SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
131 
SOUTHEKlf SEEDLING APPLES. 
Willis M. Lea, Esq., of Holly Springs, Miss., writes 
us as follows. We shall be happy to hear from Mr. L , 
at greater length hereafter, upon this interesting subject: 
“At a future day, I may be tempted to say a word about 
some fine Southern Seedling Apples, especially if Mr. 
Van Buren continues to stimulate inquiries in this line by 
Ms valuable contributions. lam convinced that we al 
ready have varieties sufficiently numerous and valuable 
to furnish us with superior fruits all the season. I have 
repeatedly furnished our friends with the May Apple and 
Red Astrachan, &c., on the same waiter with the win- 
ter Apples of the previous year — the ‘Hall Seedling,’ 
•Stephenson’s Seedling,’ &c. And I am fully convinced 
from experience, that additions to the winter varieties are 
only to be expected, from the region in which we omselves 
live, or, at most, from those similar in climate and not too 
dissimilar in soil, &c. But I have not the purpose to 
write at any length at present ; so adieu. 
OSAGE ORANGE HEDGES. 
Mr. H. P. Byram, the agricultural editor of the Louis- 
tille Journal, writes to that paper from Dayton, Ohio, 
under date Sept. 9, 1854: 
“In the vicinity of this city, I saw some of the most per- 
fect specimens of the Osage Orange hedge that I have ever 
before met with— more perfect, indeed, than I supposed na- 
ture could produce, even with all the aid that art and in- 
dustry could lend her. The plants seem to withstand the 
blighting effects of this unusually dry season, better than 
any other species of vegetation. The leaves still present 
the same rich glossy green that characterises this plant in 
our most favorable seasons. 
“From a somewhat extensive acquaintance with the 
character of the Osage Orange plant, I have often pro- 
nounced it the hedge plant of America, but I had no idea 
of the degree of perfection to which I find it susceptible of 
being trained in the hedge. The oldest of the hedges here 
now is about four years. It is four feet high and three 
feet broad at the base, and as dense, compact and uniform 
from the ground to the top, as if it had been moulded by 
hand from some plastic material. My attendant remarked 
that it was ‘so close at the bottom, tha* a snake could not 
find its way through it.’ There were several other speci- 
mens in the same vicinity, from one to two years old, all 
presenting the same beautiful appearance. 
“The great and only secret in producing this living 
' "’prican prairie fence is, dean culture for four years, and 
W sheanng, from the period of setting 
and then to maintain 
As I have written this much, I would like (by your 
leave) to say a few words about Dr Lee’s article on Plan- 
tation fences, &c. The Dr. has given us an excellent 
ra'ticle upon the subject, and his advice should be followed 
even by those having abundance of rail timber. I agree 
with him heartily abou* straight fences — cheap, simple, 
durable, beautiful. I have a plan, however, which I think 
he will like better than hewed or sawed posts, even out of 
cedar, locast or chestnut. It is to use the Mimosa as liv- 
ing posts in lieu of dead ones. The plank to be let into 
the trees and nailed, the bark growing over them, will 
hold them securely when the nails give way. 1 he bot- 
tom plank to be 12 inches wide, out of heart timber, and 
those above it 6 inches, with the spaces between each 
widening as you ascend. This tree (Mimosa) has a great 
deal to recommend it for the above purpose : 
1st. It will grow any where. 
2d. It is a very rapid grower. 
3d. It will live for centuries. 
4th. It propagates from its seeds only — never putting up 
shoots. 
5th. It can be trained to grow as straight as a post. 
6th. It can be topped and trimmed so as to cast scarcely 
any shade. 
7th. It is not subject to be blown down by storms. 
8th. Stock will not bark it. 
9th. One tree furnishes seeds enough in a year to set a 
plantation. 
lOth. It adorns and beautifies the farm. 
By your leave, further, I wish to say to Dr. Lee that 
his article on the renovation of worn out fields in the 
South, is replete with good sense. But, alas ! it is not the 
remedy. To effect this great object he must 
1st. Point out to us a manure which shall cost nothing, 
and which shall be already out on the field. 
2d. He must show that this manure will make the field 
produce more cotton than it ever did, and that for ages to 
come. 
3d. He must show that the cotton gathered from this 
field will command a higher price than from any other on 
the plantation. 
The hook must be baited with the “almighty dollar” to 
induce the farmers and planters of the South to take these 
poor, old fields into consideration. The above is not an 
impossibility. Who can reveal the secret'? 
Respectfully, &c., B. V. Iverson. 
Columbus, Ga., 1855. 
FRENCH LETTTJCE-SALAD--MUSHROOMS, &C. 
Messrs. Editors — I am raising, successfully, this win- 
ter, a beautiful white, small headed Lettuce, which I re- 
ceived from Paris as “Z %r ae Goite lenle a monterf and 
with which I am so much pleased that I intend to save 
--ort distribution. The heads are so small that there is 
' at all when put into the salad dish, 
- :>i^tead of so much 
of the , 
ed from Capt. Wm. Brooks, v.. 
and all who may order. Those wishing tins 
can address Capt. Brooks (post paid) and he will furnish' 
young grafted trees, with mode of planting, culture, price, 
&c.,&c. There is springing up in this section quite a 
demand for this tree ; and, judging from the statements of 
reliable gentlemen who have tried them, 1 have no doubt 
they afford excellent food for sows and pigs, and for all 
kinds of poultry. They furnish the first ripe fruit in the 
spring and continue to yield successive crops of ripe ber- 
ries until stopped by frost. I have never cultivated it, and 
therefore, can only speak of the experience of others ; but | 
every reliance can be placed on their statements. j 
little by little at hrsi, n.v... 
then adding the vinegar last to suit tasic. 
I send you a method of raising Mushrooms, by whicn i 
have very unintentionally succeeded in producing an 
abundance each spring for the past three years, and some- 
timcs during the winter and fall ; even this winter. Fence 
in a spot; strew litter or trash from the woods in it, say 1 
or 2 inches thick, and shut up stock cattle in it every 
night for a week or two any time between January and 
June. Let the manure remain untouched ,* and in the fall 
