406 



SELECT FRUITS FOR THE NORTH. 



agent, both for good and evil, the amateur 

 or gardener must be vigilant. Let the plants 

 be looked after every day, dead leaves re- 

 moved, and by the regulator (the door) in- 

 crease or diminish the moisture by shutting 

 close, or opening more or less, for a longer 

 or shorter time. 



When the plants are put in, see that they 

 are clean and free from insects ; for these 

 increase rapidly within the case, and then 

 it is not so handy to get at them. 



How often shall the plants be watered ? 

 No rule can be laid down for this operation 

 as to time, for it is regulated by circum- 

 stances. If the case is seldom opened, and 

 then only for a few minutes, once a month 

 will be sufficient. As long as the plants 

 appear thriving, and none of them exhibit 

 signs of flagging for want of water, so long 

 may its application be withheld ; whether 

 it be one, two, three or six months since 

 they received any. Always use rahi ivater, 

 of mild temperature ; no other is fit for 

 plants in pots. 



It will perhaps be as well to say here, 

 that when Mr. Ward first constructed his 

 cases, the plants grown in them were not in 

 pots, but planted in the soil which filled the 

 bottom of the case ; and such is the plan 

 now with many persons who use them. It 



is not, however, a proper one for the draw- 

 ing-room ; the pots are much better, as in 

 this way, they " can be exchanged from 

 time to time to give variet}'," as E. G. sug- 

 gests. 



In conclusion, we recommend to all parties 

 interested, a trial of this method of grow- 

 ing plants. If managed properly, they can- 

 not fail to afford the highest pleasure ; and 

 the cases being ornamental, add materially 

 to the beauty and finish of the apartment. 

 Wm. W. Valk, m. d. 



Flushing, L. I., Janvary 28, 184S. 



\^Ward^s Cases have been, for the last 

 few years, quite popular among cultivators 

 of plants in cities abroad. It is surprising, 

 to those who have not seen them, with what 

 facility and elegance a small collection of 

 plants, even of species which are the most 

 difficult to cultivate in the impure atmos- 

 phere of large towns, are grown in these 

 closely-glazed cases. For the windows of 

 the drawing-room, one of these cases is, as 

 our correspondent points out, beautifully 

 adapted. We add to his illustrations ano- 

 ther from London's Magazine, Fig. 52, 

 showing a collection of rare exotics, grow- 

 ing in the case. Ed.] 



SELECT FRUITS FOR THE NORTH. 



BY THE LEADING HORTICULTURISTS OF MAINE. 



A, J. Downing, Esq. — With the view of 

 publishing in your Horticulturist, a cata- 

 logue of fruits, for the use and guidance of 

 all who are planting, or who design to plant 

 orchards at the north, I have long been 

 searching for such lists as will present ex- 

 clusively the names of all the hardy fruits, 

 which are known by experience to thrive 

 on this continent in the region north of lati- 



tude 43°. This includes almost the whole 

 of the British dominions, all the state of 

 Maine, and nearly all of New-Hampshire 

 and Vermont, and a portion of New-York. 

 For this purpose, I have addressed a cir- 

 cular to a few experienced cultivators, and 

 to others who have bestowed much atten- 

 tion upon the subject, asking for their opi- 

 nions, based upon their own experience and 



