In about five or sis* weeks after flowering, when 
the leaves are dead, the bulbs may be taken up, 
dried, and packed away in paper for fall planting. 
If the bed is wanted for other flowers, they may be 
removed in three weeks after flowering, the flower 
stem cut otf. and the bulbs laid on a dry bed and 
covered with a little earth until tho leaves have 
ripened, when they should be packed away as before 
recommended. 
Many persons ordering Hyacinths from the seeds¬ 
men and nurserymen entertain the idea that none 
but the double ones are desirable. This is not the 
The value of this flower depends principally 
upon the form of the spike and the arrangement ot 
the single flowers or tells upon the flower stem. 
The truss of bloom or spike should be pyramidal, 
and the flowers close enough to entirely conceal the 
stalk. 
The early Phloxes, pYOcutribens and perfoliata , are 
interesting at this time, and the former is quile 
lively, and worthy of a little more notice than it 
receives. 
The JonquUls are in full flower, and the early 
varieties of Narcissus, but of these and the early 
Tulips we design to speak more particularly in 
the next number. 
The following description and engraving of an 
early spring flower, the Adonis vernalis, we take 
from Morey's Magazine: 
moisture in the air from condensing on tho bloom. 
A dry freeze rarely, if ever, destroys the bloom. As 
good a bearing orchard as I know is out on the open 
prailio with a full exposure to tho north-west, but 
with a row of high trees on the east side. Here is 
the whole secret. The high trees keep oil’the sun in 
a private collection, besides alarge number of exhib¬ 
itors who had some choice things, which added greatly 
to the beauty of the whole. Mr. MknakD always 
has exhibited, and he has done much to educate the 
taste for really first class plants, by exhibiting speci¬ 
mens of all kinds, from the most rare and cqstly exo¬ 
tic to the natives of our woods, grown as beautiful 
and symmetrical as it is possible. Sir. Buchanan's 
collection of new and rare plants was very fine.and 
added much to the interest of the exhibition. For 
his magnificent display of Orchids, the Society 
awarded him a special premium; the Oncidium 
papilio, or Butterfly Orchid, was very singular, 
showing what strange forms these plants assume. 
From Mr. Bearnes, a very large and choice col¬ 
lection at really specimen plants; a Cyanophyllum 
magnifenm. eight feet high, with a perfectly straight 
stem and clothed from top to bottom with the most 
gorgeous foliage, each leaf from twenty to thirty 
inches in length and from six to tep inches wide, 
with its singular outside rib near the margin of the 
leaf, having the appearance of the richest cut velvet. 
No description can convey any idea of this plant, 
and this is only one of his vast number of rare 
'plants, 160 in all. His conservatories are the finest 
in the country, and he is now building a new one to 
flower the queen of flowers, the Victoria regia, intro¬ 
ducing many new and novel improvements of his 
own designing. 
From Mr. Hoyt there were some 
excellently grown specimens of green¬ 
house plants, showing the skill of his 
Ens. Rural, New-Yorker.—M uch is said of the 
brilliant stucco whitewash on the east of the Presi¬ 
dent's house at Washington. The following is a 
recipe for making it. with some additional improve¬ 
ments learned by experiment: 
Take half a bushel of nice, unslaked lime, Blake 
it with boiling water, covering it during the pro¬ 
cess, to keep in the steam. Strain the liquor through 
a small selve or strainer, and add to it a pock of 
clean salt, previously well dissolved in warm water; 
three pounds of ground rice, mixed to a thin paste, 
and stirred in boiling hot; half a pound of powdered 
Spanish whiting, and a pound of clean glue, which 
has been previously dissolved by first soaking it well 
and then hanging it over a slow fire, in a small ket¬ 
tle within a larger one, filled with water. Add five 
gallons of hot water to the whole mixture, stir it 
well, and let it stand a few days covered from the 
dirt. It should be put on quite hot: for this purpose 
it can be kept in a kettle on a portable furnace. 
It is said that about, one pint of this mixture will 
cover a square yard upon the outside of a house, if 
properly applied. Brushes, more or less fine, may 
bo used, according to the neatness of the job 
required. It retains iis brilliance for many years. 
There is nothing ot the kind that will compare with 
it, either for outside or inside walls. Coloring mat¬ 
ter may be put in, and made of any shade you like. 
Spanisli brown, stirred in. will make a red or pink, 
more or 
Tiierk is no danger, at least for many years to 
come, that people will give tbeir orchards more 
care than they require, or more than will be profit¬ 
able. With some exceptions here and there, and 
the number is increasing, the orchards of the coun¬ 
try are neglected sadly. Line upon line and pre¬ 
cept upon precept seem to be needed to convince 
people that trees require attention and good culture. 
The following from a venerable horticulturist of 
the "West, Dr. Kexmcott. will have much weight 
w ith those who know the “old doctor:” 
If you get nearly all the roots 
case. 
How to Plant 
of a tree in good condition, you need remove very 
little if any top. If short of root, then shorten in 
or cutback the new growth, to compensate for loss 
of root; and do the same if the head of your tree 
needs forming, shaping—remembering always that 
leaf-producing branches, or top, is as essential to 
growth as roots. 
I will now suppose that your trees arc nicely 
heeled in—and you should heel them in when you 
get them, even if to be planted in half an hour— 
and that your well-prepared ground has been 
measured and stoked off, at proper distances apart, 
for the trees; the next, work is to plant them right! 
and be in no hurry about the work. 
But lam lorgetting the distances. And this is really 
a question 1 would gladly ignore—my own ideas and 
practice being so much at variance with others, and 
especially eastern ore bar (lists. There is a wide dif¬ 
ference in the growth of varieties of the same 
species of fruit tree; and there should be a ditler- 
ence in the space given them: Take the apple for 
example: a yellow Bellflower will soon occupy, and 
really needs, double the space ever required by a 
Hawthornden, Lady Apple, or Pucbess of Olden¬ 
burg; and, to a greater or less extent, this holds 
good all through the list. Yet, eastern men tell you 
to plant apple trees forty to fifty feet apart! and 
some few western men follow suit; w r hile others say 
sixteen to thirty-two feet only. Both are, in part, 
right enough. At the east, the large spaces are 
needed lor other crops; and dense plantations are 
not demanded, as here, by the climate and meteor¬ 
ology. and especially high winds sweeping over 
treeless plains. 1 am. therefore, one of those advo¬ 
cating close planting in tile prairies. I would 
rather idant close, and cut away half when too 
less deep, according to quantity, A deli¬ 
cate tinge of this is very pretty for inside walls. 
Finely pulverized common clay, well mixed with 
Spanish brown before it is stirred into tho mixture, 
makes it a lilac color. Lampblack, in moderate 
quantities, makes a slate color, very suitable for 
the outside of buildings. Yellow ochre stirred in 
makes a yellow wash; but chrome goes further, aud 
makes a prettier color. It would be best to experi¬ 
ment on a shingle and let it dry. 
I am told green must not be mixed with lime; the 
lime destroys the color, and the color has an effect 
on the whitewash which makes it crack and peal. 
When walls have been badly smoked, and you wish 
to have them a clean white, it is. well to squeeze 
indigo plentifully through a bag into the water you 
use before it is stirred into the whole mixture. If a 
larger quantity than five gallons is wanted, the 
SorticuUnval gotesi 
five years; for those ot small growth it is more than 
will ever be needed. But in a small orchard, of 
mixed sorts —unless you are determined to devote 
your orchard to fruit alone —it is well enough to 
give all your trees all the space they will occupy 
when thirty or forty years old, or else plant with 
the intention of cutting out half when crowded; for 
it is inconvenient to plant and cultivate at different 
distances in the same plat. Perhaps we may say. 
the extremes for apple trees should he ELxteen to 
twenty feet when in squares, and half intended to 
he sacrificed; and thirty to forty feet where all are 
to remain, and all, or nearly all, are of large-grow¬ 
ing sorts. In quincunx, or diagonal plantations, a 
less space will do; for you will have broad diagonal 
spaces l'or the wagon and plow, and the trees a better 
chance to expand, in proportion to measurement by 
acre. 
Cultivation. —Fruit trees need as much cultiva¬ 
tion as corn and potatoes, and should have it — not 
for one year or five, but forever—or as long as they 
pay for it in fruit. But the cultivation should not 
be continued too late in the summer, lest a late and 
consequently immature wood-growth should ensue. 
This caution is especially called for in relation to all 
tender-wooded sorts, like the peach and pear. You 
can raise any kind of hoed crop you please among 
fruit trees. Beaus, potatoes, vines, roots, Ac., best; 
and corn good when not shading the young trees 
too much. 
Never “seed down” a young orchard. Never 
let one of the forage “ grasses ” get a foothold in it. 
It is next to impossible to keep down “blue grass’’ 
and “June grass” when once established jn an old 
orchard. Red clover is sometimes admissible, to 
check a too luxuriant wood-growth, in deep, rich 
loam. “Small grains” never. A crop ot rye, 
barley, oats, or wheat, is worse than “file blight” 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: — Inclosed you will 
find some recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Ac., which, if 
you deem worth while, please publish. Perhaps 
they tuny be of some benefit to a few of your numer¬ 
ous readers. 
Good Cookies witiiout Eggs.—O ne cup sugar; 
one cup cream; half cup butter; one teaspoon sale- 
ratus; a little caraway seed; flour to roll. 
Plain Fried Cakes.—O ne cup sugar; two eggs; 
one cup sour milk; one teaspoon saleratus; four 
tablespoons butter; flour to roll. 
Cheap Cake.— One cup sugar; three eggs; one 
teaspoon saleratus; one cup sour cream; three cups 
flour; one. teaspoon extract of lemon. 
Soft Gingerbread.—F our eggs; one cap mo¬ 
lasses; half cup butter; one cup sour cream; one 
spring, aller tin* cola .March winds are over; see uie urea 
removed, yourself, and it’ a few very fine ones only are desired, 
take up purt of a ball with them; prepare the ground for llieir 
reception carefully; give the holes at least double the circum¬ 
ference that you have seen for a tree; then, not going to the 
subsoil, place the tree with the ball slightly elevated above 
tire surface of the ground; keep the ground around stirred 
and mulched during the hot months, and. lake my word for 
it, you will uot see your trees languish or die. If only A few 
strong, quick-growing evergreens are wanted, and especially if 
the soil be poor, select tire Austrian or Scotch Pines. Our 
evergreens are more injured hy the raw winds than by the 
intense cold but the two varieties of pines above mentioned 
will defy any weather, aud will grow on the most exposed 
situations. Everybody knows that the Norway Fir is per¬ 
fectly hardy, and improves with age in this respect, contrast 
ing very lavornbly with the Balsam Fir, which unfortunately 
often looks shabby with age The European Silver Fir is 
another whose hardiness is undoubted; it is a slow grower 
when young, hut after becoming established, oftentimes 
grows into one of the noblest of trees. The Hemlock, 
although succeeding better in moist soils, grows well on the 
banks of the Hudson. Tho Red Cedar, although not often 
offered by the nurserymen, and of very slow growth, Is able 
to stand any winter. It uufortuuately browns at the time when 
we most desire to see it green lu enumerating, the Arbor 
Vita; must not be overlooked; and wo think l.y all odds the 
Siberian has most claims to attention; of die Golden, tho less 
said the better. 
but is rarely seen, except in the choice collections of 
amateur cultivators. It well deserves a place, how¬ 
ever. in every garden, not only on account of the 
brilliancy ot its large yellow flowers, but for tbeir 
earliness, appearing immediately after the frost 
leaves the ground, forming beautiful tufts of foliage, 
and producing a profusion of blossoms when there 
are lew uther flowers to cheer the advent of early 
spring- Our engraving represents the size of the 
flower, and the neat foliage of the plant. 
Its cultivation is very simple. The roots are 
tuberous, and they should be divided and replanted 
in the autumn. It does not require any particular 
soil, but flourishes well under ordinary garden cul¬ 
ture, in a situation exposed to the sun. It grows 
about six inches high. It may be also raised from 
seed, which should be sown as soon as gathered, as 
they lie in the soil a long time before they vegetate. 
It should find a place in every collection of hardy 
plants. 
To Detect Explosive Coal Oil. — Many disas¬ 
ters having been occasioned by the use of explosive 
coal oil, the following recipe for ascertaining 
whether or not the article is explosive, may not be 
out of place:—Pour a small quantity into a saucer 
and bring a lighted match slowly down to it. If 
explosive, the oil will blaze and flush up almost like 
powder; if'not explosive, it will not burn at all. The 
latter only is safe lor use. The very light coal and rock 
oils should be used with great caution for burning 
in lamps, as they are much more volatile, and 
equally as dangerous as the old explosive lamp 
mixtures of alcohol aud turpentine. The burning 
oils which are most commonly used now are of a 
much lower specific gravity than those that were in 
common use about eighteen months ago. They are 
quite c heap, clear, free from tho fetid smell of old 
coal oils, and not so liable to smoke; but one pint of 
the old brandy-colored oil gave as much light as a 
quart of the clear, light oil. 
strawberry wine. 
In response to Charles S. Fitiitan, I wish to 
say that I am not in possession of Sir. Sims’ process 
of manufacture. And this gives me opportunity to 
say that I have since received a sample of this wine 
from that gentleman. It is excellent in flavor. Its 
aroma is such us odIv the strawberry can yield. It 
is a very pleasant, and I should think would become 
a popular, wine. The only fault that could be found 
with it is, that it is too sweet, except for a lady’s 
wine. This, of course, can be remedied. Indeed, 
age modifies it. 
On page 47, current volume of the Rural, will be 
found a recipe given me by Mr. Brush, an expe¬ 
rienced wine manufacturer, which may he regarded 
as worthy of confidence. 
The Cedar of Lebanon, to those who desire 
more of a collection, is thought to be the finest evergreen of 
Europe." 
Where large trees are transplanted. the advice to secure a 
hall of earth U well, but many, to obtain a ball ot' earth 
around the main stem, sacrifice the greater portion of the 
feeding roots, which extend beyond this carefully-preserved 
ball. In transplanting young evergreens from the nursery, 
it is only necessary to take up without injuring the roots 
materially, and keep them moist until they arc transplanted. 
In-Door Gardening. —As this is at present so much patron¬ 
ized. and 88 the taste for having our rooms ornamented with 
plnnts is so much extended of late, I must say a word or two 
on the plan I adopt, and which afford* me the gratification of 
having a constant supply of flowers from December until Uio 
genial spring ushers in the many welcome plants and shrubs 
which furnish our vases withculllowere. Atth Is moment I have 
my rooms decorated with some very fine specimens of hya¬ 
cinths. tulips, aud lily of the valley, which si r this dull season 
are much admired by all who see them. I have a very small 
green-house heated by a stove, aud into this I bring the pots 
containing the bulbs or other plnnts in succession; the rear 
of my house is In a northern aspect, so that in winter w e 
seldom have the benefit of the rays of the sun. In October, 
I obtained the bulbs, &e., and had them potted in compost, 
aud thru plunged into a bed and covered with coal ashes and 
cinders. I let them remain under earth for about five weeks, 
and theu pluced them in a cool frame, aud after a short time I 
took them into the green-house, where they very soon began 
to show signs of bloom. On the 22d of last month, I had a 
very fine box of lily of the valley in full blossom in the draw¬ 
ing room, t quite agree with my namesake “E. A. M.,'' 
“ that a little more or less water, air, aud light, are just the 
very things upon which depend the diU'creuce between beau¬ 
tiful. healthy flowers, or poor,scraggy,Ill-conditioned plants;” 
but I don’t tluuk that any amount of care will afford the same 
style of piauts or flowers grown in a room, as you have if you 
possess the advantage of plenty of light, air, and a nice grow¬ 
ing atmosphere. Every oue cannot indulge in a miniature 
stove, but to those really caring to have a supply of flowers 
for their rooms early in the season, the advantage of a green¬ 
house heated by a stoie is decidedly tier better than any 
amount of care one can bestow in a sitting room. The great 
desideratum is to preserve the air cells or lungs of the plants 
tree from dust or vuioke, •See., aud in a greeu-house you can 
give them a shower-bath with a syringe every morning, which 
effects this object. In a sitting room this would not be possi¬ 
ble, nor could we often afford sufficient space for a plant case. 
Certainly there arc many persons who could not devote suffi¬ 
cient time or means to the care or erection of a green-house, 
and in this instance the plant case must be useful; but I 
should say that one which would contain as many plants as 
are described by “ E. A. M. ” would be nearly as large as a 
green house of a moderate size.— Gardeners' Chronicte. 
NOTES IN THE GARDEN 
Plum or Cherry Charlotte. — Stone a quart 
of ripe plums or cherries, and stew them with one 
pound of Brown sugar, then cut slices of buttered 
bread and lay them around the sides and in the bot¬ 
tom of a deep dish, pour in the fruit boiling hot, 
cover close, and set away to cool gradually. When 
cold, servo with sweet cream.— Eliza S-, Phila¬ 
delphia. N. Y.. 1862. 
Although the winter was so mild and favorable, 
the season at the present time is more backward 
than usual. The early spring flowers are coming 
into bloom slowly, and it is somewhat difficult to 
realize that a week of May has already passed. 
The Pansies are peculiarly beautiful this season, 
the cold, moist spring being adapted to their full 
development, while they are every year being cul¬ 
tivated more generally. The German blotched and 
mottled varieties are move hardy, we think, than the 
English, though the latter give more perfect flowers 
according to florists’ rules. The former are of a com¬ 
pact habit, and every way better adapted io general 
culture. Nothing is more showy in the spring than 
a bed of these Tansies, and in the cool weather of 
autumn they flower again most abundantly. Those 
who sow Pansy seed and have only a few small 
flowers in tho heat of the summer, must not be dis¬ 
couraged, but wait patiently for autumn showers, 
when they may be agreeably disappointed. A cool 
and rather shady situation is best for this flower, 
but it will bloom freely 
CURRANT PLANTATIONS. 
The ease and certainty with which currants are 
grown in the West, renders it important that the 
Western Rural readers should be reminded of tho 
profit which attends its culture, and that now is an 
excellent, indeed, the time, to plant. 
1 visited Jxo. Pekiam. Esq., on the hanks of the 
Calumet River, the other day, and while traversing 
his grounds we came upon a plantation of currants. 
“You cultivate currants, I see?’’ “Yes, sir,” he 
replied; “my crop last year brought me two dollars 
and a half per bushel as an average price. And 
they yield abundantly.” 
lie plants the Red Dutch for market. For a white 
variety he grows the White Dutch. He regards 
these as the only two varieties worthy attention. I 
noticed he had been extending his plantation. 
Goon Ginger Cookies.— Three cups of molas¬ 
ses; two teaspoons of alum; three tablespoons of 
saleratus; two teaspoons of ginger; eighteen toble- 
spr^ms of melted butter; twelve tablespoons of hot 
water. Mix soft and bake in a quick oven. 
Honey Sirup. —I am anxious to know how to 
make honey sirup. The ingredients are white 
sugar, cream tartar and water. Will some one 
please giv^ me a recipe? —A Subscriber’s Wife, 
Chicago, III., 1862. 
CHAPTERS FROM MY CORRESPONDENCE. 
Shelter.— D. P. Wieu, an extensive orchardist 
of Lacon, Illinois, writes me: “I have been looking 
over the directions in your catalogue about planting 
aud managing fruit trees, and think they are well 
enough except in the matter of protection. Here I 
must differ; and if twenty years among fruit trees is 
of any account. I am sure that protecting orchards 
by screens or belts on the west or north-west will 
produce great loss rather than benefit. For the past 
ten years, especially, I have been noticing it, and 
have uniformly found that where an orchard had a 
full, fair north-west exposure^ it produced the most 
fruit Our ow» orchards have every exposure, so 
we have a fair chance to judge. Never was this 
more plainly shown than last year. Our orchards 
where thus exposed had from half a crop to a full 
crop.” Leaving it to be inferred that when fully 
sheltered on the north-west there was a very poor 
crop. Mr. W. continues: “ As a general rule, when 
we have a late frost in the spring, the wind is in the 
north-west, and with a fair exposure it keeps the 
Strawberry Wine.—'W ill E. Sims, of Indiana, 
please give his recipe for Strawberry Wine through 
the Rural, for the benefit of its many readers?— 
W. F. S., Camden, N. T., 1862. 
in any situation in the spring 
and autumn. 
The Hyacinths are now in full flower, and a little 
past tbeir prime. They have been quite good this 
season, and though the weather has been cool we 
have had no injurious frosts. We take notes of sev¬ 
eral tine varieties, but there are so many good ones, 
and so few who plant bulbs, it is hardly worth while 
to enumerate. 
Good Hyacinths may be raised in any ordinary 
loamy soil. If the garden soil is heavy clay, then 
remove a portion, and add good sandy loam from 
the woods. 
The latter part of October is ihe best time to 
make Hyacinth beds, which should be from three 
to four feet wide. Set the bulbs from six to eight 
inches apart each* way, and four inches deep. It is 
a good plan to surround the bulb, when setting, 
with a little clean sand. Before winter sets in cover 
the bed with leaves, or a little straw or litter. 
Cream Cake.— Four cups flour; three cups sugar; 
one cup butter; one cup sour cream; one teaspoon¬ 
ful of saleratus; five eggs. This will make a nice 
jelly cake.— Mrs, E. H. B. 
This Society held its regular Spring Exhibition 
on the 23d, 24th and 25th ult., at the Academy of 
Music, Brooklyn. It was the largest and best dis¬ 
play ever made by the Society, all the contributions 
being choice, and worthy of exhibition in any part 
of the world. There was no rubbish, which is often 
sent to fill up. Each plant would bear careful 
inspection as an individual specimen, and all showed 
a marked improvement in the care bestowed upon 
them. The largest and most prominent exhibitors 
were L. Menand, of Albany, aud Isaac Buchanan, 
of New York, as Commercial Gardeners; while 
Henry M. Bearnks, Esq., of Williamsburgh, L. I., 
and James Hoyt, Esq., of Astoria, L. I., R. L. 
Stuart, Esq., New York, and W. C. Langley, 
Esq., Bay Ridge, had each a magnificent display for 
[SPECIAL xotice.] 
There is so use Talking about any other Saleratus 
except D. B. Dk Land & Co.’s Chemical Saleratus. It is just 
the thin*: that every good housekeeper needs. It Is unadul¬ 
terated, and is perfectly healthy and nutritious, aud give* 
immense satisfaction to all who have used it. It is also 
uniform in quality and hi its results, which is a very desirable 
quality In any chemical compound. It is manufactured aud 
for sale at wholesale by the proprietors, at Fairport, Monroe 
Co., N. Y., and for sale by all retail dealers in the country, 
and by all reliable wholesale dealers in Rochester, Syracuse, 
Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Milwaukee. 
Grand Rapids, &c., &c. 
Nswbcrch Bay HoaTicrLTCRAL Society.— The following 
ore the officers of this Society for the present year, as we learn 
from the Horticulturist .- President— II. W. Sakuka.vt, Esq, 
rice Presidents-O. S. 4 Hathaway. Robert Sterling. Record 
ing Secretary —Eugene W. Gray. Corresponding Secretary— 
J. C. Reunison. Treasurer —Alfred Post. Executive Com¬ 
mittee —Daniel Smith, J. H. H. Chapman. Charles Dubois. W. 
D. Barnes, Enoch Carter, Daniel T. Weed, J. F. Van Vort, 
Henry Cornell, J. M. Barrett, T. H. Roe. 
