1864] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
115 
tomentosa, will do well in cultivation, the first 
growing from 5 to 10 feet high; the second, 
from 2 to 4 feet, and the last, 1 to 2 feet. Then 
there is the Pepperidge, Glethra alnifolia, which 
is common in swamps, especially near the coast: 
this makes itself quite at home in cultivation, 
and shows its white spikes of most fragrant 
blossoms in August, a time when flowers are 
scarce. The whole tribe of Cornels or Dog¬ 
woods are valuable and numerous. Viburnums, 
or Arrow-woods, are worthy of being introduced 
into the shrubbery. The Spindle-tree or Wahoo, 
Euonymus atropurpureus , must not be forgotten, 
for though its flowers are not showy, it has good 
foliage and its berries are very brilliant in au¬ 
tumn. This list might be extended indefinitely, 
and should by all means include the Shad-flow¬ 
er and Wild Crab, but it is left to the reader to 
fill out with whatever has struck him as being 
beautiful in the wild state. So little do persons 
observe our wild .plants, that the commonest 
things transferred to cultivated grounds, will be 
admired as something rare by those who pass 
them in their daily walks. Shrubbery to be ef¬ 
fective, should be in clumps and consist of vari¬ 
ous sorts, planted quite thickly, the lowest 
growing ones, of course, upon the outside. 
Influence of Stocks upon Grafts. 
George S. Rawson, Middlesex Co., Mass., 
writes on this subject to the American Agricul¬ 
turist: “ For the same reason that an early stock 
will hasten the maturity of grafted late fruit, 
a late stock will retard the maturity of early 
fruit. When I purchased the laud on which I 
now live, there were two apple trees of some 
kind of late fruit. I grafted one with the Gar¬ 
den Royal , a beautiful little dessert apple, that 
originated in this section, and which usually 
ripens about the first of September, and decays 
soon after it is fully ripe. But those on my tree 
do not ripen until all the Garden Royals in this 
neighborhood are ripened and gone. The size 
is also very much increased by their later ma¬ 
turity, and the quality is also greatly improv¬ 
ed—so much so, that visitors often say they 
‘never saw such Garden Royals as mine.’ 
“ The other tree was grafted with Hubbard- 
ston Nonsuch, and they remain hard until 
they rot. I cannot see how a fruit grower can 
fail to observe the influence of the stock upon 
fruit. There is no apple extensively cultivated 
but has been changed more or les3 by the stock 
upon which it has been grafted. Witness the 
different varieties of the Baldwin, R. I. Green¬ 
ing, and Roxbury Russet.” 
Mixing Flowers. 
A good arrangement of colors goes far to per¬ 
fect a flower-garden. By suitable study, any 
one who has a knowledge of the habits of plants 
can produce brilliant effects. Last summer, the 
writer of this enjoyed for some time the daily 
view of a magnificent oriental scarlet poppy set 
off against the abundant blooms of a shrubby 
white spiraea.—A little forethought on the part 
of the gardener will produce most agreeable re¬ 
sults. Most of the plans which we have met 
with in the horticultural journals, foreign and 
domestic, are defective in several respects; first, 
in recommending plants which bloom at differ¬ 
ent seasons of the year; also in arranging those 
which flower 'the whole summer with such as 
bloom but a few weeks; and lastly, in recom¬ 
mending for popular use those which are quite 
rare and expensive. Now, it is folly to assort 
the fall-blooming Aster with the spring-bloom¬ 
ing Hyacinth, or Candytuft with scarlet Gerani¬ 
ums, or to adyise as “ very good ” the Victoria 
regia and Lilium auratum—the latter to be had 
at “ only $40 a bulb.” But it is wise to recom¬ 
mend putting together different colors of Portu- 
lacca, in a bed by themselves; also to classify 
the colors of the Verbena as carefully as a la¬ 
dy does the shades in her worsted work or on 
her bonnet and dress. A bed of the various 
summer blooming Geraniums always looks well. 
Whoever has a little spare change may well 
spend it in an assortment of Heliotropes, Ager- 
atums, Feverfews, Lantanas, etc., and they will 
sort well and bloom in company all summer. 
Everlasting Flowers. 
Several flowers, the texture of which is pe¬ 
culiarly firm and paper-like, have received the 
name of “ everlasting ” from the fact that they 
retain their form and much of their color when 
dry. Tastefully made bouquets of these are 
pleasing ornaments for the house, and are much 
more satisfactory than the paper or worsted- 
work caricatures we frequently see. As spring 
is the time to provide for winter, we give a list 
of varieties that seeds may be procured in 
season. They are all desirable flowers in the 
garden also, if not needed for dry bouquets. 
At the head of the list we place the Acroclinium 
roseum , as it is to our taste the prettiest of all. 
The flower is over an inch in diameter, the rays, 
or border, of a bright rose color, with a yellow 
center. There is a variety album, with pure white 
rays; the two make a fine contrast. Rhodanthe 
Manglesii, is another fine annual, but it some¬ 
times fails to do well in out-of-door culture. 
This is also of a fine rose color and has flowers 
of a peculiar grace and beauty. Rhodanthe mac- 
ulata, atrosanguinea and maculata alba, are varie¬ 
ties of this, and have different colored flowers, 
the last two being quite pew, and the seeds sel¬ 
ling at a high price. Various • species of Heli- 
clirysum or Straw-flower, though coarser than 
the foregoing, and strong growers, are very valu¬ 
able, and afford a great variety of colors. The 
same may be said of the different sorts of Xer- 
anthemum. Ammobium alatum produces small 
white and nearly globular flowers.—All of the 
foregoing are .annuals which will grow readily 
in any good garden soil. The flowers, if wished 
for winter bouquets, should be cut before they 
fully expand, and dried in small bunches in the 
house. The old Globe-amaranth, Gomphrena 
globosa, should not be forgotten. Of this tflere is a 
great variety of colors, and if picked at the right 
time they last very well. Scald the seeds be¬ 
fore sowing, and pick the flowers when of full 
size, but before the lower scales begin to drop. 
To Improve the Lawn. 
It is now supposed that you have one. It was 
made several years ago, but weeds have got into 
it, ant-hills appear in some places, there are de¬ 
pressions and elevations, and here the grass has 
died out. Obviously, improvement is needed. 
The time for making improvements is now, as 
soon as the snow and frost have disappeared, and 
before the grass has made much growth; one can 
see the inequalities of the surface better than at 
a later period. Taking a bundle of small stakes 
on your arm, go over the whole lawn carefully, 
sticking in the pegs at every elevation and low 
place. Then with a sharp spade pare off the 
turf, and level the soil up or down, as the case 
may require, and then return the sods to their 
places, pounding them down smooth. So, go 
over the whole lawn, until there is no longer 
any perceptible unevenness of surface. 
For ants, a correspondent of the Horticultur¬ 
ist strongly advises the use of ground coflee 
which is to be sprinkled on the hills. The wri¬ 
ter says that the ants will disappear in fifteen 
minutes. He says “ it never fails.” Is it so ? 
The weeds, be they dock, plantain, thistles, 
dandelion, or such like, should be dug out by 
the roots. It will not answer to cut them ofl 
just below the surface. To bring up the weak 
grass and to cover the bare spots, spread over 
the whole lawn, a thin coat of well rotted ma¬ 
nure, ashes, bone-dust, or poudrette. 
Now, cut out the margins of the walks and 
flower beds anew. Ascertain the original lines 
exactly, and renew them with the sod cutter, or 
sharp spade. Few things give a country place 
a more finished look than neatly cut lines of 
walks and roads. Clean the roads and walks 
from every weed, and if flower beds have been 
cut out in the grass, eradicate all grass and 
weeds from them. Finally, bring out the roller, 
and trundle it back and forth over the entire 
surface, pressing back all grass roots that the 
frost may have thrown out, and smoothing down 
all parts alike, and then the spring work on the 
lawn will be well along, if not done. 
Early Beets and Carrots. 
The earlier these can be had, the more accept¬ 
able they are, and with a little pains they may 
be brought on much earlier than usual. The 
soil for both should be light, warm, deep, and 
rich with manuring the previous season. The 
best early variety of beet is the Bassano, or, as 
called by some, the Extra Early Turnip Beet. 
This though not large, is quick growing and 
very good. Soak the seed in warm water for 
24 hours; pour off the water and keep the seed 
covered in a warm place until the sprouts begin 
to show themselves, then roll the seed in plas¬ 
ter and sow. In treating the seed in this way, 
do not let the sprouts get too long, as there is 
danger of breaking them, but sow as soon as 
they begin to show themselves as little tender 
points breaking through the shell of the seed. 
Sow in drills, 12 or 15 inches apart, and when 
the plants are 2 or 8 inches high, thin to 8 or 10 
inches in the row. An ounce of seed will sow 
about 100 feet of row. As the beet seed is really 
a sort of cup, or capsule, containing frequently 
two or more seeds, it often happens that two or 
three plants will come up so close together as 
to appear like one. 7 These crowded plants 
should be looked to, and only one left. If there 
are any deficiencies in the rows, they can be 
filled by carefully taking plants from the crowd¬ 
ed places and transplanting them. Hoe often 
and weed thoroughly.—The Early Horn Carrot 
is the best early. Soaking the seeds in tepid 
water for two days will hasten their germina¬ 
tion. A friend informs us that he gets carrots 
up in three dr four days by keeping the moist¬ 
ened seeds in a warm place for five days and 
then drying off in ashes or plaster. We have 
not tried this plan. An ounce of seed will sow 
one hundred and fifty feet of drill. Sow in 15 
inch drills, cover hajf an inch, and thin twfour 
inches. As the plants are very small when 
they first show themselves, it is a good plan to 
sow a few radish or turnip seeds with those of 
the carrot seed, in order to distinguish the rows 
readily at the first weeding. 
