232 Domestic Notices. 



getting into the pots, by placing them on a layer of coal ashes ; all decayed 

 foliage and suckers are removed, and if large plants are desired, it is 

 requisite to take off all side shoots during this season. On the approach of 

 autumn frosts, the plants should be conveyed to their winter quarters, and 

 treated as before. If due attention has been paid to keeping them in a 

 healthy growing state, they will now be furnished with strong stems, 4 or 5 

 inches high, surmounted by a crown of large fragrant flowers ; if necessary, 

 the plants may be neatly staked, but under good cultivation supports will 

 not be required. 



When the season of potting again arrives, I shift into 8-inch pots, first 

 carefully removing any unhealthy roots, or worn out stagnant soil ; in the 

 latter case it is preferable to shake away the whole of the ball, destroying 

 as few fibres as possible ; a tier of side shoots may now be allowed to pro- 

 ceed from the crown of the plant, these will naturally bend downwards to 

 the edge of the pot ; and a second tier being afterwards formed, as the 

 crown advances in growth, fine pyramidal specimens from 12 to 15 inches 

 in height Avill be obtained. When in perfection, these will be studded with 

 flowers from the edge of the pot upwards. In subsequent shifts, the ball 

 should be carefully reduced, so as to allow repotting into the same sized pot 

 as that the plants was growing in. I find 9 or 10-inch pots sufficient for 

 the largest size ; the plants may be annually shifted in these for some years 

 with advantage. 



The compost which I find most suitable for this plant consists of two 

 parts good turfy loam and one part well decomposed leaf soil, adding a 

 sufficiency of sharp sand to render the material porous. — (Gard. Chron., 

 1852, p. 132.; 



Art. II. Domestic JVotices. 



The Winter in Kentucky. — The mercury, on the morning of the 20th 

 January, stood at 23® below zero. Our peach trees are killed — that is, 

 those that are three years old and upwards. Indeed, ornamental trees, that 

 had stood unhurt for fifteen years past, were entirely killed the past 

 winter. Japan lilies, with slight protection, unhurt. — Yours, J. S. Down- 

 er, Elklon, Ky., April 9, 1852. 



The Winter in Marietta, Ohio.— We have had one of the coldest 

 winters ever felt in Ohio, since the settlement of the state. The larger 

 portion of our peach trees are killed, except young vigorous trees, and the 

 fruit buds of all. Many other tender plants are destroyed, especially tree 

 paeonies, except where thorouglily protected with thick coverings. Several 

 of the new shrubs from China, by Fortune, have proved thoroughly hardy, 

 showing their habit to be formed in a severe climate. Amongst those with 

 me, arc Weigelia, Spirea acutifolia, Forsythia viridisima— this has suffered 

 some. Magnolia conspicua is also hardy.— Yours, S. P. Hildreth, Ma- 

 rietta, Ohio, April, 1852. 



