148 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



thissppcics, Pursh mailo the followin)? remark in 

 his Flora (ISH-O : " 'Ihero is a viiriety with double ' 

 llowcrsciiltivatc'il in the p^arclcns of America, whicli 

 is a siii'^ular circumslaiice in this f;enus. As an 

 ornament for the lionler, liowever, I tliinU it inferior 

 to the common sort; for it is not so larjje. anil the 

 fine red so conspicuous in the eye of the latter, is 

 scarcely discernible. 



Chkukiks, p. -li). — People are organized so dif- 

 ferently, ami vary so much in their estimates of the 

 same fruit, that "nodispulingoftnsie.t," i)assed in- 

 to a proverb in the olden time, and oupfht never to 

 be forgotten. Still tliey are fruits which pass for 

 excellent, with scarcely a dissenting voice, as the 

 Virgalieu Pear; but many would vote dillerently in 

 regard to the Downton and Ulack Eagle Cherries, 

 some preferring the sprightly juice of the former 

 to the rich sweetness of the latter. I should be 

 ciutious, however, about recommending a fruit, 

 though a favorite with me, if my neighbors consi- 

 dered it only second rale; but with the encomium 

 on Downer's Late Red, I can fully accord. This 

 has been the third season of its bearing in my gar- 

 den; and it deservedly ranks with our finest cherries 



There is another late sort, of which I receiv- 

 ed grafts some years ago, under the name of Cream 

 Cherry — said to be a seedling from Tompkins coun- 

 ty — which we highly esteem. It is not large but 

 sweet and delicious, anil perhaps is later than any 

 other in my collection. J. .7 Thomas, after a care- 

 ful examination, thinks it very nearly agrees with 

 the Honey Cherry; but whether identical or not, it 

 seems well adajUed to this climate. I have not 

 known it to rot, except in the present season, when 

 all that were left of my other cherries, save the 

 acid ones, decayed at the same time. In twenty 

 years, I have not seen such destruction in this fruit. 



The Virgii.ia, p. 50. — I have atrce of the Vir- 

 gilia about twenty feet high, which endures the 

 ■winters of this northern land without injury, like 

 other trees from the mountains of the Southern 

 States; but it has never flowered but once. This 

 defect may be constitutional, as it is i)robably a 

 seedling; for we observe some seedlings of the 

 common Locust much more productive of seed than 

 others; and like seedling Lemon trees, it may re- 

 quire grafts from a better bearer. David Thomas, 

 of Cayuga county. 



Drying Plants. — In the first number of "The 

 Horticulturist," I notice an extract from the Gar- 

 dener's Chronicle,giving directions for drying plants 

 for a herbarium. Changing the jiapers is recom- 

 mended, as they become damp by contact with the 

 ilrying plants. I have found it an equally good 

 mode in every respect, and far less laborious, never 

 to change the papers; but every day, or every two 

 or three days, as circumstances require, to spread 

 the papers, containing the plants within their folds, 

 over the floor of the room, for a few hours. The 

 l)aper8 thus become dried by exposure to the air; 

 the plants retain their original shape, and are not 

 twisted nor crumpled, as is too often the case when 

 removed from the papers; while not half the time 

 is required for the work. This course is absolutely 

 necessary for some plants, which easily roll or be- 

 oprne folded together while transferring them 



The excellence of thin mode has been fully jiroved 

 on thousands of si)ecimiMis, which were iixually 

 rejj-anled by the botanists wlio saw them, a» remark- 

 ably well dried. J. J. T. Macedon, N. Y. 



The Sycamore or HuTiowoon. — This fine tree 

 is now sullering in the Eastern states from a blight, 

 such as it was subject to a few years since in Penn- 

 sylvania; and some jjcrsons in despair, are cutting 

 tliem down. The " Horticulturist " may confer a 

 favor, by informing its readers, that, after an attack 

 quite as bad in our city, the trees entirely reco^ <•!• 

 ed, and are now as handsome and healthy as ever. 

 The only treatment necessary is pruning oil' the 

 dead wood, and severely heading back the sickly 

 branches. Philadelphia. 



Mildew in the Grape. — A writer in the Far- 

 mer's Cabinet, with the signature of " Chemieo," 

 suggests that the fungi causing blight or mildew is 

 caused by "'a surplus of carbonic acid gas, which 

 gas would not exist as such, were there a suflicient 

 supply of potash in the soil." He adds: ''In the 

 appendix to Liebig-'s Agricultural Chemistry, se- 

 cond American edition, by J. W. Webster, you will 

 find that while speaking of the mode of manuring 

 grape vines, it is said, ' Under orilinary circumstan- 

 ces, a manure containing potash must be used, o'.h- 

 erwise the fertility of the soil will decrease. I'his 

 is done in all wine countries.' Again, 'one thou- 

 sand jiarts of the pruned branches [of the vine] 

 contain fifty-six to sixty parts of carbonate, or 

 thirty-eight to forty parts of pure potash.' 



" We may now easily account for the facts men- 

 tioned by your corresjjondent, that 'old vines are 

 much more liable to mildew than young.' They 

 have exhausted the potash from the soil, and when 

 their leaves absorb carbonic acid, the jdant has no 

 potash with which to form a healthy salt bj' union 

 with it, and the diseased plant invites the fungi. 



'' A humid summer is favorable for the genera- 

 tion of carbonic acid, and hence the reason why 

 ' T.' found his young vines attacked during such a 

 season. 'T.' is correct when he says, ' the soap- 

 suds is always beneficial, and can be used freely.' 

 The reason is, soapsuds contain potash. I should 

 recommend very strongly the use of wood ashes 

 about grai)e vines; particularly in 'cold graperies' 

 the vital jiowcr of the plant is not so strong, and 

 consequently it has not the i)0vver to expel the 

 cause of the disease." 



[There is some point in these notions regarding 

 mildew. Young and healthy plants are seldom at- 

 tacked by mildew, while old and feeble ones are 

 very liable to it. Our own observation has led us 

 to believe that wood ashes is one of the most bene- 

 ficial fertilizers for the grape vine, giving it the 

 appearance of extraordinary luxuriance and health. 

 The great productiveness and longevity of the vine- 

 yards abroad, which are formed upon a soil com- 

 |)0sed mainly of the spent ashes of volcanoes, and 

 the acknowledged superiority of the grapes and 

 Wine yielded at least by such soils are manifest 

 proofs of the value of ashes. In the mean time, 

 wood ashes is of almost universal benefit to the 

 growth of plants, aud are easily obtained and ap- 

 plied, at least in moderate quantities. Let every 

 one troubled w^ith the mildew, especially in grapes 



