£22 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
needs such addition. We shall be much pleased to hear 
from our friend, “ J. L- M.” and others. — Eds.] 
FUSTIC — “ VIRGINIA UUTEA.” 
Editors Southkrn Cultivator : In your list of orna- 
mental trees and shrubs, you have set down the Yel- 
lowwood, or Fustic {yirgilia lutea), as belonging to the 
latter class, and growing about ten feet high. That tree 
grows moi'e luxuriantly in the vicinity of this city than 
any where else in the United States, and, indeed, Mi- 
chaux states that it is very seldom seen in other localities. 
It is a tree often from twenty to thirty or forty feet high, 
of a light green foliage, smooth bark, and has a long pen- 
dent white flower, blooming generally about 10th of May, 
and giving to our forests a beautiful appearance. The 
wood is close-grained, and would make nice furniture — 
3he roots have been used to make snuff boxes and other 
Itttle wooden toys. The bark dyes an indifferent yellow. 
This tree, though growing without much symmetry, is a 
beautiful ornament to a yard or park, and they are so 
easily raised from the seed, that it is singular their culti- 
Tation has not been generally introduced. The tree was 
growing, a few years ago, in Paris, from seed taken from 
this locality by Mr Michaux, and, I have been informed, 
it does well in the latitude of Philadelphia and New York. 
You can, if you desire, procure any quantity of seed in 
the autumn. Very respectfully, 
Nashville, Tenn., May, 1^57. J. M. L. 
^EW NATIVE PEANTS. 
Editors Southkrn Cultivator — It is not generally 
known to Botanists that there exist in our woods two 
species ot wild yellow Jessamin (Gelseniium Nitidum or 
Sempervirens. ) 1 have mentioned this fact toseveralper 
sons proficient in the science, wlio had never heard of it 
previously, and I have in no instance seen it in Botanical 
works The Jessamin of the lower part of the country is 
a stronger vine, with large flowers, five cleft, with divi- 
sions very round; stamens longer than the tube, and pis- 
tils half the length of the ftamens. The Jessamine most 
common in the up country is a less vigorous plant; flow- 
ers small, five cleft, but more deeply in the other; divi- 
sions spatuhite and reflexed. Stamens veiy short, and 
pistil longer than the tube. J’his vine bears seeds in great 
abundance. It will be perceived that the difft-rence be- 
tween the two species is in the general size of the plant; 
the size and shape of the flower, and the starnet.s of the 
one being much longer than the pistil, while in the other 
this is reversed. In olh.e.r respects, such as color, per- 
fume, etc, they are ; imhar. This differenae is not and 
cannot be caused by different locality or soil, for I have 
found a few of the latter in the lower country, and aUo 
some of the larger in the upper country in close proximi- 
ty to the small variety. 1 therefore think I have suflicient 
reasons to conclude that they are two distinct species. 
There is another very great favorite at the South, for 
which I lay similar cl.iims : the sweet scented Shrub (Ca- 
the shrub is larger, with leaves obovaie (egg shaped, but 
with the narrowest end towards the stem.) and more than 
doiibiethe. size of those of the common shrub, which are 
oblong. Flowers very long, very double, with the petals 
ne O' the centre broader and of a redder brown that! the 
common. 1 have a (cw at my side, measuring three-and a- 
half inches in dicmef.er ^aot circumferetice). Perlume ex- 
ceedingly rich, approaching more to that of the Banana 
than of the Strawberry. The tree, over 8 feet high, is lit 
erelly covered with these beautiful flowers, and the whole 
neighborhood is peifumed with the snfell. It is one of 
the first to put out flowers, and it remains in bloom for at 
least two months, and often longer. I have seen this spe- 
cies or variety only in one spot, a seedling probably of 
some neighboring wild shrub of the common, or C. flori- 
dus, and I have never met with any person who had seen 
it any where else. This beautiful plant would be an or- 
nament to any flower garden ; and if it be new and unde- 
scribed, as I believe it to be, I must request the privilege 
of naming it Calycanthus Ravenelii, in honor of the much 
esteamed and talented Botanist, H. W. Ravenel, of So. Ca. 
A. C. 
Woodward, S. C., May, 1857. 
STANFORD’S WIED OAT GRASS. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — I have received seve- 
ral orders for seed of the above grass, and shall be able to 
fill them, and also a few others about the middle of Jun^ 
and at^onaiderable reduced price. [See advertisement in 
this paper.] 
The above is decidedly the best and most profitable 
grass, either for hay or for pasturage that has ever been 
cultivated at the South ; and 1 might say anywhere else. 
It is a winter green, with pasturage four to six inches 
high all winter, and is not injured by frost or snow — it 
grows luxuriantly, either upon high or low ground, (I 
have not yet tried it upon wet or swampy lands), it bears 
the shade well for half the day I know, and would per- 
haps bear more than that ; and may be cut for five years 
without removing, and requires no labor after the first 
sowing; grows in tufts whether sown in drill or boadcast. 
Last year I cut a space of seven feet scjuare of average 
growth (upon high ground, and not manured) when in 
bloom, dried it for hay, it produced nine and a half pounds 
of well dried, excellent hay, equal to timothy. This is at 
the rate of over 8000 pounds to the acre, which estimating 
it at the present price of dried corn blades would be worth 
.il80 per acre for feeding stock; but make the estimate at 
half the quantity or hall the price, it would then produce 
over forty dollars per acre, with no labor but to cut dry 
and house or stack it. Can the Southern planter, with 
cotton, rice, corn or tobacco or any other crop, realize as 
much per acre even with four times the labor I The truth 
is, the Southern planter is too apt to look to the probable 
result in dollars and cents per acre, for the crops he 
plants, without counting the real difference in labor that 
must be devoted to each ; a close examination of this mat- 
ter would enable him to make his farm more profitable 
and keep it in better condition. 
I have heretofore sold and also distributed seed gratis to 
many persons in the Southern and jVIiddle States, and 
from several have had responses, admitting that the grass 
is superior to any they ever met with. 1 would be pleased 
to hear from every one the result of his trial of it, either 
directly or through the Southern CuUivalor, 
John R. Stanford. 
Poniova Hall, near Clarhsville, Ga., May, 1856. 
Other Folks’ Eyes. — We spend our income for paint 
and paper, for a hundred trifles, 1 know not what, and not 
for the things of man. Our expenses are almost all for 
cotiformity. It is for cake we run in debt : ’tis not the 
iniellSct nor the heart, nor beauty, nor worship that cojsts 
so much. We dare not trust our wit for makitig our 
houses pleasant to our friends, and so we buy ice creams. 
He is accustomed to carpets, we have tiot suflicient char- 
acter to put floor cloihes out of bis mind, so we pile the 
floor with carpets. Let the house rather he the temple of 
the fairies orLaceddemon,forniidaifle to al!,wnich none but 
a Sparlasi may enter, or so much as behold. — Emmer- 
SON. 
lycanthus floriJus ) 1 have in my garden a magnificent 
species of it, found in tiie woods, the parent of which is 
still to be seen on the .spot where, this was taken from : 
