342 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
as follows : In order to obtain strong plants, 
the seed should be 'sown not later than the 
1st of May, in a well drained store pan, in a 
light sandy soil, and put into a cool frame, 
as near the glass as possible. When large 
enough to be pricked off into store pans, the 
young seedlings should be allowed a square 
inch between each plant; when that space 
has been filled, let them be potted singly into 
three-inch pots, and as the pots become filled 
with roots, shift into a size larger pot, giving 
them their final shift into six-inch pots in 
the early part of September. The compost 
in which I have found these plants to thrive 
best has been equal parts turfy loam and 
leaf-mold, and a little sharp sand. While 
growing, a cool pit or frame suits them best; 
give plenty of air, and be careful not to over 
water them. Treated in this way the plants 
will be in flower by the middle of November, 
and will continue in blossom through the 
winter and spring.—A Practical Gardener, 
in Floricultural Cabinet. 
NOTES ON CINCINNATI. 
BY P. BARRY. 
Cincinnati is renowned for her strawber¬ 
ries and strawberry growers and for her fine 
Catawba vineyards, but these are not all her 
horticultural attractions. She has within 
her environs a large number of charming 
private residences—the country seats of her 
merchant princes—of which she may not un¬ 
reasonably feel proud. This “ Queen City” 
is surprising the world by her rapidity of 
growlh, and the traveler who visits her can 
not fail to be surprised at the indications of 
wealth and rt fined taste which are scattered 
so profusely around her outskirts. 
I spent two very pleasant days there, the 
last of May and first of June—not only 
pleasant days put profitable ones, for I had 
an opportunity of examining satisfactorily 
the numerous and extensive vineyards, 
which are not to be met with elsewhere. 
All appeared to be in a most flourishing con¬ 
dition; the vines had passed out of blossom, 
and an abundant crop of fruit was set, giving 
promise of a rich harvest. A light frost had 
left some traces of its blight, but the injury 
was not regarded as of any moment. Noth¬ 
ing can afford a better proof of the success¬ 
ful results of this culture than its rapid ex¬ 
tension. The hills are all dotted over with 
Vineyards, and I found them even beyond the 
hills, on the deep and fertile plains. The 
vine-growers are enthusiastic too in their 
business, and execute their work in the most 
thorough manner; they seem to love it, as 
well they may, for nothing in the way of 
cultivation can be more interesting or beau¬ 
tiful. It has a fascination about it that can¬ 
not fail of awakening enthusiasm. 
I had an opportunity of inspecting the cel¬ 
lars of Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Longworth. 
the leaders and early promoters of vine cul¬ 
ture. Mr. Longworth has recently built ad¬ 
ditions to his at a cost of some $30,000, and 
the entire cost of his cellars is estimated at 
some $60,000. Every part of this vast cav¬ 
ern is occupied with some branch of the 
business. I was told that at the present lime 
it contains more than 150,000 bottles of wine, 
besides a great number of casks. In the ab¬ 
sence of Mr. Longworth, his gardener, Mr. 
Pendleton, and Mr. Fournier, the head of the 
wine department, bestowed upon me the 
most polite attention. Mr. Longworth’s 
specimen vineyard is very interesting. He 
has there assembled the most diversified 
collection from all parts of the continent, 
with a view of testing their fitness and value 
for the production of wine. If it be true, as 
some people honestly believe, that this na¬ 
tive wine is to be one ot the most powerful 
aids to the temperance reform, then Messrs, j 
Longworthy, Buchanan, and those other gen¬ 
tlemen of Cincinnati, who are prosecuting 
this busine.-s with such zeal, are genuine 
philanthropists. At any rate it is pleasant 
to see those fair hill tops and steep hillsides 
covered with luxuriant vines. It seems like 
converting an arid waste into a fruitful and 
delightful paradise, and with all our heart we 
wish it success. 
Turning from grapes we pass to the straw¬ 
berries. 1 had a great desire to see those 
famed Cincinnati sorts in full bearing on 
their own ground, and in their greatest ex¬ 
cellence. McAvoy's Superior and Long- 
worth's Prolific are the two of greatest note— 
the great prize takers—and I felt particular¬ 
ly anxious to see them. I was not so fortu¬ 
nate in finding good collections as I had hoped 
to be. The nurserymen have sold them¬ 
selves so close that they have but few left to 
bear, and these afforded no just criterion. 
Among the private gard’ ns I found but two 
where these sorts were well grown. In one 
of these, especially that of A. J. Wheeler, 
Esq., the beds were in fine order. The Su¬ 
perior was the principal crop, having a few 
row’s of Prolific among them ; the plants of 
the latter were young, and had not a full 
crop. I am satisfied that both these varie¬ 
ties are valuable, hardy, productive, and of 
fine flavor. The Superior, as to flavor, would 
rank second only to Burr's New Pine among 
our American varieties. 
I took several occasions to examine the 
market. I found immense supplies, consist¬ 
ing in most part ofth e Iowa, generally called 
“ Washington," by tlie marketmen ; Hudson, 
the old favorite sort, and Hovey's Seedling. 
The last named were in all cases the best, 
and sold at twenty-five cents per quart, while 
the others were offered at fifteen cents : I 
state this fact with some hesitation, lest it 
may cause our friend Hovey to explode in a 
fit of joy. I hope, however, he will take it 
cooly. The first words 1 heard on the sub¬ 
ject of strawberries were,“ Hovey’s Seedling 
has beaten us all this season;” and judging 
from the samples in market, informed us that 
the “ Superior ” would prove too tender for 
market, and would not be extensively grown. 
Hovey’s Seedling, they, all said, was not a 
great bearer, but looked well when gathered, 
and sold at a high price. 
So much for strawberries. The market 
is abundantly supplied with vegetables, some 
good, out the great bulk of very indifferent 
quality. 1 observed a few heads of nice 
cauliflower. It is very probable that the 
best articles do not reach the market stalls, 
but go directly from the gardens to private 
houses. The markets are not always con¬ 
clusive evidence of the state of gardening. 
The Nurserymen and Florists of Cincin¬ 
nati are all prosperous, and are extending 
their operations with more or less rapidity. 
I visited Messrs. Kelly, Heaver, Sayers, 
Jackson, and Williams, and found their 
grounds all in excellent order, with a fine 
stock coming forward. Mr. Kelley is branch¬ 
ing out vigorously. He has built some ex¬ 
cellent houses, and every department seems 
to be well sustained. Mr. Heaver is estab¬ 
lishing a branch nursery at Hamilton, and 
Mr. Jackson is out of town some five or six 
miles in a fine healthy situation, where he 
has built himself a large and commodious 
dwelling house, greenhouses, and with abun¬ 
dance of excellent land, is getting up a fine 
nursery stock. The grounds of A. H. Ernst, 
Esq., I found particularly interesting, as they 
contain a large collection of bearing fruit 
trees. The ornamental trees and shrubs 
cover portions of the ground thickly, and 
make it a real wilderness of beauty. Mr. 
Ernst is one of the pioneers of Horticulture 
at Cincinnati, and has done much to lay the 
foundation of that taste which is now ac¬ 
quiring such development there. 
Spring Grove Cemetery is another evr- 
dence of the wealth and taste of this young 
city. It is only second to Greenwood in 
beauty and good keeping, and is even fully 
equal in many respects. It is now under the 
direction of Mr. Strausch, one of the most 
accomplished landscape gardeners in this 
country. 
I would gladly give you some particulars 
respecting the beautiful suburban residen¬ 
ces of Messrs. R. B. Boweler, Wm. Resor, 
A. J. Wheeler, R. Buchanan, Mr. Hoffner, 
and others, which I examined with much 
satisfaction, and I would also say something 
of the fine scenery that abounds everywhere 
around the city, but my notes are already too 
long. 
I was accompanied in my rambles by M. 
B. Batheham, Esq., of Columbus, (who by 
the way, is laying the foundation of a large 
nursery there.) and also by Messrs. Kelly 
and Heaver, of Cincinnati. I am indebted to 
these gentlemen for great kindness on this 
as on past visits of this kind, and hope to re¬ 
pay their courtesy when I find them in my 
neighborhood.— Horticulturist. 
THE CURCULIO. 
BY HENRY CROFT. 
I notice in your June number, just received, 
a short letter from Mr, Bacon on the 
subject of the Curculio, and a proposition to 
employ sulphureted water, such as that of 
Avon for syringing the plum trees ; and it 
may not perhaps be altogether uninterest¬ 
ing to you to know that a series of experi¬ 
ments are being made on this subject by a 
few amateurs of this city. 
Some years ago in a paper published in 
the Canadian Agriculturist, I endeavored to 
account for the supposed efficacy of the lime 
and sulphur wash by the formation of a 
chemical compound—the sulphide of calcium 
—its gradual decomposition on exposure to 
the air, and slow evolution of sulphureted 
hydrogen gas, which is well known to be 
highly destructive to animal life. My ex¬ 
periments oh this preservative were quite 
unsuccessful, and I was equally unfortunate 
in driving away the “Turk” by means of 
assafeetida, a substance which you will allow 
is nearly unsurpassed as to odor 
Last year a lady amateur of this town 
tried, at the suggestion of a chemical friend, 
the action of sulphureted hydrogen, as 
evolved from the proper mixture, and subse¬ 
quently of a peculiar compound well known to 
chemists—the hydrosulphide of ammonium. 
The trees thus treated were loaded with 
fruit, those unprotected had none! 
This year two or three persons are trying 
a quantity of the hydrosulphide, and as soon 
as the fruit is thoroughly out of danger, I 
will send you the results. In my garden I 
am trying it on several trees, leaving others 
unprotected. A few ounce phials are half 
filled with the liquid hydrosulphide, diluted, 
with about two parts of water ; every three 
or four days I add a little more of the liquid, 
or as often as its odor begins to diminish. 
It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the 
delicious scent of the garden is by no means 
improved by the process. 
It is almost to soon too say any thing with 
regard to the result of my own experiments, 
but I may state that on several fine plum 
trees, on which last year I had to search for 
a quarter of an hour in order to find an un¬ 
bitten plum, 1 have now to look almost as 
long to find a bitten one. On a “ Law¬ 
rence,” the result has not been so favorable, 
about one-fifth or less being bitten ; last 
year I had none on this tree. 
At the end of the season I shall endeavor 
to obtain the experience of the different am¬ 
ateurs who are now trying the experiment 
