528 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



trifling care; and probably the same mode of pro- 

 tection will answer perfectly well for the Auricu- 

 la, double Primrose, &c. 



Agricultural Improvements. — Our old friend 

 Lewis G. Morris, Esq., of Mount Fordham, 

 Westchester co., N. Y., has sailed in the Europa, 

 to attend the great sale of short-horned stock of 

 the late Thomas Bates, Esq., of Yorkshire, Eng- 

 land. Mr. Morris' visit is made solely with a 

 view to the improvement of our stock by introdu- 

 cing whatever may appear to him best adapted to 

 the wants of the middle states; and his importa- 

 tions, if he makes any, may be seen at the second 

 annual sale at Mount Fordham, in October, 1850. 



Subscription Fund — Rare Plants. Dear Sir: 

 I have read with interest Ellwanger and Bar- 

 ry's letter to you, on the subject of sending a Bo- 

 tanical Collector to Oregon, California and New 

 Mexico, to collect for us seeds and plants, vegeta- 

 bles and fruits, from these regions. In Scotland 

 they have established an association, of about $25 

 a share, to raise a fund to send out a scientific per- 

 son to collect all new plants, of every kind what- 

 ever. Now, there are many persons who will, 

 from merely liberal motives, subscribe $25 for such 

 a subject, who do not want to draw their quota of 

 things procured, for themselves. Who would not 

 give more than $25 ? Let the subscription, there- 

 fore, be fixed for $25 per share. I will take four 

 shares, say $100, for two years — $100 ayear; but 

 for sufficient reasons do not want my name men- 

 tioned. Please call the attention of the public to 

 this subject. We ought to collect enough means to 

 employ a clever Botanist to go on this excursion 

 for one or two years — the latter time is preferable. 

 With respect, yours, &c., H. C. 



The above is from a gentleman who is an ardent 

 patron of horticulture, and a man of wealth, in 

 New Jersey. The subscription is thus opened 

 with two names, each for $100. If the Horticul- 

 tural Societies, nurserymen and amateurs will come 

 forward, the necessary means for this really ex- 

 cellent project for enriching our gardens may be 

 soon carried into execution. Ed. 



The Subscription. — A. J. Downing, Esq. — 

 Dear Sir: I admire the spirit of B. and E., of Ro- 

 chester, in offering $100 to aid in sending off a 

 collector to the Oregon territory, or north-west 

 coast. We must begin with seeds and nuts, if we 

 ■wish to grow trees. I am a contributor to the 

 collector now forming in Scotland, and will cheer- 

 fully subscribe $100 to a competent one from this, 

 in whose ability practical confidence can be 

 placed. Yours, R.Buist. Philadelphia, April 

 18, 1850. 



The Hydrangea — its propagation. — We are 

 already aware that the Hydrangea is of uncom- 

 monly easy culture, yet I think under my method 

 it may be still made easier, which is as follows : 

 After your old parent plant has done growing, and 



the wood is well ripened, you can then lay them in a 

 cool cellar or shed; giving them a little water oc- 

 casionally, until such time as you want to start 

 them, say early in February. They can then be 

 cut back to nearly the surface of the pot, at the 

 same time saving every piece of wood, or selecting 

 the strongest. Of course you are aware the Hy- 

 drangea is double jointed, that is, having an eye or 

 bud on each side of the stem, exactly opposite each 

 other. If profit is the object, and you wish to 

 make as many plants as possible, cut up the wood 

 in eyes about two inches long; then split or cut 

 each portion lengthwise in the middle; you will 

 then have an eye to each piece. Next take out the 

 pith with the point of your knife, at the same time 

 having pans or small boxes ready with good drain- 

 age. In the bottom fill up with stuff suitable for 

 growing the plants, to within about 1| inches of 

 the top ; then insert your eyes with the bud up, 

 and cover half inch deep; then set them, if conve- 

 nient, in a hot-bed, where they will have a little 

 bottom heat; and by this method you will not lose 

 one eye out of five hundred. After they are rooted, 

 which will be in about four weeks, pot them off 

 singly into small sized pots, and keep shifting as 

 they grow. They will get handsome and well 

 grown plants at a comparatively small expense. 

 Yours, &c , John Galvin, Gardener to O. W. N. 

 Toivne, Esq. Somerville, Mass., April 3d, 1850. 



Osage-Orange Hedges. — The third question in 

 the " budget of queries" of your correspondent from 

 this State, in the April number, induces me to 

 mention what I learned not lonjj since from an in- 

 telligent French commercial gardener of this neigh- 

 borhood — that he avoids the extreme spreading of 

 the roots of the Osage Orange, when used as a 

 hedge, and the consequent exhaustion of the soil, 

 by stretching his garden line parallel to the hedge, 

 say at a distance of four feet from it, and, with a 

 sharp spade, cutting off the roots. This does not 

 require more than five minutes time for fifty feet of 

 hedge ; and may be done every other year, as soon 

 as the frost is out of the ground. 



If the ground is cultivated on both sides, you may 

 cut on both sides; or if it be necessary, only on one. 

 Where the hedge is set on a road, for instance, 

 you may cut off the roots to even less than four feet 

 without injuring the growth of the hedge; which, 

 of course, will look for nourishment mainly where 

 it is allowed to grow at will. H. J. Philadel- 

 phia, April 10th, 1850. 



Wintering Verbenas. — Dear Sir : Knowing 

 the great interest manifested by the readers of 

 your most valuable journal for anything new, that 

 has been tested by a fair trial, either in horticul- 

 ture or floriculture, and that may be a benefit to 

 them, I am thus indnced to give you the results 

 of my little experience in wintering Verbenas. In 

 the fall, when I pottqd my Verbenas, several of 

 the largest which were raised from seed, were 

 left in the ground; but regretting to lose them, 



