is to grow these plants. I had under my charge one of the best collections in England ; for 

 individual specimens they were not surpassed. One of the best practical gardeners in 

 America, on seeing my heaths in Maryland, said he never believed, until then, that they 

 could be grown here. 



Even in cultivating the soil, I almost indorse Jethro TuU, who insisted that stirring the 

 soil was all the manure it required. The thing seems quite reasonable, when we look for a 

 moment at the structure of plants. Just look at that desk before you ; it seems solid and 

 ponderous enough. Throw it into the fire, and see how quickly it will "end in smoke." 

 "The things that were Caesar's are rendered to Csesar." It has gone into the atmosphere 

 fi'om whence it came, and you may reasonably suppose that the tree that produced it was 

 more indebted to the air than the earth. Depend upon it, we "know nothing" about culti- 

 vation yet. But it is too early to advance extreme views ; they are looked u^jon as alto- 

 gether out of reason. 



And yet, when Hugh Miller (author of the Foot-Prints of the Creator, the Old Red Saiul- 

 stone, ^c.) mentioned to Professor Agassiz that some of his opinions relating to his discove- 

 ries, seemed to himself so extravagant that he was afraid to communicate them, Agassiz 

 replied : " Do not be deterred, if you have examined minutely, by any dread of being ex- 

 travagant. The j)ossibilities of existence run so deeply into the extravagant, that there is 

 scarcely any conception too extraordinary for nature to realize." 



I have written a long letter, when I only intended half a dozen lines. 



Very respectfully, S. 



Peabody's Seedltxg Strawbekky. — A very exquisitely prepared tin box, with breathing 

 holes, reached us on the 9th of June, and proved to contain specimens from Mr. Peabody of 

 his ripened strawberries. We can readily understand his remark, that the late frosts 

 materially damaged this fruit, and curtailed its size, for we saw the results of the cold when 

 recently in Georgia. Their flavor, beauty, and keeping qualities, were, however, uninjured, 

 though they had travelled six miles from Mr. P.'s grounds to Columbus, in a wagon, three 

 hundred miles thence to Savannah, and some eight hundred miles to Philadelphia, by 

 steamship. A large party partook of these berries, and pronounced the flavor excellent, 

 though, of course, disappointed with the size, from the cau:?e above stated. It will require 

 another year to enable growers to decide on that. 



The Marylandica Strawberry. — One of the finest strawberries, if not the very finest, we 

 have ever seen and tasted, comes from Samuel Feast & Sons, of Baltimore. It is the berry 

 that took so many premiums in the hands of the late Dr. Edmondson, who would never 

 part with a plant. Messrs. Feast have the control of the M'hole stock, and wo advise cul- 

 tivators to look after it at once. These strawberries are entirely diflferent from any other 

 we know ; the vines are very strong ; leaves, dark and glossy ; many of the berries have a 

 footstalk from five to six inches long ; fruit, very large, often flattened, solid, and firm, 

 bearing transportation remarkably well. The interior is perfectly beautiful, cutting almost 

 as solidly as a pear, without any toughness ; well colored and luscious, requiring less sugar 

 than most. We pronounce them invaluable. 



IIarrisbi'ro, Pa., Juno 16, 1857. 



Dear Sir : I send you by express a plant in bearing, and a cluster (separate) of the 



Scarlet Magnate Strawberry. I liave selected about average specimens ; might have selected 



some larger, but very few smaller that were ripe. None of them are fully ripe yet, owing 



ps, to the soil being too rich. My plants have been grown entirely too closely — so 



y, as to crowd each other. Tliough several hundreds were removed, they still stand 



