53 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
phere. The large white, and the speckled 
orauge do well ; the latter will thrive under trees. 
The Martagon, Thunberg's, the tiger-streaked, 
and Cateby's, require the freer air of the country. 
Miniature Rustic Plant Stand. 
While recently at the Horticultural warehouse 
of our friend, C. B. Miller, who is well knowu 
in this vicinity, as the Secretary of the Brook- 
lyn Horticultural Society, we observed the beau- 
tiful miniature rustic plant stand, represented 
above, devised by him we believe, and its ap- 
pearance was so pleasing that we ordered an en- 
graving of it to be made. It consists of a simple 
oval shaped box, with slips of wood tacked 
around the sides, the bark still adhering, and ail 
arched frame of vine-work raised above it, the 
whole being nicely varnished. A shell contain- 
ing a trailing plant rests upon the top ; under- 
neath this is suspended a miniature globe 
filled with water in which swims a small gold 
fish. Ferns and other plants are grown in soil 
covered with moss in the box at the base, and 
delicate vines are trained to the side frarn^. 
The whole forms a unique and tasteful orna- 
ment for the sitting room, costing but little to 
make or to purchase. 
m-* mm^ ■ " ' * * — ' — 
City Gardens. 
Gardens in towns, especially when of consid- 
erable age, are apt to become sodden, sticky and 
infertile. The trees and plants set out in them 
do not grow well, but become mossy, cankered, 
and even die outright from no apparent cause. 
It is not generally from want of manure, but 
ofteuer from too much of it; not from want of 
water, but oftener from an excess of it; not be- 
cause the soil is too new, but because it is too old. 
But to be more particular: whoever has such 
a sickly garden, should look first after the drain- 
age. Very likely, he will find the pipes choked 
up, and consequently the pores of the soil flood- 
ed and clogged with matters which ought to 
pass off through the sewers. Water and ma' 
nure are good enough in suitable quantities, but 
too much are hurtful ; just as food and drink are 
good for the animal frame when moderately 
used, but in excess are injurious. Standing wa- 
ter fills up the interstices of the soil, preventing 
the needful free circulation of air to the roots. 
The drainage having been overhauled and 
cleaned, take the soil itself. Most likely, it will 
need trenching, and bringing' up some of the 
subsoil to mix with the worn out top-soil. On 
cart off some of the surface earth, and bring in 
an equal quantity of maiden loam from the 
meadows of the suburbs. By some means or 
other, change and freshen the soil. An occa- 
sional syringing of the foliage of trees and plants 
will be useful, to clean off the dust and smoky 
deposits of the city, but it is most important to 
put the soil in proper condition, and keep it so. 
Walls for Gardens* 
The custom of surrounding gardens with sub- 
stantial walls, prevaUs in England and Scotland, 
more than in our own country. The principal 
reason is, that there the light and heat of the 
sun are not intense enough to ripen some of 
the choicer fruits in the open ground ; these need 
to be concentrated by some artificial means. 
With us, if peaches, pears, plums, and grapes, 
are trained close upon the sunny side of a wall, 
they are very apt to be dried up and injured, 
both in foliage and fruit. Yet, there are uses to 
which walls and high fences may well be ap- 
plied. In all elevated and bleak places, they 
are serviceable in breaking the force of winds, 
and preventing the too rapid radiation of heat 
from the soil. For this purpose, they are spe- 
cially useful in the early Spring. In a garden so 
protected, grape-vines, cucumbers, melons, etc., 
may be brought forward much earlier than in 
one exposed to cold breezes on all sides. 
Such walls are very useful in protecting grape 
vines against unseasonable frosts. We now re- 
call a locality near thecenter of this State, where 
it is almost impossible to raise grapes, on ac- 
count of the untimely frosts in Spring and Fall. 
Sometimes the late spring frosts destroy the 
fruits in the flower, or the September frosts 
freeze them before they are ripe. -Not to be out- 
done by king Jack, a few enterprising fruit- 
growers have built walls, mostly of brick, on 
the north side of their gardens, on which they 
raise grapes with considerable success. The ac- 
cumulated heat of the day radiates slowly dur- 
ing the night, and preserves the vines from harm, 
even when other tender things in the open 
ground of the garden are cut off. These walls 
are also furnished with a coping, about a foot 
wide, sustained by brackets like the cornice of 
a house. This coping is removed during the 
mid-summer, to allow the foliage the full bene- 
fit of rain and dew. To prevent the vines 
from being scorched by the sun, they are trained 
upon a trellis which is set off several inches from 
the wall ; this allows the free circulation of air 
behind. Upon a wall, facing in almost any other 
direction than due south, there would be little 
danger from sun scald. 
The California Pitcher Plant. 
The locality for that rare California plant, the 
Darlingtonia Oalifornica has been visited by Prof. 
Brewer of the Cal. State Geological Survey. It 
grows in a small swamp near Mt. Shasta, at an 
altitude of 2,500 feet. The leaves are some- 
what like thos<5 of our common pitcher plant 
(Sarracenia,) are about two feet long, and have 
the opening of the pitcher partly covered by a 
curious two-lobed appendage, shaped somewhat 
like the tail of a fish. Though the plant was 
first discovered by the botanists of the U. S. Ex- 
ploring Exhibition some fifteen years ago, it has 
never yet found its way into cultivation. The 
lovers of plants will be glad to learn that seeds 
have been placed in skillful hands, and that there 
is a hope that our collections may be enriched 
by a plant which is not only curious, but which 
bears a name dear to every American botanist — 
that of the venerable Doct. Darlington of Penn. 
An Area Conservatory. 
Those who have a real taste for Horticulture, 
will find a way to gratify it, no matter how lim- 
ited their means or circumscribed their space. 
Hood's Mrs. Gardiner, who proposed to " cow- 
cumber " in her wash-boiler, is only a slightly 
exaggerated illustration of the way in which a 
passion for plants will stimulate the inventive 
faculties. A correspondent has sent u* a draw- 
ing and description (for a long time crowded 
out) of an extemporized conservatory, which is 
here presented with the belief that many of our 
readers who live in cities will be glad to adopt 
the plan, or such modification of it as their 
premises may require. The engraving repre- 
sents the area at the back of the house, enclosed 
by sash, thus affording a conservator}' 20 feet 
long by 8i feet wide, to which the balcony serves 
as the roof. One or more of the sashes are 
made movable, to allow of ventilation and 
ingress. By leaving the kitchen windows open, 
the temperature is ordinarily sufficiently high; 
but to ensure this in severe weather, hot air is 
brought from a furnace in the cellar by means 
of a flue. Where there is a water back to the 
kitchen range, the heating might be accomplish- 
ed by pipes connected with it. The moisture 
from the operations of cooking and washing, 
generally keeps the air in the conservatory suf- 
ficiently humid, but when it is necessary to 
introduce hot air from the furnace, care is taken 
that it shall pass over water in order to avoid a 
dry heat. The whole cost of the structure was 
not over $30. No doubt many of the readers 
of the Agriculturist have felt the want of a place 
for their plants, and will be induced, upon seeing 
this simple plan, to examine their premises 
with a view to a similar contrivance. Such a 
structure admits of a large number of pots, and 
adds much to the attractiveness of home. 
A Hint in Transplanting. — The practice of 
lifting a tree up and down and shaking it, at the 
time of transplanting, is of doubtful utility. The 
aim is to settle the dirt closely around the roots ; 
but then it draws the roots out of their proper 
