AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
ORNAMENTAL STRUCTURES EOR 
THE GARDEN. 
We have heretofore spoken of the appropriate¬ 
ness of introducing simple ornamental structures 
into pleasure grounds, such as arbors, rustic seats, 
baskets, frames for vines, &c., and we would fain 
believe that some of our suggestions have al¬ 
ready been heeded. Whether this be so or not, 
we wish now to appeal to our readers again, and 
have oalled in the sketcher and engraver to help 
us in this appeal, by giving a few newly engraved 
piptorial illustrations copied mostly from struc¬ 
tures in our own grounds or those of our stated 
contributors. 
No. I, is a rustic basket made of pine and 
painted the color 
of willow. It may 
be of any size 
from four to eight 
feet in diameter, 
and two feet high. 
Fig. 1. The circular frames 
at top and bottom are cut out of pine plank one inch 
and a half thick. The lattice work is£ inch pine, 
nailed across from the upper and lower circular 
frames, to represent the wicker-work of a basket. 
The whole is then covered with three good coats 
of, dark yellow paint. To make the basket hold 
soil, it must be covered on the inside with cheap 
oil-cloth fastened on by carpet-taoks. As it has no 
bottom, it is comparatively light, and can be easily 
earried into any chamber loft for the Winter ; and 
it is important to store it away in Winter, to pre¬ 
serve it from decay. When wanted in the Spring, 
it can easily be rolled out on to the lawn and 
placed wherever wanted. Set it firmly and level 
upon the ground, fill with good soil rounding it 
over in the center, and plant with verbenas, pe¬ 
tunias, geraniums, or sow it with annuals. It 
will make a beautiful object all Summer. Such 
a basket well-cared for, will last six or eight years. 
Fig. 2. 
No. 2, represents a support for tender vines, 
and is so constructed as to be lowered to the 
ground at the approach of Winter. Among the 
vines requiring such treatment, we would men¬ 
tion the Trumpet Creeper, Chinese Wistaria, and 
the Prairie Roses. These vines sometimes go 
through the Winter unprotected without harm, but 
they are often injured and sometimes killed to the 
ground ; it is therefore safest to lay them on the 
ground in Winter, where they will be protected 
by the snow. A post of cedar, three and a half 
feet long and four inches square, is set in the 
ground, and rising eight or ten inches above the 
surface. An opening or slit is cut in the top of 
this post to receive an upright shaft eight or ten 
feet high, three inches thick at the base, and ta¬ 
pering to the top. Several rods are inserted in 
this shaft to which the vines are fastened. This 
shaft is kept in its place by two stout pins at the 
bottom (a and b). On 
the approach of Win¬ 
ter, draw out fire up¬ 
per pin and lay the 
frame and vines to¬ 
gether on tho ground. 
If needful, a little 
straw may be thrown 
Fig. 3. over the vines. 
No. 3, is a rustic flower stand or tripod for 
holding plants in pots. If the stand is lined with 
zinc, it may be filled with soil and planted with 
flowers, like fig. 1. In making this stand—and 
the same may be said 
of all rustic work—it is 
important to use only 
the most durable kinds 
of wood. Red cedar is 
the best ; white oak is 
good if cut late in Sum¬ 
mer, and wild grape 
vine trunks answer a 
good purpose. Small 
articles of rustic work 
should he placed under 
cover during ihe Win¬ 
ter. 
No 4, is a rustic chair, 
Fig. 4. whioh any clever hand 
can make in a rainy day. As will be gathered 
from the picture, the bottom of the chair is^riade 
by cutting a round block from the end of a log. 
The lower portion can be dug out with an ax and 
adz, leaving the five legs above shown, or any other 
number. Any other shape can be given whieh 
• Fig. 5. 
fanoy may indicate, or time permit. The back, 
composed of vines, limbs, roots, or small poles, 
fastened by nails, can be fashioned into any fanci¬ 
ful form. A few of the pieces may be inserted in 
augur holes bored in the outer edge of the seat, 
which will give greater solidity. 
No. 5, is a seat for several persons, designed to 
stand under a tree 
commanding a dis¬ 
tant prospect. It 
may be made of 
grape vine branch¬ 
es, and poles of ar¬ 
bor vitae. 
No. 6, is a simi¬ 
lar seat made to 
partially encircle a 
tree. The short 
roots of which the 
bottom of the seat is made should be left half an 
inch apart, so as to allow the rain to pass off readily. 
The whole work should be open, to admit rain and 
sunlight to the ground around the roots, or tho 
tree may be injured. When surrounding objects, 
on all sides, call for it, the seat may well be ex¬ 
tended entirely around the tree, as shown in the 
cut here given. It will be remembered that these 
figures, though actual representations of struc¬ 
tures we have made or examined, arc only de¬ 
signed to be suggestive. It is not desirable that 
they should be exactly imitated ; one of the great¬ 
est pleasures to be derived in their construction, 
is the exercise of one's own ingenuity in introduc¬ 
ing novelty and variety. 
Fig. 7. 
No. 7, is an arbor built around a large elm tree 
in the grounds of one of our contributors. The 
posts arc of cedar, ihe frame and lattice work of 
pine and painted a soft drab color. It is now em¬ 
bowered in shrubbery, and covered with the 
American Ivy, which also clambers up ihe old tree 
above it. So much does that arbor seem to be¬ 
long where it is,.that a little child of the proprie¬ 
tor once asked his father in all simplicity, how 
he got that tree up through the top of the arbor ! 
We dose our illustrations for this number, by 
giving a sketch (No. 8,) of a rustic Summer 
house seen in the grounds of the late Mr. Down- 
Fig. 8. 
ing, at Newburgh. Most of the structures we 
have now given can be made within doors, on 
rainy days, or during the leisure hours of Winter. 
If made well and of the right materials, they will 
last any reasonable time. 
MOSS ON TREES. 
A friend writes us that some of his choice trees, 
both fruit and ornamental, are suffering from the 
growth of moss on their bark. He wants to 
know the cause of it, and especially what to do 
with it. 
If we could sit down for an hour or two on 
our friend’s premises, we think we could answer 
his Inquiries easily. We should first examine the 
soil in which his trees stand, and see whether it 
is not wet, or hard, or impoverished. If wet, 
that would be enough to settle the question. The 
air above wet soils is full of the seeds of lichens, 
Fig. 6. 
