Sept, 1859 . 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
973 
How many have loved ones resting beneath the 
sod in distant lands, who, but for their change of 
home, might doubtless have gladdened their 
hearts for years. 
Are the social advantages of the new region 
equal to those at present enjoyed 1 Increased 
pecuniary gain can but poorly repay for the loss 
of good society, schools, and churches. A family 
brought up in an immoral community, away 
from educational and religious influences, will be 
injured rather than benefited by any increase of 
worldly wealth. Ponder long and seriously upon 
this question ; it is one of great importance to 
your own happiness and that of your family. 
Can you and your partner who must share your 
weal or woe, reconcile yourselves to the break¬ 
ing up of the old ties that have rendered the fa¬ 
miliar objects about you—almost parts of your¬ 
selves ! Are you ready to leave the circle of 
sympathizing friends that will stand by you in 
every emergency, for the companionship of dis¬ 
trustful strangers 1 It will be many years before 
the new home can become the scene of associa¬ 
tions and recollections that will endear it, and 
long time will elapse before familiarity with the 
habits and character of new neighbors will make 
it desirable or safe to form intimacies. 
Finally, is it not a restless uneasiness, a dis¬ 
satisfaction, or rather an unsatisfaction, pro¬ 
ceeding from within, and not from any real hard¬ 
ships in your present circumstances, that makes 
you so ready to listen to the golden accounts 
which interested parties give of happy lands, ‘far 
away.’ This is true in thousands of instances. 
A discontented spirit magnifies the inconveniences 
of its present situation, and imagines that to 
leave it would bring improvement; and so it 
might, if the poor man could but leave himself be¬ 
hind, but he carries with him the bane that will 
blight the greenest fields, and poison the best 
springs of enjoyment. Let him resolutely cast 
out this evil spirit, and he may then know that 
“ There’s no place like home.” 
One who has been “ out West.” 
About the Frazer’s Silver Fir. 
It seems now to be quite generally conceded 
that while the common Balsam Fir is an excel¬ 
lent tree in many respects, it is yet objectionable 
to the eye of taste, for its stiffness and more es¬ 
pecially for its leanness and shabbiness as it 
grows older. Several newer varieties of the Fir 
family are being introduced by planters, of which 
much is expected. Siberian Silver Fir, ( Picea 
Pichta,) we know from the observation of sever¬ 
al years, to be hardy and very beautiful while 
young. Does any one know what its habits are 
when old 1 Frazer’s Fir, ( Picea Ffazeri,) is also 
highly spoken of. Mr. Sargent, in his new edi¬ 
tion of Downing, says that it is a variety, proba¬ 
bly, of our common Silver Fir, a little lighter in 
color, and supposed to have originated in the 
mountains of Carolina and Pennsylvania. Neither 
Carrion nor Gordon seem to place it anywhere 
else; though we have trees sent to us from Ver¬ 
mont, by President Wheeler, of Burlington, which 
he thinks identical with the southern variety ; and 
we must confess we quite coincide with him, 
though they may prove some sort of our ordinary 
double spruce. At any rate, both varieties are as 
hardy as possible.” 
We learn from other sources, that Frazer’s 
Silver Fir is often found on the sides and top of 
the Alleghanies, on solitary spurs of those moun¬ 
tains in New-York, and sometimes in New-Eng- 
land. Travelers report it as growing around 
Willoughby Lake, and in other sections of Ver¬ 
mont and New-Hampshire. Some patriotic ama¬ 
teurs, who have seen it when about fifteen feet 
high, declare it to be equal to the Norway Spruce 
in depth and beauty of foliage, and think it will 
prove to be the best of all American evergreens ! 
Don’t they forget that the White Pine and the 
Hemlock are American trees 1 We want to know 
more about Frazer’s Fir as an old tree. Does it 
grow old gracefully] Is it superior in this re¬ 
spect to the common Balsam Fir] We ask for 
our own information and that of tbe tree-plant¬ 
ing public generally. 
- »_« - «!»»■ -- 
The Englishman’s love for Evergreens. 
We have formerly remarked in this paper, that 
in foreign countries, and especially in England, 
evergreens are planted more extensively than 
with us. In one of our exchanges, we find the 
following letter from an English nurseryman to 
a friend in this country: “There never was a 
time when the demand for coniferous trees was 
so general as at present. They are purchased 
largely by owners of great estates, and they are 
extensively patronized in the small gardens and 
pleasure-grounds, wherever the atmosphere will 
permit them to live, for they seem to like pure air 
as well as any plants we know. Araucaria 
imbricala, the Hemlock, Spruce and the Cuprcssus 
funebris seem now to furnish an indispensable 
portion of those treasures.” Will American 
planters please note the honor herein paid to our 
common, but most beautiful Hemlock! 
------ 
How to make a Weeping Larch- 
One of the finest illustrations of the newer de¬ 
ciduous trees in Sargent’s edition of Downing, is 
the sketch of a weeping larch now growing on 
the Editor’s grounds at Fishkill. That tree is a 
Scotch larch, grafted at the hight of ten feet with 
another variety which has a pendulous habit. The 
operation is not very easily performed. Some of 
the specimens we have seen in the nurseries are 
one-sided, and far less beautiful than the one 
grown by Mr. Sargent. 
We have lately learned a new mode of raising 
a weeping larch, which will seldom fail of success. 
Take the common American larch, plant it in an 
open space where it can remain permanently, and 
let it get a vigorous growth twelve feet high. 
Let it stand at least two years and get thorough¬ 
ly established before it is operated upon. Then 
saw off the top, at about ten feet high, and trim 
up the lower branches to about eight feet from 
the ground. The branches left, will shoot out 
horizontally, and then, in a year or two, they will 
droop to the ground. Those which start out at 
the top and try to ascend, must be cut off with a 
bold hand, from year to year, keeping the upper 
surface shaped like an opened umbrella. The tree 
thus raised, will live longer than the grafted sorts 
found in the nurseries. Rustic seats look well 
under trees of this description. 
History of the Verbena. 
This plant, which is now the delight of every 
garden, is of comparatively recent introduction. 
The first specimen brought into this country was 
the variety known as the Verbena Molindres, a 
scarlet flower. Mr. Thomas Hogg, a Florist in 
New-York, must have the honor of its introduc¬ 
tion, in the year 1832. Five years after, anoth¬ 
er sort was brought out, Verbena Tweediana, by 
Mr. George Thorburn of New-York, and a nur¬ 
seryman of Philadelphia, probably Mr. Buist. 
This had a great popularity, and was rapidly sold 
at three dollars a plant! In the year 1838, Mr 
Eyre, brought a paper of Verbena seed to the 
United States from Buenos Ayres, out of which 
were raised several new varieties, white, rose, 
pink, and purple. These were extensively prop¬ 
agated from cuttings, and enjoyed a wide sale 
here and in England. Other cities beside Phila¬ 
delphia, were stimulated to originate new sorts, 
and soon, Boston, New-York, and Baltimore pro¬ 
duced their novelties. 
The first striped variety produced in this coun¬ 
try was , .Striped Eclipse, which is even now hard¬ 
ly eclipsed by any of the newer favorites. After 
this, came Madame Lemonnier, then Imperatrice 
Elizabeth, and then Sarah and others ; and the 
end is not yet. 
In the production of new varieties, an import¬ 
ant point to be aimed at is, the getting of sorts 
with conspicuous eyes, white or crimson. “.The 
flower,” says our authority in this article, “must 
be large, round, no indentations, twists or fringes. 
The truss in the form of a corymb, is most es¬ 
teemed, and for bedding purposes an ample fo¬ 
liage, not subject to mildew, and with free growth, 
throwing the trusses well above the foliage.” To 
this we may add, that the flowers of the truss 
should all expand together, making a complete 
circle of bloom at once. 
•--» •--MHS-S—-K «--- 
How to manage the Lantana. 
There is hardly a more beautiful bedding-plant 
than this in its varieties; and yet many persons 
fail to get. an abundance of flowers from it. This 
is owing partly to the soil in which it happens to 
be set, and partly to the peculiarities of the sea¬ 
son. Having suffered in this way for two years, 
we resolved to experiment upon it, and then to 
discard it, if unsuccessful. 
As it grew rankly, we thought that checking 
its wood-growth would promote its flowering. 
And as it bloomed least in wet and cool weather, 
we thought that by giving it a dry and hot situa¬ 
tion, we might overcome that difficulty. So, last 
year, on getting our Spring supply of plants from 
the florist, we set each one into a quart pot, in¬ 
stead of into the open ground, and in potting, we 
used the poorest soil at command. Then they 
were plunged in the border of the flower garden. 
This confinement of the roots, and this poor soil, 
we hoped would check the wood-growth. And 
in plunging the pots, we chose the hottest and 
driest part of the garden, and placed small stones 
under the pot to drain off any excess of moisture. 
Our experiment was entirely successful. The 
plants bloomed all Summer long, rivaling the 
verbenas in their abundance of flowers. 
----- 
Times for Sowing Flower Seeds. 
Many persons fail in raising plants from seeds, 
through ignorance of the proper time for sowing 
them. To meet this difficulty, we have taken 
some pains to classify together those plants whose 
seeds should be sown in Spring, Summer and Au¬ 
tumn. Our readers should keep this for reference 
when needed. 
Spring —The hardiest annuals should be sown 
in Spring, as soon as frost is out of the ground and 
the soil can be worked. Of these, we mention as 
the principal, the following : Asters, Larkspurs, 
Purple and White Candytuft, Sweet Peas, Poppy, 
Eryssimum, Petunias, Escholtzia, Convolvulus, 
Nemophilla in variety, Phlox Drummondii, Clark- 
ia pulchella, Whitlavia grandiflora, Coreopsis, 
Cacalia coccinnea, Marvel of Peru, Gailardia pic- 
ta, Linum grandiflorum, Lobelia gracilis, Sweet 
Sultan, Chrysanthemum, Euphorbia, Gilia, Gode- 
