DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



243 



some time in December, it was ttirned out of the 

 pot into a north border unprotected, and is now 

 (Oct. 18) in a thrifty condition — not havmg a yel- 

 low leaf. This is an interesting experiment with 

 a favorite shrub, generally believed to be quite 

 tender, — it has, however, been known to stand 

 out all winter in Scotland. 



I am experimenting on two, one of which is the 

 silver-edged, having turned them out a month 

 since. It is a native of India, but it is probable 

 the confirmed practice of housing it very tenderly 

 has tended to encourage its bloom in winter. 

 Should further experience prove its hardiness, 

 what an addition it will become to our garden 

 shrubbery. I will make a further report to you 

 respecting it next spring. D. D. Astoria, Oct. 

 18, 1850. 



Souvenir de Leioe Heliothopium. — This new 

 Tariety of a pleasing tribe, and on which so many 

 fond hopes were built in the expectancy of having 

 a yellow ■'Heliotrope," and withal fragrant, has 

 resulted, to a certain extent, in disappointment. 

 In justice, however to the Messrs. Parsons, who 

 sent it out here, it must be admitted tliat they 

 (shortly after advertising it as yellow) were mis' 

 informed, and that it was not as expected, but dif- 

 ferent from the interviedia, &c.&c. I have given 

 it a fair experiment this summer, by turning a 

 young plant into the open ground in .June, and am 

 now so well satisfied of its distinctness as a varic* 

 ty as to unhesitatingly pronounce it an acquisition. 

 A large plant of it now in bloom in the conserva* 

 tory is a most beautiful object j the trusses are 

 more ball-shaped than the old sort— more erect on 

 the stem, and the whole plant of a much m.ore ro- 

 bust habit than either peruvianum or intermedia. 

 It more resembles H. grandijlorum, and is every 

 way superior to that showy variety, being as large- 

 flowered , and excelling it by being delightfully fra- 

 grant. To bloom Souv. de L. well, it must have 

 its season lengthened by lifting the ball from the 

 earth the end of September — potting in rich, light 

 loam, and immediately placing it in the green- 

 house. It will tiien soon develope itself, and fail 

 not to be admired and I have no doubt will con- 

 tinue to bloom nearly all winter. It is a variety I 

 shall carefully cherish and recommend to all who 

 admire (and who does not) this lovely tribe, which 

 should stand on the same shelf with the beautiful 

 H. voltariunum — the contrast of dark bluish lilac 

 being admirable, I doubt not, when transferred 

 to the fine climate of Carolina and Georgia, it 

 ■will bloom magnificently and continue longer in 

 flower than in any other sort. A variety sent me 

 from London, called Triomph dc Leige, and rated 

 distinct in the English catalogue, is synonymous 

 with ''Souvenir." T. Astoria, L. I., Oct. 15, 

 1850. 



Notes and Queries by a Lady. — The Horti- 

 culturist has for some time past aflTorded me much 

 pleasure and instruction, and the time of its arri- 

 val is looked forward to with increasing interest, 



and its contents eagerly devoured. Will the Edi- 

 tor allow we to say that I was so mueii pleased 

 with ''Wild Flowers," letier, a few numbers back, 

 that I hope she may favour us again. I regret 

 that the ladies do not write more for the "Horti- 

 culturist," as I am sure their failures and success 

 in gardening would prove highly interesting. 



I sincerely hope whitewashing will prove a sat- 

 isfactory remedy for the CurculiOf for I am getting 

 quite discouraged about my plum trees, I intend 

 to try it next year. My Roses were very much 

 disfigured with a green worm this spring, that 

 formed a web and rolled itself up in the leaves, 

 but I sprinkled the foliage with air-slaked lime, and 

 have not seen one since, except dead ones. 



I too have tried mulching with great success, 

 and do not think too much can be said in its praise. 

 I would write several pages on its good effects if 

 it were necessary. 



I hope your Pittsfield correspondent will not 

 feel discouraged by losing his verbenas last spring} 

 (if I remember rightly he tried keeping them in a 

 hot-bed Irame). 1 lost a very fine one last spring, 

 but it was through neglect, as one I had in another 

 frame which was treated properly lived without 

 other ])rotection, and has done well. I have been 

 quite disappointed in flower seeds purchased late- 

 ly, which will not come up. I have been told they 

 were scalded beforehand ; can it be so? [No seeds- 

 man, honest or knavish, would be so foolish as to 

 scald liis seeds before selling them. Ed.] Idonot 

 like to say of whom they were bought, but I shall 

 avoid him in future, with a hope that his conscience 

 may trouble him, if he has any. 



I have always been in the habit of planting my 

 Hyacinths, that bloomed in water, out in the open 

 ground after they had done blooming, and that was 

 the end of them ; but this spring I planted them in 

 pots as soon as the bloom had faded— kept them 

 in the house until I put out the rest of my pot- 

 flowers; the consequence was they grew finely, 

 and the roots appear to be as fine as those that 

 bloomed in the ground. I have no doubt they will 

 bloom well this winter, at all events I intend to 

 try them, and see what they will do. 



Will the Crape Myrtle and Laburnum require 

 protection in Maryland, while small? [The first 

 probably will— ^but not the last. Ed.] 



I will end these "rough notes" by a quotation 

 from Goethe, which I commend to those among 

 your femcnine readers who wish for reasons when 

 their friends of the "opposite sex" imdertake to 

 make battle against the love for acnlture of flow- 

 ers: 



" Every gift is valuable and ought to be unfolded. 

 When one encourages the beautiful alone, and an- 

 other encourages the useful alone, it takes both of 

 them to form a man. The useful encourages it- 

 self, for the multitude produce it, and no one can 

 dispense with it; the beautiful must be encour- 

 aged ; for few can set it forth, and many need it." 

 ^ Constant Reader. Maryland. 1850- 



