AMEEICAN AGEICULTUEIST, 
359 
tity equal to six inches deep all over the sur¬ 
face would not be too much; while in other 
cases, half that would be enough. 
We would prefer not to make a Strawberry 
plantation twice on the same ground; but when 
circumstances render it inconvenient to change, 
rows of young plants might be set, or allowed 
to establish themselves from the runners, be¬ 
tween the old rows, which can then be turned 
under with the spade, and will serve to enrich 
the ground. 
Now as to varieties. On this point there is 
room for a great diversity of opinion, and we 
cannot hope to name a list that will be accept¬ 
able to a very large number of persons, at least 
in many parts of the country. Planters must 
have recourse to the best experience to be found 
in their respective localities; in the meantime 
we shall express our opinion of a few varieties, 
and let it go forth for what it is worth. 
It happens that in this country the greater 
number of our most productive varieties have 
but one set of the organs of fecundation. A 
fruitful flower must have both pistils and 
stamens perfectly developed. The stamens are 
regarded as the male organs, and the pistils the 
female. When a flower has well-developed pis¬ 
tils, but no stamens, or imperfect ones, it must 
be impregnated by pollen from other flowers. 
Where a flower has no pistils, or has imperfect 
ones, it is utterly barren. A large number of 
our best American varieties—such as Hovey's 
Seedling , Burr's New Pine, McAvoy's Supe¬ 
rior, Moyamensing, &c.—are wanting in sta¬ 
mens, and therefore foreign impregnation is ne¬ 
cessary. In Europe this distinction is not ob¬ 
served to any extent, and all the English and 
continental varieties, as far as we know, are 
hermaphrodite. In this country very many of 
them fail from an imperfect development of the 
pistils, and are consequently barren, owing 
doubtless to the effect of climate and culture. 
It is not necessary that the two should be in 
close proximity; they are sure to get impreg¬ 
nated if in the same garden, as the pollen is 
carried about from one flower to another by in¬ 
sects. The beds of the different sorts may be 
kept entirely separate. Mixing them up is a 
bad way, as the one outgrows and overruns the 
the other, and they become so confused that 
nothing can be done with them. On this ac¬ 
count many have grown tired of keeping up the 
distinction, and have resolved to cultivate her¬ 
maphrodite sorts only. 
The following varieties are the best on the 
long list of those we have tested on our own 
grounds: 
Pistillate. — Burr'z New Pine, Jenny's Seed¬ 
ling, McAvoy's Superior, Hovey's Seedling, 
Moyamensing, Monroe Scarlet, and Crimson 
Cone. The finest flavored variety among these, 
is Burr's New Pine ; the largest, Hovey's Seed¬ 
ling ; and the finest and best for market, Jen¬ 
ny's Seedling and Crimson Cone. Hovey's 
Seedling , in Western New-York, and in many 
parts of the west, is very moderate, and in 
many cases a poor bearer. We have no crop so 
heavy the past season (when all bore well) as 
on the Monroe Scarlet. 
Staminate, or Hermaphrodite. —Large Early 
Scarlet, Walker's Seedling, Iowa, Boston Pine, 
and Genesee. All these may be grown success¬ 
fully for market, and are good without being 
first-rate in flavor. We think much more of 
Walker's Seedling now than we did last season. 
It is very hardy, and a great bearer. It appears 
to be a seedling from the Black Prince. The 
Boston Pine is the most uncertain on the whole 
list; without good soil and culture, it fails en¬ 
tirely. 
Besides the above list, we would recommend 
to amateurs, who are willing to bestow thorough 
cultivation and care on their plants, the British 
Queen, which, when well grown, surpasses in 
size, beauty, and excellence, any we have 
named. The Bicton Pine —a large and beauti¬ 
ful white variety, which ripens late. We have 
had a fine crop of it this season, although our 
plants being set last year, were seriously injured 
last winter. Like all the foreign sorts, it needs 
protection, and a deep, rich soil, with abundant 
moisture. The Wood Strawberries—red and 
white—bear most profusely in all places, and 
last a long time; beside, they part freely from 
the calyx, and are therefore easily and rapidly 
picked, and their flavor is rich and agreeable to 
most people. In addition to these we must 
mention the Bush Alpine (having no runners) 
—perpetual bearers, if kept liberally supplied 
with moisture. They deserve much more ex¬ 
tensive cultivation than they now receive. With 
their assistance, we may enjoy Strawberries not 
one month only, but four months. 
THE BEAUTY OF OUR NATIVE WILD 
FLOWERS. 
Flowers, of all the works of the Almighty 
Creator, are the sweetest; they are all most 
beautiful. Cold and insensible indeed must be 
heart that loves them not. But it is the wild 
flowers of the hedge and the field, that I would 
make a few observations on. Those plants in¬ 
digenous to Great Britain, are a most interesting 
race, a few species of which have come under 
cultivation, and seldom have they failed to pro¬ 
duce new beauties for the admirers of Flora. 
There is the little Beilis perennis, parent of nu¬ 
merous pretty varieties, and still capable of 
further improvement. And the Viola tricolor, 
with its endless attractive genus; the Pansy 
alone has made many a florist rejoice to see his 
little seedling expand, and discover to him a va¬ 
riety distinct from any others. And the parents 
of these are not more elegant than many other 
species—I may name the Veronica, Campanula, 
&c.; for though the botanist may have them 
recorded, and may possess specimens of them, 
yet until th & florist renders them domesticated, 
their real nature and quality are virtually un¬ 
known. Search, then, the forest and the field, 
for I am persuaded with the poet, that 
“ Alany a flower is born to blush unseen, 
And waste its fragrance on the desert air.” 
for even entirely new species may be found; 
but those already known would suffice, and 
many of them, under attentive management, 
might bid fair to rival even the Pansy in the 
floral world; and it is a matter of great con¬ 
gratulation, that many societies are endeavoring 
to promote the discovery of new species, by 
awarding premiums for collections, single speci¬ 
mens, &c. If they were likewise to encourage 
the cultivation of known species merely for the 
production of new varieties, or with a view of 
getting some given species in the highest state 
of perfection, they would be serving equally the 
purpose for which such societies are established. 
And even should an amateur florist transplant 
some of the most beautiful indigenous tribes into 
his own garden and treat them with care and 
attention, I venture to predict success to his un¬ 
dertaking. For my own part, I have (this 
spring) devoted a piece of ground to their cul¬ 
ture, and tried the different effects of various 
soils on each of them; and should the result be 
in any way serviceable, I shall have great plea¬ 
sure in communicating it. Are the race of 
wild flowers to be cast away, however beauti¬ 
ful, because they are natives of our own coun¬ 
try ? It seems so; for do we not see any puny 
exotic extolled to the skies, while the more 
splendid hedgeflower is left neglected in its na¬ 
tive place ? Let the exotic flower in the artifi¬ 
cial climate of the stove or greenhouse, and I 
admire them; but more, much more do I ad¬ 
mire those flowers to which are linked a train 
of sweet recollections of childhood’s days, 
when we roved over the green fields among cow¬ 
slips, butter-cups, and daisies. But some will 
say this is prejudice; if the exotic is to remain 
in its own place with only a share of attention, 
why not confine the wild flower to its wilder¬ 
ness ? but I would not have you make a field or 
a hedge row of your gardens; I would only 
have experiments tried aiming at advantage to 
to floriculture and the general good.— Senex, in 
Floricultural Cabinet, London. 
SEEDLING ORANGE TREES. 
Tue collections of Orange trees in this coun¬ 
try of the large-growing section is very far from 
proving as successful, as I am confident, may be 
realized. I speak from the fact of what I have 
often seen exhibited with the same kinds of 
in their natural climates. During the last 
twelve years I have turned my attention to 
forming and cultivating a collection in Devon¬ 
shire, and grow them in a light-house, glazed 
(now) with Hartley’s rough sheet-glass, and the 
best results have been obtained. I observe 
that Orange trees in general, either grafted or 
budded, come sooner to a bearing state, but are 
never such healthy trees as seedlings. I find I 
can bring a seedling Orange tree into bearing in 
six years. I have observed the young seedling 
trees to put out thorns at the base of the leaf; 
and so long as these appear on the young wood, 
no fruit can be looked for. As the tree is in a 
luxuriant state, my method to stop that vigorous 
growth is this:—Mix half strong brown loam, 
half peat or hearth earth, mixed well together, 
with a little gravel, to keep the soil from binding 
to the roots; have pots proportionable to the size 
of the tree, put them into this soil, which I con¬ 
sider rather poor, but keeps them in good health, 
and in humble growth; by this management 
they come sooner to a bearing state. I keep 
them in that soil till I see blossoms appearing, 
which may be looked for when no thorns push 
out of the young wood; after that I give them 
larger pots, then take compost half strong brown 
loam, half vegetable mold, break some bones 
small, mix some in the compost, and put some 
in the bottom of the pots, which feeds the roots 
a great length of time, and drains off superabun¬ 
dant water. After the fruit is set, I have ob¬ 
served the decaying flowers to be in a corrupt 
state at the base of the fruit, and cause it to 
drop off; when the fruit is set, I take all the de¬ 
caying flowers carefully off. In pruning Orange 
trees, great care must be taken not to shorten 
any young wood, as the flowers generally ap¬ 
pear at the extremity, only cutting out any 
cross useless wood. I have known some hew 
down their Orange trees every year. By this 
treatment it is impossible for their trees to bear 
fruit, for in spring they bring forth strong 
thorny wood, and are no nearer bearing than 
when one year old. The brown scale is very 
troublesome to Orange trees and retards their 
growth, and makes them have a sickly, un¬ 
healthy look ; if the trees are not kept clean of 
that insect, little good can be expected where 
they are. I kept my trees perfectly clean of 
that insect with three dressings in one year, by 
taking soft-soap half a pound, flour of sulphur 
a quarter of a pound, nux vomica half an ounce, 
add to these six quarts of hot water, keep stir¬ 
ring till the soap is dissolved ; when cold, take 
a sponge and wash every leaf on the upper and 
under sides; three days after I find the insects 
all dead. I take the engine and throw pure wa¬ 
ter all over them, which washes all clean off; 
the trees look healthy and keep clean for about 
three months. The temperature of an Orange- 
house should not exceed fifty or fifty-five de¬ 
grees in winter. In summer I give the trees 
frequent artificial dews, by throwing water over 
them with the engine, which, I think, causes 
the fruit to be thinner in the skin than it would 
be in a dry heat; the watering greatly adds 
also to the health and beauty of the trees.— De¬ 
vonian Gardener, in London Flor. Cabinet. 
Splendid Plant. —There is now in frill bloom, 
in the Liverpool Botanic garden, a beautiful 
specimen of the Wistaria sinensis. This splen¬ 
did plant, which is considered the finest in Bri¬ 
tain, covers a space of wall amounting to nearly 
nine hundred square feet. At the present time 
there are about six thousand racemes or bunches 
of flowers on it, each bearing on an average 
about 55 flowers, so that it bears, on the whole, 
about 330,000 individual flowers. In addition 
to the pleasure given to the eye, this plant 
yields a most grateful perfume. 
