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1 94 editor's table. 



Answkks to CoRKFsroNPF.NTS. — Tho HortirnUvriit is " put to press" earlier in the niniith 

 than formerly ; partly o-winq to an increased edition, but, mainly, that it maybe i.ssued with 

 preat piinetuality ; a point tliat is found to be very acceptable to its readers ; consecjiiently, 

 answers to correspondents received after the middle of the month, and sometimes even 

 earlier, may be crowded out by matter already in tlie liands of tlie printer. It is the wish 

 and intention of the pul)li5her to have the work in the liands of every agent, aud at every 

 post-ortice, by the first of the month. 



(C. M. M.) If you will watch an clra-tree making its pjrowth tho present year, yon will 

 notice that, if the season is moist and cool, the shoots will continue to lenjithen till midsum- 

 mer ; but if, on the contrary, the season is a dry one, all growth will be over by tlie middle 

 of June ; simply because the moment the moisture in tlie soil fails, and the roots feel the 

 effects of the sun, the terminal buds form at the end of each shoot, and then all growth for 

 the season is over. We give you this as an illustration of the necessity of deepening your 

 soil for your trees, so that the roots can go on growing in its cool, moist depths ; and you 

 will necessarily have tops also, with more growth in three years than otherwise in ten. 



(M. X., Jlassachusetts.) The parsnip should not be grown in very rich soil, except tho 

 ground be dry and calcareous ; its nutritive properties consist of ninety-nine parts in a 

 thousand, of whicdi nine parts are mucilage, tho remaining portion being saccharine matter. 

 In rich, damp soils, it acquires a rank taste, and is less sweet and agreeable than when 

 grown on moderately poor soil. 



(H. Collins, Auburn, N. Y.) The osage orange will succeed in the moderate shade you 

 name, provided the soil is in good order ; partial shade does not affect it much, but it is 

 more hardy in the sun. See " an Experiment with the Osage Orange" in a late number ; it 

 is one of the most iiseful articles on the subject extant. If you can accomplish it, the hedge 

 you want is, by all means, one of holly ; if you succeed, it will be more to your lasting fame 

 than a costly marble column. 



Editor of the " Horticulturist" : You will oblige me, and perhaps many others of the 

 readers of your invaluable and interesting journal, by stating, 1. The cause of the dropping 

 of the fruit of orange-trees when quite small. 2. The best remedy against it. 



Most respectfully yours, C. W. Grau. 



In order to answer these questions definitely, we would require to know tho treatment the 

 plants receive. Too much, or too little water at the roots, would cause the fruit to drop. 

 The former is more frequently the cause. Insufficient drainage of the tubs or pots, improper 

 soil, and unskilful watering, will produce disease, and, where fruit existed, it of course 

 would speedily drop under these conditions. 



You had better turn the plants out of their tubs, clear away most of the soil from their 

 roots, put three inches of drainage in the tub, and repot in healthy, fresh soil (that procured 

 from decayed sods is best.) Set them out of doors as soon as the weather will permit, 

 where they will receive only four or five hours of morning sun ; let the soil be kept simply 

 moist ; lot your waterings be thorough, but only when necessary ; so long as the soil appears 

 damp, that is sufficient. In winter keep thein dry ; if placed in a cool, dark cellar, where 

 there is no furnace, they will need no water from the 1st of December to the end of February, 

 and, if kept in a greenliouse witli other plants, thoy should merely receive sufficient water 

 to prevent shrivelling of the bark. 



(B., ^lassachusetts.) When your cedar of Lebanon cones arrive, instead of endeavoring 

 to extract the seeds, try the experiment of planting the whole cone entire. Mr. Leroy, of 

 Angers, finds they thus have just the necessary state of moisture ; tliey genninate between 

 tlie scales of the cone, of which latter, many fall to pieces of themselves. It is then easy 

 to take them up and transplant them in the open air, or in pots, and place in a cool, north 

 border. In this mode, which is the nearest a]>proach to nature, nearly every fertile seed 

 germinates. There is less difficulty in germinating these seeds than we formerly believed. 



(W. W.) Tlie Paulonnia imperialis has l>ecome an established favorite, both for its 

 curious and fragrant flowers, and its seed-vessel on the tree all winter, and for its rapid 

 growth. Plant one or two by all means. We have seen a shoot of one year's growth, 17 

 feet in lenscth. 



Esleman's Notes, next month. 



