188 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[May, " 
The Flowering Raspberry. 
{Rubus odoratus.) 
Those who hare been along the rocky banks 
of the Hudson in summer time, must have no- 
ticed the abundance of, what appeared at a lit- 
tle distance to be, small purplish roses ; upon 
closer inspection these flow- 
ers would probably have 
turned out to be those of 
the Flowering Raspbeny. 
All raspberries flower, but 
this has so much larger 
blossoms than any other 
native one that it has re- 
ceived this popular name. 
It has numerous stems, and 
when growing with plenty 
of room, makes a large 
clump, from three to five 
feet high. The leaves arc 
not compound, like those 
of the common raspberry, 
but are large, simple, and 
lobed. All the young 
growth, as well as the flow- 
er, flower stalks, and unex- 
panded flowers, are covered 
by numerous hairs that 
exude a sticky secretion, 
which makes the plant 
clammy to the touch, and 
which has a peculiar odor. 
Tlie flowers, which are pro- 
duced nearly all summer, 
are about two inches across, 
of a ricli purplish crimson 
color, and of a delicate tex- 
ture. They are succeeded 
by a broad, flat fruit, which 
is of very good flavor, but 
which is not produced in 
sufficient abundance to 
make it worlh while to 
cultivate the shrub for its 
fruit. As an ornamental 
shrub it is worthy of more 
attention than it has receiv- 
ed, as it is hardy and of 
easy culture. By cutting out the old wood oc- 
casioually,and shortening tlienew, the plant may 
be kept from growing unshapely. It does best in 
a partial shade, as the hot sun soon destroys 
the beauty of the rather delicate flowers. We 
do not find this shrub genei'ally kept in the 
nurseries, but it is not rare in rocky places in 
the Northern States, and is readily transplanted. 
buy all the bedding plants; but there is a large 
class who must depend upon annuals. These 
are, after all, the popular plants, and even the 
poorest, whose garden is confined to a box in 
the window, can give a few cents for seeds and 
gather a large crop of flowers and enjoyment. 
A seed catalogue is, now-a-days, a bewildering 
thing. Our seedsmen must keep up with the 
Something about Annual Flowers. 
There are those who discard annual flowers 
altogether, as they are troublesome to start 
from the seed, and generally rather late in com- 
ing into flower, and many of them, when they 
are just in their prime, arc cut ofi' by the frost. 
We would not have our garden all annuals, any 
more than wo would have it all bedding plants, 
or all perennials, for each fills a want not satis- 
fled by the other. A number of things formerly 
grown in the greenhouse, as bedding plants, do 
very well when treated as annuals, such as the 
Petunia and Salpiglossis, and it is proposed by 
some of the English florists to grow the Verbena 
as an annual, as the rust makes it so diflicult to 
keep it over the winter. Those who have estab- 
lished homes can enjoy their well chosen col- 
lection of perennials ; those who have money can 
FLOWEKING RASPEERRT. (RuhuS odofatuS.) 
times, and their catalogues become respectable 
sized volumes. The seeds introduced each year 
as novelties, are accompanied by the descrip- 
tions given by then- European growers, and the 
novice is quite sure to be influenced by these 
highly colored descriptions, and order untested 
things at 25 and 50 cents per paper. He may 
get enough good plants to satisfy him with his 
outlay, but the chances are that he will be dis- 
satisfied, and will throw all the blame on the 
innocent seedsman. If he had ordered old and 
tried things, at 5 and 10 cents a paper, he would 
have been much better pleased. We like nov- 
elties, and favor their introduction, but wish 
them to bo bought only by those who are wil- 
ling to test new things, and there are, fortunate- 
ly, a plenty of such! The general public — and 
it is for them that this article is written — can af- 
ford to wait until amateurs have established the 
value, in our climate, of these new plants. No 
task is more difficult than to make out a list of 
the best annual flowers. If confined to two, 
four, or six varieties, there would be no difficulty, 
but the embarrassment increases in proportion 
as the number is added to. If confined to only 
two annuals, we should unhesitatingly choose 
Mignonette and Candytuft. Jlignonette is, to 
our notion, the annual of annuals — on account 
of its fragrance. We have met a few— very few 
— persons who disliked it, but it is a general 
favorite. Candytuft, or, as some writers have 
it, Candiatuft, is hard}', keeps long in bloom — 
all the longer if often cut, is good for bouquets, 
and may be had in white, crimson and purple 
colors. With these two plants one can have an 
elegant and fragrant bouquet every day. To 
make a show in place, noth- 
ing exceeds Drummond's 
Phlox, and it may be had 
in all shades, from white to 
the deepest crimson. Equal- 
ly brilliant is a bed of Por- 
tulacas. They do well in 
poor soil, and when the sun 
is out are always gay. Then 
for plants to be grown as 
single specimens, the Came- 
lia-flowered Balsams, and 
the finer sorts of Asters, the 
last almost innumerable in 
variet}', and all fine. Both 
of these should have plenty 
of room. The Everlastings 
are favorites of ours, as they 
all look well in the garden, 
and if picked when first ex- 
lianded, and carefully dried, 
they may be enjoyed all 
winter. The best of these 
are Rhodanlhe, Acroclini- 
nm, Xeranthemum, Ammo- 
bium and Helichrysum, in 
their different varieties. 
Double Zinnia and a Dwarf 
Marigold, called Tagetea 
signata pumila, arc among 
the novelties of a few years 
ago that liave become est.ab- 
lished favorites. The Dwarf 
Convolvulus makes a great 
show. Whitlavia, Lepto- 
siphons, Gilias, Collinsia, 
and the Nemophilas are 
all neat and prett}', and 
should be sown early, or 
in a partially shaded place, 
as they do not like our hot 
suns. Then there are some 
odd things that one likes to have, such as 
the Ice Plant, with its dew-spangled stem and 
leaves ; and the Sensitive Plant, the irritable 
foliage of which is a constant source of amuse- 
ment. If one has the room, the Castor Oil 
Plant may be grown for its tropical look, and 
Cannas, elsewhere described, will do well from 
the seed. In sowing annuals in the open 
ground, do not sow too early nor too deep, as it 
is from a neglect of these precautions that the 
majority of failures come. Wait until the soil 
is well warmed, sow in finely pulverized earth, 
cover the seeds about their own depth, and 
press tlie soil doxen, firmly vpon them. When 
the plants are up, and large enough to handle, 
thin freely, to get strong plants to transplant. 
Propag.'^ting HorsE ower a Kitchen. — 
Joannes. A small propagating and green 
house might be built in the place described, but 
it would not be practicable to heat it from the 
kitchen fire. Water tanks are made of narrow 
plank with painted joints. As you have never 
seen a propagating house, you would do well to 
visit one, as it would save much expense in 
constructing one on a small scale. Some hints 
may be got from page 314, Oct. last, but the meth- 
od of heating is different from that shown there. 
