DICTIONARY OF MODERN GARDENING. 



41 



digest of the theory and practice of the day 

 in England. 



The present American edition has been 

 brought out under the editorial care of that 

 most respectable and excellent cultivator, 

 David Landreth, of Philadelphia. We 

 extract the following paragraph, explaining 

 the character of the reprint, from the pub- 

 lisher's preface : 



" The ordinary form in cases of reprint, with ad- 

 ditions aiul explanatory notes, has been departed 

 from in this instance, with a desire to preserve the 

 book from tiie awkward aspect which it would ne- 

 cessarily present, if every addition by the American 

 Editor had been included within brackets, or printed 

 in varied type. 



" This edition has been greatly altered from the 

 original. Manj' articles, of little interest to Ameri- 

 cans, have been curtailed, or wholly omitted, and 

 much new matter, with numerous illustrations, add- 

 ed ; yet the present Editor freely admits, and has 

 desired the publishers to state, that he has only fol- 

 lowed in the path so admirably marked out by Mr. 

 Johnson, to whom the chief merit of the work be- 

 longs." 



Our own judgment differs from that .of 

 the publishers, in this respect. By follow- 

 ing the usual mode of designating the ad- 

 ditions of the American editor by brackets, 

 one is at no loss to know on whose autlior- 

 itj' — whether, for example, that of Mr. 

 Johnson or Mr. Landreth — any given 

 statement is made. We cannot but think 

 this an important matter, since, even in this 

 expurgated edition, we find many direc- 

 tions for culture given, which do not pro- 

 perly apply to our climate, yet regarding 

 which, as the matter stands, one is left to 

 conjecture whether they are from the pen 

 of the English or American editor. 



Mr. Landreth's additions, (as we sup- 

 pose them to be,) are most conspicuous in 

 the articles on the diflferent fruit trees. The 

 selections, though small, are generally 

 good, and the descriptions of some of the 

 varieties are accompanied by outlines, part 

 of Avhich, we observe, are taken from our 

 work on Fruits. We notice the following 

 6 



error, (perhaps some accidental transposi- 

 tion of the printers,) in the account of the 

 Gloria Mundi apple : 



" Gloria Mundi : sjmonyms Monstrous 

 Pippin, Coxe ; Golden Ball, Kenrick. Coxe 

 says this imposing apple originated on Long 

 Island. Downing supposes it came origi- 

 nally from Maine," etc. p. 49. 



By turning to our Fruits and Truit Trees, 

 the i-eader will see that we by no means 

 consider the Golden Ball sjTionymous with 

 the Gloria Mtmdi. The fruits are widely 

 diflerent. The latter ripens from October 

 to January, and the former from December 

 to March. In our description of the Golden 

 Ball, we state : " This is a favorite apple 

 in the State of Maine, where it is probably 

 a native." In the account of the Gloria 

 Mundi, we state : " It is not a little curious 

 that the origin of this apple is claimed for 

 Red Hook, (on the Hudson,) for Long Isl- 

 and, and Baltimore." 



We find that Mr. Johnson has as great 

 faith in the virtues of common salt, upon 

 vegetable growth and health, as ourselves. 

 The following paragraph, relating to its 

 effects upon plants suffering from the dis- 

 ease known as the honey dew, (and Avhich 

 first appeared in his Principles of Garden- 

 ing,) will interest our readers : 



" The various successful applications of liquids to 

 plants, in order to prevent the occurrence of the 

 honey-dew and similar diseases, would seem to in- 

 dicate that a morbid state of the sap is the chief 

 cause of the honey-dew, for otherwise it would be 

 difficult to explain the reason why the use of a solu- 

 tion of common salt in water api)licd to the soil in 

 which a plant is growing, can prevent a disease 

 caused by insects. But ii" we admit that the irre- 

 gular action of the sap is the cause of the disorder, 

 Then we can understand that a portion of salt intro- 

 duced into the juices of the plant would naturally 

 have a tendency to correct or vary any morbid ten- 

 dency, either correcting the too rapid secretion of 

 sap, stimulating it in promoting its regular forma- 

 tion, or preserving its lluidity. And that by such a 

 treatment the honey-dew may be entirely prevented, 

 I have myself often witnessed in my o\yn garden, 

 when experimentalizing with totally different ob- 

 jects. Thus I have seen plants of various kinds, 



