DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



lively in the dark, and with little water; and 

 growing ones should haye a good supply of wa- 

 ter and a full supply of light. But it must not 

 be forgotten that green-house plants generally 

 arc nearly dormant during winter, and the soil 

 must therefore be kept but moderately moist, 

 as the plants in this condition do not pump any 

 moisture from the soil, and little escapes di- 

 rectly by evaporation. Drainage, by filling 

 one-fifth of each pot with charcoal, is of im- 

 portance. 



Temperature. — Many house plants are de- 

 stroyed by too much heat, which increases the 

 dryness, and both these causes together are 

 more than they can endure. A cool room, 

 never as low as freezing, is best. From 50 to 

 55 degrees is much better than 65 or 70, the 

 ordinary temperature of living rooms. 



Syringing the foliage with tepid water, to wash 

 off whatever dust accumulates, is of use; and 

 the admission of fresh air, when there is no 

 danger of chilling or freezing the foliage, should 

 not be neglected. 



DucHEssE OF Angouleme — A Long Name. — 

 Some of the names of pears, and especially those 

 which are pretty well peppered with French ac- 

 cents, are inconveniently long to most cultiva- 

 tors, among which is the Duchessed'Angouleme. 

 We observe in the last number of Hovey's 

 Magazine, the editor names the '"Duchesse" 

 among other pears ; whether it is the Duchesse 

 d'Orleans, Duchesse of Beri. or Duchesse de 

 Mars, we should not be able to decide, were we 

 not aware, as some others are not, that the 

 Duchesse d'Angouleme is sometimes called by 

 this name, which certainly has too much of the 

 " John Smith" indefiniteness about it. No ob- 

 jection of this sort could be made to the name 

 Angouleme. 



The Crocus. — These are generally too much 

 crowded in pot culture ; a single root put in a 

 small pot, will give a dozen fine flowers at least, 

 expanded at the same time, of larger size than 

 will be got from three roots in the same size 

 pot. Those who doubt this, have only to make 

 the experiment to be convinced. But these 

 and Hyacinths or Tulips grown in pots, should 

 as soon as potted be plunged under coal ashes, 

 saw-diist or old tan, for six weeks. This may 

 one in a cellar or out house, and they can 

 be taken out any time during winter, and 



be forwarded to bloom in a green-house, or 

 sitting-room. 



Market Pears.— In planting 500 trees for 

 standards to constitute a market orchard, would 

 you plant mostly Virgalieus, as some of my 

 neighbors have done, or a proportion of other 

 sorts, and what should these be ? M. W. 

 Western New-York. 



The Virgalieu (or White Doyenne) as grown 

 in western New- York, as well as in some other 

 portions of the country, is a fruit of transcen- 

 dent merit, not only for its fine quality, but for 

 its great and early productiveness, and for the 

 hardiness of the tree. But the scab and crack- 

 ing, which renders it "'an outcast, intolerable 

 even to sight," as Kenrick is designates it, in 

 some parts of the eastern states, has of late 

 years appeared to some extent, both in western 

 New- York and Ohio ; and it may therefore be 

 somewhat hazardous to plant it exclusively. 

 We think, under these circumstances, it would 

 be best to make a selection of five or six of the 

 best varieties, foremost of which, and in the 

 largest quantity, we would place the Flemish 

 Beauty, a free growing sort on pear stocks, and 

 bearing fine crops of large, handsome, and ex- 

 cellent pears, ripening about the same time as 

 the Virgalieu. The Onondaga, though not so 

 good, is a large, handsome and productive va- 

 riety, and would undoubtedly sell well. The 

 Louise Bonne de Jersey, which grows so well 

 on quince; produces so abundantly, that it 

 should form a large proportion of a market or- 

 chard. The Bartlett, for an early autumn sort, 

 will not of course be forgotten; and the Vicar 

 of Winkfield , for a late market pear, is deserved- 

 ly popular for its enormous crops. When the 

 keeping and ripening of winter pears shall be 

 better understood, it is not improbable that they 

 may form a most important class for profitable 

 cultivation, and among which the Easter Beurre 

 for long keeping, will certainly be one of the 

 best, the planter not forgetting that it must have 

 a rich, warm, and highly cultivated soil. 



Cinerarias. — These are beautiful winter 

 plants for a green-house, and may be made 

 much more ornamental if they are grown in 

 large pots, and the flower stems of those that 

 are slight enough to admit of it, are gradually 

 pulled and pegged down to the surface of the 

 pot. In that way, we have seen complete 



