.?^^^ 



Tasmannian ft-rn-root is eaten voraciously by pigs ; the aborigines roast it in the ashes, 

 jx'el tiir its black skin with their teetli, and oat it witii their roasted kangaroos in the same 

 manner as Kuropoans eat broad. The root of tU<' Tara fern possesses niucli nutritive matter. 

 Many of the ferns are fragrant ; one smells of myrrh, and anotlier of benzoin, and a third 

 of roast beef. You will find much pleasure in studying these plants. 



June 11. 



Wishing to add (in the fall) to my small collection some perfectly hardy, profuse Uower- 

 ing plants that will thrive in a very severe climate, I have made a selection, and would 

 like the sanction of an authority upon which I have long relied. 



Respectfully yours, A SuiiSCEiBEH. 



Which of the junipers unites the greatest beauty and tenacity, or is there any other ever- 

 green that does not attain a very large size, possessing these qualities in an equal degree ? 



Is the European Larch hardy ? Aralia japonica, only mentioned in Buist's Catalo'jne. 



Buddlea Lindleyana ; Chionanthus virginica ; Clethra alnifolia ; Crataegus punicia pleno ; 

 P'agus purpurea glabra ; Robinia Bessoniaua; Viburnum lantanoides ; Virgilia lutea ; Stuartia 

 virginica. 



[All are quite hardy, except Buddlea Lindleyana, which generally gets killed to the 

 ground in Philadelphia, The Aralia alluded to, is probably A. spinosa, and quite hardy. 

 Both species are spiny. The Tree-Box and Red Cedar, are both small growing evergreens, 

 as hardy as the Juniper, and, we think, quite as beautiful. — Ed.] 



>'oTE FROM A SoDTH CAROLINA Lady. — " I enjo)/ the Horticulturist, but am stupid to learn 

 bow to treat my pear-trees. The most flourishing are those I trimmed most carefully, and 

 have not even a bud, and those I let alone bloom profusely, and then grow, instead of pro- 

 ducing fruit." 



Try the experiment of root pruning, or occasional removals. 



Have Plants the Power to Create ? — (J. T. Plummer). Our correspondent is evidently 

 getting angry, without reason. Had we intended any discourtesy, we could have shown it 

 better by withholding the publication of his letter altogether. What we wished to impress 

 on the mind of our correspondent was, that there is really nothing known about the sub- 

 ject of which he inquires. Observation has shown that there are, occasionally, certain 

 substances found in plants, and of which no trace of the elements they are composed of, 

 can be found in the soil or atmosphere surrounding it. Lindley, and other physiologists, 

 " infer" (that is, they consider it probable) that, by some vital process which they do not 

 profess to understand, the plant has the power of creating that substance — not " out of 

 nothing," absolutely, but out of nothing that we know of. What is wanted further, is not 

 more opinions, but more facts. The question is, how are these substances fonned ? And 

 we respectfully submit to our correspondent whether he has offered anything towards an 

 elucidation of it ? In our former comments, we had not so much our correspondent's com- 

 munication in view as the general fact that we have, most of us, too great a tendency to 

 criticize the experience of others, and too little inclination to observe and experiment for 

 ourselves. We trust our correspondent will pursue the subject further ; our columns shall 

 always be open to any discoveries he may make in relation to it. 



Extensive Strawberry Ccltivatiox. — The Baltimore American Farmer gives the following 

 account of strawberry cultivation near Annapolis, Maryland, exceeding anything we now 

 recollect: "Our Anne Arundel County friends can claim a pre-eminence in fniit culture, 

 which, both as to quality and quantity, entitles them to honorable distinction. It is not 

 many years since their system of cultivation was introduced, but we find now, within a 

 neighborhood of a few square miles (as nearly as we could ascertain), some six hundred acres 



