224 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



he found the Thea viridis used in making green tea 

 near the districts where the best green tea was made. 

 So Air, therefore, the information obtained seemed to 

 confirm the view of two different species of Thea 

 being employed to mal;c the two difl'ercnt kinds of 

 tea; but Mr. Fortune, in visiting the district of 

 Fokien, was surprised to find what he conceived to 

 be the true Thea viridis employed in making hlack 

 tea in districts near where the Ijest black tea was 

 made, lie took plants with him from Fokien to 

 Shanghac, and could find no difference between them. 

 It was still, however, dcsiral)le to get sj)ecimcns from 

 the district whei-e the black and green teas of com- 

 merce were actually made, and this had latterly been 

 effected. In consequence of the great success which 

 bad attended the experimental culture of tea in the 

 nurseries estabhshcd in the Himalayas, Mr. Fortu.xe 

 was again sent to China by the P^ast India Company. 

 He proceeded to the northern parts of the country, 

 in order to obtain tea seeds and plants of the best 

 description, as the most likely to stand the Himalaya 

 climate. Mr. Fortune procured seeds and plants in 

 great numbei-s, and sent them to the Hnnalayas, 

 where they have been since cultivated. When he 

 had reached Calcutta, the tea manufacturers whom 

 he had brought with him made from plants in the 

 Botanic Gardens black and green tea from the same 

 specimens ; so that it was evident it was the process 

 of manufacture, and not the plant itself, that pro- 

 duced the green tea. All who were acquainted 

 with the difference between black and green teas, 

 knew that they could be prepared from the same 

 plant without the assistance of any extraneous ma- 

 terials, though it was a common thing for manufac- 

 turers to use indigo, .Prussian blue, turmeric, &c., in 

 coloring the tea. Dr. Eoyle showed specimens of 

 the black tea plant from the Woo-e-Shan, and of the 

 green tea plant from the Hwuychou districts. No 

 specific difference could be observed between the two 

 specimens.— P/-oce£C?»t^s of the British Association 

 for the Advancement of Science, in the London 

 Gardeners' Chronicle. 



Propagation of Fine Roses. — It may not be 

 known to many of our readers that the fine Roses of 

 the China varieties may be readily propagated by the 

 means of slips. Cut from the well-ripened wood, 

 slips three or four inches in length, strip off the foli- 

 age, and insert them in clean, white sand, placed in 

 pots or boxes. Keep them regularly watered, so that 

 they may not get too dry, and at regular temperature. 

 They strike root very freely. Some practice cover- 

 ing them with a bell glass, but those of most experi- 

 ence do not consider this practice necessary. Ladies 

 may also propagate any of the choice Roses desired, 

 by budding in the same manner as fruit trees are bud- 

 ded It adds much to the beauty of the hardy 

 climbers, to have the main trinik variegated with 

 branches of Roses, of different shades of coloring. — 

 We strongly commend the practice to those who 

 would thus adorn the shrubbery of the homestead. — 

 Practical Farmer. 



A California Garden. — A gentleman by the 

 name of Wolfskill has at Los Angelos, on the P;v 

 cific shore, about fifty acres of land, devoted exclu- 

 sively to the raising of fruit. Thirty-five acres of 

 this land are allotted to grape vines, which produce 

 annually about 35,000 gallons of wine, valued at 

 .*$19,530. There are three acres of Peach trees, with 

 one hundred trees to the acre, which bear about 12,- 

 000 pounds of peaches, worth, at least, $600. Sev- 

 enty Pear trees produce $2,800 worth of fruit, — 

 Twenty Orange trees afford 40,000 oranges, worth 

 .f 2,000; and other fruit of various kinds, such as 

 apricots, apples, citrons, &c., make up an annual in- 

 come from this garden of nearly $27,000. 



Mr. Wolfskill, the proprietor of this garden, pos- 

 sesses also a rancho, situated some seven hundred 

 miles off, in the valley of the Sacramento. Here 

 range three thousand head of cattle and two or three 

 hundred fine horses; and to amuse himself while 

 herding stock, he has ])lanted an extensive vineyard, 

 and set out a thousand trees of various kinds, includ- 

 ing some fine Olive trees. Mr. Wolfskill has just 

 contracted to furnish a thousand head of cattle at 

 $40 a head. 



London Crystal Palace. — The Queen has given 

 notice that she has been graciously pleased to name 

 Saturday, June 10th, as the day on which her Majesty 

 will open the Crystal Palace. Our readers may re- 

 member that the Palace is to be used as a winter 

 garden. It is thought that it will be now no less an 

 object of interest, when enclosing within its immense 

 glass tropical and rare plants growing in all the luxu- 

 riance and magnitude common to their native clime^ 

 than it was when exhibiting to the world the Indus- 

 try of all Nations. 



The Pie Plant. — A correspondent of the Iiidir- 

 ana Farmer expresses the opinion, based upon ex- 

 periment, that the use of ashes as the manure for the 

 pie plant produces a more delicious ^ilaut than any 

 other mode of culture; not being as sour, but con- 

 taining just enough acidity to make them pleasant — 

 The reason given for this is, that the acid peculiar to 

 the rhubarb is neutralized, in part, by the alkali of 

 the ashes. 



m *■— 



Grapes. — The use of grapes as an article of food, 

 is much recommended in case of consumption. They 

 contain a large quantity of grape sugar, the kind 

 which most nearly resembles milk sugar in its charac- 

 ter and composition, which is also useful for consump- 

 tives, it having a great attraction for oxygen, and 

 readily affording materials for respiration. 



^ The progress of the world is continually convertinf 

 vrixtaes into vicea 



Strawberries. — On Friday, June 9th, the Key- 

 port steamer carried to New York the enormous 

 quantity of sixty-eight thousand and one hundred 

 baskets of strawberries. 



Some showy quahties often screen a number of un- 

 sightly ones. 



^ ♦ ^1 



The difiBculty is not so great to die for a friend as 

 to find a friend worth dying for. 



