102 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
genus, Otmanthiu, which means odorous flower, 
but as the fruit is not known either in cultiva- 
tion or in its native countries, its botanical posi- 
tion can not be fixed with certainty. Those 
who object to botanical names may take it 
under the Chinese, Hoa-monc-tay. 
Packing Living Plants. 
We often receive letters asking for directions 
about packing living plants to send by mail or 
express. These letters of course come from 
persons who are not florists or nurserymen, but 
we have received plants packed so poorly, from 
those who ought to know better, that we will 
give a few directions, which may be useful to 
both the professional and amateur florist. The 
best material to use iu packing is what is known 
as " Sphagnum," a kind of moss common in 
bogs and wet places ; other kinds of moss will 
answer, but as they do not absorb and retain 
moisture so readily are not so good. The 
amount of moisture necessary to preserve 
plants during their transit will vary with the 
season, and also the length of time it will take 
for the package to reach its destination. For 
plants which will be on the road from ten days 
to two weeks during the summer months, the 
moss should be only very slightly dampened ; 
press the moss firmly in the hands before using, 
this will remove the excess of moisture, and 
still leave it damp enough. When plants are 
sent by express, procure a box of a size suffi- 
cient to contain them, and have it properly 
nailed so that it will not be broken during the 
journey. Then remove a portion of the soil 
from the roots, wrap the moss around them to 
a thickness of half an inch, and tie it firmly on 
with twine. After all the plants have been 
thus prepared, place a layer of dry moss or 
straw on the bottom of the box two inches 
thick ; then place the larger plants, such as 
shrubs and trees, on this moss, crowding them 
firmly down, so that there will be no danger of 
shaking out of place ; to prevent any movement 
braces are often placed across 1he inside and 
fastened with nails driven through the side of 
the box; this last plan is mostly used when 
plants are sent in pots. Finish off the top of 
the box with the smaller plants, and cover the 
whole with a layer of dry moss, which will 
press so firmly upon the plants, when the cover 
is fastened, as to prevent any shaking. If the box 
is deep there should be one or more layers of 
moss or straw used, as there is danger of heat- 
ing when too many are packed together. Cac- 
tuses and most succulent or thick-leaved plants 
require packing in dry moss, for otherwise they 
rot. Water plants, such as the various pond 
lilies and pitcher- pi mts, need a greater amount 
of moisture than ordinary shrubby and herba- 
ceous plants. 
; Sending Plants et Mail. — The law passed 
some years since by Congress, allowing pack- 
ages of plants to be sent by mail, if not over four 
pounds in weight, was a capital arrangement 
for those who lived at a distance from railroad 
and express offices, but it is so hampered with 
the various constructions given by the P. O. 
Department, that it is difficult to know what is 
required by the officials. The law now is, we 
believe, as follows: A package weighing four 
pounds or less, can be sent at the rate of two 
cents per four ounces, but the writing of the 
words " roots " or "plants" makes a letter of 
it, and is charged letter postage. Nothing 
6hould be written except the address, and the 
package must not be sealed, or contain any writ- 
ing, and it must be so fastened that the post- 
master can examine the contents if he wishes. 
The plants may, however, be numbered, and 
their names sent by letter. 
Many contrivances have been made for pack- 
ing, but none are better than sphagnum and 
oiled paper when they can be had. Lay down 
a piece of oiled paper of the proper size, spread 
a thin layer of dry moss upon this; remove all 
the earth from the roots of the plants by wash- 
ing, lay them upon the moss, and roll the whole 
tightly; then inclose in a strong wrapping 
paper without sealing. Plants sent in this way 
will remain in good condition for two weeks at 
least. Where oiled paper can not be had, the 
next best thing is a cigar-box, as it is light, and 
may be had almost anywhere. The moss must 
be dampened as for sending by express, as 
evaporation will lie more rapid than in oiled 
paper. When plants are sent either by mail or 
express, a portion of the leaves should be cut 
off, and they arrive in better condition when a 
large part of the top is removed in the case of 
all trees and shrubs, with the exception of 
evergreens. Herbaceous plants, or those the 
leaves and stems of which die down every fall, 
should be cut back to within two inches of the 
roots. Use strong twine in tying the boxes, 
and do not wrap in paper. Bulbs not in a 
growing state must be packed in quite dry 
moss or chaff of any sort. When plants are 
sent out during cold weather or in the fall or 
early spring, the moss ought to be drier than 
that used during the summer. Those sent to 
us from California and the far West need rather 
more moisture, as they are on the road so long. 
It should tie borne iu mind that more plants are 
ruined by being packed too wet than too dry. 
Notes from the Pines. 
NOVELTIES IN VEGETABLES. 
[We have usually this month giveu a list of 
the well-established and new vegetables as a 
guide to the inexperienced in gardening. Now 
the varieties that we consider the best of each 
kind will be enumerated under " Kitchen Gar- 
den " on page 83 ; and we will allow our corre- 
spondent from " The Pines " to lfBve his say 
about the novelties offered this spring. — Ed.] 
The Catalogues Have Come! — At least 
most of them have, and I have had a grand 
time over them. If there is one thing I do 
thoroughly enjoy more than another it is a 
seedsman's catalogue, except it be a florist's or 
nurseryman's. A fairy story book is no more a 
delight to a boy than a catalogue to a true 
lover of plants. I have a friend who is so fas- 
cinated with a new catalogue that he will read 
it in bed, much to the annoyance of his wife, 
who, as every right-minded person will admit, 
has abundant grounds for a divorce. I pity 
the seedsmen. If they do not have on hand 
every novelty offered in Europe, they lack en- 
terprise, and if they have all these novelties and 
the}-, as nine-tenths more or less of them are 
sure to do, fail, the seedsman has all the 
blame. Every one is not expected to try every 
new thing — much less depend upon untried 
kinds for his main crop. If you were to offer 
to our shrewd Jersey market gardeners new 
seeds free of cost, they would not give up their 
particular pea and cabbage which they can 
count on almost to a day, and their celery 
which never failed to bring them handsome 
returns. But I tell you what they would do : 
they would " take a few to try," and that is the 
whole story. Stick by well-proved sorts and 
test the new things as they come out. Fearing 
Burr, than whom there is no better authority 
on vegetables, once said to me, "If we add but 
one new variety of value to our list each year, 
we are making great progress." Unless a new 
variety is in some particular better than the 
best we now have, it will not have much chance 
of being permanently adopted. Next to sup- 
plying an abundance of fresh vegetables of the 
best kinds, my garden is valuable as a place to 
test novelties. Nothing in gardening gives 
greater pleasure than watching the growth and 
development of a new thing grown for the first 
time. I do not advise people not to purchase 
novelties, but to regard them as things on trial. 
Put in the regular crop of the standard sorts, 
and as many novelties as can be properly cared 
for or the purse can afford. Be prepared for 
disappointments ; do not expect that a variety 
will grow the same in our hot summers as it 
does in England, or that a variety that orig- 
inated in New Jersey will be adapted to Canada. 
Potatoes stand on the border line between 
the field and garden. Early potatoes are prop- 
erly considered as belonging to the list of gar- 
den varieties, and trial specimens of late lands 
will usually find a place in the garden. Some 
of the English horticultural journals had so 
persistently written down our potatoes as a 
class, I had supposed that our varieties were as 
little adapted to English soil and climate as are 
their varieties to ours. Since several of our kinds 
that were in a trial of over 300 at the Horticul- 
tural Society's Gardens at Chiswick [see Jan. 
last, p. 19] received a first-class certificate upon 
their merits only, they having been grown 
under numbers, we are forced to believe that 
much of the former depreciation of our pota- 
toes was due to prejudice. Among these varie- 
ties was one that had not been offered in this 
country, " Brownell's Beauty." The " Snow- 
flake" is another new variety sent out by Messrs. 
Bliss. Virginia's reputation as " the mother of 
presidents " bids fair to be eclipsed by that of 
Vermont as " the mother of potatoes," and we 
have in the " Suowflakc " another from the state 
which produced the " Early Rose." This is 
said to be a cross with the " Excelsior" upon 
an unnamed variety produced between the 
" White Peaehblow " and " Early Rose." Fer 
accounts of its growth and productiveness we 
must depend on its originator, Mr. C. G. Prin- 
gle, Charlotte, Vt. As to its quality upon the 
table, I can speak from experience ; it is hardly 
fair to decide on the quality of a vegetable or 
fruit without having tested it by the side of 
some standard varieties. Having tried this by 
itself I can only say that it seemed to me as 
good as any I ever tried — and my e-xperience 
has not been small. [Engraving's of these two 
varieties will be found on another page. — Ed.] 
Peas. — I wish there was an act of Congress 
preventing tin 1 importation of another new pea, 
or rather another pea with a new name, for the 
next ten years. The great majority of new 
peas come from England, which is a country 
eminently suited to the pea, while ours is not. 
They have pea connoisseurs there, and we have 
none. Our people want good peas, and plenty 
of them, and do not care if a variety has one 
more pea in a pod than another, or six more 
pods to the haulm, or is fifteen or twenty min- 
utes earlier. It is very probable that so far as 
our climate is concerned we have reached as 
near perfection as possible with the pea, until 
