DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



against the winter severity upon her roses, and 

 for that purpose, must state the following. 



Two things are very essential to enable a 

 half hardy plant to stand the winter. The first 

 is, that there shall be no sappy immature 

 wood, and the second, that the entire plant, 

 (root especially,) shall be kept dry in winter. 

 To secure the first, the ends of the long shoots 

 should be pinched off, to stop their further 

 growth, about the middle of September. This 

 will cause the shoots to harden and ripen. To 

 secure the second point, the border or bed 

 should have a good drainage — either natural or 

 artificial. Afterwards, at the approach of win- 

 ter, our correspondent will strip off any leaves 

 remaining on the shoots of the rose, bind down 

 the long branches, and cover the whole plant, 

 including them, entirely over with dry tan- bark 

 — say to the depth of a foot and a half above 

 the surface of the ground if necessary, and 

 finally lay boards over the hillock of tan in 

 such a way as to shed all the storms of winter, 

 we think she will find her roses quite uninjured 

 when she uncovers them in the spring. Ed. 



Notes on Richmond Park. — Will you per- 

 mit me with the greatest respect, to correct 

 what appears to be an error in one of your 

 most interesting letters on the parks of Lon- 

 don, which has been copied into several of the 

 papers. It is regarding the spot where Henry 

 the 8th is said to have waited, for the signal 

 of Anne Boleyn's execution. I never before 

 heard of its being in Richmond Park, although 

 that version of the legend has, since I saw your 

 letter, been repeated to me by two young Eng- 

 lishmen. I, who lived in London some thirty 

 years, always understood it was in Epping 

 Forest, much nearer the Tower than Rich- 

 mond, at which last, I very much doubt wheth- 

 er the small guns of the period, could have 

 been heard, unless under particular circum- 

 stances of the air and wind. The story how- 

 ever, although highly probable is not mentioned 

 by HoLLiNGSHEAD, Hall or FabyN; nor in 

 Miss Strickland's life of Anne, all of which I 

 have consulted. It is however given in one 

 of the very useful pictorial folios published by 

 C. Knight & Co., and also in that volume of 

 the Edinburgh Cabinet Library wherein the life 

 RY occurs, written by Patrick Eraser 

 — no mean authority, although he gives 



it as a tradition ; I beg leave to inclose the 

 following extract from the work for your fur- 

 ther information. " That Henry waited with 

 unfeeling impatience for the death of Anne is 

 certain; and a tradition is yet preserved in Ep- 

 ping Forest, which strikingly illustrates this 

 fact. On the morning of the day which was 

 to be her last, he went to hunt in that district, 

 and as he breakfasted, surrounded by his train 

 and his hounds, under a spreading oak which 

 is still shown, he listened from time to time 

 with a look of intense anxiety. At length the 

 sound of a distant gun boomed through the 

 wood. It was a preconcerted signal, and 

 marked the moment when the execution was 

 completed. ' Ah, ah! it is done,' said he, 

 starting up, ' the business is done; uncouple 

 the dogs and let us follow the .sport.' On the 

 succeeding morning he was married to Jane 

 Seymour." — vide life of King Henry the eighth, 

 by P. F. Tytler— Edin. 1837— p. 383, Edinburg 

 Cabinet Library. I have my doubts whether 

 Richmond Park ever was a hunting ground — 

 but Epping Forest was, from the earliest re- 

 cords, and so continues to the present day, or 

 did, until within a few years — -and an annual 

 hunt according to charter, was always given on 

 Easter Monday to all citizens of London who 

 chose to attend it. Your obd't. servt. Robert 

 Balmanno. N. Y., June 27, 1851. 



Prairie Rose — Mrs. IIovey. — I noticed, in 

 a former number of the Horticulturist, that a 

 doubt was expressed by one of its contributors 

 whether this fine rose was ever white, as it has 

 been represented. In our correction of this 

 doubt we deemed it desirable to wait for the 

 present blooming; we find some of our plants 

 have borne flowers of the purest white, while 

 others have at the same time produced flowers 

 of a very pale blush. Our experiment also 

 coincides with that of Joshua Pierce, of 

 Washington, the originator of this variety. 

 Under date of May 9, 18-51, he writes us, " by 

 reference to my first year's notice I find No. 41 

 (Mrs. Hovey,) marked _/ine wAffe ; again anoth- 

 er year it is marked very pale blush." It thus 

 seems clear that this rose is somewhat incon- 

 stant, but by the right mode of cultivation can 

 undoubtedly be produced uniformly white 

 The soil of Syracuse and western New 

 is probably unpropitious. The facts respect 



