250 Editors Letter -Box. 



G. H., South Weymouth, Mass. — Silver sand is the purest sand known, and 

 may be obtained at any glass-works. An article on the subject will soon appear 

 in our columns. 



The reception which has attended the issue of the first three numbers of "The 

 American Journal of Horticulture " has been such as to insure its complete suc- 

 cess. Letters pour in upon us from every section of the country, congratulating 

 us on our success in making an American Magazine free from localism or 

 sectionalism. We are daily flattered by congi'atulations at the increasing excel- 

 lence of each number we issue ; although in this respect we can only say, that 

 we but fulfil tlie promise made by us in our prospectus, — that each number should 

 prove superior to the last. Of our intention to thus continue, we ask no fur- 

 ther proof than an inspection of the March number and that of the present 

 month. 



We trust that our attempts to make our magazine a companion for the parlor, 

 the greenhouse, and the garden, thus far so successful, may be more than realized 

 in the future, until " The American Journal of Horticulture " shall become an in- 

 dispensable requisite for both amateurs and gardeners. So, with the balmy 

 breezes of spring, we again say welcome to our readers, as we lead them beneath 

 the budding spray onward towards the flowery fields and exuberant life of May, 

 and still onward to the roses of June and the luscious fruitage of summer. 



R. B. Werden. — The question as to how much cold the rhododendron will 

 stand is somewhat too general. There are many species and varieties of rho- 

 dodendron, some of which will stand a Canadian winter ; others are strictly green- 

 house plants. Those indigenous to India, or their hybrids, are by far the finest, 

 but will not stand the winter in our country, and but few are perfectly hardy in 

 England. This class are usually known as Sikkim rhododendrons, from the 

 range of the Himalaya Mountains, where they are indigenous. 



The varieties oi RJwdodcndro7i Ponticuni are not hardy in New England, but 

 stand the winter on the Hudson and in the Middle States. 



R. Catawbiense and j/iaximum are hardy, and will stand about fifty degrees of 

 frost without injury. Many of the hybrids and seedlings from these species are 

 hardy, and some are very beautiful. In general, the plants suffer more from 

 the winter's sii?t than from the cold. 



The best winter protection is to stick evergreen boughs around the plants 

 about the middle of November, removing them about the loth of April. 



They do well in pots ; but the outside of the pot should not be exposed to the 

 heat of the sun. Like all plants of the family, the roots should be always damp, 

 but never very wet or dry. 



The best soil is turfy-peat, leaf-mould, and sharp sand, in equal projDortions. 

 The bed should be so deep as never to dry in summer. 



Everestiaman, Brayamim, Barclayanuin, Chancellor^ Roseian elegans, and 

 pictum, Delicatissimum, Album grandifiorinn, are fine hardy varieties. Write to 

 Waterer & Godfrey, Knap-hill Nursery, near Woking, Surrey, England, for 

 catalogues. 



