Domestic Notices. 189 



for over three weeks ; on foreign varieties, for about two weeks ; quince in 

 bloom, the first I saw on the 29th Feb. ; apricots in bloom on 15th Feb. ; 

 Chickasaw plum about the 1st. We have pears in bloom on 22d Feb. ; 

 cabbage plants transplanted two weeks ago. Allha;a leaves large enough 

 to cut size of sovereign out of; leaves on a few peach trees large enough to 

 show at a distance of several hundred yards; leaves on pear trees fully 

 burst forth, (not large, though, of course,) and I can show grafts of the 

 Swan's Orange pear that are breaking into leaf, with many others equally 

 forward. These grafts were put in about 1st of Feb. Red wood in bloom, 

 some black oaks in bloom, white oak buds beginning to burst forth. Ther- 

 mometer on the 3d, at six o'clock, at 30° ; yesterday noon, 42° ; this noon 

 at 40°. I had a volunteer stalk of corn with five blades on the 2d ; it is now 

 " as dead as nits." Strawberries in bloom some time. I have near half of 

 my corn planted, and Irish potatoes up full six inches. Though it is now 

 cold, yet the weather must change again in a few days. — Yours, M. W. 

 Philips, Edwards, Miss., March 5, 1848. 



Liberal Premium for the CuUivalion of the Oak. — R. S. Fay, Esq., of 

 Lynn, has placed, at the disposal of the Essex County Agricultural Society, 

 one hundred dollars, to be awarded for the best plantation of the oak. We 

 are glad to see such evidence of an awakening interest in the growth of 

 forest trees, and we trust Mr. Fay's liberal premium may be the means of 

 directing attention to this important subject, not only throughout Essex 

 county, but throughout the State. 



Purchase of Mount Vernon by Government. — Probably many of our read- 

 ers are already aware that memorials are pouring in upon Congress, petition- 

 ing for the purchase of Mount Vernon, the famous residence of Washington, 

 and the spot where his remains are now entombed. Two years since, a 

 number of gentlemen, embracing most of the members of the present Cabi- 

 net, and several of the senators and representatives in Congress, addressed a 

 letter to the present proprietor of Mount Vernon, requesting him to specify 

 the terms upon which he would relinquish the estate to the Nation. To this 

 letter, Mr. J. A. Washington replied, that his mother, to whom it was be- 

 queathed, would dispose of it on the following terms : — 



"She authorizes me to say that, if Congress thinks proper to make the 

 application, the government can obtain one hundred and fifty acres of Mount 

 Vernon, lying between parallel lines, and extending from the Potomac River 

 to the Alexandria lload, so as to include the buildings, grounds, and tomb, 

 upon the following terms ; — 



" 1st. The remains of General Washington, and of every other member 

 of the family, now in the family vault at Mount Vernon, shall never be re- 

 moved from their present resting-place. 



" 2d. Every member of the Washington family now living, and no one 

 else, who may desire it, may be buried there, and shall not be removed after- 

 wards. 



" 3d. The Government shall never sell, rent, nor give, the whole, nor 

 •any portion of the property that may be conveyed, to any third person. 



" 4th. In the event of the dissolution of the existing Federal Government, 



