* UMASS/AMHERST • LIBRARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE SOURCE TflvS-ljevi L\-Y\CoU o V?'v^— -^ • V!^<; x\ ^^'■^.^. ,. ;^-^^^^^ v\Vk THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE, BOTANY, AND ALL trSEFUL DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN RURAL AFFAIRS. " Je voudrais pchauffer tout I'univers de mon gout pour les jardins. II me semble qu'il est impossible qu'un mechaiit |)uisse I'avoir II n'est point de verlus que je ne suppose a celui que aime a parler el a I'aire des jardins. Peres de famille, inspirez a jardinomanie a vos enfaiis." — Prince, de Ligne. VOL. XXIV. 1858. (vol. IV., THIRD SERIES. Edited by C. M. HOVEY. AUTHOR OF TUE "FRUITS OF AMERICA." BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY HOVEY AND CO., MERCHANTS ROW. 1858. HENRY W. BUTTON AND SON, PRINTERS, 33 AND 35 Congress Street, Boston. CONTENTS. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. GENERAL SUBJECT. The Progress of Horticulture. By the Editor, 1 Th« Influence of Frost on Vegetation. By Wilson Flagg, 15 The Botanical and Horticultural Literature of the Olden Times. By John Le«is Russell, . . . 21,113,108,208 The Embellishments of Home. By the Ed- itor, 53 Home Architecture. By Wilson Flafr;;, 60, 15!), 259, 303, 350 Protecting Hardy Plants in Winter. By T. Meehan, ...... 71 Fruit Culture in the West By the Editor, 105 Hedges and Hedge Plants. By the Editor, 153 Sulphur for Insects. By Eben. Wight, . 182 Hedges and their Management. By the Editor, 201 Forest Tree Culture. By the Editor, . 240 Management of Lawns. By Kev. A. D. Grid- ley 212 New Hardy Coniferse. By F. L, Harris, . 218 Pea Weevil. By A. R. Pope, . . .219 Effects of Frost on Vegetation. By H. W. Sargent, 271 Effects of Frost on Vegetation. By Thomas Meehan, 308 Ram bles among the Plants in Essex County, Mass. By J. L. R 856 The American Garden. By the Editor, .893 The Odors of Vegetation. By Wilson Flagg, 400 Theory of Flowers. Abridged from St. Pieire, 447 Encouragement to Young Planters. By R. B., . . . . . .453 New California Evergreens. By R. B. Scott, 457 New England Shrubs. By Wilson Flagg. 1. Introduction, 88 2. The Hazel, 284 3. The Dutch Myrtle and Andromedas, . 8|9 4. The Azalea and Allied Species, . . 375 5. The Holly, Alder and Prinos, . . 425 6. The Sumiichs, 4G4 7. The Viburnum and the Elder, . . 517 8. The Clethra, Cornel, Spirrea, Wild Ko.se, Pyrus, Amelanchier, and the Hawthorn, 555 How to Ornament a Farm. By Wilson Fla?g 495 The Preparation and Care of Composts. By the Editor, 537 The Introduction of New Seeds. By Prof. John Lewis Russell, . . . .542 HORTICULTURE. History of Fruit Trees and Fruits. By Ee- ander Wetherell. 1. Introduction, 2. The Apple Tree, .... 3. The Apple Tree — Soil and Location, . 4. The Apple Tree — Successful Planting, The Logan Grape. By A. Thomson, . Spiral Method of Training Pear Trees. From the Revue Horticole, .... Desori p tions of Select Apples. By the Editor. Washington, Foster, Wabash, Notes about New Pears. By Hon. J. M. Earle, The Hartford Prolific Grape. By Daniel S. Dewey, Cranberry Culture By F. Trowbridge, How to Train the Blackberry. By the Editor, Notes on Grapes. By George W. Campbell, Desciiptions of Select Varieties of Pears. By the Editor. 1. Dr. Trosseau, Marechal de Cour, Broom Park, Summer St. Germain, . 2. Boston, Wheeler, Bergen, Shepherd, . Dwarf Pear Culture. By the Editor, Ringing the Grape Vine, By the Editor, . La Versaillaise Currant. By the Editor, . Pear Culture in Oregon Territory. By A. F. Davidson, Pear Culture in Illinois — Value of Under- draining. By Dr. J. A. Kinnicott, New Form of Training Fruit Trees. From the Revue Horticole, .... The Profits of Pear Culture. By the Editor, Hinging the Giape Vine. By G. W. Camp- bell, Pomological Gossip. 132, 187, 274, 365, 411, 610; FLORICULTURE. Stephanotus Floribundus. By M. A. . 38 The Pansy. By M. A., . . . . 191 Wardian Cases, or Parlor Conservatories. By the Editor, 136 Herbaceous Pasonies and Bee Culture. By Dr. J. P. Kirtland, . . .316 Datura metaloides By the Editor, . . 329 The Herbaceous Paeonies. By the Editor, 489 The Carnation. By M. A 521 The Phygelius capensis. By the Editor, . 565 Floricultural Notices, 195, 232, 322, 379, 467. IV CONTENTS. LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. TREES AND PLANTS. Datura metaloiJes, . . . . Yo ing liranch aad Cone of Thuja Gi- gantea, Phygelius capensis, . . . . DIAGRAMS. CyliDdrical Training with Horizontal tirauches 42.3 Section of the Cylinder, . . . 424 llorizontal Plan of Training the Black- berry, 191 Pyramidal Form of Hedges, . . . 2ll7 Square Korm of Hedges, . . . 207 Spiral Mode of Training the Pear Tree, 35 Plan of the Spiral form, . . .36 Apples. Foster, 81 f?- page. 5. Wabash, 82 3. Washington, 79 Cranberry. 7. Large Oval Cranberry, .... 186 CnRRANT. 16. La Versaillaise, 374 Peaks. 22. Bergen, . . .... 508 20. Boston, 502 13 Broom Park, ...... 282 11. Dr Trosseau, 279 12 Marechal de Cour, . . . .280 23. Shepherd, 510 14 Summer St. Germain, . . . .284 21. Wheeler, 505 PARLOR ORNAMENTS. Wardian Cases, LIST OF PLANTS. In the body of the Magazine, a few errors occur in the spelling of the botanical names, the capitalizing thr generic and specific names, their derivation and accentuation; these are all cor- rected iu the following list of plants. Li.st of new Achimenes, . 144 Lists of new Petunias, 29 2, 379, 437 List of Azaleas, . . . . 291 Lists of Phloxes. . 43 ,438 List of fine Carnations, . . . 387 List of Plants of 1857, 322 List of Prize Chry,*antliemums, . . . 573 List of fine Rhododendrons, 841 Lists of Prize Dahlias, . . . 531 573 List of Silskim Rhododendrons, . 569 Lists of new Kvergreens, . . 44,219 Liot of June Roses, 387 Lists of new Fuch.-ins, . 293,3-iO List of Roses of various kinds. 387 List of new Bedding Geraniums . . 195 List cf Ilardv Perpetual Roses, 10 Lists of new Gladioluses, . . 195,467 Li^t of floe Tulips, 341 List of Magnolias, . . . 44 Lists of new Verbenas, 142, 195, 229, 292, 481 Lists of Pseonies, . 342,387,492 List of Plants adapted to Wardian Oases, 139 List of new Pelargoniums . . . 342 .d^bies canadensis, 121 j4rtemis(a absinthium, 210 C^nna "Warscewicz/j, 144 Douglisu-, 44 ,455 A^ram dracontium. 119 Capsilla Bursa pastoris. 209 Frasera', 454 triphylium. 118 Carpiuus betulus, 157 morindii. 454 ^'triplex hastita, 209 Cirya glibra. 170 jlVer dasyc4rpum, 258 Azilei amoe^na, 141 Castinea vesca. 170 saccharinum. 258 nudiflora, 376 Cis^us discolor. 42 ^chil.seVmillefo.ia, 121 ovita, 664 Clethra alnifolia. 555 Achimenes amabilii-^, 324 trifolia. 122 Cliinthus Dampi^ri, 383 Ambrose VerschafTelt 144 vifcosa, 376 Codonopsis rorundifolia, 325 Meteor, 324 many varieties. 291 CoWHia cruciata. 328 Parsons i, 144 Bamhilsa mudlce, 483 Comptoni'a asplenifolia, 320 splendens. 324 Begoniffl cinnabarina, 380 Cornus canadensis. 208 several varieties. 144 Griffi'thi', 3-24 florida, 209. 557 ^'sculus hippociistanum 258 hrac lei folia. 324 Corylus americina, 235 Agapetes buxifolia, 232 lasoiniita, 325 avelRna, 170 Agrimonia eupatoria. 118 Rex, 324 robtiitum, 170 ,235 Ailanius glaudulosa, 258 roskfea, 324 Cosm&nthus grandiflorus, 327 AM-ma, plantigo. 115 Wageneridn'J, 382 Cralas^gus cordita. 156 jl'lnus serrulita. 425 Betula populifolia, 255 crus gilli, 156 jlmbro.-^ia artemisisefolia. 121 Camellia reticulita, 324 oxycautha. 169 Amelinchier canadensis. 561 ro.-fBtiora, £81 Cuphea eminens, 144 Andiouieda calyculita, 321 new seedling of Messrs Cympananthe suherosa. 145 polifolia. 821 Hovey, 291 '.292 Cypripedium FairednwOT, 878 raceniosa. 322 Campanula Bromeheadidna. Cytisus monosperma, 141 X^pios tubero.sa. 122 323 X)4ctvlus glomerita. 122 Aquilegia canadensis, 121 strigdsa. 56a Dasylirium aero rich am, 329 CONTENTS. Y Dafyliriutn glaucophyllutn, 381 MahoniVi aquifolium, 203 Rbsi Augusta, 85, 196 Datxlra Qietaloides, 329 A/alva rotundifolia, 210 Gloire de Dijon, 196 WriKtitu, 468 Mai4nta arundiuicea, 471 many varieties, 387 iJelphf uium cardinile, 49, 144 Maruta cdcula, 210 Piibus c£e\iiuR, 169 foriiiosum, 323 Melainpynum americinum, 321 canadensis, 169 Hendersdn/r, 144 MonochieHum ensiferum. 324 fruticosus, 169 DiJintlius caiyophyllus flo Myeni^eiecta, 232 hispiUus, 169 ra pleno, 521 Myrica gile. 319 Idas^us, 169 puk-herimus, Neniopaiithes canadensis 428 nutans. 326 Diosc6r>a B'Udias, 335 yVepeta cataria. 118 strigosus. 169 Eichori.la tricolor, 325 Niphae^a albo lineita, 381 villosus, 169 Bpiionium acumin^ituin, 232 Niipbar advena, lis iJiimeX acetosella, m Brio>teiiiOQ cuspidatum, 141 Nyssa multiflora, 257 sanguineus, 210 Erythroiiium americinum ,115 Ophioglossum vulgitum. 115 Sabbiti/j campestris. 233 Eschscholtz/a grieilis, 49 0'str\a virginica, 258 Saggittiria angustifolia, 116 Eschyoiuthus tricolor, 328 O'xalis stricta, 323 Salicornia herbicea, 117 324 Oxycoccus uiacroc4rpus. 176 SAlvia candelabrum, 233,323 grand idora, 324 Pentstemon jASreydmts. 382 Sambiicus canadensis, 519 EugeoiVi Luma 380 Phygeli IS capensis, 11, 468,565 pubescens, 520 Euphorbia uiKCaUta, 116 Picea Bentbaraidrt/i, 454 Saxifraga pupur4seens, 564 polygonifolia, 116 cephalonica, 454 Scabiosa atropurpiirea, 323 Farfdgium griode, 323 Pinus Benthamidna, 455 Senecio vulgaris. 209 Frixiuus acutniaita, 258 excelsa, 42 Smilacina bitolia. 115 sambucifolia, 258 iiiops, 455 Soda biriglia. 116 FrittilliriagrffiV-a, 383 resiuosa, 255 Solinum nigrum, 209 Gardeii/a oitriodora, 324 rigida, 255, 455 Solidago sempervirens, 115 GaaUh^rta discolor, 328 strobus, 203, 255 -Sonchus olericeua, 209 Gerioium caroliniinum. 120 Plantigo mijor, 210 Spaitina stricta, 115 maculatum, 120 maritima, 116 Spirse^a Reeves/dna flore 141 Gesneru ciiinabarina, 324 Pleroma Benlhamjdna, 144 pleno, denslHora, 324 Poitaea vicisetolia, 324 salicifolia. 558 Geum coccinea, 144 Polygonum aviculire. 210 Stitice limonium, 116 Gladiolus gandaTensis, 10 Polygonatum biflorum, 120 Stephanotus floribundus, 38 psitcacinus, 10 latifolium, 120 Stelliria media. 210. m*ny varieties, 195 ,467 raultiHorum, 120 Styphelia tubiflora, 141 Grammitocarpus voliibilL punctitum. 470 Symphytum officinMe, 210 Gytnnocladus canadeasis. '258 roseum. 382 Tanacetum elegans, 323 i/amamelis amerlcina, PotentiUa argentea, 120 Taraxacum dens-leonis, 209 Helianthus divaricitus, 209 canadensis, 120 Thuja Craigmna, 454, 457 Hepitica tribola, 169 Prinos glaber. 428 gigintea, 459 Herniiria glibra,, 116 laevigatas. 428 occidentilis. 202 Hydrococyie americina. 116 venicillatus, 428 Thujopsis boreilis, 292, 454 Hydriug.a cyanema, 380 Primus americina, 171 Thunbergia Uarrisii, 324 hortensis pleno, 379 domestica, 171 lauritolia, 324 japouica aureo varie instiria, 171 Thyrsac4nthus indicus. 470 gita 324 maritima, 171 Torenm asiAtica, 42 ffyoscyamus nijer, 210 spino-a. 171 new variety. 563 i/ypericum ellipticom, 117 Psidium Gattleydnujn, 47 Triglochin maritimum, 116 peifoiitum, 117 Pyru-iarbutifolia, 560 Triticum repens, 209 rcica hepUpliylla, 466 domestica. 169 Tritoniauviria, 468 iMex coruuta, 469 japonica, 237 Tropc-e^olum LohbiV, 526 opica, 427 Rhamnus cathirt:cus> 157 Tydse^a Eeclihauti, 325 Illaf iva canarinoides, 320 fihodora canadensis. 375 Ortegie^j, 325 ImpiMeus HookerJi, 42 /Rhododendron argentium ,383 Typha latifolia. 115 Indigot'era decora, 469 calopbyllum. 324 f/'rtica urens, 209 i^ris versicolor, 115 camp\locarpum, 323 raccinium corymbosum. 176 Ismelia BroussonfetfV, 564 Qrmihiuna7n, variety resinosum, 176 /uiiiperus squam^tam, 45t AUCMkDdii, 563 rerb4scum blattiria, 210 virgir.iiQus, 202, 257 Jenkinsoni, 324 Kerbena Mdtndrts, 142 !^ Kilmi'i aui^ustifolia, 378 miximum. 376 224, 292, 43:^ laiifolia, 45 377 Nuttaiij, 384 Buist's Crimson Per Laparge la rojea. 574 pontiftum, 433 fection, ' 574 iippa mij ir, 210 Thomsoni, 3i4 Earl of Shaftsbury, 481 ieduin buxifolium, 44 Veitchii, 323 Etonian, 481 paliistris, 44 virgitum. 469 Hiawatha, 143, 231 thymifolium. 44 many species, 569 Imperatrice Elizabeth, 230 I,igu>truiii vulgire, 157 Rlius aromitica. 466 Lord iMacauUy, 481 Liriodendroa tulipifera, 434 capulliua, 465 Lord Raglan, 230 Libocedrus deciirrens, 454 457 gUbra, 465 Mrs. Holford, 143 Liniria vulgiris, 169 ridicans, 466 Mrs. Woodruffe, 231 canadeusi'!, 117 typliinum, 465 Phidias, 143 iilium bulbiferum, 115 venenita, 466 Prince of Wales, 2;ji giginteum. 379 vernix, 427 Rand's Annie, 195. 230 Lol3el"t texeosis, 323 Rihe.i tloridum, 171 Rand's Blue, 231 iupioas Me-iziesfi, 323 ,325 hirtellum, 169 seedling. 528 Lycopodium umbrosum, 483 nigrum, 171 Spark, 341 Miclur e aurantiaca, 158 pro-tritum, 171 Yeiinadisse, 231 Magnol/a acumiuita, 455 riibrum, 171 Veronica Anders6m, 144 glauca, 454 RondeleCJu anomala, 468 Hendersonu, 144 Verdnira serpylli olia, svriica, Viburnum acerifolium, deotitum, lantina, lentigo, CONTENTS. 117 riburnum nudum, 519 S23 opulus, 517 519 Tiola blanda. 119 519 cucullita. 119 518 odorita, 119 517 primulffifolia. 119 rinla pedunculita, 323 Washingtonia >!igantea,44, 454 Weigelm amibilis, 144 ro^ea, 144 Xanrhium strumirium, 118 X>'16steum ciliita, 119 LIST OF FRUITS, APPLES. Logan, 31, 86, 95, 240 ,815 Bergamntte Esperen, 412 Baldwin, 89 Louisa, 133 Sylvange, 418 Bohannon, 108 Marinn, 1.34 Beurre Beaumont, 412 Cellini Pippin, 516 .'Hary Ann, 133 Benoist, 124 ,412 Closeburn's Seedling, 516 Muscat Hamburgh, 277 Bofc, 87 Early Harvest, 464 Proline Sweetwater, 462 Bretonneau, 412 Fameuse, 89 Rebecca, 92,93,275,313 ,340 Capiauniont, 412 Fo ter, 80 Sage, 91 Clairgeau, 124 ,412 Gravenstein, 89 Seedlings, 553 d'Amalis, 412 Jeffries, 109 Trentham Black. 277 ,373 d'Angleterre, 418 King, 111 Uliiade, 613 d'Anjou, 412 Kirkbridge's White, 108 Union Village, 92, 94, 95 d'Aremberg, 412 Lord Suffield, 464 ,516 Wild Grape from Canada, 134 Davy, 412 Margaret, 464 Wilmington, 133 D. lais. 125 Maid's Leg, 464 Wiimot's Muscat Musca- Derouineau, 125 Melon, 89 ,111 dine. 462 d'Hardenpont, 413 Milam, 110 Wyman, 96 Diel, 413 Mother, 89 List of New Grapes, 132 de Nantes, 412 Old Tillon Bellflower, 82 List of, Killed by Cold, Giffart, 125 ,413 Polish, Many Varieties, 46 Goubault, 125 ,418 Richmond, 109 Many new varieties, 553 Grjs, 416 Roman Stem, 110 Kossuth, 125 Wabach 82 GOOSEBERRIES. Millet, 125, 418 Washington, 79 Houghton's Seedling, 7 PhillippeDelfosse 125 List of best Winter, 113 Picquery, 413 List of several varieties, 108 MULBERRIES. Quetelet, 413 Black. 463 Six, 413 APRICOTS. Downing's Everbearlng,135,474 Superfine, 125,413 Breda, 514 Syrian few eet White, 468 Bezi de Chaumontel, 416 Dubois' Early Golden, 420 de Montigny, 125 ,413 Kaisha, 461 NECTARINES. Blanqnet, 418 Seedling No. 24, 461 SUnwick, 98, 461 Bon Chretien Napoleon, 413 Seedling No. 27, 461 dUiver, 417 Syrian, 461 PEACHES. Wilham, 413 Carpenter's Seedling, 189 Bonne d'Ezee, 413 BLACKBERRIES. Carter's, 108 Boston, 600 Dorchester, 89 Cook's Seedling, 107 Broom Park, 126, 281 Lawton, 89 Coolidge's Favorite, 108 ,240 Calebasse Bosc, 413 Crawford's Early, 1(18 MoDstre, 413 CHERRIES. Cutter's Yellow, 240 Catil ac. 417 Myers' Honey Heart, 134 Early Anne, 461 Catinka, 126 ListofKirtland'sSeedlings, 90 Early York, 240 Certeau d'Automne, 417 Griffith, 107 Citron des Carmes, 418 CURRANTS. Grosse Mignonne, 241 «;)ark. 126 Red Dutch, 90 Kew Eirly Purple, 461 Colmar Nelis, 418 Versaillaise, 374 Late Crawford, 240 d'Aremberg, 413 ■White Dutch, 90 Old Mixon Free, 108,240 Comte de Flanders, 126 Stump of the World, 108 de Paris, 126 GRAPES. List of, Exhibited in Geor- Conseilleur de la Cour, 414 Anna, 554 gia, 529 Cumberland, 414 Barbarossa, 91 Many varieties. 107 Cure, 417 Bowood Muscat, 526 Delices d'Hardenpont 414 Calliaba, 514 PEARS. de Louvenjoul, 414 Cassady, 133 Adele de St. Denis, 411 Des Chasseurs, 126 Catawba, 82 Alexander, 135 Des Deux Soeurs, 414 Catherine, 511 Alexandre Bivort, l'J3 Des Nonnes, 127 Chasselas Rose de Fallous ,513 Douillard, 411 Doyenne Blanc, 416 Chnton, 91 Lambre, 123 Boussock, 414 Concord, 9.3, 9l5 Arbre Courbe, 411 du Cornice, 554 Delaware, 94,96,274 ,313 Barbincinet, 124 Defais, 127 ,414 Diana, 91 Barontie de Mello, 124 d'Uiver, 414 Early Amber, 91 Beau Present d'Artois, 124, 411 de Jaillet, 418 Hall, 1(8 Belle Angevioe, 417 Goubault, 127 Hartford Prolific, 131 Lucrative, 61 Gris, 416 Iden, 421 Bergen. 507 Robin. 127 James's Seedling, 108 Begamotte Crapsane, 416 Duchess d'Angouleme , 414 Lady Downe's SeedUng, 187 d'Angleterre, 412 de Berry d'Ete, 414 Lehman, 134 Dussart, 124 Panache, 414 CONTENTS. vii Dr. Trousseau, 278 Saint Nicholas, 415 Violet, 515 Dumas, 127 -eckel, 418 Wales, 516 Dunmore, 127 Siegneur, 415 Durmortier, 126 Shepherd. 509 Epargne, 418 Shobden Court, 416 RAePBERRIES. Epine du Mas, 414 SoMat Laboureur, 130, 416 Bagley's Perpetual, 510 Esperine, 414 Sorlus, 130 Catawissa, 99, 241 Figue, 415 St. Germain d'hiver, 417 Orange, 99 Fondante de Charneux, 415 Summer St. Gnrmain, 288 Red Cane, 420 de Nopl, 415 Supreme de Quimper, 98,1311 Russell's Red, 420 Frederika Bremer, 127 Suzette de Bavay, 416 White Antwerp, 420 Gansel's Seckel, 127 Thorpe. 516 General de Lamoriciere, 128 Tomhe ds I'Amateur, 130 Grand SoUel, 415 Triomphe de Jodoigne 416 STRAWBERRIES. Grnslin, 128 .415 Triomi h' de Lou vain, 130 Alice Maude, 333 Hebron, 419 ,600 Van Mous, 416 Black Prince, 331, 333 Huyshe's Bersamotte, 276 Vi.toria, 276 Ad Dundas, 333 Jalousie de Fontenay, 415 Wheeler, 505 Genesee, 369 Josephine de Malines, 418 Wredow, 130 Hooker, 368 Jules Bivort, 128 Zepherin Gregoire, 130, 418 Uovey's Seedling, 99, 421 Kiitlind, 128 List of very fi;ie. 49-98 .lennv Lind, 99, 368 La Juive, 128 List of. Exhibited, 512 Keen's Seedling, 331 Leon le Clerc, 417 List of, for Standards, 418 Kitley's Goliah, 833 Madnm Kliza, 128 Many varieties, 123, 411, 416 Longworth's Prolific, 367 Marechal de Oour, 12S ,280 Old Carolina, 333 Marie Louise, 87 ,415 PLUMS. Peabody s Seedling, 365, 370 Martin Pec, 417 Brandy Gage, 515 Rival Queen, a32 Mathew's Eliza, 419 Chapman's Prince of Wales, Scott'^ Seedling, 369 Nouveau Poiteau, 129 ,415 516 Sir Charles Napier, 99 Ott, 129 Cherry Plum, 4P3 Sir Harry, 332 Passe Colmar Francais, 129, 415 Diamond, 98 Triomphe de Gand, 369 Princess Charlotte, 129 Karly Prolific, 463 TroUope'.- Victoria, 331 Ilelene dOrleans, 129 Green Gage. 515 White Alpine, 333 Rousseiet d'Aout, 415 Jimmy Combe, 515 White Heart, 333 de Kheirns, 418 Jimmy Moore, 515 Wilson's Albany, 867, 369 Saint Je n Baptiste, 130 MitchelsOD, 516 List of, for Amateurs 372 Joseph, 130 Reine Claude de Bavay, 98 List of, for Market, 372 Michael Archange, 418 Thomas, 98 LIST OF VEGETABLES. Asparagus, Beans, Borage, Broccoli, Cabbages, Carrots, Cauliflosvers, Chinese Sugar Cane, Chinese Yam, 147, 835, 470, Com, Cress, 340 Egg Plant, 340 Spinach, 340 3 0 Lavender, 340 Squash, 148, 486 340 Lettuce, 340 486 340 Mutkmelon, 340 Cocoa, 148 3 0 Christiana, 486, 527 Cu.^^tard, 486 340 Onions, 340 Hubbard, 148 340 White Portugal, 339 Marrow, 148 340 Par.=eley, 840 Sweet Potato, 148 147 Parsnips. 340 Wilder, 486 470 Radish, 3*0 Tansy, 340 57''. Rhubarb, 340 Tomato, 340 340 Salsiiy, 340 Turnip, 340 340 LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS. Campbell, George W., . . . 313, 4'>9 Davidson, A F., 404 Dewey, Daniel S., 131 Dutton, T. R., 241 Earle, J. M., 122 Editor, 1. 53, 78. 105. 136, 153, 190, 201, 249, 278, 297, 329, 345, 374, 393. 441. 489, 500, 537. 565 riagg, Wil=on, 15, 60, 83. 159. 234 259. 303, 319, 350, 875, 400, 425, 464, 495, 517, 555 Gridley. A. D., 212 Hall, John A 628 Hale, S 340 Harris, F. L., 218 H. G., 240 Jiokson, Jas., 198 J. L R 356 Kinnicott, J. A., 407 Kirtland, Dr. J. P., .... 316 \ M. A , . Manice, D. F., Meehan, T., Mor.se, Abner, Page, Charles G., Pope, A. R., . Pyrus, Rand, E S., Jr., Russell, .John L., Sargent, H W., Scott, K. B., . Snow, -Dexter, S., . Thomson, A., Thorburn, George C Trowbridge, F., Wetherell, Leander, Wight, Eben., 38, 191, 308, 340, 434, 31, 27,68,177, CONTENTS. GENERAL INDEX. Apples, Pescription of Select, KasterD, in the West, Architecture, Home, 66, 159, 259, Bee Culture, Beef", and their Abodes, Black Knot, New Theorv of, . BlacKberry, How to Train, . Books,— Hedges and Evergreens, How Plants grow, . Illustrated Annual, Farmer's Practical Architect, Pear Culture, .... The G nleners' Monthly, The Horticultural Monthly, . Ti e Uural Annual, . Brown, Robert, Death of, Carn:ition, the, .... Catalogue of Grapes, Dr. Grant's, Chinese Yam, .... Chrysanthemum Culture of. Chrysanthemum, the, . Composts, the Preparation and Care of, Conit'eriP, New Hardy, ... Cranberry Culture, Dioscorea, the, .... Evergreens, Planting in the Autumn, New Oalifornian, Farm, How to Ornament, Floricultural Notices, 195, 232, 322, 379, Flowers, Theory of, ... Forest Tree Culture, Frost, Efifects of on Veeetation, 238, 271; Influence of on Vegetation, . Fruit Culture in the West, . Fruit Trees and Fruits, Hist, of, 27, 68. New Form of Training, Fruits, New liritish, Gardening, Landscape, . Garden, the American, Gnrdeiiers, .... Geratjiums, New Bedding, Gladioli, New, Grape, Hartford Proline, Kebecca, Hardiness of. Grapes, Notes on, . Keeping till January, Various Opinions of, Grape Vine, Ringing the. Green F ogs, .... HdWthorn, the. Hedges and Hedge Plants, and their Management Home, Embellishment of. Horticulture, Progress of, Horticultural Operations — January, 52 July, . . 343 February, 102 August, . 391 M rch, 150 Sepember, . 439 April, 198 October, , 487 May, 246 November, . 534 June, 294 December, . 575 Houses, Orchard, . Lawns, .Management of. Literature, Botanical and Horticultural, 113, 163, ; McEwen, George, Death of, . Mrs Loudon, Dt-ath of. Mulberry, Downing's Everbearing, 135, 574 Natural History, State Cabinet of, . 87 Obituary 14,273,389,438 521 674 470, 572 289 562 537 218 184 325 528 457 495 467,562 447 249 308, 433 15 105 177, 266 421 460, 512 575 527 195 195, 467 131 275 813 475 274 345, 459 338 561 153 201 53 1 428 Onion Fly and Garden Seeds, I'ansy, the, Pajonies, the Herbaceous, Peaches, Early and Late, Pea Weevil, Pear Culture in HIinois, in Oregon, Profits of, . . Union of Estremes, Pear, Dwarf Culture of. Pears, Descriptiins of Select Varieties of. Fine Exhibition of. Notes about New, . Pear Trees, Spir.l Mode ofTraining, Plants, New of 1857, Putting out Bedding, Kambles among in Fssex County, Potting Protecting Hardy in Winter. . South African, Pope, Rev, A, R , Death of. . Pomological Gossip, 132, 187, 274, 365, Pyrus Japonica, as a Hedge Plant, Ro.'^e, the Wild, Roses, Seeds, The Introduction of New, . Whv they do not Grow, Shrubs, New England, 83, 234. 319, 375, 464,517, Smith, Stephen H,, Death of, Society, American Pomological, 198, 385, Connecticut State Agricultural, British Pomological, Georgia Poroolngical, Hartford County Horticultural, Mass. Hort., 41, 87, 139, 242, 291, 340 434, 481, Annual Election, Award of Premiums for Dahlias, Finance Committee. Hepoit of. Flower Committee, Report of, . Fruit Committee, Heport of, . Garden Committee, Report of, Op>-ning of the Hall, Rose i^how, .... Vegetable Committee, Report of, 30ih Annual Exhibition, Exhibition of Dahlias, British Pomological, Maine Pomological, Newburv port Horticultural, . New York Sate Agricultural, Pomological Congress of Lyons, 411, Wisconsin Fruit Growers, 'trawberry Culture in England, . Strawberries, Great Crops of, in England, in Ohio, Sulphur for Insects, . . . 182, Sweet Briar, the, Vegetation, Odors of, ... . Verbena, Culture of the, Verbenas, VVardian <'ases, .... 136, Window Gardening, .... Young Planters. Encouragement to, 191 489 240 219 290 407 404 441 528 297 ,500 512 122 33 3.56 475 71 473 293 460, ,552 237 559 327 542 473 425, 555 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. THE PROGRESS OF HORTICULTURE. A SUMMARY of the horticultural progress of the year, though presenting nothing of marked importance, offers much of in- terest to the enthusiastic cultivator, both in recalling subjects which demand more reflection, and in suggesting others which should occupy his attention. Horticulture, in its extensive sense, comprehends a wide range of objects, and every zealous lover of the science gladly welcomes all the aid which may lead him to a higher appreciation of its importance, and better enable him to study its details, or acquire greater perfection in its practice. There are subjects which occasionally at- tract unusual notice, and nearly every year some particular subjects more than others. Thus, for the last year or two, hardy grapes and their varieties, as well as dwarf pears and their culture, have been the leading topics with our pomolo- gists ; and with the agriculturists, the Sorgho, or Chinese Sugar Cane, has been the principal subject of attention ; the details of its growth, and the manufacture of syrup, having filled the papers devoted to the interests of the farmer. To sum up the progress of the year in these prominent matters, as well as to pass in review others of less importance, is the object of our article. The early period of the year opened with a more than usual degree of interest in the gardening world. The appar- ently secure and prosperous condition of our commerce, and the accumulation of wealth in and around our principal cities, had begun to develop itself in the erection of magnificent buildings, and the formation of extensive gardens ; the for- mer, in the highest style of architectural art, and the latter, with all the means and appendages of the palatial residences VOL. XXIV. — NO. I. 1 2 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. of modern Europe, tliongli, we regret to say, with very little of the same taste in the formation or arrangement of their grounds, this being of the least consideration. But a sudden revulsion in the commercial world has checked in a great degree the further prosecution of such magnificent plans, and the close of the year witnesses a change of things sadly con- trasting with the commencement. Gardens and grounds laid out on an extensive scale remain unfinished, and the general depression has cut short such anticipated improvements as the construction of greenhouses and graperies, and the plant- ing of orchards and pleasure grounds. Yet, in this state of things, the cultivator may well inquire who is so well off as himself. His lands remain ; his crops were never better. Like some riches the former have not taken wings and flown away, nor, with due industry, have the latter suspended. They are not like railroad or fancy stocks, whose sudden depreciation has involved many a rich and prosperous man in almost utter ruin. Well may he be thankful that he has contented himself with the sure and less rapid gains derived from that true source of wealth, the ever- teeming earth. For, though his occupation does not, — and probably never will, — afford the great profits which result from the bold, or even more careful, operations in commercial pursuits, it yields him the greatest of all riches, a happy and quiet life, and the enjoyment of all that nature has so bounti- fully lavished about him. It is the propensity of our people to trade, in preference to agricultural pursuits, that has caused to a considerable extent the revulsions in our commer- cial affairs, and it will continue to do so just as long as the desire pervades our farmers' boys to exchange their pleasant country homes and the occupation of their fathers for the show, the excitement, the dissipation and anticipated wealth of city life. Agriculture is a liberal pursuit ; and if many that are engaged in it do not appreciate it as such, it is be- cause they do not recognize the industry and study which are inseparable from its successful practice. From the erro- neous opinion, so generally prevalent, that the " learned professions" and mercantile pursuits have a more elevated standing in society than the agriculturist, arises much of the uneasiness of countiy life, and the desire to rush into occupations ah'cady filled to overflowing, simply from the absurd idea of respectability. Let this once be understood as a most mistaken notion — quite American — recognized no- where else, and homes will not be transferred so rapidly to the city, nor the intelligent and healthful employments of the farm and garden be changed for those of the bar or counting room. A rapid review of the weather of the year we deem of suffi- cient importance to occupy a brief space, more especially as it embraces a period of unusual severity, and attended with disastrous consequences to the horticulturist. January was a very cold month. It commenced mild, with a heavy fall of snow, but on the 8th the temperature fell to 2° below zero, and continued cold ; the 16th it was 4° be- low zero ; the 18th, 12° below, and the 19th, 2° below, with a cold driving snow, which fell to the depth of nearly 20 inches, though greatly drifted. This was a cold fortnight, but on the 23d the mercury fell to 14° below zero, and on the 24th it reached the lowest point we have ever seen it, viz., 20° below. The 25th it was 8° below, and the 26th, 10° below. It was milder the rest of the month. The month of February was milder than the average, with the thermometer below zero but twice, which was on the 11th and 12th. The residue of the month was unusually mild. On the 15th the snow was nearly all gone, and the tempera- ture reached 50° at noon, and for three successive mornings it stood at the same point. The 18th the thermometer was as high as 68° ! March was also a mild month ; the lowest range of the thermometer being 8°. Only a few inches of snow fell, and the latter part was pleasant, showery and spring-like. April began severe, with a lower temperature tlian March, with the exception of two mornings. The 1st and 2d were very cold, and accompanied with snow, but on the 3d a warm southerly rain fell, with the thermometer at 50°, which took all the frost out of the ground, and left it in good order for planting. The rest of the month was pleasant, with very light frosts. 4 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. The month of May was favorable, without hard frosts or excessively warm days. On the 7th the cherries were in bloom, and the pears on the 13th. After this it was cool and cloudy. The first very warm day was on the 25th, when the thermometer stood at 85°. June commenced warm and showery, but this was soon followed by cool weather, which continued with but little variation to the end of the month, the highest range of the thermometer being 85°. July opened very much like June, with cool easterly winds. On the 8th it was warmer, and on the 15th the mercury reached 92°. Up to the 21st it had been rather dry, but the remainder of the month was showery and rainy. After so much cool and moist weather it was anticipated that a dryer month would succeed ; but August continued not only quite cool, but very wet, with the thermometer above 90° but once, on the 14th. September was a pleasant month ; the early part was fine and warm, but on the 8tli the temperature fell to 38°, and in some localities there was a slight frost. After this it was warm again, with showers. The close of the month wag cooler. On the 29th the mercury fell to 30°, with a heavy white frost, which injured all tender plants in exposed lo- calities. October was fine nearly throughout, with no heavy frosts until the 26th, when the temperature fell to 26°, which froze the ground to the depth of an inch. After this it was cloudy and cooler. The month of November continued mild, with no heavy frosts until the 15th. The lowest temperature was 14°, on the 28th. The last few days were very mild. December thus far (the 20th) has been unusually mild and pleasant, without snow, or frosts of sufficient severity to put a stop to outdoor work. The thermometer has fallen below the freezing point but three times, and then but for a few hours' duration. The ground is now in as fine condition as in the month of April. This weather appears in strong contrast with that of 1856, when at the same date the mercury fell to 7° below zero. JANUARY. 5 The winter of 1855 and 1856 was one of unusual severity at the West, doing immense damage to fruit trees of all kinds, killing, in many instances, plantations of many years' standing, and its disastrous effects will long be remembered. That of 1856 and 1857, though not, perhaps, equally severe, will, however, long be remembered by the cultivators of New England, having been more injurious to trees than any winter since the memorable one of 1835. In Maine the damage to trees was very great, killing many outright of several years' growth ; the Bartlett and other of the more tender pears suffering the most. What appears to be one peculiarity, so far as our experience goes, was the death of pears on the pear stock, the quince suffering little or none, showing conclusive- ly that it is quite as hardy as the pear, and much better capa- ble of sustaining frost in damp localities, where the pear invariably suffered. Another peculiarity was the almost en- tire exemption from injury of the peach buds, notwithstand- ing the thermometer stood at 20° below zero. Heretofore it has been believed, and we have latterly given currency to the idea, that 12° below zero was the point at which the germ of the peach buds was likely to be destroyed. The experience of the past winter quite upsets this theory, evidently show- ing it is not the intensity of the frost that does the injury, but the condition of the weather before or afterwards, or the period of the winter when it occurs. The same trees which in 1855 and 1856 lost about all their buds when the mercury fell to 12° below, now produced a full crop. As regards fruit generally, the season has not been very favorable. Apples in some localities bore tolerably well, but in New England the crop has been very light. Pears were not near up to the average. Cherries suffered from the winter, and from the cool and damp summer. Grapes were a failure, the vines mildewing badly, and the crop not coming to maturity before frost. Of all the fruits the pear gave the best results this year, as it did the last. HORTICULTURE. The prominent topics of discussion, both in the Gardening Journals and Pomological Conventions, have been the culture 6 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. of dwarf pears, and their profitable growth on an extensive scale. In our last volume we answered all the objections which had been brought against the quince stock, and, with the able article of Col. Wilder in its favor, (p. 211,) have very little to say in addition. Those who reject dwarf trees, have either had no experience in their culture, and do not understand their treatment, or they have been experimenting with those kinds, of which there are many, which will not succeed upon the quince. Some attempts have been made to rebut the evidence in favor of dwarf pears ; but they have been such a mixture of conceit and ignorance, on the part of the writers, that with sensible cultivators they have not had the least weight, and have rather confirmed than diminished their con- fidence in dwarf pears. In the vicinity of Boston, where the pear is grown to the greatest perfection, both the specimens of fruit and specimens of trees triumphantly vindicate the success that has attended the numerous experiments which have been made through a series of more than twenty-five years, rewarding our amateiirs with the finest crops, and supplying the market with finer fruit and in larger quantities than can be found in any part of the country. The interest in the cultivation of hardy grapes and the introduction of new varieties continues undiminished ; some new sorts have been brought to notice the past year, which have been mentioned in our pages. This interest, once thor- oughly awakened, will not be allowed to dwindle until we are supplied with a selection of kinds, suitable to all the vicissitudes of our changeable climate, and of a quality great- ly superior to most of those we now possess. A cool and unfavorable year has prevented the perfect ripening of many new varieties under process of trial, so as to judge fairly of their quality ; but another year will we trust afford us an op- portunity to do so. We may safely congratulate our amateurs on the possession of some very fine grapes. The gooseberry, a fruit of so much importance in English gardens, holds a very inferior rank in our American collec- tions. Owing to the tendency of all the foreign varieties to mildew, their cultivation has been neglected, and only in the gardens of the more enthusiastic cultivators are they to be JANUARY. I found. Yet a fruit which is found indigenous to our country ought to succeed everywhere, and there is no reason why we should not, and speedily too, possess American seedlings that may be cultivated with all the ease of other fruits. It is with pleasure, therefore, that we have recently referred (p. 516) to the growth of two new seedlings, which, from the account of them, appear to possess merits quite equal, if not superior'to Houghton's seedling, which has so long maintained its reputa- tion. With care in the selection of seed we see no reason why our gardens should not soon be supplied with new varieties, with as large fruit as those which attract so much attention in Great Britain. When we once produce such seedlings, and raise them in perfection, we are sure the gooseberry must become a much more esteemed fruit than it is at the present time in our American gardens. The continued success in grape culture by Mr. Simpson, as already detailed in our last volume, on his new system of a crop every eight months, has attracted much attention, and elicited the praise of all v.ho have witnessed the progress of the vines, and the superior fruit, as well as the abundance of the crop. Since our article appeared in February last, two more crops have ripened on the same vines, and in quite as good perfection as at the time of our visit. An interesting- account of Mr. Simpson's grapery, on another page, will relieve us from the necessity of further remarks, other than to congratulate Mr. Simpson on his success, now having ac- complished all he proposed, viz., six crops of grapes in four years. New pears and pear culture, generally, have been made the subject of two interesting articles by M. de Jonghe and Mr. Rivers. That of M. de Jonghe is full of interest, and we have already urged our cultivators to give it their attention. Mr. Rivers, though more general in his notes, still offers some valuable hints respecting several of the newer pears. These, with the Intermediate Report of the American Pomological Society, and our Pomological Gossip, will give all the infor- mation relative to the growth and introduction of new pears, as well as other fruits. One remark made by M. de Jonghe in relation to the growth 8 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. of seedling apples attracted our attention, and we intended to notice it at the time his article appeared, but overlooked it ; we now recur to it. In speaking of his collection of ap- ples he stated " that after having planted a collection of 200 sorts of apples, worked upon the Free, Doucin and Paradise stock, and which were obtained from the first establishments in Europe, and trained in whatever form appeared to suit them best, for 8, 10, or 15 years, from the very beginning perfect seeds of such of these varieties as appeared to be the best were commenced to be sown. The seedlings gave a more satisfactory result than the 200 varieties from which they were produced ; that is to say, with four or five excep- tions, the seedlings yielded finer and better fruit, and in greater abundance than all the other trees put together, of which we have been able, as yet, to see and taste the fruit." By this we understand that seedling trees from the 200 named varieties, produced fruit quite equal to the original sorts, showing conclusively, according to M. de Jonghe's ex- periment, that the apple may be reproduced from seed with almost as much certainty as the commonest vegetable — a very important fact, if true, so much so as io deserve continued experiments, carefully made, to establish its truth. We con- fess that, though paradoxical as it may seem, it has a plausi- ble appearance, judging from what we know of the apple. All our American varieties, so much superior to the foreign sorts, are accidental seedlings, produced mostly within the last forty, and many of them within the last ten, years. In fact, new kinds are coming to notice almost every day, and although all have not the excellence belonging to our best sorts, they imdoubtedly equal if not surpass the 200 named varieties obtained by M. de Jonghe from the " first estab- lishments in Europe." Witness the Northern Spy and Melon, raised in one orchard in Western New York, and the numerous good apples in the West, raised from seeds of the best Eastern apples which were carried there by the early settlers of that region. These facts go far to confirm M. de Jonghe's experiment. Though we would not rely upon such means for obtaining a fine collection of apples, we would, at the same time, avail ourselves of its importance. For instance, in cases of emi- gration to the far West, in remote localities, where trees are not easily to be carried, or means are not abundant to pur- chase them, a few seeds of select apples would supply the set- tler in a few years with an abundance of fine fruit, and the few, if any, which might not prove valuable would form ex- cellent stocks to graft the better kinds upon. Viewed in no other way the confirmation of the experiment of M. de Jonghe demands the consideration of every orchardist. We have but little space to devote to other matters of im- portance under this head, and must therefore refer our read- ers to the table of contents and index of the volume for details respecting new fruits, of which a great number have been described, and new facts regarding their culture. FLORICULTURE. The taste for flowers and plants, though continually in- creasing, does not make the same progress as that for fruits or hardy trees and shrubs. The rage for bedding plants has to some extent lessened the love for the old fashioned tenants of the garden, whose less dazzling tints, though more varied colors and stately appearance, are not less worthy of equal attention. Some of the latter, however, in their improved state, hold a prominent rank, and are becoming universal favorites. These are the phlox, the hollyhock, and the lark- spur, each of which, in their numerous varieties, are being elevated to the florist's standard. The phloxes have been greatly improved by the French amateurs as well as our own cultivators, and the hollyhock, through the labors of the English gardeners mainly, has been brought to a state of per- fection beyond belief, surpassing the dahlia as a decorative garden plant. The larkspurs, too, are becoming more and more popular, and exhibit a variety of tints and shades quite new and beautiful. With the aid of the brilliant Delphinium cardinale, no doubt we shall eventually possess some singu- larly pleasing colors. But of all the flowers which appear to have yielded to the efforts of the hybridizer, the Gladiolus shows the most re- markable improvement. About twenty-five years ago, the VOL. XXIV. — NO. I. 2 10 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. G. psittacinus was introduced to European collections from the Cape of Good Hope, and for more than ten years con- tinued the only variety of this class of free summer bloomers. From it came the G. gandavensis, a much more brilliant flower, and since then a succession of new varieties has been produced, which now give this plant a prominent rank in every collection. The past season a collection of new seedlings was exhibited at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham, which at- tracted universal admiration, and at once rendered them especial favorites with all lovers of beautiful flowers. The French cultivators enumerate more than a hundred varieties of almost every shade of color, and a mixture of several in one flower, viz. : white, blush, straw, chamois, citron, sulphur, yellow, orange, cinnamon, scarlet, rose, vermilion, crimson, carmine, purple, violet, &c. Some flowers are distinctly and l3eautifully striped, and others shaded, spotted, or tinted in the most striking manner. "We had some forty or fifty of the finest varieties in bloom the past summer, and unhesitatingly pronounce them the most attractive ornaments of the garden. They are of the easiest cultivation, and bloom profusely throughout August and September. Planted in masses, or in beds, they produce a brilliant effect, and are only equalled by the Japan lilies. The articles on the Rose by Professor Page have no doubt been highly interesting to all lovers of this beautiful flower. Our amateurs do not truly appreciate this finest of garden slu'ubs. The new varieties, especially of hardy perpetuals, are rapidly increasing, and among tliem are some very strik- ing and superb flowers, which are now becoming great favor- ites ; such, for instance, as Jules Margottin, General Jac- queminot, Lord Raglan, Lion des Combats, Giant de Betailles, &c. But, fine as they are, in our cold climate, they must not, as we have urged before, be allowed to usurp altogether the place of the June roses, but rather be looked upon as auxiliaries to keep up a continued bloom to the end of the season. We notice that Mr. Rivers, in his latest Catalogue, states that in Scotland the June roses are so much hardier, that they are still very popular. The same remark will ap- ply with us. But further South, where the winters are milder, JANUARY. 11 the perpetuals will give more satisfaction. To insure a good bloom the branches should be laid down and covered with soil or manure to protect them from severe frosts, which inva- riably injures the shoots, and, with many kinds, kills them to the ground. We have heretofore spoken so highly of the Japan Lilies, that we need hardly occupy space to refer to them again ; out as the idea is still current with many individuals that they are not hardy enough to be planted out in the open ground, we embrace the opportunity to repeat, that they are quite as easily managed as the common white lily, and flower much more freely after removal, being in fact of the easiest cultiva- tion, only requiring a good light soil, not over saturated with moisture. Planted out in October or November, and protected with a thin covering of leaves, they make their appearance in the spring as vigorous as the hardiest lilies. No garden should be without a small bed of these truly elegant flowers. We have in our Floricultural notes alluded to several of the new and rare plants of recent introduction, and to them we must refer for particular information concerning them. Among those which promise to be valuable acquisitions are the Gigantic Lily, the Pampas Grass, and Phygelius capensis. Neither have yet, we believe, flowered in American collec- tions, but we hope to see them the coming season, especially the former, as the favorable notices of it lead us to anticipate a splendid object. The Lily tribe are exceedingly fine, but this seems to eclipse them all. Of other plants a reference to our index will show the variety noticed or described in the volume. ARBORICULTURE. We have continued in our last volume the series of articles we commenced in the previous one, describing the more rare ornamental trees, or such as are little known, or too much neglected : in all, sixteen trees. These do not, of course, em- brace all the trees of this description, but they are the larger part, and we can only hope that the information which we have given will be the means of introducing them into every plantation. What we need is more variety in our pleasure grounds, and not the same succession of elms, maples, ailan- 12 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. thuses and limes, with occasionally a liorsechestniit or an oak. There are many others equally as desirable as those we have described, and there is no reason for such a meagre selection, if the least judgment or pains are taken to secure a good variety. We have given in the volume (p. 193) a list of the ever- green trees that we found to stand the severity of the last very cold winter, than which no better test could be required. The list may be safely relied upon, and we hope will serve as a guide to a good selection for all the various purposes of shelter, shade or ornament. What we need around our grounds in our exposed climate, is a far greater proportion of evergreens. We are but just beginning to ap- preciate their importance, either in a picturesque or economi- cal point of view. In the former they give character and expression to the winter scenery by their deep green verdure and spiry form ; and in the latter afford shelter and protec- tion from winds and storms, and impart additional warmth to the soil. In England the planting of evergreens is the first consideration in the improvement of all grounds, whether for mere purposes of ornament or for general cultivation. The papers by our correspondent, Mr. Flagg, describing our various hardy forest and ornamental trees, extending through our last two volumes, have been prepared with great care, and show a thorough acquaintance with their habits, growth, and general characteristics. A more com- plete account of them cannot, we think, be found in any pub- lication, excepting Michaux's Sylva, and even there, the descriptions are more technical and less general than Mr. Flagg's, whose analysis of their varied beauties is given with the pen of the real lover of sylvan art. We hope to offer some account of the smaller shrubs, in the same manner he has described the larger trees. The vacciniums or whortleberries, which formed the subject of one of the most interesting papers in our last volume, are beautiful and desirable garden shrubs. A series of articles describing our finest Evergreen trees, with engravings, in the same style we have illustrated our "Ornamental Trees," we have already promised, and shall endeavor to commence it in the present volume. 13 EURAL ARCHITECTUEE. It is gratifying to see an increased interest manifested in Eural Architecture, as apparent in the more refined taste displayed in tlie erection of villas and cottages, as well as churches and school-houses, and more particularly in the station-houses upon our numerous railroads, more especially in Massachusetts. The mere sheds or barn-like structures are being replaced with buildings which not only show some ar- chitectural taste, but a far greater degree of comfort in their interior arrangements. We have now passed throiigh the initiatory stages of a better style, and when it shall have been a little purged of the " gingerbread finishings" which yet cling around it, our villas and cottages will add greatly to the picturesque beauty of the country, and give increased value to all estates where taste in design and execution has been displayed. It is with pleasure, that we announce the commencement of a series of articles on Home Architecture, in our next number, by Mr. Flagg. What he has already written on subjects immediately connected with our homes, is the best evidence of his fitness to perform the task in a manner that will interest all our readers, and advance the taste for rural art. In garden architecture generally, and the construction of greenhouses and graperies, there is some improvement. But for the lack of builders who understand the arrangement of such structures, both with reference to the growth of the plants and architectural proportions, many of them still pre- serve the same unmeaning form and barren finish so common everywhere. Some very fine greenhouses and graperies have been con- structed within a year or two in the vicinity of Boston ; and we hope we may have the opportunity of presenting plans and details of the same, with the view of aiding in intro- ducing more architectural beauty in the erection of such buildings. It adds but little to the expense to adopt some tasteful style suited to the growth and health of the plants, and at the same time expressive of the object of such structures. 14 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE, HORTICULTURAL LITERATURE. There have been very few publications during the year. The only work of note has been The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, revised by Mr. C. Downing, and noticed in our last number. The first number of the third volume of the Fruits of America has appeared, and other numbers will soon be published. The Patent Office Report for" 1856 is a considerable improvement upon the preceding ones, both in the character of the reports and general information, and in the typographical execution of the volume. The Transac- tions OF THE Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture FOR 185(3, by Mr. C. L. Flint, the secretary, has been prepared with imusual labor and care, and contains very minute de- scriptions of all the principal grasses, with engravings ; and will prove a most acceptable work to all interested in agri- culture. New editions of McMahon's Gardening, Allen's Treatise on the Grape, and some other works have been published. The Illustrated Annuals, from the offices of the Albany Cultivator and the Genesee Farmer, are both small works of much interest to all who cannot readily obtain more complete treatises on the same subjects. The agricultural pa- pers have been imj^roved considerably, and the Ohio Farmer, one of the best, is to appear in a more convenient form for preservation. obituary. In addition to the record we have already given we have to add the name of James D. Fulton, nurseryman, of Philadel- phia. He died very suddenly, in New Jersey, in his 43d year. Mr. Fulton was one of the most intelligent nurserymen. He served his time with Messrs. D. & C. Landreth, was subse- quently foreman of the establishment, and after the relin- quishment of business by Mr. T. Lpaidreth, became a partner with his brother, Mr. D. Landreth. At the closing up of the business of this firm a few years later, Mr. Fulton established a nursery on his own account, and at the time of his death had considerably extended his grounds, and enjoyed a lucra- tive trade. His loss will be deeply regretted by all wlio had the pleasure of his acquaintance. JANUARY. 15 THE INFLUENCE OF FROST ON VEGETATION. BY TV'ILSON FLAGG. The advantages accruing to the vegetable world from hy- bernation are well understood ; but it is not yet determined how large a proportion of this benefit is due to the action of frost on the one hand, or to the mere pliysiological state of rest on the other. The apparent influence of freezing is injurious ; but it does not follow that plants may not, under certain circumstances, derive benefit from it. Freezing is evidently fatal to some plants, harmless to others, and appar- ently beneficial to a third sort. It is injurious to all decidu- ous foliage, but less so in the spring than in the summer and autumn. It has also been ascertained that some of the most tender plants may, by gradual exposure to cold, be frozen without injury, provided they be thawed under certain condi- tions of temperature. All plants are liable to suffer injury from the action of frost, in proportion as their sap vessels are surcharged with fluid. Hence trees are sometimes cracked in the winter, when a very severe cold succeeds weather so mild as to have caused the circulation of the sap. The first effect observed from the action of frost upon a tender vegetable, is the breaking down of the cellular organi- zation, probably from the rupture occasioned by the swelling of the sap, consequent upon freezing. But freezing produces no chemical change in the substance of a plant. It simply prepares it, by breaking down its cellular tissues to undergo a chemical change by fermentation. An apple, while in a healthy condition, will remain many months in a temperature of about 60°, without suffering any apparent chemical change. But as soon as the apple has been frozen and thawed, unless the thawing take place very gradually, and under protection from the action of the light and the atmosphere, the cellular tissues being divided, the juices of the fruit are intimately blended together, and a fermentation immediately ensues, commencing with the saccharine, and passing, in regular order, through the vinous, acetous and putrefactive fermenta- tions. Hence an apple or potato is always increased in sweet- ness, immediately after being frozen and thawed. 16 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Potatoes suffer a similar series of changes, after freezing and thawing, though the stages of fermentation are not so apparent. The softness of a frozen and thawed potato is pro- duced by the destruction of the celhilar organization, causing the fluids to mingle together in a common mass, which were formerly contained in millions of little sacks. When potatoes lie on the ground exposed to the open air in winter, subject to alternate freezing and thawing, tlie temperature of the air is too cold to allow any fermentation to take place. The substance being disorganized, the moisture of the potato is exuded, and there remains enclosed within the rind of the tuber, a ball of perfect starch. In the latter part of Decem- ber, some years since, I observed a flock of poultry diligently pecking at certain, substances, lying upon the ground in a potato field, during a period of mild weather. On examina- tion, I found that the potatoes which, in harvest time, had been left upon the surface of the ground, were changed into flattened balls of starch, and the fowls had discovered them. When frozen potatoes lie in a heap in the cellar, no such formation of starch ensues, because the temperature and dampness of the cellar cause the juices of the potatoes to ferment and rot. In the same field, a few inches under the surface, were potatoes which had been frozen and thawed, without any apparent change in the firmness of their substance. The same effects may be observed with regard to apples. In the opening of spring all the apples that lie on the outer surface of the ground are rotten, while others, buried under a thin covering of grass or of soil, are fair and uninjured. What is the cause of this mysterious exemption of vegetable sub- stances from injury, when both the freezing and the thawing take place under the soil or any other sufficient covering ? It is admitted that it is the freezing, not the thawing, that ruptures the cellular tissue. Why then should this tissue be found unimpaired, after a certain gradual process of thawing ? I would suggest the hypothesis, that this rupture of the cells is but a general opening at sutures or articulations, and that the tissues retain a vital power of contraction, unless this contractile power be destroyed by a too sudden or rapid ap- JANUARY.- 17 plication of warmth. When the frozen vegetable is thawed by the most kindlj and gradual process, the tissues, by the force of the vis medicatrix existing in all vital organizations, recover their healthy condition and firmness. When the thawing takes place under the surface of the soil, these necessary conditions of the process are commonly pre- served, but when it takes place in the open air, it is otherwise. Such conditions cannot exist in the open air, since in broad sunshine, even when the temperature in the shade is below zero, the sun's rays might produce on the outer surface of a frozen vegetable (I allude only to tender vegetables) a fatal degree of thawing heat. Even the indirect rays of the* sun, as refracted through a cloudy atmosphere, produce so much heat that a tender frozen vegetable cannot be thawed in a suf- ficiently uniform temperature, unless it be entirely removed from the action of solar light. This course of reasoning is based on the hypothesis that the simple process of freezing is not destructive of vegetable life ; that a certain degree of cold suspends vitality, which revives again at a certain higher temperature. Any amount of heat, on the contrary, which is sufficient to suspend vitality, will destroy it : and it is the increased susceptibility to the action of heat, occasioned by freezing, that causes a rapid thawing process to be fatal to tender vegetation. The question that is suggested by these facts is, whether the most tender tropical plant might not be preserved during winter in a frozen state, and revived in the spring, by a very gradual and careful process of thawing ? If freezing only suspends vitality in all cases, then the safety of a tender plant, after being frozen, must depend entirely on the means by which the frost is extracted. One of the most remarkable of the supposed beneficial effects of frost, or of a very cold temperature, is the increased vitality or of irritability of hardy plants, after having been subjected to its action, for a longer or a shorter period. Dr. Darwin remarks that " the roots of potatoes, onions and other vegetables will germinate with much less heat in the spring than in the autumn ; this is easily observable when these roots are stored for use, and hence malt is best made in the VOL. XXIV. — NO. I. 3 18 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. spring." "The parts of animals become more sensible to heat, after having been previously exposed to cold, as our hands glow on coming into the house, after having held snow in them. This seems to happen to vegetables ; for vines in grape-houses, which have been exposed to the winter's cold, will become forwarder and more vigorous than those which have been kept during winter in the house. This accounts for the rapid vegetation in the northern latitudes, after the solution of the snows." — Bot. Garden. Dr. Darwin also inti- mates that the sap of a tree will flow more readily, if it has been just previously exposed to the action of severe cold, after the flowing of the sap has commenced. It is still questionable whether a temperature as low as the freezing point is necessary to insure the good effects attributed to hybernation ; or whether it may not be the fact, that a sim- ple state of rest is all that is required and a sufficiently low temperature to secure an uninterrupted rest by suspending all vital action. The rein-deer moss (lichen rangiferinus') vegetates beneath the snow, where the degree of heat is always about 40°. If a plant can be kept in a temperature permanently below 40°, or only two or three degrees above freezing point, a condition which can be secured only by protecting it both from the outer atmosphere and the light of the sun, it would probably remain in as absolute a state of rest as if it were frozen, and without any of the injury produced by frost. Such a temperature could be established by means of ice or snow in a cellar that would exclude the outside cold of the atmosphere. A cold conservatory of this description would be l)etter for the health of tender plants than a common greenhouse, and would enable them to bear the absence of light with impunity, because the low temperature in which they are placed suspends all vital action. Alternate freezing and thawing is injurious to the vitality of the most hardy plants, as we observe in the less healthy and vigorous growth of herbs and shrubbery in a spring that follows an open winter, during which the earth and its vege- tation have been repeatedly frozen and thawed, than after a hard winter accompanied with a permanent depth of snow. The rapid vegetation that occurs on the melting of the snows JANUARY. 19 ill high northern latitudes excmphfies the good effects of such a cokl and even protection. It is the protection thus afforded bj the snow, rather than any nitrous properties communicated by it to the soil, that produces the benefits which have been observed to follow a snowy winter. The soil is in no better con- dition, but the plants which have been wintered in it are more healthy and vigorous. Though grass is better after a winter of deep snow, there is no proof that any of the crops which are sowed in the spring are improved by any superior condi- tion of the soil. Snow is supposed to furnish a greater quan- tity of nitre to the soil than is furnished by an equal amount of rain. This is doubtful ; though it is not improbable that the snowy covering causes an accumulation of the nitrous properties of the soil, by preventing their escape into the atmosphere. It still remains to be determined whether a vegetable ac- quires increased vitality from freezing, or whether it would not derive the same benefit from entire rest in a temperature sufficiently low to secure such a condition. Many tropical plants suffer a period of rest, analogous to the hybernation of northern plants. These periods of rest happen in the dry season. The ca,ctus, for example, withers to an apparently fatal extent in the dry season ; but vegetates with great rapidity when the wet season commences. For the success- ful cultivation of the cactus, and some other tropical plants, it is necessary to imitate this process of nature. It is remark- able that when northern vegetation happens to be subjected to a similar drying process, — obtaining thereby, in consequence of drought in the latter part of summer, a period of rest, — trees and shrubs are liable to put forth a new crop of leaves and blossoms in the autumn. These facts are opposed to the theory that frost produces any other benefit to vegetation, besides that which would arise from any healthy means, by which a perfect state of rest could be secured to them. We cannot find anything established by nature, however, from which the vegetable as well as the animal world does not derive benefit in a great many ways. Though it may be proved that frost is not absolutely beneficial to plants during their hybernation, it is plain that a freezing temperature 20 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. only, under the ordinary circumstances of nature, could se- cure a perfect state of rest. Snow is one of the most impor- tant agents of nature for this purpose, by protecting plants from the heat as well as the cold of winter, the former of which is the most injurious. Hence if frost produces no ben- efit to vegetation by increasing the vital energy of plants, the snow is of unquestionable advantage, by affording a cold shelter, under which vegetables remain in an uninterrupted state of inaction and repose. Whether a part of the activity of northern vegetation is attributable to freezing is a problem that remains unsolved, and furnishes a subject which is wor- thy of scientific experiment. I must not omit, before I conclude these remarks, to allude to the supposed influence of frost, in producing the tints of autumnal foliage. When ripe leaves are repeatedly exposed to a degree of cold sufficient to stop the circulation of the sap for a number of hours, their maturity is hastened. By certain experiments made by M. Macaire of Geneva, the autumnal tints of leaves were supposed to be the chemical effects of oxygen absorbed during the night, at a time when they are too feeblp to open their pores for its escape during the day. A succession of extremely cold days and nights without frost, produces this debility of the circulating vessels of the leaves, and thereby hastens the formation of their tints : but actual frost always sears and destroys a deciduous leaf in the autumn, causing it immediately after to wither and fall to the ground. A series of very warm days and nights — a continued sum- mer heat, accompanied with dry weather in the autumn, — produces the same effect as a period of dry cold weather ; each hastens the maturity of the foliage and causes a prema- ture development of its tints. No sooner does the temperature of the atmosphere reach the freezing point, than the leaves become seared in proportion as tliey are exposed to it ; and wheresoever a white frost, in the early part of the season, has alighted upon the leaves of the trees, as it often does be- fore the tints appear, the foliage becomes seared, and never attains a good color. These effects may be observed in a greater or less degree almost every autumn, on the outer JANUARY. 21 foliage of trees, especially in damp and cold situations : but the influence of cold in bringing about a premature ripening of the foliage is made manifest by the earlier fall of the leaf and the earlier development of autumnal tints, in low damp meadows and swamps, compared with the uplands. THE BOTANICAL AND HORTICULTURAL LITERATURE OF THE OLDEN TIMES. BY JOHN L. RUSSELL, PROF. BOT., ETC., TO MASS. HORT. SOCIETY, &c., &c. Part I. The early attempts to classify and to render useful the natural productions of any wider or narrower area of the earth, should be regarded with more than ordinary interest. We are too apt to suppose that nothing really valuable had been found out until quite modern days. We even affect to pity the ignorance, as well as the want of means for thriftiness in our ancestors, and think that what we deem quite essential now was wholly unknown then. And we do not except from this sweeping contingency any one department of human skill and labor. My subject refers me to the actual condition of the most valuable department of industrial skill and of patient obser- vation,— to a time when gardens and gardening were deemed worthy of distinguished patronage and favor ; when scholars and poets thought the theme worthy their pen, and when the writer of an essay on the cultivation of the earth was con- sidered a benefactor of his race. Historically considered, agricultural pursuits are replete with interest. The first steps out of a savage life are to be traced in the attention paid to the tilling of the ground. The strictly savage man is the hunter and the fisher, depending upon the chase and upon the streams principally for his food ; and next, upon such wild fruits and nutritious roots that he can find in his more pressing needs. When he endeavors to reproduce these fruits, by finding out that their seeds, put into 22 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. the earth, will in time grow into similar kinds of food ; and farther, when he increases the actual size of nutritious wild roots and bulbs bj care and selection of the soil, then we shall find the savage man issuing from his roving habits, and fixing himself, for a portion of the time, to some select and favorite spot, less dependent on the prodigal bounty of nature, and discriminating in his tastes. These results produce an intermediate condition between the savage and the barbarous life, such as the early visitors to these New England shores found to be the condition of certain tribes of Indians, with whom many esculents had been long cultivated with success. Out of this, and next in order, we shall see the second grand division of social life in barbarism, under whose most extended and possible means and patronage agriculture will the best thrive. Agriculture seems to be the veriest limit of a barbarous state ; and the interests of men will be divided into the peasant and the soldier, the master of the soil and the laborer upon it. The latter soon becomes too indolent to work, so he compels the peasant to work for him ; the former becomes too much oppressed to hope to rise into a better condition, and accordingly remains " the hewer of wood and the drawer of water," — both essential in agricul- tural success in the oriental climes, where what has grown into a proverb was a literal fact, and even now the clear- ing of the woods and irrigation are no mean apparatus in geoponics. Thus it is evident that agriculture, in its restricted and primary meaning, has no inventive power, and deals with a few meagre observations instead. The barbarian is the true agriculturist, whether he raise Indian corn, beans and. pump- kins, or protects a few bananas and arums around, his hut. A barbarous and agricultural condition are perfectly coinci- dent, and where human servitude is the severest, there the barbarous state is the most expressive. Any scientific im- provement in labor will show a corresponding improvement in domestic manners and modes of enjoying life. Agricul- tural districts, the world over, exhibit a similar picture ; and the best modern cultivated farm is that where something more than mere stirring the earth, and planting and gather- JANUARY. 23 ing the crops, is carried on. So, when the semi-savage man is tired of his hominy, snccotash and roasted pumpkin, and experiments in adding to his meal some pleasant-tasted seeds or sweet and juicy root, he, by enlarging the limits of his kitchen, and by making variety in his viands, begins to feel wants which agriculture can supply. And, when the farmer is dissatisfied with the old routine of planting and sowing, and turns his attention to labor-saving materials, he emerges from barbarous agriculture into its higher and more ex- panded views. This stern and actual dependence on the vegetable king- dom for a greater portion of our food, where the chase cannot supply it, early led the human mind to look upon plants and vegetables with a considerate eye. " Give us day by day our food," is the universal expression of human want. There are tribes of men in whose vocabulary the word bread cannot be said to be found. In pressing hunger the Orinoco savage is satisfied with balls of unctuous clay ; the gaucho of the Pampas swallows ten pounds of beef; the Celtic descendants make the potato their nutriment ; vermin and a few greens suffice the stomachs of the Celestials; lumps of blubber suffice the Greenlander ; the negroes delight in sugar-cane and bananas ; dates are enough for the African mercliant on a long journey across the arid deserts ; rice will do for the oriental, — but the civilized man demands the cereal grains, of the best quality of species and the most delicate of farinaceous properties, and he is the eater of bread which to him becomes the " staff of life." The transition from the nutriment of the physical system to the curative properties to be equally found in plants, is at once easy and natural. Other substances, indeed, both animal and mineral, enter largely, at different periods, into the materia medica of early times ; but in the vegetable kingdom it was, that hidden virtues were supposed chiefly to reside. Hence came the vocation of the simplers, to use an old-fashioned word ; and the generic word herbs became, in time, to have a specific meaning, denoting certain curative virtues. The simpler sought for simple remedies in plants — some to assuage pain, a natural inference if any were good 24 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. to assuage liunger, (a most troublesome pain) ; some to pro- voke appetite, or even less worthy sensations ; some to heal wounds ; others to heal diseases, both external and internal ; and finally, others to assuage mental disorders, as madness, anger, spleen, or the like. Hence the singularly fanciful names which some plants still bear in the nomenclature of manuals, and in lists of herbs and plants. The agriculturist, from his distance from neighbors, is necessarily dependent on himself; and so, from necessity, learns the simpling process, and has a remedy for his ills in the herbs which grow about his home. The housewife hangs mystical bunches of dried leaves and stalks in some choice place, all bearing charmed and wondrous names, suggestive of the good they can do in all sorts of bruises, aches and sicknesses. Some nook or sunny place in the rude enclosure is, by-and-by, appropriated to their cultivation, and the gar- den henceforth springs into existence. Next, the eye and the smell are thought for, in the beauty or in the fragrance of the blossom, and floriculture commences. Civilization, even, is not essential to this state of things, — very rude people learn to love blossoms, and birds, and useless prettinesses. The science of botany took its rise in these searches for medical and mystical virtues in plants ; or, that such may have been the case, seems quite possible. Elaborate treatises may be noticed, were it necessary, substantiating this opinion. Such is a noble work, published in London in 1640, by John Parkinson, the king's lierbarist, — a huge folio of seventeen hundred and fifty-five pages, and with numerous well exe- cuted wood cuts. Another celebrated writer of such a work is John Gerarde, a famous herbalist of a still earlier date. He superintended a fine garden in London in Queen Eliza- beth's day, and enjoyed this post for twenty years, and, with this and other advantages, he acquired much celebrity in his knowledge of plants. A manuscript letter of Gerarde, still extant in the British Museum, recommends to his patron. Lord Burghley, the establishment of a physic garden at Cam- bridge, to encourage " the. facultie of simpling." Li 1596, and reprinted in 1599, appeared Gerarde's catalogue of his own garden at Holborn, now a very rare work, but of such JANUARY. 25 extreme accuracy that Alton acknowledges his Indebtedness to a copy of it, in the British Museum, in preparing his " Hortus Kewensis," enabling him to ascertain the time when many old plants were first cultivated. Gerarde's "Herbal, or General History of Plants," was published in 1597, in folio, by John Norton ; the wood cuts, procured from Frankfort, had been previously used for the' German Herbal of Tabernamontanus, in 1588. Dr. Thomas Johnson published a second edition, folio, London, 1633, with emendations and corrections, which continued to be one of the best sources of botanical information even to the begin- ning of the eighteenth century. I have seen, through the kindness of a friend, a still later folio edition of a similar herbal, published in 1710 by Wil- liam Salmon, M. D., London — resembling, in style of execu- tion and in details, the others just cited. These ponderous tomes bespeak our regard and reverence ; and, while indi- cating the actual history of all kindred subjects pertaining to plants at the time of their publication, yet lay iis under much obligation to them, in assisting our investigations of a more precise modern botanical character. The origin and settlement of New England are affairs of such comparatively modern times, that we can scarcely claim any right of speaking of its antiquities. The lapse of two centuries and a half does nevertheless make some things to us somewhat old-fashioned, and the fleeting tenure we hold on our earlier days in its history, renders memories of it at least interesting. Induced by these considerations, I have taken some pains to examine an early New England natural history, with a view to ascertain, if possible, in regard to its list of plants, what were in the author's mind when he com- piled his " New England's Rarities Discovered : in Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents and Plants of that Country, together with the Physical and Chirurgical Remedies, wherewith the Natives constantly use to cure Distempers, Wounds and Sores,'^ &c., &c., by John Josselyn, Gent. The copy which I used is the second edition, there being three, viz., 1672,, 1674 and 1675, small 12mos. There is a reprint of another treatise of this ingenious but credulous author, in the Collec- VOL. XXIV. — NO. I. 4 26 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTURE. tioiis of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 3 ser., HI. vol., entitled, " An Account of two Voyages to New England, wherein you have the setting out of a ship, with the charges ; the prices of all the necessaries for furnishing a Planter and his Family at his first coming ; a description of the Country, Natives and Creatures ; the Government of the Country as it is now possessed by the English^ &c., &c., &c. The Second Addition, 1675." The title page of the " Rarities," as well as of the " Voyages," is prefixed by another page bearing the device of a dragon, the printer's sign ; and many curious, and some exceedingly well executed original wood cuts of New England plants, add to the interest of the treatise. We are informed, in the prefatory chapter, that our author set out from London " in the year of our Lord 1663, May 28, and arrived at Boston the 28th July following. Having re- freshed himself here, after so tedious a voyage, by a consider- able stay in the place, he embarked and put to sea again, arriving at " Black Point, otherwise called Scarborrow, being about one hundred leagues to the eastward of Boston ; here I resided eight years, and made it my business to discover all along the natural, physical and chirurgical rarities of this new-found world." A considerable portion of the treatise under notice is occu- pied with a list and descriptions of the plants found in these researches and inquiries of his ; and this portion may be re- garded as an Herbal of New England. Much of this list is repeated in the narrative of two voyages before alluded to, elucidating some points which might be doubtful in the first. The catalogue is divided into several heads, the first of which reads thus : " Of such plants as are common ivith us in E-ng- landr Although uncertainty in identifying these plants will naturally arise, from the different application of English names as used then and as applied to species now, yet such an inquiry towards their identity may not be wholly unin- teresting. Should we be able to approximate to something like a probability, the result will not be useless, and any certainty will be of value in settling questions arising about the existence, introduction or extinction of species. No doubt in many instances American cospecies were confounded JANUARY. 27 by the writer with British species more familiar to him, the nicer and discriminating eye of the practical botanist being requisite in snch an exploration of a new country. Such as occur to me, or come from mature and careful inquiry, I shall accordingly point out. ( To he Continued.') HISTORY OF FRUIT TREES AND FRUITS.— NO. I. BY LEANDEU WETHER ELL. Introduction. History furnishes no parallel in rapidity of growth in agriculture, manufactures, commerce, national wealth and population to that of the United States. With this wonder- ful increase of wealth and people, have multiplied the desires for a higher intellectual culture, which develops taste, de- manding something beyond the mere necessaries and com- forts of life. The huts of the pioneer settlers are displaced by more comfortable dwellings, which ere long give way to elegant cottages and villas. The "nice sanded floor" is superseded by the carpet ; and the most common, and once deemed comfortable furniture, is exchanged for that which is more costly and pleasing to refined taste. Books and pictures are also procured. This spirit of taste and improvement is not confined to the house and what appertains thereto, but is manifested in the cultivation of lands and lawns. The first inhabitants had few necessities, and these were met and satisfied with but a small number of the more substantial products of field cul- ture. The desire for a better house, furniture and other means for gratifying a cultivated mind and taste, has also aroused a want for something more than the common pro^ ucts of farm culture. Hence the provision for a kitchen garden, followed by the desire for fruits and flowers, the luxuries of life, in addition to the comforts already alluded to. This brings man back toward his primitive state of happi- 28 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. ness ; for, as we read, " the Lord took the man and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it." Thus it appears, that Adam was the first gardener or horticulturist, being then assisted by her who was provided and deemed a help meet for him. Hence is it that horticulture, from the earliest history of man even until now, has been considered an honorable, healthful and delightful vocation. Of the wisest orientalist it is written, that "he made cedars for abundance as the sycamore trees that are in the vale," and wrote the history of plants and trees, even from the cedar of Libanus to the moss that covers the wall, the ancient tree- bark and castle. The Chinese, notwithstanding their numerous barbaroiis habits and customs, have ever been distinguished for their attention to agriculture and horticulture. In these arts, the spirit of emulation has been encouraged and cherished by being honorably rewarded by the government. According to Xenophon, Cyrus the Younger was in the habit of inquiring into the condition of his subjects' gar- dens,— rewarding the best gardeners, and punishing the negligent. Lysander, one of the monarch's horticultural superintendents, informed his king that many of the trees which he saw were planted by himself. The noble Lacedse- monian remarked, " that the world had reason to extol the happiness of Cyrus, whose virtue was as eminent as his for- tune, and who, in the midst of the greatest afduence, splendor and magnificence, had yet preserved a taste so pure and so comfortable to right reason." Socrates pronounced the following just encomium upon agriculture : " It is an employment the most ancient, suitable and worthy of man ; it is the common nurse of all persons in every age and condition of life ; it is the source of health, strength, plenty, riches and innumerable delights and pleas- iires, both sober and honest ; it is the mistress and school of temperance, sobriety, justice, religion, and, in short, of all virtues, both civil and military." To demonstrate the estimation in which the liberal patrons and promoters of this art were held, it is only necessary to read Plutarch, who records that Ceres and Bacchus were JANUARY. 29 deified for having given to men immortal blessings by bestow- ing on them the knowledge of raising fruits. The Roman generals, consuls and dictators added distinguished laurels to their fame in Avar, by turning up the earth in time of peace. Notwithstanding the valuable writings of Cato on agricul- tural and horticultural subjects, the senate, after the sacking of Carthage, reserved only twenty-eight volumes of the libraries of that ancient city, and these the works of Mago on husbandry, which were translated into Latin. Pompey and Vespasian bore, as monuments of triumph more valuable than brass, trees procured from the conquered nations. In their conquest of Britain, the Romans at once set them- selves about the clearing of the forests, and the introduction of the art of agriculture, introducing fruits and garden vege- tables. In this way, and through the Christian missionaries, the various species and varieties of garden fruits were thor- oughly introduced into England. During the reigns of Henry VIII. and Queen Bess, many new fruits and vegetables were introduced into their realm. The latter obtained her salads from Holland, whence, accord- ing to Fuller, green peas were also procured, " dainties for ladies, by reason of coming so far and costing so dear." In the early part of the seventeenth century, Tusser, Gerard, Bacon and others began to turn their attention to botany, agriculture and horticulture. Tusser's Five Hundred Points in Husbandry, and Gerard's folio Botany, of more than sixteen hundred pages, numerously illustrated with wood cuts, were then printed. Knowledge has been in- creasing in this department of natural history, until nearly 100,000 different species of trees and plants are known and described by botanists. The search for, and description of the different plants and trees, have greatly multiplied the variety of plants in every garden, lawn and greenhouse in and about London, Paris and our Atlantic cities and suburban towns. Every country, continent and island are laid under contril)ution to adorn the gardens and lawns, and furnish the greenhouses of the enterprising horticulturists of every civil- ized people of the globe. Thus are the grounds of the gar- 30 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUKE. deiier and farmer made to produce a great variety of both indigenous and exotic plants and trees. The idea of estahhshing a society in England for the im- provement of horticulture, originated with John Wedgewood, Esq. of Betley, in Staffordshire. A meeting was held at the house of Mr. Hatchard, the bookseller in Piccadilly, on the 7th of March, 1804. From this time to 1809 the society continued to increase, when, on the 17th of April, the royal charter was obtained. Since that period, the desire for knowledge, and the means for obtaining and diffusing it, have been greatly multiplied on both sides of the Atlantic. It has been ascertained, by the aid of the Hortus Kewensis, by. an English author, that since the discovery of America, " 2,345 species and varieties of trees have been introduced into England from the Western Continent, and more than 1,700 from the Cape of Good Hope, besides many thousands from China, the East Indies, New Holland, various parts of Africa, Asia and Europe, luitil the number of plants cultivated in Great Britain exceeds 120,000 species and varieties." Floriculture, both here and in England, has received more attention than fruit culture, notwithstanding it will be at once admitted that, in an economical point of view, the latter is greatly more valuable as a horticultural product. This con- sideration has induced the writer to prepare a series of brief articles for the Magazine on the history of fruit trees and fruits, compiled from the most authentic sources. Every anecdote, reminiscence and tradition that tend to throw light on the origin, introduction, modes of cultivation and improvement of the various fruits and flowers propagated by horticulturists, are exceedingly interesting to all, and especially so to those who love to trace the history of fruits and flowers back to their origin, noting the improvements that have been made, through the lapse of ages, in variety, quality and quantity. It is designed to treat this subject so as to blend amuse- ment and entertainment with useful, valuable and practical knowledge. It is well, occasionally, to review the past, that we may the better feel the force of the fact that we are but a link in the genealogical chain that connects us with the JANUARY. 31 first family of the human race. It will tend to give us a feeling of obligation to our progenitors, whose improYcments we so richly inherit. Such a contemplation of the past will also serve to modify that impression which, to some extent, seems to characterize the present generation, that " we are the people, and wisdom will die with us." A correct, careful and impartial examination of the history of any and every' department of knowledge and improvement, will demonstrate that many things deemed modern discoveries were well known to the ancients, whom some are disposed to regard as bar- barians. Job, and Solomon, and Cyrus, and Pliny, and Cato, and Columella, and Mago, and Fitzherbert, and Tusser, and Gerard, are names that every student in natural history loves to remember. The farmers and gardeners of the present day, not less than the general student of natural history, may learn wisdom from reading and studying the writings of those ancient savans, which will make them better husbandmen and horticulturists, and more liberal-minded citizens. If the reader, in the perusal of these articles from time to time, shall enjoy but a tithe of the pleasure which the re- searches of old and musty tomes for the material of which they are composed have given the writer, the latter will have no occasion to regret his labor, nor the publisher to covet their space occupied in the Magazine. THE LOGAN GRAPE. BY A. THOMSON, DELAWARE, OHIO. In your November number (page 519) you notice a new grape, bearing the above name, shown by Dr. C. W. Grant at the late Exhibition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. You speak in terms of commendation of the fruit, and express the opinion that " its earliness and excellence entitle it to the attention of grape growers." As cultivators are always desir- ous to know the history of every new fruit of merit that is brought to their notice, I will endeavor to give what informa- 32 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. tiou I have been able to procure in regard to the "Logan," together with the circumstances of its introduction to notice. A few years since I was making a first visit among newly- found friends in a county in this State, some distance west of ours. It being early in September, the subject of grapes very naturally came up in the course of conversation with a gentleman who, like myself, is strongly imbued with horti- cultural tastes. He expressed a decided preference for the Catawba over the Isabella, which coincided with my own views ; but he surprised me not a little by giving as one reason for his preference its ripeuing so much earlier. This^ naturally led to further inquiry, when I was still more sur- prised to hear that his early Catawba was a black grape ! Without further discussion I asked to see the vine, and a single glance was sufficient to satisfy me that it was a stran- ger, differing in many of its characteristics from anything of the grape kind that I had ever before encountered. I was much pleased with its quality — found it was generally pre- ferred to the Isabella by those familiar with both — and several amateur horticulturists of discrimination and taste, to whom I submitted specimens, expressed a similar preference. I pro- cured some cuttings, which struck quite readily, and the vines they produced were distributed among friends, and from one of them the fruit was plucked that came under your obser- vation. Of its origin it is not in my power to give any positively reliable information — different persons giving diverse state- ments as to its introduction to that locality and the source whence it came. A lady friend, on whose premises a fine vine was growing, claims that hers was the first of the kind in the neighborhood, and it the product of one of a number of cuttings received from a friend in another section of the State and planted by herself. The gentleman referred to, on the other hand, claims that it was cultivated in the vicinity long before the cutting of his neighbor was planted, and from investigations he had instituted was satisfied it was a wildling from the woods in Logan county. And hence, having failed in our efforts to fix its identity, and knowing no name to which it was properly entitled, myself and a friend and ad- JANUARY. 33 mirer of the grape concluded to call it the " Logan,''' in reference to its supposed place of origin, and also as a com- pliment to the memory of the distinguished Mingo chief of that name. Should further investigation make it appear, (what is not improbable), that it is a variety already possess- ing a name, the new cognomen will of course yield to the claims of priority. The vine is thoroughly hardy and of vigorous haljit, the wood short-jointed and compact ; the old branches being re- markably rough and ragged, and the young shoots presenting a peculiar gray appearance, which would lead one on a casual glance to suppose they were dead. It is also as distinct and marked in foliage as in wood. It is very productive, and though I have not yet fully satisfied myself from personal observation that* such is the case, I think it may be safely said that it is the earliest hardy grape of fair quality in cultivation, and that it will certainly ripen its fruit several degrees farther north than the Isabella and Catawba can be relied upon. Although I have seen some splendid clusters, of large size, very compact, cylindrical, and of the deepest jet black color, yet my opinion is that generally it produces branches of small size — such at least seems to be the case on vines poorly culti- vated, and the pruning of which was neglected — and I have been assured that attention to these points, and especially thinning of the bunches, will insure satisfactory results as to size and appearance of cluster. SPIRAL MODE OF TRAINIiNG PEAR TREES. FROM THE REVUE HOBTICOLE. For most of the varied modes of training fruit trees now generally practised we are indebted to the French. The py- ramidal, quenouille, goblet, and other forms of training pear and apple trees were first adopted by them, and many of the more fanciful shapes described by their experienced gardeners and authors have never yet been extensively practised by any VOL. XXIV. — NO. I. 5 34 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. Other nation. The quince was, we believe, first used as a stock for dwarfing the pear, and the Paradise for dwarfing tlie apple, by the French, and her intelligent cultivators have f^tudied every means of reaping the greatest results from the culture of the different fruits in the smallest space, and adapt- ed to the wants of the smallest garden. Without occupying space, however, to refer to the va- rious modes which might be successfully adopted by our fruit growers, we now embrace the opportunity to describe an ex- tirely new plan of training trees, particularly the pear and apple, which has recently been brought to notice through the columns of the " Revue Horticole," a periodical, now edited by M. Du Breuil, one of the most skilful horticulturists of the present day. As it appears to us to be well worthy of imita- tion by our own cultivators we copy the engravings which accompany the description and fully explain this novel and valuable system of training, especially adapted to small gar- dens, where it is desirable to cultivate several of the best pears, and of those sorts which do not bear, ordinarily, only on old and established trees, and which usually occupy so much space that but a few of them could be admitted in many gardens. The advantages which accompany the " spiral" mode of training, as it is called, will be apparent to all who are the least acquainted with the habits of the pear ; as the tree is here placed under the immediate control of the cultivator, and with but a moderate amount of skill he is enabled to prune with successful results, as the check given to the sap, by the depression of the stem at an angle of twenty-five de- grees, and its spiral direction, diminishes the vigor of the young wood, and tends to the formation of fruit buds ; while the convenience which it offers to secure the larger pears from danger from high winds is an additional argument in its favor. We regard this new mode of training as in the highest de- gree advantageous and ornamental. No greater objects of beauty could be introduced into small gardens, than these cylinders, situated at prominent points, covered with foliage and fruit. — Ed. 35 1. SPIRAL MODE OF TRAINING THE PEAR TREK. 36 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. We have described in another place, in 1854, under the name of " cordon-spirale," a new form of training fruit trees, and we noticed the commencement of the experiment, in June of the same year, at the establishment of one of our most distinguished horticulturists, M. Loisel, nurseryman, Ecuilly, near Lyons. Having been struck with some of the advantages that this arrangement presented, we were desir- ous of trying it in the beginning of the season of 1855. It was then that we noticed some grave imperfections which we hoped to modify, giving, however, full credit to M. Loisel for having first conceived the idea of the plan. The follow- ing is therefore the manner in which we designed to apply the spiral form : — Make a cylinder of 60 centimetres (about 2 feet) in diameter, and 3 metres, (about 10 feet) or at least 2^ metres (about 8 feet) in height, by means of stout stakes, (figs. 1 andS^' A A); these should be fixed firmly in the soil, and kept in the cylindrical form by the aid of three circular hoops (BB), or, perhaps, at less expense, light iron rods might be substituted for wood. Around this cylinder should be planted three vigorous pear trees, (C C C) one year old, setting them 2. plan or the spiral form. equidistant from each other around the circumference ; place the roots of the trees in an inclined position, so that the stems may lay at an angle of 25°. Then prune off one third of their length, and coil the remainder around the cylinder, attaching them by a flexible stick, fitted beforehand upon the upright rods, always following the same inclination that has just been indicated. Practise during the following summer the operation of cutting or pinching off the lateral branches, in order to transfer them into fruit spurs, and favor as much as possible the development of the terminal shoots. At the time of the winter pruning tie in the terminal branches, following the same degree of inclination as pre- viously, and leave them their entire length. Their inclina- JANUARY. 37 tion upon an angle of 25° is sufficient to cause the movement of all the buds, even to tkeir base. Continue to apply, dur- ing summer, the necessary care to transform the lateral branches into fruit spurs, and to divert also all the action of the sap towards the extremity. These operations should be repeated every year, causing the stem to advance one spiral annually, by which means, in the space of six or seven years, the cylinder is covered with wood to the summit, which is supposed to be about ten feet high. Each stem, therefore, will be seven metres in length, (about 22 feet) and at inter- vals of thirty centimetres (about 1 foot) between each stem. All the varieties of pears which ripen their fruits with cer- tainty in the open air can be trained in this form. In the selection of trees choose those grafted upon the quince or upon the pear, as for other modes of training, according to the vigor of the trees or the greater or less fertility of the soil. Apple trees upon the Doucin stock conform to this mode of training, and even some seedlings may be trained in the spiral form with success. The form of the " cordon-spirale" offers numerous advan- tages. The management and pruning of the trees are the most simple. There are not those difficulties to overcome which are encountered so often, and which consist in maintain- ing an equilibrium between the vegetation of all the branches. In fact, each stem produces only fruit spurs. All the prod- ucts of the annual growth are utilized, while with other forms it is necessary to suppress or cut off at the winter pruning one third of the new wood in order to cause the formation of fruit buds. The fruits are perfectly exposed to the light and, air, and are not liable to be shaken by high winds as with other trees. In very small gardens trees can be trained in the pyramidal form; but this occupies too much space, and only a small number of pears could be cultivated. It is therefore nec- essary to resort to the columnar form. But this mode presents many inconveniences in rich and fertile soils ; that is, the ac- tion of the sap, restrained in shoots of an insufficient length, develops each year a great number of vigorous shoots the whole length of the tree, and prevents the formation of fruit buds. The spiral mode presents the same advantages as the colum- VOL. XXIV. — NO. I. 6 38 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. nar form, in this regard, from the small space "^hich it occu- pies, since the cylinders can be placed about four feet from each other, and from the length that each stem may be allowed to acquire, even in the best soils, the sap does not act too strongly upon the development of the branches, which are soon transformed into fruit spurs. It thus appears from these various considerations that this new form could be employed everywhere with advantage, and that it will replace very profitably the columnar style in small gardens, where the latter gives too vigorous a vegetation. STEPHANOTUS FLORIBUNDUS. BY M. A. This very beautiful and easily cultivated stove or warm greenhouse climber is universally esteemed, and fills a prom- inent place in every collection of plants. Its fine wavy white trusses of flowers are as indispensable as the Orange blossom for the bouquet, which hails the commencement of a new era in the lives of those who exchange ratifications at Hymen's altar. Much of its extrinsic value is derived from this cause, and it always commands a high price in the markets of Paris and London. Its intrinsic merits are so great that it ought to command the special attention of the cultivator, but it either does not, or its culture is greatly misunderstood. The latter I believe is the case, as we see plants everywhere. But a good specimen is a " rara avis in teiris." It is only within the last few years that we have been accustomed to see " well done" plants at the great London gatherings. Even now the eternal globe and balloon shaped trellises are the rule, (and what I above hinted, the exception,) and remind one more of a crow's nest, with its weak wiry shoots twisted and dis- torted in every direction, and a few puny trusses of flowers peeping out. Having been considered very successful, I here offer an outline of the treatment practised. Suppose we take a plant, such as are usually sold by nurserymen for 75 cts. to $1.50. About the middle of January or beginning of February, cut JANUARY. 39 it back to where the wood is of a nice russet color, i. e. ripe, but not hard or brown ; choose a sound, clean 13-inch pot, and over the bottom place 1 J inches of clean broken potsherds and a little moss as a subdrainage, thus forming a clear division between soil and drainage, a very important point to be observed in all plant culture. For soil choose two equal parts of good turfy peat and loam and a third of sand and leaf mould, adding a few bits of small charcoal, potsherds, or crushed bones, to keep the soil porous and healthy. Mix well together and pot firmly. If at command plunge in bot- tom-heat, but give no water until the season is more ad- vanced, and the plant has made some progress ; good ordi- nary stove treatment, such as a moist atmosphere, created by a free application 'of the syringe, especially of bright after- noons, with a temperature of about 70° by day, and 55 to 60 degrees by night, (as the season advances, the tempera- ture will of course increase also, bearing in mind that heat and moisture, with partial shade from the full glare of the sun, is absolutely necessary for 19-20ths of all tropical plants,) will soon induce it to push vigorous shoots, which should be encouraged until the plant is fairly started, when all should be rubbed off but the strongest one, which should be tied to a neat upright stake, and led on to a horizontal wire fastened to the roof, and from 6 to 9 inches from the glass. All side shoots should be removed as they appear, and everything done to encourage a rapid growth, in one shoot only. Towards autumn gradually withhold water until the plant has become dormant, when it should be taken from the roof, and cut back to where the wood is quite ripe, and coiled around a few stakes which form a temporary trellis, placing it in any situation where the thermometer does not sink be- low 45°, nor rise above 60°, bearing in mind to keep it as dry as possible, without shrivelling, rest being the object. About the latter part of January or beginning of February, turn it out of its pot, remove as much of the soil as possible, without injury to the plant, and prepare a similar compost as before, using' the same size pot, or a larger. (I always flower it in a 15-inch.) Then form a neat proportionate barrel- shaped trellis. 40 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. I may mention for this purpose I use deal stakes, and three hoops made of i inch round iron rods, the largest being for the centre ; in a word, to form a neat barrel-shape, then spi- rally coil the plant around the trellis, 5 to 6 inches apart, until the top is reached ; if any wood remains, cut it off. Pursue the ordinary stove treatment, and in due time it will break from the axil of each leaf; as these laterals proceed,, let them take the direction of the parent stem, thus assigning to each its proper place, and finally you will have a neat, well- bloomed handsome object of horticultural skill. If placed in a cool, shady situation it will much prolong the period of blooming, after which all wood should be well ripened, grad- ually dried off, cutting back all laterals to one or two eyes. Pursue the same course of winter treatment, repotting, &c., &c., and a like result will follow. After which its next shift will be to the rubbish heap — not forgetting, however, to bring on young plants to fill their " vacant places." I may here mention that I have seen a few instances where the Stephanotus has been well managed as a permanent climber for the stove, giving annually abundance of bloom. This may meet the eye of some who remember one that occu- pied the entire roof of a small span house in the nursery of the late Mr. Knight, now Mr. Veitch, of the King's Road, Chelsea, near London ; the beds being usually filled with young azaleas during its period of growth and flowering, the partial shade and moist atmosphere being mutually agree- able, wintering such plants as judgment or requirements dic- tated. We present the above article to our readers with great pleasure, and trust it may only be the first of a series upon the cultivation of some of our finest plants, which are sadly treated in many collections. The Stephanotus is, in truth, one of the most beautiful stove or warm greenhouse plants, and the only reason it is not oftener seen is the want of a knowledge of its proper management. By following the ad- vice of our correspondent it may be had in highest perfection ; the essentials to success being, as he states, a vigorous sum- mer growth, thorough ripening the wood, and proper rest. We hope we may see it in better condition hereafter. — Ed. JANUAEY. .41 Passitrljusctts |)orttc«[tuntI Bm\^. . Saturday, Nov. 6. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. The Executive Committee reported that they had appropriated the same amount as last year for premiums for 1858, with the addition of fifty dollars'" to the Garden Committee, which was accepted. The following members were elected: — E. C. Cabot and J. W. Busch, Brookline ; Edmund Bailey, Beverly ; H. S, Mansfield, Blackstone ; Anthony Apple, Cambridge ; W. P. Baker and N. H. White, Quincy ; I. Lombard, Jr., West Newton ; E. C. Daniel, Dedham ; O. Bennett, Framingham ; J. P. Converse, S. A. Merrill, and J. H. Chad wick. Adjourned one month. Dec. 5th. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the chair. The Garden and Flower Committees submitted their Annual Reports, which were accepted. The Committee for establishing Premiums were instructed to consider the expediency of holding monthly and of dispensing with the weekly ex- hibitions. Adjourned two weeks. Dec. I2th. — An adjourned meeting of the Society was held to-day, — the President in the Chair. The Report of the Vegetable Committee was accepted. The President, Treasurer, and Chairman of the Finance Committee, were appointed a Committee to settle with Mt. Auburn Cemetery. S. Walker, C. M. Hovey, and Capt. Austin, were appointed a Committee to nominate a Committee of Arrangements for the next Annual Exhibition. Adjourned one week. The Reports of the Committees awarding Premiums being of consider- able length, we are only enabled to give that of the Garden Committee in this number. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GARDENS, AWARDING PREMIUMS DURING THE TEAR. On Tuesday, January Gth, the Committee visited the grapery of Mr. M* H. Simpson, in Saxonville. The weather was clear and cold, the thermom- eter standing at zero out of doors, and the change from the freezing atmos- phere without to the genial warmth of the greenhouse could not fail to be agreeable, while the beauty and novelty of seeing at such an inclement season the clusters of ripe grapes hanging overhead, could scarcely fail to produce the most pleasing impressions. The grapery of Mr. Simpson was built in 1848 ; the house is span-roofed, 66 feet in length, Avith a border inside and out ; it is divided by a glass partition into two equal parts, each house containing twenty -two vines, thus enabling Mr. Simpson to bring the vines into bearing at diflferent seasons. The vines grown were Syrian, Hamburghs, Muscats, Black Prince, Zin- findal, Frontignans and Macready's Early, and in vigor and luxuriant 42 THE MAGAZINE OP HOETICULTURE. growth could not well be surpassed. The theory of Mr. Simpson is too well known to need comment, and in the opinion of the Committee ihe ex- periment he has so fully tried has been crowned with the most satisfactory results and complete success. The time required to fully ripen grapes averages from four and a half to five months ; and thus, leaving a month for the full ripening of the wood, a crop might be matured once in every six months. Mr. Simpson's practice, however, is to allow the vine to grow naturally without forcing every other year, thus preventing any exhaustion which might ensue from continued forcing. The vines now (Jan. 6th, 1857) bearing the ripe crop were started on the fifteenth day of August, 1856 ; the berries began to color on the twenty- fifth t colors afford a most pleasing variety. Among comparatively new plants we remarked Eschscholtzia gracilis. Delphinium cardinale, Lobelias St. Clair, Victoria, rosea and fulgens. We were also shown a thrifty young specimen of the Cut-leaved birch, and many small weeping trees which promise well. But it is in phloxes that at this season Mr. Breck takes the 50 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. greatest pride, a flower to whose popularity he has added much by the dissemination of seedlings of his own production and by the importation of choice varieties. Though somewhat injured by the sun many of the varie- ties were in fine bloom and made a pleasing show. A seedling Tropssolum is also well worthy of notice, evidently a hybrid between Lilly Smith and pulcherrinum, and a decided improvement. After partaking of the hospitality of Mr. Breck we proceeded to the nur- sery of W. C. Strong, in Newton, where we were much gratified by the neatness and order which universally prevailed. Of about ninety acres Mr. Strong has embraced over forty in a nursery, where we found every variety of hardy shrubs and trees both evergreen and deciduous Particularly beautiful were the long lines of deciduous cypress, the light feathery foliage forming, as it were, a fringe upon a dark mantle of Norway spruce. Among more tender plants we noticed Clerodendron Fortunii, some new passifloras and a few choice acacias. Several large frames contained many thousands of the new Rebecca grape in healthy vigorous growth. A ride of a couple of miles brought us to the estate of Josiah Stickney, Esq., in Watertown, where a ramble through his pear orchard Avell repaid us for our visit. The house is situated on a hill overlooking Charles River, which at this point is particularly beautiful. The land behind the house descends in gentle terraces to the river's bank, each terrace planted with choice trees. We found the pear trees in good health, and in spite of the unfavorable season many bore good crops of fine fruit ; one tree of Bartlett was particu- larly noticeable for the number and size of its specimens. The lawn in front of the house is a pleasing feature, closely clipped, and shaded by noble trees. The lateness of the hour somewhat abbreviated our call in Watertown, so reluctantly we turned towards home ; on our way, however, we stopped at the Public Garden in Boston, now under the care of the Messrs. Bowditch. We found all in accordance with good taste, and in perfect order, and the garden bids fair to be not only a credit to the Messrs. Bowditch but an ornament to the city, and one of which it may well be proud. On Tuesday, September 15th, the Committee visited the garden of James Nugent, near the Jamaica Plain Railroad Station in Roxbury. Though of small extent, much was to be seen worthy of attention. In the fruit de- partment fine specimens of the Dorchester blackberry were noticeable; the berries being larger and the plants more thrifty than any the Committee had seen elsewhere. The greenhouses were empty, most of the plants being in the flower garden, which was in full beauty ; dahlias and asters were showing a pro- fusion of fine blooms ; some fine thrifty plants of erica caflfra rubra, pre- sented a fine appearance ; and a rose pit, filled with the choicest varieties, promises well for winter flowers. A short ride brought us to the nurseries of the Chairman of the Commit- tee, Hon. Samuel Walker, which we found in fine condition, and showing vigorous growth. In one lot we noticed about 15,000 pear stocks, and JANUARY. 51 5000 choice pear trees, all planted this spring, late in the season, under iintavorable circumstances, but all had been overcome by care and atten- tion. In another nursery we saw about 5000 pear trees of the clioicest varieties, many showing a growth of from six or seven feet from the bud. Around the house we noticed some fine seedling phlox, and a large speci- men of the deciduous cypress. Want of time prevented the Committee from visiting six other fine nurseries. The lot of land containing 15,000 pear stocks had been underdrained ; and as the Committee have not space here to speak of the advantages of this system, they hope in the future to have the pleasure of receiving a detailed account of its benefits, in a com- munication from the Chairman, who has thoroughly tested it. By invitation of the Chairman of tlie Committee we next rode to the gar- den of Ariel Low, to view a fine crop of pears. The trees were mostly small, having only been planted out about four or five years, but all were in full fruit ; the Belle Lucrative were the largest and finest the Committee had seen; the Louise Bonne de Jersey exhibited a very high color; the size of the Flemish Beauty was remarkable ; Dunmore, Glout Morceau, Duchesse d'Angouleme, Doyenne Blanc, Beurre Diel, Beurre Superfin and Bartlett, all presented marks of characteristic excellence. And the Com- mittee, well pleased, cannot but pronounce this the most perfect fruit gar- den on a small scale that they have ever visited ; and although their visit was informal, would recommend a gratuity to Mr. Low for his successful culture. The Committee would award the following prizes and gratuities : — For the best cultivated and most neatly kept Grounds through the season, to H. H. Hunnewell, a prize of . . . $20 00 For the same, to William Whiting, a gratuity of . .10 00 For the most economically managed, best cultivated, and most neatly kept Fruit Garden, through the season, to John Gordon, a prize of . . . . . . 20 00 For the same, to Ariel Low, a gratuity of . . . 10 00 For the most economically managed, best cultivated, and most neatly kept Flower Garden, through the season, to C. S. Holbrook, a prize of . . . . . 20 00 For the same, to William Wales, a gratuity of . .10 00 For a well managed Cemetery, in its keeping in accordance with the true principles of beauty and art, to Woodlawn Ceme- tery, a prize of . . . . . . 20 00 To M. H. Simpson, for a novel and well conducted experiment in the culture of the Grape, a gratuity of . . . 20 00 To F. L. Harris, gardener to H. H. Hunnewell, for Floral Garden- ing, the Society's silver madal. To E. P. Hollis, for a well conducted Vegetable Garden, the So- ciety's silver medal. For the Garden Committee, Edward S. Rand, Jr., Secretary. Boston, Abr. ^8th, 1857. 62 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. portinilluvHl ©ptniiioits FOR JANUARY. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. Grape Vines in the early houses will be fully ripe during this and the early part of next month, and will now need very little attention other than to keep the house dry, and at a moderate temperature, so as to pre- serve the grapes as long as possible. Prune away all superfluous laterals, and air freely in good weather. Vines in greenhouses will begin to break towards the close of the month ; as soon as this is perceived they should be kept well syringed. Peach Trees in pots, now brought into the house, will ripen their fruit in June. If they need larger tubs shift them at once. Scions of fruit trees may be cut this month, and packed away in moss or earth in a cool cellar. Cuttings of hardt Grapes made now and buried in the earth in a cool cellar will root more readily in the spring. Seeds of Strawberries may be now sown in pots. flower department. With the returning sun, and longer days, plants of all kinds soon give evidence of a more active vegetation, and assume a gayer aspect. By the latter part of the montli many of the more prominent will be in bloom. In choice collections the cinerarias, Chinese primroses, monthly carnations, azaleas, and camellias should display an abundance of flowers. With the beginning of the year there will also be an abundance of work, many plants will need repotting, cuttings should be put in, and seeds of various kinds sown preparatory to spring. None of these operations should be neglected, or an accumulation of labor later in the season will prevent the accomplishment of much that should be done to forward the summer work. Camellias will now be in full bloom, and should have liberal supplies of water, and free syringing in good weather. Such as need it should be top- dressed. Azaleas will begin to push their flower buds, and the plants will now require more water. Cinerarias growing vigorously, and in- tended for fine specimens, should be repotted at once. Fumigate if the green fly appears, or they will soon spoil the plants. Pelargoniums will require additional care now ; tie out the shoots carefully as they advance, keep the soil rather dry, and air freely to get a stocky habit. Repot all that require it. Calceolarias will need a shift into larger pots, as the plants should be kept growing as vigorously as possible, or a good head of bloom cannot be obtained. Monthly Carnations will now be coming into full bloom ; repot the larger and stronger plants, as they require it, and tie up the shoots to neat stakes. Cuttings may be put in for a summer stock. AcHiMENEs AND Gloxinias should HOW be shaken out of the old pots, put into fresh soil and placed in the warmest part of the house. Hot Beds should be set at work the last of this month, ready for use early in February. THE EMBELLISHMENTS OF HOME. " Evert man's proper mansion, house and home," says Lord Bacon, " being the theatre of his hospitality, the seate of his selfe-fruition, the comfortablest part of his own life, the noblest of his Sonne's inheritance, a kind of private prince- dom ; nay, to the possessors thereof, an epitome of the whole world, may well deserve, by these attributes, according to the degree of the master, to be decently and delightfully adorned." Certainly no more interesting or important subject can engage the attention of every lover of rural advancement than the embellishment of our homes. To increase and heighten the enjoyments which cluster around them, and to improve every means which shall endear them more intensely to us, is an object which all will encourage, and in which none can fail to have a deep interest. The progress of every people must be in proportion to their cultivation of a refined taste, an appre- ciation of the beautiful, and a love for the pleasures, the pur- suits and graces of the family home. Notwithstanding the many and abundant proofs of rural improvement in this country, it cannot be denied that far too little attention is directed to the embellishment of our homes. It is something which is thought beyond the reach of a large class of our country or town residents ; that it naturally be- longs alone to the men of wealth and taste ; as if taste and wealth went hand in hand, and were inseparable. No more common reply is made to every question in reference to rural adornment than that of the want of means ! But this is not so. It is a very great error. That wealth may, and often does, create homes of taste, is fortunately true, but that with- out it they cannot be adorned is the great mistake. The palatial residence, surrounded with its parks and pleasure grounds, may be an object of our highest admiration : every- thing may be arranged in perfect taste ; for without this it would cease to attract the attention of the many, though it might of the few. But in no less a degree is the humblest VOL. XXIV. — NO. II. 8 54 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. cottage or more pretending villa an object of equal admira- tion, when arranged with the same regard to fitness and ex- pression. Abundant means are not always accompanied with that sensibility to the beautiful which alone can result in the production of examples of true taste. There are but few who cannot recall some well-known scene, where the humble dwell- ing, overhung by some giant elm, relieved by some sturdy oak, overrun by the clustering woodbine, and surrounded with its circumscribed but verdant dooryard, ornamented with some common flower, that has made a deeper impression upon their memory than the proudest mansion standing on some " corner lot," or the most expensive villa, with its half acre of lawn and pleasure ground and garden. But such objects of beauty are not by any means common ; they are fast giving way to the less tasteful town-houses and over-ornamented cottages, neither enriched with tree or shrub, nor planted with flowers or vines, cold, unmeaning, unsat- ifying, as if devoid of all the comforts and pleasures which arise from country life, and render it so attractive as to be- come a leading object at some period of our lives. With the rapid increase of suburban dwellings these meet us in every direction, and especially where we should least expect them — in the country — not confined to the resident who escapes from the city to avoid its din and bustle, and breathe a freer and purer air, but among our farmers, whose utilitarian views and tasteless desires cause them to reject all adornment as toyish or unnecessary, consuming expense, valu- able time, and returning no income, as if their lives were to be one ceaseless round of labor, crushing out the latent desire implanted in every man for the enjoyment of nature and the love of the beautiful in all its varying forms. Alas ! it is not to be wondered that these homes present so little attrac- tion, that the first effort of the young man should be to escape from such servitude to scenes which allure by their beauty — where cultivated taste has erected houses in accordance with his innate nature — and enter some profession in which he may attain that competency, which will enable him to gratify the yearnings of his younger days, and enjoy " nature in her cultivated trim, Dressed to his taste." FEBRUARY. 55 But these thoughts have ah-eadj carried us beyond our limits. They have been suggested by the perusal of the ex- cellent address of Dr. E. G. Kelley of Newburyport, iDefore the Essex Agricultural Society, at that place, in October last. We have been so much pleased to see the subject treat- ed in so able a manner that we embrace an early opportunity to lay an extract or two before our readers, assured that they will be gratified at our doing so. We can hardly do justice to Dr. Kelley's address in such a brief notice, as the wliole is so woven together that a selection is a difficult task. After picturing th© delights of home and its most cherished adorn- ment, the wife and mother — with sound advice to our young men and women — he speaks of some of the embellishments of the farmer's house : — * " Different tastes and localities will of course so modify all decorative arrangements, that no rules would be generally or specially applicable, even were we capable of giving them. We shall only attempt therefore to throw out a few hints, aware that details are tedious to the listener. Paint upon wood is acknowledged to be economical on planed surfaces, and this should be extended even to barns and out-buildings, par- ticularly when newly built. Planing and preparation of cheap paints by machinery, render these desirable merely for durability. Fences, particularly near the buildings, whether plain or ornamental, add so materially to the neatness and thrifty appearance of a place, when Colored with some of the cheap pigments, or even whitewashed, that we wonder they are so often neglected. " This feature of paint, when thus applied, adds much more to the market value of a place than the cost of applying. We once knew a small farm, thus brushed up at a cost of less than fifty dollars, to sell for many hundreds more than its estimated value ; and the neighbors, rather than do likewise, made themselves merry at the whitewashing, as they termed it, of the retired tradesman, the purchaser. " There is much latitude for the display of taste in the selec- tion of colors and their adaptation to surrounding objects and scenery. The change from the general use of white, particu- larly in the suburbs of some cities — so severely criticised by Dickens when in this country — to separate and mixed colors, 56 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. is certainly an improvement to the landscape, if not in all in- stances. Any color, however, even sombre red, would be pref- erable on farm houses to no color at all, which we once saw recommended, for if such advice was followed we should expect to see all painted black ! This would indeed be appropriate on the tops of chimneys, where the remaining part and the house itself are white — the contrast and finish then being perfect — so far as paint is concerned. " We take this occasion to say, in this connection, that no small matter, in the construction of a house, adds more to its embellishment than an ornamental chimney. Why should such elaborate finish and enormous expense be lavished on the spire of a church, whose apparent use is only to support a vane, while the spire of the dwelling-house, which serves many important purposes, is simply a pile of bricks. As soon should one think of walking the streets without a hat, as to build a house with a plain chimney — the economy would then be con- sistent, though not in accordance with present custom. " The architecture of dwelling-houses will be left to the means and disposition of the proprietor. The money expended on these will seldom be realized again by sale. But it would be cheaper to build a well proportioned house according to approved and established styles, than the plain awkward things so common ; and it is certainly more appropriate and agreeable, to see a beautiful and tasteful house in the country, surround- ed as it is or ought to be, with much that is pleasing and or- namental in nature, than amid the streets and wharves of a city, where each one builds higher and more elaborate from feelings of I'ivalry, according to his rapidly accumulated wealth, and for present gratification with fitful fashion. But not so with him of rural habits — higher, nobler and more enduring motives actuate him. A comfortable, inexpensive, permanent abode is his ; where reasonable and rational enjoy- ments abound to himself, his family and friends." Of the improvement of land and the planting of trees he thus speaks: — " The agriculturist, being an ample owner of land, has the power of excelling all others in the cultivation of trees of all kinds ; fruit, forest and ornamental — the most rapid means in changing the aspect of grounds destitute of all scenic beauty, FEBRUARY. 57 to the most effective in the line of embellishment. He may smile at the use of the word cultivation, in connection with forest trees, but the period has arrived in their history when art must come to their aid. He has swept the primeval forests from the face of the country with a wasteful hand, not sparing even enough to propagate the species by the curious construc- tion of their episperms, to be disseminated and grow spon- taneously. Would he again have the nakedness of the land clothed with verdure, profitable in itself, and serviceable in protecting other things, he must go about it deliberately, as he would the raising of any other crop. This has long been attended to in other countries with satisfactory remuneration for a series of years, besides being highly ornamental. " Acres on acres may be seen with us in all directions — not however on every farm — almost barren wastes, producing neither grass nor valuable trees, but crowded so thickly with obnoxious shrubbery, that the former cannot obtain a footing. These lands are not only excessively embellished through the neglect of the owner, Init in the products, he does not graduate the supply to the demand — the locality is particularly unfortu- nate. Even his whortleberries are in such abundance as not to be very lucrative ! If the oleaginous bayberries were in the vicinity of Paris, their cultivation would pay — were the juni- per berries in Amsterdam, Holland gin would fall — the low juniper hugs the ground with a tenacity worthy of a better husbandman, — the lambkill finds not even a stray sheep to deprive of her young, — and the azaleas and rhodoras flourish and flower, their beauties unseen and unsung ! " Now while there is scarcely a shrub from these desolate regions that we have not transplanted to our own humble grounds and nurse as if rarities, (and we might add that when we have asked this privilege of the owners, they have looked upon us as just from Somerville, or a fit subject to go there,) a more impoverishing growth does not exist on any soil, or which the farmer would more gladly exterminate, however much the abstract admirer of accidental and neglected nature may value them for their peculiar beauties. " Contrast this state of things with the same territory covered with a growth of timber trees, highly valuable as such, clothed 58 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. with one mass of dense foliage, absorbing nutriment from the atmosphere, which they purify — giving out moisture when most needed, beautiful at all times, brilliant beyond comparison with any other scenic feature of the landscape, when they mature and fall to the ground, themselves the pabulum for successive growths, constantly enriching the soil, unattended with the expense of other fertilizers. " Were the wood cut off every 30 years for fuel or other purposes and its quantum of ashes returned to the surface, we doubt not the average net income, considering the labor bestowed and the increased fertility of the soil, would be great- er than by any other mode of husbandry, on the same quality of land. But in addition to all these considerations of beauty and utility, and the increased market value of acre for acre, — the protection of these woods to surrounding jfields, — their actual modification of local climate, which is a well estab- lished fact, — all of which are well worthy the attention of the landholder; it is their association with home, their connection with the family, which gives them their chief value. " The boy, who in his childhood and youth roamed at wiM in these wild forests, sounded his shrill clarion voice to its utmost pitch, and, while he listened to its echo, felt the very pulsations of health at this distension of his chest and lungs, — charmed at every variety around him, — inspired by the sweet music of the songsters — think you not ? will have such indel- ible impressions made on his young heart by these enchant- ments of home, never to be effaced by time or absence, but cherished, equalled only by the liallowed influences of the mother." " Where not impracticable, locally, every owner of land enough to warrant it, should devote an acre, more or less, near his dwelling, to ornamental purposes. If he will keep this in grass, and cut it several times during the summer, he will realize more from it in the aggregate than an average crop, preserve its lawn character and adapt it to the wants of his children, as a play ground, at all seasons. This reserved plat should be decorated with the most pleasing varieties of trees for their foliage, flowers, fragrance and ornamental fruits, when such can be conveniently obtained — otherwise the best the neighboring country and nurseries afford." FEBRUARY. 59 We close with his happy description of the city and subur- ban homes : — " Quito as happy are they who have only their city resi- dences, which they make as gardencsque as possible. Their few feet or rods of land are filled with flowers and climbers, and perchance one tree is abreast in the street, upon which the children may look and occasionally see a stray bird. The adults have the privilege of travelling, which is done merely to gratify curiosity — to see and enjoy the homes of otliers — or to while away time, sojourning in quarters more limited than their own ; and they return more frequently jaded by fatigue and deprivation than improved in health ; the mother disappointed in match-making, and the father peevish at the loss of his ready cash. The lamented Conder thus truly exclaims : — ' That is not home where, clay by day, One wears the busy hours away — There is no home in halls of pride, They are too high, and cold, and wide — There are who strangely love to roam, And make the trav'ler's house their home.' " The extensive class who are to realize practically the heau ideal of home are the retired merchants, mechanics and pro- fessional men ; or who may be still engaged in their regular callings, whatever they may be, with their families perma- nently at their more or less distant homes, to which they themselves retire after their regular duties are ended for the day. Or, which is more desirable still, who have their places of business and family homes connected, where their leisure moments will be pleasantly occupied. If they journey, it results only in a better appreciation of their own homes, — while not the least of their enjoyments abroad are in com- paring the embellishments of others with their own, to subse- quently add thereto the improvements thus suggested. They are not unmindful of whatever is worthy of regard in fashion- able life, but not being dependent on this ostentatious routine for their amusements, it only excites their regret that more real pleasures should not be included." 60 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. HOME ARCHITECTURE.— No. I. BY WILSON FLAGQ. " The grandeur of Thebes was a vulgar grandeur. More sensible is a rod of stone wall, that bounds an honest man's field, than a hundred-gated Thebes that has wandered further from the true end of life." — Henry D. Thoreau. In the following papers I intend to discuss the general prin- ciples of architectnre, as applied to dwelling-houses in the country. I shall treat, in the first place, of outside appear- ances ; of houses as objects in the landscape, — both as they affect the minds of disinterested spectators, and as they reflect their own peculiarities upon the character of their occupants. My remarks will be based on the belief that the style of our dwelling-houses exerts an important influence on our feelings and conduct ; that a simple style of architecture and of the grounds about one's house, is conducive to simplicity of man- ners, and that a " fine house" promotes a taste for fashion and an ambitious style of living. I shall endeavor to explain those qualities that constitute the true beauty of a dwelling- house, and to point out those defects in our home-architecture, which are inseparably connected with a vicious taste and lux- urious habits of life. It is frequently asserted that the Americans have no na- tional architecture. It is true we have no ancient temples, castles and palaces, because our people from the first settle- ment of the country have been free : no despotism has forced from the labor of the masses any such stupendous monuments of their slavery. But we once had a simple and pleasing style of domestic architecture, deficient in many points of convenience, but homely and unpretending, and beautiful in the absence of all pretence and affectation. Some years since a general attempt was made to revolutionize this style, not so much by improving the valuable points which it possessed, as by changing our simple and homely houses into " artistic" and " beautiful" houses. Since that period a new style of home architecture has been established, and one that may be distinguished from that of all other people. It is remarkable, in particular, for being a copy of pictures laid down in mod- FEBRUARY. 61 ern books on villas and cottages. Our houses are advertise- ments of fashion, and are as far from the model of a true dwelling-house, as the belles and dandies, figured on the cards which are set up at the windows of tailors' and milliners' shops, are from the likeness of a true man or woman. They are " picturesque :" — that is, they exhibit a great variety of external parts and intricate outlines and angles. They are " artistic :" — in other words, they abound in certain superflu- ous appendages and decorations that suggest some classical idea or image. They are " beautiful :" — which means that there is a brilliancy and foppishness about them that imme- diately attracts the vulgar gaze. Our national architecture is like our national literature. The one is shallow and flip- pant, the other is showy and mean. It likewise resembles the habits of the people, who live for ambition and not for comfort. In fine, our houses are " follies ;" and our national architecture is not Grecian, nor Gothic, nor Roman, nor Ital- ian, nor English : it is the gazabo style of architecture. When a house is designed for utility and convenience, and its outside appearance indicates or suggests its adaptedness to these ends, though it has not a single embellishment, it never fails to afford pleasure to the spectator. If you add to such a house any ornamentation, which is sufficiently removed from simplicity to divert attention from the house to its orna- ments, it detract? from the pleasure with which we previously regarded it. In other words, if one of these homely and un- adorned houses, that bears on its face the evidences of com- fort, is made " beautiful," it loses its former attractions. The house is no longer a thing to be loved. "We cease to look upon it with complacency and affection. It has become changed to something that merely pleases the eye, but awakens no de- lightful emotions in the soul. A spectator is displeased with every appendage or appurte- nance to a dwelling-house, that is manifestly needless, either to increase or to make apparent its advantages to the occu- pants. Hence the most pleasing diueUing-honses are homely. Homeliness in them is more attractive than beauty : or rather, it is indeed their most attractive beauty, consisting in the expression of adaptedness to the wants of a hiiman family, VOL. XXIV. — NO. II. 9 62 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. and distinguished from that vulgar beauty which is seen in an ornate dwelling-house. Let any one make a careful anal- ysis of his own feelings and of the honest sentiments expressed by others, and he will find that this remark, which seems par- adoxical at first, conveys a truth that is indirectly and per- haps unconsciously acknowledged hy all. Their acknowledg- ment of it is evinced in the efforts commonly used to conceal glitter in the appearance of a house ; in the general dislike of bright colored paints for the outside ; in the example even of those who build fine houses, when they vainly endeavor to add a charm to their soulless edifice by putting up a rustic fence around their enclosures, or a rude summer-house in their garden. There is in all men a natural fondness for simplicity ; and while their vanity or their ambition leads them to build an ornate dwelling-house, all the poetry and the benevolence within their souls causes them to love a homely house, with a pious yearning and affection. There are two qualities in home architecture which are antagonistic : these are effort and repose. The latter is pleas- ing and excites tranquillizing and complacent emotions ; the former is irritating and excites displeasure. Effort may be manifested in a variety of ways. A house that is narrow and high displays it, by suggesting the idea of insecurity : it does not seem to stand firmly ; and though in fact very comforta- ble and secure, it cannot be associated with ease and security in the mind of the spectator. When we look at superfluous embellishments, we observe an effort to reach at something to gratify the vanity. In a house thus adorned we cannot per- ceive repose, because it suggests the idea of the restlessness of ambition. If the style and the embellishments are of a costly description, they manifest an extraordinary expense ; and the idea of living in such a house is associated with the effort we should be obliged to use in maintaining it. Hence all such houses lack repose, and spoil the effect of any in- teresting landscape, of which they happen to form a conspicu- ous object. It is on account of the influence of these ideas upon the mind, that a homely dwelling pleases the majority of observ- ers more than a beautiful dwelling ; homely grounds and rude FEBRUARY. 63 landscapes more than dressed grounds and artificial land- scapes. Hence, likewise, plain manners, other circumstances being equal, please more than dignified and formal manners, and plainly dressed people more than the same persons in a rich and fashionable costume. Under all ordinary circum- stances we are delighted with repose, and irritated by the appearance of effort ; and these ideas enter into all our views and prejudices in relation to domestic architecture. It is not every man who builds exactly such a house as his taste admires or his judgment approves ; but rather such a house as he imagines other people will admire. In selecting the style of his liousc he is governed by fashion, as in select- ing the style of his garments. He adorns a house as a lady adorns herself for the church or the opera. He places upon it the evidences, often the false evidences, of his own wealth, as the lady dresses herself with the evidences, true or false, of the wealth of her husband or her father. If men were not governed by their vanity, they would build plain houses, because they all secretly delight in a plain, unembarrassed style of living. They do not build such, because they hope to be admired for the contrary. As an illustration of the truth of these remarks, it is Avorthy of notice, that men recol- lect with the most pleasure those periods of their early life which were passed in simple pursuits, in plain houses, and among plain and honest people. A short time since I met an old schoolfellow, who was with me at Phillips' Academy in Andover ; and was surprised to learn that during the lapse of a quarter of a century, he had not once visited the scenes of his academical years. I thought I could trace his indifference to the circumstances in which he was placed at his boarding-house. This was built in a style superior to that of the other houses in the village ; and the family with whom he boarded were addicted to a certain kind of fashionable precision and display. My own experience was of a different character. I boarded in a large old fash- ioned farm-house — one of those houses which truly represent- ed republican simplicity, before tliis quality had died out from the habits of tlie people. It was divided into large, comforta- ble rooms, and was entirely without embellishment. Tlie 64 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. floors were regularly sanded, in all the rooms of the house, except two which were carpeted, one a common parlor for the boarders, the other the private family parlor. A spacious yard, unenclosed, and covered with grass which was kept close by the landlord's cattle, bounded the house on two sides. Behind it was a garden, of an unpretending description, con- taining flowers that were not sufficiently profuse to repel ob- servation. Not a single attempt at embellishment had spoiled the comfortable and quiet aspect of either the house or the grounds. All around were to be seen the well-tilled farm, the orchard with apple trees in interrupted rows, the pasture dotted with noble oaks, hickories and elms, the hills crowned with forest, the pleasant river winding through the meadow, perfectly charming and entirely unadorned. The house was as simple in its construction as it could be made, consisting of two equal buildings united so as to form a right angle, and having two fronts. I have heard the fash- ion of it ridiculed, for the want of those appendages which would have annihilated the charm that won everybody's affec- tion. Tliis house, situated in the valley of the Shawsheen, about a mile distant from the Academy, was for many years a favorite boarding place for the students ; and all who board- ed here left school with an affection for the place, and have since felt a constant desire to revisit it and review its pleasant scenes. Had my old schoolfellow boarded in this house, or in a similar place, he would not have lived out half his days without any desire to see it again. But his school ^ays were associated with scenes of heartless and costly dignity, among which there was nothing to be loved or remembered with delight. Whence arises tliis universal predilection for simplicity, as manifested whenever we indulge in the pleasures of memory ? Why do we, when reviewing our adventures, recur with the liveliest affection and interest to those scenes, those roads, those fields and those houses, which are the most entirely free from the appearance of costliness, luxury and formality ? Let the wisdom of the wisest of men answer, in those maxims which abound in the ethical literature of all nations, con- demning luxury and pride, and applauding humble content- FEBRUARY. 65 ment and simple habits of life. Men, blinded by a silly ambition,-cannot realize the truth and the force of these max- ims, and continue to live for ostentation and not for happi- ness. The miser, on the one hand, on account of his desire to be rich, deprives himself of the comforts and necessaries of life ; and the man of the world, on account of his more foolish desire to ajypear rich, lives a slave to an insupportable extrav- agance. Hardly an individual can be found who knows the golden mean, or who understands and pursues the true objects of happiness. The rage for fine houses, which within twenty years past has taken possession of the minds of the community, is con- nected with a similar folly in every department of domestic economy, and has spoiled the rural aspect of many of our villages. How many a delightful place, which we could not look upon without imagining the spot a little nook in para- dise, has been destroyed by this rage for beautifying one's abode ! How many comfortable old farm houses, with their neat and rustic enclosures, their knolls of wild shrubbery that afforded a harljor for the birds, and their pleasant ap- proaches by a foot-path under the vine-clad wall, have been modernized and improved, until one turns away, with mingled sorrow and contempt, from the sight of their beautiful ugli- ness ! If the effects of such changes and improvements were confined to the spectator, there would be less occasion for regret. But every change of this kind is attended by similar changes in the habits of the proprietor and his family. They adopt customs within doors, that render the duties of house- keeping a greater burden and care. More servants are re- quired in proportion as the fashionable appendages of the house are multiplied, since all supernumerary luxuries require extraordinary means for their support. No sooner has ambi- tion expelled simplicity from the outside of one's estate, than pride and fashion enter, and take up their abode within the house. I have often encountered, in my journeys about the coun- try, a neat curb-roofed cottage, which seemed to me a model of that simple and humble architecture, that takes hold of one's affections and leaves an indelible impression of beauty 66 « THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. upon the memory. This house was perhaps sixty years old, haying been built long before our people had become foolishly mad after the " beautiful ;" before that sentiment which in- spires one with a love of nature had been metamorphosed into a sickly taste for luxurious ornament. All intelligent persons, whose attention was directed to this house, admired it with that sort of regard with which we look upon a placid and benevolent countenance. The open green in front of it, the well near the back-door which was operated by a wheel placed over the curb, the barn standing a little in the rear of the house, near a wooded elevation that protected it from the northerly winds, and the unpretending garden with a few borders of herbs and flowers, presented to the sight an Arca- dian picture which is seldom equalled. A short time since, as I passed by this cottage, I observed that the improver had been at work there. A new and pro- jecting roof had been placed upon it, and under the eaves and pediments, in the place of simple mouldings, was a profusion of tracery. The house was painted white, and a white orna- mental fence surrounded a narrow enclosure in which it was prisoned. An old oak tree, whose rugged appearance made a somewhat disagreeable contrast with the primness of the new style of improvements, had been cut down, and instead of it there stood a row of balsams in the front yard. The barn was likewise improved by the addition of some fanciful decorations, somewhat inferior in workmanship to those which were appended to the house. This little pastoral cottage was transformed into a mere gazabo ; and not a single ob- ject was left that formerly rendered it so mteresting and attractive. This is but one instance in a thousand of the ridiculous results of the general mania for ornate .and artistic dwelling- houses. Men who seem to have no other kind of ambition are no less affected by it than others. But is there any more satisfaction in living in a house, after it has been dressed in such a manner as to be a gazing stock for every ignorant clown to admire ? The genuine beauty of the house I have described was entirely destroyed ; though its alterations and embellishments, it may be granted, are agreeable to the can- FEBEUARY. 67 ons of architectural and decorative art. It is not denied that artists would pronounce it an improvement upon the old house, which, they would assert, was built without any style. These gentlemen are bound by certain arbitrary rules which, thougli sufficiently ambiguous to give origin to continual dis- putes among themselves, and to frequent changes in archi- tectural fashions, are considered a law. It remains for us who are not artists, and who have not suljscribed to these canons, to deny, in part, their foundation in nature, and to be willing to admire houses which are destitute of style, on account of their want of it. In vain will the profession object that the house I admired was devoid of taste, and without any claims to be considered an architectural building. It is replied that the whole value of a house consists in its adaptedness to the wants of a human family ; and that its chief beauty is the external evidence or suggestiveness of its pleasant interior accommodations. Any- thing superadded to this, any ornamentation beyond that which the builders designate by the word " finish," detracts from its repose^ and diminishes the moral beauty of the house. There are certain facings which, like the hoops of a barrel, are necessary to give it the appearance of completion. A certain amount of smoothness is needful for comfort in the interior. A less amount of the same quality on the outside, yields it a comfortable appearance, by suggesting the idea of the smoothness within. Mouldings relieve the harshness of projections. Under a roof especially they relieve the abrupt angle it would make with the walls of the house. A building cannot preserve this quality of repose, without some such facings or ornaments, if they may be so called, which are analogous to the shading in a picture. This question con- cerning the nature of architectural beauty will be discussed in detail in the succeeding essays. 68 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. HISTORY OF FRUIT TREES AND FRUITS.— No. II. BY LEANDEK WETHERELL. THE APPLE TREE. Op all the various products of the farm and the garden, nothing so tempts the appetite as ripe, luscious fruits in their season. It is well, occasionally, to consider the inquiry not unfrequently made, " Whence have we derived all these ex- cellent varieties of the apple, the pear, the cherry, the plum, the peach, the strawberry, the gooseberry, and the currant ?" To answer such, and kindred questions, it is necessary to in- terrogate the records of the past. The apple tree is mentioned in the early records of both sacred and profane history. Solomon alludes to it on this wise — " As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved," etc. The prophet Joel mentions the apple tree as being lield in high estimation among the fruit trees. It is included in the natural family of plants called Rosaceae, from the rose, the type of the family, comprising most of the fruits of the temperate zone. To the genus Pprus, belong the apple and the pear ; to Pnmus, the plum and the apricot ; to Amyg- dalus, the peach, the nectarine and the almond ; to Mespilus, the medlar ; to C/jdonia, the quince ; to Fragraria, the straw- berry ; and to Rubus, the raspberry and bramble. Botanists are agreed that all the varieties of the apple have been derived from the crab apples of the woods and hedges, and are, therefore, artificial productions, the results of skilful cultivation, being susceptible of indefinite improvement, and of a multiplication of varieties without limit. Yet, nothwith- standing all this, (Dr. Lindley says, "there can be no doubt that if the arts of cultivation were abandoned for only a few years, all the annual varieties of plants in our gardens would disappear and be replaced by a few original wild forms.") The crab apples, whence have originated all varieties, are common in both Asia and Europe. There are also two or three species indigenous to America, — as the Pyrus coronaria of the South, rarely attaining the height of twenty feet, pro- ducing large, fragrant, rose-colored blossoms, hence called FEBRUARY. 69 sweet-scented crab, bearing small fruit ; in the Middle States, P. angustifolia, with smaller leaves, flowers and fruit ; and P. rivularis, the crab of Oregon, bearing a small fruit, the size of a cherry, used by the Indians as an article of food. None of the present cultivated varieties of the apple, it is said, have been derived from American crabs, but from seeds brought hither by settlers from Europe. The common name of this well-known fruit, Pyriis malus, is derived from the Greek apios, the Celtic apt, and the Saxon ceppel, each signifying a fruit. The original crab is armed with small thorns, leaves serrate, fruit small and exceedingly acrid, and indigenous in most parts of Europe. It is not known whence the Europeans derived the cultivated apple, — probably, however, from the East. It was introduced into England most likely by the Eomans. Twenty-nine varieties were known in Italy at the time of the Christian era. The number was greatly increased at the Norman conquest. Pliny, writing of apples, says, " there are many apple trees in the villages near Rome that let for the yearly sum, each, of 2000 sesterces, [about |60] ; some of them yielded more profit to the owner than a small farm. This brought about the invention of grafting." Says Virgil — " Graft the tender shoot, Thy children's children shall enjoy the fruit." Pliny further remarks, " There are apples that have enno- bled the countries whence they came, and have immortalized their founders and inventors ; such as took their names from Matins, Cestius, Manlius, and Claudius." He mentions the quince apple, produced by grafting the quince on the apple stock, and called Apiana, after Appius, of the Claudian house, who first practised this grafting. " Some apples are so red," says he, " that they resemble blood, caused by their first hav- ing been grafted upon a mulberry stock." " The most ex- cellent of all, both on account of its sweetness and agreeable- ness of flavor," says he, " took its name from Petisius, who reared it in his time." Pliny further adds, " I have seen near Thulise, in the country of the Tiburtines, a tree grafted and laden with all manner of fruits, one bough bearing nuts, VOL. XXIV. — NO. II. 10 70 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. another berries ; here hung grapes, there figs ; in one part you might see pears, in another pomegranates ; and, to con- clude, there is no kind of apple or other fruit but there it was to be found: but this tree did not livelong." Horticulturists of the present day may call this fabulous ; but they should remember that Pliny was one of the most distinguished natu- ralists of any age of the world's history ; and it should not be forgotten, that his life was not only devoted to, but his death caused by, his labors in the search after truth in the many and marvellous works of nature. The following curious description of the apple tree is taken from Gerard's " Plistory of Plants": — " The apple tree hath a body or truncke Commonly of a meane bignesse, not very high, hauing long armes or branches, and the same disordered ; the barke somewhat plaine, and not verie rugged : the leaues bee also broad, more long than round, and finely nicked in the edges. The floures are whit- ish, tending vnto a blush colour. The fruit or Apples doe differ in greatnesse, forme, Colour and taste ; some couered with a red skinne, others yellow or greene, varying infinitely according to the soyle and climate ; some very great, some little, and many of a middle sort ; some are sweet of taste, or something soure ; most be of middle taste betweene sweet and soure, the which to distinguish I thinke impossible ; not- withstanding I heare of one that intendeth to write a peculiar volume of Apples, and the vse of them ; yet when hee hath done what hee can doe, hee hath done nothing toucliing their seuerall kindes to distinguish them. This that hath been said shall suffice for our Historic." The apple tree attains to a great age. Haller mentions some trees in Herefordshire that were one thousand years old, and good bearers. Mr. Knight considered two hundred years as the ordinary duration of a tree grafted on a crab stock, planted in a strong, tenacious soil. Speechly mentions a tree in an orchard at Burton-joyce, near Nottingham, about sixty years old, with branches extending twenty-seven feet round the bole, which produced in 1792 twenty-five bushels of apples. Mr. Downing mentions two trees in the grounds of Mr. Hall of Raynham, Mass., about one hundred and fifty years FEBRUARY. 71 old. The trunk of one of these measured, one foot from the ground, thirteen feet and two inches, and the other twelve feet and two inches. The trees bore that season about forty- bushels of apples. In 1780, the two bore one hundred and one bushels. In Duxbury, Plymouth County, is a tree, twelve feet and five inches in circumference, which has borne one hundred and twenty-one and a half bushels of apples in a season. There is a tree on the farm of Moses Stebbins, South Deerficld, Franklin County, about the same size, and a pro- lific bearer. The celebrated traveller Yon Buch remarked, that the apple and the common fruit trees grow wherever the oak thrives. In Europe the apple is cultivated to the sixtieth degree of north latitude. • Good apples are produced in the Orkney and Shetland islands. The people of Lapland showed Linnffius what " they called an apple tree, which bore no fruit, said they, because a beggar woman cursed it, in conse- quence of having been refused some of its fruit. The botan- ist informed them it was an elm, a rare tree in that latitude. It has already been stated that the apple tree is a native of Asia, or the East, as they say in Europe. The prophet Joel, enumerating the trees of Syria, says, " the vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth ; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree, also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field are withered." In Madeira, the Golden Pippin trees grow on the mountain, three thousand feet above the sea, regularly producing an abundance of fruit, notwithstanding the trunks and branches are covered with white moss. PROTECTING HARDY PLANTS IN WINTER. BY T. MEEUAN, GERXIANTOWN, PA. In your December number is an article on this subject, which I am sure every cultivator has read with interest. There is, however, a single sentence in it, which I think is unsound, though I am free to say it does not in any way afifect the excellent recommendations you have given. The 72 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. sentence I allude to reads : " It is far better that they should be exposed, than that they should be entirely covered ; for it is damp cold that is so fatal." In expressing dissent from this, I may say that I once be- lieved it myself; and I think it probable instances might be cited where my pen has recorded that belief. Observations made during the past hard winters lead me now to a different conclusion ; and as I do not by any means consider my horti- cultural " education finished," I thought you would perhaps allow me space for some reasons for my new profession of faith. It may here be remarked that frost acts injuriously on veg- etation in two ways, — in the one it disrupts the tissue by the expansion of the fluids in the tender cells, — in the other it causes the evaporation of the juices, and thus destroys the plant by the same process that an excessive degree of heat would do. There is no doubt, as in every other operation of nature, a point where these two modes of destruction meet, and jointly operate against the life of the vegetable organism ; but yet the distinction is important in practice. Geraniums, heliotropes, and other plants of herbaceous structure, that are readily destroyed by the temperature de- clining to 32°, are instances of the first kind of destruction, — and to them "damp cold" is undoubtedly most fatal. A " white frost" will kill a heliotrope, when the thermometer indicates a temperature of only 35° ; and also destroy the hope of a whole season's crop of fruit when acting on expand- hig buds, tliat had safely defied a long and severe winter ; moisture being a better conductor of heat than simple air, causes the plant to part with its heat more easily, and hence, like a foolish maiden, it pays the penalty of its misplaced affections with its broken heart. ^ But to those subjects whose cells have the power of resist- ing the expansion of the fluids, which a temperature of 32° entails, the only danger is that from excessive evaporation. If this be a fact, which I " well and truly" believe it is, damp cold will be the reverse of injurious. That this is a fact, I think I can make evident. It is well known that a plant that will stand uninjured under a given FEBRUARY. 73 degree of temperature in December may be destroyed by a similar degree in March. Why? Because the sap which has been accumulating through the winter has distended and weakened the outer coverings, making that evaporation easy that was difficult before. Sir Henry Stewart, author of the Planter's Guide, and achiever of a success in planting which few before or since have accomplished, discovered, that a tree from a warm and sheltered wood rarely succeeded, while failure rarely attended trees taken from an open or exposed place. Why ? Because the latter had a rough shaggy bark, which prevented great evaporation till the roots had time to heal ; and the former had delicate thin bark, or, as Sir Henry expresses it, " was deficient in protecting properties." I have a Deodar Cedar five feet high, that three springs ago, it being then one foot, was planted in a wet hollow — so wet that in winter water stands six inches below the surface, and has not been injured in the least by the past winter. A friend near has one on a dry hill, or had, for it is barely struggling at its base for existence. Why the difference, unless my plant can afford to spare a little moisture, which my friend's cannot ? And why should plants which are hardy in the shade, and which will, under such circumstances, pass the ordeal of our severest winters, lose all their foliage and become " consid- erably cut up" when exposed to a warm sun in winter, if not by the rapid evaporation which such an exposure must inev- itably bring about ? I have seen a greenhouse in which frost had unexpectedly entered, where the plants had been so frozen that the pots and balls of earth seemed one solid piece, and in which all the plants would undoubtedly have been lost by the usual process of thawing, have all its tenants preserved to it by a copious syringing with cold water. And why? Because evaporation was then arrested. Few persons, who have not reflected well on the subject, have any idea of the large amount of evaporation that takes place from vegetable struct- ures during the prevalence of cold " drying" winds, or severe frost. If my observations have taught me aright, a log of wood exposed to air at a temperature at zero, will dry as readily as one under 32° above freezing point ; and in spite 74 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. of the many high opinions given, that a "circulation of air" is necessary to be kept in view in protecting our tender ever- greens through the winter, I cannot but feel that I would prefer a good coat of snow, which, though it permitted no circulation of air, nor perhaps made much difference in the temperature bearing on the plant, yet prevented the loss of its juices by undue evaporation. We are pleased to present to our readers the views of one so observant of the effects of frost upon vegetation, as it not only enables us to qualify somewhat the remark which forms the subject of his communication, but gives us an op- portunity to express our own views more fully in relation to the matter. In the first place, then, in the sense in which we intended our remarks to apply, we still think they need no qualifica- tion. We ivere speaking of those plants which, though quite hardy, that is, rarely suffering from any degree of cold, were still subject to injury by sudden changes of temperature, or, strictly speaking, by sudden thaws. Take, for instance, such shrubs as the Tree Paeony, Rhododendron, &c. If these can be kept thoroughly frozen through the winter no injury oc- curs ; but from the frequent changes of temperature in an open winter they are very often much " cut up." Now, with a close compact covering of straw such plants, we think, are quite as much damaged, as they are without any protection, and why ? First, because moisture, being a much more rapid conductor of cold than air, the straw which covers a plant, as well as the plant itself, is saturated with moisture by a heavy cold rain, and while in this condition the thermometer suddenly falls from 38° to zero. And this temperature is still increased under the covering, in proportion to the moist- ure of the air, just as a valley is colder than a hill, from the rapidly conducting power of the dampness. The plant there- fore suffers not only from the greater intensity of the cold, and its longer duration, but from the distention of the sap- vessels, which are then much more susceptible of injury, as instanced by our correspondent in the case of fruit trees in spring. We will relate a case which will illustrate this. FEBRUARY. 75 A friend of ours who was very fond of plants, and years ajro, when this occurred, — and when we had few of the fine shrubs so common now, — possessed a fine Tree Pasony, then so rare as to be of very great value. It was a large plant, and many envied the owner in his possession of such a fine speci- men. Every year it threw out its dozens of huge rosy flow- ers, delighting and surprising all who saw it. Then the pseony was cultivated very generally as a greenhouse plant, but no greenhouse plant ever gave such blooms, or made such a magnificent display. This plant was always covered with a barrel without either head, but instead of one head a large board was placed over the top. We always noticed that the plant came out in spring as fresh as if there had been no winter. In our ignorance then, for it was many years ago — before we could hardly afford to buy a large Tree Pseony, and risk it in the open ground — we siipposed a barrel with one head was just as good, and that the reason why our friend used his with only one head was because he had no other ! We, therefore, some time afterwards, in protecting a plant, placed a barrel over it, and thought all would be right. But alas, for our ignorance ! On removing the barrel in spring our pet specimen was in a sorry condition, with some of the strongest blooming buds quite dead, and others black and in- jured. How was all this? We reflected upon the matter, and long reflection solved the mystery. It was this. The barrel with one head, served as a good pan to catch all the water that fell upon it, and this constantly percolating through it, kept not only the air inside constantly damp, but saturated the plant ; consequently from the conducting power of the moisture it was always much colder inside the barrel than outside. This damp cold at once penetrated the tender buds, and quite destroyed their delicate organism. With the barrel without any head which our friend made use of, the condition of the plant was materially reversed. The wide board cover- ing the top carried off all water, while the crevices beneath it served to admit an abundance of air. The temperature in- side was consequently not any lower if as low as outside, and the dryness of the air admitted of a free circulation, which kept the plant in a condition to resist the effects of the severest 76 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. cold. This experiment taught iis a good lesson, and led us to study the effects of frost upon plants, for our future benefit, and, we hope, to the advantage of our readers. So much we can evidence against close covering, which we think will apply in most cases, tliough there are undoubtedly exceptions to the rule. It will probably be considered a hopeless task to attempt to acclimatize any plants that will not resist a good frost. All protection will fail of accomplishing anything here. It is only with such plants or trees as come from cold latitudes, often near the limits of perpetual snow, where a severe frost will not disorganize their tissues, that we can ever render val- uable for ornamental purposes. With these, however, and the number is large, there is hope of success, when "we can by some process maintain their native temperature, or at least save them from the effects of great heat. It is to pre- vent injury from the latter that our efforts must be mainly directed. Secondly, as to the effects of " excessive evaporation," we think our correspondent is somewhat in error, though appar- ently so well supported by evidence. We are not inclined to believe that plants whose " cells have the power of resisting the expansion of the fluids, which a temperature of 32° entails," are only in danger from excessive evaporation. The question is one of interest, and we have hardly room now to discuss it at length, but as briefly as possible must allude to some of the evidence brought in support of our correspon- dent's opinion. Take the case of fruit trees which are injured by the same degree of cold in March that caused no harm in winter. Now here we have an entirely altered condition of the sap, which at this season becomes fluid, and more susceptible of cold, wholly from the conducting power of moisture ; severe cold then disrupts the tissues, and, when once disorganized, evaporation does take place in an enormous degree, and undoubtedly the less hardy plants suffer in the same way after sudden thaws in mid-winter. But in all these cases the organism of the plant is first injured, and evaporation is a consequence and not a cause. FEBRUARY. 77 The experiment of Sir Henry Stewart supports our view of the case. His failure in removing his trees was not owing to excessive evaporation, as was proved by his success with those taken from exposed places, and why ? as our correspondent asks : not certainly because the bark was rough and shaggy, but simply this. The trees from the warm sheltered wood had a large cellular organism, and tlie outer bark for years had ]iot received that free action of the air and light neces- sary to harden and mature it ; consequently, when exposed to severe cold the tissues were disorganized, and then evapo- ration commenced. What Sir Henry called deficient in pro- tective properties was an error, for some of the thinnest- barked trees are the hardiest, and the shaggy ones tender, as we find in the cork-barked oaks, and elms. The case of the Deodar cedar we do not comprehend. It is contrary to all that we have ever read or experienced with trees or plants, and especially with this and other evergreens. We had the Douglas Fir and Deodar growing in a damp local- ity, and after losing the tops and branches two successive years we removed them to a dry situation, and they succeed- ed far better. All the experiments in the celebrated Pinetum at Dropmore prove the reverse of this. It was only by thor- oughly draining the soil, that any kind of success attended the efforts of planting the less hardy evergreens, which now give such celebrity to that place. That plants should be hardy in the shade, and be " consid- erably cut up" when exposed, is too common a circumstance and the cause too well known to attribute it to excessive evaporation. It is because they are kept frozen the entire winter, or thawed gradually, and in the shade, which mate- rially alters the case, as instanced in the experiment with greenhouse plants, where all the " tenants were preserved by copious syringing," which gradually removed the frost. So well has our correspondent, Mr. Flagg, in our last number, illustrated the effects of sudden thawing upon vegetation that we need not refer to it here. In all cases of this kind it is the sudden heat acting upon the frost, producing the chemical change of fermentation, that causes the destruction to veg- etation. VOL. XXIV. — NO. II. 11 78 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Wc well know the danger from cold " drying" winds, espec- ially in March, and have watched their effects. But in no instance do we recollect any injury, only when previous frosts had destroyed the organism by the rupture of the tissues. These appear facts to us, though not, perhaps, apparent to our correspondent, whose reasons for his " new profession of faith" we fear are not so sound as they may appear to him. We shall be happy to know that our combined opinions have created an interest in the important question of winter protec- tion, which will not be set at rest with this exposition of our views. In conclusion, we may so far qualify our remark about straw coverings as to admit that when put up in a proper manner, so as to completely throw off all wet, there may be instances where the plants are safer than a full exposure. But, as a general rule, we think, in proper soils, well drained, and not too much open to cutting winds, no such protection is, upon the average, advantageous. DESCRIPTIONS OF SELECT APPLES. BY THE EDITOR. It is our desire to make known, at the earliest opportunity, all the new varieties of apples that promise to become im- portant additions to our already extended list. We have in our past volumes described and figured quite a number, sev- eral of which have proved of the highest excellence. There are many more that deserve notice, but from the fear of mul- tiplying names, we have deferred our descriptions until we could give some authentic account of them. The difficulty, however, of identifying some of them has been so great that we are reluctantly induced to introduce them to notice, rather than defer it to a future time, as their merits are such as to entitle them to particular attention. If by any information we may be able to obtain they should prove synonymous with known sorts, we shall lose no time in giving that information. Perhaps the best means of obtaining this knowledge is by FEBRUARY. 79 giving these descriptions, that they may be recognized, if al- ready known, by those who are familiar with such iinde- scribed varieties. LXIV. Washington. Magazine of Horticulture. Washington Strawberry. This remarkably beautiful and excellent apple (fig. 3) was first brought to our notice in the fall of 1849, when fine specimens were presented for exhibition at the Annual Fair of the Now York State Agricultural Society at Syracuse. Its extraordinary beauty attracted the attention of all, and its WASHINGTON. good qualities, though not perhaps equal to some other varie- ties of the same season, bespoke a general impression in its favor. Our drawing and description were made at that time, but failing to obtain any account of its origin, &c., as it was then shown as a new seedling, we were unable only to mention it in our repoft. It was not until September, 1853, at the An- nual Fair of the same Society in Hamilton Square, New York, 80 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. that it came under our observation again. Its beauty still was as attractive as ever, and we endeavored again to ascer- tain the particulars of its origin. We have as yet been unable to do so any farther than this ; that it is a seedling which grew on the farm of Mr. Job Whip- ple, Union Springs, Washington County, N. Y. Whether the parent is yet alive, or when it first came into bearing, we have been unable to learn. It well deserves the attention of all cultivators, and we doubt not will become a favorite apple. Size, large, about three and a half inches broad, and three inches deep : Form, roundish, slightly swollen on one side, largest in the middle, depressed somewhat at the base, and narrowing to the crown : Skin, fair, smooth, of an oily touch, with a pale yellow ground, broken with distinct stripes and splashes of brilliant red, thickest on the exposed side, and covered with prominent yellow dots : Stem, short, less than lialf an inch long, stout, and inserted in a small, contracted, and rather shallow cavity : Eye, rather large, closed, and considerably sunk in an abruptly depressed and somewhat furrowed basin ; segments of the calyx broad, and slightly woolly : Flesh, yellowish, little coarse, crisp and tender : Juice,. abundant, with a rich admixture of sweet and acid, and high flavored : Core, medium size : Seeds, medium size, long, and very pointed. Ripe in September and October. LXy. Foster. For four or five years, Mr. J. W. Foster of Dorchester has exhibited at the meetings of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society beautiful samples of apples without any name. They have repeatedly attracted the attention of the Fruit Commit- tee, who were not only struck with their beauty, but with tlieir excellence, and awarded to Mr. Foster a gratuity for the specimens. What the name of the apple is no one who has seen them has been able to decide. If some old variety, as it would seem it must be from the information we have from Mr. Foster, it appears now quite unknown. It ripens in August at the same period as the Early Bough, and is nearly as large as that apple, with a beautiful pale red FEBRUARY. 81 and yellow skin, exceedingly fair and deliciously sweet like the former ; it is scarcely inferior in beauty to the Red Astra- chan. Mr. Foster informs us that he had the scions from a neighbor, who had his tree from the nursery of Wm. Kenrick of Newton some years ago. This led us to consult Mr. Ken- rick's Orchardist, but we do not find there any description which will answer for this apple, and, after diligent search in Downing and other authors, we have come to the conclusion that it is at least an undescribed variety. The Committee above alluded to, unable to identify it, have called it for the present, and for want of any more authentic name, the Foster, (fig. 4,) deeming such a remarkably handsome, early, and excellent sweet apple, worthy the notice of all culti- vators. » Size, large, about three inches broad and three and a half deep : Form, roundish, slightly ribbed in its outline, largest in the middle, narrowing little towards each end, and rather de- pressed at the base and the crown : Skin, very fair, smooth, pale yellow in the shade, nearly covered with pale red in indis- tinct stripes, and dotted with numerous greenish specks : Stem, very short, less than half an inch long, stout, and rather 82 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. deeply inserted in a small cavity: Eye, large, open, and deeply sunk in a rather large, open, broad and slightly ribbed basin; segments of the calyx broad : Flesh, yellowish white, little crisp and very tender : Juice, tolerably abundant, very sweet, rich and well flavored : Core, medium size : Seeds, small, dark. Ripe in August and September. LXVI. Wabash. Wabash Bellflower. We first met with the Wabash apple (fig. 5) in the fall of 1856, at the Annual Show of the United States xYgricultural Society in Philadelphia. Our attention was called to it by Messrs. Haberson and Brother, nurserymen, who exhibited it in their collection of a number of fine varieties, under the name of Wabash Bellflower, from its resemblance in shape, undoubtedly, to the Old Yellow Bellflower, as it is otherwise quite unlike that apple. Its beauty is one^ of its greatest mer- its, though it possesses other good qualities, which entitle it to notice. Its flesh is tender and juicy, and if it had a little FEBRUARY. 83 more acidity it would rank with some of our best apples. But the brilliancy of its deep orange-red skin renders it a most attractive fruit, and one well suited for the market. We were unable to learn more of its origin than that it orig- inated in the interior of Pennsylvania, and was known in the locality where Messrs. Haberson reside, as the Wabash Bell- flower. We have, however, taken the liberty to drop the latter appellation, as it only tends to confusion, there being already two or three different Bellflowers. Size, large, about three inches deep and three in diameter : Form, roundish oblong, or somewhat conical, broadest near the stem, and narrowing but little to the crown, which is rather broad : Skin, fair, smooth, with a deep yellow ground, nearly covered with clear orange red, brightest on the sunny side, and streaked with russet in the cavity around the stem : Stem, short, about half an inch long, slender, curved, and deeply in- serted in a rather large funnel-shaped cavity : Eye, rather large, open, and moderately sunk in a medium-sized and furrowed basin ; segments of the calyx reflexed : Flesh, white, fine, crisp and tender: Juice, tolerably abundant, subacid, and well flavored : Core, large : Seeds, medium size, pale brown. Ripe in November and December. NEW ENGLAND SHRUBS. BYVVILSONFLAGQ. ' INTRODUCTION. Hardly less important than trees to the beauty of the land- scape and the welfare of man are the indigenous shrubs of our land. Almost all our wild fruits are the product of shrubs, and the majority of fruit trees are of small stature, approach- ing the character of shrubbery. As ornaments of the land- scape, though they afford a different kind of embellishment, they are no less to be prized than trees. While the latter yield grandeur to the near, and beauty to the distant prospect, the beauty of a near prospect is greatly dependent on its shrubbery, especially if it be rough and liilly. A rocky and 84 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. uneven surface, covered by trees alone, would not be suffi- ciently clothed to affect the mind with agreeable impressions, when immediately in sight. But a series of rocky cliffs and eminences, embroidered with a dense growth and a large va- riety of shrubs, might be very beautiful without trees. We are indebted to this class of plants for some of the most valu- able flowers of the garden and pleasure ground ; and when we are travelling, the shrubs that skirt the wayside, and hang their foliage, fruits and flowers over the fences and walls, add a beauty and interest to our journey, not surpassed in their effect by any other objects. Our native shrubs are too lightly esteemed by our native population, like all other natural productions whose value cannot be estimated by arithmetical rules. Were it not for the persistent efforts of nature, who plants them with liberal hand in all neglected fields and waste places, there is reason to believe that ere this they would have been exterminated. It is true they do not yield any very important commercial profit ; but it may be alleged in their favor that many of them are serviceable for their fruit ; all are valuable for the shelter they afford to the birds ; they protect the immediate grounds from the winds, and they will grow to perfection under the fences and stone walls, where they add the most interesting of all embellishments to the farmer. Dr. Kelley, in his Address to the Essex Agricultural Socie- ty, published in its Transactions for 1857, unwisely ridicules (page 21) the practice of allowing bushes to grow by the sides of walls and fences. He intimates that a legitimate hedge- row would be greatly preferable. I would join with him in condemning the mangled mass of shrubbery which we ob- serve in many of these situations, mangled by the frequent unsuccessful attempts to destroy it. The farmers should either eradicate these bushes entirely, or allow them full sway and encourage their growth, and thus rear a natural hedgerow, as far surpassing a clipped hedge in beauty, as a row of currant l^ushes surpasses a bed of peasticks. This row of shrubbery would not occupy space enough to be detrimental to the interest of the farmers, who seldom cul- tivate one fourth part of their land. There is no need of FEBRUARY. 85 economizing space, by denying this privilege to tlie shrubbery, except in the immediate sulnirbs of a large town. Even there the economy of the practice is exceedingly doubtful. Setting aside the beauty of such a natural hedgerow, and the protec- tion it affords to the grounds, it would form a perfect aviary for all the small birds, whose services are invaluable to the cultivator ; and its fruits would supply their wants and lessen their depredations among the cherry trees. The insects that infest our orchards would be diverted to these shrubs, at least their attacks would be divided between them and the orchard trees, while tlie increased numljer of lairds, attracted to the immediate vicinity of the orchard, would assist in ridding it of noxious insects. The roots of this shrubbery would make the foundation more firm for the support of a stone wall : and the poultry, when at liberty in the field, would take shelter under it, and work at its roots, instead of douig mis- chief among the crops. Gossip of \\t Hontlj. The Augusta Rose. — That there are a thousand and one opinions among horticulturists generally, on the merit and demerit of this (I say beautiful) rose, and no doubt the excellent judgment of many distinguished florists between Boston and Charleston are not to be overlooked, but T fear their determined will to make it out merely " Solfatere" has blinded their better judgment; and while walking in the garden early this morning (Oct. 27) and admiring and inhaling the odor of a rich lemon half blown bud, marked " Augusta," dripping with the dew of the night, and reaching forth to gather to present my wife at the breakfast table, fell into a cogita- tion, how it was that every one professional slandered so beautiful a rose, while every lady who has walked my garden this summer and autumn, and to whom I always presented an opening bud, (which Solfatere seldom favors one with, being coyishly shy) exclaimed, " what a delightful rose !" " what a tea scent !" " have you plants for sale ?" This is my experience ever since I sent it out for the owners, (in 1854) Thorp, Smith & Co., and to this day, though I had a good stock, have never been able to meet the demand, at $\ each, and bought many from the Syracuse owners beside. My mode of treatment is simply to bed it out in May among Malmaison*, Devoniensis, Saffranos, Bosanquet, and other favorite roses, It propagates as easy too, and, as far as my observation goes, the Augusta has always a handsome cluster of buds, or an opening bud, or a full blown rose, inviting VOL. XXIV. — NO. II. 12 86 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. attention. That it has some similarity to the Solfatere I admit ; the wood and foliage, especially the latter, is very similar ; the flower buds are, how- ever, much more globular ; the clusters (for it is a Noisette) much larger ; and, for scent, incomparably finer, rivalling Devoniensis, (which is no little praise.) It is about as much like Solfatere as Devoniensis is like Yellow Tea, odorata or Smithii — ^just about — and that these are similar and dis- similar, one to the other, every one knows. I have had some experience in flower culture, and, unless deceived, (which I have often been in high wrought £5.5 foreign Dahlia descriptions) never recommend a second rate flower of any sort ; and, after doing so on the authority of another, reject and throw them out, no matter what the £. s. d. cost; by carefully doing which, particularly in Dahlias, I have brought my collection of these and Verbenas as near perfection as possible. — Geo. C. Thorburn, .Yewark, .V. /., Oct. 27. [The above has been in type a long time, awaiting space for insertion. We trust, however, it has lost none of its interest by the delay.] The Logan Grape. — Observing in your Magazine for January your description of a grape which you call Logan, I am able to assure you that it is indigenous to tlie eastern counties of Indiana, where I found it, called by Germans the Wine Grape. Twenty years ago I invited one in my con- gregation to cultivate with me the Isabella, and he laughed at me, declaring he could go into the woods, and would do so, and furnish me a better grape, large, and ripe earlier, although not very common in Indiana. He had previously lived in Wayne County, la. It occurs on the Kankakee River, in St. Joseph County, la. The Germans occasionally make wine from it, and I can supply you with a cord of cuttings when the market demands, or the Germans can be . employed to do so. Lat. 40 and 4 1 is its north range, where it endures a harder froSt tlian occurs in Massachusetts. I have discovered a new blackberry in the West, surpassing all others in size and sweetness — does not run over three feet upon the ground — never stands erect. I have been purposing, for twenty years, to bring this berry, and also the Wild Wine Grape of Indiana, into notice in this my native State, but have failed, through many cares, to do so. Your readers may depend on all (and more) you say in commendation of the Logan or Wild Wine Grape of Indiana. — Yours, respectfully, Abner Morse, late from Indiana. Sharon, Mass., Jan. 9, 1858. State Cabinet of Natural History. — J. W. P. Jenks, Esq., of Mid- dleboro', proposes to supply the State Cabinet of Natural History at Boston with one specimen of each kind of animal that has its habitat within the State. He will be glad to be furnished with the specimens more difficult to obtain from those who may be fortunate enough to secure them, — such as eagles, hawks, owls, wild turkeys, and all the variety of sea fowl ; and of animals, such as weasels, minks, foxes, deer, hedge-hogs, seals and beavers, if the latter are still to be found in our limits. All such specimens will be skilfully mounted and labelled with the name of the donor. Any persons furnishing specimens will remember to stuflTa little cotton in the mouth, nostrils and wounds, and forward by express to Middleboro', Ms., as early after the specimen has been obtained as convenient. — [Mid. Gaz.) FEBRUARY. 87 PitssHc^itsetts portiailhiral Sacirfj. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FRUITS FOR 1857. BY EBEN. WIGHT, CHAIRMAN. The Committee on Fruits present to the Society a Report of their doings for the year 1857. Previous to the opening of the Hall, the last week in May, contributions were shown weekly in the library-room of the Society. Winter apples and pears, forced grapes, peaches and strawberries, assist- ed to make the shows quite interesting during the late winter and early spring months, and for these contributions we were mainly indebted to Messrs. C. S. Holbrook, M. H. Simpson, J. Fisk Allen, and Henry Vandine. Again, the season has been most unpropitious for apples, cherries and pears, in consequence of the unfavorable state of the weather during the time of the setting of the fruit. Though the past winter was one of almost unexampled severity in horti- cultural annals, there was a full blossom of the above named fruits, leading us to hope for a good crop, till it became too evident that little or no fruit would set. So cold had been the winter of 1856-7 as to destroy Isabella grape vines, in many cases, vine and root, and even some of those which had stood out without any protection for twenty years. Many pear trees, such as tlie Bartlett, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Beurre Bosc and Marie Louise, were killed to the ground. These varieties seem to have suffered badly in al- most every direction in this vicinity, while most other varieties seem to have passed the winter without the slightest injury. These facts are wor- thy of note. Though the general crop of apples and pears has been less abundant than usual, such as have been grown were nearly equal to what they might have been had there have been a full crop and we had been obliged to resort to the process of thinning out. It is hardly possible to say what would have been the crop of cherries, for the few or many which were in process of ripening were secured by the robin. Probably no city in the Union is so highly favored as is our own in the number of enthusiastic horticultural amateurs, who make the subject a pleasure, looking after, closely watching and encouraging the growth of fruit trees, planted by their own hands, during the leisure of business. The Committee feel that they would fail in duty did they omit to mention one of the most perfect fruit gardens comprised in this vicinity, viz., that of Mr. Ariel Low's, Roxbury, the whole grounds consisting of about one acre. At the commencement Mr. Low selected pear trees which were in bearing and planted them in soil deeply trenched, and mixed with soil fresh from the woods, and in this he showed his clearsightedness at the very out- set. Notwithstanding his trees have been planted out only some four or five years, they were loaded with the very choicest specimens of pears, which had been judiciously thinned so as to leave them handsomely dis- 88 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. tributed over the whole tree. It would have been a difficult task to have found an inferior specimen after going the rounds of the whole garden. On referring to the list of awards of premiums made at the Annual Exhibi- tion, it will be noticed that Mr. Low was enabled to carry off one of the premiums for the " best ten varieties." It is an encouragement to begin- ners, to know that so much can be done on so small a piece of ground, and in so short a time. Any one designing to lay out a small fruit garden, would do well to make a visit to the garden of Mr, Low and take a lesson from one who is deservedly entitled to the thanks of his horticultural breth- ren for the accomplishment of so much in the brief time allotted. A Sub-Committee also visited the fruit garden of Mr. John Gordon, Brighton, which comprises some three or four acres, the most part of which has been deeply trenched and underdrained. The grounds are entirely covered with pear trees, thickly planted, about two thirds of which are on the quince — and so thickly planted that he does not grow vegetables (as a general thing) among his trees. Mr. Gordon confines himself to only a few varieties, since he grows for market, and by experience has learned what varieties will and what will not pay a handsome return. He says he finds a ready sale for those having a reddish or a russety skin, while those with a green skin could not be disposed of All his fruit is carefully gathered by hand, and some four days before designing to market it he takes his fruit boxes, which are about twenty inches square and six or eight inches deep, and places some woollen substance over the inside bottom ; he then places a layer of pears and then another layer of woollen, and another layer of pears, covering the whole with woollen. In no case does he pack more than two layers of fruit. The fruit is then allowed to go through a sweating process, which serves to give it a rich coloring, and it is then sufficiently ripened for market. We asked him if cotton batting would not answer the same purpose ? He said cotton would not ripen them so fast; that some woollen substance was bet- ter, as being more expeditious, and that it left a finer blush on the skin. Mr. Gordon is noted for his fine specimens of pears, which command the highest price. He instanced a fact in regard to his Bartletts, that, " while his were yielding him ten dollars per bushel, other wagons, by the side of his, had pears of the same variety, equally as large, but in consequence of retaining a green skin were offered at three dollars per bushel." And we would here say, that to the perfect completion of a good fruit garden, it must be thoroughly underdrained. If possible, let it be done be- fore setting out the trees, though it could be done at some future day, with some slight root pruning; which might not prove injurious if carefully man- aged, only let it be remembered that it must be done. Apples, in quantity, have been an entire failure ; yet dishes of fine specimens have been shown during the season, (with the exception of win- ter varieties,) which would favorably compare with former years. This, we believe, is the first year since the formation of the Society, when there has not been a competition for the premiums offered for winter apples. This year there was not a single dish presented on the third Saturday in FEBRUARY. 89 December, (the day assigned,) plainly showing that superior specimens were not to be had. Amongst the seedlings handed in, we would mention in terms of com- mendation/o?- the table, a red apple, under medium size, shown by Austin J. Roberts, Middleborough, Mass. In a note to the Committee Mr R. says, " these apples are of uniform size, great productiveness, and possess the property of long keeping." The Committee can bear witness to its hand- some appearance and good flavor. The apple originated in Pike County, Illinois. A single dish of the Melon (Norton's Melon) was exhibited. This apple originated in the State of New York, is slow of growth while young, but proves prolific, is a handsome apple, of delicious flavor, and is in eating from November to February. Red apples, on a yellow or russety ground, com- mand a good price for the table, when it would be difficult to dispose of such as have a green skin. For this reason, the Gravcnstein, Hubbardston, Fameuse, Polish, Mother, and Baldwin are sold readily for dressing off tables. Sweet apples, during winter, also command a good price, and well repay for culture. Apbicots have proved an entire failure, so much so, that there has not been made a single award under this head, and we are inclined to the opin- ion that the culture of this fruit, together with the plum, will have to be abandoned, on account of injury from the curculio. Blackberries have been brought in abundantly during their season, and for a much longer time than usual. Mr. James Nugent continued to show them, for the reason that the first shown Avere grown* on a southern ex- posure, while those exhibited at a later day were grown under a northern exposure. The variety shown by Mr. Nugent was the Dorchester, and it will be noted that every premium was carried off by the Dorchester, though the Lawton was shown in abundance. And it is worthy of mention, that in each and every instance where the Committee questioned the contributors for the purpose of learning their individual opinion as to the merits of the one or the other variety for market, there was not a single dissenting voice as to the superiority of the Dorchester over the Lawton — in fact, nearly all said they should abandon the cultivation of the Lawton as not repaying them sufficiently well while they could have the Dorchester. Though some of the Committee believe both possess merit, a large mi- nority do not deem the Lawton even worth cultivating, except for a small garden, where they can be picked and such as are ripe selected for the table : if picked previous to maturity it is not even palatable. While the Dorchester is not lacking in any one requisite which the Lawton possesses, it is superior in many respects to the latter. The Dorchester is of superior flavor ; the berry is much larger ; is equally as hardy, and fylly as prolific, and when ripened bears carriage, and therein is decidedly superior to the Lawton. The former retains its black lustral quality, while the latter, immediately after picking, changes to a reddish bronze, and to most tastes its sour or acidulous flavor is not agreeable, and it would require an additional amount of sugar to make it palatable. The Committee have VOL. XXIV. — NO. II. 13 90 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. carefully tested them during the last two years, and our opinion is unani- mous in favor of the Dorchester. The Dorchester is a seedling ; so, also, is the Lawton, (though it is a mooted question,) and not the common blackber- ry Avhich springs up by the wayside, and is sometimes transplanted for gar- den culture in the vain hope of its proving equal with the two above named. We would again remind cultivators that to insure a prolific crop it is absolutely necessary to train the stalks horizontally in order that shoots may break at every eye, while, if allowed to grow upright, they only break at the top. Mr. Merriam, who has had most eminent success in fruiting it, says he does not obtain a full crop till the third year of planting. Cherries. — Several seedlings have been tested by the Committee, but none have proved of superior merit. It will be seen that the awards were given to old established varieties, viz., Black Eagle, Black Tartarian, and Napoleon Bigarreau. Messrs. Hovey contributed their Seedling, called "Hovey," July 18th, and the specimens were of marked superiority, prob- ably from the fact that the tree is more fully matured ; the quantity shown was not sufficient, however, to compete for premium, and even these few were saved from the birds under the protection of netting. Only a few of the many seedlings raised by Dr. J. P. Kirtland, Cleve- land, Ohio, have been fruited in this section, but such as have been give promise of productiveness and quality over many of the older varieties of foreign origin. Those of a dark color are Black Hawk, Osceola, Brant, Logan. and Pontiac. Those with a red skin are Gov. Wood, (one of the very best) Kirtland's Mary, Cleveland, Hoadley, Favorite, and Kinnicott. Currants. — The White and Red Dutch were the best grown, and the Victoria was nearly equal. W. C. Strong made a liberal display of new varieties, though not in sufficient quantity to compete for premium ; a few of the new varieties were the Circassian, Red Grape, Versailles, and Ma- crocarpa. Figs. — There were several contributors of this fruit, though the largest and best display at any one time was made by General Newhall. These were ripened off in the open air. Gooseberries. — There does not seem to have been much headway made in the culture of gooseberries since the introduction of Houghton's seedlings, some twenty years since ; and we are surprised that no good seedlings have been brought to notice till within the last year or two. We now have the promise of a superior seedling, raised from the Houghton, which, like the original, is not subject to mildew. It was produced by Mr. Charles Downing, another by the Shakers at Lebanon, N. Y., and still another by Mr. Smith of Vermont. All three give good promise as to quality, fruitfulness and freedom from mildew. This is really one of the most valuable fruits of its season in England, where it is raised in the perfection of nearly an ounce to the berry. Grapes — grown under glass — have been raised in such abundance the past year that our tables have been graced with them, from week to week, for nearly the whole year. Mr. Simpson has been eminently successful in his novel mode of culture. From vines started in August, he cut grapes FEBRUARY. 91 in December, and in January and February made liberal contributions for the Society's tables. Tlie Committee is much indebted, from year to year, to J. Fisk Allen, Salem, for valuable information on this subject. He has made the culture of grapes a special object, and his discriminating eye and close observation will always prove valuable. We would call the attention of the Society to his remarks relative to the identity of the Barbarossa, believing Mr. A. has given the subject the closest scrutiny. Acknowledging our obligations to Mr. A., we herewith incorporate into our report his communication, re- ceived a few days since : Eben. Wight, Chairman Fruit Committee Mass. Hort. Society : Dear Sir, — In reply to your queries I would say, that the noticeable fact in grape culture in our vicinity the past season of 1857, has been the great increase of mildew, and the crop of fruit has been greatly diminished thereby. The wild grape, as well as the Isabella and Diana, have been attacked — the Clinton, in my garden, being the only variety that has not been affected. The Diana escaped with only slight injury, but the fruit suffered somewhat from the rot, a rare occurrence with any variety in our section. Notwith- standing an unusual amount of rain and cloudy weather, the mildness of the autumn enabled the Isabella and Diana vines to ripen crops of fine grapes, when sulphur had been used in quantity sufficient to check the mildew. A vine on the south of my dwelling yielded one hundred pounds of as rich, sweet fruit as ever the South produced; and this vine, for thir- teen years, has never failed to mature a full crop. Several of my hybrid vines withstood the cold of the last winter, with the mercury twenty degrees below zero. Being injured by mildew, and also growing in a cold, wet soil, the fruit did not sweeten sufficiently ; on a wall, in a warm, dry situation, they Avould mature with the Isabella, and I think would be preferred, as less pulpy and foxy. The berry is oval and black, as large or larger than the Isabella, the form and size of the bunch like this variety. Another vine, that fruited for the first time this year, was the worst thing imaginable, — small, foxy and sour. No. 19 fruited for the fourth time. The quality was good, but it did not set its fruit well. This was a general trouble with many wild grapes this year, — the cause, apparently, being some defect in the blossom. The flower is perfect, but the stamen is short, and the anther bursts and spreads its pollen under the pistil, and not over it, as it should do. It must be con- sidered a defect. No. 8 — a black, late hybrid that I have thought well of, and that pre- viously had withstood twelve degrees below zero of frost — was killed to the ground. This can only be suitable for the South. In my garden, the Early Amber ripened well and early. The fruit is good, but the vine drops the grapes so badly as to destroy its value for the table. The Sage was ripe early in September, It is the best of the large wild fox grapes, and requires a dry, warm soil. 92 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. The Union Village and the Rebecca both mildewed more than the Diana. The Delaware, in our vicinity, did mildew some, but slightly. It appears that the prospect for success in the field or vineyard culture of the grape in Massachusetts is not very flattering. On walls fronting from south-southeast, round on the southern side to west-northwest, they will do well ; an eastern exposure is subject to mildew. With the cultivation under glass, the season has been rather unfavorable. A cold and cloudy winter and spring retarded the ripening of the early crops, and delayed the maturity of the later ones several weeks. Here, again, the mildew made sad ravages, and sulphur had to be used for the first time in my experience in a winter forcing house. The extreme cold of the winter killed to the ground many Hamburgh vines. In one of my houses, (a span-roofed,) six or eight Black Hamburgh vines were killed root and branch, and this also is the first experience of the kind in twenty-three years' cultivation. The Muscat of Alexandria and the Queen of Nice were also killed to the roots. The Syrian was badly injured. The vines uninjured were the Royal Red Chasselas, Bar Sur Aube, Rose Chasselas, Chasselas Masqu6 and the White Frontignan. As the Chasselas with the Isabella produced the White Hybrid, it is satis- factory to know that this is more hardy than many kinds. The Black Ham- burgh and the Black Prince were also used in hybridizing, and the produce of the former is apparent in No. 19; of the Black Prince, in one named the Marion. Fire heat had been kept in this house during the montlis of October, November, and a part of December. After the vines were pruned and laid down, they were covered with matting, and shutters put to the side lights, and the fires allowed to go out. It is uncertain whether these vines were more tender in consequence of the fires. The question relative to the Barbarossa grape may be considered as settled. The Prince Albert and Barbarossa, if not identical, are so like as not to be worthy of distinctive names. The foliage and manner of growth, which is peculiar, is similar in both. The fruit is sweet, hard, good and valuable for its late maturity, but it is inferior to the Black Hamburgh. I have suspended a part of a bunch of the Barbarossa with the Prince Albert on a fruiting vine. By testing the flavor and firmness of the berry in eating the fruit, first of one and then of the other, and by comparing the size and form of the berry, I have concluded that I can discover not the slightest difference in them. The Prince Albert has been exhibited by me for several years (with the exception of 1856, when my vines did not fruit). The bunches are large, often weighing four and five pounds. The grapes vary in size, some being of the largest, some medium, and others small. I will soon send to your exhibition a specimen bunch of the Prince Albert for your examination. At this time the bunches still have unripe berries in them. Respectfully yours, John Fisk Ali.en. Salem, Mass., Dec. Uth, 1857. FEBRUARY. ^6 Grapes — open culture. — It is but a few years since we could speak of our native grapes in higher commendation than we now speak of the wild grape of the woods, of a foxy smell and hard pulp. Such vines are often transplanted from their wild state to the homestead, with the expec- tation of an improvement in quality. The object is futile, for all manur- ing and care will never divest it of its hard pulp or foxiness. There are some who never have tasted anything better, and still adhere with tenacity to a hard pulp and strong foxy flavor, believing it the best grape grown. Such an one was the man who was recently shown a handsome bunch of the Rebecca, and advised to plant a vine of this variety. He insisted that he had a large white grape, which he had transplanted from the woods, and " so perfectly delicious was it, that it could be smelt over the whole house." The new varieties have attracted much attention, since we have little or no hope of success with either the Catawba or Isabella, except in the most favorable location, in this region. Mr. Cutter has shown the Isabella, though hardly equalling those of past years, while Mr. Grant has shown the Isabella and Catawba. Some few others have shown the Isabella, grown in the city or in the immediate vicinity. This, however, is no criterion for general culture, for we have had Black Hamburghs, Sweetwater, and other tender grapes grown on walls in the city. What we want, is a grape of a quality not inferior to the Isabella, and ripening seasonably to insure a crop previous to the autumn frosts, and this we think we have in several new seedlings, unless the mildew should prove destructive — and, from its ravages the past season, we have reason to fear our worst predictions may be veri- fied, unless, with the aid of sulphur, it should be stopped. The Concord, so often spoken of heretofore, has ripened in many instances where the Isabella has failed. Mr. Bull has shown them in abundance, but few others have done so, probably for the reason that it has not been planted out a sufficient length of time to allow of a liberal show. Those shown by Mr. B. ivere large, both in bunch and berry, and few grapes prove more attractive than does the Concord, with its rich bloom overlaying every berry. It is a valuable acquisition, and Mr. B. is deserv- ing of a liberal reward for his patient waiting, biding the time when the community will say he should be amply compensated for originating so valuable a grape. The Rebecca has now become so popular for its early ripening, good qualities and hardiness that if not already in the hands of most grape grow- ers, it soon will be. It is one of the most valuable grapes for out-door culture that has ever been introduced amongst us ; and then, too, it is so easy of propagation, that in the hands of almost any person it can be multi- plied ad libitum. A person procured one dozen vines in the autumn of 1856, and immediately commenced its propagation in earnest, as may be judged; for he assures us that from that dozen vines he should have ready potted and for sale, three thousand vines for the spring of 1858. We were glad to have such evidence of its readiness to propagate, believing that it should be in the hands of every one owning the smallest piece of ground. 94 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Not so, however, with the Delaware ; this proves one of the most difficult of propagation, either from eyes, cuttings or layers, hence it must for a length of time be procured with difficulty. We regret this, for it is one of the most valuable not only for its earliness of ripening, but for its hardiness in withstanding almost any degree of cold to which it can ever be subject- ed. The Chairman of your Committee has had a vine of this variety plant- ed out for four years, which withstood the winter of 185G-7, without injury to the extent of a single inch of even the smallest shoot, while an Isabella of the same age and on the same trellis was killed, both root and branch ; the Diana, alongside, was killed to the ground. The Delaware, on its fourth year, was allowed to ripen fifty bunches, which, for the table, proved most desirable. As a table-grape we see no reason why it is not equal to the Rose Chasselas ; at least, it is a good sub- stitute for either that or the Red Traminer. The past season (for the first time,) it was subject to mildew, though slightly, when compared with other varieties in its immediate vicinity. The mildew has been the most serious drawback we have to contend with in open culture; at least such was the difficulty the past season, and unless the application of sulphur will serve to retard it, we do not see any reason why we may ijot be obliged to abandon the culture of the vine. The free use of sulphur accomplishes its object under glass, and perhaps there is no good reason why it should not for out-door culture. The past season was so wet that the mildew was much more serious in its ravages than in any former period within our recollection. The Union (Union Village) has this year surpassed those of any former exhibition ; the bunches weighed more than one pound each, and the ber- ries were considerably larger than the general average of Black Ham- burghs as we find them on the tables of the Society. The grapes were shown by E. A. Bracket, Winchester, and since Mr. Bracket prides himself on the introduction of this seedling (from the Isabella,) it is fair to presume that by judicious thinning of the bunches and constant attention for the encouragement of its growth he was determined to astonish the public ; however, what has been done can be done again by others who have been so fortunate as to possess themselves of a vine. In corroboration of its resemblance to the Black Hamburgh, we will mention an anecdote, which seems well vouched. A distinguished culturist of the vine, and probably the largest in this country, (who is a dear lover of this variety for his family board,) presented bunches at the exhibition of one of the most distinguished of our sister Societies, whose judges are not second to those of any kindred Association. Accompanying the grapes he sent a note, asking if they had ever seen better grown Blacli Hamburghs? So close was the resemblance of bunch and berry, that the highest premium was awarded the contributor as the best Black Hamburghs, and were not aware of their mistake till informed by the contributor. The berry has not the consistency of the Hamburgh, while it possesses a sweetness at once distin- guishable even to the most common observer, and it is fair to presume that the Committee neglected testing the fruit. It is one of the most rampant FEBRUARY. 95 growers, and Mr. Brackett claims that it will ripen as early as the Isabella. Of this fact we cannot speak any more decidedly till it shall have become ujure widely disseminated, and in other hands and other localities, for we should judge the location selected by Mr. Brackett as most favorable for the fruiting of the vine. On referring to Mr. Allen's communication it will be seen that the Union, as well as the Rebecca, did mildew. The Union, in possession of your Chairman, did not show a particle of mildew. It was planted in ground, the subsoil of which is a coarse gravel, and the field had been subsoiled to the depth of two feet or more. There was also in the same row, to stakes or posts, the Concord, Isabella (Cutter's,) Diana and Breck, none of which showed mildew in the least. To be sure, the drainage was, as a matter of course, good, and to this fact alone may pos- sibly be attributed the escape from mildew. The Logan is a new grape, and was this year introduced for the first time at our Annual Exhibition, by Geo. W. Campbell, Delaware, Ohio. It is a black grape, with a rich blue bloom, larger than the Diana, but not so large as the Isabella. The bunches were of the size of the Diana. We should judge that it must ripen earlier than any other grape with which we are acquainted, and this fact, added to its good quality and sweet flavor, will insure its rapid introduction to notice. We have the pleasure of. introducing the history (so far as known) of the Logan, from Mr. Thompson: — Delaware, Ohio, January 9, 1858. Eben. Wight, Chairman Fruit Committee Mass. Hort. Soc. Dear Sir: — In compliance with the request contained in your favor of 31st ult., I with pleasure give you such information as I am in possession of regarding the history of the Logan Grape. My attention was attracted to it some four or five years since in one of the Miami Valley counties, where it was cultivated both as the Catawba and the Isabella, though bearing not a particle of resemblance to either, being as distinct from them in fruit, wood and foliage as is the Delaware. The authorities as to its origin I found conflicting — one party claiming that it came from the woods in Logan County in this State ; the other, that the first vine is from one of a promiscuous lot of cuttings received from a dis- tant friend, and planted by a lady. The first party claims that the fruit was cultivated in that locality long anterior to the planting of the cutting referred to — the other admits that the grape he refers to was cultivated before the cutting was planted, but insists that hers is a different, an earlier and a better fruit. My opinion, as at present advised, is that the fruit and vines are identical, the better location of that from the cutting (south side of a house) accounting for its earlier ripening. My opportunities for com- parison have not, however, been such as would be desirable in order to warrant a positive decision ; but I am now testing the matter myself, on my own premises, and hope soon to be able to settle that point. The vine is a fair grower, leaves deeply serrated, wood short-jointed, and of that firm compact texture which is indicative of hardiness, the young 96 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. shoots covered with an outer bark of a peculiar gray color, and the old wood presenting an unusually rough and ragged exterior. It is a profuse bearer, the bunches, Avhen left unpruned and illy attended, generally small and loose, but under good culture of good size, and compact; the berries nearly round, deep black, and covered with a handsome bloom ; quality better, in my view, than the Isabella ; and in this opinion I am sustained by most judges of fruit who have tested it. It is thoroughly hardy, and may, I think, safely be called our very earliest grape of good quality. Not recognizing it as any grape with which we are acquainted, and be- ing unable to have its identity established through others, myself and a horticultural friend and admirer of the fruit concluded to call it Logan, in reference to the supposed place of its origin, and as a compliment to the memory of the distinguished Indian chief of that name. Yours, truly, A. Thomson. Mr. Thomson is a distinguished horticulturist, and his name is familiar to the readers of the Horticulturist and Hovey's Magazine as the person who was most instrumental in bringing to notice the Delaware grape. Here we have, in the Logan, the promise of a grape, ripening earlier than almost any other, leading us to hope, that, ere long, through the aid of seedlings from this and others, we may attain all that we have desired in past years for open culture. There are yet several other seedlings of great promise as to quality, ear- liness and hardiness, the properties of which we think we cannot be mis- taken in, that will not be brought to the notice of the public till they shall have been most thoroughly tested by the originators. We had intended saying something of seedling grapes, heretofore spoken of in former reports, but the room already occupied under this head pre- vents our extending the remarks at this time. We introduce a letter from E. A. Brackett, in reference to the character of various new grapes, and their growth the past season : — Winchester, January 2, 1858. Eben. Wight, Chairman of Fruit Committee of Mass. Hort. Soc. Dear Sir : — I have received your inquiry respecting my vines. I need not say that the past season has been a poor one for open culture. Almost every vine in my vineyard has suffered from mildew. My crops of the Diana, Concord, Isabella, and Wyman, were entirely cut off. Indeed tlie only specimens of ripe fruit I obtained were from the Delaware and the Union. The Concord has never been a favorite with me as a table grape ; but from some experiments I have made, and from samples I have received from Mr. Bull, I am satisfied that a wine may be made from it not inferior to the best brown sherry. If such should prove to be the case this grape will assume an importance that will more than compensate for any disappoint- ment that may have been felt respecting its flavor. The Delaware is a most desirable grape for this climate. It is a good bearer, ripening its fruit some three weeks earlier than tlie Isabella, while FEBRUARY. 97 the vine is as hardy as an oak. I received the Union grape from Mr. Long- worth of Cincinnati. In his note to me he stated " that it was a larger grape than the Black Hamburgh, thinner skin, softer pulp and more juicy." I have found it fully up to his statement. With me it ripens from a week to ten days earlier than the Isabella. The fruit 1 have shown at your rooms has never received any special care or attention, and I have no doubt that bunches may be grown twice as large as any I have exhibited. It is an enormous grower, making wood double the size of any other vine. In a light sandy or gravelly soil it succeeds well, making short-jointed canes, and producing a good crop of fine fruit. Those who follow the prevailing notions of grape culture, and plant this vine in one of those compost or manure heaps called borders, will be as- tonished at its growth, and still more astonished tchmi they see the fruit. It is important to those who wish to grow the Union grape in this section of the country, either to adopt the system of training detailed to you in a former letter, (see the Report of 1857,) or resort to some other method to check its over luxuriance. Yours truly, E. A. Brackett. Native Wine. — Saturday, Sept. 19lh. — At the solicitation of Messrs. E. Paige & Co., of Boston, a full Committee, with the additiorj of several horticulturists from a distance, then attending our Annual Exhibition, made a visit to their manufictory and wine vaults, under the City Reservoir, where they found, in the process of pressing, several tons of native grapes ; and were assured by Messrs. Paige & Co. that the whole amount they would make into wine this season would exceed sixty tons, yielding over 20,000 gallons of wine. The grapes were mostly from our own State, though several lots were received from Connecticut. One person from Cape Cod supplied about eight tons. The space allowed us will not admit of our going into particulars; but we would call attention to the native grape as an object of profit, in many instances, since it can be grown in abundance, where it is planted by the side of a stone wall — the liberal price paid by Messrs. Paige »Sj:. Co. afford- ing compensation for the little care and labor required. As to the quality of the wine, although it was not of sufficient age to enable us to pronounce a positive opinion on it, some of our amateurs, who have had a more exten- sive acquaintance with other samples from the establishment of Messrs. Paige & Co., speak of it in terms of commendation. Messrs. Paige &l Co. have also produced a brandy from the pulp and skins of the grape, after the juice had been expressed, which, according to the opinions of connoisseurs, is likely to become a valuable article for medicinal and other purposes. Melons. — For open culture the Christiana is the only variety which has been shown of marked superiority, and, as usual, the highest premium was taken by E. M. Richards. Mr. Richards first received his seeds from the late Josiah Lovett, the originator of this most excellent melon. Mr. Richards has not grown any other variety, and for this reason he haa been enabled to keep it in its original purity. VOL. XXIV. — NO. II. 14 98 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Nectarines, grown under glass, have been contributed liberally dur- ing the season by J. F. Allen and others. Those shown by Mr. Harris, gardener to H. H. Hiinnewell, were the Stanwick, which eclipsed all others, both last year and the present. Peaches. — Forced peaches were more fully brought in this year, during the early months, — and subsequently to July we had handsome displays from houses without the aid of fire heat. Orchard culture proved almost an entire failure. Pears. — The season not having been very favorable to the pear crop, ■a limited number of new varieties have fruited the present year, and such as have been exhibited have not been very remarkable specimens. What we have said previously in regard to the excellence of our Ameri- can seedlings, we have found verified by the experience of another year. Many of them were among the finest pears exhibited, and few handsomer specimens were shown than those of the Adams, Sheldon, Abbot, Boston, Seckel, Andrews, Lawrence, Merriam, &c. Such a complete list of the principal varieties of pears presented at the Annual Exhibition has been prepared by Mr. Manning, that we need not occupy space in a more particular reference to them here ; at the same time we cannot omit to mention a few kinds which struck us as unusually fine, even in this rather unfavorable season. These were the Beurre Su- perfin, which promises to become a valuable variety ; Beurre Sterckman, very handsome; Abbott, another very excellent native pear; Henkel, of great merit; St. Michael Archange, large and fine. Merriam, a native, which has seemed to escape the attention of pear cultivators, though known for several years, has been shown in remarkable excellence, attracting the attention of all by its rich warm russet hue, and satisfying all by its many fine qualities ; it will become one of the most popular market pears, being an enormous bearer, ripening well, and coming in at a favorable season just afl;er the Bartlett. The Supreme de Quimper, exhibited by the Messrs. Hovey, proved one of the best early pears, quite equal to the Doyenne d'Et<^, and much larger; it will compare favorably with any of the summer varieties, of which the number is yet limited. The Beurre Clairgeau has been exhibited by several cultivators, and in various stages of excellence as well as beauty. Though the Committee found much difference in the quality of the specimens tested, they believe that when the trees are more advanced and well established, it will prove equal to its reputation. Age is undoubtedly required with this as well as with many other pear trees, before the true qualities of the fruit can be ascertained. Its size and beauty, in addition to its good qualities, will ren- der it a popular kind. Plums. — The Thomas plum was shown by Messrs. Hovey ; a handsome exhibition of the Reine Claude de Bavay, by J. B. Loomis. Also, a fine exhibition was made by Thos. Hastings, of the Diamond. Henry Vandine has been enabled to continue his exhibition in its usual abundance. No one could compete with Mr. Vandine for quantity FEBRUARY. 99 and variety. Honorable mention could be made of others Avho have shown them, but we do not feel that it would be right to encourage the setting out of plum trees, while so many are cutting down their trees in consequence of the continued depredation committed by the curculio. The unsightly appearance which the trees bear, in almost every direction, makes them mere cumberers of the ground. Quinces. — The quince seems to have shared the fate of the apple, pear and cherry in the setting of its fruit, if we can judge from our own expe-' rience and the small number that have been shown. We might say of this fruit, that the crop has proved an entire failure, throughout the New Eng- land States. Raspberries. — Established varieties have taken the lead this season for all the prizes, yet the Committee still hold to the favorable opinion ex- pressed of the Orange (a seedling by Dr. Brinckle) in their report last year. A Sub-Committee found the Catawissa in a bearing condition in the grounds of Mr. Breck, Avho expressed a highly favorable opinion of the variety. Its greatest merit will be in the fact that it is one of the best for. procuring seedlings from. Most of the varieties which are in general cultivation claim to be har- dy, withstanding our severe winters without protection. Many of them may be, yet it is better to turn them down and cover every autumn, as insuring an increased crop the following year. It is but little trouble to do it, and it will repay in the abundance of fruit which follows such care. Strawberries. — Last year the Committee awarded Isaac Fay the Lyman Plate, valued at fifty dollars, for his seedling called "Jenny Lind," being the best seedling strawberry, after a trial of three years. Mr. Fay had exhibited his strawberry for more than three years, but the Committee believed the spirit and meaning of the prospective prize offered was that the fruit should have been tested in regard to prolificness, hardiness, &c., and of this fact we could not have a true knowledge, except throuo-h its dissemination. One of the very best strawberries ever grown, Hovey's, was disseminated over the whole country, and there was but one opinion expressed of it ; all were unanimous in its favor, and it was some ten years after originating it, that the Society awarded Messrs. Hovey the Society's Plate, valued at fifty dollars. Though a fruit sliould have been in the hands of the originator a length of time, and it may be for his interest so to retain it, we do not believe the Society is called on for the fulfilment of its offer under the head of " Prospective Prizes," till the Committee is satisfied that it is tlie best in all respects, for the time being. The Jenny Lind strawberry has been shown the past season by several persons, and it has been uniformly o-ood though the best shown this season was Sir Charles Napier, by Messrs. Hovey. 100 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED DURING THE SEASON. For the best and most interesting exhibition of Fruits during the season, the Lowell plate, to J. F. Allen, For the next best, to Henry Vandine, For the next best, to C. S. Holbrook, Apples. — For the best twelve Summer, to G. B. Cutter, for Williams, For the next best, to J. W. Foster, for E. Harvest, . For the best twelve Autumn, to S. W. Fowle, for Alexander. For the next best, to John Washburn, for Fall Harvey, Blackberries. — For the best, to J. Nugent, for Dorchester, For the next best, to G. Merriam, for Dorchester, For the next best, to J. B. Moore, for Dorchester, For the next best, to J. W. Foster, for Dorchester, . Cherries. — For the best, to J. W. Foster, for Black Eagle, For the next best, to W. R. Austin, for Black Tartarian, * For the next best, to C. E. Grant, for Napoleon Bigarreau, Currants. — For the best, to J. W. Foster, for Red Dutch, For the next best, to George Wilson, for Victoria, . Figs. — For the best twelve specimens, to Josiah M. Newhall, For the next best, to C. F. Jones. Gooseberries. — For the best specimens, to A. D. Webber, For the next best, to J. W. Foster, . Grapes. — For the best specimens grown under glass before the first Saturday in July, to Mrs. F. B. Durfee, For the next best, to Nahum Stetson, For the next best, to J. Fisk Allen, . For the best specimens grown under glass subsequently to the first Saturday in July, to William P. Perkins, For the next best, to Lyman Kinsley, For the next best, to C. S. Holbrook, For the best specimens of Native grapes, to G. B. Cutter, For the next best, to C. E. Grant, ... For the next best, to K. Bailey, For the next best, to R. M. Copeland, Melons. — For the best Musk melon, open culture, to E. M. Rich ards, for Christiana, .... Nectarines. — For the best twelve specimens, to H. H. Hunne well, ....... For the next best, to S. G. Perkins, .... For the next best, to J. Fisk Allen, ... Peaches. — For the best twelve specimens, grown under glass, to C. S. Holbrook, For the next best, to J. Fisk Allen, . . . , For the best twelve specimens, grown in open culture, to F, Dana, for Late Crawford, .... For the next best, to W. H. Ryder, for Early Crawford, $\5 00 ■ 10 00 FEBRUARY. 101 For the next best, to C. E. Grant, for Coolidge, For the next best, to J. A. Stetson, for Late Crawford, Pears. —For the best twelve Summer pears, to Hovey & Co. for Boston, ...... For the next best, to Henry Vandine, for Muskingum, For the next best, to A. D. Webber, for Rostiezer, . For the best twelve Autumn pears, to Jacob Eaton, for Louise Bonne of Jersey, ..... For the next best, to J. F. Allen, for Beurr6 Bosc, . For the next best, to T. Clapp, for Seckel, For the best twelve Winter pears, to George Davenport, for Glout Morceau, ..... For the next best, to Wm. H. Ryder, for same. For the next best, to John Gordon, for Beurre Langelier, For the next best, to Wm. Bacon, for Beurre Diel, . Plums. — For the best specimens, to Henry Vandine, For the next best, to Thomas Hastings, For the next best, to Hovey & Co. for Thomas, Qdinces. — For the best twelve specimens, to E. S. Rand, For the next best, to J. A. Stetson, . Raspberries. — For the best specimens, to J. W. Foster, for Knevit's, For the next best, to W. R. Austin, for same. For the next best, to L. Jennings, Jr. for same, Strawberries. — For the best specimens, to Hovey & Co. for Sir Charles Napier, .... For the next best, to M. H. Simpson, for Hovey, For the next best, to George Leland, for Jenny Lind, $3 00 2 00 5 00 3 00 2 00 5 00 3 00 2 00 4 00 3 00 2 00 5 00 4 00 3 00 GRATUITIES FOR EXHIBITIONS DURING THE SEASON. To Charles Heard, Brighton, for cherries, Hovey's Magazine one year. To J. H. Chadwick, for pears, Hovey's Magazine one year. To Oliver Bennet, for peaches, Hovey's Magazine one year. To C. F. Jones, tor nectarines, Horticulturist one year. To S. J. Ruggles, for strawberries, Hovey's Magazine one year. To G. R. Sampson, for peaches, Hovey's Magazine one year. To Ignatius Sargent, for grapes, Appleton bronze medal. To E. A. Story, Jr., for mulberries. Horticulturist one year. To F. & M. Burr, for apples, Hovey's Magazine one year. To W. W. Wheildon, for the same, Hovey's Magazine one year. To N. Stetson, for Shanghai peaches. Society's silver medal. To B. Luscomb, for B. Clairgeau pears, Hovey's Magazine one year. To A. Corey, for Merriam pears, Hovey's Magazine one year. To E. A. Brackett, for Union grape, Horticulturist one year. To William Page, for pears, Hovey's Magazine one year. To J. Haley, for the same, Hovey's Magazine one year. To B. C. White, for grapes. Horticulturist pne year. 102 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. To J. Plympton, for pears, Horticulturist one year. To P. T. Homer, Hovey's Magazine one year. To J. B. Loomis, for plums, Hovey's Magazine one year. To Bowen Harrington, for apples. Horticulturist one year. To Eben. Wight, for Delaware grapes, Hovey's Magazine one year. To Wm. Brooksbanks, for Rebecca grape, silver medal. To Thomas Waterman, for grapes. Horticulturist one year. To J. Cass, for grapes, Hovey's Magazine one year. To J. B. Moore, for currants and blackberries, Horticulturist one year. To Eben. Wight, for Bloodgood and Julienne pears, Horticulturist one year. To B. Gifford, for pears and plums, Hovey's Magazine one year. To Nathan Durfee, for peaches, Hovey's Magazine one year. To E. A. Story, for apples, Hovey's Magazine one year. To Francis Marsh, for the same, Hovey's Magazine one year. The premiums and gratuities awarded at the Annual Exhibition will be found in our last Vol. (XXHI.) p. 475. DorticiitovrnI ©pcratioiis FOR FEBRUARY. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. Up to the time we write, (the 20th), January has been unprecedented for its mildness and freedom from storms of snow or rain. The temperature has not fallen below 15° but once or twice, and there has been no day but what it has thawed in the sun, and but a few in which it has not thawed in the shade. Violets, buttercups and some other flowers have been in bloom in warm localities, and the whole month has been more like the last days of March than the season of mid- winter. Throughout tlie entire country the same mild weather has prevailed, and the ground is as bare of snow, and almost of frost, as in November. We think Ave may safely say, that no such winter has been experienced by the' "oldest inhabitant;" certainly we have no recollection of one so uniformly mild. Such favorable weather has been advantageous to the cultivator. Very light fires have been required in the forcing-houses, and consequently the trees and plants have a more healthy and vigorous appearance than when grown under the influence of strong fire heat. Grape Vines in the early houses will now be maturing their crop, and after the fine weather it should have a good color ; keep the house dry and well aired, and the fruit may be preserved in fine order for a long lime. Vines in greenhouses and graperies will now begin to break, and will require careful attention. Do not hasten them too fast by high night temperature ; air moderately and maintain a humid and genial atmosphere by good syringing in the afternoon, just as soon as the house is closed, and damp down the floors after the fires are lighted. As the laterals advance, FEBRUARY. 103 rub off the superfluous buds, and tie in the others to the trellis. Hardy vines may now be pruned and trained up to the trellis. Cuttings may be put in and forwarded in the hotbed. Peach Trees in pots, now in bloom, should have an abundance of air, or the fruit will set poorly. Strawberries in pots, now in bloom, should also be well aired, other- wise they will not swell up their fruit. Scions of fruit trees may be cut this month. Pear, Apple and other fruit trees may now be pruned. Where there are large collections it is necessary to begin early, and nothing is lost by commencing at once. Root Grafting may be forwarded now before the out-door grafting commences in March. flower department. The greenhouse and conservatory now present as gay an aspect as tliey usually do a month later in the season. The absence of strong fire heat has been favorable to a stocky and vigorous growth, and the warm sun has brought forward many flowers. As the appearance now is that the winter will be short and probably not severe, work will crowd rapidly, and the month will be a more busy one than usual. Propagating, potting and re- potting must be attended to, and everything done to keep up with the sea- son. Camellias still continue in bloom, but by the close of the month will begin to grow, unless in very cool houses. As soon as this is perceived, syringe often, water more freely, and slightly increase tlie temperature. Inarching must be done before the plants begin to grow. Azaleas will now begin to flower, and the watering should be more regular and abundant. If slightly shaded, they will continue in beauty for a long time. Young plants should be potted and put into heat if large plants are wanted. Monthly Carnations will be growing vigorously and showing abund- ant bloom. Increase the stock by layers or cuttings. Cinerarias. — Early plants will now be in full bloom For later flower- ing, young vigorous plants should now be repotted, and the whole stock have a general shift. Fumigate often if the green fly is troublesome. Fuchsias should now be set to work. Late autumn-struck cuttings make fine pyramidal plants if pushed along in a little heat. Shake them out of the old soil and put into smaller pots. Syringe often, and stop the shoots as they advance in growth. Pelargoniums will now begin to grow rapidly, and must have careful attention. Water sparingly ; give them more room and plenty of air. Tie out the shoots as they grow, but do not stop them unless very late bloom is wanted. Calceolarias should be repotted. Unless a good stocky plant is ob- tained the bloom will be weak. Running Plants, such as Stephanotus, Cobsea, Maurandias, &-c., should be brought forward and trained to neat trellises. 104 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTURE. Japan Lilies should all be potted this month. Water sparingly till the shoots have advanced an inch or two. AcHiMENES AND Gloxinias sliould be turned out of the old soil and re- potted. Those started last month may be potted off now. Keep them in the warmest part of the house. Bedding Plants of all kinds must now be looked after. A good stock should be obtained, and early struck plants are the best. Scarlet Gerani- ums, Salvias, Verbenas, Lantanas, Petunias, and indeed every showy kind, should be propagated in quantities. Seeds of many annuals may now be sown for early blooming in the bor- ders. Heaths, intended for next year's blooming stock, should be repotted soon. Keep the shoots topped to induce a stocky and handsome growth. Keep in the coolest part of the house, where they will have an abundance of air. Hollyhocks may now be propagated from cuttings, and the plants will bloom finely in the autumn. Harden off the early cuttings in frames. Pansies in pots should be looked over, and, if cramped for room, may be repotted. Seeds sown now will make good early blooming plants for the borders. Cuttings of choice kinds may be put in this month. Roses will now be making a vigorous growth and showing flower buds. Keep the plants well watered, occasionally using liquid manure. Syringe often if the weather continues fine, and fumigate if the green fly is trouble- some. Tie out and regulate the shoots if fine specimens are wanted. Young stock in small pots should be shifted into larger size. Dahlias wanted for early bloom, or for an increase of stock, should now be potted and placed in the greenhouse, where they will soon give plenty of cuttings. Cold Frames, after the late warm weather, should be opened and aired, if the weather continues favorable. Look over and pick off any decayed leaves. vegetable department. With February the attention of the gardener should be directed to the growth of all the choicer vegetables which may be forwarded a month or two with the aid of good hotbeds. We need not detail how to make these, as it would be an unnecessary repetition of directions wo have before given. As soon as they are ready, which should not be later than the middle of the month, all the rarer seeds may be planted. Cauliflowers, Broccolis, Tomatoes, Egg Plants, &c., should be sown in pots. Lettuces, Radishes, Cress, &c., should be planted in the beds. Cucumbers and Melons should be sown in pots, and beds should be in readiness for hilling out the plants in due season. Cabbages of the different early sorts should be sown. Peas may be obtained very early by sowing in pots or on sods, and trans- planting to the open ground in April. FRUIT CULTURE IN THE WEST. The progress of fruit culture in the West, though receiving a check by the severity of the winter of 1855 and 1856, still moves onward with wonderful strides. With a soil which requires no manure, nor, in most cases-, any preparation, and with a climate as favorable as our country affords, there is certainly nothing wanting but energy, industry and skill, to render it the fruit garden of the world. True we hear of one foe to that richest of fruits, the pear — the blight — which may somewhat dampen the ardor of some cultivators ; but its attacks are not constant, nor its effects, with due care, gen- erally fatal ; and before the light of better intelligence and careful experience we may hope such information will be obtained as will enable all to guard against injury, and that eventually the caaise may be discovered and a remedy under- stood. With other fruits tliere appears to be nothing more to contend against than we have at the East. There is a want of proper shelter, in the wide expanse of level prairie, but so speedily can suitable protection be afforded by planta- tions of the more rapid growing forest trees, which give addi- tional value to all lands, besides the shelter they afford, that there is nothing to prevent the West from becoming the most fertile fruit region of our country. The fruit cultivators of Ohio have held annual or biennial meetings for several years with a view to disseminate valuable information upon fruit growing, and otherwise aid in foster- ing the increasing taste for fruit culture, and we have now before us the Transactions of the Eighth Session of the Ohio Pomological Society, held at Cincinnati on the 14th of September, and also at Columbus, on the 8th of December last. It contains the discussions upon the various fruits pre- sented at the two meetings, and reports received from various parts of the State in reference to the growth of trees, — the effects of the late severe winters, — the varieties best adapted for general cultivation — and the insects injurious to the VOL. XXIV. — NO. III. 15 106 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTITRE. orchardist. As they afford not only much valuable informa- tion to the great West, but incidentally to the East, we shall lay before our readers such portions of the report as will interest all who are engaged in the cultivation of our finest fruits. The meeting was opened with an Address from the Presi- dent, Mr. A. H. Ernst of Cincinnati. The Address is replete with interest, but we can only spare room to refer to his remarks upon those prevalent and fatal maladies — the blight — and rot of the grape. Upon these Mr. Ernst thus speaks: — CAUSE OF THE BLIGHT. " We have seen the effect of two successive winters, equal in intensity of cold, on the growth of the two preceding but dissimilar summers ; from which it is manifest that a low degree of temperature is not always or so much the cause of destruction, as the previous condition of the tree or plant. And here I apprehend we have the key to the whole secret of the disease termed fire-blight ; the tree being stimulated into luxuriant growth, forming a porous and delicate tissue. In this condition the sun's rays act on this tissue ; the sap is scalded, and becomes vitiated, when vegetable mortification takes place, which, soon spreading by means of the sap, pro- duces disease and death in other parts of the tree, if not ar- rested in its progress by lopping off the affected part. If the tree or plant escapes this disease, and passes into the winter with immature wood, it is likely to share the same fate from frost, though the injury may not be fully consummated until return of vegetable activity in the coming spring and sum- mer." MILDEW OR ROT. " In this connection I would especially call your attention to the mildew and rot of the grape, which proved so destruc- tive to the crop this season, and which will, if not arrested, materially interfere with the culture of this healthful luxury. Whether this is owing to the adoption of the European meth- od of culture and treatment by our vine-dressers, as not suit- ed to our soil and climate, or is the result of other causes, are matters on which there is much difference of opinion, and is MARCH. 107 worthy of your serious consideration. It cannot be that in a country where the grape abounds and flourishes in a wild state, it should not also flourish in a state of cultivation, if the method of culture is correct, and not destructive to the health of the plant. The fact that varieties which were healthy, and perfected their fruit regularly and uniformly, do not do so now, or at least precariously, is certainly sug-' gestive of something wrong in their treatment. It cannot arise from a worn-out soil, from which all the substances for their healthy action have been abstracted, or they would still maintain their former healthfulness, when transferred to new soil. This is not the case ; all share alike in similar soil and location. Is the plant not enfeebled in its power to pro- duce fruit by the severe pruning to which it is subjected in our climate?" These remarks deserve the serious reflection of all cultiva- tors. We believe with Mr. Ernst that there is something wrong in the treatment of the Native Grape, that in its native climate it should be subject to such fatal diseases. The discussions upon fruit occupied the greater part of the time of the Society. We copy the most important portion of these discussions : — PEACHES. Cook's Seedling. — Originated from seed by J. S. Cook of Walnut Hills. A very large and beautiful freestone, resem- bling Crawford's Late. Ripens a few days later, (last of September) and thought to excel that variety in quality of fruit, and also in productiveness. Mr. Cook and Mr. Sayers testified that it was a remarkably free bearer, and excellent peach, admirably suited for marketing, being very handsome, and bearing carriage well. Griffith. (The same as Susquehanna.) — A fine, large, yellow-fleshed peach: Skin yellow, with red cheek. Orig- inated on the grounds of Mr. Griffith, on the banks of the Susquehanna River, Pa. [Why it is called Griffith is not stated. It has already been described in our account of the Meeting of the American Pomological Society at Philadelphia, Vol. XYIII., p. 492.] 108 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Carter's Large. — A seedling of Pennsylvania, large, hand- some, resembling Oldmixon Free. Tree very hardy, and a sure bearer : Blossoms large. Stump of the World. — Mr. Bateham said this was one of the brag peaches of New Jersey. Mr. Bocstoce said it was a fine peach, and a great bearer — the trees apt to bear too full, rendering the fruit under size. Oldmixon Free, Crawford's Early, and Cooledge's Fa- vorite were each pronounced superior varieties. Other sorts were discussed, but the information elicited was not decisive of their merits. grapes. Hall. — A seedling raised by Dr. Hall of Urbana. Berries of medium size, dark color; larger and better flavor than Clinton, but not equal to Isabella. Specimens quite ripe ; said to be earlier than Isabella, or Catawba. [It is not much praise to compare any grape with the Clinton.] James's Seedling, from J. H. James of Urbana. Not ripe, and history not given. Resembles the Catawba. Said to be hardier and earlier. apples. Bohannon. — A fine southern apple, from Kentucky. Fruit medium or large, roundish, conical, somewhat angular, or ribbed: Skin smooth, pale yellow, with a blush: Stalk rather short: Flesh yellowish, tender, sub-acid. Somewhat of the character of Maiden's Blush, handsome, fine for cook- ing and market, but not first rate for dessert. KiRKBRiDGE White from Indiana was pronounced identical with the Bohannon. Carolina Red June. — Considered by some as the most profitable of all summer apples ; begins to ripen at the same time as the Early Harvest, and continues in season two months or more. Tree vigorous, and abimdant bearer. Late Strawberry, (Autumn Strawberry.) — A good grower and very early bearer in Illinois. Considered valuable. American Summer Pearmain. — Universally commended as one of the handsomest and best apples of the season. MAECH. 109 Gravenstein. — Well known as one of the best early fall apples. Richmond, New. — Originated in Sandusky, Ohio. Fruit large, roundish, handsomely striped : Flesh white, tender, juicy and good. October to February. Striped Bellflower, — Supposed to be a seedling ; fruit large, shaped like the Bellflower, beautifully striped ; flesh very tender, pleasant but not high flavor. October and No- vember. Commended as deserving trial. Jeffries. — New, from Pennsylvania ; medium size, round- ish, yellow, with red stripes ; flesh white, tender, juicy, and very good. September and October. Not much known. Hawley. — Promises well at the West. Tree vigorous and productive. Maiden's Blush. — Highly approved in Illinois. Fruit al- ways fair and handsome, very good for cooking. Sometimes first rate. Recommended for general cultivation. Falla WATER. — Known in the West under a great variety of names, particularly as the Tulpehocken, Pound and Dutch Pippin, &G. Fruit large and fair ; good for cooking and for market. Promises well for Southern Ohio. Kaighn's Spitzenberg. — Another apple with a host of synonyms. Highly popular as a market fruit in some sec- tions. Blue Pearmain. — Large, showy, and good, when in perfec- tion, especially for market and cooking ; not so reliable as at the North and East. White Pippin. — Well known, and maintaining its high reputation as one of the best winter apples for Central and Southern Ohio. Not known at the East, and its origin not yet traced out. Is not identical with the Canada Reinette. White Pearmain of Indiana. — A very popular Western apple, which has puzzled pomologists to find out its true name and history. Much grown, and highly esteemed. Dis- tinguished from the Michael Henry by the yellowish seeds.* Michael Henry Pippin. — Closely resembles the last, and the two are often confounded. The two are similar in ap- pearance, but the flesh of the Michael Henry is sweeter, and less crisp, and not equal to the other in its general quality. 110 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Roman Stem is similar in appearance and character to the two preceding, and is quite popular as a late winter apple in some localities at the West. Milam. — Highly esteemed at Chillicothe and vicinity as a market apple, and rapidly gaining popularity. , Red Seedling. — Originated in Ross county. Mr. Bateham said the beautiful appearance of this apple, in connection with its excellence, will make it a favorite. Indeed, he thought it might prove a better substitute for the Lady Apple than any other sort. He promised to obtain scions and more informa- tion about it. Ernst Pippin. — Obtained from Mr. Ernst, the President of the Society, and supposed to be a seedling. Recommended as deserving of trial. Long Island Pippin had the character and appearance of Peck's Pleasant, with which the description corresponds. Newtown Pippin. — Conflicting opinions were given in re- gard to this fine old fruit. In some places it succeeds, in others it does not. The difference between the green and yellow varieties was discussed, but nothing conclusive was elicited. Bellplower. — One of the very best winter apples in many localities. Mr. Ernst said there was a disposition in some quarters to condemn it. Mr. Bateham said it was fine around Columbus, and Dr. Warder confirmed this in regard to Cen- tral Illinois. Rome Beauty. — The Committee were unanimous in com- mending this apple as one of the handsomest and best, espec- ially for the South, and for market. Tree a fine grower, and good bearer. Not quite first rate in quality. Broadwell. — Maintains its quality as a fine winter sweet apple ; the Committee recommended it as deserving extended trial. Orange Sweet was considered by some as the best sweet apple of its season, which is October and November. Winter Sweet Paradise. — Mr. Bateham considered this the best dessert winter sweet apple within his knowledge, and for baking it was only excelled by Tolman's Sweeting. Mr. Ernst thought it not superior to the Broadwell. MARCH. Ill ToLMAN AND Danvers Winter Sweet were both pronounced excellent. Vandbrvere. — Considered by the Committee the true New- town Spitzcnberg ; is one of the very best winter apples in Central and Southern Ohio. Melon, quite new, but highly recommended for trial. King, of Tompkins County. — Not yet fruited in Ohio, but recommended for trial. Northern Spy. — This apple has done well in Madison, In- diana, and also at Louisville and St. Louis. The fruit was large and fine. Ohio Nonpareil. — From the researches of Mr. Batcham he has proved this to be the Cogswell, as we have intimated in a previous volume. The apple which he procured in Phila- delphia was identical. We doubt not the former name will be discontinued. RoxBURY Russet. — A good apple, but the trees appear more tender than other sorts, hundreds having been winter- killed in 1856. Smoke House. — Not so highly esteemed as in Pennsylvania. Mainly valued for culinary purposes. Baldwin. — Fine specimens were shown, but no opinion ex- pressed in regard to this favorite apple. Hubbardston Nonsuch. — Succeeds well with Dr. Petticolas, near Cincinnati. Dutch Mignonne. — A large and rich looking apple. Good for market, and recommended for trial. Smith's Cider. — Mr. Bateham knew of no other variety unless it was Rome Beauty for which there was so great a demand as for this. Exceedingly profitable as a market ap- ple, though not quite first-rate. Very hardy, and suitable for unfavorable localities. Mr. Bateham suggested that the Cider should be dropped, and the apple known simply as the Smith. A very large number of new seedlings, or unknown varie- ties, were presented, some under name and others without, but we have not room to enumerate them, and as the merits of the larger part were quite unknown, the information would be of little value. Some were recommended for trial, and others considered worthless- 112 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTURE. PEARS. The discussion on this fruit was brief, and only a few of the older and well-known sorts were brought forward. No new facts were elicited in regard to them. We have already remarked that the Committee invited cultivators to send in lists of the most popular varieties of ap- ples which succeed well with the writers, and a long list of letters from various counties in the State are appended to the Report. The Secretary has made a summary of them, and he concludes as follows : — WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED. " From an attentive perusal of the foregoing communica- tions, (and many more in the office of the State Board of Agriculture,) we draw the following inferences : " 1. That very great loss of fruit trees resulted from the extraordinary winter of 1855-6 ; nearly all the peach and heart-cherry being destroyed ; and in some parts of the State very many apple trees, but not so general a loss of these as many persons had supposed. "2. As a general rule, there is not much difference in the hardiness of the different varieties of fruits, especially of peaches and sweet cherries ; and in regard to apples, the difference is much less than was generally supposed ; as many of those reported as tender in one locality, or by one writer, are classed as hardy by others. The principal exceptions seem to be in reference to the Belmont, Ehode Island Greening, E. Spitzenberg, and Roxbury Russet, which are reported as most generally injured by the winter. "3. The effect of the previous crop had no perceptible in- fluence in rendering the tree liable to injury by the winter ; but more was dependent on the condition of the wood as to ripeness — those trees which, from richness and moisture of soil, made a late and luxuriant growth the season previous, were most injured by the winter. For this and other reasons, elevated or hilly lands are found most favorable for apples, as well as peaches and cherries. " 4. The damage to the apple crop by rotting, scab, rust^ MARCH. 113 Smilacina bifolia, or our pretty Solomon's seal, with its one leaf, such as we find now in its young and unde- veloped condition before old enough to flower. Lilly Convallie. This name seems to signify something like our garden Lily of the Valley, but Parkinson sets us right by indicating a species of Solidago, and probably S. sempervirens. Water Plantain, " here called water suck leaves." This is our Alisma plantago. 116 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICDLTUEE. Sea Plantane, three kinds. These three kinds of Sea plantain were Plantago maritima, Triglochin maritimum and >Statice limonium, as I consider at a venture. Small Water Archer. A quaint name to specify the Ar- rowhead, Sagittaria angustifolia, while his Autumn Bell Flower reminds us of the exquisite fringe gentian, Gentiana crinita, whose blossom is an inverted bell. The Yeratrum viride of the spring is next introduced, as suggested by this rich and linger- ing blossom of latest autumn, by way of extremes, which he calls the White hellebore^ a slight error, but very pardonable. The description of it is precise and graphical, as follows : " The first plant that springs up in this country, and the first that with- ers ; it grows in deep black mould and wet ; in such abundance that you may, in a small compass, gather whole loads of it." It is not singular that this fine native plant thus attracted the eye of the author, because it is so similar to the Veratrum album of Europe. He discovers that it is a famous Indian remedy, the roots being powdered and laid on wounds, em- ployed for sundry aches, and even for "that most outrageoiis and least endurable of all, the toothache. These acrid prop- erties introduce us next to Polygonum hydropiper and P. persicarca, also acrid weeds, bearing then, as they do' now, names of no fastidious nicety, and whose repetition are need- less, as they are well known to most readers, under the syno- nym of heart-smart. And, while dealing in acrid plants, another is presented to our minds by the mention of Spurg-e-Time, which I take to be jEuphorbia polygonifolia, as " it grows upon dry, sandy Sea Banks, and is very like to Rupterwort." Another " Rup- terwort, with the white Flower," is probably -Euphorbia mac- ulata, the true rupturewort of England, or Herniaria glabra, not being indigenous. The supposed efficacy of these and similar plants being found to be fallacious, they have long been discarded from modern pharmacopaeias. The Hydroco- tyle americana is probably the " Jag-g-ed Rose pennijivort."" These thick leaved plants seem to remind him of " Soda bariglia, or massacote, the ashes of Soda, of which they make Glasses," a not very lucid statement, but expressive of our Salsola Kali, still common on sandy sea shores ; while we dis- MARCH, 117 cover that '■'■ Bariglia^^ is only the Italian word for barilla. The " Glasswort, here called Berrellia, which grows abun- dantly on the salt marshes," is our Salicornia herbacea and S. mucronata, and sometimes called samphire. These plants may be seen in an autumnal glory of richest crimson color upon the salt marshes between Lynn and Chelsea ; and the novelty of the sight suggested to some verdant writer in one of the Boston papers, a few years ago, the striking and new features in the introduction of splendid flowers upon the said meadows since the raising of the embankment of the Eastern Railroad track, and partial damming out of the tide on por- tions intended for the erection of buildings and houses ! That very common and unpleasant weed in our soils, espec- ially thin and gravelly ones, JHypericum perforatum, was known to our author under the name of Saint John's Wort, and its saintly co-species likewise Saint Peter's Wort, or Hy- pericum ellipticum. Some such saintly odor or virtue seems requisite to render them endurable to any but a botanist. "The several species of Hypericum, or St. John's Wort," says an English botanist, " have handsome yellow flowers, and many are very ornamental plants in shrubberies. H. perforatum is the Fuga dcemonum of the old herbalists, and is the plant formerly so much in repute for its supposed in- fluence in conjurations and enchantments ; and even now the French and German peasants gather it with great ceremony on St. John's day, believing it to be a preservative against thunder ; and the Scots formerly carried it about their per- sons as a charm against witchcraft." Of St. Peter's Wort we are not so well informed, but I am inclined to the belief from the fact that being found in such company our ingenious author attached the name to another sort of Hypericum, as I have already suggested. His Speediuell Chickweed may be Feronica serpyllifolia, a delicate, little, bluish-flowered weed in grass lands, looking somewhat like Chickweed, and yet being a veritable Speedwell. In our Linaria canadensis, with its slender racemes of small, blue and elegant flowers, and grassy, delicate linear leaves, borne upon a many-branch- ing stem, one of the last, lingering, blossoming plants of mild autumn weather, and so hardy as to be content with any 118 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. gravel pit or sandy road-side, we have our author's Male Fluellin or Speedwell. This species of Linaria is in some repute among our country doctors, as a relief in toothache, the chewing of the plant producing some eifect on the saliva- ry glands ; and by exciting the action of our national vice of ptyalism, it may find favor in other eyes than those of herbal- ists and simplers of olden times. In rich pasture lands among bushes, we find two or three species of Pycnanthemum, with pungent, aromatic, spicy- tasted leaves, and these seem to have suggested our author's " Upright Peniroyal and Wild Mint.''^ It is only on the side of roads, and near stone walls, where refuse rubbish has ac- cumulated for several years, that we find Nepeta cataria or Catnep, yet our author gives it honorable mention as if a common and native plant at the time of his visit, as follows, " Cat Mintf^ evidently having his mind upon the selfsame plant of which the old herbalists tell us with great gravity that it " is the ordinary garden sort of some and the mentha felina, because cats doe delight both to smell and eate thereof and gladly rub themselves against it." Egrimony is none other than our Agrimonia Eupatoria, long celebrated as a vermifuge : and Pliny relates that Eu- PATOR, king of Pontus, took it as a medicine, a valuable testi- mony to its real or supposed virtues. The Lesser Clot Bur, is Xanthium strumarium, said to be naturalized from Europe, and found now about barnyards and outbuildings of farms. " The Water Lilly, ivith Yelloiv Flowers^'' is our Nuphar advena, mistaken for the Nuphar lutea of England. This lat- ter is common in ponds and rivers there, as our species is with us. The thick fleshy rootstalks are eaten by swine and goats, but kine, horses and sheep refuse them. The root- stalks of N. Advena of this country are fed upon by " the Moose Deer, at which time the Indians kill them, when their heads are under water," and so peculiarly fitted for food under straitened circumstances are they, that we are told that " the Indians eat the roots, which are long boyling : they taste like the liver of a Sheep." Our curious and beautiful Indian turnip, or Jl^rum triphyl- MARCH. 119 liim, reminded our author of the famous English Dragons, but the leaves of those which grow here " differ from the kinds with us, they come up in June." Unlike our "New England rarity," the British Dragons or Arums are coarser, and inconspicuous, rather fiercer in aspect, and seemingly more venomous. Several highly singular and even splendid species are found in other climates, as Arum dracontium, polyphyllum, dracunculus, &c., &c., which might have been familiar to him at home. An early ramble in our woods, or on our hill-sides, in the vernal months of the year, after a cold and snowy winter, would attract our author, who, bent on the natural history of this country, no doubt hailed the " Violets of three kinds — the white violet, which is sweet but not so strong as our Blew violet," (doubtless the Fiola blanda,) " Blew Violets, without scent," ( V. cucullata, and similar,) " and a Keddish Violet, without scent ; they do not bloom till June." This mention of said reddish violet is very interesting. On the rocky pasture grounds near Brattleboro', Vt., I found several roots in full blossom, of what I take to be a red variety of Fiola primulaefolia. Attempts to introduce it into cultivation by sowing its seeds failed me, the more to be regretted because it would have been quite an addition to our garden sorts. The deliciously perfumed violets of modern gardens are the true English Fiola odorata, or what are called Neapolitan or tree violets. Our scentless sorts must have been the occasion of vexatious disappointment on this score, faintly atoned for in the delicate odor of the White Violets of our wet meadows. This rich perfume of British Violets seems to float on the air, as we recall it to our imagination, telling us so plainly of the warm sunshine of early spring, and the promise of other sweet blossoms to succeed. It reminds me of the enthusiasm of an English gardener, who, allowing that New England surpassed Old England in number of species, yet maintained, with an unanswerable argument, that the single species of the blue scented F. odorata was worth them all ! Lonicera (Xylosteum) ciliata seems to have been the shrub designated as Woodbine, to which marvellous virtues are as- signed. The fine, old, garden plant, Polygonatum multiflo- 120 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. rum of Britain is put for P. latifolium of our woods, and called Salamori's Seal, of which he adds, " there are three kinds," the second being Virginian Salamon's Seal, or our P. biflo- rum : " And the third, differing from both, is called Treacle Berries, having the perfect taste of Treacle when they are ripe." This is our Smilacina racemosa described by Parkin- son in glowing terms, whose berries are " each of the bignesse of a Juniper berry, yellowish before they be ripe and finely spotted with blood red speckles, which after they have so long abidden are worn out by the ripening of them and changed red like a cherry, whose pulp or juice is sweet." These re- markable treacle berries " are certainly Medicinable and a very wholesome berry." The joints of Polygonatum vulgare of England when cut across present some resemblance to the impression of a seal ; and the scars left by the old stems upon the rootstalks (roots) or rhizomas even of our American spe- cies bear a similar appearance. From these circumstances the plant has been called Solomon's Seal, that extraordinary Jewish monarch figuring largely as a magician in some oriental literature. Several sorts of Geraniums come under our notice now, such as Dovesfoot, Geranium carolinianum ?, Herb Robert, G. 'Robertidnum, Knobby Crane's Bill, G. maculatum per- haps. Of Raven's Claiv it is asserted " that it is admirable for Agues," from which I am inclined to consider it some species of Ranunculus with acrid leaves, and these bearing the resemblance to the foot of that bird, as the divided foliage of R. scleranthus, for instance, does. In Cinque Foil we have our Potentilla canadensis, and in Tormentilla, our P. argentea ? The true Tormentilla of England was so desig- nated for its astringency and supposed virtues in dysentery, but we know of no similar value in any of our cinque foils, though their generic name refers to their potent qualities in medicaments. Eaton classes the Potentillas among the ton- ics. In G^eum album, which is said to resemble much the G. urbanum of Europe, we have the '■'■Avens with the Leaf of Mountain Avens and Root of English Avens." Our author finds the plants and fruit of Fragaria virginiana, and takes it for F. vesca, and these are strawberries of the new world. MARCH. 121 The noble Archangelica atropurpurea, and perhaps Osmor- hiza brevistylis, remind him of " Wild Angelica, mujoris and minoris ;" while his Alexanders, " which grow upon Rocks by the Sea Shore," is Ligusticum scoticum ? Yarrow, with the white flower, is none other than Achillai^a millefolia, similar to that of Europe. In the Orkneys it is reputed as a curative of melancholy ; but whether specific, I am unable to say : suffice that its cheerful flowers are favorites with some, who do not despise vulgar weeds, and the elegant roseate variety is a desirable garden plant ; supplanted, indeed, by the slenderer growing kind, to which I find the name of speciosa given, among gardeners and amateur florists. The " Columbines of a flesh colour, growing upon Rocks" tell of Aquilegia canadensis, whose nodding blossoms help make merry and glad many a girl and boy in spring time, especially if found on some early May day : nor are they ungrateful of the culti- vation bestowed upon them, improving in size, contour, and even color, and admirable among foreign species. The Chenopodium botrys seems to be " Oak of Hierusa- leme,'"' and our Bitterweed or Roman wormwood, so trouble- some in neglected potato fields, the Ambrosia artemisiaefolia, the Oak of Cappadocia. Goose grass or Clivers is some species of Galium, and Fearn is the Saxon name for Pteris aquilina or " Brakes," which we still call ferns. Woodsorrel with the yellow flower is O'xalis stricta, confounded with O. corniculata. Some botanists, even now, deem them identical. Of trees, our Z7hnus americana was taken for U. campes- tris, and we seem to have borrowed the name of Elm from the latter. The Line tree "of both kinds" refer to Tilia americana instead of Tilia europae^a, while the old Herbals explain the two kinds, viz., a male and a female kind, an evi- dent eror. We call it Linden or Lime tree, hence Lin and next "Line tree:" the old spelling being the most correct. Basswood is likewise applied to it, from Bast, a term applied in northern Europe to the thin inner bark, from which mats used by gardeners, and to wrap cabinet wares, are manufactured. This tough fibrous inner bark is also called in physiological botany bast fibre, and in the Dirca it is of extraordinary tenacity and strength. Here we have borrowed a Russian VOL. XXIV. — NO. III. 16 122 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. word, perhaps ; and by corruption applied it to the Linden tree as Basswood. Species of Acer indicate " Maple" which our author saw, but whether the Red, White, or Yellow maple he does not enlighten us about. In grasses he finds the Dewg-rass, which we now call Or- chard grass and Cock's-foot grass, or Dactylis glomerata. The Earth nuts attract his attention, which he says " are of divers kinds, one bearing very beautiful flowers," and we recognize Aralia trifolia as one kind, and A^pios tuberosa as another. Why this latter has not received more attention as an appropriate vine to cover rural arbors in gardens, nowadays, I can only attribute to the fact that its frequency on our old stone walls precludes its being considered as a "rarity" to be sought for abroad. Its rich chocolate blooms are redolent of the perfume of mignionette, while its persistency in inflores- cence should give it some merit. " Far sought more prized" still obtains to too great a degree among our horticultural maxims. NOTES ABOUT NEW PEARS. BT HON. J. M. EARLE, WORCESTER, MASS. We are constantly met, at almost every turn, with objec- tions against the multiplying of varieties of fruit, especially pears, and he, who can throw out a sneer at the introduction of new kinds, is almost sure of favor in certain quarters. To the authors of these objections, I would call attention to the fact, that all our best standard varieties, at the present time, with some two or three exceptions, are new kinds ; that the Bartlett, Seckel, Marie Louise, Dix, Beurie Bosc, Urbaniste, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Beurre. d'Aremberg, Winter Nelis, &c., &c., were to be found on no nurseryman's Catalogue, in this section, thirty years since, and that, of the varieties on their Catalogues at that time, not five are now deemed wor- thy of general cultivation. This, then, shows us the advance that has been made by the introduction of new kinds, and holds forth the promise of still greater advance for the fu- ture. MARCH. 123 Still, I am well satisfied, that, among the vast numbers of new kinds, that have already been brought out, and that will be in the future, a comparatively small portion, only, will be eventually deemed worthy of general cultivation. Trial and experiment must prove which these are ; and, while a por- tion, like those above named, will combine the various quali- ties which go to make up a first rate fruit, such as vigorous growth, free bearing, good size, long keeping, fine quality, and adaptation to various soils, climates, and modes of cul- ture, to such an extent as to make them general favorites, another and a larger portion will be found so deficient in one or more of these requisites, although excelling in other respects, that they will eventually be cast out, or will be found only in the collections of amateurs. In relation, therefore, to the multitude of new kinds of pears, which have been produced within a few years past, by the pomologists of Belgium, France, England, and this coun- try, the adaptation of which to general culture has not yet been satisfactorily established, it becomes important that the knowledge acquired by experiment, in various places and by difierent individuals, should be placed before the public, affording the means of comparison, and of coming to a satis- factory result, as to the relative value of the several kinds. With this view, and in the hope that it will induce others, whose experience and means of judging are more extensive than my own, to publish the results of their experience, I have selected from my notes such notices of new kinds fruited by me during the last three or four years, a^ I thought would be useful to those who feel an interest in the subject, and have appended them hereto : Alexandre Bivort. — I have fruited this kind three years. It has not yet come up to my expectations in size, being rather under medium, and is not always fair, but may improve in these respects, as the tree grows older. Quality very good. December and January. Alexandre Lambre. — Fruited three years. Tree vigorous and very productive. Fruit, medium, or twice the size of the above, very fair and handsome, melting, juicy, sweet, and high flavored. Very good, or best for those who like the pe- 124 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. culiar flavor, which is something between the Colmar and Bergamot. November to January. Ananas d'Ete. — Tree of moderate vigor and rather pro- ductive. Fruit large, pyriform, swelling out near the middle and contracted toward the eye ; surface uneven ; skin pale yellow ; flesh half melting, juicy, sweet, with an agreeable flavor. September. This is the pear usually cultivated un- der this name, but it does not correspond with Downing's description. Barbancinet, — Fruited two years. Tree of good vigor and very productive. Fruit of good size, melting, sweet and very good. It will probably be a profitable market fruit. First of October. Baronne de Mello. — First received by me as the Beurre Van Mons. Synonymous, also, with the Adele de St. Ceras or St. Denis. Fruited three or four years. The tree is a good grower and very productive, bearing good crops every year. Fruit medium size, russet, in form nearly resembling the Brown Beurre, but rather more pointed at the stem. Melting, juicy, sweet, and excellent, with a fine combination of the acid and sweet. It is fully equal to the Brown Beurre in its best state, and one of the most desirable kinds in culti- vation. Ripens in October and lasts six weeks. It does not rot at the core. Beau Present d'Artois. — This is a handsome pear, of good size, and appears to be productive. It promises well, but, having fruited it but once, I am not prepared to give a decisive opinion on its merits. September. Bergamot Dussart. — Productive. Of medium size, and appears, from one season's trial, to be very good. November to January. Beurre' Benoist. — Very productive. Size medium, melt- ing, juicy, and fine flavored. September and October. Beurre' Clairgeau, (pron. Clare-zho.) — Tree of medium vigor on the quince and a great grower on pear. It is a good liearer. It is very large, and the most beautiful of pears. I have fruited it two years, and the quality has been very good. I have heard occasional complaints that it was indifferent in (j^uality. I attribute this to its being grown on trees so young MARCH. 125 that they were not able to bring so large a fruit up to its natural flavor, and believe that, as trees get age, the fruit will be not only of satisfactory quality but very profitable. . Beurre' Defais. — This is a good grower and is productive. Fruit large and handsome, melting, juicy, sweet, and good. It is a fine keeper, lasting through February and most of March. The smaller specimens, from young trees, do not always ripen well. They will probably do better as the trees grow older. Those which do not ripen are excellent for cooking. Beurre' Derouineau. — Tree of great vigor and quite pro- ductive. But the fruit has not yet answered my expectations. The two first years of bearing they were very indifferent, but the past season were much better. Medium size, handsome, flesh somewhat deficient in juice, rather firm, but buttery, sweet, and aromatic. Requires further trial. Beurre' Giffard. — Very early, coming early in August directly after the Madeleine. It is the most beautiful and best pear of its season ; of good size and reasonably produc- tive. No one should be without it. Beurre' Goubault. — I have fruited this four years, and it has been uniformly poor. I have seen it in other situations, on quince, very good. Beurre' Kossuth. — One season's trial of this variety gives promise of great excellence and productiveness. It is large, handsome, sweet, juicy, and fine flavored. Beurre' Millet. — This is a very productive variety. Fruit medium size, roundish, skin coarse, dark russet, the quality from two seasons' trial promises well, but requires particular care, otherwise it shrivels and does not ripen well. Beurre' Phillippe Delfosse, called, also, Beurre' Del- fosse. — This, after two seasons' trial, appears to be the Belle de Noel. Of course it is very good. Beurre' Superfin. — Tree vigorous, and does not come very early into bearing. Fruit large, beautiful, and of the highest excellence. Very valuable and desirable. Bezi de Montigny. — This excellent pear is put down in the European catalogues as ripening in September. I have never ripened it till the latter part of October. If let to hang late, 126 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. it is one of the best keeping winter pears, in eating in Februa- ry and March, and even into April. When gathered late it requires some care to prevent its shrivelling, in which case it is apt to not ripen at all. Broom Park. — Tree vigorous and productive. When well cultivated it is a first rate winter pear. On young trees it sometimes does not ripen well, but, as the tree grows older, it ripens in great perfection. The size varies from small medium to large, according to its culture. Catinka. — Tree a good grower and very productive. This fruit is of but moderate size and not very prepossessing in appearance, but, for the two past seasons, has been uniformly fine flavored, refreshing, and excellent in quality. November. Clark Pear. — This is a pear cultivated in Hartford, the origin of which is, as yet, unknown. The tree is a fine grower, but does not come quickly into bearing. Fruit rather above medium size, short pyriform or turbinate, as broad as it is high ; flesli somewhat coarse, very tender, melt- ing, juicy, with a refreshing and agreeable flavor. A desira- ble variety. October. CoMTE DE Flanders. — Tree a good grower. Fruit good size and handsome. It promises to be first rate, but having fruited it but one year, I am not prepared to speak decisively of its merits. November. CoMTE DE Paris. — I have fruited this three or four years. The tree is a good grower and bears early and well. The fruit is good sized, fair, and very good, but decays very quick- ly, and having a very thick, coarse, dark green skin, which does not change color at all in ripening, it frequently becomes entirely decayed and soft within, while retaining its perfect form, and before its ripeness is suspected. As it requires such close watching and examination, I do not consider it worthy of cultivation. DuMORTiER. — A very delicious little pear. The tree grows well, and gives promise of productiveness. I have fruited it but two years. November. Des Chasseurs. — This tree grows well, and appears to be productive. I have fruited it only the past year, when the quality was very good. It ripened late in October. MARCH. 127 Des Nonnes. — Tree of moderate vigor, and very produc- tive on both pear and quince. Fruit rather small, round, smooth, and handsome, melting, juicy, and rich, with a high perfume, which, to some tastes, is objectionable, while others consider it very fine. Doyenne' Defais. — Tree of medium vigor and productive. Fruit medium size, somewhat firm, but tender, juicy, sweet, perfumed, and delicious. It has the very desirable character of not rotting at the core, and keeps a long time when ripe. November and December. Doyenne' Goubault. — Tree of medium vigor on pear, less vigorous on the quince, and very productive. Fruit, large medium size, broad obovate, depressed, slightly russeted ; flesh rather firm, melting, juicy, sweet, and deliciously per- fumed. The character of this pear, when in perfection, is more nearly like the Beurre Bosc than any other kind with which I am acquainted. It has the same firmness of flesh, the same exquisite sweetness, and is higher flavored than that fine variety. The first two or three years, this fruit does not ripen well without special care in keeping, but as the tree acquires age it improves in that respect. December to April, and remains a long time after ripening. Doyenne' Robin, — A. good fruit of medium size, juicy and good flavored. Promises to be productive and profitable. Dumas. [Belle Epine Dumas.] — Very vigorous and pro- ductive. Fruit of medium size, and always of first rate qual- ity. November and December. DuNMORE. — A good grower and productive. Fruit large and handsome. I have eaten it when very excellent, but, on young trees, it is, usually, very austere. Whether it will lose that character as the trees grow older remains to be' tested. October. Fredeeika Bremer. — The first year this fruited I had my doubts of its value, but subsequent experience proves it to be an excellent and desirable variety. Tree a good strong grower, and sufficiently productive. Fruit large. Gansel's Seckel. — This exquisite fruit was raised by Mr. Williams of Pitmaston, England, and not by Mr. Gansel, as stated in the new edition of Downing's Fruit Book. It is 128 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. a seedling from the Seckel, fructified by Gansel's Bcrgamot. Tree of moderate vigor, with a habit like the Seckel, and of remarkable productiveness, sometimes breaking down the branches, with the weight of the fruit. Fruit, Bcrgamot shaped, covered with a thin, delicate, light brown russet, va- rying from small to medium ; flesh very fine, buttery, juicy, sweet and deliciously perfumed, quite equal in flavor to the Seckel. It ripens immediately after that variety, and con- tinues in eating from the latter part of October, through No- vember and December, never rotting at the core. One of the most desirable of all the new varieties. General de Lamoriciere. — Another delicious fruit of the highest quality. Tree a good grower, and gives promise of productiveness. Fruit medium sized, obovate ; skin covered with a thick, rather dark russet ; flesh very buttery, juicy, finely flavored and perfumed. October. A most promising variety, judging from two years' fruiting. Graslin. — Tree vigorous and productive. Fruit large and handsome, sometimes excellent, but somewhat variable on young trees. Will probably improve in this respect by age. October and November. Jules Bivort. — Tree moderately vigorous and very pro- ductive. Fruit medium size, very handsome, melting, juicy, sweet, and very high flavored. A desirable kind, ripening in October and November. Kirtland. — Tree a very vigorous grower, and productive. Fruit from small to nearly medium, regularly obovate and handsome. Skin covered with a bright yellowish russet ; flesh rather coarse, but melting, juicy, and very sweet, with a delicate aromatic flavor. This belongs to the same class with the Capsheaf and Hadley, and would, perhaps, be preferable to either, but that, like the latter, it quickly rots at the core, unless gathered very early and ripened in the house. Middle to last of September. La Juive. — Tree of medium vigor on pear, but weak on the quince. Fruit juicy, very sweet and highly perfumed. Excellent, variable in size, and not always fair. Madam Eliza. — This is another valuable acquisition. Treo vigorous and strong on pear root, making a fine pyramidal MARCH. 129 top, and quite productive. Fruit from medium to large, reg- ular pyriform and pointed at the stem, very beautiful in its general appearance. Skin smootli, light green, with more or less thin russet patches, and with carmine spots about the stem. Flesh tender, melting, juicy, sweet, and finely per- fumed. First rate. November. Keeps well, and does not rot at the core. Marechal de Cour, called also Conseiller de la Cour, and Due d'Orleans. — This is a vigorous tree, and said to be very productive when of sufficient age, but does not come into bearing so soon as some other kinds. Size from medium to large. Flesh melting and juicy, with a remarkably fine and piquant flavor, excelling most known varieties. A very worthy and desirable variety, ripening the latter part of October. Nouyeau Poiteau. — A very vigorous and productive tree. Fruit very large and of the first quality, if seasonably eaten. If too long delayed, it becomes soft and clammy. November. Ott. — This is a small pear of exquisite quality, the best, perhaps, of its season, (August,) said to be a seedling of the Seckel, and doing no discredit to its imputed parentage. Its small size, and the comparatively moderate growth of the tree, will probably prevent its general culture as a market fruit, but it is so exquisite in quality, that no amateur can afford to be without it. Passe' Colmar Francais. — Tree vigorous and very hand- some ; productive. Fruit medium size, a good keeper, lasting till March. This promises well, but, with only one year's trial, I am not prepared to speak decisively of its merits. The foreign authorities speak of it as " de toiite premiere qualitie.''^ Princess Charlotte. — Tree of medium vigor and quite productive. Fruit nearly medium size, obovate. Skin green, sometimes colored towards the sun. Flesh melting, juicy, sweet, with a rather high and excellent flavor. Very good. October. Princess Helene d'Orleans. — Tree, a good grower on pear, coming early into bearing, with promise of productive- ness. Fruit medium to large, and of excellent quality. One 130 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. year's trial of this pear gives us a very favorable impression of its excellence and value. (Syn. Duchesse Helene d'Or- leans.) Saint Jean Baptiste. — Tree of vigorous and strong growth. Fruit large, very regular and beautiful. Skin light yellowish green, slightly russeted. Flesh melting, very juicy, sweet and vinous, with a fine flavor. A very promising variety. Saint Joseph. — This proves to be synonymous with the Delices d'Hardenpont of Belgium, an excellent kind. Soldat Laboureur. — Tree a good grower on both pear and quince. Fruit large medium, regularly pyriform. Skin light green, becoming yellow as it ripens. Flesh somewhat firm, like the Sieulle, but melting, juicy, and excellent. Ripens in November and keeps well, without rotting at the core. SoRLUS. — Tree vigorous and productive. Fruit large and handsome. Flesh coarse, very juicy, and of pretty good qual- ity, though it does not yet come up to its European character. Supreme de Quimper. — A beautiful and very good August pear ; not quite equal in quality to the Beurre Giffard, but more productive, and a handsomer growing tree. Triomphe de Louvain. — This promises to be a very pro- ductive and profitable orchard and market pear. The tree is a vigorous grower and an early and free bearer. Fruit large and handsome ; skin russeted and high colored toward the sun ; flesh melting and juicy, with a good share of the fine flavor peculiar to russet pears. The greatest objection to it is, that, if not seasonably gathered, it inclines to rot at the core. October and November. ToMBE DE l' Amateur. — The trees of this kind came to me with a very high recommendation of the fruit, which it prob- ably deserves, for it appears to be identical with the Nouveau Poiteau. Wredow. — This is a fine and very delicious fruit, of me- dium size, ripening early in October, but the tree appears to be so poor a grower and so delicate, as to make it not worthy of cultivation, except to the amateur, who raises a great variety. Zepherin Gregoire. — This is a very favorite variety. Tree of pretty good growth, about like the White Doyenne, and an MARCH. 131 early and free bearer. Fruit of medium size, very fine and beautiful, of a bright green, becoming yellowish as it ripens. Flesh very melting, buttery, vinous, and of a most delicious flavor. It ranks in the very first class, and is worthy of extensive cultivation. My own experience fully confirms the fact with which experienced pomologists are familiar, that the quality and value of a new fruit cannot be certainly determined by the product of the first two or three years' bearing of young trees or grafts. It is a rule of very general application, that the product of young trees is much inferior to that of those which are more matured. The Marie Louise, Beurre d'Aremberg, Glout Morceau, and some other varieties that rank in the very first class, are often quite worthless the first two or three years, and I have known cases of the same kind with the Winter Nelis and Seckel. When, therefore, a new variety, coming with a good reputation, fails to be good, at first, I wait patiently for the tree to attain such maturity as will enable it to perfect its fruit, and do not hastily cut it off' and re-graft it, as is too often done. In view of these considera- tions, I have spoken less decidedly in reference to some of the varieties named in the foregoing list, and have entirely omit- ted others, to which I have given but a partial trial. THE HARTFORD PROLIFIC GRAPE. BY DANIEL S. DEWEY, HARTFORD, CONN. The prominence which is given to the subject oi Grapes for open culture, in the February number of your valuable Maga- zine, induces me to trouble you with an allusion to a grape which has become quite notorious in this vicinity ; but which, from some cause, seems not to be sufficiently well known and appreciated elsewhere. I refer to the Hartfoed Prolific. Public attention was first called to this grape, in your Mag- azine, six years ago, (No. CCVII., p. 114,) and, judging from the statement then made, you say, " That, owing to the un- certain maturity of the Isabella, the Hartford Prolific will be 132 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. a desirable acquisition, particularly in localities unfavorable to tlie Isabella." In the Transactions of the Connecticut State Agricultural Society for 1854, it is spoken of, in a communication from Dr. Russell, as having been exhibited to the public for the five or six preceding years — as ripening in the early part of September — and is recommended with confidence, as being " altogether the best grape of the season with which we are acquainted." The Records of the Hartford County Horticultural Society show that the Hartford Prolific has been exhibited for nine consecutive years, as ripe from the 30th of August to the 10th of September ; and it is described as a " seedling of merit ;" perfectly hardy ; very productive ; and of a good, sweet flavor ; — " an excellent grape, and far superior to any native variety ripening at this season." As to comparative flavor, good judges have pronounced it, in some cases, nearly equal, and, in others, quite equal, to the Isabella. It has, uniformly, surpassed the Concord. Mr. Henry Little, of Bangor, describes it, in the Horticultu- rist, " as a good, early grape — a highly valuable variety for Maine, where it is sure to ripen.'''' If such be the fact, it will certainly be reliable for all New England, and corresponding latitudes farther west. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society's Committee on Fruits, for 1857, in their Report, {Mag-. Hort., Feb., 1858, p. 93,) say: "What we want is a grape of a quality not inferior to the Isabella, and ripening seasonably to insure a crop previous to the autumn frosts." How far the Hartford Prolific Grape will answer these re- quirements, you, and your readers, can easily decide from the foregoing brief and imperfect, but authentic statement. POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP. About Grapes. — There appears to be no limit to the intro- duction of new hardy grapes ; already they form a goodly number, though, as regards the quality of all, we have not MARCH. 133 such reliable information as we need to pronounce upon their precise value. That they may all be very good grapes we do not doubt. But we need more tlian this. In the addition of new kinds we want none inferior to such as we already have, and such as will not come up to this level are of very little use. Perhaps some may think this is not sufficient, but that, with few exceptions, all our grapes are poor enough, and we should have far better sorts to command general attention. Undoubtedly the latter is the correct view of the case ; but until we can know which are the l)est, it may be well to cul- tivate a variety, and eventually eradicate the poorer ones as the better become established. Mr. Samuel Miller of Calmdale, Pa., who has given consid- erable attention to the culture of American grapes, has given a brief account of several kinds in the Horticulturist, As some of them are new to our Eastern cultivators we copy his remarks respecting them : Cassady. — On a little bit of a plant, set out in the fall of 1855, he had last season at least two dozen bunches of very handsome Cassadys, which fruit was pronounced by some good judges as the best at the table where Catawba, Concord, Isa- bella, and a number of others were shown. Vine hardy, and a strong grower ; bunch medium ; berry hardly medium, the whitest of all the natives, but little pulp, sweet, with an aroma not to be excelled by any foreign variety. Wilmington. — A very handsome and good white grape ; bunch handsome shouldered ; berries oval, medium size, and of a greenish yellow color, but such as are termed white. Supposed to be a native ; quite hardy and productive. Louisa. — A seedling of Mr. Miller's ; resembles Isabella very much, but has fewer seeds than that or any other Amer- ican grape with which he is acquainted. A prodigious bearer with but poor culture, and will, in size of bunch and berry, quality of fruit, &c., compare very favorably with most Amer- ican grapes. Mary Ann. — A seedling raised by J. B. Garber, Columbia, Pa. Bunch medium size ; berry medium, quite oval, black, with peculiar brownish cast ; skin not thick ; pulp small, and a rich, exceedingly sweet flavor. Ripens among the earliest 134 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. of our good grapes ; strong grower, hardy, and an excellent bearer. Marion. — Bunch medium ; size of berry medium ; black, very round, harsh and unpleasant till cool weather, when it is rich and agreeable. Juice exceedingly dark, and will make a splendid wine. Will most likely prove valuable at the North. Lehman. — A splendid large bunch, and berried grape ; nearly white, but rather late, unless in good exposure. Raised by Wm. Lehman of New Lebanon, from the Black, crossed by the Isabella. Among the recent new grapes Mr. Miller speaks highly of the Concord, Rebecca, and Delaware. " The Concord needs no comment. When well cultivated in our latitude it is a first rate grape ; and for market, for the masses, will hold the lead for the present," Wild Grape from Canada. — A new grape, found by Mr. Wm. H. Reade of Canada West, on the banks of the Chippe- wa River, in the year 1855, and thus described by him in the Country Gentleman : — Bunches very handsome, symmetrical, good size, compact, heavily shouldered ; berries medium size ; skin thin black, covered with a bloom ; flesh tender, melting, without pulpi- ness, foxiness, or musky flavor, sweet and excellent. The wood is strong, short-jointed, of a reddish iron color ; foliage very large and thin, green on both sides, having no hair or cotton, and unmistakably shows no kin to the Fox. Impor- tant as a parent to cross with foreign grapes, on account of its extreme hardiness and early maturity, as I found it ripe on the 10th of September, on the original vine, in 1857. The original vine runs through and covers the entire tops of two medium sized elm trees, and appears a full century old, — a wilding of great beauty. How it came there no one knows, — probably carried by birds from some Frenchman's garden. Myers' Honey-Heart Cherry. — This is the name given to a new seedling, the original tree of which is yet standing in Springfield Township, Bucks Co., Pa. It is a healthy, vigor- ous grower, forming a round head, has large flowers, and is very productive. The fruit is of the largest size, of a regular MARCH. 135 heart-shape, with the sutures extending half round. Color rich red. Flesh pale yellow, juicy, sweet, and of high flavor. The fruit is borne on long stems, and is in season the middle of June. Mr. J. G. Younkin of Allentown, Pa., who fur- nished the above account of this new variety to the Horticul- turist, considers it the most profitable of all lie cultivates. The Alexander Pear. — Our correspondent, Mr. J. B. Eaton of Buffalo, describes a new native pear under this name in the Horticulturist. It originated in the village of Alexander, in Genesee County, the seed having been planted thirty-five or forty years ago, by a Mrs. Churchill, who had brought it from Connecticut. Specimens from Mr. Ely's tree were pre- sented at the Exhibition of the Fiiiit Growers' Society held in Buffalo, September, 1855, and then first attracted Mr. Eaton's attention. Several pomologists who were present at the New York State Fair last fall, when Mr. Ely again presented speci- mens, thought it could be nothing less than that fine pear, the Gray Doyenne, from which it is, Mr. Eaton thinks, entirely distinct. Eaten with the Beurre Bosc, which Mr. Eaton had ripe at the same time, he had no hesitation in deciding the Alexander was the superior in flavor. It is of nearly medium size, with a yellowish green and russeted skin : Stem long, curved and fleshy at the base : Eye small, set in a narrow basin : Flesh white, little coarse, and somewhat gritty at the core, melting, and very juicy : Flavor sugary, rich and very fine. Ripe from the last of September to the middle of Octo- ber. The engraving of the fruit accompanj'ing the descrip- tion greatly resembles the Gray Doyenne. Still it may be similar, and yet be a new variety. The Sheldon so strongly resembles the Gray Doyenne, that we at first thought it that old pear. Downing's Everbearing Mulberry. — A new seedling raised by C. Downing of Newburgh, N.Y.,from the Morus multicau- lis, some twelve years ago. The tree is vigorous, hardy and productive. Its foliage is large and fine, making it altogether an ornamental as well as valuable tree. It begins to bear the third or fourth year, and the fruit increases in size as the tree attains age. The fruit ripens in succession, from July 1 to September 1, producing a never-failing crop of the most lus- 136 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICDLTUEE. cious fruit, which measures from one to one and a half inches in length, and half an inch in diameter. Color purplish black. If perfectly hardy it will be a most valuable variety. WARDIAN CASES, OR PARLOR CONSERVATORIES. BY THE EDITOR. It is now more than twenty-five years since Mr. N. B. Ward, of London, first accidentally discovered the process of growing plants in what is now generally and most appropri- ately termed the Wardian Case. In the course of his ento- mological studies, he placed the chrysalis of a sphinx in some earth, in a glass bottle covered with a lid, in order to obtain a perfect specimen of the insect. After a time, a speck or two of vegetation appeared, which he watched with the deepest interest. They turned out to be a fern and a grass, and continued to grow and maintain a healthy appear- ance. Reflecting upon the results of this accidental experi- ment, he came to the conclusion that as air, light and water are all the requirements of plants, and they were contained in the bottle, they could be so raised, under similar condi- tions, on a much larger scale. Subsequent experiments proved this, and hence the origin of the Wardian Case, now dignified with the title of Parlor Conservatories. The discovery has been attended with the happiest results. It has introduced living specimens of some of the most curious and beautiful forms of vegetation into the parlors and win- dows of the crowded dwellings of cities, where before the dust and smoke and darkness prevented the healthy growth of the commonest plant. It has afforded the means of pre- serving, in all the freshness, verdure and fragrance of the native fields and pastures, plants only raised by the assidu- ous hand of the cultivator, in the pure country air. However so much we may pet and tend the most favorite plant, the confined, overheated and unventilated air of our parlors, even out of the city, is so inimical to vegetable life, that it rarely presents other than a sickly, lank, etiolated and uninviting MARCH. 13T aspect. But the Wardian Case changes all this. Not only does it preserve the fresh verdure of its tenants unimpaired, but in it many delicate plants may be raised which refuse to display their highest beauty, even under the charge of the most skilful gardener. Such are some of the ferns, Lycopods, &c. At the last annual exhibition of the Massachusetts Horti- cultural Society, some very pretty specimens of these Wardian Cases were exhibited by Messrs. Graff & Sons, of New York, an engraving of which we annex, (fig. 6,) to whom the Society awarded a Silver Medal. They have, we 6. WARDIAN CASE. believe, introduced quite a numl)er of these into the parlors of New York and Brooklyn, where they have been greatly admired. They are made on a larger or smaller scale, and adapted to a variety of plants, though those that require the least care are such as are filled with ferns, Lycopods, &c., which need but little ventilation and but a small amount of light. For blooming plants a somewhat different arrangement is necessary, and more care in the management. Our object now is to call the attention of lovers of fresh verdure to these Wardian Cases, that they may find an intro- duction into the parlor or bay window of every dwelling. VOL. XXIY. — NO. III. IT 138 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. The form and size of the cases may be as varied as the taste of the possessor may desire. A simple vase of iron or artifi- cial stone may be properly prepared and planted, and when covered with a handsomely shaped glass case, the work is done. The case, from which our engraving is a copy, is of a neat and convenient size. It measures twenty-two inches in diam- eter, and eighteen inches high. The bottom is of zinc, cov- ered with black walnut, and the glass case fits in a rim on the top. The plants are properly planted and arranged, and the glass then put on, after which it will not require removing but a few times during the year. Messrs. Grafi" & Co. give the following directions in regard to their management : — As regards the treatment of our Parlor Conservatories, the following may serve as a guide. During the winter they may be kept in any room or parlor, whose temperature ranges from 40 to 70 degrees, so near the window as to afford them sufficient light ; during the month of January and February they may be exposed to the rays of the sun ; as soon, how- ever, as it gets higher and consequently more powerful, they should be protected from its full force during the middle part of the day, as its concentrated rays would burn the plants. In very cold nights, when there is danger of frost getting into the room, a thick woollen blanket or a skin should be put over the glass bell. In the spring keep them in a suflSciently light place in the parlor, giving sun only early in the morning, and during the summer in the coolest place of the house, with plenty of light but scarcely any sun. When the room or parlor, in which the conservatory is, gets much heated, the water contained in the ground will evapo- rate, and being unable to escape will condense on the glass, as soon as the air gets cooler again, thus rendering the glass dull. This phenomenon is disagreeable only in so far, as it obstructs the view for a short time, as either the moisture will accumulate so far as to run down the glass in drops, or as soon as the equilibrium of temperature in and out of the glass bell is returned, will evaporate from the glass again, and in both cases leave the glass as clear as before. In case the plants should in the course of time grow so MARCH. 139 large, as to come in contact with the glass, or to inter- fere with one another, they must be trimmed to their suit- able size and form, and dead leaves or plants should be immediately removed. By lifting the covers frequently, it cannot be prevented that every time some of the moisture escapes, and thus in the course of time the ground be left dry, when it will be necessary to replace the moisture so lost. The following is a list of plants adapted to this kind of cases, where there is but little ventilation : — Lycopodium caesium, Lycopodium apodum, Lycopodium cgesium arbo- Cissus discolor, reum, Maranta Zebrina, Lycopodium Wildenovi, Aphelandra Leopoldii, Lycopodium denticulata, Dracaena nobilis, Davallia pulcheila. Begonias, &c. At another opportunity we shall give more particular direc- tions in regard to the proper soil, the planting and general treatment of the Wardian Case, in its different forms. Passitcljusctts horticultural Societj, REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FLOWERS FOR 1857. BY E. S. HAND, JR., CHATRMAIT. The past season has been singularly unfavorable for floriculture, and the weekly exhibitions of flowers have consequently been inferior to our hopes. The (Spring was very late, so that the hall was not opened till the third week in May. The opening exhibition was creditable in respect to speci- men plants, but deficient as to general display. The lateness of the season afiected ia a marked manner all the weekly shows. The tulip prizes were postponed several weeks, as at the time announced in the schedule the buds had scarcely begun to color. The roses were not ia perfection until July, and all other flowers were later than usual. The dahlia prizes were to have been awarded on the 3d of October, but a severe frost previous to that day cut off all the plants except in a few- favored localities. But in spite of all these discouragements, the displays have been most gratifying in the growth of specimen plants, and in the new and improved 140 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. varieties of flowers. No lack of zeal has been exhibited on the part of members and contributors to make the exhibitions in the floral department all we could wish ; and the Society have reason to congratulate themselves on such good success under such disadvantageous circumstances. The display of plants and flowers at the Annual Exhibition was better than usual, though in some respects inferior to former years. In floral designs there was a marked improvement. For the first time since the establishment of prizes for designs and decorations, the Committee did not have specimens of elaborately finished out-houses, monstrosities glaring with dahlias and marigolds, and thatched summer-houses, forced upon them. The designs exhibited were generally in good taste, though a lin- gering fondness for the huge and monstrous was apparent. The smaller designs were in keeping with the principles of floral decoration, and gen- erally were ornamental and pretty. The Committee must enter their decided protest against the use of flowers as glutenized ornaments of wooden, moss-covered crosses, anchors, eagles, and all that class of so called Jloral designs. It is not a floral design (and none would be bold enough to call it a decoration) to mat our pretty forest mosses on a huge frame of wood or pasteboard; to sprinkle it with dahlias, amaranths, and marigolds; to fill or hang it with red and white phlox, and illuminate it with letters of yellow helichrysum ! Name the abortion what you will, — a design, if you please, — but do not associate flowers in such a connection by calling it Jloral. Too much latitude has been given in this class of ornaments, and the Committee would recommend to the Society the establishment of rules regulating the size of the designs exhibited ; or else, what would be far better, the entire discontinuance of the premiums, and the institution, instead, of prizes for mmiature specimens of floral or landscape gardening. The display of cut flowers at the Annual Exhibition was superior to those of previous years, the varieties being more select, and the arrange- ment far more tasteful. The same may be said of the parlor bouquets presented for premium; for even those taking the lowest prize were superior to those receiving the highest premium in former years. The mantel bouquets were also well arranged and tasteful. But in hand bou- quets much improvement might be made ; and we trust our next Annual Exhibition may be more creditable in this respect. In large bouquets (as those made on frames were excluded from premium, as being rather decora- tions than bouquets,) some improvement was visible, though the committee cannot but consider these huge masses of coarse flowers as anything but ornamental. The number of contributors of pot plants was smaller than on previous years, though the specimens and varieties were better. Fewer plants illy grown and branching were exhibited, and the general tendency was to render the growth elegant and symmetrical ; yet, as usual, some few plants grown on the ladder or bean-pole principle found admission. Choice col- lections were exhibited by Messrs. Gushing, Wilder, Rand, Walker, Win- ship, Bowditch, and Hovey ; also many very beautiful specimen plants. MARCH. 141 A brief retrospect of the last season, as well as of the progress we have made in floriculture, may not be out of place or uninteresting. The first exhibition was on Saturday, Jan. 10th, when a new and beau- tiful plant, Styphelia tubiflora, was presented by James McTear. It is of the Epacris tribe, and a most superior plant. It is difficult to propagate, but we hope soon to see it in every collection. Jan. 24th, the Spiraea Reevestajia flore pleno and Azalea amoe'na were shown by Hovey & Co., both valuable plants. Feb. 7th, a beautiful specimen of Phaius grandiflora from C. F. Jones. Though prize day for camellias, none were presented worthy of premium. Feb. 14th, the prises for greenhouse azaleas were also withheld, the time being fixed too early in the season. Specimens of Eriostemon cuspi- datum, Kennedia monophylla variegata, and Cytisus monosperma, were shown by W. C. Strong ; also fine ericas by Galvin & Hogan. Feb. 21st, fine ericas and azaleas from Wm. Wales, and a beautiful specimen of Eriostemon nerifolium from James McTear. March 7th, the new Orange Rhododendron Javanicum was shown by Galvin & Hogan. It is very beautiful, and said to be hardy. James McTear also exhibited a seedling camellia of very superior excellence, and a decided acquisition. March 21st, Mr, McTear exhibited a fine specimen of Phaius maculata, and another seedling camellia of great merit A fine plant of Tropaeolum tricolorum came from Parker Barnes, and fine hyacinths from Curtis & Cobb. From this time to the opening of the hall the exhibitions were very good, far better than usual at the season, and many new and rare greenhouse plants were exhibited. Among others. Ericas by James Murray, J. McTear, Wm. Wales, and Galvin & Hogan ; Calceolarias by A. Bowditch ; a fine new Correa, Ne plus ultra, by J. McTear; Hyacinths by Curtis & Cobb ; fine Orchids by C. F. Jones ; Auriculas by M. Trautman. At the opening of the hall on the sixteenth of May, large collections of plants were exhibited. The Fuchsias of H. K. Hunnewell were most beautiful specimens, some of the plants being over five feet in height, and a perfect mass of bloom. They were by far the finest ever exhibited in the hall, and reflect great credit On Mr. Harris, by whom they were grown. The Calceolarias of F. Winship were very superior, both in marking and color. The displays of greenhouse plants were fine, and included many new and choice varieties. The collection of Thomas G. Whytal was very noticeable for new imported plants. Late Hyacinths, this year, have shown no marks of improvement, though never below the standard. Tulips have been very inferior. Pansies have not been as good as on previous years. Hawthorns and Hardy Azaleas have been inferior, owing to the heavy rains of the spring. Peonies, both shrubby and herbaceous, though very late, have been good ; and the same may be said of herbaceous plants in general. Aquilegias, Pinks, and Spiraeas were a failure. Roses have suffered much from late rains and insects. Summer and autumn Phloxes have done well, and some superior 142 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. varieties have been raised and imported. Carnations and Picotees were not so good as on previous years. Rhododendrons bloomed well. Holly- hocks were very late, but showed decided improvement. Balsams and Petunias did well, but the exhibition was poor, owing to severe rains. Annuals have in general grown and bloomed poorly. Antirrhinums were- a failure. Asters did well, but Stocks were inferior. Dahlias were better than usual, though early touched by the frost. Verbenas have seldom grown or flowered so poorly, though a marked improvement is visible. Many fine varieties have been imported, and a few good seedlings raised. Among the latter we may mention Annie, a new white, raised by E. S. Rand, Jr., and which took the prize for the best new seedling. Thus far it has proved very superior, and, should longer trial confirm its excellence, it will be a valuable acquisition. A new blue, raised by T. G. Whytal, may prove fine ; and a most curiously marked variety, raised by W. C. Strong, and named Yenadesse, is a decided novelty. We subjoin a few remarks on the culture of the Verbena, together with a list of the best varieties in colors, kindly furnished us by Joseph Breck, a most successful cultivator : — Verbena. — There is no flower of modern introduction so indispensable for the flower garden as the verbena. Ever-blooming, of the most vivid colors, embracing every tint of red, purple, blue, and white, it is the wonder of young florists how a flower garden, a quarter of a century since, could have been interesting without it. The varieties are multiplying without end, flowering the first seasoa from seed. The great difficulty now is to know which to select and which to reject, all are so beautiful. Verbenas are important for three purposes, viz , for flowering in masses, for the border, and for pot culture. Some varieties are very beautiful when carefully cultivated in pots in the greenhouse, which when exposed to the sun will not stand its scorching influence in consequence of the flimsiness of the petals. Of this character was the white variety America, and many others that gave great promise before tested by the sun in the border. Others are very interesting in the borders, but quite unsuitable for a brilliant mass, as the new variety Imperatrice Elizabeth, which has small trusses of pretty flowers, white distinctly striped with purple; the foliage quite peculiar, being deeply cut and jagged ; a profuse creeper, but not strikingly showy. The verbena for masses should be of robust habit, strong grower, throwing up a profusion of strong erect stems, bearing large, well-formed trusses of flowers, whose petals are of such consistency as to endure the most powerful sun. For a scarlet we have not yet seen a better one than the old Defiance. This variety takes root readily, and, for rapid growth, long endurance, and brilliancy of color, has not been excelled. The new variety, Mrs. Wood- roif, is similar to Scarlet Defiance, but has larger trusses of flowers ; the color is precisely the same ; and for a border flower preferable, and perhaps for a mass, but not in our experience. Lord Raglan is a fine scarlet variety, a shade darker tkan the two. last, with a velvety crimson eye. MARCH. 143 St. Marguerite is a fine old variety ; color rosy carmine, with a violet eye. Orb of Day is darker than Defiance, inclining to a crimson ; petals are not so regular as that variety, nor so firm, and not so good for a sunny exposure. Charles is a seedling of mine ; color rosy scarlet, with a yellowish white and distinct eye ; very pretty for borders. Phenomenon, brilliant scarlet ; fine for borders. Novelty, (seedling,) a beautiful fancy variety ; brilliant crimson, with a distinct white eye. Wonderful, (new last season;) supe- rior ; rich plum purple, with white centre ; fine form, large truss, good habit, and very conspicuous. These two last have appeared to the best advantage when cultivated in pots, but they are indispensable for the border. Isis is a variety with crimson flowers. Many of the white varieties are inclined to change to a pinkish hue, and therefore not so desirable for a mass of white as those that do not have this peculiarity. Snowflake is least objectionable on this account, but the trusses are not so fine, nor the flowers so large, as Samoset. The new variety, Mrs. Holford, has a still larger truss of pure white flowers, but not tested for a large mass, but probably is superior. Neither of these three varieties change very much, and are all suitable for this style of planting. Mr. Rand's new seedling white, for which the Society's silver medal was awarded, promises well. Of the blue varieties there is nothing that excels Rand's Blue, for bed- ding, in its class. It is very strong growing, throwing up an immense number of elongated trusses, or rather spikes of purplish blue flowers. A mass of this variety in the grass was one of the first objects to attract the eye of the visitor. Hiawatha (Hovey's) is a strong growing and abundant blooming variety, with large trusses of brownish purple flowers; one of the darkest varieties, and a good one for bedding. Purple Perfection has a medium sized truss of rich purple flowers, and produces a good effect in a mass. Madame Lemounier is a fine fancy sort ; flowers white, striped with crimson ; but with me has not been prolific in flowers. Striped Eclipse — pink, with crimson stripes ; a pretty fancy variety. Sarah — finely striped, white and lavender. Dedham Belle has a compact truss of clear rosy-pink flowers; one of the best for a mass of pink. Jenny Lind — flowers white, with purple centre; a fine fancy sort. Etoile de Venus — rosy pink; a superior variety, with very large trusses ; flowers extra large. Eva Corinne — light pink, shaded with crimson; something like the last in its character. Madame Gournay — pink and white, shaded ; a strong growing variety, suitable for bedding. Phidias — claret purple; a fine variety, but not a profuse bloomer. I might enumerate many other varieties, in my own and other collections, which are prominent for their beauty, that do not occur to my mind now ; but those named were the principal sorts in bloom in my garden at the time I received a visit from the Committee on Gardens. Respectfully yours, Jos. Breck. Of specimen plants, the best have been exhibited by Jamea McTear> Hovey & Co., E. S. Rand, Jr., and Wm. Wales. 144 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. The largest, most frequent, and best displays of cut flowers have been made by F. Winship, J. Breck & Son, A. Bovvditch &. Son, E. S. Rand, Jr. J. Murray, C. Copeland, and James Nugent. Among new or rare plants we may mention — Two seedling Tropaeolums, named Breckit and Randw, have been ex- hibited by Joseph Breck, which may prove acquisitions. Fine Gladioli have been shown by P. Barnes, the Messrs. Hovey, and James McTear. New Verbenas by Parker Barnes and A. C. Bowditch. Hedychium Gardnen'anttm gracilis, and coronarium, very beautiful, by E. S. Rand, Jr. Choice new Ericas and Phyllanthus latifolius, by J. McTear. Cympananthe suberosa by M. P. Wilder and E. S. Rand, Jr. New Gloxinias by E. S. Rand, Jr. Choice new imported Achimenes by Parker Barnes and E. S. Rand, Jr. New imported Dahlias by Messrs. Hovey &. Co. and Parker Barnes. The Downing camellia by M. P. Wilder. New Verbenas, Petunias, and Pelargoniums by Thos. G. Whytal. Brunsvigia Josephine by G. G. Hubbard. Choice native plants from Cambridge Botanic Garden. The Committee would also notice many newly imported plants and shrubs, with the result which has attended their cultivation during the past year. Canna Warscewicsii, a decided acquisition both in foliage and flower. Pleroma Benthamiana, very beautiful in flower, growth curious. Fuchsia Venus de Medici ; very fine and worthy of general cultivation. Cuphea eminens ; perfectly worthless, rank in growth, and with no beauty in flower or foliage. Petunia Countess of Ellesmere ; a decided acquisition and a superior bedding variety. Petunia Imperialis ; very fine in some situations ; on moist grounds the flowers are apt to be greenish ; in dry, it is unsur- passed and should be extensively grown. Wegeila amabilis new and pretty, but by no means equal to W. rosea ; its quality of flowering in the autumn renders it worthy of cultivation. Geranium Duchess of Kent, very good. Geranium Lady Turner, superior. Delphinium cardinale, not sufficiently tested ; its color is a great acquisition. Achimines Ambrose Verschaffelt, the most beautiful grown, flowers most delicately marked, white, veined with dark violet. Achimines rosea superba, very beautiful. Achimines Parsonii, pinkish purple shading to deep yellow, a decided novelty. Phlox Henry Lierval, a fine large purple ; Phlox Madame le Cerf, the largest and best white ; Phlox Souvenir du 29 Octobre, fine white with pink eye, very desirable; Souvenir de ma mere, a beautiful variety; L'Orientale, Mad. Judith and Mons. Bondeevare, also fine new varieties. Delphinium Henderson!, very fine. Geum coccinea, a fine hardy plant. Veronica Hendersonii, the same apparently as V. Andersoni, and no improvement. Potentilla Crimson King, Sudbury Gem, Shylock, Double Yellow, and Double Scarlet, are all very fine, and must commend themselves to all cul- tivators of this most interesting plant. MARCH. 145 In conclusion, the Committee cannot but feel gratified at the progress made during the past year, and hope that the future may be signalized by yet further improvement and greater zeal in the cause of floriculture. The Committee would award the following prizes and gratuities : — OPENING OF THE HALL. Pelargoniums. — For the best six varieties in pots, to T. G. Whytal, $8 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co. . . . 6 00 Fuchsias. — For the best six varieties, in pots, to Thomas G. Whytal, 8 00 For the second best, to Jonathan French, . . . 6 00 Calceolarias. — For the best six varieties, to F. Winship, . 5 00 Cinerarias. — For the best six varieties, to F. Winship, . .3 00 For the second best, to Thomas G. Whytal, . . . 2 00 Greenhouse Plants. — For the best display, of not less than ten pots, to M. P. Wilder, . . . . . 15 00 For the second best, to Thomas G, Whytal, . . . 10 00 Cut Flowers. — For the best display, to F. Winship, . . 6 00 For the second best, to J. Nugent, . . . . 5 00 For the third best, to J. Murray, . . . . 4 00 PRIZES awarded at WEEKLY EXHIBITIONS DURING THE SEASON. Htacinths. — For the best display, not less than ten varieties, to R. M. Copeland, . . . . . . 4 00 Tulips.— For the best twenty distinct varieties, to J. S. Cabot, . 5 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . 4 00 Pansies. — For the best twelve distinct varieties, in pots, to Parker Barnes, . . . . . . . 6 00 Hawthorns. — For the best display, to F. Winship, . . 3 00 For the second best, to E. A. Story, . . . . 2 00 Hardy Azaleas. — For the best display, to Hovey & Co., . . 6 00 For the second best, to F. Winship, . , . . 4 00 For the third best, to M. P. Wilder, . . . . 3 00 Shrubby Peonies. — For the best six varieties, to M. P. Wilder, . 5 00 For the second best, to J. Breck &. Son, . . . 4 00 For the third best, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 3 00 Herbaceous Peonies. — For the best ten varieties, to Hovey & Co., 5 00 For the second best, to M. P. Wilder, . . 4 00 For the third best, to J. Breck & Son, . . . 3 00 Aquilegias. — For the best display, not awarded, . . . 5 00 For the second best, to Mrs. William Ashby, . . . 3 00 For the third best, to F. Winship, . . . . 2 00 Pinks. — For the best six distinct varieties, to J. Breck & Son, . 5 00 Herbaceous Plants. — For the best display, to Parker Barnes, . 6 00 For the second best, to F. Winship, . . . . 4 00 For the third best, to Evers & Co., . . . . 2 00 Hardy Roses. — Class I. — For the best thirty distinct varieties, to J. Breck & Son, . . . . . . 8 00 For the second best, to Evers & Co., . . . . 6 00 146 THE MAGAZINE OF HOBTICULTUEE. For the third best, to W. C. Strong, . . . . $4 00 For the fourth best, to Galvin & Hogan, . . . 3 00 Class II.— For the best twenty distinct varieties, to Galvin &. Ho- gan, . . . . , . . 7 00 For the second best, to J, Nugent, . . . . 6 00 For the third best, to J. Breck & Son, . . . 4 00 Class III. — For the best twelve distinct varieties, to Galvin & Hogan, , , . . . , . .5 00 For the second best, to Parker Barnes, . . . 3 00 For the third best, to Evers & Co., . . . . 2 00 Class IV. — Hardy Perpetual Roses. — For the best ten varieties, to F. Winship, . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to Galvin & Hogan, . . . 4 00 For the third best, to J. Breck &, Son, . . . 3 00 Class V. — Climbing Roses. — For the best display, not less than four varieties, to James Nugent, . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to J. B. Moore, . . . . 4 00 For the third best, to Hovey & Co., . . . . 3 00 Spireas. — For the best display, now awarded, . . . 3 00 For the second best, to Hovey «fc Co. . . . 2 00 Summer Phloxes. — For the best ten distinct varieties, to J. Breck & Son, . . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . 4 00 Carnations and Picotee Pinks — For the best ten varieties, to Hovey & Co., . . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to Evers & Co., . . , . 4 00 For the third best, to J. Hyde & Son, . . . 3 00 Hardy Rhododendrons. — For the best display of the season, to Hovey &. Co., . , , . . 6 00 Double Balsams. — For the best eight varieties, in spikes, not awarded, . . . . . . 4 00 For the second best, to J, Breck & Son, . . . 3 00 For the third best, to J. Nugent, . . . . 2 00 Phloxes. — For the best ten distinct varieties, to J. Breck & Son, . 5 00 For the second best, to Hovey & Co., . . . 4 00 For the third best, to J. Nugent, . . . . 3 00 Petunias. — For the best collection, to Barnes & Washburn, . 4 00 For the second best, to J. Breck & Son, . . . 3 00 For the third best, to F. Winship, . . . . 2 00 Annuals. — For the best display, to Barnes & Washburn, . . 6 00 For the second best, to J. Breck & Son, . . . 4 00 For the third best, to J. Nugent, . . . . 3 00 German Asters. — For the best thirty flowers, not less than ten varieties, to Hovey & Co., . . . . . 5 00 For the second best, to Jonathan French, . . . 4 00 For the third best, to Evers «fc Co., . . . . 3 00 For the fourth best, to J. Breck & Son, . . . 2 00 . $1 CO . 1 00 . 1 00 . 1 00 . 1 00 , 8 00 . 5 00 . 6 00 . 5 00 . 3 00 . 4 00 . 3 00 . 2 00 MARCH. 147 Dahlias. — For the best yellow, to Barnes & Washburn, . For the best variegated, to Barnes & Washburn, For the best crimson, to J. Nugent, . For the best very dark, to C. Copeland, For the best edged or tipped, to J. Nugent, Class II. — For the best twenty-four dissimilar blooms, not awarded. For the second best, to C. Copeland, . Class III. — For the best eighteen dissimilar blooms, to C. Cope- land, ...... Class IV. — For the best six dissimilar blooms, to J. Nugent, For the second best, to C. Copeland, . Verbenas. — For the best collection, to A. Bowditch & Son, For the second best to J. Breck di Son, For the third best, to Barnes & Washburn, For the best new seedling, with foliage, to Edward S. Rand, jr the Society's silver medal, for V. Rand's Annie. The premiums awarded at the annual exhibition will be found in our last volume, (XXIII. p. 473 ) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON VEGETABLES. BY DANIEL T. CURTIS, CHAIRMAN. Your Committee, in presenting their annual report, cannot but express their gratification at the continued interest manifested by the members of the Society in this department. Many gardens have been visited by them, in which every desirable variety of esculent vegetables was represented, in all the stages of luxuriant growth. Specimens of these have not always been found on the tables at the public exhibitions, owing principally to the great difficulty and expense of transportation. The contemplated change from weekly to monthly exhibitions will doubtless add additional stimulus to cultivators, and afford more time for the preparation and arrangement of their interesting and instructive collections. The generous competition fostered by such exhibitions will continue to add largely to the vegetable wealth of the community. The interest manifested in the cultivation of the Chinese yam and Chinese sugar cane has extended over almost every portion of the United States. The former has proved productive in light warm soils, yielding tubers weighing from two to three pounds each, and from eighteen to twenty-four inches in length. We have seen fine tubers grown at Nan- tucket; and the splendid specimens exhibited in November last, by A. Andros, of Taunton, are fresh in the recollection of all. The mere profit of its cultivation is yet an open question, which cannot be decided until a more extended trial has furnished the data necessary for its solution. Numerous reports from all sections of the country show that the varieties of the Chinese sugar cane. Sorghum saccharatum, are well adapted for our soils. Of its utility, as furnishing the source for the public and private manufacture of syrups, there can be no doubt ; the researches of chemista 148 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. and microscopists prove that a kind of sugar closely allied to, if not identical with, cane sugar, may be obtained from it with ease in our southern States. The recent travels of Dr. Barth in Central Africa raise the question whether it may not be worth cultivating as a grain, independent of its saccharine qualities ; the Sorghum saccharatum, the Negro millet, and a kind of maize, form nearly the whole food of many ^ibes, and are held in equal estimation by them. In districts where it arrives at maturity, it will doubtless add an important product for the food both of man and animals. There were some squashes exhibited of such promising excellence that the Committee wish to say a few words concerning them. The Hubbard squash, exhibited by James J. H. Gregory of Marblehead, as a new variety, did not attract much attention, although the good qualities claimed for it led to an early trial of its merits. The size and form is about that of the original Marrow squash ; its color is a dark dull green ; its shell is very hard, similar to the sweet pumpkin introduced from the West Indies, and extensively cultivated on Cape Cod and Nantucket ; the flesh is of a deep orange color, fine grained, and of a very sweet and fine flavor ; it keeps well for a long time. We have tested it on our table since the exhibition, and can cordially recommend it as a most excellent variety, and worthy of extensive cultivation. The Sweet Potato squash, exhibited for several seasons by Francis Marsh of Dedham, is a fine table variety, keeping* well till midsummer. This has a hard shell, of a light green color, somewhat ribbed ; the form is oblong ; the flesh clear yellow, very sweet, and well adapted for all culinary purposes. We think it merits a more extensive cultivation. The Cocoa squash, exhibited by Edward M. Richards, of Dedham, though new to the Committee, is believed to be of fine quality. It is considerably larger than the above varieties, oblong in form, and of a dark green color. We would recommend it for future trial. In conclusion, we wish to insist on the importance of preserving the authentic names of every variety of seed sown in the kitchen garden. From the neglect of this precaution many errors have crept into the stores of the seedsman, and many mortifying failures have annoyed the cultiva- tors. This may seem a matter of small importance to many, but we think it quite as importnnt as the preservation of the names and grades of ani- mals. In fruits, flowers, or vegetables, it is essential to their extensive cultivation that the names should invariably answer to their alleged ex- cellent qualities; else the result will be confusion, dissatisfaction, and distrust of our best varieties. Since closing this report, we have received a letter, more in detail, from Mr. Gregory, and append it to this report: — Marblehead, Mass., Dec. 23t1, 1857. Daniel T. Curtis, Chairman of Vegetable Com. of Mass. Hort. Soc. Dear Sir, — Of the origin of the Hubbard squash Ave have no certain knowledge. The facts relative to its cultivation, in Marblehead, are simply these. Upwards of twenty years ago, a single specimen was brought into town, the seed from which was planted in ihe garden of a lady, now de- ceased ; a specimen from this yield was given to Capt. Knott Martin, of MARCH. 149 this town, who raised it for family use a few years, when it was brought to our notice in the year 1842 or '43. We were first informed of its good qualities by Mrs. Elizabeth Hubbard, a very worthy lady, through whom we obtained seed from Gapt. Martin. As the squash up to this time had no specific name to designate it from other varieties, my father termed it the " Hubbard Squash." Up to the year ] 855 the raising of this squash was confined to ourselves and a few neig-hbors, who raised little if any more than was sufficient to supply their respective families. I should, however, make the exception, that from the year 1847, I had occasionally, when travelling, taken a few seeds with me, and had distributed them among the farmers with whom I chanced to come in contact. In the year 1855 a correspondent of the New England Farmer desired, through its columns, to have recommended to him a good winter squash. It occurred to me that here was an excellent opportunity to give a squash, which had given us such great satisfaction, a wider sphere of usefulness. I accordingly replied to the gentleman, enclosing seed of the Hubbard squash, and requested him, as a stranger to me and therefore presumptively an unbiassed judge of its merits, to make public the result of his experi- ment. In April of the following year he published the result of his planting in the columns of the New England Farmer, so highly eulogising its quality and keeping properties that it was at once brought into notice. Many applications now reached me for seed, and as it became necessary to give some name, I determined to make Hubbard, (which up to this date had been used as merely a convenient term,) its permanent name. These are all the facts which are known relative to the history of the Hubbard squash, though it is possible that from a person not now accessible, I may be enabled to trace its history a step further. In shape the Hubbard resembles the Marrow (or Boston squash, as it is called in some localities,) but it has rather more of a neck than the Marrow, and terminates more abruptly in a point, usually curved. In weight, it ranges from four to twenty-four pounds ; but averages about the same as the Marrow, viz., from five to eight pounds. Its color is a dark green, with a dash of a dusty hue on the upper surface of the ripest specimens. There is also a hard shelled blue variety, which in quality, size, &.C., is about on a par with the Hubbard, and we have considered it as equally desirable. The Hubbard has generally, when fully ripe, a thick shell, somewhat thicker than a cent, though some specimens, which have otherwise all the characteristics, are destitute of a shell. The Hubbard squash, with the same care as the Marrow, keeps about three months later, being in its prime from November until March or April, and keeping into May. During the period we have cultivated it, the Hubbard has fully maintained its character, and is equally as good in quality now as in the years 1842 or '43. So strong is its individuality, that when so mixed and crossed with other squashes, that not a trace of it can be seen in the form or color of the cross, yet its quality will be so impressed on them that these squashes will almost uniformly be as fine grained, sweet 160 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. and dry as the pure Hubbard, though they will not keep and maintain their quality so late. In all our experience we have never lost a crop or had it seriously affected from want of hardiness ; though it is possible that the Hubbard is slightly more tender than the Marrow. To determine this will require a close comparison ; but we have always considered it equally hardy as the Marrow. Under high cultivation the Hubbard has yielded the past season, in one instance, 700 pounds of ripe squashes from 16 hills ; and planted on a larger scale, nearly 5500 pounds of good market squashes on half an acre of land, equal to five and a half tons to the acre. Compared with the Marrow, the Hubbard will be found to be thicker meated, better flavored, (good specimens tasting much like a boiled chestnut,) finer grained, dryer and sweeter, be- sides being a better keeper ; and from its thick shell less liable to be injured in handling. Yours, James J. H. Gregort. The length of the Report prevents us from copying the list of prizes. iorticultitral operations FOR MARCH. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. The mild weather of January continued up to the 11th of February, when it changed to cold, with a cutting wind from the north, and the ther- mometer at 8°. Previous to this there had been scarcely any frost in the ground, and out-door work was performed with as much facility as in au- tumn. The sudden cold has put a stop to this for the present, though it will undoubtedly soon be mild again, as the season is too far advanced to expect much cool weather. Grape Vines in greenhouses have been rather later in breaking than usual. This has been owing to the small amount of fire heat which has been required, from the mild weather: our vines, which the last two years broke the first of February, are just now (Feb, 15) swelling their buds. They should not therefore be pushed on too rapidly at first, or a weakened growth would be the result. Close the house rather early, and syringe freely in good weather, till all the buds have pushed. As they will grow all the more rapidly as the season advances, care should be taken to tie in the laterals in good season, and rub off all superfluous shoots. In graperies the same care will be required. Cold houses should be kept cool during the month, so as to prevent the vines from starting too early. Cuttings may now be placed in pots in the hot bed. Scions of fruit trees may be cut all this month, and preserved as we have before stated. Grafting should be commenced this month. Plums and cherries are sure to succeed better by beginning early. Root grafting may still be done. MARCH. 151 Peach Trees, in pots, now swelling their fruit, should have plenty of air, and continued moisture at the roots. Currants, Gooseberries, &c., should be pruned this month, as they break earlier than other fruit trees. Cut in the new growth freely if large fruit is wanted. Blackberries may be pruned early, and the strong shoots tied up to stout stakes. Seeds of Pears, Apples, Cherries and other fruits, should be planted as early as the ground can be prepared. They vegetate much better than when delayed till warmer weather. Insects should be looked after. The bark scale and bark louse, so in- jurious to apple and pear trees, should have immediate attention. Wash the trees once or twice with whale oil soap of the consistence of paint, or make a wash of potash in the proportion of 2 lbs. to 7 gallons of water. If the trees are badly infested, first scrape and wash them with sand and wa- ter. Where canker worms are troublesome, keep the trees well tarred or otherwise protected against them. flower department. As the days become longer, the sunshine stronger, and the cold less severe, the greenhouse and conservatory should present a more gay appear- ance. The Camellias will be nearly out of bloom, but other flowers will compensate for their loss, particularly the roses, where there is a good col- lection in pots, as there always should be. The Cinerarias, Calceolarias, Monthly Carnations, and the earliest Pelargonius will also contribute to the profusion of bloom during March. With the aid of good frames to receive many of the plants which have gone out of bloom a fine display may be kept up. Pelargoniums will now be advancing rapidly, and the earliest potted plants will begin to bloom soon. Keep the whole stock in good growing condition by giving plenty of air and light, and rather sparing supplies of water. Tie out and regulate the shoots as they advance, and cut away superfluous leaves, which would crowd and weaken the plants. Plants for blooming in July may now be topped for the last time. Azaleas will now be flowering ; give more liberal supplies of water. As soon as out of flower all straggling plants should be headed in, to make compact bushy specimens. Cinerarias, now making a stocky growth, should have a shift as soon as they fill the pots. If allowed to become pot-bound it throws them pre- maturely into bloom. Keep them in a cool airy situation. Calceolarias will soon appear in all their beauty, especially the earlier plants. Water carefully, and fumigate if the green fly appears. Plants for lata blooming should be repotted. Fuchsias started into growth last month should now be repotted. Stop the shoots as they advance, and train the plants in a neat pyramidal form. Syringe often, and keep in a rather warm and close temperature. Camellias will now begin to make their growth. Such plants as need 152 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. it should be pruned in ; and if the soil is sour, or in poor order, the plants should be repotted. Water liberally, and syringe every evening, while making their growth. Inarching may be now done. Gloxinias and Achimenes, started last month, should be potted off now, if not done before. If a hotbed is at hand they will come forward more rapidly than in the greenhouse. Lantanas, for early blooming, should now have a shift into larger pots, and a place in the hotbed for a short time, till they have made a good growth. Japan Lilies, potted in January, will now have grown six or eight inches, and may have larger pots. Water more freely now. Heaths, Epacrtses, &c., should have a final shift into the pots in which they are to stand all summer. Annuals, raised from seeds, sown last month, should be potted off now. Fresh seeds may be sown for a succession. Bedding Plants of all kinds should be hardened off in cold frames, as soon as the weather will admit. Continue to propagate if the stock is not ample. Chrysanthemums may be propagated from cuttings this month ; by commencing early very large and fine specimens may be obtained. Later in the season will answer for ordinary plants. Cold Frames should have attention. Open freely in good weather, and cover up well in frosty nights. Pick off all dead and decaying leaves, and keep the whole stock in fine condition. FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERY. With the month of March the operations of the flower garden again com- mence. Sometimes it is so cool that but little can be done ; but again it is so mild that much time may be saved by beginning early. Where there is ground to trench and prepare, such work may be accomplished even with a little frost in the ground. Roses and shrubs may be pruned. Lawns may be rolled, walks raked and put in order, borders partially cleaned, and a great deal done to render the grounds pleasant and inviting even at this early season. If warm, the bulb garden may be put in order by renewing the beds, clearing the walks, &c. The Crocus, Snowdrops, Daffodils, &c., will be in bloom, soon to be followed by the other and finer bulbs. Hyacinth and Tulip Beds should be uncovered, leaving part of the covering near at hand to throw over them on the appearance of sudden frost. Herbaceous Plants of all kinds may be safely uncovered the last of the month. When the season will admit, transplanting may be commenced at once. Daisies, Pansies, &.c., protected in frames, should be well aired, and allowed the benefit of warm rains. Hardy Annuals, such as Rocket, Larkspurs, Candytufts, Clarkias, &c., may be sown in beds or patches in the border, where they are to remain to bloom. HEDGES AND HEDGE PLANTS. The hedge dates from a very remote period. We read in the Bible of the " vineyard being hedged about." The garden of Alcinous, the Phaeacian king, is said to have contained something less than four acres, " surrounded by a hedge ;" and Homer relates that the old Laertes was " planting a hedge" when his son Ulysses returned from the Trojan war. It thus appears to have been a not unfrequent appendage to the gardens of antiquity. But to whatever extent it may have been planted at so early a date, it became a prominent object in Roman gardening. The villa Laurentina of Pliny was surrounded with hedges of Box or Rosemary, and the Tusculan garden was surrounded with evergreens sheared into various forms. The Dutch, in their adoption of the Geometric style in its severest form, made extensive use of hedges, as every thing was reduced to the most artificial style ; in addition to hedges, they sheared many of their trees, particularly the Box and Yew, into various fanciful shapes. The French gardeners were also famous for their sheared evergreens ; and in the earlier English gardens they were common ornaments. But it was not till the introduction of the Natural or English style that the hedge, in its present distinctive character, came into general use : since then they have increased to such an extent that they have entirely changed the features of that country. All who have visited Great Britain need not be told how much they add to the landscape effect of every extensive view. The verdure of these enclosures is delightful, and their perfume has been celebrated by the poets : " How rich the gale ; Far off I scent the Hawthorn's bioom." One would suppose, from a casual inspection of our subur- ban villas and even town gardens, that the most conspicuous ornaments that could be introduced are wooden fences of some sort. It is not uncommon to see, in very circumscribed VOL. XXIV. — NO. IV. 18 154 THE MAGAZINE OP HOKTICULTURE. grounds, prominent whitewashed palings enclosing the front yard, the avenue, and the garden, separately, like so many pens upon a cattle-fair ground, as if the number augmented the beauty of the place ! We can call to mind many such, and have often wondered why they have become such favorite ob- jects, erected as they can only be at considerable expense. At the lowest calculation, we should judge that, in many in- stances, money enough has been spent upon these useless and unsightly structures to stock the closely-fenced-up garden, with scarcely a tree in it, with some of the finest fruits and shrubs. A fence 'is a necessary evil at the best, to be avoided as much as possible, and never introduced only upon the boundary for the protection and safety of the grounds : all besides this mar and disfigure the premises just in proportion to their conspicuousness and repetition. All division lines, even where protection from animals is necessary, may be accomplished by appropriate hedges. Whether hedges will ever be introduced to the same extent they have been in Great Britain, is a question. The abund- ance of lumber and its cheapness, in this country, renders this doubtful ; while the greater first cost of hedges, and the labor in managing them, adds to this doubt. In the great West, where timber is very scarce, this is a matter of some importance, though generally it is of no great consequence. But as ornaments to ovir country homes, — and it is to these that our remarks are directed, — the hedge should be every where introduced, that the offensive paling, which does not harmonize with any landscape, may be confined at least to its legitimate purpose of protection or privacy around an estate, and all dividing lines, for whatever purpose needed, be formed of some ornamental hedge. The effect of such lines of verdure upon the appearance of grounds, even of limited extent, need only be observed to be fully and univer- sally appreciated. The entire aspect of our richest farms would be changed and beautified, could well-trimmed hedges be substituted for the zigzag rail fences and rude stone walls which now diversify and disfigure their surface. Even on the score of economy, it is argued by many that hedges should take the place of fences. Once properly set out and judi- APRIL. 155 ciously managed, they arc as perfect a barrier to animals as the rail fence, and last a life time with the slightest annual expense of clipping. We shoiild scarcely be believed if we were to state that, notwithstanding all that has been written about hedges and the ample directions for their management, few that de- serve the name are to be seen. In all our experience we never yet saw a dozen good hedges, though we have noticed what were called such, hundreds of times. They are little more than vegetable screens^ tall and thick at the top, and bare and leafless at the base : neither a tree nor a hedge ; shutting out by their height some pleasant garden, while be- low they admit both bipeds and quadrupeds with perfect ease. Such are the majority of hedges raised by improper treatment while young, and too large when the neglect is discovered to be easily renovated. As objects of shelter, aside from protection, hedges deserve introduction into and around all gardens wherever exposed to violent winds ; and for the growth of many of the finer fruits and plants, for shade in summer and warmth hi winter, they serve an invaluable purpose. The Arbor Vitae is especially adapted to this end, serving, by its dense, evergreen foliage, as a screen from the hot suns of summer to many plants which will not thrive without it. They are better than a close fence or wall for this object, as they admit of a circulation of air, and at the same time effectually accomplish all the objects of the former. In the less sunny and cool climate of England, they are indispensable in the extensive nursery grounds and better gardens, where large and choice collections of plants and flowers are cultivated. Having thus shown many of the advantages of hedges, — their importance in a landscape point of view, — their great value as screens, and, to a certain extent, their economy, — we proceed to give a brief account of the most approved and desirable hedge plants, with the soils best suited to each, and some hints in regard to the appropriate form in which they should be clipped. When the hedge was first introduced into our country, it was thought that no other plant would answer the purpose 156 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. but the same one adopted in Great Britain, namely, the Haw- thorn. It was therefore imported in quantities, and many old hedges still exist, though in most instances in a very dilap- idated condition. Time, however, showed that though so beautiful and admirably fitted for the climate of the mother country, it was not at home with us. Our hot sun browned and burnt its pretty foliage, and that insidious foe, the borer, attacked and destroyed its roots. The best managed examples began to show ugly gaps, and, ere long, it became apparent that neither the associations connected with this favorite tree, nor the beauty and delightful fragrance of its snowy flowers, could save it from destruction. Here and there, in various parts of the country, some old homestead of the last century is still enclosed with the Hawthorn hedge ; but they are des- tined, we fear, to eventually give way to its congeners the American Thorns, or the Buckthorn, and other plants. The American Thorns. — As a substitute for the English Hawthorn, two of our American Thorns answer a very good purpose. They are both vigorous and hardy, retaining their foliage, and growing rapidly. The Cockspur or New Castle Thorn (Cratasgus cms galli) is a most beautiful hedge plant, with an entire foliage, as green and glossy as the camellia. In Wilmington, Delaware, to which State it is indigenous, there are some of the finest specimens. We have also seen one in the grounds of D. F. Manice, Esq., Hempstead, L. I., which was a gem in its way ; properly clipped, compact, and a perfectly protective barrier to all animals. The other is the Washington Thorn, (C. cordata,) which, though more resembling the English than the Cockspur, makes an effective hedge, being well furnished with prominent thorns, very hardy, and retains its foliage well. These both deserve far more attention than they have hitherto received. We can only attribute their neglect to the scarcity of the plants, and a consequent resort to other and less beautiful kinds. If our nurserymen would but keep up as good a stock of these as they do of the Buckthorn, with such a specimen to look at as Mr. Manice's, we are sure they would speedily enclose hun- dreds of our neat suburban grounds. Both of them prefer a deep, rich, loamy soil, not subject to wet at any season of the year, but more particularly in winter. APRIL. 157 The Buckthorn, (Rhamnus catharticus.) — The ease with which this favorite hedge plant is raised, its perfect freedom from the attacks of all insects, and the certainty of its living, have contributed greatly to its popularity. As a protective hedge it is also very effective ; it is deficient in thorns, though the lateral branches are armed with short stiff spurs, which render it quite formidable when thick and clipped in a proper manner. As an ornamental hedge it cannot compare with some other plants for the same object. It does not retain its foliage very late. It transplants with ease at almost any season of the year. The late Hon. John Lowell, wlio had some good specimens around his fine place at Roxbury, once informed us they were set out as late as the 20th of June, without the loss of a plant. Other good qualities are, that it bears clipping freely, resists any degree of cold, and will thrive in almost any soil not perfectly sodden. The Privet, (Ligustrum vulgare.) — Among the deciduous ornamental hedges this holds the first rank. It is indeed almost evergreen ; pushing its small, lively green foliage early in the spring, and retaining it up to the very verge of winter, and often times beneath heavy snows until spring. Its growth is nearly upright, the branches diverging with great regularity, with a yellowish spray which adds to its attractiveness when denuded of its leaves. It grows with great facility, bears clipping as well as the Buckthorn, and, so far as our experience goes, is quite free from insects. There are several varieties of the Privet, all very pretty, but that which appears the hardiest, and succeeds best, is the yellow-berried, so called, the berries of most of the others being black. As an ornamental hedge, next to evergreens, we re- peat that this is the finest of all the hedge plants we have yet seen for" our climate. The Hornbeam, (Carpinus betulus.) — In England this is very extensively used for hedges and screens. The growth is very strong, and as it retains its desiccated foliage till spring, it affords a most excellent protection from cold winter winds, while its dry hanging leaves give it a warmer and more cheer- ful appearance. It is perfectly hardy, transplants very easily, 158 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. bears the shears with impunity, and may be kept low as read- ily as the Hawthorn. It thrives in almost any soil. The Osage Orange, (Macluria aurantiaca.) — If we were to judge from what has been said in favor of the Osage Or- ange this would rank at the head of all hedge plants. None will deny the superior beauty of its foliage, or the thorny character of its branches. As a tree it should be introduced into all plantations ; but as a hedge plant, it should be planted with caution in all the Middle and Northern States where the thermometer sinks much below zero in winter. We have had some experience with it in the latitude of Boston, and are very well satisfied it will not answer here. The experiment was tried twenty years ago by J. P. Gushing, Esq., of Belmont Place, Watertown. He planted a hedge 500 feet long, and, after five or six years, rooted it out. It was managed in the best manner by his intelligent gardener, Mr. Haggerston, but every winter cut it up, till it became too unsightly to retain. As a tree it appears quite hardy, a specimen in the grounds of Mr. Kenrick, of Newton, having attained a large size and borne fruit. The Osage Orange is naturally a large tree, attaining the height of thirty or forty feet : it is also a rapid grower. It is therefore impatient of the shears, and grows with such vigor and so late in the season, that the wood, after clipping, does not mature : consequently, when severe cold weather occurs, these shoots are killed back to the old wood, and, from the natural weakness of a plant too suddenly stript of its wood, the root dies also. The winter of 1856-7 riddled many of the pet hedges of this tree in Illinois, and we observe that sev- eral planters from the northern part of that State pronounce it too tender for their climate. In the Southern States it may prove the best of all hedge plants, but until further experi- ence shall settle the question of its entire hardiness more completely, it will be unsafe to try it with us. Nothing would give us more pleasure than to be able to recommend so fine a plant, — with a leaf as beautiful as the orange, — and we shall be glad to announce the first successful experiment with it. The remainder of our article we must reserve for another number. 169 HOME ARCHITECTURE.— No. II. BY WILSON FLAGQ. ON THE NATURE OF ORNAMENT. In every building we recognize two classes of objects, its features and its ornaments. Its features are those adjuncts and appendages which are necessary to its identity, and with- out which it would be incomplete. Such, in the exterior of a dwelling-house, are the windows, the chimneys, the roof, the doors, the vestibules, and all other appendages added to it for purposes of convenience. In one sense these features may be regarded as ornaments, inasmuch as the beauty of a house depends chiefly on their form and arrangement ; and in all cases they should be ornamental, so far as, without use- less decoration, they can be made to produce an agreeable impression on the mind. But the features of a house are not to be treated as its ornaments, though it be admitted that they are its principal beauties. We know that the beauty of a human face springs from the form, size, disposition, and ex- pression of its several features ; yet its ornaments are certain things superadded to it, and which do not belong to it, as wreaths, ribbons, rouge and pearl, artificial ringlets and jew- elry. Still, as the real beauty of a human face depends on its features alone, we may say the same of a house ; and both the quantity and the character of the ornament placed upon the latter must be governed by its relation to other objects and by its situation in the landscape. Ornaments are all such additions to a building as are de- signed to render it more agreeable to the eye or to the imagi- nation, not including its necessary features ; and they may be divided into two classes, those which are designed for re- lief, and those which are designed for embellishment. Of the first class, are simple mouldings, and all those additions that come under the general head of finish. Of the second class, are pinnacles, pendents, tracery, and columns and pi- lasters, so far as they are mere fanciful appendages and not needful in construction. All these objects in certain buildings may be properly employed whenever they will heighten their 160 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. legitimate effects ; but in country houses, if not very judi- ciously and sparingly used, they injure instead of improving their desired expression. In the streets of a town or a city, ornamentation may be more liberally used, as buildings in those situations do not form a part of the landscape, and need not be made to harmonize with nature. Let us turn our attention, in the first place, to the features of a dwelling-house, and consider the sources of their beauty and of their ornamental effects. It is evident that the keen- ness of the impression, made upon the mind by the appearance of a house, must depend greatly on the form and disposition of its features. Any awkwardness in their construction, or manifest defect in their proportions and their arrangement, would spoil the agreeable style of a dwelling-house, and render it ugly. The general habit of overlooking the distinction between the features and the ornaments of a building has led to an over-estimate of tlie importance of the latter. An ugly hut is selected, whose ugliness proceeds from its want of win- dows, of eaves, vestibules and other necessary appendages, and after improving it by the addition of these parts, it is put forth as an example of the pleasing effect of ornamentation, though not a single literal ornament has been added to it. It has indeed only been supplied with those features which belong to every complete dwelling-house, as eyes, nose and mouth belong to every perfect face. A chimney is an important appendage to every dwelling- house and one of its most significant features, being the out- ward evidence of that indispensable adjunct to the interior — a fire-place. If any one should doubt its needfulness to the beauty of a house, let him deprive a cottage of its chimneys, and endeavor, by certain ornamental work, to make amends for the baldness occasioned by their absence. It may be ob- jected that if we set up, on different parts of the roof, any projections resembling turrets or pinnacles, the baldness is relieved, and the cottage with these appendages is as pleasing as with chimneys. Only so far, I would reply, as such objects withdraw the attention of the passing observer from the ab- sence of the chimneys, or as they may be mistaken for them. The pinnacles, in this case, are but counterfeits of one of the APRIL. 161 necessary features of the cottage, and satisfy the observer, like a false window, in a place where the apparent absence of a window would indicate a serious defect. But the reader may ask if an ornamented chimney !s not more agreeable than a plain one ? Under ordinary circum- stances a plain one is to be preferred. All that is required to render a chimney pleasing to the eye is that it should bear, a just proportion to the house, and correspond with it in the style of its workmanship. It should bear all tliose external marks which prove to a correct observer that it is properly constructed to answer its own ends. If it be supplied with ornaments, they should never be such as to disguise its true character, since the sight of smoke issuing from an object that does not seem to be a chirTmey, must affect the observer with a sensation of the ludicrous. Windows are also a part of the essential features of a house, and whatsoever may be the style and elegance of their deco- ration, the real beauty of a window springs from its indication of a certain advantage — that of affording light and prospect to the inmates of the house. The fenestration of Gothic edi- fices was formerly considered one of the most important points of their decorative architecture. It is no less important to the beauty of a dwelling-house, and it must be adapted to give pleasure to the mind rather than to the eye, so that the outward arrangement may be most vividly demonstrative of light, prospect, and cheerfulness within. I believe the attempt has never been made to disguise the character of a window, because it possesses considerable in- trinsic beauty, and nothing disagreeable, like the smoke of a chimney, is associated with it. But it is difficult to determine what amount and style of ornament a window will admit, without losing that simplicity which should always character- ize the features of a house in the country. The reader must bear in mind that 1 am treating of ornament as applied chiefly to country houses, and only casually of the architecture of the city and of public buildings. It will be admitted that there are some windows which affect the mind of the beholder with pleasure, and others with displeasure ; but the former are not necessarily the most highly decorated ; for a great 162 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. deal of the beauty of windows depends on their relative dispo- sition, and their relation to the other features of the house. The glass must be clear, the windows of a uniform size, and they must be symmetrically arranged. How plain soever the house, the window panes must be sufficiently large and prominent to be evidently well adapted to their purposes, and be ornamented with mouldings, to soften the lines of their connection with the walls of the house. Thus nature has fringed the eye with lashes, and defended it by the arch of the brow, which also, for relief, is pencilled with a semicircular growth of hair. If these appendages were wanting, the eye would stand out apparently without protection from a sudden influx of light. It would want relief. Hence those faces, which have no prominence of the eyebrow and no eyelashes, have a disagreeable staring look and cannot be beautiful. As the expression of the eye depends chiefly on its setting, in like manner the beauty of a window depends greatly on its frame- work, which, if ornamented at all, should receive a simple style of ornament that is suggestive of domestic happiness, and nothing at all that is ambitious. It ought to be an axiom in home architecture that every ornament should make its ap- peal to the affections^ and not in the least degree to the senti- ment of admiration. Windows for ornamental purposes are constructed in various forms ; but in a wooden building a rectangular window is the most simple and convenient, and therefore the most pleasing. Arched or pointed windows, under ordinary circumstances, would be considered finical and affected. A cottage having windows crowned with a curvilinear or pointed arch, would attract attention as a curiosity, and be admired for a season, as we admire a pretty vase for a mantel-piece ; but our eyes would rest with more lasting satisfaction upon another with plain windows, neatly constructed, and of a convenient shape. The first would indicate unnecessary effort, because wooden structures do not easily admit of arches, and never require them. If the house were of brick or stone, an arched or lancet window would be a form which is adapted to the build- ing materials. It is a good rule, however, to confine such ornamentation to public edifices, school-houses, churches, and APRIL. 163 buildings in the city, in the style of which an appeal may very properly be made to the sentiment of admiration. Doors and doorways may be treated as highly expressive of the pleasant accommodations of a house. They are indeed as important as windows to the character of a dwelling-house, and more suggestive of hospitality, or the opposite, than any other outward feature. A door, for example, that is wide and plain, with an easy door-step and an accommodating passage, seems to invite one to enter. A door, on the other hand, that is elevated considerably above the ground, profusely and ex- pensively ornamented, with balustrades in similar style, seems to forbid entrance. Hence the hospitable expression of a dwelling-house on the one hand, and its selfish and exclusive expression on the other, depend greatly on the style of its doors and vestibules. A portico or porch ought always to accompany a doorway, since it not only protects one, while standing outside and pre- paring to enter, but it is a pleasing object of sight, as indica- tive of this agreeable accommodation. It shades nothing which we desire to expose to the light, as a piazza shades and darkens the lower windows ; hence it should be broad and ample, and may be considered an indispensable addition to a complete dwelling-house. A piazza is a continued porch, and though it is undoubtedly a great luxury, it darkens the win- dows, interferes with the prospect, and is attended with disadvantages that in many situations would overbalance the conveniences aiforded by it. But it is so intimately associated with cheerful gatherings of a social circle on summer even- ings, with twining roses and honeysuckles, with the balmy breezes from the field and garden, with a sunny promenade in cool weather and with grateful shade on sultry noon-days, that when neatly constructed and conveniently disposed, it must be a highly suggestive and ornamental feature of a dwelling-house. But a piazza should always be made of light and slender materials, that it may combine all possible advan- tages with the least amount of incumbrance. The roof is one of the significant features of a dwelling- house in the country, and admits of being larger and steeper than in a house in the city or its suburbs. Mr. Ruskin rec- 164 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTURE. ommends high, pitched, gable roofs for their effect on the mind, believing that a large roof is proportionally suggestive of hospitality, and the more steep the roof, the greater is its proportion to the remainder of the house. It will be gener- ally admitted that a steep roof on country houses is rather more agreeable to the imagination than a flat roof, provided the height of two buildings thus compared is about the same from the foundation to the highest part of the roof. What the roof gains in height must be taken from the height of the walls of the house, — otherwise the whole structure presents an appearance of insecurity. Our predecessors, it may be observed, who it seems to me paid more regard to the principles of art than is generally allowed, never put a steep roof on a high house, and seldom on one of two stories. When they placed a steep roof on a house of two stories, the building was always low studded and of great width. Many of these old-fashioned houses with high pitched roofs are very pleasing objects in the landscape, and their homeliness causes them to harmonize with the scenes of rude nature around them. When a steep roof is carried down to one story in the back part, it admits of two stories in front, without that appearance of too great height which it would otherwise present. Our modern builders, who, in their zeal for making showy houses are apt to forget the true principles of home architec- ture, are sometimes guilty of placing steep roofs upon high buildings. But not even Fashion, though so nearly omnipo- tent in her influence over the vulgar mind, could reconcile the public to such structures, that look as if they might topple over in a high wind. Whatever there may be of pleasing association in a high roof, compared with others that are not so steep, it must be admitted that it ought not to be employed at the expense of interior convenience ; and as houses at the present day are made with lofty rooms, they must, if built with more than one story, have proportionally flat roofs. If all the rooms of the house are made on one floor, they may be lofty and still admit of a steep roof. Dormer windows and gables are common featiires in houses of this plan of con- struction. Such dwelling-houses are generally considered APRIL. 165 fanciful rather than economical, and in whatever light of su- p?riority they may be viewed, when compared with the plain cottages in the country, which are in no style at all, the latter will always be regarded, by an unprejudiced mind, as the most sensible, and therefore the most pleasing, as objects in the landscape. There is a wide difference in the principles upon which a public building and a private dwelling-house should be con- structed. Let a dwelling-house, for example, be compared with a church. In tlie former, beside the common purposes of household convenience, we are to provide for that kind of appearance which will produce the most cheerfulness, tran- quillity, and permanent satisfaction. Sufficient light must be admitted to render the interior of the house cheerful, and there must be conveniences for sliutting out this light partially or wholly at times, as may be thought necessary. After all is completed, the house becomes a pleasing object of sight in proportion as its exterior plan manifests the presence of all these agreeable qualities within. It seems to me, therefore, that the artistical part of the science of home architecture comprises the rules for making both the external and internal physiognomy of a house vi\adly suggestive of its adaptedness to all the requirements of a happy and comfortable home. The mechanical part of the science is to make a house fit for its true purposes, and the artistical part to make its fitness visible and intelligible in its features. In a church, after provision has been made for the accom- modation of the assembly — secure and comfortable seats, a favorable construction of the room, both for easy speaking and convenient hearing, for the favorable situation of the choir, and the best conveyance of sound, — last of all, it is necessary that the style and arrangement of all the different parts, especially in the interior, should be impressive. Solemnity and grandeur are to be studied both in the construction and the ornamentation of a church, in order to heighten the effect of the religious services upon the minds of those who assem- ble there, by placing them in a tranquil and contemplative frame of mind, and inspiring them with a sensation of sublim- ity. All this may be accomplished without statuary, and 166 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. without a profusion of ornament. Indeed, a multiplicity of ornamental objects must impair these desired effects, by intro- ducing a confusion of images into the mind, and diverting the attention of the worshipper from his own feelings and meditations. The mind would be distracted as in a museum — a place in which it is impossible to feel any deep or vivid ^ emotion. Amplitude^ alleviated by certain partial divisions of space, produces a deeper influence on the mind, than unrelieved am- plitude of space included ivithin walls, without any such partial divisions. In this respect the Music Hall of this city is defec- tive. Notwithstanding the great size of the room it is not impressive. It has no solemnity because it is too open or vacant. The brilliancy of the place in the evening, when fully illuminated, produces considerable mental exhilaration ; but this is a frame of mind that diminishes one's susceptibility to be deeply impressed either by music or eloquence. The interior of a church, if it be very spacious, possesses a more solemnizing influence, if it be provided with galleries sup- ported by arches, duly proportioned to the size of the room, than if the whole broad space be open and undivided, or than if the galleries are merely supported by pillars. We feel no security of mind in such an undivided hall. The wide vacant space is too staring and exciting to generate sensi- bility. Let it be relieved by arches supporting galleries, and forming several partial divisions of the room, and we feel the emotion of grandeur from its amplitude, and a soothing tran- quillity from its solemn arches, that exercise the imagination, without diverting the mind from its own serious impressions. Our protestant denominations are as ambitions to erect costly churches, and to make a display of wealth and glitter in their interiors, as the vainest Christian could desire. But when they are assembled in them, the devotional feelings which may accidentally be excited, are the effect of the ser- vices alone, and are produced in spite of the stimulating influence of the fashionable gear with which the church is embellished. While we carefully avoid the delusions of the Catholics, in matters of faitli, we might learn many an in- structive lesson of them in their church architecture, which APRIL. 167 is studiously calculated to produce a humble, devotional, and solemn frame of mind. When we enter a genuine Catholic church, all the objects that meet the eye, however costly, are emblematical of Religion : the architecture, the carving, the painting, and other ornamentation, all seem to say, "This is the House of God. Be humble and kindly disposed one to another ; for all men are equal in the sight of Heaven." When we enter a modern model Protestant church, all is em- blematical of Fashion: the architecture, the glittering orna- ments, the stylish furniture, all seem to say, " Behold our property ! This church cost half a million ; and five thousand dollars were paid for the choice of pews. Let the Police give notice that there is a house for the poor in another part of the city." To return from this digression, I would remark that the style of a dwelling-house should be designed to awaken differ- ent feelings from those excited by church architecture. In the former we should avoid both grandeur and solemnity, and study to make the whole plan suggestive of homely qualities, and promotive of contentment and domestic happiness. It must be expressive of comfort; and to be comfortable, it must be spacious enough for accommodation, and not too spacious for convenience. The evidence of sufficient room is one circum- stance that causes so many old-fashioned houses to be expres- sive of comfort, compared with modern ones. They cover a great amount of surface. We feel that we might occupy them and not be confined to an inconveniently narrow space. We perceive that the members of a large family might assem- ble round the fireside with a party of friends, without incom- moding each other. An important part of the beauty of a dwelling-house comes from the outward manifestation of these interior advantages. But a house may be spread over a great deal of space, while it may be so planned as to seem contracted and deficient in room. The arrangement of the windows, doors, vestibules, and other appurtenances, may indicate an excessive number of apartments. If the house be disproportionally high it will seem to be deficient in breadth, though no such deficiency exists. If the stories be very low, the apparent amplitude is 168 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTUEE. greater than the real amplitude. Hence the height of the house, if it be disproportionally great, ought to be concealed by art. Lofty rooms are more agreeable and more favorable to health, but low rooms cause the house to seem, to an outward observer, more spacious and comfortable. We increase the pleasant and homely aspect of the house, not only by making it spread over a considerable extent of ground, but if it be disproportionally high, by any artifice that conceals its appa- rent height. There is also a moral sentiment connected with low-studded houses, and such as appear so — arising from an expression of humility — which is a more important feature than the proud, and those that imitate them, are able to un- derstand. The apparent adaptation of a dwelling-house to the purposes of luxury may be supposed to render it more pleasing. This may be very important in the eyes of one who was brought up in the midst of wealth, luxury, and ease ; and it is, after all, but the expression of a superior amount of comfort, and of a higher order of conveniences and accommodations. But to the majority of minds the evidences of luxury seem identi- cal with those of pride and effeminacy. Hence as soon as a house expresses, in addition to all that is desirable for comfort and convenience, an adaptedness to the morbid wants of slothfulness and vanity, it ceases to be homely. It loses its repose, and expresses the feverish desires of an effeminate and an ill-regulated ambition. THE BOTANICAL AND HORTfCULTURAL LITERATURE OP THE OLDEN TIMES, WITH REMARKS ON THE SPECIES AND SORTS. BY JOHN L. RUSSELL, PROF. BOT , ETC , TO MASS. HORT. SOCIETY, &c., &C. Part HI. Having given an idea of the style and treatment of the Flora of New England, as it presented itself to Josselyn's eye in 1665 or thereabouts, I shall continue, in this article, APRIL. 169 the subject in a more discursive mode, not confining myself to the order of the narrative, but selecting such more singu- larly curious instances as are to be found in it. And, after being attracted by the Fungi, such as Fusse Balls {Lycoperdon)^ some of which grow "very large," to the " Mushrooms, some long, others jagged, flat, round, none like our great Mushrooms in Eri^land ; of these some are of a scarlet colour, others of a deep yellow;" — in the sparse mention of which our author did not exhibit much discrimi- nation, especially if he ever wandered away in our woods of an autumnal morning, where he would have found almost every seeming representative of both " the great Mushrooms in England" and the smaller ones beside — we are presented with Hepatica triloba in his " Noble Liverwort, one sort with white flowers, the other with Blew." From this early harbinger of spring we step, in the narra- tive, to midsummer fruits, and are presented with the " Black- berry,^'' iJubus villosus, mistaken for Eubus fruticosus (com- pare English Botany, plate 715) ; with the Dew Berry, Rxl- bus canadensis instead of -Rubus cae^sius (Engl. Bot. 826) ; with the Raspberry, here called Mulberry (jRubus hispidus), still called Mulberry in some parts of New England, and eaten only by children and perhaps by birds. The iJubus Idae^s is the Raspberry of England, while ilubus strigosus, Mx., is our raspberry, a fine flavored fruit. Next our dish of "New England's Rarities" is filled with " Gooseberries of a deep red colour," where we have, instead of Ribes UVa crispa of Europe, our Ribes hirtellum. Wonderful properties in way of eating we find in " Haw- thorn, the Haws being as big as Services" (Pyrus domestica) " and very good to eat and not so astringent as the Haws." The English Haws are fruits of Gratae'gus oxycantha, natural- ized, as it is supposed, here, and found in our pastures at this day ; but I imagine that our author found, in his remarkable Haws, not our native Crataegi, but our June berries (^Ame- lanchier botrydpium and canadensis^), whose sweetish berries are quite palatable. That tedious though handsome weed, " Toadflax," (Linaria vulgaris,) seems to have been known even at this time. VOL. XXIV. — NO. IV. 19 170 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTUKE. ^^ Juniper; it is hear very dwarfish and shrubby, growing for the most part by the Seaside," This marked character- istic of our /uniperus virginianus at that early day, con- clusively shows how the present aspect of our seacoast rocky pastures is identical with the time of the settlement of the country ; and that the deeper forests were more inland or among the lower portions of the shores, — such as narrow valleys between the hills, — indeed, in this respect New Eng- land has little changed in its stern and barren features. Nuts may be classed among the fruits ; let us see what JossELYN " Gent." can furnish us in this line. He lays be- fore us " Hazel,''' our species, for the Corylus avellana ; "Fil- berd both with hairy husks upon the nuts and setting hollow from the Nut and filled with a kind of water of an astringent taste." Here we have a repetition, more at length, of the previous mention of the Hazel, in which we find our Corylus americana and C. rostrata mistaken for Corylus avellana of the cultivated kinds in England, having larger fruits. The mention of the astringent water would seem trivial were it not consonant with a treatise of a chyrurgical character ; in- deed, we are told that it ("the water") is very "good for sore Mouths and falling of the Pallat, as is the whole green Nut before it comes to the Kernel burnt and pulverized ; the Kernels arc seldom without Maggots in them ; " doubtless the progenitors of our RijnchcB^nus nasicus according to Say, the American entomologist. Then we are favored with " two figures of the Walnut," but which are so unfortunate as to suggest to me our pignut (Carya glabra), and certainly giving one but a very poor notion of our " New England's Rarities Discovered : " and of which the narrative well says, that the " Nuts differ much from ours in Europe — all of them but thinly replenished with Kernels," but by way of compensation we have " Chestnuts very sweet and may be (as they usually are) eaten raw; the Indians sell them to the English for twelve pence the bushel." These famous chestnuts are our native variety of Casta nea vesca, which arc smaller and " sweeter" nuts than those of the European type. But may not our mouths water at the following descriptions of the " Plumb Tree, several Kinds, bearing some long, round, APRIL. 171 white, yellow, red and black Plums all differing in their fruit from those of England." I must confess that such " a dainty" array of plums looks rather formidable, at first sight. We learn, however, from English botanists, that the common plum tree of England is the Prunus domestica, and is there found in hedges ; while the Bullace plum (P. institia) is the other British kind. The first named has been considered only a variety of Prunus spinosa or Sloe, but whether this be so or not, all the fine varieties of garden plums have origin- ated from the Prunus domestica. What JossELYN found as New England's Rarities, repre- senting the English plum tree, I think must have been the Canada plum (Prunus amcricana), which bears the " some long," and are yellow, orange or red ; the beach plum (Prunus maritima) which bears the " round," and which varies from purple with a glaucous hue to crimson ; but what the " black" and the ' ' white" are, I am at a loss to conjecture, unless Prunus insititia were really indigenous to this country, and was then noticed by the author ; the fruits of this species are black and also " white" in color, and likewise " round" in their shape. The rocky hills about Lynn and Salem are annually ren- dered gorgeous with G^enista tinctoria, on whose presence in Essex County a myth has been erected, maintained and cred- ited, that the plant was introduced from England by the early settlers as a material for dyeing. But Josselyn, at Scarbor- row, in 1663, or thereabouts, tells us of " Woodwax where- with they dye many colours," as if it were familiar to our native Flora in his time. Reverting to fruits he presents us with " Red and black Currants^ The black currant is our Ribes floridum, resem- bling Ribes nigrum of Europe. His red currant may be Kibes prostratum or Fetid Currant of our cold damp woods, of which I believe a not very delicate mention is made in his " Voyages to New England," reprinted in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society , Third Series, Vol. Ill, It is, however, asserted that Ribes rubrum, or the veritable red currant, has been found in the cold woods and bogs of North America, and if it really came under the author's no- tice and observation, it would add materially to the strength- ening of this statement. 172 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. We arrive now at the Second Section of the Treatise, which is thus styled : — " II. Op such Plants as are proper to the Country. Indian Wheat, of which there are three sorts, yellow, red and blew." This Indian Wheat is no other than our Indian Corn (ZeaMays.) He informs us that the " Blew is com- monly ripe before the other a month. Five or six grains of Indian Wheat hath produced in one year six hundred." This " blew" variety was probably a Canadian sort cultivated by the Indians and brought here by the traffic between the dif- ferent tribes. The yield seems very little to us ; but we should remember, that the soil was unmanured and the size of tlie ears of such a variety are quite short and small. We are presented in our Lilium canadense with our author's " Mountain Lillies bearing many yellow flowers turning up their Leaves like the Martagon or Turk's Cap, spotted with small spots as deep as Saffron." And a fine plant it is, and readily cultivated, a good counterpart with our native superb lily, which does not seem to have met the writers eye. What plant the Indians made use of in lieu of " Tobacco., which is not much Planted in New England," can only be surmised at best. He says that it was of " a small kind with short round leaves called Pooke." Lobelm inflata has been called Indian tobacco, and I am informed that Gnaphalium religinosum or low cudweed is sometimes employed by juve- niles to smoke — a custom, it may be, derived from aboriginal manners. We learn, that this same Pooke was very odious to the English, and a pity 'tis that the veritable tobacco has not shared the same fate with them and their descendants. In our cold wet meadows, the Sarracenm purpurea grows abundantly, and is an attractive object when m?t with by novitiates in botanical pursuits. It is not singular that it should have been noticed by Josselyn, who not only describes it very well, but gives a very correct figure of the plant. But he styles it the " Hollow Leaved Laven- der,''' and tells us tliat it " grows in the Salt Marshes over- grown with Moss, with one straight stalk about the bigness of an Oat Straw, better than a cubit high ; upon the Top APRIL. 178 standeth one fantastical Flower ; the Leaves grow close from the Root, in the shape like a Tankard, hollow, tough, and always full of water ; the Root is made up of many small strings growing only in the Moss, and not in the Earth ; the whole Plant comes to its perfection in August, and then it has Leaves, Stalks and Flowers as red as Blood, excepting the Flower, which has some yellow admixt. I wonder where the knowledge of this Plant has slept all this while — i. e. above forty years." To this sagacious inquiry I can only add that it might be feared such knowledge of the Hollow Leaved Lavender would have slept many forty years longer, were it sought for in " salt marshes." I am puzzled to know how several plants are thus located in salt marshes, unless it might be at the head of inlets on the coast, in whose rear the cedar swamps or low wet places with cold springy spots were to be found. Such a junction of the sea with the inland forest growth seems at one time of geological formation to have been possi- ble, and may exist even now. It is certain that no mosses, favorable to the growth of moss-loving plants, ever grow upon salt marshes : and it is possible that the word " salt" is an interpolation in the print. I consider the name of Lavender to originate in the pitcher- shaped foliage, as if from lavo, Latin, to wash : and although the blossoms suggest the present trivial name of sidesaddle flowers, yet the plant is sometimes, now, called Forefathers' Cups, and, better still. Frogs' Pitchers. This charming bog plant deserves more than a passing notice. Some roots, collected in December last, have pre- served their freshness of foliage, and have even made new leaves, planted in moss saturated with water, and kept in a deep dish on my parlor table. They attract every person's attention who enters the room, and suggest the possibility of raising finer blooming specimens in artificial culture than can even be found in their wild habitats. I think that they would thrive well in wet moss, and covered with a tall bell-glass, similar to the treatment of Lycopodium arbor eum, ccB^sium, and the like. In Parkinson's Herbal there is also a curious figure of the plant, which seems to have been unknown to the 174 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. author of New England's Rarities Discovered, when he put his sapient question. Let us hear something in the chirurgical line. " Maiden Hair, or Capelius veneris verus, which ordinarily is half a yard in length. The Apothecaries for shame now will substitute Wall Rue no more for Maiden Hair, since it grows in abundance in New England, from whence they may have good store." This New England herb is none other than Adiantum pedatum, our most elegant of ferns, and dis- tinct from the Adiantum Capillus Veneris of Great Britain. The Wall Rue substituted fraudulently for the better kind is Arnesium Ruta Murdria, which, from its disposition to insin- uate itself into the mortar of brick ivalls, also among the chinks of the stones of ruins and churches, and from the form of its frond, has obtained the appropriate name of Wall Rue. The same fern is not uncommon in limestone regions of the United States, as I have frequently gathered it, for instance, in the limestone formations of Vermont, near Winooski Falls. Some attention to the supposed medical virtues of the True Maiden Hair will account for the indignation and zeal of our author. Newman, in his elegant " History of British Ferns," says, that we are told by Bulliard in his work on the Medicinal Plants of France, that it is known in the shops under the name of Capillairo de Montpellier, but no mention is made of its use as an ingredient of the syrup called Capil- laire, though the author adds, that it is frequently used in medicine. According to Flore Francaise (IH., 549) it is used in the South of France to make a syrup, which being perfumed with orange flowers is called Capillaire. In Arraii, according to Dr. Ball, the inhabitants use a decoction of it instead of tea. Ray, in his History of Plants (I., 147,) gives a very detailed account of its wonderful virtues, and gives it too with all the gravity of implicit faith. His catalogue of diseases curable by preparations of this fern, seems to include nearly all " the ills that flesh is heir to." And one Dr. Peter Formeus of his day regarded it as an universal panacea. The great want of precision in the earlier works of Botany caused several ferns to be confused under a similar title ; APRIL. 175 and accordingly Asplenium trichomanes and Asps. Ruta Mu- raria were, with it, called, in England, Maiden Hair. Herbs of rarest supposable virtues have been proved since those ear- lier times, but fictitious in merit, and even the most famous have fallen into disuse. Dr. Lindsay QPhytoL, IV., 1064) remarks on its astringency, and its recommendation, at one time, for pulmonary complaints. Like most ferns it contains taurine and gallic acids. " Indian Beans, falsely called French Beans, are better for Physick and Chyrurgery than are Garden beans. Probaivm est." This is a curious mention of the presence and use of our bush beans, Phaseolus vulgaris, called Haricots or French beans in some of our Seed Catalogues nowadays. It has been suspected that the Phaseolus was known among the Aborig- ines, and used with the maize, and that the several varieties are all of tropical American origin. The Grarden Beans, in- cidentally alluded to, and as inferior in Physick, are what are termed by seedsmen Windsor Beans, the Faba vesca or Vicia faba. Connected with those Indian esculents we find too among the " Rarities," " Squashes, but more truly Squanter squashes, a kind of melon or rather Gourd, for they often- times degenerate into Gourds, some of these are green, some yellow, some longish like a Gourd, others round like an Ap- ple, all of them are pleasant food, boiled and buttered and seasoned like spice, but the yellow squash called the Apple squash because like an Apple, and about the bignesse of a Pomewater is the best Kind : they are much eaten by the Indians and the English." Here we have a Catalogue of Indian Vegetables worthy of considerable note. The Squanta Squash defies even con- jecture, unless we read Squater or Squatty Squash, alluding to the scalloped Summer squashes (or Gourds) so called. Gourds and pumpkins, both in edible varieties, appear to have been well known to the Indians : and probably what is now cultivated for its mere beauty in the Orange Gourd (and sometimes eaten) is the Apple Squash, of the size of the Pomewater. We learn from a Glossary to Shakspeare that Pomme water was a well known kind of apple : such a name, I am told, still applies to a variety of apple. The orange 176 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. gourd is ordinarily of the size of an apple, and is thus signi- fied, perchance. But better than gourds we find " Water Mellon; it is a large fruit, but nothing near so big as a Pompion, smoother and of a sad Grass green Colour, or more rightly Sap green, with some yellowness admixt when ripe : the seeds are black, the flesh or pulpe exceedingly juicy." New England had " Bill Berries, two kinds Black and Skye colored, which is more frequent, a most excellent Summer Dish," in our present Whortleberries (Vaccinium resinosum) and blue berries (Vacc. corymbosum,) and the " Knot Berry or Clowde Berry, seldom ripe," (perhaps i^ubus hispidus ;) and the " Wild Cherry, they grow in Clusters like Grapes of the same bignesse, blackness, red when ripe, and of a harsh taste," in which we notice Prunus viginiana, or commonly called Choke Cherry. Adding a little horticultural hint to other observations, our author assures us that " transplanted and manured they grow exceedingly fair." He calls the Cranberry (Oxycoccus macrocarpus) " Bear berry, because Bears use much to feed upon them — a small trayling Plant, that grows in [Salt] Marshes that are over- grown with Moss ; the tender Branches (which are reddish) run out in great length, lying flat on the ground, where at distances they take Root, overspreading sometimes half an Acre ; sometimes in small patches of about a Rood or the like : the Leaves are like Box, but greener, thick and glister- ing : the Blossoms are very like the Flowers of our English Night Shade, after which succeed the Berries, hanging by long, small footstalks, no bigger than a Hair ; at first they are of a pale Yellow Colour ; afterwards Red and as big as a Cherry ; some perfectly round, others oval ; all of them hol- low, of a Sower astringent taste ; they are ripe in August and September : used for Sauces to allay Feavers, and are good against Scurvey." A better description of our cranberry coTild hardly have been devised, than in this early mention of the plant. 177 HISTORY OF FRUIT TREES AND FRUITS.— No. III. BY LEANDER WETUERELL. THE APPLE TREE — SOIL AND LOCATION. Having sketched somewhat briefly the history and great antiquity of the apple, it is now proposed to consider the. location and soil best adapted for planting an orchard. Be- fore doing this, however, allusion should be made to an omis- sion relative to the early history of the apple, in relation to both England' and America. Mr. Hogg, in his excellent work on the Apple, is of the conviction that it was known to the Britons long before the invasion of the Romans. This he deems evident from their language. " In Celtic, the apple is called abhall or ahhal ; in Welsh, aval ; in Armoric, afall and avail; in Cornish, aval and avel, derived from the pure Celtic word, hall, signifying any round body. The an- cient Glastonbury was called by the Britons ynys avallac, ynijs avallon, which signifies an apple orchard : and from this its Roman name avallonia was derived." This being admit- ted, there can be little doubt that the apple was known in England before the political conquest of the Romans. It is certified before the Norman Conquest, by William of Malmes- bury, that " King Edgar lay down under the shade of a wild apple-tree, in 973." Pope Alexander HI., in 1175, in his bull confirming the property belonging to the monastery of Winchcombe, in Gloucestershire, mentions, in the town of Twining, "with the lands, orchards, meadows, &c." In a charter of King John, granting property to the priory of Lanthony, near Gloucester, is mentioned " the Church of Herdesley, with twelve acres of land, and an orchard.''^ Now all this may be true, and not militate materially against the claim set up, that apples were introduced into Britain from Rome. It is well known to every student of ecclesiastical history, that it is maintained by ancient writers, and believed by some modern ones, that the gospel was preached to the inhabitants of the island of Britain in the days of the apostles. In those days of missionary labor, as now, the priesthood carried with them the arts and fruits of 178 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. civilization, wherever they proclaimed and published the gos- pel. The spiritual conquest by Rome having occurred long before the political one, it is therefore not improbable, that the cultivated apple was introduced into England about the time of the Christian Era. This would account for all the aforesaid historical statements concerning apple-trees and orchards. Wm. Coxe, a celebrated American author, in his rare and excellent work on Fruit Trees, remarks : " Whether the nu- merous varieties of apples with which our country abounds have proceeded from the dissemination of the seeds brought here by our European ancestors, or were produced by apples cultivated by the aborigines before the discovery of America by the Europeans, is a question about which writers have differed, and will continue to differ. My own impressions are favorable to the fonuer, as founded on that principle of the vegetable kingdom, that varieties are limited in their duration ; and authorizes the belief that none of the Indian orchards, discovered in America, are more ancient than the first settlement of the Europeans on this Continent." Pro- vided it be admitted that cultivated apples and orchards were known in America before Cliristopher Columbus sailed hither, it would not confirm the notion of their being indigenous. For it is claimed that this Continent was known to the East long ages before Columbus studied geography, or made a voyage of discovery. If so, then it would not be an improba- ble supposition that these ancient voyagers, hither, from the East, might have brought with them the seeds of the culti- vated fruits. This, however, is one of those questions that nothing short of direct testimony can settle, and that, proba- bly, is beyond tlie reach of human investigation. Hogg, already quoted, remarks, that " the apple tree has existed in Britain as indigenous throughout all ages, and that the most ancient varieties were variations of the original spe- cies which abounded in the forests." This remark will apply with equal force to all other countries, where the apple is cultivated ; and yet fail to prove that the best cultivated varieties of the apple are indigenous either in Europe or America. The earliest record of the vegetable kingdom of . APRIL. 179 which man has any knowledge contains these words : " Let the earth bring forth grass, yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself ; and the earth brought forth grass yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind." The query has arisen, and been elaborately discussed by learned writers, whether seeds or plants were first created. The quotation cited would seem to favor the latter. The history of man, also, seems to confirm this view. But as it is no part of the present design to discuss this point, it has been alluded to, for the purpose of indicating, that it is prob- able that the apples that supplied the table of the first human pair were not inferior to those produced by the best horti- culturist within ten miles of Boston. This is one way of accounting for the possession of fine fruits by man. The other is, that they have been cultivated up, as already indi- cated, from the crab-tree, Pyrus malus of Linneeus, Malus communis of D. Candolle, or Pyrus coronaria of Tournefort, Pyrus rivularis of a modern botanist. Notwithstanding the almost universal cultivation of the apple in the temperate zone, it will be generally admitted that location and soil affect both quantity and quality. It was maintained by Coxe, "that the Middle States are most favorable to the production of fine table apples and cider. It will probably be found that the river Mohawk on the north, and river James on the south, form the limits of that district of country which produces apples of the due degree of rich- ness and flavor for both purposes. It will not be denied, that apples grow well in the interior and elevated parts of the Southern States, as well as in favorable exposures in the Northern and Eastern. Most of the fine varieties have been produced within these limits. Handsome and fair apples are grown in Maine and Nova Scotia, but they do not possess the fine flavor of the apples of the Middle States. The same is true of apples produced on the plains of Georgia and the hills of St. Domingo. Cold and heat are equally necessary to the production of fine apples, — neither predominating in too great a degree." Knight, in his Treatise on the Fruits of Hereford, says : 180 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTUEE. " The flavor of the cider, for which particular orchards in that county in England are celebrated, is ascribed to their warm and favorable exposure, in every instance coming to his knowledge." Chancellor Livingston, an author of great rep- utation, remarked, " that the growth of trees in America compared with England was as five to three." " This fact," says Coxe, " may account for the revival of the reputation of several English cider apples, transplanted to this country." Gerard, in his Herbal, speaketh as follows, of soil and loca- tion : " The tame and graffed Apple trees are planted and set in gardens and orchards made for that purpose ; they delight to grow in good and fertile grounds : Kent doth abound with apples of most sorts. But I haue scene in the pastures and hedge-rows about the grounds of a worshipful gentleman, dwelling two miles from Hereford, called Master Roger Bodnome, so many trees of all sorts, that the seruants drinke for the most part no other drinke but that which is made of apples ; the quantity is such, that by the report of the Gentle- man himselfe, the Parson hath for tithe many hogshead of Syder. The hogs are fed with the fallings of them, which are so many, that they make choise of those apples they do eat, who will not taste of any but of the best. An example doubtless to be followed by Gentlemen that haue land and lining ; (but enuie saith, the poore will break down our hedges, and we shall haue the least part of the fruit) but for- ward in the name of God, grafFe, set, plant and nourish vp trees in euery corner of your grounds, the labor is small, the cost is nothing, the commoditie is great, your selues shall haue plenty, the poore shall haue somewhat in time of want to relieue their necessitie and God shall reward your mindes and diligence." Don says : " A difference of opinion appears to have always prevailed respecting the quahty of the soil proper for fruit- trees. Some prefer very rich and other very poor. Both are wrong. The advocates for the poor soil appear to have been misled by transferring the feelings of animals to plants, and inferring that a change from want to abundance must be agreeable and beneficial to both. But plants in a very poor soil become stunted and unhealthy, and do not readily acquire APRIL. 181 habits of vigorous growth when removed from it. In a soil wliich has been highly manured, the growth of young apple trees is extremely rapid, and their appearance during two or three years, generally indicates the utmost exuberance of health and vigor. These are, however, the forerunners of disease, and the ' canker's desolating tooth' blasts the hopes of the planter. In choosing the situation for a nursery or or- chard, too much shelter or exposure should be equally avoid- ed, and a soil nearly similar to that in which the trees are to grow should be selected for the nursery. Pasture ground or ornamental mowing should be preferred to old tillage, and a loam of moderate strength and of considerable depth to all other soils." Hogg, in his Introduction to British Pomology, remarks : " The apple may be grown on almost any description of soil, provided it is not absolutely wet. It succeeds best in a humid sandy loam, or a well-drained, strong clay, with a calcareous, or gravelly subsoil. It is not necessary it should be of great depth, as for pears, as the apple, having no tap-root, does not penetrate far into the soil. From a foot and a half to two feet will be found of sufficient depth ; where the soil is good and the subsoil humid and not wet, a foot in depth answers a good purpose." Rogers, in his Fruit Cultivator, says : " The size and flavor of the fruit, the health and duration of the' trees, are the result most commonly of good or bad soil. Climate and location also affect both trees and fruit, but not in tlie degree that they are affected by the qualities of the soil. Of all soils, the hazel loam, containing a small portion of sand, seems the most congenial to the apple. In such soil it flour- ishes longest, is most productive, and remains frees: from disease and insects." Like Hogg, he urges the importance of underdraining wet soils. Mcintosh says : " Deep-rooted soils in sheltered situations are not the best for the apple, though most often recommend- ed ; the tree succeeds well in almost any loam, provided it has not a wet subsoil ; the roots take an extensive horizontal range, and in such soils the wood ripens better than when the roots strike deep." And the quality of the fruit, he might 182 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. have have added, is very delicate to the taste, and will keep longer. Downing says : " Strong loams and clayey loams are the best adapted to the growth of fruits." Concerning aspect or location, he says : " We have seen fine fruit trees in all loca- tions. The best and most favorable aspect, however, is a gentle slope to the south-west, because, when in bloom, the trees are protected from the bad effects of the morning sun after spring frosts. Some even prefer a northern slope, as be- ing more sure to escape the effects of frost. Deep valleys, with small streams of water, are deemed the worst locations for fruit trees, in consequence of the liability to frosts. If the stream be large, like the Connecticut or the Hudson, the liability is less, because of fog, which gradually melts the frost, or prevents it." Soil and location, or aspect, are subjects, as now contem- plated, worthy of deliberate consideration with those desirous of planting apple orchards, for very much will depend upon these, whether such are successful in growing that species of fruit, which is, really, of more importance for the market and family use, than all other kinds. With a favorable aspect, good soil, and trees from a suitable nursery, the gardener and farmer cannot fail of success, in their efforts to cultivate the apple. SULPHUR FOR INSECTS. BY EBEN. WIGHT, COR. SEC. MASS. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The following appeared in tlie Country Gentleman of Feb- ruary 20, 1858 :— " Sulphur for Insects. — I find by the Cultivator that you have r.o faith that sulphur has any effect on insects or blight, when put into a hole in the trunk of the tree. The Mockernut Hickory on this place, (Mr. Manice's estate) were dying very fast, the cause being an insect eating the buds in the spring and early summer months. About four years ago my employer, Mr. Manice, had holes bored with an augur in the trunk of the tree, to the pith, and then filled with sulphur and the hole stopped up. Since that was done we have lost but few trees. I had no faith in it at the time my employer did it, but such are the results. * * * * * How it APRIL. 183 acts I cannot tell. You know vegetable physiology is yet imperfectly un- derstood.— Richard Parnell, Qiieens, JV. F." The above is much the same as we meet with periodically going the rounds of newspapers. Agricultural editors are generally too well posted in such matters to believe that sul- phur could have the least possible effect for the destruction of the curculio, canker worm, or any other insect, when applied as above recommended. As to its remedial qualities, it pos- sesses none whatever ; it is no remedy in the destruction of any insect as above proposed, for the reason that the sulphur will remain the same in quality and quantity; no diminution of quantity takes place, for all capillary communication is cut off and ever remains so as long as the tree continues to stand. Now for FACTS, showing the fallacy of boring and plug- ging with sulphur. About twenty-five years ago, an article went the rounds of the newspapers, saying, the Shakers had tried the experiment of sulphur, and had entirely extirpated the canker worm, and saved their trees in pristine freshness. The communication stated, that, so sudden was (?) the effect, that in less than twenty-four hours scarce a vestige of the myriads was left; each had let himself down in "double-quick time" by a ladder of his own construction, (of course they do ; sulphur or no sulphur, all leaving the tree at about the same time to take on the chrysalis state) ; neighbors gathered to see the way in which young Mount Vesuvius was stirring up the inhabitants of the upper regions. The above was a stirring affair in more ways than one; my neighbors read the account, and forthwith set to work on their fruit and orna- mental trees; sulphur was in demand, with an upward ten- dency, (not by the aid of sap, however,) and results were looked for. Many a fruit tree was cared for, which was more than could have been said for any prior time since the first dibbling of them into holes as their last resting place. Some said, " sulphur was the thing ;" others had known quicksilver to keep off caterpillars, so long as any was left remaining in the hole ; in other words, till the sap vessels had used up the charge first put into the auger hole. Determined to show the absurdity of such a mode of proceed- ing, I too set to work with both sulphur and quicksilver, care- 184 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. fully weighing the quicksilver in a balance distinctly sensible to the hundredth part of a grain. The holes were bored and cleared so that I might thereafter remove it without trouble, as it all laid in one globule — the holes were cemented over. These holes were opened from year to year, and the quick- silver taken out and weighed, showing no decrease from first to last. These facts I gave you, as you will notice on refer- ence to your Magazine, Vol. XIX., p. 152. Amongst my trees selected for trial of sulphur, were two venerable elms. The auger used was of the size of the rolls of sulphur, and was allowed to penetrate to the very heart of the ancient speci- mens. Roll after roll of sulphur was put in and the holes plugged — one with grafting clay, the other a wooden plug. The one on which grafting clay was used soon healed over, while the other showed signs of bleeding for a length of time. This was over twenty-five years since. Now, mark the result. This winter these two trees were cut down, one having been struck and killed by lightning, its mate on the opposite side must also share its fate for harmo- ny's sake, and so give place to others planted some thirty years since, with the view of making up the deficiency. On cutting up the butts, it was found that sulphur and hole were of the same size as when operated on twenty-five years ago. The holes had grown over and that was the only change observable. The better to illustrate such folly, I send you a piece of the same, that you may have it to show to others. A like piece I shall place in the hands of Clias. L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of the Mass. State Board of Agriculture, State House, Boston ; and still another will be sent to Col. B. P. Johnson, Corresponding Secretary N. Y. State Agricultural Society, Albany, N. Y. CRANBERRY CULTURE. BY F. TROWBRIDGE, NEW HAVEN, CONN. The interest you take as well as the public in the culture of the cranberry, induces me to give you some few hints upon its culture. Within a few years, in consequence of the high APRIL. 185 prices that have been obtained for the fruit, and the constantly increasing demand, more attention has been directed* to its growth, and many persons have made large plantations of the vines. It is therefore desirable that all the information that can be obtained in regard to their management should be given to the public, that success may attend their efforts in so laudable an object. The cranberry, like every other fruit, needs care and attention. For I have found that in almost all cases where a failure has occurred, it has been owing to inattention to the proper preparation of the soil, or to keeping them clear and free from weeds after having been planted. There are large quantities of land all over our country that will grow large crops of fruit, that are now comparatively worthless, — too wet and col(i for grass. Other localities, that would produce grass, but the subsoil is quite wet throughout the year, ten or twelve inches below the surface, — where also good crops of corn or other grains would flourish. The prep- aration of the ground of the latter description will not be so great as the former. If such soil is of a rather light nature, a plough can be iised and the ground thoroughly prepared ; after which the plants can be set out. If the lot is extensive, it is better to plant the vines two feet or more apart, so as to cultivate between them, which always needs to be done, in order to keep out the weeds for two or three years, after which the vines will cover the ground and mostly take care of themselves ; often yielding, after two years, from one hun- dred and fifty to two hundred and fifty bushels per acre. Where small lots are planted out, they would cover the ground much sooner by placing the vines only one foot apart. If the soil is heavy, three or four inches of sand (sea sand is best) should be carted on to the surface and the whole made level. The plants should in all cases be set four or five inches below the surface of the soil, as they take root from the stem ; they can safely be set deeper than many other plants, and as they thrive mostly on air and water, the deeper they are set out, the most likely they are to live. The vines may be planted out as late as June. In regard to land that is wet and spongy, it should be drained, and the surplus water left about ten or twelve inches VOL. XXIV. — NO. IV. 20 186 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. below the surface. The ground can then be trenched, and the more thoroughly it is prepared the more successful will be the culture. Sand should be covered over the ground to the depth of three or four inches, in order to keep the surface loose, and to prevent foul grass and weeds from choking the plants, and it is much easier to keep them clean afterwards. As to flowing the land, which has been thought indispensa- ble to success, it is not necessary ; but where it can be done without inconvenience or great expense, it will tend to keep the plants back until the late frosts are over, which often destroy the crop ; it will also aid them sometimes during the summer droughts, at the time the berries are forming. Still it is not absolutely necessary, and that is a question of some importance to know. There are some other points in the culture of this valuable berry which I might suggest, but I have already, I trust, said ' enough to induce all who have spare land to attempt their cultivation, which will prove a remunerative crop. _^ ^-^^ 7. LARGE OVAL CRANBERRY. We are pleased to present our readers with the above brief directions upon cranberry culture. Mr. Trowbridge has been indefatigable in his endeavors to awaken an interest in the culture of this fruit, now one of great commercial importance, and we see no reason why thousands of acres of the land lying waste everywhere, may not be appropriated to its growth. No doubt, through the experiment of raising seedlings, much APRIL. 187 improvement might be made in the size of the berries. There are now only two recognized sorts, one the Bell, and the other the large Round, common on Cape Cod. The former seems to be the favorite with cultivators, though both are good. We trust Mr. Trowbridge's article will create a renewed interest in cranberry culture, not only on an extensive scale, but also by our amateurs, in their gardens, for the supply of their own tables, where they can have the fruit fresh and plump from the vines. Our cut (fig. 7) represents the large oval variety. POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP. Lady Downe's - Seedling Grape. — A new variety, recently introduced under this name, is now attracting much attention among English grape-growers, and is pronounced " one of the best, if not the very best, grape in cultivation for late pur- poses." Like many new fruits, it was long cultivated without its character being known beyond the collection where it was raised, but from its great merit it at last attracted the notice of grape-growers, and, through the good judgment of Messrs. Backhouse of York^ was brought before the public. We ap- pend such an account of it as we gather from several notices in the Gardeners' Chronicle : — It is a late grape ; the bunches are long and compact, the berries are rather oval and black, the flavor is sweet, but, like all grapes that hang late, the skin is rather thick ; it is a good bearer and sets well. A correspondent who visited La- dy Downe's place and saw the vine in bearing, states that the " bunches were ripe early in September, and considering that they were in a house where plants were wintered, and conse- quently where fire heat was kept during the whole of the time of the severe weather, the berries were, notwithstanding, very little shrivelled on the 8th of March, when he saw them. These facts show it to be one of the best, if not the very best, grape in cultivation for late purposes." Its history is thus given by the raiser : — Lady Downe's Black Seedling grape was raised from the 188 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTUEE. Black Morocco, crossed by the Chasselas or Sweetwater, 23 years ago, and was sent to Messrs. Backhouse, of York, eight years ago. The bunch of grapes it was raised from. Lady Downe had for her hmch, and after eating the grapes she sent to the gardens for a pot of mould to sow the seed in ; after the plants were up and the seed leaves were expanded, they were handed over to Mr. Foster, one of the gardeners, to take charge of them. Two plants were raised, one a white grape, and this variety ; both were planted out and produced very fine grapes. Mr. Thompson, gardener to the Duke of Buccleugh, states that it sets freely, bears abundantly, showing three bunches to an eye, ripens in the greenhouse, hangs late, and is likely to prove one of the best keeping grapes in cultivation ; Messrs. Backhouse consider it the most valuable keeping grape in cultivation ; and Dr. Lindley adds, that " it is certainly a very nice grape." From all these testimonials, and many others which we have not room to quote, it appears one of the most valuable of the new grapes recently introduced, equalling the Barba- rossa in long keeping, and far surpassing it in all other quali- ties, especially productiveness. Eastern Apples in the West. — In our notice of the meeting of the Ohio Pomological Society in our last number, (p. 105), we gave the summary account of the Secretary in regard to " what had been learned," and in this summary we were somewhat surprised to see that he came to the conclu- sion, from the evidence, that the Eastern varieties of winter apples best adapted for cultivation in Southern Ohio, " are not those generally known and approved in Northern Ohio and in New York, but varieties of Western origin." We did not wish to make any greater claim for our favorite Eastern sorts than they really possess, and therefore made no comment upon the statement. It gives us great pleasure, therefore, to offer the evidence of a skilful cultivator of Maysville, Ky., somewhat further south, who informs the Country Gentleman that " Western nurserymen and fruit-growers have been too hasty in denouncing promiscuously Eastern apples," and that Mr. G. Hamlong of Germantown, in that State, tells him APRIL. 189 " that out of 200 varieties which he has tested, most of them of western and southern origin, he has not been able to dis- cover any equal to such apples as Esopus Spitzemberg, West- field Seek-no-further, Swaar and Baldwin in their season. "(!) Such sorts as Rome Beauty, Smith's, Milam, Rawle's Janet, (fee, are very valuable as market fruits, being very productive, large and showy ; but it will not do to bring them to the table on the same day as the Swaar, Spitzemberg, &c." This we believe to be the fact. New Theory of the Black Knot. — A writer upon plums in the Country Gentleman affirms that the " black knot ex- crescence is not attributable to the attack of an insect, but is a scrofulous habit peculiar to plum trees, producing dark- colored fruits — hereditary and contagious. It is perpetuated by seed from unhealthy and affected trees, and by scions im- pregnated with the inspissated sap. The difficulty then is the feculent condition of the sap. Various specifics have been applied without affording any relief. The most successful remedy prescribed has been realized in the tonic properties of sulphate of iron. It will, in an ill-conditioned tree, immedi- ately produce a deep green foliage and a general healthful appearance. Cutting away the affected branches is impera- tively demanded, as the disease spreads rapidly." We are induced to think that even the specific of sulphate of iron has been as much vaunted as any one, and certainly applied with as little success. We believe the knife, applied in season, is the only remedy, as we know it has proved efficacious in more than one instance. The scrofula of the plum is an ingenious theory. The same writer states that the curculio is " migra- tory and gregarious." We think our plum cultivators are already aware of it, and have found him all this, and even " more so." Carpenter's Seedling Peach. — We are pleased to learn that Mr. W. S. Carpenter of New York will soon introduce his new peach to cultivators, having placed the stock in the hands of a nurseryman for propagation. Specimens of the peaches shown at the exhibitions of the American Pomological and other societies were universally admired for their size, beauty and excellence. It is one of the latest white-fleshed peaches. 190 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. HOW TO TRAIN THE BLACKBERRY. BY THE EDITOR. The blackberry is rapidly and deservedly becoming one of the most popular and favorite fruits. Coming in imme- diately after the other small fruits are gone, and in eating for more than six weeks, it fills a place before vacant, and, by the superior excellence of such sorts as the Dorchester and Lawton, supplies the dessert with an abundance of the richest fruit till frost. Everybody who ever gathered the wild fruit in our woods and fields, knows what a thorny and unmanageable bush the blackberry is, — that it will often scarcely pay to tear one's hands and feet to get at some great bush laden with its tempting clusters of fruit. It is indeed a formidable object, and not any less so in the new sorts than in our wild varieties. Unless the plants are trained in some way to be easily acces- sible, it will be almost impossible to gather the fruit without the risk of scratched hands and arms. The ordinary plan is to train the plants to upright stakes, but in this way the new wood runs up among the fruit, and renders the picking troublesome ; besides, the strong canes do not break so well, nor bear so abundantly, or produce such fine berries. Horizontal training is the best. Some cultivators train to a trellis ; but, for various reasons, this is objectionable. The best way is to train the old bearing wood horizontally to stakes, and to allow the young wood to occupy the space in the centre, as the raspberry is trained in Holland, of which we annex a plan (fig. 8.) The plants should be set out eight or ten feet apart. When they have attained sufficient strength to throw up four vigorous shoots, these should be cut in to four or five feet, and trained in the spring to stout stakes (a a), about four feet long, set firmly in the ground. Their horizontal position causes every eye to break, and produce an abundance of fruit. During the season the new growth, or bearing wood for the next year (b b), occupies the centre, and in no way interferes with the gathering of the berries. If the canes grow too tall and APRIL. 191 hang over from their weight, the tops may be pinched off at the height of five or six feet, by which means they become stronger. Only four shoots should be allowed to grow annu- all the others being cut away or dug up. HORIZONTAL PLAN OF TR.J .G THE BLACKBERRY. The advantages of this mode over others is, that the stout stakes retain their place, and facilitate the gathering without danger of tearing the hands, and do not have the unsightly appearance of tall stakes or a trellis. Neatly done, a row of vines, loaded with their black and glossy fruit, is rather an ornament to the garden. Raspberries may be trained in the same manner. THEPANSY. " A wise man maketh more opportunities than he finds." It need hardly be remarked, that no plant has more rapidly risen from a comparatively worthless state to occupy a promi- ment position in the florist calendar than this hybrid violet. Little did I dream in my childhood ignorance, a quarter of a century ago, that amongst the cullings of the verdant mead- ows and flowery banks of other climes, this tiny fellow would expand under the loving and patient industry of the hybrid- ist into a thousand diversified forms of exquisite excellence. 192 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. And why not ? Is there any plant that affords a greater stimulus to the young florist, or more charms and soothes the old one ? Its very playful and capricious nature conveys a fine moral lesson ; it leads the young to habits of patient im- provement, and shows the old there is yet a higher path to tread ere perfection be attained. One of the most charming writers that ever adorned the English language has said, " the world may be likened to one vast mansion, where man has been admitted to enjoy, to ad- mire, and to be grateful." To the contemplative lover of nature how thrilling the sentence; the soul vibrates with thought, and memory bridges over the gulf that separates the present from the past, and we bound away to other days, when, free from the festering cares of the world, we luxuriate in the home of our rural life, and its associations has left its im- press on our minds, which not even the dry details of a city life, amongst the sons of business, or the monotonous nature of a life of physical toil, can crush from the soul. Hence it is that the enthusiast struggles under difficulties, and pro- duces results that startles the lukewarm and fashionable cultivator. For a large section of your readers, the willing votaries of Flora, ardent admirers of the pure and beautiful, the unde- cided as to what flower shall be the pet, since all are charming, are these remarks intended, and with a hint not to forget the old proverb at the head of this article, I will initiate them into the " mysteries of the order " by first telling them what are the chief properties that constitute a good flower, accord- ing to the standard taste of the present day, and second, its cultivation. Form is point the first, and most essential, and includes not only shape but smoothness of margin and perfect flatness of petals, and so disposed as to form a perfect circle, and, in fact, when the lower and two upper petals are removed, the two side petals will, in first-class flowers, meet at the upper and lower parts ; for the petals to meet well above the eye is of the utmost importance, thus making the form " of the shield" complete. A disposition to bloom flat is also desirable, and the contrast between a rough, uneven, frilled flower, and APRIL. 193 one which, without artificial means, will dispose of its petals evenly and smoothly, exhilnting its rotundity in all its per- fection, will momentarily fix the attention and catch the eye of the veriest tyro in the fancy. Sawtoothing is another de- fect, and sometimes occurs in flowers otherwise unexceptiona- ble, and although it is minute, it tells against it when brought in contact with perfection. Indentation of the lower lip often occurs in otherwise good flowers, and destroys its rotundity, which is absolutely essential. Point the second is substance of petal. Whatever may be the excellence of form, if the flower be flimsy and weak, its beauty is destroyed. To be justly appreciated, the petals should be thick and velvety, thereby enabling the flower to stand well. On point third there has always been much diversity of opinion, viz., harmony, or a proper distribution of color, but the best qualified judges of Europe hold it absolutely essential that the three bottom petals agree in shade, whatever be the color of the upper ones ; and, in selfs, it is necessary that they all should assimilate. No flower, with the ground color stained, can be admitted as first class, as it is as great a defect in the pansy as the discolored bottom to the cup of a tulip. Whether it be a white, yellow, or any other colored self, it must be pure and steadfast, and the eye large and well defined, and the more it contrasts with the body color the better. If the color be black, crimson, maroon or purple, the eye must be white or yellow, but no shading off. In belted flowers, or those with a margin of color en- circling the three bottom petals, it ought to be of a uniform width throughout, and in a perfect flower of this class no triangular spot is seen. Size is the least of all the essential requisites to a good flower, but in either a single or a collec- tion of flowers, acknowledged judges determine, by the fol- lowing rules, to form, four points; substance, three ; distribu- tion or harmony, tivo, and size, 07ie. All plants intended for exhibition purposes should be re- stricted to size of pot, and if the plant be clean and well bloomed, must be an object of pleasure to the many, as the proud one — the owner. Of its cultivation much might be said, the substance of 194 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. which would be — young plants, rich mould and a regular degree of moisture ; or, to vary it, a regular degree of mois- ture, rich mould and young plants — but to those about to commence its culture, I would briefly hint — they will require a three-light frame, a few dozen well selected plants, a cart- load of good loam, some rotten leaf-mould, sand, and thor- oughly rotten cow or horse manure, some few dozen small pots to keep the plants over the winter for planting out in the spring, and a few 6 or 8-inch pots for blooming the plants in the frame or for exhibition purposes. Commence to prepare, as soon as the ground and weather permit, a bed ; for aspect avoid, if possible, the full glare of the sun; if the soil be naturally poor, wet, sodden, heavy or sandy, counteract all these evils by striking the medium ; plant one foot apart and six inches from the edge of the bed ; give a good watering after planting, and stir the surface often with a Dutch hoe. Its effects will soon be apparent. If the weather continue dry, be sure to pay a ready visit with water- pot in the evening, applying it with a fine rose, not merely wetting the surface, but thoroughly. Thus exhausted nature is reinvigorated, to meet to-morrow's dawn. The beauty of the first bed will be over by July ; if neces- sary to replant, young plants should be prepared in the in- terval from cuttings, — or, by dividing the old plants and adding manure, a fine bloom maybe obtained in the autumn. But a good substitute may be found in a few choicely selected verbenas, or other bedding plants, thus giving the amateur ample time to prepare a fine batch of plants for the coming year. The pansy suffers very little from frost, but at the same time they should be well protected in very severe weather. I omitted to say that the plants intended for pot culture should receive their final shift in January, and in April the frame should be reversed from south to north, thus avoiding the full glare of the sun, which is very important. A brick should also be placed under each corner, so as to obtain a current of air around the plants. By raising the back rows on an inverted pot, so as to correspond with the angle of the frame, they form a fine bank, and if the selection is good and APRIL. 195 the plants well bloomed, tell me what genus gives a greater variety of colors, more gorgeous hues, or affords more ecstatic delight than Heartsease. FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. New Verbenas. — The new verbenas of the present year promise to be fine additions to this beautiful and popular flower. We have seen but few of them in bloom, but as they are seedlings of the most successful raisers in England and France, they will undoubtedly prove fine. The following are the names : — Attraction, (Edmonds,) Celestial, (E.,) Charles Dickens, (E.,) Dred, (E.,) Edward, (Chauviere), Geant de Betailles, (C.,) Le Gondolier, King of Roses, Lord Palmerston, (E.,) Monarch, (E.,) Mad. Abdt, Noel, Prince of Wales, (E.,)Rosy Gem, (E.,) Sir Joseph Paxton, (E.,) Tranby and John Ed- wards. The only American seedling we have seen of remarkable quality, is Rand's Annie, which is the Gem of the Whites. The truss is beautifully shaped, forming a full half circle, the pips large and well shaped, the color pure, and the habit strong and vigorous. It is a most superior flower. New Bedding Geraniums. — Great improvement has been made in the scarlet and various colored bedding geraniums, both as regards peculiarities of foliage and the size of the trusses of flowers. Some are indeed remarkable for these qualities. The leaves being prominently marked with white, yellow and crimson, forming a mass of gay foliage and splen- did flowers. The following are the names of some of the best : — Goliah, Nain bebe, Gen. Napoleon III., Pequillo, Paquitta, and Ernest Labbe. New Gladioli. — We have already noticed the beautiful additions which have been made to the summer blooming Gladioli. As they are likely to become as great favorites with us as they are with the Parisian cultivators, we name some of 196 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. the showy varieties of different shades of color : blooming as they do from August to October, they demand introduction into every flower border. Nothing can be more beautiful than a bed of the following varieties : — Comtesse de Bresson, Don Juan, Hector, Mons. Blouet, Adonis, Eugenie, Aristote, Aglae, Couranti fulgens, amabilis, Mad. Henricq, Fanny Rouget, Mad. Coudere, Eugene Verdier, Mons. Gorgon, Rosa carnea, and Couranti carnea. The Rose Gloire de Dijon. — Last year I ventured the opinion that this rose would probably surpass all others for a wall rose, in doors, and thus far experience confirms it. At the time of this writing, a bush on the wall of a small green house, has covered a space of ten feet square, and numbers over forty buds, and is making preparation for, perhaps, double that number. It has been in flower since the first of February, and the fragrance fills the house. A Lamarquc of the same age, adjoining it, is entirely eclipsed, except in the amount of wood, and is not yet in bloom. The petals of the Dijon are smoother and firmer than I have ever seen them out of doors, and the color decidedly better. On the whole, it is the most desirable rose of its kind, and no light-colored rose in any class can give more satisfaction. — Charles G. Page, Wash- ington, D. C, March 5th, 1858. ®0ssip of i\t Pontlj. The Augusta Rose. — I observe in your Magazine, of the present month, an article from Geo. C. Thorburn, on the •' Augusta" rose; attempting, so late in the day, to make out a very visible difference between it and the Solfatare rose. I don't think it hardly worth the while to expend many words now, about this matter, since the public have had a good opportunity to see, for them- selves, these two roses, and have become satisfied of there being no essen- tial difference, if any at all, between them ; and if there were no mistake in declaring that this rose sprung from seed, then, as it has been well said before, it is a reproduction of the Solfatare. Mr. T. presents a false aspect of the case in the first and latter part of his article. He says " that there APRIL. 197 are a thousand and one opinions among horticulturists generally, on the merit and demerit of this (I say beautiful ) rose." (My experience is, and it is not a limited one, that horticulturists are, almost to a man, united in pro- nouncing this rose the same, essentially, if not thoroughly so, as the Solta- fare). The word, ^^ beautiful" here enclosed in brackets, is wholly and entirely out of place, for it is calculated to deceive, and only deceive, the unwary reader ; it implies that the rose is not thought much of, that it is considered inferior to the Solfatare. The same thing occurs again, near the conclusion of the article. He says, "I have had some experience in flower culture, and, unless deceived, never recommended a second rate flower of any sort." So a false impression is kept up, that this rose is decried, and regarded, as before said, as inferior to the Solfatare. Almost every one, iff whom I have applied for an opinion respecting this rose, [the Augusta, (so called,)] and the number has not been small, for inquiries were made, two or three years since, in Philadelphia, New York, Hartford, Boston, and other places, including private as well as public ones, and, almost uniformly, the reply was, it is the same as the Solfatare. I do not remember a single instance where the Augusta rose (so called) was regarded as inferior to the Solfatare. No, the trouble lies here and only here ; the Augusta rose (so called) when sent out, was represented to be a decidedly better, a superior rose to the Solfatare, and it has turned out, in the opinion of all those who have flowered it, (with exceptions, and exceptions only,) to be no better, but the same, to all intents and purposes, as Solfatare ; and no little feeling was wrought up, from mere disappointment to indignation, with those who pur- chased it, at the discovery, when the rose came into bloom, that five dollars had been paid for a rose, that either they could have purchased anywhere for fifty cents, (and at many places for a less sum) or, that was already in their possession, and in many, very many cases, had been for years ; and the only redress one finds in such a case is to declare, (as many have to me) that they will take very good care " not to get taken in so again." The remarks of J. F. Allen, respecting the two grapes. Prince Albert and Barbarossa, in a recent letter to the Mass. Horticultural Committee, apply very truthfully to the Augusta rose (so called) and Solfatare. He says, " The Prince Albert and Barbarossa, if not identical, are so like as not to be worthy of distinctive names." Mr. T. says, every lady who has walked my garden this summer and autumn, and to whom I have always presented an opening bud, (which Sol- fatare seldom favors one with, being coyishly shy,) exclaimed, " what a de- lightful rose!" " what a tea scent ! " "have you plants for sale?" What of all this ? Would they not have made the same exclamations if an "opening bud" had been "presented" of the Solfatare? and could they not get the Solfatare, too, for half the price, or less, than he offered the Augusta (so called) for to them ? " Mr. T. says, the flower buds are, how- ever, "much more globular." Not simply more globular, but "much more;" and yet, I find it no easy matter to meet with a single grower of the rose, around Boston, who can point out a particle of difference between the two roses ; notwithstanding Mr. T. finds the buds of the Augusta, (so called, 198 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. much more " globular " than Solfatare. Mr. T. says, that it is, for scent, incomparably finer than Solfatare. I shall simply deny that it is any more fragrant than the Solfatare. I will allude to only one other remark of Mr. T.'s. He says, alluding to horticulturists and florists, "I fear their deter- mined will to make it out merely Solfatare, has blinded their better judg- ment." In my opinion, his " determined will " to make out the Augusta (so called) a decidedly different and superior rose to the Solfatare " has blinded his better judgment." There is more left to animadvert upon in Mr. T.'s article, and very much more, upon the matter aside from this, as a whole, but, as I said at the com- mencement, it is rather late in the day, now, to consume much time upon »it. I will conclude by saying, that I am only what is termed an amateur florist, and have never purchased this rose, the Augusta, (so called,) but have had pretty ample opportunity in observing it ; and I have but one ob- ject in view in opposing any statement which favors the idea of its being a different, or better rose than Solfatare, and that is to stick to the truth. Yours, ^c, Jas. Jackson, Boston, February 12, 1858. American Pomologicai, Society. — We have just received a note from the Hon. M. P. Wilder, President, stating that the next meeting will be held in New York, on Tuesday, Sept. 14, The place of meeting and other particulars to be given hereafter. icrtiailtimil ©ptnitions FRUIT DEPARTMENT. After the mild and pleasant winter, with the exception of the last fort- night in February, spring commenced in true old boreas style, and nearly up to the present time (20th March) the weather has been the coldest of the year. The snow is now gone, the frost not very deep, and the weather more mild and spring-like. Grape vines in the grapery will now be growing rapidly with the advance of the season, and will soon be in bloom. Raise the temperature slightly until the fruit is well set. Top the laterals where they are growing too fast, and regulate and tie in the spurs. Maintain a genial atmosphere by closing the house earlier than usual, and damping the walks ; rake, top-dress and dig the borders. Grapes in cold houses will now commence growing ; tie up the canes to the rafters, air freely, but close up rather early, and syringe often in good weather. Avoid bringing on the vines too fast, or sudden cool weather might give them a check. Finish pruning and training vines in the open air as speedily as possible. Grafting should be proceeded with as rapidly as possible; the earlier the work is done the better. APRIL. 199 Trees of all kinds should be transplanted now, first preparing the ground thoroughly. Raspberries and Blackberries should be pruned and trained up as we have directed in a previous page, or neatly fastened to stakes or trellises. Manure and dig the ground. Strawberry Beds may be made this month with the best success. Trench and manure the ground. Seeds of Pears, &c., either dry or kept in the soil all winter, should be planted as early as possible. Rake and clean beds sown in the autumn. Pruning Trees. — All kinds of fruit trees should be attended to now, particularly dwarf pears. Manure and dig the ground as soon as the weather will admit. Cuttings of Currants, Gooseberries, &c., should be got into the ground as early as possible. Insects should receive attention, as we gave directions in our March number. FLOWER department. April is a busy month. Nearly every thing of importance that is to be done must have attention now : if omitted another month, it may be too late. The houses should now be abundantly stocked with flowers, and all the bedding stock propagated and ready in frames for putting out, as soon as all danger of frost is past. Many kinds of seed should be sown, that an early bloom may be obtained before those come on planted in the open ground. Running plants in the houses will now require attention ; such as have done blooming should be headed in to get a new and strong growth of well ripened Avood, on which a good bloom depends. Pelargoniums now begin to show their flowers, and will soon be one mass of bloom : tie out and regulate the shoots if not already done, and water rather more liberally, occasionally using liquid manure. Air abund- antly very early, that the growth may be strong and stocky. Fumigate if the green fly appears. Azaleas will soon be out of bloom : increase the supply of water, and use the syringe freely. Head in all straggling plants, and repot at once all such specimens as require it. Calceolarias must be kept in a vigorous growing condition by shifting as soon as the pots are filled with roots. Keep them in a cool and airy part of the house. Late stock will do best in frames. Camellias will now be making their growth ; syringeoften and liberally, and water well at the root. Plants that require it may be shifted. Keep the house rather close. Fuchsias, intended for large early flowering specimens, should be repot- ted early, and kept in a rather warm situation ; top all strong shoots if bushy plants are wanted. Cinerarias will now be in full bloom: keep them clean and healthy by frequent fumigations. Young stock may be kept in a cold frame. Chrysanthemums should be propagated from cuttings, which make bet- ter plants than suckers. 200 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Pansies ia pots will require liberal supplies of water, occasionally using liquid manure. Keep them in a cool frame, removing the sashes every fine day. Young stock should be planted out in beds or in the border. Dahlias should be started for early blooming: place the roots in a gen- tle hotbed, where they will soon push up vigorous shoots. They may then be divided and potted. Seeds should be sown early to get a good bloom. Roses may be turned out of the pots into the open garden towards the close of the month. Fumigate to keep down the green fly. AcHiMENES should be potted now for a succession; those planted in Jan- uary should now be in bloom. Heaths in small pots should be shifted early into larger pots, that they may get well established before they are removed out of doors. Cuttings of all kinds of winter-flowering plants should be put in as speedily as possible, so as to get an early summer growth. Hard-wooded Plants should now have attention, repotting all that need it — stopping and training out the shoots and making handsome speci- mens. Tuberoses, Amaryllis, &c., may be potted and brought forward in an old hotbed, and planted out in May. Annual Seeds of the more tender kinds should be sown, such as Bal- sams, Coxcombs, Stocks, &c. Pot oflf those already up, and harden them off in cold frames, ready for planting out in May. Hollyhocks raised from cuttings should be repotted, that they may be- come strong and vigorous for planting out. Keep in a cool frame. Bedding Plants should have attention. Cover well, should frosty nights occur, but air abundantly and water freely. flower garden and shrubbery. No time should be lost now in putting the lawn and walks, and flower garden, in order. The soil should be dug early. Prepare at once for sow- ing the hardy annuals. Remove all coverings from hardy perennials and bulbs, and rake, clean and stir the surface of the beds ; transplant to fill va- cancies or fill new ground. Carnations and Picotees should be set out early to get a good bloom. Prepare the ground at once. Tulips and Hyacinths will make their appearance above ground: if very frosty nights should occur protect with a mat or straw. PEONIES should be transplanted rather early. RosES should be pruned immediately, and the ground manured and dug. Daisies, Polyanthus, and other flowers, wintered in frames, should be removed to the border, where they will immediately come into bloom. Pansies, wintered in pots or raised from seed, should be planted out early in a good, rich, well-prepared soil, in a half shady situation. Gladioluses may be planted when the weather is warm and fine. Herbaceous Plants of kinds may be transplanted, or taken up and reset when they have grown too large. HEDGES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. Besides the several plants we have already described, there are several others that are employed for hedges. The French make use of many kinds, though some of them are not hardy enough for our latitude ; and at the South, the Holly, Cherokee Rose, &c., are extensively planted. The Honey Locust makes a good farm hedge, but is quite too coarse for town or villa gardens. The following kinds are all very ornamental, though gen- erally less protective than those' we have before named, viz. : the Berberry, Althaea, Shepherdia, Mahonia, Willow, and Japan Pear, (Pyrus japonica,) the latter being very beautiful, especially in early spring, when its coral blossoms bedeck its leafless and dark brown shoots. From its habit of flowering on the old wood, unlike the Privet and many other plants, severe cutting does not destroy the flower buds, and a close- clipt hedge always blooms well. No doubt there are other plants equally well adapted for hedges, requiring only the experiment to test their capacity for this purpose, an object sufficiently important to interest all cultivators in the trial. The following is a list of the plants used in France, which we copy from Du Breuil's Practice and Theory of Arboricul- ture : — Wild pear. Wild apple, Mahaleb cherry. Elm, Beech, Hornbeam, Osage Orange, Buckthorn, Montpelier maple, Scarlet oak, Tamarax gallica, Hawthorn. Of Evergreen trees there are some which make most beau- tiful hedges or screens, admirably adapted for division lines in smaller or larger grounds, or for enclosing the kitchen garden, or shutting out disagreeable objects in garden scenery. If properly planted and judiciously managed they are perfect masses of verdure the year round, and add to the cheerfulness of any situation, particularly during the winter season, when they are conspicuous and attractive features of every resi- dence. We describe a few of the best : — VOL. XXIV. — NO. V. 21 202 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. The Arbor ViTiE, (Thuja occidciitalis.) — Among all the evergreens, this to us appears the best adapted and most orna- mental evergreen for hedges. It naturally is not a very large tree, does not grow too rapidly, is perfectly hardy, a native of the most northern regions, holds its color very well, and bears the shears better than any other. From its multiplicity of small branches and absence of large ones, it does not show the rough ends like the larger-branched trees, which need a fresh growth to cover the wounds. It grows in any locality not too dry, does not require any particular soil, and recovers from any accidental casualty much quicker than other ever- greens. The Siberian Arbor Vitse seems to be the perfection of evergreen hedge plants, but at present it is rather too ex- pensive ; as soon as it becomes cheaper, it will undoubtedly be universally used, to the exclusion of our common American plant. Its dense, compact habit, — its much richer verdure, both in summer and winter, and its slower growth, give it a preference over all other evergreens. The Red Cedar, (Juniperus virginianus,) is recommended by many individuals, and it appears, next to the Arbor Vitae, one of the best evergreens. Like that, its habit is close, upright, and dense, bearing the shears well, and filling up readily. Its color is its only objection, being dull and gloomy, better suited to the cemetery than the ornamental grounds of a villa residence. The Norway Spruce, (Abies canadensis,) which has- been planted in many places, makes a strong and thick hedge, but it naturally resists tlic restraint in which it is kept, and shows too plainly the desperate means used to keep it within bounds. As a coarse and tall screen it can be highly recommended, but for small gardens and grounds, where space is limited, it cannot compare with the Arbor Vita^. The Hemlock, (Abies canadensis,) one of the finest of all hardy evergreens, if not of both hardy and tender. It is the queen of the Coniferse, and whatever may be its merits as a hedge plant, it appears to us like vandalism to thwart and clip the growth of such a splendid tree. Still, those who have no such scruples in regard to plants, may use it for hedging, and it does very well, better than the Norway Spruce. MAY. 203 It bears the knife better from its more slender branches, and in spring, when its young growth commences, it possesses that additional beauty for which this fine tree is so celebrated. The White Pine, (Pinus strobus.) — The first attempt at clipping tliis noble tree that we have seen was made at Mr. Hunnewell's, at West Needham, as related in previous vol- umes ; as single specimens, trained into round, compact heads, they were pretty objects, showing that it bears the shears well, and may be used quite as readily as the Norway Spruce, which is more rigid in its growth. Its color is light and silvery, contrasting well witli the Arbor Vitse or Cedar. The American Holly, (Ilex,) and the Mahonia, (M. aqui- folium,) undoubtedly make beautiful hedges, but for the present the plants are difficult to be had, only at a high price. When tlie call for them shall be sufficient to induce our nurserymen to raise larger quantities, the price will no doubt fall within the reach, at least, of gentlemen who possess fine grounds which they wish to be perfect gems of sylvan beauty. Such are the principal Evergreen hedge plants, and we particularly recommend them wherever ornament alone is the object to be attained. They afford but little protection from animals, but for all enclosures where there is a substantial fence, they hide such disagreeable necessities, offer shelter from cold winds, and give warmth to all grounds whereon they are extensively employed. Preparation of the Ground. — It is all important, in order to have a handsome and permanent hedge, that the ground should bo thoroughly prepared. Unless this is attended to, no after-culture will fully obviate this error. If the soil is naturally poor, it should not only be dug deep, but should be well manured ; but to do the work properly, it should be trenched. To effect this, mark off the whole length of the ground to be planted full two feet wide, and if four feet all the better. Then proceed to trench it at least eighteen inches deep, and if twenty-four inches better still. Work in, as the trenching is done, some well-decayed manure, and keep the poorer subsoil near the surface, where future appli- cations of enriching matter will correct its present poverty. Planting. — The ground being ready and the surface lev- 204 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. elled, sot a line just where the hedge is to be planted. Then commence by taking out the soil on one side of the line, cut- ting with the spade perpendicularly so as to keep a firm and upright bank on the other, against which the plants are to be set. Having the plants all selected, of nearly as uniform a size as possible, place them along the trench about as thickly as they will be needed, which is just six inches apart. Two persons will be required to do the work well, one to place and hold the plant, and the other to cover the roots. Commence setting out the plants by placing them perpendicularly against the bank and line, covering the roots just enough to hold them firm. In this way proceed with the planting, keeping them in a perfectly straight line, for nothing is more dis- agreeable to the eye than a crooked hedge : although clipping may eventually obviate any little defect in planting, an uneven row will be apparent enough for three or four years. When the plants are all set, proceed to fill the trench partially up, and then with the foot press the earth firmly but not hard upon the roots against the line, and level in the remaining soil. Give the surface a neat finish with the rake, and the work is so far complete. It is the advice of many cultivators to cut down the plants before or immediately after they are set, and the common practice is to follow this advice. But we have found in our experience that nothing was gained by such haste ; on the contrary, it has been rather injurious than beneficial. The theory of this is the same as we have before explained in the pruning of newly-set trees. If the plants are immediately cut down, they are found to make wood at the same time they are forming roots, and hence break weakly, and make a feeble growth ; but if they are allowed to get firm hold of the soil, at the end of the first year they will be as well established as if they had not been moved. When they are cut down the following spring, they will throw up vigorous shoots in every direction, and thus form a thick, stout base upon which to rear the hedge, and at the end of the second year they will not only have made more wood than if they had been cut down when set out, but it will be stronger, more vigorous, and far more protective where protection is an object. Our MAY. 205 advice is, therefore, not to head down until the second year ; but those who are in haste, and think the time lost, may fol- low the directions of some planters, and clip the tops with a sharp shears within four inches of the ground. There are various opinions in regard to planting hedges in single or double rows. For protective hedges alone it may be well enough to plant double rows, alternating the plants ; but generally, and for ornamental purposes, a single row is pref- erable, as it does not make so broad a base, and has a neater and less clumsy aspect. The only difference in planting sin- gle or double rows is, in the latter mode, to open another trench on the opposite side, six inches from the first, and plant in precisely the same manner as before. But with the planting the work is not finished : the after- treatment is quite as important as the planting : everything depends upon the commencement. What is required, and what must be obtained, is a good thick and stout foundation upon which to build the hedge. Many failures in hedging result from two causes, viz., inat- tention to after-treatment, and fear of the use of the shears ; hence they are allowed to grow up thick and bushy at tlie top, and lean and lank at the base. It might be as well here to advise all, who wish to make a hedge speedily, to give up the task at once. It is utterly vain to attempt any such thing. They are the work of time, and cannot be possessed by any who are not willing to patiently await their growth. With thorough preparation of the ground, good plants and planting, liberal manuring, and judicious clipping, a hedge may be grown five feet high in six or seven years — and not sooner. The evergreen hedges require somewhat different manage- ment from the deciduous kinds of which we have been speak- ing. They should be set full fifteen inches apart, and merely have the ends of the straggling branches cut in the first year. The second year they may be put into proper form. The Clipping and Forms of Hedges. — Hedges may be pruned into any shape the fancy may suggest. In olden time the Yew and Box were so treated, and, in Dutch gardens, were cut into every variety of form. Even the late Earl of Harrington, in his extensive grounds at Elvaston, England, 206 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. with his passion for evergreens, had a plantation called the " Alhambra Garden," in which everything was in the old style, all the trees being sheared, and many of them forming complete columns of verdure, with plinth, base, shaft and cap. Representations of the shape of some of these old clipped Yews may be seen in Loudon's Arboretum, and other garden- ing works. But of this we may speak again ; our object is to give some hints in regard to the appropriate form of ordinary hedges, which may readily be effected by any skilful gardener who understands his profession, or by any amateur who has a good eye in regard to form. Ordinarily, the hedges usually seen are mere lines of stunted trees, with their tops sheared off, and the base nearly or quite bare. This has been brought about by neglecting to cut the plants down low enough at first, and by omitting to cut them low enough at each successive clipping ; the tendency of the sap is to the top, where the branches grow vigorously and rob those beneath, which soon cease growing, while the top be- comes a bushy head, requiring hard and repeated shearing to keep within bounds, whilst the lower part requires no cutting at all. In fact, the hedge soon becomes the very reverse of the shape it should be, or ratlier, we might say, " bottom side up." Instead of being in the form of the letter A, it is the shape of the letter V. Undoubtedly a greater portion of those who plant hedges really do not know what the proper shape should be, or even what form they intend to have it. Common sense dictates that it must be clipped, or it will soon become too large and unmanageable ; but we believe we are correct when we say no very definite idea is entertained in regard to any particular shape the hedge is to assume when it is planted. If so, they would not be such ill-shaped things as are usually seen. As we have remarked, they may be cut into various forms, but there are only two which are generally adopted ; these are the square and pyramidal. The French shear the greater part of their hedges in the former style, while the English adopt the latter, as represented in the annexed engravings, (figs. 9, 10.) The first, being the French, (fig. 9), and the latter the English, (fig. 10.) MAY. 207 For protective hedges, the French mode presents a rather more formidable barrier, but does not have the neat appear- ance of the English style ; besides, it requires a very good workman to keep the sides and top even, without which it is highly offensive to the eye. The inverted V shape, on the contrary, will not show any little unevenness of surface in the cutting. Other objections to the flat top are, in our climate, that heavy snows break down and injure them, and such gaps are not so easily made good as in the sharp top. Still another , NX// J ?5 \^_, 9. SQUARE yollM ol IIl.UGES. 10. PYRAMIDAL FORM OF HEDGES. objection is, that the flat-topped hedges are more apt to get bare at the base. We have not the space to go into all the details of yearly pruning, until the hedge attains its full size in the fifth or sixth year. The periods of clipping are usually May and August ; the May shearing being hard, cutting clean back to preserve the perfect inverted V shape, (pig. 10), and not the Gothic arch, which some advise, but which always show a weak arm. Do not attempt to increase the hedge more than SIX OE EIGHT inches a year. Limit it to three feet wide at the base, and seven or eight feet high, if pruned in the py- ramidal form, and about eighteen inches wide if pruned in the square style. If the work is well done, the surface of verdure should be as smooth as a carpet. In conclusion, let us advise all who desire a good hedge to have patience. Time, which accomplishes all things, will alone in this case perfect the work. 208 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. THE BOTANICAL AND HORTICULTURAL LITERATURE OF THE OLDEN TIMES, WITH REMARKS ON THE SPECIES AND SORTS. BY JOHN L. RUSSELL, PROF. BOT., ETC., TO MASS. HORT. SOCIETY, &c., &0. Part IV. In section 3d we have " Of such Plants as are proper to the Country and HAVE NO names." The Goodyera repens, or Rattlesnake Plantain, seems to have made considerable impression on Josselyn in the " proper" native plants of New England. He gives us a figure of the leaf very well executed, and regrets that he fails of carrying it to England as a rarity of great value. Also, a singular figure of Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus fseHidus, accompanied by a barren stem of Equisetum, which he imagines has some necessary connection with the flower of the former plant. It " hath a sheath or Hood like Dragons, but the pestle is of another shape, that is, having a round purple Ball on the Top of it beset, as it were, with Burrs ; the Hood shoots forth immediately from the Root, before any Leaf appears, having a green sprig growing fast by it like a small Horsetail : about the latter end of April, the Hood 8f Sprig- wither away, and then in the Room comes forth a Bud, like the Bud of a Walnut Tree and bigger ; the Top of it is of a pale green, covered with Brownish skin like an Onion, white underneath the Leaves, which sprout in Time out of the Bud, grow from the Root with a Stalk a foot long, and are as big as Great Burr Dock leaves and of the same Colour ; the Roots are many, and of the Bignesse of the Still of a To- bacco pipe, and very white ; the whole Plant scents as strong as a Fox ; it continues till August.^'' A remarkably good figure of Impatiens fulva, called by him " a Branch of the Humming Bird Tree" ; another of Nabalus altissimus ; still another of Chelone glabra, each accompanied with marvellous narratives, brings us to a very pretty picture of our Cornus canadensis, which our author mistakes for the English " Herb Paris or True Love or One berry or rather One flower, which is milk white, and made up with four MAY. 209 leaves, with many black threads in the middle, upon every Thread grows a Berry (when the Leaves of the Flower are fallen) as big as a White Pease, of a light Red Colour, when they are ripe & clustering together, in a round Form as big as a Pullets' egg, which at a distance shows but One berry ; very pleasant in taste and not unwholesome ; the Root, Leaf and Flower differ not from our English kind ; and their Time of blooming and ripening agree, and therefore doubtless a kind of Hcrba Paris.'" The splendidly colored fruits of the Bunch berry is here evidently intended — strangely taken for Paris quadrifolia, quite an inferior looking plant. The Cor- nus canadensis, on the other hand, is a cospecies with the showy and Snowy Flowering Dogwood, C. florida, and, like it, will even consent to artificial cultivation in the garden. A famously executed figure next introduces us to the " Small Sun Flower or Mary gold of America," which I sup- pose to be intended for Helianthus divaricatus, which grows plentifully about our neglected fields, a conspicuous weed. A very minute description attends this figure in the Treatise, which, however, does not serve much to elucidate the point, the cut on the accompanying pages being so much more pref- erable. The fourth section reads thus, viz. : "IV. Op such Plants as have sprung up since the English planted and kept Cattle in New England." This list is at once curious and interesting, and, if we can depend upon the accuracy of the names, shows how rapidly the foreign weeds were usurping the places of the native flora. Thus, twenty-one distinct kinds are mentioned as being already naturalized in about " forty years," as follows: Couch grass, Triticum repens. Shepherd's purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris. Daiidelion, Taraxacum dens-leonis. Groundsel, >Senecio vulgaris. Loio Thistle, iSonchus olcraceus. Wild Arrach, ^Itriplex hastata. Night Shade, with white flowers, iSolanum nigrum. Nettles stinging, ZJrtica urens. Parkinson says that they were introduced into gardens as pot herbs. 210 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. Mallow es, ilf alva rotundifolia. Plantain, or English Man's foot, Plantago major. Black Henbane, iJyoscyamiis niger. Wormwood, ^rtcmism absinthium. Sharp-pointed Dock, .Rumex acetosella.(?) Patience, i^umex sp., resembling the Patience Dock of Europe. Bloodwort, i?umex sanguineus. Knot Grass, Polygonum aviculare, Chickiveed, Stellaria media. Compherie, Symphytum officinale. Mayweed, Maruta cotula. Great Clot Burr, Lappa major. Mullein, with white flower, Fcrbascumblattaria and variety. V. Of such Garden Herbs amongst us as do thrive THERE and such AS DO NOT. Cabbidge grows there exceeding well. Lettice. Sage. Sorrel. Carrots. Parsley. Red Beetes. Marygold. Radishes. French Mallowes. Turnips. Chevoil. Par slain. Burnet. Wheat. Winter Savory. Rye. Time. Oats. Barley, which commonly degenerates into Oats.(! !) Pease of all sorts, the best in the world : I never heard of, nor did see, in eight Years Time, one Worm eaten Pea. Parsneps of prodigious size. Garden Beans. Naked Oats, there called Silpee. Spear Mint. Rew will hardly grow. Fether few prospereth exceedingly. Southern Wood is no plant for this country (! !), nor Rose- mary, nor Bayes. White Salter(?) groweth pretty well, so doth Lavender Cotton. (?) But Lavender is not for the cli- mate. MAY. 211 Penny Royal. Smallcdge. Ground Ivy or Ale Hoof. Gilly Flowers will continue two years. Fennel must be taken up and kept in a warm cellar all winter. Houselcek prosperetli notably. Hollyhocks. Enula Campana, in two Years' time the Roots rot. Conferie, with white Flowers. Coriander and Dill and Annis thrive exceedingly: but Annis seed and also the Seed of Fennel seldom come to maturity : the Seed of Annis is commonly eaten with a fly. Glazy never lasts but one summer, the Roots rot with the frost. Sparagus thrives exceedingly, so does Garden Sorrel and Sweet Bryer or Eglantine. Bloodwort but sorrily but Patience and English Roses very pleasantly. Celandine — grows but slowly. Muschata(?) as well as in England. Dittander or Pepper wort flourisheth notably, so doth Tansie. Musk Mellons are better than our English, and Cucumbers. Pompions there be of several Kinds, some Proper to the Country : they are dryer than our English Pompions and better tasted ; you may eat them green." This concludes the description of the Vegetable wonders, productions and rarities of such parts of New England as came under Josselyn's observations. Since commencing these articles in this Magazine I have the pleasure of learning, from an esteemed friend and distin- guished botanist of this State, that a new edition of Josselyn's " New England's Rarities Discovered," with copious notes, 212 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. will issue shortly from the press, under the auspices of a learned Society. Ignorant of this fact until after these com- munications were prepared, I have entered on the work under my own hands in such a manner as merely related to our Horticulture and Botany in its earlier periods of New England history, and am. now glad to await the promised new edition, announced a year ago in some of the Boston prints, which unfortunately did not meet my eye. MANAGEMENT OF LAWNS. BY TUB REV. A. D. GRIDLEY, CLINTON, N Y. No feature of a country residence is more important than a good lawn. Without this, a rural home is sadly deficient, however numerous and costly its other decorations may be. A fine house, rows of thrifty trees, flower-beds, and vases and statues are all very well, but the eye does not feel satisfied unless these embellishments rest upon a broad base of smooth turf. Flower borders are desirable in their place, but if one's grounds are filled up with them, it is difficult to keep them in a state of neatness ; and even if kept in the best condition, the eye sooner tires of their daily view than of a simple, quiet lawn. The prevailing expression of the grounds of a country home should be that of repose ;. and that expression is inter- fered with if the grounds are devoted largely to flower-beds. The flowers themselves are gay and exhilarating, and the sight of extensive parterres suggests the thought of the time and labor necessary to keep them in good order. Not the least argument for lawns, is the permanence of their beauty. In spring, the grass shoots up almost as soon as the snow-drop and crocus appear ; and if the soil has l)een well prepared, the lawn in midsummer is almost as green as in spring; the fragrance of its frequent mowings is more dclicioiis than the "extracts" of Parisian perfumers; the sight of children playing on the velvet turf, or of the shadows of graceful trees stretching across it, is worthy of a painter. The winds which despoil trees and flowers of their beauty. MAY. 213 and the frosts which blight them, leave the grass unharmed. And in autumn, amid falling leaves and prevailing gloom, it retains its cheerful verdure until hidden by the winter snows. There is an air of refinement in a well-kept lawn. It dis- tinguishes a place at once from the uncultivated wildness of nature, — it speaks of the liand of taste which has fenced in this nook from the common earth, smoothing down its rough- nesses, heightening its native beauty, and still watching over it with affectionate care. It links the spot by association with the elegant and happy homes of other lands and other times. If, then, there is so much interest attaching to lawns, it is important that they be well made, and afterwards well cared for, A good lawn is a work of art — it does not come by accident. In some cases, the first work to be done in making it, is draining. This will certainly be needful, if there are any wet, springy spots in the ground, or if the subsoil is cold and stiff and retentive of moisture. The finer grasses will not thrive in a wet soil, but mosses and sorrel will usurp their place. The trees, shrubs and plants set out upon it will lead a miserable existence, if they do not die outright. And draining should be followed by a thorough breaking up of the subsoil, — the work to be done with a plough if the space is large, with a spade if small. The principal reason why most lawns turn brown in sum- mer is that the grass has only a thin surface soil in which to extend its roots ; and as soon as that becomes dry, the leaves must of necessity wither. Trench that soil, and the grass will send down its roots below the reach of drouth, and will flourish in perpetual green. Manuring should go along with trenching. It is not enough to enrich the surface, for though that may cause the grass to start well in the spring, it will not ensure its freshness throughout the summer. If manure is incorporated finely with the whole Ijody of the soil, it will improve its mechanical texture, and furnish food to the grass and whatever else is planted in it. The importance of this thorough preparation of the soil can hardly be overestimated. Too often it is entirely neg- lected. Most persons, in constructing a rural home, expend 214 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. their means on grand houses, outbuildings, fences, equipage, furniture, and the like, — leaving the work of preparing their ground for horticultural operations for the last thing ; it is then done in a hurry, and of course imperfectly. Trees are planted, but do not grow vigorously ; grass seed is sown, but it comes up only in patches, and turns brown in summer. As the proprietor afterwards walks through his grounds, amid his parched and barren grass-plots and his dying trees, he exclaims, bitterly, " And tliis is rural life ! this the Arcadia of which I dreamed ! The whole thing is a nuisance !" We repeat it, then, that this thorough foundation-work is of the greatest importance. He who does it well, need seldom sigh for the " weeping skies" of England to keep his grass verdant. The ground being well broken up and enriched, it should then be raked smoothly, and the roots of all weeds exter- minated. If the space is large, it should be sown with grass seed. Red-top and white clover make an excellent turf, two quarts of the latter seed to a bushel of the former. Some persons prefer " blue grass" to red-top, thinking that it makes a finer and closer turf, and withstands drouth better. It im- proves either mixture to add a small proportion of " sweetr scented grass," for the sake of its fragrance when mown. Sow liberally, at the rate of three bushels to the acre, choos- ing a still day for the purpose, and raking lightly afterwards. A roller passed over the ground completes the operation. If the space is small, it may be covered at once with sods cut from the roadside or common. Care should be taken, how- ever, to select turf free from weeds and coarse grasses. Stretch a line across it, and with a sharp spade cut the sods into strips a foot wide, roll them up in balls, and carry them to the spot where they are to be used. Then begin on one side of the lawn to unroll them, matching the edges neatly, as a lady does her carpet, until the surface is entirely covered. Go over the whole with a turf-beater or an iron roller, and the work is done. But a lawn once made will not take care of itself. It should be mowed once a fortnight, and when it borders on walks, carriage roads or flower beds, it should be kept neatly clipped with garden shears. For mowing small surfaces, MAY. 215 nothing is better than the English lawn scythe, which cuts closer and smoother than the common narrow field scythe. For large grounds, it is advisable to use a lawn mowing machine, which does the work better than it can be done by hand, and much more expeditiously. A roller should be passed over the sward after every mowing. Once in two years a lawn should receive a light dressing of old manure or guano ; and, every third or fourth year, a little fresh grass seed should be scattered over it, to supply the place of any roots which may have perished. Our lawn proper is now made ; but we wish to say a few words about the arrangement of trees, shrubs and plants upon it. In determining the proper position of trees, it has been recommended, by high authority, to throw a bushel of po- tatoes into the air, at random, and then to set trees wherever the potatoes drop. This advice was given to enable young planters to avoid the formality of straight rows and equal distances. But there is no need of such child's play. Simply to plant without any design or meaning whatever, will not make a scene natural and graceful. Every tree should be set with a definite purpose, and all may be so arranged as to seem at home just where they stand. No universal rule can be laid down for the arrangement of grounds, — each place demands its own treatment, — yet there are certain general principles which should always be observed. Obviously, the outskirts of a lawn should be so planted as to hide disagreeable objects. Why should your eyes and those of your visitors be daily pained with looking upon the rear premises of your slovenly neighbor, or upon you own barns and outhouses ? A few trees skilfully disposed would conceal them. Why should your division fences be thrust continually upon the sight ? They suggest limitation and restraint ; they perpetually remind one of the comparative pettiness of the beautiful scene around him. Hedges and clumps of low trees, set in flowing lines near the margin of the premises, would keep such fences out of sight. The more largely these screens are composed of evergreens, the better. In planting the boundaries, the largest trees should 216 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. be set near the fence, and smaller trees and shrubs running out and dispersed over the grounds within. It is sometimes objected to this manner of planting the outskirts of one's grounds, that it is unneighborly and ex- clusive. " Leave your grounds open on every side," it is claimed, " to the inspection of the public ; let every passer-by see and enjoy all that you possess." But must we not, also, throw open our houses to gratify the public curiosity ? We beg to know whether a man may not give at least a portion of his grounds so much privacy that his family can resort to them frequently without being gazed at by every street-goer ? Is not a lawn more home-like, if it is partially screened from the dust and publicity of the highway ? Besides, to say nothing about the need of protection from cold winds, there are few residences so complete in all their appointments that their effect is not enhanced by a partial concealment, the imagination always conceiving something better of what the eye is not permitted to behold. These things being said, it should also l)e considered that the proprietor of a pleasant country place owes something to the public. There are many persons of fine rural tastes, who yet have not the means of gratifying them in lawns, trees and flowers of their own : let them have a glimpse, from the roadside, of your beautiful grounds; and let the gate of your premises be always open at their call. The public taste generally will also be much im- proved by the daily view of well-kept grounds. And where is the man so selfish as not to find happiness in thus minister- ing to the happiness and the improvement of others ? We hold, therefore, that while one's premises should be belted with trees and shrubs sufficient for shelter and privacy, they should also be open at certain points to easy observation from without. Every visitor, too, fond of cultivated rural scenes, should be admitted to the grounds with a hearty welcome. ,The position of trees on a lawn, and their number, will depend much upon the extent of the grounds. In a large establishment, many large trees may be planted, both singly and in groups ; but in this country, most lawns are small, and large trees must be confined chiefly to the boundaries. In planting a lawn, the object is not to see how many trees it MAY. 217 will conveniently hold, and then to set them out in rows, like an orchard. The beauty of a lawn consists chiefly in broad reaches of smooth, unbroken turf, surrounded by a waving border of pleasing foliage, with here and there a graceful tree casting its shadow across the velvet sod. As the lawn is generally a highly-dressed scene near the house, the trees should be few, and those of the finer sorts, with neat bark and leaf. A few shrubs may find a place on the lawn. Those of good form and foliage may stand singly, as minia- ture trees ; others may be set in masses. And here, tliere will be room for the display of taste in the arrangement of colors. We have seen a fine effect produced by mingling the dark green of the European Strawberry tree with the gray hues of the Missouri Silver tree and the purple of the Purple berberry, the whole blended and softened l)y the lighter shades of other shrubs. Our lawn will not be complete until it is enlivened, here and there, with flowering plants. We will not cut it up with large beds, and crowd them with straggling, ill-assorted speci- mens. Herbaceous perennials and annuals we will confine chiefly to a little flower garden kept by itself on one side of the grounds, and mostly concealed from the lawn. There, we will reserve a place for the old-fashioned plants which our childhood so much loved. Pseomes, flower-de-luce, colum- bines, pinks, poppies, holly-hocks, morning-glory, cockscomb, larkspurs, sweet-william, — but there's no end. These, with their waxing and waning beauty, would ngt comport well with the highly finished character of the lawn. But we will cut out a few circular or other graceful figures in the turf near the walks, and fill them with plants of neat habit, and which flower throughout the summer. Among these, we need hardly say, the best are verbenas, petunias, geraniums, lantanas, heliotropes and perpetual roses. Several of these beds — those especially which border the most frequented walks — we will set with early flowering bulbs, which can be taken up, or have their tops cut off, after their period of blooming is passed, to make room for the bedding plants. In this way, a succession of flowers can be had from early spring to late autumn. VOL. XXIV. — NO. V. 22 218 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. A lawn so made and planted should be well cared for. Weeds should not be allowed to invade it ; the grass should be kept short, and the flower beds and walks always kept neat. Such a lawn will afford continual satisfaction. NEW HARDY CONIFERiE. BY F. L. HARRIS, GARDENER TO H. H. HUNNEWELL, ESQ., "W. NEEDHAM, MS. The winter of 1856 and 1857 was acknowledged, by all interested in the culture of new evergreens, conifers, &c., to have been peculiarly destructive ; especially so was it the case with those of recent importation. I do not attribute their injury so much to the severity of the winter, but to the fact that the young growth had ' not sufficiently matured to resist the intense cold of December, 1856. Cedrus Deoddra, J-^bies Douglasn, ^l^bies Smithidwa, and many others in exposed situations, were somewhat in- jured, but I am happy to say that during the past summer they fully recovered, and at present appear in health and vigor, having survived the winter without any injury whatever. The autumn of 1857 presented a striking contrast to the one preceding, the temperature throughout November and December having been so mild as to prepare the trees to with- stand the rigors of winter ; and could we always depend on similar autumns, I am sanguine there would be no lack of variety in American landscajoe scenery. It may prove interesting to you and to the lovers of ever- greens generally to know the sorts of conifers that have proved liardy on the grounds of H. H. Hunnewell, and I therefore send a list, as it may induce other gentlemen to plant them more extensively : — Washington^ gigantea, the big tree of California, appears as hardy as our common native juniper. Cephalotaxus Fortunw, (male and female), the two sexes so different in their appearance — both handsome, with long, light green, yew-like foliage. Cephalotaxus drupacea, very beautiful, with foliage much larger, and more sombre than the common yew. MAY. 219 vl^bies Donglasu*, A. Smitluaw«, both very ornamental ; A. Clanbi'asih"a«(2, A. pumila, A. Menziesu, A. pygmea. Picea pinsapo, P. nobilis, P. Wehhidna ; these are splen- did trees and should be extensively planted : P. p'lchta, P. Fraserif, P. Nordmanmwa. Piniis ponderosa, P. Beardsleyii, P. Benthamfdwa, P. Lambertidwa, P, monticolor, P. insignis. Cedriis Deoddra, C. Deoddra robusta, C. africanus, C. Li- bani. Taxus elegantissima, T. fastigiata. Juniperus recurva. Ledums, Ammyrsinus buxifolium, A. thyma3f61ium, two pretty dwarf-flowering evergreens. ylndromeda floribunda, covered with flower buds, very or- namental. PEA WEEVIL. (BRUCHUS PISI.) BY A. R. POPE. Everyone who has raised seed pease in Massachusetts, and in States south of Massachusetts, knows the annoyance expe- rienced at this season of the year, upon finding a large cavity in nearly every pea, and the whole mass seemingly alive with black beetles. To be sure, the germ of the pea is not usually so much affected as to cut off" the crop ; but the healthy growth of the new plants is materially impeded by the injury. The natural history of this annoying insect may not be familiar to all the readers of this Magazine. Almost as soon as the pods are formed under the blossom, or as soon as the young pease begin to swell, the pea beetle makes a minute puncture upon the side of the pod, and directly opposite to the pea, and there deposits an egg. The wound is so small as to escape all but careful examination. Sometimes every pea in the pod will be thus attacked. In a few days, a grub is hatched from that egg, and imme- diately commences to eat its way into the heart of the pea, leaving a small dark scar in the hull, though scarcely larger than the point of a pin. The insect continues to grow until 220 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. after the pea is ripe, and usually attains its full size — about an eiglitli of an inch — by the time the pea is thoroughly dry. It is then a white grub, and has bored out a cavity more than large enough for its body, by feeding upon the marrow of the pea. By this process the pea usually loses nearly one half its weight. Soon afterward, the grub becomes a brownish pupa, and lies in that state till late in the autumn, or even partly througli the winter, when it casts its skin, and becomes a black beetle, prepared to institute a new generation of its ravaging de- scendants. As each pair of beetles is estimated to produce two hundred or more new grubs, the rapid increase of these insects is easily understood ; so that the whole pea crop will hardly prove sufficient, a few years hence, for the maintenance of the progeny of the pea beetles. The chief feathered enemies of the pea weevil are the crow black-bird and the Baltimore oriole, and these both possess a wonderful instinct by which they detect the concealed insects, though to reach them they must split open the pods* But still they do not sensibly diminish the number. Deane, who first carefully noted the habits of this insect, recommended the keeping of seed pease in tight vessels over one season, that thus the escaping beetles might perish. Scalding the pease before planting will destroy those which have not left their holes. But plans like these, to be reason- ably successful, must not only be generally adopted, but must be most carefully carried out, and as much with the pease not to be used for seed as with those that are so used. The writer of this article has tried a method, which he has not seen anywhere mentioned, and has found it to be com- pletely effectual. He would therefore suggest it as a proper way of greatly reducing the number of, if not exterminating these little pests, which are now eaten boiled, in the grub state, with green pease, and drank in modern coffee, in the beetle state, roasted and ground. The method proposed is this : — As soon as the pease are ripe enough to be gathered, let them be stripped from the pods, and dried carefully for a day or two in the sun. Then place them, in suitable quantity, in MAY. 221 a colander, and, after covering them with a plate, set the colander over a vessel of boiling water, until the steam has thoroughly passed among the pease. Then tak-e them out and spread them for a few minutes to dry, when they will be ready to put away. In this way every insect will be destroyed in its then condition, while the- germs of the pease will not be injured.* The following manifesto on this subject has just come to hand, and it seems to be so nearly just what is needed, that one could wish that it might be copied from this Magazine, and published once at least in every secular and religious daily and weekly newspaper in the land of pea beetles. Let the reader note its contents, and govern himself accordingly. " Whereas, certain ill-disposed persons have surreptitiously purloined a considerable portion of the rich marrow properly belonging to us : " Therefore, the more effectually to prevent the same in future, it is ordered, that no persons shall be allowed to raise any seed pease in the United States of North America, under penalty of incurring the displeasure of all vegetarians, except as hereinafter provided. " 1. All seed pease, before being planted, shall be duly scalded by the application of boiling water, until the beetles, now inhabiting them, are dead. " 2. As soon as the ripe pease are again gathered, or within a reasonable time thereafter, and before the first day of Octo- ber, they shall be placed in a colander, or some similar vessel, and suljjected to the application of the steam from boiling water, long enough to parboil and destroy the pupcB of the pea weevil. ♦ " Farmers, gardeners, and horticulturists generally, who are too lazy or too careless to practise upon this, or upon some more available way of accomplishing the same object, will hereafter be expected to eat their ripe pease before any of the pea beetles have escaped, and to procure a new supply for sowing from Canada, until further notice. * I send herewith some samples of the pease thus treated, to show you, Mr. Editor, how the grubs were left ; and will remark, that my garden is already demonstrating that the germs were not hurt. 222 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. " Given under our hand, this first day of May, 1858. Pease Porridge. " A true copy of the original document, which editors of all newspapers are requested to keep before the community, and send their bills to the subscriber. Green Pease." THE CULTURE OF THE VERBENA. BY B. S. RAND, JR. There are few plants which lend more beauty to the flower o-arden in summer, or contribute to the display of the green- house in the later winter or early spring months in a greater degree than the verbena. From the variety of colors, the rapidity of propagation, the little care needed to bloom the plant in perfection, and the abundance of blossoms afforded, it is a universal favorite. In addition to these advantages, the facility with which new varieties are raised from seed render it a favorite with the amateur ; and in no collection of flowers do we fail to find some varieties of the verbena. It is a difficult task to prescribe the culture of a flower so well known, and which will grow and flourish under such a variety of circumstances and in such diflerent situations. Each cultivator has his own opinion, chiefly based upon his own success, and holds it rightly, for it is our nature to derive far more advantage from our own experience than from that of another ; to rely on what we ourselves know far more than on what another may say, though Ins experience be ten fold our own. Again, in writing of a plant produced with such ease and sporting into such an infinite variety of colors and shades, one cannot be too careful in expressing a decided opinion. Within the last five years the varieties have multiplied so greatly that the difficulty now is to choose and select those really worthy of cultivation ; the favorite of this year may next spring be cast aside as worthless, and with reason, for it may not stand the test of a year's culture, or far better varieties may have been originated. MAY. 223 Yet care must be taken and judgment exercised before we cast aside old favorites and well proved kinds for newer vari- eties, which trial may show far inferior to those discarded. The passion for the new prevails to far too great an extent in floriculture, and while in moderation it may be productive of great good, carried to excess it cannot fail to produce the most disastrous consequences. Our amateurs and gardeners must learn that a new plant or variety, and a desirable or ornamental one, are two very different things, and must exer- cise their judgment rather than allow the passion for novelty to get the better of it. No one who, for the past few years, has watched the progress of floriculture, need tax his memory to call to mind the many new varieties of plants, with high- sounding names and fulsome recommendations, which a few months' trial has shown to be perfectly worthless ; and too much care cannot be exercised in " bringing out" or import- ing new plants. The name Verbena is of Latin origin, being derived from the word " herba," any plant of a low spreading growth ; thus, herba, herbena, verbena. Its original meaning was any sacred branch or herb ; as, for instance, of cypress, rose, laurel, olive or myrtle, as we learn froni Livy and Celsus ; these verbenge or branches were used at sacred ceremonies, or for religious purposes. The fetiales or priests, whose duty it was to declare peace or war, to form leagues and alliances, wore these verbense twined around their heads, and from this were sometimes styled Verbenarii. They were also borne by sup- pliants who sued for protection, as we learn from Cicero, and placed on the altars or wreathed around them, as we find them thus mentioned in Terence and Ovid. Their use in sickness, as being of a cooling nature, is also mentioned in Celsus, but whether in this connection a partic- ular plant is intended is doubtful. The word, as commonly translated, signifies Vervain,* of which we have many species, and it is a little singular that a plant, having so simple an English synonym, should so universally retain the Latin or * Some derive the word Vervain from the Celtic name Ferfaen, probably re- ferring to its use in the rites of heathen worship. For an interesting account of this plant, see Baxter's British Flowering Plants, Vol. I., p. 26. 224 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTUEE. botanical name ; the old Latin name for vervain, however, is Verbenaca and not verbena. The vervains common with us are the Verbena hastata and Verbena nrticifolia ; the former, a tall, showy plant, blooming in August, and quite plenty by roadsides, a perennial ; the latter far more common, being found about fences and hedges and of little beauty. The flowers of the former are of a dark purple color and imbricate ; of the latter, white, small, and not imbricate. Ferbena venosa is an upright-growing plant, a foot or more high, bearing rosy purplish flowers in July and August; its chief recommendation is that it is hardy, and readily prop- agated. The verbena was introduced into England from Buenos Ayres, where it is indigenous, by Mr. Hugh Gumming, an ardent lover of nature, about the year 1825. The first and for some time the only variety caltivated, was the Ferbena Melindres, or chamsedrifolia, but it now appears lost among the variety of new and superior kinds which have been raised from seed. In color and form it has been repeatedly excelled, but its creeping habit and abundance of bloom must always recommend it, though we doubt if, at the present time, it can be obtained at any of our greenhouses, and probably many of our younger cultivators have never seen this once popular variety. The color is scarlet, and for bedding purposes, though perhaps equalled, it can never be excelled. Ferbena multifida, with lilac purple flowers, was introduced from Peru ; F Tweedidna, with rose crimson flowers, from Brazil, and from these and seedlings have originated all the numerous varieties, many hundreds in number, which may be found in extensive collections. The credit of introducing this plant into the United States belongs to Robert Buist of Philadelphia ; about the year 1835, from seed received from Buenos Ayres, he raised the first white, pink and crimson verbenas. The plant soon became generally known and was everywhere a favorite ; in the floral world it caused quite an excitement, and the original kinds were soon surpassed in every resj)ect by fewer seminal vari- eties. The culture of the verbena is very simple ; the plants will MAY. 225 bloom well with very little care, but to grow them in perfec- tion requires attention : of thousands of plants of any size scarce one is a really beautiful specimen. Let us begin in early spring and trace the plant as generally grown, and then see how much a little care might increase its beauty. About the first of February cuttings of the young shoots are taken from old plants ; in a sandy loam a few weeks and sometimes a few days will root them ; they are then potted off into thumb pots, and, if placed near the glass, will soon show a terminal flower. As soon as the season is suffi- ciently advanced these young plants are bedded out, and, in favorable seasons, soon form a conspicuous feature in the flower garden, continuing to bloom till long after the early frosts. About the first or middle of September the gardener begins to repot his plants for winter, and the common practice is to take a runner which has rooted well at a joint, and, after suitable pruning, to pot it for winter blooming and propaga- tion ; others again take up the , old roots, while others, by sinking pots in their verbena bed about midsummer, allow the runners to root directly in the pots ; the pots being taken up and the connection with the mother plant cut, the young plant receives no injury or check. But this mode is very objectionable for two reasons ; first, the loam in the pots is apt to become sour and sodden, and again, earth worms often enter the pots and prove injurious during the winter. The plants are housed, and, for a long time, produce no flowers, and are anything but ornamental. Soon after the new year, they begin to grow vigorously, but are allowed to trail care- lessly over the staging, or droop from some overhanging shelf; no care or attention is bestowed upon them except to give the daily supply of water. The days grow towards spring ; ciittings are agaii; taken off", the same process is repeated year after year, and thus one of our loveliest flowers, which, with a little care and trouble, might be one of the greatest attractions and ornaments of our greenhouses, is never seen in perfection except in the garden. That this is the fact is to be deplored, yet the remedy is simple ; by beginning about midsummer we may have verbe- nas in bloom as well during the winter as the spring months. 226 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE^ About the first of August, or earlier, cuttings should be taken from desirable varieties ; in a fortnight they will be ready to transplant ; pot them in thumb-pots, and repot as soon as the roots touch the sides of the pot ; keep them in vigorous growth by affording plenty of light and air, being careful they never suffer from want of water ; pinch off the leading shoots to cause all axillary buds to break, and in no case allow them to flower ; train the plant into any form de- sired, but be careful not to permit it to grow too straggling. When other plants are housed remove your verbenas to some warm shelf where they will have the morning sun, and on every favorable day give plenty of air, and fumigate well to destroy green aphis. Your plants will soon be in luxuriant bloom, long before those potted in the old way have shown a bud, and will continue to afford an abundance of flowers until late in the spring. To grow verbenas well in the house in summer is far easier ; they may be bloomed in pots of any size and trained in almost any form, the only requisites being plenty of light and air, careful pruning, and means to destroy aphis and keep off mildew. One of the prettiest modes of growing them for the green- house or exhibition, is to pot three or five young cuttings in a large, round seed pan ; pinch in the leading shoots to cause the eyes to break, and train all lateral branches towards the outer rim of the pan, tying them to slender twigs ; do not allow any shoot to be more than six or eight inches in height, nor permit your plants to bloom till they are a mass of foliage ; they will, when in bloom, be fine specimens and very orna- mental. This is probably the best way to grow new varieties for exhibition, as they show to the best advantage, and the habit of the plant is more easily determined. One great fault in growing verbenas is the practice of watering too frequently ; the plant, as originally found, grows on dry hills, and damp not only produces mildew, but rots the roots, and. thus destroys or produces disease in the plant. The proper soil for verbenas is two parts of loam, two of leaf mould, with an admixture of sand, and in this we have found them grow and bloom luxuriantly. But it may be said, the verbena is naturally a trailing or MAY. 227 running plant ; why not allow it in the greenhouse to ramble as in the garden ? Could we have a bed of them in the house this might perhaps be a fine way to show them to ad- vantage, provided always the bed could be near the glass, and sufficient air be afforded ; but very few can devote so much space to one flower. The object in a greenhouse is to have as large a variety of choice plants as can be grown in so small a compass, and to ensure beauty both in plant and flower should also be the aim of the gardener ; but how often is this done ? In almost every greenhouse we see the plants crowded together, bare-stemmed, tall, awkward specimens, or trailing over the pots with long, leafless branches ; they may be in bloom, but the flowers are produced on the ends or tops of the branches, and are never seen to advantage. It is to rem- edy and avoid this evil that we recommend growing specimen plants, even if, to do so, we have to discard many varieties or species. A couple of hundred well groAvn specimens are far more beautiful than as many thousand stalky, straggling, tall- drawn plants. The rule should be applied to all plants, though many may smile at adapting it to verbenas, helio- tropes, &c., plants which will bloom with little care. The whole resolves itself into the old school-boy maxim, " What is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." Now we are not sanguine enough to hope to work an im- mediate change in our gardeners' mode of growing plants, but may we not expect a, more gradual one? Let us look, for instance, at many of the pot plants exhibited at the weekly and annual shows of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, during the past year. Some were unfit to cumber the back shelf of the poorest greenhouse ; others, one would need a ladder to obtain a fair view, or inhale the fragrance of the blossoms ; while others again were well grown, beautiful, symmetrical specimens, which delighted all who beheld them, thus conclusively showing that we have many among us who not only know what a truly elegant and beautiful plant is, but also are willing to take the pains and bestow the care necessary to ensure beauty and perfection. It is a mistaken notion that the only olrject to be attained in raising plants is abundance of bloom, and still more erroneous to suppose that 228 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. an illrgrown plant will produce more flowers than one pruned into fine shape, and properly trained and cared for. These errors will in time be overcome, for the true principles of beauty will at length be evident to all, and must prevail. Many verbenas, which for greenhouse blooming are unsur- passed, are worthless for bedding purposes, the petal of the flower being too thin, or the color fading or changing. Again, some bloom well in the winter, others far better in summer ; some form large masses and flower well, others are of strag- gling growth and poor bloomers ; some of creeping, others of upright habit ; while a few possess every desirable qualifica- tion, and in making a selection all these qualities are to be considered. We have said that seedlings are produced with great ease ; true, nothing is more simple ; the seeds must be sown in a hotbed or greenhouse, and the plants, when about an inch and a half high, pricked out in the border; they will grow rapidly and soon show bloom. But to raise a seedling is one thing, to raise a fine seedling far different ; of many hundred, raised in the course of the last few years by the writer, not more than half a dozen have been worthy of preservation, and only one (and that produced by chance) really a first class flower. In raising seed much may be done to ensure its quality by planting fine varieties together and allowing them to intertwine, then saving the seed. No fixed rule can be laid down to obtain any desired color, for the seedlings sport infinitely ; we can only approximate towards definite results : thus if we plant Annie (white) and Robinson's Defiance (red) together, the seedling will in all probability be pink, and so on. The flowers are of every color and shade except light blue and yellow, which colors have never been obtained. The writer, some years since, by a curious process of watering and fertilization with a white verbena, obtained a seedling which proved, on blooming, to be of a light straw color ; the plant was weak and sickly, and died before cuttings could be taken. Since that time he has tried the experiment often, but never with any successful result. The qualities of a first class verbena, as laid down, are : roundness of Jloiver, without indenture, notch, or serrature ; MAY. 229 petals^ thick, flat, bright and smooth ; the plant should be compact, with short, strong joints, either distinctly of a shrubby habit, or a close ground creeper, or a climber ; the trusses of bloom compact, and stand out from the foliage, the flowers meeting but not crowding each other ; the foliage should be short, broad, bright, and enough to hide the stalk ; in the eyed and striped varieties the colors should be well defined and lasting, never running into each other or changing in the sun. It only remains now to notice some of the finest varieties, both old and new ; those marked first class flowers can be recommended for general culture, while many others, though very distinct and beautiful, are only worthy of a place in a large collection, or interesting to the amateur. Giant op Battles. — Flower and truss large, habit good, foliage large, color dark scarlet, with purplish eye ; a new imported variety. Dred. — Flower medium, habit weak, a good bloomer, but of a dull purplish lake color ; pretty for variety. Admiral Dundas. — Foliage and habit good, color velvety scarlet; fine. Celestial. — A strong rapidly-growing variety, the leaves often two inches across; truss large, elongated, forming a fine head ; color pink, with darker eye ; desirable for its size and color. Mrs. Abbott. — Habit and foliage good, truss small, color very dark velvety purple, light eye ; fine. Evening Star. — Color dark crimson, with well defined whitish pink eye ; growth small ; a decided novelty and a very striking flower. Rosy Gem. — A lovely verbena, foliage and flower of me- dium size, color rosy lake with light eye ; extra fine. The above are all new varieties, and, as far as tested, have proved of superior merit ; but we cannot be too cautious in commending any species of flower which has not been grown for more than one season. As to the relative merits of these verbenas for house or garden culture, we can say little deci- dedly, but some will doubtless be acquisitions. Brilliant de Vaise. — Growth fine, color crimson scarlet, 230 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTURE. a first class variety ; succeeds equally well in the house or garden, though a late bloomer. Chauvieri. — Of weak habit, color crimson with dark eye ; valuable in a collection. Climax. — Light, with dark eye ; good. Defiance, (Robinson's). — A fine old variety, always popu- lar, and one of the best for bedding purposes ; growth strong, color dazzling red ; very fine. Defiance, (French's). — Similar in growth and habit to the last, but not distinct enough to be considered a variety. Defiance, (Kurtz's). — Of large strong growth ; color light pink, shading to a dark eye ; truss very large and flat ; fine. Etoile de Venus. — Similar to the last, but larger and su- perior. Annie. — Habit strong, foliage medium, color pure white ; truss large, flat, single blooms very large ; a fine bloomer in the garden, but especially adapted to winter blooming ; su- perior. . Imperatrice Elizabeth. — A pretty little striped variety, which should be in every collection ; truss flat and small, foliage cut and fine, habit creeping ; far better for pot culture than for the garden. Dedham Belle. — A good pink free-flowering variety. Iphigene. — Purple, with dark eye ; a superior old variety. Uncle Tom. — Very dark in color ; pretty for variety. Gen. Simpson. — Of fine growth ; flower and truss large, but not bright in color. St. Margaret. — An old and popular variety ; color crimson scarlet, truss and flower good ; always a free bloomer and well worthy of cultivation. Glory of America. — A first class verbena for the garden ; always a mass of bloom ; crimson scarlet. Lord Raglan, (Banks'). — Dark crimson, with dark eye; a fine flower, but of slow grow.th and a poor bloomer. Lord Raglan, (De Fosse's). — Light pearl color, peculiar; a decided novelty, good for spring blooming. Madeline Parfume. — Like the last ; fine for the garden, but useless for the greenhouse. Mrs. Archer Clive. — A first class variety ; color rich car- mine, shading to dark eye ; superior. MAY. 231 Mrs. Holford. — A fine white, growth strong, fine for gar- den blooming, but very hitc in the house ; superior. Mrs. Thorburn. — Bkiish purple, white eye. Mrs. Woodrupfe. — Like Robinson's Defiance, a larger flower, but colors not well defined. Metropolitan. — Fine purple, large truss, j^gorous growth, good bloomer in the house, but poor out of doors. Lady Kerreson. — Blush white, yellow eye, with rosy spot on the upper petal. Wonderful. — Habit strong and good ; color rich plum pur- ple with large white eye, which in the garden is inclined to be ill defined ; in the house it proves superior. Mrs. H. Williams. — White, weak growth ; superior. Madame Lemounier. — Striped, foliage coarse. Eva Corinne. — Light pink, shaded to crimson ; fine. Cerulean Orb. — Purple, growth good; extra. Rubens — Color rosy scarlet, growth superior ; fine for gar- den or greenhouse. Hiawatha. — Growth vigorous, truss large, color dark ; a fine variety. Rand's Blue. — More properly a purple, very fine for bed- ding, but poor in the house ; difficult to propagate. Standard Bearer. — Rich plum purple, with white eye ; a most striking and beautiful variety. Samoset. — A good white. YiCTORY. — Reddish purple, hght eye, growth good ; a su- perior variety. Prince of Wales. — Shaded scarlet, light eye ; fine. Vicomptess Emelyn. — Color white shading to dark, well defined eye, a free flowerer ; by far the finest of its class ; very difficult to propagate. Yennadisse. — A curiously-marked light variety, a decided novelty ; good for winter blooming. Much might be said upon the adaptation of the different varieties for masses, rock work, hanging-baskets, &c., but farther remarks must be deferred until another opportunity ; and in conclusion, the practice of growing verbenas as speci- mens cannot be too strongly urged, for there are few flowers which, if properly grown, would be more worthy of notice, or better repay the attention required. 232 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTUEE. FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 390. Epigynium acuminatum Klotzsh. Acuminate-leaved Epigynium. (Yaccinege.) India. A greenhouse shrub; gi:p\ving two feet high; with scarlet flowers ; appearing in spring; increased by cuttings; cultivated inloam and sandy peat. Bot Mag., 1857, pi. 5010. A brilliant and beautiful species from the temperate regions of the humid Indian Mountains, and gathered abundantly at Khaisa, by Drs. Hooker and Thompson, at elevations of 3_4000 feet, generally growing epiphytically on trees. It was introduced to Europe by Mr. Booth, who found it on the Bhotan Hills, and sent it to Mr. Nuttall, in whose collection it flowered beautifully last spring. It forms a pretty shrub, with long, narrowish leaves, deep green above and purplish beneath, and the flowers appear in corymbs on the stem be- low the leaves : they are long and tubular, nearly closed at the ends. If it proves of easy treatment, it will be a very great addition to all collections. (^Bot. Mag;., Oct.) 391. Agape^tes buxifo^lia Mitt. Box-leaved Agapetes. (Yaccineae.) Assam. A greenhouse shrub ; grojving two feet high ; with crimson flowers; appearing in spring ; in- creased by grafting ; cultivated in sandy peat and loam. Bot. Mag., 1857, pi. 5012. Another "very beautiful plant, imported by Mr. Nuttall from the Dulpha Hills, bordering on Assam, where it was found growing epiphytically upon trees at an elevation of 2-3000 feet. It has a large tuberous, root-like stem, which adheres by numerous rootlets to the mossy trunks of trees in damp forests. It is an evergreen, upright and erect, with small box-like, bright green leaves, paler beneath, and numer- ous axillary, bright red flowers, tubular, about one inch long, with five spreading segments, very showy. It grows readily, grafted by approach to a common species of the Epigynium. QBot. Mag., Oct.) 392. Mye^nia ere'cta Benth. Upright Myenia. (Acan- thaceae.) Africa. A hothouse plant ; growing two feet high ; with deep violet flowers ; appearing in summer ; in- creased by cuttings ; cultivated in light rich soil. Bot. Mag., 1657, pi. 5013. A really lovely stove shrub, "introduced from Western tropical Africa by Messrs. Rollison of Tooting, in whose col- MAY. 233 lection it flowered last spring. Its habit is nearly erect, with lax branches, and opposite, petiolate, ovate, glabrous leaves. The flowers are axillary, of somewhat the shape and general appearance of an achimenes, yellow in the throat and purple on the limb. It is a very fine plant, and, from its general habit, would undoubtedly bloom abundantly turned out into the ground in summer, where its large flowers would be prominent objects of admiration. (^Bot. Mag., Oct.) 398. Sabba^tia campe'stris Nutt. Prairie Sabbatia. (Gen- tianejB.) Arkansas. An annual plant ; growing a foot high ; with rosy lilac flowers ; appearing in summer ; increased by seeds ; cultivated in sandy, peaty soil. Bot. Mag., iS57, pi. 501j. A rather pretty and interesting annual, with fragrant rose- colored flowers, abundantly produced throughout the summer months. It was first detected in Arkansas, by Xuttall, in his journey through that country, and subsequently seen in Texas by Lindheimer and Drummond, but it was not introduced to England till 1855, when seeds came from Germany. It grows on the open prairies, spangling them with its starry, roseate flowers. It is an annual, easily raised, and, planted out in the border early, it produces a copious bloom. (^Bot Mag., Nov.) 394. Sa'lvia cande'labrum Boiss. Lustre Sage. (Labi- ateae.) Spain. A half-hardy (or hardy) plant ; growing thr e feet high ; with mottled purple and white flowers ; appearing in summer; increased by division of the roots; cultivated in good garden soil. Bot. Mag., 1S57, pi. 5017. " There may be species of Salvia with more gaudy colored flowers in Mexico, but none, perhaps, of all the four hundred kinds is more beautiful" than this, which comes from the south of Spain, where it was found growing at the margins of the vineyards on the Sierra de la Neve, at an elevation of 8000 feet above the sea. It grows three to four feet high, with an erect stem, forming a broad, flattened terminal pani- cle of variegated or marbled white and rich purple blossoms, which exhale a very powerful order. The leaves are ovate, much netted, closely rugose, and deep green ; stems square, erect, and hairy. In England it has proved a hardy plant, flowering in July : VOL. XXIV. — NO. V. 23 234 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. it may be hardy with us, but, if not, it will well repay culti- vation as a bedding plant like the other Salvias ; to be turned out of pots into the ground in May ; it blooms in July. QBot. Mag-., Nov.) NEW ENGLAND SHRUBS. BY WILSON FLAGG. THE HAZEL. " Now let us sit beneath the grateful shade, Which hazels, interlaced with elms, have made." Virgil's Fifth Pastoral. The hazel was a favorite shrub among the Romans, both on account of its valuable fruit and acceptable shade. The Caduceus, or Mercury's rod, which he used for composing strife, was made of a branch of hazel, and was presented to him by Apollo, as an emblem of commerce, which is the bond of nations. It was also used by the Roman heralds, in the form of a white staff, when they treated of peace. The Ro- man fable connected with this shrub renders it probable, that its fruit was a staple product of the agriculture of the ancient inhabitants of Italy, and highly valuable in their trade with foreign countries. Hence the hazel among the Romans, as the olive among the Jews, was regarded as an emblem of peace. This high estimation of the hazel was transmitted to the people of a later period. Hazel walks were common and highly prized in Great Britain, in Queen Elizabeth's time, and in the Dutch gardens of that era. They were valued for their shade as well as their fruit, for their early flowering, and for the little care required for their cultivation. A dry, sandy loam is the soil in which the American hazels are most commonly found. Along the old roads that pass over those peculiar sandy plains that often accompany the river valleys in New England, the hazels are the most com- mon kind of shrubbery, and are associated with the pitch- pine and the small white birch that grow abundantly in such localities. There are two American species, which are simi- lar in their habits, each delighting in the shelter of fences MAY. 235 and woods, and producing their flowers in April, before the appearance of the leaves. The fertile flowers resemble buds, consisting of bunches of colored stigmas, without petals. The American Hazel (Corylus americana) is the most com- mon and the largest shrub of the two species. It has rough hairy leaves, of a broad ovate shape, forming a dense mass of light green foliage. It has numerous branches, and averages about four feet in height. The hazels are very beautiful in April, before their leaves are out, by reason of the profusion of brownish aments, containing a mixture of gold, that hang tremulously from their slender twigs. The extreme length and flexibility of these clusters of flowers, renders them ex- tremely graceful, and permits them to be set in motion by the slightest breeze. The buds are seen hanging from the branches during all the winter, ready to burst into bloom when vivified by the first breath of spring. The hazels are among the few American shrubs that do not become tinted in their foliage before the fall of the leaf. Hence their beauty is most apparent in early spring, when they are in flower, and in summer, when the nuts, ruffled with the fringed husk that envelops them, are conspicuous among the foliage with their lighter tints of green. The common hazel is found in all parts of the United States, growing in a light sandy loam, on the edges of woods and by the sides of walls and fences. In the last situations it ought to be generally encouraged, where its fruit would afford an object for many a pleasant excursion to the children of the village, and divert the squirrels from the cornfields. This may seem to a dull plodding grubbinal, a very insufiicient motive for planting hazels, or for encouraging their growth. The idea would seem merely ludicrous to him, of doing any- thing to encourage young people to trespass upon his lands. He could more easily appreciate the wisdom of his brother lout, who destroyed all the wild grapes vines upon his farm, because the boys were in the habit of gathering them ! The Beaked Hazel (C. rostratum) which is nearly as com- mon as the other species in Massachusetts, is confined to the northern parts of the American Continent. It closely resem- bles the common hazel, both in foliage and flowers, but it is a 236 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. smaller shrub, and is distinguished from it by the fruit, which with its covering is beaked and bottle-shaped. The nuts grow in large bunches, and many of them are imperfect. Both of these species are on many accounts worthy of' cul- tivation. They produce a valuable nut without our care ; they are ornamental to the fields ; they feed the squirrels and protect the birds, and they add a lively interest to natural ob- jects by their spontaneous fruits. Indeed the hazel bushes are associated with many delightful reminiscences of our early days, with squirrel hunts and nutting excursions, on pleasant afternoons in September, just after the whortleberries have begun to fail, and before the fruits of the chestnut and hick- ory were ripe. The squirrels are commonly very active in looking out for their share of these nuts, and frequently gather a whole field of them, before we are hardly aware of their maturity. The Witch Hazel, (Hamamelis americana.) — The Witch hazel has no botanical alliance with the true hazels, and I introduce it here simply on account of its name, and its su- perficial resemblance to this family of plants, which probably gave origin to its name. It is a taller and larger shrub than tiie hazel of our climate, and belongs, like the Cornels, to the fourth class in the Linnsean system of botany, while the true hazels are classed among the amentaceous plants. The witch hazel bears also some resemblance to the witch elm, so cele- brated for divining rods, and has been used for the same purpose. Whether this use of it arose from the inference that as it was good for no ordinary purpose, it must therefore be designed for some extraordinary or supernatural use, or whether the slight resemblance it bears to the witch elm might have suggested its usefulness for this purpose, is a point that must be left to antiquarians. Its divining powers might possibly have been suggested by its remarkable habit of producing fruit, buds and flowers in perfection at the same time, and by its flowering in November — habits that might seem to the superstitious to have some connection with witch- craft. The manner of its growth is peculiar, somewhat resembling the common alder, for which it is sometimes mistaken, and MAY. 237 sending upwards from one root a number of branches diverg- ing outwards, but with an upward curvature. The leaves are alternate and ovate, narrowest toward the stem, and feather- veined. They turn to a sort of a buff color just before the flowers appear, which arc yellow, having long linear petals, without beauty, growing in a cluster of four or five in the axils of the leaves. The flowers are hardly conspicuous be- fore the tree has dropped its foliage, and are remarkable only as a curiosity. There is only one species of hamamelis in America. ' This is commonly found in moi?t grounds and in more elevated situations than the alder, which delights in fens and bogs. The fruit is a double nut, enclosed in a four parted capsular covering, but it is of no value. THE PYRUS JAPONICA AS A HEDGE PLANT. BY PYRUS. It is often a matter of regret with us that we may not en- joy the delicious perfume of the " hawthorn's blossom" in such hedges as make the gardens and fields of England so famous. The subject of hedges for our climate, though it has been prominently before the public for some time, has not yet had the attention it deserves, nor have we begun to ex- haust the. materials for inquiry as to the best hedge plant. If we cannot have a hedge celebrated for its fragrance, we may at least have one very beautiful by employing the Pyrus japonica for the purpose. I have seen specimens in the grounds of Mr. Reid, at Elizabethtown, N. J., and at Mr. Buist's, near Philadelphia, and certainly nothing anywhere more handsome when in flower, or more effective, when well treated, for the protective purposes of a hedge. It will be a costlier hedge than many other plants would make, because the plant, not producing seeds, cannot be so readily propagated, — ^but though there is not much induce- ment to our nurserymen to propagate largely of it, yet some of them offer it at |15 per 100, which, at two feet for each plant, is not so very expensive. Then again it grows slow in 238 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. comparison ^'itli some others, — but, on the other hand, it grows thick as it ascends, and does not need the loss of sev- eral seasons' growth by cutting back to induce a bushy habit, as Osage Orange and some others require. If there were a fair demand for hedging purposes, I have no doubt it might be raised with a profit at $o per 100, or less. It increases very readily by cuttings of the roots, which, if taken off in March, cut into lengths of about two inches, and set in a hot- bed, would make shoots half an inch long by the first of May, and might then be set out singly into a bed of rich soil, and make good plants the first season. Those who have not the convenience of a hotbed, can strike the roots in the ground at once, but the plants will not be so strong the first year. ^flssijf of tlje Hloiitlj, Effects of Frost on Vegetation. — Dear Sir: I was very much pleased with your remarks on my obsersations in your February No. On the subject I profess to be myself rather a learner than a teacher. I hoped that some other of your observing readers would have added to your sug- gestions, and, as they have not, I thought no harm could arise from my expressing a hope that they would do so. There are circumstances continually happening which plainly show that the prevailing theories respecting them do not fully account. I propose to fill up the void by introducing the idea of excessive evaporation, though I am not vain enough to believe that the idea originated with me. If this does not either fully account for the phenomena, we may still inquire what does. One very cold day in November I saw some six maple trees removed by a party whose reputation for excellence in the theory and practice of his profession is perhaps inferior to none in this city. They were taken up carefully, and each immediately replanted but a few feet from where they stood before. They were about six years old, and had been two years in the last position, healthy and well. Next spring they were dead. Not a great distance from this, I saw last February a party, who wished to widen his sidewalk, employ what we consider an " upstart professional" to take up about one hundred maple trees and set them six feet further back. Two laborers went to work by his directions, and, instead of replanting as they lifted, left them all on the ground, exposed to a sleety wind that was blow- MAY. 239 ing, till they " got through," ■w'hich was about nightfall. That night there came quite a heavy fall of sleet, M'hich in the morning changed to a clear and heavy frost, which rendered their planting quite out of the question. In their icy clothing the trees remained nearly a week, when the weather moderated ; holes were " grubbed" in the ground, and the trees " stuck" in ; a rain followed a few days after. The owner was frantic, and on being applied to, I am now ashamed to say, I gave him poor consolation about the lives of them. Yet, when spring came, they all pushed with great beauty and vigor, and I believe he did not lose one. I have no record of the range of the thermometer in these two instances beyond the impression that the temperature was lower after the last instance of planting than after the first, though so much earlier in the season, and I would like to know how these opposite results are accounted for. Again : I think it is an unquestioned fact that in England, where the air is saturated with moisture, evergreens will withstand a greater comparative degree of cold than with us, where the atmosphere is dry. I have certainly seen the Laurustinus, Sweet Bay, Portugal Laurel, aye, and the Broad and Narrow-leaved Myrtles, twenty ff et high, on the south side of a building, stand twenty degrees of frost, without the least appearance of injury. Whoever saw this in our country ? and if this is a fact, how is it to be accounted for ? I should like to ask a few more such questions, but hate to impose on your good nature in the matter of space. I still think strongly that we keep our tender evergreens far too dry. A drained and well-manured soil, as in the Dropmore case, is anything but dry. My Deodar, in quite a swamp, is an extreme case ; I would not recommend to plant Deodars in such places. I instanced it to show that mine stood well in a wet place, when my friends lost theirs in dry ones. One swallow does not make a summer, and one instance ought not to establish a rule by any means. I saw recently a fine Scotch Fir and a Silver Fir, on the grounds of Mr. Skerritt, near here, on a very dry and poor place, killed during, I will not say by, the late severe winter. In conclusion, my dear Sir, I frankly confess that I have a design on }'ou. I want to learn something out of you and your correspondents on a subject I have long been interested in, and feel that I do not well understand. I am in the position of a hireling, " dissatisfied with my present situation," and on the " look-out" for a better one. It is quite possible I may " do worse," but mean to try nevertheless. — Truly yours, Thos. Mf.eha>\ [We should deem it a favor to hear from any of our correspondents in answer to Mr. Meehan's queries. Cannot our friends, Messrs. Barry of Rochester, or H. W. Sargent, who has had much experience in the matter, enlighten Mr. Meehan, and show him the mistake in regard to excessive evaporation. The reason, we apprehend, why the evergreens in England will stand twenty degrees of frost without injury, while the same cold would seriously hurt them here, is, we think, to be attributed to the absence of the hot sun and cooler and damper atmosphere which prevent the rapid thawing that 240 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. takes place in our climate. It is very plain, we think, that a plant which Avill stand one good freezing without harm, may just as well be frozen one year, or one hundred years, without any additional injury. It is the thaw- ing out by the heat of the sun that so cuts up and destroys the plants. We have closely observed the action of frost and heat the past winter, and at another time will enlarge upon the subject, which is really one of great importance. In the meantime we should be pleased to have the views of our correspondents. — Ed.] The liOGAN Grape. — In my communication describing this grape, which appeared in your January number, I intimated that it might possibly prove a variety already known to cultivators by some other name, at the same time expressing a willingness to yield to the claims of priority, should such prove to be the case. I did not, hc^ever, expect to be so soon called upon to drop the newly-acquired cognomen, and adopt in its stead the brief and euphonious one of the "Wild Wine Grape of Indiana," which the dis- covery announced by a correspondent from Sharon, Mass., in your number for the current month, seems to demand. I would beg to suggest, however, that perhaps it would be well enough to defer for a brief period the pro- posed change of name, until it can be ascertained, by something like satis- factory evidence, that the gentleman's claim is well founded. I do not say that the Logan is not the grape your correspondent claims it is, or that it is not indigenous to the region indicated — but I do say, that it will require much more satisfactory proof than is afforded by a written description of a fruit by one person and the recollection of one seen perhaps years before by another, to satisfy horticulturists that the two are identical ; and until con- clusive evidence of identity is adduced, I feel like insisting upon adherence to " Logan" as the proper appellation of the grape I described, and hope that when the gentleman furnishes his " cord of cuttings," they will be properly labelled, and not sent out under a wrong and assumed name. I am a little sensitive on this point, because, from a similar conclusion hastily arrived at on insufficient evidence, another grape, with which my name is sometimes identified, (the Delaware), suffered severely in reputation for a number of years, and until time exploded the fallacy and vindicated its character. — Yows truly, A. Thomson, Delaware, O., Feb. 27, 1858. Early and Late Peaches. — Mr. Editor: Will you please to inform me, through your Magazine, which of the very early peaches you consider the best, taking into consideration the growth, hardiness and productiveness of the tree, and the quality of the fruit. I also wish to inquire which of the late peaches is most profitable for the market. The Late Crawford is not sufficiently productive to be profitable. What do you think of the Meriam peach, described in Cole's Fruit Book ? By answering the above inquiries you will greatly oblige H. G. — Tiunenhurgh, Oct, 1857. [The best peaches for general cultivation are the Early Crawford, George IV., Grosse Mignonne, Late Crawford, Cutter's Yellow, Coolidge's Favor- ite, Early York, and Oldmixon. MAY. 241 The Late Crawford is a good late peach, though we prefer the Oldmixon, which is a fine fruit. We know nothing of the Merriam. — Ed.] Sulphur for Insects. — I notice in the April No. of your Magazine Mr. Wight's criticism of Mr. Parnell's article in the Country Gentleman of Feb. 20, 1858, on the effect of sulphur applied to the Hickory trees in my park. About twelve years since, many of these trees began to die, at first ten or twelve annually ; the yearly number increased until sixty-three were lost in a single season. The following spring, 1853, we adopted the course stated in Mr. Parnell's article ; that year about twenty died, next year about ten, in the succeeding year only three or four, and last year not one. When the disease first appeared, there were about 1200 hickory trees in the park, from 30 to 100 years old, of which about 300 have died. The disease would first be seen on the topmost branches, which, in many cases, we caused to be cut off, but without benefit, the tree invariably dying in a year or two. After the sulphur was applied, the same course was pursued; since the first year, (1853,) none so treated have died, but are now thrifty. The article applied was Flor sulphur, not Roll sulphur, as in Mr. Wight's case. If it was not the sulphur which destroyed the insects which caused the disease, what was it ? I prefer the fact to Mr. W's theory. — D. F. Manice, Oailands, Qiieen's Co., L. I., April, 1858. The Catawissa Raspberry. — This new ever-bearing raspberry seems deserving of more attention by our cultivators. From a statement we have of Mr. Joshua Pierce of Washirf^ton, D. C, who introduced it to notice, it is a most prolific and perpetual bearer. Mr. Pierce is making every possi- ble effort to increase the stock, with the hope of being able to meet the growing demand, and at prices that will enable every one to possess this excellent fruit. We understand Mr. Pierce has raised the fruit in such quantities that he has sent to the Washington market to the extent of up- wards of sixty quarts a day, through September up to the 20th of October. He intends to cultivate it still more extensively for that purpose. In Ala- bama, it ripens its second crop produced on the young wood from early in July to near December, so that they can have raspberries from six to seven months of the year, — a cheap and delicious addition to the dessert. 3>^th\\t%. Hartford County Horticultural. I enclose a list of the officers of our Society, elected at the annual meet- ing April 8, for insertion in your valuable Magazine. — Yours respectfully, Thos. R. Dutton, Cor. Sec. Hartford Co. Hort, Soc. President — Gurdon W. Russell, M. D. Vice Presidents— J. S. Butler, M. D., H. W. Terry, Hartford ; Henry Mygatt, Farmington ; Wm. F. Comstock, East Hartford ; N. W. Stanley, New Britain ; Norman Porter, Berlin ; Sheldon Moore, Kensington ; Sal- 242 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. mon Lyman, Manchester; E. A. Holcomb, Granby; H. A. Grant, M. D., Enfield ; S. D. Case, Canton ; T. C. Austin, Suffield ; Howard S. Collins, Collinsville ; B. F. Seward, Southington. Corresponding Secretary — Thomas R. Button. Recording Secretary — Mason C. Weld. Treasurer— P. D. Stillman. Auditor— Seth H. Clark. Wisconsin Fruit Growers' Association. The annual meeting of the Wisconsin Fruit Growers' Association was held at Milwaukee, Feb. 9. The following is the list of officers elected for the ensuing year : — President — A. G. Hanford, Waukesha. Vice Presidents — Col. H. Crocker, Milwaukee ; D. I. Powers, Madison; D. Mathews, Burlington. Secretary — Charles GifTord, Milwaukee. Treasurer — C. C. Olin, Waukesha. Ex. Com.— H. J. Starin, Whitewater ; I. C. Brayton, Astalan ; Thus. P. Turner, Waukesha. Messrs. Powers and Gifford were appointed a committee to procure the passage of a law, similar to that of Massachusetts, for the protection of fruit trees, and trees planted for shade or ornament. Messrs. Olin, Starin and Crocker were appointed a committee to ask an appropriation from the State to promote the objects of the association. glasscicjjusetts portitultural l^ocittj. Saturday, Jan. 2, 1858. — The annual meeting of the Society was held to-day. The retiring President, Hon. J. S. Cabot, took the chair, and in a very interesting speech, in which he alluded to his long connection with the Society, and more especially to his official position during the past four years, introduced Mr. Josiah Stickney, the President elect. Mr. Stickney, who offered a few pertinent remarks, referred to the condition, the objects, and the prospects of the Society, sympathizing with the members in the re- tirement of so capable a president, and promising his aid and cooperation in everything which would advance its interests and extend its usefulness. A committee of three, consisting of Messrs. Walker, Wilder and Cabot, was chosen, to take into consideration the address of the Presiderit, and report. Dr. Wight moved and it was unanimously voted that a piece of plate, of the value of $150, be presented to the Hon. J. S. Cabot, for his able services as President of the Society. Messrs. Wight, C. M. Hovey, and «W. R. Austin,^were appointed to carry this into effect. The thanks of the Society were also voted to the retiring Vice Presidents for their services in behalf of the Society. MAY. 243 On motion of Mr. S. Walker, it was voted, that a piece of plate, of the value of $100, be presented to Dr. E. Wight, for his long and valuable ser- vices as Chairman of the Fruit Committee. C. M. Hovey, Chairman of the Library Committee, submitted a report which was read and accepted, with an appropriation of $150 for the year. Mr. Walker, from the Finance Committee, submitted the annual report, as follows : — Reckipts FOft THE Year 1857. Balance in the treasury, $168 94 Dividends from stock, - - - - - - 981 00 Rents of store, hall, &c., 2520 31 Mount Auburn Cemetery, ----- 4585 67 Annual Exliibition, 1372 50 Assessments, ------- 600 00 Cash borrowed, 1379 50 Miscellaneous receipts, 195 25 11,803 17 Payments for the Year 1857. Taxes, interest and insurance, - - - - ' 934 43 Premiums and gratuities, 2343 00 Salaries, - 500 CO Printing, binding, &c., 328 99 Painting, repairing, &c., 273 75 Mechanics and miscellanies, 953 37 Annual Exhibition expenses, ----- 2382 68 Paid mortgage and cash borrowed, - - - 2400 33 Invested in Railroad stocks, ----- 1289 50 Cash on hand, 397 12 11,803 17 The Committee of Arrangements for 1858 was chosen as follows: F. Ly- man Winship, Eben. Wight, J. S. Cabot, W. R. Austin, C. M. Hovey, W. C. Strong, P. B. Hovey, D. T. Curtis, Samuel Walker, A. C. BowdJtch, F. Burr, Jr., E. S. Rand, Jr., R. McCleary Copeland. The following persons were elected honorary members: — Hon. James Buchanan, and Hon. Charles Sumner, Corresponding members — H. W. Fuller, Boston ; C. Wentworth Dilke, London ; Rev. T. D. Anderson, Roxbury, and S. Kneeland, Jr., Boston. A committee of five was appointed to consider the subject of the revision of the By-Laws. Messrs. Jos. Stickney, E. S. Rand, S. Walker, C. M. Hovey, and W. R. Austin, were appointed the committee. Adjourned to Jan. 9 Jan. 9. — An adjourned meeting — the President in the chair. The President asked to be excused from serving on the Finance Commit- tee, and the Hon. J. S. Cabot was chosen in his place. It was moved that the sum of $75 be voted to E. S. Rand, Jr., for his services as Chairman of the Flower Committee for 1857. 244 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE, • Capt. Austin made the following report from the Committee to settle with Mount Auburn: — Total sales of lots, #20,598 68 Deduct expenses, 1,400 00 $19,198 68 Society's proportion of one quarter is - - 4,799 67 Which has been paid in to the treasurer. The thanks of the Society were voted to Josiah Bradlee, Esq., for his liberality in loaning to the Society money upon mortgage for the purchase of the property. E. S. Rand, Jr., offered a vote in relation to the repeal of the law for the protection of the robin. This elicited much discussion, and also the follow- ing paper, which was read by the author. Prof J. W. P. Jenks. We copy entire. Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Society — It will be remembered that the Hon. Mr. Walker suggested, at our De- cember meeting, the propriety of memorializing the Legislature upon the subject of removing the restriction upon the destruction of the Robin, (Tur- dus migratorius,) on account of its injurious habits as a great fruit- destroyer. Knowing that the robin has many and dear friends, of which I confess my- self one, I determined to prepare a paper upon the subject, to be read at our first January meeting, but deferred any remarks then for the want of time.. I have made the habits of birds a particular study for years, but have, perhaps, taken too much for granted tlie advantages derived from the foraging of the robin, as compared with the disadvantages, and frankly acknowledge that on the day of the December meeting, I found myself strongly prejudiced in favor of the bird, notwithstanding he gets much the largest share, every year, of six splendid cherry trees in my front yard. Knowing too that probably seven tenths of the people generally would favor the protection of the bird, and that therefore any petition to the Legis- lature must be a memorial, embodying the absolute facts in respect to the food of the bird throughout the year, I first examined all our works on Orni- thology and obtained from them the very unsatisfactory information that the bird lives on "insects and fruit, particularly cherries and currants." This information being so general as to be utterly valueless for our purpose, I next tried our farmers, and found them about equally divided upon the sub- ject; such as have fruit trees of the berry kind condemning the bird as a nuisance, and others upholding it as a benefit, so that I was strongly re- minded of Audubon's drawing of this bird, in which he represents the male as feeding the young with a catterpillar, and the female at the same time with a cherry. When it is remembered, however, that the cherries, straw- berries, currants, raspberries, &.C., are to be found only during a brief por- tion of the year, the drawing would seem to give us an argument in favor of the bird, inasmuch as even in fruit-time it does not wholly become non- insectivorous. MAY. 245 Regarding this second means of information as no less unsatisfactory for our purpose, I was left to personal and specific observation of its habits, according to the following plan, viz. : to secure specimens daily, or at least weekly, throughout the year, and carefully analyze the contents of the crop, and then, after twelve months, I shall be able to defend or reject the bird with reliable data. I propose to tax myself with such an investigation, if deemed desirable, and to secure the services of two other naturalists in different parts of the State, that by a comparison of our investigations we may plead for or against the bird in every part of the State. Tn pursuing such an investigation I should hope to identify the insects and fruit or buds found in the crop, and, by a little mathematical calcula- tion, approximate a conclusion in reference to the number of injurious in- sects a single individual may destroy, as compared with the amount of fruit. Such, gentlemen, are my views upon this subject at the present time, and unless some one of our number can sustain a petition to the present Legislature with such specific information as I have just alluded to, I fear the credit of our Society will suffer in respect to its zoological reputation, for the rigid system of investigation inaugurated by recent naturalists for- bids all theorizing about the operations of nature, and demands a simple statement of facts,_ sustained by a course of most scrutinizing observation. If these remarks are supererogatory on account of the previous investi- gations of the Society, you will please to remember that I have just entered your fraternity, and am almost entirely ignorant of what specific subjects may have engaged your attention. All which is respectfully submitted by 'J. W. P. Jenks, Professor of Entomology. After considerable discussion the vote was laid upon the table, and the following committee appointed to report upon the subject at a future meet- ing, viz. : Prof. Jenks, C. M. Hovey, and E. S. Rand, Jr. Adjourned one month to Feb. 6. Feb. 6. — An adjourned meeting — the President in the chair. On motion of S. Walker, it was voted, that Messrs. Walker, C. M. Hovey and E. S. Rand, Jr., be a committee to report resolutions upon the death of Zebedee Cook, a former President of the Society. Messrs. J. S. Cabot, S". Walker, C. M. Hovey, E. Wight, and J. Breck, were appointed a committee to report upon the Preservation of Fruits by Curtis's new Refrigerator. Adjourned to March 6. March 6. — An adjourned meeting. Vice President Breck in the chair. The Committee of Arrangements reported that they had fixed the time for holding the next annual exhibition on the 21st, 22d, 23d and 24th of September next. C. M. Hovey, from the committee appointed for that purpose, presented the following Resolutions upon the death of Zebedee Cook : — Whereas, This Society having learned with the deepest regret of the death of Zebedee Cook, one of its founders and its second President, and being desirous of placing upon its records not only a recognition of his 246 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. early and assiduous labors in urging and promoting its organization, but a full appreciation of his disinterested services in its behalf: therefore, Renolved, That we recall, with the most grateful remembrance, his de- voted and unceasing efforts in the cause of Horticulture and Rural Art, and his untiring industry in promoting and advancing all the objects of this association. Resolved, That although the Society has, for several years, been deprived of his presence and counsel by his removal to a sister State, from whence he had so recently returned to pass his last days among us, we entertain the highest regard for his many virtues, and acknowledge with gratitude our indebtedness for his past services. Resolved, That in this bereavement we tender our warmest sympathies to the family of the deceased. Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the records, published in the journals of the day, and a copy be transmitted by the President to the afflicted family. The resolutions were prefaced with appropriate and interesting remarks by Mr. Hovey, upon the services and life of Mr. Cook, and a copy was re- quested for insertion in the papers. A package of seeds was received from the Patent Office for distribution. Mr. C. M. Hovey offered some remarks in relation to the wholesale distri- bution of many worthless seeds, and old kinds under new names, at great expense to the country. Other members seconded his views, and a com- mittee of five was appointed, to memorialize Congress in relation to the matter, and put a stop, if possible, to such a useless expenditure of money. Messrs. Cabot, J. W. P. Jenks, E. S. Rand, Jr., W. R. Austin and B. V. French were appointed the committee. B. F. Monroe was elected a member. Adjourned two weeks to March 20. iortiailtiinil @ptrati0ns FRUIT DEPARTMENT. April was a very favorable month for all gardening operations ; cool, without severe frosts, and moist without heavy rains ; a better time for carrying on all the operations of trenching, planting, &c., was never expe- rienced. More, we believe, has been accomplished thus far, where there was work to do, than up to the first of June last year. The season is just about one week earlier than last year. Cherries will be in flower about the 8th, and last year they were in bloom on the 13th. Forsythia viridissima, one of the most splendid early flowering shrubs, now in bloom, April 28th ; last year, May 8th. Grape Vines in the early vinery will now begin to color; keep up a good temperature ; air freely in good weather, and still continue to damp MAY. 247 down the house ; stop all laterals when they hecome too crowded. Vines in the later house will now be setting their fruit ; give less air till the ber- ries are the size of peas, and less water in the house ; after that, treat as recommended for the first house. Vines in the cold house will soon show their buds, and will be in flower before the end of the month. Vines in the open ground should soon be tied up neatly to the trellis, top dressed, and put in good order. Peach Trees in pots, now swelling their fruit, should be watered rather liberally, and syringed often to keep down the red spider. CuRRAJNTS, Raspberries, &.c., should be pruned, if not already done, and the ground be manured and dug. Stake the raspberries as early as Strawberry Beds should now be put in order; thin out old beds, and dig in manure between the rows. New beds may be planted now. Fruit Trees of all kinds should be pruned, taking advantage of every opportunity to complete the work, and manure and dig the borders. Espalier or wall trees should be neatly pruned and trained. Pear and Apple Trees may be grafted any time during the month, with good success. flower department. The warm susny weather of April has given all indoor plants a rapid start, and unless they are looked after, they will soon become too crowded ; advantage, therefore, should be taken of all spare frame-room to get out as early as possible all half-hardy things. Heaths, Cinerarias, Laurustinuses, Roses, Violets, &-c,, will do much better if at once removed to the latter. This will give room for the Japan Lilies, Gloxinias, Achimenes, Fuchsias, &c., which are to keep up the beauty of the house. Repot all plants that require it, without waiting for any particular season to do the work. The best time is when it is needed. Camellias will be growing rapidly, and a slight increase of temperature will greatly benefit them now ; keeping them well syringed and watered at the roots. Inarching may still be done. Fuchsias, for fine specimens, will need frequent shifts ; do not allow them to get pot-bound. Pelargoniums will soon be in their glory ; keep the branches neatly tied out ; place in the coolest and most airy place, near the glass as possi- ble ; fumigate for the green fly, and water with weak guano. Plants in- tended for late blooming may be shifted if they require it. RosES, in pots, may be planted out in the ground the last of the month. Achimenes, Gloxinias, &c., should be repotted, and have a good place in a warm, rather close house. Chrtsanthemums should be propagated yet; those well rooted may have a shift into larger pots. Orange Trees should have good treatment now ; repot if they need it, and water with liquid manure. Veronicas should now have a shift into larger pots ; top the shoots and tie them out carefully, if large plants are wanted. 248 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. Epacrises and Heaths should be put in a frame, to harden off before the hot weather. Repot every plant that needs it. Cuttings may be put in now. Japan Lilies should be shifted as soon as the pots are full of roots. Begonias should now be placed in the warmest part of the house, in a shady place. Stephanotus, and other twining plants, should now be shifted into their blooming pots. Plants of all kinds, intended for decorating the greenhouse in summer, should be looked after and have good treatment; and' those intended for the open air should not be neglected, as is usually the case, after their bloom is over, but receive a due share of attention, preparatory to moving to their summer quarters. flower garden and shrubbery. If advantage has been taken of the good weather, the flower garden and shrubbery will now be in pretty forward order. If not yet attended to, do not neglect it. Our directions last month need not be repeated ; a refer- ence to them will show what ought to have been done. Tulip Beds will now be coming forward, and by the 25th of the month will probably be in bloom. Prepare to shade the flowers, if they are fine ones, as their beauty is preserved a long time. Carnations and Picotees should be got out as early as possible, as the earlier the stronger they bloom. Sow seeds now for next year's stock. Verbenas, Pyrethrum, and other half-hardy plants, may be set out immediately for early bloom ; to be succeeded by another planting later. Dahlias will do to plant any time after the 15th of the month. Gladioluses, Amaryllises, Tiger Flowers, &lc„ may be planted now. Herbaceous Plants may yet be removed with good success. Annuals, of all hardy and half-hardy kinds, may now be planted; tender kinds should be forwarded in frames, as the weather will be too cool to ex- pose them till the last of the month. vegetable garden. All early made hotbeds will now need a good lining of fresli manure to keep up the temperature. New ones should also be made for a semi-annual crop of such things as melons and cucumbers. Egg Plants and Tomatoes may have a shift into larger pots, if fine strong plants are wanted. Seeds of all hardy vegetables may be got in as early as possible ; squashes and tender ones later in the month. Sweet Herbs, of all kinds, may be brought forward in the hotbed, and then put out in the open ground. Sow Lettuce, Radishes, &c., for a succession. Celery should be planted immediately. Planting Seeds of all kinds should be completed this month. FOREST TREE CULTURE. In a country naturally so rich in ornamental trees that many of our finest species are the pride and ornament of the parks and gardens of Europe, it may appear superfluous to direct attention to their cultivation. Spread over the whole extent of the United States, as many of them are, and growing in abundance where the pioneer has not yet appeared with his ruthless axe, often within the boundaries of many of our suburban towns, they are so well known that they are deemed too common to introduce into our plantations, and are dis- carded for the far-fetched and dearer-bought, but not more beautiful, objects of foreign growth. For our wide-spreading and gracefully-branched Lime, we substitute the compact and prim-looking English species ; for our noble and dark-hued Black Spruce, we substitute the Norway ; for our White Pine, the Scotch Pine ; for our magnificent Tulip Tree, the Horse- chestnut; and for our picturesque American Larch, the sym- metrical Scotch. Because they grow in abundance almost within sight of many a country house, they must not grace our lawns, ornament our avenues, nor shade our parched and dusty streets ; a superabundance of our well-known native trees would at once show that we are not familiar with the rare foreign trees, which make some neighbor's garden so attractive and recherche. But notwithstanding we have so many well-known forest trees of great beauty, there are others less extensively distrib- uted which are not so familiar as many foreign species, and whose merits are quite as great. Scattered less profusely over the country, they are not often seen, or, if seen, they are not distinguished from others, except by the real lover of nature. Such are the Tupelo, Nettle Tree, Hop Hornbeam, Canoe Birch, Striped-barked Maple, &c. These are all elegant trees, some of them the most conspicuous our forests can boast. We have, however, no dislike to any beautiful tree, whether foreign or native ; all are equally admired by us. What we VOL. XXIV. — NO. VI. 24 250 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. desire to see, is a due appreciation of our indigenous species, which are equally if not more beautiful than others. Every hardy tree, no matter from what country it comes, is a valua- ble addition to our gardens ; but where the extent of the grounds will admit, all our native kinds should be represented, for they will not suffer by comparison with others. But our object is not so much to describe the peculiar char- acteristics or merits of any particular trees, as to invite atten- tion to the importance of their more extended cultivation. The perusal of an Essay in the Transactions of the Norfolk County Agricultural Society, by our correspondent the Rev. J. L. Russell, " On Artificial Planting, its Importance and Benefits," has afforded us so much pleasure that we embrace an early opportunity to lay before our readers a portion of his valuable and interesting paper. Forest tree culture has re- ceived comparatively little or no attention in this country. What has been done has been accomplished mostly by gentle- men and lovers of beautiful trees, more as a source of pleasant recreation than from any expectation of profit. Even our nurserymen, who should certainly raise their own trees, im- port a great portion of those they offer for sale. Within a few years, the offer of liberal premiums, by some of our Agri- cultural Associations, has awakened an interest in the subject, and some plantations have been made which will soon show the value of the experiments. On Cape Cod, several acres have been sown with pines, and some very handsome young trees have been most successfully raised. But they are on so limited a scale, compared with the importance of tree culture, that they hardly are an exception to the general apathy in regard to their cultivation. Some years ago, the late Gen. Dearborn, to whom every cultivator is deeply indebted for information in every depart- ment of tree culture, both fruit and forest, recommended the raising of forest trees, and published in the New England Farmer a series of articles, giving minutely all the directions as regards sowing the seed, planting, transplanting, &g. He had successfully raised thousands of our various ornamental trees, and has left behind him a fitting memento of his labors in the magnificent belt of Rock maples which he planted on JUNE. 251 the borders of Mount Auburn Cemetery, around what was intended, when the Massachusetts Horticultural Society pur- chased the grounds, to form an experimental garden. They liave now attained the height of thirty or forty feet, and at every season of the year, in winter or summer, are highly ornamental ; but more particularly of an October afternoon, just before the sun reaches the horizon, the splendor of their fawn and amber tinted foliage, with the golden beams playing through it, resemble more some fairy scene than anything real. So straight and completely branched from the ground up are many of them, tliat they form gigantic golden plumes. Compare these trees with the saplings pulled from the forest, pruned into bare poles, disfiguring many streets and grounds, and note what forest tree culture will accomplish. Another instance of what planting will effect we once saw at Roxbury, on the grounds of the late John Lowell. While on a visit to this pioneer in gardening in 1837 or 1838, with Mr. A. J. Downing, Mr. Lowell pointed out to us, with evi- dent pride, oaks, maples, ashes, &c., fifty and sixty feet high, which were planted by him when he first commenced orna- menting his grounds many years before. In fact, most of the large and beautiful villa residences around Boston, which make her suburbs so attractive, owe all their interest and beauty to the growth of the forest trees, which were either raised from the seed, or were planted when quite small by the proprietors, who, at that early day, had none of the nurseries to resort to which now furnish trees in abundance, and in far greater variety. Our remarks refer, in the main, to tree planting for orna- mental purposes. Yet Mr. Russell takes up the subject in the matter of profit, and appeals to our farmers to resort to the growth of trees for enhancing the value of their property, — for producing wood and timber, — for giving shelter to their crops, and for cultivating a taste for the ornamental, — beauti- fying their homes, and rendering them attractive and cheer- ful ; places the memory may fondly linger upon, as, in riper years, the son or daughter looks back to the period passed beneath the parental roof. Millions of trees are yearly planted in Great Britain ; they 252 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICDXTURE. do not estimate them bj hundreds or thousands, but millions, and if planting is profitable there, why should it not be with us ? Already the hand of the improver, the planner of paper towns, is laying waste all the forests upon our Atlantic coast. Our timber and wood come from remote places, greatly en- hanced in value by the large expense of transportation. Why should not the thousands of acres of land lying idle be planted with forest trees ? In twenty years an acre would be more valuable than a small farm. Barren tracts may be covered with the larch and Scotch pine ; better lands, with the oak and maple. The rapidity with which young planta- tions grow is truly astonishing. The only thing is to set about the work immediately. Plant one acre, or, if not an acre, half an acre, or even a rod ; it will soon be seen that the trees are spoiling for want of space and must be removed. Then distribute them over some old pasture, or by the side of the road ; put them in everywhere, except in arable fields, and if they grow too fast or too thick cut them down — they will all make good fire wood. We have found it more trouble to keep plantations of seedlings thinned out than to raise the trees. Seeds of all the principal forest trees may be purchased at the seed stores, or, if they cannot, half a day spent in gathering them from some neighboring trees will not be time lost. A pocket full of acorns, gathered under any old white oak, and a pointed stick to make a small hole in the ground an inch deep, will give a crop of oaks even without any further trouble. The secret is to begin at once, and if there is the least latent love for a tree or plant the growth of tender seedlings will so awaken that love that no further incentive will be necessary to persevere in the work. We can scarcely do justice to Mr. Russell's Essay in the room we have to spare, but must content ourselves with the most interesting parts of it : — " Artificial planting and culture of forest trees has been left too much to the man of fortune or to those of decided artistic tastes. By want of judicious observation on the part of otherwise practical people, a great many serious blunders JUNE. 253 have occurred. The proper season to sow the seeds of forest * trees, the proper modes of raising the seedlings, the proper time to transplant them, the soils adapted to them, have been too often the tediously slow work of experience, and hence repeated failures. Many farmers are, therefore, deterred ; but would they take some slight notice of, or read some treatise on the subject, such errors would be few. Much of this work could be done by the junior members of the family, who are to reap the most benefits hereafter. And then, again, from what the observation of many years has shown, I am convinced that there is no farm so barren that could not be immensely improved by attention to tree planting. There is no reason why farmers should not be arboriculturists as well as the men of fortune and of taste. Why leave this branch of industry and profit to them ; and why not learn from their experiments what costs the farmer nothing, but brings him in sure results of profit ? True, every farmer is interested in orcharding, but arboriculture belongs to him likewise. Indeed, the arboricultural art addresses him rather the more of the two pursuits, and he might better plant shade and timber trees than fruit trees. The orchard, in its wider sense of a place for fruit growing, belongs rather to the horticulturist than to the farmer. The usual and necessary avocations of the farm cannot afford the requisite time for care of the choicer apples, pears and peaches, which are the best fitted for the market, as the market now-a-days is expected to be ; and while the insect foes have so much increased in numbers and in their ravages, more demand still is made of the farmer's time to keep them in check. A few trees could supply the family ; but to raise market fruit has become an occupation of its own. Even the apple trees should have no ordinary care, would they pay well and make a return of all their possibilities. A very few acres of land, kept in excellent heart by careful manuring, by judicious pruning, by washing the trunks with alkali to destroy vermin, in fine, by the art of fruit culture, would, if near an available market-town or city, yield a greater return than farms of much wider area. And these few highly cultivated acres would afford the best sorts of apples, the choicest kinds of • 254 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUKE. pears, and the most delicious cherries ; yet all these are the results of a horticultural rather than an agricultural depart- ment of industrial toil. I repeat, then, that trees requiring such attention do not belong to the farmer, for he could not spend the time, bear the cost, nor devote the attention, if he depends, as it is expected he will, on his Indian corn, his grass and root crops, with other field produce, for his living and business. He cannot aiford " to serve" two " such mas- ters ;" one or the other must receive his chief service. All this reasoning does not apply to arboriculture ; and a well- regulated farm, now-a-days, seems to look toward the artificial rearing of forest trees, as well as toward their protection for the future increase of its value. In some sections of Massachusetts, forest tree planting, I am sure, would be very important ; and in every instance there are valual:)le species of such trees, which could be readily introduced without any great outlay of cost or trouble. * * * * Massachusetts farms may be divided into four or five great divisions of the soils found upon them. These may be thus stated, viz. : — 1st. Light, sandy soils. 2d. Gravelly or thin soils. 3d. Kocky soils, much broken by ledges. 4th. Boggy or peat meadow soils. 5th. Stiff, clayey, loamy soils. On these different soils particular kinds of forest trees thrive best. Observation can easily point out ways for using all these to the best advantage for artificial plantings. Often what were once timber or woodlands have become, by acci- dent or mismanagement, sterile and unproductive ; and for such places this planting of trees might be prudent as well as wise. It is no uncommon thing to find on the same farm acres of " good for nothing" land, but still capable of becom- ing good for something. A little extra attention to these may turn them to some valuable account. * * * * A great many folks, and it is not confined to the farming occupation, value a tree if it can be compelled to bear some- thing to eat. They would graft their elms with pears, their larches with apples, and their chance shade trees with plums JUNE. 255 and peaches. But failing in this impossibility, they regard such pleasures as encumbrances, and would be glad to have them away at shortest notice, preferring a poor cider apple tree to a splendid button-wood or elegant horse-chestnut. I allow that the mouth and the palate are valuable organs, and so is the stomach ; indeed^ witliout them we could not well exist under the present arrangements of life. But we should never forget that " man cannot live by bread alone," and that the mind, heart, and the higher natures claim our heed also. Were we created with more decidedly animal instincts, those prudent and careful considerations would be more commend- able ; but we are " living souls," and the soul of man and his truest spirit exhibit themselves most correctly in rising above grosser thoughts. And as such was intended in the Creative plan, what would it profit to " gain the whole world and lose the soul ?" * * * * A farm that has the misfortune to have fields once cul- tivated, but afterwards overspread by drifts and heaps of loose sand, need not allow further increase of so dire an evil. To say nothing of the probability of growing the white birch QBetula populifolia) upon it, the pitch pines QPinus rigida) and white pines (P. strohus) and even the red pines, (P. resinosa,') sometimes called the Norway pine, can be most readily planted and raised. I have seen such fields, in part, redeemed by this process ; and a very few years were found to be sufficient to clothe with perennial greenery, these waste and sterile sand drifts. All sorts of evergreen trees and shrubs should be taken up for transplanting after they have begun to grow, and the new growth should be three or four inches long. With pine trees, this occurs about the middle of June. I am familiar with an instance in which nearly an hundred pitch pines and a few white pines were planted out by a few hours' labor, and which all grew with remarkable celerity and vigor. By and by, the loose sand became bound together by their roots, and its surface so deeply carpeted by its dry and persistent needle-shaped leaves, as to stop any further drifting or changes. The pitch pine has been success- fully planted out at Nantucket, where the bleakest winds render almost every tree-growth a difficult matter ; and if 256 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. these experiments were instituted by some public measures, it would not be long before that island would be clothed again witli a thick forest growth, such as were roamed in by its Indian tribes before the white man came and stripped its leafy honors. I was once shown a single red pine tree, which stood on the edge of an old rye field, from which, in about forty years, a respectable forest of its progeny had sprung up around it, and rewarded the careless spirit of letting it alone in its work, by its industrious yearly increase. The white birch has been incidentally mentioned among the kinds of trees well fitted for a poor soil. According to my observation, it seems best adapted to the second division, viz. : to gravel and gravelly ridges. This tree is, usually, near the sea-coast, of a small size, but still it is of economical value. It grows very fast. A friend, who has much of it upon portions of his farm, assures me that he considers it as one of his best crops. He cuts, for market, the young stems down to the roots, as often as they are of sufficient size for hoops of nail casks. I have repeatedly noticed. that white birches spring up very thick and readily from seeds self-sown by the winds, upon the quicksand often found under those small, gravelly hillocks, when they liave been removed to fill witli their material some lower spot, or in making embank- ments. The same facility of growing is noticeable in the old cart-paths and in grassy pastures, wliere the sod has been abraded and the soil laid bare. The process of vegetation on soft, quaking quicksands is curious in the extreme. In the course of the first year, mosses appear ; then, on the next year, the little seedling birches ; then a bulrush or two ; by and by some grasses, the moss growing thicker and more abundant, but the young birches outstripping every other form and invading the newly exposed soil like a conquering host. It is evident, from these facts, that wliat Nature thus easily and readily does, art could imitate, and that unlimited supplies of seedlings could be raised with as little trouble as we employ in sowing carrots on better lands. The white birch, small as it grows, is considered a very valuable fuel for the stove, if cut and suitably seasoned ; and what trifling amount of labor would plant coppices of the tree on every JUNE. 257 sand pit, gravel bank and other encumbrances of the farm. Several kinds of the oak grow iiaturally upon gravelly spots ; and this tree is not difficult to transplant, especially if raised from the acorn in the seed bed. When we look at an old oak tree, we compute the long years of its probable growth, but we are not aware how fast it really grows from year to year. I know respectable oak trees, of the third and fourth generation, from young seedling plants imported for the pleasure grounds of a gentleman, who lived to see the acorns of their posterity to that descent, actually five generations, from his seedlings imported years before in flower pots, so small were they then ! The artificial planting of forest trees is even available on rocky soils, much broken by ledges and by crumbling frag- ments of stones. Here, one of the very best trees is what is called the Scotch larch, similar to our hackmatack, an ac- count of the successful planting of which in Scotland, may be found in Emerson's Report, p. 91, which is well worthy of perusal and imitation. I know myself of extensive plantings of it on spots seemingly most unpropitious for any sort of tree. The red cedar too (Jimiperus virginiana) is admirably fitted for such places, and when these trees spring up sponta- neously, they should be encouraged by lopping off the lower branches and inducing them to rise to greater height, for in a few years there will be a fine crop, fitted for making posts and rails for the pains. The red cedar bears this lopping and pruning so well, that it can become used to the shears under hedge culture, and can be cut into any requisite shape. One of the most picturesque little spots I ever saw, was composed of a rocky ledge, out of which and rising above the the wild growth of smaller trees, a sour gum (^Nyssa midtiflorci) shot out into the air, equally beautiful and attractive in winter, when its straggling and flattened branches were grotesque and unique, as in summer, when its dark green foliage was lovely, or in autumn, when crimsoned by incipient decay. Some amateur may chance give more money to purchase its surroundings for a dwelling-house, than the entire price of the farm without this pretty knoll would amount to under other circumstances. 258 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. The hop hornbeam, called also leverwood and ironwood (^Ostrya virginicd) thrives upon the scanty soil of such spots — a tree a thousand fold better for use than bare rocks and sunburnt ledges. For quick growing, ornamental and useful trees, the maples stand conspicuous. But the sugar maples, Acer saccharinum and Acer dasycarpum, the most sweetly and pleasantly use- ful, require good soils, and such as it is considered are better employed in other ways. And yet it may be a question whether for utility or for ornament, land by the sides of fields bordering on public roads could be better used than in the culture and care of these trees. The Chinese sorghum will never do away with the sugar maples, as a producer of the sweets of life, nor do I believe that, in the long run, that grass will be preferred to the tree, especially while it is problematical whether cane sugar can be produced from •i « * * * The ash trees, (^Fraxinus acuminata and Fraxinus sambu- cifolia,) called white and black ash, do very well, even when transplanted in quite ordinary soils ; and their cleanly habits and handsome contour and light graceful leaves render them all desirable. The horse-chestnut tree (^jEscuIus hippocastawurri) is most easily raised from the nuts, which should be scarcely covered with earth and leaves immediately on ripening and falling from the trees, and transplanted when of convenient sizes. The tree of Heaven (^Ailanthus glandulosa') grows very rapid- ly, and is much sought for to plant in cities, where it thrives exceedingly ; but its unpleasant scented flowers and disagree- able smelling leaves often render it an object of aversion, which objections do not lie against its relative, the Kentucky coffee tree, (^Gymnocladiis canadensis,') equally beautiful in appearance and equally hardy. Some one has made a quaint remark, that among other duties of life, every man should build a house and plant a tree. There is not always the need of the house-building, nor always the means ; but means and ability and future need all cry out for the tree-planting ; and let every one plant a tree and see that it grows, and future generations will silently JUNE. 259 bless the public spirit that dictated such a course. Especially should the farmers look to this, and begin at once on such good deeds of duty and of a true and refined charity, which shall in due time make our State a garden, and render it full of pleasant associations to those whose fortunes or business lead them away from their early homes, to which the heart yearns always to return, to spend declining years and die beneath their old ancestral trees. HOME ARCHITECTURE.— No. III. BY WILSON FLAGQ. ORNAMENT. Mr. Ruskin contends that architecture should be regarded as a fine art, only so far as it relates to ornament, and that the art of construction is simply a department of mechanics. If, under the head of ornament, he means to include those pleasing effects which arise from the style, proportion, dispo- sition and arrangement of parts, his position is a reasonable one ; but if by ornament he means those decorative objects only which are added to a building after it is constructed, he would find it difficult to maintain his position. Ornament, in its literal and common acceptation, seems to me but an infe- rior department of architecture. It must be admitted, how- ever, that there is a science of ornament, or a law for the production of pleasing effects, and that this science embraces the rules by which both the interior and exterior of a building shall be made to affect the human mind most vividly with those feelings which it ought to excite. The more of this pleasing effect the architect can produce, without the aid of literal ornament, the more is he the master of his art : as we should say of two sculptors, that the one who could produce the most vivid impression of beauty simply by the form and features of a bust, is possessed of greater genius or art than one who should be obliged to assist his work by wreaths and other decorations, in order to produce an equal effect. Every ornament, which is not intended for relief, must be 260 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. suggestive or significant of some valuable quality or purpose of the building. Every false ornament is insignificant. We commonly apply this term to minute objects, but it should not receive this limitation. If we were to set up little images of the size of children's toys at the angles of the window frames, or in niches made for them, every body would ac- knowledge their insignificance. Yet they are no more insig- nificant than full-sized statues, arranged as they often are in front of certain costly houses. How beautiful soever they may be as works of art, unless they are placed before the house of a sculptor or worker in marble, or in front of a building which is a receptacle for statuary, they are insignifi- cant. Before a private house, mansion, or palace, they can serve no purpose at .all except that of vanity. Columns, however massive and imposing, belong to the class of insignificant ornaments, when they either support nothing at all, or when they support an object which is itself superfinous. Witness, for example, the granite columns sur- rounding the Boston Custom House ! Do they serve any needful or rational purpose ? A few of them are necessary to support the pediment and roof of the porches. As a whole, they are mere imitations of the style of a Grecian temple, monstrous counterfeits of a monstrosity, of a heathen edifice which was designed only as a bugbear in the eyes of the peo- ple, who were to be duped by the priests who held their orgies within its walls ; a style of building which is admired only on account of its classic associations, and the magnitude of that despotism which caused tlie originals to be erected. From these monstrous relics of a barbarous and despotic age are derived our absurd notions of the five orders of architec- ture, by which I am always reminded of the five opening roots and the five lesser opening roots, the five emollient herbs and the five capillary herbs of the old pharmacopoeias. Columns, however, when they are used to support the roof of a porch, of a corridor, or a gallery, are truly ornamental, because their purpose and their significance are in these cases apparent ; and the base and the capital are to be regarded as true and rational ornaments, because tliey soften the abrupt- ness of the junction of the columns with the contigiious parts JUNE. 261 of the building. They would otherwise appear to be driven into the objects which they support. The base and the capi- tal serve likewise a useful end, by giving firmness to the col- umns, and causing them to yield a better support to the parts that rest upon them. They are carved and bevelled in va- rious ways to afford relief to the eye ; but an excess of this kind of work produces the effect of false ornament, like the unnecessary use of columns. Another important source of ornamental effect is the outside color of a house. The nearer this color approaches to no definable hue, while it is neither too light nor too dark, the more pleasure does it afibrd the eye in connection with the building. Paint a house with Prussian blue, a deep crimson, or a bright scarlet or yellow, or any other color which is posi- tively beautiful, and it becomes immediately a disagreeable feature in the landscape. Almost all intelligent people are united in preferring homely colors for a dwelling-house. Still if fashion were to introduce any beautiful pigment for the outside of houses, I have no doubt it would be admired for a season, as the public have for several years admired the tem- ple houses and other counterfeits, which, to an unprejudiced and intelligent observer, are disagreeable because they are foolish. It may seem rather paradoxical to assert that in dwelling- houses, or in buildings of any description, " the beavitiful," in the positive sense of the term, is a quality not to be sought, but to be avoided. If this be one of the desirable qualities of a house, why neglect the employment of brilliant and fas- cinating colors, which would be the most direct and certain means of rendering it beautiful ? Every man's common sense teaches him that the use of such colors for the outside of houses would make them ridiculous. Setting aside aU considerations of expense, the majority of civilized persons would declare such houses offensive as objects in the land- scape. Why would they be thus offensive ? Because nature is not beautiful, in the sense in which the term is generally used ; and beautiful objects, therefore, unless they be very minute, cannot harmonize with the sobriety and homeliness of her dress and general aspect. Nature has wisely provided 262 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. that the most brilhant and enchanting colors and forms should be confined to the minute objects of her creation, while those objects which are the most apparent, from their magnitude or the extent of their distribution, are sober in their hues, and rough and rude in their superficial character. All the excep- tions to this law of her creation, in regard to objects of any considerable magnitude, apply to such as retain their beauty only for a short time. In the forms and hues of the clouds which are changeable and evanescent ; in the frost-work upon the windows ; in gems and precious stones, and in all her minuter creations, as in birds, butterflies and other insects, and in leaves and flowers, she has displayed the most beautiful forms, hues and arrangements. But the vast rocks that com- pose the hills and mountains, the sombre green of the woods, and the dull brown of the landscape, are destitute of beauty, and become attractive only by their influence upon the imag- ination. Tlie colors of the landscape, except for a short time in the summer and autumn, are far from beautiful. The same may be said of the forms of trees, compared with the works of art ; and though the leaves may be excepted, they are so minute that their beauty is not apparent, except upon close observa- tion. Though we speak of beautiful trees, the epithet in most cases, when applied to them, is used in a relative sense, their beauty being of the same description as that of an old moss-grown wall, merely picturesque or suggestive. It seems to me that few things are more evident, than that nature has distributed beauty very sparingly over the surface of the land- scape, lest the susceptibility of her creatures to its effects should be diminished by the stimulating influence of an ex- cess of this quality. In this respect art should, to a certain extent, imitate nature, who avoids everything that will intox- icate the senses, but employs a certain mixture of positive heauty with all her scenes, to wed the mind to the general aspect of her works. It is very apparent that in regard to what may be called visual beauty, nature will not bear comparison with art ; and though we are more charmed with nature, it is only because she exercises a deeper influence upon the imagination. Hence, JUNE. . 263 to the uncultivated, nature is almost entirely destitute of at- tractions ; they admire only her magnificent spectacles, a vast cataract, a display of brilliant light in the heavens, or some other scene that inspires them with wonder. But nature, I repeat, does not deny beauty to her evanescent forms, how- ever stupendoiis. Hence the incomparable beauty of the rainbow. No person would think of drawing any comparison between the pleasurable emotions arising from the beauty of the clouds at sunset, and those excited by entering within a dome of colored glass. The latter produces only the visual sensation of beauty, while the former impresses a delightful influence upon the mind and spirits. In the one case we view the handiwork of man — in the other, that of the Deity. Yet I well remember, while gazing upon a gorgeous and glowing sunset, and yielding my mind to its sublime and exhilarating influences, I stept into a dome of colored glasses, and remained there three or four minutes with my companions, admiring the visual splendor of the scene. When I came out into the open air, to enjoy the more agreeable scene of nature, the susceptibility of the visual organs was so benumbed by the intense beauty and brilliancy of these artificial hues, that the glories of the heavens seemed dull, faded, and without charac- ter. Alas ! thought I, how, by the luxuries of art, may we destroy our susceptibility to be moved by those appearances, which are designed by nature to elevate the soul, and to sus- tain our love for her works ! In the course of my remarks, I do not refrain from apply- ing the epithet beautiful to those homely and artistic buildings which agreeably aflect the mind of the spectator. But in these cases I use the word in a relative sense, recognizing three kinds of beauty — beauty to the eye, or the visual nerves, beauty to the imagination, and beauty to the intellect. The first is the only positive beauty, and it affects a child, a bar- barian, and even certain brute animals as deeply as it affects a man of cultivated mind. The second is that quality in an object which, through the medium of sight, acts agreeably upon the imagination and affections. The third is the beauty of fitness and propriety, and is that which is most requisite 264 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. for producing agreeable effects in architecture. As the bright- est landscapes are homely, a building, to harmonize with them, must be sober in its aspect and simple in its external design. The beauty of such a house should be the relative beauty of fitness and propriety. In New England we have been accustomed from our infan- cy to white houses with green blinds ; and custom has not only reconciled us to these colors, but has rendered them ab- solutely pleasing to the most of our people. But those who admire white houses look upon them without reference to the landscape. They think of the color only as it seems to be indicative of neatness, as a housekeeper regards the whiteness of her linen. To tlie eye of an intelligent European, white houses arc generally disagreeable, because he cannot bear their glitter. The inhabitants of Europe are more inclined to view such objects with a painter's eye, and to perceive that just in proportion as the color of a house is bright or beauti- ful, it stands out too boldly from other objects in the land- scape, and is deficient in repose. I have endeavored to show that all true ornament is sug- gestive and significant, and I am far from denying the propri- ety of using any kind of ornament,, which invariably awakens pleasing and healthful emotions in the mind of the spectator. But glittering appendages and bright colors are too stimulat- ing to be healthful, because they deaden one's susceptibility to the sober charms of nature, and they are unavoidably asso- ciated with pride and ostentation. But all commendable ornament has so much sobriety about it, that it is commonly overlooked ; its pleasing effects are felt, but their cause is not apparent ; and hence they are supposed to be attributable to nothing at all — as if something could come out of nothing ! Plain houses are often delightful objects in the landscape, when they have a great deal of this suggestive beauty. But this sober ornament is overlooked by the masses, who are more attracted by something that glitters upon the sight and stimulates the visual nerves. Ask an uneducated clowji, who is not only without literary education, but who has not, like many uneducated Europeans, acquired a painter's eye by familiarity with the higher works JUNE. 265 of art ; ask one of these unlettered American clowns his ideas of architectural ornament, and, while thinking of an answer, his mind would become filled with confused images of green blinds, white paint, rose windows, and colored glass, until he was lost amid cupolas, pinnacles, and a vast wilderness of colonnades. His ideas are like those of a child, who is de- lighted with painted baubles, except that the grown man's ideas and baubles are somewhat magnified. But the clown is not very far removed from the great body of artists in all parts of the world. His ideas are those of the child magnified. The ideas of the mass of artists are those of the clown reduced to system. But while conversing with the masses, we should occasion- ally meet with an individual, who, though perhaps illiterate, is endowed both with feeling and good sense. He has some rude conceptions of the beauty of fitness and propriety, and of moral and picturesque expression ; but no taste for the mere vanities of art. Yet he is full of genius and sentiment. While he despises all glittering and unmeaning ornamenta- tion, he appreciates the cliarm of neatness, and the signs of comfort and thrift. He admires the old trees that stand in artless majesty about his grounds, and would not sell one of his old standard oaks to the timberer any sooner than he would take an ignominious bribe. He would never mar the face of nature for the sake of attiring her in an artificial dress. Yet he is foremost in adopting all those improvements that relate to comfort and convenience. This sensible working-man is like an artist of feeling and genius, who values ornamental art only as it serves to heighten our love of whatever is useful, virtuous and honorable, and as it contributes to fill up our sources of lasting happiness. Tlie great mass of artists delight in art for the display of art ; they love glitter like the clowns, and differ from them only in their skill. It is our artists, indeed, who frequently corrupt the taste of the people, by inspiring them with an ambition which they do not know how to direct. The most interesting houses and grounds in this country are those which have not been improved and beautified by a "man of taste" on the one hand, and those which have not been stripped of their wood and slu'ubbery by a senseless barbarian, on the other. VOL. XXIV. — NO. VI. 25 266 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTURE, HISTORY OF FRUIT TREES AND FRUITS.— No. IV. BY LEANDER WETHERELL. THE APPLE TREE. SUCCESSFUL PLANTING. It is proposed, as being immediately connected with the subject presented in the Magazine of April, to give now some remarkably successful results of recent orchard planting. Mr. N. B. Chamberlain, Philosophical Instrument maker of this city, has a farm at Westborough, where he has, within a few years, set two thousand apple trees, located in three differ- ent lots. Two hundred of these were set in the spring of 1853, on the eastern slope of a hill — soil wet, subsoil clay, free from stone. In digging a well thirty-seven feet deep, the depth of the clay was not fathomed. The trees are sheltered from cold westerly winds. Before setting the trees, the ground, though new, was cul- tivated and manured well for two years. It was deeply ploughed. The holes for the trees were dug large and deep. They were planted and covered with the mellow tilth of the field. In 1854, a crop of corn was raised among the trees, and a crop of oats the following year, succeeded by clover. The second year the trees were mulched with grass cut green, and kept in large heaps until it heated and settled down. A quantity of this was put around each tree, this having been accidentally neglected the first year. Great care was taken in selecting the trees, none being ac- cepted but those of the best quality. Every tree grew. They are all of the Baldwin variety, and were set twenty-five feet apart. The trees were of good size, and a dozen of them fruited the first season after setting. A few bore the second and third years. On the fourth, every one of the two hun- dred trees produced fruit, some of the best having a peck apiece, others less. Every tree proved to be a Baldwin. This lot of trees, having been properly trained in the nurs- ery, had no more than four, nor less than three branches ; none of these nearer the ground than five and a half feet. The trees were straight, and so are the rows, " lengthwise, crosswise and diagonally," adding, as some think, greatly to JUNE. 267 the beauty of this fine young orchard. Not a " primary limb" has been cut from one of these trees, clearly illustrat- ing that, if trained well when young, they will not depart from it as they grow older. Another orchard, where the trees were less carefully selected, has cost the proprietor many dollars to remove redundant " primary limbs," causing injury to the trees, all through the neglect of the nurseryman, thus proving, on the same farm, the importance of procuring trees that arc right in every particular, for transplanting. William Buckminster, Senior, Editor of the Massachusetts Ploughman, planted an orchard of three hundred trees in the spring of 1852, covering about three acres of land. They were set about twenty-five feet apart, and the ground tilled before and while the trees were growing. They were mulched with straw and hay ; this keeps the soil light and moist about the roots, by preventing too rapid evaporation. Unless the mulching was buried on the approach of winter, it wae re- moved to keep away the mice ; banking is deemed preferable, as the decomposition of the mulching tends to fertilize and thus promote the growth of the trees. Mr. Buckminster states that a number of his trees fruited the third year after setting. This orchard having been visited several times by the writer, he can bear testimony, from observation, to its elegant and very promising appearance. The orchard of Moses Stebbins, of South Deerfield, set at intervals since 1845, containing now more than two hundred trees, is one of the finest exhibitions of what may be done in orchard culture in the State. It is located just above the alluvial of the Connecticut River, on the easterly sloping base of Sugar Loaf Mountain. The soil of this old pasture is of the new red sandstone formation. The working of it has turned out an immense quantity of small stones, which have been used for making a wall on the upper side, next to the pasture. The protection from northerly and westerly winds is all that could be desired. Before setting the trees, Mr. Stebbins cultivated and fertil- ized the ground well, ploughing very deep, top-dressing liber- ally with a compost of salt and slacked lime. On two acres he spread on, and ploughed in, six thousand pounds of lime 268 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. and sixteen bnshels of salt. One hundred and twenty trees were set on these two acres, and the ground has. been tilled and cropped annually. In 1855 he raised fifty bushels of corn to the acre, using no other manure than five hundred pounds of guano sown broadcast and ploughed in. The trees receive a top-dressing of compost every spring, and nothing is permitted to grow under them. It is thought by many, and claimed by the proprietor, that tlie remarkable success attend- ing the planting of this orchard is to be attributed, chiefly, to the liberal use of lime and salt. Having often visited this young orchard with its enterprising owner — who, by the way, is a model farmer, having one of the best and most highly improved farms in Western Massachusetts — and once as Chairman of the Committee on Fruit Trees of the Hampshire Agricultural Society, the writer does not hesitate to say that he considers this experiment as one of the best demonstrations of wbat may be done in apple culture that can be found in the State. The experiments of Mr. Chamberlain and Mr Buck- minster are very similar in kind. It will furnisli any lover of progress and improvement the highest satisfaction to visit any or all of these gentlemen and look at their pet orchards, of which they are justly proud. But, says an objector, these remarkably successful cases should not be held up for the ordinary encouragement of farmers, for they are all most extraordinary results. Admitted. What really valuable improvement is not ? Tlien the query naturally suggests itself, what farmer or gardener in Massa- chusetts is willing to say that I cannot do what Mr. Chamber- lain, Mr. Buckminster and Mr. Stebbins have so admirably done ? Not one who is possessed of a spark of the spirit of improvement. Then why not go about it immediately, and do likewise ? The modus operandi is before you. It is far easier to imitate a successful experiment than to make one of discovery, and confirm its practicability. There is an imme- diate and pressing demand for the increased produce of ap- ples. During the past twenty-five years the quality of apples has been greatly improved, though the quantity has apparently greatly diminished, while the demand has gradually and constantly increased, until the price demanded has been so .JUNE. 269 much enhanced as to place them among luxuries, too costly to be used by families supported by small annual incomes. It is hoped this subject of apple-tree culture will receive more attention from horticulturists and farmers. The old orchards are ceasing to produce, — the ground wliere they are having long since been exhausted of those qualities essential to the growth and maturity of good fruit. Farmers and fruit growers should immediately set about the work of locating and suitably tilling and preparing the ground for setting trees. After having chosen a site, then proceed to the work of preparation. Hitherto, little attention has been paid to this subject ; too often have trees been plant- ed in ground without the least preparation, — the holes being dug similar to post-holes, as the writer has observed in old pasture or meadow lands, to receive the roots of the young trees, with no other preparation or care, and, ere long, the proprietors wonder why their trees do not grow and produce. The wonder should be, rather, and is, that trees should ever become productive under such treatment. The first step to be taken in the work of preparation, is, deep and thorough drainage, deep tillage, and liberal and suitable application of fertilizers ; and, notwithstanding the apple thrives well in adhesive loam, it is essential that the subsoil should be dry. Hence, in the words of another, " a loam of this character, tliree feet in depth, on a dry and per- vious bed of gravel, would be perfection in itself, as regards the apple." Such, however, can seldom be obtained. Deep tillage before the trees are set, or what is better, though more costly, trenching ; but after, shallow ploughing, not exceeding three inches, thus avoiding the stirring of sur- face roots any deeper, limiting to such crops as shade little, such as potatoes, turnips, or onions. Thus, by tillage, will trees do better than if the ground be seeded to grass, at least during their period of growth. An English writer, in treating of this subject, says, " a sound and somewhat greasy loam is most eligible for the ap- ple. It matters little what the shade or color be ; we would, however, prefer it of a bright yellowish brown, or of a hazel color, and, by all means, of a uniform character. It is a well 270 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. known fact, according to the Hereford cultivators, that the same sorts, from a hghter soil, produce inferior cider to those on stiff soils. Pears, on the contrary, for perry purposes, do well on the lighter soils, and the perry is found to be of supe- rior quality. Hence the finest cider and the finest perry are seldom found in the same localities" — facts that manufactur- ers and dealers in these delicious and healthful beverages, as well as the consumers, will do well to remember. The same writer, speaking of the distances and mode of planting trees, observes, that practices vary very much. We consider thirty-five feet at least near enough, though often planted within sixteen or twenty feet of each other. Thus planted, the branches soon become interwoven, and the fruit produced under such disadvantages will be of inferior quality. In some parts of Herefordshire they are planted sixty feet apart. All who observe the mode of planting here — not ex- cepting the fine young orchards which have been cited — will admit that trees are planted too near each other. This fault should be corrected. The mode of setting recommended by some is what is termed the quincunx, thus giving the orchard the appearance of a grove or wood, being far preferable to the right angle arrangement commonly practised. It is also deemed preferable that the holes for receiving the roots of the trees should be opened in the fall, especially where the soil has not been well prepared by tillage, that the soil to be used for covering the roots may be mellowed by the action of the frost, sun and air during the winter. In the spring, when planting such, a little compost should be mixed with the soil, in order to give the trees a good start. It is well to apply a little mulch to protect the roots from drought. If the ground be in good order, fall planting is deemed by many as preferable ; but otherwise, spring is thought better. Use no stakes to support trees when planted, neither suffer any animals to feed or be fed in a young orchard. History, observation and experience confirm the maxim that nothing valuable can be obtained without labor. For the want of it, there is great lack of good apples. Facts prove that well-selected grounds, suitably prepared, fertilized, plant- JUNE. 271 ed with good trees, and properly cultivated, will yield an abundance of good fruit. What is needed now is such a mul- tiplication of like facts as shall furnish the market with an ample supply of fruits for edible and cooking purposes, so that the poor as well as the rich can purchase and use them in their families. It is hoped that every possessor of lands, ample and suitable for the purpose, will engage at once in the work of preparation, that soon he may plant an orchard, whose fruit shall regale his taste, and the beverage of the bal- ance thereof shall cheer and make glad the hearts of his household ; for he that soweth shall reap in due time if he fainteth not. EFFECTS OF FROST ON VEGETATION. BY H. W. SARGENT, WODENETHE, FISHKILL LANDING, N. T. In reply to Mr, Meehan's inquiries respecting the effects of frost on vegetation, and his theory that evergreens stand a much lower temperature in England than in this country, because the air is there saturated with moisture, I am quite satisfied that your idea is the correct one, viz., the absence of the hot sun, though I am not sure that I even entirely coin- cide with your theory, that the injury is produced by the rapid ■thawing out which you think takes place in our climate. On the contrary, I think the damage is done by the cold after the sun, and not, as you suggest, by the sun after the cold. My own idea has always been, that our tender evergreens and half-hardy plants suffer somewhat after the same manner as our pears, apricots and plums, i. e,, from a sort of "frozen sap blast" — the sudden freezing of the sap when the vessels have been distended by a warm February or March sun. A tree, subjected to a temperature of four or five degrees below zero all night, suddenly, by a change of wind, finds it- self in a temperature of forty -five or even fifty-five, from noon to four, p. m. This great change probably produces elabora- tion and activity in the sap, and some swelling of the vessels. After this hour the wind again changes, and the temperature again becomes very low ; the distended vessels are ruptured, 272 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. and the circulation of the sap being suddenly arrested becomes vitiated, producing in our fruit trees the disease known as " frozen sap blast," and in our evergreens the wrinkled, en- feebled, withered appearance of those portions generally, before this injury, the most luxuriant and consequently most sensitive to these changes. I am quite sure the cold is not our greatest enemy. If we could have cloudy weather from the moment the days began to lengthen and the sun's power to increase, we could sustain, or rather our half hardy plants could, a much lower and a continuously lower temperature. Our cold is often most intense about Christmas or New Year, and yet very few plants suffer or show injury until the last of February or March, because the Christmas and New Year's sun is thin and watery in its effects, exciting little or no action on plants, as compared to the powerful rays of February or March. It seems to me that partial protection — the shadow of the house or of a wood — does for us what the moisture of an English winter does for them, viz., it draws a veil between the plant and the sun, which, by breaking off its rays, prevents this alternate thawing and freezing process, which must be most destructive to all vegetable life exposed to it. We all know that like the traveller in the Satyr's cave, who blew both hot and cold, we can keep heat or frost in the ground by means of litter or manure, by covering it to keep it out, and by covering it to keep it in. We have only got to raise this covering a little higher, and accomplish about the tree what has been done about the root. I am not prepared to say but what if we had more moisture in the winter our evergreens might do better. This, however, would be impossible, since, with a winter temperature of fif- teen to twenty-five average, all moisture would freeze. The next best to this, is to do what moisture partially does, veil the sun's rays by a screen of evergreens, or high fence. Mr. Meehan must recollect another thing, that the moisture of England differs from ours in this most important manner, — it comes with them in July and August, which is their usual planting season for evergreens ; and the perpetually growing evergreens, like the Deodars, Cryptomerias, and many others, JUNE. 273 if inclined to make a summer growth, do so there, and ripen off in their cool, chilly and rainy autumn, so that they go into winter quarters better prepared than the same trees in this country, which, arrested in their work by our intensely dry and hot summers, immediately begin to push in the warm, murky, rainy dog-days of September, and are not found sleeping even early in October. If, therefore, we planted our evergreens in moist places, the autumn growth would be so great that the wood would hardly ever ripen, and the action of the cold and sun upon the immature wood would always be disastrous. My own experience has proved beyond any doubt to me, that the poorer and dryer the soil, the safer the tree, and, with the addition of shade in winter, one can do almost anything. You do not get the superb, luxuriant growth the tree would have if it had fair play, but you get what is next best, you preserve the specimen, which you could not if it did have fair play. With regard to the two examples Mr. Meehan gives of the maples, I would say briefly, that no period in the year I think could be worse for planting than "a very cold November day," when the roots, being in the most profound repose, were not stimulated to grow or make any action by subsequent mild weather ; probably the entire roots went into the ground frozen, and continued in that state, kept so by the superin- cumbent earth thrown upon them in planting to help keep them in their place, and in this adverse condition were not able to start in the spring, as they would have done, had the day " not been very cold," or had they been planted very early in the autumn, and the frost kept out by mulching, and not put in and kept in by being packed in frozen soil, as they probably were. The second -maples were planted the last of February, when tlie interval between action in the roots and spring was short. These roots were kept moist by rainy sleet, and from the frost by the succeeding snow, and finally planted iii a thaw and set and washed in by rain. The near approach of spring soon induced a movement in the roots, presuming there remained vitality enough to second the efforts of nature, and the results followed which Mr. Meehan gives us. This conclusion I come 274 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. to from the bare facts, as stated in your last number. If I knew all the facts I might find my theory quite upset. We are gratified at the able manner in which Mr. Sargent has answered Mr. Meehan's queries in regard to the action of frost upon vegetation, and are also pleased to find that we are sustained by such good evidence in our views already ex- pressed. Mr. Sargent does indeed say that he thinks " it is the cold after the sun that does the injury, and not the sun after the cold, as we suggest." Still we believe we do not materially differ. As we said in our note to Mr. Meehan's last article, (p. 240), " a plant may just as well be frozen one year or one himdred years without additional injury." One freezing certainly, we do not think Mr. Sargent will contend, will hurt a Deodar cedar — but it is the thawing out and freez- ing again. Now it may be difficult to say which has the injurious effect, the thawing or the freezing, — but we still are of the opinion, and if we understand Mr. Sargent he is also, that if we have continuous cold weather, such as he says we have in December, no harm is done — all the damage occurs after the hotter sun of February and March. It is the " thaw- ing and freezing process which must be most destructive to all vegetable life exposed to it." It is enough, however, to know that no damage ensues from cold ; the danger is from the sun alone. The effort of all cultivators, therefore, who would possess the less hardy Conifers, is to shade and keep them cool. Mr. Sargent's article throughout deserves the careful attention of every lover of beautiful trees, and we trust it is not the last time we shall hear from him on this important subject. POMOLOGICAL GOSSIP Curious opinions of various Grapes. — Mr. Samuel Miller of Calmdale, Pa., a very successful cultivator of the grape, and a good judge of their quality, suggests that " the only way to reconcile conflicting opinions regarding the Concord JUNE. 275 grape is to suppose that there are two kinds called by that name." The Journal which gives this information, inquires, " Is it possible !" and remarks, " that those having any infor- mation on the subject will do a public favor by communicat- ing the same !" The public may truly say, " the smallest favors gratefully received." Dr. Grant states " that the Rebecca is not inferior to the Chasselas, in any respect, and the Delaware would equal the Frontignan in all respects except size." We should say the Rebecca quite equals the Frontignan, and the Delaware a perfect counterpart of the Red or White Chasselas, as it has not the least flavor, while the Rebecca has an aroma peculiar- ly its own — a combination of the musk and strawberry — not excelled by any grape. Mr. Chorlton calls the Rebecca and Diana " greenish amber" colored grapes, and the Delaware chocolate colored. Is this so ? Our Dianas are reddish or rose colored, only a shade or so lighter than the Delaware, which is far from being a chocolate colored grape, which we think a dingy tint, detracting much from the value of a variety. The beautiful pinkish red of the Delaware is one of its many excellent qualities. Hardiness op the Rebecca Grape. — Some journal states that in Philadelphia " the Rebeccas were utterly destroyed, root and branch, the past winter." With us it has proved hardier than the Delaware. Both are undoubtedly hardy grapes, and when they acquire strength will stand the winters unhurt. Nobody expects a little weak shoot, from a year old vine, will stand through even our mildest winters, unhurt. Seedlings of our hardiest trees are often killed to the ground while only a year or two old. If many of the Rebeccas that have been planted this year do not get killed by the next winter, outright, it will be a much hardier grape than we have supposed. If little green plants, not larger than a knit- ting needle, forced into growth from a green cutting, in two or three months, and then turned out into the garden, are expected to malje roots and top enough to stand a good white frost, it will certainly be more than we or any sensible man can expect. The hardiness of the Rebecca is not to be judged 276 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE, from such vines as these, but from vigorous healthy plants, with well ripened wood. New Pears. — From the crowded state of our pages we have not been able to find room to notice all the new fruits of recent introduction, among which are some new pears : we briefly describe them : — Huyshe's Bergamot Pear. — A new English variety, pro- duced by tlie Rev. John Huyshe, a clergyman residing at Clysthydon Rectory, near Collimpton, about twenty-five years ago. Mr. Huyshe raised three plants of pears, from pips of the Marie Louise, hybridized with Gansel's Bergamot. Of these three plants one produced fruit four or five years ago, which he named the Victoria pear, sending to London, at the time, specimens of the fruit, and also some grafts, at the request of Dr. Lindley, for the London Horticultural Society's garden. It was then regarded as a first-rate fruit, and it has since been extensively cultivated in Devonshire and else- where. Last year another of these three pear trees produced two fruits, and this year a larger supply, which has enabled Mr. Huyshe to supply specimens to Dr. Lindley for exam- ination. The seedling is worthy of its parents, which is saying all that can be said, and we are glad to find that the name of the skilful horticulturist to whom we owe the delicacy is to be associated with it. The size of Huyshe's Bergamot is large, and the form obovate, tapering suddenly to the stem. It is a very handsome, solid fruit, with a clear cinnamon-brown skin, rather darker on one side than the other. Its flesh is like that of the Brown Beurre, when in perfection, or Gansel's Bergamot, as rich and melting as in either of these famous varieties. It ripens in November. In ordinary years it may be expected to keep till Christmas. Victoria -Pear. — Though very good it is inferior to the Huyshe's Bergamot, It is smaller, but of similar form, though not so blunt at the stem. It has the same rich cinnamon skin, but not so dark, and here and there a light green peeps through the russet. Its flesh is perfectly melting to the core. It is a most abundant bearer, it having been found necessary to prop up the original tree in order to pre- JUNE. 277 vent the brandies breaking under -the weight of the crop. Its habit is thriving and robust. Ripe from December to February. The Trentham Black Grape. — A new variety, cultivated by Mr. Fleming at Trentham. Where it originated is not stated. It is a black grape, of most excellent quality, thin skinned, not a Muscat, earlier than the Black Hambnrgh, and has the valuable property of hanging late without shrivelling. In appearance it somewhat resembles the Black Prince, but its flavor is much more delicate, and the berries are larger. The British Pomological Society, at its meeting in September last, awarded it a premium of two guineas, as the best grape, not a seedling, raised in England, and not in general com- merce. The meeting decided that the Trentham Black was a grape of first-rate excellence. As a pot vine the Trentham cannot be excelled. Plants, in 12-inch pots, last year, pro- duced 12 or 13 bunches, while others, in 8-inch pots, bore from 6 to 8 bunches, each. The latter ripened their wood out of doors, having been put out in the previous June. Good plants will be offered for sale the coming autumn. New Muscat Hamburgh Grape. — This is another new va- riety, to be offered for sale next autumn. It is stated to be a very superior variety : — The following account of it we copy from Turner's Florist: — This fine grape is a seedling, raised at Westpark, Bedford- shire, by Mr. Seward Snow, whose great experience and skill in the cultivation of fruits are well known to our readers. Mr. Snow informs us that this grape originated by fertilizing flowers of the Black Hamburgh with those of the Muscat of Alexandria. It was named the Muscat Hamburgh by the British Pomological Society, which name very correctly de- scribes its character, for it v^ill at once be obvious that there is a great resemblance to the Hamburgh in form of bunch and berry, as we understand there is also in its habit, of growth and earliness, and that its other parent (the Muscat) has imparted that peculiar musky aroma, found only in that variety, and which liitherto has been confined to the white grape alone. We can justly congratulate Mr. Snow in hav- ing been so fortunate as to originate so noble a grape, and 278 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. one likely to prove so valuable. Messrs. Henderson & Co., who have the stock for sale, thus describe it : — It has the hardiness of its parent, the Black Hamburgh, with the flavor of the Muscat. It ripens, and that to the highest perfection, in an ordinary peach house ; it is very short jointed, and a most abundant bearer. The bunches are large and handsome, with fine shoulders ; the shape of the berry varies even in the same bunch, sometimes round and some- times oval. Tlie flesh is melting and remarkably rich in flavor, fully charged with the aroma of the Muscat, and with an unusually high perfume. DESCRIPTIONS OF SELECT VARIETIES OF PEARS. BY THE EDITOR. We continue our descriptions of select varieties of pears ; some of them we have fruited for several years, and have been doubtful in regard to their introduction into our list ; but additional experience has confirmed their many good qualities, while some of our pomologists pronounce others valuable additions to our collections. The disastrous winter of 1856 and 1857 has been followed by one of more than usual mildness, and trees of all kinds present a vigorous and healthy appearance, and are loaded with flowers. If not checked by late frosts, the pear crop will be larger than usual, and an opportunity afforded us to test many of the newer and superior varieties. We shall look with interest to the ripening of the present year's crop. 203. Dr. Trosseau. Album de Pomolog-ie, Vol. III. The Dr. Trosseau (fig. 11) is one of Bivort's seedlings, which first fruited in 1848, and is well described by him in his Album. The tree, he remarks, " has a majestic appear- ance, everything denoting vigor. The amplitude and thick- ness of its sombre green foliage gives the tree a severe aspect." It is in fact a very ornamental tree, of the same character as the Beurre Diel, but even more conspicuous from the contrast between the foliage and its very dark colored shoots. JUNE. 279 Our trees have a» yet borne but a few specimens, but these were large and handsome, and of excellent quality, belonging to the subacid pears, but with a melting flesh, and a brisk and refreshing juice. It appears to bear rather young, and, though time enough has not elapsed.to judge of its productive- 11. THE DR. TKOSSEAn PEAR. ness with any certainty, it promises well. The wood is up- right and erect, stout, and dark colored, with large, thick, somewhat pendent, dark green foliage. Size, large, about three inches in diameter, and three and a half long : Form, obtuse pyramidal, large around the crown, contracted near the stem : Skin, slightly rough, green, be- coming dull yellow when mature, partially covered with dark russet, brownish red on the sunny side, and thickly dotted with russet specks : Stem, medium length, about three quar- ters of an inch long, rather stout, and attached by a slightly 280 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. fleshy base : Eye, medium size, open, and scarcely depressed in a broad, very shallow basin ; segments of the calyx con- tracted, stout: Flesh, white, fine, buttery and melting: Flavor, rich, vinous, saccharine, and perfumed : Core, me- dium size : Seeds — ? Ripe in November and December. 204. Marechal de Cour. Album de Pomologie, Vol. IV. Conseiller de la Cour. Duchesse Helene d'Orleans. Among a lot of scions of seedling pears, sent by Van Mons to his friend Bivort in 1842, was the variety to which was THE MARECHAL DE COUR PEAR. attached a label as follows : " Marechal de Cour gain de 1841, La meilleur existante," (the best in existence.) Bivort, who describes it in his Album, states that it is not certainly the best pear which exists, though excellent, and meriting a dis- tinguished place among our best fruits. JUNE. 281 The Marechal de Coiir (fig. 12) was undoubtedly con- sidered by Van Mons one . of his best pears, for he gave away scions under two or three different names, and Bivort even describes and figures it as the Duchesse Helens d'Orleans. Many similar errors have been made by both of these pomolo- gists, unintentionally no doubt, but still errors which have led to much confusion in the introduction of new pears. The Marechal de Cour is a rather vigorous growing tree, with grayish bark, and forms a handsome pyramid. We have not had an opportunity to try it upon the quince. Size, large, about three inches in diameter, and four inches in length : Form, pyramidal, large towards the crown, sud- denly contracted near the skin : Skin, fair, dull green, becoming yellowish when mature, thickly traced and con- spicuously dotted with pale russet, having a brownish tinge on the sunny side : Stem, rather short, about half an inch long, not very stout, curved, and obliquely inserted in a very small contracted cavity, surrounded with uneven projections : Epe, small, open, and deeply sunk in a small, round, smooth basin ; segments of the calyx very short : Flesh, little coarse, melt- ing and buttery : Flavor, vinous, sugary, perfumed and excellent, resembling a Brown Beurre : Core, medium size : Seeds, medium size, long and sharply pointed. Ripe in Octo- ber and November. 205. Broom Park. Catalogue of London Hort. Soc. The Broom Park (fig. 13) we have fruited for several years, and have thought it one of Mr. Knight's best pears, better than we have ever found the Monarch, which Mr. Thompson and Mr. Rivers still recommend as one of the very best pears in cultivation ; and the high character given it by Mr. Earle, in his late excellent article on pears, accords so well with our own estimation of the variety that we give a description and figure, that it may become, as it deserves, better known. The tree is slow in coming into bearing, but it is very hardy, bears well, and the fruit keeps nearly or quite as well as the Winter Nelis. Its fine musky aroma will make it a favorite with all who love that peculiar flavor in pears. Mr. Knight describes it as having the flavor of tlie pine apple VOL. XXIV. — NO. VI. . 26 282 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. and melon combined ; certainly a very good idea of its ex- cellence. It has not the showy appearance of some pears, neither is it only of medium size, but those who prize quality more than those characteristics will find it a desirable addition to any collection. Size, medium, about two and three quarter inches in diam- eter and two and a half inches deep: Form, roundish, slightly irregular, with a somewhat ribbed surface, much swollen on one side, and little flattened at the base : Skin, fair, greenish 13. THE BROOM PARK PEAR. yellow, considerably shaded with dull red on the sunny side, and very thickly overspread with russet, and dotted with green and russet specks : Stem, long, about one and a half inches in length, moderately stout, straight, and inserted in JUNE. 283 a small, contracted, somewhat ribbed cavity: Eye^ large, open, and moderately depressed in a round, open basin ; segments of the calyx thick, stout, diverging, entire : Fleshy coarse, yellowish, half melting and very juicy : Flavor, sweet, with a melon-like flavor, and excellent : Core, large : Seeds, medium size, broad, flattened, brown. Ripe in January and February. 206. Summer St. Germain. Cat. London Hort. Soc. Short's St, Germain, St. Germain de Mart St. Germain d'Ete. J^. Duh. St. Germain de Martin, S ^""- '° ^^^- ^°"- "^^' ^°"' For several years we fruited a very excellent pear, without knowing its name. It was among a number of trees which we purchased when in London, in the autumn of 1844. Its handsome appearance, uniform size, and its productiveness, as well as the, very remarkable juiciness of the fruit, and its freedom from worms, induced us to extend its cultivation, and discover, if possible, its name. After a careful perusal of all the pomological works we could procure, and a comparison of the specimens with the descriptions, we came to the conclu- sion it was the Summer St. Germain, and so named it. We had in our collection this variety received from Mr. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth, but, as it had not borne, we knew nothing of the fruit ; the wood and leaves appeared similar. Two years ago the latter came into bearing, and proved to be the same pear. Compared with the Boston, Tyson, and Rostiezer, it falls short of the requirements of a superior pear ; but, judged by the popular standard of a market pear, as we judge the Bart- lett and some others, it is a valuable variety. It has much of the appearance of the Summer Franc Real, but it is rather larger and handsomer, and does not rot at the core. It is a prodigious bearer, and ripening, as it does, two weeks before the Bartlett, comes in at a season when there is a great need of more pears. We have gathered it in large quantities from several fine trees, and have scarcely found one poor specimen in a hundred. It is a very profitable market pear. The tree makes very stout wood, and forms an open head. 284 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Size, medium, about two and a half inches long, and two in diameter : Form, obovate, rounded off at the crown, con- tracted and obtuse at the stem : Skin, fair, smooth, light yellowish green, very slightly tinged with blush on the sunny side, and regularly dotted with dark green specks : Stem, medium length, about one inch long, moderately stout, knobby, and somewhat swollen at the base, curved, and ob- liquely inserted without any cavity, surrounded with uneven projections : Eye, medium size, open, and but slightly de- pressed in a much ribbed and small basin ; segments of the W-^ THE SUMMER ST. GERMAIN PEAR. calyx stiff, projecting: Flesh, yellowish white, coarse, half melting and very juicy : Flavor, vinous, sprightly, little per- fumed and excellent: Core, large, slightly gritty: Seeds, large, long and pointed, very dark. Ripe the middle of August. 285 REVIEWS. Hedges and Evergeeens. A Complete Manual for the Prun- ing and Management of all Plants suitable for American Hedging ; especially the Madura or Osage Orange, &c. To which is added a Treatise on Evergreens, &c. By John A. Warder, M. D. pp. 291. New York. 1858. We had just finished our article on " Hedges and Hedge Plants," in our April number, when Dr. Warder's book came to hand ; otherwise we should have endeavored to make room for a notice of it before. To say that it is a most excellent work would be no more than should have been expected from so able a writer and ex- perienced cultivator as Dr. Warder is known to be : it is more than this. It covers, in the most thorough manner, the whole subject of hedging, — only partially treated upon in other gar- dening works, — but one of great importance to the agricultu- ral interest, and of particular consideration to amateur and suburban cultivators, who wish to introduce ornamental divis- ions into their grounds, in the place of the unsightly wooden paling. " Fences," says Dr. Warder in the Preface, " of some kind being one of the recognized institutions of our country, and the majority of our best farms being destitute of rock for walls, and being rapidly divested of timber for wooden fences, foreign materials, whether of boards or iron, present themselves as candidates for public favor, — ^and I here beg to offer that agreeable alternative, — the useful, the economical, the prac- tical, and, at the same time, the ornamental Live fence or Hedge." Now the only fault we have to find with the Doctor's book, is the unqualified recommendation of the Osage Orange as a hedge plant. We have already given our objections to it, and much recent discussion in the Western papers shows that it is not fitted for a hedge in northern Illinois and Northward, or in Pennsylvania and Eastward. South of Washington it will do. The occasional hard winters kill out the plants. A wri- 286 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. ter ill a Western paper says, that of the millions of Osage Orange planted the last few years, " it is doubtful whether there is in any one State in the Union, five hundred miles, of hedge deserving the name." However, there is enough on the planting, pruning, and management of hedges, which apply to all plants, to render the treatise instructive to every planter, and we commend it to especial notice. The part devoted to evergreens is timely and valuable, and we trust will aid in making these too much neglected, but highly ornamental trees, so popular, that no grounds, however small, can be considered complete without them. Some very pretty illustrations of the more rare Coniferae embellish the volume. How Plants Grow ; a Simple Introduction to Structural Bot- any, with a Popular Flora, and illustrated by 500 Engrav- ings. By Asa Gray, M. D. pp. 230. New York. 1858. Dr. Gray is doing invaluable service in the cause of botan- ical science by popularizing a study so long thought beyond the reach of only the scientific inquirer. This is a book intended to teach young people how to begin to read with pleasure and advantage " one large and easy chapter in the open Book of Nature." It is emphatically, as the author calls it, " Botany for Young People." The first part of the work is systematically arranged in a progressive manner, as follows : — First. How plants grow, and what their parts or organs are. Second. How plants are propagated or multiplied. Third. Why plants grow. What they are made for ; and Fourth. How plants are classified, named and studied. The second part consists of a popular Flora, for beginners only, a classification and description (according to the nat- ural system) of the common plants of the country, both wild and cultivated. It is needless to say that these arrangements are treated in JUNE. 287 a plain and familiar manner, so simple that the young child may understand. Numerous w6ll executed wood-cuts illus- trate the text, and explain what is often not understood by technical descriptions. Its introduction into our high schools would soon create among the young such an interest in all the most common plants, that every way-side walk, every stroll through field and forest, or even upon the sea-shore, would open new pleasures and invest every scene with new delight, by making what now appear mere weeds and bushes familiar objects, each with its distinctive name — like so maily companions, accompanying them at all times and wherever they may go. A copious glossary of botanical terms and full index accom- pany the volume. We most heartily commend it to the attention of " children of a larger growth," as well as the young. The Farmeb's and Merchant's Practical Architect, and Guide in Eural Economy. By J. H. Hammond, Architect, pp. 224. Boston. 1858. We already have a dozen treatises on architecture of the higher class, suburban villas and cottages for gentlemen of wealth, or of moderate means. Another work of this kind would be quite superfluous. But of the more humble class of houses — houses for the plain farmer — houses free from the " drapery " of shingle architecture, there is still a want. This want it is the object of Mr. Hammond's book to supply. It contains twenty-four designs for houses of various cost, all in a simple, plain, and neat style, adapted to the condition of a large class of our population, among whom one of the " pic- ture " houses some books represent, would be as much out of place as a rustic cottage in State Street. Twenty-two essays accompany the designs, mostly by our correspondent, Mr. Flagg, which give additional value to the work. We trust it will be the means of introducing a better style of building among our farmers and town residents. 288 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. Putting out Bedding Plants. — Commence with the hardiest and strongest plants, and let the work be done, if possible, in still weather. The varieties of flowers which are to occupy the various beds, and the admixtures of foliage and of colors, are matters which ought to be decided upon beforehand, and if a plan of the resolutions adopted is marked down on paper it will save much trouble and some disappointments. The har- mony of colors, the relative growth of the plants, and many other things on which good grouping depends, cannot be settled with the pot and trowel in hand, and the want of forethought in this department will entail more or less of failure and vexation. A map, constructed with regard to taste and general effect, will therefore much help the gardener. Turn out the plants with as little disturbance of the roots as possible. Sometimes, however, older kinds will be found root-bound, and in that case the compact mass should be broken a little so as to disengage the entan- gled roots and give them a new direction. The neglect of this simple rule often prevents a plant flourishing, for the close and matted ball of roots will throw off any wet which comes upon it, and the consequence will be that the plant will not grow. Press each plant firmly into the soil and give it a good watering. This leads us to observe that both the beds and the pots should be in a rather dry state when this work is attended to, as nothing is worse than working in mud, or clay, or anything approaching to them. When the soil is a little moist without sticking to the fingers, it is in a state fit for any gardening operations. Water applied then will run through, and benefit the roots of the plants without saturating the material in which they grow. Watering afterwards must be performed with dis- cretion. Inexperienced gardeners almost always err in watering to excess ; but unless the plants flag it is best to let them alone. The roots will ex- tend themselves far more rapidly in a dryish warm substance than in one made crude and cold by over watering. A good rain will be of great benefit, and so long as the plants do not suffer from drought it will be best to wait for the friendly irrigation of the clouds. Training must be kept in mind as the work of bedding-out proceeds. For instance. Verbenas should be pegged down at once, so that they may receive the desired direction from earliest infancy, so to speak, since with plants as with things possessed of a higher life, education should begin young. The last operation of stopping the shoots may also now be attend- ed to, and no desire to save a flower at the present moment should interfere with the future great advantages of a robust and compact growth. Pinch out, therefore, the heart of any leading shoot which seems to be going too much ahead of the rest, and the result will be the formation of more side branches. Scarlet Geraniums, Verbenas, Calceolarias, and indeed most things, are the better for this process. Where bulbs are much cultivated they will now be somewhat in the way of the plants which are to take their places. Unless the foliage is nearly withered it will injure the bulbs to cut it off, and therefore if they must JUNE. 289 remain where they are the bedding plants can be inserted among the leaves of the Crocuses Hyacinths, and Tulips. A little patience must be ex- ercised with the untidy appearance this will give to the beds, and the contrast will be most pleasing when some week in June all this redundant matter can be cleared away, and the new plants allowed full and sole occupation. But our plan is generally to devote a bed in some cool situation for transplanting the bulbs which we tind to be thus in our way. We take them up with balls of earth and put them in trenches in the new place prepared for them, where they gradually perfect themselves, and are then taken up and put away in a dry shed. We cannot but sympathise with our numerous readers, who, after months of care and watchfulness, are about to consign their plants to the open beds and borders. We hope the season will be propitious for the beauty of the summer and autumn garden, and that nothing untoward or unforeseen will tend to mar the innocent pleasures which may reasonably be expect- ed.—(Garrf. Chron., 1858, p. 381.) Culture of the Chrysanthemum. — The successful treatment of the Chrysanthemum after the cuttings are rooted depends on a proper supply of nutriment and moisture, and the regulation of the stems which are to produce the flowers. In order to give the plants every advantage, they must never be either root-bound or allowed to flag from drought, and these evils are to be averted by frequent repottings and constant attention to watering. The blooming pots should generally be 10 inches deep and 8 in diameter at the top, and between the thumb pots and these final ones at least three shifts should take place, the plants thus occupying five different pots in the course of their history. The shiftings should be made before the roots get bound together, or when they pretty well cover the inner sur- face of the pots. Fresh rich soil should be carefully made to fill up the spaces formed by the new home The pot changes we have mentioned are the fewest that can be given in order to secure good flowers and a healthy state of the foliage; and they will be found sufiicient for most gardens. But when horticultural skill is to be exhibited, and the full powers of the plants tested, much larger pots may be given at the final shift. Plenty of fresh air and sunlight must be afforded all through the growth of the Chrysanthemum, and as it is very bibulous it requires some art to prevent the leaves flagging. In hot summer weather, with the sun shining full on the pots, half a dozen waterings in a day would scarcely accomplish this, and prevention must be studied by burying the pots up to the rim in the soil of the garden. In this case, one or at the most two, good waterings a day will be sufficient. Care must then be taken that worms do not get into the pots, by placing them on bricks, slates, or coal-ashes. To prevent the roots striking into the material below the pots, they should be turned round twice a week. Liquid manure may be supplied rather plentifully as the flower-buds begin to expand, for it is found that a finer growth and a deeper color are imparted by its judicious application. Now for the treatment of the stems. The Chrysanthemum, like other plants producing terminal flowers, has a tendency to send up one leading 290 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. stem, which, if not interfered with, M'ould produce a bunch of flowers at the top, so that a long lanky appearance would be the result. This tendency is counteracted by stopping the shoots — a process which produces a com- pact, shrubby growth and a great many more flowers. How often this process should take place is not a settled point with florists, and the prac- tice must vary with many circumstances, such as the early or late ch.iracter of the sorts grown, the time of striking, &c. But as a rule we may per- haps say that, for the large flowering kinds, stopping should cease in July, while with Pompones it may extend into August. We must remember that the general law is, that letting the plants run up is favorable to fine flowers, and stopping to a more plentiful supply of them. As the stems advance in height, they must be trained to stakes, and on the early and constant attention to this much of the beauty of the plants will be found to depend. To let the stems get straggling, and then all on a sudden to tie them up like a bundle of asparagus, is as fatal to the beauty as to the healthy growth of the plant.— ( Gcrrrf. Ckron., 1858, p. 359.) Gossip of tk Hlontl. Pear Culture. — Will Careless Cultivation Pat ? — One would suppose, if not better informed on the subject, that the question of the profits of pear culture had been left, by mutual consent, to the decision of the great Black Rock farmer and stock raiser. We have for eight years been reading the egotistical critiques of a certain writer who delights in the poisonous name of " Jeffreys," whose identity, it would appear, has never been fully established. In the respected Downing's time he made more enemies to that writer's journal than the kind and affable manner of that lamented author could conciliate during his too brief life. Since the same journal has passed into other hands the same writer has frequently done its interests serious injury by his " peculiarly forcible style of writing." We used to imagine that the whereabouts of the said critic was either in the vicinity of Detriot, or on an island in the Niagara River, where there is a large orchard and stock farm. And latterly, from a comparison of the reports of the failure of that pear orchard with those articles we feel con- firmed in our surmise. Like his great critical prototype " Jeffreys" sinks his pen so deep into the ink as to stir up the dregs and gall. Nurserymen are his especial favorites, the Orange pear his peculiar pet. We once recollect the following announcement, published with a flourish, in an Agricultural Journal of New York city : — "Can anybody point us to an orchard of a hundred pear trees worked on the quince stock, and planted within the past ten years, which has been satisfactorily successful in growth and bearing ?" The echo has been twice heard, and now the third resonance has just reached our impatient ears ; it was reflected from Philadelphia, all the way, and has been caught up at several points. The great pear orchard of one thousand acres, on Grand Island, has been destroyed, annihilated. JUNE. 291 When Burns, the Scottish poet, sang the sorrows and disappointment of a mouse, and in soothing terms designated it as a " Wee sleeket, cowrin, timorous beastie," he had no knowledge of the perseverance which is dis- played by our American Mus. It has ruined thousands of trees, and wast- ed thousands of dollars, in addition to the great discouragement and sore affliction it has brought to our friend " Jeffreys," Yet pears will grow on proper and suitable soils, with careful culture and manipulation, not by being planted and left at haphazard, though the best laid schemes of mice and men " gang aft agley." If other farmers have had a large pear orchard destroyed, totally annihilated, we should like to hear from them or it. S. Pitssacljusetts horticultural Sotktj. Saturday, January 16, 1858. — Exhibited. Flowers: From Thos. G. Whytal, azaleas and other flowers, in variety. From J. Murray, Iinpatiens Hooker?', fine. From M. Trautman, plants in variety. GRATUITIES AWARDED. To T. G. Whytal, for display of plants, $1. To J. Murray, for Impatiens Hooberi, $\. To M. Trautman, for Camellias, $2. February 20. — Exhibited. Flowers: From Jona. French, Azaleas decora, exquisita, Gledstanesii, optima, prsestantissima and variegata, very fine specimens, well grown, and covered with flowers. They carried off the premium ; also, 3 var. of Epacris. From Hovey & Co., flowers of their new various colored seedling Camellia, showing the different colored flowers. Fine Azaleas were exhibited, from W. Wales, W. C. Strong, M. Trautman, and J. Murray. Fine Ericas from W. Wales and J. Nugent. PREMIDMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED. Azaleas. — For the best six plants, to Jona. French, '^10. Gratuities.— To Wm. Wales, for fine Heaths, $10. To J. Nugent, for Heaths, .©8. To Jona. French, for several Epacrises, $5. To M. Trautman, for Epacrises, ;^3. To M. Trautman, for plants, $3. To J. Murray and W. C. Strong, for Azaleas, $2 each. To T. G. Whytal and G. Evers, for cut flowers, $\ each. March 20. — Exhibited. Flowers : From Wm. Wales, Azaleas Exquisita formosa, ardens, &c., also, fine roses. From E. S. Rand, Jr., Erica de- pressa and Cavendishii, and Cinerarias. Plants and flowers, from Barnes &L Washburn, T. Page, Jona. French, A. Bowditch, & Son, J. Nugent, C. F. Jones, M. Trautman, and others. gratuities awarded. To Wm. Wales, for displays, $7. To M. Trautman, for the same, $3. To Galvin & Hogan, J. Nugent, and J. French, for displays, $2 each. To G. G. Hubbard, for the same, $1. 292 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTURE. April V7. — Exhibited. Flowers: From Wm. Wales, Dorchester, Azalea decora. From E. S. Rand, Jr., Seedling Calceolaria Little Ellis, raised by Jas. McTear. From Thos. G. Whytal, Seedling Verbena, called Spark, very good. Cut flowers, from G. G. Hubbard, A. Bowditch, and others. GRATUITIES AWARDED. To Wm. Wales, for Azaleas, $3. To G. G. Hubbard, for cut flowers, $2. To A. Bowditch, Barnes & Washburn, and T. G. Whytal, for cut flowers, $1 each. May 8. — Exhibited. Flowers: From J. A. Kenrick, cut flowers of Magnoh'a conspicua, and Soulangemia. From Barnes & Washburn, Celestial, Evening Star, Charles Dickens, Rosy Gem, Giant de Betailles, and Prince of Wales Verbenas, all very good new kinds. Flowers Avere also sent by E. S. Rand, Jr., W. H. Sumner, W. C. Strong, Mrs. Richard- son, T. G. Whytal, and others. GRATUITY AWARDED. To J. A . Kenrick, for Magnolias, $2. Opening of the Hall, Saturday, May 15. — The First Exhibition in the Society's Hall took place on the 15th. Quite unexpectedly the show was very fine, certainly the best ever made, except at the Annual Exhibitions. The specimen planIS were numerous, many of them were finely grown, and they were brought in without much damage to the blossoms. It was, in fact, a very creditable exhibition, and plainly shows that if due encouragement was given by the award of judicious and liberal prizes, as fine specimens would be produced as command such attention at the London or Continental shows. We have not space to particularize all the fine things ; but conspicuous above all others were the Azaleas of Mr. Wales, which were not only beautifully grown, but in very full flower, and deservedly attracted unusual admiration. The plants were stocky dwarf, and literally one mass of bloom. Mr. Harris's Fuchsias were also finely done — large, branched from the pot up — and, though not in full bloom, — requiring two or three weeks of good weather, — they showed what a little time would have made them. Mr. Wale's Fuchsias were also excellent. Messrs. Hovey & Co. again exhibited a plant of their seedling Camellia, with four different colored flowers, expanded in beautiful perfection, well showing the remarkable quality of this most remarkable seedling. Some of the flowers were nearly white, others clear carmine, one half white and half carmine, and another deep blush, striped with rosy carmine. They also had a group of plants, including Azalea Madame Miellez, Petunia Inimitable, Rand's Annie ver- bena, some fancy Pelargoniums, Thujopsis borealis, Sic, not for com- petition. T. G. Whytal had a large and exceedingly well-grown Venus de Medici Fuchsia; Wm. C. Strong some fine Azaleas, &c., and M. P. Wilder, a large Azalea decora and variegata. The Cissis discolor, from H. H. Hunnewell, attracted great attention; it was a large specimen, well grown, with very heavy foliage, of a rich tint, and altogether a superb plant. JUNE. 2 93 Plants and flowers were exhibited by G. G. Hubbard, G. Evers, H. H. Hunnewell, M. P. Wilder, J. W. Foster, Barnes & Washburn, F. Winship, J. Waterhouse, J. Murray, M. Trautman, R. M. Copeland, J. Breck &■ Son, Miss E. Bruce, E. S. Rand, Jr., T. G. Whytal, J. Nugent, W. C. Strong, and others. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED. Pelargoniums. — For the best six plants, to T. G. Whytal, $6. Fuchsias. — For the best, to H. H. Hunnewell, $8. For the second best, to Wm. Wales, $6. Calceolarias. — For the best six plants, to F. Winship, $5. For the next best, to W. C. Strong, $3. Pansies. — For the best, to Barnes & Washburn, $6. Greenhouse Plants. — For the best collection, to Wm. Wales, $15. For the next best, to W. C. Strong, $12. For the next best, to T. G. Whytal, $10. For the next best, to J. Nugent, $8. Specimen Plants. — For the best, to H. H. Hunnewell, for Cissus discolor, $10. For the next best, to T. G. Whytal, for Fuchsia Venus de Medici, $8. For the next best, to M. P. Wilder, for Azalea decora, $(]. For the next best, to William Wales, for Rhyncospernum jasmi- noides, $4. Cut Flowers. — For the best, to J. Murray, $6. For the next best, to J. Nugent, $5. For the next best, to F. Winship, $4. For the next best, to M. Trautman, $3. For the next best, to Barnes &- Washburn, $2. Hyacinths. — For the best, to Jos. Breck & Son, $4. For the next best, to R, M. Copeland, $3. Gratuities. — To M. Trautman, for displays, $5. To J. Breck & Son, for Hyacinths, $3. To M. P. Wilder, for collection, $5. To G. Evers, for display, $3. To T. G. Whytal, for Cinerarias, T. W. Walker, Jona. French, J. W. Foster, J. Waterhouse, G. G. Hubbard and Eben Wight, $2 each. To J. A. Holmes and Miss Harris, $1 each. Mr. Hunnewell's Fuchsias were, Duke of Lancaster, Venus de Medicis, Pearl of England, Omar Pacha, Revoluta and Star ; Mr. Wales's were, Omar Pacha, Figaro, Clapton Hero, Glory, Venus de Medicis and Climax. ^bilttarj. Death of Rev. A. R. Pope. — We record with deep regret the death of Rev. Mr. Pope, which took place Sunday, the 27th of May. His age 294 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. was 39. It was only in our last number that a communication appeared from Mr. Pope, on the Pea bug, which was written just before or about the time of his illness, and was probably one of the last things he ever wrote, as he was delirious fiom his first attack. Mr. Pope was one of the most ardent lovers of Horticulture. Although deeply interested in his profession, and always active in the performance of his parochial duties, he found much time to devote to gardening. His early efforts were devoted to the improvement of our vegetables, and after many careful experiments and long attention he succeeded in hybridizing the Southern corn with our common Sweet, and produced the seedling known as the " Old Colony Sweet Corn," one of the most valuable additions ever made to our gardens. He also gave much time to the growth of the various kinds of vegetables, with a view to ascertain the best sorts and hy- bridize and improve them. His series of articles " On the improvement and preservation of Species," in a recent volume, (XXII. pp.2], &c.), show how much he had studied the characteristics of plants with a view to their im- provement. Mr. Pope was an earnest advocate of the cause of education, and labored two years in its behalf. His close attention and unremitting labors to this great interest, as well as his ministerial labors, are believed to have over- tasked his mind and body, and laid the foundation of his fatal disease. He has passed away in the prime of his life and usefulness. Imbued with all the Christian virtues which elevate the character, he was warmly beloved not only by his congregation but by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, and his loss will leave a void in a very extended circle of friends. icrticultiiral operations FOR JUNE. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. Notwithstanding the general impression, in the early part of April, that the present spring was a remarkably forward one, — at least two weeks earlier than last year, — it is doubtful whether vegetation at this time is any further advanced than last season. The greater part of May has been cool and damp, and, unless warm weather soon sets in, it will be a later spring than the last. The weather, though cool, has generally been free from injurious frosts in this part of the country. Slight quantities of snow have fallen in places north and eastward, but to do no damage to fruit trees or crops. A fruitful season appears now beyond the reach of ordinary frosts and cold. Grape Vines in the earlier houses will have ripened their crop, which will be ready for cutting. Keep the houses cool and rather dry, and they will hang till the later houses come on. No particular care other than this will be required for the present. Greenhouses and graperies will now JUNE. 295 employ all the spare time of the gardener. Continue to top all laterals which have pushed afresh, and shoulder and thin out the berries. Keep the walks or floors well damped morninor, noon and night. Maintain a good temperature in cloudy cool weather by lighting a little fire. Air more abundantly as the berries swell up. Cold houses will just be setting their fruit, and should be kept at an even temperature ; damp the floors in sunny weather, and do not allow any cold draughts of air. Strawberry Beds will soon be ripening their crop. Water freely if fine fruit is wanted, and place short grass, hay or straw under the plants to keep the fruit clean. New beds should be frequently hoed, to give the plants a vigorous gro' th. Pear Trees. — Commence summer pruning towards the last of the month. Thin out the fruit as soon as of sufficient size, and mulch and water trees intended for producing large specimens. Grafted Trees should have attention ; rub off" all useless shoots, and loosen and untie the grafts. Tie up the rapid growing shoots to sticks, or top them to prevent their being blown off". Insects should not be forgotten. The pear slug, jumping louse, aphis and others will attack the various trees, and they should be destroyed as soon as they make their appearance. FLOWER DEPARTMENT. June is the month for removing most of the plants from the houses, and replacing them with summer blooming plants, such as Achimenes, Gloxin- ias, Fuchsias, Japan lilies, &c. Select a good situation for the plants, and do not huddle them together in some out of-the-way plslte where they will be neglected. Look after them now as well as when in the houses. Many will need repotting, and all should be looked over carefully to see that the soil is in good condition. Some will need heading in, and others partial pruning, &c. Camellias will soon be completing their growth, and setting their flower buds ; as soon as this is perceived, discontinue syringing so abundantly and lower the temperature, and, by the last of the month, they should all go out doors in a half- shady and sheltered situation. Azaleas will now be growing rapidly, and to have fine specimens at- tention should be given to pinching oflT the young shoots, to make them compact. Syringe morning and night. Keep them well watered, and in- crease the temperature so as to encourage a free growth. Young stock may be repotted. Pelargoniums will now be in full bloom; water liberally and air abund- antly ; shading for an hour or two in the middle of the day will preserve the bloom a long time. Achimenes should be shifted into larger pots. Keep them well watered, as they delight in moisture. Chrysanthemums should now be encouraged in their growth; continue to pot off" young stock and shift the older plants. Fuchsias should have larger pots. 296 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Heaths, now turned out into good prepared soil, will make fine plants for next winter's stock. Chinese Primroses should now be removed to a cool place, where they can have a slight rest. Seeds should be sown this month. Monthly Carnations may be turned out into the open ground, where they will bloom all summer and can be layered for young stock. Roses for winter blooming may now be repotted and plunged in the open ground, where they will make a tine growth. Orange Trees may be plunged out in the open border, or planted in the ground, in a good rich soil. Cinerarias should be cut down, and, after a few days' rest, the roots should be divided and potted ; place them in an old frame, shading them from the sun, and protecting them from heavy rains. Seeds may be sown now. Winter-blooming Plants of all kinds need attention now; in order to have them strong and stocky, continue to repot as they need it, and disbud and stop all vigorous shoots, so as to ensure compact bushy specimens. FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERY. June is the month when the lawn and shrubbery should present its gay- est aspect. The verdant turf, still invigorated with the genial spring rains, will give its brightest emerald hue — the varied evergreens display the soft tints of their fresh budding growth, contrasting with the sombre hues of the older foliage, and the flowering shrubs, arrayed in all the splendor of their many tinted blossoms. All artificial culture must be in unison with so much beauty. The lawn should be closely shaven — the borders neatly raked — and the wdlks as clean and smooth as the good housewife's floor. No dirt, rubbish, grass, leaves or anything should be allowed for an hour to disfigure the grounds. The work, too, should be done early in the morn- ing, that so much that is pleasing may not be marred by perceiving the means by which it is accomplished, — and besides there is no need of keep- ing such jobs on hand a whole week. A little extra help completes it, and other work can be taken in hand. Bedding-out Plants of all kinds should be got into the ground as speed- ily as possible ; make the earth rich and fine, and plant carefully. Dahlias may be planted all the month; but the best bloom will be from those set out before the 20th. Tulips and other bulbs should be taken up the last of the month, that their places may be filled with flowering plants. Neapolitan Violets should be divided and planted immediately. Running Shrubs of all kinds should be staked and neatly trained up. Annuals of all kinds, raised in the hotbed, should be planted out as speedily as possible. Hollyhocks should be staked and watered in dry weather. Insects should be looked after ; the thrip and rose slug will begin their ravages, and, if not checked by the timely application of whale oil soap, will destroy the foliage ; two pounds to fourteen gallons of water is the proportion. DWARF PEAR CULTURE. One would suppose, from the numerous articles which fill some of our agricultural journals, that the growth of dwarf pears generally so called, or pears upon the quince, was a new and untried experiment, peculiar to American culture, and now for the first time ascertained to be contrary to nature, attended with failure, and unworthy the attention of any body but nurserymen, whose sole business appears to be, in the opinion of these writers, to propagate trees for sale, whether they are good for anything or not. We are heartily tired of reading the wordy papers which appear annually upon this subject, and have discontinued noticing them, as unworthy the attention of intelligent culti- vators. In our earlier volumes we have, time and time again, discussed the whole subject, and, as we supposed, proved, to the satisfaction of experienced men, that it is no new thing, — that two hundred years have been quite a sufficient time to test the success of the practice, — in fine, that it is quite too late to attempt to write down what has so long occupied the attention of practical cultivators in France and Belgium, and become an established truth. But from the numerous letters which reach us inquiring our opinion in reference to the articles which have recently filled some of the New York journals, denouncing the quince stock as worthless, we have figain concluded to devote a few words to a consideration of the matter, and to show — if there is in reality any need of showing — that pears upon the quince can be successfully reared, and that, in fact, it is the most profitable way of producing this superior fruit in abundance, and within any reasonable time. The old distich, that He who plants pears Plants for his heirs, literally holds true with several kinds upon the pear stock. But fortunately, with some exceptions, by the aid of the quince, we can rear them almost as rapidly as the peach, and VOL. XXIV. — NO. VII. 27 298 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. certainly in far greater abundance, taking tlie average of years. We do not intend to go into the whole subject, and answer all the objections which have been made to the quince stock ; this would occupy quite too much space, and be a repetition of much that we have already written. "What we wish to do is to refer to the antiquity of pear culture on the quince, and the advantage which it possesses over the pear stock, bringing facts to support our argument which cannot be disputed. We have not at hand the older works of the French writers on Pomology, and therefore cannot give the recorded dates at which pears upon the quince were extensively planted ; but referring to English notices we have the following, which we find in Bartram's correspondence with Peter CoUinson in 1763. Mr. Collinson, writing to Bartram, among other things informs him, probably in reply to some query regarding the bearing of the pear, as follows : " What I am persuaded will prevent its dropping the fruit, if some quinces were planted in the lower part of thy garden near the spring, and graft them with the pear — it meliorates the fruit. By long expe- rience all our pears are grafted on quince stocks, and succeed better than on pear stocks with us." Thus we find that one hundred years ago it was thought that the pear succeeded best on the quince stock. From that day to this, to say noth- ing of an earlier date, the quince has been extensively used as a stock, and the eminence that France has attained in pear culture is due, in a great degree, to the growth of the trees upon the quince, by which means her pomologists have been enabled to fruit and prove the numerous varieties which have been raised, in one quarter part of the time that it could have been done upon the pear. In all the French works on gar- dening, from Quintinye to the latest writer, M. Dubreuil, the quince has had the highest commendation as a stock for the pear. Thus we find that the experience of one hundred years, without a single objection that we can learn being urged against it in that time, and raised too upon the most extended scale, is quite as good proof of its adaptedness to the pear, as the hasty, partial and unskilful experience of some of our American cultivators, who consider themselves, without yet JULY. 299 possessing a healthy bearing tree, learned out in dwarf pear growing. We now come to the advantages which the quince stock possesses over the pear. And here we have facts so well authenticated that there is no question as regards their truth. In the Transactions of the London Horticultural Society (Vol. VII. p. 213) is an article by an experienced cultivator, Mr. Torbron, gardener to the Countess of Bridgewater, upon the " Advantages of grafting Pears upon Quince stocks," and although we have noticed the results which Mr. Torbron ar- rived at in a previous volume, we now copy his entire article, that there may be no question of the truth. It was read be- fore the Society, June 2d, 1827. It is as follows : — For several years I have been of opinion that perhaps there are few or none of the sorts of fruit that come to maturity in this country, without the aid of glass and artificial heat, that marit more attention and encouragement than pears, considering the long space of time tbat they may be had for the table. For where there is a judicious selection, and soil and situation suitable, they may be supplied with but little intermission from July till May following. One great improvement in the cultivation of the pear is a method practised many years ago, but not generally enough adopted : that of the choice sorts being grafted upon the quince, by which they come some several years sooner into bearing, and produce much better crops than those upon the common or free stock. I have had opportunities of seeing the superiority of the quince stock in three different counties, and with as many different sorts of soil, and have not found any disadvantage whatever in it, although some disapprove the use of it. I think the objections are made only by those who have not given the two sorts of stocks a fair trial. Pears on the quince require less wall room at planting ; but an equal space of wall, occupied by trees on quince, will produce from three to five times the quantity of fruit which could have been obtained from trees on free stocks, or in some cases still more, and the fruit will be in no respect inferior. 300 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. In the last season, having had a general crop of fruit, I have with accuracy ascertained the difference of the produce from the two kinds of stocks, which I beg leave to submit for your information : — Gansel's Bergamot on quince, 2 trees. ( The quince exceeds ) i is i ■ t The same sort on the Free, 3 trees. | the Free in quantity ^ ^^s t&.l is to 1. Brown Beurre on the quince, 4 trees. ( The quince exceeds ) a a. ■ t The same sort on the Free, 3 trees. | the Free in quantity ) "'^ ^^ Crassane on the quince, 2 trees, j The quince exceeds ) o o • f i The same sort on the Free, 2 trees. | the Free in quantity ) ^^ '^ ™ ^* Colmar on the quince, 2 trees, j The quince exceeds ) o « • + i The same sort on the Free, 2 trees. | the Free in quantity J ^ ^-8 is to 1. 30 5 4 And 30.5, divided by 4, gives 7.6 as the average in favor of the quince. The fruit of each of these trees was measured by gallons and counted in numbers, each tree separately, and the space of wall occupied by each tree was ascertained in superficial feet. Those on the free stocks occupied much more wall space than those on the quince did ; but those on the quince pro- duced much more fruit (as above stated) than those on the free. Those on the quince were planted in 1818, 1819, and 1820, maiden trees, of one year's growth from the bud ; they made scarcely any progress the two first years after planting, till a more suitable soil was obtained and applied to their roots ; since that they have thriven exceedingly and produced fruit in abundance. The pear trees on free stocks were all nearly eiglity years old, and, previous to 1818, extended over from forty to sixty feet of twelve foot walls, but for several years they had been unproductive, being crowded with old wood, and long project- ing spurs. They were all cut back in 1818, 1819, and 1820, nearly close to the trunk, and that was also cut down three or four feet above the surface of the ground. Tliese trees now occupy individually from twenty-four to thirty feet of the same walls, are furnished with healthy and fruitful wood, being quite renovated, and bear as much as trees of the same sorts that were planted in good fresh soil and against new walls from twenty to twenty-seven years ago, and from which, from their age, may be said to be in their prime of bearing. JULY. 301 We might satisfactorily conclude our article here, but as there arc some peculiarities in quince culture, as well as in other trees and fruits, we may advert to them as connected with success or failure, and the neglect of which has undoubt- edly been the cause of all the objections which have been made to it as a stock for the pear. He wlio would plant a pond lily on a sand bank, with the expectation of obtaining an abundance of flowers, would meet with that reward which always accompanies ignorance ; or, to make a more appropriate comparison, the cultivator who would plant a willow on a gravel bank, and expect it to thrive and become a beautiful and long-lived tree, would undoubt- edly be doomed to bitter disappointment. There are certain considerations which must not be neglected in the growth of most trees and plants. Even the cherry entirely fails in many parts of the country, owing to uncongeniality of the soil and situation, and we see not why this favorite tree should not be denounced as well as the dwarf pear. In our experience we have lost ten cherry trees where we have lost one pear. What is the history of the quince ? From the most authen- tic sources we learn it is a native of Southern Europe. Ac- cording to Philips the quince was called Ci/donia, after an island in the Mediterranean, now named Candia. He also tells us it grows wild on the banks of the Danube. Knowing this, and knowing too the character of its roots, so different from the pear, as well as the habit of the tree, we learn what sitviation it requires for successful cultivation. We cannot oppose nature, but we may aid her in many ways. We can- not, therefore, rear the quince on a sand or gravel bank, or in a tough clay. We cannot even raise it on a rich soil, unless very deep, if underlaid by a hard or hungry earth. The roots are small, fibrous, and to some extent, we are inclined to believe, annual ; that is, they are renewed, like all shrubs or small trees which throw up suckers readily, and at the same time make fresh roots to support the new growth. Left to itself, as we have seen the quince tree forty years old, it becomes a many-branched, dwarfish tree, some of the old stems dying out, their place being supplied by others from the outside, which extend and penetrate their rootlets into fresh 302 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTUEE. earth, and impart new vigor to the branches. Those growing in low grounds, near a moist subsoil, even without any other culture than keeping the earth annually stirred, are laden with their huge golden fruit every year. In the town of Sandwich, Mass., two weeks ago, we saw quince trees with five to ten stems, each as large as our arm, forming heads ten feet through, all in perfect health, and covered with the incipient fruits just set. In Newport, R. I., we have seen quince trees one hundred years old, and more than twenty feet high. So much do we know of the history of the quince and the wants that it requires at our hands. Unless, therefore, we give heed to these wants, we cannot expect to succeed in its growth, and still more when we cut off the sources of nour- ishment which it naturally gets by limiting it to one stem, and suppressing the suckers. We must study the means to sup- ply what we rob it of. How is this to be done ? First. By selecting a naturally moist and deep soil. Second. By judicious planting, placing all the quince stock even with, or two or three inches below, the surface of the soil, that it may be kept moist, and expand with the growth of the tree. Third. By supplying the roots with plenty of nourishment by the addition of enriching substances, such as well rotted manures, or with guano, phosphate of lime, or other concen- trated materials, or by a renewal of the soil when it becomes exhausted. Fourth. By limiting the size of the tree to the quantity of roots ; and Fifth. By not allowing the trees to bear more than they can sustain and keep up a healthy growth of branch and root. These several things must all be attended to, and if they are, the pear upon the quince becomes one of the most boun- tiful of fruits, richly rewarding the cultivator for all the care he can bestow upon them. Let those who wish to deprive themselves of the gratifica- tion of eating delicious pears ignore dwarf trees. They will find too late what a little experience and some knowledge would have enabled them to enjoy. JULY. 303 HOME ARCHITECTURE.— No. IV. BY WILSON FLAGG. ORNAMENT — CONCLUDED. There is a species of ornament that consists in relieving the baldness and glare of a perfectly smooth surface by figures, wliich, either with or without meaning, serve to make it agree- able and satisfactory to the eye. A smooth, glaring surface of considerable extent fatigues the sight without affording it exercise or amusement. This remark may not always apply to the glossy sheen of a collection of water in the landscape, when it is but a small part of the whole view, and is relieved by the trees and shrubs that embroider its banks. But were this smooth water spread out immediately under our windows, forming a greater part of all that could be seen from them, we should soon grow as tired of its smoothness as of its mo- notony. A stone building, which is smooth and polished on the outside, without any projections to relieve it, is never contemplated with satisfaction. Hence rough stone is gener- ally preferred, not on account of its greater cheapness only, but on account of the more agreeable surface it presents to the eye. As a relief to this effect, projections over and under the windows are found advantageous ; and sinuosities, made by bevelling the corners of the separate blocks at their junc- tions, are employed to answer the same end. Builders sometimes carve upon a smooth ground a uniform series of regular or irregular figures, like diamonds or leaf- work. The latter is the most effectual, because a ground marked with perfectly regular figures partakes, in a measure, of the same staring quality which is offensive in a uniformly smooth surface. We observe this quality in a remarkable degree in a striped ground. The outside of a wooden dwell- ing-house, in which the boarding is carved to represent blocks of stone, pleases more than one that is faced with smooth boarding ; and a smooth painted surface, when sanded, pleases more than if it were polished. Our preference does not arise, in either case, as many have supposed, from perceiving in it an imitation of stone, but from physical causes — from its 304 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. effects on the organs of sight. I have seen small cottages in the country faced with shingles rounded at their projecting ends, making a kind of rude imitation of shell-work. This is a very neat ornament for one of a simple kind, and it is agreeable in proportion to the small size of the shingles. It serves the useful purpose of giving rest and relief to the eye, which must always become fatigued when it is obliged to look upon a smooth polished ground of wide extent. Indeed, the eye is always instinctively averted from such a surface to something, however ugly, that will afford it either rest or agreeable action. It may seem paradoxical to assert that the two opposite qualities of smoothness and harshness may produce the same effects. But there is a harshness both to the touch and to the sight. Every smooth, glittering surface is harsh to the sight, because it sends flashes of light into the eyes. Hence the custom of painting the interior of a house with a mixture that produces no gloss, and hence the custom in some instances of using furniture without varnish. A sprinkling of sand over a coat of paint derives its advantages from this principle, and white paint would lose half the objections to its use, for the outside of buildings, if something could be added to it to de- stroy its glare. Polish is applied to household utensils, and to most articles of furniture, for neatness and convenience. But polished ware is not so agreeable to the eye as it would be with a fine-grained surface without polish. Objects only of extreme minuteness are improved by gloss. Satin housepaper is preferred to other paper, because its polish prevents it from becoming readily soiled, and allows it to be easily cleansed ; but its glitter is offensive. The most approved housepapers in present use, among expensive sorts, are velveted with a cotton nap, produced by throwing cotton dust over a glutinous surface. There is more philosophy connected witli this question of smoothness and roughness, of glitter and dullness, than with many other subjects that seem more profound. By studying with close analysis the reasons of certain preferences which mankind have often exhibited, for the one of two objects that seems the less beautiful, we may arrive at this philosophy. JULY. 305 The kind of ornamentation of which I have been treating introduces no distinct images to tlie mind. Its effects are entirely organic. It gives repose to the building or other ob- ject to which it is added. Hence a fluted pillar is more agree- able to the eye than a smooth one ; yet I am persuaded that a pillar, covered with uniform leaf-work or shell-work, would be more agreeable than either, as stripes or parallel lines produce a dazzling effect upon the sight. It is better that this work should produce no very definite images to the sight, as the latter have a tendency to divert the mind, which should in all cases be employed in contemplating the general appear- ance and purposes of the building. Any ornament that diverts attention from the building to itself, however beautiful, is false and inappropriate. This is the fault of statuary as an architectural ornament. It cannot harmonize with the build- ing, because it is either no part of it, or it is a monstrosity. The same objection may be made to the introduction of any specific objects as ornaments. In leaf-work or shell-work, the shells and foliage are to be blended into one mass ; otherwise the single shells or single leaves would present a too distinct image to the mind. With regard to leaf- work, it may be remarked that besides relieving the baldness of a smooth ground, it affords a pleasant sensation of nature, who adorns the outside of all objects in the landscape with the same kind of ornaments. A rock, cov- ered with lichens, is more pleasing to the sight as well as to the mind than a bald rock ; and one with a rough surface in nature is preferred to a smooth one. An old building or an old wall, covered with ivy, is always pleasing. If the outside were covered in such a manner as to imitate ivy, the effect would be similar in a less degree, and not always in propor- tion as the imitation is perfect, but in proportion as it served to produce the mental and physical sensations occasioned by natural leafage. Polished surfaces are generally considered more beautiful than rough surfaces ; but it must be admitted that in numerous instances the beautiful affords less pleasure to the sight than something would in the place of it that is wanting in beauty. This principle a master of his art always understands ; and while the tyro in landscape painting will 306 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. spoil his pictures by making his flowers too bright and his leaves too green, and his colors in general too beautiful, the master, by using homely colors and more indefinite outlines, creates a landscape that captivates every beholder. Ornamentation, philosophically regarded, is indeed a noble part of architecture, inasmuch as it is a noble art to distin- guish the true from the false, and relevant from irrelevant decoration. In the same sense it might be remarked, while deprecating all excess of ornament in dress, that the arts of the tailor and of the dressmaker are among the noble arts, if properly directed. But the tailor should be a man of culti- vated mind, an artist in the highest sense, a man of taste and a philosopher ; and it should be a part of his vocation to guide the fashions and taste of the public, instead of sufferiiig him- self to be a mere mechanical tool in the hands of fashion. The architect, for the same reasons, should be a philosopher ; not a mere blind imitator of the ancients, or of the moderns ; not a mere slave to certain canons of his art, reduced to the level of the poor priest who is obliged to preach, not what he believes, but some absurd dogmas which are embodied into his creed to test his subserviency to the church. It is customary at the present time to prefer the ornaments of the Gothic to those of the Grecian style of architecture, and this preference seems to be just. The Greeks were en- slaved to certain arbitrary rules of art, both in art and litera- ture ; and these rules, though they undoubtedly served to carry a particular style of art and of literature nearer to per- fection, yet they were obstacles in the way of the perfection of general art and general literature. If a despotic canon of modern art were to declare that all except brick houses were in barbarous taste, such an edict would undoubtedly lead to perfection in the art of constructing brick houses ; but it would prevent the nation from attaining perfection in archi- tecture, as applied to all other modes of building. Grecian taste, which was governed by laws more despotic than the mandates of an eastern monarch, admitted of no improvement except in one direction. Roman art possessed a little more freedom ; but art obtained no perfect freedom until the Cath- olic religion made some feeble amends for binding human reason in chains by emancipating art. JULY. 307 During th3 age of Paganism in Europe, reason was free, but art was enslaved. When Christianity was established, reason was enslaved, and art was set free. After the Reforma- tion, as reason had gained some portion of its ancient freedom, there was evidently a general tendency to bind art and litera- ture again in Grecian chains. This was shown in the revival of the Epic poem and the Grecian temple, both equally sub- lime, equally beautiful, and equally absurd. Mr. Ruskin has done more than any other writer for the emancipation of art ; and it will now be very generally conceded, that the rules of art, like the laws of nature, should be general, not systematic ; that art should not be confined by any arbitrary rules, but as wide as the universe in the selection of its models, and as uniform as nature in always resolving itself into utility. It ought to be remarked, however, that art may be enslaved to Gothic as well as to Grecian canons. Art cannot be free unless it is eclectic, and the arbitrary rules of a system must not be mistaken for the general laws that guide a rational artist. A profusion of spires and pinnacles, of gables and pendants, for mere ornament, would be as great an error in a modern Gothic building as a profusion of columns in a mod- ern Grecian building. For simplicity, in a plain wooden building without ornament, the Grecian forms are preferable ; but I think the majority would concede that a custom-house in the Castle Gothic style, modernized by omitting its redun- dances, would be more pleasing, more magnificent, and certainly less expensive, than one in the style of a Grecian temple. Fanciful structures, which are designed to exercise the imagination, afford more pleasure in the Gothic than the Grecian style. But in wooden dwelling-houses, it seems like affectation to employ the Gothic forms, since wooden build- ings mechanically admit only of the lintel and its perpendic- ular supports. All that mechanically arranges itself in the arched or pointed form is the roof and the gables of wooden houses. It is otherwise in houses of brick or stone. In these structures many of the Gothic combinations are appropriate and economical ; and the arch may be employed with sense and advantage over doors, windows and porches, and in many I I 308 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE., otlier situations. If there be anything in the form of an arch, like sweet to the palate, or crimson and purple to the sight, that affords, independently of association, an agreeable organic sensation, the arch is certainly a legitimate contriv- ance to improve the beauty of a building constructed of ma- terials which mechanically require it. It has been my object to discuss the moral and physical effects bolh of the presence and absence of ornament, and to point out its legitimate purposes. I have maintained that dwelling-houses of every description are pleasing in proportion as they affect the mind agreeably without the aid of positive beauty. In maintaining this ground, I am aware of the lia- bility of being misapprehended, or at least of being imper- fectly understood ; but there is an important principle involved in it, a principle which prevails throughout the works of nature, and which is understood by the great masters of land- scape painting, but is overlooked by the leaders in modern architecture. EFFECTS OF FROST ON VEGETATION. BY THOMAS MEEHAN. I DERIVED SO much pleasure from the perusal of your first article, that I very reluctantly took my pen to controvert a single point I thought erroneous. Moreover, that article was from the editor's pen, and I felt the same delicacy in the matter that one would naturally have in going into another mans house to find fault with the arrangement of his furni- ture. For your kind attention to my queries, notwithstanding my trespass on your editorial mansion, I am greatly obliged ; as, I assure you, I have profited much by many things you have said. Now that Mr. Sargent has come to your aid, I feel in a better position, and will, with your sanction, express myself more clearly than I have done in the interrogatorial form I before adopted, through respect to your position as editor. You thought it was " damp cold which was so very injurious to vegetation :" in other words, the dryer the atmosphere JULY. 309 around a tender tree or shrub, the better chance it had to get through the winter uninjured. I objected to this doctrine, for this reason : — I have been for some time leaning to the belief that the immediate cause of death by frost, is excessive evap- oration,— in opposition to the older idea that it is by a disrup- tion of the cells. It follows that, if this theory is correct, the editor's idea about damp cold must be erroneous, as the damper the atmosphere is, the less evaporation there will be from the plant it surrounds. The important point then is, how docs frost act in destroying vegetation — by drying out its moisture ? or by the disruption of its cells ? Shigularly enough, Mr. Sargent's article, intended to sup- port the latter view, in my judgment leads to the other con- clusion. He instances the well-established fact, that exposure to the hot sun, after a night of intense cold, is much more destructive to a tender evergreen or half-hardy plant, than it is to a plant partially protected — by the shadow of a house or wood. Also, that in February or March, plants suffer more injury than at Christmas or New Year. Any one will see at a glance that these instances do not favor Mr. Sargent's posi- tion any more than mine. I might say the sun caused rapid evaporation, — Mr. S., that the rapid thaw burst the cells. But another point in Mr. Sargent's letter, when examined, will show that when the hot sun is accompanied by moisture, the plant is no more injured than if growing in the shade. In other words, that it is the moisture of the atmosphere, by placing a thin veil between the sun and the plant, and thus arresting evaporation, that saves its life. The point is this : Evergreens stand better in England than with us, because of the absence of our hot suns ; but it is a little remarkable, that evergreens stand best in the south of England, where the winter suns are the hottest, than they do two or three hundred miles north, till they come to the moist air of the mountains of Scotland, where, notwithstanding the lower temperature, they still never suffer so much as on the borders. In the Isle of Wight it is not unfrequent to find the ther- mometer, after a cold winter's night, 50° at midday, while in this latitude it is unfrequent to find it rise as high as 60°, though I have once seen it do that when the thermometer, 310 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. the morning before, indicated but 5° above zero. Yet in that part of the country, where the suns in winter are the hottest, and I have known the thermometer fall to 22°, myrtles and camellias will remain uninjured, on a south wall, exposed to the hot sun ; when in a more northern and dryer climate, with a very little more frost, and less sun, they would not dream of seeing such things. Would a myrtle or camellia, with any amount of shade from hot suns by woods or build- ings, stand 22° of frost, in Philadelphia, New York or Boston ? Would it stand 5° ? I apprehend not. Depend upon it we have to deal with evaporation and not with broken cells ; unless we speak of geraniums and other soft-wooded plants, which, by their rapid decay afterwards, show that their tissues are actually disorganized. Is it denied that there is no evaporation from vegetable structures in frosty weather ? Or that evaporation is not greater in proportion to the lowness of the temperature ? I have that yet to learn. If there is, is not a plant that by its foliage (as evergreens, broad-leaved ones especially,) requires a large supply of moisture to supply evaporation in winter, when its roots are so frozen that it cannot absorb moisture from the soil — is not a plant in such a case in just the same position as a plant under a hot sun and no moisture at its roots ? and death as natural a consequence in the one case as in the other ? Has any anatomist ever discovered that the tissues of ligneous plants are disrupted by frost, which could be easily ascertained by a powerful microscope, were it so ? And why should freezing and thawing disrupt the cells ? If they are able to stand an expansion once, why not to the same extent again without injury ? Excuse, Mr. Editor, my obduracy and "hardness of heart;" but the more I think over the matter, the deeper I seem to sink in my heretical opinions. Had I a Baobab tree, which in tropical climates they say grows over twenty feet thick, and could place such a specimen out in my garden for but one Philadelphia winter, though the frost would not be able to penetrate one foot into its trunk to disrupt tissue, I know it would be dead, dry, to its ten feet centre, by spring, just as JULY. 311 certainly by evaporation, as if it had been suspended a few score yards above a large prairie fire. My theory has been of great service to me the past winter. Late in December I bought some large box trees or biishes to ornament my grounds. One of them was probably over one hundred years old. I was advised not to move them till spring, as I had to bring them ten miles ; but " strong in the faith," I went to work. As soon as I had them home, and planted, I set to work to regulate the evaporation. I first got the shears and cut over the whole bush about a foot deep, obtaining from my large plant enough cuttings to plant one hundred and twenty yards of box edging, without much re- ducing the apparent size of the bush. Tlien I had bundles of corn fodder set up around each bush, so as to leave but about one stalk in thickness all round ; then by the help of two men, and some tar band, each bush was drawn tightly towards its centre, and so secured. On the north side of one of my bushes the corn fodder was but imperfectly secured, and it fell off in the course of the winter. This exposed part was killed in the winter, and still remains brown and leafless ; the other part, hnd the whole of the other trees, are as healthy as if never removed. There would not have been, I think, found rhore than five degrees of difference, certainly not ten, between the interior of a bush and the external air, and the thermometer was once 5° below zero ; — yet, unprotected, I have no doubt they would have been destroyed by 10° or 15° of frost ; as the exposed part, where no sun reached, but cold dry winds did, has been. Some of my customers have complained, that though they cover up their tender roses with straw and cedar branches, and take good care to keep them well protected /ro7» the sun, they die nevertheless. Last fall I advised them to bend them down on their flower-beds, place a few cedar branches or coarse litter on them, and then cover with soil, so as to keep a " moist coolness " about them. And they are now envied by their neighbors who " can't understand why so and so's roses are doing so well, while theirs, so well protected by straw, have died out." One lady friend almost tires me with her praises of her Lamarques, Pactoles, and Devoniensis, which 312 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. were always cut down before. So that you see I am turning this evaporation theory to good account, while I do not see what I can gain by a belief in disruption. The subject, as we have already said, is one of much im- portance, and we should be glad to answer all Mr. Median's objections to our view of the question ; but as we should occupy space which must be devoted to other matters, we simply offer a few remarks, which we think cover the whole theory of the effect of frost on vegetation. We do not see that Mr. Sargent's views at all support our correspondent's idea of " excessive evaporation." If, as Mr. Meehan says, injury is the result of excessive evaporation, why, we would ask, do not our hemlocks and white pines, and our native rhododendrons and hollies, get injured every cold winter ? It may be answered that they are hardy. But what has this to do with the question ? Evaporation will take place just as readily in one case as the other. Why will not the Rhododendron ponticum stand our winters uninjured ? Sim- ply because it is not hardy. And yet one or two or three good frosts will not hurt it. If it is not freezing and thawing that does the injury, but excessive evaporation, why will it not stand the same dryness of a native species ? Will Mr. Meehan explain. The only reason why evergreens stand better in the south of England than the north, is that the winters are not only less severe, but of shorter duration — as we have already said, every freezing causes additional injury — and as Mr. Sargent states, the slight freezings and thawings of December do but little harm ; it is in February and March, when the intense sun thaws the plants every day and freezes them again every night, that they suffer. We are utterly surprised to hear Mr. Meehan state that the camellia will not stand 22° of frost ; it will stand 32°, and we do not know but more. Why, in the neighboring city of Baltimore the camellia thrives in the open air better than the less hardy rhododendrons do here. The late Dr. Edmonson of that city planted out hundreds of seedlings, which not only stood the winter with the temperature at zero, but flowered JULY. 318 as finely in April, 1848, as if they had been in the greenhouse. We saw these plants in 1845, before they were planted out, when they were wintered in a slied open to the north, with nothing but a covering of leaves to their roots. They were in perfect health and foliage. In 1849, the thermometer fell to 4° below zero, and although the foliage was disfigured by the severe temper- ature, they yet flowered. Mr. S. Feast, in noticing these plants, says their injury was doubtless owing to the " extreme warm month of January, which started the sap, and the sud- den cold coming upon them in that state, (4° below zero), which forty-eight hours before had been varying from 65° to 75°." Now was it " excessive evaporation" that disfigured the foliage ? Three previous winters they had not been harmed, and yet the fourth, with the sudden change above noticed, they suffered. It was the freezing and thawing of the plants alone which caused the damage. Tlie camellia, we have no doubt, by successive seedlings and a selection of a proper location, may be made hardy at least as far north as Phila- delphia, if not as far as Boston. We kept a camellia out two winters by protection with straw, and the death of the plant we always attributed to the " damp cold" alone. We intend to try the experiment again. Without following Mr. Meehan in reference to his experi- ment with the Box trees, we must assuredly believe, if he reflects well upon the subject, he will find " excessive evapo- ration" a pleasant hobby to ride, but an ill one to practice. NOTES ON GRAPES. BY GEORGE Vf CAMPBELL, DELAWARE, OHIO. I NOTICE a remark in your " Pomological Gossip" for June, while referring to the opinion of Dr. Grant and others as to the comparative merits of the Delaware and Rebecca grapes, for which I am at a loss to account. You say : " We should say the Rebecca quite equals the Frontignan, and the Dela- ware a perfect counterpart of the Red or White Chasselas, as VOL. X2QV. — NO. vn. 28 314 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. it has not the least flavor,^'' &c. "Were it not tliat you remark in the next paragrapli that " the beautiful pinkish red of the Delaware is one of its many excellent qualities,'" I should have concluded you were " down" upon this delightful acqui- sition to our hardy grapes with a perfect extinguisher. But I trust you did not really mean what was expressed, and that there is some " mistake in the printer" this time. In this vicinity the Delaware, as it grows older, under good manage- ment, improves in every respect. The vine acquires greater vigor of growth ; the berries and bunches increase in size, and I think also in quality and richness of " flavor." I am very glad to learn that you have found the Rebecca " hardier than the Delaware ;" for, if it also proves vigorous and healthy, this is all that is Avanting to give it a permanent place in the regard of every lover of horticulture. The Dela- ware vine, when the wood is well ripened, will endure almost any amount of cold, as I liave fully tested. During our late severe winters, I have had young cuttings started the previous spring, together with vines from two to three years old, stand- ing wholly unprotected in the open ground, and these all endured a temperature as low as 23° below zero, without the least injury. The last winter, however, lias been more severe upon vegetation, with less cold. The early portion of the fall was mild and rainy, kept the wood growing very late, and consequently not well matured. Cold weather came suddenly, and the thermometer sunk to \2P below zero in November. This killed the peach blossom buds in this region, and many of the trees. The Catawba, Isabella, Diana, and even the Clinton vines were also found killed to the ground this spring, where standing unprotected in the open garden. In elevated and tolerably dry situations, the Delaware escaped injury ; but in low, rich garden soil, for the first time in my experi- ence, the ends of a portion of the wood were killed. The winter afterward was comparatively mild, causing many trees to swell their buds prematurely. During the months of De- cember and January, the thermometer much of the time ranged from 35° to 40° at sunrise. February was somewhat colder ; but in March the thermometer sunk lower than dur- ing the whole winter, indicating on the third, 7°, and on the JULY. 315 seventh, 4° below zero. This was a^so very destructive to vegetation, which had partially escaped the cold of November, destroying some fine cherry and plum trees, which had with- stood the severity of our former hard winters. A word as to tlie Log-an grape, of which I exhibited a few small and imperfect bundles from the first bearing of a young vine, at your Horticultural exhibition last fall. This vine has endured the past winter, and indeed all our late severe winters perfectly. It is the hardiest vine I know ; and I am glad to say it proves to be not only of remarkably vigorous growth, but easy of propagation. The size of the bunches appears at least double that of those set last year ; and though my bearing vines have an unfortunate exposure, in a north- east angle of my house, I think the fruit will ripen by the first of September, as the season is somewhat earlier than the last. I shall do myself the pleasure to send you specimens of the grape when ripe, and hope to make a more satisfactory show at your next Fall Exhibition. We sometimes think the best way we can serve the interests of pomology is to denounce every new fruit that is brought to notice. We then get at facts, and obtain information from those who really have it to give. Now, but for our few re- marks about the Delaware grape, we should not know near so much about it as we learn from the above communication, and incidentally about the Logan, too. However, our remarks were in no way intended to disparage the grape, but on the contrary were in praise of it. We do not retract anything we said. We still believe there is just the difference in the Rebecca and Delaware that we described. We arc only surprised that Mr. Campbell should not be sufficiently acquainted with the qualities of the Chasselas grapes to think the comparison in any way lessened the value of the Delaware. If France is celebrated by any one thing in fruits, it is for the superlative excellency of her Chasselas grapes. Those grown at Thomery have a world-wide reputation. Even the Frontignans are not considered equal to them, and they com- mand the highest price in the market. We said the Delaware 316 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. was a complete counterpart of the Red Chasselas, but we might have named the White as regards flavor, only that the Red, or Rose as it is sometimes called, would convey a better idea of the similarity of tlie two. They differ but little, if any, in quality. To say that a grape is equal to the Chasselas is the highest praise that can be given to a variety. Perhaps we did not express ourselves clearly in saying the Delaware " has not the least flavor," because that would be incorrect ; what we meant to say was, that it has no character- istic flavor of its own. Certainly the Chasselas has flavor, but then it is of that simple kind which is peculiar from its delicacy and honeyed sweetness ; and the Delaware is just like it, lusciously sweet and rich, but leaving to the taste none of that aroma peculiar to the Muscats, and which give them their delicious quality. We prize the Delaware as one of our best grapes, but we still think there is just the same difference between it and the Rebecca that there is between the Black Hamburgh and Muscat, or the Chasselas and Frontignan. It is, of course, a mere matter of taste — many individuals considering the Hamburgh the best of all grapes. We are pleased to hear so favorable an account of the Logan. We were highly gratified at the appearance of the specimens alluded to by Mr. Campbell, and only regret that we did not have an opportunity to taste them. The jet black color of the berries and the compact and handsome form of the bunches struck us as remarkable, and something quite now among grapes. We shall be delighted to receive the specimens of the Logan the coming autumn, and shall then be able to speak from personal experience. HERBACEOUS P.EONIES AND BEE CULTURE. BY DR. J. P. KIRTLAND, CLEVELAND, OHIO. Three years since, you had the goodness to send me half a dozen of the new varieties of the Belgian herbaceous paeonies. They have recently flowered, and have raised no small excitement among the florists of this vicinitv. JULY. 317 In the third volume of the Horticultural Magazine you gave an interesting account of the several species and varie- ties of the paeony then cultivated in this country, and in vol. 18th, descriptions of twenty-six new herbaceous varieties. Notices have also occasionally appeared of the old and of new varieties of the Tree paeony. With all these communi- cations before the public, little seems to be generally known ' of the beauty and worth of this family of plants. If spoken of, no other flower is brought to mind than the prototype, the old fashioned double red, which occupied a prominent position in the flower borders of our grandmothers, but which modern progress has either banished from our gardens, or has assigned to it some obscure corner. Both the herbaceous and the tree varieties are destined soon to become the most popular of our hardy perennial flow- ers. The former varieties are hardy in all soils, properly drained. The latter in my garden, which is a dry and grav- elly formation, requires no protection ; but in less favorable locations in northern Ohio, it needs to be surrounded in au- tumn with dry leaves, secured in place by turning over the whole a suitable sized box or barrel, so arranged as to keep them dry. All kinds are rank feeders, and require as high cultivation as the rose and the grape. I am not aware that any one in the United States has prac- tically carried out your suggestions in regard to producing new herbaceous varieties, which may be found in Vol. III., p. 290, Hort. Mag., but it is evident from your article in Vol. XVIII., p. 360, of the same journal, that anterior to the year 1852, the Belgians had made successful progress in that direc- tion. What has since been accomplished I have no means of ascertaining, and my object in addressing you at this time is to suggest that you favor the readers of your journal with an article which shall embrace an account of all that has been accomplished since the above named year. No more pleasant and interesting amusement could engage the attention of our amateur florists than the raising of new varieties of this plant. The method which I finally pursued, after many and varied attempts at producing improved varie- ties of the cherry, would no doubt be equally successful with the paeony. 318 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Some five years since, Col. Wilder very kindly forwarded to me a semi-double Tree pseony, with the suggestion that from it I might produce new varieties. Faithful to his sug- gestion, I engaged in the undertaking, and am happy to say, that I have already a crop of young seedlings growing rapidly, and the last year's seeds preparing to vegetate the next season. With me this process takes two years. Can it be expedited by scalding the seeds, or by other management ? What single species or variety of herbaceous pa^ony is the most prolific and certain in producing perfect seeds ? Does such variety flower at the same time with" others ? Can the pollen be preserved for use for any considerable time ? Naturalists would not arrange the honey-bee in the floral department, yet by use it has very properly been attached to it as a kind of appendage. They work well together. To such persons as take an interest in cultivating this insect, I would say, that, under Langstroth's system, I have succeeded to the fullest extent of my wishes. By it I not only handle, move and govern my colonies with as much ease, facility and security as Van Amburg manages his lions and tigers, and Rayner the vicious individuals of the equine race, but am enabled to destroy every interloping moth and worm. As these latter have for half a century proved the great impedi- ment to the labors of the apiarian, their successful counter- action is restoring bee culture to its pristine and favorable results. These statements are made with hesitation. They may, in the estimation of some people, savor a little of Mimchausenism. Their skepticism, however, would vanish if they were to see me open my hives, remove every bee, and every portion of comb, brood and honey, and then to capture every depredat- ing worm and moth, sweep out all accumulations of filth — dead bees, millers' eggs, and it is moreover a much more cleanly process than the one commonly used." Let us add, that we always use moss at the top of the crocks to prevent the light soil being carried through to the shelves of the greenhouse — an inconvenience much felt by the ordinary method. — [Gard. Chron., p. 556.) Societies. AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL. The seventh meeting of this Society was held in Mozart Hall, New York, on Friday, the 14th of September, and continued three days. The President, the Hon. M. P. Wilder, took the chair, and, after the reception of the credentials of the delegates from various societies, pro- ceeded to deliver his address. Mr. Wilder congratulated the members upon the meeting of the seventh session, and, after noticing the effect that the organization of this society had had in the formation of similar societies in Europe, and the great importance of its transactions in our own country, proceeded to discuss the profits of pear culture, following this with an interesting sketch of the^ progress of horticultural science the past two years. He next pictured the 480 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. pleasures arising from gardening pursuits, and concluded his very interest- ing address, which we have only space to notice, by resigning his position as president. Mr. T. W. Field of New York, however, offered a resolution prevailing upon him to retain it for another term. After a recess of an hour, the Society elected the following gentlemen as its officers for the two years to come : — President— The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder of Massachusetts. Vice-Presidents — One from each State and Territory. Secretary— Thomas W. Field, Brooklyn, N. Y. Treasurer — Thomas P. James, Philadelphia, Pa. Executive Committee — The President and Vice-Presidents ex-officio ; W. D. Brinckle, M. D., Philadelphia, Pa.; T. W. Field, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; M. B. Bateham, Columbus, Ohio; L. E. Berckmans, Plainfield, N. J.; F. K. Phoenix, Bloomington, 111. General Chairman of the State Fruit Committees — S. Walker, Roxbury, Ms. The meeting then took up the business before it, the first being the dis- cussion of fruits, and the addition of such varieties to the list for " general cultivation" as deserved to be placed there. Three days were consumed in this labor, besides the reception and reading of various reports. As these were interesting, we shall improve the earliest opportunity, after the proceedings are published, to give a digest of the same. The meeting adjourned on Friday, the 17th, to meet in Philadelphia in 1860. There was a better display of fruit than the Society has ever made, from the following contributors : — The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder of Boston exhibited 144 varieties of pears. Messrs. EUwanger & Barry of Rochester, 200 varieties of pears and 37 of plums. Hovey & Co., Boston, 150 varieties of pears. Hon. Samuel Wal- ker, Roxbury, 140 varieties of pears. William Reid of Elizabeth, N. J., 104 varieties of pears. William L. Ferris of Throg's Neck, 55 varieties of pears. Sheldon Moore, Kensing- ton, Conn., 5 varieties of pears. E. M. Warren, Chelmsford, Mass., 8 va- rieties Summer and Fall sweet apples, 10 Fall and Winter sweet apples, 24 Fall and Winter sour apples, 30 Early and Summer sour apples. Messrs. Thorp, Smith & Hanchett, Syracuse, 124 varieties of pears. J. D. Inger- soll, lUion, Herkimer County, N. Y., Delaware and Logan grapes, 1 un- known. Dr. J. F. Boynton, Syracuse, 14 varieties of pears. T. T. Lyon, Plymouth, Mich., 27 varieties of pears and apples. W. H. Mitchell, Har- lem, 13 varieties of pears and 14 varieties of apples. C. H. Moore, New York, 1 seedling pear. E. W. Sylvester, Lyons, N. Y., 3 varieties of pears. Prof Mapes, 13 varieties of pears. Messrs. Westbrook &, Mendenhall, Greensboro', N. C, 77 varieties of apples and 13 varieties of pears. John G. Bergen, Brooklyn, 40 specimens of the Island pear (a new variety), 20 specimens of the Bergen pear, and 12 specimens of the Englebert Lott. James M. Paul, North Adams, Mass, 20 varieties of apples and 10 varieties of peara. S. P. Carpenter, New Rochelle, 3 new varieties of pear, origi. OCTOBER. 481 nating in Westchester County. E. G. Studley, Claverack, Columbia County, 10 varieties of apples. W. P. Townshend, Lockport, N. Y., 38 varieties of pears. Joshua Pierce, Washington, D. C, 5 enormous Hunter melons, 18 to 22 inches long. Charles Downing of Newburgh, and Dr. Grant of lona Island, exhibit very fine specimens of the Delaware, Anna and Ca- tawba grapes. gTctssacjjusetts Ijorliculturai Socbtg. Saturday, Sept. 4, 1858 — Exhibited. Flowers : From Jona. French, 70 vars. of verbenas, stocks and asters. From J. Breck &, Son, verbenas in variety, and fine phloxes. From J. Nugent, 40 vars, of verbenas. From G. G. Hubbard, asters, dahlias, verbenas, &c. From W. H. Spooner, 30 vars. of German asters. From Hovey & Co., 125 vars. of verbenas, including Etonian, Lord Mac- aulay, and Earl of Shaftsbury, new ones of 1858, of remarkable beauty ; also 50 varieties of Pompon, Perfection, Pffiony, Pyramidal, Quilled, Bou- quet, chrysanthemum flowered and imbricated asters, stocks, new gladi- olus, petunias, Japan lilies, &c. — a magnificent display. From A, Apple, 50 varieties verbenas, stocks, roses, asters, &.c. From F. Winship, asters, stocks and cut flowers. From W. C. Strong, roses, Weigelia amabilis, 59 vars, of verbenas, asters and cut flowers. Asters, verbenas, and cut flowers were also sent by Barnes & Washburn, M. Trautman, T. W. Walker, T. G. Whytal, J. Kelly and others. Some seedling verbenas were exhibited ; among others, one from J. Kel- ly, called Pride of Belmont, white ; but none were considered of sufficient merit to obtain the prize of the silver medal. AWARD OF PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES. Asters, — For the best 30 flowers, to Hovey & Co,, $ 5. For the next best, to J. Breck «Sr- Co., $4. For the next best, to Barnes & Washburn, $3. For the next best, to W. C. Strong, $2. Stocks, — For the best, to Hovey &. Co,, $5. For the next best, to F. Winship, $3. For the next best, to A, Apple, $2. Verbenas, — For the best, to W. C. Strong, $4. For the next best, to A. Apple, $3. For the next, to Hovey &l Co., $2. Gratuities. — To F, Winship, J. Nugent, J. French, W. H, Spooner, M, Trautman, T, W, Walker, and G. G. Hubbard, $1 for asters. To W. Heustis, for a display of roses, $2. To J. French, for stocks, $1. To J. French, J. Nugent, Barnes & Washburn, J. Breck & Son, T. G. Whytal, and G. G. Hubbard, $1 each for verbenas. 482 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Fruits: From J. F. Allen, Manning's Elizabeth and Bartlett pears, and grapes. J. Nugent and G. Merriara sent Dorchester blackberries. From Hovey & Co., Boston and St. Menin pears. From T. Clapp, Gravenstein and Early Strawberry apples, very fine. Benoni apples from E. M. Rich- ards, and Foster apples from J. W. Foster. From H. Vandine, 20 vars. of plums, and Muskingum pears. Very fine Bartlett pears from J. B. Loomis and J. F. Pond. PREMIUMS AWARDED FOR FRUITS. Summer Apples. — For the best, to Hovey & Co., for Early Bough, $5. For the next best, to G. B. Cutter, for Williams, #3. Summer Pears.— For the best, to M. P. Wilder, for Bloodgood, $5. For the next, to Hovey & Co., for St. Menin, $3. Currants. — For the best, to M. P. Wilder, for La Versaillaise, $3. For the next, to J. Nugent, for Rod Dutch, $2. Gooseberries. — For the best, to T. Mitchell, $i. For the next, to A. D. Webber, #2. Raspberries. — For the best, to W. R. Austin, for Knevet's Giant, $5. For the next, to W. H. Barnes, the same, $4. For the next, to J. W. Foster, the same, $3. Blackberries. — For the best, to J. Nugent, for the Dorchester, ^5. For the next, to G. Merriam, the same, $A. For the next, to L. Jennings, Jr., for Lawton, $3. For the next, to C. E. Grant, Dorchester, $2. The Thirtieth Annual Exhibition of the Society was held in the Society's Hall, School Street, on the 21st, 22d, 23d and 24th of Sep- tember. The Society, in the early part of the season, concluded to hold the exhibition in their own Hall the present year, and on account of the limited room compared with the Music Hall, where it has been held for three or four years, made their arrangements to correspond with the space. No plants in pots, with one or two exceptions — no designs, and only a lim- ited quantity of cut flowers, were exhibited. The fruits were confined to the collections mostly for which prizes were offered, which alone nearly or quite filled the tables. Notwithstanding the very limited space, the exhibition was a very fine one. The pears and apples were extremely large and handsome, and as they were nearly all offered for competition, they comprised only the very best specimens. So many superior fruits brought together made a magnifi- cent display. Such fine Flemish Beauty, Bartlett, Seckel, Sheldon, Swan's Orange, Beurre Superfin, Lawrence, Andrews, Beurr6 Bosc and other pears, and Gravenstein, Northern Spy, and some other apples, were never before seen. The grapes were few and not very remarkable; the Muscat of Alex- andria and Barbarossa being the exceptions. Plums and peaches were poor. We annex a brief report of the exhibition. Plants in Pots. — These were only the Gloxinias and Achimenes for which prizes were offered, a collection of ferns, a Cissus discolor, and a bamboo, all from the collection of Messrs. Hovey & Co. The achime- nes were immense specimens, some in tubs two feet in diameter. The OCTOBER. 483 ferns comprised handsome plants of Gymnogramia, Lycop6dium umbro- sum, &c. The Cissus was a superb spechnen, trained in the form of a vase. Bambiisa metake, the new hardy bamboo, will prove a great acquisition to our ornamental foliaged plants. Bouquets. — These were two very large ones for the Bradlee vases from Hovey & Co., composed mostly of Japan lilies and Gladioli ; two for the Jones vases, from J. Nugent; also, parlor, mantel, and hand bouquets from Messrs. Wilder, Rand, Trautman and others. Cut Flowers. — These, though not in so large quantity as heretofore, were unusually select and fine. Messrs. Breck & Son had fine asters, Glad- ioli, annuals, phloxes, verbenas, &c. Messrs. Hovey & Co., Japan lilies, some new Gladioli, asters, verbenas, phloxes, achimenes, gloxinias, dahlias, lantanas, roses, and a varietv of annuals. Messrs. Copeland, Rand, Apple, G. G. Hubbard, W. C. Strong, F. Winship, Underwood and others also contributed a handsome variety of flowers. The following is the award of premiums : — PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES AWARDED FOR PLANTS, BOUQUETS, ETC. Achimenes. — For the best six, to Hovey & Co., $6. Gloxinias. — For the best six, to Hovey & Co., f6. Large Bouquets. — For the best pair for the Bradlee vases, to Hovey & Co., $10. For the best pair for the Jones vases, to J. Nugent, #10. Parlor Bouquets. — For the best pair, to J. Nugent, $8. For the next, to E. S. Rand, Jr., $7. For the next, to A. Apple, $6. For the next, to M. Trautman, $5. For the next, to M. P. Wilder, .f 4. For the next, to L. Davenport, |3. Mantel Bouquets. — For the best pair, to W. E. Carter, $5. For the next, to E. S. Rand, Jr., .f4. Hand Bouquets. — For the best four, to M. Trautman, $5. For the next, to L. Davenport, f 4. For the next, to E. S. Rand, Jr., .f3. Cut Flowers. — For the best display, to Hovey & Co., $15. For the next, to J. Breck & Son, #12. For the next, to Antane Apple, $10. For the next, to W. C. Strong, #8. For the next, to E. S. Rand, #6. Gratuities. — For Large Bouquets, to T. G. Whytal, #5. For Parlor Bouquets, to J. Breck &. Son, #3. For Cut Flowers, to C. Copeland, #3 ; to F. Winship, #3 ; to G. G. Hubbard, #2 ; to W. J. Underwood, #1 ; to M. Trautman, #1. For Coxcombs, to T. W. Walker, #2. For Cissus discolor and Display, to Hovey & Co., #5. For Cone work, to Mrs. J. Mann, the Society's silver medal. For Wax Flowers, to Miss Capen, the bronze medal. 484 THE MAGAZINE OF HOETICULTUEE. For Wreath, to Mrs. Wm, Kenrick, $i. For Floral Vase, to Mrs. A. Pierce, $3. Fruit: From the President of the Society, twenty varieties of pears — among them very fine Beurre Clairgeau. From J. S. Cabot, twenty vars. of pears. From Hovey & Co., fifty varieties of pears — among which were Beurre Kennes, Gerando, Alexandrina, Grand Soliel, Kingsessing, Beurr6 Nantais, Bergamot, Leseble, Des Chasseurs, &c. From M. P. Wilder, fifty varieties of pears, including Paul Theliens. Mad. Eliza, Beurr6 Antoine, B. Montefortaine, Willermoz, Colmar d'Aout, Brailmont, &c. From S. Walker, fifty varieties of pears, comprising Neumasons, Alex. Lambre, Doyenn6 Robin, Kingsessing, &c. F. Dana, A. Low, R. Manning, R. W. Ames, W. A. Craft, A. D. Wil- liams, G. Evers, A. Parker, W. Bacon, J. A. Stetson, G. G. Hubbard and John Gordon each contributed ten var. of pears. E. Wight, thirteen var. of apples, H. Vandine, eight var. of pears and four of plums. Mrs. S. W. Cole, pears and apples. S. Sweetser, five var. of pears. C. E. Grant, fine Isabella grapes. Mrs. F. B. Durfee, Fall River, grapes in variety, very fine, particularly the Muscats. J. Breck & Son, grapes. J. W. Garcia, Roxbury, pears. N. Harris, plums, pears and peaches in variety. W. R. Austin, eight var. of pears. J. Stone & Sons, apples. L. Davenport, apples. J. A. Kenrick, apples and pears. Mrs. C. Hancock, Boston, four var. pears. Messrs. Burr, ten var. apples. N. White, Quincy, six var. pears. P. G. Hardwick, Quincy, pears. N. H. White, Quincy, apples and pears. J. H. Chadwick, fifteen var. pears. E. F. Fay, Chelsea, pears. From G. Evers, ten var. apples, and three for a name. J. Newhall, ap- ples and figs. F. Dana, four var. peaches, two of grapes. J. G. Ball, Bos- ton, apples. H. H. Chamberlain, pears. J. Mason, Cambridgeport, Bartlett pears, Mrs. Valentine, Cambridgeport, eight var. pears. A. D. Williams, ten var. apples, H, S, Mansfield, Blackstone, fine display of twelve var, grapes. F. Winship, pears. B. Hastings, Concord, apples. J. B. Loomis, Chelsea, pears. G. G. Hubbard, Cambridge, five var. apples, J. Gordon, eleven var. apples, and green flesh melon, B. Harrington, apples and pears, A, S, Dean, Roxbury, pears, C, Blanchard, apples. J. Vickery, apples. R. S. Rogers, Salem, Black Barbarossa grapes. H. Dutch, Chelsea, pears. Mrs, R, V. Thompson, Boston, plums, C, Dimmick, Somerville, pears and peaches, J, W, Foster, apples. A, Parker, apples. From. S, Lane, Flemish Beauty pears, J, Eaton, Cambridge, four var. pears, J, Haley, three varieties pears, J. H. Billings, Doyenn6 Boussock pears, J, Nudd, Cambridge, Bartlett pears, H, B, Phelps, Isabella grapes. Dr, A, Lodge, Swampscot, four var, pears. Wm. H. Palmer, Roxbury, five var. pears. Wm. Bacon, four boxes plums. B. Hastings, Concord, Northern Spy apples. Dr, H. Adams, Adams pears. Rev, T. D, Ander- son, Beurr6 Bosc and Seckel pears, C, C, Sampson, Chelsea, Flemish Beauty pears, J, W, Manning, Diana grapes, J, Palsy, Roxbury, three var, pears. B. D. Emerson, Jamaica Plain, Black Hamburgh and White OCTOBER. 485 Chasselas grapes. J. A. Stetson, Quincy, ten var. apples. T. Waterman, Diana, Catawba, and Breck grapes. L. Wheeler, Cambridge, pears. Jas. Eustis, twelve var. apples. From Dr. C. W. Grant, lona, N. Y., Delaware and Diana grapes. From Wm. Brooksbanks, Rebecca grapes. Other contributions of fruits were made, but owing to the lateness of the month we have not the time to enu- merate them. The above comprises the principal exhibitors. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES FOR FRUITS. Apples. — For the best ten varieties, twelve specimens, to T. Clapp, $20. For the next, to J. A. Stetson, $15. For the next, to Messrs. Burr, $IQ. For the best eight varieties, twelve specimens, to J. Gordon, $15. For the next, to J. W. Foster, $12. For the next, to J. Lovett, $8. For the best five varieties, to G. G. Hubbard, $10. For the next, to G. Evers, $8. For the best three varieties, to E. Wight, $8. For the best variety, twelve specimens, to T. Clapp, for Gravenstein, $5. For the next, to N. H. White, for Hubbardston Nonsuch, $4. For the next, to G. Evers, for the Northern Spy, $3. For the next, to S. Walker, for Gravenstein, $2. Pears. — For the best ten varieties, to M. P. Wilder, the Lyman plate, valued at $20. For the next, to J. Gordon, $15. For the next, to Hovey & Co., $12. For the best eight varieties, twelve specimens, to W. R. Austin, $15. For the next, to H. Vandine, $12. For the next, to P. R. L. Stone, $8. For the best five varieties, twelve specimens, to J. H. Chadwick, $10. For the next, to N. White, $8. For the next, to T. Clapp, $6. For the best three varieties, twelve specimens, to J. Eaton, $8. For the next, to J. Haley, $5. For the best variety, twelve specimens, to J. Eaton, Flemish Beauty, $5. For the next, to W. R. Austin, Louise Bonne of Jersey, $4. For the next, to J. Gordon, Beurre Bosc, $3. For the next, to R. W. Ames, Duchesse, $2. Grapes. — For the best five varieties, to Mrs. F. B. Durfee, $10. For the next, to J. Breck, $8. For the third best, to C. S. Holbrook, $6. For the second best two varieties, to B. D. Emerson, $4. For the best collection, to H. S. Mansfield, $10. For the besit specimens of Native grapes, to C. E. Grant, Isabellas, $5. For the next, to G. B. Cutter, $4. Peaches. — For the best, to T. Clapp, $5. For the next, to F. Dana, $4. 486 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Plums. — For the best, to H. Vandine, $5. For the next, to Wm. Bacon, #4, Gratuities. — To S. Walker, W. Bacon and A. Low, $10 each for ten varieties of pears. To R. W. Ames and J. A. Stetson, for ten varieties of pears, $5 each. To Mrs. C. Hancock for Bartlett, J. H. Chadwick for Seckel, and F. Winship for Doyenne Boussock pears, $2 each. Vegetables. — The show of vegetables, though good, did not compare with the variety of last year. The squashes were excellent, considering the cool season, and some fine Hubbards were sent by Mr. Gregory of Marblehead. We also noticed the Wilder, Acorn, Custard and others. Messrs, Burr made a most interesting contribution of sixty varieties of beans, comprising the principal sorts known in seedsmen's catalogues. — They were neatly put up in small boxes, and carefully labelled with the name and the habit, whether dwarf or running. It added greatly to the interest of this department. We annex the awards. PREMIUMS AND GRATUITIES FOR VEGETABLES. Best Display. — For the best display and greatest variety, to S. A. Mer- rill, $15. For the next, to J. Stone & Sons, $10. For the next, to G. G, Hubbard, $8, For the next, to G, R, Sampson, $6. For the next, to I, P, Rand, $4. Cauliflowers. — For the best, not less than three heads, to A. Parker, $4. For the next, to S. A. Merrill, $3. For the next, to G. R. Sampson, $1. Cabbages. — For the best, not less than three heads, to S. A. Merrill, $4. For the next, to A. Parker, $3. For the next, to G. R, Sampson, $1. MusKMELON. — For the best Christiana or Greenflesh, to J. Gordon, $3. For the next, to G, R, Sampson, $2. For the next, to L. Davenport, $1. Mammoth Squash. — For the best, to S. A. Merrill, the Society's silver medal. For the next, to G. R. Sampson, $3. Pumpkins. — For the best, to S. A. Merrill, silver medal. For the next, to J. Stone &. Sons, $3. Gratuities, — For collection, to A. Bowditch & Son, $5 ; B. Harrington, $3 ; A. Parker, A. D. Webber and G. N. Nichols, each $2 publica- tion. For Hubbard Squashes, to J. J. H. Gregory, $2 publication. For collection, to J. Stickney, $2. For truss of yellow corn, to C. French, $2 publication. To W. C. Strong, Messrs. Burr, Wm. Bacon, L, Davenport, J. Nugent, T. W. Walker, F. Dana, and Oakman & Elredge, $1 each. 487 l^artitiiltiiral ©ptrnlions FOR OCTOBER. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. Still, cool and moist has been Septennber, the latter part accompanied with slight frosts much earlier than usual. Since 1835 so early a frost hag not been experienced around Boston. After such a cool and wet summer, we cannot but anticipate a warm and dry autumn. Already trees show a better ripened wood than last year, and with two weeks of good weather they would be well prepared for the winter. With October more active duties commence ; ground intended for planting should be immediately got ready, and as soon as the leaves will shake off they may be removed. Grape Vines now at work in the earliest houses will require attention. Keep up a good temperature by the aid of light fires, increasing it as the vines advance towards blooming : stop the laterals as soon as their length will admit. Vines in the grapery will need no other care than abundance of air to ripen the wood. In the greenhouse all superfluous green wood may be cut away to admit light and warmth. Vines in cold houses should have close attention ; air freely in good weather, as well ripened wood is the main thing in successful grape culture. Vines in pots for forcing should be removed to a cool shed on the approach of severe frosty nights, but should be kept out as long as possible. Peach Trees in pots should have a warm sunny situation to ripen the wood. Fig Trees, with their young fruit just set, should not be allowed to see a heavy frost, as they will be likely to lose their crop : remove to a warm shed. Fruit Trees of all kinds may be transplanted after the 20th. Currants and Gooseberries may be successfully transplanted. Strawberry Beds should be looked to occasionally, as the plants will still be making a growth. The Canker Worm Grubs often make their appearance the last of the month, and, if they should be seen, tar, or some of the newer compounds, should be ready for them. flower department. The unusual early frosts have reminded the careful gardener of the necessity of housing his plants, and already, all the more tender will be in their places for the winter. If they are not, no time should be lost in getting them in. All the smaller, and less hardy kinds, are yet better off in frames, such as Verbenas, Scarlet Geraniums, Petunias, &c., where they can be well exposed to the sun to ripen their wood, and be protected from frost at night. Keep the houses, except the stove, as cool as possible, and without fires as long as the weather will allow. Camellias should all be neatly arranged, and have occasional syringings in good weather. 488 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. Chrtsanthemdms should have an open, airy situation, where they will display their flowers in better condition. Water freely with liquid manure. Azaleas should be rather sparingly watered, and have the coolest place in the house. Pelargoniums should have a light, airy situation, close to the glass ; any cuttings not yet potted off should be attended to. Calceolarias, raised from seed, should be potted off. Cinerarias should have the same management, and plants for early flowering should be shifted into larger pots. Monthly Carnations should have a good situation, not too warm. Chinese Primroses, if they require it, should be repotted. Keep them on a cool, airy shelf. Nemophilas should be repotted. Hyacinth and other bulbs, for early flowering, may be potted now. Pansies may be propagated from cuttings. Bedding Plants of all kinds may yet be propagated from cuttings for a spring stock. AcHiMENES should be cut down, and the pots placed beneath the stage. Gloxinias may have the same treatment. Cactuses should be sparingly watered now, except the truncatum. Fuchsias, done blooming, may be placed away in a dry situation, under the stage. Roses, in the open ground, should be taken up and potted, and have the protection of a frame till well rooted. Heaths may be kept in a frame for some time ; if removed to the house they should have a very cool, airy situation. Lantanas, taken up and potted, and kept rather dry, may be wintered under the stage, where they will be free from damp. Plants of all kinds, suitable for winter decoration, should be taken up and potted. Prune and tie into shape everything taken into the house. flower garden and shrubbery. Though late in the season the lawn, the walks and the flower garden should have attention ; neglect now will not only cause a slovenly appear- ance, but increase the labor of spring work. Clean up all leaves as they fall, and remove all frost bitten foliage. Carnation and Picotee layers should be transplanted to a frame, where they can be slightly protected during winter. Tulips, Hyacinths and other hardy bulbs may be set out this month. Gladioluses should be taken up. Dahlias should be taken up before severe frosts. Orange Globe Roots, if taken up and stored in the cellar, bloom freely next summer. Madeira Vines should be taken up early. Pansies may be divided and reset, and cuttings put in. Japan and other Lilies may be reset this month. Herbaceous Plants may be taken up and reset, or transplanted now. Shrubs of all kinds may be transplanted. THE HERBACEOUS PiEONIES. Few if any hardy flowering plants excel in splendor the Paeony. The rose, with its varied tints, its exquisite form, and delightful fragrance, is unsurpassed ; but for mere splen- dor alone, it cannot excel the Pgeony in its present improved state. So little does the magnificence of this flower appear to be appreciated, and so little are its numerous varieties generally known, that we make no apology for devoting this article to some account of them, trusting it may be the means of awakening a new interest in their culture, and aid in intro- ducing them more generally to the notice of all who admire brilliant flowers. We do this partly in accordance with a recent request of our friend, Prof. Kirtland, but mainly to bring it before our readers, and urge upon them its many claims to the attention of all who would add one of the easiest cultivated and most magnificent flowers to their gardens. The double red pjeony of our older gardens was for so long a time the only double variety cultivated, that many who know it well form their opinion of the merits of others from this. Though once the pride of every garden, it has lately been considered too common for a permanent place in the flower border, and from some gardens has been banished altogether ; still it is a very beautiful variety, perhaps not yet excelled in color, though it has been in size and form, and it deserves a better fate than the neglect it has received. Its early blooming and its brilliant color enliven the grounds at a season when there are few other flowers. If it was a new and rare kind, it would speedily gain an entrance into every col- lection of handsome plants. But as we have said, this is so generally taken as the pro- totype of the newer ones that they are neglected for other and far less showy plants. It is scarcely believed, by those who have not seen them, that there is such a variety of beautiful tints, from the purest white to the deepest purple. The Whitleji, Humei and fragrans have been looked upon as VOL. XXIV. — NO. XI. 39 490 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. combining all the principal colors. It is true the earlier seed- lings have a similarity in appearance : great changes are not achieved at once ; they must be gradual, and through the repeated process of hybridization. But, thanks to the zeal and perseverance of the French and Belgian florists, these great changes have been effected, and at the present time the pgeony vies ^vith the rose in the variety of its colors, and ap- pears destined to surpass it. The dahlia for a long time retained its distinctness of color, till at last slight changes were produced, and speedily our gardens were filled with tipped, shaded, striped and mottled flowers. So, too, with the pseony ; already some of the newest kinds have beautifully shaded blossoms, and ere long there can be little doubt of the production of other new combinations of color. With such a variety of tints — with such a vigorous and liardy habit — displaying their blossoms so early in the season, and of such uncommon size, why should they not become the favorites of every lover of splendid flowers ? Next to tlie rose, we know of no hardy plant so truly deserving, the amateur's attention. The tulip, gorgeous though it is, requires great €are in its culture, and its brilliancy lasts but a short time, while the pseony begins to bloom in May and continues in succession to July. It is but a short time since the attention of cultivators was first given to the production of new varieties, — not more than twenty-five or thirty years, and principally within twenty years ; in the latter period the French and Belgian collections have been increased from twenty to one hundred varieties, and the magnificence of some of them surpasses any descrip- tion. Till within half a dozen years there has been a great want of rich dark colors ; but this deficiency has been supplied by M. Parmentier, a Belgian amateur, who has devoted nearly thirty years to the improvement of this flower, never parting with a single plant till 1853. Most of his seedlings are nearly as rich in color as the old double red, and several of them of the deepest crimson purple, large, full, and extremely double ; they have been remarkable acquisitions. Besides M. Parmen- tier, of Belgium, the principal improvers of the pseony abroad have been M. Guerin, Yerdier, Lemon, Delache, and Miellez, of France. NOVEMBER. 491 Our own amateurs have not, we are glad to know, over- looked the pgeony. Messrs. Cabot and Putnam of Salem, and Mr. J. Richardson of Dorchester, have each raised several very beautiful flowers. Those produced by Mr. Putnam have already found their way into the trade, and though not equal to some of the newest foreign varieties, they are quite as good as the older ones. We doubt not that perseverance in the growth of seedlings would result, as it has in other plants, in the production of kinds quite equal to those of the French and Belgian florists. Careful hybridization would effect in this flower what it has in the Camellia, of which some of our American seedlings surpass all others. It is since the publication of our last article on the pseony, in 1852, (Yol. XYIII.) that the most beautiful varieties, with a few exceptions, have been introduced. Previously the flowers did not embrace a sufficient variety of colors ; there were too many light ones, and scarcely a good dark one except Pottsii. Of the latter description, M. Parmentier's seedlings, as we have stated, are unique ; and other grow- ers, particularly M. Verdier the elder, have also produced some fine deep colored flowers. Of the intermediate tints, such as rose, deep rose and violet rose, some very superior varieties have been obtained. All the later seedlings are of better form than the earlier ones, being more full and globu- lar, with a good row of outer guard petals, and a well filled and rounded centre. This is the natural result of an im- proved taste, which progresses with the improvement effected : at first we are satisfied with novelty in color without much regard to form, as something has been achieved ; but sooner or later we are not content with this alone ; the next step must be improvement in form, until, after a time, some stand- ard is established, below which none should fall deserving of cultivation. Just as a double dahlia at one time, and this not many years ago, was thought to be a wonderful flower ; while at the present day, it must not only be double but must come up to that standard which has been established after many years of cultivation has shown to what perfection it could be brought. The most beautiful form of the pseony is that of the Festiva, 492 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. one of the most magnificent that has ever been raised, equal- ling in this respect, we think, the Festiva maxima, though not so large and showy as the latter. This may be taken at present as the standard of form. The inner petals are of good size, cup-shaped, and the flower, when in perfection, is a per- fect ball. Some flowers are filled with long, narrow, fringed petals, with a tuft in the centre ; others have broader petals, and too much flattened at the top ; while a third has the true anemone shape. These forms, as well as the several varieties of them, are each beautiful in their way, but not equal to that of Festiva, and though it may not be possible, for a long time, to produce varieties of this shape, the nearer they approach to it the higher they will be estimated by all cultivators of this beautiful flower. We have been highly delighted the past season with the magnificent display of flowers in our collection of upwards of eighty varieties, and while in bloom we made brief descrip- tions of most of the more recent additions ; these, with the number already described in the volume above referred to, embrace a sufficient number to make a choice selection, which cannot fail to please every amateur cultivator. As TWENTY-SIX varieties were before noticed, we commence our enumeration, for the sake of convenience, from that period : — 27. Arsene Meuret, ( Verdier). — Flowers large ; outer pet- als good size ; centre well filled, forming a good ball ; color lilac violet, with the edges of the petals slightly shaded. 28. Decaisne, QGuerin). — Flowers large; outer petals good size ; centre very full and somewhat tufted ; color bright reddish violet. 29. Delachie, (^Delache) . — Flowers large and very double ; petals narrow ; color deep purple. 30. Doctor Bretonneau, ( Verdier). — Flowers large ; out- er petals large ; centre well filled, forming a complete ball ; color bright rose. 31. Etienne Dennis, ( Verdier). — Flowers large, of a very bright rose ; centre petals long and erect. It grows very tall, and holds its blossoms erect. 32. Flavescens, (Gnerin). — Flowers medium size ; outer petals large, of a yellowish white ; those of the centre of a soft yellow. A distinct variety. NOVEMBER. 493 33. Frat be despised, especially in August, when its long racemes of white flowers project from the masses of foliage that border the wooded swamps, and make a fine contrast with their deep verdure. The Cornel. — Next to the Viburnums, the Cornels might be allowed to take rank in importance among what may be called the homely shrubs, or such as are not showy in the colors or size of their flowers. These two genera of shrubs are indeed very liable to be mistaken for each other, each having opposite leaves and branches, and producing their inconspicuous flowers in cymes or umbels. Their botanical characters, however, are quite distinct. The Cornels are graceful and rather prhn-looking shrubs, having a hard, close-grained wood, and containing in their bark a large proportion of the bitter principle of the Cin- chura. They delight in the cooler regions of America, seldom extending far into the southern temperate zone. Some of them are remarkal^le for their shining red bark, which is very noticeable in the winter landscape. The Cornelian cherry is an exotic species of this genus, valued for its bright scarlet DECEMBER. 557 fruit. The name of this genus is ^aid to be derived from the Latin Cornu, signifying horn wood, on account of its great hardness. Tlic Greeks dedicated this tree to Apollo, probably on account of the usefulness of its wood in works of delicate sculpture. It is still used extensively by the engraver on wood, and for the manufacture of small articles which are to be turned or carved. The Flowering dogwood (Cornus Flor- ida) is the most important of this tribe of plants, both as an ornamental shrub and on account of its value in the arts. In the South and West, there are vast forests of this shrub, forming, in the month of May, acres of almost unvaried white- ness, from the profusion of its flowers, which appear before the leaves are expanded. The flowers grow in heads, or ses- sile umbels, enclosed in a large, spreading involucre, which might easily be' mistaken for the corolla of the flower, and the florets within for the parts of fructification. About the first of June these trees are very beautiful, their branches and budding leaves being almost entirely enveloped in a mass of pure white flowers. The Florida cornel, though not abund- ant in Massachusetts, makes a fine show when in flower, dotted about, here and there, amidst the fresh green foliage of other trees of the forest. The leaves of all the cornels be- come very brightly tinted with hues of scarlet and purple in the autumn. The little Dwarf cornel, whose flowers resemble those of the dogwood, is very common in the woods and in bushy pastures. It is an herbaceous plant, consisting of a simple stem issuing from a sort of subterranean vine, and surmount- ed with a single whorl of four or six ovate leaves, containing an umbel of flowers in the centre. The flowers of this species are usually gathered by children with the first bouquets of wild flowers of the season. The other species are valuable shrubs, though not remark- able for their flowers. Conspicuous among these is tlie Red Osier (C. stolonifera), distinguished, after the fall of the leaf, by its bright red stems and branches and its wliite fruit. The Silky cornel (C. sericea) has stems of a deep purple hue, though its recent shoots are green, and its leaf and fruit stalks invested with a silky down. The Panicled cornel (C. pani- 558 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. culata) is a slender species found in dry places, by roadsides, and in the borders of woods, and is rather showy when in flower. The berries when ripe are white, and the fruit stalks of a pale scarlet. Another species, the Round-leaved cornel, (C. circinata), bears fruit of a pale blue, and the C. altemi- folia has berries which are purple. These shrubs are hardly less important than the virburnums in giving character to our fields, and adding variety to the appearance of our slirubbery both in summer and winter. The industrious Grubbinol, whose ideas of taste are satis- fied by the practice of keeping down every wild shrub that shows its head in any of his borders, and wlio considers it one of the marks of a " model farmer" to allow no green shrub to deface the beauty of his nicely-laid stone walls, and who would tolerate the poison sumach as readily as a blueberry bush, defrauds nature of all these valuable shrubs, and annu- ally consigns them to the bonfire. In the meantime, cut- worms, beetles and the larvae of various insects are destroying his crops, because the birds, who would have extirpated them, can find no shelter in his fields. Thus nature takes revenge upon him who, for a few additional pumpkins, denies her a foothold in the borders of his fields, already too large for his efficient cultivation. The SpiRiBA. — There are but two Spiraeas among our in- digenous plants in Massachusetts, unless the Nine bark is found here, a plant which I have never discovered in the fields. The Spiraea salicifolia, or Bride-wort, commonly known as Meadow-sweet, is very frequent in pastures and on the edges of woods. This is a slender branching shrub, bearing a profusion of willow-like foliage, down almost to its roots, and a compound panicle of white, purplish flowers at the ends of the branches. It is well known to all who are familiar with the appearance of nature, being very abundant in the whortleberry pastures, in company with the low laurel and the common wild rose. This plant retains its leaves and their verdure to a late period in the autumn, until almost all other plants have shed their leaves. The flowers of the Hardback are very conspicuous by road- sides, especially in low grounds. It seems to delight in the DECEMBER. 559 borders of rustic footpaths, growing in profusion by the sides of stone walls, where its purple spikes may be seen with the nodding plumes of the golden rods waving in the wind. The uprightness of the plant, and the pyramidal form of its pan- icles of flowers, have caused it to receive the name of Steeple bush, from our church-going ancestors. One of the Spirasas, (the S. ulmaria,) is said to yield a fine flavor to warm water, and many of them are cultivated in England for the beauty of their flowers. The Wild Rose. — In my descriptions of New England shrubs, I must not omit the rose, the most celebrated and the most beautiful of flowers, of which our fields and woods con- tain several indigenous species, possessing great beauty and fragrance. The first is the Swamp rose, (R. caroliniana,) a tall shrub, found in swamps, by the borders of ponds and in other wet places, but not, I believe, in bogs. The stems and small branches are of a reddish color ; the flowers are in small clusters, of a deep rose color, and the fruit is of a bright scar- let. Another more common species (R. lucida) flowers very early, and is found in upland pastures, and in almost all neg- lected fields, often forming beautiful natural hedgerows by the sides of fences, and growing in other places in plats, some- times covering several square rods. Its blossoms are some- what paler than those of the preceding species, but finely scented. This species often produces a few blossoms in Octo- ber. I have found also, on some of the hills in Beverly, a variety witli white flowers. Another less common species is the Shining rose, (R. niti- da,) so named from the glossy character of its leaves. This variety has a very prickly stem, and is found^in low grounds. Of the Sweet Briar there are two species or varieties, the common Sweet Briar, or Eglantine, introduced from England, (R. rubiginosa,) which attains the height of six or eight feet, and may be trained to a much greater height. The flowers are of a bright rose color, and the fruit scarlet. The small-flowered Sweet Briar (R. micrantha) is supposed to be indigenous. This is the one that is most commonly found in the woods, attaining a great height where it finds support. Its leaves and flowers are both smaller and more 560 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. sweetly scented than those of the common European Fweet Briar. The flowers are of a pale rose color, approaching to white. I have seen it trained naturally upon a red cedar, forming, when in flower, a magnificent spectacle. The rose has a natural tendency to run into varieties, and this renders it difficult to distinguish species. The Pyrus. — It would be difficult for any one who is not a botanist to perceive the relationship of the common pear tree and the Mountain ash ; yet the latter is now reckoned as belonging to the genus Pyrus, having been transferred from the place it formerly occupied in the genus Sorbus. Indeed, the affinity between the pear and the Mountain ash is made evident by the fact that scions from the pear succeed well when grafted On this tree. The American Mountain ash (Pyrus americana) seems to be only a variety of the Euro- pean species, having smaller fruit of a deeper red, and larger leaves. In England it is called the Roan or Rowan tree, and Quicken. It has also received the name of Witchen, from its supposed influence in nullifying the power of evil spirits. It is a handsome tree, with pinnate leaves, smooth bark, alter- nate branches, and bearing its flowers in flat, terminal co- rymbs. We rarely see it wild in Massachusetts, but it is abundant in the woods on Wachusett Mountain. The Pyrus arbutifolia, or chokeberry, is a very humble shrub, bearing its flowers, like the Mountain ash, in terminal corymbs. These flowers are white, with purple anthers, that afford them a very lively look by contrast. This is a peculi- arity likewise of the blossoms of the common pear tree, which always have white petals, and are thereby distinguished from the blossoms of the apple tree, whose petals have a tinge of crimson. The Chokeberry grows wild in all neglected fields and' woodsides. Though humble and half concealed by the other shrubs that grow near it, it is possessed of a great deal of beauty, and its blossoms admit easily of being bound in bou- quets. Hence it is usually gathered by young people in their rambles during the last week in May. The fruit, though ex- cessively astringent, is not ill-flavored, and hangs in conspic- uous purple clusters among the whortleberries, for which it is easily mistaken. DECEMBER. 561 • The Amelanchier. — The Amelanchier, of which there are several varieties, formerly described under different generic names, is now considered a distinct genus, and the different varieties are classed as one species, the A. canadensis, or June berry, called also the Shad-bush. This is a northern shrub, and is found in perfection in the region about Hudson's Bay, where it becomes a tree of considerable size, and bears a fruit which is highly valued and extensively used by the people of that country.' Nature reserves certain gifts for the exclusive benefit of every clime, however inhospitable. While the tropics abound in the fruit of the date and the orange, and the temperate regions in that of the grape and the still more valuable apple and pear, she has caused the Amelanchier, which in our latitude is an inferior shrub, to attain the size of a tree in the cold region of Labrador, and has suspended upon its branches a fruit unsurpassed by any kind whicli has not been improved by cultivation. This plant is described in Bigelovv's Plants of Boston, as the Swamp Pyrus, and is called Shad-bush from its flowering simultaneously with the arrival of shad in our rivers. The Amelanchier furnishes a remarkable instance, in the different names applied to it, of the indecision or pedantry of botanical science. By Linnaeus it was described as a Mespilus ; its name was changed to Avonia by Persoon, to Pyrus by Will- denow ; and it has finally been removed from all these posi- tions by Dr. Hooker, and made a distinct genus, under the name of Amelanchier. It is a pity that the professors of sci- ence should bring her honest claims into disrepute, by emu- lating the uninstructed multitude in their habit of giving to plants a variety of names. The Hawthorn. — There is no shrub, except the rose, more celebrated in English pastoral literature than the Hawthorn. Li the mind of a New Englander it is not associated with the same pleasant scenes and customs which have made it familiar to the inhabitants of Great Britain. We have stone walls, in the place of the English hedgerows, and the few hedges which are to be seen in this country are made of some inferior shrub, because it has been believed that the hawthorn would not succeed well as a hedge plant in New England. Beside 562 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. the English liawthorn, which* has been naturalized here, there are several native species of great beauty. These are regard- ed, by English cultivators, as the most ornamental low trees which have been introduced into their gardens and shrubbe- ries. They are remarkable for the beauty both of their fruit and flowers, the latter being generally white, though there are varieties of rose color. The color of the fruit varies from a light yellowish green and yellow, through all the gradations of orange and scarlet to crimson and purple. There are for- eign species with berries not larger than small peas, while those of some of the Mexican hawthorns are as large as a butter pear. The American species are valued for the fine tints of their foliage before it falls. Mr. Emerson enumerates four species as common in Massachusetts: the C. crus galli, with fruit varying in color; C. tomentosa, with large orange- colored fruit ; C. punctata, with scarlet fruit, having grayish dots, and the C. pyrifolia, distinguished for its large and fra- grant flowers and wide spreading corymbs and yellow fruit. This is a very commoii shrub and worthy of cultivation. FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. The Chrysanthemum. — Notwithstanding the almost perfect indifference with which our American amateurs appear to view this beautiful flower, it is a very great favorite with the English cultivators, and is deservedly attracting universal at- tention this year. The Stoke Newington Chrysanthemum Society was to hold its twelfth annual exhibition on the second and third of November, when four prizes, of the value of five guineas each, were to be awarded. At the Crystal Palace a show was to take place on the sixth of November, when large prizes would be awarded for chrysanthemums ; and at the great show of the London Horticultural Society, Nov. 17th and 18th, eighteen prizes were to be awarded for this flower, varying from XI to X3 each. Some idea may thus be learned of the estimation in which the chrysanthemum is held abroad. Why is it that such a truly beautiful autumnal flower is so DECEMBER. 563 sadly neglected here ? Is there any plant which contributes more to the decoration of the parlor or conservatory for six ■weeks of the most dreary season of the year ? Speaking for ourselves alone, we know of few plants which deserve more atten- tion. Why will not our Horticultural Societies do something to elevate the chrysanthemum to its proper place ? The Mas- sachusetts Horticultural Society offers one or two prizes fer them, but they are so extremely small it is no inducement for our cultivators to compete. Why not have a grand Chrysan- themum Exhibition, which we have not the least doubt would be as attractive as any show of the season ? By the offer of liberal prizes, both for plants in pots and cut flowers, there would undoubtedly be plenty of contributors, and the chry- santhemum would then be grown in the perfection of which it is susceptible, and one of the finest of decorative plants be seen* in all its beauty. We trust this will not be overlooked in the prizes to be offered the coming year. New Torenia. — A new and beautiful variety of the Tore- nia has been produced by the London florists. The tube of the corolla and its eye are of an intense purple violet ; the two top lobes are the same color, fading at the edge into pure violet ; the lower is white, with a purple, oblate blotch at the . point. " The variety," says the Gardeners' Chronicle, " puts the old original kind quite out of the field." 426. Rhodode'ndron Griffithia^nuji Wight, var. Auck- land!. Lord Auckland's Rhododendron. (EricejE.) Sikkim Himalaya. A greenhouse shrub; growing six feet liish ; with white flowers ; appearing in spring ; increased by grafting ; grown in heath soil. Bot. Ma^' , lS5b, pi. 50C5. A magnificent species, which is considered, from the great expanse of its snow white flowers, the finest of the genus. It was introduced by Dr. Hooker, from Sikkim, in 1849, and flowered last spring with Mr. Gaines of Wandsworth. It forms a superb shrub, branching from the base upwards, with leaves six to ten inches long, bright green, edged with yellow, coria- ceous and firm. The flowers are very large, measuring seven inches across, and are produced in corymbose panicles of four to six each. In size it surpasses the R. Dalhousias, and must rank as the finest of the Sikkim Rhododendrons. {Bot, Mag., Aug.) 564 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. 427. AzA^LEA ovA^TA Litidl. Ovate-leaved Chinese Aza- ALEA. (Ericeae.) China. A greenhouse shrub; growing two feet hi^li; with pale puri)lo flowers; appearing in spring; in- creased by cuttinss; grown in heath soil. Bot. Mag., 1S58, pi. 5064. A pretty species, found by Mr. Fortune in Northern China, and sent home to the Horticultural Society. It is quite differ- ent from the other Indian kinds, having small, ovate, ever- green, coriaceous leaves, and axillary, solitary peduncled flowers, of small size and of a pale purple. They are produced in great abundance, and produce a pretty effect. It is a slow- growing species, half hardy in England, and will succeed well in any cool greenhouse. (^Bot. Mag-., August.) 428. Saxi'fraga pupura'scens Hook. Purple Himalayan Saxifrage. (Saxifragese!) Sikkim Himalaya. A hnrdy plant; "rowing one foot high; with pnrple flowers; appearing in spring ; increased by division ol the roots; grown in good garden soil. Bot. Mag. 1838, pi. 5066. A very fine species, in general habit resembling the com- mon S. crassifolia of our gardens. It differs from it, however, and is far more beautiful. The leaves are bright glossy green, elegantly margined with red, and the entire stem and inflo- rescence are of a deep, bright, vinous red purple. It is a striking and showy plant. Dr. Hooker discovered it in Sik- kim Himalaya, growing in wet places at an elevation of 10,000 to 14,000 feet, and it will undoubtedly prove hardy in our climate. {Bot. Mag-., Aug.) 429. ISxME^LiA Broussone^tii C. H. Schnltz. Broussonet's IsMELiA. (Compositao.) Canary Islands. A half-hardy plant ; growing two feet high ; with pale lilac flowers; appearing in May; increased by cuttings; grown in light rich soil Bot. Mag., 1858, pi. 5067. A showy plant, with the foliage of a chrysanthemum, and large, single, aster-like flowers, of a pale lilac tint, with golden florets and a purple disc. It was found in the Canary Islands, in mountain ranges at an elevation of 3000 feet. Dr. Hooker calls it " a really handsome plant," and, when in bloom, had quite a striking appearance in a conservatory. It might prove a useful bedding plant, its large starry flowers showing to good advantage in the open border. It will probably prove half hardy. (^Bot. Mag., August.) DECEMBER. 565 430. Campa'nula strigo^sa Riinel. Strigose Bellflower. (Campaiiiilaccas.) Syria. An annnal plant ; growing six iiichus Iiiiih; with bine flowers; appearin? in snitim<'r ; a native of Syria; increased by seeds; grown in common garden soil. Bot. Mag., Ib'JS, pi 50.iS. A very pretty annual species, with bright blue flowers, and small oblong ovate leaves, quite covered, as well as the stems, with wliite, pellucid, patent hairs. It grows only five or sil inches high. At Kew it was raised and flowered in a pot, in a cool frame ; but in our warmer climate it would no doubt prove a half-hardy annual, flowering a greater part of the summer. (^Bot. Mag-., Aug ) THE PtIYGELIUS CAPE N SIS. BY THE EDITOR. Every easily-cultivated, free-blooming, half-hardy plant is a great acquisition. Unlike the more tender exotics, they can be wintered without the aid of a greenhouse, and hence may decorate the grounds of the less wealthy, who do not possess so desirable an appendage to a modern garden. A frame or even a cool cellar will keep all this class of plants in good condition till the season arrives for planting them out in the open border. Such are the Pyrethrums, Pentstemons, Daisy, Auricula, and many others, well known favorites with raiany amateurs, who feel amply rewarded for the little extra labor which they may expend upon their preservation. The Phygelius capensis is one of the same class, quite hardy in Great Britain, but requiring the protection of a frame in our more severe clime. It is a native of tlie Cape of Good Hope, where it was found on the Witbergen Mountains by M. Drege, a German collector. In general appearance it resembles a Pentstemon, with a foliage like some of the Sal- vias. It is perennial. The stem is erect, branched at the base, quadrangular, and grows to the height of three feet. The leaves are oval, cordiform and crenulate on the edges, nearly two inches long, and supported by a short peduncle. The stem is terminated with a large panicle of tubular, bell- 566 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. shaped, scarlet flowers, which arc suspended in a manner extremely graceful. The limb of the corolla is divided into five lobes. Our engraving (fig. 24), though on a reduced scale, will convey a good idea of the plant. 24. PHYGELIUS CAPEKSIS. The Phygelius is a very great addition to our gardens, and is destined to become one of the most popular and admired bedding plants, flowering as freely as the Salvia, and possess- DECEMBER. 567 iug the advantage over it of being nearly hardy, and with- standing rongher treatment during winter; while its sliowy reddish scarlet flowers, displayed in great profusion till severe frosts injure their beauty, render it invaluable as a late bloom- ing plant. Our specimens, the present year, were planted out in the open border in Juno, where they were one mass of bloom throughout the autumn. In October they were taken up, potted, and placed in a cool greenhouse, and they are now, Nov. 20th, still flowering, forming a pretty contrast with the chrysanthemums, veronicas and other plants, which decorate the conservatory at this season. The propagation and cultivation of the Phygelius is very simple. Young plants may be raised from cuttings in March or April, in the same manner as the Salvia. These should be potted off, as soon as rooted, in a good compost of loam, leaf mould, and a sprinkling of sand, keeping the young plants in a half-shady situation until they acquire strength, when they may have a shift into larger pots, and be gradually hardened off in frames. In May, or as soon as all danger of frost is over, they may be turned out into the open border, where they will bloom from August until October. Upon the approach of hard frosts, the plants should be taken up and potted carefully, and placed in the greenhouse or parlor, where they will continue in beauty for a long time. When their flowering is over, the tops may be cut down to within a few inches of the root, and the plants removed to a cold frame, a cool cellar, or the coolest part of the greenhouse. Here they will need but little attention till the returning sea- son, when they may be again turned out in the open ground, and the second year will form very large and superb speci- mens, enlivening the border with their gay little scarlet bells, when the early frosts have cut off many of the more tender flowers. As a pot plant we doubt not it would form a fine object for the decoration of the greenhouse, grown with the same skill that chrysanthemums and similar plants are now cultivated. 568 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTURE. REVIEWS. The Horticultural Monthly, a Journal of Rural Aifairs. Morrisania, N. Y. : October, 1858. The Gardeners' Monthly. Philadelphia: Nov. 1, 1858. We have before us two new Gardening papers, bearing the above titles, one from New York and the other from Philadel- phia ; the Horticultural Monthly, a quarto sheet of eight pages, and the Gardeners' Mo'nthly, a folio sheet of the same number. Both are filled with interesting intelligence, and we hope will do good service in directing attention to horti- cultural science, which is fully in need of all the aid which can be brought to bear upon it. Save the single department of fruit growing for " immense profits," we think a gardening taste in our country has not kept pace with the general intelligence of the people. We commend both of the above papers to the attention of all who are interested in rural art. The Illustrated Annual Register of Rural Affairs for 1859, with fifty engravings. No. 5. Albany, N. Y. The Illustrated Annual, issued from the office of the Coun- try Gentleman and Cultivator, by Messrs. Tucker & Thomas, forms a very interesting little volume. It contains a fund of information on tlie general subjects of farm and garden man- agement, gleaned from all sources, with original essays on leading matters in rural art and agriculture generally. It is issued in a neat shape, and embellished with numerous en- gravings. The Rural Annual and Horticultural Directory for 1859, with several engravings. No. 4. Rochester, N. Y. Similar in its objects and aims to the Illustrated Annual, it is filled with valuable articles on all subjects relating to the cultivation of the farm and garden, and the management of cattle, poultry, &c. Published by Jos. Harris, proprietor of the Genesee Farmer. DECEMBER. 669 §ntxnl Notices. SrKKiM Rhododendrons. — Of all importatiors of really good things info Great Britain for the last quarter of a century, these Rhododendrons stand preeminent. Every horticultural periodical teems with new things, whose praises are as varied as the things themselves are different; yet gcnernlly are summed up with this, that " they ought to be in every collection." Yet what becomes of them ? If they pas-s into a few collections how soon is it to pass away forever. Like the last year's music or the last year's clouds, their place is speedily supplied by newer introductions or newer creations, in their turn as speedily to pass into oblivion. It is not so with the Sikkim Rhododendrons. The sensation excited by the glowing' descriptions of them by their distinguished discoverer, greit as it was at the time, was not half commensurate with their merits. As every year now brings some new member of this family into bloom; these descriptions have not only been found warranted, but in many instances found to fall short of the reality. In neither his pencil nor his pen has Dr. Hooker outstepped the truth ot modesty of nature. In this Sikkim group how varied are the individuals in their outline, aspect, and every several feature from each other; and how distinct are they, as a whole, from all others of the family previously known. Who, looking at R. Falconeri and R. argenteum, or at R. Edgewortlii and many others, would have regarded them as belonging to the same genus with our R. ponticum, R. cutawbiense, and others previously known and cultivated in Britain ? And as they have successively shown their inflo- rescence, from the tiny yellow R. elseagnoides to the gorgeous R. Dal- houisise, how have they not delighted and astonished all admirers! Each comes forth in a grace and beauty never realized till then in their tribe. Not only in color and in size have the flowers excelled the drawings and descriptions given by Dr. Hooker, but many have that quality, so rare in the race, of fnigrance superadded. For not only is there perfume in the R. Dalhousiae, but in R. Maddeni and R. Edgewortlii to a very high de- gree, the odor of three blooms of the latter being sufficient to scent a whole greenhouse. And they have for the most part the further advantage of being equal to our climate. Of some 30 species I am not aware of more than five or six which are not hardy. And I have had the R. Falconeri, a variety of R. argenteum, and R. lanatum, standing all last winter unprotected in my open garden ; the former having stood there for two winters. And for never-failing ornament, what one is there of the whole range of Rhododendrons equal to R. ciliatum, which flowers most profusely with all and under all circumstances every year? I may remark on this species that Dr. Hooker's drawing and description have been much outdone, as well by the size and elegance of the blooms, as by the whole character of the VOL. XXIV. — NO. XII. 44 570 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. plant. In like manner the elegance of form in the bloom of R. Dalhousise was not nearly attained in the drawings. In a word, I am not aware of Dr. Hooker having done more thnn justice to any one of the numerous species discovered and collected by him at so much trouble, peril, and expense to himself in these wild ranges of the Eastern Himalaya, which till traversed by him were unexplored, so fir as I can find out, by any European traveller or naturalist. If Dr. Hooker has had no other requital for his arduous labors in that new field, he has the high merit of having done more for our gardens than any other living man. For who can speculate upon the gorgeous display of whole banks of the yet unbloomed — unbloomed I mean in Britain — R. fulgens, which, whether for the glorious effulgence of its deep scarlet blossoms, glowing like fire in the morning sunlight, or the singular tint of its rich verdigris-green foliage, render it, as Dr. Hooker observes, the most striking of plants in its native ranges ; or upon the scarcely less glowing R. Campbelli and R. Thomsoni, all hardy as our native Broom? I have myself bloomed this bygone spring the R. Thomsoni, and I can vouch for the fidelity of Dr. Hooker's description and drawing of this spe- cies. The flowers had all the depth of crimson and elegance of shape rep- resented by him ; and with me the truss in place of eight had nine blos- soms, all chiselled-like in appearance, a condition due to their great sub- stance. I also bloomed this bygone summer the R. Maddeni and R. " shrubby Alpine," the blooms of the latter being of pale straw tint, and of an ele- gance in point of shape I have never seen equalled in the genus, being nearly semi globular, having the limb recurved so as to give the bloom the outline of an antique beJI. The R. Maddeni continued in bloom with me for six weeks or two months, the trusses blooming in succession. The bloom of this species is likewise truly fine, large, of great substance, and nicely scented. But it is not because these magnificent species will in themselves render our lawns and gardens gorgeous that the country owes so much to Dr. Hooker. They are, as they successively emerge into inflorescence, made the parents of other races, which like the breeds reared from the R. arbore- um, will, in due season, perhaps even supersede their originals. How many are at work and how many crosses may already have been effected I do not know. But it would be very interesting and instructive were the effbrts of the various parties so engaged duly recorded in the Chronicle or other established horticultural periodical, for the benefit of all. I may here be permitted to observe that among others I have effected crosses as fol- lows : — 1. Between R. ciliatum X R- Edgeworthi, the plants being now 18 inches high with very downy bright green foliage, a very distinct interme- diate. 2. Between R. ciliatum X R. arboreum ; a very difficult cross to effect, the only plant now alive being 9 inches high and having smooth, shining foliage, not so deep in color as those of the preceding cross. DECEMBER. 671 3. Between R. glaucum X R- formosum ; plants one foot high ; a distinct intermediate. 4. Between R. formosum (syn. R. Gibsoni) X R- Dalhousiee, upwards of two foet ; a very easily managed cross, Avhose seeds vegetated most abun- dantly ; and several others. But some of the new species are very stubborn and refuse to cross ; the R. Maddeni in particular, which will not intermix with any of six or seven species and hybrids I have tried upon it. I fear the same holds true of the R. Thomsoni, which I crossed profusely, but by an accident the crossed umbel was broken off before there was full time to test its fertility, yet with its pollen I have crossed others. Though I had three plants of the R. Dalhousie all in bloom at the same time I could not Fucceed this season in making it cross upon others or become the subject of a single croes. But as to the former, it is proper to remark that there appeared no true pollen in the anthers; but the stigmas being perfect, I could not account for its not being crossed. Strange though it may seem, I have had experiences of this sort before in plants, which though obstinate one season, so as utterly to bafHe all my skill, yet in another season I have found abundantly fertile. Such I found to be the case in a fine plant of R. ciliatum. The law for this is yet to be found out ; that such anomalies exist I have had frequent proofs. On this head I may yet add another instance where my fiilure has been not merely occasional but continuous. The first of these Sikkim species I succeeded in blooming was the heath-like thing termed R. elseagnoides, allied to if not identi';al with R. Jepidotum. It bloomed with me in March, 185"2, being, so far as I can learn, the first time it bloomed in Britain. Ea- ger to make the most of my opportunity, and hopeful to work out a better yellow, I used its pollen freely on various of its congeners, from the dimin- utive Rhodothamnus chamascistus, which it much resembled, upwards. At last I succeeded in crossing the Rhododendron ferrugineum with its pollen, and from this cross I bloomed plants distinctly intermediate, having straw- colored flowers tinged with pink. But while I so succeeded, 1 could never invert the cross, or make the R. elseagnoides become fertile from any cross whatever. All Avho have had their hand much in use in this way may have had similar results to record — and it is most instructive to note them. Yet none should be discouraged from repeating the attempt. For there are seasons and skiey influences, which, rightly improved, may lead, as I have found, to more successful results. But here I cannot follow up these theo- ries. Since my object in this letter is to direct attention to the importance and value of Dr. Hooker's group of novelties, with a view to their more imme- diate results in horticultural decoration, I would now respectfully solicit through your columns, from others growing them, some particulars of what they have already effected by blooming and hybridizing them, and what they may have in their power to do from individual unbloomed species which they may have set for flowering in the coming year. I may observe that I possess myself no less than five fine plants of R. niveum, set, some 572 THE MAGAZINE OP HORTICULTUKE. of them, with five and six flower-buds of such fine form and size as to give promise of a truss of surpassing elegance. I have likewise one plant of the R. barbatum, not less unmistakably set for flower. I have again also the "shrubby Alpine" so set, as also three or four new species from the Kam- aon Ranges of the Himalayas. Among all these I may nut unreasonably expect new elements of form, fragrance and beauty to be incorporated with others to reproduce a still more perfect whole in the progeny. And when the hybrids, now many of them far advanced, successively bloom, let these be communicated to your Journal, with flowers or photo- graphs (now so easily taken), and their merits made known. I have long thought that much might be accomplished if such communications were faithfully made at the time. How profitable to know even the failures, by which much useless labor and anxiety might be saved. — ( Gardeners^ Chron., 1858, p. 780.) The Chinese Yam. — T have grown this successfully for the last three years, and I coincide with the opinion you expressed in a recent number, that the plant may be improved, and its utility extended by cultivation. The first year that I obtained the yam, as the sets were small and weak, I had them planted in a cucumber frame, where they had for a short time the advantage of a little heat; the result in the autumn was a number of well- developed tubers, the weight of which, in the aggregate, was estimated to be equal to an ordinary crop of early potatoes, grown under similar circum- stances. The second year the sets were started in heat and planted in the open ground in June, with the ridge cucumbers, on a bed made up in the usual way with lawn sweepings, cabbage stumps, and garden rubbish ; the bottom heat given by this mass of fermenting matter evidently suited the habits of the yam, the plant grew luxuriantly and produced some remarka- bly fine tube; s ; these tubers had penetrated to the very bottom of the trench, which was two feet six inches in depth. I have again this year associated the yam with the ridge cucumbers, and they present a healthy and vigorous appearance; but by far the most prom- ising plants are some which have sprung from the tubers left in the old bed of the year before; these grew so luxuriantly that I was induced to afford them the support of stakes, which they speedily clung to and covered. I am disposed to imagine that I shall have some very large tubers from these plants. The elegance of the foliage of the yam and the rapidity of its growth led me to employ it as an ornamental climbing plant, and last year two sets were planted and their slender shoots trained over a trellised porch. The roots remained undisturbed during the winter, and this year the plants made a more vigorous growth, covering the same trellis, which is eight feet high and as many wide, with a profusion of graceful foliage. Within the last month the yam has blossomed abundantly, and in the exceeding sweetness of its tiny, unattractive racemes of flowers, it has revealed a quality which I have not seen noticed, but which will make it worthy of association with the more elegant and ornamental objects of the gardener's care. DECEMBER. 573 I had nearly omitted to state that the plants left in the old ridge cucum- ber trench have also blossomed this season, but under a crowd of foliage the bloom has been in a measure obscured and destroyed ; the beauty of the plant is best displayed when trained over an open trellis.— ( Gard. Chron. 1858, p. 781.) The Dahlias of 1858.— The great National Dahlia Show in London was held at St. James Hall, on the 23d and 24th of September. It was a great gathering of the best dahlia growers and the finest flowers in the kingdom. As the varieties which obtained the prizes show what are the most popular and admired sorts, we copy the following report of the awards : — Best 50 Dissimilar Blooms— To Mr. C. Turner, for Triumph de Pecq, Admiral Dundas, Deutsche Wurde, Lord Cardigan, Preeminent, Robert Bruce, Peerless, Flirt, Triomphe deRoubaix, Miss Watts, Touchstone, An- nie Salter, Lord Bath, Princess Royal, Pandora, Elizabeth, Lady franklin, Perfection, King, Lord Fielding, Mrs. Church, Village Gem, Royal Scarlet, Lady Popham, President, Commander, Satirist, Harbinger, Cherub, Rosa Bonheur, Lord Palmerston, Alice Downie, Sidney Herbert, Rachel Raw- lings, Emperor, Orb of Day, Midnight, Major Fellowes, Goldfinder, Exhib- itor, Lollipop, Conqueror, Hon. Mrs. Trotter, Grand Sultan, Miss Pressley, Mrs. Legge, Col. Wyndham, Venus, Dr. Gully. Best 12 Fancies, (tipped) — To Mr. C. Turner, for Baron Alderson, Mrs. Hansard, Elizabeth, Countess of Bective, Jupiter, Duchess of Kent, Tri- omphe de Roubaix, Mrs. Kean, Empereur de Maroc, Duchesse de Brabant, Lady Paxton, Madame Alboni. Best 12 Fancies, (striped and spotted)— To Mr. C. Turner, for Flirt, Car- nation, Marc Antony, Oliver Twist, La Defi, Souter Johnny, Conqueror, Charles Perry, Glorie de Kain, Village Bride, Comet, Beauty of High Cross. 12 new Dahlias. The ten guinea cup, offered by Mr. Wajjis, was won by Mr. C. Turner, with Mrs. Church, Standard Bearer, Alice Downie, Village Gem, Elizabeth, King, Miss Pressley, Miss Watts, Loveliness, Peerless, Commander and Marion. Stoke Newington Chrtsanthemlm Show. — This grand exhibition of Chrysanthemums was held Tuesday, November 2, and there was a great display of plants and cut flowers. The kinds which obtained the prizes were as follows : — Best 6 large flowered varieties. These were from Mr. Wortley, and were. Mount Etna, Christine, Vesta, Defiance, Pilot and Annie Salter. Best G Pompones came from Mr. Holland, and contained Dr. Bois Duval, Cedo Nulli, Duraflet, Bob, General Canrobert and Riquiqui. Of 12 cut blooms, Mr. Wortley sent the best lot. They consisted of Leon Le Guay, Queen of England (a fine flower, which measured exactly fifteen inches in circumference), Pio Nono, Formosum, Hermione, Arigina, Dr. Boisduval, Dupont de I'JCure, Aristee, Luteum and Stella globosa. — {Gard. Chron.) 674 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTUEE. @0ssf of tlje Hlontlj. Newbcrtport Horticultural Society. — At a late meeting of the Newburyport and Essex North Horticultural Society the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: — Dr. E. G. Kelly, President; Wm. AsHBY, and A. W. Miltimore, Vice Presidents; W. W. Caldwell, Treasurer ; xAlpred Horton, Secretary. Dr. Grant's Descriptive Catalogue of Grapes for sale at his nursery at lona, N. Y., has been received, and contains much useful in- formation. He gives a brief account of the several kinds enumerated, with some interesting prefatory remarks on the improvement of the vine during the last twenty years, and the injurious effects of excessive propa- gation. Downing's Everbearing Mulberry was raised from seed of the Morus multicaulis. As the latter is not perfectly hardy in the latitude of Boston, it would be important to know whether this seedling partakes of the character of the parent; if it does it will be a source of regret, as we esteem the English Black Mulberry a very delicious fruit, and a variety which comes so near to it in excellence as Downing's Everbearing would be a most valuable acquisition, if as hardy as the latter kind. As Dr. Grant now offers the trees for sale we shall have an opportunity to test its har- diness. Lapargeria Rosea, a most beautiful greenhouse climber, has flowered abundantly in the collection of C. Van Voorst, Esq. of Jersey City. His gardener, Mr. Fleming, gives the following directions for the management of the plants : — " Some people treat it as a stove plant. There it seems only to exist, but not to thrive. We find it to do best in a house kept as cool as possible — not to admit frosts — and in summer set against a wall with a north exposure, being entirely shaded from the sun, and care taken that the soil does not get too wet. It requires plenty of pot-room, having large roots in proportion to the tops. The soil used is about equal portions of loam and leaf mould, with a liberal admixture of sand and broken char- coal."— [Country Gentleman.) Buist's Crimson Perfection Verbena. — A new seedling, under this name, has been raised by Mr. R. Buist, nurseryman, Philadelphia. It is de- scribed as a bright scarlet crimson, with a white eye, surrounded with a dark crimson circle ; corymb fully three inches in diameter ; flowers nearly circular, far surpassing Giant des Betailles in shape, color, habit and fra- grance. DECEMBER. 575 Landscape Gardening.— Mr. H. Grundel, recently gardener to Mr. H. Harris of Roxbury, offers his services "for the planning and laying out of city, suburban and villa gardens," &.C., and refers to Messrs. Wilder, Breck & Co., Hovey & Co., and others. Mr. Grundel's well-known quali- fications as a gardener, his experience in some of the best situations in Germany, where he had an opportunity of studying the reniaikable designs of Louis Schell, one of the first landscape artists of the present century, combined with good taste, qualify him for the duties which he assumes. |)0rticiiIfuraI #ptnitions FOR DECEMBER. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. The unseasonable cold weather of November caught miny gardeners " napping," and put almost an entire stop to all out-door operations. A week of such severe weather we do not recollect for a long period. As low a temperature is not uncommon, but its continuation is rare : for nearly ten days the ground remained frozen two to four inches deep, scarcely thawing from morning to night. As we write, it is more moderate, and we cannot but expect two or three weeks of favorable weather to make up for the loss of half a month, and thus admit of the completion of work already half done. No time should be lost in getting everything secured for the winter. GaAPE Vines in the earliest houses will now be advancing towards maturity, and will begin to color up. Keep up a good day temperature, and be more sparing of water. Stop laterals, if pushing too fast, and see that the border is kept at a good temperature by fresh fermenting materials. Vines in graperies and greenhouses should be pruned this month, cleaned of all insects, and put in order for starting in February. Cold houses require but little attention now. Fruit Trees may yet be transplanted, if the weather continues favor- able. Raspberry Bushes should be covered up. Strawberries should be covered. Manure should now be placed around fruit trees, in order to secure them from deep frosts, and enrich the soil. Peach and other fruit trees, in pots, may be brought into the forcing house this month. Pear and Apple Trees, infested with the scale, may now be washed with a solution of potash water, whale oil soap, or lime and sulphur. 576 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. FLOWER DEPARTMENT. The early and severe frosts have compelled the housing of many plants which ordinarily are kept out till December. Keep the houses cool in order to prevent them from being unduly excited before the proper period. Repotting should now be commenced in earnest, and all work forwarded as much as possible. Chrysanthemums, going out of flower, should be removed to a frame where they can have a slight protection from severe frosts. CAMRLLrAS, now coming into bloom, should be watered more liberally. Cuttings may be put in now. Azaleas should yet be sparingly watered, in order to get thoroughly ripened wood. Pelargoniums should be shifted at once into larger pots, especially those intended for early blooming. Young stock should also be repotted. Stop all strong shoots, place near the glass, in a cool airy part of the house, and water rather sparingly for a time. Cineharias should have a shift into larger pots. Japan Lilies may be potted this month. Chi>ese Primroses may be repotted. HoLLTHocKS, uow taken up and potted, may be propagated from cut- tings. Seeds sown now will bloom next season, if forwarded in small pots. Calceolarias should be repotted. Roses, from the frames, may now be brought into the house for early bloom. Bedding Plants, raised from cuttings, should now be potted off, and placed on an airy shelf, near the glass. Composts and Soils, for use ciuring the next three months, should be secured from frost, where they will be ready for use. FLOWER GARDEN AND SHRUBBERY. Though the verdure of the lawn is at last nearly gone, and the flower borders possess but little attraction, still, they should not be entirely neg- lected. As long as the weather continues fine continue to rake and clean up all dry leaves, and keep the wall-s in good order. Protect all plants with a good covering of strawy manure. Finish planting early flowering bulbs, if not already done, and trench and prepare ground for spring work ; ridge up stiff ground, as the frost is one of the best ameliorators of such a eoil. Japan Lilies, and all other bulbs, should be planted, if yet out of the ground. Protect at once with a good thick covering of leaves or litter of some kind. Carnations, and other plants in frames, should have a light covering of leaves, and protection from rains and snows by sashes or shutters. Protect all kinds of plants which require it by a covering of manure or leaves. Perpetual Roses should be pegged down to the ground, and covered with earth, tan, or manure. -oi^r