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Che mrkmx'& flonMg. 



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Sicilian Nut — K., Boston, — Can yon inform 

 me in relation to a nut, called the "Sicilian 

 Nut?" A small tree, about a foot and a half high, 

 was on exhibition in Boston last autumn, at the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society's Annual Ex- 

 hibition, by a man from New Jersey, who repre- 

 sented it as a verv valuable and prolific nut from 

 some foreign country, the plants growing to the 

 height of six or seven feet, and he succeeded in 

 engaging a considerable number of plants, to be 

 delivered in spring. A scientific gardener — a man 

 of much experience — thinks it must be a filbert^ 

 and says that he never knew of a nut grown in 

 Massachusetts from imported plants, although 

 large numbers have been imported by men familiar 

 with the mode of culture in Europe. The gentle- 

 man abov^ referred to informs me that the nut sold 

 in the markets for "filberts," is not the tme kind. 

 It is like that known as " hazel-nut " with us, and 

 grows spontaneously about the walls in Massachu- 

 setts. 



By giving me the required information upon the 

 above, you will very much oblige a constant reader. 



[We did not see the nuts on exhibition referred 

 to. From the description, we have no doubt it is 

 the Filbert, but have never known them to 

 go by that name. It is a very common nut in 

 all parts of Italy, from whence many are shipped 

 to other parts of the world. They have been called 

 by some old writers. Pontic Nuts, from having been 

 originally brought from Greece to Italy. In the 

 time of the Bomans they were extensively culti- 

 vated in Campania, and were called by them "Anel- 

 lane" Nuts, from the chief commercial to^n of 

 that province. The botanic 1 name, Corylus Avel- 

 Icma, is in reference to this fact. These filberts are 

 long and slender, as compared with the common 

 Hazel Nut. A larger and rounder nut is the 

 " Cobb," or Spanish Hazel Nut, so called from its 

 being very much grown in Spain, though originally 

 brought, P iny says, by Flaccus Pompeius, from 

 Constantinople, after one of the wars. It is the 

 Corylus colurna of botanists. We think it is also 

 called Barcelona Nut in commerce sometimes. 



The "Hazel Nut" is the common wild form of 

 Corylus Avellana, and is the common round nut 

 of the stores. The American Hazel Nut [Corylus 

 Americana) is smaller than the European. 



We have gone into this at length, in reply to our 

 correspondent, as little seems to have been said of 

 the Filbert in American works. 



As to culture, it thrives very well in this part of 

 Pennsylvania. We gathered, last year, a large 

 handful of very fine nuts from a plant only four 



years old, from a nut we sowed. It is said in Eu- 

 rope to prefer a warm and light stony soil, and not 

 to like very rich land. We think the male Catkins 

 are liable to be injured by severe cold, so that the 

 little microscopic flowers, which appear in March 

 and April, may not be properly fertilized, and we 

 suppose a very thin crop would be the consequence ; 

 but where favorabl \ we think filbert-growing might 

 be profitable. We note that it is liable to a very 

 curious form of fungoid excrescence, very different, 

 but of similar nature to the plum knot, which at 

 times is very destructive in America to filbert 

 plants.] 



Name of Plant — J. II. C., Dyersbnrg, Tenn. 

 — Your pretty white-flowered bulb is Fancratium 

 lotntmn. v\ e should be glad of a bulb if it comes 

 in your way. 



The other subject next month. 



Moiir's Book on the Grape.— Several corre- 

 spondents have written to us, to know where this 

 book, in the original German, can be had. " Hor- 

 ticola" informs us, in reply, that Mr. E. Stieger, 

 No. 17 North William Street, New York, can pro- 

 cure it. 



Pooh, <|e^al(ogups, %*r. 



Gardening for Profit. By Peter Henderson. 



Published by Orange Judd & Co., New York. 



It is not necessary to introduce Mr. Henderson 

 to our readers. Most of them know that he sat 

 down near New York, not -so very many years ago, 

 on ^1, rather hard seat, and that he now reposes on 

 a bed of down ; and these kind of feats every one 

 likes to know how to go and do likewise. That is 

 just what he proposes to do in the pages before us. 

 Yet, after ail, it is very much like learning the con- 

 juror's art. We are all attracted by the perform- 

 ances of Wyman the Wizard^ and he very kindly 

 undertakes to show us how it is all done. He 

 writes a book, revealing the whole secrets of the 

 art, and practically shows you that all he says can 

 be done he can do ; but we find, after all, that very 

 much indeed depends on the man who does the 

 thing, as well as on the way the thing is done. 



There is a peculiar tact in making things pay, 

 which no education can teach ; and hundreds may 

 take Mr. Henderson's book and learn every line in 

 it by heart, who would not be able, after all, to do 

 a tithe of what Mr. Henderson has successfully ac- 

 compKshed. Yet no harm results from all this. 



