1867." 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
293 
The Care of Seeds. 
Those who would propagate shrubs or trees, 
either for the interest that attends the produc- 
tion of new varieties, or as a matter of profit, a 
raising of stocks, often fail from lack of proper 
care with their seeds. The seeds, or pits, of 
peaches, plums, and cherries, we all know, are 
enclosed in a very hard and bony envelope, 
and these, though they have a large and vigor- 
ous euibryo, often fail for want of proper care. 
The seeds of the strawberry, raspberry, black- 
berry, and of many of our ornamental shrubs, 
are enclosed in a case, which, in proportion to 
the size of the embryo, is scarcely less formi- 
dable than that of the peach. ' Most seeds with 
these very hard envelopes, if once thoroughly 
dried, are very difficult to germinate. Nature 
sows them at the time of ripening, but this is 
often very inconvenient, and the best way is, to 
imitate nature and not allow the seeds to dry. 
With all hard-shelled seeds, whether as large 
as that of the peach or as small as that of the 
raspberry, the best way is to clean the seeds 
from the pulp, and then put them with sand or 
sandy loam, in sufficient quantity to preclude 
all danger of heating by fermentation, and keep 
the mixture of sand and seeds in a place so cool 
that there will be no danger of the seeds starting 
too early in the season. This process is known, 
in the books as " stratification," and is often per- 
formed by making a mound of alternate layers 
of seeds and sand, and covering the whole with 
earth, sloped to keep off the rain. In a small 
way, a flower-pot answers every purpose, or, if 
a larger quantity of seeds are at hand, a rough 
box, in which the seeds and sand are to be 
placed and kept in a cool cellar, or buried at 
the north side of a fence or building. Many 
failures result from the seeds being kept too 
warm ; they start with the first warm day of 
spring, and having no opportunity to grow, the 
germ withers, and the seeds of course fail. 
, These remarks apply to the seeds of all of our 
small fruits, and to all of our hardy shrubs, the 
seeds of which have a bony shell. Indeed the 
seeds of many of our trees and shrubs, such as 
the thorns, need to lie stratified in this way 
through one year. Keeping them in a mass, and 
exposed to the changes of temperature through 
one whole year, is much better than to sow them, 
and be at the trouble of keeping the grounds 
clear of weeds. Freezing and thawing does 
not, as a general thing, hurt the seeds of our 
hardy trees and shrubs, but helps them. 
About Weeds. 
We have — wo know not how many letters 
asking how to kill this or that weed. If those 
who write us these queries would only think on 
the subject, they would see that there can be no 
specific that will kill an undesirable plant — or 
weed— and not injure the desirable plants of 
the crop. Therefore, all applications, be they 
salt, plaster, ashes, or what not, merely to kill 
weeds, arc simply absurd. Cultivation consists 
solely in giving the plant that wc wish to grow 
an advantage over other plants. In an uncul- 
tivated field, where everything is left, to itself, 
it becomes a "struggle for existence," and the 
strongest — which is usually the most worthless- 
gets the best of it. In all our cultivation, the 
aim is to give the crop we wish to grow sole 
possession of the soil, and all our cultivators, 
horse-hoes, baud-hoes of allkiuds,etc.,areuscd to 
plant except a particular one that 
ufl possession of the soil. 
we wish should have nil 
Now we know of no help for weeds, whether 
in garden or in field, except a mechanical one. 
If one finds a few Canada Thistles in his lawn, 
cuts the stems and puts some salt on each, and 
thus destroys them, it is no exception to the 
general rule. Had he put an equal amount of 
salt all over his lawn, he would have killed 
everything upon it. We have but little sympa- 
thy with a gardener who lets the weeds get the 
better of him. His soil should have been kept 
so constantly stirred that weeds could have no 
chance. "Whoever is not able to keep down the 
weeds by the use of the rake, or the many weed- 
ing hoes, has'more garden than he can properly 
care for. If weeds have got the master}', use 
some of the various weeding hoes, rake them 
at once from the ground, and if there is a sign 
of a flower or a seed upon them, do not let 
them go the manure heap — it is all nonsense 
to talk of destroying their vitality by fermenta- 
tion — but just spread them where they will 
dry, and then, with the accumulated brush and 
other combustible garden rubbish, burn them. 
With a little care, ashes, so valuable as a fer- 
tilizer, may be made in considerable quantity 
from properly dried refuse of the garden. 
Neglected Squares in Cities and Towns. 
A " Subscriber " in New York sends us the 
following communication upon the smaller 
parks and squares. We give his article place, 
as the fault to which he refers is found in most 
public grounds in large and small towns all 
over the country. It is very rarely that these 
places fall under the management of persons of 
either knowledge or taste. Those having them 
in charge order trees for them, and the nursery- 
man, naturally enough, sends those that he can 
propagate most readily. The' consequence is, 
our public squares are planted with but a few 
kinds of trees, and these are almost without 
exception rapidly growing foreigners. 
"Why should they not, the numerous parks 
and squares of New York,be improved and made 
worthy of the commercial metropolis? The 
Central Park is a well mauaged institution, and 
an honor to our city. Why should not a little 
of the wisdom which has produced so satisfac- 
tory results in that locality, be brought to bear 
upon Union, Madison, Tompkins, and Wash- 
ington squares, which are in the heart of the 
city, and are within easy approach of multitudes 
who rarely find time to visit Central Park ? We 
do not hesitate to say that the management of 
these Squares is a disgrace to the city. Tens of 
thousands of dollars are lavished upon granite 
and iron fences, as if the inclosure was of any 
value when there was nothing to inclose. Trees 
have been planted there that are a nuisance 
upon any soil devoted to human use. They are 
unsightly to the eye, and their roots are con- 
tinually sending up suckers that mar the beauty 
of the lawn, when it is established. We would 
have these coarse, ugly trees, like the Abele and 
the Poplar, removed at once, and the others 
judiciously thinned, so that every tree left may 
have ample room to develop its natural beauty. 
As a rule, they are now interfering with each 
other, and quarreling for a share of the air 
and sunlight, as well as for the soil. 
We would have well kept lawns mowed every 
two weeks. A clean, smooth sod is refreshing 
to the eye. At the date of this writing, June 
7th, much of the grass in these squares is still 
untouched. There ought to have been, at least, 
two cuttings. Should a city square, kept osten- 
sibly for the esthetic culture of a million of peo- 
ple, be conducted upon the same principle that a 
stingy merchant manages the lawn of his coun- 
try residence — with an eye to hay rather than 
beaut}' ? It would probably cost no more to 
have these parks kept as they should be. Men 
enough are employed, and if then- labor was 
wisely directed, it would give us what we pay 
for — clean, attractive squares. But whatever the 
cost, give us clean, smooth lawns. Instead of 
cheap and easily raised foreign trees, we would 
have specimens of the beautiful natives of our 
own forest, and all properly labelled, so that 
children might learn to know the difference 
between an oak and a butternut. Then, we 
would have these places planted with more 
evergreens and flowering shrubs. We want 
something to refresh the eye in the winter as 
well as in summer. Our suburban nurseries 
are able to turn out over a hundred varieties of 
pines, spruces, piceas, arbor vitoas, cedars, yews 
and cypresses, perfectly hard}', and many of 
them beautiful. Why should not our citizens be 
permitted to make the acquaintance of the finest 
of them in the squares that they are obliged to 
frequent every day ? Why should we not have 
rhododendrons and laurels in masses, and other 
beautiful flowers in their season, where we can 
see them with our families, without paying five 
dollars for acarriage, and spending two or three 
hours to accomplish it ? Those who live in the 
city are heavily taxed, let them have some- 
thing refreshing and beautiful for their money." 
The Achilleas. 
Every one knows the common Yarrow, Ac7til- 
lea Millefolium. Yet this vulgar plant — rated as 
a pest by cultivators, when it shows its white 
flowers, is, when its flowers assume a rose col- 
or, prized as a border plant, and sold at a good 
price by the florists. Even the common weed 
has a delicacy of foliage and flower that would 
make it prized did it not make itself too abund- 
ant, but the rose-colored one is really beautiful. 
We have, in years past, got much satisfaction out 
of the double variety of Achillea Ptarmioi, 
even though it does bear the common name of 
" Sneeze-wort." It is perfectly hardy, and gives 
a long succession of pure white flowers. It is 
so valued among the French that they give it 
the name of "Silver-bud," (bouton (Pargani). 
Nothing is more valuable for summer bouquets 
than the double Achillea Ptarmica. Those who 
like yellow flowers will be pleased with Achil- 
lea lomentosa, another hardy species, with foli- 
age and flowers much like those of the com- 
mon Yarrow, except that the leaves are downy, 
and the flowers arc of a bright yellow. We 
wish that hard}', herbaceous plants were more 
generally cultivated than they now are. 
Among: the Wild Flowers. 
It is a good thing to leave the garden occa- 
sionally with its Yerbenas, Heliotropes, and all 
the like, and go out and see a bil of nature's 
gardening. In this month of July there are 
many fine things in bloom in the meadows and 
woodsides, and a ramble among them is refresh- 
ing to one who has to weed and train the exot- 
ics. If there is any thing in our gardens hand- 
somer than our low meadows can show now. 
we would like to see it. The beautiful Calo- 
pogon, now spreads its numerous pinkish, pur- 
ple and fragrant flowers in all the low places, 
while its near relative, Arcthusa bulbosa, too 
delicate to be very common, is more chary o( 
its bloom, and gives us only a single beautifully 
