trees, and plants, and
flowers their own hands have tended ; and the
beautiful groups of trees and chaste designs of
growing shrubs and flowers which their cultured
brains have designed, and loving nature brought
forth for them. Under some cool tree, — in some
shady spot, — we can enjoy some part of a good
summer life in our gardens, in a way the jaded
'•health seeker" of asummer resort never knows.
Aud we may have much more of this pleasure than
we have, it wc will only think of it at this time.
AVe can see now, as we sit in our easy chair in
the light of the setting sun, how an addition here
or there would add to the beauty of the scene be-
fore us, and we revolve in our minds what par-
ticular kinds of plants would produce the best
eflects in our suggested improvements. In some
parts or another of our grounds we have speci-
mens of all the popular trees and shrubs, so that
we become familiar with their habits and ap-
pearances ; and thus know at once the uses we
can put them to in our proposed improvements ;
and we note them down while the ideas stand
fresh bclore us.

Around our rustic arbor we have our gay flow-
ers blooming ; and far away in the distance Mig-
nonette and other fragrant plants set out. We
resolve to correct this another year. Indeed dis-
tance does increase the enchantment which a
bed of massed geraniums, or tastefully arranged
collection of Coleuses or leaf plants create, — but
we cannot imitate the grand Turk's faithful
slaves in wafting the sweet odors from incense
burning censers, in a better way than by plant-

IDJf

TEE GARB EMEU'S MO^'THLY

July,

ing these sweet things close about our fovorite
evening loungins places. In vines for such ai'-
bors ■wc can have an odorous succession durinc
the whole year. "\Vc commence with Alcthia
qiiinata, which during April and May. give the
fragrance of orange blossoms. — not so powerful
it is true, but yet pleasingly delicate. "With
June comes in the American Wisteria, Glycine
frutefcens, and if a bunch or two of Philadelphns
coronarius, the sweet ^lock Orange, and the
common Lilac be set about outside, the}* fill in a
few days of interregnum between these right
royal things. The Honeysuckles, however, soon
I-qIIow June Roses, and these in turn succeeded
by sweet Clematis and Jasmines, make these re-
tired seats odorous throughout the year.

It will also be well at this season to make
notes of those things which we find to stand the
summer heats and droughts, and yet flower well.
The Gladiolus is now very popular as one of
these plants. TheTriloma uvariais not so well
known, but quite as beautiful.

The time is coming when transplanted trees
of the past Fall and Spring will sutler more than
during any other part of the season. If they
show a vigorous growth of 3oung wood, no dan-
ger need be apprehended, as it indicates that the
roots are active, and can supply all the mois-
ture the foliage calls for ; but if no growth has
been made, no roots have been formed, and the
leaves are living for the most part on the sap in
the wood and bark, and hot, drying weather will
tell with injurious ellect on such trees. This is
generally first shown by the peeling off of the
bark ou the southwestern side of the tree,— -the
mo.'^t drying aspect ; and where such exhaustion
appears probaLle, much relief may be atlbrded
by cutting back some of the branches, syringing
with water, occasionally, shading the treis where
practicable, or wrapping the trunk in hay-bands,
or shading the southwest with boughs or boards.
Plants set against walls and piazzas frequent-
ly sutler from want of water at this season,
when even ground near them is quite wet. Draw
away the soil around each j)iaut so as to form a
basin ; fill in with a bucketful of water, allowing
it time to soak gradually away, and when the
surface has dried a little, diaw in loosely the soil
over it, and it will do will. out water for some
weeks. This applies to all plants wanting wa-
ter through the season. If water is na-rely
poured on the surface, it is made more compact
by the weight of water, and the harder the soil

becomes, the easier it dries ; and the result is,
the more water you give the more is wanted.

Keep the pruning knife busy through the trees
and shrubs, with the object of securing good
form. Judgment will soon teach one which
shoots would spoil the shape if not taken out.

In most knuls of soil the keeping the surface
loose by hoeing and raking in dry weather, will
be an excellent method of keeping the main body
cool and moist.— admitting the air, which is a
good non-conductor. In soils, however, which
are deficient in loam, and in which sand prevails
to a great extent, frequent stirrings have a dry-
ing tendencj', and a mulching of short grass, or
decaying vegetable matter of any kind, will be
found very useful around transplanted trees,
shrubs and other things.

FRUIT GARDEN.

People sometimes are anxious to get rare kinds
of strawberries to fruit early, and hence planta-
tions are made in the fall. For general crops
Ave think there is not much gained by fall plant-
ing. In the case of rare varieties, however, it
is often worth a little extra trouble to do things
well. The best way to proceed, is to get small
pots with rich earth, and sinking them in the
ground, layer runners into it. Such plants be-
come very strong, and can be transplanted from
the pots without injuring the roots, and will
make strong stocks which will fruit very well
next year. We raised some excellent President
Wilder's this way last year,— of course the re-
sult was not sufficient to enable one to form an
opinion of its whole character ; but we may say,
that in spite of the excesisively hot weather, it
has turned out remarkably well. In regard to
the best strawberries, it is remarkable that the
bulk of all the thousands of bushels which come
to the Philadelphia market is still Albany Seed-
ling. Amongst amateurs thei'e is no one that
carries universal supremacy with it, as personal
taste dictates the favorite. But certainly those
Avhich are grown the most extensively are Green
Prolific, Triomphe de Gand, Jucunda, Agricul-
turist and Downer's Prolific.

The thinning of fruit, — watching of insects,
especially the borers in Dwarf Pears, C^uince,
Ajiple and I'each, — and summer-pruning are the
main subjects of attention at this particular sea-
son. Where the soil is not very good, as maybe
noted by a weak growth of the trees, a surface
manuring may be yet given with advantage.

1671.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTULY.

195

Every day's experience more decidedly shows
the great advantages to the pomologlst of this
method of applying manure.

It used to bo, and is yet to a great extent, the
recommendation of writers to cut away raspber
ry canes as soon as they have borue fruit \ fruit-
growers know better know. The slight shade
these old stalks afford, is agreeable to the new
growth which is to bear next year.

In regard to training fruit trees, this is the
most important month in the year. If a
shoot appears where it is not wanted, pinch
it off, this throwd the sap into other direc-
tions where strength and vigor is desired. A
good summer pruner does not leave much to
be done in the winter time.

The time when currants and gooseberries mil-
dew and drop their foliage is at hand. Some
have found a mulch of salt hay to be good against
these troubles, but in fact anything that cools
the surface and thus helps to keep the atmos-
phere about the plants, is good. A heavy mulch
of old corn stalks we have found to be excellent
lielp to success in growing these fruits.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Preparations for the Celery crop is one of the
chief matters in this department at this season.
Xo plant, perhaps, requires a richer soil than
this, and of all manures, well decayed cow dung
is found to be the best. After so many trials
with different ways of growing them, those who
have their own gardens,— amateurs, for whom
we write, — find that the old plan of sinking the
plants in shallow pils is about ihe best. Trenches
are dug about six inches deep, and three or four
inches of manure then dug in, of which cow ma-
nure is the best. They can be watered better
this way in dry weather, when in these trenches,
and it is so much easier to fill the earth about

them for blanching purposes than when grown
on the level surface. Salt in moderate doses is
usually a wonderful special fertilizer for the
Celery plant.

Late Cabbage is often planted in gardens be-
tween rows of potatoes, where it is an object to
save space. Some fancy that the Cabbage is
better preserved in this way from the Cabbage-
fly, which they say prefers the potato ; but on
this point we are not sure. We do not think the
('abbages do quite as well as when they have the
whole ground to themselves ; but of course a
double crop could not be expected to be quite so

fine.
Tomatoes trained to stakes give the sweetest

fruit, and remain in bearing the longest ; but

many cultivators who grow for size and quantity

only, believe they have the best results when

growing them on the level grotmd.

For winter use, Beets are occasionally sown
now, and also Cucumbers for pickling purposes ;
but not often ; and at any rate it must be at-
tended to early in the month.

The Lettuce is another cool country plant. It
can only be grown well in hut weather when in
verj' rich and cool soil.

Bush Beans may also be sown for late crops.
A very deep rich soil is necessary to tender, crisp
pods. The Lima Bean will now be growing
rapidly. It is time well spent to tie them up to
poles as they grow. The poles should not be too
high : about eight feet is enough. They com-
mence to bear freely only when the top of the

pole is reached.

In many amateurs' gardens late Peas are
valued. It is essential that they be planted in
the coolest part of the ground. The Pea is a
cool co\intry plant, and when it has to grow in
warm weather, it mildews. The Marrowfat
class are usually employed for late crops. They
need support. All Peas grow better and pro-
duce more when grown to stakes.

COMMUNICATIONS

AZALEAS AND TIII0D(3DENDR0XS OF long desire to see the Belgian Azaleas and Rho-

BLOOMSDALE. I dodendrons in their prime of blossom, which arc

BY WALTEK ELDER, LANDSCAPE GARDENER, growu SO successfully, and the varieties so nu-

PHiLADA. ' merously in the open air, in the chaste pleasure

la the third week in May last, I satisfied a ' grounds of Bloomsdale, belonging to the distin-

196

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJ^TULY,

July,

guished seed growers, David Landreth & Son.
Large numbers of the large j)lant8 were in full
bloom ; some beginning to fade, ivliile others
were breaking their blossom buds, and showing
their colors. I was so much delighted with
the beauty of the individual varieties, and the
splendor of the whole, that I cannot rightly de-
scribe them. The Azaleas were completely cov-
ered with blossoms with various hues of red,
scarlet, rose and pink, white, yellow, buft' and
orange. Here are a few of the names I noted, —
aurant, coccinata, rosa penensia, Utolfe, Prin-
cess Mariana, Midas, viscosa splendens, Julius
Cfesar, hybrid odorata (Van Ilartwig is ever-
green with a profusion of blooms.)

The Rhododendrons were of more numerous
shades, from deep crimson to scarlet, rose and
pink deep, to pale purple, and various shades of
lilac, pure white, and Avhite shaded with pale
vello»v and pink. The individual blooms were
all large, and the heads or trusses were great
masses of beauty, and looked most rich. We
have never seen anything of out door growth so
very splendid and delightful.

Mr. Landreth has furnished a lesson in orna-
mental gardening worthy of all praise and ex-
tensive imitation. Very many of the species re-
semble the Fonticum, both in blossom and foli-
age ; those of crimson and pui'C white, are all
equally as hardy the others. Here are a few of
the names 1 wrote down on the spot : purpureuni
ele"ans, roseum superbum, grandifloia, candid-
issimum, Catawbiense, coeleslinum, Everesti-
anum, John Waterer, alba delicatissimum, Rus-
selianum, atro-sanguineum, Rembrandt, Sir
Isaac iSiewton,Gem,rontica elegaus,ferruginium
speciosum ; many of the large, old bushes were
only with colors named, as I'ullows : pure white,
deep crimson, dark purple, deep rose, dark lilac,
deep pink, pale pink, bright scarlet, &c.

A rurjile Ikcih tree near to the mansion, is
45 i\ et high, and the diameter of its spreading
branches is 40 feet. A perfect model of symme-
try ; almost hemispherical.

A M'ffi'iMf/ Elm tree is five feet high, and the
diiimeter spread of its branches is thirteen feet,
and very dense.

Thrie hundred new Azaleas and Rhododen-
drons were imported and set out last spring, all
a loot high ; and many of them were in bloom
during our visit. Eiglitein new J/t//?// trees, and
six new Junipers have also been imported and
fact out. There are some thrifty i»lants of £nca

scoperia pumila. One of the large glasshouses
was almost filled with (Jalceolnrias nnd Cinera-
rias grown for their seeds the varieties most su-
perb ; we never saw their equal.

HOW TO GROW PEARS.

BY J. AV. ADAMS, SPRINGFIELD, MASS

Mr Adams scuds us the following excellent
paper. It has already appeared in the JVeio En-
gland Uomesteacl, but is none the worse for hav-
ing been published in that excellent paper:

The jjroper cultivation of this universal fa-
vorite is more frequently the subject of discus
sion than that of any other fruit. Successful
growers of apples and other fruits so often fail in
their attempts to raise pears, that they regard the
favorable results of their friends as a mystery, —
the effects of a dear-bought recipe, to them kept
secret. Their extensive cultivation, especially
in the Northern States, has seldom been at-
tempted ; butthose most successful in raising
them are most desirous of extending their cul-
ture and improving their qualities.

To discuss the merits of the various theories
and practices of different cultivators, would re-
quire more time and space than we can at pres-
ent devote to the subject. From the widely dif-
ferent modes of treating this fruit tree, an out-
line of the course suggested by our own experi-
ence and observation ^will, we feel assured, prove
satisfactory in similar circumstances.

It cannot be far from correct that every cli-
mate and soil which will grow corn, can be made
to grow pears. Soils which are of a strong, gra-
velly texture, with some clay intermixed, ap-
pear to be best adapted to produce fruit of the
highest excellence. Varieties which flourish on
the quince, do exceedingly well in a soil rather
moist •, but any soil not inclining to be dry, with
good culture Avill produce fine fruit, either on
the pear root or quince. It must, however, in
either case, be deep and rich, as success can be
obtained on no other condition.

Whether pears succeed best on the quince or
on their own roots, is a question frequently
asked. "I do not want any more of your dwarf
trees,'' said a driving farnu'r, ' they get broke
down with the snow, and break otf where they
grafted. They are good for nothing ; too short-
lived. I want something notafraid to hold their
heads up ; some good large standards, as you
you call 'em. If they don't bear in my day, my
arandchildren will have something to remember

U70.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTELY,

197

me b3% and I shall get some credit, if no pears."
"If I can have only one style of tree," says
our city gardener, "I would sooner take the
dwarf. It takes very much less room, and you
can have a greater variety, and get pears in a
year or two after they are planted. I have gath-
ered two bushels of as handsome Louise Bonne's
as were ever seen in market ; and the tree had
been planted only six years last spring. And I
have a dozen more trees in my garden, all dwarfs
and planted at the same time, that you could
not buy for fifty dollars apiece "

It is not to be wondered that tyros, who come
in contact with either of the zealous representa-
tives of these different methods of pear growing,
should become at the outset as decided in their
preferences as a young politician, who i-eads one
political paper. In this, as in many other theories,
truth is found between two extremes. It is as
well ascertained that the Duchess does adnnra-
blj^ on the quince, as that the Bartlett will flour-
ish best on the pear stock. The Duchess cannot
be grown advantageously on the pear ; and the
Bartlett will not unite well nor flourish on the
quince. But we venture an opinion that few
lovers of pears would be willing to leave either
of these choice old varieties out of their collec-
tion.

'I'he first requisite is a rich and mellow soil.
If moist, it must be underdrained. We do not
mean by richness any such quality of soil as the
farmer describes when he speaks of his best corn
lands, or grass fields, or even his garden. One
of the pear growers in Massachusetts plowed a
certain lot ten or twelve times, as deeply as pos-
sible, and applied thoroughly decomposed com-
post half as many. The trees had been planted
three years, and had made a growth of four to
six feet in one season on the leading shoots.
This extravagant mode of enriching, succeeded
by a like excessive growth, is so unlikely to be
imitated, that we need not caution our readers
in this direction. Our fear is that sufficient
nourishment will not be provided to produce
satisfactory results.

Next in importance is the selection of the
trees ; and in no particular is the novice likely
to err. The variety, size, form and health of
the tree, are points about which he can inform
himself only by years of observation and experi-
ence. Trees slightly crooked are certain to be-
come of suflicient size; but they arc often re-
jected for such as are perfectly symmetrical, but
defective in other respects, when examined by

the experienced grower. And this demand for
perfectly formed trees, as if manufactured to or-
der at some umbrella establishment, has a ten-
dency to induce the growth of certain straiglit,
vigrous growing sorts by nurserymen, to the
exclusion often of better varieties, which are
straggling and crooked in their habits, — as the
Winter Nelis. Varieties, too, are often selected
which it is as unwise to plant as it would be to
attempt to grow the fig or the apricot ; and the
more experience a gardener has in this depart-
ment, the more caution and care will he exhibit
in his recommendation of sorts.

Planting when the ground is thus thoroughly
prepared, is very quickly and easily performed.
The holes for the reception of the tree should be
wide and deep enough to receive the roots with-
out bending. Braijches that are too luxuriant
are checked by simply bending them downward.
In like manner a sliort curve of the roots from
their natural position will prevent growth and
weaken the tree. Deep planting is yet more fa-
tal in its effects. Even the dwarf tree on the
quince should not be planted as low as is recom-
mended by some writers. It is sufficiently deej)
ifthe stock is covered. The greater facility of
operating has induced some nurserymen to graft
the quince at too great distance from the ground.
When planters understand their interest, the
practice will be discontinued for want of pur-
chasers, as trees grown in this way seldom pro-
duce satisfactorily.

Various methods of staking are adopted to pre-
vent the newly planted tree from being blown
about by the winds, an important item, suffici-
ently understood. Watering is seldom necessa-
ry, and as usually performed is injurious. At
the time of planting, it may be applied very soon
after the roots are covered, but the final layer of
earth should be thrown on dry and light, to pre-
vent evaporation. Every one must have noticed
how much sooner and deeper a hard road dries
or freezes, than lightly plowed land ; and water-
ing the surface very soon hardens the soil, when
it resists the action of dews and becomes parched
and cracked, thus producing the dryness so im-
portant to prevent. It is, however, sometimes
necessary to resort to artificial watering, to save
the life of the tree, and the more nearly we imi
tate the natural showers, the greater will be our
success. We have several times saved very
valuable trees by sprinkling the top with a gar-
den engine,— the best method we have ever
adopted for this purpose. Very good results

198

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOKTELl,

July,

may be obtained by simply removing the earth
nearly to the surface roots and applying a large
quantity of water at once, — onlj* in as gradual a
manner as possible. AVhen a barrel of water
has thus been absorbed, the soil may be re-
placed, and no more water applied for several
days or weeks.

Mulching with any substance that will keep
the ground moist, is of great importance. Where
various materials can be had, preference should
be given to those of an enriching nature, and
the mulching should be kept on in winter as well
as in summer. In young apple orchards, if this
Avere allowed, danger would arise from the dep-
redations of mice, but pear trees are seldom
troubled by this vexatious quadruped. Offen-
sive substances are sometimes applied to guard
or preserve them. Alkalies and various other
substances, at proper times and proportions,
benefit the tree also, b}- producing thrift and
preventing insects. But application of coal tar
or oily substances, should never be made to a
growing tree.

At the time of planting, the tree requires more
or less pruning and shortening of the bi-anches.
You will never need to caution the nurserymen
about giving you too many roots. It would be
better to ask him to send the roots with the tops,
and have them packed in the most approved
style, as pennies saved in lifting or packing, are
as many dollars deducted from our prospective
pear orchards. .Smoothly paring the roots,
where they are broken, assists them in healing.
All superfluous branches should now be cut out,
and usually one-half the growth of the previous
season should be cut back. The most upright
shoots, however, being the sti'ongest, should be
reduced more than one-half, while the lowest
side branches should remain nearly their full
length. The form of the tree has much to do in
the proportion of this reduction.

The dwarf pear tree requires to be pruned in
a manner snniewhat similar, but its lower
branches should be kept within two feet of the
ground, and the pyramidal form adopted. All
attemjjts to grow this t)-ee as a tall standard
have failed. The leading shoot of two year old
trees (the usunl age to plant) should be cut back,
leaving only six or eight buds at its base, while
the side branches should be pruned in less pro-
portion, keeping tiie pyramid form in view.

In the month of June two leading shoots will
liave started from the lop, and after they have
made a growth of ei"ht or ten inches, one of

them should be stopped by pinching off the end
of the shoot, which will weaken it, while the re-
maining one will advance with greater rapidity
and strength. Subsequent pruning will become
easy to those who have attended to the first
principles, stopping the secondary branches dur-
ing the growing season, as will appear necessary
to give light and air, or vigor and symmetry to
the tree.

List of Varieties. — To which may be added
Fulton, Osband's Summer, Buffum, "Winter
Nelis, Lawrence, Sheldon, Clapp's Favorite and
others.

1. Eostiezer — Small, juicy, sweet and high-
flavored. Tree vigorous, not hardy. Succeeds
best on the quince stoclc. Season, September.

2. Barllett— Large, buttery, melting and
juicy. Tree quite tender ; one of the most popu-
lar pears, and ripens perfectly in the house, even
if picked before it is full grown. September.

3. Beurre d'Amanlis— A large, melting, fine
pear, — a strong grower, and most abundant
bearer on the quince. One of the best. Sep-
tember and October.

4. Doyenne d'Ete — Melting, sweet and beau-
tiful ; succeeds well on the quince. August.

5. Fondante d'Automne— (Belle Lucrative).
Medium size ; melting and delicious. Septem-
ber and October. Trees very hard}'.

6. Flemish Beauty — Very large and beauti-
ful,—does well on the pear stock. One of best.
September and October. AVe formerly marked
this as our first choice, but now prefer

7. Beurre d'Anjou— A large, tine, butter)',
and melting pear. Tree vigorous on pear or
quince. October and November.

8. Beurre Clairgeau — Very large ; juicy, with
a vinous flavor ; on pear root it promises to be
one of the best new pears. October.

9. Louise Bonne de Jersey— Large, beauti-
ful, and delicious. A hardy, upright grower and
enormous bearer,— succeeds best on the quince.
Should be in every garden, — and next to the Vi-
car of AVinklieid, the most profitable for market.
October and November.

10 Doyenne Boussock — Very large ; similar
in quality to White Doyenne, and will doubtless
supersede that fine old sort. October.

11. AVhitc Doyenne — (or St. Michael,) rather
large ; flesh white, fine grained, very buttery,
melting, high-flavored, and delicious. Cracks
and falls when grown on the pear root, but on
the quince, usually good. Oct and Nov.

12. Urbauiste — Medium ; melting and but-

IS71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJfTHLY

190

tery. A very hardy tree, and one of the best on
the quince. Oct. and Nov.

13 Du.chesse d'Angouleme— The largest des-
sert pear, juicy, rich and excellent. In warm
soils a vigorous grower on the quince. October
and Xovcmber.

14. Bourre Diel— Very large ; buttery, rich,
and delicious. Sometimes coarse at the core on
pear stock ; invariably good on the quince. A
very strong and rapid grower, and productive.
Nov. and Dec.

15. Vicar of Winkfield— A large, long pear,
fair and handsome, of good quality when well
grown and ripened. Tree vigorous on pear or
quince ; on the latter it is very productive. One
of the most valuable of all late pears, and Avor
thy of a place in every garden. December to
March.

TO FIX SCREWS IN OLD HOLES.

BY A "BOSTON BOY,"

I notice that you request notes of any thing
that may interest gardeners. I have thought
sometimes to send you accountsof how we man-
age different things, but hardly knew that I
could say anything worth printing. But I have
a little hint about fixing screws, which I think
worth knowing, though it is not perhaps true
gardening. However, gardeners have to be jack
of all trades, if masters of none,— sometimes it
is carpentering, then bricklaying, — indeed since
I have been in the gardening business, nearly
eleven years, I think I have done a little of all
kind of trades. "Well, about screws. Some weeks
ago a "regular" carpenter here had to put up a
screw in an old hole ; he sharpened a piece of
wood with a chisel, drove it in, cut it level with
the surface, made another hole with a brad awl,
and sent in the screw. In about a week the
screw, wood, plug^ and all Avere out again. I
reasoned on this that some elastic thing would
be better for the plug, as it would fill up the
inequalities and "bite" better. So I rammed
long, narrow strips of cork in before putting the
screw in, and it is astonishing what a good job
it makes.

Now sir, as I said, this is not gardening, but
ifyou think it worth putting in the Monthly^ 1
think likely it will help many a gardener who
like myself takes a pride in doing such little
things, and yet has not time enough to spare to
be doing such things two or three times over and
over again.

CIRCULATION OF HOT-AVATER.

BY MR A. FENDLER, ALLENTOX, MO.

Having received the April number of the Gar-
dener''s Monthly a day or two ago, I noticed in it
a controversy going on concerning "Hot-water
boilers." I hope you will not think it presump-
tuous if I venture to give you my views on this
important subject.

I think 3'ou are right in saying that the cold
water, in consequence of its greater density
being more powerfully acted upon by the earth's
gravitation, pushes upward the less dense warm
water, and hence the ascent of the latter is a pure-
ly pa.sstfe motion, (the same as in a pair of scales
the upward motion of the ascending lighter body
is purely passive). But before the ascending
motion can take place, there must some particles
of water first be made lighter than the rest ;
this is done by heat. Moreover, these lighter
particles must not be debarred from rising by
the sides of a horizontal flow pipe ; in other
words, a chance must be given these particles to
go upward^ whenever pushed in that direction
by the colder water. Neither downward nor
horizontally the cold water can push them, ex-
cept indirecth' in the case where a partial vacu-
um has been created ahead. The water may
also be made to move horizontally or even slight-
ly downward along the flow pipe as long as there
exists an unusually great difference of tempera-
ture between the water in the boiler and that at
the farther end of the pipes ; but when sometime
after starting the fire, the difference of tempera-
ture is not so great, then it will be found that a
gradually rising flow pipe is necessary to carry
on a vigorous circulation of the water. It is
true, as one of 3'our correspondents i-emarks,
that the force of expanded particles of water
presses against the non-expanded, and compels
them to move ; this alone, however, without the
action of gravitation would produce but a very
short movement, and no circulation at all, for
as soon as the particles of heated water, in pro-
ceeding on their journey, cool down, so soon arc
they contracted again, and this contraction in
one place effectually neutralizes the expansion
in the opposite place.

My maxims with regard to "hot-water boil-
ers" would be :

1. The flow pipes should always be gradually

ascending or rising.

2. It makes no difference whether the return
pipe be horizontal or descending, or even some-
what ascending, provided it be straight.

wo

THE GARDEJ\rER'S M0JYTHL1.

July,

3. The rapidity of circulation is in propor-
tion to the height of the hot-water column in
the boiler, and also to the difference of tempera-
ture between the ascending and descending por-
tions of the water.

4. Both the flow and return pipes ought to
be of a sufl^iciently wide diameter, as straight as
practicable, and smooth inside.

SPLENDID VARIETIES OF ALTHEA.

BY CHRONICLER

Hibiscus syriacus is a native of Syria, and is
commonly called "Althea," as its blooms re-
semble those of the Hollyhock \ it also gets the
name of "Rose of Sharon,'' from the double
flowers resembling roses, and the plant having
no thorns. The original species bore single
blooms, and was considered an acquisition, as its
blossoms were produced at a time when no other
ligneous plant showed a flower. We now have
got by hybridization and special culture, many
varieties which bear double flowers, and two
with variegated leaves. We have a score of
nurserymen's catalogues, and not two of them
describe the Althcas alike. So those ordering
Ihem from nurseries, may do it in a plain Eng-
lish tongue, this way : Double white, double
purple, double white and purple mixed, double
reddish purple and blueish purple ; and for the
variegated varieties, state, yellow variegated
leaved, and the white variegated leaved. These
variegated leaved varieties should not be allowed
to bloom, as their flowers are insignificant, and
their foliage is their real beauty. The plants
grow more massy and beautiful when their blos-
som buds are taken off before they expand.

All the varieties are of thrifty growth ujion
various soils, and as they bear their blooms upon
the young shoots of the same year's growth,
they never fail in giving an annual profusion of
blossoms. They are very tenacious of life, and
withstand severe pruning ; they grow fifteen feet
high when set singly upon rich soils, but ten feet
is high enough ; so in pruning them in winter, cut
them down to eight feet high, and when they
bloom, they will be ten feet high. They make
very ornamental hedges, which may be clipped
down to five feet in winter, and they will be over
six feet high when they bloom. In every way
tlie jilants are grown, their fading blooms should
be cut off to i)revent them bearing seeds, as that
would make tliem grow too lean. All the va-
rieties will grow more massy and beautiful, aud

will live longer if the plants are not allowed to
bear seed^. They bloom in August, September,
and October. All the blooms do not open at
the same time, but keep up a succession of beau-
ty for a long time. When all the double varie-
ties are set in a group, or even set singly near to
each other where they are all seen, their beau-
ties when in bloom are greatly enhanced. No
arboral embellishment is perfect without the Al-
thea, as owing to its time of flowering it fills up
what would be a vacuum in the blossom of the ar-
boretum without it. It prolongs the bloom un-
til such trees and shrubs as bear ornamental
fruits show themselves to advantage ; thus mak-
ing a continued chain of beautiful blossoms and
showy fruits in the arboretum for ten months in
the year.

The greater number of species of trees and
shrubs produce their blossoms and sweet per-
fumes in spring, and each species tries to outvie
all the others with its attractive charms. The
Althea is master of its own mind ; does not com-
pete with any other species, but bides its time,
and husbands its vitality, and in its own time,
it illuminates the arboretum with blossoms of
splendor, when most needed, and at the time
when all the spring beauties are exhausted and
haugtheir heads in despair ; it seems so sensible
of its value and worth. We append to it the
following lines from the "Ploughman Poet,''

'•The man o' independent mind
Is king o' men for a' thut."

EGG-PLANT SEED.

BY MR. WM. SELTER, BARDSTOWN, KY.

Seeing Mr. W. L. Aker's communication in the
the last number of the Monthly, in regard of his
experience with his Egg-Plant Seed kept under
a diflerent temperature, I thought to give you my
experience in a similar case, with the pea, which
is naturally a more hardy seed than that of the
Egg Plant. On the loth of April I planted two
rows of the Eugenie close together. The seed or
one row was kept during ^\ inter in a warm
room, that of the other in an empt}' stable, per-
fectly dry, but exposed to the severe cold. Pre-
vious to the cold both seeds were in thesame pot.
Now the peas in the row which had been kept
in the warm room came all up very vigorously,
while in the other row only a small part came up
and thus looks very weakly-. As ^Ir. Akors sup-
poses, there must be some influence of the tem-
perature on seeds while laying in a dormant
state.

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^'THLY.

201

TRANSPLANTING TREES.

BY MR J. IT. CREIGHTOX, DELAWARE, OHIO.

A tree will transplant very nuich better and
grow with more certainty if dug when the ground
is very wet, and if it is a valuable tree it pays
well to wet the ground the day before digging.

Almost any evergreen will bear transplanting
and will do well if shaded the first summer. No
one would believe the difference till they try it.

There is no trouble about transplanting large
trees, if you take two or three years for it. We
have tried it on pear, which is the hardest to
move. Dig three-fourths up and then fill up the
place till another year; or if a very big tree take
still another year. This saves labor, for then
not so much digging is necessary.

Plants started too early in the spring get a
check or kind of chill from which they will not
recover the whole season.

Trees should hardly be watered at all unless
they are mulched, not simply because of the
waste of water in evaporation, but the cold pro-
duced by the evaporation does about as much
harm as the water does good. "We often hear
persons say they wonder why watering trees
seems to do so little good. The reason is that
the evaporation pi-oduces so much cold that the
tree is stopped growing. And then it takes very
much more water to reach the roots of a tree
than the inexperienced are aware of — so that the
single bucket of water does nothing more than
make a cold place round the collar of the tree.
If the tree was in a strong growing state it could
bearit.butit isinasmuchneedofwarmth as water.

Mulch prevents evaporation and holds the
Avater till it has time to reach the roots. But
when we consider that a barrel of dry earth will
nearly hold a barrel of water, we must not
think that a single bucket of water will be of
much use.

ORCHID CULTURE.

BY MR. JAMES M. PATERSOX, NEWARK, N. J.

Sojourning for a few days recently, among some
of the towns upon the Hudson River, I had the
curiosity to take some pains to learn to wbat ex-
tent r)rcliidaceous plants now becoming so de-
servedly popular, and so extensively grown, com-
pared with former years, were cultivated among
the many country seats, and particularly upon
those places keeping up establishments of plants
under "lass.

Considering the large number of splendid
places, old and new, adorning either bank of
that noble river, from Poughkeepsie down to
New York City— places many of which are noted
for their wealth of taste and money that has
been expended upon them; upon which stand
splendid structures of glass, containing the
choicest collection of stove and greenhouse plants
— I cannot learn that there are to be found
orchids, as collections upon as many as might
generally be supposed,— a fact perhaps attributa-
ble to their rarity and high price, and to the pre-
sumption generally entertained, that they can
be grown only in houses specially erected for their
cultivation, combined with a knowledge of the
requirements essential to their successful growth,
that in the previous lack of published w^orks
treating to any extent upon their growth or
habits, few were possessed o.f. The increasing
taste however for them, with a better knowledge
of their nature and requirements, has induced
the importation by growers of several of the
French and English publications; first among
which, and the English standard work upon the
subject, as well as the most useful to the ama-
teur, is " B. S. William's Orchid Grower's Man-
ual," a work I notice advertised by Mr. Geo.
Such of South Amboy, N. J. Of the many beau-
tiful country seats upon the River, few others
perhaps equal in the extent of their collections,
both of tropical plants and orchids, that of Wm.
Kelly, Esq., of Rhinebeck, kept up with a mu-
nificence rarely excelled, it has long borne the
reputation of holding the largest and most valu-
able collection upou the Hudson.

At the summer residence of Wm. II. Aspin-
wall, Esq., some two miles north of Tarrytown,
among a large assortment of plants, some of
them very fine, I noticed some really fine orchids,
which under the care of M. Carl Regel, showed
great vigor and health.

At Yonkers, Alex. Smith, Esq., has under
what would be considered rather cool treatment,
a number of particularly good Odontoglossum,
and Tricopelia, their unusual growth and vigor
proving their adaption to the cold house. He has
also some oth<'r fine species, to which however,
the coldness of the house is not so congenial.

Jacob Hays, Esq., of Inwood, has a very good
collection of South American Orchids, princi-
pally Cattleyas, for which plants he has a special
hobljy.

Of the commercial growers of Orchids in the
vicinity of New York, stand the names of Isaac

202

TEE GARDEJV'ER'S MOJfTHLJ,

July,

Buchanan of Astoria, John Cadness of Flushing,
Long Island, and Geo. Such of South Amboy,
.N. J. Their collections are large, and embrace
most of the principal species now considered in-
dispensable in first class collections. Mr. Bu-
chanan's collection is a very large one and par-
ticularly rich in Cattleyas. F(^r fine specimen
plants, however, showing skillful management,
few perhaps excel Mr. James Taplin, Mr. Such's
able manager.

There are comparatively few Orchid grow-
ers in our own State (INew Jersey), and those few
mainly in the localities bordei-ing upon New
York and Philadelphia. Gen. Perrine of Tren-
ton, has a collection containing some very fine
kinds, and there are probably a few others be-
tween that place and Philadelphia, the names of
none, however, occur to me at the present mo-
ment. Jersey City has, during the past ten or
fifteen j'ears, held the lai'gest collections and
most valuable plants in the State; that of Corne-
lius Van Vorst, Esq., although not as extensive
as many others, probably contained in the same
number of plants, more rare and valuable ones,
than an}^ other in the country, comprising in
great part all the most rare varieties of Vandas,
Aerides, Saccolabium, Phalanopsis, Coelogyne,
&c. This collection, within the last two years
has been discontinued, and merged into that
of M. Lienau, Esq.

The collection of M. Lienau (also a resident
of Jersey City), is the finest and most extensive
private one I have ever seen. Of his establishment,
occupying nearly an entire block in the heart of
the city, fully two-thirds of it, occupied in part
by the houses, is devoted to the cultivation of
nearly everything rare and beautiful in the plant
line. A gentleman of wealth and cultivated
tastes, an amateur grower of orchids, and en-
thusiastic lover of Horticulture, he has, during a
residence there of nearly twenty years, spared
neither pains, nor expense, in the accumulation
of his unequalled collection.

In his grounds I have seen flowering splendid-
ly, the Lagerstrccmia indica, or Crape Myrtle,
as it is sometimes called, of the South, a plant
fully ten (10) feet in height. Also the white
flowering and perfumed Bhododendron Jenkin-
sii (or Jenkinsonii). And during the summer
months, when the large plants in tubs, as Hho-
dodcndrons. Oranges, immense sized Lemon
trees, an Araucarias are arranged along the walks,
and grouped here and there between them, great
sized plants of Pampas and other grasses with

their graceful plumes ; Cannap, Caladiums,
Crinums and Musas, with their rank waving
leaves, the whole place wears a most tropical
like appearance. Seeing it as I have at times,
fine specimen plants of Cattleya Mossifoa, Spc-
ciosissima, Schilleriana, &c., &c., in baskets in
magnificent bloom, hang beneath the dense shade
of a Magnolia tree, standing within sound of a
chattering monkey, noisy parrots, the cooing of
doves and the sinking of a score or more of ca-
naries, whilst through the foliage of the trees
glistened the white roofs of the gla.ss houses ; it
required no great effort of the imagination to
conceive ones-self standing in a garden within
the tropics. Of the houses, three are devoted to
orchids, one being for East India plants, another
for Cattleyas, and the third miscellaneous.

The collection of orchids consists of over 1000
plants, among which are to be found, nearly all
the rare and valuable named species, besides
very many unnamed andentirelynewspecies, col-
lected within the last twoyears by the well known
botanist, Roezl. Pa.^ssing through the houses
once or twice within a week or two past, I no-
ticed magnificent flowering spikes of Phalanop-
sis grandiflora, with its large white waxy-like
flowers, as well as Phalojnopsis Schilleriana and
Lowii. Also Aerides Fieldingii, with its beau-
tiful rose colored insect-like flowers. A grand
plant, nearly two feet in diameter, of Coelogyne
asparata (Lowii), with very large spikes of pale
yellow petaled and deep chocolate-lipped flowers,
filling the whole house with its delicious perfume.
Numbers of Vanda tricolor, teres, sauvis, &c.,
together with many rare and fine varieties ot
Aerides and Saccolabiums, parti}' coming into
or passing out of bloom. Of Cattleyas there are
no end to the varieties. Also noticed in bloom
Epidendrum vitellinum, with flowers of deeper
orange — Epidendrum ionosimum— Leptotes bi-
color, one of the prettiest little orchids I have
ever seen grown to the perfection in which I saw
it.

Phaius "Wallichi, with six spikes of its splen-
did flowers ; Uropedium Lindenii, with its won-
derful tail-like petals, nearly 15 inches long.
Dendrobiums, Calceolaria transparens, Farme-
ri, and fimbriatum oculatum. Also Warsze-
wiczii cochleafls, which I have been told is not
yet to be found alive in Europe. And so I might
go on noticing a hundred others in bloom, of
these most interesting plants, a class of plants of
almost ever}' possible size and form, of every hue
and spot and combination of color, from their

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJS'THLY.

t03

ver}' natures, always likely to be comparatively '
rare, yut so beautiful and endless in their varic- :
ties, as to keep up in the grower of them the in '■
tercst always attaching to the cultivation of
uncertain bloom, in the spirit of emulation ex- 1
cited, and the hopes of something tiner perhaps
to be realized. It is not wonderful that the cul
ti vat ion of orchids once engaged in b}- the ama-
teur, is a pleasure not often willingly abandoned.

KOTES OX THE COMPASS PLAXT.

BY MK. G. G. HOWARD, lOAVA STATE AGRICUL-
TURAL COLLEGE, AMES, IOWA.

In the report of the Department of Agricul-
ture for the months of March and April, on page
149, I see a statement by you in relation to the
tendency of the "Compass AVeed '' to point
North and South.

You state that it is noticed only in young
plants and when they first come up. since after
becoming large and heavy they are moved out
of place by rain and wind, and are unable to re-
gain their original position. Now the result of
my observation has been a direct contradiction
to this.

The tendency is not so strongly marked in the
yourirj plants for two reasons : first, while small, '
the leaves are very numerous and necessarily
much crowded, and therefore cannot grow as
they v:oxdd, but as they are compelled. Second,
■while young and tender, the winds and rains
blow and beat them out of position

"When the plant gets large and strong, it will
be noticed that the number of leaves is not so
great as at first, (a number having died ou t,
hence each leaf has more room, and does not in-
fringe upon the rights of its brother leaves. As
the leaves increase in age, their strength also
increases and the old leaves are enabled to spring
back to their North and South position when
blowed out of it. Hence, we see the tendency to
point North and South more strongly marked in
old leaves than in young ones.

["We are much indebted to our correspondent
for his kindness in contributing these additional
facts in reference to this singular plant. The
paper of Mr. Meehan's referred to, was originall)'
published in the Proceedings of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, from which it
was transferred Uj Nuture, G(irdener''s Chronicle,
and other Engli.sh and German Scientific jour-
nals and from an uhstrurl of one of them trans-
ferred to the pages of the report of our Agricultur-

al Department at Washington, which, consistent-
ly with the time honored practice of American
journalism "goes abroad to hear news from
home." This system has one disadvantage.
When a story starts on so long a run, it often
loses somewhat from its accurac}'' before it gets
back; and we have an illustration of it here.
There is nothing in Mr. Median's paper to jus-
tify the quot ition of our correspondent, that the
Northern tendency of the leaves is noticed only
in young plants, and when large and heavy, arc
(all of them) moved out of place, and (none of
them) are able to regain their original position.
What was said (see Gardener''s Monthhj page 360,
volume for 1870) was that the leaves always
had this tendency naturally, whether old or
whether young ; and that, when it was not ob-
served it was to be accounted for by wind or rain
or other external causes; which instead of being
in "direct contradiction " to the experiences of
our correspondent, is singularly confirmed by
them.

While on this subject, we may express regret
that there is not more care given to catching the
real meaning of what another says. It is rare
for even the most careful and unprejudiced
author to do it properl3\ Even Mr Darwin, one
of the most painstaking and most candid of
modern scientists, does not always do it well.
For instance, in quoting Mr. Meehan's paper
"on the uniformity of relative characters be-
tween allied American and European trees,"
says, the trees referred to by Mr. Meehan were
"all growing together in his garden," which Mr.
Meehan nowhere says in the paper referred to,
and, which was not the fact,though they did grow
within a radius often miles of one another This
error does not efiect Mr Darwin's use of the
facts, but some historian might take this second
hand statement to prove what kind of trees ]SIr.
Meehan had growing in his garden^ at the time
stated. Again, in Mr.St. George Mivart's recent
Avork '■'■Genesis of Species'*' this very paper on the
uniformity of characters, is quoted by this au-
thor as one of the severe objections to Darwin-
ism ; but it seem.s evident that Mr. ]Mivart has
not read the original paper, but only Darwin's
statement of it. Much the same exists in re-
gard to Median's " Tlicori/ of leaf adnation in
Coniftrce''' given to the American Science Asso-
ciation at Chicago a few years ago, relerences,
not quotation.s, are being ontinually made to it ;
but except in the single fact that the so called
" needles" of IMncs are not leaves, but brancli-
lets, ideas are attributed to the author which ho
never held. — Ed.]

^OJi,

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELY.

July,

CIRCULATION OF HOT-WATER.

BY "TEXIAN," port LAVACA, TEXAS.

I see thfit Mr. Ellis is about to establish a new
school of philosophy. In his article on Ilot-wa
ter Bi)ilers, he says, "a particle of water cannot
absorb heat without expanding, and where ex-
pansion occurs, is the evidence of power and
force.'''' Again he speaks of '"water after receiv-
ing jjofcer and /orce from the agency of heat"
Now I know that the conversion of water into
steam produces such an expansion as to prove
quite useful in driving machinery ; but if simple
Avater receives power and force from the agency
of heat, then your correspondent should get out
a patent for running a lightengine with expand-
ed water. According to his theory, particles of
water "move up through the agency of heat ex-
panding them, and thereby giving them the power
and force to pass up and through (particles of
colder water) to the top of the boiler. " But just
here he fails to explain to us how the particles
of cold water come in to fill the vacant place oc-
casioned by this movement. On the contrary,
he says that the heated particles of water "press
against the non-expanded, and compel it to move
vjj and down in all directions " If the heated
particles press against the colder particles and
compel them to move in all directions, I cannot
see how they can come in to fill vacancy or vacu-
um, unless they possess a greater force and pow-
er than the expanded water. I have heard of a
battle in a tub, but it may be that the contest is
first begun in my washer-woman's boiling ket-
tle— for certainly a commotion is there plainly
manifest. If this pressure of warm water
against the colder element, is the "force'' which
creates the current in hot-water pipes, then wliy
not have the return pipe enter the boiler on a
level ; or if necessity requires it, above the tlow
pipe ; since this power of expansion can compel
it to move up and down in all directions ?"
Here is a new theory, Mr. Editor, for our boiler
makers to take hold of.

I would like to ask Mr. Ellis, why docs the wa-
ter in a pump-pipe ascend V My school-book
said that it was the weight of the atmosphere
which pressed it up into the vacuum. AVhy
does a balloon ascend ? I did suppose that the
weiglit of the heavier atmosphere, in settling
down, pressed it upward. What "power and
force" has oil to cause it to move up or through
heavier particles of water ? In the language of
Mr. Ellis, "we must not forget that when the

* * * *

it has

first particle" of oil "moves up,
much weight against," and yet it rises unaided
by the power of expansion. Do not the heavier
particles of water sink down, like the weighted
end of a balance, and thus press or |>i<s7j upward
the lighter particles of oil ? And could we
change all water at the furnace end of our hot-
water pipes into oil, and re-convert this back to
water at the opposite end, a current would be
immediately established, whose velocity would
be proportioned to the difference in specific
gravity between oil and water, together with
the difference in height between two columns,
representing these two fluids ; and the greater
the difference in the temperature of water in
heating pipes the greater will be the difference in
its specific gravity ; and its current will depend
entirely upon this fact, in connection with the
difference in height between the column of heat-
ing surface compared with the column of cooling
surface-

In practice, it may not be advantageous to
make either of these differences great. It may
be a waste of heat to cool the return pipe much ;
or it may be inconvenient and expensive to use
a high boiler. Experience only can determine
hoAv much these principles can be modified, and
favorable results ol tained.

[Mr. Ellis will hardly claim the credit of
founding this new school, for some of the best
gardeners in England think as he does. Since
the discussion of this question was opened in our
columns, the London Gardener''s Chronicle has
had an editorial on the same subject, and we
were somewhat astonished to find this admirably
edited paper holding similar views to those given
by ^Ir, Ellis —Ed ]

EDITORIAL NOTES.

DOMESTIC.

Embryonic Inarching. — We have on several oc-
casions referred to the fact, that embryos will in-
arch, and Dr. Masters has shown, in his highly
interesting work. Vegetable Teratology^ that two
distinct varieties of Fuchsias united in the em-
bryonic state, produced two distinct kinds of
Fuchsias from the stem. Every fact relating to
such a subject is of interest, and we give the
following from a correspondent of the Rural
New Yorker :

"I was born and brought up in Herkimer Coun-
ty, N. Y., and there, while a young man, learned
to graft the different ways, and was told by the
man I served with, if I could get a graft to grow
wrong eud up it would produce apples without

1871.

TEE GARBEJ\^E'R'S MOJVTnLl'.

seeds. I often tried it in cleft grafting, but
never could pot one to grow that wa}' ; but the
first graft I whip-spliced grew and did well, and
bore apples the third year. But lo and behold,
the apples were just like all other apples, full of
seeds. The shoots on the scion grew down for a
time, then curved and grew up. It was grafted
in till' top of a bearing tree on a sprout. This
ti'ee bore bushels of apples while I owned the
])lace. There is a curiosity in Busti, Chautau-
qua County, New York — an apple three parts
sour, and three parts sweet, done by splitting
the buds oC two kinds and putting one half of a
bud of each kind together. A Mr. Arby Blodget
of that town, worked all one day budding for
that purpose, and only got one to live. The
kinds were Tallman Sweet and Rhode Island
Greening. The sour parts are in ridges fron^
stem to blow and the sweet in hollows.— J. A.

Schinus molle. — A correspondent of some pa-
l)er, the name of which we have lost and so can-
not give the accustomed credit, writing from
Los Angeles, California, says :

"A favorite shade tree all over this lower
coast, and especially a iavorite of the Spaniards,
is the Pepper tree, Schinus molle A good part
of the streets of this city are lined with them.
Moot of them are young, with a circumference of
only three feet or less, and a height of twent}'-
five, but old trees obtain a girth of seven feet or
more. Perhaps the tree resembles the locust
more than any other Northern trie, though the
long, delicate, and pendent leaflets give it a
touch of weeping willow aspect. It is an ever-
green, and Avith its soft foliage swaying in the
gentle breeze, is a most lovely tree.''

A curious fact connected with this tree is,
that when the leaves are broken to pieces, and
the fragments strewn on the surflice of still wa-
ter, they dart about like living things. One can
see that this is done by the force of son e matter
being projected from the severed vessels ; but it
does not seem to be oil, as no film is left on the
water. It is probably gaseous matter. As the
plant is very smooth, the name molle may mis
lead some who know that this is a botanical
term implying a softly downy nature ; but the
name i.s adopted from the aboriginal Peruvian,
where the plant is called "Molle,'' or as some
writ?:r8 say ''Muili." The plant is closely al-
lied to our lihus or "Sumac" family, and indeed
one of them, the Rhus toxicodendron, or poison
vine, has been observed to move the fragments

of its leaves in water the same as this does,
though not near as freely— very often, indeed,
not at all.

Floicering of GhjptQstrohus pendnlus. — Messrs.
Parsons & Co., liave flowered the Chinese Weep-
ing Cypress,- this is probably the first in the
United States. It has been suggested that this
tree is probably but a development from our com-
mon cypress, Taxoflhnn cliktidnivi, and that the
seed vessels on which the genus has been founded
will not probably vary in important points from
the cypress, than some Chinese arborvitse seed-
lings often vary from one another. Messrs,
Parsons will be able to decide this question by
facts.

History of the Nectarine. — It has been asserted
that the Nectarine first originated by a branch
springing from a Peach tree ; but so many
things get into history on doubtful evidence,
that for the sake of true science confirmations
are generally valuable. Acorrespondent of the
Sural New YorAer. L. Merzean, Aiken, South
Carolina, has gathered, this spring, a Nectarine
from a Peach tree. We have often known seeds
of Nectarines to produce Peach, and of Peach,
Nectarines, but we do not know of any instance
since the original discovery where a sport on the
Peach tree direct has been recorded.

Garden and Farm, Cidture. — An exchange
feelingly says : "It is sad to relate that when
mechanics have land, they generally give better
cultivation than farmers ; they have more grapes,
pears, strawberries, and watermelons, and ear-
lier potatoes and cucumbers."

This is simply because gardening is a higher
art than farming. "When mechanics become far-
mers, they are usually amongst the least suc-
cessful of agriculturists ; on the other hand, there
are plenty of farmers who, when they care to do
a little more than merely "plough up the truck
patch," have pretty good gardens.

The Coi-Jc OuJi. — It is said that the production
of cork is very profitable. The thick suberous
layers from which the cork of commerce is ob-
tained, can be taken again and again from the
same trees. Some years ago the Agricultural de-
partment introduced a large quantity of plants.
They do not ajjpear to have been successful any-
where except in California. There arc trees in
Santa Clara County, sown in 1858, which are over
20 feet high, and three feet in circumference.

^OG

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELy.

July,

BLOOD-LEAYED PLANTS.

BY AV. G. A. , PIIILADELPniA.

These singular plants are so remarkable in
the Landscape, that I thought a few noles in re-
ganl to the most desirable might bo worth a
place in the Mimthhj.

First, and before all, I place the
Blood-leaved Beech,
and perhaps this is the best known of all the
clas^^s. It is one of the most striking objects pos-
sible in the spring of the year. The branches
while young droop,and become erect only towards
tbe autumn. As they erect themselves, they
lose somewhat of tlie bronzy lustre which char-
acterizes their growth in sprinsj. The Blood-
leaved Beech is a variety of the English Beech.
It comes tolerably true from seed. In France
and Germany thousands are now raised in this
way Some of the seedlings show a tendency to
return to their original State ; these are weeded
out, and the balance left are the Blood Beeches.
Of these again they make two classes, the Cop-
per Beech and Blood Beeches, or as they are a
little learnedly called in the lists, Fagussylvatica
cuprca and F. sylvatica purpurea. These have
the one class a lighter, and the other a darker
tint,— some preferring one, and others the other.
Those who have not the means to get seed, graft,
and this is quite a delicate business, until the
seci-et is mastered. Iloopes, Bro. & Thomas of
West Chester, who work them largely, grow the
stocks in pots, and graft them in spring in a
greenhouse adapted to the purpose. In a recent
visit to their establishment, I noticed that about
fifty or sixty per cent were doing well under this
treatment ; others work them in the open air.
For amateurs, however, for whom, at the sug-
gestion of the Editor I pen these notes, the best
mode of propagation is by inarching. A few
plants of either the American or European
Beech may be planted in the spring, near the
Blood licech, and in July or August the branches
of the two brought together, and each slightly
shaved so as to just penetrate through the bark.
These two shaved faces are then tied together,
and they unite the same season. By fall, or say
next .spring, the two may be separated and the
grafted plant taken up and set out where it is
desired to grow. The demand for Blood Beeches
is very great,— much greater than the supply,

and hence prices are usually high in proportion

to other trees.
Another beautiful Blood-leaved plant is the

Blood-leaved Hazel xut.
I do not know the history of this tree, though
I suppose it is of European origin. The first I
ever saw was some twenty years ago, in the col-
lection of Mr. Robert Buist, who could probably
tell more about it than I can. Its leaves are
quite as dark as those of the Blood Beech, while
being double the size, they make a great show.
They, however, want the graceful drooping of
the young Beech growth. I find one defect in
it, and that is that quite large branches will
sometimes die just as the pears do by a sudden
blight. They become quite girdled by a fungus,
when the branch above it dies. Any one can
see that this is a fungus, as the spore cases come
out in regular rows, like a double set of molar
teeth in an animal. I should say that if we could
see such an appearance in the bark of a branch
struck by the fire blight, no one would doubt the
pear disease was a fungus, as this undoubtedly
is. However, the disease in this hazel is no
great bar to its culture as a bushy shrub, as
plenty of sprouts issue below the injured portions,
and the plant thus has plenty left for our admi-
ration.

I believe the only way of propagation is by di-
viding the shoots, or by laj-ing down the grow-
ing branches into good rich earth. These often
root well the first year ; but to ensure very strong
good rooted plants, it is best to let the layers
stay two years in the ground. I have never
known any raised from seed, and so cannot say
if they can be propagated this way.
Blood-leaved Peach.
This I have seen only on the grounds of the
Editor of the Garden€r''s Mo7ithly, who informed
me it was found by Mr. Hatch of Mississippi,
or some of his friends, on the battle ground of
Fort Donnelson. It is a very rich crimson red,
and will be doubtless quite popular, especially
with people, who besides pretty leaves and pret-
ty flowers, like something good to eat after-
wards. Mr. M. was under the impression that
the fruit, though not equal to some of our best
varieties, was yet something people would not
"care to be without'' in the language of some
advertisers.

Perhaps one of the grandest things in the way
of Blood-leaved trees is the

Blood-leaved English Oak. '
This appears to be a variety of German origin.
It has been in this countr}' I believe nearly
twenty years ; but though in all the leading nur-

1871.

TEE GARDEJfEWS MOMTHLY.

207

series, is still scarce through diflficulty of propa-
gation. There are a few in the Central Park,
and in the Prospect Park at Brooklyn ; but it
seems to be getting into general culture very
slowly. I Ijelieve it inarches very readily on the
common English or other oaks. I saw a tolera-
bly strong one this year on some private ground
near Philadelphia, in May, and nothing could
possibly be more brilliant.

The Blood-leaved Maple.

This has been before the public also for near
twenty years ; but seems to defy propagation, as
I see it nowhere except as "imported" plants.
The tint of crimson red is different from any
that we have here described, having a sort of
winey lustre. It is quoted in European catalogues
as Acer j<(j)onicum atropurpureiim, but I believe
botanists call it a variety of Acer pahnatum.
The leaves are somewhat like our silver or white
maple in outline, but of the winey red tint before
described.

These are all the truly Blood-leaved hardy
trees or shrubs that I know, — a list far too limi-
ted when we consider the splendid material they
afford the landscape gardener to work out his
peculiar beauty spots in his noble art.

There is one matter in regard to the blood-
leaved trees, which, with my limited knowledge
of science, seems worthy of some thought by those
who are studying Darwinism. As I understand
this theory, plants select those changes in form
and structure which are the most likely to per-

petuate the species. "When we see a change
from the normal form, it is therefore to be con-
sidered a disease, in which the plant will not
grow as well as before ; or else it is something
which is to help the plant to maintain its exis-
tence. Usually, variegation is clearly a disease,
because the plants do not grow as well as when
in the green leaved condition ; but in this blood-
leaved state the plant grows better. I think
most persons acquainted with the growth of the
Blood-leaved Beech will agree with me, that it
is much more luxuriant than the common green
leaved form fi-om which it sprung. The question
suggests itself, why, if this tint is better for the
plant, not so much why the Beech has in an iso-
lated case adopted the color, but lohy it has not
universally done so long ago ? We have always
supposed that the green color of vegetation was
the color best adapted to the perfect growth of
vegetation ; but this purple growth seems to
''perfect perfection," which stated in these terms
becomes an absurdity. I should much like to
have some of your readers skilled in Darwinic
lore answer this question, — why, if plants have
a power of "natural selection," do they not gen-
erally "select" a brown instead of a green tint,
if this brown tint is more favorable to the healthy
and vigorous growth than the green one ? Per-
haps Mr. Riley, whom I note you quote as an ar-
dent Darwinist, can explain this. [Mr. R. is
about so sail for Europe. — Ed ]

EDTTOH lAL.

COLORED LIGHTS OX PLANTS.

Some years ago it was noticed in our maga-
zine, that one of our most successful graperies
near Philadelphia, General Pleasanton's, had
colored glass in some parts of it,— and much of
the success of this house was attributable to this
glass.

Recently the matter has come prominently be-
fore the public, in consequence of an address de-
livered before the Philadelphia Society for Pro-
moting Ag) iculture ; in wiiicii the speaker detailed
at much length his experiments with variously
colored glass. The result was, that he considers
blue glass as being much more conducive to

health than any other. A calf, so weak that its
life was despaired of, was made healthy and
sound by being kept under glass of this color ;
and he is sure the great success of his grapery is
due to the same thing. One accustomed to rea-
soning cannot but be struck with the fact that
wonderful recoveries from sickness often follow
no treatment at all, — and as for fine grapes,
General Pleasanton's neighbors, Messrs. Yar-
nell and David 8. Brown, have long been fa-
mous for the superiority of their grapes without
, claiming anything more than has been known to
I gardeners for generations. This we say, not to
! suggest that General Pleasantou has had no

208

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJfTHLY.

Julj/,

success with blue glass, but only that there have
not been comparative trials enough to trace the
good results entirely to them.

We are acquainted with experiments of a simi-
lar character made some twenty years ago. In
this case rapid growing seeds were sown in pots,
and colored glass put over each. The blue
seemed to make a more vigorous growth than
any of the others ; but after awhile the plants
sickened, and were the first to die away. Gen-
eral Pleasanton's blue glass, however, was not
wholly employed over the plants, and this is a
great difference.

We write to suggest that further experiments on
a more «omparative scale be instituted. Though
these experiments are not, as we have said, en-
tirely satisfactory, there is enough in them to
make it pi'obable some good to practical horti-
culture nia}' come sometime out of them.

In another column a correspondent notices
that the purple Beech usually grows better than
the common form from which it sprung. We
are inclined to think he is right ; and this also fa-
vors General Pleasanton's idea that these purple,
violet or blue tints may be more favorable to
growth than any other ones. As to our corres-
pondent's enquir}', why, if this is the best con-
dition of plant jixowth, all plants are not made
with purple or blue leaves, instead of green ?
We shall leave that to be answered by those to
whom the question is addressed. If General
Pleasanton or others can prove that it is a fact,
the why or the wherefore is another matter.

PESTRUCTION OF THE COLORADO PO-
TATO BEETLE.

Some years ago, one of our correspondents re-
commended destroying this terrible enemy of the
AVestern potato growers, by using Paris Green.
Now it has become the only remed}'. It is,
however, expensive, besides being a dangerous
and annoying article to use.

AVe have had no personal experience, for the
enemy is not here ; but it has often seemed to us
that it wc were to be plagued by the bugs and
grasshoppers on our field crops as our Western
friends are, we should try rolling them down.
AVe have tried this thing on a small scale, and
with such success that we doubt not good results
■would fellow a wider api)lication. For instance
in raising Clnnatinea by layering, we are very
much troubled by Cantharides, which m one
night will often make as much havoc aa we sup-

pose the Potato Beetle would do. AYe crush
them with any fiat instrument, beating them
down on the plants, which are very little in-
jured, while the beetles most decidedly are. AVe
suppose the Doryphora is no more able to stand
these crushing sensations without winking than
a Cantharides is, and we wonder why somebody
don't do it.

To l)e sure the potato is of softer tissue tlian
tlie Clematis is, and no doubt much injury would
result from a heavy rolling of their stems ; but
we suppose no more injury would follow than
the bug would do ; and if it paid the Russians to
burn Moscow toget rid of the French ; or it was
worth Samson's while to pull down the pillars of
the temple and send his enemies as well as him-
self into one common ruin ; it w'ould surely be
some satisfaction to see the potato Beetle and
the potato crop go under together, rather than
to see the detestable thing walk in triumph
away. So with the grassliopper, why not roll
him down, so that the green blades may fatten
on liis decaying carcass ? He would of course
try to jump away before your liorses ; but we
guess a few dozen jumps would tire hi:n out. It
is a queer thing if a horse cannot beat out a
grasshopper. AVe read tliat tlie iron horse
crushes so many along the rails that he can
sometimes hardly draw his cars along. No
doubt the living horse in flesh and blood could
do the same thing ; and if the roller met the fate
of the locomotive, and had to rest awhile through
clamming up v/ith the enemy's bodies, the far-
mer could aflbrd to take a rest for the purpose of
cleaning them awaj'.

AVe do not, however, think rolling would en-
tirely destroy a potato crop, though it would do
so for the bug. Many of the stems, though split,
would soon grow ; while from the base new
leaves would soon push to make up for the in-
jured ones.

SHELTER FOR RARE TREES.
AVe trust that as the winter season approaches,
our readers will remember what we have several
times told them, that hardiness is not so much
a question of of temperature as of evaporation.
Two plants of the same kind ma}- be of the same
con.stilutii)nal hardiness,— yet if one be exposed
to wind, and the other sheltered by some screen,
thougli the thermometer shall mark the same
degree in both instances, one will die and the
other live. The wind drains the plant of its
moisture, and it dies by drying up.

187L

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJ^THLY.

209

Many of our indigenous trees which naturally
uni cregarious and thus help to shelter one
another, become tender when urged to soli-
tary habits. Even the Hemlock and Balm of
Gilead are often badly hurt as solitary trees, '
though native to the locality in groves and
woods.

We see continually cases where rare half-har-
^y trees do well when sheltered, though thegeneral
report has had them unfit for general culture.
On the property of Mrs. Carpenter, opposite the
residence of the writer of this, is a very hand-
some Deodar cedar well sheltered, while most
others exposed have died away. In our own
case, our Deodars exposed died many years ago,
while one in a low place lived for many years.
At that time we supposed it was because it was
in the low place that it did so well, and this rea-
son is given in Mr. Sargent's edition of Dowu-
ing's Landscape Gardening ; but we now see
that it was owing rather to the slight shelter
from wind which the undulation aflbrded it. As
eoon as it grew high enough to become exposed
to the wind, it died like the rest of its fellows.

We are again with this matter fully before us
in consequence of a visit to the superb collection
of rare trees on the grounds of Minchell and Ja-
cob Painter, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania.
Here is a specimen of Buddleya LindUyana.
which has made a dense bush four or five feet
high, blooming profusely every year,— while in
•every other place in Pennsylvania that we know,
it gets killed to the ground every winter. The
same is the case with the Cullicarpa imrinirea,
so interesting by its violet purple berries in fall ;
here they are in profusion, because the bush
never dies back. Among the evergreens was a
noble specimen of Abies Douylassi, which was

perfect in shape and form, and here, as we say,
"as hardy as an oak." As for Cryptomeria ja-
ponica, which so many find hard to grow, we
doubt whether its native country, China itself,
could furnish a better specimen than the one
here. But the grounds are well sheltered, both
by the trees themselves, which are thickly planted
together, and by dense woods everywhere about
them.

When we think how much enjoyment in the
culture of rare trees, fruits and flowers most of
us are deprived of who have exposed places,
which we might have by planting belts of wind
breaking hardy trees, we think we are doing a
public service by keeping this subject before "the
people.

We add a list of those half hardy evergreens,
which, we think, if well sheltered from "winds',
would do well in any part of the country ; but
which we now rarely see anywhere. Abies or
Spruces: Alcocquiana, Appolonis, Cephalonica,
Cilicica, Douglnssi, Eugelmannii, grandis, Je-
zoensis, Menzicsii, Mertensiana, nobilis, Pin-
drow, pinsapo, Webbiana. Araucaria excelsa,
and A. Cunninghamii. Cedars of Lebanon.
Cephalotaxus drupacea, and C. Fortunii. Oryp-
tomeria japonica ; Libocedrus decurrens ; Thuja
gigantea ; Tkujopsis borealis ; Cupressus Lawso-
niana ; Pinus insignis ; P. ILalapensis ; P. pin-
aster ; P. monticola ; P. palustris ; P. tceda ; P.
patula; P. radiata; Podocarpus, all the Japanese
species, and the Yews, both American and En-
glish ; Torreya taxifolia, and T. nucifera, and the
Sequoia gigantea.

Some of these have perhaps been found to do
well even in exposed places ; but all will be bet-
ter if set out in well siieltered ones.

SCHAPS AND QUERIES.

Utilizixo Sinkholes.— We give the follow-
ing from a Tennessee correspondent, because
many others may be similarly situated, and we
should ourselves be glad of the experience of any
one in similar circumstances.

'•I want some information upon a subject
about which 1 know you arc well informed. 1
have, however, some hesitation to ask it of you,

because I know from your position, that you are
often troubled by similar queries. If I am ask-
ing too much, you will cast this sheet aside un-
answered. If, however, you will give the infor-
mation sought, I shall be greatly obliged to you.
I have upon my premises, upon a plain, slight-
ly declining to the north, a sinkhole or depres-
sion, about fifty feet in diameter, nearly round,

210

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLy.

July

and about twelve feet deep in the centre, with a
growth and uniform declination from the rim.
I have conceived the idea of converting this
sinkhole into a pit, for raising early vegetables
for market. The information I want, is how to
do this hr.si and cheapest.

The plan I have thought of, is about as fol-
lows : Set cedar pickets about four feet high
upon the rim, bank the dirt from the outside to
pickets : set posts in a row, east and west, about
two-thirds the distance from the south to the
north, then stretch canvass, painted or saturated
with oil, from south to north across a pole at-
tached to the tops of the posts, thus enclosing
and covering the sinkhole.

Is my plan practicable? Will it pay? Can
you suggest a cheaper and better plan to accom-
plish my design V Will the canvass give light
enough ? "What kind of canvass shall I use, and
how and with what material shall I prepare it,
or how can I make a better covering ?

If my project is feasible, it strikes me I can
grow the hardier vegetables by using a stove in
the coldest weather, nearly all winter. I am
unwilling to incur the trouble and expense inci-
dent to my project, with my own judgment, and
therefore ask the decision of one in whose judg-
ment I have more confidence.''

[Of course the profit of an undertaking of this
kind would depend on the price one could get
for the product in the nearest market, the cost
of production and getting to market, and the
quantity of the article which could be raised on
the given space. We much doubt whether any
one could do much with oiled muslin or anything
ehort of glass, as early vegetables want much
light ; but as we said before, we should be glad
of the actual experience of any who has had
experience.]

Bliss' Strawberry Show. — We regret that
we did not get notice of Mr. Bliss's show, time
enough to call attention ; though the advertise-
ment appeared in our last. These meetings are
alwii}s interesting, and we like to do all we can
to aid them.

resemble "red-hot pokers" or "sky rockets;'*
but, however, that may be, he or she is to be
envied who has the chance to put a stick down
beside one in August or September when the
garden is gay with them.

Tkitoma uvaria.— This magnificent plant
is one of the best adapted to our sunmn^rs that
has been grown for some time. It is a native of
Southern Africa, and though hardy, is best
taken up and protected with a little earth in a
cellar. The tlowers are said by some people to

Sowing Norway Spruce Seed. — An Omaha
correspondent asks us to give, in the Monthly^
instructions for raising Norway Spruce seed. It
is so easy to raise these, and all other ever-
greens,no elaborate instructions are needed. They
simpl}-^ need shade. Corn stalks or brushwood
laid on tolerably thick, as soon as the seeds are
sown, and kept on during the first summer and
winter, is really all the secret there is about the
matter.

Bignonia grandtflora.— J»f. P., St. Louis,
Mo., says : "I bought, of an agent, a plant of
this at a big figure, last fall. I am now told it
grows wild about us here in the woods. The
leaf does look the same. How is this ?''

[The B. grandiflcra is the Chinese trumpet
vine, larger flowered than your wild one, which
is B. radicans.]

Apple Trees on Ridges.— Jf. i>., Fort How-
ard, Wis., writes : "Last spring I purchased a
property here, and wish this fall to set out an
apple orchard, which I believe will do well in
this part of the country, Avhich is the southern
point of Green Bay. One of the older settlers
here has a very promising orchard, which is set
on a plan I have never seen before. The land
is thrown up into ridges, and the trees set on
them. At present the trees look very well, and
if this were the end of them, I should not hesi-
tate to do likewise ; but when they come to bear
fruit, and of course will have to draw on the
earth for the wherewith to make so much cider,
I should think these banks would prove to be
too dry, and thus much of the fruit fall before
maturity. What do you advise ?"

[We should not hesitate to trust the banks.
If there has been the success in growth which
you slate, it will bear out in fruit also. It is a
good thing to have the feeding roots — fibres —
near the surface, — high and dry, — the deep roots
— tap roots will bring up the moisture from be-
low when the bearing time arrives.]

1871.

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

211

Maxuring in the West. — H. B., FortHoiv-
ard, Mich., says : ''I note that you in the East
have an idea that out here we do not value ma-
nure. In a ride last spring between Milton and
Fond du Lac, I noticed manure was quite com-
monly used. How diflerent from Ohio, where j
spent the last summer ! It is there truly wasted. "

yet are distinct enough to obtain strong parti-
zans for each.

Propagating ARisTOLOCinA sipho.— "Cm-
ctTiTiofus.'' "Can you tell me how to raise the
Aristohchia sipho, or common Dutchman's Pipe
Vine ? I have tried cuttings, layers, and all
Borts of ways, but failed in all."

[Let the wood grow all one season. The next
spring, before the buds burst, lay down the
wood, and in the fall following, they will be
rooted. They will not layer from half ripe wood
as somethings will,]

Weeping Willows Hating Water.— -4.
K., informs us that a willow, though it may be
thirty feet high over water, will send its branches
down to within a few feet of the water, but
never into it. The branches always stop short
of the water.

Blackberry KijST.—.^^. H. i?., Springfield,
Ills., says: "The orange colored fungus men-
tioned by W. Parry, in Vol. 12 of the Garden-
er^s Monthly, page 235, and also by Mr. Satter-
thwait, has been on my Lawton blackberries for
2 or 3 years, and has destroyed the most of the
plants. It has also made its appearance on my
raspberries, and unless checked, will probably
destroy the whole patch. I would be much
pleased to find a remedy. If you can suggest
one,or obtain it through the Gardener^s Monthly ,
I will be much obliged.''

[We believe no remedy has been found for
this, further than that of digging up persistent-
ly all that appear in spring ; but we think the
best advice would be at once to prepare a new
bed of plants in a fresh location, and eventually
destroy the old one.

We should be glad to hear from Mr. Parry,
who, we believe, has had much experience in its
destruction.]

Magnolia Thompsoniana. — An Ohio cor-
respondent says : "Among the newer varieties,
I cannot too highl}' recommend the Thompsoni-
ana, it has as yet bloomed only one flower
with me. It was splendid. Opens wider than
most varieties, but not so wide as tripetela ;
most delightfully fragrant. Hoopes, Bro. &
Thomas say of it, resembles the Sweet Bay, but
has larger leaves and bloom, and is equally fra-
grant ; bright yellow. Longifolia has not as yet
bloomed here. Auriculata is a fine variety with
whitish yellow flowers."

[We quite agree as to the merits of M. Thomp-
soniana. Not quite so sweet as M. glauca, the
large flowers and fine foliage make it always a
favorite. It is said to be a hybrid between M.
glauca and M. acuminata, but it may be but a seed-
ling development independent of hybridization.]

BouvARDiA Davisonii. — We are indebted to
Mr. Davidson for specimens of this new white
Bouvardia, which we have before noticed in our
columns, and which is to divide popular appre-
ciation with the B. Vrelandii recently illustrated
in our paper. They both resemble one another
in those points which make them so valuable ;

Native Country of the Verbena.— ^?ic€
M., Lancaster, Pa. — The garden varieties
came from Brazil, where they were first collected
by the botanist Ticeedie. The first introductions
were red, and afterwards a white one came,
known as V. teucroides. Most of our garden va-
rieties are hybrids between these. Mr. Buist of
Philadelphia was the first to have garden varie-
ties. There are verbenas all through the Ameri-
can continent, but none so handsome as these
Brazilian ones ; though some of the Rocky moun-
tain species are not far behind them.

MiKANiA SCANDEN8. — ">4n old Subscriber^
Philada. — "Can I get any information through
your useful magazine of the Mikania scandenn.
It has a tuberous root ; throws up a running
vine in the spring, which bears a composite
flower of a dull lilac color ; no beauty, but a de-
lightful fragrance. It grows wild in Massachu-
setts. I should like to buy some of the roots,
but do not know where to procure them ; per-
haps some collector of native plants could direct
me."

[It is singular that this beautiful native
climber has not found itself in our nursery col-
lections. Quantities of it grow in Delaware, and

n^

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY.

July,

inoBt likely Mr. Ed. Tatnell of Wawaset nurse-
ries, at AVilraington, can procure plants at a rca-
Bouable price. If any nurseryman has it, we
will willingly announce it in this column.

New Firms. — Our young men are infusing
new life into some of our old firms. Mr. Wm.
Barry, son of our well known P. Barry, has,
diM-Mig the past year, taken an interest in the
old folk's business,and we hear is pushing things,
especially in the way of house plants. Mr.
Buist is also fortunate in an accomplished daugh-
ter, who takes a lively interest in everything
about the establishment. Mr. Peter Hender-
son's eldest son, Alfred, has also exhibited a
good turn for business, through which Mr. Pe-
ter Henderson has been induced to form a new
firm. Peter Henderson & Co., consisting of him-
self, Son, and Mr. AV. H. Carson, at 35 Court-
land Street. Henderson & Fleming having thus
dissolved, Mr. Fleming continues the old busi-
ness at 67 Nassau Street.

PuoFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE,— Our rea-
ders have mostly seen by the daily and weekly
papers, that Mr Francis Parkraan, one of the
most intelligent horticulturists in the country,
has been elected Professor of Horticulture in the
Bussey Agricultural College of Harvard Uni-
versity.

Hanson Lettuce.— On cur table are three
beads from Mr. Dreer of this variety, which
some visitors take to be cabbage. It has much
the character of the old curled Indian, but is
earlier, and with larger heads. We can confi-
dently recommend it.

National Arboretum. — A correspondent
briefly tells us that in a recent visit to ihis col-
lection of trees at Washington, he was delighted
with the extent and variety it contained.

Plant for Name —J. D. C, Evansoille,
Ind. : "I have a plant that I got from
New York, under the name of Vere creata,
or treeof life. It is of succulent nature ; leaves
grown out of a round erect stem in couples op-
posite, and traversely. I do not know the bo-
tanical nay of describing plants. The leaf has
the singular property of throwing out small
plants from the edge. When broken oflF and
suspended in the air, the leaves full grown are
about 4 in. by 2 in. ; and the flower is said to be
crimson. Can you tell me what it is and the
proper name ?"

[Bryophyllum calycinum.]

Atlanta Agricultural Association.—
Mr. Echols tells us this is to open at Atlanta,
Ga , on the IGth of October, for five days, — and
every effort will be made to make it worthy of
the attendance of horticulturists fromany part of
the Union.

New North American Plants.— People
who are impatient because our lending botanists
do not get out a "complete Flora (f North
Americo,^^ have no idea how many new plants
yet remain to be discovered, described and
named. Among the results of the somewhat
recent explorations of the 40th parallel by King,
are over ove Inindicd ami fjLy new species, col-
lected by the botanist Watson, who proves to bo
one of the most successful botanical collectors
of recent times.

Grape-vine Fungus.— We shall be very
much obliged if any of our readers who may
note any curious mildew or moulds on grape
vmes, either in doors or out, will send specimens
to Prof. Johu L. llussell, Salem, Mass.

Communications and Brief Notes. — Wo
are much indebted to our horticultural friends
who favor us with their thoughts, opinions or
suggestions, from which we can make brief para-
graphs, as well as to those who send us from
time to time excellent articles for our 'commu-
nication" page. Every gardener or lover of
plants and fruits, can, if they only think so,
send us notes of much value. The chapter this
month on purple trees, show what can be done
when once a man gets over his youthful modesty.

American Pomological Society, Meet-
ing AT KicilMOND.— In another column we
have given the circular of President Wilder in
reference to the meeting, to which no doubt our
fruit growers and h:)rliculturists will respond
with their usual enthusiasm.

We hear from private sources that the citi-
zens of Uichmond are doing every tiling in their
power to make it worth the ailenilance We
feel assured that those who ma}' be unable to
attend this sessii'ii, will bo deprived of one of
the most enjoyable horticultural pleasures of the
season.

1871^

THE GARBEJVEWS MOJ^TELJ.

213

BOOKS, CATALOGUES, &C.

low* State Horticlltorai Report.

By the kindness of Prof. Matthews, we have
the report of the State Horticultural Society for
1869, now for some mouths on our table We
find in looking through its pages, that the pear
and the apple are the most reliable fruits for Iowa
They usually bear regularly. The clierry often
does well, but the curculio has the plums here
as well as elsewhere. The peach cannot be re
garded as a general crop, and grapes are some
what uncertain, small fruits thrive well. Plant
ing of fruits and ornamentals goes on extensively.
Amongst the newer apples, Grimes' Golden, Te-
toffski, and the Stark are particularly recom-
mended.

Among the essays contributed, is one by Mr.
6. B. Brackett, on "Pears in Southern Iowa," -
one by D. W. Adams, on '-Fruits of Northern
Iowa,'' one of the very best papers on the sub-
ject we have read ; a brief one by Hon. C. H.
Whiting, on orcharding in Northwestern Iowa ;
"what apples not to plant," by Z. Hollings-
worth, which will, we think, meet with an af-
firmative respose in most regards, — but we sup-
posed Fameu^e was too good au apple in this re-
gion for such a list as this. Mr Suel Foster has
a brief but remarkable paper on "roots of trees.''
He commenced by remarking "in science it is
said that the spo?>(7io?e.s, that is small, young, ten-
der roots, are the feeders to supply plant food
for the tree, and that these fibres are annual,
and die off in the winter.'' Let us consider this,
Ac. We did not suppose there was any man
"in science" or out of it so excessively stupid as
to confound a spongiole with a fibre, and think
Mr. Foster might have spared himself the trou-
ble of disputing with such a person, even though
he did exist But Mr F. docs not stop here
He asserts that the fibres or spongiolcs, — for it is
not clear but the confusion in these ideas, is his
own rather than "in science," -exhaust the tree
rather than help it ; and that the tree receives
its food through the "spongy bark" on the root,s.
How the little seedling lives until it gets the
"spongy bark," or how hyacinths, tulips, or the
thousands of things which never have "spongy
bark" get along, Mr. F. docs not tell us. Satis-
fied, however, that he has made some wonderful
discoveries, he boldly braves "old and estab-
lished land marks in science," and, turning in

utter contempt from the creature, plants both
i hind feet fair in its brenst, exclaiming, as the
State report interprets his language, while he does
so,"I take theresp tnsibility of ratllfer dlterinrf the
books than the laws of nature.'''' We should think
after this the books will not "fear to tread'' in
the path of Mr Foster.

Mr. E. IT. Calkins has a paper on "making and
preparing cider." J. W. Pearman on "propaga-
tion or propagating and growing small fruits ;''
and D. W. Kauffman has au excellent article on
"how to plant evergreens, and why they die,"
which, with his regard for the fibres, must be a
terrible shock to 'laws of nature.'' There is
one sentence in this essay which should be given
to every garden laborer to get by heart. It is
'■'■never for a moment, if possible, alloio the roots to
be exposed to the influence (f the sun or atrnos-
phere.'" Drying is bad enough on deciduous
trees, but terrible on the evergreen.

Mr. R. S. Willitt has a paper on hedge cul-
ture, which if it gives the most approved plan of
planting in the West, is more expensive than the
eastern one, which we should hardly expect in
such a western subject as h„'dge planting.

Th». RuBALisT. Published ai Ciniinnf.f, and edited by Loi-.l3
R tz.

I.ssucs a German as well as an English edition.

Lost E.xcRA\Gr».

A notice in our Inst, that we supposed the
Canada Farmer was extinct, brings it up again,
after a two years disappearance. A whole
year's volume, bound, has been placed on our
table. We surely need no further evidence that
this highly esteemed contemporary bus not
ceased to exist. We are sorry we had it dead
before its time, but it was no fault of ours.
Another mystery in the exchange way, is the
appearance for the first time on our table of the
Massachusetts Ploughman. It is Vol. 30, No.
31, and is published at Boston. It might n itu-
rally be expected that the last stronghold to
stand out against the recognition of a new p>\v-
er, should be located at the "Hub of the Uni-
verse." Now that this has surrendered, we feel
able to sleep in peace.

2U

THE GARDE JEER'S M0JVTHL7.

July,

NEW ANT) RAEE FTIUITS.

The following list of new Pears we extract
from the Rural New Yorker:

Pear Pardee's Seedling — This is an ex-
tremely pretty pear, of medium size, with a
blush vermilion cheek, and a flesh that, in the
specimens before me, rank as "very good.'' It
is an exceedingly juicy pear, and would please
most people for eating, while it is not large
enough to meet public demand as one of profit
in its season.

Beurre Woronzou. — This, to me, is entirely
new, and I have no description of it anywhere.
Leroy has it not. It may be in Mas— whose
full numbers I have not. It is a fruit of medium
size, obovate pyriform in sliape, light,* pale yel-
low, with a multitude of minute gray dots ; stem
one and a quarter inches wide, rather slender,
set in a revolute cavity, with a nob ; calyx open,
connected, with half reflexed segments ; basin
shallow and broad ; flesh melting, juicy, but as-
tringent, only it is quite — "good."

Sheppard. — The American variety has been
figured in the Rural Neio Yorker, is pretty well
known, and needs no remark, except for me to
say the specimens received were beautiful, and
were in form oblong obovate pyriform, with
stalk an inch long, set in a deep acute cavity.

St. Francis Seigner.— This is entirely new
to me, nor can I find it in Leroy or Downing.
It is medium size, roundish oblate, conical, dull
yellow, with stripes of red in the sun, from the
stem toward the calyx, and thickly dotted with
rough dots of medium size. The stem is, say
one inch long, set in a narrow, acute cavity.
The calyx is small, but open in a very deep,
"ough russetted basin. The flesh is coarse and
merely good.

Cogswell Pearmain Apple —A corres-
pondent of the Wesiern Farmer says : '-The
public would like to know, I presume, that the
tree is remarkable for longevity. The old seed-
ling sprang into life about 1750. I ate fruit un-
der its branches from 1801 to 1830 ; and I saw it
in 1855. The old head was entirely gone, and
it was rejuvenated by lateral branches having
struck out vigorously, making a fair head ; and
was then in good bearing condition, and from

the appearance at that time, I have no doubt it is
now at least 120 years old. (Dr. Joseph Fuller,
an eminent physician, said when a person could
eat a rare-ripe peach, they might eat a Cogswell
Pearmain.)

Wm. Cogswell, Norwich, Conn., who owned
the land on which the seedling stands, was my
father. He caused the apple to be introduced
to the woi'ld, and for him the apple was named,
and for his sake, I have a desire that the true
and original name should be retained."

Etowah Seedling Apples. — We have again
been favored with specimens of the Etowah
Seedling Apples, grown by Major Mark A. Coo-
per, of Cartersville, Ga. The specimens on hand
are perfectly sound, and bid fair to keep six weeks
yet. We think this is decidedly the best flavored
late keeping apple we have. It should be exten-
sively planted. We are assured by Mr. Cooper
that this variety has not failed to bear a good
crop of fruit in the past ten years. — Bural South-
erner.

Grape Laura Beverly. - The Ontario Far-
mer says : Laura Beverly, a grape produced by
one of the Niagara District vineyardists, is verv
highly spoken of by Mr. Beadle, horticultural
editor of the Globe. We have not yet fruited it,
but on the recommendation just referred to, it
has found a place in our garden

The Haas Apple.— We have quite a number
of times seen and eaten this fruit, and have the
young trees of this variety. It is really a good
fruit. The following from the report of the Min-
nesota State Horticultural Society, 1871, will be
read with interest.

The Haas was first taken up.

Col. Stevens said it is becoming much culti-
vated. It is very hardy, as much so as the Du-
chess of Oldenburg. Does well as far north as
Anoka; all through the Big Woods, and in fact
in most parts of the State, and upon all kinds of
soil.

Mr. Waters, of Wisconsin, stated that the
fruit was originated, or atleast was first brought

1871.

TkE GARDE JfER'S MOJ^THLY.

215

to notice in 1804 on the present site of St. Louis.
Porty years aQerwards the tree was living, and
"bore thirty barrels of fruit in one season, which
would prove its longevity and productiveness.
Trees are very thrifty ; have always proved hardy
in Wisconsin.

Mr. Jordan thought it was not so hardy as
the Duchess of Oldenberg ; tips sometimes freeze,
but never injure the tree. He mentioned in-
stances of orchards dying out — the Haas alone
remaining sound and healthy. No tree in Min-
nesota has given better satisfaction. It should
head the list; is of red color, good size, and No.
1 flavor.

Mr. Hoffman said it is a very rapid grower
and very thrifty, more so than the Duchess of
■Oldenburg ; had seen many fine specimens in
different parts of the State. — Iowa Homestead.

Apple, Statman's Summer. -Fruit medium ;
weight five to seven ounces ; form round, regular,
approaching conic ; skin smooth, greenish yellow,
splashed and striped with red and purple, cov-
ered with a white bloom, dots small, grey, scat-
tered ; stem medium, rather slender \ cavity nar-
row, deep, irregular, russeted ; eye very small,
<;lo8ed ; basin narrow, shallow, furrowed ; core

small, slightly open ; carpels small ; seeds small,
short, plump, dark brown ; flesh greenish white,
very juicy, brittle, sprightly, high flavored, mild
acid ; quality very good ; use kitchen table, and
market ; season August and September. Tree ^
hardy, vigorous, spreading, irregular, tough, *;'
wiry ; very early hearer and extraordinarily pro-
ductive^ droops like a weeping willow, with ropes
of fruity never breaking a limb. This tree stands
by the side of six hundred varieties, and has
come into full bearing at least two years sooner,
and has produced more than double the quantity
of any other variety at the same age. Flowers
very large in clusters standing wide apart,
striped red, blossom early, perfect, every blos-
som setting fruit, but soon after all drop that
cannot be matured, those remaining never drop
by the hardest wind until ripe

Leaves, large, heavy, dark green ; bark dark,
glossy, some speckled. This tree has some ex-
traordinary peculiarities that we never saw in
any other tree, and the fruit is very nearly equal
to Benoni, and Summer Pearmain, but more
handsome, and productive, and a much earlier
bearer.

Original tree standing on my ground here,
nine years old. — J. S., Ass'T Ed., in Pomologist.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

Surface Manuring. — Having tried nearly
all of the various modes of using manure, and
finally concluded that surface manuring is the
best, I propose to give some of the reasons for
coming to this conclusion. In doing this I shall
only refer to such manure as is made in the sta-
bles and barnyards in Western New York,
where a large amount of straw and other litter
is mixed with the manure.

The first one to discover fully the advantages
of surface manuring, was John Johnston,
near Geneva, N. Y. This was done accidental-
ly, in this way. Having land badly infested
with red root, he manured it early in the fall to
induce the red root seed to grow, so as to plow
it under in the spring, and thus clear his land of

this pest. But he found a greater advantage in
the fact that the succeeding crop was much the
best where the manure was thus applied. This
led to repeating the experiment several years,
and until fully convinced that one load applied
to grass or clover in the fall did more good than
two used in any other way. Then he wrote ac-
counts of his experience in surface manuring to
the agricultural papers. These were at first
doubted and disputed ; but Mr. Johnston per-
severed, his heavy crops of wheat, corn and
grass being the best evidence he desired. When
men doubted the benefits described, he invited
Lhem to come and see for themselves. Many
went, saw and were convinced ; the very heavy
crops, for which Mr. Johnston is so widely and

216

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJfTHLY.

Jul] If

justly celebrated, were evidence that could not
be doubted. Many tried surf\ice manuring, and
also found it the best course they had ever pur-
sued, and not a few have also strongly recom-
mended this system in the papers

Some of the reasons in favor of surface manur-
ing are, that nearly all the valuable portions of
manure being soluble, are washed out and taken
into and completely diffused through the surface
soil by the fall rains, so as to he in the best possi-
ble situation and condition to be used by the grow-
ing plant. And then there is little chance for
loss, as when manure is spread, all fermentation
stops, and no more ammonia is formed or set
free, but the strength of the manure is washed
into and retained by the surface soil. The lead-
ing agricultural chemist shows that, as Dr.
Cameron says, "by a beautiful provision of na-
ture—the absorbtive powers of soils- they will
be retained untilrequired to nourish the plants "
Liebig also states that if "water, holding in so-
lution ammonia, potash, phosphoric or silicic
acids, be brought in contact with the soil, these
substances disappear almost immediately from
the solution, the soil withdrawing themfrom the
water." But perhaps to the practical farmer,
the best proof of all is that his crops find the
strength of the manure just where and when they
want it ; that corn, thusmanuredthe previous fall,
comes up rank and vigorous, grows better and
yields better, than when manured with the same
amount of manure in any other way. This I
have found to be the case on a heavy sod ; but
when manure is plowed under it does not do so
well. When the corn is small and help is most
needed to give the crop a start, the manure is
mainly out of reach, and the corn, if on sod,
looks rather j-ellow and poor ; and it is said that
it must have time for the sod to rot, and for the
roots to get through to the manure, before the
crop can do well. Besides, when covered up by
the furrow, the rains do not as readily reach
and dissolve the manure, and spread it all
through the surface soil, where it will be found
and taken up by the roots of plants. Hence
there is no way in which manure can be as thor-
oughly diffused through the soil, just where it is
needed and easiist and best found by the rodts
of plants, as by surface manuring — unless it be
by liquid manuring, and that is but another
way of surface manuring. — Country Gentleman.

PuiCKLE^ PioAii — "P."8ny8 : "In your in-
teresting account of the Cactus family in the

January number, you failed to notice one very
valuable property of the plant, viz. : if theleavea
are bruised and placed in keetles used in ren-
dering tallow or lard, it will cause the candles
made out of the same to be hard and firm even
in summer time. "—Cor. o( Agriculturist.

A GrANT Grape Vine.— We have received
from John S. Coulson, Natchez, Miss , a section
of a monstrous grape vine, measuring eight and
a half inches in diameter. This almost equals
the great vine so often referred to in history,
from which the doors of the Cathedral at Ra-
venna, Italy, were made. If anybody can show
a larger grape vine stem than this one from
Mississippi, we shall be pleased to hear from
them. — Rural New Yorker.

Grapes in Oregon.— For years we had no
grapes in Oregon except the Los Angelos, Isa-
bella, and Catawba, and even the cultivation of
these was not very well understood They failed
to ripen except in favorable seasons and loca-
tions, and when they did ripen, they were sour
compared with the sweet grapes from Califor-
nia. So the people generally came to the con-
clusion that Oregon was not a good country for
grapes, and but few were planted. But in the
course of time varieties of the earlier foreign
grapes were brought to this country, and were
found to do well. The Delaware, Concord,
Han ford Prolific, Allen's Hybrid and others of
the natives were tried and were found to suc-
ceed, ripening their fruit early, and all without
the slightest symptom of disease. Since then
the planting of vines has increased from year to
year, till now almost everybody wants to plant
a few vines. At our last State Fair some 50 va-
rieties were exhibited, all well ripened, and of
unsurpassed flavor and size. Owing to our cooler
climate, our grapes are not as sweet as the same
varieties raised in California, but they are high-
er flavored, and have a great deal more charac-
ter.—A. R. Shipley, Oswego, Oregon, in West-
ern Piimolcyikt.

The Catalpa. — "Old Settler" is sound in
commending the Catalpa for Southern Iowa,
both as an ornamental and timber tree. It is a
rapid grower, and its timber is fully as durable
for posts as our prairie burr oak. In the cen-
tral and norllurn part of Iowa, upon the open

I

1870.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^TELY.

217

prairies, the Catalpa becomes somewhat dwarfed
in habit ; and while I could not commend it as
a timber tree, I would urge its claims very
strongly as one of our best ornamental trees for
judicious planting upon lawns. Although a 1
native of the States south and west of Virginia,
the Catalpa shows a strange capacity for adapt-
ing itself to, and becoming wholly acclimated
upon our most open and exposed prairies in
Benton and adjoining counties ; and perhaps it
may do well even up to the Minnesota line
With us, if the seed is brought direct from
the South, the seedlings are sure to winter kill
more or less. But the plants grown from seed
matured here at the North, are as hardy, so far
as I can see, as the Scarlet Maple, and even
more hardy than the White Maple. In the fall
of 1869, the unprecedented October freeze injured
scarcely a terminal bud upon our seedling Ca-
talpas, though killingoutright many of our trees
of White Maple. The very fact that it does not
grow as large in size of tree as at the South, is
a strong argument in favor of the Catalpa as a
Northern kiwn tree.

For the benefit of those not acquainted with
this beautiful tree, I will state that its leaves
are very large, often seven inches broad. The
blossoms, like those of the Horse Chestnut, hang
in massy clusters beyond the outer surface of
these huge leaves, and their delicate white color
pprinkled with violet in contrast with the dense !
pale green foliage, forms a feature of which any I
homestead may well be proud.

The flowers are succeeded by numerous long, |
slender, nearly cylindrical pods, often fully one I
foot in length, hence the name "cigar tree," |
which is in some localities tiie common name. — j
Joseph L. Budd, in Iowa Ilomestead. i

"The Apios tuberofia is indigenous to the Mid-
dle States, but not found, as I am aware, north
of the Old Colony, whence some years ago I ob-
tained the seed for cultivation in my garden.
At first sight, you will pronounce the tubera
good sized potatoes or artichokes, which they do,
indeed, very much resemble ; but really they
belong to the ground nuts (Pulse family.) They
are, however, of a different species from the lit-
tle tubers of that name which are found growing
wild in our Maine forests. These, ordinarily are
not larger than a ladies' thimble, and are of in-
significant value ; but the Apios iuherosa grow
to the size of potatoes, and baked, are as farina-
ceous and palatable as that important edible.
Doubtless they answered a tolerable substitute
for bread, before our forefathers could raise their
first crop of corn or grain Out of some curiosi-
ty, some years ago, I planted a few of them in
my garden. It is an annual plant, but the tu-
bers live all winter in the soil, and multiply the
next season. The nuts are traced upon string*
under ground, several feet in length, and the tu-
bers, like egg-shaped beads, are hung along the
line. The top is a vine or climber, like a hop,
and will cover quite an arbor or trellis with their
verdure and bloom. The flowers are ornamen-
tal, of a purple and green color in clusters,
somewhat resembling the lilac, and are pleas-
antly fragrant. They are very pretty growing
around a window, or climbing, like 'morning
glories,' at the sides of front doors. —.American
Farmer.

APIO.S TUBEROSA.— We received a few days
since, from Rev. W, A. Drew — who as editor of
the Rural Intelligencer, wielded a vigorous pen
for the cause of improved agriculture and rural j
economy in our State— a few tubers of the Apios i
tuherosa, "the native 'broad fruit,' which with
•faith and clams' crowned the starvation board.s ;
of our Pilgrim Fathers during their first sum- ^
mer'8 residence in Plymouth.'' While it is '
quite pretty as a climber, and makes a good
screen to keep out of view unsightly objects, it
may be found somewhat troublesome, from its
under ground tubers spreading where it is not
wanted. Concerning this "staff of life'' of the
Pil;;rims, Bro. Drew writes :

Cherries AT Dr. Hull's.— It was our mis-
fortune to be unable to meet several of the hor-
ticultural celebrities of the West at the resi-
dence of Dr. Hull, our horticultural editor, at
Alton, last week. It was in the height of the
sweet cherry season, and we know from the fol-
lowing extract from Colman''s Rural World
that we missed a rare treat. The paper men-
tioned, among other complimentary things,
says :

"Finally we arrive at the cherry orchard. O I
what a glorious sight 1 The light and dark red
fruit peering out from a mass of deep green foli-
age in clusters of from twelve to twenty all
along the stem, or, in common i)arlance, hang-
ing in perfect ropes. All present had the free-
dom of the orchard, and the Doctor would every
now and then call attention to a variety more
desirable or riper than the one Just tasted. Two

ns

THE GARDEJ^EE'i^ MONTHLY.

July,

years ago we thought the fruit delicious, but
of our recent experience we can only say, that
language is lame — what is the use of piling up
adjectives ? No one said touch noU taste not,
handle not-so we did all three. and more than this.
If our readers are not satisfied with the descrip-
tion they can fill out the picture according to
their own liking — we plead want of words.

"The following are the varieties noted, though
we think not all the sorts the Doctor cultivates.
The most highly esteemed is the Gridley, not
ripe at the time of our visit ; next the Transcen-
dent or Elkhorn ; third the Black Bigarreau of
Savoy, a meaty, sweet and most delicious fruit.
Knight's Early Black, contrary to our expecta-
tions, was not ripe, which shows this tree to be
somewhat capi-icious. Black Tartarian is a fine
cherry, but a rather tender tree. We believe
these are all the black sorts. Of the yellow
kinds we place Gov. "Wood at the head for qual-
ity, but it is too tender of skin to carry well to
market — Belle de Choisey open to same fault (if
yet it be one.) Yellow Spanish, Bauman's May,
the earliest of the lot, Elton, Belle Magnifique,
May Duke, Black Eagle, Napoleon Bigarreau,

Arnden's "Whiteheart, Oxheart and Downer'8
Late. We believe this completes the list. How
an}' one can visit this orchard and not deter-
mine to raise sweet cherries, we cannot under-
stand. The want of money and the lateness of
the season is all that hinders us from setting
out in the enterprise immediately."

Notwithstanding our inability to fulfil our
engagement to be present, we accept the Doc-
tor's kind apology in the shape of a box of the
most perfect specimens of Black Bigarreau of
Savoy, Belle de Choisey, and Napoleon Bigar-
reau, we have ever eaten. They were sent
through the agents of the Doctor in this city,
Messrs. Newhall & Stewart, who showed us the
returns of the sales of many bushels of this de-
licious fruit at the rate of S15 to $18 per bushel.
Readers of the Prairie Farmer may be assured
that its horticultural editor is not a man of un-
demonstrated theories, but an actual grower of
some of the finest fruits of various kinds that
come to this or any other market. If any per-
son doubts this assertion let him visit Dr. Hull
and be convinced. — Prairie Farmer.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Naming Fruits. — We have endeavored time
and again to induce our fruit authors to give us
some system of classification by which we can
name fruits with as much certaintj' as a botan-
ist can name his plants. We are glad to see by
the following from the London Journal of Hor-
ticulture, that the subject is attracting attention
also in England. At present, the describing of
new fruits is so much printer's ink wasted:

"Botanists, in ascertaining the name of plants
and flowers, proceed on the principles of a sys-
tematic science. Botany has so arranged and
classified all her subjects in their minutest or-
der, that by careful study and observation we
may trace out for ourselves the correct name of
any which may be brought before us, whether
we may hapjien to have seen the plant previous-
ly or not. There are the normal conditions of
plants and flowers, the genera and species that

botany tells us of, which are typical and do not
vary. These, when once seen and described,
can be at any future time recognized. It re-
quires study — profound stud\', no doubt — but it
may be and is accomplished. With the varie-
ties of species there is far more difficulty, and
there arc few amongst us who will either under-
take to name, or expect any one to know, the
given names of mere varieties of either plants or
flowers The Editors of our horticultural jour-
nals, who seem to know almost everything, do
not attempt much with varieties, excepting in
the case of a few easily defined forms.

Pomologists, in naming fruits, have but little
to guide them. There is no system yet evolved
which has reduced fruits to an order by which
their correct names may be ascertained. Po-
mology is a science, and a most intricate and
difficult science, without doubt. It is a science,

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY.

219

however, without order, or with but little. It
is a science of very close observation and much
varied experience — a science the various bear-
ings of which are much better understood than
easy to explain— a science, indeed, the whole
superstructure of which each one has to erect for
himself b}' close observation, acquaintance, and
hard study. There is no royal road to learning
it ; there is no way of becoming acquainted with
fruits or of knowing them, excepting by seeing
them, tasting them, examining, describing, and
comparing them for oneself It is only by the
most lengthened and varied experience of each
individual subject, close observation, and most
retentive memory that pomologists are enabled
to determine the names of fruits.

Numerous and excellent as are our works on
fruits, there is none by the aid of which without
previous acquaintance that we can ascertain the
name of a single variety. The best work of the
Horticultural Society, was its "Catalogue of
Fruits" out of perfect chaos. Mr. Thompson
did an immense amount of good service by his
classification of fruits, so far as it went, and his
short descriptive notices of them. Dr. Hogg
also, the leading pomologist of the present day,
has done, and is doing, much to extend our
knowledge of and acquaintance with fruits. His
"Fruit Manual" is the very best guide we can
have. We are also favored in various ways by
minutely descriptive notices, outlines of the
fruits, and even colored illustrations, and yet —
look at them as we may, study, compare, com-
mit the whole to memory if we can — without the
previous acquaintance we can by no means de-
termine the name of a single specimen. It is
only by a work of years, by a long and patient
study of fruits in all their varied forms, under
all their various circumstances and conditions,
that one can gain a true knowledge of fruits and
their correct names.

Take any one class of fruit ; they are mere va-
rieties,the one oftheotber,each possessing its own
peculiai and distinctive features and character it
may be, but they are inconstant and subject to
vary very mucli under altered conditions of soil,
situation, &c. There are other varieties posses-
sing nearly the same charcteristics, which also
vary, so that the two seem to intermingle, and it
is almost impossible to distinguish one from the
other-that is, supposing our observation is limited
in extent. The varieties may be perfectly distinct
and easily recognized, if grown under similar
conditions, and when seen in quantity, it is also

a simple matter to distinguish. Take, as an ex-
ample, of Apples, the well known Blenheim
Orange, and another Fearn's Pippin : no two
Apples in what might be termed their normal
condition could be much more distinct, and as
we have them described, they seem to possess no
possible relationship, yet there are grown hun-
dreds of bushels of Blenheim Oranges of the low
flat form which it is most difficult to distinguish
from Fearn's Pippin. The Blenheim orange is
at times small, flat, highly colored, and dry ;
sometimes it is large, upright or conical, pale
and juicy. The two forms may be found in the
same garden, even on the same tree. Sometimes
it is the soil, sometimes the season, a little good
or bad cultivation, the influence of the stock, or
more or less vigor in one branch as compared
with another, that will effect all this difference
which one who observes alone can tell. There
is no book which can afford this information.
Given — a flat form of Blenheim orange, if the
observer has never seen the variety in that par-
ticular form before, there is no means at his
command by which he can ascertain the name.
It has simply to be arrived at by reasoning on
previous observations and acquaintances, or by
a reference to actual specimens. Reference to
specimens assists greatly in determining, or
rather in deciding, the correct names of fruits ;
yet if the variety is entirely new to us, it is ex-
tremely hazardous to identify it by this means
alone.

Fruits, however, have certain normal features
which do not alter, or but little In forming our
acquaintance with fruits, it is needful to mark
these, and so have them well fixed on our minds.

There are other features which, being affected
by cultivation and other circumstances, vary
considerably ; these must be taken into consid-
eration as changeable. If we take Apples and
Pears for example, the parts of the fruit which
are fixed in character, and which may be pretty
well relied on as distinguishing marks, are the
stalks and the eye ; these then should always be
preserved uninjured. The size of the fruit is af-
fected by cultivation ; the flavor and consistency
by the same cause ; the color by exposure ; and
the shape is also at times altered, but more rare-
ly. Some fruits are much more subject to varia-
tions than others, some are very uniform, such
as the Golden Noble Apple, the one larger than
the rest, but no other variation. 1 here is, how-
ever, with most fruits some characteristic fea-
ture, some little peculiarity which may be noted,

2^0

THE GARDENER'S MOXTELy.

July,

and which serves as a mark for its recognition —
as in the Keswick Codlin Apple, the peculiar
sharp rib or angle down one side, not existing
on all, but on three parts ; or in the Kerry Pip-
pin Apple the short slender stalk, and the little
knob at one side of its base ; or in the Lemon
Pippin, the shape of a Lemon, but not always or
in every exam))le. Or take the Tloary Morning,
which is beautifully striped, with its thick coat
of white bloom as if it had been out in some hoar
frost, although this feature is at times altogether
wanting ; or Dumelow's Seedling with its beau-
tiful transparent skin, its wide open eye, and
acid flesh, and there is no mistaking it Take
also amongst Pears the Vicar of Winkfield.
Who that has once had its peculiar twisted,
squinting look — the. eye looking one way and
the stalk the other— pointed out to him, can
a2;ain mistake it ? Again, look at Knight's
Monarch — round, with its short thick stalk,
thick leathery skin, and the crimson shade be-
neath the russett ; or Beurre d'Aremberg with
its stalk on one side, and the small eye frequent-
ly wanting entirely, like Winter Nelis in this
only, entirely different in other respects. We
know Beurre de Ranee by its shape, eye, long
stalk like a peg. and green flesh ; Urbaniste by
its pale green skin, its soft silky feel, and its
gmall eye ; ^N'apoleon by its bright green color
and peculiar shape, as if it had been squeezed
out by the pressure of one's hand. Nurserymen
know their trees by the leaves and habit of
growth better than by the fruit. Some varieties
are very distinct. Josephine de Malines Pear is
easily known by its small, full, round buds and
yellowish eye. The varieties of Peaches are
distinguished not so much by the fruits them-
selves as by the flowers and leaves, or the glands
on the leaves, &c. ; and so on.

We thus by close observation and long inti-
mate acquaintance acquire a knowledge of the
distinctive features and peculiarities of many
fruits. We know some by one feature, some by
another ; some by taste, others by shape or form.
and others again by a peculiar mark or color.
We know many, perhaps, without knowing
wliy or being able to impart the same knowledge
to others. Constant association with keen ob-
servation, will make one an authority on fruits,
whilst no amount of study without association

will do BO.

The naming of fruits is no light task there-
fore ; it is a special acquirement to be able to do
so to any extent Tlu^re are many who can tell

the names of the few he may himself cultivate^
but in general a knowledge of the names of fruit
is necessarily very limited. We had a Robert
Thompson and we have a Dr. Hogg, but who is
there besides ? We have fruit-cultivators in
plenty, but where are our fruit-nomenclators, if
we except the worthy Doctor ? Seeing that it is
only by acquaintance, by a reference to true ex-
amples of each variety, that a knowledge of fruit
can be acquired, it is most important that the
Royal Horticultural Society should still main-
tain its splendid collection of fruits as examples.
In the re-arrangement of the garden I hope tiiat
this point will receive due attention. It is the
most important function to the Society to keep
up a correct fruit nomenclature throughout the
country.

The editors of our horticultural journals de-
serve much credit for their persistent endeavors
to correct the names of fruit. Every week we
see a long list of names given : what a time it
must occupy I what a patience is required to
wade through basket after basket of fruits, many
of them possessing no characteristic feature I
Senders can surely have little idea of the labor
required and the time to name forty or fifty sorts
of fruit. It is expecting too much of good na-
ture. Having had some experience of work of
this sort I speak without restraint. Senders of
fruit to be named should bear in mind that the
namer has no knowledge of the circumstance
under which the fruit has been grown to guide
hi)n, so that mistakes will frequently occur. The
specimens selected to be sent, should be as char-
acteristic of the whole bulk as possible, neither
too large nor too small, and if two distinct char-
acters are found, some of each should be sent.
With Apples and Pears the stalks and eyes are
required, and sometimes the leaves ; with
Peaches the flowers and leaves ; with Grapes a
bunch and leaves, and the more of any variety
sent the easier it is to determine the name. It
is .iltogcther absurd to suppose that auy one is
capable of naming correctly small and deformed
fruits. The greatest authority on fruits after all
only knows a few well-dermcd forms in the great
and extensive family of fruits. There are hun-
dreds of fruits, especially such as apples, straw-
berries, &c., throughout the country which have
no recognized names. In one locality they are
by one name, and in another something else. To
this, each year, are added seedlings more or less
distinct, all multiplying and confusing the al-
ready too numerous varieties of fruits, and mak-

1871.

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJ^^THLY.

9i21

ing it more and more difficult to give the name
of any with certainty ,

Vitality of Eoots. — The Gardener^s Chron-
icle eays : " Mr. Fish send us an interesting il-
lustration of the fact that Vine roots will live
and grow for a period of five or less years with-
out any top growth at all :

' In the specimens sent there are a dead root
and a living growing extremity. The living por-
tion received nothing through or beyond the dead
portion. Neither along the entire distance be-
tween the two — which, in the case of the speci-
men with the upper portion tied on to the under,
was at least a yard— has a shoot or leaf of any
kind been produced. The roots, nevertheless,
were in active growth with abundance of spon-
gioles feeding apparently in the usual manner.
The discovery of the large specimen sent was in
this wise. A set of old Muscat vines, which
were prized on account of family associations,
were transplanted into a new border six years
ago. It is my practice at this season of the year
to remove the worn-out surface soil and replace
it with new. This season the renewing process
was carried deeper than usual. In removing
the earth we came upou the largest root
sent. It seemed in splendid condition, root-
ing away as one likes to see them do, but
by the removal of the earth its main branch
was laid bare ; and my disappointment and as-
tonishment were great when I found that it ter-
minated in rottenness ; and I believe that the
connection must have been severed soon after
the vines were transplanted. During the pro-
cess of removal several of the roots looked some-
what suspicious. Many were cut off, but all
that seemed to have a chance of living were left.
This is doubtless one that refused to profit by
its chance of new life. On examining the rotten
portion, you will, I think, come to the same
conclusion, that it has been dead many years.
[Yes ] But I have more positive evidence to of-
fer on thai head. Five years ago we resolved
to renew another house of vines The portion
of the border next the house was taken out, the
new soil introduced, and a brick wall built up
between the new border and the old A fewdnys
since part of this wall was removed to aee if fur-
ther exter.sion was necessary. It was not. But
outside the wall plenty of old roots were found,
and in full growth like those sent. They were
all unattached, and had made no attempt to form
tope.''

We do not remember to have heard of a pre-

ci.sely similar case before in vines, though every
one must have observed how long the vitality
lasts in the roots of trees left in the ground and
severed from the top. The fact is somewhat
analogous to that of the subterranean tubers of
some Orchids, which increase and raulliply be
low the ground for years without putting
up a leaf. In the case of Fir trees, the slumps
of which are said occasionally to increase annu-
ally by the formation of woody rings, Goeperl
has traced a junction or "anastomosis" between
the roots of the stump and those of adjacent per-
fect trees.' "

DiELYTRA SPECTABILIS FOR THE CONSERVA-
TORY.— This elegant growing plant is scarcely
at home in the herbaceous border, because in
exposed situations it is very frequently injured
by the spring frosts ; and the rough winds also
do it considerable mischief when it is in full
flower. For conservatory decoration it is unex-
ceptionable, and so easily managed that the
merest novice may take it in hand without ex-
periencing the slightest fear of meeting with a
failure. The plants are grown entirely in the
open air during the summer, and as we require
about two dozen we grow three times that num-
ber, which enables us to give every plant a rest
every second year, and also renders it unneces-
sary to pot up in the autumn any but strong
shoots. The way we shall deal with our stock
in a few days will be as follows : we shall dig up
all the plants in the border, and select the best
twenty-four and replant the others aL;ain. I
generally select for potting roots with about six
crowns, and put them in eight or nine inch pots,
as these are the most useful sizes. Of the re-
jected roots, all that are larger than those potted
are divided into two or more, and the smaller
ones are planted intact, but we never plant more
than the regular number. When the forced ones
come from the conservatory in the spring, they
are carefully hardened oft' and turned out of the
pots and reitlanted by the side of those left over at
the autumn potting The border set apart for
this work has an annual dressing of manure or
leaf-mould, and is dug up rather deeply at the
same lime. The most essential conditions ne-
cessary to ensure success with the plants when
iu the forcing house are to start them in a mod-
erately low temperature, place near the glass to
prevent the ioliage being drawn, and to supplj

THE GARBEJVERS MOJ^THLl .

July,

liberally with tepid water when in full growth.
The compost used for potting purposes, should
consist chiefly of turfy loam and leaf-mould,
with a dash of sand to make the soil feel gritty.
— J . N. , in Oardener'>s Magazine.

Study economy in the means you use to grow
everything. It is impossible to be too careful in
this matter.

Gooseberry Show at Akroydon. — The
second annual gooseberry show, in connection
with the New Town and Booth Town Allotment
Gardens, was held at the house of Mr. George
Wood, Flying Dutchman Inn, Akroydon. It
was a complete success, and reflected great
credit on the exhibitors. The heaviest
goo.seberry, weighing 20 dwts. 3 grs., was ex-
hibited by Mr. Thomas Murgatroyd. The first
prizes in each class, with the weights of the
gooseberries shown, were the following : Red
gooseberries, 16 dwts. 17 grs., Mr. John Clay-
ton ; white ditto, 12 dwts. 6 grs., Mr. John
Clayton; green ditto, 14 dwts. 15 grs.. Mr.
Thomas Watson ; yellow ditto, 15 dwts. 7 grs.,
Mr. John Clayton ; best pair of twins, 19 dwts.
80 grs , Mr. John Clayton. The other prize
winners were Messrs. J. Clayton, T. Murga-
troyd, T. Watson. T. Barrett, and James Green-
wood. One or two fine specimens were exhib-
ited for non-competition by Messrs. Richard
Parker and William Town. Mr. Samuel Sut-
clifTe of Oveuden, ofiiciated as weigher, and gave
general satisfaction. — Gardener^s Weekly.

Greenhouse and Conservatory in Au-
gust.— The pot Roses intended to flower in the
conservatory late in the autumn should now re-
ceive whatever pruning is necessary. All those
which require a shift should have it forthwith, in
order that they may have their pots full of healthy
roots by the flowering period ; this, and the ap-
plication of liquid manure, together with a
sweet and mild atmosphere, will perform won-
ders. After these operations they should be
placed in some open and airy spot, and if plunged
in ashes they should be frequently turned, or
the interior of the pot will be without fibrous
roots. Give them regular waterings, and per-
sist in picking off all blossoms buds as they ap-
pear from those required to blossom in Novem-
ber and December. Let the Camellia buds have
a thinning as soon as possible. Look out and
encourage a lot of good things for a late autumn
display. Fuchsias and Achimenes in succes-
sion, and even choice Verbenas in somewhat
thick masses in wide-mouthed pots, will add to
the general effect. Remember that all those
plants required to blossom in midwinter must
have their final shift betimes. There is no suc-
cess in forcing, or even retarding, without a pot-
ful of roots. — London Journal of Hortiadture.

HORTICULTUML NOTICES.

AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

In conformity with a resolution adopted at the
last meeting of this National Association, the
undersigned hereby give notice, that its thir-
teenth session will be held in Assembly Hall, 8th
Street, between Grace and Franklin Streets, in
the City of Richmond, Virginia, on the 6th, 7th
and 8th days of September, 1871. All Horticul-
tural, Tomological, Agricultural, and other kin-
dred institutions in the United States and Brit-
ish Provinces, are invited to send delegations,
as large as they may deem expedient ; and all
other persons interested in the cultivation of
fruits are invited to be present and take seats
in tlic Convention.

The coming session promises to be especially
interesting, held as it will be in conjunction with
the exhibition of the Virginia Pomological and
Horticultural Society, and at a great central
point, farther South than any previous session
of the institution. This meeting will therefore,
it is believed, be one of the most useful in a na-
tional point of view that has ever been held by
the Society, thus affording an opportunity not
only to examine the fruits of the South in com-
parison with those of the North, the West and
of the Pacific Slope, which it is expected will be
freely contributed, but also to foster and perpet-
uate the amicable and social relations which
have heretofore existed between the members of
the Society, and to widely diffuse the result of

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLl.

223

its deliberations for the benefit of our constantly-
expanding territory. i
The climate of Virginia and adjacent States
is believed to be admirably adapted to the cul-
ture of fruits, especially the pear, the grape, and
the strawberry. It is therefore hoped that there
will be a full attendance of delegates from the
South and West, as well as from other quarters |
of our country, thereby stimulating more ex-
tensive cultivation upon which the North are so j
largely dependent for early supplies ; thus also, j
by the concentrated information and experience I
of cultivators, to aid the Society in completing j
the Second Division of its Catalogue of Fruits, i
being that part which pertains especially to the '
Southern States. This will be one of the promi-
nent subjects which will come before the Society', '
and we therefore respectfully invite the various
State and Local Committees to report to
P. Barry, Chairman of the General Fruit Com-
mittee, agreeably to the constitution of the So-
ciety, such information and lists of fruits as may
aid in determining what varieties are best adapt-
ed to their several localities. These reports
should be transmitted by mail to F. R. Elliott,
Secretary, Cleveland, Ohio, as early as possible.
Arrangements have been made with the va-
rious railroad companies, terminating in Rich-
mond, to return all members and others free of
charge, who have paid full fare in coming, and
who exhibit certificates of the Treasurer that
they have attended the sessions of the Society.
Similar arrangements can undoubtedly be made
by the various delegations, with roads in their
localities.

Members and delegates are requested to con-
tribute specimens of the Fruits of their respec-
tive districts, and to communicate in regard to
them whatever may aid in promoting the objects
of the Society and the science of American Po-
mology. Each contributor is requested to pre-
pare a complete list of his collection, and to pre-
sent the same with his fruits, that a report of all
the varieties enUired may be submitted to the
meeting as soon as practicable.

Packages of Fruits with the name of the con-
tributor, may be addressed as follows : " Amer-
ican Pomological Society," care of II. K. Elly-
Bon, Secretary Virginia Horticultural and Po-
mological Society, Kiclunond, Va.

All persons desirous of becoming members can
remit the admission fee to Thomas P. James,
Esq., Treasurer, Philadelphia, who will furnish
them with transactions of the Society. Life

Membership, Ten Dollars ; Biennial, Two Dol-
lars.

MARSHALL P. WILDER, Presn.

Boston, Mass.
F. R. ELLIOTT, Sec'y.

Cleveland, Ohio.
Premiums to be awarded at the meeting of the
American Pomological Society, in Richmond,
Va., September 6 to 8th, 1871.

The following premiums are subject to the
general rule of restriction, where objects are not
deemed worthy of the same. All fruits must be
grown by the exhibitor.

The Virginia Pomological and Horticultural
Society for sundries offer One Hundred and Fifty
Dollars.

The Virginia State Agricultural Society offer
One Hundred Dollars for the best collection of
Fruit embracing Apples, Pears, Peaches and
Grapes.

EUwanger & Barry, of Rochester, New York,
offer Fifty Dollars for the largest and best col-
lection of Apples, not less than fifty varieties,
three specimens each.

Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston, Mass., offer*
Fifty Dollars for the largest and best collection
of Pears, not less than fifty varieties, three speci-
mens each.

Charles Downing, of Newburgh, New York,
offers Fifty Dollars for the largest and best col-
lection of American Grapes, not less than twenty
varieties, three bunches each. 4

Thomas P. James, of Philadelphia, Pa., offers
Thirty Dollars for the largest and best collection
of Peaches, not less than ten varieties, of six
specimens each.

Gen'l. R. L. Page, Norfolk, Va., offers Ten
Dollars or a Medal for the best half bushel of the
Flowers Grape.

G. F. B. Leighton, Norfolk, Va., offers Twenty
or a medal, at the disposition of the American
Pomological Society.

C. D. Barbot, Norfolk, Va., offers Twenty
or a Medal for best dozen bottles of Scuppernong

Wine.

L. Berkley, Norfolk, Va., offers Ten Dollars

or a medal for best dozen bottles of the Flowera

Grape Wine.

W. H. C. Lovett, Norfolk, Va., offers Ten
Dollars or a medal for best Dried Figs,— cured
within the territory of the Society.

Hon. Jno. B. Whitehead, .Norfolk, Va., offers
Twenty Dollars or a medal for best half bushel
of Scuppernong Grapes.

^2Ji,

THE GARDEJ^EK'S MOJ\rTHLY

July,

"W. S. Butt, Norfolk, Ya , two premiums of
Five Dollars each or medals,— one for best Figs ;
the other at the disposal of the Society.

By H. M. Smith, Richmond, Va., Ten Dol-
lars or a medal for the best half bushel of Cider
Apples.

By Downward, Anderson &Co., of Richmond,
V^a , Ten Dollars or a medal for the best 12
"bunches of Norton Grapes.

By Chas. T. Wortham & Co., of Richmond,
Va., for best 12 bunches of Delaware Grapes.

By S. Zctelle, of Richmond, Va., Five Dollars
or a medal for best 12 specimens of Peaches.

By Messrs. Rudolph & English, of Richmond,
"Va., Five Dollars, at the disposal of the Society.

By Southern Fertilizing Co., Twenty Dollars,
at the disposal of the Society.

The above Figs, Grapes, and "VVines, entered
for premiums, to be the property of the Society,
for the use of those members residing in those
localities where Ihcy are not grown.

The whole amount of premiums, general and
«pecial, offered by societies and individuals, in
Virginia, has been generously placed by them at
the disposal of the American Pomological So-
•ciety.

It is also expected that other premiums will
l)e added to the above list.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

THE HA-TIONAL EXPOSITION OF 1876.

At a meeting of the Pennsylvania Horticultural
Society, held February 21st, the following Pre-
amble and Resolutions were unanimously adopt-
ed :

Whereas, The Congress of the United States
having decided tliat^the Great National Exposi-
tion of Arts and Manufactures to celebrate the
•Centennial Anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence, shall be held in this City in July^
1870; therefore,

liesolved, That the Pennsylvania Horticultural
Society hails with delight this decision of our
National Congress, and we hereby pledge our-
selves that no exertions shall be wanting on our
part to make the Horticultural Department of
the display fully equal to auy other portion of it.

Resolved, Tliat the President is hereby request-
ed to appoint a committee of twenty live mem-
bers to represent this Society, and to confer with
similar committees from other Societies, with a
view to a concert of action in making the neces-

sary preparations for holding this great National
Exposition on the 4lh of July, 1876.

Committee of Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for On-
tennial Anniversary, July 4, 1876.

J. E Mitchell, Chairman ; Ex-Presidcnt*
Caleb Cope and Gen Robert Patterson ; Vice-
Presidents Robert Buist and S. VV. Noble ; H.
Pratt McKean, M. Baird, J D. Whetham,
Robert Cornelius, Newberry A. Smith, Nath.
Burt, J. B Heyl, Thos Mechan, A. W. Harri-
son, H. A. Dreer, R. Kilvingion, Jas. Jiitchie,
C. P. Hayes, W. Hacker, Geo. W. Earl, Robt.
Scott, J. S Houghton, E. Satterthwait, Chas.
H. Miller, T. J. Mackenzie.

STRAWBERRY EXHIBITION AT VINE-
LAND, N. J.

The Agricultural Society held their annual
Strawberry Exhibition in Union Hall, Saturday
evening. The drouth having told fearfully on .
the strawberries the display was not what it
could have been desired, but better than was
anticipated.

Luscious Jucundas, from Messrs. D. B. Hin- |
man, P. Snyder, R. Lush, and H. N. Greene,
were on exhibition, proving that they can be
raised if properly fertilized and attended to,
though as yet there is some differeuce of opinion
as to their being profitable to ship as a market
berry.

The Agriculturist, by Mr.Paul, like that paper,
were fine specimens.

The Chas. Downing, from Mr. Benham, were
delicious.

The Wilsons, from Mr. C, S. Mason, showed «
the effects of drouth, but looked enticing. p

Mr. Degroff presented two of the Dr. Nicanor
strawberries, the product of one vine — he does
not wish to extend his labors in this direction.
There is money in the Nicanor, which no one
has succeeded in getting out.

The Committee awarded premiums as follows :

Jucunda, 1st premium, D. B. Ilinman, 50 ctB.

2d premium, P. Snyder, 25 cents.

2d premium, R. Lush, 25 cents.

Agriculturist, Mr. Paul, 50 cents.

Chas. Downing, Mr. Benham, 50 cents

Wilson, R. Lush, 50 cents.

Messrs. Greene, Mason and Paul donated
Strawberries which were sold at auction — the
bidding was spirited between the contestants^
who donated them back to the Society, until the
berries brought over a dollar and a half a quart.
— Vinelaml Weekly.

ilre (fiitrdcner^s lloiitlrlir.

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arhoriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.
Old Series, Vol XIII. AUGUST, 1871. New Series, Vol. IV. No. 8.

hijXts for august.

FLOWER GAEDEX AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

It is somewhat remarkable, that with the
great love of cool shady spots, which our climate
excites in all of us, more attention is not given
to making bowers of living trees than is custo-
mary for us to do. AVe have ''summer houses'*
in abundance, but these are seldom cool. If
they are roofed, the heat radialed from the un-
der surface makes it very hot, unless the sides
are open all around ; and if the sides are thus
open, the sun at all hours except raid-day, tres-
passes on our enjoyment. Besides this, as a
matter of taste, summer houses, as we generally
see them, are sadly out of character in relation
to their surrounding. In some of our best parks,
where there is indeed a great deal more than
mere pretension to landscape gardening, the
"summer houses," as they are called, too often
mar the effect of the whole thing.

This is not so often the case when a mere
bower of living trees is employed to make the
necessary shade. The green mass is in keeping
with other trees, and the crowding necessary to
accomplish the desired shade, can often be turned
to the very best account. This is especially the
cas^e whtn weeping trees are employed. The
peculiar drooping habit comes into play in nu-
merous ways in the hands of a good landscape
gardener. Of the fast growing things of this
kind, and where the position is not particularly
choice, there are few things more useful than
the Wtejnng Willow. For more select places we
suppose there is nothing better tlian the TFcq)-
iu'j Ask. Indeed, taken all in all, it is one of
the best trees of this-kind we have. The branches

can be trained over wires, and thus wc can
make the room beneath the tree as extensive as
one could wish. For very large spots, a half
dozen or so can be used. Set in one circle, and
the trees about twenty feet apart. Such an ar-
rangement would make a delightful croquet
ground,— or a place for parties or pic-nics— en-
tirely in the shade, yet with an abundance of
room and air all round. The Kihnarnock Weep-
ing Willow, if grafted high enough, would make
a very pretty shade for one or two persons; but
as they generally are, they are not worked over
five or six feet high ; and thus we have to be
satisfied with them as the lovely little ornaments
we see on our lawns.

Recently we saw a very pretty thing foratied
out of half a dozen Japan Catalpa— Cattilyta,
Koempferi. These seem to grow only from fif-
teen to twenty feet high, and the branches form
a dense mass overhead, appearing in leaf as if
the whole surface had been closely sheared.
"When not too closely confined, the whole stem
pushes out leafy branches. A half dozen of
these set out by themselves, and trained up to
single stems, will make one uniform mass of fo-
liage if left to itself; and gothic arches, or
arches of any other form, can be cut between
each pair of trees. The leaves around each
tree stem can be left two or three feet wide if
desired, — and the whole can be made to have a
remarkably unique effect.

The planting season will soon come around,
and now is the time to look about and select the
desirable kinds, and to decide on the proper
places to set them.

It may be well to repeat what we have said in

226

THE GARBEJ^EU'S MOJ^THLY

August,

substance before, that the latter end of August
is one of the best seasons of the year to trans-
plant evergreens. The young growth of the
past season has got pretty well hardened, so as
to permit of but very little evaporation, — and
the earth being warm, new roots push with
great rapidity, and the tree becomes established
in the ground before cool autumn winds begin.
The chief difliculty is that the soil is usually ver}^
dry, which prevents much speed with ihe opera-
f.oD ; and the weather being usually very warm,
t'.ie trees have to be set again in the ground
almost as fast as they are taken up ; so that it is
not safe to bring them from a distance. It is as
Well, therefore, to make all ready in anticipation
of a rain, when no time maybe lost in having
the work pushed through. Should a spell of
dry weather ensue, — which in September and
October is very likely,— one good watering should
be given, sufficient to soak well through the soil
and well about, the roots. A basin should be
made to keep the water from running awa}^ from
the spot, and to assist its soaking in. After be-
ing well watered, the loose soil should be drawn
in lightly over the watered soil, which will then
aid in preventing the water from drying out
soon again.

As soon in the fall as bulbs can be obtained,
they should be planted— though this will not
generally be the case till October, -^but it is as
well to bear in mind that the earlier they are
planted, the finer they will flower.

Towards the end of the month, and in Sep-
tember, evergreen hedges should receive their
last pruning till the next summer. Last spring,
and in the summer, when a strong growth i-e-
quired it, the hedge has been severely pruned
towards the npex of the cone-like form in which
it has been trained, and the base has been suf-
fered to grow any way it pleases. Now that, in
turn, has come under the shears, so far as to get
it into regular shape and form. It will not be
forgotten that, to be very successful with ever-
green hedges, they ought to have a growth at
the base of at least four feet in diameter.

"When "White Lilies, or any other spring-flow-
ered bulbous plants have dene flowering, and
the stems died away, tJiey should be taken up
and re-.set ; tlie di-sease in Lilies often met with,
is probably caused by their being too long in one
place.

Most of what is to be dene now in this depart-
ment consists of the routine duties of neatness,

—tying up, pegging down, removing faded blos-
soms, collecting and destroying insects, etc.

Many sufTer their flowers to produce seed, but
this injures the flowering. If it be particularly
desirable to save seed of some things, allow only
just as much to ripen as will be needed. In some
cases, cutting ofl" the flowers as fast they fade
doubles the season of flowering.

Auriculas, Polyanthus, Pansics, Daisies, and
other of these early flowering, half hardy plants,
commence their root growth about the end of
this month, when the time has arrived for re-
planting. Good fresh, and yet half decayed sod
from a pasture field, is the best to grow them in.
Those who have the advantage of pots and
frames, can re pot also at this season.

VEGETABLE GAKDEN.

As soon as your vegetable crops are past
kitchen use, clear them out. Never suffer them
to seed. In the first place, a seed crop exhausts
the soil more th;in two crops taken off in an eat-
able condition ; in the next place, the refuse of
•the kitchen is likely to produce degenerate stocks.
Good seed saving is a special art by itself, al-
ways claiming the earliest and best to ensure a
perfect stock.

Celery will require earthing up as it grows, to
get it to blanch well. It is nut well, however,
to commence too early, as earthing up tends, in
a slight degree, to w'eaken the growth of the
plants. Take care, also, not to let the soil get
into the heart in earthing, or the crown is apt to
rot.

As fast as Endive is desired for Salad, it should
be blanched. Matting thrown over is the best
for this purpose, as the plants are not so liable
to rot as when pots or boards are employed.

In cold or mountainous regions, Melons are
hastened in the rijiening process, and improved
in flavor, by a piece of tile being placed under
the fruit.

Keep weeds from j-our compost heaps, as they
exhaust the soil, and bear seeds for future brow-
sweatings.

Sow Lettuce for Fall crop, thinly, and in deep
and very rich ground.

Early Valentine 13eans ma}' still be sown early
in the month, — the soil for a late crop should be
well trenched, or, if the Fall be dry, they will be
stringy and tough.

Cucumbers, Squash, and other similar plants,
often suffer from drought at this season. Cold

1S7L

THE GARDEJVER'S JdOJ{THLY.

m

water does not help them much, but a mulching
of half rotten leaves strengthens them consider-
ably.

Cut down straggling herbs, and they will make
new heads for next season.

Towards the end of the month, a sowing of
Spinach may be made in rich soil, which will
come in for use before Winter. That desired for
AVinter and early Spring use, is usually sown in
September in this rtgion. A few Turnips may
also be sown for an early crop, but will be hot
and strinsry unless the soil is very rich.

Corn Salad is often sowed at the end of this
month. It does not do so well in damp soil or
low situation.

FRUIT GARDEN.

In the "Western States we believe the fruit
crop is not very good. The frost of the IGth of
May finished up the business for the season.
Strange to say, here in the East, we had the
same frost, and yet our fruit escaped The rea-
son was that the season was remarkably early,
and the fruit had really reached a considerable
size before the frost came ; and it is only when
very young that the frost injures young fruit. It
is somewhat remarkable that we should have
fruit crops good for three successive seasons, and
it is highly encouraging to the fruit grower. He
nmst now take care that exhaustion does not
follow. The wise orchardist has thinned his
fruit at an early stage of growth, and will now
be looking round for material to fertilize them
with. It is not too late to do it yet to advan-
tage. We should surface dress with manure,
compost, or rich materials, any time between
now and frost ; but the earlier the better. There
is not much use in putting it on after the soil is
frozen Rains wash it best portions away. As
10 kind of manure, it makes little ditference. If
the surface is not disturbed much, the richer the
surface soil the better. AVe have noticed but
little dillerence between animal manure and
mineral. Some of the best and healthiest trees
we knov/, stand near the manure heaps in farm
yards.

A little trimming is useful to most trees at this
season. The Blackberry and Raspberry may
have their tops shortened so as to leave the canes
about four feet. Some do this earher in the sea-
son ; but the buds are apt to burst if done too
soon. In like manner, pear and apple trees that
grow well, but produce no fruit, are benefitted

by having, say half of some of the young growth
cut back. The buds then left are very likely to
form tlowcr buds, in place of growth buds for
next season. Many take out the old shoots of
raspberry and blackberry after they have done
bearing, and we have in times past recommend-
ed it ourselves ; but on further observation, we
see very little good, if not positive injury. The
partial shade the old stems make, seems rather
beneficial than otherwise under our hot suns.

Strawberry planting often commences in Au-
gust, providing the weather offers a cluince.
Get the soil in readiness for this chance. Heavy
manuring is not good for the Strawberry except
in very poor soils. Wet soils are not good. But
the soil cannot well be too deep. In the field
subsoil,— in the garden dig at least 12 to 18 in-
ches. Strawberries do better moderately close
than too wide, some kinds do very well in beds.

After a piece of ground is dug at this season
for Strawberries, roll it well with the garden rol-
ler. When ready to plant, make holes with a
dibble, fill the holes with water, and when it
soaks away, put in your plant which has been
kept in water to prevent wilting. Jj'uf, in put-
ting in the plant do not plant too deep. "Too
deep" kills 99-hundredths of all the Strawberries
that die in the year from transplanting. ''Too
deep" is when anything but the small fibres are
buried under the surface.

In regard to the newer varieties of this season,
we are very much pleased with President Wil-
der. Our plants were not strong enough to bear
well, having been all transplanted in spring, we
canuot, therefore, testify to whether it is an
abundant bearer or not ; but the size, color and
flavor of the fruit, and the remarkable vigor and
healthfulncss of the foliage, seemed to leave no
thing more to be desired in this respect. More-
over, they had the quality of firmness— a point
dear to the hearts of all marketmen.

Almost all trees, and in particular the Grape
vine, at this season will require attention, to see
that the leaves are all retained healthy till thor-
oughly ripened. It is not a sign of healthiness
for a vine to grow late ; on the contrary, such
late growth generally gets killed in the winter. —
but the leaves should all stay on, to insure the
greatest health of the vine, until the frost comes,
when they should all be so mature as to fall to-
gether. Frequent heavy syringings are among&t
the best ways to keep off insects from out-do<.r
grapes, and so protect the foliage from their
ravages.

^^8

THE GARDE JV'ER'S MOa'THLY.

August,

COMMUNICATIONS.

BOILERS.

BY CHAS. F. HlTCiriKGS, K". Y.

In the June number of the Monthly, I find
two articles on the subject of boilers and the
circulation of water; as the experience and
theories advanced in these articles difTer some-
what from my own, I propose, with your per-
mission, to refer brieily to the several points.

Mr. Pennock gives the particulars of his ex-
periment with a chip in a propagating tank, to
show that cold water in the return pipe causes a
quicker circulation than hot. and by his argu-
ment conveys the idea that there is more heat
imparted by the pipes to the house when the
Avatcr leaves the boiler at about 212°, and re-
turns cold or about 80-, than there would if it
should leave at 212'' and return at 200^ ; and fur-
ther, that if the water in the return pipe nearly I
approaches the temperature of that leaving the
I'oiler, there is something wrong in the circula-
tion

My experience is the reverse of this. I have
always found it necessary to make all the pipes
liot, including the return, in order to heat a
glass stnicture satisfactorily during cold nights,
r.nd that it is both desirable and practicable to
boat the water in the return pipe to a tempera-
ture but a few degrees below that of the water
leaving the boiler, providing the circulation is
free and the l)oilpr of suflicient heating capacity.
Tlieoretically, the rapidity of the ciiculation in-
creases with the difference in the temperature of
the two columns of water— one leaving the boil-
er through the flow pipe, the other entering
through the return. But it does not follow from
this, that because the water returns to the boiler
nearly cold, therefore, the circulation must be
quick, or that there has been more heat impart-
ed to the atmosphere of the house ; on the con

trary, it goes to prove that the circulation is de-
fective and sluggish, that the water moves
through the boiler so slow, that it attains a high
temperature before it enters the flow pipe, and
then flows through the pipe so slow as to lose
nearly all its heat before reaching the end of its
course If the water returns to the boiler at 80°,
it is plain that a portion of the pipes through
which it passes must be at the same low tem-
perature, and the average heat of the line of
pipe must be far below Avhat it would be. if both
ends of the pipe w^ere hot ; and it is just as plain
that pipes at a low temperature cannot impart
as much heat to the atmosphere through which
they pass, as the same length of pipe would do
at a higher temperature.

Again, if the circulation is good and the out-
lets from the boiler of proper proportions, it
would be difficult, if not impossible, to create,
as he implies, a difference of 132' between the
flow and the return pipes at the boiler. Under
favorable conditions, water moves freely at any
temperature below 212°, with a difference of 4°
to 10° between the flow and return pipes at the
boiler. The experiment that ^Mr. Pennock de-
scribes, shows that it required a difference of
over 43° to create a movement in the water
through the tank. In all probability the area
of the cross section of the tank in which he tried
the experiment, is many times greater than the
connecting pipes, and that the speed of the cur-
rent of water which passed through the pipe
was diminished in the greater width of the tank
and not properly represented by the floating
chip ; or there may have been some defect in the
arrangement which caused a slow circulation.

:Mr. Ellis contends that all flue surface in boil-
ers arc useless as a means of heating water, and

I

J871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELl,

ny

argues that a portion of the water, which is im-
mediatel}- over the fire, remains there until it
has absorbed all the heat from the iron surface
that it can absorb, and that, after being thus ex-
posed to the hottest surface, its temperature
cannot be increased by contact with surface ex-
posed to the secondary heat, which he describes
as heat having less intensity than that which is
given off from the Bre resting on the grate ; tliis
would include all surfaces of whatever form, not
directly exposed to the radiant heat of the fire.
The questions occur : What portion of the
water is it that remains over the fire until it has
absorbed all the heat it can: does it comprise all
the water that leaves the boiler through the flow
pipe ? And what is the temperature of the wa-
ter that has absorbed all the heat it can ? In
practice water frequently leaves the boiler at a
temperature of 80 to 100 degrees ; when this is
the case, has that water already absorbed all
the heat it can, and is it so hot that its tempera-
ture cannot be increased by contact with sur-
faces heated by secondary heat at a tempera-
ture of GOO or 700 degrees ?

I take exception to these statements, and claim
that where the fire and fine surface in a boiler
bear a proper proportion one with the other, the
flue surface is of great value as a means of econo-
mizing fuel ; that a boiler so constructed will
heat from a quarter to a third more water, with
a given quantity of fuel, than a boiler without
flue surface. It is a well known fact that from
25 to oO i)er cent, of all the power on every steam-
ship and steamboat afloat is obtained from flue
surfaces. Every locomotive on our roads has
. from three to four times more surface in the flues
than in the fire chamber ; nearly every station-
ary boiler is similarly provided. These exam-
ples are the result of study, experience and ex-
l)eriments of the best engineers in the world,
and it cannot be said that they know so little of
the scientific application of heat as to continue
to this day wasting material and occupying val-
uable room with flue surfaces that are useless.
liut it may be said that flue surfaces are all well
enough for steam boilers where the fires are
large and the heat intense, but they are of no
avail in greenhouse boilers. The anwer to this
would be, that the primary object of the boiler
in either case is to impart the greatest amount
of heat with the least quantity of fuel. It is
true the heat of the large fire is more intense,
but as an oflset to this, the water in the steam
boiler must be heated to a temperature of 200 to

350 degrees, according to the pressure, while the
water in a greenhouse boiler does not exceed 212
degrees, and varies from this to cold water.
And when flue surfaces heated by this secondafy
heat are capable of imparting heat to water at
350 degrees, with sufficient rapidity to create
steam, it is evident that the relative value of
such surfaces must be far greater when the wa-
ter which surrounds them is below 212 decrees.
Take a f\imiliar form of greenhouse boiler, with
the fire chamber and the flues all within the shell of
the boiler, and surrounded with water, in this the
radiant heat from the burning coal is taken up
by the iron surfaces of the fire chamber and im-
parted to the water, the flame and hot gases
which escape from the fire chamber pass
through and in contact with the flue surfaces,
and there give off to the water heat, which would
pass to the chimney but for the intervening flue
surfaces. In this way the heat of the gas es-
caping from the outlet of the flue, is reduced to
a temperature only sufficient to create a good
draft in the chimney. Xow suppose that instead
of leading this flue through the water, we should
carry it through the end of the boiler direct from "
the fire chamber, it would quickly become red-
hot for a distance of several feet from the boiler,
and the gases escaping from the end of the flue
would indicate a temperature of 700 or 800 de-
grees. The heat required to make the flue red-
hot, and the diSerence in the heat of the escap-
ing gases, would be a fair indication of the heat
taken up and utilized by the flue passing through
water.

As to the condition of the water in the boiler,
I contend that the water cannot remain over
the fire until it has absorbed all the heat it can
absorb, while there is colder water in the boiler
or colder water entering at the return pipe with
a free circulation. Auy increase of the tempera-
ture of water will cause a circulation at any
temperature above 40 degrees ; and there is no
set temperature at which it leaves the heated
surfaces of the boiler when in circulation. Un-
der favorable conditions it will circulati freely
with a few degrees added to the temperature of
the water entering at the return pipe ; the cold-
est water being more dense, settles down to the
low part of the boiler, and there in contact with
the hot surfaces of the boiler receives the first
heat, which c.uises it to rise ; gradually, but
freely it rises and envelopes other hot surfaces
and acquires additional heat, and will continue
to absorb heat as long as it is exposed and in

^30

TEE GARBEKEWS MOJ\'TELY.

August,

contacV. with surfaces at a higher temperature.
This leads to the consideration of the tempera-
ture of the flue surfaces heated by secondary j
heat, and the amount of heat imparted to the 1
■water by such surfaces. It is %vell known 1
tliat with a good draft and sharp fire, tlie licat
of the gaf-os wliich escape from the fire chamber
will exceed 800 degrees, that by passing these
gases through properly arranged flues surround-
ed with water the temperature may be reduced
to 300 or 350 degrees without material damage
to the draft, showing conclusively that the gases
have lost 450 to 500 degrees of heat, and that
this heat has been imparted to the water.

I agree with Mr. Ellis, that there will be a
waste of fuel if the boiler is exposed ; but cannot
agree that it might as well stand in cold water
as in the cold atmosphere. The atmosphere is
a poor conductor of heat compared with water
When a blacksmith wishes to cool a bar of red-
hot iron, he docs not move it about in the cold
air, but plunges it into cold water and waves it
there, knowing that the water will be far more
effective. Boilers arc usually placed in a cellar
or covered pit, and in a measure protected. If
not sufficiently protected in this way, they
/hould be enclosed with brick as he suggests, or
overcd with felting such as is in use on steam
boilers.

JS^OTES FEOM LOUISIANA.

BY B. F. n , ARCOLA, LA.

The floral department of the Gardener^s
3£'mtlihj is very interesting to one as fond of
flowers as myself, but in this climate there is
such a profusion, and they continue so long,
that they come to be quite common place to
what they are in the North, where the seasons
are much shorter, and where they require so
much protection through the long winters. Un-
til 1807, I had lived in the vicinity of Cincinnati,
Oiiio, and part of the time in the city. Since
1830, I was raising fruit for that market, until
coming here ; being advanced in life, and get-
ting tired of the long cold winters, visited the
South, and was so i)leased with the climate, was
induced to move and buy. I am situated 72
miles north of New Orleans, on the Jackson R.
J{. I am engaged in the cultivation of fruit
for that market.

Since living here, I have tried some fifty kind
of strawberries, but have found, as yet, but four

kinds that would stand the climate and bear
shipping. As it is generally in strawberry sea-
son, the weather is quite as warm as with you in
June. The first season I was here, I sent my
first berries the last day of March, the next year
the 14th of April, and this season the last day
of March, and they still are as abundant as at
first, although we have not had time to pick for
market since peaches began to ripen. We made
our first shipment on the 23th of May. There
is an abundant crop of all kinds of fruit. May
Beauty, Hale's Early, Honey and Troth's Ear-
ly are the first to ripen here; the Early York
will be ripe next week. Pears, the Madaleine ri-
pens the l«th of May ; several others ripen the
last of May. Apples have been plenty since the
loth of Ma}^ The yellow and red Chickasaw plum s
began to ripen the first week in May ; the Wild
Goose plum is now ripe ; I made m}^ first ship-
ment of them yesterday. They produce abun-
dantly, defy the curculio, are of the size of the
Green Gage, and ship well. I sent a large box
of them to my daughter last year, to Cincinnati ;
they arrived in good condition. I gathered from
one tree last year, two and a half bushels.
Blackberries are now at their best, and in the
greatest profusion.

Native grapes as far as tried, do well here. I
have put out six acres of Concord, one-half of
I Clinton, two of Ives', and two of the Scupper-
nong, with small lots of new kinds. I think
this climate is the home of the grape, as the
poorest of the lands produce grapes in abun-
dance, with but little attention or culture. My
Concords are three years from cuttings, and
loaded with fruit. One of my neighbors has.
four acres of Concord, four j'ears old, after de-
ducting value of cultivation, picking, boxes,
freight and commission, netted him twelve hun-
dred dollars. Lands well suited for grapes on
the railroad can be bought at from five to ten
dollars per acre.

There are many kinds of wild fruits growing

here. I will name— crab apples in abundance,
throe kinds of whortleberries, three kinds of
plums, three kinds of haw, the Muscadine and
many kinds of grapes ; and as to flowers, there
is such a jirofusion from early S]iring to winter,
that I will try to descril)e a few that are new to
me, although I had attended many of the floral
exhibitions Nortii. There is a running sensitive
plant here that is beautiful, and more sensitive
than the one I have seen North ; it is perennial.
The root throws out some 10 or 15 vines near

I

1871.

TEE GARDENER'S MOJYTHLJ.

S31

the size of a delicate i-aspbcrry, full of small
spines with a great profusion of foliage, but very
delicate ; the flower is pink, composed of fine
hairs, when first opened the ends of each hair
has a stamen of golden color. I will send you a
section of the vine. (1) Another plant here called
the Southern Butterfly, of the milk-weed family
or wild cotton, grows 15 inches high, is rather
spreading in habit, is entirely covered with bril-
liant orange colored flowers, and is very showy
at a distance ; is also a perennial. (2) Also a
very pretty plant, said by some to be Carolina
pink root ; sold by druggists as a gentle purga-
tive, or given to children for worms ; has a
bright scarlet flower outside, inside buff"; shape
and size of the "Weigelia rosea ; is also perennial.
(3) Also a plant I call the Coral bean, for want
of its proper name ; the root grows to be 8 or 10
inches in diameter, rather more woody than the
poke root, but can be cut with a sharp spade ;
sends up in the spring from 5 to 25 flower shoots
begins to flower, when a foot high of deep scar-
let color two inches long ; color of stem purple
without leaves, flowers all around the stem ;
continues until three feet. A pod forms in the
core like a common bean pod, containing from
5 to 7 beans. The leaf stocks come up after it
has done flowering. (4) We are cultivating a
vegetable we call Tanyah, described in B. K
Bliss «fe Son's illustrated catalogue, on page 99,
called by him Colocasia (Caladium) esculentum ;
he cultivates it for ornament, and his price for
plants is from fifty cents to two dollars, accord-
ing to size. We cultivate and use it as Irish
potatoes ; large tubers are worth here ten dol-
lars a barrel, small ones fourteen.

Strawberries that do best here are Imperial,
Wilson's Albany, Marie Stuart, and Russell's

[1. This was Schrankia uncinata. 2. Asclepias
tul)erosa. 3 Spigeliamarilandica. 4. Erytkri-
nn cristagalU. — Ed.]

CHEMICAL POAVERSOF THE SUNLIGHT.

BY GENHH**/ PLEASANTON, PUILADA.
Head be/ure Philuda. Soc./or Promoting Agriculture.

At the request of my old friend and your re-
spected President, I 1 avc attended your meeting
at this time to impart to you the results of cer-
tain experiments that 1 have made within the
last ten 3'ears in attempts to utilize the blue col-
or of the sky • in the development of vegetable
and animal life.

1 may premise that fur a long time I have

thought that the blue color of the sky, so perma-
nent and so all -pervading, and yet so varying in
intensity of color, according to season and lati-
tude, must have some abiding relation and inti-
mate connection with the living organisms oa
this planet.

VIOLET KAYS UPON A GRAPERY.

Deeply impressed with this idea, in the au-
tumn of the year 18G0, 1 commenced the erection
of a cold grapery on my farm in the western
part of this city. I remembered that while a
student of chemistry I was taught that in the
analysis of the ray of the sun b}' the prism, in
the year lOGG, by Sir I?aac Newton, he had i-e-
solved it into the seven primary rays, viz. : red,
orange, j'ellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet,
and had discovered that these elementary ra^-s
had different indices of refraction ; that for the
red ray at one side of the solar spectrum being
the least, while that of the violet at the opposite
side thereof was the greatest, from which he de-
duced his celebrated doctrine of the different re-
frangihility of the rays of light ; and further, that
Sir John Ilerschel, in his subsequent investiga-
tion of the properties of light, had shown that
the chemical power of the solar ray is greatest
in the blue rays, which give the least light of any
of the luminous prismatic radiations, but the
largest quantity of solar heat, and that later ex-
periments established the fact of the stimulating
influence of the blue rays upon vegetation. Hav-
ing concluded to make a practical application of
the properties of the blue and violet rays of light
just referred to in stimulating vegetable life, I
began to inquire in every accessible direction if
this stimulating quality of the blue or violet ray
had ever received any practical useful applica-
tion. 'My inquiries developed the facts that va-
rious experiments had been made in England
and on the European continent, with glass col-
ored with each of the several primary rays, but
that they were so unsatisfactory in their results,
that nothing useful came of them so far as any
improvement in the process of developing vege-
tation was concerned. Finding no beaten track,
I was left to grope my way as best I could under
the guidance of the violet ray alone.

My grapery was finished in March, ISGl. Its
dimensions were 84 feet long, 26 feet wide, 16 feet
high at the ridge, with a double pitched roof.
It was built at the foot of a terraced garden, ia
the direction of N. E. to E. to S. V>\ by W. On
three sides there was a border twelve feet wide,

2S2

TEE GARDENER'S MO KIEL J.

August,

aud on the fourth oi' X. E. by E side the border
■was only five feet wide, beinij a walk of the gar-
den. The borders inside and outside were ex-
cavated three feet six inches deep, and were
filled up with the usual nutritive matter, care-
fully prepared for gx-owing vines. I do not think
they difliered essentially from thousands of other
borders which have been made in many parts of
the world. The first question to be solved on
the completion of the frame of the grapery, was
the proportion of blue or violet glass to be used
on the roof. Should too much be used, it would
reduce the temperature too much, and cause a
failure of the experiment ; if too little it would
not afford a fair test. At a venture I adopted
every eighth row of glass on the roof to be vio-
let colored, alternating the rows on opposite
sides of the roof, so that the sun in its daily
course should cast a beam of violet light on
every leaf in the grapery. Cuttings of vines of
some twenty varieties of grapes, each one year
old, of the thickness of a pipe-stem, and cut
close to the pots containing them, were planted
in the borders inside and outside of the grapery,
in the early part of April, 18G1. Soon after be-
ing planted, the growth of the vines began
Those on the outside were trained through
earthen pipes in the wall to the inside, and as
they grew they were tied up to the wires like
those which had been planted within. Very
soon the vines began to attract great notice of
all who saw them from the rapid growth they
were making. Every day disclosed some new
extension, and the gardener was kept busy in
tying up the new wood which the day before he
had not observed. In a few weeks after the
vines had been planted, the walls and inside of
the roof were closely covered with the most luxu
rious and healthy development of foliage and
wood.

In the early part of September. 1861, Mr
ro")t Buist, Sr., a noted seedsman and distin-
guished horticulturist, from whom I had pro-
cured the vines, having heard of their wonderful
growth, visited the grapery. On entering it he
seemed to be lost in amazement at what he saw;
after examining it very carefully, turning to me,
he said : "General, I have been cultivating
plants and vines of various kinds for the last
forty years ; I have seen some of the best vine-
ries and conservatories in England and Scotland;
but I have never seen anything like this growth."
He then measured some of the vines and found

them forLy-6.ve feet in length, aud an inch in di-
ameter at a distance of one foot above the ground ;
and these dimensions were the growth of only
five months I He then remarked : "I visited
last week a new grapery near Darby, the vines
in which I furnished at the same time I did
yours ; they were of the same varieties, of like
age and size when they were planted as yours ;
they were planted at the same time with yours.
When I saw them last week the}- were puny,
spindling plants, not more than five feet long,
and scarcely increased in diameter since they
were planted, and yet they have had the best
possible care and attendance !'

The vines continued healthy and to grow,
making an abundance of young wood during the
remainder of the season of 1801.

In March of 1862, they were started to grow,
having been pruned and cleaned in January of
that year. The growth in the second season
was, if anything, more remarkable than it had
been in the previous year Besides the forma-
tion of new wood and the displav of the most
luxuriant foliage, there was a wonderful number
of bunches of grapes, which soon assumed the
most remarkable proportions — the bunches be-
ing of extraordinar}- magnitude, and the grapes
of unusual size and development.

In September of 1862, the same gentlemtn,
Mr. Robert H. Buist, Sr., who had visited the
grapery the year before, came again — this time
accompanied by his foreman. The grnpos were
then beginning to color and to ripi'U rapidl}'.
On entering the grapery, astonished at the won-
derful display of foliage and fruit which it pre-
sented, he stood for a while in silent amazement ;
he then slowly walked around the grapery sev-
eral times, critically examining its wonders ;
wheii taking from his pocket paper and pencil,
he noted on the paper each bunch of grapes, and
estimated its weight, after which aggregating
the whole, he came to me and said, "General ! do
you know that you have 1,200 pounds Of grap.^s
in this grapery ?" On my saying that I had no
idea of the quantity it contained, he continued,
"you have indeed that weight of fruit, but I
would not dare to publish it, for no one would
believe me." We may well conceive of his as-
tonishment at this product when we are re-
minded that in grape-growing countries where
grapes have been grown for centuries, that a pe-
riod of time of from five to six years Mill elapse
before a single bunch of grapes can be produced

1S7L

THE GARDEJVER'S M0:N'THLY,

^^SS

from a young vine—wlule before him, in the sec-
ond year of the growth of vines which he him-
self had furnished only seventeen months before,
he saw this remarkable yield of the finest and
choicest varieties of grapes. He might well say
tbat an account of it would be incredible.

During the next season (1803) the vines again
fruited and matured a crop of grapes estimated
by comparison with the yield of the previous
year to weigh about two tons ; the vines were
perfectly healthy and free from the usual mala-
dies which atfect the grape. By this time the
grapery and its products had become partially
known among cultivators, who said that such
excessive crops would exhaust the vines, and
that the following year there would be no fruit,
as it was well known that all fruits required rest
after yielding large crops ; notwithstanding, new
wood was formed this year for the next year's
crop, which turned out to be quite as large as it
had been in the season of 1SG3, and so on year
by j-ear the vines have continued to bear large
crops of fine fruit without intermission for the
last nine years. They are now healthy and
strong, and as yet show no signs of decrepitude
or exhaustion.

AX EXPERIMENT TrOX PIGS.

The success of the grapery induced me to
make an experiment with animal life. In the
autumn of 1869 I built a piggery and introduced
into the roof and three sides of it violet-colored
and white glass in equal proportions— half of
each kind. Separating a recent litter of Chester
county pigs into two parties, I placed three sows
and one barrow pig in the ordinary pen, and
three other sows and one other barrow pig in
the pen under the violet glass. The pigs were
all about two months old. The weight of the
pigs was as follows, viz. : Under the violet glass
i • No. 1 sow, 42 poujiiids ; No. .2, a barrow pig, ^h\
^ pouBils ; No. 3, a sow, 38 pounds ; No. 4, a sow,
42 potuids, their aggregate weight, 1G7^ pouhjjs.
The weight of the others in the common pen
was as follows, viz. : No. 1, a sow, 50 pou'B5)[s ;
No. 2, a sow, 48 pounds ; No. 3, a barrow pig,
59 pounds ; No. 4, a sow, 40 pounds ; their ag-
gregate weight was 203 pounds. It will be ob-
served that each of the pigs under the violet
glass was lighter in weight than the light-
est in weight pig of those uniler the sunlight
alone in the common pen. The two sets of pigs
were treated exactly' alike ; fed with the same
kinds of food at equal intervals of time, and with

equal quantities b)' measure at each meal, and
Avere attended by the same man. They were
put in the pens on the .3d day of Xoveniber,
lS(i9, and kept there until the4thd«y of March,
1870, when they were weighed again. By some
misconception of my orders, the separate weight
of each pig was not had. The aggregate weight
ofthethr^e sows under the violet light on the
3d"!3f November,, 1809, was 122 pounds ; on the
4Lb of Alarch, 1870, it was 520 pounds ; increase
398 ppiinds^

The aggregate weight of three sows in the old
pen on t-hr-3tl-Qf November, 1SG9, was 144 lbs.,
and on the 4th of March, 1870, it was 530 lbs. ;
increase, 380 picwia^, or 12 pounds less than
those under the vidlet glass had gained.

The weight of the barrow pig in the common
pen on the 3d of November, J.809, was 59 pdunds^,
and on the 4th of March, 1870, it was 210 lbs. ;
increase of 151 jjoynds. The weight of the bar-
row pig undor the violet light, on the 3d of No-
vembery IStiO, was 45|^ pouii(}s^ and on the 4th
of March, 1870, it was 170 pounds ; increase 124;^
poundfe. The large increase of the weight of
the barrow pig in the common pen. is to be at-
tributed to his superior size and weight on being
put in the same common pen with the three
sows, and which enabled him to seize upon and
appropriate to himself more than his share of
the common food.

If the barrow pig under the violet light had
increased at the rate of increase of the barrow
pig in the common pen, his weight on the 4tli of.,
Mai-ch^l870, would have been only 101 84 100
lx)tfBds, instead of his actual weight of 170 lbs.,
showing his rate of increase of weight to have
been 8 30-100 pouods more than that of the other
barrow pig.

If the barrow pig under the sunshine in the
common pen had increased at the rate of in-
crease of the barroAV pig under the violet glass,
his weight on the -4th ~of IMarch, ^1870, should
have been 224 42-100 pqtmdfe, instead of 210 lbs.
— his actual weight at that date.

By these comparisons it seems obvious that
the influence of the violet-colored glass was very
marked, although it must be borne in mind that
owing to the great declination of the sun during
the period of the experiment and the consequent
comparative feebleness of the force of the act inic
or chemical rays of the blue sky at that time,
the effect was not so great as it would have been
at a later period of the season ; but the time of

^3Jf

TEE GARDEKEWS MOJ^TJTLl.

Am^ust.

the experiment was selected for that very rea-
son. The animals were not fed to produce fat
or increase of size, hut simply to ascertain, if
practicable, whether by the ordinary mode of
feeding usual on farms in this country, the de-
velopment of stock could be hastened by expos-
ing them in pens to the combined influence of
sunlight and the transmitted rays of the blue
sky.

EXTRAORDINARY EFFECT UPON A rUNY CALF.

My next experiment was with an Alderney
bull calf, born on the 26th of January, 18(0. At
its birth it was so puny and feeble, that the man
who attends upon the stock, a very experienced
hand, told me that it could not live. I directed
him to put it in one of the pens under the violet
glass. It was done. In twenty-four hours a
very sensible change had occurred in the animal.
It had arisen on its feet, walked about the pen,
took its food freely by the finger, and manifested
great vivacity In a few days its Tecble condi-
tion had entirely disappeared. It began to
grow, and its development was marvellous. On
the 31st March, 1870, two months and five days
after its birth, its rapid growth was so apparent,
that as its hind quarters was then growing, I
told my son to measure its height, and to note
down in writing tlie height of the hind quarter
and the lime of measurement, which he did. On
the 20th of the following May (1870), just fifty
daj'S afterwards, my son again measured the
hind quarter, and found that in that time it had
gained exactly six inches in hciyht, carrying its
lateral development with it. Believing the ques-
tion solved, the calf was turned into the barn-
yard, and when mingling with the cows he mani-
fested every symptom of full masculine vigor,
though at the time he was only four months old.
Since the 1st of April of this year, when he was
just fourteen months old, he has been kept with
my herd of cows, and has fulfilled every expec-
tation that I had formed of him. lie is now one
of the best developed animals that can be found
anywhere.

These, gentlemen, are the experiments about
which your curiosity has been excited. If by
the combination of sunlight and blue light from
the sky, you can mature quadrupeds in twelve
montlis with no greater supply of food than
would be u.sud for an innnature animal in the
same period, jou can scarcely conceive of the
immeasurable value of this discovery to an agri-
cultural people. You would uo longer have to

wait five years for the maturity of a colt ; and
all your animals could be produced in the great-
est abundance and variety. A prominent mem-
ber of the bar, a short time since. told me that his
sister, who is a widow of a late distinguished
general in the army, had applied blue light to
the rearing of poultry, with the most remarka-
ble success, after having heard of my experi-
ments. In regard to the human family, its in-
fluence would be wide spread — you could not
only in the temperate regions produce the early
maturity of the tropics, but 3-ou could invigorate
the constitutions of invalids, and develop in the
young a generation, ph3'^sically and intellectual-
ly, which might become a marvel to mankind.
Architects would be required to so arrange the
introduction of these mixed rays of light into
our houses, that the occupants might derive the
greatest benefit from their influence. Mankind
will then not only be able to live fast, but they
can live well and also live long.

ELECTRICITY IN VEGETATION.

The most interesting application of electricity
is in nature's development of vegetation. Let
us illustrate it :

Seed perfectly dried, but still retaining the
vital principle, like the seed of wheat preserved
for thousands of years in the mummy cases in
the catacombs of Egypt, if planted in a soil of
the richest alluvial deposits, also thoroughly
dried, will not germinate. "Why ? Let us ex-
amine. The alluvial soil is composed of the de-
bris of hills and mountains containing an exten-
sive variety of metallic and metalloid compounds
mingled with the remains of vegetable and ani-
mal matter in a state of great comminution,
washed by the rains and carried by freshets into
the depressions of the surface of the earth.
These various elements of the soil have difterent
electrical attributes. In a perfectly dry state
no electrical action will occur among them, but
let the rain, bringing with it ammonia and car-
bonic acid, in however minute quantities, from
the upper atmosphere, fall upon this alluvial
soil, so as to moisten its mass within the influ-
ence of light, heat and air, and plant your seed
within it, and what will you observe V Rapid
germination of the seed. AVhy ? The slightly
acidulated, or it may be alkaline water of the
rain has formed the medium to excite galvanic
currents of electricity in the heterogeneous mat-
ter of the alluvial soil— the vitality of the seed
is developed and vegetable life is the result.

1S71.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLY.

235

ITonoe vcsiotiible life owes its existence to elec-
tricity. Herein consists the secret of successful
agriculture. If j-ou can maintain the currents
of electricity at the roots of plants by supplying
the acidulated or alkaline moisture to excite
them during droughts, you will secure the most
abundant and unvarying crops To do this
your soil should be composed of the most varied
elements, mineral, earthy, alkaline, vegetable,
and animal matter in a state of greatly commi-
nutod decomposition.

The poverty of soils arises from the homoge-
neous character of tlieir composition. A soil
altogether clayey, or composed of silicious sand,
or the debris of limestone, or of alkaline sub-
stances exclusively, must necessarily be barren
for the want of electrical excitement, which no
one of the said elements will produce ; but com-
mingle them all with the addition of decomposed
vegetable and animal matter, and you will form
a soil which will amply reward the toil of the
husbandman.

AVhat do you suppose has produced the giant
trees of California ? Electricity ! Since the west
const of America has been known to Europeans,
and perhaps for centuries before, it has been
subjected to the most devastating earthquakes.
From the Straits of Magellan to the Arctic
Ocean, traces of volcanic action are everywhere
visible. Its mountains have been upheaved,
broken, torn asunder, and sometimes, like Ossa
upon Pelion, one has been superimposed on
another.

All volcanic countries are noted in the temper-
ate regions, where they produce anything, for
the exuberance of their vegetable productions.
yEtna has been famous for its large chestnut
trees, which have given a name, Catania, to the
town near its base.

The mineral richness of California has doubt-
less, by the debris of its mountains, carried into
the valleys where grow these large trees, fur-
nished an immense deposit of various matter,
which, under the favorable circumstances of the
localities, have maintained for ages a healthful
electrical excitement resulting through centuries
of undisturbed growth in these vegetable won-
ders.

INFLUENCE OF BLUE COLOR UPON VEGETATION.

One of the most beautiful illustrations of the
mighty influence of the blue color of the sky
u'lPon vegetation is to be found in the green color
of the leaves of plants. It is known that blue

and yellow when mixed produce green, which is
darker when the blue is in excess over the yel-
low, and the reverse when the yellow predomi-
nates. Now let us observe the process of ger-
mination. Seeds are planted in the soil. At
first a white worm-like thread at the lower part
of the seed appears ; it is white, ard contains all
the primary raysoflight ; itis the root of the plant,
and remaining under the soil continues white.
At the upper end of the seed also appears a
white swelling, which continues to grow upward
till it approaches the surface of the soil, when a
change occurs in Us color. This is the leaf; it
absorbs yellow from the soil, which is brown
(composed of yellow and black), and as it comes
within the influence of the blue sky, it absorbs
from it the blue light, which, mixing with the
yellow already absorbed, produces at first a yel-
lowish-green, which finally assumes the deeper
tinge of green that is natural to the plant. The
plant blossoms form its seeds and seed-vessels,
and, having fulfilled its mission, the blue color
of the leaves is eliminated, the leaves become
yellow, and, absorbing the carbon of the plant,
they change their color to brown ; the sap- ves-
sels of the leaves are choked by the carbon ; the
leaves are dead and fall to the ground. Thus
the blue ray is the symbol of vitality— the yel-
low ray that of decay and death.

TKOPICAL HEAT DERIVED FROM THE EARTIT.

As a corollary from what has just been" stated,
it may be observed that the heat of the equato-
rial and tropical oceans is not derived from the
sun. AVe do not heat our houses by kindling
fires at the tops of our chimneys, or boil our
water from above, but rather we descend into
our cellars, and make our fires for that purpose
in the furnaces constructed there. Besides, we
know that from the surface of the water, if at rest,
and from its many surfaces if agitated b}- winds,
the rays of the sun would be reflected in all pos-
sible angles corresponding to the angles of inci-
dence of the rays theuiselves, and the heat would
be lost in space. Whence comes, then, this
ocean heat in the tropics, finding its vent in the
arctic and antarctic regions through the Gulf
Stream of t!ie Atlantic, and the Jai)an stream
leaving the shores of northeastern Asia, and the
southeastern current running along the south-
western coast of South America to tlie antarctic
seas ? Does it not come from radiation from
the interior of the earth, from those great fires
which, by the elastic gases and vapors engea-

^36

THE GARBEMEWS MONTHLY.

August,

dereil there, in innii}- parts of the world, up-
heave mountains and islands, and forming chim-
neys for tliemselvcs in their summits, belch out
that superfluous heat, light, electricity, and
magnetism, which radiation to the surface of
the earth at times is inadequate to discharge ?
And are not these great ocean currents of heated
water merely channels or flues of radiation of
heat from beneath, by which, for climatic pur-
poses, the Omnipotent Creator has devised the
means of distributing this interior heat over
the surface of our planet ?

All admit the existence of those great forces
of nature in the interior of the earth, manifested
through volcanic action in those imponderable
elements of heat, light, electricity and magnet-
ism. Why are those forces there ? May they
not be the forces which turn the earth on its
axis, and aid in propelling it around the sun ?
may not the frigid zones north and south fur-
nish the cold cushions of water in the extreme
depths of the ocean, of the uniform temperature
of 39|^^ Fahrenheit, and of nearly the greatest
density known to that clement for the purpose
of restraining and controlling the radiation of
that great interior heat of the earth, which other-
wise might be wasted ':*

ACCLIMATIZATION OF APPLES.

BY OLIVIA. AVASIIIXGTOI?^, D. C.
Of the Philadelphia Press.

A stranger of inquiring mind, visiting the De-
partment of Agriculture at Washington, will no-
tice the fruit grown in the different portions of
our country, represented by models of the origi.
nal in exact imitation. By the side of the
" Gloria mundi " apple, weighing twenty-four
ounces, grown on Capitol Ilill, in this city, may
be seen the wild apple of Alaska, no larger than
a medium sized black currant. The observer
will sec at once the change produced in this fruit
by an artificial process or the art of cultivation.
It is found by experiment that the apple will
grow in arable soil in every portion of our do-
main, but in every instance the kind must be
adapted to that part of the country under the
hand of the fruit grower. Only a few years ago
it was supposed the Southern States could not
produce a superior quality of apples. Time has
sliown the mistake was in the attempt of trying
to raise the varieties not adapted to those lati-
tudes. The Albemarle Pippin of North Carolina
is the fiivorite apple with royalty in Europe, and

is worth twenty dollars per barrel when safely
landed in London. The Albemarle Pippin of
North Carolina is the same as the Newtown
Pippin of more northern regions. Nothing can
be found out about fruit growing by theory ;
everything must be learned liy experiment. And
thus far it is shown that the Piedmont region on
the Blue llidge of Virginia, and the hills of
North Carolina, produce the best apples in the
world, because the season admits of an extra
month for growing, and another for maturing.
In what does the best quality of an apple con-
sist ? Like a well dressed woman, a great deal
can be left to the discretion of the judge, yet
certain " points " of perfection must be attained
else the whole matter is a failure. An apple
may be sweet or sour, or any variation between,
and yet it must be as crisp as an old batchelor,
or tender as a husband before the honeymoon is
over. When the apple is taken between the
teeth the sensation should be like crushing air-
cells filled with nectar.

The best apples arc very heavy according to their
size, especially those adapted for winter use.
In the month of May apples may be seen in
AVashington, grown the previous year in South
Carolina, as solid to the touch as when taken
from the tree. These apples are considered in
the highest state of perfection when they are
about twelve months old. New York and Ohio
heretofore have enjoyed the reputation of raising
the best apples on account of the peculiar tem-
perature of those latitudes, as well as other
slighter incidental causes. It is now proved
that elevation answers the same purpose as a
more northern zone, because temperature of a
like character is obtained, and whilst New York
and Ohio sntTer more or less from the frosts,
Virginia and North Carolina are comparatively
spared, therefore the fruit crop of the Southern
country is far more reliable and certain. Whilst
writing about the dear old State of North Caro-
lina, it may be well to mention tliat she has a
most remarkable geological surface. Commen-
cing on her farthest limit from west to east, she
gradually slopes to the sea. A plank tilted on
end bears a strong resemblance to North Caro-
lina. As you ascend this plane, it would seem as
if this State was construned for a vast orchard.
On the high ridges th ■; American apple attains
perfection. A little lower, only a few miles dis-
tant, the delicious apricot, the daintiest fruit of
this continent, lives its short life away. Necta-

1S71.

TEE GARDEjYER'S MONTHLY.

237

rines, plums and pears may be raised here in
quantities to supply the whole nalion.

"Whilst there is but a single species of apples,
soil, temperature, and other causes have pro-
duced thousands of varieties. The same apple
is known in different parts of the country by
different names, but, like the people of the va-
rious States, there is gcnex'ally some little pecu-
liarity to mark them. Some very few varieties,
like some particular men, seem to flourish equally
well anywhere. In this connection may be men-
tioned the Wine Sap, Golden Russett and "White
"Winter Pearmain, In Massachusetts the Bald-
win apple may be seen growing, twisted and dis-
torted, in the hard, rocky soil, 3-et no fault can
be found with the product. Massachusetts Bald-
wins, like the people of that State, seem to lose
certain qualities when removed from the stones;
and in order to remain perfect, the Baldwin ap-
ple, like Boston people, should stay at home.

The Baldwin apple of Illinois is a very infe-
rior production compared with its Eastern bro-
ther, and instead of being crisp, close, occupy-
ing little space, it has expanded and become
porous and coarse. It has lost all its delicac}-,
and reminds one of those swell millionaires of
the "West who have no foith, knowledge, or en-
joyment outside of physical comfort.

Apples are divided into summer, fall and win-
ter varieties. They cannot be classified because
they are artificiallj'^ produced. The same apple
will not grow in "Maine that grows in Maryland,
or it will be so changed that the qualities can-
not be recognized. Each State has this kind of
fruit, which is particularly adapted to its soil
and climate. A man going from the East to the
"West .selects grafts from his favorite trees and
takes them to the new country. In the end he
is sadly disappointed. Through the fourteen
hundred agricultural organizations that report
to the department at "Washington it is ascer-
tained in which State certain varieties flourish
best. At the proper season certain kinds of ap-
ples arrive here, and in this way the apple of
Texas can be compared to the apple of Maine,
and in this way only can this most valuable
knowledge be sown broadcast over the land. If
an army needs a general for its safeguard and
protection, how much more the agricultural
masses need a source where certain and reliable
knowledge can be obtained. "We will suppose
a young man intends to cultivate the earth in-
stead of a profession for an honorable subsistence.

"W'e must remember that we hfive a belt of the
earth's surface unlike any other country on the
face of the globe, taking into account civiliza-
tion and everything else which bears upon this
point. The young man choo.ses to emigrate ; if
he is wise he will come to "Washington and learn
all that is garnered here about the locality he
intends to make his future home. He will learn
the cereals, fruits, and textile plants that flour-
ish best in the chosen retreat. He will see
the insect which destroys in great part the re-
sult of the husbandman's labor. He will see the
same kind of bird that will henceforth prove his
friend or foe It is true this branch of the tree
of knowledge is still of infant growth, but Com-
missioner Capron and his eflScient assistant
corps are working hard to make it become just
what it certainl}' is destined to be in the end.
Congress may harass and retard this grand un-
dertaking by withholding the proper appropria-
tions. Congressmen may sneer in their igno-
rance at the "scattering of garden seeds," but
the time is certain to come when this branch of
the Government will rank in dignity with the
proudest, and outrank in genuine usefulness
every other.

In the extreme northern latitudes of our coun-
tr}^, in the region where the Mississippi river
is begun, the x\merican apple has not flourished
well, owing to the brevity of the fruitage season.
Latterly the Russian apple has been introduced
by means of the department at Washington, and
very excellent fruit will now reward labor in
these remote and thinly populated neighbor-
hoods. It has been found by actual experiment
that fruit trees flourish best, or get a foothold in
the worn out lands, exhausted by tobacco and
cotton, far easier than any other vegetation.
With very small outlay, comparatively speaking,
for fertilizers, fruits will grow when the cereals
and other plants cannot be coaxed into sprout-
ing When the trees advance to a certain size
the leaves fall, and this also enriches the earth
In a little while the orchard itself will begin to
pay for the necessities of its perfection. An or-
chard in this part of the world is not an object
of slow growth. Before the fruit grower is
hardly aware of it, his infant trees b( gin to bud
and blossom. Suppose the orchard is far re-
moved from market. In these days of canned
fruits nothing need be lost. American canned
fruits are now one of the acknowledged delica-
cies of the world, and the demand a million

£38

TEE GARDEJVER'S jMOJVTHLy.

August,

imes exceeds the supply. Even Pius IX eats
brown bread and canned peaches. And here
opens a glorious avenue of labor and reward to
women. Only the strongest of American women
can become farmers, for they have not the
strength to handle the spade and other imjile-
ments of labor. I3ut the weakest can plant a
tree, and whilst she is nursing her back ache and
neuralgia, the tree will be growing with very
small care and attention. The misguided women
who are demanding the ballot, base one argu-
ment upon the fact that there are so few ave-
nues open to subsistence to women. The ave
cues are open, but it is the women who halt and
refuse to enter. Let three hundred starving
needle-women of New York organize and peti-
tion A. T. Stewart, or any other benevolent
millionaire, to colonize them and place them on
some of the lands of the South that can now be
had almost for the asking, and this most worthy
charitable act of the nineteenth century will be
accomplished. Suppose A. T. Stewart rendered
each woman a little assistance each year until
the trees began to be remunerative. Isn't this
greater wisdom than building orphan's asylums
or homes for the poor ? Take care of the women
and there will be fewer orphans, and no need of
homes for the poor. Wohitn of small means can
make themselves independent by fruit culture.
Oh I the inexpressible joy and comfort of sitting
under one's own vine and fig tree. And yet
this supreme pleasure can be enhanced by em-
ploying a pair of strong hands to prevent the
winds of Heaven visiting our cheeks too roughly.

EDITORIAL NOTES.

DOMESTIC.

Natural Manure — It must be obvious to all
that there is in most soils, deep in the earth be-
neath, fertilizing material of wonderful recupe-
rative powers. We recently noticed in an old
quarry amongst the "spalls," a mass of rotten
rock, 80 poor that apparently nothing could
grow, mulleins of immense size,— four or five feet
with leaves as large as rhubarb leaves. All about
in the cultivated ground near were mulleins, but
as poor as possible. There must of course be in
this material something very stimulating to the
mullein ; and if so to this, why not to other
plants V And yet we should hesitate before
hauling this rotten rock on to our ground. Yet
it is evident there is a valuable secret locked up
in ihis rock somewhere. Apropos of this we

find the following by our very iutelligent friend
Gregory of Marblehead, in the Country Gentle-
man :

" Four years ago I had a wall laid along the
border of my garden. I had the trench for the
foundation dug very deep, well down into the
hard-pan, and had the hard-pan thrown into a
pile separate from the loam. The loam was
used in the compost heap, and the hard-pan— a
half sandy, half gravelly mass, with just enough
of coarse soil in it to be seen— was left to be used
to fill up some path.

In the course of the summer, I noticed a plant
growing on it with surprising vigor, which on
examination, proved to be the common mustard,
but with leaves nearly as broad and large as a
cabbage— a size I had never seen surpassed in
the richest soil. Beside it, and also on the hard-
pan, was growing a plant of Apple of Peru, with
a vigor that belonged to the richest soil. The
following spring I spread the lot on the flower
garden, and had a wonderful growth of flowers
as the result.

A year later, one of my neighbors in another
part of the town dug a ditch, that drained his
land through mine, to the depth of over six feet,
cutting for about the last three feet through
hard-pan, and throwing this on my side of the
wall, where it made a heap about three feet in
depth, of apparently nearly pure gravel, a little
mixed w'ith sand. The next summer while pass-
ing that way, I stepped aside to examine the
ditch, when to my surprise I found growing on
the heap of hard-pan, hog weed that was nearly
as high as ni}' head. The only iuference I can
draw from these facts is, that under some cir-
cumstances hard-pan is an excellent manure.
In each of these instance the surface soil was a
strong loam that had been under good cultiva-
tion for many years. May it not be that some
of the salts ol the manure applied duriug this
period, passed through the loam to the hard-pan
below, and there remained, held as in a bowl ?
Lime, it is stated, has this teudeuc}-, making it
necessary to plow deeper each year to bring it to
the surface. By whatever theory they may be
explained, the facts seem to prove that in this
broad country of ours there must be a multitutle
of acres underlain b}^ vast areas of fertilizing
material. Should further experiments demon-
strate this to be a fact, it must prove of immense
practical value to our tilled acres, of which the
best fed have the habit of calling for a little
more.''

1S71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTELY.

239

Sinking of Lime in the Earth, — lu the fore-
going paragraph, Mr. Gregory refers to a fact
long observed in England, tliat after a field has
been limed, many years afterwards the lime may
be found in one thin vein six, nine, or twelve
inches beneath the surface. Many remarkable
hypothesis have been started to account for this,
but the true explanation we think is this : Our
grounds are on the revolutionary battle ground
of Germantown. It is no uncommon thing to
dig up bullets, but they are always about twenty
inches beneath the surface. It was clear to us at '
the outset, that it was not gunpowder which
sent them this depth, neither could they ''dis-
solve and crystalize again " as some of the lime
explainers say, but they went down in this way.
Every winter, when the ground froze, there was
a slight upheaval by expansion of the earth.
The lightest goes up easiest. "We see this every
winter on the surface. A sudden frost seems to
sink down a little. A stone at the surface. Really
it is the earth about the stone which goes the
highest When the thaw comes the bullet being
the heaviest and not liquified remains still the low-
est. In th's way, the bullet in time gets cloion to
the frost line. There can be little doubt this is
the explanation of the lime puzzle. Its sinks
because its specific gravity is greater than the
softer earth about it,— and the white seam is the
frost line.

Mexican Ectrheuring Strawberry — The papers
are again discussing the merits and distinctness
of this and the old monthly Alpine. Charily
compels us to say, that it is not only extremely
difficult to distinguish these two from one
another, but einy variety of Alpine one from
another in the summer or the fall. Indeed Mr.
Fuller declared in an article in Hearth and Home
that there was no d'ffcrence between any of them
Any one, however, who will note ihem closely
when they are coming into leaf and flower m the
spring, will see great diflerences. The advocates
of thtir absolute identity, however, scarcely de-
serve to have even this justice done them; for

— most of the party — have discussed their side
of the question, in utter disregard of the ameni-
ties of cultivated minds. Only so recently as the
issuing of Messrs. Judd & Co.'s Annual, Mr.
Fuller dares to intimate that all who differed
with liim were bought to do so. "We have always
held this style of arguing — or rather of dlsputin^i

— in utter contempt ; still this does not prevent
our saying what in justice we should say, that
as the two strawberries grow side by side in our

ground after a year of growth together, it is
barely possible to distinguish one kind from the
other in summer time, although easy enough in
the spring of the year.

Influence of Pollen on the Immediate Quality of
the Fruit.— It has always been supposed, and we
believe so taught in European text books on hor-
ticulture that cross fertilization does not affect
the form or quality of the fruit impregnated, tut
only the pollen. We showed recently that in
the Canada cross (?) between the apple and the
pear, there was an undoubted mixture of quali-
ties in the fruits. We also know that it is so, in
the case of corn and squashes. It has also been
suspected that it does so in grapes ; and the fol-
lowing which we find in an exchange connmis

this :

"At a late meeting of the Cincinnati Horti-
cultural Society, were presented by Mr. E A.
Thompson, of Covington, Ky , fine bunches of
the Creveling, ripe and fine for the table— very
delicious. Mr. Thompson grows his Creveling
in alternate rows between Hartford Prolific and
Concord. The Crevelings grown by themselves
lack the solid, large bunches which they make in
the alternate rows, as grown by Mr. T. for the
purpose of impregnation."

Influence of the Scion on the Stock. — In the early
volumes of the Gardener'' s Monthly^ Mr. D W.
Adams and others noticed that an apple had its
roots singularly modified by the graft which
grew on it. The fact is important enough to be
kept prominent, as the " philosophy " of the
matter has not been explained. We noticed in
the Vermont i-^^v-jner, recently, Mr. Goodale is
quoted in 18G3 as noticing the same facts. The
Farmer says :

"■Still further, scions have sometimes a pecu-
liar action upon stocks in modifying their habit
of growth as regards the roots. Says Goodale,
(Maine Agricultural report, 1803, p. 1G3.) "Let
a row of seedling apples be grafted, a part with
the Siberian Crab apple, and a part with several
free growing kinds like the Baldwin or Greening
and it will be found upon lifting them a few
years after grafting, that the former may have a
much greater amount of roots than either of the
free-growing sorts. Let part of a row of young
Canada plums (our common wild plum) be bud-
ded with the better and more free-growing sorts,
like Imperial Gage, Smith's Orleans, or
McLaughlin, and after two or three years, upon
liftin<r them, it will be found that the roots of
those trees grafted have not, apparently, growu

2J^0

TEE GARDEJ\rER'S M0JVTHL7, August,

at all since being budded, while those not
worked have extended very much. These and
similar cases I have repeatedly observed in nur-
sery practice, and there are doubtless other in-
fluences also exerted by the stock which are not

well understood — for instance, it is said that
sometimes an apple, usually free from this de-
fect, has become what is called watercorecl, in
consequence of having been grafted u])on a tree,
the natural fruit of which was thus affecled."

EDTTOE lAL.

THE PROPER TIME TO PLANT TREES.

In reading the excellent work of Mr. Chas.
Downing on fruits, we notice that he puts great
faith in the opinion of Lindley, that the fall is
the best time to plant trees. It does not appear
that Lindley spoke from any experience in the
matter ; but simply from whathe conceived to be
physiological reasons Here we see, he remarks,
that the tree's roots grow all winter. Hence a
transplanted fall tree, will have restored its injur-
ed roots, and will be in a better condition in spring
than if it had to make new roots and new leaves
all at the same time. This certainly seems very
reasonable ; and if there were no counteracting
influences all would be well.

But it does not appear from a study of
Liudley's writings that he fully appreciated how
much evaporation of moisture from the stems of
trees there is in the winter season. Indeed how
should he, for in the moist English atmosphere,
there is not much. But from our stand point —
where the evaporation is enormous -Liudley
had not the opportunity to see what we know.
"We have found that not only do our trees do
what Lindley says English trees do, grow their
roots all winter, except when absolutely encased
in frost, but even when the soil is hard frozen.
Thawing their way by tlie aid of their internal
heat, they go through the most solidly frozen
block, drawing in a supply of moisture for the
rapid exhalations from the leafless bark continu-
ally going on. If this power of absorbing raois
ture in the dead of winter were to cease, some
of our hardiest trees would die in a few days
under our cold wintry weather. It is just this
which often interferes with the success of our
fall i)lanting. Moisture is in a small degree ab-
sorbed by old roots ; but the major part is taken
up by the young growing rootlets, chiefly from
the ends which are spongiest and softest, if

thei*e has not been time for the production of an
abundance of these, it is hard work for the tree
to get through the winter alive.

Now, if we bear in mind these two great
principles, we shall not go far wrong as to the
proper time to plant. We see that we have to
get new rootlets ; and we have to guard against
excessive evaporation until we do. If we can
secure enough rootlets to meet all the plant's
wants through the winter, then assuredly the
fall is the best time to plant trees.
Often we can secure these conditions, and often
not. It is the object of this article to teach our
readers who have not thought of it, how to use
wise discretion in the matter.

One of the best ways is to plant verrj early.
Do not wait for the fall of the leaf; but com-
mence as soon as the first heavy foil rains have
thoroughl}' loosened the ground. If the leaves
have not all fallen, strip them off. It is no more
of an injury for man to do this in the day, when
a frost may and often does do it the same night.
If there be much soft and immature wood, cut
this back, evaporation is much more easy through
this part than the harder and more mature.

Another thing in favor of fall planting, will be
the selection of warm ground. This will much
favor the production of rootlets. In a cold damp
soil, the roots already on the tree will rather
die, than new ones produce themselves. This is
particularly the case with some trees which do
not make young roots free'.y in the fiiU. The
tulip tree, oaks, and the peach are familiar in-
stances of this class. And again he who would
have the very best success with fall planting,
must guard as much as possible against hot
bursts of sun, or cold wintry winds ; and thus
he whose place is the best protected in this re-
spect, will have the best of it over him who has
not.

ib71.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJV'THLY

'2Jfl

Some of our readers, we suspect, will wonder
why we include the sun in our list of winter
enemies to the fall planted tree. But we see
how it is after a winter's experience. The
southern side of the fall planted tree is often
scorched on that side. This is simply because
the sun draws out the moisture there faster
than the injured roots can suppl}' it.

In favor of fall planting there is yet one item
which we can seldom have in spring. This is
in reference to the condition of the earth. It is
often said that a wet day is good for planting
trees, but this is a mistake. The pasty earth
does not fit closely to the roots ; and the roots
cannot well take up moisture, unless they are in
close contact with the earth. Hence a half dry
soil, that will powder finel}' when crushed, is to
be preferred. Then every little root finds the
powdering soil closing in about it ; and it is
almost as if the root had pushed itself through
in the ordinary way. It is a good thing in
transplanting to have one man pounding with a
rammer, as fast as the earth is being put in In
the spring, what with rain aud frost, the soil is
not apt to be as friable, as gardeners say, as it
is in the fall of the year.

We think, with these facts before them, our
readers can judge for themselves how far they
can command the essentials to succes.s in fall
planting. It will be seen that an absolute rule
as given by Lindley won't do ; but yet there are
hundreds of cases where it can and will be best
to plant in fall. We all have enough to do in
spring, aud all we can get done in advance in
fall, is great gain.

THE JAPAN LARCH.

The LdA-ix leptolepis, or .Japan Larch has this
season produced cones on the grounds of the
editor, and furnishes another illustration of the

fact that the plants of Japan more nearly resem-
ble those of the United States than those of
Europe. The habit of the tree is very much
like the American, even to the glaucous tint of
the young branchlets ; and the cone is in struc-
ture like our American species. There is this
striTtiug difference between Lanx Europcea and
and L. Americana^ that the central axis, or as
one might popularly say, the core of the cone, is
strongly developed in the European. We find
the woody axis up to the highest point of the
scales, and often it extends to a perfect branch
beyond the cone, as we see a branch beyond the
apex of a pine apple. But in the American
species the axis is much below the scales ; so
that the apex of an American cone is sunk in the
mass of scales, as the calyx basin of an apple is
in that fruit. The cones of the Larix leptolepis
resemble the American in this ; though they are
nearly as large as the European species.

Mr. Hogg, who sent the seed from Japan,
thinks this tree is the only one successfully raised
from his seed now existing in this country,— but
we saw an imported plant nearly as large as
ours at Mr. Hunnewell's near Boston. Mr. Hogg
tells us that it is from this tree that many of the
curious figures which the Japanese are so fond
of forming in their gardens, are made. The
branches do not readily break in bending, and
they are tied into position, until they resemble
any bird, beast, or other thing. The advantage
of employing the Larch is, that the spurs which
come out of the old wood for many years, keep
all the branches year after year clothed witli
foliage, which no other tree would do. Besides
this it makes long lithe branches, sometimes
making five feet in a season, which gives plenty
of material for planting.

The editor's plant is not ten years old from
the seed ; and tliough all coniferiie grow slow for
the first four or five years, this tree is about 25
feet hiiili.

S C R A r 8 A N D Q U F. R [ E S .

TilE PUINCU'LES OF WaKDIAN CASES.— //.

//. W., Chicago^ Ills., writes : " Having recently
had my attention called to the method of
conducting '' Ward's Cases,' sometimes called
" Wardian Cases,' and "ferneries," I am
;inxious to learn more of the matter. I wish
to iearn somewhat of tiic sdentific lawn

which govern vegetation in an air tight case,
What is the process by whicli the equi-
librium is sustained, and the life and growth of
the plants advanced ? I don't care so much for
the practical part of it, as for the scientific so\u.
tion. I have as yet been unable to find any one
here who is able to explain the phenomena in a

^4'

THE GARDEJ^EICS MONTHLY

August,

atisfactory manner, j liave consulted I)r-
Blaney of the Rush Medical College, and Prof.
Slimson of the Academy of Sciences. The edi-
tor of the Prairie Farmer referred me to you.
If you can spare the time, 1 should consider it a
great favor if you will afford me the desired ex-
planaiion, or inform me where I can find some
work which will treat the matter from a scien-
tific stand point."

[In a true Wardian Case, there is very little
growth ; hence there is no equilibrium to be
maintained in the sense in which our correspon-
dent supposes. In a perfectly air-tight case
such as a AVardian case is supposed to be, a plant
simply lives, and makes no extended growth. I^
it grew, it could only do so by the decomposition
of carbonic acid, and this would cause such a
dense mas ;• ofoxygen in the atmosphere of the
case, that the act of growth would be its own
destruction.

There are three essentials to growth, — light.
heat and carbonic acid ; with the two former
only, the plant simply Uces, and does not grow,
hence a plant will remain an indefinite time in a
closely glazed case in this way.

Fern cases are not Wardian Cases, nor are
the plant cases often called Wardian. Air is par-
tially admitted, and thus plants grow. In the
case of ferns, however, they have very little car
bon in their structure. Any plants which are
composed niainly of cellular matter, can grow
whtn there is but a ver}' small portion of car-
bonic acid in the atmosphere of the case.]

exact age, but it is probably under 100 years old.
With regard to the value of tlu' Larch, we believe
that it is equal in endurance to anything, — but
it must be borne in mind that we have no sta-
tistics gathered in this country It must be re-
garded as an experiment, — but still an experi-
ment with everything in its favor. But it does
not follow that Larch wood raised in this coun-
try will do what Larch wood does in Scotland,
although the same tree. European trees grow and
endure differently here. The oak, which in
England "lasts for a thousand years," has
grown and commenced its decaj- here within one
hundred. Great numbers of European trees in
the Bartram gardens, though not much over a
hundred years, have some entirel}' disappeared
or are going to decay. The magnificent Silver
Fir in Germantown, not 100 years old, and
which only ten years ago drew tree lovers from
long distances, is a sorry looking object now.
We are inclined to think the Larch and Larch-
wood will endure at least as long as any tree :
but not to the extent it would in Scotland

Age of the Laruh. — H. A. J., Chicago, III ^
writes: "Can you give me the age of the
European Larch growing in the Bartram
Botanic Garden, Phila., that you mentioned in
1853, as being 108 feet high and 5 feet 4 inches
in circumference, and is it still standing and
growing ; and do you know of any other fine
specimens ? I am gathering what information I
can on this subject, to induce tree plantitig on
our prairies, and especially the Larch. Any in.
formation you can give me concerning its
history, rapidity of growth, &c., will be grate-
fully received. This tree seems to have been en.
tirely successful with many of our western
planters, and I do not consider the time far
distant, when it will play a conspicuous part in
the supply of fence posts, telegraph poles, and
railroad ties for the West."

[The Larch we referred to is, we believe, still
in existence We have no means of knowing its

Lettuce about Boston. - A Subscriber, New
Ym-k, says : " I wish to make the inquiry
through the Gardener's MontJihj, how they raise
Lettuce around Boston, and if there is any rea-
son why the same cannot be raised here

If some one acquainted with the cultivation
will write an article on this subject, they will
greatly oblige a New York subscriber."

Dressing for Peach Trees. — A. B Sprout,
Picture Rocks, Pa., writes: That he "is using
with apparent good effect, pulverized charcoal
and wood ashes as a top dressing for peach trees,
producing a healthy growth with deep green
foliage and apparently no disea.se. Also as a
prevention of the root or bark worms, a wood
hooj) aroimd the base of trunk, diameter six
inches, depth three inches, tilled with ashes,
charcoal, sand or dry earth.

He has planted 2,500 of the peach ; has ten
acres more to plant."

Californian Notes — A Correspondent aa,ya:
" I have written you some hast}^ notes to men-
tion some trees and shrubs I saw in California,
I thought you might probably think worth en-
quiring about. An evergreen near the ' Gey-
sers'' not far from the Calistoga Springs, struck

1871.

THE GAfiDEA^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

^JfS

me as being a fine thing. They call it the Cali-
fornia Nutmeg. It has a verj' deep green leaf,
like ihat of a fir, but very long. It grows like
fir, and some about 15 feet high, were the highest
I saw. Cut down, it sprouts at the stump freely
as a chestnut.

I mentioned the Dogwood then with its fine i
large flower. The Spice wood with its great j
Wf Brilliant white flowering Raspberry. Pink !
and white Azaleas, with very large and fine j
flowers. An evergreen Cliinquepin, &c. «&c.

I dare say you know the Sugar Pine that
grows on the mountains there {high up), a grand
tree, cones 2 feet long It grows 300 feet and
over, and produces manna— which I ate, — very
sweet and delicate. Then there is what thej' call
the Pitch Pine, straight and tall, over 300 feet
high ; most like the Australian with its cande-
labra form and deep, rich green leaf. Then the
Yellow Pine, so called then there, nearly a
match in size. All these three pines are high
up in mountains.

The Dwarf Horse Chestnut of California
clothes the side hills, and has a very fine crown
in density, form and color ; not over 12 or 14
feet high, covered with spikes of flowers over a
foot long, mostly white, often tinted with other
colors. The flowers stand erect and are very
dense and nearly as large as a man's arm.

I found in Minuota and about Madison in
California, native crab apples, plenty, trees 10
to 15 feet high. Also great numbers of wild
Plums. Some of which I was told are nearly as
large as green gages, and really good fruit ; red
in color. The wild plum I have known (of
Pennsylvania) is red and astringent, but excel-
lent on that account for preserving or stewing.

The Buttonwood of California is one of the
grand trees of this Continent, much larger than
any I ever saw here, with vast spreading crown,
enormous branches, and foliage much cut and
starry, like that of the European, but much
more so. I was much struck with the inclina-
tion to European characteristics of many trees
and shrubs in California The Oysters have
also the same tendency. Even the Blackberry
flowers exhibit it, at least so they struck me,
who am, however, no botanist— only an inter-
ested looker on "

years old Does not this completely overthrow
Darwin's hypothesis of the origin of species ?"

[We do not understand our correspondent, or see
what relation the age of these trees has to the
Darwinian theory.

In the first place, it is not so certain these
trees are as old as some suppose Mr. Josiah
Hoopes, who examined the trees personally, and
with very common sense eyes, noticed that these
trees were still extending their leaders somewhat
every year. Now when these trees are young,
they grow with immense rapidity. We have
known them grow six feet in one season. Sup-
posing the}'^ only grow two or three inches a
year now ; that the}' grew four or five inches
some years previous, and that for many years
they grew only one foot — allow, if you like, that
the average growth was but one foot per annum
through the whole course of its career, and the
three hundred feet tree will be but three hun-
dred yeai's. You see if the tree onlj' 300 feet
high grew 3000 years, it would only be one inch
a year, which, if Mr. Hoopes is right in his
statement that the straight trunk continues to
grow up, is an absurdity. It surely must grow
more rapidly than this.

Anyhow, Mr. Darwin knows as well as any
one that there has not been much change in
things for some thousands of years. Men are
now jiretty much as history sa3's the}"^ were four
or five thousand years ago,— and even in the
matter of dogs, which occupied so conspicuous
a place in Mr. Darwin's origin of species, it is
very well known that dogs like our own, especial-
ly the greyhound, are carved in Egyptian figures
of five thousand years ago. We do not see what
our correspondent wants us to say ]

OuioiN OK Species — 'Orpheus,^' JBalUviore,
Md., Hixya: ''It is generally conceded that the
giant trees of Calilornia are several thousand

Gardeners — B. S. F., says : "I have been
a constant reader of your valuable Monthhj^ and
have read with great pleasure and benefit, many
articles contained therein. I do not remember
having ever seen an article of this character,
I which is the formation of a gax-dener's club or
\ society for the benefit of gardeners seeking em
I ployment. By gardeners, I mean only those
I that would pass inspection There are very
many at this time who call themselves garden-
ers, but are only so called by themselves, that
accept situations at a salary far below that
which an experienced gardener should be able
to command, and for this reason cannot do so.
Now, Mr. Editor, would it not be well for you to

^u

THE GARDE JEER'S MOXTHLy. August

organize a society of gardeners, and to have all
who wish to obtain responsible situations to pass
an examination, the same as a doctor or any
similar profession ; and to appoint a certain
salary for both single and married men that are
pronounced capable to hold prominent positions.
I have often thought over this subject, and have
come to the conclusion that you are the most in-
fluential party to refer this subject to for consid-
eration. If you consider the subject worthy
thereof, you will not only oblige me, but man}-
good gardeners in all parts of America."

[Our correspondent raises a very difficult ques-
tion. It is excessively annoying to have one
who is no gardener preferred to ourselves, when
we feel that we have devoted our whole lives,
and as we may believe with some success, to the
profession. But we doubt whether any organi-
zation would correct this. Many a good physi-
cian who goes through all B. S. F. would have
gardeners go through, frequently starves ; while
the "smart" fellow, who received his parchment
only to the surprise of his fellow students, gets
practice and riches. Too often an excellent gar-
dener has other defects, which render his ser
vices unaccessible. He is often dignified, and
makes no eflfort to let what he knows be known. I

He is averse to ''blowing his own horn;" but
good skill requires as much advertising before it
is known as the Quack's business does.
Our belief is that where true gardening skill is
once known, and he who possesses it has other
agreeable qualities, there are very few good gar-
deners in the United States who will long re-
main unappreciated. Let him have tact enough
to turn up some chance to show that he "knows
how to do it,'' and his success is safe.

Male and Female Hemp.- J. if., Paris,
Bourbon Co ^ Ky.^ writes: "It has been ob-
served by those who cultivate hemp in this
State, that the male plant dies long before the
female plant. Has this been noticed before, and
what is the explanation ?"

[This is an accordance with Meehan's theory
of sex in plants. There is less vitality or hold
on life in one case than in the other ; and it is
the amount of nutrition which determines the
vital power, — defective nutrition determines the
male sex. Not only in hemp, but in every
plant, male flowers or the male parts of flowers
die first. ]

J^OOKS, CATALOGUES, cSj C.

DuWMNg'8 SELECTID FlUIT FIR lBf;IHH>l> \M> M.MlKtT N>\V

York: .Tfhn Wiley & Pop.

It has ever seemed to us that the large work
of Mr Downing was rather a tribute to perfec-
tion than to practical utility. No one could fail
to estimate the value of his labors when he
wished to have on hand a description of all the
fruits known ; and yet everybody must have
asked himself when this labor was to cease ? A
botanist goes on the work of a J^/ora, satisfied that
hecan gitall theknownplants.butloexpcct toget
all I he known fruits toget her, should be beyond hu-
man thought. Forourparl, we look on this multi-
plication of new fruits as a great evil, and have
declined for some time to describe any new va-
riety, unless satisfied that it had at least one

point of superiority over others already known.
That it should be merely "good,'' is not. enough,
— and no one should be entitled to name a fruit
so as to have that name recognized by pomolo-
gists, unless he is able to show wherein his fruii
does differ from all others known. Of course he'
who discovers a new fruit, should have the right
to name it provisionalh/ ; but it should be sub-
mitted to some one distinguished as an author
in that particular line of fruits, and if after a
caVeful examination, it is found sufficiently dis-
tinct to warrant distribution, let it go forth with
his name attached, as a new plant would do.
Then we might have, for instance, in pears, the
'Hritish Lion,'' Hony; the 'Spread Eagle,'
Barry: or the 'Glory of the IIub,"7/oi'ct/, — or in

1871.

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^'TBiy.

245

apples, "Star of the West," Warder; 'Setting
Sun" Elliott; or "Morning Star" of Dotvning, —
and so on with other fruits. We don't know
whether these reforms will ever be introduced ;
but this work of Mr. Dowuing's is in the right
direction. Hex*e we have every thing weeded
out, except such as have gained some reputation.
The book is about the size of Mr. Downing's
earlier editions -600 pages. We think the idea
of giving this abstract an excellent one, and it
will, no doubt, be found aproiitablc one for both
the author and publisher.

In regard to the matter of the work, it is not
our purpose to speak of it critically, as it is much
as appeared in former volumes. Yet we cannot
but regret that Mr. Downing has not looked at
the subject of fruit culture through more modern
eyes We have as great regard as he has forKnight,
and Loudon, and A'' an Mons, and the elder De Can-
dolle,and Coxe ; and Kendrick in our own coun
try : but surely a little has been learned during
tiie last fifty years. And then, we are sorry to
have to say it of Mr Downing, he is not alway.s

just to those who differ from him, — not intention-
ally unjust of course,— but no less so. For in-
stance, in regard to the cultivation of apple or-
chards he says : "It is indispensable that in all
young orchards the ground be kept mellow and
j loose," "Of two adjoining orchards, one plowed,
the other kept in grass * * the one will have
I clean smooth stems * * the neglected one starved
and sickly."
j It has been the fashion with some newspaper
j disputants, more anxious for the success of some
pet theory, than to do justice to others, to pre-
{ tend that those who ditiered with them as to the
j proper way to cultivate orchards, were advo-
; cates of neglect ; but one would hardly expect to
find a writer of Mr. Downing's known generosity
among this class.

In the description of fruits some errors in for-
mer editions have been corrected. Now Dutch
Mignonne apple is not Blenheim Pippin ; Striped
Winter Pearmain, and McAfee's Nonsuch are
united ; as also are the Westbrook or Speckled
with Fall Orange.

NEW AAT PiARE FRUITS.

Strawberry, Coding's Seedling.— This
is an Indiana variety raised by Mr t'ovvings
four years ago. The fruit is represented as be-
ing produced as abundantly as Wilson's Alba-
ny,—superior in size and productiveness to
Downer's new seedling ; "solid, excellent, ro-
bust and beautiful ' In size, the berries are
said to "average larirer thanTrioniphe de Gand,
Agriculturist, or Jucunda "

The Plowden Peacu —For some time
peach growers have been exercised about a new
peach which originated some sixt}' miles below
Washington, D. C, which was said to be ripe
ticevty days before Hale's Early. As this was
ten days earlier than Early York, a peach a
month earlier than this old standard, seems too
impossible to be true, and we have so suggested
in a former number of this paper. We supposed
it might be, perhaps, a sickly tree of Hale's

Early which had borne pri-raature fruit as dis-
eased trees sometimes will. But we have to-day,
July the ~yth, a fruit before us from a tree budded
from the original, and we can see that it is not
Hale's Early, nor any illy ripened fruit, but a
distinct kind, of delicious flavor. We have in
our market mi.scrable colicky Tillotson's from
Florida.— if such a lot as this one from Wash-
ington could be put on the market, one's fortune
would be made.

We do not yet understand how so irood a peach
can be a month earlier than Early York, and
fancy there is yet something unexplained about
this ; but we must say that it is the best early
Peach we have yet seen. The Hade's Early
went out well, chiefly on the character we
gave it in the Oardener''s Monthly, and we feel
this will make as good a figure in peach annals
as that excellent variety did.

The fruit is of about the same size, hut lighter

US

TEE GABDEJS/'EIi'S MOJ^THLy .

August,

than Hale's Early ; flesh wholly white and re-
markably juicy, — and the white somewhat
smooWi stone free, from the flesh The leaves
are very lonjr and verj- narrow,- as a botanist
■would say linear lanceolate, — and it belongs to
the "landless section.

Herstine'sE ASPBKRUiES.— In ihe days when ;
the gods of the ancients walked amongst men, i
and ate and drank and clothed themselves as i
the children of men now do, the raspberry grew
only in the mountains of Greece — as a wild plant '
in that classic land. Mount Id^eus, the scene j
of so many of the loves and hates of these mighty I
divinities and divinilesst s — our own unpatented j
word, b}' the way, but as good as editress, re- i
porteress, doctress, or lawyeress— this Mount
Idseus abounded especially in raspberries, and
no doubt furnished many a feast for those dis- I
tinguished characters Its location furnished 1
its name. Linnieus who must needs Latinize I
everything, gave the general name of Eubus to j
the raspberry and blackberry family, and the j
raspberry in particular he named Rubus Idseus.

But the raspberries of those days were very
different from the raspberries of our time. Im-
provement has not confined itself to extracting
a man from a monkey, as our friends Cope and
Darwin assert man descended, but has given us
in this fruit a pulpy, luscious berry in the place
ofthehai'd, seedy, mountain fruit of the past
times ; and the aforesaid gods, lieing immortal,
must look down on us with envious sensations,
when they contrast the favors we receive with
what was voucl^^afed to them.

Still it is not altogether by calling on Hercules
that the great wagon of improvement has been
made to roll along.

Our modern pomologists are not the men to
wait on the slow process of "natural selection"
in the development of good fruit, and in the case
of the raspberry, Philadelphia horticulturists
have particularly distinguished themselves in
hastening the niillenium when every fruit-eater
expects to be happy.

Dr. W. D. Brinckle, a Philadelphian, gave the
first impetus to improvement by raising a great
many superb varieties, amongst which the
''(•range" still ranks very high. Then Aubrey
introduced, though he did not raise, the "Hor-
net,'' and some others. Parry brought out the
'Philadelphia," which is still the raspberry of
the wholi' l,'ni((ii. Our w(»rtiiy merchant, Duh-

ring, raised ihe good variety which goes by his
name : and '''1 he Northern Wonder ' is another
excellent thing found by one of the Feltens. The
most, recent laborer in this inviting field, is David
W. Herstine, well known to poultry fanciers as
well as to horticulturists, and who, at his pretty
country place at Branchtown, happily combines
the pleasures of a city gentleman with the rural
pastimes of the bucolic kind.

His success with seedling raspberries has been
very great, and that all the world should see for
themselves, he invited a goodly company from
different parts of the Union, on Wednesday af-
ternoon last, to meet there and to taste the ber-
ries and discuss their merits to their hearts'
content. We noticed among the visitors.
Messrs. Charles Downing of Newburg, N. Y ,
P. Quinn of the New York Tribune, Josiah
Hoc^pes, President of the Pennsylvania Fruit
Growers' Society, Tobias Martin of Mercers-
burg, W. F. Basselt of Hanmionton, N. J ; II . A.
Dreer of Philadelphia ; J. E. Mitchell and Robt.
Buist, vice-presidents of the Pennsylvania Hor-
ticultural Society ; Thos Meehan of the Oarden-
er''s Mordhly and WteKlij Presi^^Gvw. Pleasonton,
Constant Guillou, B.C. McMurtrit. S N.Wins-
low of the Coriunercial Litft, W. R. Wister, T. C.
Andrews of New Jersey, C. P. Hayes of Phila-
delphia, E, .Satterthwait, E. B. Reed of Cham-
bersburg, S W. Noble, M McHenry of the
Practical Farmer, Mr. Biddle of the Philadel-
phia Society of Agriculture, Mr. Schaeffer of
the Evening Bulletin, Mr. Donks of Delaware
county. Mayor Fox, Dr. Taylor of the Philadel-
phia Press, R. Peters of Delaware, Dr. Emerson
of Philadelphia, S. B. Jenkins of Chambersburg,
R Otto of AVest Chester, and a few score of
other gentlemen representing various depart-
ments of Agriculture

The chief attraction was one variety named
after the raiser, the "Herstine " It is a large
red berry, quite equal in size and beauty to the
old and valued 'Hornet," but bearing more
abundantly than any variety known It ap-
peared as if there were almost as man}- berries
as leaves on the plants, which were literally
breaking down with the weight of fruit. It ap-
peared to be the unanimous opmion of the large
company present that Mr. Herstine had been
very fortunate in raising so tine a kind.

There were three other kinds selected, among
a large quantity of seedlings, as possessing points
of great merit. These are the "Elizabeth,"'
'Saunders," and "Rub)'.'"

1S71.

THE GABDEMER'S MONTHLY.

247

Mr H. provided au elegant entertainment for
his visitors, who were highly pleased with the
fruit and their reception by Mr. Herstine —
Phikuki. Presi<.

The Eumelan Grape. — At a recent meet-
\ ing of the American Institute Farmer's Club, a
correspondent having asked for an expression
of opinion about the Eumelan grape, Mr T. O.
Payne of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts,
said :

"Eumelan gi'apes began to color about the
middle of August, and were good to eat on Sep-
tember 10th, and even before that time they
would have been called ripe by many. They
grew better all the month. I set their time of
ripening before the Delaware, Israella, and Al-
len's Hybrid. With me the Hartford Prolific
got its greatest goodness a few days before the
Eumelan. But the Ilartfords grew on an old vine
while the Eumelans grew on a vine only three
jears old, and I doubt if the Hartfords would be

any earlier upon a vine of the same age. The
Hartford Prolific ceased to grow better, and be-
gan to flatten in its taste, and to drop its ber-
ries, while the Eumelan kept on improving My
Eumelan vine (three years old), set seventy-nine
clusters.

"I picked off sixty-five, leaving but fourteen
to ripen, which I thought sufficient for a vine of
that age, but the vine grew too vigorously, and
could have ripened twenty or twenty-five bunches
with an advantage. The vine had not work
enough to do. In quality nothing is to be said
against the Eumelan, and everything for it. It
is the only black grape I have seen that is wor-
thy of being put on a plate with the lona, Dela-
ware and Allen's Hybrid. A friend of mine
has twenty Eumelans growing, now two years
old, as healthy and handsome vines as I have
ever seen. I consider the greatest danger the
Eumelan is likely to suffer from, is overbearing,
which grape growers will consider a good fault."
— Hammondsport CuHurist.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

Dwarf Varieties of Arbor vit.e,Retinos-
PORA, Etc. — Of this class we find many varie-
ties that have been recommended as suitable for
bordering, instead of dvvarf box, or for low
hedges. The main difficulty, however, which
will prevent any of these from becoming popu-
lar for the purpose, is their liability here of dying
out at the base, and to assume a dark unsightly
hue during winter.

We have tried the Thuja ericoides as far back
as ISOO ; had no difficulty in propagating it rap-
idly, but had to abandon it as an edging planr,
owing to the tendency of losing its lower branches
The Retinosjjord squarrosa, which is closely al-
lied to the above, seems to be more free from
that defect, but it also turns brown in winter.
The Tom Thumb variety, originated in Xew
York State, is perhaps the most desirable varie-
ty for edging, it seems to stand better than
either of the first mentioned varieties, but its
main, and to us, great defect, is its unsightly
color during winter This defect is lessened

when planted farther North. Cuttings inserted
in the ground, as practised for box wood edgings,
will strike readily. The most suitable season
for the operation is'end of October, or so socn as
the plants have hardened their fall growth of
wood. After being set out, the cuttings must
be mulched and watered if the weather should be
dry.— Mr P. J. Berckman, in Farmer and
Gardener.

The Best Wine Grapes —The Pleasant
Valley Fruit Recorder snys : "Such varieties as
Louisiana, Rulander, Hermann. Maxatawney,
Ilerbemont, Cunningham, Taylor, Delaware,
Massasoit, among the light colored wines and
Alvey and Cynthiana among the red wines, will
always command ready sales at good price,
when on(!e they are ma<le in sufficient quanti-
ties, and the public have become acquainted
with their merits. True, they may not produce
as much as Concord or Goethe, they may need
choicer locations and better handling, but we

^Jf8

THE GAKVEJYER'S MOMTRL^.

August

must be willing to do this, and can afford it, |
when the prices they bring are so ranch higher, j
Another requisite is a light white wine, a wine
which will take the place of the Catawba, fully !
equal to it in quality, and one that can be pro-
duced profitably at §1 per gallon. This we think j
we have in the Goethe and Martha. The for- ;
mer produces here fully as much as Concord, is !
vigorous and healthy, and can be grown profit- j
ably, even at seventy-five cents per gallon. The !
Martha, with long pruning, will also yield abun- '
dantly, is healthy and hardy, and will, we think, |
flourish anywhere. These will produce the i
cheap white wines for the future, the drink of |
the people, or at least of those who prefer white
wines to the Concord for a general drink, as
being more smooth and delicate.

but not including, June 15 the shipments from
St Joseph and Benton Harbor to Chicago aggre-
gated 19,779 bushels, of which the steamer Ca-
rona carried 17,964 ; the other shipments are es-
timated. The Herald estimates the average
price received at S3 per bushel, making a total
of nearly $60,000 for the strawberry crop up to t
.June 15.

Ramie Production. — Mr, William Hall,
President of the "Ramie Plantation Company,
of Louisiana,' states that great improvements
have very recently been made in the machinery
for preparing the Ramie. The plant may now
b3 cleaned on the field, the refuse being left for
manure. The fibre is then dried, becoming com- 1
paratively pure, white and si'ky, divested entire-
ly of gum, and prepared for baling and spinning
The improved machinery Avas, unfortunately, j
not perfected until late in the season, when the
Ramie had become harsh from a growth of eight ]
months, the tops having been partly killed by |
frost. It was, therefore, found impossible to I
produce the fibre in bulk this season AVith '
these improvements, and one laborer to clean j
the product of ten acres. Mr. Hall thinks one
acre will yield at least two tons, making a pro-
duct of twenty tons to the hand, estimated to be
worth .S200 per ton.

Two joint siock companies for the i)lanting
and manufacture of ramie have been organized
in Louisiana one with a working capital of
$45,000, the other with a capital of .i?165,000,—
New Orleans Picayune.

Stuawukukiks IN Michigan, -The .St, Jo
seph, Mich,, Herald gives some interesting facts
as to the strawberry crop of that place. Wil-
son's Albany is the variety cultivated almost to
the «'Xclusion of every other, although many va-
rieties have been tried. The first ripe fruit was
found May 24, The first shipment of a crate
was on May 27, but the first shijiment of any
considerable amount was on June 5. Up to,

The Cost axd Profit of Grape Culture.
-Hearth and Home, in a late issue, gives an ac-
count of the cost of growing and selling the pro-
duction of grapes from 2 73 100 acres of vine-
yard. The cultivator puts down the cost of cul-
tivation from the time of gathering the grapes
the previous autumn to the commencement of
picking them this year, at .?233 51, This in-
cludes cultivating, hoeing and pruning, and 800
pounds of ammoniated superphosphate of lime
applied to parts of the vineyard. The cost of
picking, packing, and marketing, including
freight and commissions, and wear and tear of
crates he gives at .^287 88, making total cost
for the year S46l,39 His crop of grapes was
14,500 lbs., for which he received §1,096,76, so
that he received §635.37 profits. In this he does
noL make any charge for rent of land nor taxes
nor for taking the grapes from the vineyard to
the railway station His vineyard contained
2,000 vines in bearing and 250 younger vines.
They are mostly Concords,a few, about one-tenth,
Delawares, and some Hartford Prolific, Diana,
etc. His fii'st Delawares sold at 20c. i)er pound ;
his first Concords at 10c. ; his Delawares falling
to 10c. and his Concords to 6c. before the close
of the season. He had about 12,000 pounds of
Concords and about 12,000 pounds of Delawares,
the remainder being divided Ijy some eight or
nine other sorts. By this time it would seem
that cost him about 3 1-5 cents to grow and mar-
ket a pound of grapes ; that the average gross
receipts were about 7i cents per pound, and the
net proceeds about 4^ cents per pound ; or §232
per acre.

These grapes were marketed in the city of
New York.

sriiAWHKiiuiKs IN Tennessee. - Everybody
i.s supposed to like strawberries. A failure on
the part of any one to like this delicious berry
denotes in the opinion of most people a natural
defect of taste. Strawberries are not like other
thinge ; the largest fish is not the best, and ditto

1871.

THE GARDEJ^Eli'S MONTHLY.

249

of almost everything, including men, and espe-
cially women. But there is only one thing bet-
ter than a large sized strawberry, and that is
the very bigg.'St strawberry that can be found.
Strawberries are sweet children of beautiful
spring, a fit expression of .her balmy breath, fla-
vored with a little zest giving acid. We have
lieen led into these remarks by a basketful of
the largest we ever saw that was left upon our
table recently by W. S. Rainey, Esq , fresh from
his fine garden. AVe congratulate Mr. Rainey
on his eminent success in (he garden lin^, as
well as we do the citizens of our county on hav-
ing near them such an excellent nursery as the
one he possesses — Home Journal.

A Remarkable Patent.— New York Bay
Book says : There has been a sort of mystery
in the apple and pear department of the fruit-
growing branch of agriculture, which has puz-
zled horticulturists fron time immemorial ; it is
a certain perverseness of certain members of the
two families named, with regard to "coming in-
to bearing." Trees, five, ten, and in some cases
even fifteen years old ; large and thrifty, in the
highest state of health, making wood in enor-
mous quantities yearly, and in every way de-
monstrating the existence of a condition, which
the fruit yielding individual should show, yet.
no fruit buds are even seen ; no blossoms put
forth in the spring ; and years roll on, disap
pointing the anxious expectant, till at last he
makes up his mind these trees are some abnor-
mal creation in the pear or apple family, which
never will yield fruit, and he finally ceases to ex-
l)ect it. "We have seen splendid looking trees,
of the apple and pear families, fifteen years old
that never showed a blossom. All sorts of spec-
ulations have been offered by theorists as to the
cause of this barrenness, audit is now, we be-
lieve, the settled opinion that the vitality of the
tree is expended in making wood, leaving no-
thing to produce the formation of fruit buds.
"We have seen large pear orchards ten or fifteen
years old, one third of the trees of which never
bore a single specimen, yet all of them in fine
condition, in i)Oint of growth and health.

"\''arious modes of treatment have been sug-
gested to meet these cases of barrennes.s Root
l)runing has been found in some cases to changi;
the habits of the tree, and cause the formation
of fruit buds, but this i)runing of roots is a very
damaging' niuedy. It is like parti il starvation,

stopping the supply of food to the tree by cut-
ting off a thousand feeders It is attended with
danger, as the draft upon the reduced vitality
of the tree will be too great. The pruning of
the roots should be followed by the pruning of
the top. The head of the tree should be reduced
to as great a degree as the roots, if this system
of destroying the feeding agencies of the tree
should be adopted.

But, as we have stated at the opening of this
article, a remarkable patent has been applied
for, and will be introduced to the fruit growing-
world in a few months, which will astonish hor-
ticulturists It is a discovery of an application
by which the pear or apple tree may be thrown
into bearing at a very earl}' age, and kept loaded
with fruit steadily, year after year The prin-
ciple by which this result is produced, we are
not at liberty to make known, but that it is cor-
rect we have the best of evidence. There are
now a large number of trees in full bloom in the
pear and apple department, which never showed
the sign of a flower till this application was
made. To prove the correctness of the princi-
ple, any tree in the pear or apple line, of four or
five years of age or upwards, which has never
blossomed, can be made to show blossoms on
one half of the head of the tree, while none ap-
pear on the other half. The proof of the effi-
cacy of this treatment is on hand. The applica-
tion is not in the slightest degree injurious to
the tree, as its continued state of high health,
under the yearly yield of large crops of fruit de-
monstrates. Any fruit grower can make the
application. It is done instantly, and costs no-
thing except the cost of the patent right

Peaches in Utah. —For several years dried
peaches have been one of the great staples of
Utah, in domestic traffic, sometimes having com-
manded as high a price oO' cents per lb. —but
prices have sadly declined, and have gone down
to from 5 to 20 cents. This has proved a great
discouragement in this great industry, insomuch
that many are cutting down and otherwise de-
stroying orchards of peach trees. In most cases
these trees are valueless on account of age, dis-
ease, or poor size or quality of fruit, and it
would be wise, when the tree is not diseased, to
cut away the tops and allow new shoots to grow.

These should be budded with the best of
peaches ; those of large size and good flavor.

These, by annual pruning as we have elsewhere

'25 0

THE GARDEA'-ER'S MOJ^TRLl. August,

reconiniciulod, tho tree will become vic;nrons, en-
durable, and continue to produce crops of lar^e
fruit, which when ripe, peeled and dried nicely,
will bring a good price and remunerate the pro- i
ducer. I

One reason of the price going so low, is the
fact that our peaches are generally so small and !
poor, and another is the reduced price of goods, j
merchandise, and most other articles ofimpor-i
tation and produce.

Last year there was quite a demand East for !
Utah dried peaches, and this is likely to con-
tinue and increase, and if we will go to work, i
even now, and thin out the tops of our poach |
trees, removing small and decaying limbs, there-
by taking away half the fruit, the remainder '
will be much larger and better, — now let this be
peeled, well cured, and sent to Salt Lake City,
the owners will be likely to realize nearly or
quite 25 cents per lb , making the produce of
our valueless peach orchards quite an item. ;

We would advise fruit growers in future, to
peel all peaches that are to be dried, if of a size '\
to be worth handling.— Z7i!a/i. Pomoloyit. i

soil is worn out, I simply tell him that he has
locked up its fertility by his improvidence, and
clover plaster and deep culture is the key that
will unlock it A crop of clover in the bloom
turned under, will so change the mechanical
texture of the soil as to insure large crops, and
though the phosphates may have certain eco-
nomic values, the clover cannot be ignored, and
should have the first place in our system of til-
lage.— Ckicago Tribune.

Plaster for Strawberries.— Mrs. H. C.
Freeman, an extensive fruit grower neur Cob-
den, applied plaster of Paris to her strawberry
plants last year. The result was a remarkable
growth of vines, and is now followed with a splen-
did show of fruit ; and what is a little remarka-
ble, some days later than vines not plastered.
Should this produce the same result on further
trial, it will work a revolution in the culture of
this fruit, more especially if the phosphates
should succeed in the experiments now being
made in regard to tbe insects. Plaster can be
had in Chicago at f 11 per ton, in barrels, ground
ready for use.

In this connection it is natural to talk about
clover, as essential to the fruit grower and far-
mer of Illinois. We are liable to run after hob-
bies and leave out the most essential We may
suppose that the phosphates have all the new
values attached to them, and that plaster will
do wonders for the strawberry plant, j^et we
know that a crop of clover in bloom turned un-
der, lias magic in it, and that it not only sup-
plies plant food, but that it does very much more
in changing the mechanical condition of those
finely comminuled clay soils of the .south part of
the Stitte. tiuis underlocks their fertility Clover
for soiling, when paslunige is so unreliiihle, can-
not be iL'iiorod. Whi'M a miin U-lls mi' thnl his

Bugging. — Bugging, or catching the curcu
lio, as it is called, is just now an active industry,
and the little "Turk" is getting the worst of it.
Wheel machines with wide muslin aprons and
rubber bumpers bring the little rascals down
from their perch, when they are secured ; while
the chip traps of Mr. Ransom cheats them by
offering a hiding place which leads to sure de-
struction. i)r. Hull, with his theory on the
habits of this insect, has had succumb to the
plain facts of the St. Joseph investigation, wlnle
the entomologists have been shown that plain
facts are worth more than volumes of scientific
theories. There is no war between the jarring
process and the chip traps, for both are practi-
cal and valuable, but sharp-eyed fruit growers,
who had their property to defend against insect
foes, have beaten the men of books and scientific
theories in the war of the curculio, and may now
safely cry 'Eureka," or in plain English, "we
know the habits of the enemy, and are enabled
to apply a remedy." We shall now see the plum
restored to the market so soon as the trees can
be grown to bear the fruit, for the battle between
the orchardist and curculio has been fought,
and the latter worsted, though not driven en-
tirely from the Held.

The jarring and sheet process did not cover
the entire field of defence, for in jarring many
of the insects take wing or foil outside of the
sheets, and thus save themselves for the time ;
but it would appear that most of these prefer to
crawl back toward the tree and secret themselves
for the day, and at night go up the tree in order
to feed on the fruit or to lay their eggs, as the
night is the time when they do the most inis-
ciiicf ; and it also accounts for the fact that we
seldom see them at work, as we have only been
in the habit of looking for them in the daytime.
In going toward the tree it is natural that they
should hide under the chips or pieces of bark
placed there lor the purpo.^c. and iire thus caught

1S71.

THE GARDEMER'S MONTHLY.

251

and destroyed. Thnt they winter over mainly
in the woods, and seek for a hiding place, is cer
tain, for they come into the orchard from that
direction in great numhers. Some daj's they
are caught in large numbers in one orchard,
while the neighboring orchard may be quite free
from them.

It would appear that Dr. Hull was mistaken
in many of his supposed facts in regard to the
habits of this very destructive insect, and that
to other fruit growers is due the credit of a more
practical explanation of their real habits and
more efficient remedies. The Doctor held that
the insect would only fly when the thermometer
was at 70 or upwards Practically, this was a
most important error, as it is now shown that
they fly at all times, but more especially in the
night He also suggested that the chip traps
would be useful only in the season ; but this is found
not to hold good, as I found many persons as
successful in trapping as in jarring, while some
parties were mostly relying upon the former
plan. The Doctor's plan of jarring is a good
one, so far as it goes, but could not reach all
the insects.

The cost of the curculio catcher is about two
dollar.<», to which is added about fifteen yards of
muslin sheeting, which, with tiie amount ex-
pended in the labor of preparing the ground
about the base of the trees, say for a space of 20

feet on each side, is certain in its results ; but a
large number of persons are using both plans
with an untiring energy that bids fiiir to prevent
any serious ini'oad on the crop. This year a lit-
tle thinning of the fruit miszht do more good
than harm ; but this appears to make no difler-
ence iu the war of extermination, and in every
orchard that I visited the machines were busy.

The prediction that Southern Illinois had seen
its last croi» of jjeaches is not likely to be ful-
filled, at least this year, for never has such a
crop been presented to the eye as at this time,
and nothing but the -'rot," yet to come between
the orchardist and his customers, can cut short
the supply. There are many instances in which
it is not convenient to use the chips, as recom-
mended by Mr. Hansom. Grass, weeds, anrl
rubbish must be all removed, or the work is im-
perfect. For this reason few are prepared for a
thorough trial, and had better rely on the sheets
and jarring process I saw in many instances
that the ground had been so imperfectly pre-
pared that but little was accomplished, while in
other instances the success had been the most
gratifying I say this much to guard against
premature failure. How much of the science of
the book, as regards agriculture, must be laid
aside with the rubbish of the ages, is not certain ;
but no doubt there is a large amount of it. —
Chicago Tribune.

F 0 K E T G IN^ I N T E L r. T G E N C E .

HouoAiNviLLEAs — These are amongst the
most beautiful j)lants in the vegetable kingdom ;
but very difficult to flower. We do not know
of any flowering in American hothouses, though
the plant is often met with. A correspondent
of Onrdener''s Chronicle thus describes his mode
of treating them :

"I will now proceed to give a few plain directions
for their treatment, which, if followed out, will
not fail to produce blooms. If they are to be
seen in their full beauty, they must be planted
out, and allowed to fully develop themselves.
Then we can g'-t beautiful branches of bloom
from 3 to 6 feet long. I would recommend any

one receiviuii a young plant to proceed as fol-
lows:— If small, give it a shift, and plunge it in
a cucuml)cr or melon house, or a pine pit, with
plenty of bottom heat. Shift on as often as the
pot becomes filled with roots. It will fill a 13
inch pot with roots in the course of one summer.
Train out the branches to their full length, and
withhold water about August for the purpose of
thoroughly ripening the wood. Stand the plant
away in a warm corner of the stove for the win-
ter, only giving sufiicient water to prevent its
leaves from dropping oft'. Early in the spring,
prepare a pit for it, 3 feet wide and G feet long,
and larger in proportion if more than one are to

^5^

THE GARDEJYER'S MOXTHLY.

Au^icstf

be planted in it. This may be prepared just in
the same way as a pit for cucumbers or melons,
with a lioUow chamber under it, and two or
more pipes running underneath for bottom heat.
Plant out in this bed in good friable soil, con-
sisting of leaf mould, rotten dung, and sandy
loam, with a little sand and peat, and charcoal
if obtainable. Walter sufficient to settle the soil,
which keep a little moist through the growing
season. Be careful to dry ott"and ripen the wood
thoroughly before autumn, then keep the plants
dry till January, when they will begin to show
bloom, and when they may be gradually moist-
tened by giving water in a sufficient quantity to
wet all the soil. I have never seen them bloom
better than in several cases where they have
been planted out at one end of a cucumber or
melon house, and where they have been sub-
jected to about the same treatment as these
plants, with their roots growing in the same bed
with them.'"

Flower Markktfor the London Poor.—
The "Flaneur" of the Hackney and Kingsland
Gazette, affords his readers a bit of cheerful in-
formation as follows : The love of flowers is in-
dissolubly connected with the human soul,
whether it be in the lordly Belgravian or Ihe
lowly Bethnal-Greenian. The dahlia and tulip
shows— albeit they used to be held on Sunday
morning in or about the Birdcage Walk— evinced
such an affection for nature and its beauties as
put in the shade the more gaudy shows of Chis-
wick and Regent's Park. Spenser affirmed that
"entire aflection hateth nicer hands,'" and he
was right. Full of the knowledge of this fact,
and to aid the poor to make "a sunshine in the
shady place," Miss Burdett Coutts is about to
inaugurate a Flower Market in Crab tree Row,
abutting on to the Hackney Road, and contigu-
ous to the Fish Market, sacrificing, in her benev-
olence, about £'6.000 worth of building land
thereby. Upon the ground, which it is intended
to plant with trees, a fountain will be erected,
and directions are given, I understand, to her
manager of Columbia Market to receive ofl'ers
from persons wishing to lay out plants and flow-
ers for sale thereon — free of rent. I dare say
many a sneer will pass in regard to the analogy
between fish and flowers ; and wi.se shakes of
empty heads will doubtless attest their owners'
opinions that il will never answer. Time will
tell. IVrsistence in the cause of good will sur-

mount all difficulty ; but, swim or sink, sneered
at or not, the noble lady, in the language of
Massinger —

" Well deserves

Her nijme— the M\id of Honor ! May she stand,
To all po<teiiiy, a fair exsmple
For noble minds to imitate !"

Depth of Rain in Various Climates.— In
Lombardy nearly nine inches of rain have been
known to fall in one day, and twelve inches in
Calcutta, or nearly half the mean annual quan-
tity of rain on the east coast of England. During
one single storm, which Castlenau witnessed at
Petras, on the Amazon, there fell not less than
thirty inches of rain— nearly as much as the an-
nual supply of our west coast. The hollow
trunk of an enormous tree in an exposed situa-
tion gave the French traveller the means of ac
curate measurement. — The Tropical World,
Hartwig.

The Oldest Tree in Europe— The oldest
tree on record in Europe, is asserted to be the
cypress of Somma, in Lombardy, Italy. This
tree is believed to have been in existence at the
time of Julius Caesar, fortj'-two years before
Christ, and is therefore L911 years old. It is
106 feet in height, and 20 feet in circumference
at one foot from the ground. Napoleon, when
laying down his plan for the great road over the
Simplon, diverged from a straight line to avoid
iniurins this tree.

Transplanting a Large Tree.— At Elve-
(len Hall, the seat of the Maharajah Dhuleep
Singh, considerable interest has been excited by
the successful removal of a very large tree, un-
der the superintendence of Mr. Barron, of the
Elvaston Nurseries, Derby The remarkably
tine specimen of purple beach thus transplanted
is nearly .50 feet high, the diameter of the branch-
es 58 feet, and the circumference of the stem at
about a foot from the ground 7 feet 8 inches
The mass of soil and undisturbed roots measured
1() feet by 14 feet, the roots extending 6 feet be-
yond, and the whole weighed considerably over
20 tons A platform of strong timber was con-
structed underneath, and the tree was raised
upon rollers laid on planks, by means of power-
ful screw-jacks. This being done, the tree was
drawn on to its new site with the aid of pulley
blocks of unusual size, being maintained through-
out in an upright position.

The Changeable Forget-Me-Not.— All
the Forget-me-nots have been tri(>d :is pot plants
in the aljiine house, and only one of them proves
to be well adapted for tlu' purpose, and this hap-

1871,

THE GARDEJV-ER'S MOJVTHLY.

9i53

pens to be the best of the Forget-me-nots for any
purpose. Myosotis dissitiflora should be tjrown
in pots one whole season out of doors to make a
pretty specimen to tlower in the house in spring.
If well done, it forms a dense cushion of bright
green leafage quite covered with its lovely {low-
ers, which at first are of a most delicate pink
hue, but afterwards acquire a tint of palest azure.
If flowered early in a warm house, the flowers
are at first pure white. In either of these condi-
tions it is a gem of the first water. — The Oarden-
tr^s Magazine.

Dwarf French Beans, — -Dwarf French
Beans are most valuable, provided the right
sorts are grown. For small gardens one variety
will be quite suflicient, and that variety should
be Negro Long-podded, which is undoubtedly the
best flavored and the heaviest cropper. There
are several other ver}' good sorts, and if more
than one kind is wanted, Canterbury Earl ij White
and Darli Dim can be recommended. Haricot
Beans are not worth growing for use in a green
state, and for use, when ripe, they can be pur-
<3l'ased much cheaper than they can be grown in
this country. A warm position should be se-
lected for French beans, especially in the north-
ern parts of the country, because, unlike the peas
and many other vegetables, they must have a
moderate degree of heat to enable them to grow
and bear well. The soil should also be rich, and
the beans gathered as fast as they are large
enough for use, because when they are allowed
to remain upon the plants for a length of time
afterwards, they not only become too old and
tough for use, but they check the growth of the
plants and put a stop to their productive pow-
ers. For dry seasons the varieties belonging to
this section are undoubtedly the best, and most
profitable vegetnbles that can be grown in gar-
dens of all sizes. The drought does not atiect
them very seriously, although they do not of
course remain in full bearing in summers like
that of last year so long as they would in seasons
in which they could enjoy a greater amount of
moisture, both at the roots and overhead.

It is a very common failing to sow dwarf beans
almost as thick in the rows as mustard and cress,
under the belief that it is necessary to do so. A
much greater fallacy could not well exist, for a
row in which each plant has sufficient room will
bear a much heavier crop than a similar row
with three times the numlKr of plants in it. It
is a good plan to sow in double rows and to al-

low a space of three inches between the two rows,

and of six inches between the plants in each row.
Two feet must be allowed between the rows to
admit of the crop being gathered with any degree
of comfort ; but a greater return will be harvest-
ed when three feet is allowed, provided the soil
has been manured recently or has not been too
much impoverished by the ]irevious crop. — IVie
Qardener^s Magazine,

Size of Onions in England. — In December
last I trenched a piece of ground 25 yards square,
to the depth of two feet, just deep enough to
bring three inches of clay to the surface. After
it had remained in a rough state for six weeks I
forked in a good quantity of strong manure —
principally refuse from the garden — and on the
10th of March sowed the seed in drills 18 inches
apart. One-half of the ground I sowed with the
Xuneham Park, the seeds of my own saving ;
the other half I solved with Danvers' Yellow
and Giant Rocco,

To-day (August loth.) I have measured some
bulbs of the Nuneham Park, and I find that they
are fully 13 inches in circumference The largest
of Giant Rocco are 11 inches in circumference,
and Danvers' Yellow 10 inches. They have not
had a drop of water except that which has fallen
from the clouds, and we have only had very lit-
tle here — Cor. of London Journal of Horticulture.

The Oldest Rose Tree —The oldest of all
rose-bushes is said to be one which is trained
upon one side of the cathedral of Ilildesheim, in
Germany, The root is buried under the crypt,
below the choir. The stem is a foot thick, and
half a dozen branches nearly cover the eastern
side of the church, bearing countless flowers in
summer. Its age is unknown, but documents
exist which prove that the Bishop Iltzilo, nearly
a thousand years ago, i)rotected it by a stone
roof, which is still extant

A Nut-tree with a Collar on. -A story
has been going tlu; rounds about a filbert tree
which grew up througVi the hole of a millstone,
filled it, and ultimately hoisted it oft' the ground,
and wore it like a ruffle around its trunk, al-
though it was five and a half feet diameter, and
seven inches thick. Some are sceptical about
this story ; but, nevertheless, growing trees have
a great lifting power, as may be proved by sight
any day in the cemetery at Old Cambridge, where
a small tree which has apparently sprung from

25Jf

THE GARI)EA''MIt':S MOJfTHLY.

August,

a seed inclosod in a heavy tombstone has grown
through a chink between Iwo stones, lifted the
heavy superincumbent masses of stone some
inches, and pushed a stout iron raihng off the
perpendicular b}' the force of its growth. —Gar-
dener''s Weekly.

Daphne Mezereum — It is not generally
known that there are at least four varieties of
this common shrub. The typical plant (or that
Avhich we regard as such) as met with in our
woods usuall}' presents flowers of a fine deep pink
color. This form of plant is subject to a few va-
riations, the result of soil and climate perhaps,
but the range of variation comprises only two or
three shades of pink The red variety, called
ruhrum, is less pleasing than the deep pink, but
still very pretty. The white variety, called al-
bum surpasses all the rest, and for its size and
season is the best hardy shrub known. As a
wilding, it is extremely scarce ; as a garden plant
it is by no means plentiful ; as "a thing of beau-
ty and a joy forever," it may be said to be com-
paratively unknown If anyone were to ask me
to convey an idea of its aj^pearauce when in flow-
er, I should proceed in this way : You know the
double-flowering cherry, one of the most cheerful
and bonny of the many trees that fill our gardens
with snowy garlands in spring ? Yes. The
white raezereon is a counterpart of that in min-
iature, and if there is a shade of difference as to
their respective merits, the mezereon is without
question the prettiest of the tw^o. It is, howev-
er, unfair to make a hard comparison, for the
cherry is a noble tree and the Daphne a thiy
bush —The Gardener''s Magazine.

Anemones in Pots.— All the small growing
and early flowering anemones make lovely pot
plants for the alpine house, and ought so to be
grown in every garden where the best of the
herbaceous and alpine flowers are appreciated.
It has been one of my special pleasures since the
Ist of March to have a daily peep at the ane-
mones, some of them presenting their large
mauve-colored or inlensest scarlet flowers over
a cushion of eU'gant and ample leafage, others
dotting their neat green tufts with delicate
blush, rose, or white flowers. So extremely
pretty are they, even now that their flowering is
nearly over, that the hyacinths in the same
house afford me far less jileasure. It is no small
advantage in their favor that they require but
little attention to ensure the most agreeable re-

sults, and, iinlike the Myosotis recommended for
the house, need not be grown in pots during the
summer ; in fact, will do far better in the bor"
der. If taken up and potted when they are
dying down natural!}', and kept in a frame or
pit until the end of a year, they will then be
sufliciently established to throw up their leaves
and flowers abundantly as the days lengthen and
the spring is promised As to the most- suitable
varieties, there can be no doubt at all, but we
must not, in this note touch the large question
of species and nomenclature. Raiher let us se-
lect them by their trade names, because those
names afford the surest indications of them for
the purposes of the garden. I find in Ware's
catalogue the following spring flowering kinds
that are adapted for the alpine house, viz.:
a2jennina alba, white flowers ; coronaria, various
colors ; Pulsatilla, puce ; ranunculoieles, yellow ;
nemoroia, white ; nemorosa rosea fl. pi., double
rose ; stellata in three varieties, perfect models
of pot plants for the alpine house ; fulgens, bril-
liant scarlet ; thalicfroides, white. As it is not
possible for all our readers who value pot plants
to purchase and cultivate all that are recom-
mended, the best advice that can be offered to
such as tread their way timidly is to begin with
A. stellata and A fulgens. for they are the very
best for pots, and so showy that they might be
safely grown in thousands for Covent Garden
Market. — The Gardener\s Magazine.

Lilies at the London Shows.— A London
correspondent of the Dublin Jiecord thus writes :

" A remarkable hybrid lily was exhibited at
the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society j
on the 3rd inst. It was a true hybrid, between
L auraimn and L. lancifolium speciosum, and
had petals similar to those of the L. lancifolium
type, but broader and smoother, and conse- |
quently with the flowers much less reflexed.
In color the flowers were white, and had not the
golden rays peculiar to L. auratam, the flower
was exquisitely fragrant, and the foliage was in-
termediate between the two, though perhaps
partaking rather more of that of L. auratnm.
It was exhibited by ^Ir. George Thomson, Stan-
stead Park Gardens, Enisworth, Hants, and
awarded a first class certificate. Mr. George F.
Wilson, the treasurer of the lioyal Horticultu-
ral Society, who deserves much prai^^e for his
efforts in classifying the various speeimens and
varieties of lilies in cultivation, received the

1871.

THE GARDENER'S MOM'THLlt.

9J65

same award for a double form of LiUum trigri-
num, with several rows of petals, which very
much interested horticulturists. This is a very
much superior double flower to that of the com-
mon white lily, L. candidnm, to be occasionally
met with in gardens Mr. C Turner, of Slouch,
also received the same award for a very fine va-

riety of L. auratum, densely spotted with deep
purple, and having that color also as a shade to
the golden bands Mr. W. Bull. King's Road,
Chelsea, also had three nice varieties of i. aura-
(unt, one of them nearly pure white, and named
Viryinalis; and Mr. Wilson also had L Ldchi-
linii, having yellow tlowers with pale spots.

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

PEXXSYLVAXIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

JUNK MEETING.

Successful as was the previous meeting of the
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the June
meeting— the last until September- eclipsed all,
both in the number and character of the visitors,
and the qualit}' of the fruits and flowers on exhi
bition. AVe can only furnish a brief account of
a few of the leading points which struck us par-
ticularly, as an hour in such a place, and amidst
so many thousands of people, is entirely to limi-
ted a time to do full justice to it.

Amongst the flowers the Roses, cut specimens,
were the leading attraction. In Dreer's collection
we noted as an excellent variety, Elize Morrell, a
pale rosy-cupped variety — a class of hybrid per-
petuals we prefer. Josephine Beauharnais is
another older one, something like it, but darker.
Amongst the Bourbon roses was Madame St.
Charles, a beauty almost equal to a hybrid per-
petual. The old Souvenir d'un Amie — a tea of
great beauty, but too rarely seen Another
pretty tea rose is Mont Plaiser, a yellow between
Oloire de Dijon and Marechal Neil.

Mr. C. Bcllett, gardener to L Vandusen, had
also roses, many of which were of superior size
Imagine Anna de Diesbach and Lord Raglan
five inches across.

In G. X Earle's roses we are reminded by a
fine Sombrieul to note, that it is one of the hardi-
est of these half hardy Xoisettes.

Mr. Earle is also our best amateur in Lily
culture, and exhibited a collection of some 2U
varieties of the old orange variety. Color seems
a type of the species, the difierences here were
chiefly in the shading, sizes and spotting— they
were all of varying tints of orange.

II. A. Dreer had some remarkably pretty
Gloxinias. Every one knows that a few years

ago the Gloxinia sported into a tubular section,
with upright flowers; now we have some witli
nodding tubular flowers. Ilieroglyphie, Rose
d'Amour and Hermine wore pretty of Ibis class.
Another, Panthere, was spotted on the inside
like a fox glove.

Dreer also had some very well grown Fuch-
sias. They were all 8 or 6 inch pots, and yet
were two feet hiiih, and well proportioned. Star-
light, Roderic Dhu and Purple Prince were very
distinct kinds. Also some nice fancy Pelargo-
niums, Prince Charlie and Cloth of Silver being
particularly nice.

Amongst Mr W. II. Harris' plants was an
exceedingl}'^ well grown plant of the Fern, Poly-
stichum angulare, also of the variegated Cobsea
scandens.

Mr. Hugh Graham had a large number of fine
specimens of many rare plants, some very pretty
orchids, especially a Cypripedium barbatura,
with six flowers; and an Epidendrum virescens
with twelve Philodendron pertuosum, with its
curious leaves and delicious fruit; Acostus Ze-
brinus, with its singular velvety leaf.

Charles Crawford had an Amaryllis alba
striata, with a flower on a stem two feet high ;
and another plant of the Geranium, General Lee.
There is no question about this being the most
beautiful zonale or bedding Geranium out. It
has an immense number of rosy scarlet flowers
in a compact head, which seem to bloom alto-
gether instead of a few at a time as so many of
these Geraniums do

^Ir Gebhard Iluster had as usual a very nice
collection of hot and greenhouse plants.

Mr Alexander Newctt, gardener to II. Pratt

McKean, Esq., had some magnilicent IVlargo-

niums, measuring about three feet high by three

feet across Much care and skill must have

' been devoted to their culture. There are always

i

25()

TEE GARDEJVER'S MO:S'TELY.

August,

■some rare and beautiful orchids in this collec-
tion, to-day there were Cattleya Mossioe with
four flowers, Maxillaria tenuifolia with 50 ;
Brassia verrucosa, six spikes of 12 flowers each,
which is very fine for this species ; also a very
well flowered plant of La^lia purpurascens.

Mr. T. J. Mackenzie had a plant of Sanchesia
wobilis coming into flower and the very pretty
variegated plant, Pokmonium variegatum. He
<ixhibited also a curious thing from Costa Rica,
brought by M. Lachaume. It was a Bilbevgia
with a stem about eighteen inches thick, but yet
not more than three feet high ; and the hard scaly
flower bracts gave the plant a carved stony
character, as if it might have been a fossil,— a
petrified organism of some past age.

In Mrs. Bissetts lot was a very nice plant of
the' new and beautiful Pejjeromia maculosa.

Mr. Geo. Huster, gardener to Alex. Cum-
mings, Esq., had chiefly Caladiums, very well
grown, among his plants.

Sweet Williams of a peculiar breed, were the
chief attraction in Mr. David Fcrgusson's lot,
and a well flowered Plumiera in the collection of
Mr. Tii,os. Smith, gardener to Matthew Baird,
Esq , caused many enquiries as to the name and
history of so curious a thing.

Mr. Henry A. Gibson contributed an Agave
Chiapcnsi.-i in flower. This is a very rare and
beautiful species. The leaves were about 3 feet
long and two inches broad, and the flower cup
rose to five feet. The flowers were greenish, as
in the common century plant.

In Mr. Buist's collection we always expect to
find rare plants Now he had a fair specimen of
the Aculypha IricoJor and Lantana Don Calmen
a pretty white with yellow eye ; several orchids,
particularly Epidendrum verrucosa, a Cypripe-
dium barbatum, about the same as Mr Newett's
and an Oncidium si)hacellatum, which had a
three feet i^pike and 3(5 flowers. The best speci-
men of Clerodendron Balfouri, notwithstanding
the many good plants which have been exhibi-
ted, was also here.

In regard to fruits, the Strawberries were very
fine, and would have puzzled even a strawberry
king to decide which variety on exhibition to
siiccially admit to royal favors. Wm. Parry
had "20 kinds. His Boyden's 30, a very large
dark red, had many admirers. The Kentucky, a
large red wedge shaped fruit, was barely ripe
It is valued as a late one. Triumph of America
a light scarlet, and very regular conical fruit,
was in this and almost all the collections, from

which it would seem to be popular. The Ro-
meyn was flat, and cockscomby, and rather dar-
ker than we have before seen it. Triomphe de
Gand did not seem so much like Romeyn Seed-
ling as the plant growing would lead one to ex-
pect. All the fruit in this collection was large
and fine, and it was difficult to decide which
would be considered the best looking, though
probably Boyden's 30 would be so considered by
most persons.

In Satterthwait's collection, besides mostof the
kinds named above, were some excellent Jucun-
das, so regular and beautiful, that probably
Knox himself would kneel before them.

Dreer had in his collection, some Dr. Nicaise,
very large, and cockscomb-like ; and some Na-
poleon III. something similar, but the seed few-
er and closer set. Dr. Nicaise appeared to be
the largest berries shown ; but the numerous
rifts in the fruit would prevent their being so
heavy as some other berries. We found Napo-
leon III, quite a favorite with many growers.

Mr. D. W. Herstino had some remarkably fine
kinds, amongst which Bonte de St. Julien. was
especiall}^ attractive.

John Mitchell had remarkably fine Triomphe
de Gands.

Satterthwait had many plates of cherries.
Belle de Orleans being the best. He also as-
tonished the multitude with lots of Cucumbers
20 inches long.

But perhaps the most interesting part of the
exhibition to a fruit grower, was the grapes
from Miss Hettie Trimble of West Chester, who
has not only shown that fruit culture vf\\\ pay.
but that a woman can do it Such fine bunch( s
as these we think were never exhibited here in
June. The bunch of Bowood Muscat was
about 14 inches long by 6 inches wide, the ber-
ries being very large; and the Black Hamburg,
Muscat Trouvei'on and Muscat Hamburg being
proporti(jnately fine

Mr Felten had some Early Kiehmoiul and Early
May cherries, to show their distinctions. The
former had stems, but about an inch long ; the
Early May had stems double this, and the fruit I
a little darker. Chas. Lippincott had perhaps
the best cherries, exhibited in the shape of a
plate of May Dukes. In the vegetable line
Dreer's Hanson Cabbage Lettuce was very
showy and attractive Several diflerent sets of
varieties of Asparagus were exhibited ; but un-
less the ''proof of the pudding is in the eating,''
we could see no ditl'ercnce.

PINUS PUNGENS.

fffoffA yfDfrPoiiSi r ran thi OAPiDfUCftS uO'^ ^hl v

i;iu (SHnleiur's Matitlilg.

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arboriculture, Botany and Bural Affairs.

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old Series, Vol. XIII. SEPTEMBER, 1871. New Series, Vol. IV. No. 9.

HINTS FOK SEPTEMBER.

FLOWER GAEDEX AND PLEASURE |
GROUND.

There is not so much enjoyment in summer
as in spring flowers. After the total absence of
floral beauty during winter, the spring blossoms
are doubly welcome — and then the season of the
year renders them enjoyable beyond anything
that the heats of summer will allow. From now
till November the hardy flower roots will be
sought for as amongst the most interesting of
spring flowers

Unless very well acquainted with the varieties
of Hyacinths and other bulbs, it is best to leave
the selection of the kinds to the dealer The best
manure for all kinds of bulbs is rotten cow ma-
imre. Half rotten stable manure, or rank mat-
ter of any kind, is not good. Very rich garden
soil, without manure, is better than to have this
matter fresh.

Of Tuhps there are many classes. The single
dwarf varieties are very early ; the double ones
of the same class come next. The Parrot Tu-
lips, so called from the singular warty edges of
the petals, are the next earliest, and then the
Tulip so well known for its large, full cups of all
colors.

The next most popular bulb is the Narcissuii,
of which there are only white and yellow varie
ties — but these so varied in shade and shape as
to aflbrd a dozen or more of single and double
kinds.

The Crocus is another popular bull), as there
are so many shades of color, white, yellow, blue,
and the many shades between, they make gor-
geous masses in the spring (lower garden. Th(!y
have a beautiful eflect when placed in clumps
ou the lawn, where the flowers come through

and expand before the grass begins to grow.
The sloping sides of a terrace are often made to
blaze with beauty in this way ; and besides, the
extra warmth of these terrace banks, when full
to the sun, make the roots flower much earlier
than they will in the level garden ground. Crown
Imperials have been much improved of late
yeax's, and there are now some dozen or more of
varieties But the old Red and the old Yellow
are good things to have at any rate.

The Snowdrop is, perhaps, the earliest to flow-
er of all bulbs, being, in Philadelphia, often out
by the 1st of March. There are the double and
the single both desirable — but the last we think
the prettiest. They should be planted where
they are to remain several years, as the after-
removal, as with other bulbs, is not favorable to
an abundant bloom.

Persian Iris, Eanunculus, and Anemone, are

very popular and beautiful bulbs in Europe, but

do not reach anything like the same jierlection

here.
Among the miscellaneous hardy bulb.^, which

flower early and are very desirable, are Japan
Lilies of all varieties, and all kinds of Lilies, al-
though they are scarcely to be ranked with
spring flowers many of them, indeed, not open-
ing till July.

Then there is the Allium mohj, two kinds, yel-
low and white ; Camas.na esculenta., a plant of
the Squill taniily, and very pretty ; Eri/throni-
ums, white and yellow; Leucojumcestivum., and L.
vernum with white flowers ; various (Jrnithoijd-
lums; the American Pdnrratiums; Scillus ol'
various kinds, especially S. Sibirica ; Zejjliyran-
thus ntamasco, and we may add the various
Pfjnoniiis. These are all hardy, and really good
thing's.

258

THE GARDEJ^EICS MOKTHLlt,

Septemher,

The lAly of the Valley can be treated as a bull)
by planting out beds in the fall, and will always
be admired when well grown. Like the Snow-
drop, however, it does not like frequent changes
of locality. It prefers a good top dressing to a
transplanting.

Preparing for spring, also, many flower seeds
should be sown in September. The Pansy, es-
pecially, everbody has, as it is one of the most
cheerful and loved of all spring flowers. Wall-
flowers^ (Jarnaiions and Hollyhocks should also
be sown. The young seedlings must be protect-
ed in winter ; but this is easily effected by draw-
ing a little earth over the plants, entirely cover-
ing them. Next to snow, earth is the best plant
protector. In sowing seeds remember that, in
all cases, it is best to sow on a little elevation
rather than on a full level with the ground.

As the planting season arrives, it is as well to
repeat what we have often remarked, that the
relative advantages of spring and fall planting
are about evenly balanced. Failures follow all
seasons. How to plant is of far more importance
than lohen to plant ; and the selection of stock to
plant, of far more importance than the time
when it is done. A tree that has been once or
twice before transplanted, and again carefully
and intelligently taken up, may be successfully
removed at either planting season, with the odds
of perhaps one hundred to five in its favor. But
a tree never before transplanted— such, in fact,
as a tree from the woods, or left standing in the
nursery from the>eed bed, is very risky at any
time, and depends rather on the weather follow-
ing transplanting for the first few weeks for any
probability of success. In selecting trees for
planting, then, be very particular to ascertain
that they have an abundance of fibrous roots,
and are carefully removed. In this region, we
would plant evergreens at once, after or in pros-
pect of the first good rain. Deciduous trees we
would i)lant just before the final fall of the leaf,
shortening oil' the ends of those shoots that were
not quite mature. After the 15th of October we
would not plant evergreens, nor deciduous trees
after the first of November. Early or not at all
should be the motto.

Propagation of stock for next year's budding
should proceed vigorously. The best way to
propagate all the common kinds of bedding
plants" is to take a frame or hand-glass and set
it on a bed of very sandy soil, made in a shady
place in the open air. The s:ind should l)e fine

and sharp, and there is, perhaps, nothing better
than river sand for this purpose. The glass may
be whitewashed on the inside, so as to afford ad-
ditional security against injury from the sun's
rays. Into this bed of sand, cuttings of half-ri-
pened wood of the desirable plants maybe set,
and after putting in, slightly watered. Even
very rare plants often do better this way than
when under treatment in a regular propagating
bouse. In making cuttings, it is best to cut the
shoot just under a bud, — they root better, and
are not so likely to rot off" and decay. A cutting
of about three eyes is long enough for most
strong growing things, such as geraniums, fuch-
sias, &c.

Small growing things, of course, will take more
buds to the one cutting. From one to three in-
ches is, however, long enough for most cuttings.
They should be inserted about one-third of their
length under the sand, which latter should be
pressed firmly against the row of cuttings with a
flat piece of board, — not, however, hard enough
to force the jDarticles of sand into the young and
tender bark, which is often the first step to decay.
For a few cuttings, they may be inserted with a
dibble ; but where many are to be put in, it saves
time to mark a liue on the sand with a rule or
sti'aight edge, and then cut down a face into the
sand, say one or two inches deep, when the cut-
tings can be set against the face like box-edging.

All amateurs should practice^ the art of propa-
gating plants. There is nothing connected with
gardening more interesting.

Many kinds of bedding plants of succulent or
sub-fleshy growth, can be taken up from the flow-
er beds on the approach of frost, and cut in, sa3'^
one-half, and packed thickly in boxes of soil, and
kept in a rather dry and cool cellar through the
winter. Such fine plants make a much better show
in the beds the next 3'ear than the plants of the
present season's striking. A cellar is one of the
most useful appendages to a garden Were we
to have only one choice, we should prefer a cellar
to a greenhouse for its general usefulness.

We have had many inquiries recently about
cold pits for the protection of half-hardy plants
through the winter, and in reply, reprint the fol-
lowing from one of our back volumes:

Those who have no greeniiouse, and yet are
desirous of preserving many hall-hardy plant
through the winter, employ cold pits. We re-
produce from a former volume directions for
niakinji them:

1871.

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJVTHLY.

'259

Choose the dryest situation in the garden, and
sink about five feet deep. It is important that
no water can be retained at the bottom. The
pit may be of any length required, and about
five feet wide, so as to accommodate six feet sash.
The inside of the pit may be built up of boards,
or, if something more durable and substantial is
required, brick or stone. The body of the frame
may be built up a few feet above the level of the
surrounding soil, and the earth which comes
from the pit be employed in banking up to the
upper level of the frame. Shelving should be
made for the inside so as to extend from the base
of the front to nearly the top of the back, on
which to place the plants in pots. In the space
which will then be under the staging, hard
wooded and deciduous plants, as lemon verbe-
nas, fuchsias, «fec., may be safely stored, while
the more succulent kinds are shelved overhead.
The plants to be preserved in such a pit should
be potted early, and be well established and
healthy before being pitted ; much of success de-
pends on this. The less water they can be made
to live on without withering through the winter
the better will they keep. Straw mats must be
employed to cover the glass when freezing time
commences, and when the thermometer is likely
to fall below 20^, straw or litter should be thrown
over. Board shutters are also excellent, as it
keeps the snow out from the straw and litter,
which sometimes makes the mats very awkward
to uncover when we would like to give air. Very
little light or air will be required through the
winter when the plants are not growing. If a
good fall of snow cover the pit, it may lie on un-
disturbed two weeks or more without injury.
When a warm dr}- day oflers, the sashes may be
raised if convenient, to dry up the damp. Many
kinds of border plants can be kei)t over winter
this way with little trouble.

FRUIT GARDEN.
The planting of the Pear, Apple, Plum and
Cherry will soon be in season ; Peaches, Apri-
cots and Grape Vines, except south of the Poto-
mac being for the most part left till spring.
Choose a dry piece of ground. If not naturally
dry, it is best to throw the earth up into banks
or ridges and plant on them. This is cheai)*'r
and better than underdraining. In planting, if
the roots appear deep, cut away some of the
deeper ones, and shorten some of the top of the
tree at the same tiiuc. 'IMiis is particularly true

of dwarf Pears, which are often grafted on rath-
er long Quince stocks. Cut away all of the
Quince root but about six inches, and if this
should be found to leave few roots, cut away the
top cori'espondingly. Most of the failures with
dwarf Pears come from bad Quince roots, so deep
in the ground the lower parts decay, and this
decay gradually communicates upwards until the
whole system becomes diseased. The more ten-
acious the subsoil the more necessary is it to at-
tend to this matter. We spoke of pruning in
proportion to injury. It will be found that all
trees are a little injured by removal, therefore
all trees should be a little pruned at transplant-
ing.

In preparing for planting trees, the soil should
be stinted up at least two feet in depth. Of
course, the trees should lie planted in the holes
onl}^ so deep as they stood in the ground before,
rather higher, if anything, as the soil will set-
tle. Good common soil may be filled in the
holes if the natural soil is very bad ; but anything
applied as manure may be stirred in the surface
soil after the trees are planted.

Some talk, in preparing an orchard, about
making ''one large hole" for all the trees. This
seems witty, but it is an expense which very few
orchards will ever repay. Water is likely to
stand in the deep holes we recommend ; but in
such cases we would, rather than go the expense
of subsoiling the whole orchard or underdraining,
plant higher than they grew before — higher than
the surrounding soil, mounding the earth, as it
were, above the level. No water will ever stand
here. And the money usually spent on making
"one big hole'' of the "whole" orchard, or in
underdraining, we would spend in annually sur-
face dressing the ground.

Trees that have long stems exposed to hot
suns, or drying winds, become what gardeners
call "hidebound." That is, the old bark becomes
indurated,— cannot expand, and the tree suffers
much in consequence. Such an evil is usually
indicated by grey lichens which feed on the de-
caying bark. In these cases a washing of weak
lye or of lime water is very useful ; indeed,
where the bark is healthy, it is beneficial, thus
to wash the trees, as many eggs of insects are
thereby destroyed.

The old practice of slitting hidebound Cherry
and other trees with a kiiifi;, had mucii more
sense in it, than some of our leading minds are
ready to admit.

260

THE GARBEMEK'^S MOJ^TRLY.

September,

HOT AND GREENHOUSE.

In the greenhouse, repairing and thorough
cleansing must not be delayed. Painters say
this is the most advantageous month to paint
woodwork. Whenever the night temperature
falls to 40°, any tender plants in pots should be
housed, without waiting for the ''first week in
October." Things nearly hardy, as Azalea,
Ehododendrons, Oranges, &c., do best out "to

the last."

Any desirable plant for forcing, that may be
growing in the open border, if potted early in
the month, will do very well for that purpose,
Weigelia rosea does excellently this way, as also
does Jasminum nudiflorum, Forsythia viridissi-
ma, many Spirseas and Persian Lilacs. Roses
and other things intended to be forced early,
should have as much air, and be kept as dry as
possible without injury. Hyacinths and other
bulbs should also be potted as soon in the month
as they are obtained ; the former are best plant-
ed an inch deep. The earlier bulbs are potted
the finer they flower— you may get catalogues of
any number of kinds or colors, at the auction
marts. If you get ten per .cent, as represented,

when they flower, you will be favored.

Mignonette, Rhodanthe Manglesii, and simi-
lar ornamental annuals essential for winter
blooming in well-kept houses, should be sown at
once. Many things for next season's flowering,
must not now be forgotten. The pansy, calceo-
laria and cineraria, are in this class. Plants of
these that have been kept over the summer, will
require a re-division, and kept in a close frame a
few days afterwards, till they get re-established.
Propagation of all things will still I'equire con-
stant attention. It should always be an aim to
possess one duplicate plant as a provision
against accidents. In many cases, young plants
are preferable to old ones— so that the old ones
may be destroyed when these are obtained.

In the hothouse, theyEschynauthus will soon
be the chief ornament of this division. Their
number has increased so that they have become
quite a feature. If the pots seem full of roots,
they may still have another shift. They prefer
very fibrous peat ; or, if that cannot be had, turfy
loam mixed with a portion of coarse moss. 1 hey
will, however, do pretty well in small pots.
Achimenes and Gloxinias, as they go out of
flower, should be kept dryer and cooler. Look
well after a good stock of pcntas, cestrum and
habrothamnus ; they will go far towards keep-
ing up the interest of the (U'i)artinent in winter.

Justicias, and acanthaceous plants generally,
will probably require another shift, if flne speci-
mens are desired. The atmosphere, if the house
be light, can scarcely be too moist for them.
Plumbago rosea is one of the most valuable stove
plants we know for winter flowering ; it requires
a strong heat. Clerodendrons as they go out of
flower, should be kept in a very airy situation,
and I'ather dry, preparatory to being cut down,
and treated like a Pelargonium for another year.
Many Begonias will be past their best flowering
stage: very little watering serves them ; they
are very liable to damp off by incaution in this
respect.

It is difficult to lay down rules for orchidsea,
so much depending on the circumstances under
which they are grown. Those which have fin-
ished their growth— as many Dendrobiums, On-
cidiums, Catasetums, &c., whose flowers appear
just before new growth — should have their sup-
plies of moisture gradually lessened. The tem-
perature, also, is better gradually lowered a few
degrees, and they should be allowed more Hght
than usual. The period when they are about
completing their growth is the most critical, as
any check at this time spoils the prospect of
much blossom for next season. Those which
flower from the young growth, as Catle3a, Lae-
lia, Broughtohia, &c., will require their moisture
and heat rather increased than otherwise till af-
ter their flowering. Vandas, angroecums, sac-
colabiums and other strong rooting £erial kinds,
will require constant humidity, until it is evi-
dent, from the point of their roots, that the}^ de-
sire to stop growing. We are often asked "how
often orchids require to be syringed ?" If the
situation in which they are growing be favora-
ble,— that is retains in it atmospheres a regular
humidity, — they will require very little atten-
tion ; in many cases not requiring the syringe
once a week. Where this cannot be efl'ected,
the syringe must be oftener applied. As a rule,
I think no better one could be oflered, than to
syringe orchids just so much as will barely keep
moss attached to their block, and baskets green
and growing The real terrestrial orchids will
retpiire no moisture at all after they have com-
pleted their growllis, until they .show signs of
pushing again. Care against checks in temper-
ature and humidity is one of the secrets of suc-
cessful orchid growing. Those which are at
rest do well in a temperature of 60° at the lowest.
Those which are growing well should be kept at
about 80".

1871.

THE GARDE^^ER'S MOJ^THLJ.

261

VEGETABLE GARDEN.
Earth up Celery as it grows, not letting the
soil get to the heart, or it will rot. Soap suds,
or other manure water, helps it wonderfully at
this season. Dig and house Potatoes. Too
large a pile will heat, and any way they keep
best when cool, and with some soil mixed
through the heap Sow Red-top Turnip for
main crop ; rich soil is essential. Transplant

Endive ; this also likes a rich loamy soil. It
does not do well on sandy soil. Sow Radish and
Lettuce for fall crops. Sow Cauliflower and
Early York Cabbage about the middle of the
month. Onions sown in fall make fine early
bulbs for next year. Sow prickly Spinach in
very rich soil, for use through the winter and
early spring.

COMMUNICATIONS.

NEW MODE OF GRAFTING.

BY MR. J. H. CREIGHTON, DEL., O.

I will state an experiment that pi-oved suc-
cessful with me this spring in grafting a pear
tree of pretty large size, and which I hope will
prove useful in grafting large trees without so
much expense and time as is generally necessary.

I used a knife-blade :j-inch broad, with which
I make a stab obliquely into the side of a large
limb or body of the tree, the knife making a
sharp angle with the tree passing into the wood
and between the wood and bark as near as I
can, so that when the knife is pushed in as far
as T design, it is hid by the bark about an inch
and a quarter, and the bark very little broken or
cracked except in a very large tree. The graft
is so sharpened that it slips in where the knife
came out, and just fits with the slope mostly on
the side next the tree. The cut being oblique,
the perpendicular fiber of bark binds the graft
tight. The inner bark of the tree and graft has
abundant opportunity to unite all along the
8lo\>ing side of graft and next the wood of the
tree ; and as the whole end of the graft is en-
tirely covered, there is no place for evaporation.
The grafts were onlj' in tolerable order. 'I'he
time was April 1st. A little wax was used to
make sure the tightness of the union. They nearly
every one grew. They were put in in one-fifth
the time you could put on a bud or graft. They
can be put in almo.st as fast as the end of the
graft can be sloped off If only one in ten should
grow, still a large tree could be worked over in
this way much faster than the common way.
Whether this process can be successful later in
the season, I do not yet know, but will try it.

I fear now that I have not described it as ac-
curately as it should be. but it is pretty hard to
do so in every particular without an engraving.
It differs from the French spur budding in this
very important particular — the insertion is
slightly oblique so that a portion of strong thick
bark made more tense by the graft being wedged
under,— it presses on the graft, keeping it solid
and nearly closing up the wound. And then
another advantage is, that as the body of the
limb or tree emerges during the summer, there
is no perpendicular cut to gape open ; there is, it
is true, an incision, but it is very smaP, and not
within half an inch of where the graft and tree
begin to unite.

THE MONOCOTYLEDON THE UNIVER-
SAL TYPE OF SEEDS.

BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Read before the Amei-icfin Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, at Indianapolis, August 18, 1871.

It must be evident to the readers of my paper
at the Chicago meeting of the Association, on
^^Adnation in Coniferce,'''' that the observations
there detailed could scarcely be accounted for if
the belief be true which is generally held by bo-
tanists, that the leaf oviginates at the node from
which it seems to spring. It is not, however, an
object with me to attack existing theories or estab -
lish new ones, but simply to present facts as I see
them. If I suggest a meaning to the facts, it is
to excite thought in others, as facts are of no
value unless some one makes use of them. The
origin of the leaf will no doubt prove a question
which will, in time, take care of itself. But this
generalization cannot be avoided by the readers

^62

TEE GARDEJVER'S MOjYTHLY.

September,

of that paper, that the whole plant is originally
an unity, and that the subsequent formation of
elementary organs and their complete develop-
ment or absorption into one or another, is the re-
sult of varying phases of nutrition. The leaves in
Coniferoe were found to be free or united with
the stem, in proportion to the vigor of the cen-
tral axis. Following up this subject, I now offer
some facts which will show that all seeds are
primarily monocotyledonous, and that division
is a subsequent act depending on circumstances,
which do not exist at first commencement of the
seed growth.

It is well known that in some species of coni-
ferous plants the number of cotyledons vary, I
have noticed in addition to this, that whether
the cotyledons are few or many, tliere is no in-
crease in the whole cotyledonous mass. In the
Norway Spruce, Abies eoixelsa, there are some-
times as many as ten cotyledons, at others only
two, — in the latter case they are broad and ovate,
while in the former they are narrow and hair
jike In short, when in the two leaved state it
is not possible to note any difference between a
seedling Norway Spruce, and a Chinese Arbor-
vitfe {Biota oWfntoZ/s), except by the lighter shade
of green. The two-leaved condition is not com-
mon, but specimens of threes and others I ex-
hibited to Drs Torrey and Gray, at the Troy
meeting. Any one who will examine sprouting
seeds of the Norway Spruce, will agree to the
proposition, that the cotyledons are not original
and separate creations^ hut a divided unity.

My next observations were on some acorns of
Qiiercus agrifolia. The division into cotyledons
was numerous and irregular. Cut across verti-
cally, some represented the letter C, others
the letter N, and again with four cotyledons the
letter M. Here again it was clear that, how-
ever the form and number of the cotyledons,
there was no increase of the original cotyledon mass.
Examining sprouting peach kernels, the varia-
tions in form and number were of the most re-
markable character. I need not repeat them in
detail here, as they are reported in the April and
May Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sci-
ences of Philadelphia. In addition to the fact of
no increase in the whole cotyledon mass, it was
here clear that when the cotyledons xcere duplica-
ted, the dnjiUcations at least were subsequent to the
original ones.

Still, so far nothing had been seen to indicate
when the first pair of cotyledons were formed.

Quercus macrocarpa and Quercus palustris were
silent to my questions ; of a large number I found
no variation whatever, each mass was divi-
ded smoothly and exactly into two cotyledons.
Quercus robur, the English oak, however, gave
some curious evidence. Two germs under one
seed coat were numerous, and often three, and
the cotyledons took on a variety of forms ; but
there was never any more increase in the cotyle-
donous mass than if but two lobes had been
formed, and there was no more rule in the divi-
sion than than there would be in the sudden
breakage of a piece of glass. A detailed account
of these will also be found in the May Proceed-
ings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila-
delphia. Que7'cus rubra, the American red oak,
furnished the one link wanting to connect the
first division into lobes with the other phe-
nomena. All the acorns examined had three or
four sutures on the cotyledon mass, and extend-
ing all along the longitudinal surface externally,
without any reference to cotyledonal divisions.
These sutures extended sometimes but a line in
depth, at others almost to the centre of the mass;
always accompanied by the inner membrane,
as is the case in ruminated seeds. The whole
mass was divided only in two parts in any that
I examined of this species, but the division loas
always in the direction of the suture. Hence
each cotyledon was very irregular. Sometimes
one-third the mass only went to one, while the
other had two-thirds of the whole mass. It was
easier to burst in the weaker line of resistance, —
but the interest for us is to note that origin-
ally the cotyledon mass was an unit— then the
sutures or fissures were formed ; and ultima-
tely the two divisions of the lobes followed in
their direction. The division ivas the last condi-
tion, not the first.

I know how much we should guard against gen-
eralizing on a limited supply of facts, but it re-
quires an effort to believe that oaks, pines and
peaches, as we have seen primordially monoco-
tyledonous,are in this respect different from other
so-called dicotyledonous plants ; and if we grant
that all seeds are primarily monocotyledtmous,
may we not ask, why in any case are they divided ?
We have seen that there is no increase of mass
in the division, — the same amount is furnished in
one, as in many. Would it in any way injure
the Indian corn seed to have its mass divided into
two lobi'S ? or would not tiie plantlet be as well
provided for, if the acorn were in one solid mass?

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY,

263

Division would seem to l)e a necessity occur-
ring subsequent to organization, and existing
from the position of the plumule alone. In
monocotyledons as we know them, the plumule
is directed parallel to, or away from the cotyle-
donous mass ; when of course on this theory it
remains an undivided mass. But in dicotyle-
donous seeds, the plumule is directed towards
the apex of the mass ; and as we know in the
case of roots against stone walls, or mushrooms
under paving stones, the disposition in the grow
ing force of plants is to go right forward, turn-
ing neither to the right nor to the left ; so in this
mass of matter the development of the germ
would make easy work of the division, and no
doubt often at so early a stage as to give the impres-
sion we have hitherto been under, that the divi-
sion is a primary and essential process.

BOTANY BAY, NEW SOUTH WALES.

BY MR. W. T. HARDING, XOXANTUM HILL NUR-
SERl, BRIGHTON, MASS.

As we walked along the beach of Botany Bay, lis-
tening to"the sad sea waves' 'as they grandly rolled
in from the bosom of the South Pacific, and bring-
ing nearer and nearer to S3'dney many a richly
freighted merchantman from distant lands, who
on returning would bear away more auriferous
treasures than the "navy of Tarshish, with the
navy of Hiram, once in three years," were wont
to carry. Then, probably, was the "golden age''
we hear and read of now ; at any rate it was not
in this year of grace, for time and place have
changed since then to California and Australia,
where "rushes" and "stampedes" are frequent-
ly made to the modern "diggings." I could not
but feel the force of the fact, that Solomon had
shown great wisdom in leaving so much of the
golden harvest to be gathered by the lucky dig-
gers of to-day ; and perhaps there was wisdom
too in concealing so much of the "dusf from me
(I have tried hard to think so) while "pursuing
fortune's slidd'ry ba'." Nevertheless I feel
thankful to Him who has revealed many a trea-
sure when searching for "the hidden mysteries
of nature and science.'' As I know you, Mr.
Editor, to be a "man after my own heart," and
rich in the possession of those "sympathies
which makes the world akin," you would have
felt much as the writer did under similar cir-
cumstances, as he gazed at the scene, and trod
the soil so sacred to the memory of three "good

and true men," who have left us, namely. Cap-
tain Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, and Dr. Solander,
to whom we are indebted for most of the plants
which adorn and decorate the conservatories
now.

As I look back along the vistas of time, it is
pleasure to think of, even now, that I have been
a votary at the shrine of "Flora," at the far off
floral "Mecca" of Botany Bay.

At Sydney there is an excellent and well ar-
ranged botanical garden, containing a collection
of every kind of fruit trees, forest trees, shrubs
and herbaceous plants from various parts of the
world, as far as could be collected ; but unfortu-
nately was not so well kept as it was previous
to the gold discoveries; and like its sister garden
at Melbourne, was suffering for want of labor.
I will not weary you with a description of Syd-
ney, which has often been described by more
able pens than mine, any further than to say it
is a well built, populous and busy city. So
please follow me again, and I will lead you into
the "bush "

Having attracted the attention of an old set-
tler, who rejoiced in the name of "Commodore''
Palmer, while examining some specimens of Al-
gea, picked up on the sands, who informed me
that he was an old "man o' war's man," and in the
course of some of his voyages, had frequently
sailed through vast fields of sea-weeds, so thickly
woven together as to make it difficult to pass
through. But what astonished him the most,
was to find it growing upon the trees, some hun-
dreds of miles from the ocean, and especially so
about where he lived, it grew a full fathom or more
in length ; and seriously assured me it was a fact
of which he would be pleased to convince me, if I
could only shape my course with him, when re-
turning to his section My intentions were to
travel as far as Bathurst, having some business
matters to attend to there, and from thence on
to Moreton Bay, so was pleased to accept his
offer to "show me the sights" on our way
thither.

A church clock struck three in the morning as
we left Sydney, seated upon a heavy laden dray,
and drawn by ten stout oxen, and were soon wind-
ing our way through the forest glades, and moved
along through scenes "so charming,'' w mderfully
romantic, and so strangely in contrast with any-
thing previously witnessed, admiring the mag-
nificent old trees, whose lofty tops wai ved some
hundreds of feet above the beautiful and bril-

S6'4

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJYTHLy.

September,

liantly colored shrubs and flowers beneath. The
Moreton Bay Chestnut, Castanospennum Aus-
tralis, were handsome trees, with here and there
the odd looking grass trees,Xanthorrhoea hastata,
interspersed with clumps of the peculiar fleecy
looking Stenochilus incanus. which the "Com-
modore" called '"wool bushes." Stackhousia
linearifolia we saw in quanti Lies for the first time,
also a pretty evergreen climber, Secaraone ellip-
tica. We passed through dense thickets com-
posed of Billardia fusiformis, Clematis indivisa,
Kennedyas, Hardenbergias, and Chorozemas,
clinging to bushes of Pittosporum revolutum,
Elodeudrum integrifolium, Pommaderis acumi-
nata. Acacia saligna, A. longifolia, A.ciliata,and
many other kinds. The humble looking, and
sweet scented Bulbina suavis, gave out a de-
lightful perfume as we pushed through the jun-
gle so thickly matted and interlaced together, as
almost to exclude the light. Emerging from the
tangled shades, we entered a more open coun-
try, and halted for the night by a water course
in a pleasant valley. Several finely grown speci-
mens of Corypha australis, or Cabbage palms,
averaging from fifty to sixty feet high; also
some good sized Bossoea scolopendriums, or
plank plant, a singular looking leguminous
shrub, in full bloom were plentiful around. Very
conspicuous and pretty were two Blandfordias,
grandiflora and nobilis, andThelymetra stellata,
with fine tufts of the rush like Xyris altissima,
from ten to fourteen feet high, were very attrac-
tive as they gently Avaved with the wind on each
side of the stream.

On the fifth day out, we entered one of the
most beautiful glens imaginable, and so richly
adorned with ferns, herbaceous plants, shrubs
and trees. I believe all the Zichias were here,
having counted nine species Sollya hetrophylla
hung in graceful festoons from tiee to tree,
mixed with Clitorea ternata major, Pronaya
clegans, Zylotohora grandiflora, and Morinda
jasminoides. Some lovely orchids Ave noticed
mostly in flower, and cosily nestled in the trees
around, such as Cymtidium reflexum, Saco-
chilus i)arviflorus, Dendrobium Scluenmum,
1). miniatum, and D. cassythoides, Cleisostoma
tridcntatum, and several others. Of terrestrial ^
kinds we saw numbers of llabcnaria, The-
lymitra carnea, Diuris aurea, and Periostylis
grandiflora, (grand indeed) with Macdonaldia
cyanea. Of ferns, many and beautiful were the
frond.s we gathered and carefully dried for the

herbarium, such as Northochloena pumila, and
N. distans, Dicksonia davalaoides, Lomaria
lanceolata, Drynaria irioides, Nephrolepis oblit-
erata, Gliechenia flabbalata, Davalia pyxidata,
Schiza^a bifida, Lindsoea trapeziforrais, Pteris
falcata, Adiantum formosum, Blechnium iajviga-
tum, and Polypodium tennellum.

Reluctantly we left the scene that so forcibly
reminded us that "many a flower is born to
blush unseen, and waste its sweetness in the
desert air."

Our course for some distance was along a fer-
tile valley, where the trees were more thinly
scattered, and mostly Eucalyptus species, grow-
ing to enormous sizes, averaging from fifty to
seventy-five feet in circumference, and from
three to four hundred high. Hibiscus splendens
and Indigofera sjdvatica, formed very pretty
clumps, the former often from twelve to four-
teen feet high, and the latter frequently attain-
ing twelve feet.

The grass seemed to grow greener and more
luxuriant as we approached the "Commodore's''
section, which was located in a veritable oasis,
well adapted for stock raising and wool growing.
I was somewhat astonished at the knowledge or
instinct of the dogs as they suddenly sprang
from out of the thickets and bushes, miles awa}^
from home, where they had concealed them-
selves, and were evidently awaiting their mas-
ter's return ; and as they met, seemed "to greet .
with friendships warmest smiles," both man and
beast. Dusty and travel-stained as all were, I
could not but notice a remarkable sanatory
change in the "Commodore's" features after al-
lowing the faithful creatures to "swab his figure
head," or rather to lick "the human face di-
vine," an operation he seemed to enjoy, and
willingly submit to. We have often heard of
"goin to the dogs,'' which seemed absolutely so
in this instance, for such a pack of "mongrel
hounds and pupp}' dogs, and curs of low degree,"
were surel}^ never seen before.

Satisfaction and good nature were plainly
wi'itten on every wrinkle time had scored upon
the old "Commodore's" face as he shook hands
with his crew, who seemed heartily pleased to
welcome the old hero home again. It was near-
ly noon when we reached the homestead, which
consisted of several huts, barns, stables and
slieds, snugly located beneath the trees and
evergreen climbers, and were fortunatel}' in time
to partake of a good and substantial meal, not

.1^71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TRLY.

265

"mutton and damper,'' nor "damper and mut-
ton," the squatters every day bill of fare, but a
haunch of Kangaroo, well served and relished.
The cook was an "old tar," in fact all hands
were, or had been sailors, men who had seen
hard service, good specimens of the old school
"man o'war's men."

The "Commodore," to make good his pi'omiso,
after dinner, undertook to pilot me to where the
"sea weeds were growing upon the trees, a full
fathom or more in length." Not doubting his
veracity in the least, although somewhat dubi-
ous about what he meant by sea weeds, we
started in search of such an unheard of curiosi-
ty before, and had not proceeded far within a
grove of white and blue gum trees, before my at-
tention was called to a sight which astonished
me indeed. Pointing to the trees he said, "there,
do you believe it now ?'' I must admit that I
was rather puzzled for the moment, and before
replying, went forward for a cloijer examination,
when to my surprise aad delight I had discov-
ered in the "sea weeds" magnificent specimens
of Platycerium grande, firmly attached to the
trees, with fronds measuring a full fathom or
more

It was Saturday night at sea. and in accor-
dance with ancient usuages and customs, it was
Saturday night in the old seafarers cabin in the
"bush," and was kept up as in days of yore.
The "Commodore" sang his best song, "the
Death of Nelson," as heretofore, which he as-
sured me he had never omitted doing for more
than forty years, every Saturday night. After
each had done their best at singing some old sea
ballad, 3-our correspondent was called upon for
the next song, and willingly complying, sang
them one of Dibden's nautical effusions.

Here a sheer hulk is laid now ; poor I om Bowline,
The darlinf; ofuur crew, &.c"

which fairly brought down the house, and tears
to the "Commodore's" ej-es, as he pronounced
it to be the best song mortal ever sang, with the
exception of his, "The death of Nelson."

Happy and contented, all retired for the night
and arose refreshed with the sun on the Sabbath
morning. All hands in the "Conmiodore''s''
service that could be spared from their duties,
and some from the neighboring stations gathered
at the quarter8,and in social conversation awaited
the hour when divine service commenced, ac-
cording to the time honored and beautiful lit-
urgy of the Episcopal church. Prayers lieing
over, one of Dr Doddridge's sermons was read

and attentively listened to, and the service con-
cluded by singing a metrical selection from the
108th Psalm, beginning with the words,

■'Oil God my heart i.-^ fully bent
To iiiasuifv thy name.'"

Fond memories of't return, and with pleas-
ant recollections of the past, revei-t to that
quiet Sabbath morning when, within the deep re-
cesses of antipodian forests, we worshipped God.
Ever passing "time waits for no man.'' and ad-
monishes us to linger not, so bidding adieu to
our hospitable entertainers, we unwillingly left
them ; but had not proceeded far before we were
overtaken by the "Commodore," who accom-
panied us several miles on our way. On reach-
ing a group of Ficus macrophylla, thick with
an undergrowth of Banksias, Dryandrias, and
Buonapartias,we seated ourselves upon a log, one
of the fallen "giants of the forest," when "the
ancient mariner"' asked me as a last and part-
ing favor to oblige him by singing "Tom Bow-
line," as he would most likely never hear it
again. Of course I did, while the old man drew
nearer to my side, and passing my hand within
his, listened to the song as re-echoed through
the silent wilderness. His big heart was too full
to sing me his song further than the first line,
"T'was in Trafalgar's Bay," when he broke
down completel}', and slipping off the log bid me
wait a moment ; moving a few paces and fumb-
ling in his pockets, for something, he stepped up
to me and placed in my hand a something as a
"keepsake" to remind me of him when far away.
I gave him one also with similar injunctions,
and for the last time bid each other farewell.
When out of sight, curiosity led me to examine
the "keepsake" which was firmly tied up in a
piece of blue serge cloth, where it had probably
remained for many years. On opening it, at-
tached to a blue watered silk ribbon, was a
heavy gold watch key and seal, on the latter
was engraved a ship in full sail, riding on the
waves, with the motto beneath "such is life."

FRUIT CULTURE AT WODENETHE.

BY "VIATOR," NEWBURO, N. Y.

Several gentlemen from the northern part of
this State, with some Western horticulturists,
were very much struck in visiting the celebrated
place of Mr. Sargent, at Fi.shkill, to see the new
varieties of apricots, nectarines, and peaches, by
which the season of each of these fruits has been
prolonged several months.

266

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^'THLY.

Septemhe?',

It may not be generally known to your rea-
ders that Mr. Rivers, the celebrated horticul-
turist iu England, has by dint of much patience
and many experiments succeeded in raising
seedlings (apricots and nectarines) by which the
season comnu-ncing now is carried into October,
though heretofore it lasted only about a month.

Mr. Sargent gave us ripe apricots from bashes
imported this Spring, and assured us he could
do the same through the next three months, and
the same with nectarines, plums, and peaches
Tiie plants arc all grown as bushes, beautifully
trained, and the varieties we thought most
promising, were seedlings Nos. 5, 7, 15, 17. and
23 among the apricots. And Pineapple, Lord
Napier, Albert Victor, Large Elruge, and Vic-
toria among the nectarines. The finest of the
new peaches were Early Albert, Early Beatrice,
Early Elvers, Early Silver, fruiting in June and
July ; Lord and Lady Palmerston, Prince and
Princess of Wales, the nectarine peach Alex-
andra Noblesse, Dagmar, Royal George, and
Seedlings Nos. 34, 42, &c., for midsummer and
autumn

The plum season has been very much length-
ened by the new Green Gages, Brabys and Bry-
ansons, and also by Seedlings Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7.
and Early Prolific

Among the new things of interest on this high-
ly cultivated place, is a new Herbaceous border
with two hundred varieties, and a rock and
stump garden, more artistic than any we have
seen in our rambles ; with all the new alpine
fiowers (300 varieties) recommended by Mr.
Robinson in his charming book on Alpines, and
imported from Backhouse & Son's celebrated
nursery, in York, England.

TO DESTROY TIIE ORANGE RUST ON
THE BLACKBERRY.

15Y MU. ISIDOR BUSH, BUSUBERG TINEYARDS,
MISSOURI.

Tiie orange colored fungus (uredo ruborum)
mi'ulioned in yonr last number, ( Oardener''s
Jion(/iZ//,July,1871,page 211) also madeitsappear-
ance in spring 1870, on our Lawton and Kitta-
tinny blackberries 1 asked Mr. Riley for a
remedy, and he stated, same as you do, that he
believed "there was no other available remedy
tiian the complete destruction, root and branch,
of every infected plant,' [Am. Entomoloriist,
June, 1870, p. 245). But this spring Mr. liiley
had the kindness to show me a letter from a

friend, stating that he believes to have found a
reraed}^ which consists in sprinkling the infect-
ed plants with fresh slacked lime. This year
the orange colored rust had appeared even worse

1 than the previous one ; we cut otf some of the
most infected branches, sprinkled the balance,

j wherever rust was visible, with fresh lime-wash,
and are glad to bear testimony that it put an ef-
fectual stop to its spread, and even the plants
which were so affected are now bearing a fair
croi) of fruit.

NEW AND BEAUTIFUL EVERGREENS-

BY WALTER ELDER, LANDSCAPE GARDENER,
PHILAD'A.

It is as surprising as it is pleasing to an orna-
mental planter to see the numerous and diversi-
fied species and varieties of lately introduced
evergreen trees and shrubs of great beauty, now
in some nurseries, and which will soon revo-
lutionize the embellishing of pleasure grounds.
Their foliage are of various sizes, forms and
shades of green, and many are tipped, spotted,
and splatched with golden yellow and white.
Some are dwarf creepers ; some are suited to
make beautiful hedges, and others for gigantic
ornamental standards. Many improvers do not
yet know that Cephalotaxus, Cryptomeria, Libo
cedrus, Retinospora. Thujopsis, «&c. Biota,
Buxus, Euonymous, Juniperus. Ilex, Thuja,
&c., have got great increase in varieties of
late years. Retinospora ericoides and Thuja
nana nova and Tom Thumb are now used as
edgings for parterres, and make a diversity with
Boxwood. Our native dwarf Kalmias and An-
dromedas would also make fine edgings for large
flower beds ; their foliage is comely, and they
bloom beautifull}' in spring, before many of the
flowers.

The Rhododendron is now successful!}' culti-
vated, and the numerous improved varieties are
splendid and various in their beautiful blossoms.
The Kalmia latifolia might also be successfully
cultivated, and iinpx-oved varieties may be pro-
duced from it, which might vie with Rhododen-
dron in the beauty of their foliage and loveli
ness of their blossoms; there may come crim
sons, scai'lets, pinks, and whites of various
shades. What a splendor they and Rhododen-
drons would give to iijeasure grounds in spring
when in full bloom ; the like of which has not
yet been seen upon our hemisphere.

We would earnestly advise all improvers to

I

187L

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJYTELy.

^67

get an assortment of the new eversrrecns along
with the old species to embellish their pleasure
grounds with, so as to keep pace with our horti-
cultural progress. If the plants are small, they
may be set in nursery rows upon a rich culti-
vated piece of land, and if kept free of weeds,
they will make such growths of roots and
branches in two j-ears as to be fit to set out
upon the open lawn as standards.

NOTES FROM ALTON.

BY MR. E. A. RIEHL, ALTON, ILL.

In the Gardener''s Monthly, which is just re-
ceived, I see some things on which I think 1
cau give you a little information which 1 think
you would like, and some ma}^ be of benefit to
your readers, hence I have taken pen in hand to
write these few hasty lines.

NECTARINES FROM PEACH TREES.

First, about tliat Nectarine which somebody
in South Carolina picked from a peach tree, and
which you say is the first instance of the kind
on record. I would say that on my father's
place near St. Louis, there was, some 25 or 30
years ago, a tree in a row of seedling peaches,
itself grown from a peach seed, and that pro-
duced both peaches and nectarines ; the majority
of the fruits were Nectarines, but some limbs
produced Peaches.

DESTRUCTION OF COLORADO POTATO BEETLE.

Now as to your ideas about the Colorado bee-
tle, I would say, that your proposition to kill
them by rolling is not practicable, for not only
is the potato plant very soft, as you say, and
would be considerably damaged, but the culti-
vated earth would not, I think, offer resistance
enough to mash the larvse, much less the perfect
beetle : and it is of the greatest importance to kill
the beetle when they first appear, and l)efore they
deposit their eggs, for not only do they feed on
the young potato plants and do great damage,
but the young larvaj are very ravenous and will
in a few days eat up the plants if they are not
checked. The method of poisoning with Paris
green is the easiest and cheapest method that I
know of, and could I manage all the insects that
plague the horticulturist and farmer, as easily
and cheaply, I would soon be rich. At present
few persons dilute the poison enough. I use
one part Paris green by measure to 25 parts of
plaster, and I find that is just as eflicient as
when we used one to six. There is now more

money to be made in growing potatoes than
there ever was before, for most people have a
great dread of a little extra work, and as a con-
sequence, potatoes bring a much greater price
than formerly, much greater than the extra
trouble would justify. I applied the poison
three times to my early crop, and I know that
the cost of poison and labor in putting it on, is
less than $5 per acre.

LIME FOR BLACKBERRY RUST.

I see Colman''s Eural >Fby/fZ says, "Quicklime"
will killthe yellow fungus on blackberry and rasp-
berry plants. May be air slacked lime is meant,
if not, I should think it better than quicklime.

We are having exceedingly dry weather, and
a very abundant fruit crop.

HYDRANGEA OTAKSA AND HYDRAN-
GEA STELLATA PROLIFERA.

BY MR. GEO. SUCH, SOUTH A3IB0Y, N. J.

There seems to be a good deal of confusion re-
garding Hydrangea Otal'sa. Having seen a
colored illustration of this plant in the Revue
Horticole, we concluded that it was an admira-
ble novelty, and so imported stock from Belgium
at once. We afterwards had a small plant from
Philadelphia.

Having taken cuttings very freely from our
Belgian plants, we saw no flowers last summer ;
but lately have had a bloom which seems to
differ in no respect from that of the old Hydran-
gea Hortensia of our gardens Havmg sent out
this great novelty to many customers, the posi-
tion is decidedl}' annoying. Neither is our
Philadelphia plant correctly named, being most
probably Hydrangea stellata prolifera, or very
nearly related to it. But the confusion does not
exist in this country alone The H Otaksa fig-
ured in the Flora Japonica has small flowers of
a delicate blue color. As figured in the More
des Serres, the flowers are larger and are rose
colored, instead of blue.

The illustration of H. Otal'sa in the lievue
Horticole was taken from a plant exhibited by
yi. Lierval, a french florist. The head of bloom
is represented as immense, the color of the
flowers being violet rose. Two flowers, given to
show the natural size, are nearly two and a
half inches in diameter. The sepals constituting
the flower are variable in numbers, being some-
ti^nes four and sometimes five. The foliage
greatly resembles that of the garden Hydrangea.

268

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLY.

Septemherf

According to Siebold this plant originated in
China. It has not been long in Japan, and is
comparatively rare in the gardens of that coun-
try. Siebold also states that it has a bushy
growth reaching a height of 5 or 6 feet, and that
in Japan the flowers are almost always blue.
The time of flowering is from June till the end
of September.

The Hydrangea Otaksa sent us from Philadel-
phia has flowers of a semi-double appearance,
which consist of about ten sepals. The flowers
are hardly more than an inch in diameter, of a
rosy color fading off" to greenish white at the
centre. The leaves are nearly round, but
sharply pointed at the tips and sharply serrated
about the edges of the upper half. In fact the
whole plant is very much Wke Hydrangea stellata
prolifera, as figured in the last volume of the
Flore des Serves.

RAISING SEEDLINGS OP TREES,
FRUITS, &c.

.7. M., PHILA.

To be universally successful in raising seed-
lings is very rare. To be tolerably successful
requires much experience, and the mode leading
to the best results is often disputed. To the
nurseryman who has had some years experience
in the matter, the question of what will grow
and what will not, and the time to sow the seeds
is not so much the puzzling question as to the
uninitiated.

To be on the paying side requires more good
judgment than hard work. Some few years ago
it was looked upon as something next to an im-
possibility to raise seedlings here in our hot
climate, but the experience following the en-
couragement of a protective policy of the gov-
erniiient has demonstrated that the mountain is
not near as large as was surmised. The raising
of fruit stocks, cherries, plums and peaches is
mainly done in our own country. The practice
of the growers is to sow them in the fall as soon
after gathered as possible. A great many per-
.sons keep them mixed in soil exposed to the
weather all winter and sow them early in
spring. My experientu" would load me to expect
the best results with cherries and plums from
fall sowing, but with peaches they seem to do
equally as well sown in the spring, with tree and
shrub seeds, a great many will only grow by fall
sowing; and in the majority of cases it is best
done then. I would sow in fall, Maples, Mag-

nolias, Horse Chestnuts, Buckthorn, Tulip Tree,
Sour Gum, Sweet Gum, Bird Cherry, Catalpa,
Deciduous Cypress, Judas Tree, Linden, Ma-
honia, &c. In the spring can be sown Labur-
num, Spireeas, Furze, Paulownia, Eleagnus, Al-
thaeas, Elm, Birch, Wisterias, Ampelopsis, Kol-
reuteria, Nettle Tree, Honey Locust, Larch,
Osage Orange, Mulberry, and many others, as well
as seeds of Pines, Spruces, and all coniferous plants.
Many of those enumerated for fall sowing, such
as Maples and Magnolias, will grow very well
if sown in spring, but will not make as large
plants in one year as will those sown in the fall.
Seeds of Yews, Ash, Halesia, Dogwood, Box,
Pyracantha, Ostrya, as well as very late spring
sown deciduous trees, &c. , usually remain in
the ground two years before growing (as will
sometimes cherry and plum when sown late in
sprina;). These should be sown in spring, the
ground kept clean all summer, and in the follow-
ing spring the seeds will gi'ow. It is essential
with almost all seeds to guard their young
growth from the hot sun. A good plan and a
very successful one is to cover the whole bed
after sowing with corn stalks or light brush
wood, keeping it on until the seedlings are strong
enough to stand the sun. AYith Cherries, Plums,
Horse Chestnuts, Maples, and those which soon
make a strong growth, this covering can be
taken off" in June or July, doing it gradually as
they seem able to bear it Sometimes where the
covering is light and the seedlings not close
together, it is an advantage to retain the cover-
ing all the summer, removing it only in the fall.
Where it is desired to grow evergreens from
seed largely, the plan is usually to erect an arbor
of laths nailed near enough together to exclude
much of the sun's raj^s, admitting at the same
time plenty of air, two essential points. Millions
of such seedlings are now raised here, and thai
this is done and the plants sold as low as Euro-
pean imported ones, show how thoroughly the
business is understood and made reliable by our
nurserymen.

PROPER DEPTH TO SOAY SEED.

BY "MOXOW," CINCINNATI, OHIO.

I have been much interested in the discussion
going on in your magazine, in reference to the
principles of hot water boating, — and when 1
get a hot house I think 1 shall profit by what I
have read. But T have none Just now, though
I have a pretty iair fruit and vegetable gnrden in

J

1871.

THE GARDEJSTER'S MOJVTHLY.

^^69

which I take some pride. I ought to say be-
sides that I keep no regular gardener, but my
coachman who has many hand}- notions, does
all the work that 1 do not do mornings and even-
ings myself. I usually sow all my seeds, and
ray man does all the hoeing and cleaning, and
keeps things in order generally.

In my seed sowing this year, some of the re-
sults were so remarkable, that I thought they
might interest some of your readers I had
been reading a piece in one of our local papers,
which I thought very sensible, and of which the
following is an extract, as well perhaps as the
pith of the whole thing :

" In planting, whatever the depth of tillage,
keep the seed near the surface. !N'ature knows
no way of getting the seeds of grains far below
the surface, in using them for seeds. We shall
find ourselves doing well in taking observation
of natural processes for eflfecting reproductions.
In general I think it will be found best that the
seed of grains be placed onl}-^ about as far below
the surface as to bring their covering to the
common level, when there is enough of it to
secure germination^ — the ground being in proper
condition for planting, with promising weather
in anticipation. "— Countryman.

I have always had pretty fair success with my
seeds ; but on this occasion, I sowed my vegeta-
bles in a somewhat different way from what I
had done before. The ground had been forked
over — thanks to the past advice of the Gar-
dener''s Monthly. We never dig it any more, and
this saves half the labor. I stretched the garden
line, and sowed the seed right on the track of it,
then drew earth with the rake over the line of
the seed, and with my feet, trod the whole length
of the line over the seed. I had sown my rad-
ishes, lettuce, beets, carrots and salads, when I
was called away unexpectedly, and, not being
able to attend to the seed sowing next morning
before I went to my city labors, got my man to
finish sowing the balance of my seeds, without
thinking to give him specific instructions These
he sowed in the usual way; aline stretched a
shallow drill with the hoe, the seed sown, and the
earth again drawn in lightly, the way in fact that
all seeds are generally sown. A remarkably dry
spell followed, and plants of all kinds had a hard
time of it. But all the seeds surface sown and
trodden in, as I have named above, grew with
out a single exception, and not one seed, that I
could see, fliiled to grow. Of those that ray man
sowed in the usual way, not one came up, but

some bush beans. I was glad in one sense that
this happened, though the loss of our parsnips
in particular will be felt in the kitchen; for it led
me to see that the seedsman, though I think
seeds are really bad sometimes when sent out,
are noi alwa3'S to blame. In this case the seed
papers had Landreth's stamps on them, and if
it had not been for the excellent growth of those
sown on the surface and tramped in, 1 should
most likely have concluded the whole thing a
fraud. In future I shall sow everything on the
surface ; and perhaps this leaf from my experi-
ence book may be of use to others.

BKIEF XOTES ON GENERAL PLEAS AN-
TON'S PAPER.

BY "A GARDENER," DUCHESS CO., N. Y.

So many notices of Gen. Pleasanton's experi-
raents have appeared in the public papers that I
was anxious to see the whole article, and was
particularly pleased to find it in full in the last
Gardener'>s Monthly. Yet there are a few state-
ments therein which appear very extraordinary,
and with your permission. I will advert to a few
of them.

In the first place, it appears that the grape
house was 84 feet long by 26 feet wide, which
gives an area of 2184 square feet, yet Mr. Buist
says there are 1200 pounds of grapes from plants
seventeen months old. This is more than half
a pound to the square foot (60 100) and suppo-
sing each bunch to average one pound, we
should have a bunch hanging within every two
feet of the space the house contained. I should
like to ask Mr. Buist whether he is prepared to
sustain this statement? But the subsequent
year's figures are still more extraordinary We
have now two tons. This gives ttco and three
kmidredths of a pound to each square foot, and
allowing the average weight to be one and a
half pounds per bunch, and the average diame-
ter nine inches, we have the remarkable spectacle
of a mass of grapes, each bunch touchiny one
another over the whole surface of the house I
Through Avhi(di it would be impossible to see
scarcely a leaf on the other side. Is Mr. Buist
prepared to vouch for this also V Now when we
retliet how easy it would have been for either
Mr. Buist or General Pleasanton to have cut one
bunch, wcigheil it, and then multiplied liy whole
number,and thus obtained an approximate weight

270

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

Septemher,

1 am astonished at such loose statements in a
matter of scientific import. Mr. Buist speaks of
another gardener whose plants were no larger
at the end of the year than they w ere at the
beginning, though the same vines as those of
General Pleasanton's. Did he expect General P.'s
vines to be the same as these. In this region we
expect grapes to do better than this, though we
have no blue glass to aid us.

Tht experiment on jiigs is no more satisfactory.
General Pleasanton attempts to explain away
the fact of the barrow pig under the common
glass beating the blue light pig by saying that
he was stronger than the sow pigs in his com-
pany, and thus fighting for moiefood, had more,
and thus gained an advantage. But my experi-
ence always has been that a sow shows a bar-
row pig no mercy, and is always and in all cases
the conqueror. I never saw or heard of a sow
small or large, which was not able to hold her
own against the most disagreeable barrow that
might be with them, moreover the very small
diffierence in the weights where favorable, is so
small as to be in sinking contrast with the won-
derful crop in the grapery.

The calf Illustration is still less to the point.
Thousands of puny calves have been bornjWhich
very intelligent men thought would not live, but
which have become the pride of the herd for
all. As to electricity this is beyond me ;
supposing that it ^has some influence on
vegetation, I have never without a considerable
degree of guessing, been able to understand what
that influence is, nor do I think General Pleas-
anton's ideas make it much clearer. Both very
light limestone soils, as well as very dark peaty
soils, are equally productive. As for the giant
trees of California owing any of their size to
electricity, the General seems to forget that
these trees are confined to one species of sequoia.
The myriads of others are no larger than ours,
notwithstanding his idea of the superior power
of Californiau electricity, — and again I am at a
loss to understand his theory of heating the
ocean. He says the sun has nothing to do with
heating water, and illustrates it by saying we do
not kindle fires at the top of our chimneys, or
boil our water from above. Truly we do not,
but yet when the sun boils the General on a hot
summer's day, the boiling really does come from
above. But keeping ourselves to the water
question, the (Jeneral will fiud that any vessel
of water, no matter how large that vessel may
be, when entirely detached from his tcrrestiai

source of heat, when exposed to the summer's
sun, will get warm for all. The General has
entirely forgot that water is an absorbent of heat
and that it will take up an immense amount
from any warm atmospheric current floating
over it. The water in our hot water boilers
does not come into immediate contact with the
heat generated from the coals. But the iron
does, and the water takes it from the iron, and
this is how it gets warmed. As to the water
being heated by the earth in the tropics, we
might look for the same phenomenon in the
arctic regions, for the hot springs of Iceland
would show that a pretty heavy degree of heat
was not far from the surface. I can conceive
that there is a small amount of earth heat which
may get into water, and that ice will thaw from
beneath in consequence. I can imagine even
that a pound of water entirely confined by ice,
would continually get warmer by this earth
heat ; but this to the extentof the heated waters
of Central America, from which our gulf stream
emanates, by the rush of cold water to take the
place of that flowing north,is out of the question
altogether. I must say that for a scientific paper
with the celebrity this one has acquired, 1 am
astonished at the weakness of the facts brought
to sustain it.

THE WATERMELON.

BY T. A. C D.

The last of the gay summer sisterhood hhishiug.

Asceiuis her green throne wiiere the fruit clusters vie,
And rejoices at eve when Apollo is Hushing

With sapphire and rose tint, the stream and the sky.

No more o'er the grain fields the zephyrs are playing
With light and with shadow in hurried career;

And though there is scarcely a green leaf decaying,
The fleid is a desert, rough, yellow and sere.

T'is the reign of Pomona whose tre;isures areglowin ,
Ripe, ruddy and, juicy, on long pendant boughs;

Tis the tinieoftallgrass which the laborers are niowin
While the hay scented zephyrs arefanningtheir br"w

lUit the glory of August not quite so capricious.

Yet red as a girl's lip, and cool a.s a well,
Is the green coated melon, so plump and delicious.

With the brown mottled seeds in their roseate cell.s

I ask not a peach like the cheek of a maiden.

Downy and soft a.s a Georgian's may be;
I care not for boughs with their gold apples laden.

When the heart of a melon is blushing for rae.

If this life has a care, 'tis not then that I know it ;

If the day oppress others, for me it is l)land,
1 seem to be Ariel, Puck, or a poet.

Who leasts with liuet-n Mab in her own laiiy land

I make the sweet melon my favorite topic,
riioii chief of the oH'sprlng of sun and of dew!

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOMTRLY.

271

In spite of bananas, the pride of the tropic,
Or famed Chironiays the boast of Peru.

Give us cool 'Mountain Sweets" from New Jersey, nor
ask us

To sigh for the grapes of sonic orient land,
The peaches of l^eisia; tlie figs of Damascus,

Or tlic idolized fruits of remote Samarcand.
I have shalien ripe oranges oft, wliere tliey fell on

Floridian flowers ; I have dreamed of tlie date;
But dearer to me is the dew tempered melon,

Fresh from the s«nd of my loved native State.

Old State, ever dear to the farmer and florist,

I love thy broad grain fields and worm fences too;
Rosy laurels that light the green caves of the forest,

Where the pines scatter diamonds from rain drops or
dew.
And truly, that man so vmlucky I pity,

Who never has seen the grand spectacle, when
The fruit saturnalia reigns in our city —

The loved of Pomona, the city of Penn.
The poet may sing of the orient spices.

Or Barbary's dates in their palmy array,
But the huge rosy melon in cold juicy slices.

Is the Helicon fount of a hot summer day.
Where I bathe the dry wings of the spirit.and sprinkling

Sweet drops on the pathway of dusty old care,
I hold father Time from his villainous wrinkling

Of features tliat never had graces to spare.

[Not quite sure that we have permission to
use the author's name in full, as it was not at-
tached to it, — we have only indicated it. We
may perhaps be pardoned for adding that his
personal friends will recognize a leader in Ameri-
can science whose place it would be very hard
to fill.

It is, we think, the only poem which the Wa-
termelon has ever inspired. It should be no less
worthy of this distinction, than some of the
meaner fruits of the old world.— Ed.]

EDITORIAL NOTES.

FOREIGN.

Changing Aspects of Gardening. — It is often
said that American gardening is not like En-
glish,— that much of ours is simply for profit, or
for the mere love of gaiety and show on our
grounds, rather than from line taste and
love of the subject ; but it appears that
English gardening to-day, is not the gar-
dening of a generation ago. An English paper
says : "The decay of floriculture is mourned by
some. Its aspects may have changed to some
extent, for the pure llorist of yore is now being
rapidly merged into the horticulturist ; but the
spirit of old is yet abroad among us, and in its
own good time will give us abundant indications
of its activity and success."

It is well, we think, for our conunercial men
to recognize these facts and to always operate

in the nature of something new, than to be en-
deavoring to lead people back to a love of past
styles.

Instincts of Animals. — Mr. Darwin, in bis
recent work on man, has some curious illustra-
tions of his position that the mental capacities
of all animal nature differ onl}' in degree. We
note a curious instance of this in an English
magazine, the '■'■Leisure Hour.''''

"An Indian officer saw some crows sitting near
a young dog, watching him whilst engaged with
a bone. Having apparently concerted the plan,
one of them alighted, stepped up, and took a
peck at the dog's tail : the dog, irritated, made
a snap at the bully, on which a comrade, who
appears to have been ready, made a dash and
went off with the prize. It will be remarked
that it was a young dog that became the dupe of
this artifice An old one would probably have
had some repeated experience of the trick. He
would have put his paw on the bone before turn-
ing around."

Adulteration of Seeds,— It became so general
a thing to adulterate seeds in England, that the
law interfered. A fine of $250 is now imposed
on such practices.

Remedy for Grasshoppers. — An Australian
correspondent of London Gardener'>s Chronicle,
asserts that the grasshopper greedily devours
the leaves of tlie common LarJcsjnir, but that the
Larkspur has its revenge in destroying the grass-
liopper in turn. This, as the papers say, is
"important if true.''

DOMESTIC.

The Martha Grape, Mr. Ilussman says requires
to be pruned longer than some other kinds. We
notice that the Hammondsport folks report the
same thing.

To have Hardy Trees.— The Country Gentleman
says: '-It is well known to some horticulturists,
I hat one of the best modes of rendering half ten-
der shrubs hardy, is to plant them on mounds
where the soil is made by mixing cobble-stone
and earth, so as to favor early maturity.''

We wonder whether this has been actually
tried, or is merely imagined by "?ume horti-
culturists." Our own experience is, that if a
tree sull'ers from drought in summer, it is very
likely to be injured even by a light winter. A
mound is just the place to risk this injury. AVe
should have more faith in shelter from winds
than diy moinids; of course,in low wet situations

272

THE GARDEJ\rEK'^ MOJYTHLy. September,

feeding roots ax-e apt to rot, aiul thus the plant
i8 starved as much as if dried upon a luound,
and the same injury follows. All these extreme
views are dangerous. As a rule — all other requi-
sites to good health being equal — the tree which
holds its leaves the longest, will prove the har-
diest.

Honey Locust Hedges. — We noticed some
months since, an excellent Locust hedge on the
grounds ot Smith, Clark & Powell, Syracuse, N.
Y. The Prairie Farmer notes another good one
in the West. It says:

"At a recent visit to the farm of A. E. Whit-
ney, the celebrated orchardist at Franklin Grove,
Lee Co., we were greatly pleased with the ap-
pearance of a young hedge of honey locust. The
hedge was some sixty rods in length, the eleva-
tion of the ground varying considerably along
the line. The plants had been set two years in
land that had not been plowed, the sod being
turned over twice the width of a spade. Every
plant was very thrifty and strong, and the hedge
row presented an evenness that we have seldom
seen in a hedge of osage."

New Fe^e/ab^es.— While doing something for
improved fruits, trees and flowers, we must not
forget the more essential vegetable. Sometime
ago we noted in the Proceedings of that excel-
lent Horticultural Society, the Montgomery, of
Dayton, O, , that the members had been experi-
menting with new varieties, and here are some
of the results :

'Mr. Mumma; of Dayton, said he had a new
tomato that was peculiarly striped and varie-
gated ; would report on it next year.

Mr. Elliott recommended the Yorkshire Hero
pea; and of sweet corn he said Brill's was the
earliest, then Crosby 's ; of seven varieties tested,
he gave the preference to liriU's.

Mr. Ritz, of Plaiuville, said the White Ger-
man Dwarf Wax Bean was a decided acquisi-
tion. He had brought from Europe seeds of a
new red sugar beet which he would distribute
gratuitously to members of the Society. He re-
garded Crosby's early sweet corn as the best ear-
ly of good size.

Mr. Campbell thought the Black Dwarf Wax
Bean, the best he had tested ; the white might
be preierable on account of color.

Col. liichmoud spoke of the Brazilian swecL
potato as an excellent variety ; also the Southern
C^ueen— live specimens exhibited.

Mr. Elliott called attention to the Student

Parsnip as the best in flavor ; the Hollow Crown
next. Several other members commended the
Student variety' ; it does not grow quite as deep
or long as the common. He inquired about tlie
Egyptian dark red beet.

Mr. Batehani said he received seeds of this
and several other new beejs from the Agricul-
tural Department at AVashington,the past spring
but from last year's trial he would not plant one
of them again ; he prefers the Bassano to all
others for summer use, and the Long Blood for
winter.

Mr. Ritz spoke of the value of sugar beets as
winter food for milk cows, making the butter as
fine in color as that of summer.

Mr. Elliott commended the Early Horn Car-
rot as deserving more general cultivation.''

Profits of Black Cap Raspberries. — People do
not seem to want inferior fruit, though it be ear-
ly and cheap. The Black Cap raspberry has
fallen low in popular estimation. They were
hawked about Philadelphia this season at six
cents per quart. It appears to have been worse
in New York. Mr. Quinn says in the N Y.
Tribune., '• that the New York market was over-
stocked with them through the whole season.
Thousands of crates were sold for less than six
cents a quart. This would make a loss to the
grower of more than four cents on every quart
sold. It costs at least ten cents a quart to raise
and market raspberries, and when such fruit is
sold at six cents and under, it is high time to
change the crop, and grow instead corn or po-
tatoes.''

Varying Measures in difterent States are some-
thing of a nuisance. In New Hampshire the
law provides that 62 pounds constitute a bushel
of potatoes, and 32 pounds a bushel of oats ; but
sales may be otherwise made by special agree-
ment.

Close Pruning Grapes. — Mr. M. Pike, of Al-
ton, Illinois, is a very successful grape growei.
At one of the meetings of the Alton, Illinois,
Horticultural Society he gave his experience,
and said "'I am satisfied that the majoiity of
grape growers over- crop their vineyards. I have
been each j^ear reducing the wood in my vine-
yard, until now my Catawba canes are not more
than three and a halt leet long, and but one cane,
and I am getting just as near the ground as pos-
sible, for the reason among others, that they arc
easily laid down for protection through the winter.

Last year my Catawba vines made the heavi-

1871.

TEE GARDE J^EWS MOJVTHLy.

^73

est growth of wood and produced the largest j grow three leaves of different ages. The ori<^i-
bunehes of fruit of any in my vineyard ; probably ' nal leaf is the most valuable one. I then grow
15 per cent, more than my Concords. They ri- two additional ones. You may have the suces-
pened up well (they were not merely colored) un- j sion of leaves very early by pinching early. I
der ibis system of the succession of leaves. I do no summer pruning."

EDTTOE lAL.

THE EFFECT OF SOD IN KEEPING
SOIL COOL.

It is well known to our readers that we have
repeatedly stated as the result of our own expe-
rience with the thermometer, that soil is cooler
in the heat of summer under sod than under a
clean surface ; and we have based much of our
opposition to clean surface culture of trees, next
to actual observation, that cavtd for trees in
grass are healthiest, on this result of our ther-
mometrical experience. We have also several
times requested those who really felt desirous of
knowing, to test this matter for themselves. One
would suppose that any one with a practical
turn of mind would be glad to do it, as it would
lake at best but a few minutes. Especially
would one think that those who take so much
time to write learned articles on fruit culture,
would spare a few moments to devote to so im-
portant an experiment as this. But it seems not
so.

A contemporary must liave astonished its
readers by copying in its July number the fol
lowing fx'om Johnson :

" The effect of sod on the temperature of the
soil, was studied by Malaguti and Durocher.
They observed that it hindered the warming of
the soil to about the same extent as a layer of
earth three inches deep."

We have some hope that our contempo-
rary will now tell its readers, that in America,
the writers for the Gardener's Monthly have
found fetill more striking results than these
Ilaliaus found. The ditlcrence here, is a six
inch instead of three.

Our friend having got this far into the waters
of conviction, that the old theory of fruit cul.
ture is wrong, we shall soon expect to sec it
make the deci.sive plunge. Ilutulreds have gone
before it, and have not found the change so very

severe. We say this for its encouragement; or
is it possible that our contemporary will advo-
cate that our hot sun-roasted earth, is a benetit
to a fruit tree. Which horn will it seiz3 ?

PINUS PUNGENS.

[See Plate.)

It is said to be a disgrace to cultivators that
they go abroad for novelties to decorate their
grounds, while they neglect the showy things at
their own doors. But yet we think this is as it
should be. There is no use in bestowing care
and attention on things which we can see every
day without it ; and the rare things which come
from so many miles away we naturally encour-
age and protect if we would enjoy them at all.
But in the case of very rare native plants it is
different. Here we have to search around for
them if we would enjoy their beauty, as if they
came from some foreign land. So we figure in
this No. one of our rarest trees, which though it
is found through the whole Allegheny range,
not one in a hundred of our lovers of rare trees
ever saw.

It is not only rare, but perhaps one of the
most beautiful of our native pines The habit
is graceful, and in the spring the male flowers
are of a deep purple. The cones which succeed
are the largest of this section of Pines, which
grow east of the Mississippi Indeed it is well
worthy of culture for the striking cones alone.
We have never seen large trees except on the
barren hills where they grow naturally, but even
here they make trunks fifty feet high, and six
or seven feet in diameter; and we should judge
the rate of growth would be about the same as
the Scotch Pine. The trees in cultivation have
been mostly imported from Europe; but we
believe Messrs. Douglas, of Waukegan, lloopes
of West Chester, and p<irhaps some others in a

^7Jf

TEE GARDEJYER'S MOJVTELy. September,

smaller way are getting up stocks from native
seeds.

HOKNET RASPBERRY.

In a recent call on the editor of the German-
tmni Telegraphy we were delighted with the great
beauty and productiveness of this fruit. If any
one could always get fruit like this, little more
would be desired in a raspberry. This soil is
certainly very well adapted to the raspberry, — a
low piece of ground, which had been thoroughly
under-drained,— a rich, cool, dry soil— the rasp-
berry needs nothing more. It is quite likely
that such healthy canes as these would stand
the winter without any protection ; but Major
Freas regards the labor of laying down the canes
carefully and covering them with earth, as so tri-
fling, that he always does it,— and certainly the
magnificent results warrants the care he gives
them.

We have heard it stated that the Hornet and
Northumberland Fillbt.sket, are one and the
same ; but without ever putting them side by
side, we have an impression that the Fillbasket
produces more at once than the other, while the
Hornet is best for families who prefer to have
good fruit in a succession of many days.

THE LAWRENCE PEAR.
Our Eastern Pomologists are fond of building
up their failh with Beurre d'Anjou for their
chief coiner stone. We do not care to say any-
thing against this excellent variety ; but we must
say that as year by year goes away, we are
gradually coming to think that the one thing
needful for us in the Middle States, is the Law-
rence pear. We should be sorry to be bound
down to one variety,— we could not do without
the Bartk'tt and Seckcl, and— begging pardon of
those who would limit us to six or so— a few
scoce of other varieties But amongst them all
of whatever kind, should be the Lawrence. The
tree, to be sure, is not so vigorous a grower as
some other kinds, but then it is hardy and
healthy ; others may eciual it in this respect, but
none more so. Then with a little manciiuvering
one can have lh( m to eat pretty early in wint( r,
— or by setting all manu'uvres aside, have the
fruit all winter ; and this is a grand point, for
where are all our other winter fruits here ? We
have on our list "to be recommended" Glout
Morceau, Easter Beurre, Winter Nelis, and Vi-
car of Wiiiklield. Wc see a few of the latter oc-

casionally, though with a somewhat dubious
reputation ; but we rarely seethe others, though
trees are plenty in our grounds, and though we
hesitate whether to cut into the Vicars, the
abundant Lawrences are always seized without
any hesitation. But this is not all for the Law-
rence. It is a grand bottler: not only all winter,
but all summer, till fruits come again we can
have them in prime condition this way. Some
varieties will keep ; but they have a somewhat
turnipy suggestion when the eating time comes ;
but a Lawrence is a Lawrence, whether fresh or
canned, or bottled, — and in this respect it is per-
haps equalled by no pear, except possibly the
Bartlett.

We write feelingly on this subject from having
just finished a can of them, whilecross ng a wild
western country, where, nothwithstanding the
Eastern wonder as to what becomes of all the
trees hardly a tree, fruit, shade or ornamental
is to be seen. How people can go through this
life and leave such luxuries as these Lawrence
pears behind them without a care or thought, is
more than we can comprehend, but we trust it
will not be so always.

Possibly there may be something in the way
in which Pears are canned which add to their
excellence. These bare the brand of Richardson
& Robbins, Dover, Del., well known for their
superior productions in this line ; but we have
had experience with this variety before, to know
that a very great degree of the merit belongs to
the variety itself.

MAGNOLIA AUJtICULATA.

Examining recently a flower of MaxjnoUa axi-
riculata., we were reminded of a f;ict we often
thought to note, namely: the unfortunate inac-
curacy of that beautiful work— !Michaux & Nut-
tail's Sylva Americana It would be difVault to
find so many errors in any modern botanical
work as occurs in these standard authors of the
pist age. In the plates of Magnolia the leaves
are tolerably accurate, but the floral organs are
mostly wide of the mark. The petal of M. tri-
petela is teitally unlike the reality ; while the
flower of 3/. acKminala has no resemblance to
that species. It is charitable to suppose that a
flower of AL acuminata was taken in mistake by
the artist.

The long spa thulate petals of M. auriculataare
very nuu;h like those of M. tripetela, but are ra-
ther liiuntfd. The flower is sweeter, and of a
purer white than ^I. tripcie'la, and the foliage is
of a (hejjer green and lighter texture than that
species. Con.xidering that it is not on the whole a
bitter thing than M. tripetela, it is astonishing
that it should be about the scarcest of the genus.

187 L

THE GARBEMEWS MOJ^THLY,

^75

SCRAPS AND QUERIES.

Sweet and Sour ArPLES.— An esteemed
correspondent writes : "I notice you repeat the
story again, or rather copy it, that the sweet
and sour apple was made so by splitting buds of
two kinds, and making them grow together Do
you believe it possible to do it ? I do not, and
cannot until some positive proof— not assertion
is given. As to Mr. Arb}'^ Blodgett having pro-
duced the sweet and sour apple, it is very doubt-
ful, and I believe the origin is much older than
Mr. Blodgett. I can recollect of hearing of it
since I was quite young, and I saw it asserted,
not long since, that it was over a hundred years
old."

Sweet and sour apples on one tree or in one
fruit, have been known for 100 years, and per-
haps many more ; and no doubt such varieties
may originate from seed, or from natural varia-
tion—as well as by embr^-onic inarching. But
granting this, why might not Mr. Blodgett have
raised another ? There are different grades of
sweetness and sourness, and we have nowhere
seen it stated that this particular apple of Mr.
Blodgett's is the same as the one or ones of the
last century. It may or may not be -we only-
say that there is no evidence that they are the
same. In regard to the other question, "do we
believe it possible that halved buds will unite
in this way V" we reply, we do. The writer did
not think so until he Iried it for himself, which,
as weunderstaud it,noneof the gentlemen who 6e-
lieve it cannot be done have tried. Twelve grafts
each of lied Astrachan and Rlwda Island Oreen-
iny were taken, halved, and set accurately to-
gether. Three of these yrew^ and are growing.
2'o all apijearance, the experiment was a success
In each case, only one shoot came from the
spliced buds. It is possible tliat the embryonic
point in one half died, but it does not appear to
have done so. It is too early yet to say whether
any result will appear in the fruit ; but it seems
to be the Ijest way in all these disputed niatters,
which can be repeated, to try them over again as
we are doing.]

ish grub. They work just under the surface of
the ground ; the very tender plants they cut off
as keenly as though they were cut off with a
knife. The older ones, say 2 and 3 or more
years old, they strip off all the bark from the top
of the ground to the extremity of the root. Now
can you tell me any remedy. When I prepared
the beds last spring, I sowed cattle salt to the
rate of about 10 bushel to the acre, but it does
not seem to do any good Last year they de-
stroyed thousands for us. Last year we used
wood-ashes, but without any apparent good.
They do not seem to have any choice as to what
kind they work on, except Pine, which they do
not seem to trouble."

[This is the larvse of the Melohntha phihphaga.
It is some satisfaction that they are troul)lesome
only every third year. We do not know any
remedy. In our own case, we have saved val-
uable things by taking them up, putting at once
in pots of water, and replanting elsewhere from
the pail to the earth. Even in the hottest and
driest weather this has been done Avith entire
success ]

The Peach Crop.— There is good news for
the lovers of peaches, which means sood news
to everybody. The Peach Growers' As.sociation
of Delaware met at Dover last week. Their es-
timate of this yield for this year, the mrst relia-
ble of any that can be had, is that the crop will
reach 3,315,000 baskets, which is more than dou-
ble the crop in that State last year. Peaches
are already beginning to come to marki t, and
they will soon be here in quality and price that
will bring them into general use They have
come to be an almost indispensable fruit.

An Evergreen Enemy.-/. C. TF., Fish-
J>ill, N. Y. : ,,Enclo.sed, tiiid a few samples of
this year's seedling Norway Spruce, which has
been cut olf by the thick lleshy white or yellow-

Messrs. Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co. OF
Paris. — We learn by a note from this tirm, that
their losses by the French and Par's troubles
have been remarkably small. Their city stores
escaped the fires, thougli all around them burned.
They are prepared t ) do I usiness the same as
heretofore.

Early Friut on Late Trees.— TF. F. B.
Hammonton, N. J., writes: "i fhall sen 1 you,

^76

THE GARDEJy-ER'S MOJ^THLY. September,

in care of Brinckloe & Marot, to-morrow, a
specimen outside the ordinary course of nature,
in the shape of early peaches. The two larger
f-izi'd and dark colored ones I have just picked
from the same tree as the small green one, and
the other small one is Hale's Early, which
grew within a few feet of it. The variety is or-
dinarily a few days later than Early York, and
most of the fruit will be so this year. The
hranch which jjroduced the early ones is two
inches or more in diameter, and most of the fruit
in it is ripening now ; but some smaller branches
growing from it have small green fruit like the
balance on the trees.

Some years since, while living in Massachu-
setts, I had several quince trees of the pear va-
riety, which always produced late, green looking
fruit ; but one season I observed a branch loaded
with very large, fine yellow fruit, and upon in-
vestigation, ascertained that the borers had been
at work in the base of the limb, and stopped the
return of the sap.

I should expect to find some such disturbance
in this case, but for the fact that a portion of
the sub branches have green fruit "

[AVe are unable to give any explanation of
this, in view of the fact that our correspondent
is himself aware of the precocious effects of in-
juries to the circulation. We should, but for
this fact, have attributed the early ripening to
this Nothing probably but a careful watching
o' the whole process by some one on the spot will
explain it ; and it is well worth watching, as some
new idea of value to the fruit growers may be
the result ]

Sowing Xut Trees. — S , writes : "Can you
spare a few moments of your valuable time to
answer a few questions. We want to know the
htbt manner in detail of germinating seed of
Butternut, Black Walnut and Chestnut (Am.
Sweet). Also Horse Chestnut.

1. How they should be treated after gather-
ing in autumn ?

2. If i)ut ill sand, how wet should it be ?

:i. Is it good tu plant in autumn, here, also at
the West?

4. How deep to plant?

5 What portion of good nuts ought to germi-
nate V "

[Keep them from drying in the sun ; dry in a
cool barn or shed.

2. Almost dry,- or as one might say, barely

damp.

3. We have seen success follow as well in
spring sown as in fall sown, — and failure in both
Too much water, or too little at the germinating
stage is an injury, and only great care can guard
against this. This will follow from any season's
planting.

4. Quarter to half an inch.

5. All should grow, but the moisture question
decides it practically: some years all will grow,
at others only a portion. When grown in the
open air, it is not possible to have the elements
under such perfect control that all will do well.]

Spontaneous Growths. — /S.,says : " I want
to see some time an article from your pen on the
subject of Spontaneous growth, as our Western
friends call the phenomena connected with the
spontaneous growth of trees, «S:c., on the prai-
ries. In Iowa, I have seen thousands, or at
least hundreds of acres, thickly covered (mass of
them) with hazel-nut bushes, and am told that
as soon as fire is perceived running over, that at
once these hazel bushes put in an appearance.
This on ground that has been in sod — the good
Lord alone knows how long. A hazel-nut can't
remain sound in the ground hundreds of years.
Neither will a hickory or walnut; yet these trees
"come." Neither can dormant roots remain in
growing condition for any such time. Do they
come for earth, air, water? Are they createdf
Is it not a subject of sufficient interest for scien-
tific investigation ?

I confess that I feel a great deal of interest in
this subject and wonder somebody does not go
to the bottom of it. Where is there a better man
than yourself? ''

[The facts are not always as represented. Ha-
zel may spring up as observed ; but the plants
which were there before the fire, had not been ob-
served. The grass was killed by the Gre, but
the hazel roots xrere itot; having now all the
nourishment instead of part, they grew more
luxuriantly than before the fire, and hence bet-
ter observed. If the hazel-nuts are in the soil,
waiting for tlipfre, why don't they plough them
up when turning down the prairie sod ? Surely
they are large enough to be seen 1 The fact is
this idea of the long vitality of seeds in the soil,
waiting for ages to get a chance to grow, is one
of the grossest of delusions: and only that scien-
tific men, in some things so careful of facts, arc
in other things the most credulous of mortals,
the idea would have never gone beyond those who
see mysteries in every wind that blows.]

1871.

THE GARBE:h''ER'S MOJ\''THLY.

277

Fruit ix Ltvixgston' Co, N. Y.— ^ Cor-
respondent says: "Apples in this county a fail-
ure. Fair crops I understand in Niagara Co.
and Orleans Co. , (of Baldwins) and pretty good
crop in Wayne Co.

Pear trees full to overbearinir all through this
part of the State — good size and fine.''

GRowTn OF English Alder in Texas— ^
Corresjiondentfrom Texas says: " That the En-
glish Alder seems to take remarkably to the
prairies of that country. He has a growth of
eight or ten feet a season from it.

Alpine Houses. — A correspondent enquires
what these are. It has been found very difficult
to grow plants from mountain regions in our
gardens in a general way ; because the summers
are hot and dry, while the mountainous climates
are usually moist and cool. Hence in Europe
they have greenhouses made so as to be moist
and cool in summer, and they call them Alpine
houses. There are none in this country so far
as we know.

Landscape Gardening.- By a card in our
advertising column it will be seen that Mr. Cope-
land has established an otfice in Philadelphia.
;Mr. C. is well known as the author of one of the
best works on landscape gardening, and he will
find Philadelphians amongst the best patrons of
this beautiful art.

Crushing the Colorado Potato Beetle.
— Chas. E. Bessey, Ames, Iowa, says : " I notice
in the July number of the Monthly, a proposed
remedy for the Doryphora 10-lineata which to
people acquainted with the habits and powers of
endurance of the insect seems almost absurd.
Cantharidcs may be killed, perhaps by the
method you suggest, but I venture to say that
in the case of the Doryphora, the remedy would
be far worse than the beetle itself.

The mature insects are provided with an ex-
ceedingly hard coat, rendering it somewhat diffi.
cult to crush them on ordinary soil — even with
a hoe or spade, in fact I have frequently stepped
upon them with my whole weight when on the
ordinary soil of the potato field, and the only
ellect was, that they were forced into the earth
from which they soon came apparently not at
all hurt. They have the habit of feigning death
as soon as touched, dropping from the vines and
curling up in the best manner to resist injury
from crushing or any other cause.

So far hand pickingand then burning has been
the only sure remedy, but this is slow and very
expensive. Paris Green is largely used, but
your objections to it are well taken. Our chief
and only hope is in the natural enemies of the
depredator, and of these the number is not
small. The -'Lady Bug," "Soldier Bug," and
various others are beginning to reduce the num-
bers of the pest in this State quite materially.
Something can be accomplished by a proper se-
lection of the varieties of potatoes. On this last
point see my article in Western Pomologist for
July.

I send eggs — larvaj and perfect insects, male
and female — the smaller beins males.

Moving Large Trees. — An Iowa City Cor-
respondent writes: ''I have two evergreens, a
Pine and a Balsam Fir, twelve years set, and
are twenty feet high. I am desirous to move
them on to a lawn. 100 feet distant. Can it be
done successfully ? If so, how, and what time ?
Any suggestions would be thankfully received."

[Such very large evergreens are best prepared
a year before. Dig a circle any time during
spring or summer about 6 feet from the trunk,
and about two feet deep, cutting under the top
roots if possible,and then fiUingup the trench with
the earth taken out. The following spring the
tree may be removed by opening the same trench.
Fibrous roots will then be made. It is not ne-
cessary to care for a ball of earth on removal by
this process. Keep the fibres from drying by
winds, and hammer in the earth tightly at
transplanting, and there will be little risk of
failure.]

Duplication of Nursery Names in Direc-
tories,— James Ford writes: "Enclosed find
two envelopes, both received by me, althouLrh
you will see some little difterence in the address.
In the Western Rural Annual, 1^71, Chicago,
list of Nurseries, Indiana, I find James Fad,
Princeton. Having frequently of late received
two circulars from one person addressed as the
two envelopes. I have taken pains to inquire
for James Fad, but can find no such name in
the nursery business. I supi)o&e therefore that
the editor of Western Annual, (or some one) has
made the mistake from my name alone.

I think, Mr. Meehan, if you will notice the
above in the Monthly, you will oblige many of
the trade who are sending out their circulars,
and me also, as one list is sutlicient.''

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TTELY.

Septeviher,

A good Directory is badly wanted. The prin-
cii)le adopted by some compilers of charging two
dollars for every name inserted will never get up
a good one, A better plan would be to con)pile
one honestly, and trust to the recompense by
the sale of it,— just as any other commercial di-
rectory-maker would do. The Western Bural
does not charge to get into its list ; but if it did,
would the duplication of names by bad orthog-
raphy add to its revenues ?]

To Correspondents and Inquirers —The
Editors absence in the West for a few weeks is
the occasion of some delay in answering a few
inquiries. These shall have early attention in
future nuniLers.

Xe-^' Book on Trees.— AVe see it announced
that Mr Bryant is about to issue a book on
tn-e culture. He has had wide experience, and
no doubt will make up an excellent work.

Catalogues. — As the planting season ap-
proaches we are daily receiving numerous Trad
Lists and Catalogues Wholesale and Retail It
is {)leasing to note the enterprise of our Nursery-
men, their Catalogues being replete with all the
new and rare trees plants, &c., as well as with
kinds more generally known.

We find on our table the following : C L.
Allen & Co , Wholesale Bulbs ; Stark & Barnett,
wholesale general list; 11. M Thompson, gene-
ral list; Hoapes, Bros. & Thomas, semi-annual
trade list, general stock ; Peter Henderson & Co ,
retail bulbs, rustic work, designs, &c ; Sears,
Henry & Co., general wholesale list ; H M. En-
gle & Son, general wholesale list ; A. H. Yail
& Co , retail nursery stock ; Thomas Mechan,
general wholesale list ; Merrell & Coleman, trade
li.st nursery stock ; T. T. Southwick&Co , whole-
sale trade list ; Will & Clark, wholesale fruits,
evergreens, &c ; J. M. Jordan, wholesale trade

list, wire goods, &c ; A. & J Hammond, trade
list fruits, &c ; E. Snyder, retail list nursery
stock ; Peters & Hatch, wholesale greenhouse
and ornamental stock ; E. C. Peirson, wholesale
fruits, &c ; Thos. H. Payne, wholesale and re-
tail stock ; Wood & Hall, wholesale nursery
stock, implements, &c ; Bird & Gray, wholesale
fruits, stocks, &c., also retail list ; S L. Gaar &
Cox, descriptive list general nursery stock ;
Lindley M Ferris & Son, wholesale fruits, orna-
mentals, &c. ; Otto & Achelis, wholesale trade
list evergreens, fruits, &c.; R. J Halliday, trade
list winter blooming plants, &o. ; Robt. Douglas
& Sons, wholesale evergreen seedlings, seed, «&c ;
Gould Bros., wholesale roses, bulbs, border
plants, shrubs, trees, &c ; James Yick, bulbs,
seeds, baskets, «&c., retail; John J. Kreider,
fruits, potatoes, &c.; E. Ware Sylvester, new
peaches, fruits, &c.. Wood & Hall, bass bark ;
Burrow & Wood, fruits, evergreens and orna-
mental, wholesale ; W. F. Heikes, wholesale
general list ; EUwanger & Barr}', retail bulb list ;
Storrs, Harrison & Co., wholesale general list ;
E, J. Evans & Co., retail list of field and garden
seeds ; Burkholder & Meals, wholesale general
list; Maxwell, Pratt & Co., wholesale general
list ; P. H. Foster, wholesale list of seedlings,
&c.; Stuart & Humphreys, trade list fruits?
trees, &c,i E. Moody & Son, wholesale fruits,
stocks, trees, &c. ; T. B. Yale & Co.. wholesale
roses, fruits, trees; Storrs, Harrison & Co.,
chestnut circular ; Louis Yan Houtte. retail
bulbs, &c. ; EUwanger & Barry, Avliolesale gene-
ral list; Dr. H. Schroder, wholesale fruits; fl.
A. Dreer, flower and vegetable seed ; Peter
Henderson, wholesale greenhouse plants ; L.
Kauffman, fruit stocks, trees, &c. ; T. C. Max-
well & Co., wholesale trade list fruits, ornamen-
tals, &c. ; J.Jenkins, wholesale nursery list;

E. T. Dickinson, wholesale fruits, roses, &c.,

F. L. Perry, wholesale fruits and roses ; T. S.
Hubbard & Co., wholesale grapes ; Dr. John E.
Ennis, list of special stock, evergreens, &c.

1

^^EW AND RARE ERUITS.

Plowden's Seedling Peach. — Dr. Swasey i very long and narrow. Enclosed I send you a
writes : *' Somebody is wrong about the Plow- ' leaf just taken from one of five trees received
den's Seedling Peach. Who is it ? direct, last spring, from J. B. Clagget of Wash-

In your August number you say that it belongs ington, D. C. These trees are all alike, and its
to the 'j/?a«(Z/(Si' section" and thai the leaves arc , leaves hare small globose glands, fully as large

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJy'THLY.

279

and prominent as the yellow Rareripe or the
Crawford as you will see by the leaf sent, which
is an average as to both shape and gland. Are
my trees wrong or are you mistaken ? ''

[There is some confusion about this peach
which we cannot unravel. Mr. Clagget brought
the peach himself to our oflRce, which was as
described in the Qardener''s Monthly at the time.
It was not Ilale's Earh'. The leaves were long,
slender and tapering, sharply but finely serrate,
and glandless. We have since noticed that a
body of good fruit men at Washington, of whom
Mr. W. Saunders was one, has pronounced it
nothing but Hale's Early, — but Hale's Early is
a glandular variety. Now comes a leaf
also said to have been received from Mr. Clag-
gett, which is broadly lanceolate, rather crenate
than serrate, and grand ular ; and not the leaf as
we received it. Something wrong somewhere,
but where we do not know.

Dr. Wylie's Hybrid Grapes —As the first
Horticultural Magazine to call attention to Dr.
Wylie's efforts to improve the grape by hybridi-
zatiorf, we have watched the development of
these seedlings with much interest. We have
now before us a set of bunches, which affords us
much pleasure to testify to their excellence. Pe-
ter W ylie is a white variety of strong and vigo-
rous habits, Janie Wyiie is between Clinton and
a foreign variety, and to us has a peculiar flavor,
highly agreeable, and by which we think it could
bo alone distinguished from any other grape.
No. 38 we suppose has not been named yet It
is of Delaware character, and excellent. A new
variety, fruited for the first time this year, is a
large black berry, but in the writer s absence
had somewhat fermented ; and we are thus una-
ble to speak definitely about it ; but its appear-
ance was very promising.

Dr. Wylie deserves great credit for his persis-
ent effort to improve the grape in this way. His
success in producing first class varieties is alone
a reward ; but besides it sets at rest the problem
about hybridization better than perhaps any
other experiment that has been tried. There
have been some doubts as to whether other so
called hybrids were really so, but none we believe
about these.

PEAcn, Yellow St. John — Dr Swasey
says in Southern Horticulturist, that this is "far
ahead of every thing else as a market fruit in
the South,'' and that "its career of popularity is

just beginning." It was grown many years ago
by a Mr. Fieitas, of Mississippi City, who called
it St. John. It has also been distributed as
'■'■May JJ'^aut//,"— not certain that it was the
same as May Beauty. Dr. Swasey distributed it
as Yellow St. John. It is described in some
works as Flavus St. John, and in others as Fla-
tus St. John.

Strawberry, Dr. Warder. — Dr. Warder
is the name of a seedling Stravvberr}' raised by
Louis Kitz, Plainfield Ohio, which has received
the $50 silver cup of the Cincinnati Horticul-
tural Society.— Chas. Downixg.

Laura Beverly Grape. — You have a no-
tice of th's grape in your last number as being a
distinct variety ; but a plant sent me by D. AV.
Beadle, of St. Catharines, has proved to be Crev-
eling, and Mr Beadle informsfme that they have
nroved identical.— Chas. Downing.

Peach Beatrice.— S. G. Bilyeu, of Little-
ton, Halifax Co., "N". C, exhibited to the editor
of the Agriculturist, on June 19th, a specimen of
a new early peach called Beatrice. This is a
seedling by the celebrated Thomas Rivers, of
Sawbrigeworth, England. Upon the grounds of
Mr. Bilyeau, Beatrice is at least 20 days earlier
than Ilale's Early. Like all early peaches, it is
small, but it has a very high color, is very fra-
grant and of good quality for a very early varie-
ty. The specimens presented had been picked
for five days, and were in perfectly good condi-
tion, and would seem to warrant Mr. Bilyeu's
claim, that they possesss superior shipping
qualities.

Denton Plum.—/. B. K.., Denton, Md.^
writes: "1 send you by to-day's Express, a
small box of the Denton Plum. The fruit, as
you will observe, belongs to that of the wild
plum (Prunus Americana) ; this though is a va-
riety that for several years past, by its sure and
abundant crop, has attracted considerable local
attention. The tree from which I hurriedly
gathered these now not fully ripened specimens,
is small yet, but has at least one and a half bush-
els of fruit on it this season, and had it not been
for the timely 'put in' of the curculio, there
doubtless would have been another bushel. The
much hated insect aided some little in thinning

280

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^THLY.

SeptemheVy

the crop, but the thought occurred to me, while
working near the tree, that tlie 'bug gave up in
despair ere its work was completed.' They may
not be fully ripened up when you receive them,
but I need not tell you what to do with them_
Do you not think it better to have one and a half
bushels of these on a single tree, than one and a
halt" dozen trees of the larger and finer kinds
without perhaps a specimen to the tree ? I no-

tice several small orchards planted in this coun-
try of the same species ; they pay in market,
which seems to be the grand lever in American
enterprise."

[Well worthy of all our correspondent says of
it. We do not, however, feel sure that it is dis-
tinct from the Golden Miser or Golden Cherry,
—but even if the same, it should be more culti-
vated than it is.]

NEW AND MEE PLANTS.

SlUM HELENIANrM— XeW EdtBLEPlANT.—

In the recently issued number of lfooter's2co«fs
Plantarium (Part 2, Williams and Norgate),
among a number of plants for the most part of
purely botanical interest, is a notice of an edible
umbelliferous plant, Slum HeUnianum, sent from
St Helena by Mr. Mellis, and concerning which
Dr. Hooker writes as follows : "The green stems,
like pieces of bamboo, are brought to the mar-
ket of St, Helena for sale, and are eaten raw un-
der the name of 'Jellico.' It was originally dis-
covered by Roxburgh early in this century, and
has not been gathered by any subsequent collec-
tor except Mr. Mellis, who has sent to the Roy-
al Gardens a dried specimen, living plants,
seeds, and a bundle of the stems as sold in the
market. Slum Helenianum is another instance
of the curious fact that herbaceous plants are
often represented by frutescent or arborescent
allies in insular localities." This is borne out
by other umbelliferous plants found in St. Hele-
na, Madeira, &c , as well as by the arborescent
compo.sites of the former islet, &c. Licbtenstenia
Burchelli, another arborescent umbellifer from
St. Helena, is at first sight very similar to the
plant above described, and seems to have been
mistaken for it by BurchcU, who in a note at-
tached to his specimens calls it Angelica.

ADFANTrM Veitciiii.— A distinct and fiue
Fern, introduced from Peru.

It is extremely ornamental, attracting the eye
by its rigid character and the symmetry of its
growth ; and we recommend it as a most desira-
ble evergreen Fern for a warm greenhouse or in-
termediate stove.

The young fronds are very beautiful, being of
a fine red color, that of the mature fronds being
of a pale green.

The largest pinnules measure about an inch
in their longer, and half an inch in their shorter
diameter, and are set stiffly on the plane of the
fronds.

The full-sized fronds attain an average length
of 1 foot.

Begonia Chelsoni.— This is one of the fin-
est of the flowering Begonias. It is a hybrid,
raised at Veitch's Nursery, between B. Bolivl-
ensis and B. Sedeni, both now so well known.

It is very free in growth, and of good habit.
The flowers are of a bright glossy red color, and
of very large size. The plant continues in bloom
from May to November.

As a decorative plant it cannot fail to be most
extensively grown, and it will form an excellent
companion to the B. Sedeni sent out last 3'ear.

It has received First-class Certificates both at
the Royal Horticultural Society's Exhibitions
and the Royal Botanic.

Croton JonANNis.— Of all the recent intro-
ductions of this very beautiful class of plants, we
consider C. Johannis one of the most elegant
and distinct.

The leaves attain a length of 20 to 24 inches,
and are of a glo.'<sy green color, the centre and
margins being bright orange yellow.

The plant is of very graceful habit, and we
can with confidence pronounce it to be exceed-
ingly valuable both for dinner table decoration
and for exhibition purposes.

187L

THE GARDEJVEWS MOJ^THLY.

2S1

It has been named after the late Mr. J G.
Veitch, by whom it was discovered during his
trip to the South Sea Islands. Whenever ex-
hibited it has received First Prizes.

A very excellent wood cut is sjiven iu the Gar-
dener's Chronicle, May 13th, 1871.

Crotox multicolor.— One of the most dis
tinct of the many fine varieties of Croton, found
by the late Mr. J G. Veitch in the South Sea
Islands.

The leaves attain a length of 7 to 9 inches, are
very irregular in shape, oblong spathulate, ta
pering at the base, and irregularly contracted in
the centre.

The young leaves are of a light green, blotched
with yellow, but turning with age on the upper
surface into a glossy green, puckered and irreg-
ularly blotched with yellow, reddish yellow, and
red, the midrib crimson, the secondary veins yel-
lowish, the under surface being red.

It has received its name from the great diver-
sity of its coloring.

Croton Hookerti.— Another of the beatiful
South Sea Island Crotons brought home by the
late Mr. J G. Veitch.

It forms a handsome compact growing shrub,
with broadly ovate lanceolate leaves, abruptly
tapering or rounded at the base.

The upper surface of the foliage is of a beauti-
ful dark shining green, broken at the base with
a broad blotch of golden yellow, and with irreg-
ular projections of the same color running from
the midrib towards the margin, the midrib be-
ing golden )-cllow, as are also the young stems
and leafstalks.

The Editors of the Oardener''s Chronicle, when
dea -ribing the whole of Veitch's Collection of
Crotons in 1868, p. 943, thus speak of C. Ilook-
erii — "This variety is marked much in the same
way as the Milkmaid Holly."

It has been exhibited on various occasions,
and has received numerous First-class Certifi-
cates.

DiEFFENBACiiiABowMANir.— This fine plant
was discovered by the late Mr. Bowman during
his trip to South Brazil, and was described by
him as being "as far superior to all Dieflfenba-
chias as Maranta Veitchii is to all the Marau-
tas.'

The leaves, which attain an immense size, are
of a pleasing light green color, spotted with dark
green, or rather black green spots, thus giving
the plant a very distinct and striking appear-
ance. They attain a length of from 2 to 2^ feet,
and an average width of 1 foot, thus proving it
to be a most useful exhibition or decorative
plant. It has received First-class Certificates
both from the Royal Horticultural and the Roy-
al Botanic Societies.

It has given Veitch satisfaction to be able to
associate with this fine introduction the name of
its discoverer, who unfortunately lost his life
whilst carrying out his researches in South
America.

Draccexa magxiftca.— It is probably the
most handsome of the Dracaenas brought home
from the South Sea Islands by the late Mr. J.
G. Veitch, and it is considered as being far su-
perior to any variety which has as yet been in-
troduced.

It is very free in growth, and the leaves, which
have a spiral growth, attain a length of It to 2
feet, and a width of 8 to 10 inches.

They are of a beautiful bronzy pink color,
changing when old into a somewhat darker
shade. The leaf-stalks are nearly purple.

This truly magnificent DraccEna has been ex-
hibited in Paris, Hamburg, and at the leading
English Exhibitions, where it always obtained
first-class honors, and was universally acknowl-
edged to be well worthy of the name it has re-
ceivt d.

Draccexa PoRPnYROPHYLLA. — This is an-
other of the fine Draccenas discovered by the
late Mr. J. G. Veitch, and we can with confi-
dence recommend it in all respects as a first class
plant.

In the review of the new plants exhibited dur-
ing the past year, the Editor of the Gardener' s
Chronicle refers to this fine species in the follow-
ing terms (see Gardener'>s Chronicle of January
7ll), 1H71, page 6 :—

"Of foliage plants of shrubby character, we
specially single out, as the best plant of this
class shown during the year. Dracoena porphy-
rophylla, a South Sea Island species, of noble
habit, with bold, erect, broadly oblong leaves,
which are of a fine deep bronz}' hue, and re-
n)arkable for the contrast presented by the glau-
cous hue of the under surface."

^8^

THE GARDENER'S MOJV^THLl. September,

It was exhibited at the Royal Horticultural
Society, on 2d Xovember, 1S70, and received a
First class Certificate.

Nepenthes sedenii. — This really pretty va-
riety is a cross between an unnamed species
with deep colored pitchers, and N. distillatoria.
The pitchers are produced in great profusion,
even on very small plants ; they are of medium
size, the surface being light green, and very
densel}^ covered with dark red spots. It is of
dwarf and very neat habit, and we can highly
recommend it to all lovers of this beautiful class
of plants It was awarded a First-class Certifi-
cate at the Royal Horticultural Society's Exhi-
bition on June 8th, 1870.

Pandanus Veitchii — This magnificent Pau-
danus was discovered by the late Mr. J. G.
Veitch during his journey through the South
Sea Islands, from whence he brought so many
beautiful and interesting plants.

Messrs. Veitch say : "We consider it to be
one of the best plants we have ever had the plea-
sure of offering to the public, and can, with con-
fidence, recommend it as being very far superior,
either as an exhibition plant, or for decoration,
to any other Pandauus yet known."

The leaves are slightly serrated, of a light
green color, beautifully striped with broad bands
and lines of pure white. They average 2 feet
in length by 3 inches in width, growing erect
from the stem, but towards the end gracefully
curving, thus giving the plant a most elegant
appearance, and showing itself to be perfectly
distinct in habit as well as in coloring.

It has been exhibited at St. Petersburgh, Par-
is, Hamburg, and at the leading London and
County exhibitions, where it has always re-
ceived the highest awards and been universally
admired.

Rhododendron Brookii gracilis.— This is
one of the freest blooming of all the yellow flow-
ering Bornean varieties of Rhododendrons.

It is quite distinct from the species known as
R. Brookii, being much more graceful in habit,
and flowering more freely. The leaves are light
green, contrasting well with the pale yellow
flowers, which are of large size, and produced in
compact trusses of from ten to twelve flowers in
each.

The plant blooms in quite a young state.

For the introduction of this fine novelty we
are indebted to Mr. Thomas Lobb, who sent it
to Messrs. Yeitch from Borneo.

Todea Wilkesiana — Messrs. Yeitch say
it gives as great pleasure to be now in a position
to ofler this beautiful miniature Tree Fern for
the first time.

For a correct description of this elegant Fern,
we feel we cannot do better than refer to the
wood cut and description published by Mr.
Moore, in the Gardener'>s Chronicle of June 11th,
1870, where he says : —

"The trunk is from 18 to 20 inches high, and
1^ inch in diameter, crowned at the summit by
from ten to twelve spreading fronds, of a broad-
ly lanceolate outline, and 2 feet or upwards in
length. The pinna? are sessile, oblong lanceo-
late, spreading. The pinnules are oblong ob-
tuse, dentate, and pellucid. Messrs. Veitch's
parent plant has already a stem of a foot or more
in height, and about an inch in diameter, which
slender tree like habit gives it quite a distinct
aspect among its allies, which include some of
the most lovely of cultivated Ferns "

It has been exhibited at the Royal Horticul-
tural Society's Shows, and received a First-class
Certificate.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

A Peach Tree Disease.— I am very indua- [ The first of these that died I discovered to be
triously pursuing my fruit culture experiment, aff(>cted in January or February. The trunk
and liave just encountered my first discouraging and branches were yet green, while the roots
incident. I liave lost four peach trees; one i were entirely dead. I found gum exuding from
planted out in the spring of 1870, and three put i the hark of the roots, looking as though the grub
out in the spring of 18G8. had been at work, but I could not find one.

1S71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^'THLY.

283

The other two that died I noticed onl}' a few
days since. At my first pruning they appeared
as healthy as they could be. After flowering and
much of the fruit setting, I observed in them a
rather sickly appearance, and upon closer scru-
tiny found the branches green, the flowers dry-
ing and the fruit wilting. The bark nearly
around the trunk, from the ground up to the
first branches, was entirely dead, while the roots
and bark at the base nearly up to the surface of
the ground, remained alive, prceentinga healthy
appearance. Pigging up the trees showed the
ground to be in the best possible condition.

AVe submitted the above letter, with accom-
panying specimens of disease, to our Entomo-
logical friend, Prof Steele, for investigation,
and in response, have been favored with the fol-
lowing interesting and satisfactory.

Reply. — It is evident that the trees were
killed by a somewhat new disease scientifically
termed Sucus ohstructio^ but generally known in
the localities where it prevails as 'peach tree
rot." It is to the peach tree about what "fire
blight" is to the pear, and "root rot" is to the
apple ; a disease but little understood, and con-
sequently the subject of a thousand theories.

The most plausible theory in our mind, makes
"peach tree rot" arise from a fungus which ob-
tains a footing in the bark of the tree, near the
earth line, and sending its roots and spores in-
ward finally deranges the circulation and stops
the flow of the sap. On subjecting bark taken
from the base of an infected tree to microscopi-
cal examination, we find it a complete fungoid
net-work The specimen sent, as referred to in
the foregoing, proved to be of that character,
and the black specks with white border, which
without the aid of microscope would naturally
be mistaken for insect eggs, turned out to be
perfectly developed fungoid growths, sending in-
numerable roots entirely through the bark. —Ab-
breviated from Farmer and Register^ Edited by
P. J. Berckmans.

Davis's Seedling Potato. — This potato al
though not a new variety, is not extensively cul
tivated, at lea.st we have never met it until our
recent visit to Manhattan. Our attention was
more particularly attracted to it by its unusual
weight, and its beautiful external appearance.
It is a deep red potato, skin smooth, eyes very
broad and not quite so deep as in the Peachblow,
the principal eye upon the seed end being of a

uniform triangular shape, and deeper than its
fellows, general shape round, somewhat flatten-
ed on two sides, flesh white and very solid, and
remarkably free from cavities ; about as prolific
as the Peachblow, and, to our taste, superior in
eating qualities. A specimen we have before
us, measuring only eight and three-quarter
inches in circumference, weighs nine ounces. It
is a late potato, and a good keeper. It is grown
quite extensively in Riley county. "We pro-
nounce it a valuable acquisition. — Kaunas Far-
mer.

Plants FOR Edging.— The Dwarf Box has
been heretofore the plant most commonly used
for edging flower beds and walks ; but in our cli-
mate it sufiiers so badly in winter, unless con-
stantly covered with snow, that it often presents
in spring a very unsightly appearance. By the
introduction of the dwarf growing varieties of
arborvitse we are made quite independent, and
have in them an admirable substitute for the
dwarf box.

The varieties known as Ericoides or Heath-
leaved, Tom Thumb, Hoopes' Dwarf and Booth's
Dwarf, are all finely adapted lo this purpose,
being naturally of a dwarf habit, and admitting
of being trimmed to any desired form or height.
In addition to these qualities, they are quite
hardy, never sufiering from our most severe
winters.

These plants grow slowly, and full grown
specimen plants are held at high prices, but
small plants, such as are most desirable for
planting for edging purposes, can be obtained at
much lower rates. AVe think plants of Tom
Thumb, six inches high, are sold for six dollars
per hundred, and Hoopes' and Booth's Dwarf
for ten. la those parts of the country where
the snow does not remain all the winter at a
sufficient depth to protect the box, these hardy
evergreens will be found a most charming sub-
stitute.— Canada Farmer.

Barren Apple Trees— IIow to Make
THEM Bear.— "Through the kindness of the
Hon John Whittlesey, the Herald is able to lay
the following important fact before our readers:

First, the Northern Spy, Red Astrachan, and
a number of other choice varieties of apples,
have failed through this region to bear apples,
although ten or fifteen years old. Two years
ago, Dr. Hull, of Alton, delivered a lecture at

2SJf

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOXTHLY.

Septewibcr,

Benton Harbor, in which he recommended root
prnninaj. Mr. O. A. Winchester, of St Joseph,
of Archer & Co.'s Nursery, had ten Northern
Spy apple trees, thirteen or more years old,
■which had never blossomed or borne a crop.
After the lecture, though late in the season, he
directed his man to root prune one tree, and
half root prune another. Last year no favora-
ble results appeared, probably from the lateness
of the root pruning. This year, the tree which
was root pruned all around, is full of blossoms,
while' that side of the tree half root pruned alone
is full of blossoms, the un-root pruned side hav-
ing none at all. Every other Northern Spy ap-
ple tree, as usual, contains no blossoms.

This single fact should lead our orchardists to
try the experiment this season. Now is the
time to begin, and the work of root pruning
should be finished by the first of June.'

Profit of Early Cucumbers.— Nicholas
Pierro, a German gardener near Minneapolis,
sold nearly S30 worth of cucumbers in one day,
the fore part of July, from one hundred hills.
Tiiej' were, of course, started under glass, and
were watered during the dry weather. He goes
over his vines three times each week, but the
above was the heaviest sale of the season's pick-
ing.— Small Fruit Recorder.

Purple Beech. — Mr. J. H. Hall, says in
Bulletin of the Torrey Bot. Club: The finest cop-
per Beech probably in the country, grows at
Throgg's Neck, on the grounds of Mr. Van
Schaick. It is enormous in size ; very beauti-
ful and graceful in shape, of charmingly colored
foliage. I think the diameter of the trunk at
the height of a man's head, must be six feet.

Phyllotaxis ; or the Law of the Ar-
rangement OF Leaves. — One of the most re-
markable instances of the prevalence of law in
the natural world, is shown in the arrangement
of the leaves of plants

"Whore the leaves are not opposite, it is found
that thoy grow in spiral rows around the stem,
at certain regular distances from one another.

If we fasten a thread upon the base of a vine-
leaf, and wind it around the shoot, we shall find
that the next leaf, above the one from which we
started, is half way around the stem, and tliat
the second is dire*, tiy above the one from which

we began to reckon This series may therefore
be represented by the fraction ^, in which the
numerator shows that we have made one circuit
around the stem, and the denominator that
there are tivo leaves within the circuit ; begin-
ning to count with the leaf above the one from
which we started.

In another plant three leaves will be found in
one circuit, the first leaf being one-third of the
distance around the stem, the second ttco thirds^
and the third completes the circuit. This series
is therefore represented by the fration 5.

Other plants, as the pear and currant, have
a series of Jive leaves making two circuits, the
first leaf in the spiral row being placed at two-
fifths of the distance around the stem from the
leaf assumed as the starting point, the second,
four-fifths^ the third, sixfifths, and so on. This
series is, therefore, indicated by the fraction 2-5.
Other plants have a series of ei(//* Heaves in three
circuits, and some thirteen in eiyht circuits.

Taking now into view these several systems,
they may be represented by the following frac-
tional series, viz., ^, |, 2-5, f, 5-13, etc.

This series expands according to the law that
any one of the terms, after the second, is equal
to the sum of the numerators of the two next
preceding terms divided by the sum of their de-
nominators.

We have, therefore, the curious fact that a
mathematical series expresses one of the fixed
laws of organic growth. — Wood's Botany.

Humble Bees. — Boys think it glorious fun to
fight humble bees, but they should not be en-
couraged in the warfare. Humble bees, like all
other hymenoptera, play an important part in
the great field of nature. The vein winged in-
sects which fly from flower to flower, do not in-
jure or destroy the flowers, but make them pro-
ductive by disturbing their pollen. They also
rid us of innumerable noxious caterpillars and
other insects, which they convert into whole-
some food for their offspring.

The ordinary honey bee performs its work
well in the fertilization of white clover, but its
proboscis is not long enough to enable it to reach
the nectaries of red clover. For the fertiliz itiou
of red clover, we must rely to a great extent
upon the humble bee.

Darwiu has called attention to the intimate
connection between the number of cats in a given
district and the yield of red clover seed. The

IbTl.

TIf£: GARDE JTER'S MOMTELy

BS5

mic« destroy humble bees, and the cats destroy | thus see how eftriicstlj> ^v ., ]juaiblo bto is ilc-siirccl

the mice; therelore, the more cat3 the uioro i iu countries whero ho \^. -^^s not. Tli*>u should

wo uol protect what \v^ |-,siv*>, aiul which p<ir-
forois svich ixn importjxi^^ c^s"^ **^*^* ^'^ ''^^'*' tVfijjmiit

meadows? Wo think ^ — ' "' ' ^ -» -
fere with the wild ploj[\^,
— jTui/, Field and Fcu^',-^

bumble bees, and the more bumble bees the | wo uol protect what \v^ j-,siv*>i »'i<^ which p<ir

great-er is the red clover jield. lu order to

make red clover grow more abundantly iu New

Zealand than it does, some enterprising gontle-

tuen are talking of importiut^ colonics of humble

bees from England. Our 3'ouug frieuds will

meadows? Wo think ^" ev^u if it doi^s jntt»r-
fere with the wild pl'^^tsure* of cnivJess boyhood.

P 0 R E I G N INTEL L I G E N c E

■RASPBEnREES. — A fruit requiting S]X!cial gath-
ering for market, and it ought only to be sent
there in water-tight ves.sels, as the juices run
out. It is often an uasatisfactory article both
for buyer and seller, as tbe first named often
questions whether all tbe juice the fruit is swiijj-
ming in when it reaches London was not gath-
ered with it from the bushes ; and certainly there
is every scope for increasing the quantity by the
same means as are adopted with milk; but as
this is not our purpose, we may say that although
the Strawberry, as before reruarkud, dislikes a
calcareous soil, this plaut luxuriates in one, and
the best examples of good cultivation I have met
with are of this kind ; depth of soil and a little
more moisture than most other kinds of fruit dc-
Ijgiit in, are also requisite to enable the plaut to
ripen ofTils Later fruit to ad vantage, — Journal of
Jlorticulture.

Revivifying an Old MusiinooM Bkd —
From Mr. W. P. Ayres, of Nottingham, we
have received a quantity of very fine mush-
rooms, the produce of an old bed tliat, under or-
dinary management, would by thi« time have
been destroyed. It appears that some M'eeks ago
one of Mr. Ayres's beds, wliich had borne well,
began, after the fashion of old mushroom beds,
to become exhausted ; but, instead of destroying
it, he firmed down the bed, filled up with all the
interstices, and gave it a thoroun;h dcse of wa-
ter, farm yard liquid manure, salt, and guano,
heated to about 80°. The result was that the
bed began to bear better than it did before Tbe
liquid was of course in a highly diluted state,
and given so abundantly, that every part of the
bed was saturated with it. These facts are
worth the attention of all mushroom growers.—
Qardener^s Weekly.

j liiroiriAN'T TO TUis jsTtTRsEnv and Skkd
j Trades— The followiiij^ itift>riuu'. ion may per-
haps be of service to s^cdat*^^" '^"^' nurseryujcu
whaj'eceivc orders by pojjt unaGcoinp;»niod with
: remittances : "'A dealer r*i**'ding iu a prov'incinl
town was recently sued in the City of London
Ooiu-t for a small amount ; t>ut, Avhilo not dis-
' putlng the chxim, tiio debtor set up the plea that
the goods had by him haviiij; boi-n ordered by
; post, he could only be sued in ihu district in
j which tlio orders were {jost-cd ; and It siioms lio
I was right, for he carried the d>iy. As it would
be hardly worth wiiile to Lake ail the trouble
that miglit be ueoeesury to compel paynumt un-
der such circumstances, it ia clear that ynnill
transactions between parlies roHidlnj^ at a dis-
tance from each other ca n 011 ly be .s.ifuly carried on
when cash payments are t-he order i.>f the day.
As the law now stauds, ingenious individuals
who happen not to be overliurdencd with huucsiy
may carry on a system of fraud without rmmiiig
much risk. "SVo can only hope tiiat porrorinoi'S
iu this line will go abeiid viirorously widle tliey
have the chance, and thu» dravv the attention
of our law nnikens to the necenHily for a lltllu
law-inendina iu this directi<:)n."

Caution to Nuii.sffiiYMjcN and Otukiih.—
"Our readers," Kays the SuHBex E'.qri-Cb», "have
got pretty well acquairi't:'! with ilio gentry who
' advertise for agricultur'tl produce, garden stuff,
j game, poultry, anyLhiuJ^i indeed, wlilcii tiicy can
hope to obliilu without Pitying (Or it; but there
has lately been a novelty eontrivcd lu their mode
I of operating. Tie orie?'"itl plan was to give a
London addres.*, gi-t tl>'' fe'Oodsseijt to a I>ondoii
railway btution, def(;ri'''*K payment on houk; [ire-
text or other, and, of '^'^'^ '">»*,•, when they had oh-

9i86

TEE GABBEJ^'ER'S MOJ^TRLl .

iSeptember,

tained possession, the swindlers disappeared, !
The Improved scheme is to give an apparently
local name— some well known Su*!Bex or Kent
name— and give a local address. A couple of
rooms are taken in some country town in the
name adopted, adrtrtisements are freely issued,
slioals of letters, we arc told, pour in, the replies
are in the most business like form, and then an
addition to the country address appears as an
additional place of business, in or near London.
This is not all. In one case we are assured,
however, a slill stranger device was used. A
check was actually sent drawn on a well known
bank in the Ci(y. but when it was presented it
was returned, marked 'refer to drawer.' This
could noL be done."

BaILI-ON"8 L'HlsTOIIlE I>E PLANTES —We

are inlurujed <hat an English edition of ,J,his
work, with the original illuetrations, will be
puhliMhe<l shortly by Messrs. L. Reeve & Co
The first volumi; is expected to appear in the au-
tumn.

A "\VoucE.STER Fruit Farm.- We learn from
Jierrow'n Worcester Journal that Mr Vardon,
who is described as a "^shrewd, clever, and ac-
compiislied man," lias worked out the idea of a
Iruit (iu-m on a magnilicent scale, near Pershore.
His estate is "250 acres. Of this about 140 are
l»iiinled with fruit trees. Ihese include 00,000
gooseberry bushes, 100,000 eurnmt trees, and
about 0,000 plum trws, to say nothing of hun-
dreds of pt-ar and npplo trees, aud other "gigon-
lie vegitnbleB," us the Freuch call them. Along
with luH neighbors in tho Purshore district, Mr
Vurden has a line crop of plums this year. Tbe
IKirtiiiiinr plum whicli is grown near London
having been a comparative liaiiuie, the Pershore
growi;i(< g( t the berietit ol large crops and good
jJilcCH. 'I 111! txtent of the larm may be imagined
when we mention that for weeks Air. Varden
has sent o(f four or live tuns of fruit a day. One
lot of ourranls eont away on one day to one cus-
tomer weighed Buvcu tons.

Tiiic Laiiok.st Ro.sii TnEE.— The largest rose
buhh if 11 «hite Buukaia— so called after lady
lianks— in tho Marine Ganlon at London, which
was sciii iherc, tho lirst of its kind, in 1812, by
Boniiiuud. Us numerona brandies, some ol
which nieasuro oighleen inches in circumference,
cover an immense wall to a width of nearly six-

ty feet, and at times, in early .Spring, as n:iaay
as fifty thousand flowers have been counted on
this queen of all roses.

A >:K0UN CEMENT OF FUDIT TnCTiO'i^ kVyY .-^

We are informed that a very valuable d:ctionai-y %
of fruit trees, from the pen of M. Andre Lur^,
Antwerp, is in progress ; indeed, a part of it
comprising three large volumes, on pears ap
pies, quinces, and medlars, is already complete.
Each fruit is treated in an elaborate manner,
and to the mode of its culture is prefixed a brief
yet complete history. Besides several types of
each variety, 91.5 varieties of pears are described,
and each description is acconipanied by a wood-
cut.

GltOUND LKV12LLTNG AND PRACTICAL GaR-

DEK Plotting, — To draw and transfer to tlie
ground tbe design, draw tbe inside circle, and
divide it into five equal parts. AVith point/ as
centre, draw circles k and t, as shown by the
thick and dotted lines; draw corresponding cir-
cJes from points, a, ^, c, and e. Again from
point/ draw arcs li and g^ also draw corre.«pond-
ing ares from points a, 6, c, and e. Where the
lines cut each other are the corners of the beds.
From centre ?• draw circle s.

To transfer /f'g. 40 to the f:round. Find the
centre ot the piece of ground upon which it is in-
tended to trace the design, and insert a peg, as
at pf)iut r. Lay the diameter line a f/, making r
the centre. The diameter line a d Is 40 feet long.
From the peg at centre r, with a line 20 foc-t
loug, trace circle ah c d ef; divide the ciicle in-
to five equal parts, to get the centres from wliioh
the design is traced. The best and surt^st way
to do so, is to form a pentagon inside the cirsilo
in the same manner as described in fig. 12. It
is done thus on the ground: — From th<.* peg at
point a with a string equal in length to the di-
ameter—that is, 40 feet long, trace an arc from
tine peg at point d to point t; then from the i«*g
at poiuL dy witli the same radius, trace an arc
from peg u to t. Where tbe two arcs cut each
other at point t insert a peg, then divide the di-
ameter line into five equal parts, as 1, "2, ii, 4. 5 ;
as the lino is 40 feet in length, each division will
be 8 feet— that is, from the peg at point a mea-
sure H feet, aud insert a peg as at point 1 ; from
the peg at point 1 measure 8 feet, and insert a
pey us at point 2, itc. From tbe peg at poiuc I

I'iri.

THE GARDEfTER'S MOJVTIfLJ'.

esr

— thai IS, where the two arcs traced from pc^^sa

«ud d cut each other — lay a line jjassing thrv>ugh |

the second point or division and cutting the cir- |

cle at point/; then lay a line froin peg f t-o pi»g "j

<i, which will l>e one side of the polygon. Apply i

the line five times to the circle, and insert a peg !

at each point, as at {X)int a, h, c, e and/. Kroni t

ibe pe\i at centre r, with a slriug 39 feet loog. i

trace circle s ; from the peg at point /, with a'

string 19 feet 3 inches long-, (race ciftla h^ ns

shown by the thick and dotted iiuc ; reduce the

string 4 feet and tmce circle i", also shown by

the thick and dotted line. From the pegs at

points o, by c, andi ft, with tho ssvm^ U*n*;ths of
string, trace corrospoudhjg circles to t j^nd t.
From the peg at iwini,/, wUh n strln«; S feet
long, traco art; h; reduce the stvit'ig i T^^^t tiixd
trace arc 17 ; trace convsponflinu: i^>'«-'* IV om tho
jvegs at points it, b, c, e, ^rtim oenti^ jx^g r,
with a string 2 feet G iuclieij long. tmtv. the i-'P-
cle in liie ctMxl re Wherft ihe lin^-^: cvit eneh othor
are the fornors of tho beds, marked u; w being
■walks — M. CDONNKLL, tiRrdi-uer to IC, L^t'ni-
ing. Esq , Spring Grove, liiclnnond, iu London
Jotirnal of HorticuUm-G.

Caladium Uoor a —Wintering Caladnnrif.—

C. The corras can either be allowed to remain

in the old soil or be shaken out and buriful hi
dry silver sand. Wintering them in the soil iu
which they were grown the previous sea-son in
in the majority of cases preferable. The most
important matter in connexion with winLcrmg
them, 13 to dry the plants ofl" early, and also to
withhold the water imnierliatoly, or before they
begin to show signs of dying down, as, when
watered until the greater part of the foliage is
dead, the soil remains moiet for a long time af-
ter the growth has ceased, and the corms perish
iu consequence. The soil should become quite
dry by the time three-parU of the leaves are
deid, and the pots containing the corns f^hould

be place. 1 in a Umperature of Ix-lwecn 55" and
70", and it is u«elcne to atU-mpt to wiotrr tlieni
in a lower li-niporature LJjan tin; minimmii hero
given, 'i'he put.** should be overhauled two or
three times during the winter, and the c.ormH
carefully examined, but without di«turt)iiig tho
soil more than can be heljicd. If any of tho
corms evince the slightcHt signs of ducny, all in
the same pot siioiihl l)esh.'iken out, an J ^iH truces
or decay removed with a HaL piece of Htl<:k, lind
the wounds ilressed with powdored charcoal or
dry »ilvir-san<l. The carmn Hhnnid then bo
placed on a shi-lf to dry for a week or ten days,
and then be buried in dry sand. Thin rem-dy
seldom fails in arresting the progn^sM of the dis-
eascd. We sometimes itumt with dlrectloim for

f<^?

TEE GARBEJ^EKS MOJs'TELY.

Septeinh^T

s^'ringing the outside of the pots and the surface j things, at a di&taoce of nine or ten inches apart,
of the soil oceasiouaUy during- Ihesteasoa of rest ; \ Each bed is filled with one color, or at the most,
but the advice is bad, for moistening the soil in ( tM o colors ; and Ix-ds filled 'ivith plants j;roducing

the slighteHt degree at that period is neither ne-
cessary nor dchirable. A temperature of 50"
T^yih suit the fern named admirably.

EATJI.Y TVLivs. — Doubtless these showy flow-
ers will some day or other be grown extensively
by all classes, but at the present day they are
neither grown nor appreciated one-t<inth part so
extensively as they should be; one-hundredth
part would perhaps be nearer the m^irk, for it is
quite a rare occurence to meet with a few beds
oi' tulips even in gardens of considerable preten-
sions, i[istead of their occupying a position in
tlie parterre worthy of their merits. Here we
grow large numbers of spring [lowering bulbs of
all kinds, but the tulips, taking all things into
con.sideration, are the most useful, and they are
grown by thousands. Crocuses and Hyacinths
are very well for llower-garden decorations, but

yellow llowcrs are filled wilh scarlet flowered
tulips; with white flowering plants, rose and
pink tulips; blue flowering plants, yellow tulips;
pink-ftowering plants, white tulips, and soon;
and the effect produced is at once most effective
and pleasing The advantages of employing
thera with other classes of plants are many, and
so obvious that they do not require any length-
ened exi)lanaLion, In the first place, the beds have
a more cheerful aspect throughout the winter,
when the surface is carpeted with green foliage;
secondly, the foliage of the carpeting .plants
affords a very efficient protection from the cold
winds just as the young leaves are peeping above
the surlace of the soil ; and thirdly, the brilliancy
of the flowers is brought out to better advantage
by the grouudwork of white, j'ellow, pink and
crimson, in much the same manner as the ap-
pearnnce of precious .stones is increased by their
golden settings. 'J he carpet serves a fourth pur-
pose, for it not only keeps the beds gay until tlic

the flowers of the first nan)ed are of such a short j ^^"'^ *"*^^ ^^'^"S ^^'^^^ ^^»'^ t'^*^ eummer bcdders,
duration that their beauty is past almost as soon | ^"'' i'' ^^^V^ ^^""^ ^^^ flower stems out of sight,
as they are expanded ; whxUt the latter arc ^^^'^ ^^'^^ ^'^'^^^ ^^^ ^'^''^ ^^ complete their growth
hardly showy enough for the time of year in without being an eye-sore to any one. — T/?c Gar-
vhicli they are in flower, besides being expensive ''"^^''"'^' Mayuzine.
The stock also requires a regular renewal of
purchase, as the bulbs degenerate very rapidly,
and jifler the third year are of very little use. On
tlie otiier hand, with iiioderately carcCul attcn-

lion the stock of tulips will iueroaso. so that, j Wintkk Cahe or Peaks.— Make a point of
after the purchase of the stock in the first in- I i-ogularly examining every week all the choice
Btaucc, no further outlay is required excepting ; kind., „f fruits th.it may be ai)proachiug ripeness

wiven tlie cultivator is anxious to add other va-

or which arc found not to be keeping well, .so

rioties to hm hat. The collection hero comprises Uiat everything may be used at the proper time,
tiXauHJles of all the best kinds for outdoor work j f^^ the finest pears arc worthless enou-h ifallow-
uud whcu the flower garden is at its best, no ar- 1 eQ to become over-ripe Ix-fore being used an<I the

guments fron^ me nr© wanted to couviuce those

saujc is tlio Case with many varieties of Apples.

who see it that in the tulip the flower gardener ^Iso look over the whole stock as often as lime

has a most valuable aid. To describe the mag. ,„, ,,, ^p.^^^^j^ removing any fruit that exhibits

Id Iceuco of the display whu:h tuhi^s. when prop- ,^.„,,,to>ns of decay, and put them aside for im-

orly urmnged wilh respect to the hoighls and Mediate use. Any of the choicer kinds of Pears

colors, lire capable of producing is imposBible,
nud 1 will not attempt it.

We have adopted a plau somewhat difl'oroutto

that do not appear to ripen properly in the fruit-
room, should he removed to a warm dry room
for a lew days This will be found to greatly
that pursued In many gardens, auil instead of j improve them. Keep the fruit as dry and cool
plaiuiug the bulbs thickly iu beds by «hi;uisclves, ■ as possible, and if the frost is excluded the fruit-
Avo first plant the beds with such things as white ' room can hardly be too cool wlien the object is to
Aiabis, yollow Alussum, blue Fuiget-me-uots, ' preserve the fruit plump and sound for a long
&u., and then phiut the bulbs belwecu the other tiute. — Lcndon Journal of Horlicultme.

DEVOTED TO

Horticultiire, Arboriculture ^ Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.
Old Series, Vol. XIII. OCTOBER, 1871. New Series, Vol. IV. Ko. 10.

HINTS FOR OCTOBER.

FLOWER GAHDEN" AND PLEASURE
GROUND.

While other sections of the Union have been
pretty well dried out, we of Pennsylvania and
some of the adjoining States have been very
well supplied with rain, and our garden and
grounds never presented a fresher or more joy-
ous appearance than they have done this season
Yet we have had our seasons when gardening was
hard work. Everything dried where it was
planted. But so nice and so cheerful have every-
thing been the past season, that we should be
quite willing to have a hot dry time two years
in succession if we could only has every third
year one like this. In the hot dry regions which
we have visited this year, we have heard people
say it is no use to have gardens — "nothing will
do in our hot place." Let them look at our glo-
rious gardens here this year, and those which
we have had ; and "seeing take up heart again."
In one respect it is to our good that we have
this occasional hot experience. There has been
too much copying after European gardening.
We should have a style of our own and plants to
correspond,— and we need just such weather to
teach us to do it. The proper plants to use in
our gardens are those which are adapted to hot
dry climates ; and in preparing a stock of plants
for next year let this be borne in mind. Among
supposed hot-house plants which we have seen
tried out this year with great success, are two
ver}' beautiful climbing plants. One Stigma-
phyllon ciliatum has lemon yellow flowers about
an inch across, very much resembling the pretty
Crape Myrtle of the South. The other is a sort
of Passion flower, Tacsonia kevis. The blossoms
are of a vermilion color. Both of these main-

tain a succession of flowers from June till frost.

Arrangements must now be made for protect-
ing half hardy plants which we use to adorn our
summer grounds. The Pampas Grass is par-
ticularly one of these, — no place of any preten-
sions being complete without them. Some take
them up and keep in a pit or cellar ; but it is
best to leave them in the open ground. Dry
leaves or shavings should be packed in well
through the plant, and then a dry goods box
thrown over all to Iceep things dry. The beauti-
ful Tritoma uvaria is best served in the same
way. The latter is said to be hardy without
any protection at all, but it does very much bet-
ter served in this way.

The Caladium escidentum is another plant
which for its large shield-like leaves is now com-
ing into general use for garden decoration.
These roots can be kept like potatoes through
the winter if the place where they are kept is
not dry enough to make them shrivel, or too
cold ; but cold damp places easily rot them.
Gladiolus Tigridia and Tuberose roots do in simi-
lar places,— that is a little warm and dry. In re-
gard to the Tuberose, it is now believed that
if they are dried off after digging in a ralher
warm instead of a cool place, they will flower
the better for it. Some take up or protect Japan
Lily roots, but they are quite hardy, and indeed
are belter for no protection of that kind. Japan
Lilies have not generally been cultivated suc-
cessfully. It is found tliat in very rich soil they
become diseased ; a poor soil suits them best.
October is the best month to plant Japan Lilies.
Tulips, Hyacinths and other hardy Dutch bulbs
are also in season for planting. So pretty and
so cheap, it is surprising they are not more cul-

wo

THE GARDEJVEli'S MOJ^TELY.

October,

tivatcd. We quite agree with the following par-
agraph which we find in Mr. Vick's bulb cata-
logue:

"The Hardy or Holland Bulbs, as they are
often called, because mostly imported from Hol-
land, where they are grown extensively and
thrive better than in any other country, are al-
most the only ornament of the garden in very
early spring. Commencing with the little Snow-
drop, in this section in March or early April,
followed by the Crocus, Hyacinth and Tulip,
they make a most interesting succession during
the months of April and May, when but for
them the garden would be bare enough. In ad-
dition to this they are unrivalled for culture in
the house during the winter months. As nearly
all can be grown in so many ways— in pots, or
baskets of sand and moss, or in vessels of wa-
ter—they are an almost endless source of inter-
est and amusement in every stage of growth.
"With a little moss from the woods or swamps, a
few quans of sand, some pots, or a shallow box
or two and a few dozen Crocuses, Early Tulips,
Hyacinths and Narcissus, any one is prepared
for a pleasant little winter garden. Of course,
a few Hyacinth Glasses are desirable, but not
essential. Very pretty boxes can be made with
a little taste and patience, and some sticks and
bark from the woods.''

In addition to the kinds above named, the
Anerwoin and liununcidus are beautiful spring
flowers ior all who have rotten cow manure to
fertilize the ground with,— and will give the
beds a little protection from the severest weath-
er. We are also very partial to the old Crown
Imperial, of which there are now several varie-
ties of red and yellow.

Many kinds of hardy annuals flower much
better next spring, when sown at this season of
the year. A warm, rich border should be cho-
sen, and the seed put in at once. Early in spring
they must be transplanted to the desired posi-
tion in the (lower border.

Few things are more valued in winter than a
bunch of teweet Violets. A lew may now be
potted, and they will flower m the window to-
•vvaiiib bpring ; or a small bed of them may be
made in a Iraroe, which should be protected by
a mat Irom severe frost. To have Tansies flow-
er early and profusely in spring, they may be
planted out in a frame, as recommended for the
Violet.

Herbaceous hardy border flowers are often
propagated in the lall by dividing the roots ; but,

unless it is convenient to protect the newly-made
plants through the winter, it is better to defer
this till spring, as the frost draws out of the
ground and destroys many. Where it is now
resorted to, a thick mulching of leaves or litter
should be placed over the young stock when
transplanted.

Chrysanthemums now in flower should have
their names and colors rectified, against the
time when in spring they may have to be re-
planted, when they can be re-arranged with ac-
curacy and satisfaction, according to ihe owner's
taste.

Amongst the pretty effects which we have
seen this year, have been several attempts at
forming winter ga"rdens of evergreens. It was
suggested in England a few years ago, that the
massing system ofgrowing flowers in summer was
objectionable in this, that it left the beds naked
through the winter. To remedy this, they had
a reserve garden of evergreens from which the
plants were taken every year after the frost had
killed the flowers, and set in the places where
the flowers were. This makes the flower gar-
den look green at least during the summer sea-
son. This reserve garden of evergreens is usu-
ally put into an out of the way place, and does
not look very inviting in the summer time. In
the case we have reference to, the reserve gar-
den had the evergreens set rather wide apart,
and the spaces between tilled with Coleus, Achy-
ranthus. and other colored and variegated leaves.
The etlect was very pretty indeed.

FEUIT (JARDEN.

In this deparlment of the (Jardenn-^s Monthly,
we never care to be controversial ; but to give
simply practical facts wliich cannot be disi)u ed,
or to make suggestions which have been so well
the result of practical observation that they can-
not be gainsayed if ever they are put to the t» st«
But we notice occasionally that even intelligent
men proless to believe that in this Uepartuieut
of the Monthly we recommend growing Iruit
trees by neglecting them in grass.

Becently a gentleman well known for his suc-
cesstul establishment of the town ot Vineland,
took occasion to warn the people against our
"theory" of "growing trees in grass,"— and as
we have recently seen, Mr Charles Downing
thought it worth while to give a side hit at those
who advocate "neglecting trees in grass.'' No
careful reader of our magazine could ever imag-

1871.

TEE GABDEJVEK'S MOJV'THLY.

291

ine us to toach such neglect. We have before
stated how we should "neulecf' an orchard ;
but we will give it again to avoid mistake.

"We fuel that the advice constantly given to
subsoil and underdrain, and manure to the ex-
tent of hundreds of dollars per acre is too costly
to follow, and of little use after it is taken. If
we were going to pnpare a piece of ground for
an orchard, we shoulil manure it heavil}' and
put in a crop ot Potatoes ; then in October ma-
nure again lightly and put in Rye. On this, in
April, we should sow Red Clover. The Rye off
we should then consider it ready to plant trees.
For Apples, Pears, Plums or Cherries, we should
mark out the rows ten feet ajtart, and for the
trees ten feet from each otI:|^ This will be
twice as thick as they will be required when full
grown, but they grow much better when thick
together ; and they will bear mure than enough
fruit to ['ay for the room they occupy, before the
time comes to cut every other one away. We
saj' the rows ten leet apart, but every fourth
row should be twelve feet to afford room to get
between the blocks with a cart.

Plant as early as in October as possible, but it
can be continued until the approach of frost. To
plant, a hole can be dug in the stubble just large
enou^jh to hold the roots without cramping them.
We should tread in the soil and trim in the head
very severely. The next spring we should just
break the crust formed by the winter ruins about
the tree, and then leave everything to grow as
it might. The clover will be ready to cut in June
or July. The twelve feet I'ows u.ay be done by
machine, the rest by hand, ilay enough will be
made to pay for all the labor m one year and a
little more. After the hay has been hauled off,
bring back some rich eartii of any kintl, and
spread about a quarteror half an inch thick over
the surface of the ground disturbed in making
the hole. This will keep the grass from grow-
ing very strong just over the roots. Keep on
this way annually, every two or three years giv-
ing the whole surface of the orchard a top dress-
ing for the sake of the grass, and it will be found
to be the most profitable way ol m iki g the or-
chard ground ])ay for itself, until the fruit crois
come in, that one can adopt. The trees als<j will
be models ol health and vigor, and when they
commence to Ix'ar will do so regularly and abun-
dantly. '1 his is an epitome of what the Garden-
er s Monthly has taught, opposed as it has been
by the excellent men of the old school of culture.
No one who follows it will ever abandon it for

any other. It is costless comparatively, from
the first to the last ; and pays its way at every
step.

The dwarfer fruit trees we would plant on the
same -ystem, but six instead of ten feet apart.
Few soils are too wet for fruit trees. Only in wet
soils plant on the surface, and throw up the
earth over them from between so as to make a
ditch or furrow to carry away the surface water.
On the plan of annual surface dressings which
we have outlined, the feeding roots will thus al-
ways keep above the level of standing water ;
and when they can do this, it will not hurt the
trees though the tap roots are immersed in wa-
ter for half the year.

GREENHOUSE.

Bulbs for flowering in pots should be planted
at once Four or five inch pots are suitable.
One Hyacinth and about three Tulips are sulli-
cieut for each. After potthig, plunge the pots over
their rims in sand under the greenhouse stage,
letting ihem remain there until the pots have
become well filled with roots, bt fore bringing
them on to the shelves to force.

The taste for cut flowers is considerably in-
creasing, and one of the greatest demands on a
greenhouse in winter, is from the best half of
the head of the household for room and table
decorations. Beautiful specimen plants are not
so highly valued as those which will afford
plenty of bloom for cutting. The various kinds
ol Zonule Geraniums are very good for this pur-
pose The following al&o comprises very useful
plants for this purpose : Bouvardia Leiantha,
Calla Elhiopica, Oestrum aurantiacum, Ilabro-
Ihamnus elegans, Chorozema varium, Chinese
Primroses, especially the doultle white, Dajjliue
indica, Poinseltapulcherrima, Euphorbia splen-
deus. Heliotrope, Mignonette, Sweet Alyssum,
Catalonian Jasmine, Yellow Jasmine, Mahernia
odorata, Stevia serrata, Violets, Roses, Cinera-
rias and Brompton stocks. Tuberoses that llow-
er late may be carefully taken up and potted,
and will last till over Christmas ; and many
things may be taken out of the ground and
slightly forced The common white Lily is good
for this purpose, also Deutzias, Philadeli)hu.><cs,
and Tamarix. The coiuiuon green Euonymua
japonicus is also worth potting, to make a lively
green for mixing with other things.

Many kinds of annuals also come well into
play ; amongst other things, Phlox Drummoudii,

e)

92

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^TELY.

October,

Sweet Alyssuin, Collinsia hicolor, Schizanthus-
es. Mignonette and Nemophila are essential.

In taking up things from the ground for pot-
ting, care should be taken to have the pots well
drained, with pieces of potsherd over the hole.
The more rapidly water passes through the soil
the better plants will grow. Pots could be made
without holes, and the water would all go
through the porous sides in time ; but that is too
slow a way, so we make a hole to admit of its
more rapid escape, and we place the broken pots
over the hole to make a vacuum, which assists
the objects of the hole. In very small pots, or
with plants which have strong enough roots to
rapidly absorb all the moisture they get, and
speedily ask for more, "crocking" is not neces-
sary.

To watch for the first appearance of insects of
all kinds, is one of the chief points of immediate
interest in plant culture. If they once become
numerous, it is often better to throw away a
plant entirely than to doctor it after the old
methods.

For winter flowering, it is a good idea to keep
an eye to those things which are near their nat-
ural season of blooming, instead of the more
hazardous one of forcing things on that ought
not naturally to bloom for months afterwards.
"We have the natural system pretty well recog-
nized as the correct principle in landscape gar-
dening, and it might as well be| introduced in.
to this department also. Roses, of course, can-
not be dispensed with; but even here the free
blooming Tea and China Roses are infinitely
preferable to the Mosses and Perpetuals often
attempted. Roses intended for blooming, may
be pruned in now about one-third of their strong
shoots, and have their weaker ones cut out. As
soon as the buds show an inclination to burst,
the plants may be repotted in a rich loamy soil,
in well drained pots. Oxalises make beautiful
objects in the early spring, if potted now. A
rich sandy soil suits them well. Three or four
bulbs are enough for one pot. They do not do
well too thick together. O Boweii, O. llava,
and O. versicolor, are well known and popular
species.

All succulents may be kept in the dryest part
of the house, and get little water through the
winter. The fiat leaved or Epiiihyllum section
is an exception. E. truncatum blooms through
the latter part ol the winter, and so must be
kept growing.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Celery as it grows will require earthing up,
and Endive successively blanched ; but the main
business of the month will be preparations for
housing the root crops for the winter. Beets
are generally the first thing attended to, they
being the most easily injured by frost ; Carrots,
Salsafy and Parsnips following. The latter are
neverreallygood until they have been well frozen ;
and many leave them entirely in the ground,
taking them up as wanted for use. We prefer
taking them all up and packing them in sand or
half dried loam, in a shed or cellar, which can
be kept just above freezing point ; yet the cooler
the better. If sufered to be in heaps they heat
and soon rot. iWthe same situation Endive
and Cape Brocoli may be preserved to the end
of the year — they are taken up with a small
quantity of earth adhering to them, and placed
side-by-side together. Tomatoes, if dug up al-
so, and suspended, roots upward, in such a sit-
uation, will keep good a long time ; but thia
must be done before the least frost has touched
them. It is a wise plan to sow a little more
Early York Cabbage early in the month, as iu
fine mild winters the September sowing grows
too forward when protected. A very slight pro-
tection is better for them than any elaborate af-
fair, the sun principally injuring them. The
same remarks apply to Lettuce intended to be
kept over winter for spring use, though the sun
is less destructive to them than to the cabbage.

Forcing vegetables, wherever the least com-
mand of heat can be had, is the most interesting
and useful part of gardening. It is not by any
means what it is often considered, an operation
by which you pay a dollar for a mouthful. The
Asparagus, Sea KalCj^ Lettuce, Radish and
Cauliflower can be had for months earlier timn
in the open ground, wherever a regular tem-
perature of 55° can be obtained, with, of course,
the proper amount of air, moisture, «ic. As-
paragus can be had under a greenhouse stage,
though of course the tops will not be so green,
nor will it be much else but indiflerent under
such circumstances, as it would be in the full
light.

Radishes require an abundance of air, and
Lettuce light. Cauliflowers, if kept for some
months with all the light and air possible, at a
temperature of 50 or SS"*, may have it gradually
raised to GO or 05", and even 70 , and thus come

1S71.

THE GARDEJVERS MOJVTHLY.

'293

into uee in February, when there is no vegetable
more desirable.

Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Beans require a
temperature of at least 65" degrees to begin with.
If a temperature of 70 can be maintained in the
coldest weather, a few of these might be sown

by the end of the month, which will produce
some very acceptable dishes about New Year's
day. Bhubarb, if carefully taken up at the fall
of the leaf and potted, or put into boxes, will al-
so come forward well if put under the stage in a
house of the last temperature.

COMMUNICATIONS.

CALIFORNIA CONIFERS.

BY PKOF. B0LAi5*DER.

Commencing in the southern part of the State,
we meet in her littoral belt, a little north of San
Diego, a small species of pine, known to Botan-
ists as Pinus Torreyana. I have thus far, not
been able to learn its vernacular name.

The trees are small and few in number ; they
resemble most the so-called Digger Pine (P. Sa-
biniana), of our interior valleys. The leaves are
in fives and pretty long.

The seeds are about as large as those of P.
CouUerii. The locality mentioned is the only
one known. It has not been tested long enough in
our gardens to know what may be expected of
it as an ornamental tree. In a practical point
of view, it is unimportant.

Going northwards and keeping close to the
sea coast, we find at San Simeon Bay, at Mon-
tery and at a place a little south of Pescadero
the so-called Monterey pine (P. insignis). The
latter named place is its most northern limit. It
seems to occur only on the immediate coast,
on bituminous slate. Monterey is the oldest
sea-port and the oldest point whore Botanists
began their labors in California. Already, to-
wards the close of last century, it was visited
by Menzies, an English Botanist. Our species
in question, being variable in the form of its cones,
and the form of cones being one of the chief
characters relied upon in a botanical descrip-
tion, gave rise to quite a number of synonyms.

In Capt. Beechey's work, we find it figured
under the name P. Sindarii. Later it is again
described by Loisleur and called P. Californica.
Don described it even twice, calling it one time
P radiata and another time P. tuberculata.
The name P. insignis given to our species by
Douglas, who visited Monterey in 1830 or 1832,

is the one now generally used. The name can-
not be considered as settled ; for according to
the laws of nomenclature adopted by Botanists,
it must retain its first name: P. Sindarii.

This species attains a height of eighty to one
hundred and twenty-five feet, and a thickness
of two to four feet. In old age, its shape is very
irregular and anything but beautiful. Its cones,
three to five in a whorl, are persistent for
many years. The leaves are in threes. Its
timber is of little value, when better can be had.
In dry protected places it is pretty durable ; but
exposed to the vicissitudes of climate, it perishes
soon. The tree, when young, is undoubtedly
beautiful. It is extensively found in our gar-
dens and is known to every one as the Monterey

pine.

Mixed with the species just treated of, we ficd
another two-leaved one, P. muricafa. The ver-
nacular name in the southern portion of the
State, is Bishop pine ; in the northern, pitch
pine. It occurs near San Luis Obispo at an al-
titude of three thousand feet ; near the Mission
La Purissima, where it forms a small grove ;
near Monterey, as just mentioned, sparingly ;
near Tomales Bay, scattered over hills; facing
the ocean ; near Point Arenas, also at the Al-
bion River, extending northward to the Ten
Mile River, (Mendocino county). Its cones are
in whorls of two to four, persistent for many
years. Some trees two and one half feet in di-
ameter, had cones on the lower branches, par-
tially overgrown by the bark. In some trees,
we find a series of cones of twenty-five or thirty
years. This species has not yet found its way
into our gardens. "When young, it is beautiful
and apparently of a quick growth. The old tree
is irregular in outline, mostly weather beaten
and unsightly. It attains a height of fifty to
eighty feet. Its wood is fit for fuel only.

^yjf

THE GARDEJ\'EB'S M0:N'TBL1.

OctdbeVf

At the Allion River P. muricata is mixod
with another two-leaved species of pine, P. con-
tor/n— Doug1. (P. llnlandcri, Pall) It attains
a height of thirty to fift}' feet. On the upper
drier portions of the so-called plains of that re-
gion, it hears cones when it is about five feet
hitrh, and one or two inches thick. The cones,
several in a whorl, are also persistent for many
3'ears. Its small size and slender, npri<iht
branches, its short and densel}* set bright green
leaves, render it desirable for ornamental pur-
poses It evidently requires a sandy soil,
whether wet or dry ; it grows in both as its nat-
ural haunts. In the vicinity of Fort Bragg, this
s]ipcies forms a perfect barrier and shelter against
wind and drifting sand. ISTature here hints at a
remedy for us. This species used with the Mon-
terey pine and cypress, would protect our city
from drifting sand and fix the sand and soil.
The people in that section of country have no
vernacular name for it. In any other point the
tree is unimportant. It extends along the coast
northward up to Alaska. On the Sierras it oc-
curs between three thousand to eleven thousand
feet, descending, however, gradually to the
north. This gradual descendence of all of our
trees on the Sierras towards the north, is readil}'
explained, yes, it is self evident. On the Sierras,
opposite Visalia, our Big trees set in at eight
thousand feet altitude ; the Mariposa Big tree is
found to be six thousand five hundred, and the
Calaveras four thousand seven hundred feet
above the level of the ocean. On the Sierras, P.
contorta or twisted pine grows on the banks of
streams, on wet and moist flats and in the high-
er portions of the mountains on moraines. Here
it attains a height of one hundred and fifty to
two hundred (eet, and a thickness of three to four
feet. Its outline is strictly cylindrical. Its
wood is, owing to the frequent storms on the
mountains, twisted and therefore hard to split.
It is principally used for building log houses and
railway ties. The vernacular name applied is
Tamarack. The application undoubtedly arose
from the resemblance in form and habitat this
species presents with our eastern Larch [Larix
Americana, Tamaracl-^ Haclmatach), growing
chiefly, if not exclusively, in swamps. The
identity of the coast and mountain form is not
altngetlur saftily established.

Receding from the coast towards the east, we
meet on dry hillsides, a small tree, generally
known as P. tuhercuhtta. It attains a height of
twenty to forty feet, and a thickness of ten to

\

twenty inches. Its outline is conical. The

leaves are in threes, and the cones persistent.
In gardens it does well, ^nd as an ornamental
tree preferable to the ^fonterey Pine. I have
not been able to learn its vernacular name. Be-
ing small and unsightly in its natural haunts,
farmers never made any use of it, and therefore
give it no vernacular name It occurs on the
coast mountains on the road to Santa Cruz, on
the Oakland hills, on the mountains around
Ukiah, on the Red Mountain, Humboldt coun-
ty ; also near Forest Hill, at Cape Horn (C. P.
R. R.,) and further up near Alta in the dry
slopes of the canon of the American river. In
most cases this small tree forms a small grove
b3' itself. V

After the trees have attained a height of twen-
ty to forty feet, they die and decay.

Continuing our march eastward, we next
meet, although sparingh' at first, our well known
Yellow Pine (P. poniJerosa). This species at-
tains a height of one hundred and fifty to two
hundred and fifty feet. Its form is cylindrical
in outline. The branches are short and gener-
ally deflexed. The leaves are in threes and
cones deciduous, falling every winter to the
ground, after they have opened (about the first
of September,) their scales to allow the seeds to
be spread by the winds. In gardens it cannot
be called an object of great beauty. But on the
higher mountains, where it develops its full co-
lossal growth, it is certainly a grand object to be-
hold, and I can well see why Douglas called it
jwnderosa: the mightj'. Generally speaking, its
timber is rather inferior, being too coarsely
grained, and therefore subject to early decay. It
must be mentioned, however, that there is con-
siderable difference in the quality of the wood in
difll'rent localities ; yes, even in trees standing
side b}' side. The timber from Truckee, so called
Truckee Pine, belongs entirely to this species.
The species in question, is one of most widely
distributed trees of the western coast of N'orth
America. It grows on all higher and drier
points of the coast ranges, and it descends even
into their dry gravelly valleys, as is the case a
little north of Ukiah, Mendocino county. It
occurs on the Sierras from one thousand five
hundred to nine thousand feet in great abun-
dance. In fact it is the principal component of
that mighty belt of timber, extending from south
to north, along the wostcrn slope of the Sierras,
between two thousand to seven thousand feet, a
belt of timber whose equal cannot anywhere else

1S71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTRLJ.

W5

be found. It extends from the Colorado north
throughout the Rocky Mountains, and occurs
also in the hijjher mountain ran^ps of the Great
Basin. Its northern limit is unknown. This
ininionse diffusion over so lar^e a territory, ex-
bibitinir so many different expositions and cli-
matic differences, must naturally cause a great
variation in form and size of the tree and in the
quality of its timber. Its very botanical history
proves this assertion ; for there are fe«v trees
that have more synonyms than the one in ques-
tion. Besides the name above jriven, there are
the followinar synonyms: P. Enaelmanni^ P.
hrachyjytern., P. Benthamii., P. dcflexa, and P.
J'ffreyi. The cones of trees in a dense forest are
usually small, while those of isolated trees,
standin<x in alpine meadows or on bare rocky
slopes of mountains, or on wide sandy plains
(Mono Lake) are from four to six times larger,
This larger size of the cone is perhaps due to the
intense reaction of the atmosphere, caused by
bare rocks, wet meadows and dry sand. Con-
sidering the quick radiation of heat in such lo-
calities towards evening and shortly after sun-
set, which cools the air and causes a heavy dew-
fall, we may be able to understand this phe-
nomenon.

Ascending the highest points of the Coast
Ranges, we meet the well known Sugar Pine,
P. Lnmhertiana. But the Sugar Pine of the
Coast Ranges is not that colossal structure of
the higher or rather middle Sierras. Its beauty,
size and length of cones are inferior. This tree
yields an excellent timber, and attains a height
of one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet,
the outline is cylindrical, the branches are short,
dense and much divided into spray. A charac-
teristic exception, make the topmost branches,
■which spread in a loose irregular manner, al-
most horizontally. These are the cone bearing
branches, which attract the attention of every-
body by their clusters of pondulent cones, fifteen
to eighteen inches long. The cones open about [
September to emit their seeds, and fall then
Ihem.selves during winter to the ground. This
noble tree has its leaves in fives ; they are com-
paratively short, and of a glaucous green color.
It ranges throughout the entire length of the
Sierras, north to the Columbia river, between
four thousand to ten thousand feet. I have not yet
observed it in any of our gardens. The resinous
matte* exuding from burnt spots of the trunk,
hardens into a whitish mass, sweet as sucar.

Descending into the more easterly valleys of

the Coast ranges, we meet a very peculiar pine,
the Digger Pine, (P. Sahinana.) This species
attains the height of forty to sixty feet, and a
thickness of two to three feet. Its outline is ir-
regular, the trunk is generallj^ low. Its branches
are characterized by a few main leaders, and by
the paucity of their spray. The foliage is light
and quite glaucous green. The leaves are in
threes, and the cones persistent, although not to
the extent of some other species. The seed is
the largest of all our pines. The testa of its seed
is very hard and bony. This species occurs in
the driest portions of valleys and hillsides, even
up to four thousand feet of the Sierras. It forms
veiy seldom small groves. On account of its ir-
regular form, it is not a desirable tree for gar-
dens. Its wood is useless, except for fuel.

In similar localities, we find growing with the
Digger pine, although less frequently, another
pine, P. Coalterli. This species attains the
height of thirty to fifty feet, and a thickness of
two to three feet. It has a broad oval outline.
The branches and branchlets are thick and
clumsy and few in number. The leaves are very
long, bright green, and in threes; the cone is
the largest produced by our pines. It occurs
at pass Tejon, on the Santa Lucia mountains
and at Moijnt Diablo. In our garden it does
well.

[We are indebted for this valuable essay to
the California Horticulturist^ a new and ably
edited magazine. — Ed.]

ADDRESS.

BY MAKSIIALL P. WILDER.

Delivered at tlie Thirteenth Session of the American

Pomologiciil Society, lield in Richmond, Va.,

September (5th, 7th and 8th, 1871.

Gentlemen and Friends of the Am. Pom. Society.
Twenty-three years have nearly elapsed since
the organization of this Society, in the City of
Nevv York. Held as our meetings have been, in
different and widely distant parts of our country,
I deem it proper very briefly to allude to its his-
tory, objects and progress. Especially is this
desirable as a means of information to such
southern portions of our Union as may not have
been conversant with the proceedings of the
Society. Its object is to advance that most in-
teresting and delightful pursuit, the cultivation
of fruits; to promote and perpetuate a cordial
spirit of intercourse between pomologists ; to
compare fruits, and opinions concerning them ;
to settle doubtful points in pomology, and to

296

THE GARDEJ\rER'S MOJVTHLl.

October,

establish a standard for every section of this
great Western Continent. How well this has
been done, the Society need no better testimonial
than is furnished by its published transactions,
the wide-spread influence it has exerted, not
only in our own, but other portions of the world,
and especially by this grand assemblage of
American fruits and American men. Many of
the noble men who aided in the establishment
of this Society, have ceased from their labors, —
Downing, Prince, Saul, ITodge, Bergen, Under-
bill, of New York ; Brinckle, of Pennsylvania ;
"Walker, French, Crapo and Lovett, of Massa-
chusetts ; Monsou, of Connecticut ; Ernst, of
Ohio ; Hancock and Keid, of New Jersey ; Ken-
nicott, of Illinois ; Eaton, of Rhode Island ;
"White, of Georgia ; Pierce, of the District of
Columbia. These, and other associates of fair
arae, have gone to their reward; but we rejoice
that some still live who, from the earlier years
of our history, have distinguished themselves as
the untiring friends of our institution ; who, by
their efficient services and wise counsels, have
contributed to its prosperity, some of whom are
here to-day to rejoice with us in the progress of
our science and the perpetuity of our institu-
tion.

Nor would we forget the eminent services and
devotion of others of later days, to whom we are
under equal obligations for the extension and
influence of our Society, whose efforts have
brought together the cultivators of fruits from
the most distant portions of our country, thus
making our institution what it was designed
by its founders to be, — a truly national as-
sociation, where the knowledge of one becomes
the property of all ; an association that should
constitute a compendium of experience, and
where, without i-egard to religious creed or sec-
tional prejudice, a community of interest, enter-
prise and action might be established for the
promotion of a great source of national wealth
and human happiness.

In order to promote the convenience of all, to
distribute its favors and increase its influence,
the Society has wisely held its sessions m differ-
ent and distant States of the Union. New York,
Penn.sylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts and J^Iissou-
ri have extended hospitalities to the Society, and
some of these States liave been repeatedly favored
"with the presence of its members, and the priv-
ilege of listening to their discussions. And
now I congratulate you most sincerely upon the
auspicious circumstances which enable us to

meet in this City, among our southern brethren,
who have honored us with so cordial a welcome,
and so large a representation of her men and her
resources, here, in the capital of Virginia,— a
State so renowned as the mother of presidents,
and the home of some of the most distinguished
patrons of American agriculture, among whom
may be named Washington, Jefferson and others,
who will ever be remembered as benefactors of
their race.

. I have so often addressed you on topics con-
nected with the practical labors of our calling,
that it can scarcely be anticipated that I should
have anything new to offer for your considera-
tion, especially in the presence of so many whose
research and experience is fully equal to ray own.
I know, too, how precious our time is, and I
should not attempt it were it not a duty enjoined
by the Constitution of our Society, This duty
will be performed in as brief a manner as its im-
portance will permit. I would therefore sug-
gest that it is desirable for us to gather up for
future use the lessons which have been acquired
by the experience of the past. We have been so
busy in accumulating knowledge in the various
branches of our culture, that we have had no
time to look back and to systematize the infer-
ences and deductions to be drawn from our ope-
rations. But we believe the time has now come
when we should pause, and survey the field, and
make a review of the lessons which science has
taught ; for science is but a stateiuent of these
lessons, — experience systematized and trained
for progress. It is the grains of sand that roll
up the mountain, the drops of water that
make the ocean, and it is lesson upon lesson,
fact upon fact, which must build up the
science we wish to create. Nothing in the pres-
ent age astonishes us more than the wonderful
power of association,— the centralization of
thought and action for the promotion of particu-
lar objects, thus collecting the experience of in-
dividuals, and difl'using this knowledge for the
benefit of the world. How clearly is this seen in
the operation of our own Society; how great the
chaniies, and how rapid the progress since its
formation! Then its list of members was 107;
now its roll contains the names of 311 persons.
Then its sphere of operations was limited by the
boundaries of a few States ; now its lield extends
from ocean to ocean, from the Provinces to the
Gulf, and wherever the foot of civilizatiAi rests
in our broad domain. Nor is it too much to say,
that in this space of time more progress has

1871.

TEE GARDE JVEH'S MOJ^TELY.

291

been made iu the science of pomology than in
the whole period since the settlement of our
country. Never before was the interest so en-
grossing, or so widely extended. By publica-
tions, correspondence, and the remarkable facili-
ties for interchange and intercourse, the enter-
prise of cultivators is kept constantly on the
alert ; and instead of useless discussions of other
subjects, the pomologist flnds all his time oc-
cupied in efforts for improvement.

How surprising the changes which have taken
place during the existence of this Society ! States
and sections of the Union which were scarcely
known by name, now contribute noble fruits to
grace our exhibitions, and noble men to join us
in efforts for the promotion of the public good ;
and by the wonderful achievements of science
and the golden chain of commerce, a reciprocal
exchange is made of our fruits, distances are
almost annihilated, and where fruits were only
to be seen in our markets at their peculiar sea-
son, they are now found throughout the entire
circle of the year. And by the arts of preserva-
tion, the seasons of our fruits are further pro-
longed, until those of winter even linger in the
lap of summer. Thus our choicest varieties are
successively matured ; thus distant markets are
brought near together, so that the apple, the
pear and the grape from the South and "West
meet in the Northern clime of New England in
midsummer ; and California, Kansas, Nebra.ska
and Illinois compete at the same time with Vir-
ginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, in our North-
ern markets.

Lessons of Experience.
1. the influence of warm, dry seasons.

Among the lessons which we have learned we
may mention as settled and acknowledge princi-
ples, the following :

The observations of the last few years, under
the influence of warm, dry seasons, would ap-
pear to have established the principle that such
weather (without excessive drought), especially
in the earlier part of the summer, is more favor-
able to the perfection and ripening of fruits, par
ticularly grapes, than cold wet seasons. The
fact is prominently shown in California, as we
have witnessed by personal observation ; and is
especially to be seen in the cultivation of the
grape there, and also in Europe, and in our
Northern States, where, under tiie influence of
such seasons, neither the vine nor its fruit is
affected by disease of any kind. These conditions

we have noticed are also peculiarly advantageous
for the formation of fruit-buds, and the storing
up of the necessary perfected food for a future
crop, and for the ripening of the wood, so neces-
sary that it may endure the winter with safety.

2. DRAINING OF FRUIT LANDS.

In conformity with the foregoing remarks, we
see them importance of thorough draining of our
fruit lands, which produces in soils not natu-
rally possessing them, the conditions of warmth
and drj'ness which we have named, thus render-
ing the condition of the earth, in respect to
warmth and dryness, analogous to that of the
air, of the importance of which we have before
spoken. Besides these advantages is the thorough
aeration of the soil, whereby it is enabled to ab-
sorb fertilizing matter from the atmosphere, rain,
and snow, and the moisture evaporated from the
springs below. Thus, paradoxical as it may
seem, the same means which guard against ex-
cessive wet, also serve to supply moisture in ex-
cessive droughts. How aptly does the poet
describe this condition :

"In grounds by art made dry, the watery bane
Which mars the wholesome fruit is turned to use, ■
And drains, while drawing noxious vapors ofl',
Serve also to diflfuse a full supply."

3. PREPARATION AND CULTIVATION OF THE

SOIL.

It seems scarcely necessary in this presence to
say that thorough preparation and enrichment
of such soils as are not already rich, is essential.
Ordinary farm culture will not produce the
highest class of fruits ; they must have garden
culture, and with this they never fail. After
this thorough preparation, the cleaner the cul-
ture the better,at least in our older States,where
the soils have been depleted by cropping. But
one of the lessons which experience has taught
us most impressively is that, contrary to our
former views, this after cultivation should be
shallow so as not to injure the roots, but to pre-
serve them near the surface.

4. MANURES AND THEIR APPLICATION.

The subject of manures is a most important
one, and every year becomes more so. The sup-
ply of manure in the older part of our country
is unequal to the demand, and every year in-
creases the disparity. What would be our feel-
ings if the supply of wheat, on which we depend
for our daily bread, were inadequate to the de-
mand ? Yet men are not more dependent for
life upon their daily bread than are our fruit

:98

THE GARDEjYER'S MOMTHLY

Octoher,

crops upon the food which is supplied to thera in
the form of manure of one kind or another. To
8upi>ly this want we shall be compelled to rely
in great measure upon artificial fertilizers, and
chemistry has not yet taught us, as it will doubt-
less in the future how to supply the wants of
our fruit crops with certainty and abundance.
But we cannot too often or too forcibh'^ impress
upon the minds of all cultivators the sacred duty
of saving every particle of fertilizing material,
and applying it in such manner as will produce
the utmost effect. And on this last point the
lesson which experience has taught us is, that
manure applied to fruit-trees should be either in
the form of a top-dressing or as near the surface
as is consistent with the composition of the
soil, and the preservation of its fertilizing ele-
ments.

5. MULCHING.

While on this subject we will add as another
of the lessons of experience, which may be said
to be fixed, the advantage of mulching for dry
seasons and soils, whereby the temperature and
moisture of the soils are kept uniform, and the
fertilizing elements in a soluble state, an essen-
tial condition for the production of perfect fruit.

6. THINNING OF FRUIT.

This is another lesson which we have learned,
and the necessity of which we have often en-
deavored to impress upon cultivators, and which
every successive season teaches with stronger
emphasis. It is absolutely necessary for all who
send fruit to market to send large fruit, and the
markets are constantly and progressively requir-
ing large, and fine fruit. Even the Seckel pear
which once commanded in Boston market the
highest price, will not now, unless of extra size,
sell for any more than, if as much, as common
varieties of larger size. A medium-sized fruit,
or even one of smaller size, may be more eco-
nomical for use, but until some decided change
in the preferences of the majority of purchasers
shall take place, large fruit will sell better than
small. To produce this, the fruit must not only
have good cultivation but must be thinned, and
"we agree with Mr. Median, that " one-half the
trees which bear fruit every year would be bene-
fited by having one-half the fruit taken off as
Boon as it is well 8et,and that the overbearing of a
tree will in a few years destroy it." We may lay
it flown as a certain rule, that excessive produc-
tion is always at the expense of both quantity
and quality, if not in the same season then in

succeeding ones, for when branch is ccmtending
with branch, leaf with leaf, and fruit with fruit,
for its supply of light and food.it would indeed be
an anomaly in nature if this should not result in
permanent injury to the trees as well as to the
annual crop.

7. INSECTS AND DISEASES.

The subject of insects and diseases is daily at-
tracting more attention, for their depredations
are daily becoming a greater evil, and the im-
portance of entomological investigations is every
day more plainly seen. It is less than fifty years
since Dr. Harris first published his work on " In
sects Injurious to Yegetation," and great is the
debt of gratitude which we owe to him and to
the succeeding investigators who have given
their lives to studying the habits of these little
" creeping things which be upon the earth," that
they may teach us how to destroy those which
prey upon our trees, and to distinguish our
friends from our foes. Every plant imported
from abroad brings with it a new insect or dis-
ease, and the dissemination of new plants and
varieties, without which there can be no pro-
gress in horticulture, inevitably disseminates
their insect enemies. On this subject the words
of Edmund Burke are appropriate : "The most
'vigilant superintendence, the most prompt ac-
tivity, which has no such day as to-morrow in
its calendar, are necessary to the farmer ;" and
we may add still more to the fruit grower, and
tenfold more necessary in combating our insect
enemies. The neglect of battling with these
vile creatures is the great bane to successful cul-
tivation ; but as long as moral evil exists in the
world, so long may we expect there will be evil
in the natural world, and he who is not willing
to contend against both is not woi'fhy of the
name either of cultivator or of Christian.

We belong to that class who have faith in the
ultimate triumph of good over evil in the moral
world, and our faith is not less strong that the
insect plagues shall if not exterminated, at least
be subdued, so that the labor of keeping them
so far in check, that no material harm shall be
caused by them will be comparatively easy.
We have discovered means for preventing the
ravages of the currant-worm, curculio, canker-
worm, caterpillar, melon-bug and aphis, and the
mildew and other diseases of our vines. If we
can do this, is it not reasonable to suppose
that we can discover remedies for, or the means
of preventing, all the diseases and depredations

187 /.

THE GARDEJ^ERS MO^^THLY.

^09

that vegetation is liable to ? Is it consistent
with that Divine economy, so benevolent in al'
its ways and works, to believe that this fair
creation has been spread out only to be des-
troyed ; that seed-time should be promised and
the harvest withheld ; and from year to year
our hopes deferred and our hearts made sick ?
Is it in harmony with that Divine Providence
which created all things and pronounced them
very good ?

If any one say it is of no use to contend with
these hordes of vile creatures, or the disappoint-
ments upon which all culture is incident, let
him remember that it is the mission of life to
struggle against and overcome them. Instead of
fretting and groaning over these evils, let us
battle with them and conquer them. Thus shall
we gather the rich fruits of our industry, and.

" Where some ■would find thorns but to torture ihe flesh,
AVe'll pluck the ripe clusters our souls to refresh."

But some one replies, let nature do all this,
let nature perform her perfect work ; true, but
nature brings us weeds, thistles and thorns, in-
sects injurious to vegetation as vvell as those that
are useful ; and we were placed in this world,
not merely to assist nature, but to meet with
and overcome the obstacles which she sometimes
places in our path,— to elevate her to the highest
and noblest purposes of her creation.

Many of the difficulties and privations we en-
dure, if met and conquered, will prove blessings
in disguise. It is labor of mind as well as body,
it is work, work, work, that makes men strong.
AVork is the great engine that moulds and
moves the intellect, enterprise and destiny of the
world — work is the greatest temporal boon be-
stowed on man — work is the heaven-appointed
means of advancement to a higher state of per-
fection ; and in no profession is this more ap-
parent than in the calling of the pomologist
This idea is well expressed in the following lines,
illustrative of the blessings of labor :

"The first man and the first of men,
Were tillers of the koM ;
And that was mercy's mandate then
Which destined man to toil."

If man can seize the lightning in his hand
and make it work for him on earth, air or water ;
if he can descend into the secret laboratory of
Nature, and learn the constituents of soils and
manures, and their adaptation to each other ; if
he can learn how she prepares the appropriate
food for all vegetable life, from the humblest
plant clinging close to the bosom of earth, only

blooming to die, to the lofty Sequoia .rearing its
head to heaven and braving the tempests for
thousands of years; if the physician can dis-
cover the agents which generate disease in the
animal kingdom, and prescribe antidotes and
remedies for each, may not the cultivator ac-
quire a knowledge of the diseases which affect
his trees and plants, and how to cure them ?

Is there any element in nature which man
cannot make subservient to his use ? Is there
any disease for which nature has not provided a
remedy ? Is there any enemy to vegetation that
cannot be overcome ? True, there are many
things of which we know but little, and which
require long and careful study, but there are
others which are well established, and which one
fact may demonstrate as well as a thousand.

8. SHELTER.

The necessity of shelter was not as soon per-
ceived as some of the other lessons which I have
named ; yet, with perhaps the exception of a
few favored spots, its importance is year by year
becoming more generally appreciated, especially
on our open prairies and in the northern and
north-western portions of our country. The
fact is established, that the removal of forests
diminishes the quantity of rain, increases the
evaporation of moisture, reduces the tempera-
ture, and subjects our fruits to greater vicissi-
tudes, so that the peach and many of our fine.st
pears can no longer be cultivated at the North
except in gardens or sheltered places. The im-
portance of shelter was well understood as long
ago as the time of Quintinye, who, in his work
on gardening, gives full directions for planting
trees for shelter. This was in a country long
settled and denuded of its forests; and though
our ancestors, planting fruit-trees in a virgin
soil, thickly covered with wood, failed to perceive
its necessity, we, in our older States, who have
come to much the same conditions as existed in
the time of Quintinye, experience the same
want.

There may be exceptions to this rule, as in
the South, where the fruit season is warm and
dr}^, producing similar conditions to those af-
forded by shelter under glass. We may find
varieties, and probably shall, adapted to exposed
situations ; but at present the larger majority of
our finer fruits will be benefited by the shelter
of belts of forest trees. We are glad, therefore,
to see the recognition of the advantages of forest
.trees on the part of the managers of our Pacific

300

THE GABDEJYER'S MOJ^THLl,

October,

railways, not only as affording shelter, but as col-
lecting moisture from the atmosphere, and so
rendering available vast regions previously un-
inhabitable from drought. This good work has
already been commenced on the line of the Kan-
sas Pacific Railroad.

9. METEOROLOGY.

Besides the lessons which experience has al-
ready taught us, permit me to mention one which
pomologists ought to learn, and which, from
present indications, I have no doubt they will
learn. The pomologist should have a better
knowledge of the science of meteorology than
we now possess. The action of light and heat ;
the influence of the winds, of frost, fog, water,
and the electrical condition of the air and earth,
have a most important bearing; and we believe
that when our science shall have attained to its
greatest perfection, there will be a discreet classi-
fication of fruits, assigning to each its proper
soil, location and aspect. We must not expect
to alter the laws of nature, but to conform to
them. We do not expect to restore the lost
Pleiad, nor do we expect to find any supernatu
ral means whereby improvement and progress
can be attained, without mental or physical ex-
ertion, but we should endeavor to understand
some of the workings of that mysterious machine
which generates and perpetuates all vegetable
life. True, the '' wind bloweth where it listeth,''
as of old. but it seems probable, if not certain,
from the investigations made at Washington,
that man can not only tell from whence it will
come and where it will blow, but where the sun
will shed its rays and the clouds diffuse their
showers, and the time may come when the laws
which govern the weather may be settled with
nearh' as much certainty as those w^hich now
govern the calculations of the astronomer.

What wonders has sicencc wrought in modern
times, but these are only the rudiments of that
great plan which Providence has established for
the happiness of mankind. "These are but
parts of His ways'' which we now see, glim-
merings of that boundless exhibition of power,
wisdom and goodness which shall culminate in
the perfection of all created things.

10. ORIGINATINa NEAV VARIETIES.

I commend to you again, as I have done in
my former addresses, and shall continue to do
while I live, the important and benevolent work
of originating new varieties of fruit, both as a
means of improvement, and as a substitute for»

those which have experienced the decline inci-
dent to all things of human origin. Our country,
and in fact the whole world, has been so thor-
oughly explored, that we can scarcely expect
to discover any very important addition to acci-
dental varieties. Our main source of improve-
ment, therefore, is to be found in the production
of new kinds from seed, and I again urge upon
you the gi'eat importance of continuing your
efforts in this most interesting and hopeful de-
partment of labor. The acquisitions already
made give promise of still richer rewards to him
who will work with Xature in compelling her to
yield to his solicitations for still greater improve-
ment. Much has already been done, but this
branch of science is still in its infancy, and
opens to the pomologist a broad field for enter-
prise. It may require time, and patience, and
care to produce a superior variety, but we have
the most cheering assurance of the time when
every section of our country shall possess fruits
adapted to its own locality. There is no better
illustration of what can be accomplished, than
what has been done, in the production of the
various and excellent American fruits, .Avhich
have been raised since the establishment of our
Society. If each member should originate one
good variety, adapted to a wide extent of terri-
tory, or even to his own section, he would be-
come a public benefactor. Think of the number
of persons in the United States who are now
engaged. in the growth of fruits. Should each
one produce one good variety, a not impossible
thing, we should have varieties enough to endure
for centuries, adapted to every soil and location
in our vast territory.

Let any one visit the nurseries established by
Mr. Clapp, in Massachusetts, the originator of
the Clapp's Favorite pear, and see the many
seedling trees now just coming into bearing, and
he cannot but be delighted, as we have been,
with witnessing these trees in their youthful
vi>:or, and studying the various forms into wliich
the Bartlett, the Flemish Beauty, the Bourre
d'Anjou, the Urbauistc, the Beurre Clairgoau,
the Beurre Bosc, and other standard varieties
have been changed, and he cannot but admit
that the daily opportunity for such study would
be an ami)le recompense for all the trouble and
expense of raising such trees. But besides this
gratification, is the probability of raising a now
variety, which, in one point or another, shall
be superior to any before acquired, and which
shall be a blessing to the nation. Does any one

1671.

THE GARDEJVER'S MO^''TELY.

301

object, that fruits adapted to cultivation through
the country are few and far between ? Let him
raise a variety which shall be better adapted to
his own locality than any before known. Let us
have Favorites for Yirginia and Georgia, and
for all and every State in our nation. If I could
feel that I had been the means of inducing our
members, or other cultivators, to raise new fruits
worthy to bear their names, I should feel that I
had lived for a useful purpose.

The importance of producing new varieties
from seed is no longer questioned. The fact,
that the seed of good varieties will generally
produce good offspring, is now well established.
These are, however, the natural results which
have been derived from fruits already improved ;
and we can offer no better proofs of the advan-
tages of artificial impregnation than the multi-
tude of improved varieties which have been pro-
duced in the vegetable kingdom by this process.

We have learned many of the laws which
govern hybridization, and the more we become
acquainted with this most interesting art, the
more we work with Nature in these efforts for
her improvement, the more we shall admire this
most perfect and beautiful illustration of the
great fundamental law, which has been estab-
lished from the begining of time, for the improve-
ment of men, animals and plants. Well did
Liunteus exclaim, when overwhelmed with the
discovery of an unknown principle in this most
interesting study, " I have seen God passing
by ;" ana well may the contemplation of this
law inspire us with the same reverence and de-
light, and,

" Like conductors, raise
Our spirits upward on their fliglit sublime,
Up to tiie dreaded Invisible, to pour
Our grateful homage out In silent praise."

Let US go on then developing the wonderful
resources of this art. Go on, persevere, and you
will leave a rich inheritance to your heirs. Go
on, and the time will come when every man
shall sit under his vine and fruit-tree, when all
our hillsides shall rejoice in the burden of the
vintage, our valleys teem with the golden fruits
of the orchard, and the passing breeze become
vocal with songs of gratitude and praise for
these benefactions to posterity.

The increasing interest in the cultivation of
fruit at the South induces me to offer a few sug-
gestions in regard to the best means of obtain-
ing varieties suited to that region. Of apples
and peaches a large number of superior varieties

have already been produced at the South per-
fectly adapted to that climate ; but the supply of
fine varieties of the pear is yet inadequate, espe-
cially of late-keeping varieties, as the latest
kinds grown at the North cannot, when grown
in the Gulf States, be preserved beyond autumn.
To supply this deficiency, we would recommend
the trial of such varieties as refuse to ripen at
the North — Chauraoutelle, the Colmar and its
sub-varieties, Beurre Ranee, Bergamot Fortunes
— which appear to need a longer season than
ours to arrive at maturity. These and seedlings
from these ofter, we think, the best prospect for
a supply of late pears in the warmer parts of
our country. We would also recommend a trial
of the sorts used at the North for cooking, as
some of these have proved fine dessert pears ia
the South. And proV)ably some of the fine old
varieties which have decayed at the East, and
show signs of the same fate at the West, may, ia
more genial climates, have their existence so far
prolonged as to be among the most desirable.

The Society's Catalogue.
Allow me again to commend to your consid-
eration the value and importance of our Cata-
logue of Fruits. The completion of this work,
by embodying the fruits of the Southern and
Pacific States, is yet to be accomplished. This
has been delayed from unavoidable circumstan-
ces, but we hope is now to be done, so that the
basis of American Pomology can be established
for the generations which are to succeed us.
The work is indeed great, but it is a duty that
devolves on us, as the representatives of that
science which the Society has in charge. In
proceeding with it, however, we find ourselves
met by a difliculty not anticipated at the begin-
ing of our work, arising from the unparalleled ex-
pansion of our country. In the few years since
our catalogue was commenced, several new
States and Territories have been organized, and
if such expansion continues, as it undoubtedly
will, it will be difficult to bring the catalogue, on
its present plan, into any reasonable limiis. On
this point 1 hope to hear from the chairman of
General Fruit Connnittee, to whom, more than
to any one else, we are indebted for the progress
ah'eady made, and I commend the subject to the
thoughtful consideration of all the members of
the Society, and especially invite the co-opera-
tion of every State in collecting and transmit-
ting to him the information necessary to the
completion of our work.

'02

THE GABDEJVER'S MOA^THLy.

October,

The increasing iMroRTANCE of Fruit
Culture.

The importance and value of our calling in
devi'loping the resources of our country, in the
occupation of unimproved lands, adorning our
honu steads, enhancing tlie value of real estate,
multiplying the blessing and comforts of life,
and promoting a great source of national wealth,
cannot be too highly appreciated. The more I
retlect upon the progress we have made, the
more am I conlirmed in the belief that this
branch of culture will ere long become second
only to the growth of the bread and meat of our
country The enormous production of straw-
ben ies and other small fruits, the millions upon
millions of baskets of peaches, — not to speak of
the apples and pears and other iruits that are
now annually produced,— give promise that the
time is fast approaching when all classes of so-
ciety may enjoy this health preserving condi-
ment as a portion of their daily food. Nor can
I refrain from referring once more to the benign
inlluence which our employment has ujjon the
moral and religious instincts of the heart, the
relinement of taste and the welfare of society.
"Whatever pleasure may be derived from other
pursuits, there is surely none that has afforded
stronger evidence of a high and progressive state
of civilization or a more ennobling influence,
than the culture ot fruits. ''This," says Gen-
eral Dearborn, "must have been the step in the
march of civilization, while the method of ame-
liorating their character and multiplying the
varieties may be cont-idered as taking i)recedence
ot all human etlbrts in the indusuial arts."

From the day when God gave our father in
Eden trees, "i)leabant to the sight and good tor
food," down to Solomon, who said, "1 made me
gardens and orchards, and I planted in them
trees of all kind oMruits," and tiirough the suc-
cessive generations of men, the cultivation of
trees and plants has been tlie criterion of taste
and relinement. Mo object of atiachnient is
more naturally allied to the instincts ol the soul,
and trul^ did Emerson remark, "he who
knows what sweets and virtues are in
the ground, and how to come at these enchant-
nieuis, is tiie rich and royal man. ' And what
greater bLuelaetions can you leave fov posterity
than these memorLils whicli shall live and grow,
which shall tell ot your love of tlie most beauti-
ful works of nature, kindred and home, when
you are slumbering in the grave ? Far better
tlicbe lur the perpetuation of your memory, and

the benefit of the advancing millions of coming
time, than all the monumental shafts and pil-
lars of" polished marble that ever graced the he-
ro's tomb.

Deceased Members.

Since my last report on the decease of mem-
bers, three of the founders of this Society have
been removed by death, "like fruits fully ripen-
ed in their season." I allude to Dr. Alfred S.
Monson of New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. H. T.
Underbill of Crolon Point, New York, and Dr.
Eben Wr'ght of Dedham, Massachusetts, all
three of whom were present and took part in
the proceedings of the first meeting, twenty-
three years ago.

Dr. Alfred S. Monson died, May 22, 1870, at
New Haven, Connecticut, at the advanced age
of seventy-four, universall)' respected and be-
loved. He was one of the signers of the circu-
lar calling the convention which resulted in the
organization of our association ; was the first
vice-president from Connecticut ; and on that
occasion read a most able and instructive paper
"on the deterioration of certain fruits, and of
parasitic agents injurious t# vegetation." This
paper may be found in the published Transac-
tions of the Society, and gives evidence of the
careful investigation and research of its author.
Dr. Monson possessed a highly appreciative
mind, a refined taste and a great capacity for
enjoyment Hence his love for fruits and flow-
ers, which was a ruling passion with him
through life. He was the first president of the
New Haven Horticultural Society, established
in 1831, — one of the earliest in this country, —
and was a frequent writer on subjects connected
with horticulture and rural arts. His address
before that society in 1843 is full of wisdom and
beautiful illustrations. His memory will ever
be revered and honored by all who knew him.

Dr. R. T. Underbill was also one of the found-
ers of our Society, and his name is borne on the
call for its first meeting. He commenced his
pomological pursuits at Croton Point about for-
ty-five years ago, the grape, of which he planted
a large vineyard, being a specialty. His experi-
ments commenced with foreign varieties, but
these proving a failure he turned his attention
to the cultivation of the Isabella and Catawba,
then but little known, and so great was his suc-
cess that for many years he and his brother,
with whom he was associated, sent more of
these varieties to the New York market than

187 1.

THE GARBEA'E'R'S MOJVTHLJ.

303

were received from all other soui'ces. He also
commenced the manufacture of wine, and at the
time of his death had ahout fifty acres of vine-
yard, and was also very successful in the culti-
vation of the plum, of which he gave an account
at our last meeting. He was a leading memher
of the American Institute, and was one of the
loundcrs of the Agricultural and Horticultural
Society of Westclicstcr County, of which he was
the first president. Dr. Underhill was a gentle-
man of the old school, courteous in deportment
^nd refined in his tastes, and although his age
prevented his frequent attendance of our meet-
ings, his interest in our pursuits never declined
As a proof of his fidelity, he came to our last
meeting in Philadelphia and although at the
age of about eighty years, took part in our dis-
cussions as he had done in the beginning.

Dr. Eben Wright of Dedhara, Massachusetts,
another of the signers of the call for the first
meeting of this Society, died at his home, where
he had carried on his pomological researches
during his life. He had long been interested in
horticultural pursuits, being an early member
of the Massachusetis Horticultural Society, and
for a long course of years corresponding secreta-
ry and vice-president. For many years he was
chairman of the Fruit Committee of this Socie-
ty for Massachusetts in which capacity he made
many interesting reports, which may be found
among our pubhshea Transactions He paid
special attention to the apple, of which he had a
large and choice collection of varieties ; and
through his critical observation he became re-
markably well versed in the knowledge of this
fruii, and mtroduced several fine varieties to no-
tice. He was a modest and unassuming man,
of the strictest integrity, and died as he had
lived, universally respected and beloved.

iNor can 1 close this sad record without add-
ing the name of M. S. Frierson, Columbia,
leuu , who died March 28, 1870. Mr. Frierson
\\'aa the vice-president of this Society from Ten-
nessee. He atieuded our last meeting, and his
noble bearing and gentlemanly deportment w.ll
long be rememOered by all who were present
Willi him. He was by profession a lawyer, and
ai the time of Ids death was in practice as an
old couubellor at Columbia. But what most
concerns us is his hi^jh interest in pomological
pursuits, which was strikingly evinced by the
part which he look iu the discussions of the So-
ciety ; his remarks being always valuable, inter-
esting and to the pomt. He was much interest-

ed in fruit culture, and had given particular at-
tention to the hybridization of the nectarine and
the pear, with the special view of producing
late keeping varieties of the latter. His experi-
ments were evidently based upon truly scientific
knowledge, and at the time of his death, had al-
ready been the means of producing some valua-
ble new fruits. In a letter written but a few
months before his death he says, in speaking of
his experiments, "they may turn out nothing,
still the taste it give my girls'" (vvho had aided
him in conducting them) '"for such amusement
is worth more than the trouble. The seeds will
be carefully planted, and we will wait and see."
Noble sentiment ! but the fruition of his hopes
was transferred to another world, leaving us to
wait and see the further results which they may
produce here.

These associates have gone to their reward.
Their seats in this Society are forever vacant,
but their efforts for the advancement of our cause
in the early history of our Society will be appre-
ciated more and more as time moves on.

Conclusion.

TTilh the deepest sense of gratitude do I re-
joice in the presence of a {ew of the founders of
this Society, whose lives have been prolonired to
this day. Ere long all those who were present
at its first meeting, and he who by your indul-
gence has occupied this chair so long, will va-
cate their seats. Others will fill the places
which we now occupy, but our Society, and the
cause it seeks to promote, will live on to bless
the generations which shall succeed us.

Long may the members of this Society meet
together as friends and mutual helpers, dispen-
sing and receiving good, and may your eflbrts
for jiromoting this beautiful of all arts, this
health preserving and life prolonging industry,
be crowned with continued success. May the
Society go on conferring blessings on our coun-
try until every hearth-stone and fireside shall be
gladdened with the golden fruits of summer and
autumn, until thanksgiving and the perfume of
the orchard shall ascend together like incense
from the altar of every family in our broad land,
and the whole world realize, as in the beginning,
the blissful*fruition of dwelling in the "Garden
of the Lord." And when at last the chain of
iriendship which has bound so many of us to-
gether in labor and in love thall be broken ;
when the last link shall be sundered and the
fruits of this world shall delight us no more ;

SOJf

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOXTEL^.

October,

when the culture, training and sorrows of earth
sliall cuhninate in the purity, perfection and
bliss of heaven, may we ail sit down together at
that feast of immortal fruits,

"Where life fills the •wine-cup and love makes it clear,
Where Gilead's balm in its freshness shall flow
O'er the wounds which the pruning-knife gave ns
below."

THE HANSON LETTUCE.

BY W. P. PODBTJRY, GENETA, N. Y.

The Hanson Lettuce, mentioned in the Qar-
denirs Monthly is, if correctly named, the Large
India, not Curled India, also known as the Gray
Lettuce, in Tennessee. A first-class lettuce for
summer, but not early ; not equal to Malta,
either in earliness, size or flavor. It will stand
the summer heat perhaps equal to Grand Admi-
ral, but no better in quality. I have tested this
myself from seed supplied by Mr. Dreer, and
know it to be correct what I state, and write
you this so as market gardeners, &c., may not
be deceived in snapping for such a treasure for
an early Lettuce.

EUCHARI AMAZONICA.

BY MR. J. TAPLIN, MANAGER TO GEO. SUCH, S.
AM BOY, N. J.

This is one of the most beautiful flowers
grown, and also one of the easiest to manage ;
but yet I am so often told it is difficult to flower.
This I deny, for I always found it one of the
freest flowering plants grown. As a proof, I
may mention our plants are now blooming the
sixth time since the beginning of last November.
I believe trouble with many growers is they do
not give it liberal treatment enough, the plants
are starved ai:d rested too much, as a proof of
which, 1 may mention a recent writer in the En-
glish Gardener''s Chronicle states, "that by rest-
ing the Euchari, it may be induced to flower
twice or more in the year. The only rest I give
the plants, is keeping them a trifle drier a short
time before 1 wish them to flower in the winter,
but then not dry enough to loose any of the
leaves. •

The plant is a native of the hot, moist, rich
vallies of South America, and growing near ri.
vers, should teach us that it certainly is never
rested in its natural condition. A plant collec-
tor from those parts, recently informed us that
the plants were in flower at all seasons ; it made
a growth and then flowered. I can vouch for

the truth of this statement, having proved it in
cultivation for a number of years. My system
of cultivation is to give plenty of heat, abun-
dance of water, both to root and over foliage,
with occasional waterings with manure water.
A good rich open soil with plenty of drainage,
and after large strong plants are obtained,
(which under this treatment will be from small
ones, in two years,) disturb the roots as little as
possible. For large specimens I prefer frames
from 10 inches to a foot deep, and eighteen
inches to two feet wide. The plants will stand*
a strong heat with a slight shade from bright
sunshine. I have grown and flowered them in
four inch pots, placed directly on the troughs of
hot-water pipes, troughs of course kept filled
with water, and frequently at a temperature of
120''. I may mention that although it will grow
and flower in this climate in an)' glass structure
in the summer, it requires a warm house in the
winter, the temperature must never fall below
55° ; from 60 to 70° will grow it to perfection.

HYACINTHS.

BY JAMES VICK, JR., ROCHESTER, N. Y.

The Hyacinth is one of the most beautiful and
fragrant of the Bulbous Flowers, and particu-
larly desirable for house culture. Even half a
dozen grown in pots and flowering during the
winter, will afibrd more pleasure to the "loved
ones at home" than the same amount of money
spent in any other way. With how much plea,
surabie anxiety they watch the shooting forth
of the bright leaves, the rising of the stately col-
umn ; while the opening of the bud makes a joy-
ful thanksgiving of the most dreary winter's day.
A very small ])ot will answer for the Hyacinth.
Some prefer to plant three or four in a large pot,
and this will make a very pretty ornament.
Cover only the lower half of the bulbs with soil,
press them down until they are nearly covered,
then water until the soil is moistened thorough-
ly, and set the pots in a cool dark cellar. The
roots will there form, with but little growth of
top. Here they may remain for several weeks,
and a pot or two can be taken into a warm,
light room, for flowering, a week or ten days
apart, and a succession of flowers obtained dur-
iug most of the winter. When Hyacinths are
planted in the garden, and well covered, the
roots get a good start in the fall and winter;
and it is very important in flowering them in
the house that a growth of' roots should be firs

1871.

THE GARBEJVEM'^ MOJ^TBLJ.

SOS

encouraged in the way recommended. When
placed in glasses of water for flowering, the base
of the bulb should not quite touch the water.
Fill the glasses with well water, and as soon as
the flower buds appear, sprinkle the plant fre-
quently with rain water. Set them away for
about two weeks in a cool, dark room, until
roots are formed ; then remove to a light, mod
erately warm room, and give plenty of light and
air. Keep Hyacinths in the coldest room you
have, anything above freezing will answer, and
near the light. Flowers of the Hyacinth are of-
ten ruined by bringing them into a very hot,
dry unventilated room. Our plan is to keep a
stand containing our stock of Hyacinths in the
parlor, which is kept most of the time but a few
degrees above freezing. From this room they
are taken as needed— one or two of each color —
to the sitting room, or the dining room, for spe-
cial occasions, but always returned to their cool
quarters for the night. By this method they
not only flower well, but keep in bloom a long
time. Change the water occasionally, if it be-
comes discolored.

The choice named varieties grow best in glasses
and pots, and single are more reliable than dou-
ble sorts for house culture, while they are in
every respect as desirable. Some of the double
varieties, however, do well, and for the sake of
variety it is a good plan to select a few.

Hyacinths should be planted in the garden in
September, October and November. Make the
soil deep, mellow, and tolerably rich, and see
that the water has a chance to drain off". The
beds should be narrow, so that all parts can be
reached from the alleys or walks. Set the bulbs
Ave or six inches apart and four deep. Before
winter sets in, cover the beds with leaves or ma-
nure to help keep out the frost. This should be I
removed as soon as hard frosts are over — in this
latitude, the middle of March. For beds of ear-
ly flowers on the lawn, nothing excels the Hya-
cinth. A very pretty arrangement for a round i

or oval bed, is one or more rows all around of
white, then red and rose about an equal num-
ber, and the centre filled with blue. Where
beds are small and so near together that they
can all be seen at once, it is well to fill each one
with a separate color.

Hyacinth flowers may be cut freely, without
injury to the bulbs. Indeed, all flower stalks
should be removed as soon as the flowers besin
I to fade. In about five or six weeks after flower-
ing, and when the leaves are becoming yellow,
the bulbs may taken up, dried and packed away
in paper bags or boxes, for planing again in the
fall. If the beds are needed for other flowers,
as is generally the case, the bulbs may be re-
moved in about two weeks after the flowers have
faded. In this case, after removing the flower
stems, if this has not been done before, lay the
bulbs on a dry bed in the garden, and cover
them with a little earth, leaving the leaves ex-
posed. Here they can remain until the leaves
have ripened, when they are ready to be packed
! away for fall planting, or can remain where they
are until needed.

Hyacinths will usually commence flowering
in this latitude the latter part of March, and by
choosing the Uarly and Late varieties, a good
show of blossoms can be secured for at least a
month or six weeks. The Late varieties are
mostly cloulle and are from two to three weeks
later than the Early sorts. For the convenience
of planters, I have designated the Late as well
as the Low and Tall flowering kinds. Those
not noted as Late, are Early. This will be
found a great help in planting. The Low sorts
throw up a stem five or six inches in height, and
the trusses are usually globular and compact.
The Tall sorts have a flower stem from six to
ten inches or more in height, and the trusses are
usually more loose. The colors are so classified
that no description will be needed with each va-
riety.

E D I T 0 HI A L . •

TRAVELLING RECOLLECTIONS.

Day by day as the eternal wheel of editorial
duty goes round, rolling over the same road, and
gathering up the same dust, it is but human na-
ture to wish to drive over fresh fields and pas-
tures new. And we are blest,— for if there were

no heart yearnings, the numerous invitations
of respected friends, flowing into us from a hun-
dred streams, would find a welcome home in
even the stony breast of an anchorite.

In this frame of mind we settled in our edi-
torial chair one lazy day last mid-summer, mu-

306

THE GABDEJ^ER'S MOJfTRLy.

October,

sing as to what lovely parts of our great continent
we should neglect to see, when a note came from
our brother Editor of the Horticulturist, inviting
our perplexed individuality to take a ride with
him into our Western territories- It seemed
just the thing to avoid offence to our friends. If
we went here and not there, we were to catch
nettles,— while if we ;yisited this party and not
that, it was pretty well understood that we were
to be initiated into the not very inviting pick-
ling business. And a trip to the country where
we had no friends — where there would be no one
to smother us with kindness, or kiss away our
breath with those courtesies and attentions
which sit so heavily on the lips of an editor, —
the idea was charming. Here we were to go on
a journey of over six thousand miles, through
a district of country' of enormous extent, ex-
tending from latitude[42^ down to 34°, and tak-
ing in Arkansas, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming,
Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and Illi-
nois ; and we remembered how much we had
read about, but [had never seen,— the glorious
sights and scenes which others saw — the birds
and beasts, and bogs and flowers, — the rocks and
hills, and silvery lakes and rushing streams, —
we made up^our minds to sacrifice gardening for
one season, and look at nature in her uncultiva-
ted garb.

So one fine morning, after carefully locking up
Loudon, and Repton, and Whately, and Down-
ing, and the Hiatory'^ of Gardening amongst the
Chaldeans,— and striving to forget that the score
of excellent living landscape gardeners of our
country ever were born, "we, "that is this portion
of the Gardener^s Monthly, took "our" seat on a
rhiladelphia and New York train, bound for
the Rocky Mountains or any where else that
fate or Williams chose to carry us. In New
York we found a company of some twenty, who^
if not exactly all agricultural editors, as our
friend of the Agriculturist says none of them
were, were at least ladies and gentlemen whom
it would profit some agricultural editors to asso-
ciate with. We found on the train, the Junior
Mr. Tucker^of the Country Gentleman, with his
well known correspondent '■'■ Daisy Eyebright ;''''
S. W. Noyes, Editor of the Massacliusetts
rioughrrw.n\\^. P. ; Eaton, Editor of the New
England Farmer; J. R. Dodge Editor of the
Reports of the Department of Agriculture. AVash.
in"ton, D.C ; D. 8. Hall, Junior Editor of Western
liural ; besides the agricultural Editors of the
leading New York daily papers. In addition, the

Pratrie Farmer, Germantown Telegraph, Wilming-
ton Commercial, Chicago Tribune, Phrenological
Journal, Smithsonian Institution , and other papers
were represented by their correspondents,
amongst whom were the names well known to
our readers of Josiah Hoopes, Dr. AVarder, Wil-
liam Canby, M. L. Dunlap and B. K. Bliss.

It is not our purpose to speak of New Jersey,
the great vegetable garden of New York, nor the
New York and Erie Railroad, with its delightful
scenery and superb traveling arrangements ; nor
of the Bee Line R. R. line from Cleveland to
Louisville, which took us througlr as rich and
beautiful a country as any part of the Union east
the Mississippi can boast of, — we have so often
before given our impressions of these parts of
the world ; but we purpose to start our notes
from Louisville, trusting that from here out we
may have some recollections of novel interest to
our readers.

Louisville itself will always have a hold in the
traveler's memor}', through possessing in the
Gait House one of the finest and best managed
hotels in the world ; while the City commends
itself to the general public, by an immense
amount of business enterprise, joined to very
low prices for living expenses, — a state of things
not usual in thriving American towns. The
prices of fruits, vegetables and provisions in the
public markets, astonished the Eastern visitors,
and especially those from New York ; while the
evidences of prosperity in the improving streets,
beautiful suburban residences, and well kept
gardens, were highl}'- gratifying to those of us
who labor to bring about enthusiasm in all these
things. There were few yards or small gardens^
without an abundance of roses, — while magnifi-
cent Magnolia grandifloras, with their broad
dark evergreen leaves, made a grateful shade for
many a parlor wmdow. There appears to be as
many varieties amongst these seedlings as
amongst other kinds of trees. Some have very
narrow leaves, and other broad ones, — while the
under surfaces of some are dark and rusty, and
others deep green. Again there are great difter-
ences in the time of flowering, some coming out
quite late in the season. In Louisville, much
attention is given to window and roof gardening.
Some of the houses fronting the business streets,
were a mass of blossoms from garret to base-
ment, and must do much to enliven and make
cheerful the dry walks of trade,— while to the
visitor they furnish material for many pleasant
recollections.

1S71,

THE GARDEJS/'ER'S MOJ^TBLY.

307

PROFESSOR PORTER'S PEAR ORCHARD.

An innumerable number of paragraphs are
going about the papers, that Professor Porter of
the "Maryland Agricultural College" has pro-
nounced "Meehan's theory of fruit culture a ter-
rible failure, that Professor P. considers the
trees 'gone,' and that he now intends to plough
up and cultivate them as people did in the good
old times.'' It is a surprising fact, that if peo-
ple had tolerable success in the "good old times,"
people should ever want to tr}^ "Meehan's sys-
tem" or any other system. Moreover, if the
trees are "gone," it requires some courage to go
to the spirit laud or any system whatever to
bring them back. We have not such faith in
the powers of fruit culture here, as to bring
"down" trees already "gone up."

However, we are willing to believe that there
is here, as there always has been when our opin-
ions have been referred to, a vast amount of ex-
aggeration, by people who, like Mr. Downing,
speak of "neglected" culture when referring to
what we recommend, — still it is likely that some
one has here been endeavoring to follow our re-
commendations, and has failed of success ; and
we think it will serve the cause of fruit culture
if he will give us an account of his orchard,
— when he planted, how he planted, when he
put it down in grass, what grass he used, when
he mowed the grass, when he applied the top
dressing, how often they were top dressed, with
what were they top dressed, what insects, if
any, existed in the orchard, what diseases, how
were the fruit thinned, how were the trees
pruned, — or any little facts which may enable
one to understand the exact treatment ; and
finally it would be very interesting to know what
symptoms accompanied their final taking ofl'.

We do not suppose that the most perfect sys-
tem ever devised will make fruit culture one of
the exact sciences, any more than we may ex-
pect people who try to observe the exact laws of
health never to die before old age takes them;
but yet such a failure as this ought to teach us
some valuable lessons,— and we should be very
glad for the sake of fruit culture to have the par-
ticulars.

LOOKING AT THE ROOT OF THIx\GS.

Inalmost all meetings where Mr. Wm. Saunders
attends, all who are present note how continually
he strives to impress on his luiarurs the necessity
of looking deeper into the principles ul (.uliuie

than they evidently do. We often wish that
cultivators would weigh well this excellent ad-
vice. For want of this valuable habit, an im-
mense amount of useful information brought
out at horticultural meetings, is rendered nearly
worthless. Indeed this knowledge is often turn-
ed to baneful practices.

As an illustration of how this may be done,
we may refer to a discussion on Hale's Early
Peach, which took place at Richmond. Some
one remarked, what is already well known, that
this variety is much more subject to the rot than
many other kinds. The fruit seldom remains
on long enough to mature. It rots when half
ripe. Many gentlemen remarked that it had
rotted very badly with them, but after letting
the orchards go down to grass, there was rot no
more. The idea spread, and others stated that
this treatment had been found excellent with
other varieties than Hale's Early.

It was evident from the tone of all these dis-
cussions, thatmany would run away with the idea
that grass was a sovereign remedy for the rot in
the Peach. But the truth is, that in the cases re-
ferred to, grass was but the means to an end, and
we may say but one means to an end,— and there
will be plenty of cases where the same means,
the same collective causes being absent, would
not have the same result. Indeed, many cases,
no doubt, could be cited wherein grass would
not result in the same way ; and we have now in
our mind a case of a lot of Hale's Early near
Chambersburg, Pa., where this grass treatment
did not have any effect whatever on staying this
much dreaded peach disease.

Perhaps we may understand better what this
article tends to teach, by looking at a crop of
corn under different circumstances. We have,
in our mind a piece of land divided into two by
a cart road. The quality is the same naturally,
but two different kinds of manure were applied
to each last spring. One grew amazingly, the
other was not near as tall ; but while the latter
produced about sixty bushels of corn to the acre,
the other yielded only forty. The smallest plants
yielded the most grain. We note this continu.
ally in trees as well as in cereal crops ; and we
arrive at ihis general principle, that there is an
antagonism between fruit and leaves, between
grain and stalk, and that we cannot have the
one without some loss to the other. And yet
we have another principle equally true, that it
is impossible to have healthy fruit without a dve
balance of healthy foliage. Here are two antag-

SOS

THE GARDEJ^ERiS MOJ^TRLY.

October,

onistic principles working one against another ;
and he is the successful cultivator who knows
how to keep these opposing principles each to
its proper work.

Thus, as Mr. Saunders has once well put a
case, it may be that from some peculiarity of the
soil, there will be a greater tendency to produce
leaves than flowers, even after a plant has ar-
rived at a bearing age, than it should do. There
are other cases where, even if they do produce
flowers or fruit, there is more nutrition passes
into the leaves and branches than is desirable to
a perfect fruit, and this fruit is in consequence
so weakened in its vitality as to be an easy prey
to disease. And it is here that we see how
grass may have an influence in remedying this
state of things. The nutritive conditions are al-
tered, and newer and better balance being ac-
complished, health results. But supposing that t

this want of accordance did not exist ? Allow-
ing that the peach flower and the peach leaf
were both governed by the best conditions of
success, and that we had all the fruit we wished,
and as good as we had a right to expect, it is
more than likely that a crop of grass thrown in,
by disturbing the balance, would be highly in-
jurious, and no good cultivator would do this,
unless he accompanied this treatment with
something else which will maintain the proper
balance of the principles we have referred to.

Thus, we would have our readers bear in
mind, that the reason why anything is done, is
far more important than how the thing is done,
— and that the course of practice which would
result in success under some circumstances, un-
der others would be disastrous in its conse-
quences.

SCEAPS AND QUERIES.

The Gardener's Monthly for 1872. — The
publishers desire with the approaching close of
the year, to remind the readers that they have
a claim on them to extend the circulation of the
magazine. It is now the oldtsi horticultural
magazine in the United States, so far as being
continuously under the same editorial control is
concerned The editor though at the head of
one of the largest nursery businesses in the coun-
try, does not thrust it forward in the magazine.
The immense advertising patronage of the Gar-
dener''s Monthly shows how well the editor,
though a nurseryman, has the confidence of
others in the same trade. At the same time the
increasing experience which the school of a large
nursery brings day by day, is given in the Month-
ly for the benefit of its readers.

In the publishers' own department they point
with pride to the immense amount of reading
matter they give for two dollars, greater they
believe than is given by any other magazine in
the world. They believe also that they have
steadily increased the attractions of the maga-
zine, without even promising to do so. No ex-
traneous methods have ever been adopted to
push the magazine on an unwilling public; but
the whole has been left to quiet public apprecia-
tion. Withoui intending to reflect on any of

the other excellent horticultural journals, we
may be pardoned for saying, that we have no
unwilling readers, and that the cheerfulness
with which every one sends us cash in advance
for their annual subscriptions is the secret of the
Monthly's great success.

The publishers further remark that the colored
pZa(es which they occasionally give is tj o pari of
the subscription price. These are the premiums
tchich tee give for getting us neio subscribers. We
are going on the mutual plan

We hope that as nearly as possible, every one
will remit us with their own, at least one new
subscription before the close of the year.

Names of Plants.— 3/rs. Sara C. T., Car-
bon Cliff, Bock Island Co., /«.— "If you will
permit me again to appear as an enquirer, 1
shall be glad to know the names of the enclosed
specimens.

1 have read somewhere that sulphate of am-
monia is a superior fertilizer for plants, if so,
how should it be used, and in what proportions V
I have used aqua ammonia, about a teaspoonful
to every pail of water and thought it beneficial,
but the torrid heat of the present summer has so
thwarted the ut i ost cue, that one is left in
doubt of the true iflVct of anything before un-

1871.

THE GARB EJf ETC S MOJVTRLl.

309

tried. Fuchsias have suflfered severely, surviv-
ing'with a stinted growtli and shriveled flowers
only through the mitigation of screens and fre-
quent syringing. Now that cooler autumn days
are near, any information how to recall them to
a vigorous growth would be very acceptable.

What strawberry should be planted with the
Colfax to make that variety productive ?

It is a aleasure to acknowledge the debt I owe
the Gardener's Monihly for the many happy and
profitable hours spent among its pages and, I look
forward to many more in the future.''

[The broad leaved plant is Begonia manicata.
The very small succulent one Pilea muscosa, the
artillery plant. The gold veined leaf is the
Japan variegated Honeysuckle.

The sulphate of ammonia is usually applied in
about the same proportion as you used. Manure
water, however, from any kind of stable manure,
but particularl}" cow manure, is quite as good,
and seldom is so risky as the one referred to,
which, if given in over doses is highly injurious.

The Fuchsias are of course done for this year :
but next spring give them a severe pruning,
cut the half of them away, and after the young
growth has made a half inch, repot into smaller
pots than tlic}^ grew in this year ; and after a
month or six weeks shift again into larger ones.

Do not plant the Colfax or any kind of straw-
berry that requires artificial fertilization. There
are now quite as good hermaphrodites as any of
the pistillate class. Every one of these should
now be erased from all good strawberry lists.
If however, you have good reason for not follow-
ing this advice plant a few Albany Seedlings,
Other hermaphrodites would do, but you are
more likely to find this variety.]

A Fruit List for Maryland— S. 2?. C.^Port
Deposit^ says : " If not asking too much, will you
please publish in October No. a list of fruit suit-
able for this section, Apples, Pears, Peaches,
Cherries, &c., &c. Also small fruits. We are
about eight (8) miles from Pennsylvania line "

[To give a fruit list is a " terrible temptation "
one gets roundly abused by the friends of some
hobby horse or another. IIowever,an editor must
risk these blows. Supposing you want fruit for
market we should try the following Apples : Red
Astrachan, Primate, Early Joe, Jonathan,
Rawle's Janet, Smith's Cider. Maiden's Blusli,
Summer Hagloe, Porter, and probably a first
rate southern apple, the Shockley, would do well
up to your line. We should also try some of the

pretty looking apples, such as Chenango Straw-
berry, Carolina Red June, Ben Davis, Red Win-
ter Pearmain and Winesap, though we do not
know, from our own experience, that they have
extensively borne fruit in Maryland.

Pears— Bloodgood, Bartlett, Tyson, Buflum,
Beurre d'Anjou, Howell, Seckel, Sheldon, Law-
rence and Duchess d'Angouleme. If not early
ones enough, add Manning's Elizabeth.

Peaches — Crawford's Early and Crawford's
Late, Early York, Oldmixon Free, Oldmixon
Cling, Stump the World, Smock, Ward's Late.

Cherries. — Black Tartarian, Early Purple
Guigne, Early Richmond, Yellow Spanish, May
Duke.

Grapes. — If not in very favorable circum-
stances the Concord and Clinton will best take
care of themselves ; but if you can give a very
dry soil, and with surface manure occasionally
you may try Delaware, Eumelan, loua, Martha,
and Maxatawney.

Variegated Maples. — W. P..,Cinnaminson,
JV. eT., writes : "I have recently noticed a large
Maple tree growing in the woods about thirty
feet high, with leaves yellow or light color
around the edges, ffcd green in the center or
middle part. Inclosed I send a few as a sample;
thought perhaps they might be worth propoga-
ting, either by budding or seed."

[Many grand additions to our ornamental
trees might be made by selecting the best of the
many variations in our woods. As a general rule,
the whole family of Maples, bud very readily on
the common silver Maple; and thus we have at
hand a cheap stoek for any pretty variations in
this class of plants.]

Grape Leaf Insect.— yin " Old Subscriber "
sends leaves covered with little horn-like brown
processes a quarter of an inch long. These en-
close the larvai of the grape midge, a small dip-
terous fly, of the genus Cecidomyia. These are
the little gnats which are so troublesome in the
autumn. There are many species, but the par-
ticular one which produced these we do not
know.

Tickets to Exiiiuitions. — We have a large
number of compliraentaries from friends— in two
instances accompanied by railroad passes to at-

310

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^'THLy.

October,

tend. We are sorry that we have been unable
to accept ; but hereby tender our best thanks for
the kind remembrances.

Name of Plant.— A correspondent of the
Ganlfner''s Monthly who has committed the not
unususal oflence of not signing his name to his
letter, sends us the following, containing a
branch and flower of Sophora Japonica, a beau-
tiful tree, quite hardy the United States : " In-
closed I send you some flowers and leaves taken
from a tree raised from seeds that I brought from
Kome, Italy, ten years ago. I shall be pleased
if you will diagnoses it and send me the name at
your leisure. If you wish any of the seeds,
notify me, and I will send them to you this fall
when ripe."

Monstrosity in Indian Corn.— iJ. S. C.
writes : " I send you a singular vegetable curi-
osity— a lusus naturie which is certainly inter-
esting. This little unfruitful ear of corn was
found enclosed with an ordinary large ear of
corn, occupying the centre of the cob, with the
long silken threads wound around it as you see
it now. At first, however, they were much
longer and exceedingly soft and delicate.

[This is a very interesting case. The young
ear which grew inside of the other cob, is about
three inches long and about a quarter of an inch
wide ; and the silky pistils, several inches in
length are wound around as on a spool. All are ar-
ranged to twine in one direction ; and what gave
it this uniform direction would be a very inter-
esting bit of knowledge to a physiologist. It is
not uncommon for one fruit to develop inside of
another fruit. A pear, has been known to grow
inside of another pear, but this arrangement of
the pistils indicates a twisting of the axis, which
we think has not before been recognized.

BuoNAPARTiAS— Correction from Mr.
Harding. — "In the September number of the
Monthly^ under the caption of "Botany Bay,New
South Wales," either you or I, the printer, or
morelikely still, his unbotanical "devil," "have
erred and strayed '' from facts, where it reads
that " on reaching a group of Ficus macrophylla
thick with an undergrowth of Banksias, Drian-
drias and Buonapm-tiaa,"' (a Bromcliacious plant)
I am made to mention, which is evideully an
error, as I never saw it there, and have but once

met with it, B. gracilis, in its wild state in
Mexico ; although well acquainted with both it,
and B. juncea, two odd looking plants, and well
worth growing with collections of Crassulacse.
CactacjB, Liliaceje and Amaryllidaccre, which
embrace plants of peculiar structure, and really
are in every sense natural curiosities. There are
pleasures untasted in store for the florist, and
virtuoso ; and all whose tastes are cultivated
and refined, who love the beauties of His crea-
tive power in the cultivation of such like plants
which well deserve a good space in everj- green-
house, where they would delight and reward
with true pleasures the owners of such rare
beauties. Why don't the nurserymen introduce
them ? There is money in the undertaking.

Raising New Flowers — B. D., Bardstown^
Kentucky, asks :— "Will you please tell me how
the new varieties of flowers are produced ? When
I was a girl, there was but one kind of fish gera-
nium, a brilliant red, and now I have eight kinds
in my garden. This may seem a simple ques-
tion to you, and perhaps to other readers of
your interesting magazine ; but circumstances
made us drop the Monthly after the first year,
and it is only this year that we have been able
to resume it again. The kindness you show in
answering such inquiries in the magazine, leads
me to hope I may get some notice for my inqui-
ry."

[We always answer these inquiries with plea-
sure. They enable us better to feel the public
pulse than we can do any other way, and thus
our great horticultural patients' wants are bet-
ter understood.

About the new varieties : — There is in all
plants a tendency to vary, within certain limits.
In raising seedlings, those which show the most
tendency to change are selected, and seed again
saved from these, and in the course of a few gen-
erations they have wandered a long way from
the original.

This is improvement by selection ; but much
is also done by cross-breeding. Two varieties
being obtained, the pollen from one flower is
carried to the pistil of the other flower, and the
seed thus produced brings a race intermediate
between the two. It is singular to note, how-
ever, that the tendency to variation operates al-
so here together with the fertilizing influence ;
if there were more of this variation, the flowers
from a cross-bred union would be all exactly

1871.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLy.

311

alike intermediate between the two ; but instead
of this, there will be no two exactly like.

Cross-breeding is, therefore, generally pre-
ferred by improvers, as they have two laws
working together for change at the same time.

GERMANT0W2S', TENNESSEE. — We again re-
mind our friends that it is dangerous to abrevi-
ate Pennsylvania to "Pcjdi. ," when addressing
the Editor at Germantown. It is so much like
Tenn. in manuscript, that continual delays oc-
cur. We have now a letter before us just re-
ceived from Little Rock, Arkansas, dated May
29th. Pa. is best.

Disease in Pine Trees.— S. B, T., Balti-
more, Md., writes : "On my country place, I
have some white Pines about 20 years planted,
some of which have the tips of the leaves brown.
This usually commences about mid-summer,
and the result is a very unsightly looking object.
Have you seen any thing like this, and do you
know any cure ?"

[This is not uncommon with the white Pine,
and arises from an attack of fungus at the root.
You will find the soil full of a whitish fibre, which
attacks the roots of the Pine tree. It is highly
probable that this fungiis penetrates the sap
vessels, and that it goes up into the leaves for
the purpose of there producing the spores which
is to reproduce itself. At any rate, it has been
found that if the soil about the tree is taken out

and new soil put in, the new soil and perhaps
the admission of fresh air destroys this thready
fungus, and afterwards the disease in the leaf
disappears. This shows conclusively the con-
nection between the fungus at the root and the
dead parts in the leaves. Mr. Alfred Cope, near
Philadelphia, has perfectly succeeded in renova-
ting a bad specimen of white Pine in this way.]

Name OF Plant— J2.i>. D., Bochester, JV".
Y. — "Enclosed please find a piece of a plant
which we wish you to give us the name of. It
has been sold here as a native of Siberia, being
a perfectly hardy creeping plant also adapted to
grow on trellises. We are unacquainted with
the plant ourselves, and would like some infor-
mation about it, as we think it would be desira-
ble to use in the making of wreaths, crosses and
other floral designs. Your reply through the
columns of your paper will oblige.

Can you tell us also if it is to be found in this
country in a wild state."

[This is Lycopodium luciduluin, a native of
the United States, and largely used by the flor-
ists of New York and Philadelphia, for "stuf-
fing'' bouquets. It grows in dense shady woods,
and no doubt would make a prett3' plant for
room culture, if a glass be used over it to keep
moist air about it, and a short trellis to keep it
from falling about. We have uot, however,
seen it cultivated. For florists' use, it is brought
from the interior in barrels, and sold by those
who deal in florists' articles.!

NEW AND MUE FRUITS.

Seedling Gooseberry from S.S.Merceron
—This was a branch that was 18 inches long,
and had thirty gooseberries on, which weighed
half a pound. Four to an ounce is pretty good
for America, though not much in England,
where one berry often comes near that weight.
If it was certain that this was an American
variety, it would l)e one of the most valuable
fruits ever brought before the American public ;
for it is the fault of our popular kinds that they
are too small. Unfortunately, we cannot tell
just now whether it is or not, for there is nothing
that will distinguish the two species when they
are out of flower ; for though the American spe-
cies was named Eibes rotundifolia by Michaux,

from an idea that the leaf was rounder than the
European Ji. grosularia, we could never see that
it was The flowers, however, appear distinct.
In the English, the calyx sepals are reflexed,and
the petals small, heart shaped inclining to wedge
shaped ; while the American has barely spread-
ing calyx segments, and the petals are longish
claws.

The general aspects of this one ofMr. Merce-
ron's, inclines us to the belief that it is American;
and if it proves so, as we have said, Mr M. has a
valuable thing.

Improvement in Siberian Crar Apples.
—The superior hardiness of this species of apple

312

THE GARDE^'EU'S MOJVTELy.

October,

have rendered them marked objects for improve-
ment with our northwestern Pomologists. Ex-
cept for vinegar or for jelly, the old varieties
have been of little value culinarily ; although as
ornaments of gardens one or two have been
grown on most grounds. A marked improve-
ment has, however, been made in their quality,
and some are quite eatable. At the recent meet-
ing at Richmond, some Minessota seedlings were
exhibited which contained amongst them as
much variation from sour to sweet and in other
degrees of difterence as the genuine apple. Some
of these were tolerably good to eat. We are re-
minded of this by having before us the Marengo
Crab, from C. Andrews, and from Messrs. Her-
endeen «& Jones, which is much superior in
quality to the Transcendent, and this is a well
known and popular kind. In size and flavor
none of these crabs come up to the general apple
of gardens ; but the evidences are encouraging
that they may one day do so, while the great
hardiness will always be a point in their favor.

Apple, Cooper's Early AVhite, — This
variety seems to be unknown in the East ; but
in the West it is one of the most profitable ap-
ples grown. The crop it bears is wonderful. It
commences to bear three or four years after set-
ting out, and the trees nearly break down under
the load. It has somewhat the appearance of
the old Hawthornden, which has never been
very popular in this country. Its quality and
uses are about flie same.

■ New Peaches. — Lady Parham. — Size, me-
dium ; shape, oblong, slightly one-sided ; skin,
white, seldom showing any red ; flesh, white,
with some red near the stone, juicy, vinous and
highly flavored; freestone; flowers, small; glands,
reniform ; season of maturity, end of September
and lasts until October 15th ; tree, a vigorous
and open grower, very prolific ; quality, very
good. It was originated by the late Thomas
AfHeok, Esq , during his residence in Louisiana.
A very desirable late variety.

PicqueVs Late.— Size, large to very large, often
measuring twelve inches in circumference ; form,
round or somewhat flattened, and a little one-
sided; skin, yellow, with a deep rod check;
flesh, yellow ; buttery, rich, sweet and perfumed
with a slight apricot flavor ; freestone ; quality,
best ; flowers, large ; glands, reniform ; season

of maturity, end of August, and continues some
years imtil September 15th.

This variety originated with Antoine Picquet,
Esq., of Belair, Ga., and was first disseminated
in 1861. Its magnificent size, extra quality, and
maturing at a season when peaches are scarce
here, form a combination of qualities seldom
found in a fruit. It has been extensively tried
throughout the countrj' and everywhere has sus-
tained its good points. Tree, a rather compact
grower. — Ttural Carolinian.

The Buff Apple. — This is a handsome and
popular apple, grown extensively in North Caro-
lina, Georgia, and other portions of the South.
The fruit is of the largest size, roundish and
sometimes somewhat ribbed and angular ; skin,
thick ; color, yellow, thickly striped and shaded
with dull red. with greenish and russet spots ;
stem, rather short, in a medium cavity ; calyx,
large, in an irregular basin ; flesh, yellowish,
tender, sub-acid ; quality, cood, under favorable
conditions, but sometimes indiflereut ; season of
maturity, October, but will keep till March.
The size and beauty of the Bufl" makes it a favo-
rite in our markets. The finest specimens we
have seen come from North Carolina. — Ttural
Carolinian.

Grape, Ellwanger & Barry's No. 19.—
We received a bunch of this last year, but the
berries had all dropped from the stems before
we saw them, and a good opinion of them could
not be given. A bunch before us now gives
promise of the highest excellence. Among ap-
ples and pears there are two classes, sweet and
sour in the former, sugary and sub-acid among
the latter. We think some such distinction
should be made among grapes. If there were,
we should class this with the sub-acid, though
sour would not do to give to a class of grapes after
the celebrated fox story. However, the acidity
here is of a pleasing, refreshing nature, and we
are glad to record our opinion that this promises
to be one of our most popular varieties.

New Fritits at the American Pomologi-
CAL Society.— It is to the praise of the recent
meeting at Richmond that the new Fruit Com-
mittee exhibited so much conservatism. Unless
new fruits are in some respects better than old
ones, why should they bo named and dissemi-
nated? They appeared to have spent no great

1871,

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJiTHLY.

313

enthusiasm over any exhibited ; from which we
gather that there was nothing particularly " su-
preme" introduced on this occasion

Pear from H. A, Jackson, Cincinnati,
Ohio. — If this is not an old kind, Mr. J. pro-
poses to call it The Hoagland ; but they were in
a state of decay when they reached us, and not
recoirnizable.

'• Parks' Cling Peach"— A large, handsome
and good clingstone peach to succeed the White
Heath Cling in ripening has long been a decided
desideratum with Southern peach culturists.
Perhaps it has been found in the " Parks' Cling. ''
Let our fruitmeu test it as soon as possible, and
report results.- -Ed. So. IIort.

The Parks originated in the grounds of Mr.
A. L. Parks, at Alton, from a chance seed.

This is a magnificent looking peach, and in
point of beauty is not surpassed by any of the
earlier peaches. Specimens were exhibited at
the late fair of the Illinois State Agricultural
Society, that measured eleven inches in circum-
ference. The tree last year, and again this,
bore well ; leaves with globose glands ; fruit of
the largest size and heavy, broader than deep.

Suture deep, extending quite around the fruit,
dividing it equally ; skin not very downy, light
creamy yellow, mostly covered with red •, flesh
also of a light cream color, stained with red,
but deeper red at the stone ; very juicy but not
of the highest tlavor ; ripens eight to ten days
later than Heath Clina. — Western Paper.

NEW AND EARE PLAINTS.

Adiantum Teitciiii. (Moore.) — A distinct
and fine Fern introduced by Messrs. Veitch
from Peru.

It is extremely^ornamental, attracting the eye
by its rigid character and the symmetry of its
growth, and we recommend it as a most desira-
ble evergreen Fern for a warm greenhouse or
intermediate stove.

The young fronds are very beautiful, being of
a fine red color — that of the mature fronds being
of a pale green.

The largest pinnules measure about an inch
in their longer and halfan-inch in their shorter
diameter, and are set stiflly on the plane of the
fronds.

Begonia Ciielsoni. (Hort. Veitch.) — This
is one of the finest of the flowering Begonias. It
is a hybrid raised at Veitch's Nursery between
B. Bolii-iensis and B. Sedeni, both now so well
known.

It is very free in growth, and of good habit.
The flowers are of a bright glossy red color, and
of very large size. The plant continues in bloom
from May to November.

As a decorative plant it cannot fail to be most
extensively grown, and it will form an excellent
companion to the B. Sedeni sent out last year.

— This fine plant was discovered by the late Mr.
Bowman during, his trip to South Brazil, and
was described by him as being "far superior to
all Dieffenbachias, as Maraata Veitchii is to all
the Marantas."'

The leaves, whichattain an immense size, are
of a pleasing light .green color, spotted with
dark green, or rather black green spots, thus
giving the plant a very distinct and striking ap-
pearance ; they attain a length of from 2 to 2j
feet, and an average width of 1 foot, thus prov-
ing it to be a most useful exhibition or decora-
tive plant.

Dleffenbachia BowMANiL (Hort., Veitch.)

Nepenthes Sedeni. (Hort., Veitch.)— This
really pretty variety is a cross between an un-
named species with deep colored pitchers and
K. dislillatoria. Tlie pitchers are produced in
great profusion, even on very small plants ; they
are of medium size, the surface being light green,
and very densely covered with dark red spots.
It is of dwarf and very neat habit, and we can
highly recommend it to all lovers of this beauti-
ful class of plants. ♦

Cypripedium (Reichenbacui) longifo-
LiUM.— A striking Orchid, discovered on the
Cordilleras of Chiriqui at an elevation from 5,000
to 8,000 feet, and thus described by Professor

SlJf

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHL^

October,

Reichenbach in the Gardeners'' Chronicle, 1869,
page 120G :

*' The flowers remind one very much of Seleni-
pedium dariense. It is easily distinguished by
the two anjjles at the inner base of the chan-
neled claw or unguis of the lip. Selenipedium
Ilartwegii stands even nearer, yet it appears to
be very distinct by its much larger and longer
bracts, and by an open channel of the unguis of
the lip, and by some discrepancies in the lip.
Our plant appears to have the habit of the old
Selenipedium caudatum. The inflorescence has

bracts very much like those of Heliconias. The
flowers are greenish, very shiny outside ; the
dorsal sepal is very nearly oblong— triangular,
with a brownish border. The inferior sepal is
much broader and longer, or even quite as long,
as the lip. The petals have a broad sub cordate
base, and taper into a tail, greenish, with white
borders, and two brown streaks at the base and
brown at the ends, these tails being much shorter
than those of the long tailed species. The lip is
highly curious, for the basilar margins of the
unguis overlap one another, so that there is no
channel left."

DOMESTIC TISTELLTGENCE.

Ripening and Decay of Fruit— It is now
satisfactorily demonstrated that the green color-
ing matter of the leaves of plants is what decom-
poses carbonic acid under the influence of light,
and that the yellow and red parts do not give
rise to this decomposition. But although appa-
rently deprived of this green, and assuming a
brown, yellow or purple color, there may still be
a partial action retained. This assimilation of
green leaves, in the reduction of carbonic acid,
gives cause to the disengagement of oxygen,
when exposed to the light, and although there
are various shades of color, green predominates
and is the normal color.

The ripening process in fruit develops itself
in three stages, which are distinguished not only
by physical but chemical features.

The fruit during the first stage is generally of
a green color, and acts on the atmosphere in the
same manner as the leaves in the decomposition
of carbonic acid and the liberation of oxygen un-
der the influence of light. As it matures, its
second stage, the green color of the fruit is re-
placed by yellow, red or brown ; and the vegeta-
ble matter so changed by the action of the same
l)roce8s as to be no longer able to decompose
carbonic acid, but absolutely develops it by the
combination of its carbon with the oxygen of the
air.

A species of slow combustion takes place in
the cellular tissue, acting upon the soluble mat-
ter found therein ; the astringent tannin is first
destroyed and the acid follows— a kind of sac-
charine fermentation, giving softness and flavor
to the fruit ; and in this stage it is eaten.

But as the final object is to liberate the seed,
the third stage of decomposition sets in, if not
delayed or prevented by the proper attention.
Being now in a condition to admit air to the cel-
lular tissue, and generate sugar, which gives
rise to vinous or alcoholic fermentation and pro-
duct of others, and that peculiar aroma. This
action continued, destroys the structure of the
fruit or its tissues, resulting in what we call rot-
ting.

Some one may say — every one knows that ap-
ples, &c., are first green, then ripen, and finally
rot, and what more do we want to know now,
if we are told about carbonic gas and oxygen ?

Still chemistry is a science of natural changes
and combinations. ^V hat's the use of chemis-
try ? Much every way. To become acquainted
as to how these natural laws act, is a desirable
step and worthy of study ; and although an
eclipse will take place, no one but an astrono-
mer, acquainted with the motions of the planets,
can calculate when and in what latitude and
longitude the total eclipse will fall, or how much
of it will be seen in given places. True, they
are no nearer the sun or moon than the com-
monest laborer ; yet study has given them a
knowledge that is useful, hence it is that a
chemical reason may be given in the ordinary
terms for chemical (natural) changes in the pro-
cess of the ripening of fruit.— J. S. , in Lancaster
Farmer.

Vakieties OF THE FiG. — The nomenclature
of the fig is somewhat confused, and some diflB-
culty exists in attaining a correct list of sync-

1871^

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^THLY.

315

nyms. The following varieties we have found
the most desirable :

Black G enoa.—S\ze medium ; long, tapering
near the stem ; skin dark purple, covered with
bloom ; pulp bright red, very good.

Black Jscftia.— Medium size, round ; skin dark
purple, nearly black at maturity ; pulp deep red ;
very prolific and excellent.

Brou'71 TffrA-f.v.— (Synonyms, Lee's Perpetual,
Brown Italian, Jerusalem, Murray, Ilowick, Wal-
ton,Common Purple, Brown Naples, Large Sugar
Fig. etc , etc.) From its numerous synonyms,
it shows its great popularity. Fruit, medium,
oblong pyriform ; skin dark brown, pulp red,
very sweet and excellent. This is, unquestion-
ably, the most prolific variety for this section, it
produces very large and regular crops and is
well adapted for drying.

Brunswick . — (Synonyms, Madonna, Constan-
tinople, John ^lann Fig, Brown Hamburg.
Hanover, Bayswater, etc., etc.) Fruit very
large, pyriform ; skin violet brown in sun, pale
greenish violet in the shade ; fle.sh reddish, with
occasionally a hollow centre when grown in a
very rich soil ; very rich and excellent ; a prolific
bearer.

Green Jsc/j?a— (Synonyms, Green Italian,
White Ischia, Green Red Withers, etc.) Fruit
of medium size, round obovate ; skin pale green,
very thin ; pulp deep red ; very rich and well
flavored ; a very desirable variety, and quite
prolific.

Celestial. — (Synonyms, Small Sugar Fig, Small
Violet ) Size very small ; skin purplish, with
much bloom ; pulp pale pink, very sweet and ex-
cellent ; matures early, and when fully matured,
may be eaten without peeling ; dries very easily,
but is rather small for that purpose ; very hardy
and prolific.

Lemon. — (Synonyms, Yellow Ischia, Cyprus.
Des Deux Saisons a Fruits Jaunes, etc.) Medi-
um roundish ; skin pale yellow ; pulp red, deli-
cate and rich ; a very good variety, moderately
productive.

3farsei7?ps. — (Synonyms, White Marseilles,
White Naples, Pocock, Standard, etc.) Size,
medium, round obovate ; skin very pale yellow-
ish white ; flesh white, rather dry, but sweet.
This variety is extensively grown near Mar-
seilles and along the coast of the Mediteranean,
for drying purpo.ses, and can be recommended
for that purpose here. It is not a desirable va-
riety for open field culture in the interior, but
thrives remarkably well on the sea coast. This

variety is said to be the same as that grown near
Smyrna, and from which the best figs of com-
merce are ])roduced.

Nerii. — Skin pale greenish yellow; fruit small,
pulp red, very delicate and of excellent flavor;
it is not very productive in open field culture.

Of the varieties not so well known, but de-
serving of mention, the following are desirable
for amateur culture :

uA.ngelique — (Synonyms, Mellite, White Cou-
courell, etc.) Fruit small, yellow, pulp white
sweet ; very early and moderately productive.

Early Lemon. — (Synonyms, Jaune Hative.)
Similar to Lemon, but ripens a week or ten days
earlier.

Madeleine — Is a small white fig, very sweet,
but not very productive.

Pregussata. — Size medium, brown ; pulp deep
red, flavor good.

Superfine de la Saussaye. — A medium fig,
round and much enlarged towards the stem ;
skin brown ; very sweet and good ; leaves deeply
lobed.

Violette Eonde.— Fruit medium, skin violet,
pulp deep red, very sweet, and moderately pro-
ductive.

We have several other varieties in our collec-
tion, but they are either inferior, unproductive,
or doubtless only synonyms of some of the fore-
going described varieties.— P. J. Berckmans,
in Rural Carolinian.

A Sttustitijte for Coffee.— From chemical
analysis it appears that the seeds of the aspara-
gus when dried, parched and ground, make a full
flavored coffee, but little inferior to Mocha, con-
taining in common with tea and coffee, the prin-
ciple called taurine. Dry the asparagus berries
well, after being thoroughly ripened, then rub
them on a sieve, thus the seeds are readily .sepa-
rated. - Journal of Health.

Close Pruning Grapes.— Mr. M. Pike, of
Alton, Illinois, is a very successful grape grower.
At one of the meetings of the Alton. 111., Hor-
ticultural Society he gave his experience, and
said :

" I am satisfied that the majority of grape
growers over-crop their vineyards. I have been
each year reducing the wood in my vineyard
until now my Catawba canes are not more than
three and a half feet long, and but one cane, and
I am getting just as near the ground as possible,.

S16

THE GAUDEJ^EWS MOJ^TULY.

October,

for the reason, among others, that they are
easily laid down for protection through the win-
ter.

Last year my Catawba vines made the heaviest
growth of wood and produced the largest bun-
ches of fruit of any in my vineyard ; probably
15 per cent, more than ray Concords. They

ripened up well (they were not merely colored)
under this system of the succession of leaves. I
grow three leaves of different ages. The origi-
nal leaf is the most valuable one. I then grow
two additional ones. You may have the succes-
sion of leaves very early by pinching early. I do
no summer pruning."

FOREIGIN^ TNTELLIGETv^CE.

Pot Vines.— In the following paper I will re-
late what has been my successful experience in
growing pot-vines with limited convenience in
one place for several years, and although I may
not describe anything uncommon, my remarks
may prove of interest to some of your readers.

It is usual in many gardens during spring to
have one, two, or perhaps, even three, hotbed
frames put up in the course of the season. In
the first of these, then, among the other things
a lot of vine eyes are inserted in a pan in the
usual manner. As they become nicely rooted,
they are placed singly in small pots. They are
still kept in a corner of the frame, and grown on.
As they advance they are encouraged in similar
quarters, and by and by, perhaps, shifted into a
fresh frame where there is a greater heat

They are kept as long as possible under such
circumstances, and about the middle of May, or
when the bedding plants are getting out of hand
they are transferred into ordinary sized cold
frames. In these a row of plants is set along
the front of the frames, almost as close together
as the pots will stand. A few pieces of strong
cord are tacked tightly across the frame to act
as a trellis to keep the canes off the ground, and
at a regular distance from the glass. When
placed in these quarters, the vines are encouraged
as much as possible by good attendance, shutting
up early to husband sun heat, and I have often
seen many canes with roots and tops "as sound
as a bell," produced in this way by the end of
the season.

Canes thus grown may not be nearly so good
looking nor so strong as those reared in bottom
heat in houses by themselves, or in other hot-
houses, all through the season, but for their size
they are often by far the best ; for second sized
canes with good sound roots and well ripened
stems produce often better crops of Grapes than
others twice the size and apparently sound
enough. I could prove this by an instance

under my own observation at the present time.

These canes in the cold frames in a good sea-
son can be ripened to perfection. The sashes,
according to the weather, can be moved at con-
venience, and any amount of air can be given.
When their full season of growth is over it is
generally the plan to take them away to a back
place and plunge the pots in cold ashes to insure
the roots from being injured by too sudden
changes of temperature, till the time arrived for
their being put into the forcing pit, which was
generally in Kovember. They have always done
well, producing very good dishes of Grapes in
May.

This plan of growing young canes would cer-
tainly not be resorted to if I had better conveni-
ences, but in many cases we have to make the
most of things as they are. In this instance,
there is a small stove for fruiting the vines in,
but not another for growing a young lot of vines.
I have known of other cases in which good fruit-
ing pot vines could have been reared in a similar
wajs but the attempt was not made. — Robert
MACKELLER.in London Journal of Horticulture.

Himalayan Rhododendrons in Ireland.
— I fear I am rather late in suggesting to your
readers to look at a few of the Himalayan Rho-
dodrendons which have bloomed the last spring
with especial beauty at our Botanic gardens, and
elsewhere in the neighborhood of Dublin. I may
also notice another species from a warmer cli-
mate than those, and which has been greatly ad-
mired within a few days of the time I write, at
our Trinity College Botanic Gardens. In a
greenhouse at Mr. Gray's, at Temple Hill, near
Blackrock, a bush which maj^ almost be called a
tree, of R. Nuttxli, produced several fine trusses
of its lovely white bloom after spending the au-
tumn and winter plunged in the open ground and
unprotected, till it was brought in, when about
to flower. Another and a stiller finer specimen,

1871.

TEE GARDEJVEWS MOJ\'TliLl.

317

from the conservalory of Captain Coote, at
Farmley, Knockmaroon, near the Phojnix Park,
attracted universal attention at the recent ex-
hibition of our Royal Horticultural Society.

In Glasnevin and Trinity College Gardens, R-
Edgeworthii has this spring formed a prominent
feature. In its nature parasitical, its many long
branches bear to be twisted and interwined into
a roundish or other form, in which way the
flowers show to much advantage ; and they
have a quality with which I believe few of the
family are endowed, that of admitting a de-
licious perfume. In Dr. Hooker's celebrated
work on the Sikkim-Himaiaya Rhododendrons,
he gives a fine coloring of this tree, and des-
cribes it as delighting to grow on the Jimbs of
pine trees.

There is now in bloom at both these gardens,
of somewhat dilTerent habit, and to my eye still
more handsome than the others, if not the most
so of the numerous family, R. Dalhousiai. This
also is loose or straggling in its habit of growth,
but its branches are not so pliant as those of
Edgeworthii. The llowers, which are large, and
waxy, and white, or creamy white, are strongly
perfumed, somewhat with the odor of the lemon.
In size, color, and general appearance, they re-
semble, as Dr. Hooker describes them, the Bour-
bon lily, Lilium candidum. Rhododendron cili-
atum is also another Sikkim Himalayan species,
which has for several years luxuriantly bloomed
in the open air and very early in spring, or
rather at the close of winter, at the northerly
side of the Fern-house at Glasnevin. Whilst
those which I first named command admiration
from every lover of beautiful plants, this latter
has to me a peculiar charm. In the autumn of
1 believe, the year 1854, which was followed by
a very severe winter and spring, two seedlings
of this shrub, then new in Scotland, were there
given to nie by one anxious to test their power
of bearing the climate of Malahide, where I then
had a garden. He bound me to leave them for
a year without protection ; and naturally 1
watched their progress with interest, which was
rewarded by very early blossom, almost before
the snow had melted from protecting the stems.
Again, last autumn, two j'oung j)lants of this
now well known species were sent to me, with
two seedlings of J^dgeworthii, to try how they
would live in a frame at rear of my dwelling
here. All so far look well, and one or (wo have
flowered ; and though ihe texture of the foliage
be such as does not suit the smoky air of Dublin

uncovered, I hope and expect to see them enjoy
many a month, and years, in their new abode.
AVhy shall not each of the kinds I name suit for
culture under glass in this or another city ?

The last species to which I now refer is that
called R. Javanicura, from a warmer climate
than any of the others, though I know not the
particular locality in Java which is its especial
home. For weeks one of the finest, if not the
finest, specimen in Ireland, has been in flower
in the College Gardens here. Orange red is the
color given, and it seems correctly, to the fine
trusses of its bloom. Though the conservatory
in which this shrub has for years lived be par-
tially heated in severe weather, frost to some
degrees often makes its way within it. As is my
wont, I merely offer some results of personal ob-
servation, inviting others to enjoy what gives
refined pleasure to myself. I try not to ape-
scientific learning where I have it not, and
which perhaps, consistently with my capacity
and main pursuits, I ought not to cultivate or
possess : I still remember my school day lesson
of Horace — ' Let not the cobbler venture beyond
his last ' —

' Ne sutor ultra crepidam.'
But even half-learned ignorance knows that the-
Rhododendron family are generally easy of cul-
ture. By grafting and layering, and seed, and
sometimes, under a skillful hand, by cuttings, an
infinite number, if thei-e be such a thing, can be
obtained of these most ornamental evergreens. —
Gardeners^ Record.

Salvia Heerii. — Seeing Salvia Gesnerseflora
so highly commended in the last copy of the
Becord, induces me to speak of the merits of
Salviaf Heerii, which I grow for Conservatory
decoration, and which I prefer to S. Gesneraeflora
as it is a much freer bloomer, and stands very
much longer when in flower. My mode of culti-
vation is as follows : — Strike cuttings in heat in
March, potting them as soon as they are rooted,
iu thumb pots, and stop them at every joint as
they grow. I plant them out on a south border
the first week of June, keeping them regularly
stopped and watered to the end of September,
when I pot them in ten and twelve-inch pots.
The compost which I find to suit them best is
two parts good turfy loam, one part decayed cow
manure, and one part leaf mould, with the ne-
cessary quantity of sharp sand. After potting,
the plants get a good watering, and are still kept
out of doors until the end of October. The-

318

THE n^RDEMEWS MOKTHLY.

October,

plants I want to bloom in February are removed
to a peach-house where the frost is kept out.
The firt^t week of January they get some heat,
say 40' at night and 50^ to 55° by day, with sun
heat. I do not stop the tirst lot of plants after
potting them, but allow them to grow on until
they bloom. When the pots get full of roots
they must be kept liberally supplied with liquid
manure, and syringed every bright morning
until the flowers begin to expand. In the first
week of February, I have them three feet
through, grand specimens, with green foliage,
covered with beautiful racemes of brilliant scar-
let flowers, and are generally admired by all
who see them, as well as being so useful for cut
flowers. The plants I want to bloom in April
I stop twice after potting, and keep them in a
cold pit until the end of Februarj', when they
are removed to a vinery just started, and treated
just the same as the first lot. I also grow Salvia
splendens in the same way. I have it in bloom
in November and December ; it is also well
worth growing. — T. Rorkb, Gardener at Killa-
kee, in Gardeners' Record.

Grapes for Exhibition.— On reading the
proceedings of the Fruit Committee at the Roy-
al Horticultural Society's Meeting, September
2l8t, page 226, I came to the conclusion that a
few notes on early and late Grapes would not be
out of place, and I invite the attention of the
committees of horticultural societies holding
their exhibitions in autumn.

I would make a distinct class for such fine ex-
hibition Grapes as Meredith's Alicante and Lady
Downe's among the black varieties, as, unless
this be done, the different varieties of IJam-
burghs cannot have justice. I would also have
a distinct class for the Muscats and Trebbiano
among white Grapes, so as to give the lloyal
Muscadine, the Sweet waters, and the like a
chance of winning a prize.

In support of this view I would ask, is the
flavor uf the Alicante and Lady Downe's in
August, September, or October to be compared
to the taste of the Ilamburghs ? Also, Is the
flavor of the Muscats and Trebbiano to be com-
pared with that of the Koyal Mucadine or Sweet-
water y The.se questions should answer them-
selves.

I do not for a moment wish to disparge the
fine qualities of the Alicante and Lady Downe's,
leaving out the newer lato sorts, for I am per-
fectly aware of their usefulness, but I say they

are not to be compared with the Ilamburghs for
flavor now ; and were the judges to taste, un-
doubtedly there would be many exhibitors dis-
appointed, for, instead, as is generally the case
now, of the award being given to the fine large
bunches, well colored though they might be, it
would go to the Ilamburghs, they being ripe and
fit for table (or they should be so when shown),
which cannot be the case with the Alicante and
Lady Downe's. To me it seems a sin that such
fine bunches as I have seen shown in September
should be cut, for, the taste being insipid, they
are worthless.

I am fully aware that Grapes must be ripened
and colored by the end of September or beginning
of October, or they stand but a small chance of
coloring, unless it should prove such a favorable
autumn as the present. But Grapes require to
hang a certain time after they are colored. Thus,
the Hamburghs colored by the end of Julj- are
not ready for cutting till the end of August, and
those colored a mouth later are not at their best
yet. Above all, the Alicante should hang till
February to bring out its flavor, and the same
applies, or nearly so, to the Lady Downe's. Of
course, I do not say they cannot be eaten till
then, but I do say they are not at their best till
the time I have mentioned.

Next, as to the white Grapes. The Muscats
are undoubtedly the finest winter Grapes for
those who have vineries and heat enough for
them, but their flavor in August, Seplember,and
October is not equal to that of the Royal Musca-
dine, Buckland Sweetwater, and Foster's Seed-
ling. The Muscats require a high heat to ripen
them, and they must be ripened early, but they
should not in any case be cut before Christmas.

I now give the names of a few good Grapes,
black and white, for exhibiting. Of the black
there is none to excel the Black Hamburgh as a
show Grape, but a far superior Grape for flavor,
though ripening at the same time, is Pope's
Hamburgh [Fraukenthal]. This is a beautiful
Grape, and no one should be without it wliere
quality is considered. It has a very thin skin, a
delicious flavor, and will hang till Christmas
without deteriorating. Trontham Black is also
good for exhibiting, but unless ripened, say, in
July, it should not be cut till November ; in
fact, this is the b^'sl ot the Hamburghs for keep-
ing.

Of the whiles, the I est early is the Royal Mus-
dine This is a very early Grape, and a good
keeper. Ripened in a late house it wUl hang

1871.

THE GARDEJfER'S MOJ^'THLY.

319

well till Christmas. Foster's White Seedling is
also a keepina; Grape of good flavor. All the
above can be grown well with ordinary care and
with but little fire heat.

The Alicante and Lady Downe's are both too
well known to say more than that they are
(leaving out the recent additions, such as Mrs.
Pince), the best late Grapes, but they are not
fit to be exhibited till the new year comes in,
because, till then, we have plenty of far supe-
rior flavored Grapes, and no matter how fine a
bunch of Grapes may look if the 3'are acid or in-
ferior to the palate. The Muscat of Alexandria,
Trebbiano, aud White Lady Downe's are, as I
said before, good for late work, till then there is
nothing to equal the Muscadines or Sweetwaters.

As it is now, some time since I saw this sub-
ject discus.xed, I hope this short paper will be
the means of eliciting a few remarks from some
ofyourcorrespondeuts.— Stephen Castle, Bent
Hill Gardens, Prestvvhich, in Journal of Horti-
culture.

American Potatoes in England.— Singu-
larly enough, we are just now getting from many
of our best cultivators an unanimous expres-
sion of opinion with reference to these Ameri-
can potatoes that is far from being com-
mendatory. Indeed, the opinions thus expressed
fairly enough lead to the opinion that these gen-
tlemen believe the favor of the multitude has
gone on the wrong tack, and that loads of money
has been and is now being spent by potato culti-
vators in the purchase of these new varieties, that
might be better employed in the purchase of some
of the fine new and improved home raised kinds,
that are in every sense first rate From Sawbridge-
worth, from Kent, from Woodstock, and many
other parts,the testimonies have come against the
pretentions of the Early Roses, and Goodrichs,
the Climaxs, and Reds ; the one and the other ac-
knowledge their fairly prolific qualities, but de-
nouncing the attempts to set them up as fit to
satisfy the cultivated tastes of English palates
Herein lies the real point of ultimate value, as
unless any new variety possesses relatively qual-
ities superior to our old established kinds, the
introduction of it can be of no service. T\>o
years' growth of the " Rose '' and the " Red,''
alias •' Flourball," has convinced me that they
do not exceed in the production of quantity
plenty of our own kinds, and the trial last year
of several other of the American kinds amidst a
collection of some hundred sorts of potatoes,
leads to the conclusion also that mj opinion as

to prolificacy is correct. In the matter of earli-
ness we gain nothing whatever, in the matter of
keeping qualities we gain nothing, and in the
matter of table quality we gain nothing, but ac-
tually loose. What, then, do we gain by the in-
troduction of these foreign potatoes ? I am com-
pelled in the interests of horticultural truth to
say, N'othing !

As respects the adaptability of the American
varieties for exhibition, a point of some impor-
tance now with potato connoisseurs, I feel that
they have but little chance of being placed with
first honors, if put into competition with our
best English varieties. The bulk of them are
remarkable for the quality of eyes they possess,
and Climax, for instance, is in this respect a
veritable beast. The only two kinds that I could
at all commend for exhibition are Gleason's
Late, a beautifully marked variety, and for show
purposes worth half a dozen of the others, aud
Prolific, a large, flattish, round white kind, that
will make a useful addition, if the tubers are not
too large. The objectionable taste that leads
judges (heaven save the mark!) to award prizes
to the biggest tubers only, without reference to
other points, is simply disgusting. iSTo one who
possessed any knowledge of what constitutes a
good potato would commit so grave an error.

If I wished to partake of a melon, I should
scarcely be satisfied with the flavor and texture
of a squash ; and, by the same rule, if I desire to
have a dish of good flavored potatoes for my ta-
ble, I must grow kinds that will suit my palate,
and not sorts that yield plenty of tubers, but
none fit to eat. It is easy for some gardeners to
plead that they have so many bushels required
for the house consumption, and that to get thorn
they must grow sorts that produce the most in
bulk. Such reasoning will not do for me. Po-
tatoes are intended to form a portion of the die-
tary of intelligent, sensible beings; and garde-
ners should understand, as a primary considera-
tion, that quality is the foremost consideration
with their employers, and not mere abundance.
Just as a pound of rumpsteak is far more prefer-
able to treble that quantity from off the shin of
beef; so is a dish of truly good potatoes more to
be desired than three dishes of some coarse kind
the texture of which is grainy aud hard, and the
flavor absent. As we value our characters as
intelligent horticulturists, let us hope that, in
grasping too eagerly after the shadow, quantity,
we loose not the substance, quality, flavor, aud
goodness. — The Gardener^s Magazine.

320

TEE GARDEJ^EWS MOJfTHLY.

October,

HORTICULTUML NOTICES.

AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
"VVe give in this number the address in full of
President Wilder, at liichmond, and shall, in
future numbers, revert to many matters of great
interest which occupied a share of the Conven-
tion's time. This address of Mr. Wilder's is
conceded to be one of his best efforts, and it will
be read with profit by all. To us, particularly,
it is welcome as indicating the first great turn in
the tide of erroneous notions of fruit growing,
against which we have battled so long. The
President lays great stress on the necessity for
good culture before any success can be had with
fruit trees. There is little doubt but that the
great enemy of fruit culture is starvation ; and
that there is no greater aid to starvation than
cutting away the surface roots at a period when
every effort is necessary to supply the tree
with nourishment. AYhen a tree is young,
and its small roots are near the stem, close to
which the plough or cultivator does not go, we
do not see the injury ; and the manure which
people give to root and other crops makes the
tree grow, and thus we imagine the system a
good one ; but when the roots grow away from
the stem, and are not by it protected, the injury
by loss of roots is immense. No orchards where
this plan '.has been in operation has continued
productive for a very long time.

It is pleasant to us to notice that Mr. Wilder
admits that we were wrong in our past notions,
and that it is the true philosophy to keep the
feeding roots as near as possible to the surface,
and not by barbarous modes of culture, cut them
away while engaged in their assimilating duties.
AVe feel that our cause is nearly won, and that
ere long we shall not find one but who "always
believed'' that a cool surface, surface roots, and
surface and regular manuring, are the essential
elements of good culture.

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES,
Philadelphia, September 19, 1871.

Dr. Gcnth presented fresh specimens of ie.spe-
deza ftriuta from North Carolina. This was called
.Japan clover, from the fact of its having been
supposed to be an introduction from that country.
There is no evidence that it is of .lapunose ori-
gin ; but the same plant is found in .lapan, where
ft has been loni: known, while it has not been
observed in the South, so far as certainly known,
prior to the rebellion. Now it has taken posses-

sion of hundreds of acres, where it has crowded
out every other species of vegetation. Dr. Genth
spoke of it as forming a dense green carpet un-
der pine forests, as well as enduring the hot sun
under the driest times.

Dr. Leidy presented some specimens of the
mushrooms which had been cooked and eaten
by a Philadelphia family a few days before, and
had resulted in the death of one young lady and
the severe sickness of all the rest. The only
person who did not partake of the mushrooms
was the only one who escaped, showing clearly
the agency of the mu.shroom in the case. The
young lady who died, perceived no symptoms of
sickness till five or six hours after,when she was
suddenly taken ill on the street, and was carried
to a drug store, where she soon after died.

The specimens exhibited by Dr. Leidy were
about four inches high and the cap about three
inches wide. The stems were slender, about
half an inch thick, with a bulbous base, which,
as also the upper part of the cap and the gills
heneat/i, were of a clear papery white. The odor
is repulsive ; and it is a surprise that any one
should use them as the genuine mushrooms.
They usually grow in woods and shady places.
Dr. Leidy supposed it to be the Agaricus vernus,
of which there is a figure in Buillard's Flora of
France. In that country it appears in spring,
from whence its specific name. The French
author refers to its deadly properties,aud remarks
that many persons have paid a heavy penalty
through mistaking it for the true mushroom.
After handling. Dr. Leidy, had by accidently
touching his eyes, caused a slight inflammation
in them.

Mr. Isaac Burk called the attention of the
Academy to the direction of the spiral growth
in the flowers of Sjnranthes cernua and ib'. gra-
cilis. In both these species he exhibited speci-
mens in which some of the spirals were to the
right and some to the left. Mr. Thomas Meehan
remarked that this interesting subject was be-
gining to attract attention in other quarters.
Mr. II. W. Ka venal, of Aiken, Soutlv Carolina,
had recently noticed that in some cucurbitaceous
plants the spiral growth was indifferently to the
right or to the left in the same plant.

Mr. Thomas Meehan exhibited a young spike
(cob) of corn, sent to him from liouisville, Ky.,
represented as having been found in the interior
of another of the usual character. lie remarked
that it was not unusual for this phenomenon to
occur Pears have been known to develope in-
side of other pears, and it was still more com-
mon for a rose to develoiie from the centre of
another rose ; but the chief interest in this case
was that the long silky pistils had wound or
been wound round the central axis as regularly
as thread round a spool. Sprouting in such an
abnormal and unfavorable position inside of
another cob, we should expect to see this a
tangled mass, lie failed to understand the pecu-
liar law of development in this case.

DEVOTED TO

Horticulture, Arhoriculture, Botany and Rural Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAN.

Old ^er>e.^, Vol XITI. JVOVEMBEB, 187 J. Neio Series, Vol. J V. No. 11,

HINTS FOR NOVEMBER.

FLOWER GAEDEX AND PLEASURE |
GROUND. I

It is now so well understood that we may j
have an immense addition to our list of hardy
evergreens if we will only shelter them, that we
expect all those who love these varied winter fa-
vorites will take measures this season to plant
shelter belts in exposed places, or else to set the
common hardy trees like Norway and Hemlock
Spruce, and Scotch, Austrian and "White Pines
thickly about, so that the rarer ones can be put
between them.

Almost all young trees are tenderer than they
are when older. It is therefore no test of the
hardiness of some rare thing, that a small plant
is killed in the winter. Silver Firs almost al-
ways gets killed back for a few years in this sec-
tion, unless protected, but yet gain a little in
strength. After they are ten years old they will
endure our hardest weather. So Spanish Chest-
nuts, English Walnuts, and many others, will
die back considerably, until they get strength.
Therefore, protect any valued young plant, if
possible, no matter how hardy its reputation may
be.

Every one who has dug up a potato knows that
when the tuber has finished its growth, all be-
tween it and the parent stalk dies. If the potato
were to remain undisturbed till spring, frost and
other things of course uninjuring it, it would
push up from the place where it stood, and a new
set of potatoes push out, and the space between
them and the original, get wider every year. So
year after year there would be this continual pro-
gression,— a wandering away from the first cen-
tre, until in time the living plant might be a mile
away from the original spot which gave it birth.

Something of this kind goes on in all herbaceous
plants,— a part progresses, and a part dies every
year. It is for the want of this knowledge that so
many friends lose these plants. Though all her-
baceous plants move in some such manner, they
do not all go directly under giound, but make
bunchy stocks just above ground. In their na-
tive places of growth they manage to get covered
with decaying leaves from the woods or shifting
sands on the plains, but in cultivation nothing
of this kind can be naturally accomplished, and
unless art comes to aid the plant they soon die
away. An Auricula, a Primrose, or a Carnation
is a good illustration of this. In the two
former a new crown is formed ou the top of the
old one, and as the lower parts in time die away,
unless new earth is drawn up, success with such
tlowers will not be great. The best plan is to
take up and replant every few years, or cover the
running parts- above ground with earth, so that
they may have a chance to get new roots from
the advancing stocks. This is noticed here at
this season to show that earth is the natural
covering for herbaceous plants, and therefore one
of the surest ways of preserving them safe through
winter is to draw earth over them. In the spring
they can be unearthed and then divided and
set a trifle deeper than before, which is all they
want. We are often asked how to preserve Car-
nations, Chrysanthemums, Pansies, Phloxes,
Hollyhocks and so forth, safe till spring. The
principles here laid down will explain the prac-
tice.

Pampas Grass, Tritoma uvarias and other
half hardy things do much better when left out
all winter and protected. The best protection
is a dry-goods box filled with leaves. Many

sn

THE GABDEJVER'S MOjXTHL^

JSFovemher,

plants might be saved in this way, and the in- ;
creased beauty of the plants would pay well for i
the trouble. These ugly boxes may be objec- i
tionable, but probably the time may come when '
it will be thought worth while to have neat cases
made expressly for them.

As soon as the ground gets caked with the first
real frost, herbaceous plants should be protected.
Though hardy, they will repay this extra care, —
mostly natives of woods or .grassy places in their
native state, they expect a covering of leaves or
dry grass. We find dry leaves the best material
for the purpose, a few inches is a sulficient depth,
—a little soil being thrown on to prevent the
leaves blowing away. Where such material is
not at hand, the common garden soil may be
drawn over them, as before recommended in
these pages.

The planting of trees will still continue to en-
gage our attention at every favorable opportu-
nity. Many prefer at this season to remove
trees in the winter by the " frozen ball " system.
Ibei'e is nothing gained by this practice. To
those unacquainted with this mode of planting
we may as well describe it. Just before frost is
expected, a trench is dug around a tree a few
feet from its base, leaving the tice so, that with
a rope at the top, it can be easily drawn over.
A hole is then dug for it in the situation desired
When the "ball" has become frozen through
around the tree, it is removed to the prepared
hole ; and, when a thaw comes, the soil is filled
in around it. AVe have said there is nothing
gained by it, and there are many disadvantages.
If the tree has been removed a '"time or two ''
before, as most nursery trees have, it will have
an abundance of fibres near the stem, and can
be successfully removed Avithout much regard to
the "bail of earth,'' either in fall or spring. If
it has never been removed before, tliat is a tree
growing naturally, it Avill have no fibres at its
base, and so no "ball of earth" can preserve
them ; so that a tree which can be moved suc-
cessfully on this freezing system, can be as suc-
cessfully done without it. The disadvantages oj-
it are that it exposes the injured roots lor a long
time to the injurious action of the frost and the
elements, besides ihe fretjuency of the operation
Ijeiug improperly done ])y several attempts being
made at its completion. AVe have given the
system a fair trial, and have done with it. Tlie
liiain object should be to preserve all the roots
possible with ll)e tree, keep them moi!?t and jnc-
serve from injury, then go ahead and don't wait
lor frost.

FRUIT GARDEN.

Passing a fruit stand in Philadelphia this 6th
day of October 1871, we asked the price of some
tolerable fair Duchesse d'Angouleme Pears, and
were told that for twenty-five cents we might
take one of the coveted fruit away. As* this
would probably make S20 per bushel, we could
not but reflect on the present phase of fruit cul-
ture, and what it ought to be, if it was properly
understood. There have not been less than
200,000 dwarf pear trees, with at least as many
standards set out on the average for each year
during the past thirty years,— say iiKidve, millions
of pear trees, and yet to get a decent Duchess
pear in one of our principal cities in October, we
have to pay 25 cents. iWe know what some hor-
ticultural writers would say, — we know what
some horticultural editors have done. They
have started the cry that pears are a failure;
that they will not do well in the climate of the
United States. AVhat an absurdity ! There is
scarcely an old city in the Union which cannot
show its old pear trees annually loaded with its
fruits. Throughout the whole of Pennsylvania
especially,trees may be here and there seen which
annually bear until the branches become quite
recurved, like a weeping willow with th"^ load of
fruit. Kine-tenths of the tw^elve millions are
probably dead; but it was not the climate which
killed them. It was barbarous modes of culture,
and we expect when our instructions are care-
fully followed for their culture, pear growing will
be found one of the most remunerative of crops.
Remember the rule — keep the roots near the
surface, and annually top dress. In choosing
pear trees take those which have a light sappy
looking bark. Bark bound things will stand a
year without moving. If they are in this condi-
tion any age will do well from a one or two to a
ten year old tree, — but generally a two or three
year old vvill do best. Shorten half the wood at
transplanting, and be sure to have the earth
hammered tightly in. The heel and toe business
makes but poor work, a heavy hammer is best.

In choosing Dwarf Pears, select those that
have been buddeil close to the ground, as when
they arc rejilantcd the stocks should be buried an
inch below the pear scion, which prevents the
attacks of the quince borer. If a long stem has
to be buried, the usual consequences of deep
planting result, and do as much injui'y as the
(juince borer. Also in choosing, select, if jiossi-
ble, plar.ts that have been raised from cuttings.

187L

TEE GAREEJS'ER'S MOJ\''TELY

S23

for layered stocks have almost always a long
deep tap-looking root, on which dwarf pears do
not do well. If we have to use such dwarf pear
trees, better shorten some of this long trunk
root before planting. Xever plant what appears
to bethe stem of a tree far beneath the surface,
under any circumstances, for disease will be
most probably an ultimate consequence.

Apples, Quinces, and Plums should be ex-
amined before frost sets in, and if an}' borers
have eflected a lodgment — a jack-knife and a
strong piece of wire are all the implements ne-
cessary ; a man will go over several hundred
trees a day. It is a cheap way of preserving
trees. If many of the remedies proposed by cor
respondents in our paper have been tried and
found effectual, such as tobaccostems, etc., there
will be few borers to deal with in the examina-
tion, but the best plan is to put a piece of paper
round the stems, tie, and then gas-tar it. This
serves for two 3'ears, and not onXy keeps out the
insects, but is a safeguard against mice, which
are so apt to girdle trees under the snow^ in se-
vere weather.

In cultivating Raspberries on a large scale.

they will be liable to rot. "Where the plant has
evidently finished its growth for the season,
measures should be taken to preserve it through
the winter. For family use, it is probably as
well to let it stay where it is growing, covering
the soil with leaves, litter or manure, to keep
out the frost, so that it can be taken up as
wanted. Where large quantities are frequently
required, it is better to take it up and put it in a
smaller compass, still protecting it in any way
that may be readily accessible. It always keeps
best in the natural soil, where it is cool and moist
and free from frost, and whatever mode of pro-
tection is resorted to, these facts should be kept
in view. Beets, turnips, and other root crops,
will also require protection. They are best di-
vested of their foliage and packed in layers of
sand in a cool cellar. Parsnips are best left in
the soil as long as possible. If any are wanted
for late spring use, they may be left out to freeze
in the soil, and will be much improved thereby.
Cabbage is preserved in a variety of ways. If a
few dozen only, they may be hung up by the
roots in a cool cellar, or buried in the soil, heads
downward, to keep out the rain, or laid on their

they do best in hills, as the cultivator keeps them sides as thickly as they can be placed, nearly

from crowding each other so much. For garden
culture the}^ are better in rows, the suckers to be
kept hoed out occasionally as they grow ; enough
only being left that will be required for fruiting
next year. AVhere canes are required for new
plantations, of course a portion of the crop must
be sacrificed to the suckers.

Strawberries arc much better when protected
through the winter, no matter how "hardy"
they may be. Very coarse strawy manure is the
best material, \4|Iiich can be raked off in early
spring. A few inches is sufficient, just enough
to keep the sun off when frozen, which all our

covered with soil, and then completely covered
with corn stalks, litter, or any protecting mate-
rial. The main object in protecting all these
kinds of vegetables is to prevent their growth by
keeping them as cool as possible, and to prevent
shrivelling by keeping them moist. Cabbage
plants, lettuce, and spinach sown last Septem-
ber, will require a slight protection. This is
usually done by scattering straw loosely over.
The intention is principally to check the fre-
quent thawings, which draw the plants out of
the ground.
In making new vegetable gardens, a south-

readers know by this time is the chief cause of east aspect should be chosen, as far as practica

loss bv frost.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

It is little use to attempt to grow vegetables
well, unless the soil is well treated. They maybe
and are grown on thin soils, not oidy at a great
expense for manure, and at a great risk of dying
out in a dry season, and of having the roots rot-
ted out in a wet one. In those parts where the
frost has not yet been severe enough to injure

ble. Earliness in the crops is a very great de-
sideratum, and such an aspect favors this point
materially. Too great a slope is objectionable,
as mducing to great a run of Avater in heavy
rains. The plots for the crops should be laid off
in squares or parallelograms, for convenience in
digging, and the edges of the walks set with box
edging. If water can be introduced, it is a great
convenience.

Sometimes broccoli does not head before there
is danger of frosts, especially if growing vigo-
rously. If taken up with small balls of earth.

the celery crop,it may have another earthing up

Care must be exercised in the operation not to and set in a damp c-Uar, they will still perfect

let the earth get into the hearts of the plants, or the u.sclves.

32Jf

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJVTHLy,

JVovember,

Asparagus beds, after the tops have been
cleared off, are better covered with litter or sta-
ble manure. The plants shoot easier for it next
season.

When the ground becomes frozen, or no other
work offers, preparation can alwa3's be made for
advancing prospective work when it arrives.
Bean-poles may be made ; and if the ends are
charred, and then dipped in coal tar, the com-
monest material Avill be rendered nearly equal to
the best cedar.

HOT AND GREENHOUSE.

Plants stored away for the winter in cold pits,
require more care for the first month or so than
at any other time through the winter season.
Many of them have unripened shoots, or shed
raanj"^ of their leaves, and unless these be cut off
and removed, gangrene and decay commit dis-
tressing havcc. Air should be given at every op-
portunil}^, and nothing omitted that will, in any
way, tend to harden the plants, and send vegeta-
tion to rest. No more water should be given than
just sufficient to prevent withering,and the temper-
ature should kept asnear 40' as possible, and every
chance taken to render the air about the plants
dry. When frost actually does come, no further
care than protection from its embraces will then
be required. Plants so hardened, may stay cov-
ered up for weeks, without any light or air, and
secure from the slightest injury. Mice consti-
tute the most troublesome enemy in a pit closed
for any length of time ; but we have, as yet,
found nothing better than the recommendation
given in back volumes, namely, to take peas and
soak them twenty-four hours in water, then roll
in arsenic and sow in a pot, as if in the regular
way of seed-sowing. A few pots so prepared?
should be placed in the pit before permanently
closing up. The mice usually make for these
pots at their first entrance to the pits. If placed
0)1 the soil, they seem to guess your secret, and
will not "bite."

Plants in cellars need much the same care as
those in pits. Avoid heat and dampness ; fre-
quently however, plants suffer in cellars through
getting too dry. They should be looked over, at
any rale, once a month, and a little water given,
if likely to become entirely dry.

Plants in windows and rooms usually suffer
from excessive waterings, — very dry air about

them,— too great a heat, or too much shade. As
much as possible, room plants should be selected
' for their indifference to these requirements. Suc-
culents, such as Cactuses, Mesembryauthemums,
Rocheas, Crassulas, Aloes, &c , care not how
dry the room, but they demand all the sunlight
possible. Camellias, Chinese Primroses, Aza-
leas, Dicentra spectabilis. Polyanthuses, Violets,
Hyacinths, &c., do not mind a little shade; but
they abhor a high temperature. Others again,
while disliking heat, want light ; of these, are
Calceolarias, Cinerarias, Geraniums, Pelargoni-
ums, Pansies, Daisies, Tree Carnations, perpet-
ual blooming Pinks, Roses and the like. ' Leaf
plants,' for the most part, like a close, moist at-
mosphere, and a moderate degree of heat to do
well. For these, glass partitions and closely
glazed cases are usually employed. A great er-
ror in the growth of plants in these cases, is to
suppose they require no air. The closeness is to
secure a moist atmosphere, not to exclude the
air. Whenever, thei'efore, the temperature is
low, and little evaporation going on, the oppor-
tunity should be seized to air the cases; a few mo-
ments are sufficient. A very pretty plant arrange-
ment made in parlors that have bay windows ;
the whole window may be closed off from the
main part of the room by a sash, and filled with
plants. Some on the lloor, — some on shelves,
and some pendant from the roqf. A common oil
lamp will be quite sufiicient, with the usual win-
dow shutters, to keep out frost during the night
or extra severe weather, while the regular day
temperature of the room will suffice for that time.
When the lamp is burning, provision should be
made for the admission of fresh air from the
room at the bottom of the case, and for the exit
of consumed air at the top of the case. This is
best accomplished by a tube to and from the
lamp.

It must, however, be remarked that the fumes
of burning gas is highly injurious to vegetation,
and any adaptation of heating by it will fail, un-
less provision be made to lead the fumes away.
With this precaution, gas-lights in towns and
where it can be had cheaply, would be very use-
ful in licating small parlor plant cabinets.

To those who have larger plant cabinets or
small conservatories, connections with heaters
or hot water from kitchen ranges will suggest
themselves. This is often done. The great er-
ror we have often noticed is, that the heat is led
to the back only, when it should be continued

1871.

TEE GARDEJfER'S MOJ^TRLY.

right to the front or coldest part of the house.

When heaters are eruployed, the oxygen of the
air is usually defective, and, besides, the air is
very dry and uugeuial to healthy vegetation.
Evaporatin.j pans around the mouth of the air
flues should be used in such cases,— syringing
done at frequent intervals, and pure fresh air
given whenever a warm out-door spell furnishes
the opportunit}'.

The most critical season to these plants is fast
approaching. A very common error, especially
in houses heated by smoke flues, is, to keep the
temperature too high. Unless the house be
heated by hot water, a temperature of 55^ will do
perfectly well. The absorbed property of heated
bricks, in flues, is so great, that the excessive
waterings necessary to replace the moisture they
absorb is more injurious to the plants than a
moderately low temperature. In a house heated
by hot water, a temperature of 05^ may be main-
tained with advantage. The house will be very

gay with Ilabrothamnus, Oestrums, Begonias,
Pentas, Plumbagoes, and so on, and the syringe
must be kept in daily requisition. It is highly of
advantage to put a little sulphur, lime water, or
soft soap into the syringing water occasionally,
as the red spider, mealy bug, or scale, respec-
tively, may make their appearance ; this, with
a vigorous use of one's eyes and fingers at times
will keep them pretty well in check. Orchidei3e,
those of them which bloom on finishing their
growths, will begin to add considerably to the
attractions of the hot-house. As any come into
flovver, they should have less water at each time,
but be watered more frequently than they have
been accustomed to: a very slight "dewing"
with the syringe is all that is required. Heavy
waterings and high temperature, together, de-
stroy more orchids than many would dream of.
Still atmospheric moisture must be retained for
them in any case.

COMMUNICATIONS

RECOLLECTIOXS OF SOUTH AUSTRA-
LIA, OCEANICA.

BY MR. W. T. HARDING, NONANTUM HILL NUR-
SERY, BRIGHTON, MASS.

" Loud roar'd the dreadful thunder.
The rain a deluge showers,
The skies were rent asunder
By lightniug's vivid powers."

As the thirsty earth, so long dry and parched,
was receiving its annual supply, for the rainy
season had fairly set in, and all nature was
freely imbibing and drinking to such a degree as
to be literally "half seas over," for "the waters
of the flood were upon the earth," and the river
Torrens was madly rushing down to Spencer's
Gulf to co-mingle with the mighty deep ; many
a weary mile had we traveled along the bed of
the dried up river, and many a sweet flower,
"so beautiful and fair," had we culled while
passing through where now was a roaring, surg-
ing stream, coursing along with a fearful velo-
cit}', and carying with it reck and (Ze6r/s of every
kind. Unfortunately, your correspondent was
on the wrong side of the s'ream, as was often
the case with him, and could see no i)ossible
means of getting across, for in those days, away

from the settlements, bridges were few and far
between.

The forest scenery was wild in the extreme,
and more rugged and broken was the earth's
surface than any we had previously passed over.
Cheerless and uncomfortable indeed was our
condition, as weary and wet we sought shelter
and rest within the hollow of a huge old gum
tree, Eucalyptus resinifera, which measured
sixteen feet across, from side to side, and up-
wards of sixty feet high within The shades of
night were gathering gloomily around us as we
entered our darkened chamber, glad to escape
from the pitiless storm that raged so violently
without. Such a day and such a night, I shal.
ever remember until life's last lingering hour.

Thoroughly wet to the skin, as all were,
and overcome with fatigue, we huddled closelv
together, and were soon wandering in dreams

"We could not have slept long ere I was
awakened by a fearful howl, which I fancied
came from some part of the tree, and not far
from where we had stretched ourselves to sleep,
I felt somewhat startled for the moment, and
between sleeping and waking, tried to persuade
myself that it was only "the base fabric of

326

THE GARDEJYER'S MOXTHLl

JYov ember,

vision," or some imaginary echoes of dreamland,
that had disturbed my slumbers ; so tucking in
my wet rug closer, endeavored to sleep again,
but could not. The storm had suddenly abated,
and as the moou peered through the scudding
clouds like " a glimmering light in the east,''
" made darkness visible. " Now fully awakened,
so wet and chilly, with my extremities benumbed
with cold, I tried to endure it as philosophically
as possible until morning, while my companions
seemed happily oblivious to all "the ills that
flesh is heir to," and soundly slept on. The
ight seemed to increase each, moment as the
moon's rays streamed in through the opening in
the side of the tree, when I looked around and
fancied I saw a most fearful looking object, like
a human skeleton sitting before me, and with
.such fierce and sparkling eyes, set in a savage
and wolf-like visage, fixed upon me. Cold
chills crept over me as I looked at the " grave-
yard ghoul," and thought some strange hallu-
cination posssesed me ; or was I demented, or
was it some optical delusion, or what could it
be or mean ? for with all my short comings, and
with my sins many times multiplied, what had
I done to be viz-a-viz with such a ghastly spectre,
and in " such a questionable shape,'' or why
haunt a poor gardener like me ? I changed ni}'
position to get a better sight of the object and
satisfy myself as to whether it was "a spirit of
health or goblin damned," vvhen the wolf-like
head moved from the skeleton shoulders, and
showing its teeth, quick as a lightning flash darted
by. Heavens defend us ! I exdaimod, what can
it mean ? as I sprang to my feet, and stumbling
over my sleeping companions awoke tliem, as I
fled from the spot. Terror stricken as they were
on awaking so abruptly from their quiet slum-
bers, to find themselves in so strange a place,
and in such close companionship with a human
skeleton, you may imagine how hastily they
tumbled out '' neck and crop" from the charnel
house they had lodged in. I do not know whether
my hair stood erect or not ; but of this I am
certain, that I felt a strange prickly sensation
about the roots of my capillary covering as I sat
down on the wet soil and breathed more freely
again.

Dull, heaf y, opaque looking clouTls were rolling
rapidly above and gave indications of an ap-
proaching storm, as the wind swejit with hurri-
cane gusts through the tree to])S, which now and
again broke down with a fearful crash, and dis-
turbed the noisy parrots and screaming cocka-

toos, as with a yell, some frightened animal
fled through the forest with that unerring
instinct its creator had endowed it with, to
the more open glades. Howl answered howl,
which seemed to echo and re-echo again on all
sides, as "the darkness covered the face of the
earth," and the rain-drops began to patter
against the trees. Flash after flash, and peal
after peal reverberated in rapid succession as the
" storm fiend" seem to revel in his carnival of
destruction. O never to be forgotten night, when
"deserted by the waning moon, and skies pro-
claim night's cheerless noon." The question
seemed to apply to me so forcibly, ' ' what art
thou man, that thou art mindful of Him ?'* In
terrible suspense the night was passed alone, ex-
posed to all the fury of the storm, and not know-
ing where our companions were, but fearing the
worst, anxiously looked for the morrow. The
storm seemed to have spent its fury as daylight
appeared, when our ears were gladdened with
the welcome sounds of C-o-o-o o e-e-e-e, (an ab-
original call, which the whites imitated when
hailing one another in the distance,) which was
answered again and again, as our little band
gathered, happy to meet again. "Watchman,
what of the night ?' was the enquiry of each
other,

As hand s;r!v-]iecl hand in friendship firm and true,
And told of liow lie smelled the brimstone liurning

bluo.
When thronarh the tree the ghastly pohlin flew.
And yelled, I want you all, both him and you.
Each Christian, Heathen. Turk and Jew.

Two of the party, with a serious gravity,
solemnly declared they had both seen and heard
the ghost several times during the night after
they left the tree, and while the storm was rag-
ing in its wildest fury, the spectre of death had
appeared, and beckoning with its skeleton arms,
bid them to come.

l^yron, somewhere, says "Fiction is strange,
but truth is more strange,'' and incredulous as
the story may seem to the strong-minded un-
believers in ghost or spectral apparitions, and I
was one of them, I will here acknowledge that
the experience I had so recently had, almost
committed me to a belief in "Spiritualism."
IIow could I doubt what I had so plainly seen
and heard, and more especially so when corrobo-
rated by others, who saw the same supernatural
visitor take of its head, when first seen, and as
they rushed from its presence, roll its skull after
them ? Why, it was really wicked to doubt it.
Ghost, spirit, hob-goblin, or whatever it might

1671.

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^'THLY,

327

be, I was completely non-plused with what I
believed I had seen. Such a phantom, I have
since thought, would make a good stock ghost
or spectre for a spiritualists convention, and
would have been a match for " the evil one," as
pictured in the old editions of •' Bunyau's Pil-
grim's Progress.''

There are those "who love darkness rather
than light," and spirits, like bats and owls,
naturally hide between sun-rise and sun-set.
Tombstones and old sepulchral monuments were
capital places for them to hide in during the
daytime, we thought in our younger days.

The sun's beams were glistening through the
dripping trees and gave light and Avarmth again
to the world, so we proposed to settle the ghost
question at once, by i-eturning to the weird old
gum tree, we so suddenly and summarily made
our exit from, and with day in our favor, see for
ourselves, and ascertain who or what his ghost-
ship was. On nearing the spacious opening in
the tree, at the entrance lay a veritable human
skull we had stumbled over when we rushed out,
and further in at the oposite side, the sad and
sickening sight of "a skeleton form was mould-
ering there," in a sitting posture. Some poor
creature had perished there years ago, unvvept
for, unloved, and alone. The bony structure re-
mained much as the spirit had left it, (with the
exception of the head and feet,) but was com-
pletely anatomised by the ants, which literally
swarm in Australia.

Xear by, lay an old pocket knife, closed, with
the trade mark of a hammer, between two stars,
over the word Sheffield, stamped in the blade,
and a small pocket bible, which crumbled into
dust when touched, and had no doubt been a
comfort to him while resting in "the valley,"
ere he entered "the shadow of death." lu a
niche or recess, behind where the poor creature
slept his last sleep, which time and decay had
worn out in the tree, was the lair nr nest of a
dinge or native dog, in which snugly lay two fat
little pups, which the mother was nursing when
we intruded upon her, and as she crouched down
with her head upon a level with, or rather
where the human head had been, made up the
"goblin grim " that had caused us such unne-
cessary alarm. The morning's meal was soon
made, as hunger had sharpened our appetites,
which we appeased with some grilled parrots,
paroquets, cockatoos, and lovebirds, "And was
not that a dainty dish to set before a King ? ''
Yes, I will answer (or you, and only lit for a

Kingly stomach, for I do not believe that any
subject of royalty ever made a meal of any flesh
more extremely better than cockatoo meat. And
now, Mr. Editor, I venture to give you one word
of "advice gratis." If you are ever invited to
partake of any, donn. Shortly after we started
in search of a ford, or some means of crossing the
river, and found ourselves surrounded by acres,
or miles more correctly speaking, of those abom-
inable nuisances, the giant nettles, Urtica gigas,
U. ferox, the latter a terrible pest, especially in
New Zealand, and growing as dense as a cane
brake ; from thirty to forty feet high. With the
nettles, and nearly as high, grew a pretty star
work, bearing white flowers and silvery leaves.
Aster gyrophila. Unyielding and unbending
thickets of olive bushes, Olea paniculata, with
numerous varieties of Isopogon and Adman-
thos caniata, hedgehog bushes, or Hakea echina-
ta.and 11. acanthophyllum,combined with Bank-
sia serrata, to dispute our passage through, and
sorely tortured us with their thorns and spines.
Such a phlebotomisingandbotanisingexpedition,
I should think seldom fell to the lot of any poor
bewildered travelers before, as lacerated and torn
we endeavored to find a way out. The thorn and
nettle maze, however, terminated very abruptly,
with a deep sand barren, which showed the
course of the stream in its sinuous windings for
some distance beyond. After walking several
hours wu entered the woods again, nearer to
where the river poured out through a deep rocky
gorge, the perpendicular sides of which were
covered with the broom-like Jar-ksonia scopa.ria,
and several kinds of pretty Gompholobium, of
which G. marginatum and G. venustum were
most abundant. Large clusters of the stagshorn
fern, Platycerium alcicorne, seemed to luxuriate
everywhere ; upon the rock sides, on the trees,
and the soil, and seemed able to live everywhere.
Some fine and handsome Stenocarpus Cunning-
hamii, a beautiful foliaged evergreen, and in all
respects a remarkable and singular tree ; with a
few specimens of S. saliqua, large patches of
Swainsonia galagrcfolia, S Grayana. and the
pretty Tetratheca verticillata, and Trichinuin
alopecuroideum, a very curious spotted flower,
which appears to be covered with very line hairs,
or floss silk. Fringe myrtles, or Verticordias,
Zanthosia rotundifolia and Z. hirsuta, Mirabelia
speciosa, and M. Baxterii, grew as underbrush,
: beneath the more stately forest trees Flindcr-
; aia Austral s, or Australian Mahogany tree, was
I exceedingly line in proportion, and of good ap-

S0S

TRE GARDEJV-Eirs MOJ^TMLl

JS^ovcDiber,

pearauce as an ornamental tree ; their aveuage
girth was about thirty feet, and in height two
hundred feet.

Calatrlce cuprcssiformis, a handsome conifer,
was here and there scattered about. I consider
it one of the most beautiful evergreen trees, with
which the country is so well supplied. Serious
as our case appeared but a short Lime before,
we were fortunate in discovering a bridge, in the
form of a mighty old gum tree, that lay stretched
across the chasm, llotten and decaying as it
was, with the bark falling off in large pieces, we
ventured one at a time, to cross over, and reach
the other side, and " then praised the bridge that
carried us safely over," and thought of the
promise made. " He shall deliver thee in six
troubles, yea in seven, there shall no evil touch
thee." Our course was now made as direct as
possible towards Adelaide City, the capital of
South Australia. The heavy rains had made
traveling disagreeable and fatiguing, and much
of the wa3' for some distance was submerged,
and seemed more adapted for Saurians, or some
such amphibious creatures to wallow in, than
the poor half drowned bipeds, who floundered
through it as best they could.

The nights were cold, and as we sat shivering
in the fork of a tree, or stretched our weary
limbs on some fallen trunk trying to sleep, or
more frequently our "lodgings were on the cold
ground," the heavenly arch was thickly stud-
ded with its celestial gems, radiant and brightly
shone the constellations that form the ''South-
ern Cross," and the f\ice of "the sweet silver
light bonny moon " seemed to look at us with
the same old familiar features I remembered
when a child, and ])itied the poor man in it
Immutable old friend, there seemed to have been
no change with thee, but how different was the
case with me, since I Hrst gazed at thy shining
countenance ?

Instinctively memory seemed to take me back
to the 'valley and the village church, ♦' and
"the old house at home," so near to the church-
yard, where the minds eye looking beneath the
old Yew trees could see the long row of graves
where my ancestors fjuietly slumbered for seve-
ral centuries, and thought there could be no possi-
bility of adding another little mound to the num-
ber, with tiie writer beneath, sick :is I was, it
seemed so unlik(>]y then. As " many a cloudy
morning, of't brings a siiining day," and cheers
us with the change, such was the ctTect it had
upon us as the clouds unveiled the sun, and wc

caught a glimpse of Mount Lofty looming in the
distance, and but a iew miles from Adelaide,
where friends were anxiously awaiting our re-
turn. We observed Acacia cultriformis, Del-
wynia ericaefolia, and D. floribunda, two elegant
little shrubs, with Clerodendron costatum, Pan-
danus paniculata, Dracaena nutans, Crinum an-
gustifolia, C. Australasicum, Beckea camphora-
ta, Corypha Australis, with the beautiful ffila-
carpas cy nanus in the back ground, produce the
most charming effect in a mixed group, I ever
saw promiscuously growing in a state of nature
before. You, for one, would have admired the
sight, familiar as you are with the subjects here-
in named. And what a pleasant meeting it
would have been for all the good readers of the
Monthly to have met their kind Editor there, on
the other side of the globe, where " Flora " has
so lavishly displayed her charms. Pleasant
looking homesteads, good farms, orchards, well
tilled with fruit trees, and gardens ablaze with
flowers, gave indications that we were nearing
the end of our journey •, and as we hastened
onwards, arrived in time to see the novel sight of
a rowing match take place, and " the annual re-
gatta," sail along Hindley Street, in the City of
Adelaide, South Australia, where for the present
I must leave you.

HEATER FOR PLANT CASE.

BY "TEXIAN," LAVACA, TEXAS.

Below I send you an outline drawing of a hea-
ter for a plant case, which may prove useful to
amateurs for the propagation or protection of
plants. Your lady readers, especially, will like
it as a means of experiment or recreation. Its
cleanliness, easy management, and economy are
its recommendations. The idea was first sug-
gested by an invalid in an old number of the
Albany Cultivator. But he used alcohol, which
is too high priced for economy, and I believe my
double boiler to be a great improvement. Pe-
troleum lamp oil makes a powerful heater. I
found a large sized burner attached to a plant
case two and a half feet square, to heat the sand
100'' Fahr. with a moderate flame, outside tem-
perature was 50° Fahr. ; had the wick been turned
up higher, the heat would have been consider-
ably increased. The lamp requires no attention
for nours, when once the flame is properly regu-
lated.

The boilers are set in the middle of the frame,
and should be made of copper. The reservoir

1871.

THE GARDEA'ER'S MOJ\'THLY

S29

should be made of that metal or zinc, as tin is
soon rusted iuto holes. The bottom of the res-
ervoir must be at least eighteen inches from the
ground or floor, to allow room for the lamp and
boilers beneath. The smoke flue should be per-
fectly tight, as the gases from the lamp are very
injurious to plants. If used in the open air, it
is necessary to protect the smoke flue and lamp
.from winds, else the flame will bo blown out.

A is the lamp, made of tin or copper ; 1 is the
tube, 2 the thumb screw for regulating the wick,
3 a perforated ventilator, and 4 a deflector ; all
of these are purchased with a lamp burner, and
with very little change can be attached to the
heating lamp made of tin or copper.

.B is a cylindrical enclosure around the flame,
to prevent loss of heat. At 7 and 7 it can be at-
tached to or disconnected /rom the boilers by

k'/iA/il^

means of pins or rivets like a lantern bottom. 5
is an opening through which the lamp can be
lighted or inspected at pleasure, and 6 is a flat
button covering the same.

A and l^ are fastened permanently togetlier
by means of three narrow side braces, 11 and 11.
Between A and £ is a flat circular piece of sheet
raetaL, (8 and 8) so closely fitting to the tube 1

that the flame cannot reach the lamp ; above
and below it, between A and B^ is an open
space, thus the lamp is kept cool, no matter how
hot the flame. So many accidents have occurred
from the use of coal oil, that I believe these pre-
cautions necessary.

C C C is a cylindrical boiler (i inches in diam-
eter, and 7} inches high ; il is soldered water

3S0

THE aARBEJsfEKS MOJ^THLY, JVovemher,

tight to the bottom of the reservoir JE, near the i
point a. The bottom of this boiler is not flat, |
but is shaped like an inverted funnel ; this in-
clined surfiice is soldered to the outer ^vall, a <
half inch above the point 7, and reaches up to- I
wards 10, so as to form a part of the smoke flue ;
within it and a half inch distant, is |

D, another boiler, shaped like a frustum of a
cone, it is full 4 inches in diauicter at the base,
and b\ inches high ; at the top, a small cover is
soldered on which hermetically seals it ; at c c
and d d are half inch tubes connecting it with
the outer boiler C (it is more convenient to first
solder d d, and afterwards c c). Between C and
D is a circular space (9 and 9) which forms a
part of the smoke flue.

E and E is the main reservoir of water, and
is as wide and long as the plant case, and rests
on the lower frame work of the same. It is
lined with sheet* metal, which is tacked to the
sides of the plant case some 6 or 8 inches above
the bottom. It should be supplied with water
by means of a copper or zinc pipe, with an el-
bow reaching to the outside ; a faucet in the bot-
tom of boiler Cis useful to draw off the water.
By adding a kettle of hot water from the stove,
time can be saved in heating.

-Fis the sand box or "bench ;" the bottom of
this should be of tongued and grooved boards,, to
prevent the sand from falling through and filling
up the tubes and boilers. It can be supported
by a rib of metal . strongly soldered 2h inches
from the bottom of E, or by sheet metal sup-
ports, 2^ inches long, made fast by solder.

The flame strikes against the bottom of the
boiler D, and spreading to every side, the heated
air and smoke is carried off by the flue 9 ; in its
ascent, it comes in contact with the inclined
sides of the outer boiler C, and heats it also.
The heated water in D, as it rises, is carried off
by the tubes d d, and its place is supplied by
pressure of heavier (colder) water through the
tubes c c.

The heated water in C is carried off by the
four long tubes e e, to the remote corners of the
reservoir E, and its place is supplied by colder
water descending in the circular space b h h b.

I should have explained that the circular
space h b h b is formed by constructing loose
cylinders, reaching from the top of E to the bot-
tom of C, (8i inches) and ^ inch smaller than
the outer boiler, with punched or notched open-
ings at the base, and having the lour tubes c e
soldered into it near the top. If the water in

the reservoir could always be at the same height,
these tubes should be very near the top ; but as
this is impracticable, they had better be near "low
water mark."

THE ENGLISH SPARROWS.

BY E. M., nARRISBTTRG, O.

I have been told lately, that in Brooklyn, X.
Y., several years ago, that the park and street
trees were so badly infested with worms, as al-
most to entirely defoliate the trees and render
them disgusting objects, instead of objects of
beauty and utility ; and that the citizens sent to
England and imported a quantity of the English
Sparrows, and naturalized them in their grounds
and along their streets, and that they have mul-
tiplied rapidly, and entirely rid their grounds of
of those disgusting pests. As I believe the Edi-
tor is a countryman of these birds, will you
please to tell me and others interested, what
you know of them, their habits, management,
and how to best provide for them ? whether they
are in any way troublesome or not, and the good
they would be likely to accomplish in orchards
and ornamental grounds where insects abound?
The time has come that we must avail ourselves
of every available object for our relief from in-
sects.

[It is true that the Parks in Brooklyn, and
some in New York, have been cleared of insects,
and this is true in a great degree of some of the
Parks in Philadelphia, although here many of
the few birds at first imported, wandered off into
the country, and therefore the few left have not
been numerous enough to do much. There is
not the slightest doubt but that the English
Sparrow is the most powerful antagonist these
insects have yet met with. That is insects of
the caterpillar kind. As for the curculio and
those insects which chiefly work at night, the
English Sparrow will not help you one bit
against them. They will simply give you green
trees, where you want nice summer shade— very
nice matters for town and suburban gardens.

As for fruit and grain they are ravenous on
them,— taking all they can get. They not only
expect to be paid for the good they undoubtedly
do in destroying insects, but wish to be their
own judge and jury as to the compensation they
are to receive.

On the whole, we favor llie birds. "We ac-
cept their assistance in our great battle with the
insects, which are near over-matching our hor-

l<'<71.

THE dARDEJ^ER'S MOJ^'TKLy.

331

ticultural operations ; and when the time comes
for them to put on airs, as come it will, "a new
departure" can much more easily be inau5:urated
for them than for other troublesome things. -Ed,]

NOTES OX THE SEASON.

BY A. nUIDEKOPER, MEADVILLE, PA

In "Western Penns3'lvania the season has been
characterized by a warm and dry summer pre-
ceded by an unusually dry and warm sprins;.
We had a pretty severe frost as late as the 30th
of .June and an early frost on the 8th of Septem-
ber. The result of the dryness and warmth has
been that game and domestic birds have raised
their broods with success, and farm products,
with the exception of the apple crop, have gene-
rally been good in quantity and fair in quality ;
potatoes especially have been large and sound,
and the yield abundant.

On our hill orchards we get a good crop of
peaches about once in three years. Our farmers
will do better when for their late ripening seed-
ling they substitute Early York and Old Mixon,
if the borer be kept off, can be relied on under
ordinary circumstajiccs for twelve or fifteen years
of productiveness.

The pear crop, in proportion to the number of
trees, has this year, I think, been better than the
apple crop, and the fruit fiiir and satisfactory.
After several years of exemption, I note on my
own trees two cases of blight. The one very
slight on a Bloodgood tree growing in sod, and a
somewhat Avorse case on a Belle Lucrative tree
under high culture on well drained ground. The
last named tree made a very luxuriant growth
last season, notwithstanding it bore a full crop
of fruit. Theorists may draw their own conclu-
sions, but to me the frozen sap theory seems the
most probable explanation of the evil.

Grapes— when wild vines are reported as found
in Vermont and Mississippi measurijig a foot or
more in diameter, some persons imagine that
such size is the result of centuries of develop-
ment. To show how rapid may be the growth
of a vine, I may mention that about thirty years
ago I planted a vine of the variety known as
"Franklin " to run on my porch. "When set out
it was small, about half an inch in diameter, and
to day it measures nineteen inches in circumfer
ence. I reluctantly sacrifice it this fall, giving
a Delaware vine its place, on the same principle
that a plank road or a turnpike is made to give
way in the progress of events to a railroad. In

j my grapery last fall I had the surface soil
changed to the depth of about four inches, and
the good eflects have been quite marked. "With
watering and shade, soil in a vinery seems to
: lose its life. "When removed and 'exposed for a
winter, it re-acquires it, and forms good material
for dressing flower beds. Of the foreign grapes-
I it seems hardly worth while to grow any longer
1 Sweetwaters and Chasselas grapes, when from
j the newer varieties we can get such superb look-
ing fruit with little or no sacrifice in its quality^
Every berry of the Buckland Sweetwater this
year with me has been of a fine amber color, and
the bunches though not very large, perfect in
shape, the fruit being luscious and sweet. The
Golden Hamburg has produced larger clusters
and larger berries, many of the latter an inch or
more in diameter. The fruit has less substance
to it than Buckland, but when the berries are
■' golden " I do not find it deficient in sweetness
or fiavor. It is, however, a poor grape to keep
after maturity, and I look forward to the later
novelty, the Golden Champion, as likely to sup-
plant it, if the latter equals the reports we get of
it from abroad, Muscat Hamburg, — This grape
like the Troveron has behind its sweetness a base
of acidity. It hangs well and drys into raisins.
It fertilizes a full compliment of berries, but un-
even in size, like the Muscat of Alexandria, the
principal fruit stems of the two varieties being
much alike. I think it would be improved by
artificial impregnation. A bi'anch of this va-
riety interlocked itself this 3fear in my vinery
with those of a Black Hamburg, On this branch
I noticed the fruit vvas much finer than on the-
rest of the vine. The clusters weighed about a
pound and a quarter each and the berries were
all large, uniform in size, and ripened more uni-
formly than those situated differently.

Of out-door grapes, the Delaware this year
takes the lead, ripening the middle of September
Israella, Christine, Miles, and some other early
Isabella varieties are eatable now, while "Maxa-
tawney lacks a week or two of maturity.

I see that the "Department of Agriculture"
does us the favor in vol. for 18G9 to classify
many of the varieties of grapes now in the cata-
logue". It may be an interesting question to ask,
Do grapes ever change in their seedlings from
one variety to another ? "We know, to begirk
with, that the seedling fruit is often quite differ-
ent both in color and quality from that of the
parent vine. Then we have natural and artifi-
cial hybrids and seedlings from these instead of

ss.

THE GARDE^'^ER'S MOJ\'TELJ

J\''ov ember,

producing a new class revert back to that of one
of the parents

To fortify my question, before some critic at-
tacks, permit me to refer to the note in Down-
ing's large edition on " Sheppard's Delaware,"
which the author reports as raised in 1853, from
a seed of the Catawba, the vine and fruit being
similar in all respects to the Delaware. Mr. G,
W. Campbell,at page 81, of Gardener s 3Ionthly,
vol. 1871, speaks of a Delaware Seedling with
thick, heavy foliage and a strong habit of growth.
This looks a little as though the thin leafed ses-
tivalis and the robust labrusca had a tendency
to overleap family boundaries.

Next year, if living, I hope to report on some
of the English and French novelties. Do you
know any cultivator in this country who lias the
Fintindo ? I should like to sret it.

NEW BULBS.

BY WALTER ELDER, PIIILADELrHIA.

Your readers will likely observe, by the adver-
tising columns of the Monthly that our seedsmen
and nurserymen have got their importations of
flowering bulbs, from north Europe, consisting
of Crocus, Hyacinth, Tulip, Narcissus, Snow-
drops, Lily, Crown Imperial, &c., besides all
the choice species for growing in glasshouses.
We have received the catalogues of our leading
dealers in this country and Europe, from all of
which, we learn that last summer was very favo-
rable for the maturing of the bulbs, and that
large numbers of new and superior varieties of
every species are sent out this year for the first
time, and as many of the old inferior varieties
have been discarded. Purchasers, we think,
may rely upon getting sound bulbs and choice
varieties.

Among the wonders in bulb culture, are the
Golden Lily of Japan (Lilium auratum), I have
seen it in its full prime the past two summers in
Dreer's collections. Many of the bulbs bore six
blooms, nine inches in diameter and very fra-
grant. Thos. J. Mackenzie, exotic florist of
Philadelphia, has the Lilium VKjrinum flore pJcno
or the double tigcrlily, of large size and splendid
appearance. Louis Van Iloutto, of Ghent, ac-
quaints us of the new lily, Lilium tigrinum splen-
dens Lenpoldii, which has produced a great ex-
citement in T'^urope by the great size and daz-
zling colors and su))erb markings of the l)looms.
Tlis new varieties of Anian/llis nro most f<i)len(li(l
and have won many ))rizL'S in Europe the past
two years.

THE BEECH TREES OF HOLLAND.

BY J. N. L., PHILADELPHIA.

I believe the following, by a correspondent of
the Philadelphia Press, "Letters from an Archi-
tect in Europe " would have an interest for the
readers of the 3fonthly :

"Just before I reached the double row of
houses which mainly form the village of Zeist, I
saw on my right hand an iron gateway, and
beyond that gateway the finest tree lined lane,
without exception, that I have any recollection
of. The trees were tall beeches, from eighteen
to twenty feet apart, and extending back from
the road perhaps rather more than a furlong.
There was a path about eight feet wide, grass on
either side of it, and the whole so completely
hedged in by smaller trees and shrubbery that
no direct light was admitted. Probably you
have never seen a forest entirely of beeches.
Such forests are common here, and when grass
is kept growing under them the effect is most
wonderful. The first sight I had of a beech
forest, which was at Haarlem, was really en-
rapturing, notwithstanding it was on a cloudy
day. Now this lane that I tell you of was all
filled with a diff"used green light, filtered through
the several strata of pale green leaves, and pro-
ducing an exqusite gossamery effect that sent a
sudden thrill of joy and sweet surprise to the de-
lighted eye.

What cathedral builder more triumphant in
results than is the man who takes such straight
saplings as once these were, carefully plants
them in extended rows on level ground, and as
heedfully waits upon them year after year, until
they shall have attained that strength and vigor
that their future course and perfect uprightness
is assured. AVhat cathedral builder has found
stone for his columns, for his walls and grained
ceiling, so satisfying to the eye and free from
imitation to the sight, so perfectly ]ileasing in
fact, as he who lined this lane with beech trunks.
And where the glass stainer that has filled the
stone cathedral with such a spiritual glow as
comes through this fibrous greenness.

DESTRUCTION OF THE POTATO
BEETLE.

BY 'rural pastor," EANVILLE, ILLS.

Allow a little criticism with regard to j'our
article on the "Destruction of the Potato Beetle."
in your July number. You recommend rolling,

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOMTHLY.

SS3

but the process "\vould be like trying to flatten
bullets by rolling them in a bed of ashes. The
heaviest roller would not crush them on plowed
ground. I have often tried to kill them with my
foot, but unless the ground is very hard they
would bed into it and then soon come up again
for their work. I have watched their habits
closely in three different States, and as they will
soon be upon 3'ou, a few remarks may not be out
of place: for if you are as ready to receive them
as we now are, they need not be greatly dreaded
after all. They love some kinds much better
than others, as for instance they prefer the Early
York to the Early Rose, and will leave the Peach
Blow till th& last. '

Plant early and you can give your potatoes a
good start before the bugs get over their spring
stupor.

Plant early kinds for there are three distinct
•rops of bugs, and generally they come in count-
less numbers to take the latest kinds.

Hand pkl-^ if not very bad- See if there are
many of the lady bug or lady bird as it is some-
times called. If they are plenty, they will take
care of your potatoes for you. They are a little
red bug with dark spots, and eat their eggs most
voraciously. If necessary to use other means,
take one pound of Paris Green to thirty pounds of
common plaster and mix thoroughly, and apply
when the dew is on, and 3' ou will slaughter them
by hundreds of thousands. The plaster is good
for your potatoes and you don't get green enough
to hurt anything. Apply as often as the vines
need it, and you need have no fears as to the re-
sult. I have saved acres of potatoes this sum-
mer by recommending this plan in our village
paper. When the bugs come, plant as little
ground as possible, enrich it highly and use ashes
and salt to counteract any tendency to rot, and
then you may laugh at the "destruction which
waste th at noonday."

LETTER FROM ROCHESTER.
I am not much given to writing, except in a
business way, but, while sending my subscrip-
tion for the new year to the publishers, take the
occasion to say a good word to the Editor in
praise of the good work the magazine is doing in
the way of increasing the taste for gardening.
It pains me to hear agent after agent, as they
come in, complain that the people they travel
among care little for the beauties of this world—
ihat so long as they can get a potato or cabbage

for dinner, or an apple to make " sass " to eat
with their bread, the people generally care for
nothing else.

How to me these people seem like the beast
which perisheth ! Give it its belly full, and a
little mire to wallow in, and it will go through
the world of no use but for the fat which it leaves
behind it. So these people scrimp and screw,
and lay by their money, making no home beauti-
ful, exciting no intellectual culture or elevated
aspirations amongst their sons and daughters ;
and they die, leaving hundreds of dollars to be
wasted by the piggish brood they have brought
up.

I often think if these people, who see no good
in plants, trees or flowers, who have no aspira-
tions beyond something to eat or something to
sell, had a hand in the making of this world, what
a miserable, dreary place it would be ! And when
I drive through the country, and see here and
there one or two pretty places, which, perhaps,
some loving womah's hand has made a paradise,
in spite of her lord's growling about the money
it costs, I thank heaven that, though woman
was the means of the thorns and thistles of life
springing up for us, she is yet left to bring more
than paradise to us when she can have her
way.

And you, good friend Editor, long may you
live to help her, and to encourage those of the
sterner sex to look on these thing in a more
rational light. And jierhaps I may say a word
to my brother nurserymen, many of whom do
not exhibit so much the spirit of taste and cul-
ture -which they might do. They have Tlie ma-
terial at hand, at little cost, and they might, by
a very little display of gardening about them,
set an example which would spread about them.
I am pleased to know that, of late years, there is
much improvement in this respect.

Thirty years ago, a hoggish looking hole would
be called a nursery— perhaps merely because
ti-ees were sold from the spot ; but such relics of
the barbarous past are dying away with the
stage coaches and other incidents of the last
generation, happily to be replaced by better
things.

But I find that I have written on farther than
I intended, and will conclude with best wishes
for the continued prosperity of the magazine.

[We are not sure that this was intended for
publication ; but the sentiments are too good for
our private ears alone. — Eu.]

S4S

llli: GARBEMEli'lS MQjrTIlLy.

JS'^ovemher.

IMPROVEMENT in SEEDLING PEACHES.

BY aiR. LORIN BLODGETT, PUILADA.

I have been interested by finding two recent
crops of seedling Peach trees, grown in my gar-
den, develope some qualities that lead me to hope
for good autumn peaches at some early day, in
place of the few and poor ones now to be found.
And I have put some average specimens, both of
size and crowded growth, on the tables at the
Exhibition, not as attractions, but as illustra-
tions.

My first production was a year ago, and this
year I have three or four trees, bearing five to
eight bushels each, of October peaches, yet so
very soft and delicate, when fully ripe, as to be
properly characterized as melting peaches. They
are small — the worst fault they have— but per-
fectly sweet, and perfectly melting in flesh. Two
are white fleshed, one yellow, but all freestones,
and all characterized by a singularly slender
twig, small leaf, and small branches, with a re-
markable crowding of blossoms and oi perfect
fruit. I never saw such abundant and persistent
bearing, nor so many peaches ripening perfectly
on a tree.

My friend. Dr. Emerson, pronounced them
descendants of a class known formed}^ here as
" AVillow peaches," which were good, but small
in fruit, very great bearers, late in ripening, and
tender in flesh as these. It is a peculiarity of
all of them that, when fully ripe, the skin will
peel ofi" with the greatest ease from the whole
peach. And the " Willow " peach was also, he
says, remarkable for following close to the parent
in all seedlings grown from it.

I really think some good cultivator might get
us good autumn peaches from this "Willow"
stock. A little larger, firmer and brighter in
color is all the change desired. The productive-
ness, absence of acidity, and perfect tenderness
cannot be excelled, as I hope to prove by speci-
mens sent you as soon as they perfectly ripen. —
/Sept. VHk.

Since the above we have received from Mr.B.,
under date of Sept. 20th, the following : —

I have for many years felt an interest in grow-
ing seedling peaches, and some years ago got
some very earl}' peaches, in a colder climate, but
I had no expectations of succeeding here, where
October peaches are usually so unpromising, as
well as so scarce. But I have, this year, some
25 trees bearing, most of them for the first lime,

— a few bore last year, and I send you a few
specimens as illustrations.

I am not certain that any one of them is
worth propagating as a market peach, but two
or three are singularly valuable for any use—
the most delicate, digestible, prolific and thor-
oughly excellent for dessert peaches that I have
ever found. They are too small and too soft for
market purposes ; but it is singular to what an
extent the prolific element is appaient, all being
loaded witii fruit, and all the larger ones are very
superior for putting up in au}'^ form.

My friend, Pr. Emerson, recognizes a class in
them called the "Willow " peach, a persistent if
not indigenous peach, said to come nearly true
from seed. Nos. 5,0, 12 and 14,' are of this
class. No. 5 and 14 being exactly alike, and all
having very slender twigs, pendant " ropes " of
fruit, small leaves, &c.

I only send you these to give some proof that
attention to seedlings may yet give us good
peaches from September 15th to the last of Octo-
ber— the season in which our peach market is al-
most wholly bare of good peaches. The " Gar-
den peach " is one that has been developed for
this season ; and on my first trial I have got six
or seven trees (out of 30) that I would not spare
on any consideration. From the time the mar-
ket supply ceased, say the middle of September,
I have had a great surplus, and shall have until
November 1st, and all from not over twenty
trees.

A few of the numbers that I do not enclose, as
Nos. 12, 13, 15, 18, 19 and 20, are mere ditpli-
cates of what I send— 12 being a white, melting
peach, gone a week ago ; 13 and 15 white cling-
stones, not ripe ; and 18 and 19 large white cling-
stone, ripe and gone. About five only were ab-
solutely worthless.

[The peaches sent were mostly of the highest
excellence. The result is truly remarkable.
Well as we know that an}^ can get good fruit by
a little care in the selection of seedlings, we had
no idea that there was room for so much supe-
riority. Some of these we think superior to the
best of our late ones now grown ; and we hope,
another year, Mr. Blodgett will select one of the
best to name and distribute. — Ed.]

NOTES ON SOME TEXAS GRAPES.

BY PROF. BUCKLEY.

Py to-day's mail, I send you specimens of
Yilis rupestris Schule, and of my "\'. moutana.

1811.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOA'TBLY.

335

The last has its fruit now ripe, but I cannot send
it to 3-ou retaining its characteristics. Tlie ber-
ries are from one-half to three-quarters of an
inch in diameter; black, skin very thin, pulp
juicy, slightly acid, tinged with red ; racemes
three to five inches long — generally about three ;
shouldered, berries thickly placed, yet not too
much crowded.

The racemes of rupestris as it fruited here
this summer are about three inches long, berries
densely crowded. They did not arrive at ma-
turitj'. You can see from the leaves that the
two grapes are very distinct ; the leaves of
the mountain grapes being more like those of
the Mustang, yet they are not so densely to-
mentose beneath as the new berry. Those of
Montana I think become more pubescent with
age. I have both of these grapes in cultiva-
tion, and intend that others shall also cultivate
them, that the proof may be certain and ad-
mitted by all, that \^ montaua is a good spe-
cies.

I shall also prove that the Post-Oak grape (V.
Lencecumii) is very distinct from the Labrusca.
I am inclined to believe that the Isabella was
derived from the Post-Oak grape. Its whole
fructification is very distinct from the La-
brusca. Dr. McEee, on old botanist of Wil-
mington, North Carolina, told me that the
gardener of the Gibbs family (from whom the
Isabella is said to have originated), told him
that the Isabella was not a seedling found in
the Carolinas, as has been represented, but that
it was obtained f om the French or Spanish of
Louisiana or the AVest Indies. I write from
memory. I published an account of it in the
Horticulturist of 1858 or 1859, when J. Jay
Smith edited it.

I know that few if any of our Xorthern bota-
nists or fruit-growers will admit this, but time
will determine the truth, and all will acknowl-
edge that the Post-Oak is a very distinct species,
as everybody does in Texas.

[It is clear that histories were too readily
made up in the past time. Scientific men, ac-
customed to a rigid and strict examination of
facts, are too apt to believe that the rest of man-
kind arc like themselves. Hence they take up
too readily statements of other people who
have either deceived themselves or been de-
ceived by others. In regard to the history of
grapes we are all familiar with tales which have
been subsequently found incorrect, and we have
little doubt about the correctness of Mr. Buck-

ley's invc^tications in regard to the origin of
the Isabella grape.

In Dr. Asa Gray's excellent "Manual of
Botany," so usually strict in its facts and state-
ments that it will long live as a monument of
striking accuracy, yet appears the statement
that the Scuppcrnong or Muscadine grape is
the 2.)arcnt of the Catatcha. Surely some one
must have misinformed the good Doctor here.

As to the new Texas species of grape, it is
likely the characters are as good as many often
employed, but the time will probably come
when the facts of variations are better under-
stood, when but two or three species will be re-
cognized for the whole American continent.
They vary like blackberries. Ed.]

HOT WATER CIFtCULATIOX.

BY A. L. PEXXOCK, PHI LA.

In the August Monthly, Mr. Hitchings' re-
marks seem to require an explanation of my ar-
ticle in the June number.

The figures taken by me, 212'' for the flow and
80^ for the return, were merely given to illus-
trate my argument. I also did not intend to
say that 43^ difference was necessary to create
circulation, although there was that difference
in the tank experiment. When a boiler is first
fired up, we always expect a cold return-pipe,
unless something is wrong in the circulation.
After the water becomes well heated and in full
motion, the return pipe is much warmer, and
much less difference in the temperature is
required to keep up a circulation. A ball roll-
ing down a hill will continue the same speed,
although the descent is but slight towards the
bottom. The area of the cross section of the
tank was many times greater than the connect-
ing pipes, as Mr. Hitchings supposes, but proba-
bly the speed of the current was properly repre-
sented by tne chip, for in no case did it touch
the side of the tauk.

^ly idea is that the greater the difference of
temperature between the flow and return, every-
thing else being the same, the more rapid is the
circulation. The current may be impeded by
great length of pipe or in various ways, but let
those hindrances be the same in each case, and
the speed will be the greatest with the greatest
dillerence in the temperature of the tlow and re-
turn ; and certainly if the water has lost the
most heat, the house has received it. I believe
accurate experiments will sustain this view.

3S6

TEE GARBBJSfER'S MOJ^TELY.

Jfovember

I fuUy agree with l»[r. Hitchings, that the
secondary heat should be used both for economy
and safety. I have known two green-houses
burned down, supposed to be by the heat after
passing through tlie boiler, and I have taken
down the boiler where the wood-work vras
charred ten feet from it, but I cannot agree
with him when he talks about 300 or 350
degrees escaping after the secondary heat is
used. My experience is, that no such waste of
heat is uecessar}'.

SPORTS I2T yEGETATIO:N^.

r.Y MR. A. FENDLER, ST. LOUIS, MO.

Last summer I met with some remarkable
sports in vegetation. On several stalks of In-
dian corn in my field, I found the tassel or male
llower bear the grain. The ear which ordina-
rily develops laterally was wanting, but was
represented by the central spike of the male
llower ; the lateral spikelets of the latter also
had grains on them, though more scattered.

Several plants of the common'y cultivated
climbing rose being rather in my way, I pruned
them several times very severely during spring
and early part of summer. In consequence of
this pruning, as I suppose, they produced roses
of a small size, still double, but having the
outer petals of a lively green, and the more
central ones of a white color, instead of their
natural red color. Tecoma grandiflora I tried
to raise from seeds, but got only one plant that
came up to the original in regard to size and
shape of flavor. All the rest of the seedlings
resembled very much our Tecoma radicans of
the woods. A similar experience I had with
plants raised from seeds of the large-flowered
Lilac (Charles X.), only one of the seedlings
producing very large flowers. Three plants of

Yucca angustifolia, which I raised from seeds,
proved each of them to be twins, indicating two
separate embryos under one seed-covering, the
same as you had occasion to observe in the
Osage Orange.

[The writer noticed this year ears of corn
which had developed in the usual way, but
were on large stalks, which had from four to
six nodes or joints, instead of being set down
(sessile) on the stalk as in the usual wa3\ The
occurrence of grains along the male raceme is
not at all uncommon ; but the lesson it teaches
is not often thought of. It is that there is
nothing organically distinct— primaril}- speak-
ing— between the female and male flowers ; but
that in the early stages of the flower's exist-
ence it is so constituted that by suhsequent laws
it may be converted into either sex. What is
known as Meehan's Theory (see Proceedings of
American Association)^ attributes this to vary-
ing powers of nutrition, — tbe most favorably
nourished germ becoming a female flower.

It has been supposed that the Tecoma or
Bignonia grandiflora of Japan, is but a variety
of S. radicans. Mr. Fendler's note shows they
are essentially the same.

Dr. Engelman has recently called the writei-'s
attention to the fact that in a German scientific
work a figure of an Enpliorhiaceous plant exists
in which the two embryos under one testaceous
envelope had inarched together as noted in the
Osage Orange referred to. A multiplication of
embryos appears to have been noticed some
time back in the orange family [aurantiaceous
plants)., and by the writer recently in oaks and
peach kernels, but the inarching together of the
two developing germs does not seem to be so
common. — Ed.I

EDITORIAL.

RECOLLECTIONS OF TRAVEL.
15y the kind courtesy of the officers of the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad, we were
taken over one of the most beautiful regions of
country it is possible to conceive of. "Wooded
hills and deep ravines, bold rocks and tlic beau-
tiful contrasts of occasional level bays of land ;
tortuous windings, and then magnificent views
of bold expanses. — these and many inore fol-

lowed each other in such rapid succession that
the ever-changing variety so much dwelt
on by the landscape gardener as the especial
prerogative of his art, was here ready-made to
hand. 'I'he varied .sensations of the beholder
are no less striking than the scenes themselves.
Now the railroad carries us along the surface of
a rocky ledge, from whence, like some superior
race of beings, we can look down on less fa-

1871.

THE GARDEJVEn'S MO Jf TEL J.

3S\

vored mortals below, and again we come to the
base of some elevated site on which, like
humble suppliants for mercy, we look up in
awe. The Mammoth Cave was our destina-
tion. That is a curiosity ; and for the merely
curious, a rare and wonderful sight ; but to us
a sacrifice of a hundred miles of travel in these
subterrestrial regions would be cheap in ex-
change for a half-hour glimpse of this never-to-
be-forgotten railroad ride.

It Avas the wonder of some of our Eastern
friends that man had not made more of a
country so beautiful and so grand as this. The
soil was not so very rich, to be sure — thousands of
acres in the West were worth double in produc-
tiveness to any of these. But then look at the
rocky hills of Massachusetts and see what has
been made of them there ! Why, even the fruit
trees have been made to feel so much at home
that they seem as if almost to prefer rock to the
mellowest of soils ! You need do little more than
blow out a hole in the solid granite with gun-
powder, and fill in the chunks about the tree
roots, and lo and behold I the fruits there ! Why
could not these people do better than they did ?
Here the grapes grow wild on the forest hills, and
apples were so abundant as to be offered at twen-
ty-five cents per bushel. Why were not the i)eo-
ple improving these advantages ? Why instead
were crowds getting in at almost every railroad
station, off for some barbacue or festival, or pass-
ing away their time in picnics or frolicing, as
we saw them from the cars in almost every dale
or hill ? It seemed a hopeless puzzle to North-
ern eyes, as no doubt do the peculiar phases of
Northern society to Southern ones ; but it
seemed to us that a good principle undcrlied all
this apparent extravagance, and which, when
properly directed and cultivated, would re-
dound to the good of gardening and to ihe en-
couragement of those arts and sciences on
which gardening so much depends. The North-
ern type of civilization tends to make one battle
strongly with the elements and with all its ur-
roundings. The great struggle for life indi-
vidualizes the man, and leads him to look on
everything from his own personal standpoint
Society in a great measure loses its charms, and
it is seldom until he has achieved wealth that
he seeks a very large circle to share his joys or
sorrows with. To him one place is nearly as
good as another,— wherever his personal ends
can be served, that world is his home.

It requires no stretch of imagination to un-

derstand how fatal this tendency is to garden-
ing. One may .sell his home to-morrow. Why
beautify and adorn what other eyes may feast
on ? Flowers and fine gardens depend for
much of their enjoyment on the visits of friends"
who can share the pleasures with us. But if
we have no friends why fix the garden '?

But in the Southern man the local feeling pre-
dominates. You may live with a Northern
man a year without ever knowing what State
bore him, or who were his neighbors or his peo-
ple ; but the Southern man takes pride in 4iis
State, in his neighbors, his home and liis lands.
He will starve on one hundred acres rather
than sell fifty and be rich on the balance. His
neighbors' affairs interest him, and he feels
simply as one of a large circle of acquaintances
and friends. Of course this type of civilization
has its weaknesses as well as that of its fellow-
type of the North ; at the same time it has its
good points; and we could not fail to admire and
appreciate them. With a little more of self on
one side of the line, and a little more of the so-
cial feeling on the other, we should feel we were
in the very centre of the finest field for true
gardening culture and refinement.

The vegetation of this part of Kentucky is
not as luxuriant as that of many other sections
of the State, and yet the timber of the worst
part of it, that in which the great caves are sit-
uated, and which is called Barren county, is by
no means poor, and does not seem at all worthy
of its county name. Oak and hickory of con-
siderable size abound, and the Helianthums,
Asters and Eupatoriums of the woods are as
luxuriant as can be anywhere seen. [Many
beautiful flowers well worthy of garden culture
abound. Amongst these was seen for the first
time in bloom the northern representative of the
Century plant,— Agave Virginica. This plant
is a near ally of the Tuberose, and the fiowers-
possess a fragrance as delicate, but not so
strong. They are greenish Avhite, with very
pure white anthers— not particularly conspicu-
ous, but quite as worthy of admiration as the
Mignonette or other sweet but inconspicuous
flowering plants. Here also was the Cocculus
Caroliniensis, a vine of the Smilax family, but
covered in autumn with long racemes of
scarlet berries, equal to the HoU}' in brilliancy
and beauty. There appears, however, to be two
sexes of this, and, as only one will bear berries,
one may have to get two plants to get the satis-
faction (losircd.

S38

THE GABDEJVER'S MOJVTHLy .

JVovemher,

The iDost chamiing sight in this section of the
country is Andromeda arborea, which was
then in full blootu. "We have no hesitation in say-
ing, that as they were here seen, there is no white j
flowering plant which can equal it in graceful
beauty. In some open places near the Diamond
Cave they formed pyramids of from ten to
twenty feet high, and the long slender racemes
of flower:s covered the whole bush from the apex
to the ground. These racemes are about
eighteen inches lonr/, first rounded over downwards
in a regular curve, and then turn upwards
again when about two-thirds of their length has
been reached. The plant is in cultivation in
some nurseries, but has not yet found its way
into general demand.

It is interesting to note how some things seem
to improve by culture, while others seem to de-
teriorate. In regard to this Andromeda, it
seems strange that in the many years of our
acquaintance with this plant in gardens, we
should never have been struck with its great
beauty. On the other hand, in these deep woods
and steep hill-sides were thousands of the Eed
snowberr}', Si/mphoricarpus raceraosus, not one of
which but had a sort of mangy, disagreeable
appearance ; and yet as we grow it, it is one of
the best things we have.

Our view of sixteen miles under ground, over
rocks and stones of mammoth size, and sailing
over lakes squatting in the slush of a mud-
scow under ground in the big cave, did not add
much to our knowledge of gardening or the
natural sciences ; while the unfortunate result
was to blister the feet and stifl'en the joints of
the whole party, so that at daylight on the mor-
row, when our agricultural, botanical and scien-
tific excursion was to start for a ten-mile excur-
sion on foot, only Mr. W. M. Canby and the
writer were riady for the march. The break-
fast which we luid paid for over night at the Great
Cave Hotel was also non esf,— and the sleepers
who had paid .*:4 per day for the glorious
l)rivilege of snoring on the ball-room fioor, had
not awakened. Thus it was that " two solitary
travelers " might have been seen one fine morn-
ing in August, wandering alone through the
woods in the mountains of Kentucky. That
morning was hot and dry, and so were the trav-
elers ; lor with water in barrels at twenty-five
cents per glass, and all the rest of the water
underground, there was no opportunity to in-
dulge in oven those creature comforts usually
so cheering to the wild-wood rambler. But for

all, we question whether there were two hap-
pier beings in the whole State than the couple
aforesaid, and long will that day's excursion be
remembered.

We have said that there was no scientific in-
terest in the Cave, but yet it was not wholly so.
We had been taught that the inhabitants of
these caves were eyeless, ftecawse they had no use
for eyes It may be that some things in caves have
no eyes, but our ardent 3'oung entomologist, C.
M. Dodge, can testify to the fact that it was as
hard work to catch his cave grasshopper as it
would be to catch the common grasshopper above
ground. These little colorless, spidery-looking
things were ever on the alert to get out of the
way at the first effort of the hand to go down
on them. Again, the writer while sagely scan-
ning the floor of the mudscow in order to find a
rib whereon to place his boot, and thus en-
deavor to keep the slush from running in, fan-
cied he saw an eyeless fish in the lake outside.
A half dozen lamps were soon directed to the
spot. It proved to be a crustacean, and it was
interesting to note how it went from one side to
the other on the sandy shore as the lamp was
directed towards him. His lobstership was
finally bottled in alcohol, and it will be for the
zoologists of the Philadelphia Academy of Natu-
ral Sciences to decide finally whether those e3'es
are really good for anything, or whether our own
eyes on that occasion deceived us.

IlxiEE TREES.

MR. A. D. BROWN'S— FORMERLY R. S. FIELDS'S,
rRINCETON, N. J.

It is one of the best features, perhaps, of
American institutions, that land ceases to re-
main for a long time in the possession of one
family ; but for all this it is disastrous very of-
ten to gardening. The labors of a lifetime
which, under European auspices, would con-
tinue to give pleasure and profit to thousands,
are here often swept wholly away in a single
year. It is therefore with double pleasure that
we find an American place to change hands, and
the new proprietor continuing on the good work
began by his predecessor.

One of these fortunate changes is the passing
of the property of the late R S. Fields, Esq.,
of Princeton, N. J., into the hands of Mr. A.
D. Brown. Tiie excellent specimens of rare
trees and shrubs which made this place so fa-
mous, have in this gentleman found a worthy

1871.

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJVTHLy.

339

lover, and one whose cultivated taste will still
add to the renown of this celebrated place. So
many errors have been found in regard to the
trees really growinsj here — many reported as
" doing well " or " not doing well," which cer-
certainly were never growing here, that the pub-
lic had come to believe that much less exists
than really docs, and it gave the writcl* much
pleasure to spend a few hours there recently, and
to note how really rich the collection is. Some
have now reached a size sufficient to judge of
of what their final effects in the landscape will
be. It was particularly pleasing to note how well
the Libocedrus clecurrens maintains its charac-
ter for great beauty Avhen grown up. Its rich
dark-green fern-like fronds give the tree a rich-
ness which no other similar plant possesses.
Ciipressus Laivsoniana exhibits a tendency to
get thin at the base, but its slender flexuose
habit is very pleasing. 2'hujo2)sis horealis, as it
grows very large, seems inclined to have a
graceful habit in striking contrast with its full,
dense, massive appearance when young. It
approaches in this respect the Lawson cypress.
We are inclined to place this second in value to
the Libocedrus decurrens. There is but one
large specimen of Thuja gigantea here, but it is
very much in appearance like the common
American, except that it has broader fronds
and a more regular and more vigorous habit,
and perhaps a livelier green. There is a beau-
tiful lidinisjjora here which was not recognized.
The branches droop and are cord-like as in Biota
pendidu, and which will, we think, be more de-
sirable than that. There are several very large
specimens of the weeping arborvitse here ; but
they are too brown and dingy to be very at-
tractive. }?ome fine specimins of lietinospora
pisifera aurea, and of E. obtusa show how
grandly they will serve as ornaments in our
choicest grounds. Retinospora obtusa especially
ought to be as common as the Siberian arbor-
vitaj. It is an exquisitely beautiful plant of the
arborvitoj family. In the Ficea or Fir family,
are some very handsome specimens of P. Nord-
vianniana^ which is undoubtedly the finest of
the whole family. Its heavy dark green and
shining masses of foliage render it strikingly
conspicuous, and Mr. Brown well remarked
that when its golden growth was pushing in tin-.
spring nothing could possibly be more beautiful.
Picea pidda, with its light sea-green, is also
very attractive, though hardly so full at the
base as the Nordmann Silver Fir. Tlie V. pin-

saj^o here is a lovely specimen ; as also is the
Cephalonian P. Cephalonica. The common Bal-
sam Fir, which so often gets poor when it gets
old, has here clothed itself with regal purple, so
to speak. If ever it exhibited majestic propor-
tions it is truly here. The Piceas grandis, nobilis,
and one which seems to be Pursonsiana, are
smaller than the rest, but give promise of great
success as beautiful trees. Amongst the rare
spruces are several Morindas, a beautiful Orien-
tal and an AbiesWilliamsonii, about four feet
high. This is more robust than our common
Hemlock, and has downy shoots. This is yet
too small to show its final character. A. Doug-
lassii does pretty well.

The Pine family does not seem to have been
a favorite with Mr. Field, or else they have dis-
appeared after planting. There are very few of
the rarer ones about. There is a plant about
four feet high, of the Pinus Fremordiana or
monacantha, and which some botanists have
supposed to be the same as P. edulis, the Pin-
yon of New Mexico ; but there is something dif-
ferent in the general aspect of this specimen
from the P. edulis as recently seen by the writer
in the liocky Mountains, and we should not be
surprised if it does not yet turn out to have as
good specific characters as P. ponderosa or P.
toeda have from P. rigida, which after all is not
much. There is here a large tree of the Aus-
trian Pine, which has very slender cones, not
more than an inch thick and about three inches
long. Mr. Brown should send it to England
and get it described as a new species. There is
also a magnificent row of white Pines about
thirty years old, branched nearly to the ground,
and perhaps fifty feet high. There has been
some prejudice against the white Pine, on the
ground that the snow breaks the branches in
winter ; but this must be only when enervated
in some way. These sturdy fellows will stand
the battle and the breeze from the most hostile
elements of nature. There are several very
liirge Pinus cxcelsa here, with keen silvery-like
foliage, which every one who sees admires.

The Yew family is beautifully represented.
Ilandsoaicr specimens of Taxus baccata we have
never seen. The plants were densely studded
with coral berries, which were well relieved by
(lark green foliage about them. The yellow-
l)erried variety was strikingly well favored. It
is hard to concede to this greater beauty than
to the common Red oae, but the writer is
almost persuaded to think about this as Mr.

SJi,0

THE GARDEJsfER'^ MOJ^TELY.

MoveiTiber,

Brown does. There are many handsomer speci-
mens of the Yellow, Irish, erecta^ Sliort-leaved,
American, and others, all distinct enough to
rank as species, as Mr. Darwin would say, only
that we happen to know the parents from which
they sprung. Indeed, the philosophers liave
brought things to this, that a " species " is to
be defined as a variety of whose origin we are
ignorant, while "variety" is a variety whose
history we know. We must not overlook to
notice in the Yew family Torreya myristica,
the California Nutmeg, about five feet high,
and the two Cephalotaxus — C. Fortunii and C.
drupacea. The last is very well named, for the
plants here are covered by pleasant tasting
drupes, about the size and appearance of cop-
per-plums. It has been supposed that C For-
tunii is but a male form of the latter, and the
plants here give color to this, for it lias never
produced any fruit, though covered with male
buds ; but there appears to be indications of
male flowers among the female— a point which
Mr. Brown will watch and decide another year.

Among the Junipers are some very fine speci-
mens of Junijicrus oblonga pendida., and some
of the trailing alpine forms, some of which have
spread over many scores of square feet, forming
circles of great beaut}'.

There are many other species here, of which

' more can be said in future years ; but all these
we have named have proved themselves of per-
manent value, and ought to enter at once into
the regular trade-stock of our leading nurseries.

It must be borne in mind, however, that Mr.
Field, in laying out his grounds, used large
numbers of common Deciduous and Evergreen
trees in -the regular way of landscape garden-
ing. These have grown up, and make a good
inotection from wind, which is, as we have said
in other places, the sine qua nan of successful
evergreen culture.

It must be worth a great deal to see the Rho-
dodendrons here when they are in blossom.
These have had beds made for them in the
woods and in the old belts around corners, by
mixing up Jersey peat deeply and thoroughly
through the soil. No more care has been used
here than is used in England to grow these
American plants, and the success is quite as
great as in that countr}'. The cry that Ameri-
cans cannot raise Rhododendrons will soon be
heard no more.

Mrs. Brown is an ardent lover of the Rose,
and well acquainted with the merits of all the
leading varieties, and we imagine this fatuous
place will in the future be as much admired for
its patronage of the Queen of flowers, as it has
been for its rare specimens of beautiful trees.

SCKAPS AND aUEllIES.

A IIoRTicui/ruiiAL Directory. — A sense of
fairness induces us to give entire the following
long extract from the JJosion Journal of Horticul-
ture :

" The Gardeverls 'Moniklij, in reply to a cor-
respondent who has had circulars addressed to
him under two diflerent names, says, ' A good
directory is badly wanted. The principle ado])t-
ed by some compilers of charging two dollars ibr
every name inserted avIU never get up a good
fine. A better plan would be to compile one
honestly, and trust to the recompense by the
sale of it, just as any other commercial directory
maker would do.'

Now, if the editor of the Gardencr''H Montlihj
means lo intimate that the directory which we
have for some months published, jind which has
with every issue become more popular, is not
honestly compiled, we do not hesitate to i)ro-
nouuce such an intimation false, and especially
unbecoming in the only i)erson whose name has

been admitted to the list without charge. All
that we have ever claimed ibr it is, that every
name in it is that of a person or firm actually
engaged iu the business advertised ; and so
far as this list is used, no person need fear
wastinp: his time and circulars by sending
two to the same concern luuler different direc-
tions ; and Avc also claim as our own the plan of
giving the " specialty " adopted in the dillerent
branches of the nursery business, and kindred
occupations. It is very plain that a directory
which should aflbrd anything like the informa-
tion given b\' mercantile agencies would proba-
bly cost nearer fifty than two dollars a year,
which not many nurserymen would be willing to
jiay. Many of the leading nnrsfrymou in the
United States have pronounced our directory an
excellent idea, and Avorth lar more than its cost;
and the same opinion would, no doubt, have
been entertained by the Gardencr''s Monthly, if
it had only happened to originate tlie idea, in-
stead of ourselves."

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJS^THLY.

Ul

If it is "honest" to call a list of advertisers
at $2 per line " a directory, ^^ of course our inti-
mation is "false.'' The richness of the compari-
son with a mercantile agenc}' will bo appreciated
by those who are acquainted with the standing
of some of the names in the list.

Perhaps the Gardener's Monthly ought not to
express an honest opinion, when a person em-
ployed on it has his name, imsolicited by him,
inserted among the paying few. But Ave may
say that not $2 nor ;?2,000 ever purchased an
opinion from us, however, "unbecoming " such
a course may seem to our contemporary. AVe
must be allowed to repeat, that if an '' honest "
directory— that is, not a mere list of 240 adver-
tisers; but of about three thousand nurserymen,
seedsmen and florists, which America contains,
were compiled without regard to whether the
persons paid a fee or not, as all honest directories
are compiled,— such a true directory would be
willingly paid for by the whole community in-
terested in such matters. As to the list of our
Boston friend, we cannot see that it amounts to
much more at S2 per line, than the list of one
hundred and fifteen advertisers,which, with their
addresses in full, the Gardener's Monthly gave
in the September number/or noticing.

Prof. Porter's Pear Orchard.— This or-
chard, which those who are fonder of a "little
fun" than of carefully investigating fiicts, as-
serted was to "annihilate Meehan's theor}-,''
turns out as we expected, not to have been
planted on " Meehan's theory " at all. We have
not received from Prof. Porter the facts we de-
sired in behalf of fruit culture to get ; but we
find our friend of the Ayricidturist supplying
some of what we want. It says, "this orchard
was planted at the same time as Mr. Peters, (9
years. Ed. G. M. ) and for six years was thor.
oughJy cultivated.'^ By "thoroughly cultiva-
ting,'' every one understands the Agriculturist to
mean ploughing or harrowing up the surface
roots of trees ; and if six years of such treatment
is to be considered as "Meehan's treatment,"
we may as well give up writing in the English
language.

The Agriculturist knows very well that we
have never recommended any pear trees to be
"thoroughly cultivated'' for six years before
going in grass, nor even one year ; but that our
system calls for grass and top dressing annually
frort% the start. But we suppose the AgricuUur'sl

and the other papers thought they could get off
a good joke at our expense, which if it had not
been at the expense of so much truth, we should
have no objection to.

Fruexdly Criticism.— Friend Monthly,
about one of the first things I noticed upon my
return from Europe, was your proposed remedy
for the Colorado Potato Beetle, and of course I
had to have a good laugh over it. You certainly
could not have had your reflecting cap on when
you wrote the article, and I am glad to see that
you have been properly taken to task. In an
ordinary potato Qeld, by which I mean, one that
is well ploughed, you may twirl around on your
heel with a perfect beetle under it, and not kil 1
the hard-shelled rascal ; and in addition to the
objections offered by Mr. Eiehl and Mr. Bessey,
you must recollect that the roller Avould press
heaviest on the top of the furrow where the vines
grow, and lightest at the bottom of the furrow,
to which most of the insects would roll. You
also seem to forget (in suggesting the roller rem-
edy for grasshoppers), that it is just as easy for
these pests to skip on one side of your horses
and let them go by, as it is to keep hopping in
front of them ; and you entirely underrate the
mental calibre of the hoppers, in supposing that
they would not — the majority of them— get out
of the Avay.

In answer to J. C. W., Fishkill, N. Y., on
page 275, you refer certain white grubs to "il/e-
lolonlha philophaga,'>'' which is very much as
though I should refer a certain species of vino
sent me for identification to " Vilacea vitis.'*^ I
suppose you mean the common white grub or
larva of the May Beetle [Lachnosterna quercina
Knoch). But why not say so? Come, come,
friend Monthly,what, with endorsing copied arti-
cles, which decry the " men of books and scien-
tific theories;" and what, with this other sloppy
work, we shall begin to think you are getting un
scientific !

Yours ever,

C. V. Riley.

[Thanks for our friend's criticisms. We have
inserted all that has been sent us, as we always
do, whether for or against any idea advanced by
ourselves or any of our correspondents, as wo
have no theory to defend in any case, but simply
desire to serve the truth as it may be in horti-
culture. It docs not follow, however, that be-
cause we insert objections without comment, we

3J^2

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOXTEL'Y. November,

always agree with their assumed force. For in-
stance, in regard to tills potato beetle business,
we stated that certain insects of a tolerably hard
shell character, in this section, xcere killed by
crushing; ; and we suggested the possibility of
doing the same with the potato beetle. It is
possible that on some very soft light soil, a roller
could have no effect, but we are quite sure on
many soils it would crush the hardest beetle
among them all. Certainly it would crush the
larvpe, and that would perhaps do as well. In
regard to the direction of the roller, Mr. E. would
go in the same way as the furrows ran. Really,
we should not have thought of this. In this
part of the world, if an average man had been
directed to use the roller for the purpose sug-
gested, he would run across the furrows.

As for the grasshoppers, we thought that pos-
sibly some roller arrangement could be adopted.
AVe meant merel}^ to suggest the main idea — not
point out the details. The writer is quite sure
he could carry out the idea, if he had them to
deal with. No doubt they would jump to the
side of the horses ; but 2^ossibb; a sloping line of
muslin on each side of the horses, which the
writer can see readily how to fix, would lead
most of the jumpers down where the roller could
crush them.

Thanks also for the correction in regard to the
name of the white grub. In the writer's younger
days his studies in ]}otany and Entomology went
along together, until it became evident, that
time would not allow of excellence in each.
Usually we hand our entomological notes
to a friend versed in the modern history. In
this case we trusted to our youthful knowledge,
when the insect was Scarahoe.us MeJohntlia ,
eventually it became Melolontha jMlojjhaga, and
now it seems, Lachnosterna quercina. It shows
that Entomology is like Botany, — new classifi-
cating systems make new names, We should
have inserted our friend's Iclter as we did the
others, without comment ; but it seems that if
we do not put up the umbrella when the first
light shower or two falls, it is sure to pour down
on us afterwards. AVe add this for fear that
our explanations may keep back these " friendly
criticisms,'' which we hope rather to ol'un re-
ceive.

PuKSiDKNT ]il•:IlC•KMA^'S. — It is pleasant to
note the increasing influeccc of our best Horti-
culturists in public affairs. ]3etter "rub than
rust," is ati excellent motto, and we like to see

the rust rubbing off our best men. Mr. P. J,
Berckmans has already placed himself among the
leaders of the nursery trade in the South. The
Farmer and Gardener, of which he is the horti-
cultural editor, is going along swimmingly, since
he took hold of it ; and now he has been elected
to, and accepted the presidency of the Cotton
States' Mechanical and Agricultural Association.
The whole horticultural community will be glad
to hear of his increasing honors ; knowing how
well they suit him.

Eak or Corn on the Tassle — E.H.B., Ga-
lena l/?s.,Spp.28«/(, writes: "A few days ago I sent
you a Double Dahlia. To day I send you an
ear of Pop Corn. There were no husks around
it, and it is just as it grew on the top of the
stalk. Our county fair is in progress. We have
a fine display and a bright clear day, after a
heavy frost last night."

[The cases of double flowers are not uncom-
mon, and an explanation of some cases are
offered in Meehan's paper on " Fasciation.''

The ear of corn is rare — the oulj'^ instance on
record. A few grains are often seen among the
male flowers ; but here is a ^^o/ecf ear of two
hundred grains. The sheath or husk around the
ear physiologists tell us, is for the purpose of
"protecting the tender ear from injury when
young,'' but this ear has done as well without,
as others have with it. There are often arising
facts which throw doubt on the reasoning often
given for the " uses '' of organs ]

Growth ox a Coleus.— i/. -1. 1) , Phila.:
"Can you assign any cause for the peculiar
growth-like tendrils on the Coleus, A friend says
the whole bed was eflccted in this way, twining
around ihe plants and actually destroying
them"

[This is a parasite of the convolvulus family,
calltd Citscuta chlorantha. The seeds germinate
in the earth, and soon after the plant finds some
other thing to cling to, when the root dies, and
the parasite feeds wholly on the plant it attaches
itself too. It is not particular what soft succu-
lent vegetation it feeds on ; and is often seen on
course weeds like a mass of yellow cotton thread.
If taken in time, and cut away as soon as it ap-
pears, it can be readily kept under.]

Beroamotd'Ete Pear. — I^eroy says that thia
pear was described in the curious catalogue of

1871

THE GARDEJVER'S MONTHLY.

343

Le Ij€cticr, so far back as 1628, under the name
of Milan de La Beuvcriere. Boauveriere is a
tract of land situated near Anjou. He thinks it
is the most ancient pear in cultivation. This,
however, has been claimed for the English Au-
tumn Bergamot, which some of the old books
say has come down from the " time of Julius
Cassar.''

Ne\v Disease in the Peach. — In a recent
paragraph we credited the extract ioihe Farmer
and Gardener. The article originally appeared
in the agricultural department of the Mobile
Eegister, which is ably managed by Col. Lang-
don.

Corrugated Hot Water Boiler. — Mr. J.
G. Wilson sends us accounts of his patent cor-
rugated hot water boiler, which so far as we can
judge from the sketch sent, is a very good thing.

Coarse Grass ox a Lawx. — An old Subscri-
her^ Pliila , asks : " I have a large grass plot in
a very good exposure, in town; it has been regu-
larly mown and watered all summer, and looked
beautifully until lately, when a reddish colored
grass has made its appearance in patches all over
it. Is that grass what is called Red top, and
how can it be (fistinguished ? An answer in your
magazine will much oblige an old subscriber."

[Red-top, AfjrosHs rubra, does not flower so
late. Yours is probably a worse trouble in the
Grab Grass, a species of Panicura. The best
remedy for your case would probably be a good
coat of rich top dressing next spring, then a good
raking with a fine rake, then sow with green
grass and white clover— rolling the whole down
well. The crab grass may be crowded out.

Sour and Sweet Apples.— The ('>nmlnj
Gentleman says :

" We are suprised to find so .scientific and com-
mon .sense a journal as the Gardtner''s Moiiildn
favoring this notion, becau.se the editor had
halved two (jrafLH and madi; both grow toLjether.
In this tliere is not tin; sliuhtest dillieulty — no
more than in grafting a Tallman Sweeting on a
Greening slock. 'I'liey will unite in jjrecisely the
same way tiiat the two maj' be frrafted, but one
side will be CJrociung without mixture, and the
other will be Tallman Swei-t without mixture
The notion that the halving is to ramify through
all the branches, shoots, petioles, ])ed uncles and
germs, could not well be more ridiculous. It

must be borne in mind, that the halving or graft-
ing two shoots together is totally distinct from
halving two delicate buds together by cutting
them with mathematical accuracy through the
axis."

It so happens that the Gardener' s Monthhj does
not favor the notion because the editor halved
two grafts ; but for other reasons which have
been given, and with which the reader is famil-
iar. The editor's "grafting'' was but an inci-
dent given v/ith the others. ]Moreover, the Gar-
dener''s 31onthhj has claimed nothing for the
" two halved shoots," but for the ei/e ivhich was
on those shoots. These " two delicate buds "
xvere "cut thrpugh with mathematical accuracy
through the axis," and they have grown. Be-
yond this we have said nothing. We do not
know whether they will produce sweet or sour
apples, or what they will do. We intend to wait
and see, and do not know why an experiment
like this should not be tried, merely because the
Country Gentleman knows so well that it is ri-
diculous.

We have never "fovored " the idea to the ex-
tent suggested. All we have done is to show
that it is not impossible ; and to ask those in-
terested to experiment. In the language of our
respected contemporary, "It is easy to manu-
facture opinions for others, and then exhibit
one's skill in demolishing them."

I'lowden Peach. — F. R.Mc, Chillicotke,0.,
says : " I send }'ou leaves taken from a Plowdea
Peach, purchased from J. B. Clagget last fall.
I am considerablv confused about this peach, and'
I do hope you will probe it to the bottom, and if
nothing but Hale's Early, let the public know
it.''

[These leaves are the same as those sent us
from Mississippi, which the growers there— good
judges— say is Hot Hale's Early,— but they are
not the same as those sent us by the dissemina-
tor of the peach, Mr. Claggett himself, last
spring.

Apios Ti'iiEROSA.— Ji'. K 2'., Oniah I, Neb.,
thus spcaketh about tliis pretty vine, wliich is
l)retty well spread all over the United States :
''Accompanying this, I send you the tuber of a
very pretty climber, which grows wild along ray
creek. The flowers are of a not very brilliant
rose color, in racemes of 3 and 4 inches in length
of the pea kind (I was going to make a drawing
of the flowers, but could not spare the time), not

SU

THE GARDE JEER'S MOJ^THLY

Jfov ember,

very strong, but very sweet scented, and grows
among the grasses and weeds, from 8 to 12 feet,
rapid and spreading ; would make a splendid
climber, T think, by good culture. Seeds did not
set, so cannot send them. Please give me name
of plant." \Ahios tuhcY05a.\

Keeping Coleus through Wintek.- J. U-
P., Orant CiUj, No., asks: "I have a few Co-

leus, and I want to know what care they require
through the winter ? "

[They require a temperature not less than 65°
to do well. Their other treatment is not differ-
ent from any ordinar}' plant. Florists gener-
ally save only a few of each variety, in a high
temperature: and from these they propagate
new ones in February and ilarch, after which
the old ones are thrown away.]

B00K8, CATALOGUES, &C.

By

New

Btery Womav IIkr Own Floweii Gardener
Mrs. S. 0. Johnson — "Daisy Eyebright.'"
York: Published by H. S. William?.

Under her pen name, Mrs. Johnson has for
some3'eai-s been favorabl}^ known as one of the
"writers for the Country Gentleman, and what
she has written there and elsewhere has been
very favorably received by the horticultural
community. There are learned and scientific
writers who cater to the wants of learned and
scientific communities ; and most of these
writers forget that there is a large class who
scarcely understand the alphabet of Gardening.
To these, what is written is as so much Greek.
Again, most of these writers are men, while
many garden amateurs are women ; and how-
ever womanly a man may be in his nature, he
is incapable of so well understanding what a
woman wants to know in her gardening opera-
tions as a woman wiio has first been through all
the little difficulties which they still experience.

This work appears to be designed to meet
just such a want as this. It would not be
fair to criticise it from a higher standpoint.
Then it might be in keeping with its pretensions
to point out the errors and faults which might
exist, but it makes no such pretensions ; gives
us not even the usual apologetic preface with
which so many authors accustom themselves to
beg the pity of the merciless critic in advance of
his reading of their books.

We can only say, therefore, liiat though the
lady who studies this work will no doubt find
much to unlearn in time, there are thousands of
facts and liltlc hints about everyday plants and
fiowers tliat it will ))rofit any lady to know ;
and it will no doubt command ready purchasers
amongst the numerous class of beginners for
whom it is intended.

In reading through, we notice that at page 130
the author gives the Gardener''s Monthly a credit
which certainly does not belong to it. Some
one recommended to get bottomless boxes
eighteen inches long and ten to twelve inches ivide,
sink them in the ground to their level, fill in
with manure, and water to make the manure
ferment, and then plunge in the pots, putting a
few panes of window-glass on, and thus make a
small hot-bed. It is possible that some one has
tried this, — we should fear the small amount of
manure would not give out much palpable heat
to make up for all the trouble — at at any rate,
the idea does not belong to the Gardener^s
Monthly, though we have to thank the author
for the honor intended us.

The work is in handsome paper covers— wc
suppose to keep it within a moderate price. It
is Avorth we think a better appearance.

The StiB-TnopiCAL Garden. By W. Robinson. London :

.John Murray. 1871.
IIardv Flowers. By the same Author. London:

Fred. Warne.t Co- 1871.

Mr. Robinson is very well known in this
country by his Paris and Pleasure-Grounds,
which perhaps have had a wider range of
reading than any Avork not actually republished
in this country. In a notice of that work, which
we gave on its appearance, we dwelt somewhat
severely on the use of cuts which appeared to
us to have been taken by wholesale from a
French work of Dubreuil. "We have since
learned that Mr. R. did this by the consent of
the publishers of that work, and after paying a
full value for them. There was nothing in the
work to indicate that Mr. 11. had acted thus
honorabl}'. Perhaps, in a work intended for
English readers, it was not necessary, as very

1871.

TEE GAKBEJVEWS MOM'THLY.

34s

few Englishmen trouble themselves to read the
works of auy country but their own ; but to
Americans, who gather their information from
any and all sources, and numbers of whom no
doubt are familiar with this French work, it
was a different atiair. Wa are sorry Mr. R.
was charged with plagiarism which he did not
deserve, but the fault was hardly our own.

The beautiful books now before us well main-
tain the good reputation of "Parks, cec. " The
Tropical Garden gives some general directions for
arranging grounds with the view of introducing
this style of gardeniug, and then describes fully
all the plants which will serve this purpose in
the open air of England.

This style of gardeniug is particularly adapted
to America, and many more plants would come
into use for us than Mr. R. has named. This
book ought to be popular here.

" Hardy Flowers '' is also a welcome phrase
to Americans, where outdoor gardening is the
leading feature of our horticulture. The style
of the book is the same as the other, namely :
histories and descriptions of the leading flowers
of the British gardens. As in the other case,
Americans could add much to the list, and a
few named as hardy there will not i3rove so
here ; but no American who loves hardy flowers
but will find pleasure and profit in the perusal.
Both books are in the beautiful style of the
author's former works.

American Naturalist. Published at the Peabody
Academy of Science, Salem, Mass. September num-
ber.

This is a double one, in order to give a full
report of the recent meeting of the American
Association at Indianapolis. In this it performs
a highly useful task. An immense amount of
useful information is brought out by these scien-
tific societies, of which the world in general sel-
dom knows. The paper is read— or perhaps a
short speech made in reference to the paper—
and a few of these are published twelve months
afterwards in a volume of "Proceedings,"
which only members get, the majority of whom
perhaps are not interested in the great part of
the papers issued. Moreover, others who are
interested outside of the society get hold of the
author's idea, and before the papers are pub-
lished some other one marges to "discover' ' and
put in a better light the originator's sentiments,
and the credit therefor is los(. A serial of this
kind, which gives us at once the substance of

these meetings, renders a double service — a ser-
vice to authors and to the public, which
is ultimately to benefit by the discoveries of
science. There is in the Naturalist also a
feature which makes their account of the pro-
ceedings of even more value than the published
volumes'of the society, namely : a report of the
discussions which the papers occasioned, and
which are often of more importance than the
papers themselves.

To illustrate how well tlie Naturalist has done
this, we give below tiie remarks made on the
reading of the paper on the Monocotyledon the.
primaru type of seeds, by the editor of this maga-
zine, which has already been given in our Sep-
tember number :

"Prof Gray remarked that he was not dis-
posed now, in the absence of JNIr. Meehan, and
upon the consideration of a paper upon a
wholly independent topic, to discuss the au-
thor's views upon " Adnation in Coniferse ;"
but Mr. Meehan was well aware that they were
not quite consistent with the ordinary vegetable
morphology. It was more agreeable to be able
to say that Mr. Meehan 's conclusions, that the
apparently polycotyledonous embryo of many
coniferse is only dicotyledonus, must undoubtedly
be regarded as correct. This view was satis-
factorily proved by Duchartre. ten or fifteen
years ago, and is adopted by Parlatore in the
elaboration of Coniferai for De CandoUe's Pro-
dromus, published three or four years ago. But
Prof. Gray thought that the appearances in the
embryo of oaks, which Mr. Meehan had brought
up as evidence that the dicotyledonous embryo
was a mere deviation of the monoctyledonous,
and especially that the two cotyledons origina-
ted as it were from the splitting up of one,
would not be regarded by botanists as in any
degree convincing. He presumed that Mr.
Meehan perceives that it directly follows from
this doctrine that in all opposite leaves the two
are organically one, and he would leave to him the
undertaking of reconstructing morphology and
phyllotaxis upon such a basis.

Dr. T. G. llilgard remarked thnt the whole
question came back to the laws of phyllotaxy.
The very fiict of these "genetic" numbers, as
he had called them, required the second element
to be derived from the first one ; as all radial
organs must be derived from their predecessors.
The fact itself was apparent in the far too much
neglected phenomena of cryptogamous develop-
mentH (or "embryology'' of authors.) The
moss-spore proper (apart from the Chlorosper-
mcw as true moss-!<paivns), develops into a true
land (or aquatic) Conferva. The latter bears a
bud at the ends of its thread-like " prothalli-
um." Each of its cells is generated out of a
preceding one. A terminal cell enlarges into a
conical leaf Out of that leaf springs the
second, at its base. It is in fact only on the
supposition of radial organs generating their

3Jf6

THE GAnBE:N'EWS M0JYTHL1. J^'overtiber,

successors at the side of the r?yi— at the centre '
alternating; from cither border (ns in the case of [
the ])od-leavcs, prodiicintr fertile ovules), that
the whole of i)h3-llotaxic jihenoniena, and of or
jranic numbers in trcneral, becomes explicable. [
The production of new elements, however, takes j
place in a very embryonic condition. Coty- j
ledons already formed do not divide. Lobes
of fissures, folds, etc., of cotyledons are no di-
visions, but are due to unequal enlargement.
New elements are not formed by division, but
by sprouting."

This gives the reader of the paper a n:uch
better idea of the paper itself than if it were
merely read in a general wa3\ Professor Asa
Gray points out difficulties in the author's sug-
gestions, but not as great as he could himself
have shown had he been present. For instance,
there are many cotyledons which are bent down
or curved round themselves, and manifestly
tbese could not have divided in the particular
way that the oaks and beeches certainly did.
But because there are difficulties here, it ought
not to weigh against the positive and ascertained
facts in the other cases. Moreover, Professor
Hilgard subsequently showed that in spite of the
law of phyllotaxis as we now understand it,
the unity of origin was more philosophical than
Professor Gray believed. Dr. Gray admits that
several cotyledons in co)7//"erce are formed bj'^ the
splitting up of two, — and why the two may not
originate by the splitting up of one it is hard to
conceive.

There is no attempt made in the author's
paper to show token the division into lobes takes
place. As Professor Ililgard says, it must if at
all take place when the mass is in a very embry-
onic condition, and the author -would have sug-
gested this in the paper if it had been thought
possible that scientilic readers would not have
seen it'for themselves. Indeed, it is quite possi-
ble that the ditficulty about the incurved coty-
ledons might be solved by the divided portions
growing after the divisions, which had, if at
all, occurred at a very early stage.

The author of the paper is as conscious as
Professor Gray tliat morphology and ]ihyllotaxis

as we now understand them, seem to oflFer na
explanation of the phenomena he recorded, but
if they fail to explain them it is surely not the
author's fault, nor should it be incumbent ou
him to reconstruct these sciences, merely be-
cause he oflers the facts within his observation
for the consideratien of others. It rather seems
the place of science to take care of the facts,
than for facts to tremble at the feet of science.
What Professor Gray says in regard to the
paper on Adnation in Coniferce is undoubtedly
true. The views there entertained-are not quite
consistent with the ordinary vegetable morphol-
ogy ; and yet there was no statement made in
that paper which was not sustained by actual
specimens of plants exhibited at the reading.
Ordinary morphology failed to explain them,
and the author's own suggestions were merely
offered as hypothesis until " ordinary morpho-
logy " could do better.

It is strange how slow ordinary science is to
give way to facts ! In that paper at Chicago, it
was shown that Thuja cricoidcs must be a de-
velopment from the American arborvitffi. The
law of this development was clearly given. Since
that fij7?c,"Tom Thumb'' and other similar forms
have been directly raised from arborvit£es, and
this fact is within the knowedge of all the lead-
ing horticulturists of the country; yet "ordi-
nary morphology '' clings to the impossibility of
the case, and a leading European botanist has
even ignored the whole of this direct evidence,
and named Tom Thumb as a species of lietinis-
pora I After all, it is gratifying that leading
scientists show so conservative a disposition.
New doctrines should be received only on the
most overwhelming testimony, and it would
have perhaps been better for science in its
present shape if such excellent men as Professor
Gray had been at the head of things in the last
generation.

But we are wandering from the main point,
the American Naturalist, and will briefly sas"^
that there is no one who wishes to keep pace
with the progress of American science but will
find an interest in its pages.

1871.

THE GARDEJS^EJR! S MOJ\^THLY.

347

NEW AND MM PUUITS.

Pride of the South Applk. — We have been
presented by the originator, Mr. Lewis, with
several specimens of this new Seedling winter
apple, and from what we can sae of the fruit,
and learn of its history and habits we are in-
clined to believe the variety will prove a valuable
one for Southern culture. — Southern Gardener.

The Columbia Plum — According to Dr. E.
S. Hull, who has grown this variety for many
years near Alton, in South Illinois, this plum is
round, fully two inches in diameter, and near
Alton ripens in August. It is only of the sec-
ond quality either for cooking or for eating,
fetching SIO or 812 per bushel when the best va-
rieties command SIG. Xear Albany, N. Y., it
is extensively raised, but throughout the West-
ern States it is comparatively unknown. Ac-
cording to the same authority, although the cur-
culio oviposits in this plum as freely as in others,
yet the larva that hatches out from its egg is
almost invariably drowned out by the exuberant
flow of juice that is peculiar to this variety.

tough and thick skin. In these regions it ri-
pens from the last of September to the beginning
of October ; and we were informed at Galena
that it can be kept through the winter by simply
scalding it with hot water, placing in anj' con-
venient open vessel, and then covering it with
the liquor with which it had been scalded. Ow-
ing to the firmness of the ilesh, it bears trans-
portation remarkably well, and it is said to meet
with a ready sale in the Galena market — West-
ern Paper.

The Murphy Apple.— A superb dish of the
above variety was exhibited at the rooms of the
Mass. Horticultural Society, by Fearing Burr,
Esq., January 16th. Its brilliant appearance
attracted attention, the color being a deep crim-
son blotch and streaks upon a cherry ground,
fading upon the shady side to a bright yellow.
The quality of the fruit is very good, tender:
juic}', a sprightly sub-acid, not equal to the
Northern Spy in character, but much superior
to the Baldwin. Mr. Burr stated that he has
had the variety in bearing many years, that its
habits are all good, and it bears regularly and
abundantly. The size is above medium, and the
shape pretty uniform as given in the outline, the
deep setting of the stem, however, making it to
appear more obovate in the outline than it is in
reality. Its beauty and good qualities combined
make it a very desirable variety. — Boston CuUl-
vator.

The Miner or Hinckley Plum.— This has
been very extensively grown near Galena, 111 ,
for the last thirty-four years, and has lately been
introduced into Wisconsin. It is a deep red,
round plum, about one and a half inches in di-
ameter, of a firm texture, and with a rather

The Marengo Winter Crai;— A number
of nurserymen— among those foremost in the
business in the Northwest — have paid consider-
able attention to Siberian apples for a number
of years pa.st, with a view of testing them.
Among these fruits the varieties known as the
Marengo Winter Crab — Nos. 1 and 2— are, after
several years of careful trial in various parts of
the West and Northwest, confidently recom-
mended as valuable acquisitions to our list of
hardy fruits. Specimens of these apples have
come under our notice for several j'cars, and it
is not surprising that there should be a large
and increasing demand for thera from Maine to
Minnesota. — Western Bural.

Fay's Joe Apple. — This is a new variety,
supposed to be a hybrid between Eai-ly Joe and
Siberian Crab, specimens of which we have re-
received from Charles Andrews, Esq., of Maren-
go, 111. Mr. Andrews is a well known enthusi-
astic fruit grower, and knowing our love and de-
sire to see all new things in the Avay of fruits and
flowers, sends us this, saying "it was raised by
L. Woodward, of Marengo." The fruit is about
the size of Early Joe, oblate, yellow, grained
with broken stripes of carmine red, flesh white,
granular, like sharp sand, moistened with acid
water to the palate, good when you are educated
to it, as is said of catin<z saur kraut.— F. Ti. El-
liott.

Early Pjcxxock Apple. — We have speci-
mens of the EarlyPennock before us as we write,
received from 11. W. Furnas, Esq., of Nebraska,
for name. It has been frequently cof>unded
with summer Queen but is at once detected from
that variety by its more yellow red, in its more

SJfS

THE GAEBE^^EWS MOXTELY.

J'fovejnher,

broken stripes, and also by its more white and
less valuable flesh. It is, however, a showy
fruit and a good bearer and hence a very profita-
ble market sort, for the people at large care
nothing for quality. It is only size and show
that sells. — F. R. Elliott.

The Miner and Wild Goose Plum.— The
"Wild Goose had its origin in Tennessee, on Cum-
berland river ; whereas the " Miner,'' Downing
says, originated with ;Mr. Miner, of Lancaster,
Penna. Fruit medium, oblong, pointed at apex;
skin dark, purplish red, with a fine bloom ; flesh
soft, jui(^', vinous ; adheres to the stone. With
this, agree, the plate and description in Tilton''s
Journal of Horticulture, Vol. 5. p. 139, for 1869,
in a communication from D. L. Adair, of Hawes-
ville, Kentucky. Some of our AVestcrn friends
have taken great pains to ascertain whether the
Miner and Wild Goose are distinct varieties or
not, and have, I think, shown that they are
quite different ; for which see Western Fomolo-
gist for 1870 and 1871.— Cor. of Bttral Caroli-
nian.

Plowden PEACn.~We have from Mr. Clag-
ett more leaves and branches of this peach.
They are of the same long tapering form as those
Mr. C. exhibited to us in the spring ; but some
of them |are crenate, and some serrate, — some
with glands and some without, showing that in

these usually permanent characters this one is
variable. There are none of them abruptly
pointed, like the Mississippi one ; but even this
maj'^ be also variable. On the whole of the facts
so far as we are able to judge of them, we are
inclined to believe but one variety has been dis-
seminated ; and that the variety is not Hale's
Early. This is also the opinion of one, if not of
two good peach men in ^Mississippi, who have
fruited it there. For ourselves, having seen but
one fruit, we should not like to decide this point
positively, though from that one we supposed
it was quite distinct.

Park's Cling Peach.— We have some
peaches from Mr. Riehl, Alton, Ills., but no
note about them. They correspond to the des-
cription of Park's Cling at page 313, and well
deserve all that is said about them there. They
came in excellent order, showing how well they
will carry to market. We have put one away to
"keep," and it eeems as good to-day, Oct. 15th,
as when received a month ago. A peach that
will keep like an apple ought to be a pretty good
thins.

Cowing's Strawberry. — Noticed in the Au-
gust Monthly. We have leaves of this variety
from Mr. Cowing. The leaflets are four and a
half inches long, and three and a half wide,
showing by this, that it is a vigorous growing
variety.

NEW AND EAFiE PLANTS.

TuuNiA BENSONiiE,— One of the most beau-
tiful of the many recently introduced Orchids,
and, like its congeners the T. alba (the Phajun
albus of old), of very easy growth.

It is another of the fine plants for which we
are indebted to Colonel Benson, who found it at
Rangoon. As a species, it resembles the Pha-
jus albus in everything except size and color, the
flowers being 2 to 3 inches broad, sepals and
petals pale reddish purple, white towards the
centre, lip largo, white at base, deep purple
beyond, with yellow crested disc. — Veitch.

DENDUomuM Cuassinoda. — One of the
most remarkable Dcndrobcs hitherto discovered,
whether we take the singularly-formed stems, or
its distinct and beautiful flowers.

The former are produced from 9 to IS inches
in length, and formed throughout of swollen
iuternodes, closely set together, giving them the
appearance of rows of large beads.

The flowers are 2 to 2h inches in diameter,
abundantly produced from the upper nodes,
white, with broad rosy tips to the sepals, petals
and lip, and a large bright yellow disc to the
latter.

This is another of the many beautiful plants
sent to Veitch by Colonel Benson, Avho dis-
covered it on the Arrakan Mountpins at an ele-
vation of 2,500 loot.

Vanda Denisoxiana.— Veitcli is indebted
to Colonel Benson for this loveh'' Vanda, and it
must certainly rank amongst the most striking

1871,

TH]£ GARDEJVER'S MOJ^'TELy.

349

of his discoveries. A figure of this beautiful
Orchid will be found in Curtis^s Botanical 3Jag-
azine for Dec, 18G9, and we give the following
description by Professor lieichenbach, taken
from the Gardeners^ Chronicle of the same year,
page 528 :

"The white Burmese Yanda was one of the
secret treasures of the Koyal Exotic Nursery
for a while. It has iust flowered, and Messrs.
Veitch have kindly placed in our hands the
beautiful spolia of this striking novelty. The
habit of the i)lant may be compared to that of
Vanda Bensoni, though, as far as our recollec-
tion goes, the new one is much stronger. The
leaves, Mr. Veitch informs us, arc wider ; they

are ligulate, unequally bilobed at the attenuate
apex, and very shining. Our inflorescence is
four-flowered, the flowers larger than those of
Vanda Bensoni. * -' ■■ * * '■■ There can
be no doubt that this lovely plant will create a
sensation amongst amateurs. We need scarcely
say that it is one of Colonel Benson's most strik-
ing discoveries, though we should not care to be
appointed the modern Paris to decide which
was the lovliest amongst the Bensonian fairies.
" AVe have dedicated this Vanda to Lady
Londesborough, naming it V. Denisoniana^ in
appreciation of Lord Londesborough's great
and ceuerous love for Orchids."

DOMESTIC IISTELLIGENCE.

Terrible IIesults of Mkehan's Surface
Root Culture of Pears.— We recently paid
a visit to the pear orchard of Edwin Middleton,
near Darby, Delaware County, and from wiiat
we saw there, have felt somewhat disposed to
announce to the public, that the key has at last
turned, and the secret of profitable pear culture
been found out. We have always had the great-
est faith in results; and when we see in so many
localities, that pear growing for profit has proved
a failure, although conducted on the most ap-
proved system in the books, and then turn to
Middleton's orchard and see the jjears, one is in-
clined to believe there must be something in his
system. This orchard is fortunately ia the vi-
cinity of a lumber yard, from which to obtain
props to prop up the limbs and prevent them
breaking with .the load of fruit. These props,
from 8 to IG and 18 feet long, we found scattered
all over the orchard, wherever the fruit was near
the full size ; and some of the topmost boughs to
which props could not be adjusted, had in seve-
ral cases broke down v/ith the weight.

The secret of success appears to be heavy
mulching, ou a circumference of some 18 to 20
feet around each tree. This was mostly soft
meadow hay, but in some cases loose and par-
tially decomposed stx-aw, to the thickness of
about six inches. This acts, of course, to keep
the soil damp, and the temperature even and
regular. It rather disfigures a handsome lawn
in front of the (mansion, to see it covered with
hay ; but as our friend Middleton believes in
pears, and the practical and useful, rather than

the lornamental, the latter has been somewhat
sacrificed.

The varieties cultivated are chiefly Bartlctt,
which, of fine size and appearance, as fast as iu
eating order, are engaged mostly at the Conti-
nental, Philadelphia, and have been for years
delivered there daily during the pear season. —
After Bartlett, and coming in profit successively,
we found the reliance was chiefly on Seckel and
Lawrence, as of fine quality, always command-
ing a ready sale. Trees of these varieties we
saw literally loaded with fine fruit. There were
also Leech's Kiugsessing, the original tree of
which is in the immediate vicinity — Flemish
Beauty, but not so large and fine as we have
seen elsewhere. This variety seems to have the
fatality everywhere in this section, of losing its
leaves prematurely, but is a very luscious and
sprightly pear. There were also in the orchard,
I Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Clairgcau, IIowcU, Du-
I chesse d'Angouleme, Louise Bonne dc Jersey,
i and several other kinds. Most of the trees are
standards.

. One other advantage of the mulching, l)e.sides
I shading the ground is, that fruit is not bruised
; iu dropping, which, Avhen many bushel^; are
1 gathered daily, is a great saving of time.
! After gathering, the pears are taken into a
j dry cellar, having a mortar floor, around the
j sides of which shelving is erected about 4 feet
I high. The bottom of this is composed of slats,
on which is laid first, cheap wall paper, then
two or three inches of sawdust, on which the
I pears are placed thickly, but in a single layer.

S50

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJVTHLl. J^ovemher,

Over these layers of pears a simpk covering of
wall paper is laid, to absorb any moisture from
the cellar. These covers are readily lifted off,
and the ripe pears for city daily selected out,
and the places filled up with others. They are
taken to the city in baskets, on a spring wagon
and have a popularity among the guests of the
Continental, from being uniformly fair and of
high quality.

E. Middkton has this season been more than
usually troubled with wasps and other insects

stinging the fruit and causing rot in places. Ob-
serving some time back in the Practical Farmer,
wide mouth bottles containing sweetened water,
recommended to be suspended on the branches
through the orchard, he has caught many quarts
of insects in this way, and without them, con-
siders his loss would have been quite serious.

On the whole, we recommend those who have
not succeeded satisftictorily in pear growing, to
visit this orchard and see what results have been
accomplished —Practical Farmer.

F 0 II E I G Ts I N T E L L I G E Is C E .

The Queen of Autumx. — We have not
seen the chrysanthemum cultivated as it deserves
to be in ninety-nine gardens out of every hundred
we have visited. It is certainly one of the most
" popular " of all flowers, yet its " homes " are
far separated, and thousands of people who
profess to love flowers could not now present
a friend with a single flower or the
promise of one. The bedding plants are no
longer attractive, the plant-houses everywhere
are filled, the craving for flowers .is as active as
ever, and yet where amongst the thousands of
gardens in the suburbs of London, to say noth-
ing of other great centres, shall we find one in
which the chrysanthemum has the place of
honor to which it is entitled by sheer merit and
usefulness ? There can be but one answer, and
it is "Xowhere." This, however, must be
qualified with the observation that a select few
of the choicest floricultural spirits here and
there do appreciate it and bestow upon it the
small amount of care it requires and deserves.
Our correspondent, Mr. James, of Isleworth,
has furnished the be.«t lesson perhaps of the
value of the chrysanthemum in a private gar-
den, and the more to be commended, doubtless,
because he has not only communicated his
routine of cultivation to the readers of the
Gardcncr^s Magazine, but has presented proofs
of his skill in the beautiful specimens he has ex-
hibited at South Kensington. Tiiose who culti-
vate the chrysanthemum with zeal equal to that
of J^Ir. James are few and far between, 3'et we
ought to be able to count them by hundreds, for
in its season, it has no compeer, and may be
truly designated the Queen of Autumn. That
we do not meet with chrysautheuiums in conser-

vatories and sheltered borders, except as rari-
ties, is i^erhaps to be ascribed in part to a pre-
judice against them founded on ignorance, but in
part also, no doubt, to the immense absorption
of glass, labor and admiration by the ordinary
run of bedding plants, which have become a
conspira;cy of usurpers, claiming and obtaining
all the strength of almost every garden for their
presentation and keeping. Nevertheless, the
gloom that has suddenly fallen on the gardens
that were but lately gay with bedding plants,
renders the chrysanthemum "conspicuous by
its absence," and it would be a delightful relief
from the dreariness that prevails, could W'e see
in the conservatory, and the more suitable of
the plant-houses lor the intrusion of visitors,
well-grown specimen chrysanthemums mixed
with other plants, or, better still, such a solid
phalanx as Mr. Forsyth will presently invite
the public to behold, in the only trade exhibi-
tion of the flower that the metropolis can now
boast of.The numerous exhibitions by Chrys-
anthemum societies in all the great trading
towns tend to difTuse a knowledge of the plant
and promote an appreciation of its beauty ; but
the impressions made do not spread flir, else we
should hear of many more exhibitions than we
do in rural districts far removed from great
towns, where the need of November flowers is
fully as great, and the poverty of the gardens
even more noticeable.— TAe Gardencr''s Maga-
zinc.

Azalea amcena.— This brautiful dwarf Ja-
panese species is exactly suited for the margin
or front row of a bed of plants, or for grouping
in small beds Its bright rosy jiurjile flowers are
i very abundant and eflective iu the Spring.

1871.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOMTBLY,

351

HORTICULTURAL NOTICES.

THE AMERICAN TOMOLOGICAL
SOCIETY.

In our last we oflered a few remarks as to the
general success which attended the Richmond
meeting. In the details the meeting was
chiefly confined to the discussion of the
wants of varieties of fruits adapted to the
Southern States. A motion was made and
carried to make the bi-annual contribu-
tions four dollars; and another to petition
Congress to aid the Society by an appropriation.
A resolution to petition Congress to aid in the
distillation of liquor from peaches was voted
down as not properly within the province of a
Pomological Society. A rather long discussion
took place on the Red Astrachan apple, the sa-
lient point of Avhich was that it was too strong
a grower on rich soils, and hence was a long
time in coming into bearing under such circum-
stances. The apples which received the greatest
encouragement for tiie South and Southwest
were Red Astrachan, American Summer Pear-
main, Early Harvest, Summer Queen, Caroline
Red June, Common Pearmain, Manjum, Gilpin,
Shockley, AVinesap, Eawle's Janet, Maidens
Blush and Ijoudon Pippin. Others generally
praised, but more cautiously, were Red Margaret
or Striped June, Autumn Sweet Bough, White
Winter Pearmain, Carter's Bloom, Carolina
Greening, Buckingham (Syn. Salem), Taunton,
Ben Davis, Junaluskie, Nickajack, Pryor's
Red, Stevenson's "Winter, Yates, Mason's
Stranger, for Virginia.

The discussion on Pears was quite livelj', and
in regard to Belle Lucrative, the Society came in
for a share of vituperation for ever having re-
commended it so highly, but the general opinion
seemed to be that it deserved all that was said
of it in former years, but had deteriorated since,
though some of the speakers still thought it one
of the very best grown. Those deemed gener-
ally acceptable were Bartletts, Bloodgood,
Seckel, Howell, Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Clair-
geau, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Lawrence, Onon-
daga, Sheldon. Other.s receiving pretty general
pnise were BufTam, Doyenne d'Ete, Flemish
Beauty, Kingsessing, Rostiezer, Beurre Bosc,
Beurre Diel, Beurre Superfin, Doyenne Bous-
sock. Urbaniste, alsp, was tolerably well
spoken of.

In strawberries the enthusiasm for Wilson's
Albany was quit-c wild The following lad

general praise : Barne.^ ^Mammoth Agricultu,
St. Longworth's Prolific, Triomphe de Gand
Seth Boyden, Cliarles Downing, Kentucky,
AVilder, Seedling Eliza, Green Prolific.

The Peach was pretty thoroughly discussed.
The most favored were perhaps Yellow St.
John, Early Tillotson, Amelia, Large York,
Crawford's Early, Troth's Early Columbia,
Susquehanna, Stump the World, Grosse Mig-
nonne, Chinese Cling, Lemon Cling, Heath Cling,
Old Mixon Cling. Some kinds less known, and
which received favorable mention, were Eaton,
Indian Blood Cling, Lady Parham, Baldwin's
Late, Picqucts Late. Hale's Early raised quite
an animated discussion, many regarding it as
worthless, others praising it highly, under dif-
ferent phases of culture.

In Grapes, the Delaware, Concord and Clin-
ton were favored with most compliments ; and
Norton's Virginia, Ives, and Rogers No. o, had
considerable commendation. Many other grapes
were named, but as opinions seemed about
equally divided. we do not name them. The varie-
ties of the Muscadine grape (Scuppernong sec-
tion) were all well spoken of as profitable for
cooking and vinous purposes.

Of the large number of new seedlings offered,
none received from the committee the enco-
mium of " best '' which would entitle them to a
distinguished place in public estimation. There
were some remarkable grapes, however, from
Dr. A. P. "Wylie, on which the correspondent
of the Pliiladcl2)hia Press makes the following
remarks :

" Among the most interesting matters con-
nected with the exhibition of fruits, is a collec-
tion of grapes by Mr. Wylie, of Chester, South
Carolina. The public at largo are not abe to
appreciate the great value of this gentleman's
labors as well as they might do, from the fact
that he is not a fruit-grower for market, and
therefore has no pecuniary interest in the work
in whic!i he is engaged. He experiments solely
from a love of science and interest in the
strange character of the results. A nursery-
man, on the other hand, has an interest in
money in the process of any new variety of
fruits he may get, and thus the public soon
hears and knows all about it.

In the South are two grapes, the Clinton and
Scuppernong, which, though good grapes, are
not as Ingh in eating qualities as one could

352

THE GARDEJs'EKS MOJ^THLy.

JVoveviber

■wish. The European grape docs not grow well
in the open air. Dr. W. supposed that by hy-
bridization he could mix the quality of the
foreign with the hardiness and vigor of the na-
tive, and thus got perfection. Otliers have at-
tempted this ; but their results .seem rather the
effect of accident. Rogers, of Salem, Massa-
chusetts, once produced some, but it was never
repeated, nor any minute details preserved
Avhich would invest his experiments with scien-
tific interest.

But Dr. Wylie has perserved year after year
for now neai'ly twenty years, marking down ex-
actly the parentage of each, and continually
producing something valuable. Here, at this
meeting, he had a large variety of seedlings,
almost all of which, by repeated selections, most
srape-eaters would consider superior even to tlie
famed grapes of Italy or the Rhine. Some of
the scientific results are very curious. For in-
stance, year after year, he placed the pollen of
the European grape on the flowers of the Scup-
pernoug, but it had no more effect than so much
earth. The Scuppernong refused to lie a parent
to the European grape, nor would it reproduce
any better when^ the other American species
were tried. Not even our common fox grape
had any eflect on the reproductive organs.

But when the Scuppernong was employed as
a male parent, and its pollen introduced to the
other species, a mongrel race was produced, and
when the pollen of this mongrel race was intro-
duced back again to the Scuppernong, then it
was eflective, and new varieties could be raised
from the Scuppernong in this way. Thus the
female Scuppernong grape will not intercross
with the male flowers of any other grape, but it
will do so with a mongrel male, which is tiie
progeny of a male of its own species.

This curious discovery is puzzling the physi-
ologists exceedingly, but the general ])ublic,
which does not bother itself so much with laws
as with their practical results, are more taken
with the luscious fruit which the Doctor has
l)roduced.''

In regard to the large premiums oflercd by the
Virginia Societies, Nebraska carried away the
•SlOU oflered fur tlie best general collection of
fruits. The premiums were subsequently do
nateci to tlic; Tomological Society. Kansas had
a rcniarkal)!y line collection of Apples, which
would perhaps liave given Nebraska some
trouble if tiio>io \\\ charge liad thought to in-
clude other fruits according to the rc(iuin'menls
of the schedule. As it was, the lifty.-doUar pre-
mium for apples was awardi:d to Kansas.

The show of fruit wasallogethcr inagnilicent,
and except at thi; annual (;xhil)ili(jn of the

Pennsjdvania Horticultural Society, we doubt
whether any such a fine exhibition was ever
made as here.

Among the items of interest was a contriv-
ance by Mr. Wier for destroying the codling
moth. It is made up of pieces of shingle
screwed together. The moth deposits its eggs
between the faces, and between these "upper
and nether millstones " the larvae is crushed and
destroyed. It appeared to us better than either
woollen waste or heavy bands. Col. Hardee, of
Florida, also introduced an idea, that insects
could be destroyed in an orchard hy concussion.
Two pounds of powder exploded in an orchard
would destroy the curculio and the larva? of
other insects.

In regard to practical discussions on fruit
culture in general, there was but one evening
devoted to it. It was chiefly confined to the
Pear and its diseases. Messrs. W. Saunders,
Professor Taylor, Dr. Houselj', Wier, Smith,
Lemosy and Meehan took part in it Mr.
Saunders had found washing the stems of
pear trees with lime and sulphur to have a
good effect in rendering them healthy. He
thought the fire blight in the pear was the
result of fungoid action, and that these external
applications might have a good result in de-
stroying these diseases. Mr. Meehan favored
the fungoid theory of fire blight. Dr. Housely
and Mr. "Wier attributed it to sudden atmos-
pheric changes which must be injurious to vege-
tation. ]\Ir. Brown Smith mentioned the case
of a friend who insisted that the seeds of a kind
of blight were in the seedling pears the previous
year, but Avho was a little suspicious of the
soundness of his theor}' when he was informed
that the plants were only /our months old. He
still believes in his "theory," however, luit he
don't understand how it is that the iplants
cannot yet be a year old, and he thinks Mr.
Smith's tacts must be wrong somewhere.

The meeting is to be held in 1873 in Boston,
which will be the 2oth anniversary of the So-
ciety. '1 he authorities of the city of Richmond
and' the members of the Horticultural and Agri-
cultural Societies behaved in the most handsome
manner to the members and delegates to the
Convention. Rides were provided to dillerent
points, and the whole wound up with a superb
banquet, which was largely attended. AVe visi-
ted the leading cemeteries and jjublic gardens
jn the vicinity, and were much gratified by the
excellent condition of the trees and stock of
Franklin Davis ifc Co."s nurseries, as well as
those of Allen & Johnson.

PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY.

The aunuiil meeting of the Pennsylvania Hor-
ticultural Society was, as the show-bills would
this time truly say, "an immense attraction."
We made full notes for iha Montlih/^ liut ihoy are
crowded over for this month, but will appear in
our next.

rSIIC/AIKSil't ^1^'

PAVrA MACROSTACHYA.

\u aSardener's

'-T)

T)f;voteu to

Ho7'riciflturt>, Af'horiciili'JTc. Bolanij and Kurai Affairs,

EDITED BY THOMAS MEEHAK.

Old ^er,e^, Vol. XIU. DECEMBER. 187 1. AVio ,SVr/V^., Vo}. / 1'. An. 12.

M8 FOK DE^.EMIU^R.

FLOWER GARDEN AND IM/KASUKE
GROUND.

There, are many beautiful plants which we can
enjoy if we onh' take care to keep them from the
sun in winter. The Everjrreen Ivy is one of this
class. In Pennsylvania it will rai'ely live on the
south side of a building without some injury :
while on the northern side, it is usually able to
get through. This shows that it is not a ques-
tion of the thermometer, for it is much colder on
the north side of a house than on the south ; but
it is rather through the more rapid escape of
moisture on that side. But the lesson is of
value in teaching us to shade any valuable broad-
leaved plant which we may liavo. The Japan
Euonymus, the Oregon grape or Malionio. nquifo.
lia, the Rhododendron, and other similar things
all do ver}' well in this section of the countrj',
if anything be scattered lightly over to prevent
injury from the sun. ^\rr. Rand, who lia.^- given
these matters much close attention, reports that
in Mass. the English Ivy is not hardy there ;
but we think if placed in sulecled si)ots away
from the winter's suu, they mightdo better than
is supposeil In trials nl' this kind the green-
leaved forms should be selected, as these are
more hardy than the variegated ones.

Since Mr. Robinson's works and the writiugs
of other leaders in horticulture have called at-
tention to the great beauty ot the more tnipical
styles of uortliern gardening, there is much de-
mand for this class of plants. f)nu landscape
gardener tells us he makes great use of the Yitc-
ciis for this purpose ; as its sword like evergreen
leaves have a pretty efiect Jn winter as well as
ia summer. The Yucai f'd tmentfmi. is the one
employed chielly. There are other species stil;

lare, whieii will no doubt l)ecoine very useful for
this purjjose, also when they become cl)eap and
eominon, of these are I'', recitrva, Y. rjlorhsa, and
1". nnQustifnlid.

We have frequintly urged the importance of
planting places very tliickly at first, in order
both to produce an immediate effect, and also
because the shelter wliieh one .mother affords
makes the trees grow with greater health and
vigor, than when exposed singly to the force of
wind and sun. At this season no better employ-
ment can be found than in thiuniug out these
thick ]ilanled places. It will of course require
much judgment ; but one fond of trees, and the
efu ci.s which they produce, will not be much at
a loss. Sometimes it is hard to bring oneself to
cut down a tree which one has watched grow for
so many years ; but it often must be done if we
would preserve the symmetry and 1)eauty of our
places. Wlien there is any question as to the
proper tree to ha taken away, the size of the
place may h. Ip one to decide. A tree which
will in tiine occupy nuich space can be more
easily spared fromji small place than one which
will never transgress a limited space. Indeed
except for the purpose of rapid growth to nurse
more valued trees, large growing things should
n<»t lie tolerated in small places. The green
grass which is the charm of all gardens soon de-
parts when large trees are about.

Of course, this talk about thinning out, brings
us to anotlier great winter employment, that of
pruning. There is no very great amount of
science required for this, and yet some judgment
is necessary. This is ottcn done with little more
reason than a boy has for whittling a chip--
nierely to have something to do. For nolwith-

354

TEE GARDEJ^ER'S MOJrTELl.

Decejnber,

standing the many papers that have been writ-
ten " on the philosophy of pruning," the naked
question, "What is the best time to prune
trees?" is one with which the gardener is con-
tinually bored. The keen-edged gardeners give
the cutting rcpl}', " any time when your knife is
sharp;" but the more good nalurcd say, "It
depends on what you v/aut to out for." The
street cutter " wants to keep the tree head low,"
and cuts down to make them branch lower ; cut-
ting in winter does not have tliis cflcct, so that
unless one has some other object to combine with
it, such as to clean the tree of bark scales or the
larva of other insects, or the giving of employ-
ment to some half-starved tree carpenter, the
work might as well be left undone. If you want
a branch to push strongly at the pointwhere you
cut a part awaj', itrune in winter. If your tree
has branches crossing each other, or has half
dead branches, or anything tending to spoil the
form or symmetry of your tree, prune in winter;
but as a rule the less pruning is done the
healthier will be your trees, for it may be ac-
cepted as a rule in gardening that all pruning,
whether in winter or summer, is a blow struck
at the vitality of the plant.

Sometimes we have to sacrifice a good object
to gain some other point. So in hedges. The
plants are usually trees. To c7evigorate them
and keep them bushy is our great object, The
principal pruning is therefore in summer. The
winter pruning is simply to keep them in shape.
There is, however, one kind of pruning which
just suits both the principle and the season,
namely, thinning out where thick planting has
been adopted, as it is now by all who want a
new place to look well without waiting too long
for the charm.

Nothing "pays" like surface dressings of ma-
nure or good soil to evergreens and ornamental
trees. Life is too short for mere natural growth.
It is a pardonable vice to wish for large trees.
Put on two inches of good stuff, and see how
tlicy will go ahead.

The winter's experience will no doubt show how
much the comforts and pleasure of a place will
be added to by liberal planting, and while the
«ad experience is on one is the time to decide on
the details. Good resolutions i)utofl', like death-
bed repentances, generally end in smoke. Odd
spells will oD'er through the winter season to get
ready s^ils and manure for spring uses.

Very few understand that an occasional
change of soil !■< very beneficial to llowers in beds,

though all know how iiui)ortant it is (o flowers
in pots. There is nothing better than surface
soil from an old pasture, taken off about two
inches deep, and thrown into a heap with about
one sixth part old hot bed dung to partially de-
cay. In addition to this " staple " item, smaller
quantity of different matters should be gathered
together for peculiar cases, or particular plants.
Peat, for instance, will be fonnd very useful for
many kinds of plants. This is not, as is often
supposed, mere black sand ; but a spony, fibrous
substance from the surface of bogs and boggy
wastes. Sand should be collected sharp and
clean; the washings from turnpike ditches are
as good as anything. Leaf mould is best got
already Avell decayed from the woods. That
one makes for himself from rotten leaves is sel-
dom good for anything ; it is always sour and
and seems "indigestible " to vegetation. A load
or so of well-decayed cow-manure is a good thing
for the gardener to have by him, as all those
plants that dislike our hot summers, and want
a cool soil to grow in, prefer it to any other ma-
nure. A small pile of hot bed manure is almost
indispensable to the garden.

Much will, in many places, be required for
dressing of the lawn, which too often is really
starved for want of nutriment. The modern
practice of using mowers, and leaving the short
grass to serve as a mulch i.s a little good ; but
not near enough to keep the grass in good heart.
A top dressing ever}-^ other year, or every three
years, will be of great benefit to the best made
lawn. This top dressing may not be of rich or
expensive materials. The scouring of ditches
will do. Indeed this kind of material is the bet-
ter, as more of it can be used ; and thus shallow
places, which often exist in lawns of some pre-
tentions, may be filled up. We have seen good
lawns made in this way from rough places, as
bad as if the grass had been sown on a peice of
ploughed ground, without any rolling or har-
rowing down. The grass sown comes through
the filled up places, and a smooth lawn in this
way can often be had without the trouble and
annoyance of ploughing up and seeding down
again, a practice which is often empio3'cd where
the work was not in the first instance well done.

GREENHOUSE.

>Iany suppose that if plants in windows get
light, that is enough ; but there is nothing so
i:ood as sunlight. This i.s even of more con.se-

1^71.

THE GARBEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

1* r r
ODD

quence than heat. Flowers will generally be in
greater proportion in a window at 55-' than in a
much higher temperature without the sunlight.
Most of the old foshioned window plants are still
among the best. For instance Mignonette, Sweet
Alyssura, Zonale Geraniums, Ciipheas, Fuchsias,
Violets, Roses, Plectranlhus, Chinese Primroses,
Lobelias, Oxalis, Solanum semi-baccatum or "Je-
rusalem Cherry," (of which the dwarfer kind S.
cnpsicastrum is an improvement, 1 Catalonian
Jasmines, Daphnes, Sweet Olive, Laurustinus,
and where there is a little knowledge. Camellia
and Azalea are still among the best.

Year by year the demand for cut flowers in-
creases, and it is far more important in these
days that a gardener keep his employer's table
and ftxmily in these, than to have the nice speci-
men plants so much in fashion some years ago.

To have plants bloom freely at this season,
heat, moisture and fresh air are essential. It is
even good economy to lose some heat in order to
gain the advantage of opening ventilators or
windows, if the weather outside be not favora-
ble enough without. The Camellia, Azalea,
Daphne, Stevia, Poinsettia, Euphorbia, A^iolets,
Tree Carnation, Lopezia, Eupatorium, Cinera-
ria, Perennial Candytuft, Deutzia gracilis, Tea
and Noisette Roses, Epiphyllum truncatum,
Hermannia odorata. Acacia, Bletia, Scarlet Ge-
raniums, Strelitzia, Chorizema, and most kinds
Australian plants, Verbenas, Bouvardia, Helio-
trope, are a few of the best things to grow for
cutting, that occur to us as we write. The tem-
perature should not often be below 5r)° to be se-
cure of a good bloom.

We ought perhaps to add the Rose to this list.
It is, however, not a free plant to flower in
the winter, unless an abundance of light can be
aflbrded. Even then some classes of Roses are
unfit for it. Only the Tea class and some of the
Noisettes will do ; there are not many of this
last, — Lamarque being one of the few to do
well. Cels, Saflrano, Triomphe dc Luxemburg,
Homer and Madame Russel are about the best
The Camellia and Azalea are particularly valu-
able for cutting. The whites are the most pop-
ular for this purpo.se, principally the old Double
White and candidissima ; the last comes into
flower a little later than the other kind. In cut-
ting these, only the flowers are taken ofl", and
artificial stems in the shape of small wires are
given to them. The common white azalea,
Azalea indica alba is also very populaj- among
white flowers.

The Camellia is very apt to drop itsbudsif the
atmosphere is too dry ; but generally dropping
follows any check to the roots by which the reg-
ular flow of moisture to the bud is stopped. This
may be either too little or too much water ; if
too little, of course there is not enough moisture;
if too much the fibres are liable to have their
points injured, and thus are unable to draw
moisture to the bud. Usually the last bad re-
sults follow from over potting. With a large
mass of soil, water is apt to not pass readily
away, when the soil "sours," as it is termed. A
pot full of roots will seldom drop the Camellia
buds for any other cause than too little water.

A great enemy of the Camellia is the Red Spi-
der. The leaves indicate its presence generally
by a brown tinge, when the pocket lens, which
every gardener of course carries, readily detects.
All plants are more or less liable to these insects,
as well as to green fly, mealy bug and scale.
The best way to keep them down is by a free use
of the syringe in fine day?, using water in which
some sulphur has been strewn. Tobacco smoke
is still the best cure for aphis. Scale is a yery
troublesome pest ; water heated to 130^ is still
the best. This injures very tender leaves ; but
the scale is rarely on such, it usually keeps to
the branches or on thick leathery leaves.

Tree Carnations, — these also now indispensa-
ble winter flowering plants, want a very light
place to do well. They do not generally care
about very large pots— about five or six inches —
but they are very much benefited by rich ma-
nure water.

.The Calla Lily is now extremely popular.
This also loves light. It must have a good sup-
ply of water, and good soil to flower well.

Towards spring the Cinernria comes in re-
markably well for cutting. This is a "queer"
plant. It is one of the easiest to suffer from
frost, and yet will not do well in a high tempera-
ture. It also I'equircs much light, and to be verv
near the glass. So also of the Fans'/ and Violet,
although some frost will not hurt these.

It' Pelargojiiums are wanted to flower well next
May and June, they should be attended to, and
'grow well through tlie winter. They want a
rather warm house to keep them growing, and
should be pinched back as they grow, to keep
them bushy.

A good supply of young Fuchsias should be
coming on now— repot as their roots fill cacli
pot, let them not want for'moisture or light ; do
no* pinch off" their tops, but let them grow rap-

So6

THE GARDEJV'ER'S MOJSTTHLy.

December,

idly. The temperature in whiitli they are .!j;rown
should not exceed oO . A turly loam, moderate.
ly enriched with well decayed manure, and well
drained with charcoal, suits them admirably.

Ausiralian and Cape PhmU are the chief or-
naments of the greenhouse at this time. The
Acacia^ amongst the principal ; will, like the Ca-
mellia, requires more water while (lowering ; in
deed, most plants which prculucc llowers, before
they make a new growth, require more water as
they flower. On the other hand, most plants
which flower on the young wood at or near the
completion of its growth, take less The Correa
is another beautiful tribe, but does not do well
in most collections ; it is generally grown in a
peaty soil ; we observed that where it seems to
succeed well, the growers use a considerable por-
tion of loam in their compost for it. This is
consistent with our own experience, and we are
inclined to the opinion that more loam should
be used with the peat for hard-wooded plants
than is generally done in this country. As soon
as any Cape or hard-wooded plant has ceased to
flower, it should be repotted, if it require it ;
many prefer waiting till the plants are placed in
summer quarters before this is done, and some
in the fall. We prefer before they commence to
grow, whatever the season may be, as the roots
being then in their most active state immediate-
ly penetrate the new soil, and before it becomes
sour or sodden by frequent waterings, reap what-
ever advantages the air it contains when fresh
may aflbi-d them. Some greenhouses are render-
ed very gay in February and March by having
young plants of VVrftov/.s, Pctunho:, and other

bedding-out plants potted at this time into large
pots, and encouraged to grow.

VEGETABLE GARDEN.

Very little can be done now in this depart-
ment, except by way of preparation for another
year.

Manure can be placed on the ground wherever
required, and Asparagu's beds, if not already
done, should have a slight covering of it. Bean
poles. Pea-brush, and stakes of all kinds should
be got now, the tool house gone over and put in
order, and everything kept in good order and
studiously in its place. When the season of
operations commences, there will then be no-
thing to hold back the attention.

Where there can be heat of 60" commanded,
Bush Beans can be easily grown in pots, and
can be gathered in two months from time of
sowing.

If there is abundance of leaves or manure at
command, and small frames, beds may be put
up for early spring salads, at the end of the
month.

Iladishes and Lettuces are, however, very im-
patient of too much heat ; they will come on well
if the temperature be kept at 4.5'. When it goes
above that, the sashes should bo lifted entirely
oft;

The same remarks apply to the Potato and
the Early Horn Carrot.

Cauliflowers in frames require all the air pos-
sible. Never allow them to become dry ; this is
the cause of many failures by waj' of '■ button-
ing off."

C 0 M M U N I C A T I 0 N S

THE ORGANIC INDICNTITY OF THE AL-

BITMKN AND KNDOI'LEl- RA OF ALL

PHAN KROGAMOUS PLANTS.

BY T. C. niLOARD, M. D.

Read hrj'ore ihr. Avwrtraii A'siiriiiti(i7l for llir Ailrif\rrrii, ii(
III Srii iicf.

All seeds of llie lloweringplanls (thenet-leaved,
blade-l<a\cil nnd lln' pine tribes) are collectively
described as consisting <»f a (jenn or " embryo."
enclosed witli tut) xjxnidf sccd-ruah.

A great many seeds, like those of the mustard,
nasturtium, liuckeye, bladder-nut, the ailantluis,
sumach, china-tree, oianije. can ellia gum pod.

gumbo, hibiscus, cocoa-bean, almond, pea and
rose tribes, the brazil-nut, walnut, chestnut ; the
cockle-bur, sun- flower, and melon all conform to
this description, and the natural tribes to which
they belong form a connected region of (he flow-
ering ])lants generally speaking

It is likewise understood that a great many
seeds iiave (heir germ proper imbedded in a
bulky, nutritive lump called the '^'' albumen \">
whicli thus forms (he main bulk of (he seed, r.g.^
of tlic ivory-nut, (he date-kernel, the e(H-oo-nut,
tlie pepper, paw-paw and nutmeg, and all the

1871.

THE GARDE^^ER'S MOJ^THLl.

357

grains no less than the well-known coffee-bean, i
In water, the latter will swell and protrude its [
stubble-like embryo out of one end of its horny, \
enveloping mass, oi* '•albumen.''''

It has, however, hitherto remained an un-
noticed fact that all seeds which have two so-
called seed-coats, are alike destitute of an " albu-
men ,'^' and that all seeds prort(7e^7 with an albu-
men, have only one solhtxrij sccd-coat, aside from
the albumen itself.'"'

In man}- other seeds, as in those of the Osage
Orange (Maclura) and several Cactacese, etc.,
the albumen is thinned out, in some places, into
a so-called "endopleura" or interior seed coat,
while in other parts of the seed the sheet of this
self-same "internal seed-coat" thickens up into
a bulky albumen, conformably to the configura-
tion of the germ it encloses and of the testa which
contains both.

An inspection of the immature seed of all the
so-called cx-albuminous forms, i. e. those which,
like the pea-nut, peach, and almond, are desti-
tute of an albumen, discloses the fact, that in
this juvenile condition, all these seeds, have,
like all the rest (viz. the " albuminous seeds ")
a large succulent albumen zone, wherein the germ
("embryo sac " etc.) is developed, at the expense ;
of the former. During the process of ripening, ,
in all the natty, or "c.r albuminous " seeds, the;
primitive albumen becomes gradually exhausted, i
leaving its entire cell-tissue compressed and
empty behind, as the delicate endopleura or ;
internal seed-coat. In all the other seeds, on j
the contrary, this succulent albumen-zoue re-
mains the storehouse for the germinating seed
to draw its substance from. In the honey-locust
and the allied coffee-nut tree (Gymnocladus) in
germination; the flinty albumen dissolves into a
sort of gum-like gum arable.

In point of fact, the "endopleura" and the
"albumen '' are one identical onjan.

This evident indentity of the original albumen
and subsequent second seed-coat, settles at once
the old and perplexed question about the erro-
neously supposed "(///»( /tospermi.srw," whether of
Labiata?, Codiferte, and their allies, the Taxineie,
Gnetaceaj, Casuarinte, and Cycadea;.

Since we now know, what parts all seeds con-

*The testa, or exterior eeed-cout, frecjuently exhibits a
diverBified structure of external and internal surfaces. In i
.the seed of the inapnolia, that of the p;rn))e, etc., the exte-
rior surface of the otherwise bony seed-coat, which encloses
the albuuen, is fleshy ; as is the entire te.'ta of tlic blue co-
bosh (Caulophyllum).

sist of, these tribes are by no means to be con-
sidered as "abnormally"' or even "monstrous-
ly " organized (as a prevalent theory still holds)
but that e. g. all the edible pme-nwts contain,
each, a complete seel; which loosely adheres to
the capsule (like the mature cocoa-nut kernel)
and is encased within a one-seeded pistil, as in
the case e. g. with all grasses, grains and the
knot-weeds ; their true ovules being mostly ses-
sile (as in the entire orders of Polygonacere and
and Nyctaginaccfe, with only fevv exceptions)
and considerably coherent with the true pistil
(or stigmatiferous "utricle"). In the above
mentioned coniferous tribes, these one-seeded
pistils are provided with a previous, "open"
stigma ; a case correspondingly represented in
the duck-weeds (Lemnaceaj) which however have
their seeds borne upon n funiculus.

The seed itself, of ConiYerre, is a complete one,
consisting (1) of a germ ; (2) an (oily) albumen
and (3) one thin, brown, membranaceous seed-
coat (the testa), readily separating from the utri-
cle or nut-shell which surrounds it, as in the
well-known cases of the pine nuts of California,
Italy and thatof the Switzerland {Pinuscembra),

Thus, it is clear that the pine-scaZes are only a
woody cup or cob, of indurated "saucers" or
involucres (as with acorns) that arise in the
axils of delicate and sometimes colored bracts.
Similar involucral crops we find in the harsh
cones of the alder, and in the sterile aments of
the wild hemp tribe.

The wing-like appendages of the pine-nuts
represent so many paZcce or floral chaff (like that
of grains and bulrushes, etc).

In the remarkable case of Welwitschia, the
"kettle-drum pine'' of western tropical Africa,
no such indurated scales, but only the purpu-
reous bracts, as are those of flowering larcli-
trees, are developed. The true jjeria?U/i— judg-
ing by Dr. J. D. Hooker's plate viii— being here
a delicate, foliaceous two-winged one, epigy-
uously concrete with the nut, as is the chaff of
pines and two-seeded capsules of Araucarise.
Nevertheless, the same identical organ is erro-
neously styled "a pericarp" on the preceding
plates, by a lapsus calami of the same author,- ou
the uncritical bias of so-called "gymnosper-
mism."* The so-called gymnosperms have
closed 2)istils '.

♦The untenable theory, here referred to, considers the
\)'\r\e-scale BiS a '.'pistil ;" destitute, however, of any of the
distinctive ntlribuies of a pistil, being without a suture,
without a stigma, and without any fructification through its
instrumentality.

368

THE GARDENER'S MOJ^THLY. Decemher,

It is thus clear, that there is no " &reafc " in
the vegetable kingdom : all forms uniting into a
complete, conneclcd and harmonious system of
mutual typical affinities or correlations, to be
discussed in detail in a subsequent paper.

AMARYLLIS.

BY A. G , READING, PA.

The leaves of these are often spoiled by an ap-
pearance of scarlet on the underside, which in
time destroys their life. I tried to find the cause
of it, thinking that either extreme of over water-
ing, or under watering might do it. Seeing them
this summer more than usually affected, and
thinking from some evidences of thin places in
the leaf, that it might be the work of an insect
I took the leaf to a gentleman who is in the prac-
tice of examining subjects with the microscope,
who discovered the minute, but formidable dep-
redator. Its nature was between that of a louse
and a worm, having a longish body, half a doz-
en legs, two horns, two prominent eyes, and a
knawing apparatus. Under oiie microscope it
resembled a midge in size, under the other it ap-
peared to be nearly half an inch in length. It
could not be discerned without the aid of a pow-
erful glass. By the small yet wonderful effects
of such as these, are the florists best efforts dc.
feated. They can be exterminated by washing
the leaf with with a sponge wet with soap-suds
or tobacco-water. X found, before knowing the
cause, that where the leaves of the Amaryllis
were washed once a week, they seldom presented
this red appearance.

The true {(me-»eeAvd, pluri-oviilalt) pistil, or •• utricle,''
was wrongly regarded as an (abnormal ly "naked"') "ovule"
with an abiwrmnlly roftrate "exostome," tIz , the (open)
stigma! Next follows (after this ;75f;«(/o "testa") the true
seed-coat under the denomination of an "endopleura, " — and
nn "albumen''' besides, which contuins the embryo.

The true selitary seed-coat adhereing to the pistil, the
shrunken albumen will often be found lying loose inside.

The contended fruit of the well known yew tree contains
(I) an embryo imbedded within (2) an albumen, which is
surrounded ('A) by a tawny .<<eed-coat. The latter loosely
adheres to a thicki.-h capsiilr, which is itself covered by a
tiark, culyciiie layer !—\x\ the exact likenes of an acorn, a
hazlenut, or the nut of the sweet gale (Myrica ; the wax-
myrtle or bayberry) which indeed seems to reproduce the
true Upigyiioii.s) structure nf the forrar on u reduced
ncale; as the (Compo.xite Potymnia Uvedulu, m "nutted

The cup of the yew tree thus remains to be properl'y in-
erpreted as a lle.shy cup partly of dry scales, like those of
he acorn and wax-myrtle on the one. and the succulent
uphorbia-in?olucres <m the other hand.

THE RATIONALE OF HOT-WATER CIR-
CULATION.

BY MR. T. D. FISH.

That heat is a mode of motion, has passed in-
to an axiom in natural philosophy, and appears
to be a matter of everyday experience. "We
speak and write of caloric as the driving force of
the universe. Heat and motion have become
well nigh convertible terms. Exhibifthe results
of heat and you reveal motion ; extinguish or
lessen it, and the result is rest. Such, at least,
is a brief mode of stating the common belief.
Nevertheless, it seems but one side of a truth.
The springs of motion are not wholly laid in
either heat or cold, using these terms in a popu-
lar sense. Were matter of one uniform temper-
ature, that uniformity would prove the grave of
motion. Immobihty would be the unalterable
condition of a world of one imiform tempera-
ture. Rest is the nett product of uniformity ;
motion everywhere, and at all times, treads in
hot haste on the heels of diversity'. The great
movements we see around us reveal the force of
nature striving after an impossible equality of
heat. In this great contest heat and cold are
the racers ; they run round circular courses that
have no end. It is even difficult at times to
know with certainty which takes the initiative.
Of more moment is it to be assured that both
run on without ceasing. Heat and cold are but
opposite sides — the negative and positive poles
of the same great force. Certainly both are
needed to complete the line of motion, and to
knit its parts together in a circle of warming
force. And the force and speed of the motion
will be as the sum of the extreme difference of
temperature between any two points that come
within circulating range. The greater the dis-
parity, the more energetic the motion ; or, in
other words, the more work to be dane, the
greater the force brought forth to do it. And
the worker is not only, nor perhaps chiefly, ca-
loric, but the want of it ; or rather— and to write
with more exactness — motion comes and is sus-
tained by an endless series of exchanges between
more heat and le.ss heat. AVhih; these diversi-
ties exist, motion continues. It is loss due pos-
sibly to the active agency of caloric than it may
seem. If heat give wings to air or water at one
end of the scale, it relatively adds to their weight
at the other. Fttr every molecule lifted by calor-
ic, others are |)ushed forward and onward by
gravitation. Caloric does not drag matter along

187 L

niE GARDEJ^'ER'S MOJ\^THLY.

359

like some fiery steed with invisible rider, but
rather is it a sort oi' outrider to clear the w:iy
for heavier mattt^rs being pushed forward by the
force of gravit}', or the striving for uniformity.
Xature is provident of force ; she never sets ca-
loric, or aught else, to lift, drag, or drive any-
thing that can find its way to where it is wanted
without its aid. In the heating of the world she
raises her stores up into the air, or carries them
across the surface of the water, at the highest
possible levels consistent with her objects. But
her returns are placed at the lowest points. By
these arrangements gravitation does useful work
in the distribution of heat. A vigorous flow of
hot air or water once established, the return
streams take cai'e of themselves. Elastic fluids,
impelled by the force of natural laws, reach the
highest points first. From this maximum alti-
tude the descent is simple and easy ; it is a mere
falling from a higher to a lower point, or rather,
like running down hill. At every step of the
journey downwards fresh momentum is gaine<J,
and the bite of friction is less felt as a hindrance;
and finally, the return stream, parting with its
heat all the way, contracting in bulk, and grow-
ing in weight, plunges into the boiler or source
ot heat, to be at once prepared for a new round
of distribution. But a point or two of consider-
able moment ought to be noted here ; one is,
that the hot water cannot I'emain in the boiler if
we would have it so ; the general opinion is, that
it is driven out by caloric. But this can hardly
be the case, else would all the pots on our tires
suddenly boil dry, but they do not under ordi-
nary heat; they boil without overflowing, but
our boilers overflow long before they reach boil-
ing point— in fact they ought never to boil. The
chief reason for this extreme sensitiveness to
motion is the great weight of cold water pressing
upon the negative or cold limb of our boilers,
if I may so jiut it. No sooner is the normal

open for caloric, and it will always take the
highest road. In a current of hot water there
are doubtless limits to this law. Beyond a cer-
tain height the weight of the water in vertical
columns would probably check the energy of the
ascending force, but within the limits of horti-
cultural heating this rule may be held as abso-
lute, that the higher the flow-pipe the greater the
force of the current. By converting the return
or lower pipe into the flow we lose this strong-
natural help to a vigorous circulation. One
other point requires notice. The highest part
of the boiler ought to be the hottest, the heating
of the water should be cumulative from bottom
upwards ; if the circulation is rapid, as it ought
to be, the boiler kept free of sediment, and the
furnace is wisely adjusted, the return current
will keep the base of the boiler cool. Our chief
concern is to keep the crown hot. In our anxiety
to save fragments of fuel we often lose site of this
one thing most needful. By multiplying flues
on the crowns of boilers we keep its head cool.
Better far waste some caloric up chimney than
drag a languid stream of black smoke and spent
flame to play around the flow-pipe. The fire
here should burn its fiercest, and give its last
sharp spur to the dep:irting water, telling it in
unmistakable terms to be olf about its master's
business, that of heating the houses. That last
fillip at starting not only gives a spurt to the
flowing stream, but it creates a vacuum or levity,
Avhich the whole weight of the returning column
boun.ls forward to fill up. Hence it follows that
unless on very short routes indeed, or under ab-
normal pressure, the greater the ditlercnce of
temperature between the flow and return pipes,
the swifter and the more powerful the circula.
tion. For it must be obvious that were the re-
turn pii)e to become as hot as the flow, we should
lose the great force of gravity as an aid to cir-
culation. But tlie smallest diflerences tell upon

strength of the water broken by the levity in- motion, ami in all ordinary arrangements it may
duced by heat than the strong cold waters rash be accepted as an axiom that the return water
in, and possibly push so sharplv upon the warm i reaches the boiler wholly by its own gravity,
water as to help it forward and upw.ards outof! Wc have been invited to follow nature, and I
the boilers. There is thus a compound action ; i have adverted to certain examples. But in all
the dual forces -levity and weight, heat an<l cold i such cases it i.s needful to guard against analo-
— act simultaneously to induce motion. There , gies being taken tor identities. Nature's actual
i.s even a third force developed, which is some- 1 modes of heating are somewhat diflerent from
what diflicult to describe It will be understood ' ours, though her great systems of distribution
if I call it the upward bound or rush of heat, are the same. Water is heated from above down -
Caloric in its hot tract seems ever to aim at its wards, the air from below upwards. We find it
Kourec-the sun. It hits straight at that mark, | most profitable io heat water as nature does air
and recks not of side issues. Leave several ways -by suspending it over the fire or source of heat

360

THE ajllWEMKR'lS MOjs'THLY.

December,

but because iu Ihi.s ])oint we may diveri2;c from
nature, that is no reason wliy lier grand order of
heatinj; by hot-water should be set aside or re-
versed. Ilavinii; provided the liot-water stream
by the best means at our command, we shall jjet
the most heat out of it with tb.o least expendi-
ture of fuel or force Jn" followin;^- nature's mode
of distribution. It is utterly impossible to gain
aught by making the lowest pipe the flow, un-
less our pots, teakettles and boilers can be made
hottest at tlie bottom — ;'.nd even then we should
gain a loss by tlse change. Since writing the ■
foregoing I have read the llev. J. M. Taylor's
second letter (pj). 775, 770). 1 am not sure that
I understand it ; but this much is certain, that
any mode of heating horticultural buildings that
requires the water to be kept boiling to bring out
its merits is impraclicablc and useless. It can-
not be done, if we Would — ii ought not, if we
could How the arrangements illustrated iu the
Gard€ner''s Chronicle by Mr Cannell, wiiich we
were assured resulted in keeping the flow and
return pipes at nearly equal temperatures, can
likewise fulfil the conditions described in this
sentence, I cannot divine. Having gained a
high level for the water, lie prudently keeps it
until the water has acquired all the weight by
condensation that the cooling process can give
h ; he then gives it at its final plunge into the
bottom of the boiler all the advantage which al-
titude, perpendicularity, and directness of de-
scent can confer on it as a motive power ! If
this were, or is so, then the return pipe would be
almost cold. But, on the contrary, force up the
whole mass of cold water by the aid of caloric in
opposition to the laws and Avays of nature, the
hottest water will still be found at the highest
point, that is, just at the upper end of the re-
turn pipe ; and instead of being kept there or
sent on a circuitous journey to exhaust its heat,
it at once returns to the boiler warm, that is,
assuming, for the nonce, that the circulation
flows as the arrow-heads indicate, which, how-
ever, i by no means admit. I pass no opinion
at present on the suggestion to raise the flow-
pipe at starting above the level of the return, so
that it may dip into it ; nor the other suggestion
to raise, flow and return to the same level. The
llev. J. il. Taylor seems to attribute undue im-
portance to the vcrticality of the return-pipe.
But the gravitation is from the highest point,
how or wherever placed, and the friction of wa-
ter in pipes of such bore as Is mostlj' used for
heating is but little. As far as I understand this

gentleman, I agree with him on the importance
of gravitation as an aid to circulation ; but I
don't see how the arrangement^ suggested can
strengthen its force. On the contrary, they
seem to me to neutralise or hinder it.

[We give the above excellent paper from the
London Gar(lener''s Ckronide. Mr Fish is one
of the best known of English gardeners, and it
will be seen his explanation :s substantially tlie
same as those given by us in the Gardener''s
Monthltf, and which so much inten sted our cor-
respondents. —Ed.]

FLOWERS IN FURXACE-HEATED
HOOMS.

BY A. G.

Knowing that some persons arc discouraged
from cultivating flowers in furnace-heated rooms
for fear of the dry atmosphere, we wish to as-
sure them that many beautiful flowers can be
so cultivated ; providing care is taken to have
them tJtoroughh; ivatered overhead once a tceclc, and
regularly at otlicr times, according to the habits
of the plants.

In a la-rge window where there was plenty of

light, almost verging into sunlight, which, iu

the spring, came in at one corner, we have seen

1 blooming, Amaryllis, Begonias, Bouvardias,

I Cactus, varieties of Geraniums, Poinsettia,

I Anemothecas, Alliums, Ixias, Jonquils, Nerica,

I or Iris, Waltonias, Valottas, Callas, Petunias,

I Bramble or Bridal Rose, &c. Some of these

were forwarded indirect sunlight, with the same

heat, but not all. Generally speaking, the plants

were healthy and thrifty. Saucers of water were

I also placed among them to impart moisture.

I Roses, Hyacinths, Heliotropes and Verbenas

I did not do so well. The Hyacinths occasionally

I were fine, when planted in pots. In glasses they

did not devolope. Fuchsias did well in a stair-

j way window, getting a moderate share of the

heat. When trimmed and potted at New Years,

and allowed full growth afterward, they were

very fine.

GOOSEBERRY MILDEW,
nv Mn. Av. ir. mills, oktakio, Canada.
At the last stated meeting of our Associatiou,
held at Hamilton, I was requested to give some
explanation of gooseberry mildew. 1 had not
given the subject those close microscopical ob-
servations which I have since done. These are
.quite at your service in case you feel disposed to

1871.

THE GARDEJ^EK'S MOJS'THLY.

361

include thoin in your aniuml n-port : tliev are as
follows :

I have frcquonll)- been defeated in seourinix a
crop of gooseberries of the foreign sorts free from
fungus. These frequent failures, and the request
before mentioned, determined me to proceed to a
more searching study of the phenomena connect-
ed with its last development ; therefore, on the
5th day of July last, I placed minnte pieces of
the fungus (taken from a berry just plucked) on
the field of a powerful microscope, commencing
at its lowest diameter, and from thence gradu-
ally increasing its power. I found this fungus to
be composed of a well organized cryptogamous
plant, exhibiting a vegetable growth many de-
grees lower in the organic scale than the berry
from which it derived its supply of food. It con-
sisted of a dense net work of a filamentous tex-
ture, interwoven in every conceivable way ;
along thes filaments of threads were disposed
vast numbers of minute seed vessels or concepti-
cles, each containing from 4 to 8 sporangia,
within which lay numerous germs. Now, these
concepticlcs were constantly maturing, bursting
open and sending forth germ life to the air in
vast numbers invisible to the naked eye, posses-
sing the power to increase to a marvellous extent
and in a very short space of tinic It is quite
credible that in this way it might soon form an
environment in which the surface of every berry
and leaf would become Icithed, for by the slight-
est motion of the air these germs are wafted.
"When we consider them capable of sustaining
vitalit}' under extreme heat or cold (for this has
been verified by the experiments of both German
and English scientists in their recent experi-
ments to test spontaneous generation), it would
almost appear from this to be law that the more
elementary the organic structure the more
diflScult it becomes to destroy its vital proper-
ties under extreme conditions.

Kow, our gooseberry cryptogam increase its
size and form by extension of cilia on extremely
fine threads, branching, overlapping, and reach-
ing in all directions, where fjod is most abun-
dant and suitable, not unlike the spread of mush-
room spawn, so that in fact the depth of net
work or the density of disease, but acts as a
mere scavenger in the removal of matter unsuit-
able for the development of higher organic forms.
It can only lay hold of refuse matter. I consider
fungi as important in the economy of nature as
the higher organic forms, and I would not wil-
lingly be guilty of charging those simple struc-

tures with the crime of creating disease on the
more complex organism any more than I would
the crow for the death of the horse upon which
he feeds,

Mr. J. X. Jones, of Charleston, ten years ago,
observed that before a "fungus made its ap-
pearance, and before any trace of it could be ob-
served under a high magnifying power, the sur-
fice put on a peculiar gla.^od appearance.'' Now,
this in the case of the gooseberry, arises from its
own exudation becoming condensed upon the
surface. Emits, like leaves, undergo continual
evaporation. If from any cause this exuded
gooseberry vapor which contains the elements
of sugar, becomes condensed at the surface, it
forms into a glaze 'constituting the essential
food), which soon becomes, when exposed to the
action of sunlight and air, chemically decom-
posed ; the thickness of tlie glaze will depend
upon the quantity of vapor and period of con"
densation I have observed that when mildew
makes it appearance, both fruit and leaf often
appear affected, condensation taking place when
the air becomes suddenly raised In temperature ;
all cold bodies which it surrounds are at once
converted into condensers in the same way as a
tumbler of ice-water will condense aqueous vapor
held in the air, and deposit it upon its outer
surface on a hot day. The operation of this
same law would cause the berry (all other things
being favorable) to be covered by its excretions,
which deposit would differ in point of quality,
essence, and chemical composition, from ordi-
nary air condensation, and also to an appreciable
extent in one variety of gooseberry from another.

I cannot now dwell on any further explana-
tion of this, but must proceed to explain the
further appearance of things under the micro-
scope. Upon submitting a small section of tis-
sues of the inside of the skin of the berry, I also
observed it to contain a net-work of filaments,
with their concepticles attached, same as that
Avhich overlay the berry ; but no doubt the juices
of the .skin of the berry had by this time become
involved in the chemical diange. I am there-
fore satisfied that fungus (h)cs in no manner act
as a parasite ; but that" its sporules do nothing
more than seize upon and take advantage of the
most favorable conditions presented to them,
feeding upon such excrementilious matters
wholly unlit to supply the requirements of the
fruit.

Frequent syringing of the leaves and fruit at
critical changes of atmospheric temperature, with

S62

THK GABDE.YER'S MOKTHLy

December,

warm -water, might possibly remove the food of | house not lower than 45^, with a slight shade
the fungus, or make it unsuitable. It is a mere ' from bright sun from March to October. The

suggestion, worth a trial however.

[This excellent paper by one of our correspon-
dents was read before the Fruit Grower's Society
of Ontario, and has already appeared in the On-
tario Farmtr. — Ed ]

plants will also last a very long time in flower in
a setting-room. Frequent sponging the leaves
of these and all Orchids is necessary, if only to
remove dust.

THE CRINUM.

OllCIIID CULTIVxVTIO:N'— No. 1.

BY 5IR. JAMES TAPLIN, MANAGER TO GEORGE
SUCH, ESQ., SOUTn AMI50Y, N. J.

In this series of short articles on Orchids, I
don't intend giving a list of all known varieties,
or to describe and illustrate expensive hothouses
for growing these plants extensively, but simply
to describe a few varieties which may be grown
by any one bavins: a small collection of plants.
Many people are deterred from attempting Or-
chid growing by fancied difficulties, to such a
few practical hints may be of service, and I have
little doubt in a few years these beautiful plants
will be grown by hundreds who are now satisfied
if they can obtain a few flowers from their Fu-
chsias, Geraniums, &e.

This article I shall devote to a few lines on
'• Lycaste Skinneri," this being one of the most
easy to grow and flower, is very handsome, and
lasts a long time in flower : this is a South
American variety or rather species, of which
there are many varieties both in size of flower
and color. The same plant often flowers twice
in the year and Insts a long time in perfection.
We have a plant that has been in bloom over
two months and there are more buds coming out
80 that will pi-obably last until the end of Novem-
ber. These plants are recommended for winter
flowering, but we have them in dower at all sea-
sons.

The Lycaste are best grown in pots, half
filled with crocks, to secure good drainage, and
potted in fibre from peat, from which the fine
soil has been sifted, to which add some live splmg-
num moss, and a little white sand. It is not ne-
cessary to raise the soil for these above the
level of the pot, but do not bury any part of the
bulbs ; there is not any part of the year fixed
for repotting, but the proper time is, when it is
making young shoots and roots. They require
abundance of water while growing, less when
growth is complete, and never water over the
flowers or they wil' decay and the young shoots
may do so if water lodge in the honrt.

These plants will grow and flower well in anv

BY A. O , READING, PA.

Having had a share of experience in blooming
two Crinuras this summer, I give it for the en-
tertainment of those interested in the cultivation
of bulbs.

The largest of these was a Crinum araabile,
purchased 5 or 6 j'ears ago of E. Buist, Sr., of
Philadelphia. It was treated with the earth-
mixture recommended in his work on the "Cul-
tivation of Flowers," viz. : 3 parts loam, 1 part
woods-earth, 1 part sand, 1 part well-rotted ma-
nure. It thrived, grew large and made a beau-
tiful plant, resembling young Indian corn, ex-
cept in the length of its leaves, which are much
greater. They formed a circle of green 4 or 5
feet in diameter, and 1^ to 2 feet in height.

Still, with all its vigor and beauty, in did not
bloom. One florist said they were seldom seen
in bloom ; an amateur said give it rest ; the book
said it was an evergreen : one gentleman, who
had possessed them for years, said they had
bloomed bat a few times. None of this was en-
couraging, and my friend almost concluded to
part with her's. So last May my friend and my-
self held consultation in regard to its further
treatment. It had received but little care dur-
ing the previous winter, and had lost its finest
leaves; altogether it was an unpromising sub-
ject, lleviewing its " ungrateful behavior " af-
ter being treated with " distinguished consider-
ation,'' transferred to the parlor for heat, and
having the size of its lodgings increased from
year to year until within the two last, it became
evident that it had no immediate intention of
blooming. We thought it mnjld need more
room, so as there was, apparently, but little
hope of it, it was planted without ceremony in
a queer looking old wash tub. a little under the
medium size, in as rich earth as we could get
together in a short time, i)art of it had been in a
prepared hvaeinth bed. It was somewhat clayey
and stifl". We stood the tub on 3 pillars made
of brick, and set it near a small tree where it
would receive only the morning sun. It remain-
ed quiet for several weeks. dnriuLT which there

1S71.

THE GARDEJVER'S MOjYTJtILY.

'J bo

was a good deal of rain ; it had also some water-
ing. It then started new leaves, and in about 2
months,- to the amazement of its owner, it sent
up a big purple bud. This surprising appear-
ance was made on the 9th of August ; in 3 days
it was several inches out of the bulb, and in a
week showed the first blopsom of .^0. The gene-

Having beeii in the shade the leaves blanched a
little in the sun, and being weak were inclined
to break ; but it soon showed more vigorous
growth and having sent up an offset that also
grew well.

It was not top dressed nor any stimulent
given except a small quantity of manure water

ral shape of the llowers resembled that of the j Towards the last of August it was set where it
Amaryllis, or white garden lily, but with a much received the morning sun, and kept, corapara-
smaller tube, and greater recurve of the petals, j tively, dry ; more by accident than design, how-
which were narrow. Inside, the color was a } ever. About this time I took off the offset, or
purple-pinkish white ; outside of a maroon pur- | young one, and by dint of care and slow ap-
ple, shading lighter to the edges of the petals so i proaches. got it out without very much distur-

as to leave a border of white around them. This
border added much to the beauty. It emitted a
fine spicy fragrance, and from description (I was
absent at the blooming) formed a stately looking
plant with its stem encircled with blossoms
opening in gradual succession. The llowers
lasted several weeks. The plant was an object
of much interest to those who were observing it
daily; though some made " invidious compari-
sons" and asserted that the blue Agapanthus
or African Blue Lily was the prettiest. Any
one not familiar with the latter, or its white
variety, have still a pleasure in store. Those
owned by the writer have had as many as 70
flowers in the crown.

In trying to trace the causes of the " late gra-
ciousness " of the Crinum, we concluded them

bance of tlie I'oots. It was soon watered again
with a liberal hand. About a week afterward,
as I was walking round it (for tlie leaves demand'
a place for themselves), somewhat apprehensive
that removing the offset had retarded its bloom-
ing, if such an unusual manifestation might be
looked for, I suddenly discovered the shining-
green tip of a bud. This was on the 9th of Sep-
tember (the 9th being favored by the 2 Crinums).
The weather soon after becoming cool, it did not
progress as well as the largest one. On the 5th
of October the bud sheath o])ened. The stem
sheath resemble that of the Amaryllis, except
that the bud sheath is very large in proportion'
to the bulb.

On the evening of the 8th, the two first llowers
opened, the stem beiui: then 27i inches high,

to be, the writer's "wholesome neglect," the ' having grown in one day 2| inches, on the last

heat of this and the preceding summer, and the
increased room for its roots which are large,
long and very numerous.

The second, and smaller Crinum, was entrust-
ed to my care by a friend, to whom it had been
brought from San Domingo It was there call-
ed the Egyptian Lily. She had been in posses
sion of it a year without its showing much
growth. During the first summer it was in my
care the weather was very warm ; it };rew finely
and increased in size. In tlie fall it was put
into a large pot, with the same earth mixture
given to the larger one It was soon after re
turned to its owner. It died down during the
winter, and was subject to severe cold several

1:^, and topped by 7 blossoms. The flower is
white inside, outside of a purple pink from the
centre of each of the G petals to their points.
They are not recurved, but remain nearly
straight ; the stamens arc white, the anther
looking like a curled up worm. The pistil is of
a dai-k purplisli pink more than lialf way up to
to the centre of tlie flower. After the pistils had
separated they closed again so as to form more
of a tube l)ut were not in appearance like the C.

I ainabile.

It is ;i novel and singular (lower, and hand'-

I some ; emitting some fVagrance also.

I These would be stately plants for the conser-

vatory, portico or lawn, especially if indulged in
times, which destroyed other plants in the same j luxuriant growth, by ample room for the roots,
apartment. It started growth again in ihe j and development of the leaves.

spring; and when warm weather came it was j __. ,,,,.

taken out of doors, and the pot sunk in a tan j
walk under the shade of a grape-arbor.

About the first of July I again took charge of
it, and placed it where it received the sun during !
j»art of the day. most of it in tlio afternoon.

LAWRENCE PEAR.

UY I. F. I! , CHESTNUT HILL, PA.

I read with much pleasure your editorial ou

this pear, and if you will pardon me, I will ad(?

36

TEE GARBEJ^Eli'iS MO^NTBL'i

December,

a few thoughts to deepen the favorable imprcs
sion whlcli you liave already made.

I consider the Lawrence so valuable, possess
ing so much excellence, that if I were limited to
one kind this would be my choice.

Its quality is not surpassed by anj' pear that
we know of, — rich, sweet, juicy and melting.
It is just the right size, neither too large nor too
small ; beautiful in appearance, a handsome
shape ; deep lemon color, and a fine smooth skin.
It does not, like many other varieties, decay
first inside, but any defect is at once seen on
the surface ; this I think very important, for
how mortifying to send a basket of fine looking
pears to a friend and then ascertain that they
were all decayed inside. I would not have one
tree of this sort no matter how good it might be
in other respects.

' The Lawrence bears most profusel}' every year;
there is no better bearer, not even the Beurre
d'Anjou. It is much less subject to insects than
any pear I know of As it ripens late, about
the middle of October, it seems too hard and
unpalatable for wasps, bees, &c., that pro}' so
much on the Bartlett and Seckel.

Then it is not so liable to be blown from the
tree by equinoctial storms or the high winds of
autumn. There is no pear like it, to cling to
the branch amidst the fury of the tempest.

It is so casil)' ripened, — or rather it will ripen
itself, — not in a hurry as some other kinds do.
You have only to put them in a drawer in a cool
dark place, where the thermometer is about 50^,
and the work is done.

THE LATE FIRES PHILOSOPHICALLY
CONSIDEllED.

BY MR. J. JAY S3IITU, GERMANTOWjST, PA.

Mr. Editor. — We have heard much of the
late fires in Michigan, &c,, and if we had one
man of a scientific turn in our political cabinet,
we might see an approach to a paternal govern-
ment. ]iut as things go in America, all is poli-
tics. What will promote the interests of the
party ? Shall any of us live to see the day when
a partisan legislator will vote for the good of his
country, if it is inaugurated by the other side V I
almost despair of seeing it.

But there is a common sense view take of our
late misfortunes. We formerly laughed at Espy
for wishing us to make fires to produce rains, by
burning forests. Philosophy tells us to jilant for-
ests for this purpose, not to burn them, and this

having been ascertained, our government will be
very derelict if it suffers the late terrible events
to pass without some concerted action. The de-
falcation money of a public ofHcer or two would
alone supply sufiicient means to plpnt a whole
State. We find our rulers negligent and timid,
where they should be imperious ; selling forests
and giving them to be cut down, when they
should be planting others ; a most vital matter
neglected, which, when once carried out, would
convey to cver}"^ mind a greater idea of our wis-
dom and forethought than anything we could
possibly do.

Trees render the atmosphere more uniformly
moist. They do so by partly extracting mois-
ture from the winds as they pass by, and partly
by hindering the sun and winds from taking
away that Avhich they already possess. By
means of the cool, which is the result of the
evaporation from the multiplied surface of the
foliage, they temper the hotter winds which are
passing over them, and so induce them to part
Avith a portion of their wet. By rendering the
atmosphei'e more uniformly moist, they temper
the heat and cold of the different seasons. Trees
also cause the rainfall to be distributed more
equally in time throughout the year. They
bring down the atmospheric moisture in more
frequent and gentle showers ; whereas in a coun-
try denuded of wood, this goes on increasing,
until, from electrical and other causes, it is pre-
cipitated in floods, to the accompaniment of
wind and lightning.

Trees again, by inducing frequent and pro-
longed gentle showers, economize the water of a
country, and so make it more available for ex-
isting vegetation and for its future extension.
They also, by chemical action and friction
against each other and the winds, add to the
atmospheric electricity and they modify sunlight.
They rob it of most of its chemical and many of
its colored rays, and then retlect it, thus softened
upon surrounding objects. They^ by absorbing
and radiating heat, modify it and give it new
properties, in virtue of which it acts diflerently
on us from what it does when it falls on us from
the sun. Trees again, by their chemical action
on the air, and on the ground in which they
grow, prepare a soil for plants which require a
richer food, but which are more useful to man
in his daily life. In India, villages out in the
open prairie suffer more from cholera, and dis-
eases are more deadly than in villages which are
well wooded. A paternal government should

1871.

THE GARVEJ^EWS MOA'THLy.

SOS

r

look into these matters. Expei-ts would readily
supply a list of trees suited to woodiug ijreat
spaces of country, and the writer cannot but
think the public lands j^ranted to an honest com-
pany Avould be ([uite as well bestowed as upon

speculators, whose sole anxiety is to fdl their
own pockets and let posterity take care of itself.
Is there any hope of waking up politicians ?
None, but by a grant of land to be paid for by
so many millions of trees planted.

E 1) T T 0 H I A L .

TRAVEMX(; RECOLLECTIOXS.

Our route from Louisville to St Louis was se-
lected so as to afford lis a ride through the most
beautiful portion of Illinois lather than to har-
ry along b\' the shortest cut, — hence it took us
over the Altou and Tcrre ITaute line through
Indianapolis. In order to take us to Indianapo
lis from St Louis, the officers of the .TelTersou-
ville and Indianapolis company kindly placed
their road at our disposal, — a kindness the more
appreciated, as, going over their section in the
night time, we were unable to speak personally
of the many matters of interest we had heard
connected with the line.

The ride through Central Illinois, over the
Terre Haute road, enabled us to see how rich and
prosperous is this portion of the State. ^Vhat
strikes a stranger particularly is the great beau-
ty and prominence of the school-houses. Ever}-
town, no matter how small, seems to take pride
in making the school-house excel all others in
taste and general interest. Charleston, a small
town of about 3(500. has three of these schools.
Things gcneralh' seem very prosperous in this
region. Farms, within a quarter of a mile of
Charleston, bought 20 years ago for -Si per acre,
now bring .8-30, which is an increase which ought
to satisfy any reasonable man. We found here
pork brought the farmer about Si cents per lb.,
stock cattle about 3, and hay about .■:r8 per ton.

It strikes a stranger as somewhat remarkable,
that with the many hundreds of millions of Os-
age Orange plants which have been sold in the
"West, so lew good ones arc to be seen any where
from the railroad cars, while wretched Ihings
are abundant. It seemed that the management
was not understood. At the East are liir better
specimens than any to be seen about here, except
one at Pana, which was beautiful. Most grow-
ers seemed to depend on "plashing" at some
future time, to thicken the body of the hedge
This seems as if it ought to do, — but after a lew

years, as we saw in some instanees the hedges,
so treated, are not by any means worthy of imi-
tation. If the Western leaders of agricultural
thought wuu'd urge as tlie proper treatment
closer planting, say 3 inches apart, and regular
June pruning as the onhj proper practice for
good hedges, we should have more hope for live
fencing in Illinois than we have now. Of course,
there must be many good hedges some vrhere in
Illinois, — but it is evident from this railroad ex-
perience, that the general hedge planter does not
know enough about them to imitate them. The
general public, we believe, will see better Osage
Orange fences along the line of the Pennsylvania
railroad, between Harrisburg and Lancaster,,
than along any of the AVcstcrn railroad lines.

The short stay of our party at St. Louis, of
course included a visit to the Missouri Botani-
cal Gardens of Mr. Shaw, for icw persons from
any part of the world go through St. Louis with-
out seeinsr them Our readers are very nimiliar
with this beautiful place, if not from personal
visits at least by the several notices in our maga-
zine. "We never visit this charming spot with-
out regretting that no other cities have their
Henry Shaws to so intelligently encourage hor-
ticulture and botanical science as St. Louis has.

The Tower Grove Park belonging to the city,
and the land originally the gift of Mr. Shaw, is
situated near the Botanic Garden. The tract is
long.and narrow, and the system has been adopt-
ed of having, for two-thirds of the distance, a
wide straight drive through the centre, broken
by three large oval turn-outs. The oiher third,
in order to have a variety of scenery, will have
the main drive led around nearer the boundary.
The foot walks are led about in various direc-
tions, and vaiiety aimed at by keeping different
classes of trees in the different sections of the
groun«l. The main drive is 45 feet wide. The
European Plane and the Tulip tree are abun-
<lantly employed as trees for the grand avenue..

S6G

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJVTELl.

Deceinher,

In the plautin;^ of the Park, the nuisciy system
was cliielly employed to prepare the trees. As
soon as the ground Avas set apart for the Park, a
piece was appropriated for a nursery, and small
trees bought at various American uui"series,were
set out, and were growing while the grounds
were being laid out. Tiie result of this is to have
the plants fresh to hand when ready to move, and
they grow without any failures. Even the tulip
tree, usually thought capricious in removal, was
here a universal success, none of them dying,
and man}' of them small when put out, were now
from o to 8 feet high in 15 months. Mr. Shaw,
who is Park Controller, is proud, and justly so,
of his success in this matter. He will be able to
keep the whole expenditure within the original
ixppropriation of S^340,000 for the park improve-
ment, a result not often achieved by public
officers.

The Lafayette Park, a tract of twenty acres,
several miles nearer the heart of the city, and
finished two or three years ago, is also a beauti-
ful spot. It is very popular with the citizens, as
it well deserves to be. St. Louis seems fortunate
in its park enterprise.

Our party were handsomely received by the
St. Louis Agricultural Association at the fair
ground. Col. Colman, of the TturalWorld, takes
a great interest in the success of this society,
and we are indebted to him for many valuable
facts and much information about rural aflairs,
given during our short stay here. There has
been much diflerence of opinion as to the useful-
ness of horticultural and agricultural societies
traveling from place to place, — or to have one
l^ermanent place for holding meetings. The ex-
perience of this society is in favor of the perma-
nent plan. The beautiful buildingsand grounds
of this society must of themselves excite a favor-
able influence on agricultural progress, and such
as no wandering show could do.

From St. Louis, our course was taken to the
Indian Tcrritor}'. Mr. E. A. Ford, the Gene-
ral Agent of the Atlantic Pacific llailroad, took
charge of the party, and devoted himself to fur-
thering the object of our journey with a courte-
sy and kindness which will long be remembered.
This road will go through to Southern Califor-
nia, and expects to do the chief part of the Texas
cattle trade. At our visit the road had entered
Ihe Cherokee country a considerable distance
and the track was being rapidly laid at the rate
of several miles a day. Some of our party un-
dertook spike driving— "just to say'' and 80 on,

— but it struck us that in their cases the pen was
certainly mightier— not merely than the sword,
— but of the sledgehammer also, — especially with
the thermometer at 98', and such a sun as it
seemed to us no other than an Arkansas prairie
could furnish. The immense stock-yards, and
numerous lierds of cattle driving over these
plains by the Texas drovers, furnished a note
-puTJjS i)\\'\ 'sn o:j :}nq t s^)uai.ij |'U.Tn:)inDi.x2i2 .ino aoj
est charm was the great beauty of the scenery,
and of the numerous wild flowers which adorn-
ed the land. Here, for the first time, we saw
living flowers with which wc had before only an
herbarium acquaintance. The Callirhw especi-
ally attracts by the vermilion tint of its flowers.
If color is to follow the same law of aflinity as
Darwin claims for species, it would be hard to
tell the parent of this beautiful plant, for in all
the wild prairies there is nothing which has a
tint like imto it. The great charm of this part
of the country is the high lands which border
this large Arkansas prairie. The outlines arc
so beautifully marked, and the trees so remark-
ably grouped on the rises and depressions of the
laud, that a finished landscape gardener could
scarcely design an}' thing superior. This beau-
ty is though, no doubt, heightened by the im-
mensity of the plain which rises and stretches
away so suddenly from it. The entrance to the
Indian territory by the railroad is through a
particularly grand part of this beautiful scenery,
— and though we have seen grander and more
imposing views than these, there be none likely
to make a more lasting impression on the wri-
ter's memory than this. It is to be hoped that
some day this beautiful country will pass out of
the hands of the race now in legal possession, of
it. It is a hopeless task to make these Indians
the equals of the white race in their love of the
arts and sciences. Some of them had small gar-
dens with corn, potatoes and beans, which the
women cultivate, — but the men appeared to have
no activity whatever. True, we did not reach
the most populous portion of the territory, but
from the little we saw, it seemed hopeless ma-
terial to make gardeners out of. We should
like to see this land change hands, though, of
course, Immanely, justly and kindly. That the
Indian race will die out eventually, is clear — but
nevertheless do we hope that the dying liours
of this unfortunate people may not be embitter-
ed more than is needful to our own security.

The country leading from St. Louis to the
territory is not as rich as some others, — but it

1871.

THE GARDEjYER'S MOJ^'TRLY.

367

must be better adapted to some things than
to others. The woods are ahnost wholly fill-
ed with Post Oak, Quercus ohtusiloba. AVe have
never seen this tree more than of medium size in
the east, — but here it was as large as our average
oak. If this will grow here better than trees of
its own kind elsewhere, it shows that the soil
will produce excellence in some things. Missou-
ri has already known that this is the case with
hemp and with the castor oil plant ; and it will,
no doubt, be found that some things will take
well to this newly opened region.

About Springticld wc found many agricultu-
rists, of some years' standing, who spoke with
much enthusiasm of their ability to grow to su-
perior excellence any of the average farm crops
of the Eastern States. The railroad company
offers peculiarly favorable terras to actual set-
tlers, and no doubt the country will rapidly fill
up.

**o«*

DESCKIPTIOX OF CAKROTS.
People who see vegetables often wonder how
to distinguish one variety from another, and yet
they have marks of difference, as varied as plants
or fruits. "We are led to these remarks by noting
how Messrs. Vilmorin, of Paris, distinguish their
carrots. For instance, we suppose, them to be
all growing side by side, in the same ground
together, there will be difference in the sizes,
forms, and colors of the roots. Taking size for
example, and let one inch represent the smallest

carrot, or "Early Very Short," "Early Short
Horn " would be 2 inches, " Early Half-long
Scarlet,'' 3 inches; "Early Half-long Scarlet
varieties," 3 inches ; Early Half-long Scarlet
Stump Hoot,'' 3 inches ; "Long Eed Surry," 4
inches ; "White Large Short Vosges," 3 inches;
"Flanders Pale Red," 3 inches; "Long Scarlet
Altringham," 4 inches; "]jong Orange Green
Top" or "Orange Belgian," G inches, with 2
above ground ; " "White Green Top" or " White
Belgian," 5 inches, with 2 above ground. The
growing above ground seems to be a peculiarity
of these Belgian Carrots.

The Altringham is conical at the surface of the
ground, and has a long narrow root, nearly
cylindrical ; the Flander s Pale Red is wide and
flat at the top, and tapers just like the Parsnip ;
the Long Red Surry tapers slightly— interme-
diate between the other two. The Long Red
Surry and the Long Scarlet Altringham may be
mistaken for one another in size and form ; but
on being cut across, the pale yellowish center is
star shaped in the Surry, and quite round in the
Altringham.

In the short carrots there are distinctions in
the form of the roots. The Early Half-long
Scarlet is the only one which tapers sharply to a
point. 'J'he others are more or less blunt at the
apex,— the Early Short Horn being blunt like a
thimble. These characters will be useful to
seedsmen and olhei's interested in getting true
kinds.

SCEATS AND QUEPtlES.

Business Notice — It seems necessary to re-
peat occasionally that Mr. Meehan has no busi-
ness connection with the Gardener'>s Monthly.
Letters for him personally should be addressed
to Germautown, Pa. If sent to the oflice of the
Monthhj it may be a week or more before he re-
ceives them. On the other hand, letters intend-
ed for Brinckloe & Marot, in reference to adver-
tising or other matters, are often seriou.sly de-
layed by being sent to Mr. Meehan at Germau-
town. 'Mr. M. is simply engaged as editor, and
has no connection with the publishing or owner-
ship of the magazine.

Grape Growixo for Puofit — A New York

correspondent, who, some years ago, made a
heavy business of growing hothouse grapes for
profit, and had a reputation all over the country
for making very profitable returns from it, as-
tonished us the other day by a letter, in which
he says " Grape growing under glass as a source
of profit is played out in New York. Up to 3
years ago I did very well, but since then so
much rubbish has appeared in market that the
price of good fruits has been ruinously low, and
I have had to abandon it."

Mauraxdia Barclayana.— J/rs. Sara C.
r., CarhonCliJ}\ Ills.— Will you be so kind as to
give, through tlie Gardener's Monthly, the name

SC8

THE GARDEJ^'EIVS MOJ^'THL\. December,

of the enclosed Howor. It is a wiKlling, and so
beautiful as; a lianizinfr basket ]ilant, that I vcn-
much wish to know it by name

[This is Maurandia Barclayana It is a na-
tive of Mexico, and as a wildling in your vicini-
ty is but a chance seed that has fallen accident-
ally some way. It is known about Philadelphia
as the "Barclayana Vine"--a stupid vuli^arisni
as Maurandia is just as eas}- to renienibef or
speak. The plant belongs to the same natural
family of plants as the common iSnapdragon of
gardens, which you will readil}- see by compar-
ing the seed vessels one with another. The one
you send is purplish-blue,- but there is another
species called M. semper jlor ens ^ which is rose-
colored,— and there is also a Avhite one. In their
own country they are perennials, — but here they
can be treated as annuals, — the seed, if sown
early in spring, will flower the same 3'ear. Flo-
rists, however, usually grow them from cuttings
in the autumn or winter, — such plants bloom
about June and continue till frost. The Mau-
randia are among the best vines for the summer
decoration of our gardens. ]

plant will appear within two years, when the
branch may be cut oft' and suffl'.red to depend oa
its own resources.]

A Grass fou Lawx.— " /*C'/-jj(fx," Darhy^

7^«., writes : — " Enclosed is a grass which please

name for me. I send it to you for the reason-

I that a patch on my lawn bore it, and it has been

so beautiful all summer T wish to order seed

' enough to lay down a new piece 1 wish to make.

'< In early spring this patch on my lawn was the

j first to get green, and it became very shining in

I the sun, -and while parts of the lawn have been

I brown during the summm- time, this has al-

! wa3\s been green. I have looked for a flower all

j summer to get the name, but I suppose the

scythe kept them down, and this is the first I

have seen."

[The piece sent is a Muhlcnhergia of some kind,
and cannot be the grass which our correspon-
dent praises. jSTo good lawn could ever be made
of this grass. It is, no doubt, growing with the
others. The praises our correspondent bestows
on his " green" patch probal:)l3' belongs to Loli-
um jjerenne, the rye grass.]

SiLVEiiv White Spruce. — G.r. L., Oregon,
Mo., writes: — "Enclosed please find a sprig of
spruce, the name of which I have in vain en-
deavored to obtain for ii years. I first thought
it to be 'White Spruce,' butit looks so very dif-
ferent from that variety, and is so much n\ore
beautiful that it must be something else.

" My specimen is about 8 feet high, and for
the last 3 years has grown at the rate of 18 inches
each year. The branches are perfectly horizon-
tal, the color is very light silvery gray, and dur-
ing wniter changes to light green ; it is perfect!}'
hardy. By giving me the name in the Garden-
er^s Montkhj you will much oblige me.''

[The Ahies alba, or White Spruce, is a verj'
valuable plant in regard to the tint of its foliage,
sometimes graj' at others dark green. Indeed,
we have little doubt but the Red, Black and
White Si)ruces are all forms of one thing. This
one is remarkably beautiful and Wi)rth pi'opagat-
ing as a distinct form. In other things beauti-
ful varieties have thus l>een selected and named.
Th(!re are a score of Arborvitics, and might Ije
of Pines and Spruces. Tlie White Spruce grows
very readily from cuttings, — but they an; easiest
raised from layers. Notch the brandies in -luiie
or July, and bury the notched part four inches
Tinder ground, and roots enough to made a new

Fruit Insects in California.— xV corres-
pondent from Yoio County, Cal,, writes:— "I
see by occasional extracts from your eastern
papers, that you think in fruit culture hei'e we are
in Paradise, with no evil serpent to tempt us ta
swear. After a four yeai's' experience of the
Pacific, 1 certainly do think we can do as well,
on the whole, as any of your newer States or
Territories,— but do not think we have no ene-
mies. I say this from having had a terrible
time the past summer diggiu'j; out borers from
my apple and plum trees. I do not know
whether these insects are the same as your ap-
ple borer ornot, — they seem fatter, but I sup-
pose they are the same."

CiioiONAXTiius FUAGiiAN.s.— Tliis plant is
closely allied to the. ('(di/cantluis or Sweet .Shrub;
but il fiowers before the leaves. Branches cut
od'in the middle of winter, and kept in water in
a warm atmosphere, will open in a few days,
and fill the air of the room with delicious fra-
grance It seems quite hardy in this region.

I'oUTK.M T OF .1. S. DowxFi:.— The catalogue
of .Messrs. .1 S. I)owii<r i^. ."-^oiis. of Fairview,
Ky., colli a ins a st( el plate cngravingoi the senior
member <il ihc liriii. It ;- an excellent likeness

1671.

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJVTHLY.

•69

of this distinguished pomologist, to whom we are
indebted for so many valuable rare and good
fruits.

Soil, for Magnolia glauca.— .4 '•^Roches-
ter Nurseryman^'' says :— " I notice in the nur-
series cast of this they succeed pretty well with
Magnolia glauca. IIow do they grow it ? Put
it where I will, about here, they always fail.
Traveling through Philadelphia last summer, I
noticed about Camden they always* grew in
swamps, and I suppose they must be near water
to do well.''

[We fear our correspondent is not a close
reader of the Gardener's 3fontlihi, for it has been
shown several time that the reason this plant is
found in swamps is not that it particularly likes
swamps, but because the seeds will not germinate
readily any where else. Of course the tree has
to remain where the seeds sprout. Every bo-
tanical collector knows that when he finds an
occasional tree not in a swamp, it is always
larger and healthier than one that is, and this is
always the case with those cultivated in gardens,
— they are much better than wild trees. As a
general rule we may say that any soil that will
suit an ordinary garden tree, will do for the
Magnolia glauca.]

Pronunciation of Camkllia.— ''^ Gar-
dener,'^ Baltimore, 3£d., inquires: — "Will you
say in your next Monthly how this word should
be pronounced ? I was corrected by a lady re-
cently who insisted it should be called Camel-lia
making the second syllable mel instead of/jie.
This is so opposed to the general way, that will
you please decide between us?"

[It should be rncl, but universal custom is
against it. Some botanists think the name of
the Priest in whose honor this plant was named,
was Kamel,— not Camellus. This is more likely
to be the case from the very fact of the general
pronunciation, which would then be correct. The
original name has probably been altered or was
given under a misunderstanding, while the indi-
vidual has been more honored in the pronuncia-
tion, than in the orthograpljy, of his name. Ca-
mellia is so common it is not likely any attempt
to correct 'vould succeed. I

vance, and are now due. This seems unusual to
many who have had experience with similar pa-
pers, and may be annoying to some. But this
annoyance, if any, will be removed when we ex-
plain that it is for each subscriber's benefit. We
thus have no losses, and are consequently able
to give as much as we do for tivo dollars per year.
On the ordinary plan we should have to charge
^2.50 per year to give the same paper we do
now. All our old subscribers well understand
this, — we n^ention it for those who have been
with us only during the past year. We should
be obliged by all renewing their subscriptions as-
early as possible.

Error in Aucuba Japonica. — A New Jer-
sey Correspondent calls our attention to Hearth
and Home describing this shrub as a "pretty
vine from Japan." But this was, no doubt, an
error of haste, for Messrs. Thurber and Hogg,
both of w^hom, we believe, are connected with
the paper, stand among our best botanical au-
thorities. Hasty magazine writing is liable to
these slips. We notice wliat might be under-
stood as a similar error of oui" own, when we ve-
ferredCocculusCarolinus to the " Smilax family."
It was our intention to give a popular idea of
how the plant grew, and the manner of a Smilax
was in our mind. The plant itself really belongs
to the Moon-seed famil}' — very far removed from
the Smilax.

Eelative Fertility of American and
English Strawberries — "yl Gardener,''^ Bal-
timore, Md. — " Is there any reason why English
strawberries should not be as productive as
American varieties ? I find a general belief that
they are not, and the fact that a variety is En-
glish seems enough to condemn it when I pro-
pose their importation. Excuse ray ignorance.
I am but a year old in the country."

[There is no reason why some kinds from abroad
may not beat any Amori(;an. They have not
hitherto done this, though a French kind, the
Vicomtesse Ilericart was not far behind. Im-
port by all means. They may be as good in the
future, though the past have not been.]

The New Volume of the Gardener's
Monthly. — The publishers would again remind
the reader that mbscriptions are invrtriably in ad-

Fay's Water-proof Felting. — We have
before us specimens of this new article, and are
very much pleased with its appearance. Instead
of the coarse appearance of regular tar felt, it
more I'csembl^s fin-; loatl er. It can be used also

S70

THE GARJDEJ^ER'S MONTHLY.

DecejYiber,

as flooring iu the placa of oil cloth, aud for deco
rating walls if need be in the place of paper, as
it will bear washing and can be kept clean. For
neat flooring for tasteful greenhouses or conser-
vatories we should judge it would be ver}'^ useful.

Notes on Grapes.— ]Mr. F. R. Elliott con-
tributed a valuable chapter to the Germantoicn
Telegraphy giving his last year's experience of
grapes at Cleveland, Ohio. He has notes on the
Miles, Hartford, Telegraph, Black Hawk, Wins-
low, Eumelan, Adirondack, Isabella, Alvey,
Creveling, Ives, Sherman, To Kalon, Elsinburg,
Ontario, Senasque, Concord, Rogers' Hybrids,
Othello, Canada, Delaware, Walter, lona. Mot-
tled, Catawba, Allen's Hybrid, Maxatawney,
Martha, Rebecca, Cuyahoga and Croton. He
gives unqualified praise to three only : Concord,
Croton and Catawba, all the rest have serious
faults. He somewhat favors Miles, Hartford,
Telegraph, Adirondac, Elsinburg, Delaware, —
we believe we may fa}', and Maxatawney. We
judge that he regards all the others as hardly
worth planting.

Mr. Elliott's experience is very valuable,— but
it is to be regretted that he should mar it by re-
flections on the opinions of others, because they
found reason to praise grapes which have not
done as well with him as with them. They re-
ported what they saw, and probably were as
honest in their remarks as Mr. Elliott is iu his.
Mr. Elliott's opinions are held deservedly iu high
esteem, and it is because we would add to their
force that we offer criticism in the hope that he
may profit by it. As there is nothing in the ar-
ticle reflecting on any opinion of ours, we feel
that we can suggest this without any suspicion
on our motives.

BoussTNGAULTiA Laciiaumii.— lu our re-
port of the last fall's meeting of the Pennsylva-
nia Horticultural Societj^we noted while pencil-
ing down the novel items, that this plant then
in flower, was not a Boussingaultia at all, but.
" Talinum purpureum." Since then, critically
examining it, we find that it is a variegated
form of the common Cuban Talinum patens.

Caterpillaks in a Cold Grapery.— J.
Subscriber^ AlUyhc^nj, Pa. — AVc have been both-
ered all summer wiih caterpillars, large and
small, on our vines in the cold graperj'. Is there
any other remedy than picking olf aud stamping
out ?

[There are other remedies, but this is the
easiest, cheapest and most efiectual]

EucHARis Amazonica— Correction in Mr.
Taplin's Article — There is an error or two
in my Eucharis article which was probably my
careless writing. First, Eucharis was spelt
without the final s ; and on the second column,
tenth line, it should read "■ for lai-ge specimens
I prefer jjctjis instead of frames.

Destroying Red Sptder- yl. H. C, Janes-
ville, Wis. — The red spider on house plants is
best destroyed by laying the plant on its sides in
the open air, and using a hand syringe on them
as powerfully as the plant will bear. If a little
sulphur be used in the water, and the water a
little greasy, it is still better.

The Chicago Agricultural Journals
AND Florists. — Sympathy comes the sweetest
when it is prompt on the heels of disaster. A
monthly is not allowed this facility of expression.
But we can congratulate the public that the
Prairie Farmer has not been burned up how-
ever much it mayhave been burned out, and the
public will not forget the enterprise of the men
who, though personally losing all, naked as
they came into the literary world, stand up to
serve them as ardently and as well as they ever
did before. This is among the marvels of jour-
nalism. The Western Bural has also appeared.
We have lieard nothing of what the seedsmen
and florists are doing;.

California Sun-flower.- Some of our ex-
changes are mirthful at the idea of the Califor-
uians growing the sunflower for the sake of its
root. But they, no doubt, have the Jerusalem
artichoke, which is a sunflower, and has roots
which make pretty good eating when properly
cooked.

Effects of Sod on the Temperature of
THE Soil. — Under this head, in our August No.,
we copied a quotation from Johnson in the Bos-
ton Journal of Horticulture, showing the great
difference in temperature under sod and clean
surface; and, as owr readers will remember,
mildly suggesting that its readers would proba-
bly be astonished .that no credit should be given
to the writers of the _Ga?-cZe?K-r's Ilonthly who
have so long labored in this field. Whereat the
Boston journal waxeth very wroth, and wishes

1871-

THE GARDEJYER'S MOJVTJILY.

371

"the Editor of the Ganlencr'>s Monthhj were as
amiable in his journal as he is in personal inter-
course." We wish he "were.'' Unfortunately
pubHc duty often stands in the way of personal
desire ; and in the matter of the Journal of Hor-
ticuUurewe remember how it commenced its ca-
reer by an insidious slur on "magazines conduct-
ed by persons connected with horticultural es-
tablishments, which made the projection of a
high-toned journal necessary. " Thus the editor
*'were" necessitated to show occasionally that
unGt as he might be to manage a magazine,
other papers were no better than his own.

"We have not said much on this matter lately,
because the tale has told its own story ; and,
public duty being satisfied, we have let our feel-
ings of personal regard for friends interested in
the magazine have their natural sway. We are
very sorry to have hurt their feelings here, but
we really did not know that any credit had ever
been given to anj' writer in the Garden€r''s month-
ly for any such experiment as those quoted from
Malaguti andDurocher; and if the page where
it appeared is referred to, we will make the
honorable amende.

Tecoma grandiflora from Japan is surely most
distinct. What our friend Mr. Fendler must
have had is a variety of T. radicans which is often
grown under the name of T. granditiora.

PlujsiologicalQuestions. — As to the matters we
are at issue about, — it is not the facts that I ob-
ject to or distrust, but certain theoretical inter-
pretations of the facts.

Notes from Professor Asa Gray.— Ca~
tawba and ScxqjpernongGrai[jes. — In any edition
of my Manual as late as 1868, the error about
Catawba grape is corrected, and that put under
V. labrusca. See page 212.

Browallia.— Ifr^t. If. E. G. A., Whitewater,
Wis., writes : — "Please send me the Gardener''s
Monthhj until the money enclosed is exhausted. I
have forgottenthe subscription price. I used to
take it before the war. Also, I would like to
know the names of the enclosed flowers. The
blue one I suppose to be Browallia, but have
raised it for a Campanula until it blossomed.
The other grew where I supposed Nemophila
was planted. It cannot be Bartonia for I have
Bartonia elsewhere, with great white veined,
thistle-like leaves."

[The blue flower is correctly named Browallia
—13. elata. There is a very pretty white varie-
ty of it in cultivation now. The golden flower
is what was once called Bartonia, but that name
properly belongs to a little wild plant of the Gen-
tian family. It is now called 3Ientzelia. This
species grows naturally in the vicinity of Pike's
Peak, where the writer gathered fine specimens
this season.]

NEW AND EARE FRUITS.

New Prexch Pear— Beurre de l'As-
SOMPTIOX. — Mr. Rivers thus speaks in the Lon.
•don Journal of Horticulture., of this fine French
pear :— "I have to-day (Sept. 25th) eaten one of
the finest pears of the month. It is large, and
in color much like the Brockworth Park. One
figure in the ' Dictionnaire de Pomologie' is like
that given of this sort in the ' Year-Book ;' an-
other in the same book differs from it widely.
The French and English descriptions of it do not
vary much. The former is,' Peau jauue citron,
ponctuee, strie de roux, largement marbree et
tachee de nieme ,vers IHEil et le peduncle ;'
the latter, ' Skin smooth, pale yellow, .slightly
flushed and streaked with crimson on the ex-
posed side."

" In France this sort ripens in August, here
in September, and this year late. The habit of
the tree is robust, much like Williams' Bon Chre-
tien, of which I should think it a seedling, and
it is marvellously fertile. There is none of the
Williams' musk in its flavor, but a rich, plea-
sant, vinous, sugary taste. It seems as if this
pear is a twiu of the Brockworth Park pear, and
if so, a very worthy sister or brother.

" The Beurre de I'Assomption was raised at
Nantes, and was introduced with another very
large pear raised at Lyons, called Souvenir du
Congres. This has much the habit of the former
and seems to be also a descendant of Williams'
Bon Chretien, but it has hitherto proved coarse;
k is, however, larger than Williams', more ro-

37^

THE GARDEJ^ER'S MOMTRLY. December,

bust in habit, and if it bear well it will prove a
valuable market pear."

jS'e-\v French Strawberries.— Verdier is
out with a set of new strawberries. He thinks
that after the success which Dr. Nieaise's Seed-
lings met with, he is warranted in sending out an-
other set by the same raiser, besides two others,
one by Berger the other by Watille. These are
called Anna dc Rothschild, Auguste Nicaise,
Berthe Montjoie, Docteur ]Mareve, Due de Ma-

genta, L' Indespensable, 3»Iadame Nicaise, Marie
Nicaise.

DiosPYROs Kaki-Tiie Japanese Persimmon
— The Hearth and Home has a pretty cut of this
from a specimen grown on the grounds of James
Hogg. It is in many respects like our persimmon
but later and sweeter. Like our's, some have to
be partially decayed before good enough to eat,
while others are eatable soon after they are ripe.

NEW AND MEE PLAINTS.

Pa VIA MACROSTACHYA— >See Frontispiece.—
Under this name we give this month a plate of one
of the oldest of cultivated plants, and yet one com-
paratively unknown to the mass of cultivators.
At the same time, there is nothing either new or
old that will compare with it in picturesque
beauty. About midsummer, when it is in full
bloom, it is indisputably the monarch of the flo-
ral world.

We have used the name on our plate of Pavia
macros tachy a., because this is the one by which
it is generally known in horticulture; with bota-
nists, however, the name is obsolete. The com-
mon Horse Chestnut is an uEsculus. Pavia was
at one time supposed to be a distinct genus—
chiefly because the capsules are smooth, while
^sculus is prickly. But the Pavia (Buckeye)
and the yEsculus (Horse Chestnut) are now all
placed in the last family. Michaux named our
plant JEsculus macrostachya ; but Walter had
previously called it uEsculus ])nrviflora,—a.r\d, as
priority is a fixed law in Botany, the last is the
correct name.

In general, it is known as the "Dwarf Horse
Chestnut." Mature plants reach about ten feet
high, but six is the general average. It may be
grown as a bush— allowing the suckers which it
numerously produces to remain,- or it will suc-
ceed admirably on a single stem, when it makes
a large umbrella-like head, which, when sur-
mounted with its numerous panicles of bloom.
is more attractive than when grown ai)yi>ih>r
way. It is a very useful ]i]ant in tins, that
while it L' rows best as all things do in ricii soil
in open i laces, it will also i\o jnvlly will n
shade. Wild, it grows in rather shady phi'-t s in

Kentucky, Georgia and North Carolina ; but is
probably hardy even in the coldest parts of
Canada.

In nurseries, it is propagated chiefly by suckers
which it plentifully pi'oduces. They may be
grown from seed ; but these sprout at once,
sometimes before they dropTrom the trees ; and
when placed in the earth, often rot. In their
native places, the seed sprouts amongst the dead
leaves, where it is just damp, but never wet, —
and these conditions must be secured to raise
the nuts in gardens.

New Eoses of 1871. — Eugene Verdier of
Paris, is out with a list of new Roses, of these
he recommends very highly among the class of
Tea Roses, Belle 3/aconnaisc,' large double pale
rose ; Coquette de Lyon/ ayanary yellow ; Freres
Soupert et Notting, a fine full ' flower, yellow,
edged with carmine; *IZbrfe«sm, rosy, Avith a
shade of yellow ; Xe 'Florifere, a well formed
flower, white, changing^to'salmon ; Mad. Azelie
Imhert, salmon yellow \']i3Iad.'] Berard, bright
rose, a fine double well formed flower ; Mad.
Gaillard, salmon yellow, a grand, full, well
formed flower; Mad.\F)nilielDupuy, yellow,
changing to salmon ; Victor Pulliot., white,
changing to yellow. Among the Hybrid Per-
petuals, Virgile is termed a rosy salmon, of a new
shade.

Climbing Hybrid Perpetual Roses.— This
is a new class of Roses, introduced during the
few past years. Tlieir entire hardiness will
recommend them to Americans, though few of
the hybrid perpetuals flower very freely in the
fall. AVe have used Baron Prcvost in this way

1871,

THE GAUD EATER'S MOJ^TIILY.

373

for some years, but never had a flower after July.
Princess Louise Victoria is spoken of as a good
one in the new class.

TjOMAria gibka crispa. — Tliis is a very beau-
tiful variety of Fern, and is thus described
by ;Mr. Moore in the Gardeners'' Chronicle, 186S,
p. 682 :

"Tavo distinct and very interesting varieties
of Lomaria gihha have lately been observed in
cultivation. One, which may be distinguished
by the name of crispa, is apparently of dwarf-
ish habit, and so densely leafy and wavy, that
the edges of the pinn;-e have a decidedly crisped
appearance."

Begonia RosiEFLORA. — This is one of the
many beautiful Begonias discovered by the late
Mr. Pcarce in the Andes of Peru.

Coming from an elevation of 12,000 feet, it is
admirably suited for a cool greenhouse, and is
vcrj- nearly, if not quite hardy, and may be
safely planted in sheltered situations.

It is a stemless species, supporting from three
to five dowers, of a bright rose color, as large
as those of B. Veitchii. We may add that it is
a deciduous variety like the B. Veitchii. It is
figured in the Botanical Magazine for Decem-
ber, 18G7.

Begoxia Sedeni— CrarcZe7i Ilyhrid. — One of
the finest hybrid flowering Begonias ever raised.
It is a cross between an unnamed species and
B. Boliviensis, but with larger leaves. The
flowers are of the richest magenta color, and of
a large size. The plant continues a long time
in bloom.

Begoxia VEiTCnii. — This beautiful plant
diflers in all respects from any other Begonia
yet known, being quite hardy, and producing
large- bright scarlet flowers.

The following descriptions will convey the
best idea of its character and habit :

In the Botanical Magazine for September,
1867, tab. 5,663, Dr. Hooker says : "Of all the
species of Begonia known, this is, I think, the
finest. With the habit of Saxifraga ciliata, im-
mense flowers of a vivid vermilion cinnebar
red, that no colorist can reproduce, it adds the
novel feature of being hardy in certain parts of
England, at any rate, if not in all. It was dis-
covered by Messrs. Veitch's collector, Mr.
Pcarce, near Cuzco, in Peru, at an elevation of

12,500 feet, and the plants grown in Mr,
Veitch's establishments have already given
proof sutlicient of their hardihood, by with-
standing a temperature of 25^ Fahr. with abso-
lute impunity."

In the Oardeners'' Chronicle of July 13th,
1867, page 734, we read : "It is difficult to im-
agine a more vivid color than the flowers (2 to
2^ inches in diameter) of this superb species
present, Avhich are further amongst the largest
of the genus, and sweet scented.

"As a species Begonia Fe(tc/in resembles B.
cinnabarina, but is a far finer plant, of a totally
diflerent habit, and resembling a Saxifraga of
the ciliata group in moile of growth ard
foliage. ' '

Clematis John Gould Veitcii — Double
Blue Flowered. — We cannot too strongly re-
commend this magnificent double blue flowering
Clematis as a most valuable addition to our
hardy climbers. It is a profuse bloomer, pro-
ducing very double flowers of a large size,
and of a beautiful light blue color. It
thrives remarkably well when planted out of
doors, or as a conservatory climber. It was
imported direct from Jaj)an. Veitch exhibited
this plant at the International Exhibition at
Paris in 18G7, and again at the International
Exhibition held at Ghent in March. 1868, as
well as at the Koyal Horticultural Society's
Show, held April 21st, 1868, where it was uni-
versall}-^ admired, and considered one of the best
and most striking novelties of recent introduc-
tion, and it invariably received the highest
possible awards. — Gardeners'' Chronicle.

MUSA EN.SETE, THE GREAT BANANA OF

Abyssinia. — This magnificent plant is without
doubt the finest and most effective of all plants
yet used for summer out door gardening. It is
so hardy that, planted in rich soil, it grows
freely during the summer months in the open
air, and requires to be wintered only in a cool
house. Its immense leaves attain a length of 8
to 10 feet, are of a beautiful dark green, the
mid rib being bright crimson, forming an ad-
mirable and striking contrast. It attains alto-
gether an average height of 12 to 15 feet.

We cannot too strongly recommend this
splendid plant, which will be more extensively
cultivated the more it becomes known ; it is
also admirably adapted for cultivation as an or-
namental plant for conservatory decoration.

37Jf

THE GAUBEJ^EU'S MOJVTBLY.

December,

. ECIIEVERIA QLAUCO-JIETALLICA. - - A very

distinct hybrid between E. metallica and glabra,
and one which will be a valuable addition to
this popular class of summer bedding plants.
The leaves are nearly as large as those ofJE^.
metallica, and in color are intermediate between
both parents, having the deep glaucous green of
the one, but with the bronzy hue of the other.
One of its great recommendations is that, un-
like the E. raetallica, it always remains stemless,
and it is by far the the most showy and largest-
leaved of all the dwarf kinds. It is a very free
grower.

Eetinospora FiLiFERA.— One of the most
striking and unique hardy novelties ever oflered.
It is very difficult to give any adequate descrip-
tion of this beautiful plant, which has a pyra-
midal and exceedingly graceful habit, its great

peculiarity consisting in its numerous drooping
shoots, which frequently attain a length of 10 to
12 inches without branching, and then becom-
ing tufted or crested, giving the plant an ele-
gant tasselled appearance, its beautiful bright
glaucous green foliage rendering it the more
striking. It is from Japan, and perfectly
hardy.

Eetinospora filicoides. — A most beauti-
ful and very distinct hardy Conifer, introduced
by Veitch from Japan, through Mr. J. G.
Yeitch. It is probably the most beautiful of
any of the varieties as yet imported. The foli-
age is of a rich bright green, very dense, and
having an exquisite Fern like character ; the
habit of the plant is excellent, and being per-
fectly hardy, we are confident that as it becomes
known it cannot fail to find a place in the most
select collections. — YiETCn.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

Hale's Early Peach.— We referred in our
last to the discussion on Hale's Early, at the
recent meeting at Richmond. The following
full report is from the liural New Yorl:er :

" Berckmans (Ga.)— It does not rot with us ;
we regard it the best early peach ever origina-
ted. It received ** for Georgia, District of Co-
lumbia, Kansas and South Carolina.

Langdon (Ala ) — After having high hopes for
it in Southern Alabama, Louisiana and Missis-
sippi, it has proved a dead failure. It com-
mences rotting before ripening and we get no
crop. In Middle Alabama and Northern Mis-
sissippi it has done well.

Quinn ((X. J.)— It is losing ground in New
Jersey and growers are giving it up ; also in
Delaware on the peniusula. It rots badly.

Berckmans (Ga.) — I have received reports
from nearly every part of Georgia, and it seems
t^ do well generally. Locality has much to do
vrith its rotting In Arkansas, on rolling lands,
it does nicely. In our market the early peaches
were all excellent and all Ilale's. Ten days after,
when the later varieties came in, peaches were
wormy and imperfect. It is excellent for mar-
ket and especially for shipping. Three years
ago we got .$20 per ha.lf bushel for it in New
York City.

Weir (111.) — Where the peach rot is prevalent^
I suggest that growers add four pounds of sul-
phur to a half bushel of unslaked lime ; slake the
lime and strew it over the tree and on the
ground under the tree just before the peaches
begin or are expected to begin to rot.

Dr. Howsley (Kan.) — In Kansas it is one of
the most valuable peaches we have. It goes
into market and sells at a high price weeks
before it is fit to eat. Mine stand on soil em-
bedded in shale or gravel. It is the most popu-
lar and profitable peach we have.

Flagg (111 )— It has no rival, for there is no
peach that ripens at the same time It is liable
to rot with us, but no more so than other varie-
ties having the same consistency of flesh. If it
does not rot on the trees, it rots in the boxes
after it is shipped to such an extent as to render
it very uncertain as a market fruit. Its extreme
earliness has induced extensive planting, and if
rot can be prevented it is valuable.

Lamosy (Ya.) -It is very much liked — like
many a good man with a bad name — when tho-
roughly understood. It is a hardy and vigorous
grower ; bloom hardy, and stands when Tillot-*
son dies. So soon as they connnence coloring
they commence to rot. Having watched them
pretty carefully, I came to the conclusion that

1871.

TRE GARDEJ^EWS MONTHLY.

375

the rotting was due to an excessive flow of sap,
and resolved to check their growth by allowing
grass to grow among them ; the result was I se-
cured a good crop wherever the grass grew ; but
wherever cleanly cultivated, either by myself or
ray neighbors, it failed. I made money by allow-
ing the grass to grow.

Wilder (Mass. ) — Of course we do not cultivate
it in open grounds in Massachusetts, but it is
excellent for forcing ; nothing can be finer ; did
not rot this year.

Meehan (Pa.) — When Hale's Early was first
promulgated, Parry, of New Jersey, planted
largely of it and clean cultivated it thoroughly.
It rotted badly, and he designed to cut up the
trees ; but before he got ready to do so the weeds
had got a start in the orchard, and to his aston-
ishment he got a good crop of excellent fruit.

Masters (Neb,)— It has not been fully tested
in Nebraska ; but the finest peaches grown in
Nebraska were grown on trees planted in prairie
sod, without cultivation ; those grown on culti-
vated grounds have rotted. The best way to
grow peaches, I am satisfied, is to grow them in
grass.

Earle (111.)— The experience of the Southwest-
ern fruit growers is that rot in Hale's Early
peach, as in all other kinds of fruit, is due to the
injuries of the curculio. When grown free from
such injuries they do not rot.

Berckraans (Ga.) — There are plenty of curcu-
lios all over the South, and yet we do not have
rot.

Chamberlain (Va.) — Hale's Early is the only
peach that has rotted with us tliis season. It
has been entirely free from curculio — especially
so this season. It rots invariably.

Schley (Savannah, Ga.)— On our coast it is the
earliest peach and largest ; it is hardy. We had
it ripe this year. May 28. There were many
specimens punctured by the curculio and yet
none rotted There are many peaches I cannot
grow Ihat do grow in Middle and Southern
Georgia.

Mclntosli (Ohio)— It rotted badly with us.

Late Kose Potato. — Messrs. Thorburn
say of this new potato : "In its color, habits of
growth and general appearance, it resembles its
parent, the Early Rose, but has superiority to
that variety in the following particulars :

1st. It is of much better quality for table use,
being white fleshed and line grained, cooking

very dry and mealy. It has a peculiar, rich and
delicate flavor, not surpassed by any variety we
have ever tested.

2d. Its yield is enormous, from 250 to 300
bushels per acre. On the same soil and under
the same treatment, the Early Rose yielded less
than 100 bushels per acre.

3d. Its keeping quality is unsurpassed. In the
same cellar, at planting time, when the Early
Rose were so badly sprouted and wilted as to be
unfit for table use, this seedling had not sprouted,
and the tubers were as crisp and solid as when
first dug. They remained in good condition for
cooking until the new crop of Early Rose came
upon the table.

They also grow in a compact cluster in the
hill, making them very easily dug. They ripen
about witli the Orono, or Jackson White, thus,
havinsr the whole season to srow in.''

The Osage Orange. — This tree is altogether
too valuable to discard, I have seen it withstand
twenty-six degrees below zero, and I believe it
will be hardy all over Iowa, if it is not cut and
pruned too much. Being naturally a tree, not a
bush, it will not bear this. It is the most endu-
ring timber I know of, and the tree is both beau-
tiful and cleanly, with its bright, glossy leaves
and large fruit. I have seen Osage grape stakes
that had been set nine yeai'S, as good as the day
they were put in the ground. It is largely used
by the Southern Indians for making bows ; from
which the French called it JSoi.s d^Avc, and which
the Texans have corrupted into Bodock. For
buggy fellies and shafts, carriage poles, or any
other purpose for which small timber is required
tough, elastic and enduring, it has no equal that
I know of. It is cheap, too, and may be bought
for a dollar or two a thousand plants. They
ought to be set close together, trimmed up to one
stalk, and never after be cut down at all. — Bu-
r,il World.

A New Way to Make Fruit Trees.— Mr.
Sullivan Hutchinson, of Bristol, N. II., received
letters patent last May for a new and novel
invention for making productive fruit trees iu a
single year from fruit bearing limbs. Limbs
that can be spared from trees that bear desirable
fruit are transformed into independent trees
which will bear right along, Ju.st as though they
had not been .severed from the parent stock, and
in a sh'Ut time become fine thrifty trees, retain

S76

TJJ±: GAMUJ^A'-EK'S MOM'THLy

Dcceniher,

ing the habits of the trees from which they were
taken. This is what Mr Hutchinson claims his
invention will do. From the imperfext description
we have had of the process, it is impossible to
give a very clear idea of how llie thing is done
Into the limb, hovvevor, which is intended for
the future free, small roots are grafted just above
where the limlj is severed. ]Jelow these roots
the branch is girdled. About and below the
roots is placed a box filled with earth. This
operation is performed in the spring. During
the summer the roots grow and life is thus es-
tablished between them and the liml) above. —
In autumn the limb is severed at the place where
it was girded, and set in the ground in the same
way any young tree would be. The next year,
according to Mr. Hutchinson's statement, this
new tree wii! bear fruit just as though it had
not been cut from the parent tree.

To what extent this operation may be carried,
and how successful it may prove, remains to be
seen. "We have no doubt Mr. Hutchinson has
demonstrated that the new trees will produce
fruit at once, but we suppose sufficient lime has
not elapsed since his experiments commenced
to determine what eflect early bearing may have
upon their future growth. That a j'oung tree
can bear fruit to any extent and at the same
time put on a vigorous and thrifty growth, is
not in accordance with our observation. And
we suspect that Mr, Hutchinson will fail to pro-
duce very healthy trees from the application of
his new discover3^ We shall expect in a few
years to hear that his trees have died ; or at any
rate that they have become so feeble that they
will cease both to produce fruit and to grow. If
it shall prove otherwise, the discovery is an im-
portant one.

Experiments to a considerable extent have
been made in Bristol and Xew Hampton, and
Ave hear that farmers in various parts of the
State are buying town and farm rights with the
intention of testing the practicability of this
new S3'stem of producing early bearing fruit
trees. If successful, a complete revolution in our
manner of obtaining apple trees will be the re-
sult. Instead of buying trees from the nurse-
ry which require from ten to twenty years to
come into bearing condition, the limbs from our
old trees will be converted into new ones that
will give us fruit at once. AVliile we have no
great expectations in regard to this new process,
wo have thought it of sufli'iont importance to
call Ihc attention of our renders to it, who can

for themselves make such inquiries and investi-
gations as the subject would seem to merit. —
The People.

Transplanting Evergreens. -Broad-leaved
Evergreens, such as Magnolia (grandiflora,)
Olea fragrans. Magnolia fuscata, Cape Jasmine,
Holly, English Laurel, Wild Olive, "Mock-
Orange," (Cerasus,) Sweet and Sour Orange,
etc , etc., should be transplanted just when they
begin to grow vigorously in the early spring.

The same rule applies to the resinous Ever-
greens, such as Deodar Cedar, Japan Cedar, our
common Juniper, White Pine, etc., etc. But
deciduous trees of all kinds can only be safely
moved when quiet and dormant. It seems hardlj'
necessary to mention these well known facts to the
readers of the South Land; but some recent ob-
servations have led us to believe that man}' other-
wise intelligent people are strangely lacking in a
knowledge of the commonest laws of vegetable
physiology.

We have seen Magnolias dug up from the
swamps in mid-winter, with ten or twelve feet
of luxuriantly leafy top, and a clump of collar
roots about as large as a child's head, and with
no fibres whatever. These trees were hauled, on
a sharp, drying day in au open cart and dumped
down on the lawn, where they lay in sun and
frost, for days and nights, (uncovered,) and were
then planted, with a sublime faith in the mirac-
ulous and recuperative power of nature. '

Of course, not one in ten thousand of such
trees can possibly grow ; and so, almost daily,
time, money and hope are thrown away, in
" town and country."

Magnolias, Hollies, etc., if lifted in the spring,
carefully cut off at the ground and skilfully
planted, are almost sure to live ; and though this
plan requires nerve and hopefulness, we feel
quite assured that it is the best way to secure
success. — South Land.

The Insect World.— Every female insect,
with the single exception of a few social species,
such as honey bees, and perhaps ants and white
ants (Terjuitcv), perish in the course of the same
season, after laying their first and only batch of
eggs. Their race is then run, the goal is then
reached, and they retire from the course, to give
place to that new generation of the same species.
— Aiucrinin Eidnmologht.

1S71.

THE GARDEJ^'ER'S MOJ^'TEL^

nr

F 0 R E I G IN^ I N T E L L I G E N C E .

Willow Bauk,— A writer in tlio " Plnglish I
Philosophical Transactions," Vol. 53. says that
the bark of the Salix alba, or white willow will
cure intermittent fevers, and he recommends it
as a substitute for Peruvian bark. Vanqueliu
aflSrms that it possesses all the properties of the
cinchona or Jesuit bark, namel}', that of precipi-
tating isinglass, and throwing down sulphate of
iron, green, and acetate of copper, brownish.
"N^Tiite willow bark, therefore, as it unites the
bitter and astringent principles, or tastes, must
be suitable as a febrifuge.

The bark of the Salix caprea, in its green state
has been manufactured into paper, pasteboard,
etc., and the twigs are well adapted for willow
■work. The bark is also used for tanning various
kinds of leather. In some countries the common
people make shoes of the bark as thej' do in Swed-
en from oak bark. It is used to dye linen yarn
black. The wood makes the best charcoal, and is
highly esteemed in the manufacture of gunpow-
der. The catkins afford very early food for bees.
Ever)"^ bee keeper ought to plant this and otlier
early flowering varieties of willow near his
apiary.

YiCTORiA REGIA.-The weight cnpable of being
borne by the leaves of this wonderful plant is
the subject of a communication from Mr. Sow-
erby, of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Regent's
Park, to a recent number of Land ami Water,
in which he says : " Although we are all fiimiliar
with the wonderful tales told by voyagers on the
Amazon, of the buoyant power of the leaf of
Victoria regia, now a common and well known
water plant, I have not seen recorded the actual
weight supported : it may therefore interest your
readers to mention an experiment made here
last week : A leaf was selected, the worst but
one of eight on the plant, as we did not like to
destroy the best ; it was, however, pretty per-
fect, only a few holes within six inches of the
margin ; diameter live feet six inches. On this
leaf I placed a wheel three feet six inches
in diameter, with 'eight spokes made of thin
wood, and a small foot-board, on which I stood
and floated 'high and dry;' the wheel was ne-
cessary to distribute the pressure over a consid-
erable portion of the surface, the texture of the
leaf being exceedingly tender (the foot-board did
not touch the leaf, but rested on the spokes of

the wheel). I have no doubt that if the wheel
had been of the same diameter as the leaf it
would have served as a life-raft for a small
famil}^ as the next experiment will show. The
wheel and footboard were removed from the leaf
and its surface left quite free ; we then gradually
spread over the surfiice shell gravel previously
weighed out in lots of half cwt ; basketful after
basketful was shovelled on up tp 3 cwt., when
the gardeners standing by v/ould not believe their
own eyes, and began feeling under the leaf,
thinking their must be some other support' than
water, — but no, the leaf floated quite free, —
another 20 lbs., and another, and another, was
thrown on, and yet the good ship remained sea-
worthy and no signs of foundering ; 426 lb. called
water began to leak in through the holes; the
excitement, or perhaps, the heat of the ' stove '
in which we worked, made us rather hasty and
unstcad}' in loading cargo, the weight of which
was augmented by the 'leakage, and an unluck}""
cast tilted the leaf on one side, the water rushed
over, it crumpled up like a sheet of paper and
sank in deep water, carrying with it a load of
436 lbs. (besides water*. This is the greatest
weight I have yet seen a leaf support ; and the
weight now on the plant may be considered equal
to li tons.

The Best Hothouse GPvAPE. — At'the recent
meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society for
the best single dish of bl-ick grapes, there was a
very excellent competition. Mr. V»^. Coleman,
gardener to Earl Somers, Eastnor Castle, Led-
bury. Hereford, who exhibits magnificent exam-
ples of Black Hamburgh, the bunches weighing
over 4 lbs., perfect in bunch and berry. These
are the finest examples in the Exhibition, and
are awarded the first prize. Mr. Smith, garde-
ner, Exton Park, Oakham, is placed second, with
smaller but very fine examiiles of the same ; and
Mr. C. Turner, Slough, the third, with small
bunches, but well-finished examples of the same
variety. Mr. J. Ratty, gardener to J. Schole-
fleld, Esq., Turville Park, Henley-on-Thames,
stages good examples of Black Prince. Mr. Cole-
grave also exhibits.

Products ok the Ande-^. — To an elevation
of 10 000 feet the eastern slope of I lie Andes, in
Bolivia, is covered with loH v for.'st tree*. The

S78

THE GARDEJ\'ER'S MOA'^THhy. December,

potato, banana, Indian corn, wlieat. barley, and
rice are among the products. Corn sometimes
produces 200 bushels to the acre, and wheat sev-
enty bushels. Cochabamba supplies great quan-
tities of wheat to the cold districts of La Paz and
Potosi. Of the fruits there are found oranges,
lemons, olives, figs, pineapples, pears, apples,
plums, chirinioyas, pomegranates, peaches, and
in fact, almost every variety of fruit. Cinna-
mon of excellent quality is found ; it grows wild
in great abundance. Tobacco, equal to that of
Cuba, is extensively grown in Santa Cruz and
the Beni province. " Coca '' or betel is very ex-
tensively cultivated in the Yungas valley. The
chocolate of the Beni has no snperior in the

world. The coffee of the Yungas valley is largely
cultivated.

Stewed Spixacii.— Half a peck of Spinach,
one ounce of butter, and four tablespoonfuls of
cream. Pick and wash the spinach well ; put it
into a pan with a small tea-cupful of boiling
water, and a tablespoonful of salt ; boil it gently
till tender ; pour it into a sieve to drain, press-
ing out the water ; then beat it in a bowl with a
wooden spoon, or potato-masher ; return it into
the pan ; add the butter and cream ; season with
pepper and salt, and serve with sippets of toast-
ed bread, and a few poached eggs. — Gardener^s
Record.

hopyTicultural notices.

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES.

At the stated meeting of the Academy of Nat-
ural Sciences of Philadelphia, on November 7th,
the following matters of interest to horticultur-
ists occurred :

Mr. Thomas Meehan said, that in passing
through a wood, he was struck in the face by
seeds of the Uamamelis Virginica, or common
Witch Hazel, with as much force as if from
spent shot from a gun. The stinging sensation
continued for perhaps a minute. Not knowing
before, that these capsules possessed any project-
ing power, he gathered a quantity, in order to as-
certain the cause of the projecting force, and to
measure its power. Laying the capsules on the
floor he found the seeds were thrown generally
four or six feet, and in one instance as much as
twelve feet away. The cause of this immense
projecting power he found to be simply in the
contraction of the horny albumen which sur-
rounded the seed. The seeds were oval, and in
a smooth bony envelope, and when the albumin-
ous coat by contraction had burst, and expanded
enough to get just beyond the middle, where the
seed narrowed again, the contraction of the al-
bumen caused the seed to slip out, just as we
would squeeze out a smooth tapering stone be-
tween the fniger and the thumb.

Dr. Joseph Leidy remarked that this was in
many respects an interesting plant. The seed
vessels took exactly a year to mature. As soon
as the leaves fell the blossoms opent-d, and at tlie

same time next fall, when the last year's cap-
sules were opening, the new flowers appeared.

Dr. Joseph Carson stated that he had found
the phenomenon which characterizes the squirt-
ing cucumber, also due to a mechanical force.

The mass of seeds inside were enveloped in an
elastic sac. Between this sac and the external
cuticle, was a mass of cellular matter tilled with
moisture, which was conveyed through the sac
to the interior by endosmic power. As the seeds
grew the sac was distended to its utmost capa-
city ; and when the fruit was detached from its
parent stem, an opening was made into the sac,,
when, just as in the bursting of any distended
bladder, the sac contracted, and forced the seeds
and cellular matter out through the orifice.

PENNSYLVANIA FRUIT GROWERS'
SOCIETY.

Tlie annual meeting of this association will be
held in Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia, com-
mencing January 17th, 1S7'J. Efforts are now
being made to have representatives present from
the difTcrent State organizations throughout the
country ; and we cordially invite pomologists
from every section to be with us, and participate
in the discussions Able addresses will be de-
livered by prominent horticulturists, and the ex-
ercises will be of the most interesting character,
JOSIAII H 00 PES, Pres't.

At.kx. TiAunrs, lice Sec
Tuos. Mreiian, Cor. Sec.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Frontispiece Pavia macrostachya

Colored Plate — February Boiivardia Vreelandi.

April. Salway Peach.

June Dendrobiuni nobile

September Pinus pungens

C.

Centaurea Clementci 93"

G.

Gardens, Rose, Plan of 87

Ground Leveling and Practical Gardening .. 287

H.

Heater for Plant Case COut.ine Drawing of) 329

P.

Plan of Rose Garden , 87

Plant Case, Heater for 329

Practical Gardening, Ground Leveling and 287

B.

Rose Gardens, Plan of 87

Rustic Work, Use for Tree Trimmings in 20

S.

Solanum Ciliatum 126

T.
Tree Tiimminge, Use for in Rustic Work ^

THE GARDEJYER'H MOJfTELI.

INDEX-VOL. XIII.

Abont CaLbrtses, llC

Academy of Natural Scieuco8,S20

:-t:s

Acclimatizitiou, 24

'■ of Apples, 233

Acer Jupoaica, 29
" Poljminphiim, 29
" Pseudo I'latamis, 29
Achimenes (Eucordia) Naeglioi
dtfs Di:imaniina, 184
Acoras Juponicus Vanegatns.139
Address by Marshall P. Wilder.

29')
Adiantum Veitcbii, 280, 31."
After the Pirale.s, 53
Age of the Larch, 212
Agricultural Association, Atlan-
ta, 212
'• .Journals and Flor-

ists, the Chicago.
370
Agi'icalture, Egyptian, 1.3

" the Coinnussioner of,5^
Akroydon, Gooseberry Show at,

ISS, 222
Alder, EngliKh, in Texas, Growth

of, 277
Alpine Houses, 277

" Strawberries, 1.3)
Alternatithera A mabilis Tricolor,

1S4
Alton, Ills., Notes from, 267

i Apple, 01-1 .\dam, 1 .U

I " Pride of the South, C47

! " Pvlo, 124

j " Seed ling, 120

I '■ Speckled, 26

I " Playraan's Summer, 21.5

j " Troefi, Barron, How to

I make them Bear, 2S3

1 " " on Ridges, 210

Wealthy, 27
Apples, Accliinatizition of, 236
" Etowah SeeOlio^, 214
'• Late Blooming, 23
'• Siberian Crab, Improve-
ment in, 311
SourA£Sweet,lS1.27;),.343
" " " Speckled,

124
Arborvilre Hetinospora, Ac,

Dwarf varieties of, 247
Aristolochia Nipho, Propagating.

211
Arnold's Gripes. .')3
Arrangement of a Flower Bed, 11 9
' Leaves.Phyllotax-

is,'or the, 284
Asparagus and Mushrooms, 101
'' in Soup, 24

' Salting, 23

' Varieties of, 90

Oilel, Yellow, The, 182
Atlanta .\t;ricuUural Association

212
Aucuba Japonica, Error in, 3G9

Catalogue, The Society's, 301
Catalogues, SS, 2^8

" of European Firms,

124
Catalpa. The. 216
Caterpillars in a Cold Grapery,

370
Caution to Nurserymen and

other.-", 28.")
Cave, A Mushroom, 127
Cement for Iron, A Strong, 127
Contaurfa Cleraentei, 92
Chaugeable Forget-Me-^>ot, The,

Altbea, Splendid varieties of, 200 August, Greenhouse and c'o'nser-

Amaryllis, 35S

American aud English Strawber-
ries, Kelative Fer-
tility of, 369
■' Il.irtlcultural Annual,

181
" Naturalist, 34.5
■" I'omt'logical Society,

91,212, 222,320,331
" PoiMjlogical Society,

New Fruits at, 312
" Pota'oes ia Kngland,

CI, 319
" Seedling Deciduous
Trees, Beauties of
Forc'-t, Clumps of,
in Spring. 1 I
Andes, Products of tho, 377
Anemone Japonica, .08
Anemones in Pots, 2-34
Announcement of Fruit Diction-
ary, 280
Antigonon Septotus, 153

Apios Tuberosa, 217, 313

Apple, A New Crab, Mickie'siiieddinK Ger.iniums 101
' ,. ^ Beauty, 2S Beech, Blood leaved. 206

Bnff, Tbe,312 | " Purple, 281

vatory In, 222
Australia, Kerainiscences of, 131
Autumnal Foliage,Color in, 60,99
Autumn, The Queen of, 3.30
Azalea Amccna, 3.30
Azaleas and Rhododendrons ofJBusiness Notice, 367

Bloomsdale, 193

[Blight and Insect Compnsit'n,110
I Bliss' Strawheny Show, 210
1 Blood-leaved Beech, 205
I " " English Oak, 206

" " H:>zelnut, 206

'■ •' Maple, 206

I " " Peach, 206

" " Plants, 2'i6

Bloomsdale, Azaleas and P.hodo-

dendrons of. 193
Boiler, Corrucated Hot Water,343
Boilers, 113, 22S

" and Circulation. 172
" HotWater.f.l ,10.3,144.173
Bonssincc.aultia Laohaumi, 370
Boston Lettuce, about, 242

" Pears at, 23
Botanic Garden at Brussels, 15
B tanical, 91

Botany and its Influence on Hor-
ticulture, 73
" Bay,NewSouthWales,2-.3
Bougainvilleas. 231
Bouvardia Davisonii, 211
" Vreelandii, (with

plate,) so! China, Woods of, 21
Bouvardias, Propagating, 24 j Chinese Water Lili-s, 144
Branched Trusses in Geraniums,

ISO
Brugmansia or DatnraSanguinea,

153
Brussels, Botanic Garden at, 1.5
Bud Variations, 43
Butfalo Cherry, 151
Buff Apple, The. 312
Buffuin Pear, Planting the, 122
Buggine, 2)0
Bulbs, New, 332
Burghley Park Cherry, 1.31
Burlington Graue

Change in the Habits of Bee?,187

Changes, Effects of, 29

Changing theColors of Flower8,1.5

Chemical Powers of the Sunlight,
231

Cherries at Dr. Hall's, 2i7

Cherry, Ber^hley Park. 131
" Buffalo, The, 1.30
" Governor Wood, 156

Chicago Agricultural Jonrnals
and Florists, The, 370

Chrysanthemums, 149 ,
Cider, 5

Circulation, Boilers and, 172
Hot Water, 33.3
" " Tho Ra-

tionale of, 358
of Hot Water, 144,
180.199,204
City Lawns. Fruit Trees on, ISl
Clematis Patens, John Gould
Veitch, 132
.Tohn Gould Veitch,.S73
Climate of Port Lavacca, Texas,
149

B.

Baillon's L'Histoire dcs Plantes

286
Banana, tho Great, of Abysinia —

Musa P.nsete, ,373
Bxik, Willow, 377
Barren Apple Trees.How to make

them B ar, 283
Bean, Sieva. 55
Beans, Dwarf I'rench, 2-33
Beatrice Peach, 279
Beauties of American Forest,

Clumps of Deciduous

Trees in Spring, 14
Beautiful Fruit, 4

Cooper's Early Whito,312
Cogwell Pearmain, 214
Early Pennock, 347
Fay's Joe, 347
Fornwalder or Fallowa-

ter, 1 22
Fulton, 07
Garibaldi. 151
Haas, The, 21 1
Hottenstein, 123
Insects, 01
Marengo M'inlcr

The, ."47
Monte Bello, ].')7
Murray, The, 317
Oblong .''ib-'riaii

Tt.e, 152

Trees of Holland, Thn,3.32
Bees, Change iu Habits of, 187

" Humble, 2.S4
Begonia Chelsoni, i80, 313
" Kosatlora, 373
" Sndeni, 373
" Veitchii, 373
Berckmans, President, .312
Bergamot D'Ele Pear, .342
I Best Hothouse Grape, The, .377
Beurre do L'Assnmptiou, Pear,
Crab, I New Ftenrh, 371

j " Womnz'^u Pear, 214
Bignonia firanditl ira, 2iii j

i Blackberry, Orange Bust on
Crab,: the. t'« Destroy, 260

I " Kust, 211 I

Buouapartias, Correction from i Climates, Depth of R.tin in Vari-
Mr. Harding, 310 ons. 252

Climbing Hybrid Perpetual

c,

Cuhbage Head, The. 170
Cabbajres, About, 116
Cactus, The Orauge. 59

" " Snow, 22

Caladium Culture i n England. 159

Roots, 287
Calceolarias, p'ine, 149
Calf, Extraordinary effect upon

a punv, 231
California Conifer.-e, 293
•' Kvorgreens, 93

" Fruit Insects in, 36S

'•' Hoopes'Trip to, 91

" Horticulturist, 88

" Lecture on Horticul-

ture in, 116
" Pitcher Plant, 149

" Sunflower, 370

Californian Flower for Name,182

Notes, 242
Callipsyche Anrantica, l.'<4

MIrabili.s, 184
Camellia, Pronunciation of, .369
Can Gardeners claim a Mouth'i

Notice? 96
Carrots, Description of, ,"C7
Castor Oil Pom.ace, 21
Catalogue of (;. L. Allen & Co.
N. Y., 56
" Ellwanger A Barry

1,".0

, 8**

Roses, 372
Close Pruning Grapes, 315
Coal Gas and the Roots of Trees,

23
Coar.'e Grass on a Lawn, 343
Codling M ith. The. .39,90 16S,17S
Coffee, A Substitute for, 3Io
Cogswell Pearmain Apple, 214
Coleus, Growth on a, 342
'' keeping through Winter,
344
Colfax Strawberry, 21
Collar on. Nut Tree with a, 253
Colorado Potato Beetle, Crush,
ing the, 277
" " " Destruction

of the, 208
Colored lifhts on Plants, 207

" Plate.s, Our. .06, 91
Color in Autumnal Foliage, 60,99
ColumViia Plum, The, 347
Commissioner of Asriicultnre,

The,' 54
Communications audBrief Notes,

212
Compass Plant, Notes on the,203
Conclusion, 303
Conifera!, California, 203
Gou»ervatory, Dielylra Spectabl-
lis for the, 221
" Rhododeudrons

for the, 188
Continental .Tournals,Noles from
1.')

A Jap;in Nurs'y, S."^! Cooper's Early White Apple,312

TH£ G^iliDEJ^'ElVS MOJ^TRLY,

Corn on the Tussle, Ear of, 342
CoroDilla Glauca, oS
CorreBpondents and Inquirers.

To, 27 S
Corrugated Hot Water UoiIer,343
Cost and Pruflt of Grape Culture,

The, 248
Cotton, Th Nankeen, 165
Cowing's Seedling Strawberry,
2t.<
" Strawberry, 318
Crab Apple, A New, 28
" Marengo Winter, The, 347
" Oblong Siberian, The. 152
Crtetagus Crus-Galli (Cockspur Draccena Maguifica, 2S1

Thorn,) 59
Crimonanthus Fragrans
Crinuni, the, 362

Disease in Pine Trees, 311
•' of Hollyhocks, .05
" the Peach, New, 343

Diseases, Fungoid, 47

" Insects and, 298
" of Plants, 15

Domeetic Notes. 176, '.'38, 271

Dorstonia Argenlata, 185

Double Glazing, 102

Philadelphus, 23

Douglas' Mr., Letter, 118

Dow'^ner, J. S., Portrait of, 363

tlont

lively Willi. lu liui i-v

Gardenf r, 344

Exhibition Ferns 187

" Grapes for, 31S

Exhibitions, Tickets to. 309
Experiment upon a Pig, An, 233
ExtraorUiuary .Ftfect upon s
Puny Calf, 234

Fay "8 Joe Api.lo. 347

Criticism, Friendly. 341
Crop, The Peach, 275
Croton Cornultum. 2o
" Hookerii, 281
" Johannis, 280
' Multicolor, 281
" Undulatum, 157
" Veitcbii, 157
Crashing the Colorado Potato

Beetle, 277
Cncnmbers, Early, Profit of, 284
Cultivation of the Soil, Prepara-
tion and, 297 lEarle's Russet — New Pear, 125
" Tree Carnations, 96 Early Fiuit on Late Trees, 275

DownLng's Selected Fruit for the Fancy Gourds, 181

Garden and Market, 244 1 Felting, Fay's, Water Proof, 3C9
Fences, Wire. 121
Poiphyrophylla, 281 I Ferns, Exhibition, 187
Draining of Fruit Lauds, 297 IFertility, Kelative, nf American
I'ressing for Peach Trees, 242 I and Fnijlish Strawbcr-

Dr. Nicaise, Strawberries of, 156| ries, :>,69

Drouth, Thick Gracs a Protec- Fertilization of Grapes, 158

tiou Against, 94 [Fig, Varieties of the, 314

Dryness of Soil an Aid to the Fine Calceolarias, 149
Kipening of Wood, 75 Firms, New, 212

Dwarfing Trees, 134
Dwarf French Beans, 253
" Varieties of Arborvitje
Ketinospora, &c., 247

Culture, Orchid, 201

Pear, 115
Curculio Catcher, Dr. Hall's, 55
" from Plum Trees, To
keep the, 144
Currant, Orangofield Red, 125
Cuttings, Tomatoes from, 149
Cypripedium Barbatum Grandi-
florum. 153
" (Keichenbachi)

Longifolium, 313

D.

Dactylantus Taylori, 15
Dahlias, 121
Dana's Hovey Pear, 124
Daphne Cueorum, Keinarks on
the, 39
" MezereuDit, 254
Darlingtonin, Flowering of, 180
Datari Sanguioea, or Brugman

sia, 153
DaTis's Seedling Potato, 283
Death of John Gould Veitch, 158
" Sanford, Howard, 118
" Souchet, Mr., 148
" Stephen Pierson, 118
" Unger, M., 15
" Vilmorin, M., 118
" Wills, Mr., 21
Deceased Members, .^02
Decorations, Flower Garden, 140
Dendrobium Crassinoida, 348

Nol.ile, 91, 178
Dendrobiums, 122
Denton Plum, 279
Deodar Cedar, Hardiness of, 24
Depth of Hain in Various Cli-
mates, 252
Denmodium Penduliflorum, 153
Description of Carrots, 367
Destroying Red Spider, 370
Destruction of the Colorado Po-
tato Beetle, 208
" Potato Beetle, 332
Dentzia Crenata, Alba Pleno,185
Dielytra Spectabilis fur the Con-
servatory, 221
DiefTenbachia Buwmanii, 281,313
Digging Amongst the Hoots of

Fruit Trees, 185
Dimorphism in Gladiolus, 62
Diospyri.'S Naiii — The Japanese

Persimmon, 372
Directory, a Ilurlicoltural, 340
Directories, Duplication of Wur-
tery Names in, 277
DiBcovericB ol Ancieat Bones at

Waukegaii, Ills., 41
Difrase. a Peach "Tree, 282
" 111 Pcari-, 8

Germination of Seeds, 147
Pen nock Apple, 347
Tulips, 2S8
Ear of Corn, Male Flowers on
the, 110

" on the Tassle, .342
Earth, Tropical Heat Derived

from the, 235
Echeveria Glauca Metallica, 374
Edging, Plants for, 283
Editorial Notes, 82, 176, 204,238,
271
" Foreign, 81, 271

ECfeetsof Changes, 29

" of Sod on the Tempera-
ture of the Soil, 370
Egg Plant Seed, 200

" " Keeping, 143

Egyptian Agriculture, 15
Electricity in Vegetation, 234
EUwanger k Barry, New Grape
from, 27
" " Catalogue

150
" " No. 19 Grape,

312
Embryonic Inarching, 114, 115
Enemy, An Evergreen, 275
England, American Potatoes in
61, 319
" Caladium Culture in.

1.09
" Size of Onions in, 203
Englii^h Alder in Texas, Growth
of, '277
•' Gladiolus Show, A, 190
" Oaks, Blood leaved, 206
" Sparrows, 330
" Water Cress, 5
Errata, 122

Error in Aucuba Japonica, 369
Essay on Horticulture, 9
Etowah Seedling Apples, 214
Eucharis Amazonica — Correction
in Mr. Taplin's Arti-
cle, 370
Eugenie I'gni, 186
Eumelan (irape. The, 247
Europe, Rare Maples in. 29

" Kiibinson's P.irks and

Gardens of, 55
" Tlie Oldest Tree in, 252
" •' Vine Mildew of,5J

Evergreen Enemy, An, 275

" Seeds, Vitality of, 21

Evergreens, California, !'
for Winter, 40
" New and Beautiful.

266
" Prnning. SO

" Kocky MoiiotaJD, 55

" Transplanting, .';76

Fire Blight iu Pear Trees, .54
Fires, The late. Philosophically

Considered, 364
Florida, In, 91
Flower Bed, Arrangement of a,

119
" Californian, for Name,

182
" Garden and Pleasure

Ground, 1, 33, 65, 97,129

161, 193, 225, 257, 289,
321, 353

" " Decorations,140

" Bfarket for the London

Poor, 252
" Show in the Year 1830
A, 37
Flowering Hedge, A, 148

" of a Wisteria Sinensis,

121
" of Darlingtonias, ISO
Flowers, 133, 177

" Changing the Colors of,

15
" in Furnace Heated

Rooms, 360
" Raising new, 310
" Winter, 133
Foreign Grapes, New, 44

" Notes, 81, 271
Forget-me-not, The Changeable,

252
Fornwalder or Fallawater Ap-
ple, 122
Forsythia Suspensa, 149
Fortune's Double Flowering

Peaches, 25
France, Introduction of the Po-
tato in, 95
Free Mason Poach, 26
French Beans, Dwarf, 253
Friendly Criticism, 341
Fruit, Beautiful, 4
" Culture at Wodenethe, 265
" " The Increasing

Importance of 302
" Dictionary, Announce

ment of, 280
" Early, on Late Tree.", 275
'* Farm, A Worcester, 286
" Garden, 3.3, 66, ^■i, 130,

162, 194, 227, 259, 290,
322

" Grower's Society of Ponna,
31, 378

" " " " Pro-

ceedings of, 25

" in Ohio, 182

'• Insects in California, 368

" Lands, Draining of, 29'

" List for Maryland, A, 309

" Preserving, 155

" Production, Pruning with
Reference to, 79

" Ripening and Decay of,314

"j Thinning of, 298

"j Trees, Digging Amongst
the Hoots of, 185

" " .Mulching Bearing.

154
1

fiui; Til (•-, a .New Wnj- to
m:4ko Hear, 375
" " on I'ily Lawns, 181

Fruiting of the Blue i^aburnum.

61
Fruits in Kt-ntucky. 55
" .Naiiiiui;, 218
" New, at the American
Pumological Society,
312
'' Seedling, Outliuo and

Description of, 185
" The Peoples, 78
Fuchsia, New, 121
Fulton Apple, 57
Fungi and its Structure, 45, 75
Fungoid Diseases, 47
Fungus, Uses of, 78
Furnace Heated Rooms, Flowers

in 360
Future Nurserymen, Our, 149

G.

Gardeners, 243

" London, in the Olden
Time, 158

Monthly for 1872,
The, 308

The New
Volumeof the, 369
Gardening for the Young, 8
" Landscape, 277
" Notes, 64
Qard. Plotting, Practical Ground

Leveling and, 286
Gardens, Rose, 87
Garibaldi Apple, 1,51
Garlic on Lawns, 148
Geneva, Population of, 123
Geraniums, Bedding, 101

Branched Trusses in,

180
Seedling, 89
German Horticultural Jonrnal,
The Revue Horticole, 15,
52

QermantowB, Tennessee, 311
Germination of Seeds, Early, 147
Ginko Tree, Salisburia or, 123
Gladiolus, Dimorphism in, 63

" Show, An English, 190

Glazing, Double, 102
Godwinia Gigas, 185
Golden and Silver Yews, The,165
Gooseberry, Mildew, 360

" Seedling, from S. S.

Merceron, 311
" Show at Akroydon,
188. 222 _u^^^^
Gourds, Fancy, 181
Governor Wood Cherry, 156
Grafting, New Mode of, 261 \ ,;j
Grape, A new, 26

" Burlington, 56 ijg*"'*

Grape, Best Hothouse, The, 377

'• Culture in Virginia, 65

" '• The Cost and.Pro-

fit of, 248 l^'.-J,

" EUwanger & Barry's No.

19, 312
" Eumelan, The, 247 .^
" Growing for Profit, 367
" Jauie Wylie, The, 27
" Laura Beverly, 214, 279
" leaf Insect, 309
" Morrell's Seedling, 66
" ^e\r, from Ellwauger &

Barry, 27
" Ouachita, The, 27
" Seedlings and Hybrids, 80
" Viue, A Giant, 216
" " bearing Peaches, A,

154
Grapery, Cold, Caterpillars in a,
370
" Violet Rays upon a,231
Grapes, Arnold's, 53

Best Wine, The, 247
" Close Pruning, 315
" Dr. Wylie's Hybrid, 65

279
" for Fxhibitlon, 313
ill Oregon, 216

THE GARDE JfER'S MOJVTELY.

Grapes, i^ew hiPii i;;ii, 41
" Koies ou, :i70
" Texas, Notes on Boire,33-)
Grassesi, Fertilizatioo of, 15S
Grass for Lawn, A, 3(iS
" Thick, A I'roteclion

Against Droutb, 94
Cray, Prof. Asa, Notes from, 371
Gray's School and Field Book, 87
Creely's, Horace, Essays, 25
<3reenliouse, 291

' ' and Conservatory iii

August, 222
" " PUiQt Cabinet8,2

" Hot and, 260

'• Roofs, Pitch of, 123

Oreenhouses, 37, CS
Ground Levelling and Practical
Garden Plotting, 286
" Pine, 22
Growth of English Alder in

Texas, 277
" on a Coleus, 342
Growths, Spontaneous, 276
Gunnel's. Chileusis, or Scabra,153

H.

Haas Apple, 214

Habits of Bees, Change in the,lS7

Hale's Earlv Peach, 374

Hall's, Dr ,'Curculio Catcher, 65

Hanson Lettuce, The, 212, 304

Hardiness of Deodar Cedar. 24

Harding, Mr., Correction from —

Buonapartias, 310
Hardy Flowers, 344
Harris, Col., in the Rural New

Yorker, 24
Hazelnut, Blood-leaved. 2^6
Heater for Plant Case, 32S
Heating Kailroad Cars with Hot
Water, 180
" Railway Cars, 122
Hedge, A Flowering, 148
Hemerocallis Uistichia Flore

Pleno, 153
Hemlocks and Evergreen Pru-
ning, 120
Hemp, Male and Female, 244
Herstice's Raspberries, 246
Hickory, A New, 90
Himalayan Rhododendrons in

Ireland, 316
Hinckley Plum,The Miner or,347
Holland, The Beech Trees of, 332
Hollyhocks, The Disease of, 55
Hoopes' Trip to California, 91
Hornet Raspberry, 274
Uonicultural Directory, A, 340
'• Journal, A New

German, 1.5
" Societies, Manage

ment of, 117
" Society, Illinois

State, 32
•' " PenDa.,31,

128,169,190,224,2.")0,352
" '' Worcester

Co, Mass, 1S2:
Horticulture, Botany and its In-
tluence on, 73
" Essay on, 9

'• Professor of. 212

Hot and Grecnhonse, 260, 324
Hothouse Grape, the Best, 377j
Hottcnsleln Apple 125
Hot Water Boiler,Corrngated,343
" Boilers, 51, 10.i,144,173

" Circulation, 335

" " 0^144,181,

199, 204
" Heating R.R.Cur.s by, ISO
Houses, Alpine, 277
Howard, Sanford, Death of, 118
How to (;ook Vegetables, 64
" Grow Ptars, 196
'J Make I'riiduction Popu-
lar, If.:)
Hnmble Bees, '.81
taulcliiriKon I'eacli, 31
HyaclnlliK, 304
UyaclntbuH (. andicaup, 185

llyiiciulliiis Pnnct-ps. 185
Hybridization on Pollen, Curious

Results of, 123
Hybridizing, 24 '
Hybrid Pear, A Supposed, 156
" Perpetual Roses, Climb-
ing, 372
Hybrids and Varieties. 122

" Grape Seedlings and, 80
Hydrangea, Japanese, The, 28
Otaska, 28, 267
" Paniculata Grandi-

llora, 28
" Stellata Prolifera,

1.33, 267

I.

Illinois State Horticultural Soci-
ety, 32
Imantopbyllura Cvitanthiflorum

153
Importance of Fruit Cultnre,The

Increasing, 302
Improvement io SeedlingPeaches
334
" Siberian Crab

Apples, 311
Inarching, Embryonic, 114
Indian Corn, Monstrosity in, 310
Insect Composition, Blight and,
140
" Grape Leaf, 309
" World, 376
Insects, 61

Apple, 91
" Disease, and, 298
" Fruits, in California,o<S
" Noxious, Beneficial and

otherwise, 1S3
" Oil for, EiO
" Plum, 15
Iowa State Horticultural Report,

213
Ireland, Himalayan Rhododen-
drons in, 316
Irises, 15

Irish Junipers, Propagating, 24
Iron, A Strong Cement for, 127

Jacksonville, Fla., Notes from.

181
Janie Wylie Grape, The, 27
Japanese Hydrangeas, The, 28
" Persimmon — Diospyros

Napi, the, 372
Japan Larch, The, 241
John Gould Veitch Clematis, 373
June Meeting Penna. Hort. Soci-
ety, 2';5

Keeping Egg Plant Seed, 143
Kentucky, Fruits in, 55
Knox Nurseries, 30

Laburnums, Scarlet, 62
Laburnum, Blue, Fruiting of, 61
Lachinalia Lutlcola, 152
Lincaster Co. Farmer, 25
Landscape Gardening, 277
Larch, Age of the, 242
" Japan, 'I'lie, 241
" White Flowered, 148
Largest Rose Tree, The, 280
Largo Wisteria Sinensis, 62
Late Blooming Applos, 23
" Rose Potatoes, 375
" Strawberry, Hi)
Laura Beverly Grape, 214, 279
Lawn, A Grass for, 368

" Coarse Grass on a, 343
Lawns, Garlic on, 14S
Lawrence Pear, The, 274, 363
Laying out a .'^niall Garden, 120
Loaves, How Formed, 52
Lecture on Hurticulturo in Cal
ifornia, 117

Leptosiphera Roseus, 58
Leshous of Kxperience, 297
Letter from Rochester, .333

" Mr. DoQglas', 118
Lettuce about Boston, 242
Libocedru8,D€currensaud Thuja

Oigantea, 182
Lilies at the Loudon Shows, 254

" Chinese Water, 144
Lilinm Auratum. 190

" Trigynum, 186, 189
L'lllustration Horticole, 123, ISl
Locust, The Yellow, 24
Lomaria Gibba Crisjja, 373
Lombardy Poplar Tree, The, 13
Loudon Gardeners in the Olden
Time, 158
" Poor, Flower Market for

the, 2:)2
" Pride, 118
" Lilies at the, 254
Looking at the Root of ThiDgs,307
Lost Exchanges, 213
Louisiana, Notes from, 230
Love ol Flowers in New York, 96

M.

Mackio's Beauty, A New Crab

Apple, 28
Magnolia Auriculata, 274
" Thompsoniana, 20
" Glauca,Soil lor, 369
Male and Female Hemp, 244
" Flowers on the Ear of Corn,
110
Mammoth Peaches, 30
Management of Horticultural So-

cietie!<, 117
Manures and their Application,
297
" or Plaut Food, 111

Manuring in the Wosi, 210

" Surface, 215

Maple, Blood -leaved. The, 207
Maples in Europe, Rare, 29

' Variegated, 309
Marengo Winter Crab, The, 347
Market, Pears for, 64
Maryland, A Fruit List for, 309
Maurandia Barclayana, 367
May Meeting, Penna. Horticul-
tural Society, 190
Meadville, Pa., Notes from, 172
Meehan's, Mr., Nursery, 54

" Surface Root Culture
lor Pears, Terrible
results of, 319
Members, Deceased, 302
Merceron, S. S., fceedling Goose'

berry from, 311
Meterology, 300
Michigan, Strawberries in, 248
Mignonette, New Crimson Flow,

cred, 92
Mikania Scandeus, 211
Mildew, 23
Miller, S., 21

.Miner and Wild Goose Plum,
The, 348
' or Hinckley Plum, The,
247
Monarch of the West Strawberry

New, 154
.Money in the Garden, 150
Monocotyledon,thcUniversal type

of Seeds, 261
Monstrosity in Indian Corn, 310
Monte Bello Apple, 151
.Monthly, 'I'lio Promises of the, 52
" Writing for Copies ol

tlio, 89
.Month's Notice, Can Gardeners

claim a, 96
.VIoth, The Codling, 59, 90,168.17.'
Moving Largo Trees, 277
Mulching, 298

" BearingFruitTroes,151

.Murphy Ajiple, The, 347
.Husa Ensete, Great Banana ul

Abysinia, 373
Muahroou Bed, Revivifying; an
Old- 2£5

Mushroom Csive, A. 127
Mushrooni.s, Asparagus and, 101
Muskmellon, New, 119
My Ten Rod Farm, 123

N.

Name, California Flower for, 182
'• of Plant, 118, 119, 310,311
" Plant for, 212
Names of Plants, 22, 308
Naming Fruits, 218
Nankeen Cotton, The, 165
National Exposition of 1876,The,

224

Native Country of the Verbena,
211
' Georgian Potato, 154
Natural Sciences, Academy of,320

378

Nature, Rhododendrons in, 8
Nepenthes Sedeuii, 2S2, 313
Nerine Undulata, 127
New and Beautiful Evergreens,
266
" Bulbs, 332
" Crab Apple, A, 28
" Crimson Flowered Mignon-
ette, 92
" Disease in tho Peach, 343
" Double Wisteria, 152
'•' Edible Plant— Slum Hele-

nianum, 280
" Firms, 212
" Flowers, Raising, 310
" Foreign Grapes, 44
" French Pear — Beurre de

L'Assumption, 371
" " Strawberry, 372

" Fruits at the American Po-

mological Society, 312
" Fuchsia, 121
" Grape, A, 2fi
" ■' from Ellwanger &

Barry, 27
" Hickory, A, 90
" Mode of Grafting, 261
'• Musk Melon, 119
" Peach, A, Park's Cling, 66
" Peaches. 312
" Pear— Brockworth Park,57
" " Earle's Russett, 125
" Roses of 1871,372
« South Wales, Botany Bay,

263
" Strawberry, Monarch of

the West, 152
" Varieties of Potatoes from
the Seed Ball, On the
Raising of. 39
" " Originating. 300

" Volume of the Gardener's

Monthly, the, 369
" Way to make Fruit Trees

Bear, A, 375
" York, Love of Flowers in,
9t)
Norway Spruce Seed,Sowing,210
Note ou Growing Violets, 6

" Potatoes, 13
Notes by Miss A. G., 144
'' Californian, 242
'> Communications and Brief

212
" Editorial, 81,176,204, 238,

271
" from Alton, Ills., 266
" " Continental Jour-

nals, 15
" " Prof. Asa Gray, 371
" " Jacksonville,Fla.,181

" " Louisiana, 230

" " Meadville, Pa., 172

" Gardening, 64
" ou Gen. Pleasanton's Pa-
per, Brief, 269
" on Grapes, 370
" on some Texas Grape8.334
" on the Compass Plant, 201
" " Season, 331

N'otice, Busiuesx, 3(i7
.Vurseries, Knox, 3'>
Nuruerymau, Death of a, 21

THE GAKDEJ^ER'S MOJ^THLY.

Nurserymen and Others, Cau-
tion to, 2SJ
" Our Future, 149

Nursery, Mr. Jleehaa's, 'A

" Names in Directories,
Duplication of, 277
Nut Trees, Sowing, 276

" Tree with a Collar on, 2j3

o.

•Oak Roots. Pear on, 121
Oblong Siberian Crab Apple,

The, 1.V2
Ohio, Fruit in, 1S2
Oil for Insects, 90
Old Adam Apple, 124
Oldest Kose Tree, The, 2.53

" Tree in Europe, The, 2.52
Onions in Kngland, Size of, 253
Orange Cactus, The 59

" Kust on the Blackberry,
To Destroy, 266
Orangefield lied Currant, 125
Orchard, Productive Pear, 93
" Prof. Porter's Pear, 307,
341
Orchid Culture, 201

" Cultivation, No. 1., 362
Oregon, Grapes in, 216
Organic Identity of the Albumen

Pear, Beuti'e Worouzou, 214
" Culture, lis
" Dana's Hovey, 124
■' from H. A. Jackson, Cin-
cinnati, 0 , 313
" Lawrence, The, 274, 363
" New, BrockwortU Park, 67
" " Earle's Knssett, 125
" on Oak Roots, 121
" Orchard, Productive, 93,

320
" " Prof

307, 341
" Pardee's Seedling, 214
" Planting the Buffum, 122
" Prickly, 316
" Sheppard, 214
" St. Francis Seigner, 214
" Supposed Hybrid, A, 1.56
" Trees, Fire Blight in, 54
" " Pruning, 53
Pears, 09, 104, 17.5
" at Boston, 23
" Disease in, 6
" for Market, 54
" How to Grow, 196
" Terrible Kesults of Mee-
han's Surface Root
Culture of, 349
" Value of florae, 119
" Winter Care of, 288
and Enlopleura of all Pearmain Apple, Cogswell, 214
Phancrogamus Plants, ' Penna. Fruit Growers' Society of,

The, 3.56
Originating New Varieties, .300
Origin of Souchette Raspberry,
181
" Species, 243
Osage Orangj Hedge, Transplant-
ing an, 91

The 375
Ouachita Grape, The, 27
Outlines and Description of Seed-
ling Fruits, ISO
Overdoing the Strawberry Trade, 'Phyllotaxis, or the Law of the

31,. 378
" Ilorticultural Society, 31,
128, 158, 191, 224, 255,
352
» " " May

Meeting, 190
Pennock, Early, Apple, 347
Peoples Fruit, The 78
Persimmon — Diospyros Napi, the

Japanese, 372
Philadelphus, Double, 23

146
Oxalis Lasiandra, 122

Pandanus Veitchii 282
Pardee's Seedling Pear, 214
Parkman Francis, Professor of

Horticulture, 212
Park's Cling Peach, 56, 313, 348
Passiflora Arborea, 66
Patent, A Remarkable, 249

" Laws and Seedling Fruits
22
Pavement, Tar, The Manufacture

of, 157
Pavia Microstachia, 372
Peach, Beatrice, 279
" Blood- leaved, 206
" Free Mason, 26
" Hale's Karly, 374
" Hutchinson, 31
" New Disease in the, 343
" Park's Cling, A New, 56,

313, 348
" Plowden 245, 343, 348
" Plowden's Seedling, 278
'• Salway, The, (with plate)

117
" Tree Disease, A, 282
" Trees, Dressing for, 242
" " the Yellowsin,I44

" Yellow St. John, 279
Peaches, A Grape Vine Bearing,
153

" Fortune's Double Flow-
ing, 2.)
" in Utah, 249

" in Virginia, 182
•' (;rop, The, 275

" Mammoth, 30
" New, 312

" Seedling, Improvement
in, :«{
Peak's Emperor Strawberry, 22
Pear, Bergamot d'Kle, 342
'' Beurre de L'Assamption
New French, 371

Arrangement of
Leaves, 284
Picea Frazeri, S9
" Pichta, 24
Pierson, Stephen, Death of, 118
Pig, An Experiment upon a, 233
Pine, Ground, 22

" Trees, Disease in, 311
Pink Blossoms from a White Ge

ranium, 121
Pinus Pungens, 273
Pirates, After the, 53
Pitcher Plant, California, 149
Pitch of Greenhouse Roofs, 123

Plant Cabinets, Greenhouse and,2
Case, Heater for, 329
Food, Manures or. 111
for Name, 212
Name of, 118, 119, 310, 311
New Edible — Slum Hele

nianum, 2S0
I ha lerogamous. the Or-
ga lie Identity of the Al

Plum Trees, To Keep the Curcu-
lio from, 144
" Weeping, ]'i3
Pollen, Curious Kesults of Hy-
bridization in, 123
Polymnia Edulis, 16
Pomace, Castor Oil, 21
Pomological Society, American,

91, 212, 222, 351
Poplar Tree, The Lombardy, 13
Poplars, Purple Leaved, 24
Porter's, I Population of Geneva, 123

Port Lavacca,Tex.,L\limate of,149
Portrait of J. S. Downer, 36S
Potato Beetle, Colorado, De-
struction of the, 20S,
332
" " " Crush-

ing the, 277
" Davis' Seedling, 283
" in France, Introduction

of the, 95
" Native Georgian, 153
Potatoes American, in England,
61, 319
" from the Seed Ball,
the Raising of new
Varieties of, 39
" Late Rose, 375
■' Note on, 13
Pot Plants for Summer Exhibi-
tion, Best, 63
" Vines, 158, 316
Pats, Anemones in, 254
Practical PouUiy Keeper, The,

183
Preparation and Cultivation of

the Soil, 297
Preserving Fruit, 1.55
President Berckmans, 342

" Wilder Strawberry, 27
Prickly Pear, 216
Pride of the South Apple, 247
Principle of Wardian Cases, The,

241
Proceedings of Fruit Grower's
Society of Pa.,
25
Products of the Andes, 377
Production, How to Make Popu-
lar, 163
" Ramie, 248

Professor Porter's Pear Orchard,

307, 341
Profit of Early Cucumbers, 2S4
" Grape Culture, Tke cost

and, 228
" Grape Growing for, 367
Promises of the Monthly, The,

Pronunciation of Camellia, 369
Propagating Aristolochia Sipho,
211
" Bouvardias, 24

" Irish Junipers, 24

Proper Depth to Sow Seed, 268
" Time to Plant Trees, The,
240

uuuien and Kndopleural Pruning Evergreens, 90

of all, 356
" Rice Paper, 30
Planting the Huffum Pear, 122
Plants, Colored Lights on, 207
" Hlood-leaved, 206
" Itiseases of, 15
" for Edging, 283
" Names of, 22, 308
" of Scripture, An Abstract
of Uemarks upon the,
141
Plaster for Strawberries, 250
Plates, Our Colored, 56, 91
Pleasanton's, Gen., Paper, Brief

Notes on, l.'09
Plowden Peach, The 245, 343,

348
Plowden's Seedling Peach, 278
Plum, Columbia, '1 he, 347
" Iienlon, 279
" Insects, 15
" Miner and Wild Goose,

The, 348
" '• orHinckley,The,.347

Hemlocks and Ever-
greens, 120
" Pear Trees, 63
" with Reference to Fruit
Production, 79
Purple Beech, 284

" Leaved Poplars, 24
Pyle Apple, 124

Queen of Autumn, The, 360
Quince, A Sweet, 57
Quinces, 122

R.

Rai'.ishes of Russia, The, 24
Railway Curs, Heating, 122
Rain in Various Climates Depth

of, 25 J
Raising New Flowers, 310
Ramie Production, 24S
Rare Prees, 33a

R.ispberries, 285

" Herstine's, 246

Raspberry, Hornet, 274

" Souchetti'e, Origin
of, 181
Recollections of South Australia,
Oceanica, 325
of Travel, .336
" of Van Diemen's

Land, Oceauica,
1C6
" Traveling, 16, 48,

84, .305 365
Red Spider, Destroying, 370
Remarkable Patent, A, 249
Remarks on the Daphne Cneorum

39
Reminiscences of Australia, 131
Retinospora, Arborvitw, Ac,
Dwarf Varieties of,
247
'• Fiticoides 374

" Filifera, 374

Revivifying an Old Mushroom

Bed, 285
Rhododendron Brookii Gracilis,

2S2
Rhododendrons and American
Plants, 184
" Azaleas and, of

Bloomsdale,195
" for the Conserva-

tory, 188
" Himalayan, in

Ireland, 316
" in Nature, 8

Rice Paper Plant, 30
Ripening and Decay of Fruit,314
" of Wood, Dryness of
Soil an Aid to the,
75

Rochester, Letter from, 333
Road Making, etc., 53
Robinson's Parks and GardoBS

of Europe, 55
Rocky Mountain Evergreens, 55
Root of Things, Looking at the,

307

Roots and Water, 179
' Caladium, 287

of Trees, Coal Gas and, 23
' Vitality of, 221
Rose, The, 60
Garden, 87

Tree, the Largest, 286
" " Oldest, 2.53
Roses, Climbing Hybrid Per-
petual, 37.;
" New, of 1871. 37!
Rural Carolinian, Ciedit to the,

91
Ruralist, The, 213
Russia, the Radishes of, 24
Rust, Blackberry, 211
Rustic Trees, 72

Salisburia or Ginko Tree, 123

Salting Asparagus, 23

Salvia Heerii, 317

Salway Peach, The, (with plate)

117
Saponaria Ocymoides, 1S8
Scabra or Gunnera (^liilensis, 153
Scarlet Laburnum, 62
Screw.«, T.> fix, in Old Holes, 199
Scripture, Plants of. An Abstract
of Remarks upon the
141
Season, Notes on the, 331
Seed, Egg Plant, 200
" " Keeping, 143

" Norway Spruce, Sowing,

210
" Proper Depth to Sow, 263
Seedling Apple, 20

" Fruit8,Patent Laws and,

22
" Geraniums, 80
" G.mscberry from 8. S.
Merceron, 311

THE GARDEJVER'S MOJ^TELJ.

Seedling IVnclics, Imjirovemenf iStiawbi'viy, New French, 37

in, 344

" I'eacli, Plowden's, £78
Sec(Uini;8 of Tuee, Fruits, &c..

^!al^ing, 2Co
^eeds, Early Germination of, 147
" The Monocotyledon, the
llnivevfal Type of, 2t)l
Seedsman, Trial of a, 91
Shelter, 299

" for Rare Trees, 208
Sheppard Pear, 214
Shows, Lilies at the London, 254
Siberian Crab Apples, lmi)roTe-

ment iu, 311
Sieva Bean, 5.j
Silvery White Spruce, 368
Sinkholes, Utilizing, "209
Slum Helenianum — Kew i:dible

Plant, 280
Size of Onions iu Kngland, 253
Small, Garden, Layingout a, 120
Snow Cactus, the, 22
Society's Catalogue, the, 301
Sod, the Effect of, ia Keeping
Soil Cool, 273
" Effects of, on the Tempera-
ture of the Soil, 370
Soil for iliignolia glauca, 369
Solanum Ciliatum, 126, 171
Souchel, Mr., Death of, 148
Souchetti Raspberry, Origin of,

181
Sotip, Asparagus in, 24
Sour and Sweet, and Speckled
Apples, 124
" " Apples, 181

Bontli Anstralia, Oceanica, Ke-

coUectioDS of, 325
Sowing Norway spruce Seed, 210

" Kut Trees, 276
Sparrows, English, 330
Species, Origin of, 24?
Speckled Apple, ?6
Spinach, Stewed, Z
Spirea Japonica, 126
Spontaneous growth, 276
Sports in Vegetation, £36
Stajman's Summer Apple, 215
St. Francis Seigner I'ear, 214
St. Louis, Tower Grove Park, 21
Strawberries?, Alpine, 155

" American and En-

glish Kelative
F'eriility of, 369
" In Michigan, 248

" in Tennessee, 348

" of Dr. Nicaise, 156

" Plaster for, 250

Strawberry, Colfax, 21

" Cowing's, 348

" " Seedling,

245
" T>r. Warder, 279

" Exhibition at Vine-

land, N. J., 224
" Late, 119

" Ilonaicb of the

West, New, 152

Peak's Emperor, 22
'• I'resideut \Vilder,27

Show, Bliss', 210
" Trade, Overdoing

the, 146
" Vicomtesse Hericart

de Thury, 156
Structure, Fungi and its, 45, 75
Substitute for Coffee, A. 315
Sub-tropical Garden, the, 344
Summer Exhibitions, Best Pot

Plants for, 63
Sunflower, California, 370
Sunlight, Chemical Powers of

the, 231
Supposed Hybrid Pear, A, 156
Surface Manuring, 215

" Kooi Culture of Pears,
Meehan's Terrible lie-
buits of, 349
Swallow's Flit;ht, the, 1300 miles

in 24 hours, 03
Sweet and Sour Apples, 275, 343
" Quince, A, 57

jTiec--, Ajiple. on hidge.'*, 210
I " Dwarfing, 163

Early Fruit on Late, 275
Fruits, Ac, Raising Seed-

ling.s of, 2t;8
Moving Large, 277
New Book on, 278
Kare, 338
Kusiic, 72

Shelter for Kare, 208
Sowing Nut, 276
The Proper Time to Plant,

240
Transplanting, 201
Willow, 9J
Trial of a Seedsman, 91
Tritoma Uvaria, 210
Tropical Heat Derived from the

Earth, 235
Tulips, Early, 288

Taplin's, Mr., Article — Eucharis

Amazonica, Correction

in, 370

Tar Pavement, the Manufacture

of, 157
Temperature of the Soil, Effects
of Sod on the, 370
Tennessee, Strawberries in, 248
Terrible Kesults of Meehan's
Surface Koot Culture
I of Pears, 349

Texas, Growth of English Alder

iu, 276
Thinning of Fruit, 298
Thuja Gigantea, 120

" " and Libocedrus

Decurrens, 182
Thunia Bensonise, 348
Tickets to Exhibitions, 309
Todea Wilkesiana, 282
Tomatoes from Cuttings, 149
" Well Kipened, 42
Tomato, Trophy, 21
Transactions of Worcester Co.,
Mass., Horticul-
tural Society, 88

u.

Unger, M., Death of, 18
Utah, Peaches in, 249
Utilizing Sinkholes, 209
Use for Tree Trimmings, 20
Uses of Fungus, 78

V.

Value of Some Pears, 119
Vanda Cccrulescens, l.'J3

" Denisoniana, 153, 348
Van Pieman's Land, Oceanica,

Ivccollections of, 160
Van Houtte's, Flores des Serres,

152
Variations, Bud, 4.S
Variegated Maples, 309
Varieties, Hybrids and, 122

" of Althea, Splendid, 200
" of Asparagus, 90

" oftheFig, 314
Vegetable Garden, 36, 67, 99,131,
162, 196, 226, 261,
292, 323, 356
Vegetables, How to Cook, 64
Vegetation, Electricity in, 234

" Sports in, 336

Veitcb, Jno., Gould, 1S9

" " Death of,158

Verbena, Native Country of the,
211

Transplanting a Large Tree, 252iViburnum Plicatum, 21

An Osage Orange
Hedge, 91
'• Evergreens, 376

" Tree Box, 181

" Trees, 201

Traveling Recollections, 16, 48,

84, 305, 365
Travel, Recollections of, 336
Tree Box, Transplanting, 181
" Carnations, Cultivation, 96
" Rose, the Oldest, 253
" The Oldest, in Europe, 252
" Trunsplantiiii; a Laige, 252
" Trimmings, Use for 20

Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury

Strawberry, 156
Victoria Regia, 377
Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co., of
Paris, 275
M., Death of, 118
Vine, A Giant Grapes, 216

" Mildew of Europe, The, 54
Vineland, N. J., Strawberry Ex-
hibition at, 224
Weekly, 123
Vines, Pot, 158, 136
Violet Kays upon a Grajiery, 231
Violets, Note on Growing, 6

Virginia, Grape Culture in, 55

" IV-iiches iu, ISJ
Vitality of Evergreen Seeds, 21
" of Roots, 221

w.

Warder, Dr., Strawberry, 279
Wardiau Cases, the Principles

of, 241
Worm, Dry Seasons, Influence

of. 297
Water Cress, English, 5
" Lilies, Chinese, 144
" Roots and, 179
Watermelon, The, 270
Waukegan, Ills., Discoveries of
Ancient Bones at,4I
Wealthy Apple, The, 27
Wcepiug Plum. 123
Well Kipened Tomatoes 42
Western Farmer, 25
West, Manuring in the, 211
What I know about Farming,lS3
White Geranium, Pink Blos-
soms from a, 121
" Flowered Larch, 148
" Spruce, Silvery, 368
Wilder, Marshall P., Address of,

295
Wild Goose Plum, the Wilder

and, 348
Willow Bark, 377
'• Trees, 90
Willows Hating Water, 211
Wine Grapes, the Best, 247
Winter Care of Pears, 288
Evergreens for, 40
" Flowers, 133
" Keeping Coleus through,
344
Wire Fences, 121
Wisteria, New Double, 152

■' Sinensis, Flowering of

a, 121
" " Large, 62

Wodenethe, Fruit Culture at,265
Woods of China, 21
Worcester Co., Mass., Horticul-
tural Society. 182
" Fruit Farm. A, 286
World, the Insect, 376
Writing for Copies of the Month-
ly, 89
Wylie's, Dr., IJvbrid Grape, 65,
279

X.

Xanthoceras Sorbifolia, 153

y.

Yellow Asphodel, Thd, 18J
" Locust, The, 24
" St. John Peach, 279
Yellows in Peac'u Trees, The, 144
Younp, Gardening for the, 8
Yews, the Golden and Silver, 165

End

OF

y

OLUME

7

III.

v-C%

*Mi

^*»aB*/

iv'^r

:iJi¥-^i

^\

jfyw^*

h,

A

., ^

^* .

■<■

*J5ii-4 4'*

^\>7:<

'

'h^

.*?/V ^^

♦t?^'

j;^^

SiI^hI

SwP

^

*-M>jL> .'