HORTICULTURAL. REPOSITORY. 



255 



Si frequently of the diameter of 12 inches, and grows 

 in the waters of the U. States. 



XIV. OF THE CLASS DIDYNAMIA. 



This is a very numerous class, and contains many 

 plants of singular forms and valuable properties. — 

 They are, in the natural arrangement, called Lahialas 

 or lipped plants, from the resemblance which the co- 

 rollas of most of them have to the head of some ani- 

 mal, and the tops of them are cleft, so as to resem- 

 ble a mouth with its two lips. Some of them take their 

 names from such a fancied likeness as the Dragons 

 head, Dracocephalum, and Turtles head, Chelone. — 

 The Catmint, Nepeta cataria, is of this class, and a 

 very valuable plant for its uses in domestic medicine. 

 It grows every where, almost, and has its name from 

 the fondness which cats have for it. It is said to in- 

 toxicate them. The Thyme, Thymus vulgaris, vhich 

 is used so commonly as a culinary herb, and the mint 

 Mentha, are of this class. The Scullcap, Scutellaria 

 lateriflora is a native plant, and was formerly cele- 

 brated for its virtues in curing the hydrophobia. This 

 is so called from its singular capsule, which is formed 

 of the calyx, enclosed so a3 to bear a resemblance to 

 the ancient helmets. Of the second order, the ele- 

 gant Catalpa tree, a native of the IT. States, and nat- 

 uralized in our northern sections, is a remarkable ex- 

 ample. The Trumpet flower, Bignonia radicans, is 

 also an elegant and splendid climbing plant, with its 

 targe scarlet blossoms and luxuriant foilage, found 

 wild in the southern sections of the U. States. A 

 singular division of this class consists of plants which 

 resemble the orobanche, or beach drops, which grow 

 from the roots of Beach trees, without leaves, but 

 bearing a singular flower, appearing as if made of 

 white wax. The Sesamun orientate, or Bene plant, 

 bears seeds which produce a valuable oil, and is an 

 E. India plant, but capable of cultivation here. 

 {To be continued.) 



— «»e®e«««~ 



ART.- 158. — Remarks on Mr. Wilson's sketch of 

 the different kinds of Gardens in tlie United States, 

 — by Thomas Bridgeman ; Gardener; Seedsman, 

 and Florist. New York. 



Sir : — On perusing your last number, I find that 

 your correspondent, Mr. Wilson, continues to amuse 

 your reader's with his descriptions of Gardens and 

 Gardners; and, as is customary with him, makes com- 

 parisons that are not consistent with truth or honour. 

 To be capable of holding an argument with a man 

 possessed of his literary talents, is a qualification to 

 which I do not aspire ; but I am one of those who 

 cannot swallow every thing I read, and consider ig- 

 nprancs as preferable to ernjr : and fliat he is less re- 



mote from the truth who believes nothing, than he 

 who believes what is wrong. 



I very much regret that you should have thought it 

 necessary to curtail my last communication as you 

 did ; thereby depriving me of the opportunity of ex- 

 posing some of Mr. Wilson's unguarded assertions 

 and insinuations. In page 16-">, of your Repository, 

 Mr. W. recommends such publications as the "New 

 England Farmer," the "American Farmer," and the 

 "New York Horticultural Repository," to the youth 

 of this country. He says, "the value of such public 

 cations are above all price. Youth is the time when 

 the mind is susceptible of impressions, and if those 

 works of which youth is naturally fond, are properly 

 digested, the effects on their future taste and habits 

 are well known to be great." After such remarks, it 

 is much to be lamented that Mr. Wilson should suffer 

 envy or prejudice so to prevail over his better judge- 

 ment, as to cause him to waste his time and talents 

 in Battering and deceiving mankind. 



I trust, therefore, that you will allow me to use my 

 humble endeavors to guard your readers from being- 

 misled by a misrepresentation of facts. In page 165. 

 Mr. Wilson would lead us to believe that the "guard- 

 ed gates of the great and opulent, in England, en- 

 close all the rural scenery of the country ;" and in 

 page 201, he would fain persuade us that the rich and 

 great can, like Joshua of old, control the Sun, or 

 cause the rain and the dew to descend on their darling 

 spots at pleasure, to the exclusion of others : — or what 

 does he mean, when he says that, "while a few of the 

 rich and great, with their domestic retinue, wallow in 

 the enjoyments of such garden produce as are there 

 thoug it luxuries, and which the far greater portion of 

 the inhabitants can never afford to taste of; Ameri- 

 cans enjoy, in one universal festival, all the most 

 choice and delicious fruits and vegetables of the tem- 

 perate zone?' In page 232, he remarks that, "this 

 is a free country, and that foreigners are not hindered 

 from commencing upon their own superior models •" 

 and insinuates that the European tenantry are the 

 "habitual tools of overgrown landlords !" Does Mr. 

 Wilson mean to say that thepeopleof England are not 

 as free to raise what they like, on their own ground, 

 as the people of any other country in the world ? Or 

 would he have us believe that England is a barren 

 desert, with the exception of the "highly ornamen- 

 ted domains that surround the palaces of many of 

 the noblemen?" Edmunds, in his Political Econo- 

 my, says that the "United kingdoms of Great Britain 

 and Ireland, contains 74 millions of acres, of which 

 at least 64 millions of acres may be considered capa- 

 ble of cultivation. Half an acre, with ordinary culti- 

 vation, is sufficient to supply an individual with grain, 

 and one acre is sufficient to maintain a horse ;" bui. 

 Mr. Wilson would have us to believe that the pries oi' 



