382 



one end. These cuttings are then planted in rows, 

 at a distance apart of say from four to six inches, 

 and so that the bud shall be uppermost and about 

 even with or a very little below tlie surface of the 

 earth. The whole is then covered with a cold 

 mulch of saw-dust, tan or other suitable material, 

 to the depth of say from one to two inches. I pre- 

 fer, under ordinary conditions, a covering of two 

 inches or a little less. The object of this mulch is 

 to protect the earth from tlie heating influence of 

 the sun, and retain it at a temperature lower than 

 that of the earth when not thus covered, so as to 

 delay the sprouting of the bud until the rootlets 

 have bad the opportunity to sprout and provide 

 the sustenance which is necessary to the support 

 and development of the sprout. These rootlets 

 will grow at a temperature lower than tiiat which 

 is necessary for the development of the sprout 

 from the bud, and by delaying the expansion of the 

 bud I am enabled to secure the life of the sprout 

 by first developing the growth of the roots to the 

 extent required for the vigorous life of the sprout. 

 When the roots are started, the gradually in- 

 creasing heat of the sun will effect the expansion 

 of the bud and growth of the sprout, which, pass- 

 ing through the mulch, will develop on reaching 

 the air. When the sprout is sufficiently developed, 

 I remove part or the whole of the mulch. The 

 ordinary mode of open field propagation is to use 

 long cuttings, with two or more buds, generally 

 three or four, which are planted with one bud 

 out of the ground. The growth of the shoots 

 from these buds is always uncertain, and the plants 

 are too feeble, from a lack of root, to supply the 

 requirements of the shoot. On an average, pro- 

 bably two-thirds of these cuttings are entirely lost, 

 so that less than one-tenth of the buds used are de- 

 veloped into vines. To remedy this great waste, 

 resort is had to hot-house culture, in which a 

 mulch has been used ; but as the earth is warm in 

 such cases, an artificial stimulus is given to the 

 growth of the roots by heating the earth in which 

 the cuttings are planted from below, so that the 

 temperature being greater at the lower end of the 

 cutting than at the bud, the rootlets may grow 

 faster than the shoots from the bud. But as this 

 difference of temperature is necessarily slight, 

 great numbers of the buds are lost, from not having 

 an adequate supply of nourishment from the roots ; 

 and probably one-half of the buds are lost in this 

 mode of culture, which is expensive and subject to 

 the additional objection, that plants transplanted 

 from forcing beds to the open field are delicate and 

 wanting in the vigor of plants growing in the open 

 air, under normal conditions. 



The dilierence between my mode and either of 

 these is in the use of cold mulch in open field cul- 

 ture, applied sufficiently deep to retain the low 

 temperature of the cold earth, and which dis- 

 tinguishes it from all known modes of open field 

 culture. The difference between my mode and the 

 forcing bed process is that I rely upon retaining the 

 bud at a temperature helow that required for its 

 development until the roots which will grow at that 

 temperature are developed ; while in the hot-bed 

 process, the growth of tha roots is made to depend 

 upon the stimulus of artificial heat applied in ex- 

 cess to the roots. 



What I claim as my invention, and desire to se- 

 cure by letters patent, is the mode of propagating 

 Grape Vines, substantially as set forth, in open 

 field culture, by covering single bud cuttings with a 

 cold mulch, applied in sufficient depth to keep 

 down the temperature of the buds, and thereby 

 retard its sprouting until the roots have been ade- 

 quately developed. 



NOTES AT ROSSDALS, THS RESIDENCE 

 OF ROBERT BUIST, BSQ., AND BLOOMS- 

 DALE, OF D. LANDRSTH, ESQ. 



BY WALTER ELDER. 



When we stated in the colifmns of the Monthly^ 

 six years ago, that there was not much dissimilarity 

 in our evergreen shrubbery, we did not anticipate 

 that, in a few years, we would be presented v/ith 

 such a number of genera and species of such 

 diversity as are now to be found in our first-dass 

 nurseries. While on s, visit recently to Rosedale, 

 fhe highly renowned nursery of R. Buist, Sr., we 

 opened our eyes upon a new and superior class of 

 evergreens of far greater beauty and dissimilarity 

 than our fondest wishes could have dreamed of. 

 We were animated with delight at their superb 

 habits and comely looks. The sizes they attain at 

 maturity are bushes of two feet tall to trees of the 

 most gigantic growth — that is, from the Arborvites 

 Tom Thumb to the wonderful tree of California. 

 Some are erect and stately in habit ; others are pro- 

 cumbent and graceful, their various shades of 

 verdure, from pale silvery-green to deep bottle- 

 green ; and some are so variegated that they look 

 as if golden dye had been splashed upon them ; 

 some are of close, compact forms ; others widely 

 extend their branches. Many of them may be 

 clipped into different forms and kept as shrubs and 

 hedges. They are so hardy as to withstand the 

 rigor of our severest winters, and the heat and 

 drought of our dryest summers, without losing a 

 twig. Many are now large enough to set out in 



