THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



* 



125 



results rather than good. Many persons begin ( 

 their work among the flowers far too soon. 1 

 With the first warm summer day they begin 1 

 spading the borders, stirring the soil about the « 

 plants and performing other processes, which I 

 might well be postponed. This is an evil and 

 needs to be corrected. i 



It may be well to give our reasons for wishing 1 

 a change in this respect. A portion of the 

 borders in our flower gardens, is almost invari- < 

 ably occupied by annuals, as Pinks, Phloxes, i 

 Verbenes, Partulacca, etc., which scatter their i 

 seeds when they reach maturity. From the ' 

 seeds thus dropped by the plant, we get the i 

 finest specimens of flowers. If, however, the i 

 border is worked in February, March or early 1 

 in April, these seed are disturbed and so kept 1 

 from germinating, whereas by waiting until 

 they make their appearance it is easy to [ 

 spade around them, leaving the young plants to 

 grow. Again, the plants we usually rear, such 

 as fine Roses, Crape Myrtles, Pomegranite, &c, 

 are what we term half hardy. If the soil be 

 broken early, it exposes the roots to the late 

 frosts, which not unfrequently come, and destroy 

 valuable plants. Even should they escape 

 destruction, they are greatly injured. The 

 young buds are blighted, the plant rendered 

 sickly and the visits of a small green insect 

 invited. Then herbaceous and bulbous plants, 

 such as Peonies, Lilies, Tulips, Hvacinths, and 

 the like, make their appearance about the 

 first of April and any attempt to spade near 

 them sooner is almost sure to result in injur y 

 to them, by the heedlessness or ignorance of 

 the laborer. 



For these and other reasons, we advise 

 that the borders be not dressed earlier than 

 the fifteenth of April. And we advise, further, 

 that a fork with three flat prongs, be substituted 

 for the spade. Previous to forking, let the 

 border be well covered with manure that is well 

 decomposed. Cow dung should not be used, 

 but stable manure that has been removed 

 from the stalls at least six months. 



The usual habit in dressing borders is to 

 pulverize the soil and by means of the rake to 

 make it smooth and level. This delights 

 the eye it is true, but is an injury to the plants. 

 The fast fall of rain, succeeded by sunshines, 

 hardens the powdered earth into a cake which 

 hinders the ingress of air and sun rays, and 

 prevents the heat from rising from the earth. 

 If the border is well broken with the fork it 

 is all the healthy growth of the plant requires. 



Trimming. — It is now the time for trimming 

 and pruning shrubbery, box, roses, &c, &c. ' 



To Prime Roses is an easy matter, if the 

 gardener understands his business. Indeed 

 any one who will heed the hints we now 

 propose to give can prove successful. The 

 first thing to be borne in mind is that the only 

 shoots which produce flowers are those one year 

 old. Such as are older, as they 'produce 

 nothing but leaves, are to be removed, unless 

 in a case where flowers producing shoots are 

 growing upon such as are two years old or 



older. This is sometimes true. When all the 

 wood more than a year old has been cut away, 

 then the one year old shoots should be 

 shortened. One-third of the entire length may 

 be judiciously cut off. 



These directions are intended to apply only 

 to the finer varieties of Roses, such as Tea 

 Roses, Bourbons, and hybrid Remontant. 

 The older varieties such as were formerly 

 common in our gardens, which bloom but on^e 

 in the year, are not worth the trouble of cultiva- 

 tion, when others, which flower from May 

 to November, can be had very cheaply and are 

 not more troublesome. These plants are emi- 

 nently adapted to this latitude, produce magnifi- 

 cent flowers and continue to delight the eye 

 and the olfactories, until " boreas, rude blus- 

 terer," shakes the fragant leaves from the 

 parent stem. 



We especially commend fine rose? to our 

 lady readers. No flower will so rej ay their 

 care as this queen of the garden, and they can 

 be had now at so little cost that we hold no 

 female absolved from the obligation of intro- 

 ducing their bloom and fragrance into their 

 homes. 



Flower Seeds. — This is the season for solv- 

 ing all kinds. 



DISCONTINUANCE OF AGENCY. 



My connection with Mr. N. August in an agency 

 for the purchase and sale of real estate, ceases 

 from this date. He will continue in it, and I can 

 recommend him to those who may need his ser- 

 vices. I am satisfied of his competency in the pre 

 mises, because he has had the whole management 

 of it from the commencement, my connection with 

 it having been entirely nominal. 



April 1, 1855. PRANK G. RUFFIN. 



RICHMOND MARKETS, APRIL, 1, 1855. 



Apples — Va. $5 per bbl. none in market. 



Bacon — City cured hog round, 9a9jc, Western Sides 

 (new) held at 8£c, no old in market, would bring 7|a7fc., 

 new Shoulders, 7|a 7|c, Hams, lOiallJc, Smithfield hog 

 round, 9£al0c. 



Butter — Mountain 29 to 30 cts., Roll 20 to 25 cts.., do 

 Goshen 32|a35 cts., old and inferior, 8al0£ cts. 



Beeswax — 25£a26£ per lb. 



Cotton — 8|a8£ cts. per lb. 



Cotton Yarns — 17al8 cts., cash. Cotton Cordage 20 

 cts., per lb. 



Corn — We quote 85a87J- cts., per bushel; in small lots 

 sales at 90 cts. 



Corn Meal — 95c a$l. 



Coffee — Rio lOJallJ'cts, Laguyra 1 If c, Java 144- 

 c, Mocha 15 c. 



Flour — Stock light and receipts small. We quote 

 country superfine at $9* to 9f, extra 9ial0, family lOAall. 



Flaxseeb — We quote at $1,60 per "bushel. 



Feathers — Live geese 42 cts. per lb. 



Fish — Herrings, N. Carolina, clipped, $7 per bbl., Hali- 

 fax, clipped, No. 1, $5f ; No. 2, $4f . Shad— $8. Macke- 

 rel, No. 1, $20 per bbl., half bbls. $11, No. 2, $10 50, No. 

 3, large, $5 50a 6, No. 4, $4 50a5. 



Ginseng — 30a35 cts., per lb. 



Grass Seeds— Clover $6 75a7 per bushel, Timothy 

 $4a4 25, Herds' Grass $1 25a 1 50 per bushel. 



