54 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



per and buried in the ground for a few hours. 

 Dried codfish loses much of its austerity of flavor 

 (if we may coin a term) by similar treatment. 

 During the plague in Europe, clothing was often 

 buried for a time, to disinfect it. This absorbent 

 property of the soil is due to the presence of car- 

 bonaceous matters ; for clean sea beach sand will 

 produce no such results, while pulverized charcoal 

 will act with much greater energy than common 

 soil. On this principle, animal matter, coated 

 with unleached ashes, and then buried in pulverulent 

 peat or muck, will not only decompose without 

 giving off" offensive odors, but the muck will also, 

 by absorbing the resulting gases arising from de- 

 composition, be rendered highly valuable as a fer- 

 tilizer. Dr. Dana says that a dead horse, if cut 

 in pieces and treated as above, will render twenty 

 loads of muck equal in quality to the best stable 

 manure. Southern Planter. 



Evergreens. — As to the best time for trans- 

 planting evergreens, there has been much said first 

 and last; nor do we think the public mind clear on 

 the subject as yet. We do not pretend to under- 

 stand as well which is, as which is not, the best 

 time. A class of writers have uniformly directed 

 to move them in early summer, when they were in 

 full growth ; affirming that then the tree would 

 best overcome the debility caused by removal. We 

 have learned this much, that such a time is proba- 

 bly the worst that could be selected. It is certain- 

 ly very far from being the best. Evergreens re- 

 moved at that season, will exhibit the wilting of 

 the tender shoots, even on a wet, cloudy day ; nor 

 will a bail of earth removed with the roots, serve 

 to mitigate the difficulty. Such trees can only be 

 saved by the most unremitting care and labor. 



We are of opinion at this time, that evergreens 

 are no exception to the rules which regulate the re- 

 moval of deciduous trees — and that the best time 

 to move them will be found to be that in which 

 other trees are moved. Transplanting may, per- 

 haps, be continued later than with others, because 

 they do not begin their growth quite as early ; 

 but as soon as the new shoots begin to appear, it is 

 time to stop work among them. 



Another standing error regarding evergreens is, 

 that they must not be pruned on removal. All the 

 reason we ever heard given, is, that they exude 

 gum. If any body should ask — "What if they do 

 exude gum ?" we should only be able to give the 

 answer made by the speaker of the legislature of 

 Hull. The said speaker had found his fellow 

 legislators disposed to be unruly. His only mode 

 of quelling the disturbers was to threaten "to name 

 them." This was, for many a year, sufficiently 

 potent. Finally a member ventured to ask the 

 speaker what would be the effect if he did "name 

 one?" "Heaven only knows," said his dignity, 

 "I don't." 



We do not suppose evergreens any exception to 

 other trees in regard to the practice to be followed 

 with them, either as to the time of removal, or as 



to the fact of trimming. The mode of cutting 

 should be somew r hat different from that practiced 

 with deciduous trees. They do not push out 

 shoots so easily from the trunk; and it would not 

 be safe to cut them as close. The best mode of 

 trimming, would be that of shortening the branch- 

 es; cutting off" half or two-thirds their length, as 

 should be preferred. This is a. so the best mode 

 of trimming small deciduous trees; but in removing 

 larger ones, such as are taken from the forest for 

 shade, it is necessary to practice cutting much 

 more severely ; unless they are taken from open 

 ground, and dug up with extra care, so as to save 

 as many roots as possible. If carelessly dug, such 

 trees should be shortened from the top one-third or 

 more, and all the side-limbs entirely remored, 

 leaving them like bean poles. 



This mode of treatment would probably be 

 improper for evergreens, though we have never 

 made any experiments with a view of ascertaining 

 how much cutting they would l»ear. 



In removing evergreens, or any other forest 

 tree, it should be remembered that those which 

 grow in open grounds, or near them — exposed to 

 sun and air. will be much the best — supplied as 

 these are with many more small roots than those 

 grown in the shade of others. — Prairie Farmer. 



Botanical Collections in New Mexico, and 

 in the Rocky Mountains. — The first part of the 

 account of the collection of plants made in New 

 Mexico, by Mr. Fendler, with the descriptions of 

 the new species, critical remarks, and characters 

 of other undescribed or little known plants from sur- 

 rounding regions, is printed as the 1st article of the 

 4th vol. (new series) of the Memoirs of the Ame- 

 rican Academy, now in press; and separate copies 

 (of one hundred and sixteen pages quarto) are dis- 

 tributed to the subscribers to Fendler's collections. 

 We wish to solicit further encouragement to this 

 adventurous explorer, in the way of subscriptions 

 to his collections. Several sets of the Santa Fe 

 collection, in specimens of unrivalled beauty and 

 completeness, are still in the hands of Dr. Gray 

 at Cambridge, and of Mr. Heward at London, who 

 may be applied to for them. Mr. Fendler is now 

 on his way to explore the great interior basin be- 

 tween the Sierra Nevada of California, and the 

 Rocky Mountains, especially around the Great Salt 

 Lake, the Utah Lake, and the adjacent mountains. 

 The collections are to be studied and distributed 

 by Dr. Gray and by Dr. Engelmann, to whom those 

 desirous to subscribe for them should apply, and 

 will be issued at the same price as the Santa Fe 

 collection, namely at ten dollars per hundred spe- 

 cimens. 



In order that the botany of New Mexico should 

 be further made known, particularly of the south- 

 ern portion, Mr. Charles Wright is now on his way 

 from Texas across to El Paso, on the Rio del Norte, 

 a little below lat. 32 p , in the vicinity of which, and 

 especially in the mountains east and west of the 

 valley, he will collect during the present season j 



