68 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
PRESERVING PLANTS IN WINTER. 
were examined and found to be in good con¬ 
dition, except being wet with condensed 
vapor. They were wiped dry and returned 
to the barrels, and the result was that we 
had a plenty of apples till apples were again 
ripe. Since that time I have taken no care 
to keep any more from freezing than were 
wanted for present use or maket, and have 
had to keep my Bean apples till the last of 
April or first of May, not being able to mar¬ 
ket them sooner, as they were frozen, and 
have had them in good condition at that 
time, although you know that it is quite out 
of season for them. 
When they are frozen, they should not be 
handled or disturbed till they are ail thawed 
again. During the past winter, our’s have 
been so much frozen that we have been short 
of those fit for use. They remained longer 
frozen than usual, and they came out quite 
as well as usual. Russets have kept finely, 
and I do notthink they will average half a 
peck to a barrel of defective ones, and Green 
Sweets are about as good. My Baldwins 
were all sold in the fall, except a few, and 
some other varieties which I kept for fami¬ 
ly use, all of which were more or less frozen, 
and all have kept remarkably well. My cel¬ 
lar is large, and that part in which apples are 
kept is exposed to the weather, a large door 
opening to it from without, which is only a 
single one, and as the mortar and wood have 
both suffered from time and frost, no light is 
necessary and the cats have room to pass out 
through the cracks, which would have been 
stopped if it had not been for the supposi¬ 
tion that our apples were safer than if they 
were. 
Thus much for my experience, and I have 
come to the conclusion that apples will keep 
longer sound if frozen than if not; that they 
are not injured in the least; that they should 
be kept where least likely to feel the change 
of temperature, whether in a cellar or else¬ 
where, and the drier the better ; that while 
frozen they can not rot, and are not likely to 
decay any the sooner for having been frozen. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Long Scarlet Radish —A Query .—Having 
received a fine quantity of imported seed, 
and finding it perfectly pure, I tried to save 
some new seed from it. It was sown on the 
28th of March, and produced splendid roots, 
but showed no disposition to seed till the 
latter part of June, when it threw up finely 
and showed large heads of bloom, but would 
not perfect its seed, and after exhausting the 
roots the tops rotted dow'n. 
Never having such a failure before, 1 do 
not know to what to attribute it. The 
ground was rich and well prepared, but I 
could not get one seed, while that received 
from your city produced admirable seed. 
The buestion is, whether the above is the 
usual effect of the climate of this State, upon 
English seed I —W. Summersbey, Richmond, 
Virginia. 
The deepest waters move most silently; 
the hottest fires have the smallest flames; 
and the spheres that have the swiftest mo¬ 
tion move without noise. 
BY H. B. 
Nothing has more discouraged the culti¬ 
vation of flowers than the supposed difficulty 
of preserving them in winter; and as this 
apparently formidable obstacle disappears as 
the amateur acquires experience, I shall en¬ 
deavor to detail some of the methods I have 
employed, and their successful results. Of 
course, my remarks are intended for those 
who garden on a small scale, and who have 
not greenhouses for winter protection. At 
the same time, the principles of the treat¬ 
ment about to be described will apply to the 
largest collections, and may be of service to 
all whose object is to secure the beauties of 
the spring and summer from the desolations 
of winter. 
Those whose stock of flowers consists of 
a few greenhouse plants, which they have 
cultivated in windows, have a very easy task 
to perform in protecting their favorites, as 
far as frost is concerned ; for a very small 
amount of care will su ffice when the plants 
are in a dwelling-house. The temperature 
of an occupied sitting-room will always be 
sufficiently high to keep out the frost in the 
day time, even if the plants are close to the 
light, and they may easily be removed in the 
evening to that side of the apartment which 
is furthest from the window. If the amateur 
has a large number of plants (young Pelar¬ 
goniums, for instance,) arranged on shelves 
close to the window, to remove these would 
be troublesome, and they may therefore be 
allowed to remain in their places in ordinary 
frosty weather, the precaution being taken to 
interpose the blind between them and the 
window. I once preserved 200 plants in 
good health through a severe season, in a 
room having only one large window, which 
admitted a good deal of sun. Some of the 
pots (which were small 60’s) were placed on 
narrow shelves, ascending to the top of the 
window, and as near the glass as possible; 
the others were set on a table. An Arnott 
stove was lit when required either by very 
damp or very cold weather ; air was given as 
often as possible ; the whole collection was 
often moved, that light might be equally dis¬ 
pensed, and advantage was taken of mild 
rains. I succeeded in preserving the whole, 
without any sickly growth being developed, 
and was rewarded by having an abundance 
of strong plants for bedding out in the spring. 
Most of these were Pelargoniums. 
Many plants may be more summarily dealt 
with. Cactuses and Scarlet Pelargoniums 
will do well in any dry cellar, provided no 
water is given them. The latter, when taken 
up from the flower-garden, I have preserved 
by shaking off the soil, and hanging them,root 
upwards, in a shed or coach-houses, from 
which frost could be excluded. In the spring 
they were found in full possession of their 
vital powers, and on being trimmed and pot¬ 
ted, made handsome plants. In all the cases 
to which I have alluded, it will be seen that 
care and forethought are the requisites de¬ 
manded of the amateur. Attention must not 
be remitted for a day. I have always found 
that more plants are lost in the winter by 
damp than by frost. Much water, therefore, 
must not be given ; indeed it should be al¬ 
together withheld so long as the plants do 
not flag. A plant in a moist growing state 
will yield easily to frost; while, if it had 
been kept dry and dormant, its powers of 
resistance would have been great. 
But no plan of preserving plants from frost, 
independent of a greenhouse, is equal to a 
well-regulated pit or frame in the open air. 
I have tried this in various ways and always 
found it succeed, if properly attended to. At 
the present time, all my plants intended to 
be put into the borders next year, or brought 
into the house, are in a large two-light frame, 
the management of which I will endeavor 
to describe. The frame stands about two 
feet from the ground, sheltered by a south 
wall, on an exhausted hot-bed, on which Cu¬ 
cumbers were growing in the spring. The 
mold of this bed having been kept from rain 
in the early autumn, at the close of October 
the pots were sunk into it up to the rims. 
A double light was then put on, by which 
wet and frost are more effectually excluded, 
and inthe following December the soil around 
the pots was quite dry. Around the frame 
long stable dung is pded up about eighteen 
inches in width, and level with the top. Over 
the whole an old carpet is thrown when ne¬ 
cessary ; and I have no apprehension that 
I shall lose anything if dampness does not 
defeat my efforts. Every day when it is 
not frosty, air must be freely admitted, and 
dead or mildewed leaves must be carefully 
removed. When frost sets in, two or three 
extra mats may be laid on, and the whole 
kept on till a thaw takes place. On no ac¬ 
count remove the coverings until at least a 
day after the frost is gone. This is a very 
important rule, for the admission of light 
may be fatal if any of the leaves should be 
frozen. When plants are found frozen in 
windows, &c., let them thaw in a dark cel¬ 
lar, and they will often sustain no injury. 
In this way I have preserved Pelargoniums, 
Calceolarias, Verbenas, Hydrangeas, &c.; 
and the freshness of the whole collection 
after the winter has passed away has always 
been encouraging. Ordinary greenhouse 
plants may therefore be preserved by every 
one during the hardest winter.—Horticult. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
GARDENING IN VIRGINIA. 
The climate of this State differing mate¬ 
rially from that of New-York, the routine of 
gardening is necessarily different in the culi¬ 
nary department. Here we can safely put 
out cabbage, lettuce, onions, and many other 
vegetables, to stand the winter. Cabbages 
planted in November produce first-rate heads 
in the following May, and if attention be paid 
to securing the proper kinds, a supply may 
be had in July of those planted in November. 
For example, the Enfield, Large York, and 
Flat Dutch, sown and planted out at the 
same time, make a fine succession—the En¬ 
field coming first, followed by the Large 
York. All these kinds stand the winter well, 
and make finer cabbages than those sown on 
hot-beds in early spring. Cauliflowers hav¬ 
ing the protection of a south fence stand the 
