DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



astrons. Through the month of February, and 

 the first half of March, the weather was very 

 pleasant, so that vegetation was far advanced, 

 and the pear tree nearly in bloom, but on the 

 18th the thermometer fell to 16. and since then 

 it has continued cold and disagreeable, until the 

 last days in April. 



In summing up the injury that has been done, 

 I allude to my own garden and neighborhood, 

 generally, for there are few places where the 

 situation is a favorable one, that they have not 

 suffered quite so much. My peach trees are 

 nearly all killed ; and part of the one year old 

 pear trees in the nursery, with some of those 

 two and three year old, that were planted out. 

 Magnolia grandijiora,* M. purpurea, and M. 

 tripetela, are frozen to the ground. Magno- 

 lia macropMjlla is injured only on a few shoots 

 of last years growth. My beautiful Pyrus Ja- 

 ponica hedge had not one early flower, and 

 some of its twiggs are frozen. Chinese Honey- 

 suckle. Deutzia scabra, and the hardy roses, 

 with one single exception, are killed to the 

 ground. The Chinese Arborvitae is entirely 

 destroyed. 



The Trumpet Honeysuckle, the White Ital- 

 ian Honeysuckle, the Purple, Wliite, and Per- 

 sian Lilac, the Snowball, the Fringe Tree, and 

 Venitian Sumac, are the only things that es- 

 escaped. 



Of Apples, I think we shall have a tolerable 

 good crop, only a few of those that were most 

 advanced were injured by the late frosts. Pears 

 we shall have but few; and Plums none at all ; 

 the Curculio destroys them all, and so I cut 

 down the trees. 



A few words about the Osage Orange. In 

 the fourth vol., page 146, of the Horticulturist, 

 your correspondent, J. , says the seed all rotted in 

 the ground, and then asks, " Was the seed 

 worthless, or was it immersed too long, or was 

 the water too hot?" On the 5th of April, 1818, 

 I planted a quart of Osage Orange seed that had 

 been soaked for 40 hours in warm water, and 

 afterwards spread on a board for 32 hours. 

 When I received the, seed the ground was not 

 prepared, and by the time I was ready to plant, 

 it rained, and continued to rain for several days; 

 at last, in a fit of desperation, I made drills in 

 ;iiolia grandiflora has stood tlie winter perfectly 

 ington. M. tripetela is perfectly uninjured, and 

 full bloom ill our grounds on the Hudson. Ed] 



the mud with my fingers, (it was impossible to 

 use the drilling machine;) threw in the seed, 

 and covered it slightly. Never was seed put in 

 in worse condition, nor did any ever grow bet- 

 ter; indeed, I thought every seed came up. 

 The water poured over the seeds was not quite 

 so hot as that used by your correspondent. I 

 imagine the seed was worthless when he got it. 

 In conclusion, let me tell you. Mr. Editor, 

 that I have received much of benefit and plea- 

 sure from the perusal of your volumes. Should 

 you find anything in this, my first attempt, like- 

 ly to interest your readers, you are at liberty 

 to use it. I am sir, respectfully yours, J. M. 

 J. Smith. Fayetteville. .Arkansas, May i, 

 1852. 



Cold that Destrots Peach Buds. — I have 

 of late been perusing the horticulturist, which 

 to me is very interesting. Among other things 

 that particular!}' attracted my attention, was a 

 notice of fruit btids being destroyed by the ex- 

 treme cold weather of the past winter. It has 

 frequently been asserted that 12 degrees below 

 zero destroys peaches and some other fine fruit. 

 As I have had some experience in fruit raising 

 for twenty years past, I have had an opportuni- 

 ty of making some observations to my own 

 satisfaction, and as you have requested notice 

 from different parts of the country, respecting 

 the prospect of fruit, I send you some facts 

 from this section. Although I have to refer to 

 other persons to determine the state of the 

 weather, still I have reason to believe tlie state- 

 ments correct. The thermometer records a 

 number of days the past winter, ranging from 

 14 to 26 degrees below zero. Now does that 

 degree of cold kill the fruit? Nature answers 

 the question. The spring with us is quite back- 

 ward, but it gives us fitll evidence that there 

 shall be no failure in the promise of regular 

 seed time and harvest. Though the elements 

 may yet prove destructive, the prospect is 

 promising. Peaches, plums, and cherries, are 

 now coming out, clothed with their i)iiik and 

 white, even to the covering of their branches. 

 Does this look like their being frozen to death 

 — other proofs we have, last year 1850 and 51, 

 the cold ranged from 13 to 27 below zero and there 

 has not been so large a crop of peaches for eight 

 years; plums were mostly destroyed by th 

 culio, cherries quite plenty. I have some 



