438 



DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



an inch abovo tho siiiroiindinp: soil, and in the cen- 

 tre of oarli liole I plaft- a carnation iilaiit, |uiltinjj 

 ilovvn the sdck to tie it to at the same time, that I 

 may not tlistiirh the roots in future. As the flower 

 stalk atlvanccs, it is tied to the stick, and all side 

 branches and buds, except one at the top, cut oil'. 

 The ri>\vs may be sliaileil, when in llowcr, with 30 

 inch cotton cloth supported by stakes at the siiles 

 of the rows, with a copper wire carrieil alon^ them 

 near the top. In this way I have had llowcrs mea- 

 suring three and a half inche? in diameter on 

 strong^ stalks forty-five inches high. If the season 

 is very dry, water between the rows, but not close 

 to the roots. 



Your correspondent in No. 2, is very right in his 

 warning against mice, as I lost in one winter -100 

 fine plants by them. I am convinced if he will 

 try my method of culture he will be better satisfied 

 with it than his own — as it afl'ords equally fine 

 flowers, makes better layers, and is much less 

 trouble. Hariford, Conn., Jan. 20, 1847. 



[Excellent practical hints. — Ed.] 



Retkospective Criticism. — The January No. 

 has interested mc so much, that I venture to send 

 you a few remarks ujton the articles contained in 

 it : 



Your correspondent, Mr. E.\ton, in his excel- 

 lent article on transplanting orchards, recommends 

 deep ploughing for trees, and aflerwards that the 

 holes be dug deep, and filled vvith line manure, 

 muck, etc. My practice would not be much un- 

 like his. I should prepare my lanil thus: first 

 plough and sub-soil iilough to the "iepth of 18 or 

 20 inches, and cultivate and manure highly the 

 first year. The second year plough crossways of 

 the sub-soil furrows, and bring up two or three 

 inches of the sub-soil; harrow, roll, horse plough, 

 and work the whole till the soil is quite fine. 

 Now set the trees on the soil and cover the roots 

 carefully with not over two inches of firm loam. 

 The tree should be previously prepared by pruning 

 the roots, and in planting, the roots should be ex- 

 tended as horizontally as possible, diverging in 

 equal distances. I should give no water, and place 

 no manure in contact with the roots the first year. 

 Mr. Eaton's suggestions are, upon the whole, 

 sound ones. 



Mr. Perkins' method of removing trees is ad- 

 mirable, and his remarks on watering the branches 

 will be the means of saving many valuable trees. 

 There are few persons more profound in such mat- 

 ters. 



The account of the Onondaga and Oswego Buerrf 

 Pears, strengthens my belief that we have, or will 

 soon have, more valuable native pears in the United 

 States — sorts suited to our climate and «oil — than 

 we have or may hereafter obtain from Europe. I 

 am confident that this is the case with regard to 

 the apple. 



For " sliding banks " let me add to your recom- 

 mendation, when the soil is loose and rich, that of 

 sowing Lucerne seed. The roots of this strong 

 clover I have known to grow three feet in a sea- 

 son, and to form a very strong mat of fibres. It 

 will continue in a kind and waim soil about fifteen 

 years. Norfolk. Massachusetts, Jan., 1847. 



The Arhor Vit;j:. — Since the publication of 

 our '' chapter on heilges," we have ha<l numerous 

 letters inquiring about the Arbor X'itie as a hedge 

 plant, and expressing some surjirise that we on)it- 

 ted it in our article. 



To this we answer that our remarks were in- 

 tended to apply to hedges chiefly, in a useful 

 pointjof view — as a livc/t«ce and a general barrier 

 against animals of all kinds. 'V\\i\ jlrior I'i7ff does 

 not come juoperly under this head, since, as it has 

 no thorns, it will not nmke a hedge fit for an out- 

 side barrier against cattle. 



As an ornamental evergreen hedge, or as a plant 

 for close screens, the Arbor Vit-.n is perhaps un- 

 suriiassed by any other in this climate. It is per- 

 fectly harity in all situations, is never attacked by 

 insects, anil for aught we know to the conti-ary 

 will live for ever, under favorable circumstances — 

 in other words it is one of the longest lived of 

 hedge plants, and is scarcely subject to the usual 

 iliseascs of trees. 



A single row, the plants placed at one foot apart, 

 is the better way of setting an Arbor Vita; hedge. 

 The best time is in the spring as soon as the buds 

 begin to swell. Plants in the nurseries are worth 

 from $S to 30 per 100, from one to four feet high. 

 The seed is ripe in October, and should be sown 

 in the autumn in deep and well pulverized soil, 

 covered about half an inch deep. 



The Arl)or Vitic of this part of the Hudson forms, 

 naturally, so ileiise a conical hedge that scarcely 

 any trimming is required. But no plant bears the 

 shears better than this, and it may be made to take 

 any form that the cultivator desires. 



Grapes in Vineries. — Your No. 6 gives a de- 

 scription of a cheap structure for growing foreign 

 grapes, which I doubt not is valuable, and will be 

 atloi)tetl by many — but why is it, that the vines are 

 recommended to be planted on the outside, and ail- 

 mittcd in the usual way through the wall? Is this 

 not rather usage than good philosophy? The roots 

 by these means are thus placed in one medium, 

 while i\\e branches Avt: in another and consequently 

 a much higher temperature. It is a well-known 

 fact that buds will burst, and shoots of considera- 

 ble length will be made from exciting the inspissa- 

 ted sap of the branches, while the roots themselves, 

 from the coldness of the soil they are in, have not 

 yet started into growth. JMay we not attribute to 

 this cause the non-setting of the fruit, which fre- 

 quently happens in a cold backward spring? Is it 

 not essential that the soil in which a plant is 

 grown should be at least equal, if not a higher 

 temperature, than the surrouniling atmosphere? 

 A case in point I will mention. I had (to try an 

 experiment on the difTerence of quality of the fruit 

 of the same vine, whether grown in open aii, or 

 under glass) taken a rod of an Isabella vine into 

 my green house. On the 26th of April it was in 

 fine growth, with shoots of eighteen inches long, 

 and setting fruit, while the rods upon the outside 

 had not yet burst a bud. At this critical juncture 

 my man unwittingly took away the litter which 

 had been heaped about the stem and roots as a 

 winter protection, and, on going into the green 

 house the next morning after a slight frost, I found 



