198 THE SOUTHERN PLANTEK. 



increase was by cuttings of the root, placed 

 in pots under glass, and in that way some 

 thousands were" produced, which, from their 

 great variety, were deemed of sufficient im- 

 portance to be exported to Europe in charge 

 of a special agent sent out by the late D. & 

 C. Landreth, who disposed of them in London, 

 and they now doubtless decorate the pleasure 

 grounds of our aristocratic cousins. The pa- 

 rent tree in course of time flowered and pro- 

 duced abundance of fruit, which, from the 

 circumstance of the specimen being pistilifer- 

 ous, was imperfect. At a later period, an- 

 other tree of similar origin, planted at the 

 seed grounds on Fifth street, produced stami- 

 niferous' flowers, which, as an experiment, were 

 cut off with the branches attached, carefully 

 wrapped in sheets, and conveyed to the female 

 tree, a distance of two miles, when, greatly to 

 the delight of all made acquainted with the 

 fact, many bushels of " oranges," each with 

 perfect seed, was the result ! About the same 

 time, trees at MeMahon's nursery also pro- 

 duced seed, and the supply of plants rapidly 

 increased, faster than the demand for orna-« 

 mental purposes, to which they had hitherto 

 been solely devoted. 



My father, perceiving the promise of the 

 Madura as a hedge plant, used some hundreds 

 of surplus ones to fill open spaces in hedges 

 of English hawthorn, which he had set out in 

 accordance with his early tastes, ni&ny yea^s 

 previously. As he had anticipated, they 

 formed an impenetrable mass, and established 

 it in his opinion, as the best of all plants for 

 hedges. Many thousands were produced with 

 a view to their sale for that purpose, and at- 

 tention was called to them in various ways ; 

 among others, I (then a youth) wrote several 

 articles on the subject, which were widely re- 

 published, especially in the west, where the 

 means of enclosing prairie lands were of pri- 

 mary interest. This may have been about 

 1828. Really, my dear Mr. Editor, I fear 

 you and I are approaching that state which 

 " young America" irreverently terms "old 

 fogies."* 



Since then the Maclura has been slowly 

 gaining in popular favor, and the seeds and 

 plants have become articles of considerable 

 trade. The former are now annually collected 

 in Arkansas and Texas, to the extent, it is 

 said, of thousands of bushels, and from reli- 

 able statements it is supposed two hundred 

 thousand dollars are yearly expended in this 

 country, principally in the west, for the seed 



* Our oorreapondent will oblige us by speaking 

 for himself, ana not mixing us up in his affairs. 



alone. The plants are also raised in large 

 quantities, and set out and trained at a stipu- 

 lated sum per rod, by parties who travel from 

 farm to farm. The attention of Europeans is 

 also directed to it, and it is presumed for the 

 same purpose, as within a. few weeks I have 

 filled an order from the " continent" for a con- 

 siderable quantity of seed. 



Thus, Mr. Editor, from an accidental cir- 

 cumstance, have important results ensued; 

 and we may, in reference to it, apply one of 

 the early lessons — 



" Big oaks from little acorns grow." 



David Landreth. 

 Bloomsdale, March 24, 1855. 



BAD EFFECTS OF GRASS ON COLTS. 



When horses are turned out to grass in the 

 spring of the year, the succulent nature of the 

 food causes them to purge, often to a great 

 extent; this is considered by many persons a 

 most desirable event — a great misconception. 

 The herbage is overcharged with sap and 

 moisture, of a crude, acrimonious nature, to 

 such an extent that all cannot be taken up by 

 the organs destined for the secretion of urine, 

 or by the absorbent vessels of the body ; the 

 superfluous fluid therefore passes off through 

 the intestines with the indigestible particles of 

 food, and thus the watery foeces are thrown 

 off. Flatulent colic or gripes is a frequent 

 attendant. The system is deranged ; but the 

 mischief does not terminate here. If the 

 purging is continued, a constitutional relax- 

 ation of the bowels is established, very debili- 

 tating to the animal, and often difficult to 

 control. I am so decidedly opposed to an 

 unrestricted allowance of luxuriant grass to 

 horses at any age, that nothing could induce 

 me to give it to them. After the second year 

 hay should form a considerable portion of the 

 daily food in summer to every animal intended 

 for hunting or riding. 



If a horse is supported entirely upon the 

 grass which he collects in a rich pasture field, 

 or upon that which may be cut and carried to 

 him in his paddock, he must consume a much 

 greater bulk than of hay in an equivalent 

 time, to afford nourishment to the system. 

 Grass being very full of sap and moisture, it 

 is very rapidly digested, consequently the 

 horse must be continually eating it. This 

 distends the stomach and the bowels, and the 

 faculty of digestion is impaired ; for the di- 

 gestive powers require rest as well as othe? 

 organs of the body, if they are to be preserved 

 in perfect condition. By the custom of graz- 

 ing, the muscular ^system ia enfeebled, and fe* 

 is substituted. This may esoape the notice 



