been in cultivation by old IJartriini, and found hardy in liis time (although the 

 " (ddt'st inhabitant" says they never had such winters as we have now a days) at 

 Philadelphia, and that he who reintroduces it, will deserve well of his brethren. 



26. Ji/nnnnus. The Buckthorns. — Ji. catharticus, the coninion Buckthorn, so 

 very popidar in some parts as a liedj^e plant, is well known in tliat capacity, but 

 few are aware of its highly ornamental appearance when suffered to prow as a 

 specimen bush on the lawn. Its berries commence to ripen in September, and 

 continue in succession till 0('tol)er. Birds are very fond of them, and take good 

 care of their share. It is of the easiest culture, thriving anywhere, but in no 

 situation so well as one that is fully exposed. Seeds grow very readily sown in 

 either fall or spring. The R. Caro/im'ensis, Carolina Buckthorn, is a still hand- 

 somer species ; the berries are larger, and more numerous, at first red, then chang- 

 ing to a shining black, remaining on till Christmas. {To be continued.) 



PRACTICAL IIIXTS TO AMATEURS. JULY. 



BY THE LATE A. J. DOWNING. 



If you have a crop in your kitclicn garden which looks sickly, water it once or 

 twice with guano water (a handful of guano to a pail of water), stirring the soil 

 with the hoe before ai)plying the water. 



This is the season of the year to give shape to your shrubs or plants. A little 

 shortening-back now, on overgrown shoots, will make the dormant buds push out 

 new shoots on parts of a shrub or tree which are deficient in foliage, so as to bring 

 it into good shape before the season of growth is past. For small plants, that 

 you wish to make bushy and thick, there is nothing like pinching-off the ends of 

 the leading shoots while they are young. It gives you thick and compact heads 

 of leaves, instead of few and slender shoots. 



Don't be discouraged at the inroad of an insect that threatens to destroy your 

 favorite trees or plants. Set about studying its natural history, and depend upon 

 it, if you only get a correct notion of its habits, you can soon exterminate it by a 

 little energy and perseverance. Tobacco water will kill any insect, if it is judi- 

 ciously applied, and perseveringly repeated, however much they may seem to defy 

 it at first. Always use it in the morning, or just at evening ; for it is throwing 

 away your ammunition to fire into the enemy's quarters in mid-day, when they are 

 wide awake, and ready to dodge the fire. 



If you want to propagate everblooraing roses by cuttings, your best time is now, 

 just as the young wood begins to harden, after the first flowers are past. A frame, 

 sunk on the north side of a fence or wall, with a sash to cover it, will enable you 

 to raise hundreds of roses with very little attention. Make the soil in the frame 

 six inches deep, of rich mould, mixed with one-half fine sand. In this plant the 

 cuttings, with a single leaf left on the top of each. Water them every evening, 

 leaving the sash off all night, and replacing it early in the morning. In case you 

 want tliem to plant out in the borders, you may let the cuttings grow in the frame 

 where they strike all summer, covering the glass with about six inches of straw in 

 the winter, and planting out the young plants early the next spring ; but if you 

 want them for pot culture, then, of course, plant the cuttings in pots, instead of 

 the soil of the frame; and, in five or six weeks, they have formed new roots, so 

 that you may repot them — one in each small pot. 



To have raspberries very large and fine, you must make a new plantation every 

 fourth year. The soil should be trenched twenty inches deep, and a quantity of 

 ashes and stable manure turned well underneath. The raspberry likes a cool. 



