146 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[May, 
upon the opinion that little or none of the quince 
stock should be left above ground, in planting. 
A few still hold that it may rise an inch, or half 
an inch; others maintain that it should sink 
nearly an inch below. We incline to the latter 
doctrine. Being so planted, the quince stock is 
protected from the severities of northern Win¬ 
ters, and from the ravages of the borer. Then, 
too, this allows the pear stock to emit a few 
roots into the soil, which enable the tree to 
stand more firmly against high winds. If the 
pear stock is set much lower than this, it sends 
out large roots, and the tree ceases to be a dwarf. 
3. In setting out trees, use no manure. The 
soil should be well trenched or plowed. After 
digging the holes, a few rich sods, or some leaf- 
mold may be thrown into the bottom, but the 
roots of the tree should be surrounded only with 
good common soil. During the Summer, mulch 
the surface with leaves or other like material. 
In the Fall, apply a peck or so of good half de¬ 
composed manure to the surface, and let it lie 
there until Spring, when it may be worked into 
the soil. Of course, the ground as far as the 
roots extend in it, (and they extend further than 
is generally supposed,) should not be cumbered 
with any growing crop—such a crop not 
only robs the tree of its appropriate food, but 
the digging ofAhe soil during cultivation, is sure 
to mangle the roots of the trees. 
Of the pruning of the dwarf pear, from year to 
year, we can not now speak. This has been 
done heretofore, and will be again, as needed. 
Too Old to Plant Trees! 
This is the complaint of many a man in mid¬ 
dle life, or when rounding over the hill of his 
pilgrimage. He thinks he shall never live to 
eat of their fruit, or to sit beneath their shade; 
so it will be of no use to plant. He’s too old, 
too old! 
What if you don't live, dear man, that is no 
reason for not planting. Suppose your prede¬ 
cessors had refused to plant those orchards from 
which you annually gather apples and pears, 
what would have been your lot now ? And 
would you bless or curse their memories, for 
their selfishness ? Suppose your fathers had re¬ 
fused, for the same reason, to plant shade trees 
.along the margins of your village streets, where 
would be those noble avenues in which the pres¬ 
ent generation rejoices, and which make your 
ancestors’ names, words to be spoken only with 
reverence and praise! If you indulge such a 
churlish disposition, it is doubtful whether you 
will live very long to enjoy anything; such a 
spirit sucks the fountain of life dry, quite early. 
Each generation receives a dowry from the 
preceding, and should hand over the inheritance, 
much enlarged, to the following. 
The Rural New-Yorker once reported the re¬ 
ceipt of some extra fine maple sugar from Mrs. 
Knapp, of Clarkson, N. Y.,who was then eighty 
five years old. This lady gathered the sap and 
made the sugar herself from trees planted near 
her dwelling after she was sixty years of age! 
What will our grumblers say to that! 
Novel Deception. —Adulterations of almost 
every article of food have long been practiced, 
but the following is new to us. Mr. W. L. 
Scott, in a recent communication to the London 
Society of Arts, states that he has seen English 
apples, of inferior quality, colored superficially 
in imitation of American Newtown pippins, and 
sold at the high price which the latter command 
in that market 
Doyenne d’Ete Pear. 
We give below an outline of one of the best 
summer pears now grown. It ripens the latter 
part of July. The fruit is handsome, juicy, 
melting, delicious. The tree is a vigorous 
grower, and bears regular and.abundant crops. 
Mr. Barry’s brief description is: “A beautiful, 
little, melting, sweet pear; tree a fine grower 
and bearer, and succeeds well on the quince.— 
August.” Mr. Downing says: “ Skin smooth, 
fine, yellow, often shaded with bright red, and 
covered with numerous gray or russet dots.... 
Flesh white, melting, juicy, with a sweet pleas¬ 
ant flavor. A very good early pear, ripening 
about the same time, or a little later than Made¬ 
leine.—Last of July.” If any one has a blank 
in his list of summer pears, either on the quince 
or pear-stock, let him not hesitate to fill it with 
the Summer Doyenne. 
--- 
Herbaceous Perennial Plants—Their 
Value, and how to Cultivate them. 
Herbaceous Perennials are distinguished from 
annuals, by their living for many years on the 
same root; and from bulbous-rooted plants, by 
the quality of their roots and their habit of 
growth; and from shrubs, by the fact that their 
soft, succulent tops die to the ground every 
year. Among the herbaceous plants the most 
commonly known, are the Peony, tall Phlox, 
Dicentra, Sweet William, Chrysanthemums, etc. 
It is a matter of no little surprise that this an¬ 
cient and honorable family of plants should 
be less sought after than formerly. Bedding 
plants are “ the rage ” now, to a ridiculous de¬ 
gree. To be fashionable, and up to the times, a 
flower-garden must be in a blaze of brilliant col¬ 
ors, scarlet especially; there must be masses of 
verbenas, masses of petunias, masses of gerani¬ 
ums, and what-not hard-named exotics. We do 
not object to these plants; they should appear 
in every garden, if possible; but we do object to 
the taste which employs them to the exclusion 
of others; which prefers their flaunting, short¬ 
lived beauty, to the more modest and more va¬ 
ried colors of the hardy and perennial herbaceous 
plants. 
These last named plants are fast friends. 
They do not give up the ghost at the first frost, 
but live at the root, year after year, and spring 
up every season with new freshness and vigor. 
We become warmly attached to the old ac¬ 
quaintances. Then, their management gives one 
but little trouble. They do not need to be taken 
up every Fall, and carefully housed through the 
Winter, and then re-set in the Spring, as do the 
dahlias and the various bedding-plants. All 
they ask is a good, generous soil, and an occa¬ 
sional trimming or division of the roots when 
they become overgrown. This will happen, 
perhaps, once in three 0 " four years. Then, too, 
they furnish a pleasing succession of bloom 
through the season. Week after week, from 
May to November, some new flower opens, giv¬ 
ing us new colors, new forms, and new fragrance. 
But we would not indulge in seeming lamen¬ 
tations : that would be going too far. Cock¬ 
neys and shallow people may affect to despise 
everything beside exotics, but it is not so with 
truly sensible people, with those who love the 
garden for its own sake. The last named 
people prize these plants above every other, and 
do not fail to procure every new thing that is 
worthy of the company of their old favorites. 
The cultivation of these plants is very simple. 
Different sorts succeed best in different soils, 
but, as a general rule, a light rich loam suits 
them all. For those that are slightly tender, 
Spring is the best season for transplanting, be¬ 
cause when set out in the Fall, they are apt to 
be thrown out by Winter frosts. For those 
whose tops die down before Autumn, late Sum¬ 
mer is the best season for transplanting; they 
will then get partly established before Winter. 
Most herbaceous plants are propagated by di¬ 
viding the roots, which can be done with a knife, 
for small plants, and a sharp spade for large 
ones. Those which do not increase much at the 
root, maybe propagated by layers. Bend down 
a thrifty shoot in June or July, cut it partly 
through, peg it down and cover it with three 
inches of dirt, laying over the whole a flat-stone. 
By the month of October, it will be rooted and 
ready to be cut from the parent plant for removal. 
Nearly all perennials are benefited by some 
kind of Winter protection. Few of them, in¬ 
deed, will die, if unprotected, but to all it will 
be beneficial. A shovelful of strawy manure, 
or of forest leaves, or a little tan-bark, is just 
the thing. They will start earlier in the Spring, 
and grow more vigorously for the treatment. 
In the next article, will be found a list of select 
varieties of herbaceous perennials. 
--► » 
What Perennials to Cultivate. 
Having given some directions above for the 
culture of these plants, we now add a short al¬ 
phabetical list of the best of them, with brief de¬ 
scriptions annexed. The young planter will 
then have some idea of the size, color, and habit 
of each plant before getting it. This knowledge 
will also aid in the proper arrangement of the 
plants: 
Mlllfoil. ( Achillea ptarmica .)— Has small, 
daisy-like, white and yellow flowers, in bldbm 
nearly all Summer. Grows eighteen inches high, 
and is perfectly hardy everywhere. 
Campanula.— The pyramidal and a few 
other sorts are tender at the North, but most of 
the species are hardy as can be desired. The 
plants grow from one foot to two feet high; the 
flowers are mostly bell or cup shaped, double 
and single, blue and white. The peach-leaved 
is one of the finest species, and has many varie¬ 
ties. C. Persicafolia, single and double, white 
and blue, is very fine. 
Cardinal Flower. ( Lobelia cardinalis .)— Na¬ 
tive and everywhere known, this is yet a much 
admired flower. There is something peculiar in 
the brilliant scarlet of this plant. It was trans¬ 
ported to England about two centuries ago, and 
at the time of its introduction, a gardening au- 
