editor's table. 



do, much longer than single ones. They seem to be faToritea In "Boston. A plant may 



lose half its weight by drying, and yet bo restored by care. De CandoUo has recorded an 

 iustaiKO of a Stiiipervirum ctrspitositin, which had been placed in a hiM-barium for eighteen 

 luontlis, and from wliich he afterwards detaclied a living bnd and reared a plant. But the 

 tenacity of vegetable life is best exhibited in the property which seeds jiossess of retaining 

 their powers of germination, after having 1)cen exposed to very considerable degrees of lieat 

 and cold. Some, also, which have partially germinated, may be again dried and kept for 

 montlis, without losing the power of germinating afresh, although they are sensibly weakened 

 by such treatment. The revival of plants among the cryptogamic tribes, after a very long 



suspension of the vital functions, is well authenticated. Trees are the indispensable 



objects in scenery ; indeed, they are the essence of a true landscape. Scenery unadorned 

 by trees is like a beautiful bird stripped of its plumage ; creation is there, but it is without 

 its usual charms. 



Answers to Corkespoxdexts. — I'kepared Insects, of the several parts of the United States, 

 are desired by A. Z., for friends abroad. We can recommend a neighbor of our own, who, 

 in his leisure moments after daily toil, collects and prepares with taste and accuracy most 

 of the insects, butterflies, &c., of this part of the country, and who will be most grateful for 

 orders, which he fills at very moderate prices. 



Packing Plants (W. H. Alexander) is an art few are masters of, and yet so important 

 that, as our friend Mr. Barry once wrote, " he who cannot pack properly had better have 

 nothing to do with the nursery business ;" yet it is a very simple affair. Not merely " three 

 days" but months sometimes elapse before plants reach their destination ; and if properly 

 packed, with complete success. A practical friend has promised us a complete essay on the 

 subject for an early number. 



Protection to Plants in Winter, by W. E., not inserted, and will be returned if requested. 



An Earnest Follower of Horticulture. — We should be glad to receive specimens of the 

 " white worm," though we strongly suspect your plants are infested by the red spider, which 

 is often more destructive to verbenas in the open air than many imagine. 



A Box OF Pears, with a few grafts, has been received from some kind friend, but unac- 

 companied by any letter by which to designate the donor. 



(JosKPU LoNGWORTH, Esq., Cincinnati.) Your beautiful running vine is Ampelopsis bipin- 

 nata, or the Pepper Vine of the Rocky Mountains. It is certainly one of the most orna- 

 mental runners we have ever seen, and will, we hope, be generally disseminated. 



(S. W. H.) Yes ; you will find a note to that effect in the third volume of Michaux, page 

 37 : " An ash leaf, rubbed upon the swellings caused by mosquitos, removes the itching 

 and soreness immediately. The same effect is produced on the poison occasioned by the 

 sting of the bee. The leaves and branches of the white ash are said to be poisonous to 

 serpents, and the leaf to cure their bite. No rattlesnakes are found in white-ash swamps." 



Forsyth's Dressing. — (A. T.) The dressing for large wounds in trees is as follows : One 

 bushel of fresh cow-dung is intimately mixed with half a bushel of lime rubbish, as from 

 ceilings or walls, the same quantity of wood ashes, and one-sixteenth of a bushel of river 

 sand, all finely sifted. The edges of the wound and surface being made perfectly smooth, 

 the composition is laid on about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, care being taken to 

 thin it off gradually at the edges. A powder of wood ashes, and one-sixth of the same 

 quantity of burnt bones, is then applied, with a dredger, till the whole is covered, allowing 

 it to remain half an hour to absorb the moisture. More powder is then rubbed on witli 

 hand, till the whole acquires a dry, smooth surface. The composition is best applie 



