246 
GARDENING.-NO-. 6. 
labor lost. I am more disposed to handle this 
great error in female education “ without gloves.” 
Catch a farmer’s daughter in this age of piano 
thumping, trundling that wheelbarrow, and I will 
believe in miracles in all time to come. Have pa¬ 
tience, I am near a stopping place.. A word on 
Country Schools. —This article is too discursive ; 
a fault of nearly all writers, using too many words 
to make a point. I acknowledge my own fault in 
this particular, but I larnt it in these same “ country 
schools,” and I learned but very little at them of 
any real benefit to me in the ordinary pursuits of 
life, and I never saw one conducted upon the prin¬ 
ciple of teaching children things and meaning of 
words, instead of mere sounds. I would advise 
“ E S-.” that some Southern mothers as well as 
Northern ones, would make but poor “ maternal 
inspectors of the education of their own girls;” 
and “ good governesses” are not so plenty as 
blackberries at the North, or black babies at 
the South. 
The Farmer’s Dictionary. —One of the best evi¬ 
dences of an improved state of feeling in the public 
mind is, that such works by such men are under¬ 
taken to be written and published, sold,, and read; 
and when ten years ago we could not find a half 
dozen volumes, upon any agricultural subject, of 
American printed books, we can now form a hand¬ 
some library. 
Observations on the Potato Disease , tyc. —I have 
no objection to see every one light his taper to illu¬ 
mine this subject, but the cure is yet in darkness. 
No more is yet known of this disease, as to its 
cause or cure, than is known of the. Asiatic cholera. 
The theories upon both cases are about equally 
numerous and contradictory. 
The Naturalist. —If I was reviewing that work, 
I should say that some of its articles were a little 
too prosy, to suit the taste of Southwestern agricul¬ 
tural readers. As I am really anxious for its 
success, I am sure friend Fanning would take it in 
kindness if he knew from whence the hint came, 
when I tell him that he must make the “ Natural¬ 
ist” more interesting than the “ Agriculturist” was, 
or it will never be supported in his latitude. I 
speak knowingly, and advise for good. 
Treatise on Domestic Economy. —I wish I had 
this work before me, I should like to review it. 
That American ladies need improving “ mentally 
and physically,” I have just said, and therefore 
agree with you that “ there is great need.” 
I did intend to review the “ Premium List for 
1845,” but I find I am getting prolix, and will 
therefore only say that 25 premiums of Coleman’s 
Tour certainly show a very strong partiality for a 
work essentially English, over some others that I 
think none the worse of for being American. 
Without any disparagement to Coleman’s Tour, I 
ilo say that one volume of the American Agricul 
turist would be worth more, and would be more 
Tead by nine-tenths of the recipients of those pre 
miums than all the numbers of this much-puffed 
“ Tourand unless the later numbers show a vast 
improvement over those that I have seen—and I can 
find ten thousand backers to this opinion. I have 
said my say. 
I shall continue my comments upon one more 
No., and by that time we shall probably get some 
answer to your call upon your readers “ anent this 
matter,” as to whether I shall continue the work 
of a Reviewer. 
GARDENING—No. 6, 
Having glanced at the Vegetable Kingdom, con¬ 
sidered geographically and historically, let us treat 
upon the objects of vegetable culture as connected 
with the subject now before us, which is as 
follows:—1. To multiply plants. 2. To increase 
their number and retain or improve their qualities. 
3. To increase their magnitude. 4. To form new 
varieties for the furtherance of all or any of the 
above objects. 5. To propagate, and preserve from 
degenerating, approved varieties. 6. To preserve 
vegetables for future use. The first step for all 
these objects in common, is to procure the desired 
plant, either by removing it in an entire state from 
its native situation, and planting it in an appro¬ 
priate one ; or by gathering and sowing, its seeds; 
or by propagating from a part of the plant itself. 
Hence the general origin both of agriculture and 
gardening, and of all the different modes of propa¬ 
gation, transplanting, and collecting seeds. The 
next step is to secure the plants to be cultivated 
from the depredations of animals, or unsuitable 
weather. Hence the origin of fences and enclo¬ 
sures, and plant-habitations. A third step, common 
to all the above objects of culture, is to remove 
from the vicinity of the plant to be cultivated, or 
from the plant itself, all other plants, or animals, 
or objects likely to impede its progress. Hence the 
origin of weeding, thinning, destroying insects, and 
curing diseases. 
To increase the number and retain the native 
qualities of vegetables, it is necessary todraitate, as 
exactly as circumstances will admit, their native 
habitation, in respect to soil, climate, mode of wa,- 
tering, light, &c. If the habitation is in any way 
ameliorated, the qualities of the plant will be 
altered, and its parts enlarged, which is not desired. 
All that is necessary, therefore, for effecting this 
branch of culture, is to imitate the habitation, and 
to propagate. This ought to be the case wherever 
plants are grown for medical or scientific purposes, 
as in herb and botanic gardens. 
To increase the magnitude of vegetables, without 
reference to their quality, it is necessary to afford 
them an increased supply of all the ingredients of 
food, distributed in such a body of well pulverized 
soil as the roots can reach; and of heat and moist¬ 
ure. They should also be partially excluded from 
the direct rays of the sun, so as to moderate per¬ 
spiration; and from the wind, so as to prevent 
sudden dryness. Nature gives the hint in the 
occasional luxuriance of plants, accidentally placed 
in favorable circumstances; man adopts it, and, im¬ 
proving upon it, produces cabbages and turnips of 
twenty-five pounds weight, and apples of one or 
two pounds; productions which may, in some 
respects, be considered as diseased. 
To increase the number, improve the quality, and 
increase the magnitude of particular parts of vege¬ 
tables, it is necessary to remove those parts which 
are not wanted, such as the blossoms of bulbous or 
tuberous-rooted plants, when the bulbs are to be in¬ 
creased ; the over-luxuriant wood-shoots and leaf- 
buds of fruit trees ; the flower-sterns of some, and 
