CRITIQUE ON THE OCTOBER HORTICULTURIST. 



269 



New Remedy for the Curculio, — Very 

 good, my dear Mr, Gabriel ; but where are 

 the " three or four quarts of guano," and 

 She " two bushels of iron shavings, which 

 cost nothing but the carting," to come from, 

 lo people beyond reach of guano cargoes, 

 -and outside of your New-Haven and other 

 New-England machine shops ? No, no. 

 We must have something more " comeata- 

 ble" than such materials to save those who 

 have nothing of that kind at hand, as ninety- 

 nine of every hundred plum-growers have 

 not. It is gratifying, however, to know that 

 a preventive for the curculio is at hand, for 

 the benefit of those who are able to apply 

 it. I fear an absolute specific for this evil 

 is yet far off. Till then, we must apply the 

 pigs, the chickens, and such other remedies 

 as are within reach, and have proved effica- 

 cious in their several localities. 



Disadvantages of Deep P anting Trees. 

 — I had supposed that no one, be he ever so 

 green, in this day of intelligence, would be 

 so stupid as to plant his trees deeper than 

 when in their natural position in the nur- 

 sery or the field. No man ever ought to 

 plant a lawn, a garden, or an orchard, who 

 is not possessed, in a tolerable degree, of 

 the practical knowledge of the growth of 

 trees, unless he can employ one whom he 

 knouts is a practical and a successful planter. 

 It is a subject on which, if one once gives 

 his mind to it, the proper knowledge can 

 easily be acquired ; and if he chooses to 

 employ every pretender that comes along, 

 why, let him suffer, and buy his wit as he 

 may. Imposters of other kinds, as well as 

 in gardening, are abundant all over the 

 country ; and it is an easy matter to find 

 out whether one be good for anything or 

 not before employing him in really respon- 

 sible operations. If a proprietor chooses to 

 take an easier course, and permit any one 

 to labor for him merely on his own " say- 



so," he will be sure to earn his wit dear 

 enough before he gets through with his la- 

 bors. 



Wrens the best insect destroyers, — J. J. S. 

 Give me your hand — aye, both of them. I 

 wish I knew your name. You breathe the 

 true spirit of Wilson and Audubon, and all 

 others who love the dear little songsters that 

 cheer us with their melody, and relieve us 

 of the thousand pests which mar our plea- 

 sure in rural life. How instructive the dear 

 little things in their habitations, and how 

 useful their little labors to any place they 

 occupy. Every body should try to accom- 

 modate not only the wrens, but every other 

 bird which feeds on noxious insects, in all 

 parts of his grounds. We know very little 

 of the good that is done by these friendly 

 companions, and palsied be the arm that 

 would lift a thing to destroy them. Some 

 of the sweetest associations of country life 

 are connected with the songs of birds, and 

 their tiny nests, and their habits, and their 

 migrations to and from us, at the time and 

 return of the passing seasons. Tell us more 

 about the birds, my friend. I shall always 

 be obliged to you for manifesting so much 

 kindness of spirit, as well as for the instruc- 

 tion so pleasantly imparted. 



Thoughts on the Flower Garden. — A ca- 

 pital extract from the London Quarterly ; and 

 given too in the earnest and enthusiastic 

 vein of Walter Scott, or Professor Wil- 

 son. And the writer, a right down high to- 

 ry and churchman too, as every one knows 

 Sir Walter to have been while living, and 

 the stalwart Professor to be now — may his 

 honest shadow never be less ! Puritan as I 

 am, in every pore of my body, I love and 

 admire the honest, hearty, Kingly pride of 

 the English, in praise of their own beauti- 

 ful land. To England arc we indebted for 

 the lovliesl delineations of rural life and ru- 

 ral scenes, and no where else on earth is 



