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77ie HorliculturM and Journal 



An Old Elm. 



The oldest Elm in Vermont is at Vernon 

 Centre, and is still growing thriftily. An old 

 gentleman in the neighborhood distinctly re- 

 members seeing a load of lumber drawn over 

 it, and seeing the rubbed sa})liug spring back 

 into place. This was more than 80 years 

 ago, and that sapling is now six feet four 

 inches in diameter. 



Tlie Eucalyittus. 



The Eucalyptus globulus, or blue gum 

 tree in California, has a fine representative in 

 a noble tree on the grounds of Gren. Valleho, 

 at Sonoma, Cal. It was but nine years old, 

 and when felled the other day, measured 96 

 feet from top to roots. Four feet from the 

 roots the trunk was sawed oif, and found to 

 be 19 inches in diameter. 



A. I'retty Parlor Vine — The Cohatu scnndens. 



We have often thought of writing a word 

 encouraging attention to this as the best vine 

 for parlor gardening we know, but we are in- 

 tercepted by a correspondent of Mr. Vick, 

 and we will let him tell his experience : 

 " Readers may be interested in the informa- 

 tion that the Coboea scandens thrives well in 

 the living room of our dwellings, provided it 

 has equal temperature, light and sunshine, all 

 of which we should find in every living room, 

 if we would have it healthy. I have had a 

 Coboea during the past two winters planted in 

 an oblong rustic box on legs, four feet long, 

 one foot deep, and twenty inches wide, filled 

 with soil from an old hot-bed, where it makes 

 a wonderful growth, and a beautiful bower of 

 the bay window, trained up the frames of the 

 middle window to the top, and from there on 

 cords to a nail in the center of the arch, 

 thence around the arch, and several feet on 

 each side over pictures. In an East or South 

 exposure it will bear many of its large bell- 

 shaped purple flowers during the latter part 

 of the winter ; but I admire the bright yellow 

 green, divided leaves, silky tendrils, and 

 general graceful efiect of the plant, as well as 

 the flowers. 



My friends accuse me of dealing in magic, 

 but you know the secret is in providing the 

 conditions required, viz. : temperature and 



soil, plenty of light and sunshine, air by 

 lowering the windows very little when not 

 uncomfortable to those occupying the room, 

 and last, but not least, judicious watering, 

 that is, not to let it wither for want of water, 

 nor water so frequently as to keep the soil in 

 a muddy state, and in that way make the 

 earth sour, and thus rot the roots. I find 

 such as are classed as hot-house plants thrive 

 better in the dry atmosphere of furnace-heated 

 rooms than those growing in cooler tempera- 

 ture. For the sake of health our living room 

 is heated by a low-down grate, thus relieving 

 us of dust and dry air, and we have no gas, 

 which is, perhaps, the secret of my plants 

 growing so easily." K. H. B. 



Eurth n'orms in Pots. 



These are exceedingly troublesome to 

 window gardeners, and often neither tobacco 

 water nor lime water will kill them. We 

 observed that another correspondent of Mr. 

 Vick tried a new remedy, and was more 

 successful. "At last, I put ten drops of 

 carbolic acid in a pint of water, and poured 

 that on the earth in the pots, and it acted 

 like a charm, killed all the worms, and the 

 plants began to improve at once. It has been 

 three weeks since it was applied, and they 

 are all in a nice growing condition, and I 

 think that is time enough to show what it 

 will do." 



Cttrioiis Hiihits of Plants. 



" Some Orchids, whether wild ones, such as 

 Ladies Tresses, or those various and more 

 gorgeous ones, mostly air plants of tropical 

 regions, which adorn rich conservatories, 

 curiously resemble butterflies, either a swarm 

 of them, as some of the smaller ones in a 

 cluster on a long, light stalk, fluttering with 

 every breath of air ; some are like a large, 

 single, gorgeous orange and spotted butter- 

 fly ; another takes its name from the resem- 

 blance of its flowers to a moth. Can the 

 likeness be a sort of decoy to allure the very 

 kinds of insect that are wanted for fertilizing 

 these flowers ? * * When a fresh and 

 active tendril in climbing comes in contact 

 with a neighboring stalk, or any similar 

 support, it hooks or coils its end round it, 



