Mr. Editor : I was delighted to see you differed a little from tte resolutions of the Society, 

 to sell Penn Squares ! It reminds me of some would-be wise savans of the French Academy, 

 priding themselves on having ascertained the exact nature of the crab ; they submitted their 

 definition — tliat it was a red fish, which walked backwards — to Cuvier, who congratulated 

 them on its correctness, in all but three points — " that it was not a fish, nor was it red, nor 

 did it walk backwards !" It might be easy to demonstrate that the squares, all things con- 

 sidered, are not diminutive, that little boys are not in danger within the railings, and that 

 the Society, generally, would not " rejoice" to see their lungs destroyed. 



A Fellow Member. 



The Weather on Staten Island. — We have at last got a break-up of the late severe and 

 protracted winter. To-day (April 5th), for the first time, we have been enabled to use the 

 spade. Euonymus japonica, whiclx has stood, without injury, for the last seven years, has 

 become a never-green down to the snow line ; Deodar cedar, almost as shabby looking, but 

 likely to recover ; Tree box has braved it finely, and is none the worse in appearance ; Irish 

 yew, with a few cedar branches to cover, is in fine condition. The flowers of Paulownia all 

 killed. Peaches, to pi-esent appearance, only injured where the wood was iceakhj, or not 

 thoroughly ripened. Exotic grapes, planted outside, severely injured, and some late kinds I 

 saw the other day, in a cold grapery, were split right up. These, however, were neglected 

 last summer, and the wood not well ripened. Some cherries are likewise split. Pears not 

 injured where the roots have been mulched. If we can make up our minds to cease croak- 

 ing, and push along, now we have good weather, it is likely that things will turn up better 

 than expectation. W. C. 



.ToHN A. and Charles Kennicott, have forwarded their " Descriptive catalogue of fruit and 

 ornamental shrubs, cultivated at the Grove Nursery, West Northfield, Cook County, Illinois." 

 It bears marks of their intelligence and zeal ; one of their remarks we extract : " We Mould 

 imjjress upon every tree planter the value and importance of taking some good horticultural 

 journal, and of providing themselves with a few of the many excellent standard works on 

 horticultural subjects." This is good advice ; the prejudice against book-gardening and 

 farming has long since been discarded, for the very good and simple reason that those who 

 read and stiidy surpass their more ignorant neighbors, get rich faster, but, better still, have 

 more intelligent minds, and enjoy life a thousand times more ; the amenities of life cannot 

 be fully appi'eciated by the unlettered. We have no doubt, from the names attached to this 

 catalogue, there is an intelligent neighborhood around the Kennicott Grove Nurseries. 



Sensitive and Moving Plants. — In our notes of a Day at Kew, we omitted to notice a 

 singular plant, of which a few specimens only were seen in this country some years ago ; it 

 is the Desmodium gyrans, usually called the Moving Plant, and, in Bengal, the Telegraph Plant. 

 The movement is voluntary, not influenced by touch, only requiring a calm, warm atmosphere ; 

 it is therefore kept under a glass case. The leaves consist of three leaflets, one large, termi- 

 nal one, and two small, lateral ones. The latter alone are endowed with this wonderful pro- 

 perty. There are some or other of them always in motion, by jerks, and in circles, or gyra- 

 tions, in one direction, so as to return to the same point. Well naight CoUinson and Bartram 

 have given this their significative name — the Tipitiicichet Sensitive. 



The Mimosa pudica difl'ers from the Mimosa sensitiva, or sensitive plant, and is more re- 

 markable. The best way to exhibit its strongly sensitive properties of the leaves, is to cut 

 ofl", suddenly and cautiously, the tip of one of the terminal leaflets, when all the other leaflets 

 on that stalk will close, a pair at a time, from above downwards ; thence the impulse is con- 

 tinued to the adjoining stalks and to the leaflets, from below upwards ; and then the whole 

 leaf will fall. 



Trees for the Sea-coast. — The following are recommended, in the Gardeners'' Chronicle, 

 as suitable trees to plant near the sea-coast : Yew, Sycamore, Holly, Evergreen and Lucombe 

 Oak, Spanish Chestnut, English and Turkey Oak, Elm, White Poplar ; and, for shrubs, Aucuba, 

 Tamarisk, Pontic Azalea, Hydrangea, Aibutus, Sweet Bay, the China Roses, Cotoneaster, &c. 



Strawberry Sir Harry. — The French catalogue of plants and seeds of Bossin, of Paris, 

 just received, says of the new strawberry Sir Harry: " This variety, which we place in our 

 list for the first time, is, without doubt, the most beautiful and the best of all the known 

 strawberries." It has not yet reached America that we are aware of, but doubtless will 

 here for the fall planting. Bossin's jn-ice is three francs each plant. 



