ten, with so much, exposure to the air, however much care might be taken to close up in 

 the sudden changes ; besides, there is no provision in the principle for any more plants than 

 in the ordinary methods, and as each one has to be trained, lirst horizontally, and after- 

 wards perpendiculai'ly, there will be two seasons lost at the commencement. As to cheaj)- 

 ness, I do not see in what it consists, for even allowing there may be some saving on first 

 erection (which is not the case), there would be a great amount of labor incurred in open- 

 ing and closing, and, unless this were well attended to on every change of cloud and sun- 

 shine, it would be better to have an open trellis outside, and cover with earth in the winter. 

 Improvement and progress is my motto, but I really do not see anything in this but a gim- 

 crack idea, and venture to say that its successful operation is only, so far, in the inventor's 

 brain. He certainly cannot have had much experience, or he would know that a better and 

 quite as cheap a structure can be erected. Such ingenious minds ought to be encouraged 

 notwithstanding their practical defects, for we can sometime^ draw an idea from their whims 

 that may be turned to good account ; but you may rest assured that this hanrjinci out to air 

 process will never do. It would be worth insertion for its novelty, besides its adaptability 

 as a closed green-house in winter, which, with a slight alteration, might have the two ends 

 to open as glass doors. This, with judicious arrangement, might be made a fine feature as 

 a conservatory, but would this infringe upon the patent. By the by, who ever heard 

 before of a patent horticultural structure ? 



" What could be more economical than using common building spars, cut and fixed 

 double pitch, with wall-plate along the bottom, and posts driven into the ground deep 

 enough below frost ; board up one foot in front below the wall-plate, and likewise the two 

 ends ; cover this with common frame sashes, and boards running lengthwise hinged to the 

 ridge as ventilators, and you have as cheap a house as can be made. If the vines were laid 

 into wooden boxes, and two boards nailed V fashion, as a cover in the winter time, the 

 sashes could be used for other purposes, thus answering a double purpose. 



"Inclosed is the report of the Manchester (England) Botanical and Horticultural So- 

 ciety's last exhibition. I thought you would like to see it. This is my native place, and 

 I have in my possession some 250 prizes, which were awarded to me by the Societv. 



"WM. CHURLTON. 



"To J. Jay Smith, Esq." 



LEGENDS OF TREES, NO. 2. 



BY WM. H. ALEXANDER. 



" Tpie Mistletoe, particularly that which grows on the Oak, was held in great 

 veneration by the Britons. At the beginning of their year, the Druids went in 

 solemn procession into the forests, and raised a grass altar at the foot of the finest 

 Oak, on which they inscribed the names of those gods which were considered as 

 the most powerful. After this, the chief Druid, clad in a white garment, ascended 

 the tree, and cropped the Mistletoe with a consecrated pruning-hook, the other 

 Druids receiving it in a pure white cloth, which they held beneath the tree. The 

 Mistletoe was then dipped in water by the principal Druid, and distributed among 

 the people, as a preservative against witchcraft and diseases. If any part of the 

 plant touched the ground, it was considered to be the omen of some dreadful mis- 

 fortune which was about to fall upon the land. The ceremony was always per- 

 formed when the moon was six days old, and two white bulls were sacrificed at 

 the conclusion. In Scandinavian mythology, Loke (the evil spirit) is said to have 

 made the arrow with which he wounded Balder (Apollo), the son of Friga (Venus), 

 of mistletoe branches. Balder was charmed against injury from everything which 

 sprang from fire, earth, air, and water ; but the Mistletoe, springing from neither, 

 was found to be fatal, and Balder was not restored to the world till by a general 

 effort of the other gods. The magical properties of the Mistletoe are mentioned 

 both by Virgil and Ovid. In the dark ages a similar belief prevailed ; and even 

 to the present day, the peasants of Holstein, and some other countries, call th 

 Mistletoe the "spectre's wand," from the supposition, that holding a bran 



