VOL. X VII, \0. 3. 



AND GARDENER'S JOUR N^ L 



21 



collection of foreign newj^indsof Roses, rivals that 

 of Col. Wilder, as they have some 500 varieties. 

 Pseonies have al.'!o claimed their special attention, 

 and they exhibit nearly 40 kinds. 

 • Other highly commendable eftbrts have been 

 made to multiply tlie fruits, culinary vegetables, 

 and plants of all kinds, and especially by seeds. 

 The establishments of .Tosp])h Breck & Co., and of 

 Hovey & Co., are well known, for they have so fir 

 kept pace with the rapidly increasing demand, 

 and have so -fiithfully discharged their very 

 responsible dutie.), in either raising or collect- 

 ing the best varieties and of the most perfect qual- 

 ity, that they have merited and received the grate- 

 ful acknowledgments of their numerous fellow citi- 

 zens who "drive their team afield," or delight in the 

 society, or the culture of the silent, yet eloquent, 

 beautiful, useful, and ever interesting families of 

 the vegetable realm. 



As proprietors and editors of three of the most 

 valuable agricultural and horticulturf 1 publications 

 in tliis country, we are under the greatest obliga- 

 tions to them ; and it is earnestly to be wished, 

 that for pII their diversified and indefatigable la- 

 bors, they shi.uld receive that encouragement and 

 reward, which will render their patriotic exertions 

 annually more profitable to themselves, tmd useful 

 to the public. Irt the diffusion of intelligence 

 among the farmers and gardeners, and the exten- 

 sion of a taste for their honorable and important 

 occupations, as well as for the improvement of the 

 aspect of the country generally, by inducing a 

 greater attention to all the branches of cultivation, 

 those periodicals have already accomplished ranch, 

 and if they receive that liberal patronage to which 

 thty are justly entitled, the beneficial results will 

 be as universally conspicuous as they are desira- 

 ble. 



The new garden at Mount Washington, with its 

 ranges of green and forcing houses, is becoming 

 an object of great interest, and will soon rank 

 among the first, which are now the most celebrated, 

 as the intelligent and experienced Mr McCollough 

 has full}' slio«n that he is well qualified for the 

 station he has assumed. 



The Charlestown Vineyard, with its departments 

 of other fruits, cinservatories, graperies, and valu- 

 able, as well as ornamental plants, has given a well 

 deserved reputation to the Messrs Mason, from tlie 

 successful manner in which the whole of their spa- 

 cious establishment is managed. 



The valuab'e, new, and excellent varieties of the 

 strawberry, with which our market is enriched, have 

 rendered Mr William Mason of Charlestown, and 

 Mr J. L. L. F. Wirren of Brighton, celebrated for 

 the zealous and successful exertions tliey have 

 made to grow th:;f delicious fruit. The Do^vnton, 

 Wilmot's, Keen's Seedling, Roseberry, Mulberr}', 

 Methven Castle, andotlier distinguished new kinds, 

 are now abundant and maintain the high character 

 which they had aopiired in England. 



Mr To«n, of Snpwhill street, in Boston, his a 

 neat and well conducted green-house, which may 

 be truly called a floral gera. 



There is a humble little cottage garden on the 

 Dorchester road, near Grove Hall, which reflects 

 great credit on the unassuming and respectable old j 

 man, who carefully tills it with his own hands; 

 and many a passer-by lias stopped to admire his 

 beautiful collection of choice varieties of pinks. — 

 May he be made happy in his commendable efforts 



to'contributeto the happiness of others, is a bles- 

 I sing which every visitor must spontaneously bestow 

 on the venerable Meller, and at the same time, at- 

 I tempt to enable him to realize the" benediction, in 

 the purchase of a single root, or a bou(|uot of fl,ow- 

 ! ers. How interesting and imposing is it to behold 

 i the aged calmly and studiously engaged in thecul- 

 , ture of a garden of flowers. They appear to be 

 I appropriately occupied in a kind of religious rite, 

 I and as if actuated by a presentiment tint their end 

 ! was near, devoting their last moments in the prep- 

 I oration of the materials of a garland for the decora- 

 I tion of tlieir own grave, and thus seeming to ask 

 j the grateful tribute of approbation, from a life in- 

 I dustriously and reputably passed, and now approach- 

 j ing its close, in the anticipation of that good name 

 i which all desire, and hope encourages us to believe 

 I may have been attained, and will bo perpetuated 

 I when " we sleep in the narrow house of death." 

 I There is very much wanted a large nursery of 

 ! native forest trees, where they shall be raised in 

 j such quantities, as to be aflTorded to purchasers at 

 I as cheap a rate as they can import them from Eng- 

 ' land and Scotland, So great is the demand, that 

 ' not only our nursery-men, but many individuals, 

 I have recently imported vast numbers. Two gen- 

 j tlemen, one residing in Watertown, and the other 

 I in Salem, have received ten thousand each, this 

 i season, which cost only a few cents apiece. The 

 \ quantities which might be sold, if furnislied at even 

 I a liberal price, would be enormous ; but the exr 

 pense of obtaining trees from the forest, the muti- 

 lated manner in which they are taken up, and the 

 consequent difficulty of making them flourish vig- 

 orously, deters those who would be glad to embel- 

 lish tlieir estates, or plant out woodlots, or groves 

 for timber, from making the experiment. 



The rapidity of the growth of seedling treesj 

 reared in nurseries, compared with such as are se- 

 lected from the forest, is well known to those who 

 have attempted the culture of both kinds. 



A pleasing illustration may bo seen on the mag- 

 nificent ground of Col. Th. H. Perkins, who import- 

 ed about thirteen years since, 15,000 plants, which 

 were not more than two feet high, and now tliey 

 are large, healthy and beautiful trees. 

 Very respectfully, 



Your obt. ser\'ant, 



H. A. S. DEARBORN. 

 Hawthorn Cottas^e., 



Roxburji, June 20, 1838. 



TOADS. 



Mr Holmes : — I have seen it recommended 

 some paper that we should cultivate the society of 

 Toads, and domesticate tliem as much as possible. 



To the minds of some tliis would appear ridicu- 

 lous in the extreme. There is a very strong preju- 

 dice against those useful, innocent animals — thev 

 are looked upon as dronish and evil, by some ; but 

 not by those who know their usefulness. 



I will venture to say that not one of your readers 

 can imb a moutliful of any thing with half the dex- 

 terity tliat a to id can, — on'y give him a clianoe. 



Should any one wish to see the thing done, take 

 and lay before a toad any kind of a worm or bug 

 that will stir, and if he does not go into " Davv 

 Jones' Locker," in the v,ay of a caution, then I am 

 no judge. 



Give them a good she'ier, and not abnse them, 

 and you can keep the:n in one place for years. 

 There is one now in sight that has made his place 



of residence some five or six years under the steps 

 of my door ; and if he does not look as fnt and 

 cheerful as any of Uncle Sam's office holders, then 

 I am much mistiikeu. 



As I had much rather see one toad in the gai- 

 den than two dogs in the front door-way, I would 

 recommend to every farmer who can, (and there are 

 none who cannot,) find time to hunt up a few dozens 

 of them and put in liis garden, and on his coru 

 ground. 



And do you ask where they are most likely to 

 be found ? Look into your old potato holes, and 

 there you will find them imprisoned, if not relieved 

 by some kind hand? perhaps for life, — not for debt 

 or "opinion's sake," but probably for a m\s-jump 

 before setlllng their accounts. But a few days ago 

 I released more than fitly in a very short time, and 

 conveyed them to my corn ground, and I find that 

 it was not only doing as I would be done by, under 

 like circumstances, hut I have the satisfaction of 

 doing a deed of harniinity. E. G. B. 



July 7, 1838. [:l/at)ie Fur. 



Disease of Corn — "TuF. French." — There 

 is a disease of corn, popularly called "tte French,"' 

 the cause and remedy of which, seem to have been 

 satisfactorily discovered. The plants attiicked by 

 this disease, exhibit a yellowish feeble appearance, 

 the blades arc wilted, the stalks never attain the 

 usual size and rarely mature jiny grain. Spota 

 thus afiected, are sometimes found in the fields 

 embracing a hundred plants, where, the soil is aa 

 good as elsewhere. The injury is caused by the 

 black ant depositing its larvie in the joint just be- 

 low the ground connecting the radical or root wiiJi 

 the stock. From the punctures thus made, exudes 

 the juipe pf the plant, which on its discharge forms 

 into a j«lly. An excellent remedy is found in the 

 application of slaked lime or leached ashes to the 

 hills when planting tlie seed, the alkaline or caus- 

 tic effects of which serve to destroy the ants. We 

 know a case, where, for several years, a colony of 

 ants having destroyed almost every description «f 

 vegetation, the land was treated with decided suc- 

 cess, the injury remedied, and a good crop obtain- 

 ed, by the application of leached ashes. The 

 same farmer, also, in making an experiment on the 

 value of the hydrate of fime applied to the hills of 

 corn, had the satisfaction to find, not only that the 

 growth of the plants was greatly stimulated, but 

 th&'i, none of them were affected by "Uie French" 

 as were others in the same field, to the hills of 

 which no lime had been applied. These experi- 

 ments seem to us decisive ; and we invite attention 

 to them the more confidently, as it is certain, that 

 the proposed remedy, in its action as a stimulating 

 manure, will increase the jjroduction of the plants 

 to which it is applied, even beyond that of those 

 not aflfected by the disease. — Franklin Farmer. 



Regulation of Steam Boats. — The Senate 

 on tlie (ith instant disagreed to tlte amendment of the 

 House of Representatives to its bill for regulating 

 the navigation of steaui boats, by which it was pro- 

 posed to hiflict a fine of five thousand dollars on 

 owners for any loss of life or lives by e.vplosion of 

 boilers, &c. and substituted for it a provision that, 

 in all prosecutions at law for damages in such case, 

 the fact of such explosion shall be considered 

 primu facie evidence of wilful intent, &c. Thus 

 amended, the bill has passed both Houses, and may 

 be considered the law of the land. — .Maine Far. 



