:(&^^^ 



EDITORS TAHLK. 



Straw nERRiEs. — I gathered sixty-four boxes of Strawberries the past summer from three beds 

 of viiie-s the bod.-* beiiiij; forty-five feet long und two foct wide, wilh an interval of Iwo feet be- 

 tween ilie Viid.j. The berries were large and fair {Wal/ccr* Sctdli>i</s) and would have readily 

 commanded a sale at fifty cents a box, thus causing 640 square feet of land to yield a gross income 

 of $H2. The soil was rich garden loam only four inches deep over stdid rock. Tlie earth was 

 wholly scraped from the rock in the intervals, and its place supplied with fresh tan. After the 

 blossoming of the vines they were 8U|)plied with water from the jiump very abundantly. During 

 tlie late drouth they have not been watered at all, and yet, at this moment, after the abundant 

 rains of last week, they appear as well as any vines in this vicinity. The intervals between the 

 rows have become covered with vines, and I am tliis day cutting and removing them. It is just 

 two years since I set out the plants, 100 in number, of whieli thirty-three died. 



I disregarded all authority in setting out vines in such shallow soil, and did it simply because I 

 did not know in what other way to attempt to cover a barren spot in my garden. I have been 

 successful, and give the fact for the benefit of those wlio may be similarly situated, and not as 

 foundation for any generalizations. James Ritchie. — Roxbury, JIass., September 12, 1854. 



Notitts of Books, ^ampf)ht5, kt. 



A ScrEimno Exposinox of the Cause and Cube of the Potato Kot. 



- The above is the title of a book just published by J. N. Citandler, Adrian, Mich. A very 

 small book it is, but it may be all the better for that. Mr. Chandler holds that "there are 

 tAvo causes, primary and secondary. The primary cause is the weakening and refining 

 processes which have been (ignorantly) carried on ever since the Potato has been cultivated. 

 The secondary cause is, — the inferior position of the electric fluids, which is in the lower 

 stratum of the atmosphere, (especially when the negative state is existing,) permeates 

 everything upon the surface of tlie earth." The second cause Mr. C. credits to the writings 

 of A. J. Davis, in which the prevalence of cholera is attributed to the electrical couditicm 

 of the atmosphere. He says where iron abounds, as at Pittsburg, the Potato is free from 

 rot, and the cholera has never raged. 



"We consider all that is said about electricity as pure speculation; but we find some 

 remarks on the culture and keeping of the Potato, worthy of attention. Mr. 0. endeavors 

 to show, that high culture, and keeping the seed a great portion of the year out of the 

 ground.! h^s brought about a detriment that predisposes the tubers to diseases, as people 

 under certain conditions are i)redisposed to cholera. This may be ; but in Ireland, where 

 the disease has been most destructive, the Potato is seldom housed as in this country, but 

 kept in lieaps or pits, out doors. 



The Gardener's Magazine, is tlie title of a new Horticultural Journal, issued at Boston, 

 by Mr. Wm. S. King, well known as one of the editors of the Practical Journal and 

 Journal of Agriculture,, and Secretary of the National Agricultural Society. He is 

 determined to have his hands full ; but he is a young man, full of life and energy, and as 

 he says himself, prefers to wear out, rather than rmt out. A long list (too long) of able 

 contributors are announced, and among them they will undoubtedly make a good journal- 

 The first three numbers, just received, look well. It is published monthly, at $1 per annum. 

 Cheap, cheap — and we wish it success. We are glad to see Horticultural Journals on the 

 increase. 



