96 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[March, 



America, we believe an English translation issued 

 here would have a wide sale, and we submit the 

 idea to the enterprising authors. 



The Virginias. — Among the many magazines 

 issued, the bulk are passed over with a momentary 

 satisfaction, and that is all. Those which are of 

 a permanently interesting character are few and 

 far between. The Virginias (old Virginia and 

 new Virginia), edited by Major J. Hotchkiss, of 

 Staunton, is one of these substantial serials. It is 

 devoted wholly to the development of the indus- 

 tries of these States. It seems to us that no one 

 who has either direct or indirect interests in the 

 iwo Virginias, but will profit by reading it. 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



To Intelligent Correspondents.—^// com- 

 munications relating to advertisements, subscrip- 

 tions, or other business, must be addressed to the 

 •publisher, 814 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 



All referring to the reading matter of the tnaga- 

 zine must be mailed to the editor, Germantown, Pa. 



No express packages for the editor received un- 

 less prepaid ; and marked " Paid through to Ger- 

 mantown, Pa." 



Hawthorns. — "E."says: " The racy sketch of 

 hawthorns in your February number, by your in- 

 tellectual correspondent, W. T. Harding, of Mount 

 Holly, N. J., will kindle a glow of pleasing remem- 

 brance of youthful days in every British-American 

 heart. I remember well the blossoms in May, 

 and the haws in November. It is the British 

 hedge-thorn, which poets and orators have made 

 ' famous, that caused all other species to be highly 

 prized. Burns paints it with silver and gilds it with 

 gold in expressing his ardent love for " Highland 



Mary : " 



"How richly grows the gay green birch ! 

 How sweet the hawthorn's blossom ! 

 As when beneath its fragrant shade 

 I clasped her to my bosom." 



Improvement in Young Gardeners. — "Chip" 

 sends the following pleasant note: "The first re- 

 quirements of successful gardening is close and 

 always prompt attention. It is so in every busi- 

 ness ; but irregularity in gardening is from the first 

 start failure. No matter how fine a theorist, it will 

 help you nothing if you are not prompt in practice. 

 Close observation and study of nature is your 

 surest guide. Take advantage of sunshine ; reg- 

 ulate your glass structures at once ; in stormy and 

 gusty weather secure as much as you can ; start 



your fires early in cold days. In fact be prompt, 

 always on your guard. Do not think : " I will do 

 this or that, yet a little longer delay will not hurt." 

 My friend, that is just the most fatal to your suc- 

 cess. I know some of us have more on hand than 

 we can always properly attend to ; but study, with 

 work, helps things along. It is a poor excuse to 

 have no time for study. But always look to your 

 main work first. 



"Now, Mr. Editor, whether to publish this, my 

 first attempt of ever writing for the Monthly or 

 any other paper, you are the best judge ; and if 

 you find it worthy of space, I hope a well mean- 

 ing advice will not offend." 



Inquiries from Correspondents.^ — It is not 

 unusual for correspondents to apologize for "troub- 

 ling the editor." The editor cannot write private 

 letters to inquiries, except as a matter of personal 

 business or to personal friends ; but when the 

 answers may benefit other readers as well as the 

 one who inquires, it is a pleasure to respond. 

 Questions, therefore, suitable for reply through the 

 columns of the magazine, are always welcome. 



The Late Mr. Edward Meehan. — Mr. Fal- 

 coner writes : " Well do I remember the lamented 

 father of the Editor years ago. On visiting St. 

 Clare, I met him there, a tall and genial gentle- 

 man, lithe and active, and an enthusiast in his 

 garden. It was there I saw' for the first time a 

 multitude of plants growing out of doors that I had 

 used to know only as inmates of greenhouses. 

 And he was keen to tell their history to the boy, 

 and I as eager to glean the information from his 

 patriarchal lips, for he had then passed threescore 

 and ten. I was in England in November when 

 I read his obituary in the Garden. I was grieved 

 to lose him, and disappointed in thus being unable 

 to meet him, for I was going to the Isle of Wight, 

 and intended visiting him." 



The Gardeners' Monthly for 1883. — It is not 

 unusual to receive numerous compliments from 

 subscribers when renewing their subscriptions, but 

 this year they seem more numerous and cordial 

 than usual. Many thanks to all for their good will. 

 As a specimen J. D. Y., Clinton, Iowa, writes : 



"Please continue the Gardeners' Monthly. 

 I cannot get along without it. It has so many good 

 things in it. Strong's article on side graftings 

 alone, in one of the numbers, is worth the price 

 of it to me this year. I tried it on some grape 

 vines in August, also on cherries and plums, as 

 well as roses, and they all lived and are to-day 

 looking fresh and plump." 



