DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



251 



sonal attention, I have interested Mr. Brackman, a 

 German wine merchant, in the business, who will 

 hereafter superintend it. N. Longxvorth. Cincin- 

 nati, Sept. 17, 1848. 



Rare Plants at Thorburn's — Sir — Allow me 

 to lay before you the following account of Messrs. 

 Thorburn's Nursery Garden at Astoria, which I 

 hope you may deem worthy of a place in your 

 Horticulturist. 



The plants generally in the Nursery Garden of 

 Messrs. Thorburn, at Astoria, are in good 

 condition. The Camellias, of which there are 

 many fine specimens, are full of flower buds, and 

 bid fair for an abundant supply of flowers, for the 

 ensuing wmter and spring. One of these plants, 

 a magnificent specimen, upwards of twelve feet 

 high, has yielded tv.'o hundred dollars' worth of 

 flowers during the last two years. Hoya imperi- 

 aZis, a rare tropical plant; Clerodendrum splen- 

 dens, also rare, as well as Begonia coccinea, Be- 

 gonia manicula, Begonia fuchsioides. The three 

 first named species are pretty and curious; the 

 last blooms with gracefully pendulous bright scar- 

 let flowers. Among others worthy of note, are 

 Gardenia Stanleyana, YSLre, Gesneria Geraldina, 

 rare and beautiful, Cyrtocera reflexa, Acacia 

 doJabriforma, a new species from Australia, Jlris- 

 tolochia labiosa, a rare plant from South Ameri- 

 ca, with immensely large flowers; Cactus senilis, 

 (Old-man cactus,) a fine specimen ; Oxalis spe- 

 ciosa, beatifully in bloom ; Euonymus latifoUa, a 

 hardy shrub, whose scarlet capsules render it at 

 once couspicuous and beautiful ; Ipomea ficifolia, 

 a new species, with pink flowers, very desirable ; 

 Maurandia rosea, Maurandia alba, both pretty, 

 and forming a pleasing harmony of colors when 

 intermixed with Maurandia Barclay ana ; Doli- 

 chos purpureus, an interesting twining annual ; 

 Ceropegia elegans, with flowers singular in form 

 and color ; Heliotropeium voltairianum, a new 

 species ; Gladiolus Queen of the Netherlands, new; 

 Mutilon, a new species with large flowers; Ne- 

 penthetes distillaturia. a very fine specimen of 

 Pitcher plant; Husselia juncea, two plants in 

 pots, whose pretty scarlet flowers and graceful 

 habit of growth, well accord with the classic 

 vases in which they are placed. There is also a 

 new variety of jlzalea, named in honor of the 

 Duke of Devonshire; Wigelia rosea awA Spirea 

 pubesce7is, both rare and hardy shrubs. Lutro- 

 S'dcros lanccolata, a very large plant in flower; 

 Magnolia soulangiana, a fine plant ; Magnolia 

 conspicua, a magnificent plant and very abundant 

 flowerer. 



Messrs. Thorburn have erected a new forcing- 

 house, chiefly intended for the growth of roses. 

 Its dimensions are 75 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 

 9 feet high, with a span roof at an angle of 45 

 degrees. It is to be heated by smoke flues, 

 worked by two furnaces. Shelves have been 

 erected for small plants in pots. But the ostensi- 



ble object is the pxt, which is nearly three feet 

 deep, and is being filled with rich compost, to be 

 planted with the most choice roses. It is provided 

 with an air chamber underneath, which will be 

 supplied with heated air through the aperture in 

 the wall, and by its very eflieient drainage will 

 prevent any accumulation of moisture to a degree 

 to cause mildew. It is a house well adapted to 

 the growth of roses, and will, no doubt, contribute 

 many a lovely rosebud to the beautiful bouquets 

 furnished by that establishment. F. E. New- 

 York, October 16, 1848. 



Special Manures — Pear Seeelings. — We al- 

 luded in our last number to the fine specimens of 

 the old pears grown by Col. Wilder, of Boston, 

 and Mr. Washburn, of Plymouth, Mass., by the 

 aid of special menures. 



The former gentleman has just sent a note from 

 Mr. Washburn, giving his success in raising pej,r 

 seedlings bj' ihe aid of special manure, as follows, 



" I have a fine lot of pear seedlings, raised 

 from twelve bushels of pear pumace, sov«-n broad 

 cast in rows, (700 feet in all.) They were ma- 

 nured with compost in the following proportions: 

 1 load muck, 2 loads stable manure, 2 barrels iron 

 rust, 1 ban el bone dust, 2 barrels wood ashes. 

 The whole composted last September — the ma- 

 nure applied in the fall, and the seeds sown May 

 1st. Other seeds planted on the same land with- 

 out this compost, but with stable manure, have 

 produced plants that rwsfcd badly, and are not one- 

 quarter the size of the first lot, which are fine, 

 strong stocks. John JVashburn. Plymouth, 

 Sept., 1848. ...... 



Enormous Peach. — Dear sir — A correspon- 

 dent of the September number of the Horticultu- 

 rist, dating from Edwards, Miss., states, that a 

 seedling peach tree raised there, which he calls 

 the " Ehnira," bore peaches (if I understand him 

 rightly.) which measured eight inches in diame- 

 ter. Also, after enumerating a number, giving 

 the the time of ripening, he says, '' Snow, better 

 than I expected, and measured eight inches." 

 Now, sir, I would like to inquire if there is not 

 some mistake about this, or if Mr. Phillips means 

 to say that he actually raised peaches eight inches 

 in diameter ? because, if such is the case, there 

 are a number of gentlemen here in Chicago who 

 are ready to surrender the hat as soon as he will 

 brinar good evidence of the fact. Yours, j^ Sub- 

 scriber. Chicago, Sept. 21, 1848. 



Onondaga Pear on the Quince Stock. — In 

 your last number of the Horticulturist, your cor- 

 respondent from New Bedford gives it as his opin- 

 ion that the Onondaga pear does not succeed on 

 the quince stock. Last fall I received a speci- 

 man of that variety from Elwamger & Barry, on 

 the quince — a nice, healthy-looking shoot, of one 

 year's growth, perhaps 2^ feet high, with several 

 side branches, which were taken off for cullings, 



