314 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
trenches a foot deep, by drawing a garden-line 
from one side of the patch to the other; sprinkle 
an inch or more of sand at the bottom of the 
trenches, and then lay in the cuttings obliquely, 
and fill up with good soil. The sand will facili¬ 
tate the formation of roots. The cuttings should 
ne set so deep as to leave not more than an inch 
with one bud above ground. If the Summer 
proves to be a dry one, the ground should be 
watered and also be mulched around the vines. 
The Taylor Grape.— What has become of it 1 
We neard certain good judges speak highly of 
■.his grape last Fall, but of late nothing is said 
about it. It hailed from Cleveland, Ohio, was de¬ 
clared to be an undoubted native, perfectly hardy, 
and of surpassing excellence. Mr. Thomas 
Meeiian, of Germantown, affirmed it to be “ de¬ 
cidedly the lest native grape of some seventy 
Kinds which he had tasted last year, (1859 ) The 
leading members of the Philadelphia Horticultur¬ 
al Society held the same opinion.” A grape 
which piomises to stand by the side of the Dela¬ 
ware and Rebecca, should be looked after. 
-«*» -4 --*n53^txi=—-►-«*“-- 
Even a Boy can make a Hot-Bed. 
Most people have an idea that a hot-bed is so 
difficult ol construction as to be beyond their own 
skill or circumstances. But this is altogether a 
mistake. A hot-bed is within the reach of every 
one who can get. a few bushels of yard manure, 
and some rough boards. In its simplest form, a 
hot-bed consists of nothing more than a foot or 
two in depin of fermenting yard manure, covered 
over with naif a foot of good soil upon which to 
sow seeds, or set out plants. Usually there is to 
be placed around and over this, some sort of 
covering to retain the heat produced within, and 
shut out cord. The general custom is to make 
the box with boards, and cover it with sash set 
slanting towards the South. The covering may 
be of cloth instead of glass. C. B. Higgins, a 
.youth of sixteen, living in Delaware, writes to 
the Agriculturist as follows : Having read the 
description in Vol. XVIII, page 83, (March No., 
1859,) I determined to try to make one. I built a 
board frame six feet long and four feet wide, and 
stretched cotton cloth upon it, brushed a good 
coat of oil upon it, and let it dry until it was hard 
and firm. I then made a large box, without any 
bottom, set it over a pile of manure two and a 
hall feet thick, and covered it with the oil-cloth 
shade. In less than forty eight hours it began to 
ferment. I then placed on the manure a cover¬ 
ing of rich loam, six inches thick, in which I 
sowed my seeds. They sprang up readily, and 
grew as finely as if covered with glass. I planted 
cucumbers in small pieces of sod set in the bed, 
which grew rapidly, and were afterwards trans¬ 
planted out, so that we had them much earlier 
than usual. When by such a simple contrivance 
as this, garden vegetables can be had from four 
to six weeks earlier than by planting in the open 
ground, it is worth a trial. 
-o»-<-—a® a—-> »-■ 
Raising Figs. 
‘‘A Boy Subscriber” in Crawford Co., Pa., 
writes to the American Agriculturist: “A neigh¬ 
bor of ours in eating some purchased figs three 
rears since, saved and planted the seeds. They 
sprouted, and lie presented me witli one of the 
trees. It has grown well, but it has not borne 
any fruit. What shall Ido to make it bear!” 
Answer .—Your tree is scarcely old enough yet. 
You would not expect apples the third year from 
•eeda The fig, like the lemon, and orange tree, 
is brought into bearing earlier by grafting or bud¬ 
ding from another tree already yielding fruit. By 
obtaining from a nurseryman a single fig tree of 
an improved variety, you can easily multiply it by 
grafting upon seedlings, or by cuttings and lay¬ 
ers. As the fig tree is not hardy, it should be 
bent over in Autumn, and covered with earth 
during the winter. It will then grow more thrifty, 
and be more likely to produce fruit. 
in -a ^ Cr— -- 
Plant the Maple. 
It is surprising that so little value is set upon 
the maple. For fire-wood it ranks high, and it 
is considered a good shade-tree ; but it is not 
prized according to its merits. It possesses al¬ 
most every conceivable quality of a good tree. 
It transplants easily, grows with rapidity, and 
thrives in almost any soil or situation. Its 
leaves push out quite early in the Spring ; 
they are clean and bright during the Sum¬ 
mer, making a very dense mass of foliage ; 
and in Autumn their rainbow-tints are sur¬ 
passingly beautiful. Some fastidious tree critics 
tell us that the outline of the body of the foliage is 
somewhat too regular and stiff; but if so, the many 
other excellences of the tree atone for this de¬ 
fect. We need not plant maples exclusively. The 
streets of a town should be set with a variety of 
trees. Some should be arched over with the 
graceful elm ; others should have the ash, others 
the oak, the linden, the horse-chestnut; but not 
a few should be adorned with this standard tree. 
It would be an excellent arrangement to plant a 
long avenue with the different kinds of maple— 
the scarlet, the silver-leaved, the rock, and the 
black—interchangeably, and with frequent speci¬ 
mens of the white ash intermingled. The effect, 
all Summer long, would be varied and pleasant, 
and in the Fall, the scene would be as gay as 
fairy-land. 
So much for beauty ; now a word for use. On 
most farms, the maples were swept down at the 
original clearing of the land, as ruthlessly as the 
beech, elm and hickory — not so much for the 
fire-wood and lumber, as for the ashes and the 
land. The first settlers seem to have thought 
only of their present wants. Forests were an 
abomination, and down went sugar-maples and 
all; so that now, the land owners have to buy 
foreign sugar and molasses at double the prices 
the same amount of “ sweetening ” would have 
cost from the maple, if the original trees had been 
left standing. 
Why would it not be a good investment to set 
apart two or three acres of land on every farm of 
considerable size, expressly lor a sugar orchard 1 
Set the trees about ten feet apart in rows ten feet 
asunder. This would give 435 trees to the acre, 
or about 1,300 to the three acres. When they 
have grown to a foot in diameter, they will each 
yield two pounds of sugar a season, making near¬ 
ly half a tun to the acre. These trees will not 
materially injure the land for pasturage. A grove 
planted so compactly, would much facilitate the 
labor of gathering the sap. If such an orchard did 
not yield large returns of sugar to the planter 
himself, it would enhance the value of the land 
every year, and would be of great service to his 
children. 
Of the usefulness of the maple as lumber, we 
need hardly speak. Every one knows what fine 
cabinet-work it makes, sucb as chairs, bedsteads, 
etc., and how valuable it is for fuel. 
In addition to the native species of maple 
above mentioned, there are two or three foreign 
varieties worthy the attention of planters. 
One is the English maple (Acer campcstre). South 
of Albany, it is perfectly hardy. It reaches about 
thirty feet in hight. Its leaves resemble those ot 
the gooseberry. It makes a broad, spreading 
head. This was a favorite of the late Mr. 
Downing. 
Another species is the Norway maple (Acer 
platanoides). It resembles the sugar maple, but 
has a more rugged and branching habit. Its 
leaves are larger and darker. It is hardy at the 
extreme north, and is worthy of the notice of ail 
planters. Mr. Meehan, in his “ Hand book,” says : 
“ It is quite a peculiar tree, combining the artis¬ 
tic appearance of some trees with the rusticity ot 
others. There are many situations in a landscape 
where it would be singularly effective.” 
Another is the Ash-leaved maple (A. Ncgundo). 
This is often found indigenous in the Middle and 
Southern States. It is a fine tree, but not equal 
to those already mentioned. It very much re¬ 
sembles an ash. . 
New Yariegated-leaved Tree. —Foreign jour¬ 
nals speak of a new variety of the maple, styled 
Acer negundo variegala, which has lately been in¬ 
troduced to the market. It is said to resemble 
the ash-leaved maple of our own plantations, ex¬ 
cept that the leaves are strikingly variegated. It 
is reported to be as hardy as any of the maples. 
“That Wonderful Tree in Oregon.” 
[The following communication from P. Ritz, a 
subscriber in Oregon, is in response to inquiries 
made under the above heading in the Agricultur¬ 
ist, Vol. XVIII, page 305 (Oct. No.) Specimens 
of the bark, leaves, and seeds of the tree were 
forwarded ; the latter are under trial for propa¬ 
gation. We shall be happy to record the success 
in this locality, of a tree of such promise.— Ed.] 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist • 
In relation to that “ Wonderful Tree in Ore¬ 
gon,” you have been slightly misinformed. In¬ 
stead of its being confined to one particular place, 
I have seen it in every county in Oregon, and in 
several places in Washington Territory. With¬ 
in the last few days, I have seen trees of this 
species 50 feet high, and large enough to make 
nearly two cords of wood. It is a very pretty, 
close grained, yellow wood, and makes good fur¬ 
niture, or a good fire. 
In regard to its general appearance you stated 
correctly, except that its leaves are not fragrant. 
You had doubtless confounded it with an ever¬ 
green, fragrant shrub, leaves and seed of which I 
also enclose with this. 
We call the first mentioned tree the Laurel, 
and it is certainly the most beautiful ornamental 
tree I ever saw. Its bark is as smooth as polish¬ 
ed mahogany, and of a pretty pale red color. It 
is an evergreen with thick, leathery leaves some¬ 
what like the pear, has clusters of small white 
flowers in the Spring, that produce clusters of 
scarlet berries the size of a small cherry, which 
are rather pleasant to the taste, and may be eaten 
with impunity, as I have proved. They are quite 
palatable to the poor half-starved emigrant who 
can get nothing to eat but boiled wheat and 
smoked salmon. I have not noticed trees in 
bloom, or yielding fruit, under 10 to 12 years old. 
Last season I received $600 worth of shrub¬ 
bery from New-York, and out of the whole lot 
there was nothing so pretty as this native tree 
The fragrant shrub alluded to, grows 6 to 9 feet 
in hight, with thick, dark green leaves, so full of 
resin that they are quite sticky to the touch, and 
impart an agreeable odor to the hands, when rub¬ 
bed with them. 
