DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



199 



same laws, and bein<T dissipated, nr equalized by 

 the same means. It is known, at all tele<iraphic 

 stations, that the apparatus is affected by a thun- 

 der storm, at the distance of hundreds of miles; 

 and in the southern states the wires are often so 

 fully charged with atmospheric electricity, that the 

 small quantity added by artificial means has no 

 appreciable effect ; and thus the usual telegraphic 

 communications may be, and are, entirely suspend- 

 ed for hours. 



The above being known facts, might we not in- 

 fer that the result would be, at least, a partial equi- 

 librium of the electrical influence between the at- 

 mosphere and the earth, by means of the tele- 

 graphic wires ; and that these wires, together with 

 the iron tracks of the railroads, would combine to 

 form an electrical equilibrium between distant por- 

 tions of the atmosphere, and equally distant por- 

 tions of the earth ? And that thus those local ac- 

 cumulations, which result in thunder storms, would 

 be, at least, in a degree prevented ? 



If some of your subscribers, or others, who live 

 near railroad and telegraphic lines, and also some 

 who live at a distance from such lines, will be so 

 kind as to answer the above questions, directed to 

 J. L. Comstock, M. D., Hartford, Ct., the under- 

 signed will communicate the result for publication 

 in your useful journal. I am, sir, very respectfully 

 your ob't serv't, J. L. Comstock. Hartford, Ct., 

 September 19, 1848. 



The Rose. — But many of the finest ornaments 

 of the garden, require no peculiar soil or treat- 

 ment; and amongst these, are the old favorites, 

 pinks and roses. A late writer on the rose, 

 indeed, has said that " rose-growing is con- 

 fined to latitudes south of 41 deg." but could he 

 have ever visited Western New-York, or attended 

 its exhibitions ? Why, we have hundreds of supe- 

 rior kinds that are perfectly hardy, and even the 

 many colored Greville, blooms finely with a little 

 protection in winter. 



It should also be remembered, that some tender 

 roses, when killed to the ground, assume the habit 

 of '^herbaceous perennials ; and send up stems from 

 the root that bloom abundantly throughout the 

 summer. I first observed this result in the Champ- 

 ney and Aimee Vibert; and why may not all un- 

 budded perpetual bloomers do so, if planted deep? 

 Cut them down on the approach of winter, and 

 cover the stumps with a sod. It would only be a 

 new style of pruning. 



Roses, however, that only bloom once in the 

 season, requiring the last years' wood for the flow- 

 ering stems to stand on, would not succeed with 

 this treatment. 



Perhaps the best method of training the tall- 

 growing kinds, is on pillars. Two years ago, I 

 had pieces of scantling, twelve feet in length and 

 three inches by four, planted as posts, first perfo- 

 rating them in five or six places with a two-inch 

 auger. Through these holes the stem of the rose 

 is drawn. As it lengthens, this operation should 

 be repeated from time to time, till it reaches the 



top, about nine feet high; and as it depends on no 

 decaying cord or bandage for support, it cannot be 

 blown down by the wind. 



To insure these posts from decay, inch auger 

 holes near the ground, were bored, slanting down- 

 wards, not quite through, and filled with salt. — 

 Some persons have used plugs in their posts to 

 keep out the rain; but it is best to leave them open 

 for a time, till the wood becomes saturated with 

 brine. As the salt dissolves, more should be sup- 

 plied — say two or three times a year. 



To obtain a finer display, I have planted roses 

 of different colors, on opposite sides of the posts, 

 intertwining their branches. At one, I have the 

 tea scented Ayrshire and Violet Episcopal, by way 

 of contrast; and at another, the Baltimore Belle 

 and Queen of the Prairies. I have sixteen posts 

 of this description, and have obtained, expressly 

 for this purpose, a sufficient number of tall grow- 

 ing kinds. Further experiments are wanted, how- 

 ever, to determine what sorts can be most fitly as- 

 sociated, and what shades of color will harmonize 

 the best. 



Of all the insects that annoy the florist, the rose 

 bug ought to stand first on the list. It is a perfect 

 nuisance ; and it is doubted if any way to expel 

 them has been discovered, except by manipulation. 

 Even in this northern land, they appear to have 

 inhabited sand hills from time immemorial; and 

 would seem to be now on the increase ; but, on hea- 

 vy loams — which constitute perhaps nine-tenths of 

 this vast region — I think they have not been ob- 

 served. This exemption we ought to prize very 

 highly, and gives us advantages over the south. If 

 a few of our roses, such as the Chromatelta, are 

 prevented by our climate from assuming the habit 

 of a tree, it is consoling to know that none in all 

 our collections on heavy soils, will be defaced by 

 the rose-bug. — D. Thomas' Address at Buffalo. 



Horticultural Humbugs. — There are a num- 

 ber of these which take periodical journeys in the 

 papers, and are thus " rescued," as the Prairie 

 Farmer says, ■' from drowning." Among them 

 are, that the insertion of apple grafts in a potato 

 before planting in the earth, insures their growth; 

 that covering asparagus stalks with a bottle, the 

 stalk will soon swell prodigiously and fill the bot- 

 tle ; that the exclusion of grubs from cabbage 

 may be effected by a circle-^ salt ; that trans, 

 planting evergreens is siWcessful at midsummer ; 

 that by grafting or budding the peach on the wil- 

 low, the fruit, when it grows will have no stones; 

 that plucking potato balls will cause a great in- 

 crease in the tubers; that peach and apple seeds, 

 planted in the fruit, will infallibly re- produce the 

 same variety ; that the escape of sap. by pruning 

 the grape in spring, will destroy the vine ; that 

 the growth of vegetables or weeds, will prevent 

 the soil from drying by affording shade, &c. — CuU 

 tivator. 



