1863 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
355 
things to be borne in miud: 1st, to have no larger 
grounds than can be well kept, and the style such 
as will be in harmony with the general expression 
of the whole estate. It is in poor taste to lay out 
elaborately ornamented grounds, with vases and 
statuary, when the house plainly says that these 
are out of place. All embellishments should be 
made in view of the dwelling as the crowning point 
of the whole. Trees, shrubs, and pleasant walks, 
may lead to a house of the most moderate charac¬ 
ter, but it is only when the house has some pre¬ 
tentions to architectural display, that highly ornate 
grouuds are appropriate. 2nd, in all plans for 
planting, have reference to the appearance of the 
grounds ten or twenty years hence. It is often the 
custom to plant thickly at the beginning, with the 
intention of thinning out the trees when their size 
requires it. Thinning is seldom done, as it demands 
more courage than most people possess to cut out 
a tree that has grown under their own eyes and 
care for many years, and as a consequence, a great 
many grounds are seen in which the trees have 
grown up to a perfect thicket. Though the place 
may look rather bare for a few years with young 
trees planted at proper distances, it will be more 
than compensated by a finer development than is 
possible, where they are crowded forpresent effect. 
Evergreens .—If the suggestions given in the 
Spring have been followed, the grounds will now 
be cheerful with the pleasant verdure of various 
evergreens. A little care will be required to keep 
the branches from breaking under the weight of 
heavy snows. Remove the burden by jarring the 
trees. Junipers, Yews, and other pyramidal ever¬ 
greens may be protected by winding a strong twine 
spirally around them so as to keep their branches 
upright. Protect Rhododendrons and other broad¬ 
leaved sorts by a screen, as- directed last month. 
Climbers .—When Wistarias and roses winter-kill, 
remove them from the trellises and protect by a 
slight covering of earth. Hardy, climbing roses 
will be benefited by simply laying on the-ground. 
Lawn. —Top-dressings' of fine manure and of 
leached ashes may still be applied with benefit. 
Hoses .—Protect the less hardy sorts by bending 
down and covering with earth, or if this is not 
practicable, take up the bushes and cover their 
roots and tops in a dry place, deep enough to pre¬ 
vent freezing. A friend informs us that he has 
found hard coal ashes to answer very well for cover¬ 
ing, as this material does not retain much water. 
Green ami Hot-Houses. 
The general directions given last month are ap¬ 
propriate to the present one. The chief matters for 
attention are heat, moisture of atmosphere, and 
ventilation. December is often a month of sudden 
changes, and watchfulness willbe required to guard 
against these. In the green-house, fire will not be 
needed (except on damp and foggy days), unless 
there is danger of the mercury going below 40?. 
The temperature of the hot house should be adapt¬ 
ed to the nature of the collection. 
Bulbs should be brought from the green-house 
into the warmer apartments. 
Camellias .—Syringe the foliage and water freely. 
Heaths need water as time of blooming approaches. 
Insects .—Keep in check from the start; fumigation 
and whale oil soap will destroy the most of them. 
Hoses .—Start cuttings for a good summer supply. 
Wafer.—Give to growing jdants, and keep those 
at rest as dry as they will bear without wilting. 
Stimulate lagging plants with a little liquid manure. 
Apiary in December. 
Prepared by if. Quinby—By Request. 
The temperature of a colony of bees must at all 
times be kept above the freezing point; they can 
generate heat only by the consumption of honey. 
The horse or ox, exposed to all the inclemencies 
of the weather, consume -much more provender 
than when protected by the warm stable. So with 
bees exposed to cold, they require more than 
when housed. Small colonies often cannot gener¬ 
ate sufficient warmth to prevent freezing. Large 
stocks will eat scarcely any more honey in 
maintaining the proper degree of heat, than medium 
sized ones. The advantage of housing bees in 
large numbers is, it takes less honey to keep up 
the proper warmth; small colonies are warmed by 
their proximity to large ones. This is realized only 
when fifty to one hundred hives are put into a 
room, to make it warm. To get rid of the mois¬ 
ture in such a room, the hives may be turned bot¬ 
tom up, without any risk. If the temperature can¬ 
not be kept above freezing nearly all the time, the 
utility of housing them is doubtful. When bees 
are kept out of doors, other things must be re¬ 
garded as well as keeping them warm. Wooden 
hives, when made of double thickness, will need 
openings, to let out the moisture, and through these 
much heat escapes. Hives made of straw, and 
perhaps rushes and flags, may be entirely closed, 
except a small opening at the bottom ; for the mois¬ 
ture will pass out, while the warmth is retained. 
Ordinary colonies in well made straw hives, will 
winter outside just as well as those in the house. 
A strong colony, with abundant stores, and a suffi¬ 
cient supply of air in the wood hive will stand in 
almost any situation, with numbers only slightly 
diminished, while the small ones often fail. Hives 
can be made warmer by surrounding with hay or 
straw, but this does not assist in disposing of the 
moisture. Air passages large enough to admit 
mice, should be covered with wire-cloth, so as to 
exclude them, but allow ftie bees to pass. Such 
colonies as are housed, should be put in the first 
really severe weather. If any need feeding, turn 
the hive bottom up, and lay pieces of honey direct¬ 
ly on the combs ; candy can be fed in this way. 
The Pumpkin Show. 
This exhibition was not quite equal to that of 
last year, because: First, the dry weather was 
very bad for squashes and pumpkins; and sec¬ 
ond, those who had fair crops, remembering the 
splendid exhibition of last year, held back their 
specimens fearing that they would be excelled 
by others. A number who have fine squashes 
of 100 to 150 lbs. weight, now tell us they 
would gladly have exhibited them, but the 200 
to 300 pound squashes shown last year scared 
them out of any attempt to compete. Still, line 
specimens and novelties were exhibited. One 
of the most striking things was a large gourd 
from Waldo F. Brown of Oxford, Ohio, called 
the “Sugar Trough Gourd.” The specimen is 
shaped somewhat like a flattened pear, and is 
about 16 inches in diameter. When divided 
and cleaned, the thick woody shell forms two 
capacious bowls, which may serve as sap- 
troughs, and for various domestic uses. One of 
these which had been used for gathering sap for 
fifteen years, was sent with the whole speci¬ 
men ; it looks as if it might do service as much 
longer. The Yokohama (see page 372), and Tur¬ 
ban squashes attracted attention. The Tur¬ 
ban, so called from its peculiar shape, is fine 
grained, sweet, and of good flavor. According 
to Mr. Gregory, it requires to be planted early 
and have plenty of room, as it is a ranker 
grower than the Hubbard. . The yield this sea¬ 
son (a poor one for squashes) was six tons to 
the acre. They were grown on land in high 
culture, planted 8x8, and but one vine left to 
the hill. This variety was judged by a majority 
of the Committee to rank next to the Hubbard 
as a table squash, while one member gave pre¬ 
ference to the Yokohama. We consider both 
varieties very fine, and the question of superi¬ 
ority difficult to decide upon single specimens. 
The following is the award of the Committee, 
Messrs. Wm. S. Carpenter, Geo. Carpenter, and 
E. S. Williams: 
1st Prize ; for Heaviest Specimen, 100% lbs., to P. 
Kearne, gardener to William Shaw, Staten Island,$10. 
2nd PmzE ; 2nd Heaviest do., 95% lbs., to same, $5. 
3rd Prize ; for 3rd Heaviest do., (a Lima squash) 63 
lbs., to George L. Jackson, Flushing, N. Y., $3. 
4t« Prize; for Best Squash for table use (Hubbard), to 
James J. II. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass., $5. 
5th Prize ; for Second do., (Turban) to same, $3. 
6th Prize ; for largest yield on a single vine (22 speci¬ 
mens, very fine, aggregate weight, 419% lbs.,) to Rev. 
Charles C. Keyes, West Morrisania, N. Y., $10. 
7th Prize ; for second do., (3 specimens, aggregate weight, 
168% lbs.), to Geo. L. Jackson, Flushing, L. I., $5. 
8 th Prize ; for largest and best collection of Fancy and 
Ornamental Gourds (90 specimens), to William F. 
Heins, Morrisania, N. Y., $7. 
9th Prize ; divided equally between W. B. Westcott, 
N. Y. City, and J. C. Williams, Mont Clair, N. J., $5. 
-* I m m3 €> « M •—«-- 
Exliibition Tables at the Ollice of 
the American Agriculturist. 
The following articles have been placed on our tables 
for exhibition, since our last report; 
Fruits.— Apples: Roman Stem, by Mrs. Van Rens¬ 
selaer, Burlington, N. J.Vandevere and Northern 
Spy ; George A. Read, Deep River, Conn_Sweet and 
Sour Apple; F. A. Reed, Fredericktown, Conn. 
Golden Russet and Baldwin ; S. M. Howard, Perry, N. Y. 
....Gloria Mundi, 23% oz.; Jacob Erwin, Westchester 
Co., N. Y- Pears : Penn ; Rev. A. P. Buel, Borden- 
town, N. J — Beurre Diel; T. Hagadorn, Williams- 
burgh, N. Y.Beurre DieLgrown in triplets; Col. 
Dillon, Brooklyn, N. Y.michesse; B. F. Seaver 
Orange, N. J-Catillac, 23 oz.; J. L. Miller, Rich¬ 
mond, N. Y-Duchesse and Beurre Diel; William 
Chorlton, Staten Island.Beurre Clairgeau beautifully 
colored ; Richard Hales, Aurora, N. Y_Vicar of Wink- 
field ; C. M. Morton, Hightstown, N. J., and Mr. Devoe, 
Paterson, N. J.- Grapes: Union Village, Catawba, 
Taylor’s Bullit. Concord, Diana, Herbemont, Crevelirig, 
To Kalon, Delaware, Rebecca, Elsinburgh, Anna, Isa¬ 
bella, and Hartford Prolific ; Rev. J. Knox, Pittsburgh, 
Pa ——Miscellaneous Fruits , etc.: Fine Hickory Nuts; 
Isaac F. Stover, Erwina, Pa_Seedling Raspberry 
from Catawissa ; Dr. Hollick, Staten Island.Cran¬ 
berries; W. I. Spence, Blue Point, N. Y., George A. 
Bates, Bellingham, Mass., Wm. H. Starr, New-London, 
Conn., T. E. Bridger, Suffolk Station, N. Y., James Ga- 
mog, Tolland, Conn., and E. Dubois, Lakeland, N. Y. 
-Chinese Quince; H. Coger, Factoryville, N. Y_ 
Winter Cherry, Isaac Haring, Piermont, N. Y_Apple 
Quince, 16 oz. ; J. L. Miller, Richmond, N. Y_Large 
Chestnuts; E. S. Lamoreux, N. J. 
Flowers.—C hrysanthemums ; James Wissing, New 
York City.Dahlias, fine collection, from Orphan Asy¬ 
lum, and from James Gordon Bennett, N. Y. City_ 
Rose, Miss Stumpf: Isaac Buchanan, New York City.. 
Pompone Chrysanthemums, splendid Bouquet; H. T. 
Haviland, Williamsburgh, N. Y ...Chrysanthemums, 
fine collection ; AVm. F. Heins, Morrisania, N. Y....Cut 
Flowers ; W. B. Westcott, N. Y. City_Beautiful Bou¬ 
quet of out-door flowers ; Miss M. A. Cortelyou, Staten 
Island, N. Y — Chrysanthemums; Mrs. W. E. Meserve, 
Hoboken, N. J. .Dahlias ; J. D. Hagaman, Harlem, N. Y. 
Vegetables.—C hinese Egg Plant; J. D. Hagaman, 
Harlem, N. Y-Sugar Beet and Mangel Wurzel; Geo. 
A. St. John, Norwalk, Conn_Carrot, very long; Rev. 
N. Brown, Jersey City, N. J_Red Onion ; Francis A. 
See, Greensburgh, N. Y....2 California Tomatoes, 2% 
lbs; John Metz, Hudson City, N. J_Large Cabbage; 
G. A. St. John, Norwalk, Conn_Purple Top Swede 
Turnip, P. C. Barnum, Hempstead, L. I_Cow Horn 
Turnips; Wm. Blair, Hackensack, N. J_Brussels 
Sprouts, Scotch Kale, Broccoli Sprouts, Cauliflower, Sil¬ 
ver Skin and Red Onions, and Rosette Collard Cabbage; 
Wm.Envood, Sen’r., Deer Park, L. I_Sweet Potatoes; 
J. C. Thompson and J. W. Davis, Staten Island_Tur¬ 
nip Beets; Air. Carpenter, Pokeepsie, N. Y_Polatoes, 
Pink-eyed Rusty Coats, Coppermine, Garnet Chili and 
Cuzco; E. Williams, Mont Clair, N. J_Vegetable 
Egg Gourd ; Air. Bound, N. J... .Large Cauliflower from 
native seed; O. Judd — Egg Gourds, Wm. C. Bryant, 
Brooklyn-Purple Broccoli; F. Heeyer, Melrose, N. V. 
....Carrots, curious, Dudley P. Ely, South Norw alk, Cl. 
Miscellaneous.—O sier Willows ; E. Bridger, Suffolk 
Station, N. Y. ..White Willow ; James Reeder. Borden- 
town, N. J — Rhubarb Wine, Louisa Capner, Fleming- 
ton, N. J ...White Flint Corn ; G. A. St. John, Norwalk, 
Conn — Yellow Flint Corn; Misses Van Wyck, Flsli- 
ltill.N. Y....White Maryland Dent Corn ; Air. Hollinger, 
Weehawken, N. J — Tricol ored Sweet Corn ; Col. S. 
R. Hazard, Newport, R. I ....Curious growth of grass 
through potatoes; L. A. Laid, Greenburgh, N. Y_ 
Dent Corn ; Josiah Valentine, Shrewsbury, N. J_Yel. 
low Flint Corn; B. P. Jones, Clinton Point, N. Y.... 
Balsam Pear (Mormordica balsamina), Michael Van 
Name, Jr., Mariner’s Harbor, N. Y_Spanish Leaf To¬ 
bacco; .1. Reeder, Duck Island, N. Y. 
