375 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
quake with his barking; but beyond this, you 
have nothing to fear. 
We love you for the bravery of your early ad¬ 
vent amid the snows of Spring, heralding with 
your song the grand concert of the flowery season. 
We love you for the generous confidence you repose 
in us, hovering about our dwellings, and building 
your nests even in our porches and doorways. 
Without the life and motion which you and other 
birds give to our landscapes, how dull the scene 
would be ! 
Yes, we think a great deal of you, and will 
treat you tenderly. Now, please reciprocate our 
affection, by treating us with better manners in 
the garden and fruit-yard ! Please do! 
Experience in Raising Melons. 
We gave ample directions for growing melons, 
in the Agriculturist for May; but we wish now 
simply to make record of our experience the pres¬ 
ent Summer. In accordance with the directions 
in this paper, we told our gardener to dig out holes 
in the ground, eighteen inches deep and two feet 
square, to put a little fresh manure in the bottom 
of the pit, and then to fill up with a mixture of 
rotted turf, leaves, sand, common soil and old 
manure, in about equal proportions. We used this 
recipe, because the corner of the garden which we 
wished to devote to a melon-patch, was a cold 
stiff clay soil, and needed a good deal of amelio¬ 
ration. 
The melon seeds of four choiee varieties were 
planted, and came up finely. They grew well, 
too, for a week or ten days, and the gardener re¬ 
ceived all due praise for his skill in preparing 
melon soils. But alas ! After a heavy rain, our 
vigorous plants began to die, as if smitten by a 
sudden plague. A little examination showed 
that they were eaten off below ground by worms. 
We now asked the gardener how he had prepared 
the soil for the melons. What was our surprise 
to learn that he had forgotten most of our direc¬ 
tions, and had filled up the holes with fresh horse 
manure nearly to the top, and covered it with only 
two inches of good soil and sand ! The plants 
prospered until their roots struck down into the 
fresh manure, where in rainy weather the worms 
abounded. The case was a desperate one, but we 
resolved to try and save the remainder of our 
plants. So, having thoroughly soaked the hills 
with water from a sprinkling pot, we took up the 
young melons with balls of earth attached and 
laid them in the shade. The mass of half-decom¬ 
posed manure was then mostly thrown out of the 
holes, and its place supplied with the ingredients 
mentioned at the head of this article. The young 
plants were then carefully reset and covered to 
keep off the sun. By uncovering them every 
right and shading them for several days, they at 
length became re-established and began to grow 
again. The vines are now loaded with handsome 
fruit, and promise soon to reward all our labor. 
We give this detail of our experience, to cau¬ 
tion others against the too free use of fresh ma¬ 
nure in making beds for melons. For clay soils, 
a mixture of sand and old manure is very impor¬ 
tant ; and if rotted turfs and muck from the woods 
are added, it will be all the better. 
- -m-t -->-»- 
Lima Beaus six feet High. 
Who that has once tasted this delicious escu¬ 
lent can wish to spare any needful pains in culti¬ 
vating it successfully 1 Many persons plant it in 
the Ticnest soil, and give it the full liberty of a 
twelve or fifteen feet pole. The consequence is, 
that in gardens at the North, the upper half of 
the vine is practically useless. The strength of 
the plant is wasted in making branches high up 
in the air, which cannot mature pods before frost 
sets in. 
North of New York city, Lima beans should 
be pinched in as soon as they have reached six 
feet in hight. They will then throw out laterals, 
on which pods will form and ripen before cold 
weather begins. And the whole vine will be 
within easy reach and management of the culti. 
vator. 
Posony. — Paonia. 
The genus Pceonia embraces an extensive class 
of herbaceous and woody plants. More than 200 
distinct varieties have been cultivated by name, 
and new seedlings of more or less merit are be¬ 
ing constantly brought forward. As a class they 
hold a high rank for beauty of appearance, while 
many of them are quite fragrant. In color they 
range from scarlet and red to pure white, with 
all the intermediate shades. Most of the her¬ 
baceous kinds, like the one shown above, have a 
very full double bloom, while some of the Moutan 
species have large single flowers. 
The more common varieties have been culti¬ 
vated for the past 200 years, and the oldest inhabi¬ 
tants all seem familiar with what almost univer¬ 
sally found a place in their mother’s flower bed, 
viz : the “piny" as they were wont to call it. 
The Moutan or tree variety, on the contrary, 
is of recent introduction from China, by way 
of England. In its native country it is held in 
high esteem, and very extensively cultivated by 
all classes. Like the herbaceous species, it is per¬ 
fectly hardy iu this climate, and is a profuse 
bloomer, single plants sometimes producing from 
50 to 100 large sized flowers at one time. Both 
species are perennial in root, and the tree variety 
partially so in its branches. Each is propagated 
by dividing the bulbous roots and resetting. The 
best time is in the Fall, say in October in this lat¬ 
itude, and in November at the South. They may 
also be put out early in the Spring. A few years 
ago when there was a great demand for the 
Chinese species, propagators divided the roots 
into very small portions, and making numerous 
short cuttings of the new succulent wood, engraft¬ 
ed them upon the roots and thus multiplied them 
very rapidly. They can now be obtained of most 
nurserymen and florists. The herbaceous varie¬ 
ties are sold at 25 cents to $2 each, according to 
newness or choiceness of variety. The Moutans 
or tree varieties, at 50c. to S3 each and upwards. 
Some of the best common herbaceous kinds are 
the Peregrinum, Grevilli, Whitlejii, Odorata, Caro¬ 
lina, Humei, &c.; of the Moutans, the Phenicea, 
Rosea Odorata, Incarnata, Papaveracea, &c , are 
well known and highly esteemed. Other fancy 
varieties are held as high as S10 to $12 each. 
These last will of course be sought after only by 
the amateur. 
" " ■”» * --»- 0 . ■■ 
Rhubarb. 
IMPROVEMENTSj CULTURE AND VALUE—BY A PRAC¬ 
TICAL GROWER. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: 
Within the past few years, Rhubarb or pie¬ 
plant has become one of the heaviest and most 
profitable articles produced by the market gar¬ 
deners of our cities. The quantity raised for the 
city of New York alone is immense — 50 or 60 
wagon loads arriving daily at a single market, are 
disposed of freely at remunerating prices. We 
have reports of sales from several sources 
amounting to from $200 to $400 per acre, and in a 
few instances this amount has been largely ex¬ 
ceeded. This increased consumption is owing no 
doubt to improvements in the quality of the arti¬ 
cle. There is as much difference between the 
best rhubarb of to-day, and that of a few years 
•ince, as between the Bartlett pear and the choke 
pear of our forefathers. Formerly rhubarb fur¬ 
nished us only a tough and stringy pulp, with a 
rank acidity very uninviting to the palate, while 
we now are in possession of varieties which, 
when well cultivated, are tender as an apple, with 
an inviting and lively flavor, more sprightly than 
from any of the apple genus. These kinds of 
rhubarb are especially valuable for being the first 
and only fresh fruit of early Spring. 
W e are indebted chiefly to England for the high 
perfection attained by this plant. American gar¬ 
deners have succeeded iu obtaining fair varieties 
ol seedlings, but inferior to those grown by our 
transatlantic competitors who have devoted more 
time and attention to this plant. The Linnaeus, 
Victoria, and Giant, are the best English sorts 
procurable iu the United States ; Downing’s Co¬ 
lossal, and Cahoon’s Seedling are the most noted 
American kinds. Cahoon’s is enormous in size, 
but is too stringy and tough, and has too Much of 
a disagreeable rank flavor to be highly recom¬ 
mended. Downing’s Colossal is good ; still 
Charles Downing, its propagator, himself classes 
it as second to the Linnaeus, both in productive¬ 
ness and flavor, and I entirely coincide with him 
in ranking the Linnaeus as the best variety of all. 
It is entirely free from stringiness, has a very 
delicately flavored and tender pulp, and is unusu¬ 
ally productive and the earliest and latest in the 
market. 
The Victoria is also excellent, and in well cul¬ 
tivated ground quite tender, with a pleasant fla¬ 
vor, but it matures a week or ten days later than 
the Linnaeus, does not continue good so long, 
and it is less profitable for marketing. The Giant, 
a large, green variety, is coarser and later than 
either the Linnaeus or Victoria. 
For the proper cultivation of rhubarb, the soil 
should be rich and deep — “ high farming” with 
this plant is well repaid. The most inferior vari¬ 
ety in the garden, if taken from its customary 
neglected corner, and supplied abundantly with 
manure, and allowed a good exposure to sun and 
air, will double its crop and improve in quality 
almost the first season. 
For field planting, 1 would advise the soil to be 
plowed 15 to 18 inches deep, and well enriched 
with stable manure. I would plant in Fall or 
Spring, and set the crowns about three feet apart 
each way, and mulch them with stable manure or 
any convenient litter, though this is not absolute¬ 
ly essential. I think a loamy or somewhat moist 
soil is best. Rich soil generally rnsures a strong 
growth of weeds, hut they need not be feared, as 
