218 
THE GARDENER’S MONTHLY . 
July, 
It is a pity there is no index. In a general way 
we note that there is a charming essay on the 
Azalea by Col. Wilder ; on Strawberries by B. 
G. Smith ; Shade Trees by John G. Barker ; Pe¬ 
largoniums, by Wm. Gray, Jr., with'a list of 
the best kinds, and no one can speak from better 
experience; Ferns by John Robinson; on Seedling 
Fruits by J. B. Moore, in which the origin of 
the “Sweet and Sour Apple” was discussed ; 
Parlor plants by Mr. Rand; Orchids by James 
Cartwright; Gardening by G. M. Hoyey, and an 
address by Mr. Parkman. If there be any of 
our Massachusetts readers who are not members 
r of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and 
so do not get these Transactions, they miss some 
excellent and profitable reading. 
Horticultural Writers. —A correspon¬ 
dent calls our attention to an editorial in Ameri¬ 
can Rural Home , an agricultural paper of Roch 
ester with a good reputation, but which does not 
come to our exchange table, which says that the 
writers in the New York Tribune do not know as 
much as they ought to do, “ probably because 
they do not live at Rochester.” Our correspon¬ 
dent should not feel badly about this, however. 
If Rochester people know as much as they ought 
to, and have no more to learn, it is not a safe 
place to live in. But we doubt whether any con¬ 
siderable part of intelligent Rochester Horticul¬ 
turists share this sentiment. The writer merely 
had a “jolly” moment, when he penned the lines. 
The Postal Laws —The Boston papers say 
boldly that the postal outrage was the work of 
Senator Hamlin, acting under the whip of the 
Adams Express Company. It appears it was 
not intended to include transient newspapeis, 
. perhaps books and soraej&tfeefc things, which do 
not interfere much with the^express, and it is 
said that the “ law will be.repealed next winter.” 
But unless our Horticultural and Agricultural 
friends look pretty sharp, they will find the law 
will not be altered as it affects them. The Adams 
Express Company having been powerful enough 
to ride over them, wiiy^'ubtless be in a position 
to keep the advamfag#-$hey have gained. 
The Nutme^.— ling-spice, so much used in 
every family,/is ^indigenous to the Moluccas, 
reaching its greatest perfection in Amboyna. 
This island belongs to the Hutch, who do not 
permit the cultivation of the Nutmeg in the 
other isl.nds under their control. The Nutmeg 
tree is 25 to 30 feet high when fully grown, with 
foliage of a rich dark green, and very plentiful. 
It reaches maturity, or full productiveness, at 
Missouri Botanical Garden 
George Engelmann Papers 
:.vi 
the fifteenth year for planting. From the blos¬ 
som to the ripening of the fruit takes about 
seven months; but as the tree is a perennial 
bearer, there are always blossoms, green fruit 
and ripe on the tree. The yield is most plentiful 
in the last four months of the year. The average 
yield per annum of a healthy tree is 51bs. of 
Nutmeg and 1^ lbs. of Mace. A plantation of 
one thousand trees, requires the labor of seven 
coolies, fifty oxen, and two ploughs, for cultiva¬ 
tion and harvesting. The fruit is gathered by 
means of a hook, attached to a long pole. It is 
shaped like a Pear, about the size of a Peach, 
and has a delicate “ bloom.’’ The nut has three 
coverings ; the outside one is a thick fleshy husk, 
having a strong flavor of Nutmeg. This husk 
preserved in syrup when young, is a favorite 
sweetmeat in the East Indies. Umler this husk 
is the bright red mace, which is Carefully flat¬ 
tened by hand, and dried on mats in the sun. jjRWj 
It loses its rich scarlet, and becomes a dull } Mil 
orange color, and requires to be kept perfectly |K| 
dry to preserve its flavor. After the Mace is 
removed from the fruit, the nuts, in their brown , . By 
shells are placed on hurdles over a slow fire, 
which is kept constantly burning under them* i ' 
for two months. The nuts then rattle in the < 
shells, which are cracked with a wooden mallet, 1 VI 
the sound nuts selected and packed in wooden • 
cases, and sprinkled over with dry sifted lime, ' 
and are then ready for market. The best Nut- 
megs are dense, emit oil jejien pricked with a 
pin, anfLfetm always be known by their heavy | 
weight. Pohr ones are light and easily detected. 
-—The Gct%deh\ 
Cutting Red Wood Timber.—A correspon¬ 
dent of the Omntn^^pentleman says : Striking off 1 
from the beaten paths of tourists, the writer late- 
lj^etermined td%fmd Inaterial for a letter to the M 
Country Gentlemct^ in% visit to the red-wood ■ 
forests, and the saw ntiHs, on Russian River. I 
The nearest mill waft tyventy miles distant. 
But such was the puritymf^he atmosphere, the 
timber can be distinctly sbek looming up in its 
gigantic height twenty miles away, on the 
mountains. After a sharp driyb across the plain 
we descended to the river through Pocket canyon 
where forests of fir and laurel linetjie hill sidtis, j 
At this season the river is a st rearm of fifty feet 
in width, about knee deep. The oth^ bank is ] 
the margin of the red-woods. A mile ‘ beyond 
we came to Murphy ’s mill, located iu a valley in 
the heart of the timber. Though it has been 
tunning continuously all summer, with a force of 
7 8 9 10 Missout 
Botanic/ 
copyright reserved garde 
