FARMERS' REGISTER 



197 



IpcipiI, nnd arrnniipd by the Committee on Cattle! is the proper variety in the form of ihem, some, 

 tor puhliciUion. Hut the inertnei^s or indifFerence j at least, must have quite acute anjrles. Box, it 

 on ihc part of ihc breeders of horses, has retard- 1 thrifty, (and, sickly, it would be an eyesore any 



ed as yet the publicaiion of this usefid book, it 

 is still hoped ihat iheirirood sense will prompt ihein 



where,) soon tak<'s up too much space m breadih ; 

 it becoiufs a harbor lor sluiis and other noxioug 



to do wh;tt is necessary and requisite to publish vermin ; and its numerous, trreedy, hbrous roots 

 a complete Kentucky Stock Book. so exhaust the soil, that, no bullous or other^oiu- 



eri/ig plants, which are the primary objects in 

 such situations, can flourish within a considera- 

 ble distance. To be kept in the proper dimen- 

 sions, both as to heiirht and breadth, it requires 

 frequent clippinir, and for some time after that 

 operation it presents a raw, still and unpleasant, 

 aspect ; thoush, to be sure, alter the new growth 

 has concealed the cut extremities, it will present a 

 most charming line of verdure. Box is, moreover, 

 apt to he winter killed at the north, and summer 

 killed at the south ; and it will also not unfrequent- 

 ly die ofl' in some places without any obvious 

 cause, leaving unsightly gaps, which it is im- 

 post^ihle, or requires a long time, perfectly to fill. 

 Dwarf iris, hyssop, some species of phlox, stone 

 crop, and even a few kinds of grass, are, for a 

 time, exceedingly pretty ; but they soon spread 

 too much laterally, while, tiom pressure or old age, 

 or exhaiisti(m of the soil, they die away in the 

 middle of the line. Certain sorts of bulbous roots 

 such as the crocus, jontiuil, and other Narcissi, 

 hyacinths and the like, with their briliant flowers 

 and lively foliage, leave nothing further to be de- 

 sired, while they last: which is but for a brief 

 space in the spring, and we can only supply their 

 place by a row of some annual, such as Chinese 

 pinks, sweet alyssum, candytuft, &c., which, in 

 their turn, must give way to China asters. And, 

 upon the whole, perhaps no single plant whatever 

 can fulfil all the requisite conditions, viz., a narrow 

 and low line of perpetual green, diversified with 

 flowers, to delicht us with the contrast of their 

 colors or the deliciousness of their perfume. A 

 new charm would be added, if we could procure a 

 successive variety of these; for what is likely to 

 meet the eye several times everyday, for months 

 together, will soon lose its eflecis from monotony. 

 We must, therelbre, have recourse to a combina- 

 tion of several kinds, which will vegetate and 

 flower in succession, without inlerlering with each 

 other, upon the same croiind. 



A few vears aire, I commenced the trial of a 

 plan, which has succeeded so well thus liir, that 

 I now recommend it to the attention of others, 

 es|)pcially to those of the middle and southern 

 states ; while an analnrrous course with more hardy 

 plants may succeed belter at the north, though I 

 think, with the protection of a bed of leaves, the 

 same would withstand the winter in the vicinity 

 of Boston. I planted in the same line, and so close 

 as almost to touch each other, one bulb of each 

 repeatedly, three kinds of Amaryllidaca?, 



ON FLOWER BKDS. 



From the Slasazine of Horticulture. 

 The laying out of a flower knot, or system of 

 beds in a flower garden, is one of the first leats in 

 which the younir gardener undertakes to sh'uv ofl 

 his abilities; and being one which affords the 

 most ample scope f!)r the play of limey is therelbre, 

 perhaps, the one in wfiich he is most likely to 

 manliest the display of a bad taste. Even where 

 thedesinrn is of the most happy conception, and 

 the plotting beautiful upon paper, the difficulty j 

 of defining and preserviuix accurately the outline] 

 of the fiiiure, when practically applied, will often 

 quite destroy the anticipated pleasing effect. Edire- 

 boards of wood, so thin as to be easily bent to ihe 

 required form, are commonly the first material 

 employed. These are soon warped out of shape, 

 or quickly rot, and impart a deleterious princi[)!e 

 to the soil in contact with them ; and a very 

 common limit is to have them too wide, so that 

 the plants in the beds suller from drouaht, v.'hile 

 the paths between them resemble gutters, more 

 than walks lor pleasure. 



Brick.-, or tiles moulded expressly for the pur- 

 pose, are next resorted to, and if sunk so that the 

 earth in the beds shall not be more than from one 

 to two inches above the level of the paths, they 

 R'Tve pretty well for some time. But so soon as 

 ihey beixin to crumble from the influence of frost, 

 or are covered with green motdd or moss, as they 

 soon vvill be in moist or shadj- exposures, they 

 become offensive to the eye, ihourih not, like the 

 first, injurious to the soil. A living marfrin, there- 

 fore, becomes the next and last expedient ; and 

 indeed it may be retjarded as one of the last steps 

 in the march of horticultural refinement. To 

 adapt such a line of venetaiion to the size and 

 tiirm of the bed, and make it harmonize in every 

 jioint ofreli'rence with ilte jiroup ot' plams wiihin, 

 requires a cultivated rlelicacy of poiceplion, a 

 sound judgment and an accurate knowledire of all 

 ihn princifiles of natural and gardenesque beauty, 

 as well as of the characters of the plants or 

 materials which are necessary, with a due ar- 

 rangement, to producp if. 



It is probably as difTicult to fix upon the most 

 suitable plant for the edirinir of a flower bed, as it 

 is to determine the best shrub for a hedue around 



fields. For the borders of main avenues, or broad , ^ , . . 



walks in irrounds of considprable extent, box, as i nearly the same habit, and which multiply by 

 recommended. Vol. V.. p. 350, is undoubtedly the | ofl'seis so fast, that they can be easily obtained in 

 best ; but for small parterres, or the flower beds in ■ sutflcient quantity, viz., Zcphramhes Atamasco^ 

 a front door yard, it seems much less suitable. ! Z. msea, and Sternber<xia luiea. Early the next 

 They can commonly be taken in at one glance ofj sprinir my row of atamasco flowers, of the niost 

 the eye. and notwithstandinrr all that has been { brilliant white changing to pink, was the admira- 

 saidofthe artificial or n-eometric style, it is the | tion of every passer-by. They continued to pupb 

 proper one for such places; for symmetry, or a j forth fir several weeks, and, for a considerable time 

 perfect balance of corresponding parts, greatly after, their leaver formed as finp a marnrin ol greert 

 FtrenjTihens the impression of such a scpne, taken i as one could wish to see. These leaves hau 

 as a whole, or single mans of objects. The beds, scarcelv hefjim to die away, when the flowers ol 

 therelbre, will not only be small, but when there I the rosea began (o a[ipear, and kept flowering 



