Vol. VII.— No. 36. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



285 



From ihe Soullicni Agricullurisl. 



wSi» Account and Description of Bishop's Early Dwarf 

 Prolific Pea ; by Michael Floy. 

 The letter given below was written at our re- 

 quest, and accompanied some of llie peas ordered 

 out by us. An account of their origin is given in 

 the first volume of the Gardener's Magazine, and 

 from observations made by the Conductor of that 

 work, in subsequent numbers, they are in high re- 

 pute around London ; supposing that they would 

 prove an acijuisition liere, we have given the an- 

 Dexed letter. — Editor Southern Agriculturist. 



Mw York, Dec. 27, 182S. 

 Sir — I send you the quantity of Bishop's Early 

 Dwarf Prolific Pea, ordered by you, being of the 

 eame kind as presented by me to the Horticultu- 

 ral Society of this city. Agreeably to your re- 

 quest, I will give you a short account of its origin, 

 peculiar propt.-rties, and mode of treatment. In the 

 year 182G, they made their first appearance in 

 London, having been sent, as I am informed, from 

 gome part of Scotland, where they were original- 

 ly raised by a practical gardener, of the name of 

 Bishop. Ill the year 1817, so great a reputation 

 had tliey obtained in the neighborhood of London, 

 that they were readily sold by the nurserymen 

 there at a guinea a pint ; and in the spring of that 

 year I received a small portion of them as a pres- 

 ent from an eminent hnrticultuiist, who, in the 

 letter accompanyin,!» them writes as follows : 

 " These peas are making a great noise here, and 

 knowing they would be highly acceptable to you, 

 I have, with some difficulty, procured you a small 

 quantity : its peculiar excellences appear to be 

 these — its great productiveness, equalling if not 

 surpassing any variety hitherto known ; its earli- 

 ness, and its remarkable dwarf habit, seldom at- 

 taining, even in the best soils, the height of twelve 

 inches, which of itself would make it a most valu- 

 able acquisition, more esjiecially for small gar- 

 dens." In addition to what is here stated, I re- 

 mark from my own experience, that this pea fully 

 realizes the description here given, and the follow- 

 ing appears t!ie most judicious method of treating 

 them : they sliould be planted three, or at any rate 

 two inches apart in the rows, as from their dwarf- 

 ishness and spreading habit they do not do so well 

 if sown closer, hence it is obvious there will be a 

 great saving of seed, as a pint of these peas will 

 go as far as two or three quarts of any other, sown 

 in the usual manner. They commence blooming 

 when not throe inches high, bear most abundantly, 

 and are very fine eating. If a few were planted 

 weeklv, a constant succession of green peas might 

 be obtained all the summer and autumn, as from 

 the habit of their growth they appear bettercalcii- 

 lated to withstand the heat of an American suin- 

 fner than any variety with which I am acquainted. 

 I have still a few quarts left, which are offered to 

 those desirous of cultivating an excellent vegeta- 

 ble, at one dollar per quart. Persons at a dis- 

 tance, by remitting the cash by letter (post paid) 

 will receive them by any conveyance they may 

 designate. MICHAEL FLOY. 



To John D. Legabe. 



Q?" A few quarts of this pea have been re- 

 ceived at the New England Farmer Seed Store, 

 and are offered for sale at the New York price — 

 $1 per quart — though we know nothing further 

 with regard to their character, than what is men- 

 tioned above. 



From the New York Fanner. 



CHEAP METHOD OP FORCING RHU- 

 BARB. 



My rhubarb plants grow on an east border, a 

 few feet from my barn and stable door, separated 

 frnni the latter by a fence — the soil therefore very 

 rich. In March, or sooner if I please, I place an 

 old flour barrel, having but one head, over each 

 stool or plant, the head uppermost to the extent 

 that I wish to force. I then with a dung fork pro- 

 ceed to cover the barrels and to fill the intermedi- 

 ate spaces with fresh stable dung, to the thickness 

 of a foot or more all round and above the casks. 

 A fermentation soon commences, and the heat 

 thus generated, the atmospheric air being exclud- 

 ed from the casks, soon causes the plant to grow 

 vigorously, and in two or three weeks the barrel 

 becomes literally filled with fine blanched, seiid- 

 tiansparent leaf stocks of the rhubarb. I careful- 

 ly remove the manure, raise the barrel, break off 

 the largest leaves, but am careful not to disturb 

 the crown, and then replace the cask and manure 

 for a .second crop. I have in this way taken 

 enough from a single plant, in April, for ten or a 

 dozen pies. The leaf stocks thus blanched, re- 

 quire no pealing. They are very brittle and 

 juicy, and require to be merely washed and cut 

 to prepare for cooking. Sea Kale is forced by the 

 same jirocess. J. B. 



Albany, Feb. 1829. 



A simple and effective Remedy for the Sick Head- 

 ach. — A few days ago iny partner was laboring 

 under a very severe sick headach, when a friend 

 called, whose attention ha.s for many years past, 

 been confined altogether to the study of cheinis> 

 try, in connexion with a profitable business in 

 which he is engaged. The gentk'inan, observing 

 my partner indisposed, inquired the cause ; and 

 on ascertaining it, immediately offered to cure him 

 by a very easy and pleasant process, in less than 

 an hour. The offer was accepted ; half an ounca 

 of citric acid was sent for, which cost only a few 

 j)ence ; three or four small lumps, each the siza 

 of a pea, were dissolved in cold water and drunk. 

 The beverage is an agreeable one, very like the 

 taste of lemonade, being, I believe, used in making 

 this pleasant cooling liquor. In less than half an 

 hour the patient was able, without any inconven- 

 ience, to attend to his business again as usual, and 

 in another half hour he was well as ever. 



ALBANY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



A correspondent writes, that the Society is like- 

 ly to receive the countenance and ])atronage of 

 the most wealthy and respectable citizens of that 

 place ; and its members are flattering themselves 

 vvitli the hope, that the coriioration of the city will 

 consent to appropriate the ground of Washington 

 Scpiare for a Botanic and Horticultural Garden. — 

 This scpiare comprises thirteen acres, and is beau- 

 tifully situated on the height of ground, half a mile 

 west of the river ; and extends in a parallelogram 

 from State to Lydeus streets. Should the antici- 

 pations of the members, in obtaining the ground, 

 he realized, the results would, undoubtedly, be 

 highly beneficial, not only to Albany and its vicin- 

 ity, but to the State at large. — Ibid. 



The Cinnamon tree, (Lurus Cinamomum) we 

 learn has been raised in the open air, in France. 

 M. Boursalt made a report to the Horticultural 

 Society of Paris, on the subject. The young 

 plants had been kept in the Conservatory for a 

 short time. They had been sent, at the time of 

 the report, to Toulon, where it was thought the 

 probability of succeeding would be greater. 



Improvement in Lamp Oil. — Those vegetable 

 oils, which can be obtained sufliciently cheap for 

 light, have not, heretofore, been used on account 

 of their glutinous qualities, and the smoke produc- 

 ed m combustion. A recent discovery has been 

 made in freeing it from its glutinous properties, so 

 that it burns as free and clear from smoke and 

 smell, as the best of lights now in use. Among 

 the vegetable productions that may be profitably 

 cultivated for this purpose^ are the large white 

 poppy, one bushel of seed yielding two gallons of 

 oil ; the American rape, producing fifty bushels of 

 seed to the acre, and five quarts of oil per bushel ; 

 the sun flower, growing about five feet high, and 

 very abundant in seed and oil : and the cotton 

 .seed, vast quantities of which are known to be 

 raised to the south, and hitherto of little value, but 

 now, by tliis improvement, may be made to pro- 

 duce an income to the planter. 



Siberian Rice. — In Russia, a kind of Rice is 

 used which grows in Siberia, and is more succu- 

 lent than that of America. It may be useful, and 

 I am desirous of inquiring about it. — Rusticus in 

 Urbe. 



The .Manufacture of Sugar from the Beet Root is 

 said to be on the increase, and though the Sugar 

 of the Colonies is always somewhat cheaper in the 

 Netherlands than in France, is said to pay the 

 manufacturer. It is stated, however, that a profit 

 is more certain where the manufacturer is also 

 the grower. A part of the advantage arises from 

 giving the leaves and the refuse of the inaiiufiic- 

 ture of the root to cattle, and from the quantity of 

 manure produced. — Jour. d'Agncullure dis Pays- 

 Bos. 



Exportation of Bones.— Some idea may be form- 

 ed of the value placed on manures by English 

 larmcrs, from the fact that all kinds of bones, ex- 

 ported from this country to Great Britain, aftbrd a 

 great profit. We are not able, at present, to state 

 the quantity that is exported, but presume it must 

 be considerable, as they are brought from a dis- 

 tance up the North River, and shipped at thi» 

 city. 



There are bone mills in various parts of Eng- 

 land, i)articnlarly in Derbyshire, where the farm- 

 ers are distinguished for their intelligence and en- 

 teri)rise. These mills are " composed," says Lon- 

 don, " of ratchet-like iron wheels and rollers, be- 

 tween which the back bones of horses, with their 

 adhering ribs, pass with facility, and are crushed 

 into small pieces." 



Lnpland Coiw.— The cows in most parts of 

 Lapland are all of the same white color, and very 

 httle larger than .suckling calves in England ; but 

 exceedingly beautiful, aiid yielding milk of so su- 

 perior a quality, that it becomes almost wholly 

 cream, and that of the most deVcions sv/eetness, 

 while, when even fresh, it is so coagulated, that a 

 spoon will nearly remain ui)right after it has bectt 

 plunged into it. — Imperial Magazine. 



Hops. From the rcf ort of E. A. Le Breton, in- 

 spector of hops in Albany, made to the Legisla- 

 ture, it appears that during 1828, he inspected 

 1,263 bales of hops weighing 277,502 lbs., raised 

 ill the following counties ; Madison, 151,268 ; 0«- 



