Foreign Notices :— Italy. _ 309 



■ In order to repair the scarcity of both the salad and the common oil which 

 is now felt in our province, occasioned by the scarcity of oleaginous seed, 

 such as ravizzone, flax, &c., on account of the late hoar frosts, which for some 

 years have prevailed here, the Pistacchio di terra (A'rachis hypogse^a) has 

 been thought of instead, and already all the scientific and agricultural journals 

 extol it to the skies ; and, to tell you the truth, they have said so much in 

 favour of this vegetable, that many who sold it have received above 3 lire 

 (Milanese) per lb. (12 oz. to the pound), and every proprietor has appro- 

 priated his little field to the cultivation of the A'rachis ; but this year every 

 hope of success has vanished on account of the coldness of the spring, which 

 was not warm till the end of June, and even to the 23d of July the tempera- 

 ture was so low, at five o'clock in the morning, as 10° ; whereas, in former 

 years, the lowest degree of temperature at that time of the year was 16°, and 

 that only for a few days. This depression was occasioned by the immense 

 quantity of snow on the Alps, and even on the tops of the mountains in our 

 neighbourhood ; that is, those on the banks of the Lake of Como. But the 

 cultivation of this plant is very uncertain, and does not leave much to hope 

 for, as even the warmest arachidists will soon become cool. Several little 

 works were published on the cultivation of the A'rachis last year. The best 

 and most to be depended on is by Abate Swagani, and I will send it to you 

 by the first opportunity through the Baron Jacquin. 



Root-grafting. I told you in my last letter that the director of the 

 garden of Villa Traversi, in Desio, multiplied his roses by grafting on the 

 root ; and now I can tell you of its further extension, as it is practised by me 

 not only on the rose, but also on the olive, berberis, cytisus, Crataegus, &c. 

 Wishing to graft in January and February (the most proper time), I take up 

 the roots intended to be used for this purpose in November, because in 

 January and February it would be difficult to do so, on account of the frost ; 

 and having put them in a corner of the fngidario, deep in the ground, care 

 being taken that they do not germinate, I then leave them till the moment I 

 wish to make use of them; and, when that time comes, 1 choose some healthy 

 roots, that is, those without any defects, and about the size of a quill, or the 

 little finger. I then cut them of the length of from 3 in. to 5 in., and make 

 a vertical cut, and proceed as with split-grafting. I then plant them in pots 

 of about 3 in. in diameter. As soon as they are planted, I cover them with 

 a pane of glass, and put them in frames, or in the pine-stove ; and, as soon as 

 I see them beginning to grow, I give them air by degrees, and in a few days I 

 take off the glass entirely, and allow them to enjoy the rays of the sun, which 

 should also be done from the first day of grafting. By this process I have 

 been enabled to graft from January to the end of July ; and, in summer, I 

 only use those roots of the rose that I think will not injure the plant, which 

 must furnish roots to be again grafted the following year. The roots of the 

 Chinese rose, and those of R. multiflora, are to be preferred, because, from 

 what I have observed, they do not put out buds below the grafting, as is the 

 case with i?dsa canina, &c. ; and by this means, in two months, plants will 

 be formed, and produce flowers, particularly the variety of Rosa odoratis- 

 sima. This kind of grafting is, in my opinion, preferable to the other, because 

 the latter is not always successful, and requires a great deal of care, and as 

 many as are wanted cannot always be obtained. The failure is only about 

 ten in a hundred; and, from the observations that I and others have made 

 on those that failed, 1 am convinced it was from the bad selection of the 

 grafts, because they require to have good and healthy buds ; and it is essential 

 to choose vigorous shoots, that are neither tender nor immature, and that 

 have two buds well nourished and formed. When I wish to graft anything 

 in summer, when the plants are in full vegetation, as soon as I have fixed on 

 the one that I wish to have grafted, I take off the extreme point of the branch 

 that is to be the graft, and when I see the buds growing large I cut it off and 

 graft it. This method of grafting has the advantage of not having the pro- 

 tuberance which is seen in plants split-grafted or by application, which 

 amounts to a deformity, produces decay, and then death ; whpreas, by root- 



