266 IVood-As/ies for Peas. 



to thirty feet high, with green or reddish exfoliating bark ; oval, petiolate, 

 nearly entire leaves, ver}^ smooth above and glaucous beneath ; urceolate 

 flowers in elongated and clustered pubescent racemes ; and rough, red, many- 

 seeded berries. Seen plentifully in Oregon and California, ranging north 

 of the Columbia River, where it is known as the laurel. Its rich foliage 

 of large, thick, and shining leaves, its tinted bark, and its large cherry-like 

 berries, render it a handsome tree, and well worthy of eastern cultivation. 



The Californian Laurel, Oreodaphne Calif or7iica (Nees). — The handsomest 

 hard-wooded tree to be found in California, with dark-green, lustrous, per- 

 sistent foliage, resembling the European laurel, and quite as ornamental. 



The dwarfer forms of maples, the Oregon ash, the Oregon alder, the 

 various oaks, and the multitude of the nobler forms and species of the 

 pines, and their allies, afford a rich opportunity of experiment in making 

 them familiar to our arboretums and tree-plantations. 



WOOD-ASHES FOR PEAS. 



Wood-ashes will be found an excellent surface-dressing for growing peas. 

 They impart health and vigor to the plants, and prevent the decaying of 

 the leaves, and the premature withering and drying up of the stalks near 

 the ground. If applied in excess, however, little benefit will be derived. 

 One quart for twelve or fifteen feet of row, repeated after an interval of 

 two or three weeks, will be ample. Apply, if possible, just before rain; 

 spread them on each side along the row, two or three inches from the stems 

 of the plants, and hoe in immediately. 



The practice of applying dr)- ashes in the drill at the time of sowing is 

 not recommended. We think, however, they might be used in this manner 

 if they were thoroughly incorporated with the soil, and allowed to remain 

 a few days before the seeds were put in. Two quarts may be allov.-ed for 

 each rod of drill. F. B. 



