Vol. 1.— No. 6. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



43 



much about it by English writers ; the conclu* 

 sion seems to be that it does net flower well 

 in England. In faot, none of our Southern 

 plants do well in England, while those from 

 China do very well — here, however, it is quite 

 the reverse. I have the Chinese Wistaria from 

 15 to 20 fiet long, and the American Wistaria 

 about the same height. The Chinese does not 

 look so vigourous and green as his American 

 brother. The Amerioan Wistaria should be 

 planted in every garden with other creepers, 

 or run up the trees in shrubberies, according 

 to its natural disposition. 



Lonicera, comprehending all the fine sweet 

 scented honeysuckles; of the Italian kinds, 

 the monthly honeysuckle is decidedly superi- 

 or, continuing to flower all through the sum- 

 mer, until late in the fall, and very fragrant. — 

 Some of the other European kinds may be 

 occasionally introduced in large shrubberies — 

 two or three American kinds deserve particu- 

 lar notice. 



Lonicera sempervirens, or Coral trumpet 

 monthly honeysuckle, is extremely beautiful, 

 flowering during the whole of the summer, 

 with its thousands of scarlet bunches. It is, 

 however, destitute of scent. Lonicera fraseri, 

 also an American : the flowers are like the o- 

 ther kind in almost every other particular, ex- 

 cept colour, this being a bright yellow. 



Lonicera pubescens, or Caprifolium pubescens, 

 a large and beautiful honeysulckle from the 

 Northwest coast; the flowers are larger and 

 ot a bright copper color, inclining to orange, 

 they are all perfectly hardy. 



Lonicera flexuosa, Chinese honeysuckle, of 

 late introduction, it is perfectly hardy, with- 

 standing our most severe frosts without the 

 least injury : it is a very sweet scented honey 

 suckle, grows rapid, and to an immense height 

 It flowers in pairs and threes all up the bran- 

 ches, covering the whole plant completely 

 with flowers. It blossoms spring and fall, and 

 is a very valuable acquisition to our gardens 

 and shrubberies. 



Lonictra jnponica. or Japan honeysuckle — 

 This bears flower* in great profusion, which 

 are white, afterwards becoming of a light yel- 

 low. This is not so hardy as the former, and 

 requires a little protection in winter. 



I shall only add to the above the running 

 kinds of roses, although there are many other 

 things which might be mentioned. 



Rosa muttiflora, from China is pretty well 

 known, producing thousands nf small double 

 red roses in bunches. It requires a sheltered 

 situation from some of our keen North wes- 

 ters. R. mul/ifiora alba, from the same coun- 

 try, is of lale importation, but as it increases 

 readily, may be obtained at about the samo 

 price as the former; the bunches of flowers 

 are white. Rosa Oiemllii, a running rose also 

 from China, the flowers o£ various colors. Ro- 

 sa rubifolia. Raspberry leaved rose, from our 

 northern frontiers, and extend ; ng over the wes- 

 tern country ; although asingle flowering rose, 

 it produces larne bunches offlowers, which are 

 different colored, on "the same bunch, exactly 

 like the former China kind, and is another in- 

 stance of the similarity of plants, natives of 

 China and our country. 



Rosa canina.fl. plena. English double Dog 

 rose, is a very pretty little double rose, and 

 will run to a great height. Rosa Banksii, La- 

 dy Banks' double white China running rose. 

 It runs up, and spreads much — it may be easily 

 known from others of the running roses, by its 

 being entirely destitute of prickles. Rosa noi- 

 sette, and Chunpney's, are said to have been 

 raised from China seeds in Carolina — they are 

 not strictly running roses, but as they grow up 

 tall, are fine ornaments for the shrubbery.fiow- 

 ering during rile whole of the summer and fall 

 in large clusters. The Madeira rose, or doublt 

 while Cluster Musk— It also flowers all through 

 the summer and fall months, and is therefore 

 well adapted for the shrubbery. Rosa Chero- 

 bnsts, called the non-descript, or Georgia rose 

 — the flowers are very large and white, the 



centre yellow. This is a running rose grow- 

 ing very high around trees, &c. 



Rosa rubiginosa, or sweet brier, is too well 

 known to need description. 



I did not intend to have extended my re- 

 marks so far, but as your correspondent ob- 

 serves that he does not know whereto select 

 from, I was led into greater lengths from a de- 

 sire to comply with his wishes. 



Vou might as well direct him to pick needles 

 from a hay stack, as to send him to Loudon's 

 Encyclopedia of Plants. It might by some be 

 thought a superfluous labour to describe com- 

 mon shrubs, but if any description at all were 

 given, we might as well commence with com- 

 mon kinds, as they may not be common with 

 every body ; but the shrubs and trees descri- 

 bed, are altogether a pretty good collection to 

 begin with, and they all n ay be obtained(good 

 flowering plants) at moderate prices. In the 

 list of trees, I have omitted all the oaks, hick- 

 ories, and walnuts. Our ever-green trees, 

 firs, spruces, and pines, ought now and then 

 to show themselves in every collection, where 

 there Is room. The Balm of Gilead Fir is ex- 

 tremely beautiful, but they will not thrive well 

 unless raised two or three years in a nursery. 

 When brought from the mountains, and plant- 

 ed out atonce, they seldom succeed. 

 I am, Sir, respectfully, 



Your obedient servant, 



Michael Floy. 



New York, August l2t/t, 1830. 



P. S. At another opportunity, (if it would 

 be acceptable,) I may give you a list of hardy 

 perennial plants, and a further description of 

 shrubs. 



AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



Extract from the Albany County Agricultural Report 

 for 1830. By J. B. originally published in the New Fork 

 Farmer, for December last. 



Wheat— The quality of this crop has impro- 

 ved within a few years from the attention paid 

 in selecting soil and preventing smut. Th< 

 method of steeping the seed in btine, and in 

 teimixing lime with it before sowing has be 

 come more general, and is found to be a cer 

 tain prevention acainst smutty grain. 



Barley has been a good crop, particularly 

 where sown early, upon dry or well condition- 

 ed land. This is an important staple of our 

 coun'ry ; and at the present price, 75 cents, 

 ot» of the most profitable of our tillaee crops. 

 fit product upon good dryloams maybe consid- 

 ered double thai of wheat, & lessexhau'tin" to 

 the soil. It is recommended to roll this grain 

 .vhen 2 or 3inches high. 1 have found the prac 

 tice beneficial. It buries the collar of the 

 plant and causes thereby an increase of seed 

 stems. 



Indian Corn. — Corn as well as barley is a 

 good crop en grounds adapted to its growth; 

 but on soils that are exhausted by cropping, 

 that are stiff and cold, or habitually wet, it is 

 seldom that the product of either compensates 

 for the labour bestowed upon their culture. I 

 find from twelve years' practice that the cheap- 

 est and best mode of harvesting corn is to cut 

 it up at the root as soon as it is fit to gather, 

 and immediately to tie it in stooks. It may 

 bo husked and cribbed in two or three weeks 



ofter cutting, or suffered to remain longer. 



Two men will cut, with a proper instrument 

 and stook two acres in a day. I think Uiat it 

 economises labor, increases and improves the 

 fodder, and leaves the ground free in time for 

 a wheat crop, and does not impair the qualitv 

 of the grain. I usually cut my corn the first 

 week in September, but have sometimes done 

 it in August. There is an economy in prepa- 

 ring this food for swine, which I will take the 

 liberty of recommending. This economy con- 

 sists in grinding and boiling it, the same as for 

 family use. Admit that one tenth goes ft r 

 toll, the boilng costs nothing, for it can be done 

 evenings ovet the kitchen fire ; and 1 venture 

 to say, that two bushels, thus prepared, will 

 make more pork than three bushels fed in the 

 ordinary way. Who has not observed that an 



animal, whether hog. ox, or horse, fed high 

 with dry corn or other grain, voids a portion 

 if it in a half digested, and often in a sound 

 ndecomposed state. Common sense teach 

 s that grain thus fed is half wasted. The 

 cob, it has been satisfactorily ascertained, con^ 

 tains considerable nutriment. If ground with 

 the corn therefore, and scalded for noat cattle, 

 it both increases and im»rove9 the food. Hogs 

 do not eat it. 



To gentlemen cutting lucerne for hay, and it 

 s oflon desirable to do this with the third cut- 

 :ing, I would particularly recommend, that 

 after the grass has laid a few hours in the 

 swarth, to make it into corks, not exceeding a 

 yard in diameter, & as high as convenient, pla- 

 cing it on m layers wiih the fork, and point- 

 ing at the top. Two days will cure it suf 

 ficient for mowing, and every leaf will be sa- 

 ved ; whereas by spreading, the leaves will 

 crumble and be lost ere the stalk is dry. This 

 is the practice I also adopt with my clover, 

 merely opening it two or three heurs to the 

 sun before it is drawn from the field. By the by. 

 let me repoat my advice to my brother farmers, 

 who have light rich soils, to try an acre of lu- 

 cerne. If they have small farms, one acre of 

 this grass is worth twelve acres of pasture. If 

 they have large farms, it will prove extremely 

 serviceable to the dairy, when the pastures are 

 short, and is always convenient for working 

 cattle. I compote an acre to be worth to me 

 fifty dollars annually. It will keep six cattle, 

 and keep them well, from the 15th or 20th of 

 May. I jowed nn acre on the 7th of May. I 

 cut it twice for soiling, and then feed off" a fine 

 after-math. As pasture grasses, the orchard 

 and tall meadow oat grasses hold a pre-emi- 

 nent rank. They grow at all seasons where 

 the ground is free from frost. — they grow lux- 

 uriantly, and they yield an abundance of ten- 

 der nutritious food. 



Frail was seriously injured by the late frosts 

 of spring. The plum, however, escaped un- 

 hurt ; and as the cold weather of May destroy- 

 ed or kept back the curculio, we had a very a- 

 bundant yield of this fruit. The peach and 

 pear gave but a very light crop. Grapes were 

 generally cut off, except in the city. In some 

 neighborhoods the apple was wholly destroyed 

 in the blossoms, in others there has been a 

 tolerable crop. Many pear trees suffered from 

 what is termed, I think erroneously, a blight. 

 The disease has assumed a new form this year. 

 Its attacks were heretofore confined to the 

 branches. It has now seized the trunks. I 

 have taken up several, of four and five inches 

 in diameter; the limbs and foliage of some 

 were apparently sound and healhty, but 

 tho bark of whose trunks were perfectly dead, 

 from 6 to 24 inches, at different heights from 

 the ground. Among all the speculations upon 

 the cause of this disease, I have met with no- 

 thing satisfactory. Kirby and Spence in their 

 ' Introduction to Entomology,' vol. 1. p. 212, 

 13, speak of a small beetle, which at different 

 times has devastatt d the fir forests of Germa- 

 ny, (Bartrichius Typogtaphus. F) which feeds 

 upon the soft inner bark only, but which at- 

 tacks this important part in such vast numbers, 

 80,000 sometimes being found in a single tree, 

 that it is infinitely more noxious than any of 

 those which bore into the wood. I introduce 

 this passage to induce new vigilance in our 

 orchadists and gardeners to discover the cause 

 of this disease in one of our most valuablo 

 fruits, 



Oats anil Buckwheat. — I have already ex- 

 tended my remarks too far to say much of 

 these. Indued I could say little to interest a 

 good farmer: for lie seldom raises either oats 

 or buckwheat. Anil any thing I might offer 

 to show their unprofitableness to the cnltiva- 

 tor, would, I fear, be lost on a bad one. 



Mr. Nichols, proprietor of one of the paper 

 mills at Newton, near Boston, was suddenly 

 killed on the afternoon of Wednesday, by be- 

 coming entangled in the machinery, and hav- 

 ing his bead literally bruised to pieces. 



