226 
ROSA RUBIFOLiA, OR PRAIRIE ROSE.-MARLING. 
the future; a spirit which, if carried out by others, 
would stop many of the public improvements in 
which mankind are now engaged. What would our 
country be at this time if our forefathers had acted on 
this principle ? Trees might be planted that would 
serve the ends of ornament, and be a gain also to the 
owner. For instance, the maple might furnish sap 
sufficient to supply the family with sugar; the locust 
when grown is a valuable timber; the oak and the 
ash have their various uses, not to specify others that 
might subserve both ends, proposed to be gained by 
them. Thus, in a selfish view of the case, they can 
be made profitable, as they would generally be set 
out in land that is otherwise a waste or common. I 
would recommend that each man adopt the plan of 
planting shade trees in front of his dwelling ; if this 
were done by a few persons, others would soon see 
the advantages of it, and follow their example. 
There is no reason why the United States should 
not stand pre-eminent among the nations of the earth 
in this respect. Considerable attention is paid to it 
in England, with manifest advantage to the people. 
Nature has done everything she can for us ; our soil, 
our climate, our trees, are all favorable to the end 
proposed,—it only remains for man to do his duty. 
These are some of the reasons I would give in 
favor of a more general system of ornamenting the 
towns and villages of our country; many more 
might be urged did space permit. The following is 
an instance of what has been done by a systematic 
effort in a town in Orleans county, New York. 
A friend (one of those public-spirited men that the 
world needs more of), on temporarily settling in the 
western part of this state, was impressed with the 
negligence of the people in ornamenting the place 
with shade trees; and determining that something 
should be done to remove the reproach, went to work 
in the following manner. He invited all the young 
men in the town to meet him on a certain evening, as 
he had a proposition to communicate to them that was 
for their advantage. This excited their curiosity, and 
they therefore met him. He then stated to them the 
condition of their town, that no shade trees were to be 
seen in all their streets, the great improvement they 
would be to the place, and then, after their feelings 
were enlisted in the subject, showed them how the 
difficulty might be overcome. He proposed to them 
to form a Tree Association, each member of which 
was to set out one tree and take care of it, and if it 
died to set out another and another, until he had a 
thriving tree. In this way each one felt his indivi¬ 
dual responsibility, and had an incentive to do his 
work well, lest others should excel him. The con¬ 
sequence was, that more than a hundred trees were 
at once set out, and now they have the pleasure of 
knowing that their town will soon be one of the 
handsomest in the state. 
To those villages which are in like situation, 1 would 
commend this plan. Form tree associations, invite 
the young and the old, and the ladies also, to assist you, 
and let not your places suffer any longer for the want 
of ornamental shade trees. Go thou and do likewise. 
In this article, I have enumerated some of the lead¬ 
ing points in favor of shade trees, believing that it 
was only necessary to bring it before your readers for 
them to see its value. C. C. Savage. 
New York, June, 1845. 
ROSA RUBIFOLIA, OR PRAIRIE ROSE. 
I notice in many papers recently a description of 
the native “ Michigan, or Eglantine Rose.” That 
description refers to the single flowering variety which 
is found in great profusion on our own western prai¬ 
ries, whence the title adopted for it by the horticul¬ 
turists is “ Prairie Rose.” It is altogether distinct 
from every other species in its foliage, which assimi¬ 
lates to that of the Bramble, whence it derives its 
specific title. The qualities which cause the “ Prai¬ 
rie Rose” to be highly esteemed, are, first, its rapid 
growth, which is often 20 to 30 feet in a season; 
secondly, its extreme hardihood, the latter being a 
character which is applicable to none other except 
the Ayrshire, and not to that in an equal degree. 
My present object is to call your attention, and that 
of your readers, to the highly interesting double va¬ 
rieties of this class, which appear to be unknown to 
the writer of the notices I have referred to. 
One of these sportive productions was found wild 
in Ohio, and several others have been produced from 
seed by Mr. Feast and others, and I have been fortu¬ 
nate enough to produce several fine seedlings, and 
have now at least a thousand seedlings from which 
I intend to select the most beautiful for propagation. 
I am also hybridizing this species with the Bengal, 
Tea, and other perpetual flowering varieties, and 
hope to obtain that most important desideratum, a 
perpetual flowering fragrant climbing rose. Perhaps 
I may succeed in obtaining many of that character 
differing in color, &c. This is the only climbing 
rose indigenous to our country, as the Cherokee 
Rose of the Southern Stales is originally from Asia, 
and the sweet-briar, which is a partial climber, was 
introduced from Europe. We have recently made 
great additions to our establishment, and particularly 
in the department of roses. Suffice it to say that 
this class alone now occupies four acres, and com¬ 
prises above 1200 varieties, among which are all the 
splendid new ones that have latterly been produced 
in Europe by hybridizing the various classes. The 
public taste has become so fastidious, that scarcely 
any roses are highly prized, unless they belong to 
the perpetual flowering classes, and the short-lived 
June roses, which bloom but once, and then but for 
a week, have fallen into merited disrepute. 
W. R. Prince. 
Prince's Linncean Hot. Garden, and Nurseries, 
Flushing, June 12 , 1845. 
Marling.— A correspondent in South Carolina 
thus writes us: “I have been marling continually 
since the fall of 1841, and find that the longer it has 
lain on the land, and the better it is mixed with the 
soil, up to the period of its maximum effect, the 
greater its influence. The quantity which would 
improve the first crop, will destroy the third, as I 
have proved to my detriment. The remedy, how¬ 
ever, is simple; more vegetable matter to prevent the 
calcium from corroding the roots for want of food.” 
When our lands at the north are well charged with 
organic matter, marl has a better effect the third and 
fourth years than the first and second. We presume 
the soil of our correspondent is of a thin and light 
quality, and hence the necessity of plowing under a 
green crop the third year, or giving it something to 
supply the needed organic matter. 
