s 



1 



thin nnd smooth ; the ground, clear lictht yellow, nearly rovercil hy light rod stripes, and 

 deei>oniiig into a hrilliant or dark red in tho sun. Slalk; three-fourths of an inch long, 

 rather slender, inserted in a deep, regular cavity. Calyx, set in a deep, rather hroad basin. 

 Flesh, white, rarely a little pinkish, very tender and juicy, with a mild, sprightly flavor, 

 evidently of the Spitzbergen class. November to March." It is a desirable kind for culti- 

 vation, and Mr. Reynolds has our thanks for bringing it to notice.] 



CoLnsiBiA, S. C. 

 Mi;. Editor : I like this place surpassingly well. Columbia is certainly one of the most 

 beautiful rural towns in the United States. The Camellia, Pittosportu/i, Gardenias, Magno- 

 lias, all the new Pines, Firs, Sju-uces, Thuyas, &c., are here perfectly hardy, and very com- 

 mon in nearly every garden in the place, and nearly every dwelling has attached to it from 

 one to four acres of ground under the protectorate of accomi)lished gardeners. There is a 

 Magnolia grandiflora here sixty feet high, with a top whose diameter exceeds seventy feet — 

 a perfect colossus of arboricultural beauty. I saw a Cri/ptomeria Japonica, twenty feet in 

 stature, an Auracaria 7/n&ri'cafa, twenty -five feet high, a CcJrus Z)coc/arn', thirty-two feet from 

 the ground to its extreme apex. Roses are in great profusion, flouting their beautiful heads 

 from miles of hedge, exulting in balconies and parapets, enshrining cottages, and making 

 nature generally exceedingly gorgeous; in fact, it is just the place to locate a paradisaical 

 garden. As soon as I can steal a little time from my present labors, I will send you a 

 description of some of the beauties which make me love — or, as the poet sung : — 



" A wood coeval with himself he sees, 

 And loves his own contemporary trees." 



I tried to purchase the Horticulturist here, but it wasn't to be had. 



Yours, cordially, C. Reagles. 



JoMET, Will Co., III., Nov. 7, 1856. 

 Mr. Jay Smith, Esq. — Dear Sir: In looking over the " Gossip" in the Editor's Table of tho 

 October number of the Uorticulturist, I observed that the Neirport Neics says he saw fifty 

 potatoes weighed, and the result was a total weight of fifty and a half pounds. A few days 

 previous to seeing the above, I was digging up potatoes, and curiosity prompted me to select 

 and weigh twelve potatoes, in the presence of my wife and a disinterested man ; those twelve 

 potatoes just weighed eighteen pounds regular merchantable weight. Avoirdupois, and if I 

 had expected to have seen the above, I surely should have selected fifty, but I had finished 

 digging up, and covered them promiscuously up among the other roots in the cellar before 

 yours reached my eye. Those I weighed were Mishannocks, and as good as they were large. 

 Can you equal these ? if so, let us hear. "We are pleased and interested here with your 

 Horticulturist, and like to hear it speak free ; and I am, dear sir, 



Yours, truly, Michael Tait, Sen. 



Ketsbueg, Logan City, Ky., Nov. 4, 1856. 

 Mr. Smith : A friend from near Elkton some time since sent you a short article upon the 

 fruit of Kentucky. He noticed apples, princii)ally, some of which are new and indigenous 

 varieties, and are not surpassed by any apples of any climate. I am commencing a nursery 

 at this place, and am trying to procure native seedlings of good quality. I will mention 

 one apple in addition to those named by your Elkton correspondent. It is known here as 

 the Robertson Red, and is a fine winter variety ; of its origin I have learned nothing. I 

 have found in this immediate neighborhood some very choice peaches, which, I suppose, 

 originated here, and are not known elsewhere. One which I named the Monstrous Heath, 

 from its great size and resemblance to the White Heath, is the largest peach I have ever 



