DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



even then the air would bubble through j think- 

 ing, however, that the fruit would be stewed, and 

 not preserved, in the state your correspondent 

 promised, I hermetically sealed them up, by 

 dropping some solder on the hole— took them 

 out, and after wiping them, put them away in 

 cool places. Some were in the water 15 mi- 

 nutes, others upwards of a half hour, and one 

 I suppose a full hour. And now for the result. 

 On opening them, I have found the peaches 

 pretty well stewed, and having an acid ferment- 

 ed taste, somewhat resembling the mixture of 

 brandy and sugar, and not one fit to be eaten. 

 The strawberries a mess not fit even to be tast- 

 ed. Now as you have eaten fruit preserved in 

 their fresh state, and pronounced them excel- 

 lent, I am very desirous of knowing how to ac- 

 complish it, and will be exceedingly glad if you 

 or your correspondent W , will inform me in 

 what I erred, and give me such plain, practical 

 directions that I may succeed in my next trial. 

 The difficulty seems to be to expel tlie air com- 

 pletely, and yet the time I gave was sufficient 

 to stew the fruit, and yet did not sufficiently 

 expel the air, as indicated by its escape through 

 the water dropped over the hole. 



I shall be especially obliged to you, (or W.) 

 if you will furnish these directions at an early 

 day, for strawberries are now ripening, and I 

 would like to put up a few of tliem, as well as 

 peaches. Yours. &c., L. South Carolina, 

 March ^1, 1851. 



AVe reply to the foregoing, (and another com- 

 munication to the same effect,) by saying, that 

 we imagine our correspondent " W." was not 

 fully informed regarding the mode of expelling 

 the air from the cans. We learn, on inquiry, 

 that this is understood to be tlie whole mystery 

 of preserving fruits in their fresh state — quite 

 a large trade in which is now carried on in Bal- 

 timore and New-York — but whether the air is 

 exhausted by means of the air pump, or by the 

 boiling-water process — we are unable to say. 

 The companies engaged in the trade make a 

 secret of it — but it is known to " out-siders," 

 and perhaps some of the knowing ones will send 

 us a line on this subject. Ed. 



Native Trees in Virginia. — I propose to 

 send you a brief description of a few of the 

 trees which we have in lower Virginia, that may 

 be used to great advantage on lawns and else- 



where, as ornamental trees j whether your rea- 

 ders take enough interest in us down in "Old 

 Virginny," to be satisfied with such a disposal 

 of your space, is for you to decide. 



The American Holly, (Ilex opaca,) should 

 undoubtedly be placed first upon our list of in- 

 digenous ornamental trees. Its dense ever- 

 green, glossy foliage, its masses of berries, so 

 brilliant in winter, and its symmetrical shape, 

 all tend to make it the most beautiful of our 

 trees. It grows to some forty or fifty feet in 

 height, but very slowly, though even as a shrub 

 it is exceedingly beautiful ; with a little care, 

 it can be successfully transplanted. 



The Forest Fo^Aar ,(Liriodendron tulipifera .) 

 Deciduous — is another of our trees that no one 

 should omit to plant in his grounds; it can be 

 transplanted ^nthout difficulty, [only when very 

 small,] and is of moderately rapid growth; 

 symmetrically umbrageous, its large, deep 

 gi'een leaves, and tulip formed flowers render it, 

 a most desirable addition to ornamental plant- 

 ing; it soon attains the height of forty or fifty 

 feet, and eventually becomes majestic in its 

 size. 



The White Elm, Ulmus americana. River 

 Elm, U. memoraiis. Slippery Elm, U.fulva. 

 Whahoo Elm, U. alata — deciduous trees — are 

 all formidable rivals of the Dutch Elm, in point 

 of beauty and grandeur, and unlike it, are free 

 from the deplorable ravages of the insect ; they 

 are of a growth sufficiently rapid to induce even 

 those who do not plant for posterity, to incur 

 the trouble of removing them. The River Elm 

 is perhaps the most ornamental of these trees, 

 on account of the graceful weeping of its 

 boughs; they all, except the Whahoo, attain 

 great size. 



The Red Maple, Jlcer rubrum, — deciduous — 

 is a very showy tree, and can be readily trans- 

 planted. In the spring it is adorned with clus- 

 ters of the richest scarlet pendent seed vessels, 

 which present a most striking appearance 

 amongst the silvery green leaves, and in the au- 

 tumn the foliage assumes the most brilliant hue, 

 rendering it a dazzling ornament to our forests; 

 the White Maple, ^cer dasycarpum, is also 

 well worth planting, though not so brilliant 

 in the color of its foliage and seed vessels, as 

 the other. 



The Box Elder, ^cer negundo, — deciduous 



