ThU Shank's Lawn Mower. — Mr. Henry W. Sargent, long a valued correspondent 

 of the Horticulturist, writes us under date of June 20th, the following interesting infor- 

 mation from Wodenethe on the North River: 



"The most successful thing I have done this year has been importing Shank's Lawn Mowing 

 Machine, (horse power) cutting thirty-two inches ; this cuts, rolls and gathers the grass, and 

 keeps your lawn in a condition no lawn scythe ever did, and will in clear lawns, cut, gather, 

 and roll, a Scotch acre in one hour ! My experience has been that between 8 A. M. and 4 P. 

 M., it does what formerly occupied two men and a boy the better part of nine days to do, and 

 inliniteiy better too. 



A clever mechanic in my neighborhood is about making an improvement even on mine, and 

 can afford to sell at the English prices, thus saving duty and freight. There are several sizes* 

 running from £5 to £10, the first being for man power, the second for horse, cutting, I think, 

 from twelve to thirty-two inches. There is also an intermediate size, called the poney size. 

 If generally introduced among our country gentlemen, as they unquestionably will be when 

 more known, they will produce the greatest improvement in our places." 



Rochester, June 10. — The length of our Spring is exciting remai-k. Our Tulip beds are yet 

 gay and Horse Chestnuts, Lilacs, Thorns, Laburnums, the early Spiraeas, Azaleas, Rhododen- 

 drons, and such things as are usually passed and gone at this date, are now in all their fresh- 

 ness of full blooms. Fires and overcoats are yet indispensable. What with an intensity of 

 cold last winter and our spring extending itself into the summer months we begin to feel as 

 though we had slid off a few degrees north. 



Strawberries from light sandy soil and sunny hill sides are just now beginning to appear in 

 our markets but I have not yet seen a ripe berry in the ground here — Early Scarlet begins to 

 color. The fruit cro"ps look well though backward and the trees wear a healthy aspect. The 

 peach trees that sui-vived the -.rreck are looking finely contrary to all expectation. Indeed I 

 think I never saw them look better; they are making strong shoots and the leaves are indica- 

 tive of perfect health, whilst the wood under the bark is the color of Rosewood or Mahogany. 

 In cutting through the bark I find the sap sticky and unnatural; what the final result will be I 

 cannot detei-mine. 



Here and all over Ohio as fiir as I have obseiwed the peach tree is unusually exempt from 

 that disease known as the " Cui-i." This I believe is due to a steadiness of temperature at the 

 time of opening of the buds and subsequently. We have had no sudden and violent alterna- 

 tions of heat and cold as we generally have in the month of May. 



I think it fortunate that we have had such a long cool spring; it has enabled many trees 

 and plants to recover from the injuries sustained last winter, that would otherwise have 

 perished. We have all along had refreshing rains and these with a mild growing temperature 

 have restored life and apparent health to many things that had been alreadj' numbered with 

 the dead. Deodars and Cedars of Lebanon that looked as though they had passed through a 

 fiery furnace are now covered with green leaves. 



It is curious that Weeping Ash botli the common and Gold Barked were severlj' injured and 

 many of the latter killed outright, whilst Willows and Sophoras escaped unhurt. This reverses 

 the ordinary result. Pawlonias and Catalpas that we expected to be cut down are pushing as 

 strong as usual. Grapes both Isabella and Catawba on trellises are much injured. Tlie 

 Chinese Wistaria and even hardy Honeysuckles and many hardy Spireas are injured, but on 

 the whole we have suffered much less than we anticipated. Our loss of the peach crop will be 

 made up by an abundance of other fruits. B. 



The Peach Ckop- — The Peach crop in New Jersey and Delaware gives promise of being the 

 ever known. Contracts have already been made for the delivery of large quantities of 

 uit at very low prices. 



