AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
18G0.] 
well suckered. The ground should he finely pul¬ 
verized and in good condition, The planting 
should not be done until the ground is warm, say 
in this latitude from the 6th to the 10th of 5th 
Month, (May).” 
An. Interesting Letter from Abroad. 
Fish Culture — Napoleon's Horses —.4 new Plant for 
some Speculator—Asparagus in Sand—Pears 
in France—French and English Nurseries — 
Trees sent abroad and reimported- at a higher 
price—Horticulture in England—Various Ob¬ 
jects of Interest in England , etc. 
[Our readers will be interested in the varied informa¬ 
tion contained in the following letter from Samuel B. 
Parsons, who has been in Europe for more than a year 
past, gleaning information, and collecting new plants, not 
only for his own establishment, but for our Government, 
the Central Park, etc. The letter was a familiar one to 
his brother, not designed for publication, but we have 
begged the privilege of giving the following extracts.— Ed. 1 
“... .1 have thus found every day something 
to convince me that under this ‘one-man¬ 
power,’ there may be a concentration of ef¬ 
fort in the development of great resources and 
investigations in physical science which is almost 
impracticable with us. In the United States, in¬ 
numerable jealousies are always awakened by 
any attempt of Government to develop particular 
interests, and all our advance must he the result 
of private enterprise. 
Some few years ago the Brothers Remy dis¬ 
covered a mode of propagating fish artificially, and 
with so great facility that their ponds were soon 
filled. On learning the facts, the French Govern¬ 
ment at once placed in their hands the means of 
extending their experiments, and is now erecting 
a large establishment near Basle. Receiving a 
note a few days ago from Dr. Coste, that he 
would be at home on a certain day, I called upon 
him, with Mr. Bigelow of the Evening Post, who 
always has a ready enjoyment and appreciation 
of such things. Dr. Coste is a professor in the 
College of France, and is educating a class of 
young men in all the mysteries of pisciculture, 
(fish culture). His laboratory was very interest¬ 
ing and full of specimens in all stages, from the 
eggs packed in moss as they arrive from a dis¬ 
tance, and those in process of hatching under 
running water, to the living and swimming fish. 
This laboratory of Dr. Coste is simply a means 
of illustration for the scholars. The establish¬ 
ment at Basle, which I visited in September, is 
fa • more extensive; there, large ponds and brooks 
shaded by trees, shelter the young fish, while ex¬ 
tensive brick buildings are provided with furnaces 
to give uniform temperature, and long ranges of 
tallies and troughs filled with running water to 
receive the eggs and the fish just hatched. From 
this establishment millions of young salmon will 
be sent by express to all parts of Europe. Dr. 
Coste mentioned a singular feature in the habits 
of the salmon which is of great aid to the culti¬ 
vator. Its instinct leads it, when out in the rivers, 
or sea, to come back to its own birth place to de¬ 
liver its spawn. In three months at sea it will 
grow more than in three years in a pond, and by 
having a trap to admit of ingress but not ofegress 
to fish of a certain size, the cultivator may al¬ 
ways keep his pond full of large specimens 
grown at sea. This whole subject is one of 
great interest, and pisciculture would be a 
source of great wealth to any one in the United 
States who should now embark in it. There 
are many details which I can not give here, but 
which I may one day work up if I ever find 
myself free from the cares of tree growing and 
selling. 
The new stables at the Louvre, are just now 
objects of interest. Decorated in the Italian 
style, lighted with gas, cleansed by numerous 
water jets, and furnished with all the latest im¬ 
provements, this building affords better accommo¬ 
dation for horses than monarchs enjoyed in old 
times. One room is 300 feet long and 14 wide, 
besides a row of stalls on each side which accom¬ 
modate 83 horses. When lighted up with gas at 
night, the effect is quite striking. One stable has 
fourteen stalls for saddle horses ; another has 
ten boxes and a place for washing. On the 
ground floor are the coach houses, containing 
more than 60 carriages. Near these are the har¬ 
ness rooms and other offices, while above them are 
apartments for grooms and others connecled with 
the stables. The number of these exceeds 300, 
and the most perfect order and military precision 
prevail throughout. The whole imperial stud and 
equipage, however, is not here. There are in all, 
some 300 horses and 180 carriages, a part of 
them here, and others in the Tuileries and St. 
Cloud. 
I see that Boussingault has just announced a 
new tubercular esculent called Schicama, which 
grows in the vicinity of Cuenza, New Granada. 
The plant is a shrub which grows to the bight 
of three feet, and has at its root two different 
sorts of tubercles ; those nearest the surface are 
yellow and bitter, and are only used for the prop¬ 
agation of the plant; the second tier, situated 
much deeper, are white, juicy, and so sweet that 
they can be eaten raw. It is said to bear cold 
weather well, and it is thought that if' it suc¬ 
ceeds here, it will be a formidable rival to the 
beet root, because it is richer in sugar. So, if 
any one wishes to make a fortune equal to the 
profits of one of our neighbors, by the Dios- 
corea, let him send a special mission to Cuenza. 
A French architect writes of growing aspara¬ 
gus successfully in pure sand on the sea coast. 
In Horticulture generally, the French are far 
behind the English. The Jardin dcs Plantes as 
a garden is very meager; the Petit Trianon is 
the only good specimen of landscape gardening, 
while good private pleasure grounds are very rare. 
Dwarf Pear trees have been planted and grown 
by millions for centuries, and tbe French certain¬ 
ly well understand their pruning and culture ; yet 
Pears are scarce and dear. I can not buy any 
variety fit to eat for less than half a franc each 
(about 9|c.), and for some I am asked twenty 
francs each ($3 75). The friends of dwarf Pears 
may rely upon it that they will never supply our 
market at home with Pears, if the French have not 
yet been able to do it. Few standard Pears are 
planted here and consequently the markets suffer. 
The nurserymen and florists of France will not 
compare with those of England. Of the former 
there are only two or three large establishments, 
and these not equal to our best American nurser¬ 
ies. I have just returned from a tour of inspection 
among English nurseries. I examined carefully 
one which is said to do the largest American trade. 
It possesses large specimens of some of the rare 
conifers, like Picca Nordmaniana and P. Nobihs , 
of which, trees 30 inches high command readily 
five guineas, $25—a price which no one would pay 
with us. In general stock, however, and in as¬ 
sortment, it will not compare with the best Amer¬ 
ican nurseries. In ornamental trees and shrubs 
alone, the species and varieties cultivated are not 
in number more than one half of those to be found 
in the nurseries at Flushing. In obtaining new 
stove and green-house plants, tbe connection of 
England with the East gives her nurserymen 
many facilities, but the prices demanded for some 
of these new things is almost fabulous. One variety, 
79 
six inches high, is now offered at the price of ten 
pounds ($50) each. The prices in England are well 
sustained, while they have been much reduced 
with us. I am certain that purchasers can buy 
almost all the varieties of Fruit and Ornamental 
Trees to much greater advantage in America, 
than to import from England or France. I found, 
for instance, our new Picca —which Barron at El- 
vaston Castle says is the finest conifer known, and 
which we sent to England at 14 shillings sterling 
($3 50 each)—selling at a guinea ($5) by houses in 
the American trade, and the identical plants we 
sent over have doubtless gone back to America 
with a profit charged on them of some 50 per cent. 
The English nurserymen gladly avail them¬ 
selves of this prejudice in favor of things from a 
distance, and smile in a quiet way when they 
speak of it. They deserve much credit, however, 
for their enterprize which is much aided by such 
establishments as Kew, and the London Horti¬ 
cultural Society. No private house could afford 
to employ such travelers as Sir Wm. Hooker and 
Robert Fortune, and to such are due some of the 
finest tilings which have been introduced. Among 
the collections sent home by a botanist are al¬ 
ways many things possessing no beauty except to 
a man like himself. An American will therefore 
never be able to order safely without seeing.... 
I endeavored to see everything, and shall take 
home with me all the ornamental trees and plants 
which I consider of any value. You may rely 
therefore upon having an American collection 
equal to any in Europe. 
England possesses great interest for one who 
is fond of horticulture. Its rural life is unequal¬ 
ed in any country. The beautiful turf, the numer¬ 
ous evergreen plants and trees, and the high cul¬ 
tivation everywhere, make a tour in England 
charming beyond description. If you want ruins, 
you can go to Kenilworth, where an arch repro¬ 
bate feasted bis royal Mistress with almost ori¬ 
ental magnificence. Warwick Castle will give 
you a good idea of the baronial style of living 
in feudal times, and with your puny strength of 
modern days, you may try lifting the sword which 
Guy of Warwick wielded like a feather. 
If you want a union of noble stretches of soft 
turf, fine old trees, and the most charming ivy cov¬ 
ered ruins you ever saw, go to Fountain's Abbey, 
and see how luxuriously the old monks lived. The 
impression left on my mind by this delightful old 
place can not well be described. It fully met all 
my conceptions of beauty in nature, antiquity, and 
art. If you would like to see a fine old place, you 
should go to Blenheim—tliat gift of the Nation to 
Queen Anne’s favorite warrior—him with the 
stormy wife. The present Duke keeps up the 
place well, and its extent gives it a grand charac¬ 
ter which I found no where else. The vistas are 
very fine, the trees are of great size, the walks 
are full of fine curves, and tastefully flanked hero 
and there with evergreens, while a large sheet. of 
water completes the charm. Trenlham, the seat 
of the Duke of Sutherland, is celebrated for the, 
extent of its fruit, forcing houses, and walls. I 
found Mr. Henderson the gardener full of intelli 
gencc, and like Mr. Thompson, of Dalkeith Castle, 
evidently enjoying his profession. 
Elvaston Castle, however, is the most wonder¬ 
ful place for rarities of great size, and for all sorts 
of beautiful things. I could fill a dozen pages 
with details of its various attractions, and there¬ 
fore will not commence.—I intended to have writ¬ 
ten about some important discoveries I think I 
have made in vine culture, which, if verified by 
American experience, will diminish, one half 
the expense of forming vineyards. But I will 
leave it till I return home....” 
