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FOREIGN NOTICES. 



PudKiT? OF pKAit r.HowiNo IN Enoi.and. — Pcar growing, it Avill bo seen from the follow- 

 ing extract, can not bo an uniirofitable onltnre in England, with all the diftcts of climate. 

 If wc were to go into some detail? in this way, in regard to profits of Pear trees here, we 

 might make some statements that would 9nr[)rise people : 



" An obscrviif ion of il. de Joiighc, in one of your late Nuniber.*, to the effect that Englnml, 

 from mismanagonK'nt, i* tributary to Dtlgiuni for reari=, induces ine to remark the high jiritc at 

 which this fruit is retailed in Covent Garden. I liavc seldom been able to purch&<c first-rute 

 winter fruit, such ns Winter Nells, Beuri<; Rnnce, Easier Bcurri", or Ise jdus Mcuris, under 6(i a 

 piece, and never under 4i/. Now let us suppose an acre stocked with pyramidal trees, at six feet 

 apart, there is room for 1210. In good eonditicn, they surely ought to produce two dozen Pears 

 each; but let us ^uppose that every other tree is absolutely barren every olternate yeor; the 

 average will tlien be a dozen fruit jnr tree. Let us now assume that even of this dozen one-half 

 is cracked, pecked, rotten, or otherwise unsaleable; there will remain half-a-dozen in good condi- 

 tion. Let us halve these again, and suppose that only three can be retailed at the full price of 

 6(i, and that the other three will only produce \d. each. "We have thus 28. Oc/., i)er tree, or 162/. 

 per acre. "Wiiat the retailer's pi'ofit is I know not, but assuming him to be contented with 52 per 

 cent., he will pay the grower 100/. Now 100/. an acre seems an enormoiis return, even after 

 allowing that the trees, at Is. 6(/,, each, must originally have cost 90/., and that annual expense?, 

 such OS rent, taxes, and labor, have to be deducted. Hence we may conclude, either that Pear- 

 growers are driving a most lucrative trade, or else that amateurs must not, on an average of years, 

 expect a return from their jiyramidal trees of even six good fruit from each. The culture of 

 standards is usually considered more profitable than pyramids. If so, market gardeners, who 

 almost always pl.int standards, will actually realise larger profits than those I have indicated 

 above. S. B., Bromley, in Gurd. Chron." 



IlELioTRorE?, owing to their agreeable fragrance and cheerful-looking flowers, are always es- 

 pecial favorites in the flower garden, and when successfully cultivated in pots they are very or- 

 namental in a greenhouse. The only fault belonging to them as bedding plants is their being so 

 tender as to be often destroyed by frost early in the season, while other occupants of the flower 

 garden continue in perfection. Notwithstanding this, however, they must still be cultivated, 

 both out-doors ani in, more especially as the varieties have become so greatly improved of late, 

 both in habit of growth and lichness of color, Voltaireanum natnim is one ot the very best, 

 having high colored flowers, and a dwarf, compact habit, as have also coryniboswm and Souvenir 

 de Li'gc ; all these answer eitiier for bedding or pot culture. Cuttings taken ofl" eai-ly in Au- 

 gust, and placed in an old Melon or Cucumber frame, in a mixture of leaf-mould, sand, and gar- 

 den soil, root freely. They should, however, be inserted rather firmly in thoroughly well drain- 

 ed 6-ineh pots, placing a portion of the rough siftings of the soil over the crocks, to keep the 

 mould from being washed down among them. Many complaints have at dift'erent times been 

 made with respect to their damping off. No doubt, if taken off too late in the autumn, or put 

 in badly drained pots, this may happen; but if put in early in Augu-^t, or early in spring, not 

 one in a hundred will f lil. As soon as they are sufficiently rooted, pot them singly into 3-inch 

 pots, in a mixture of leaf-mould, loam, and sand, and replace them in the frame, keeping them 

 rather close and shaded from the midday sun until they have become well established, frequent- 

 ly sprinkling them over-head with a fine rosed watering pot. When well rooted remove them 

 to the most convenient place for wintering them in ; and if other accommodation cannot be af- 

 forded, they may remain in their cutting pots until spring. Their heads should frequently be 

 pinched out to keep them bushy ; for those who have but little convenience for housing bedding 

 p'ants will find it be-t to keep a few old plants in pots, and by placing them in a little bottom 

 heat, about the end of February, they will produce abundance of cuttings, which will strike free- 

 ly if placed in a single bottom-heat Care should be taken to harden them off well before they 

 are too fully exposed to the open air, and as a rule they should always be the last plants bedded 



A plant or two should also be turned out in the borders of the conservatory, or in some !^ 

 of the greenhouse, to furnish flowers for bouquets. As a pot plant the Heliotrope is valu- >i 



