moist, uniform temperature, will they attain 
to the proportions or reveal the lustrous, 
metallic colorings of which they are capable. 
In propagating Dracaenas bottom heat is 
necessary. The whole stem, usually stripped 
of its leaves, is placed in sand-beds, where a 
month or more is required to induce roots, 
which spring from every joint. The accom¬ 
panying sketch, copied from the English 
Farmer, represents D. Hendersonii, intro¬ 
duced by the Messrs. Veit on, who describe 
it thus : 
"There is nothing yet in cultivation like 
plants higher than if the crop is later or less 
thrifty, and the soil less able to mature a 
large crop ; so that the most we can say is, 
top to that point where the leaves, when 
mature, will make good wrappers, mature 
perfectly, and still not so low as to waste. 
Tbi3 is only known by experience. The 
amateur or inexperienced must expect that 
he will not find this at first, for he will be 
too anxious to allow too much to remain, 
and the top leaves will not mature, and this 
detracts from what the lower ones might 
have been. 
BUD PECULIARITIES 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE PLOW 
The manner in which every part of a plant 
rave da itself as but a modification of the 
leaf te curious. Fiower-buds revert to leaf- 
buds and conversely. Leaf-buds change to 
routs, and roots, when exposed to the air 
and sunlight—as by the sliding down of a 
part of a bank upon whieh a tree i3 growing 
—take to themselves leaves and branches, as 
if in every way anxious to disguise the hum¬ 
ble position to which they were bom. An¬ 
thers and pistils change to petals, forming 
the "double’’ flowers that delight the gar¬ 
dener and bewilder the botanist, and so the 
botanist, out of spite, calls them monstrosi¬ 
ties and objects to "noticing” them In his 
book. Aid petals change back to pistils 
and anthers, to the 
mori ideation of the > 
gardener and the com- 
placency of the botan- 
1st, who points the re- ■ , 
claimed renegade to --3 
the little biographical V 
sketches he give3 of \J[ 
all good flowers that, V ^. ^-T-regr 
uncontaminated by 
fashion and vanity, do 
not seek to rid them- ” 
selves of parental du- 
A very double Portu- W 
jaca transplanted in ’ 
midsummer w.ll con- aKMr 
tinuo to bloom, but WjW ^ 
the flowers will be sin- W 
gle, or nearly so, while 
the seeds formed and 
6 elf' 50 wn will the next mmMf-M 
season produce a liber- W/immr 
al percentage of Wff 
doable flowers. 'wf 
A young Liitum ful- 
gens erectum in our 
Lily-bed, not over 5 inches high, has devel¬ 
oped a perfect balblet at its summit, just as 
if it were the flower-bud, only it rests upon 
a whorl of leaves instead of a peduncle. It 
is three-fourths of an inch in diameter, with 
four perfect seal** of a greeoish color from 
the chlorophyll induce:1 by exposure to the 
light. We know that the Tiger Lily, L- 
bulbifumm, and others produce bulblefcs in 
thj axils of ttieir leaves from which they 
mny be propagated as truly as from the 
bulb, and from which, indeed, falling to the 
ground seas:n after season, they propagate 
themselves very freely. Those, however, 
form where flowers never do, while the 
buibl8tof the L. f. e. is terminal and seems 
to tak> the place of a flower, as often occurs 
with Onions and other species of Allium. 
Last spring a Due Van Thol Tulip was 
guilty of a similar irregularity. It pro¬ 
duced a bulb quite half the natural size in 
the axil of a loaf which was indistinguisha¬ 
ble from tire parent bulb except by the color. 
It was marked when plauted, to note if in 
its future career it would continue the ec¬ 
centric conduct of its origin. 
The Orchid like and pretty Polggala pan¬ 
el folia, which blooms in the wood?, during 
M ty, boars both an aeriel and a subterranean 
fljwer. The first is large, of a rosy-purple 
color, with a beautifully-fringed crest upon 
it.^ middle lobe. The other is smaller, green¬ 
ish, and destitute of the wings of the calyx. 
Both arc ferule and form a heart-shaped 
pod of two seeds. 
An interesting evidence of this Protean 
disposition of huds is shown in the Legumi- 
n i: Trefoil Bush, Dcsmodium nudiflorum, 
now blooming in our woods. Sometimes 
the leaves are crowded about the summit of 
sterile stems. Sometimes a panicle of flow¬ 
ers upon a long, slender peduncle grows 
from tills whorl ; but generally the flowers 
and leaves grow upon separate stalks or 
seaj jos, not unfrequently at a distance from 
one another. 
Many abnormal bud developments seem to 
j tscify botanists in considering the vegeta¬ 
ble world as a mass of leaves assoming a 
gre tt variety of dissimilar forms adapted to 
ex scute the functions of their relative posi¬ 
tions and requirements. E. S. Carman - . 
Paver Edge, Bergen Co„ XL J r 
The first and most ancient plows that 
were used, are represented as being a forked 
stick, with the shorter prong sharpened to 
scratch the ground; and the longer one 
used by which to draw it. Time has wrought 
great changes in the Improvement of plows 
since those days ; but still there is yet room 
for further improvements. Perhaps the next 
plows that came into use, that deserved the 
name were made of wood sheathed with 
iron plateB. with wrought iron share and a 
wooden standard with two pins put in by 
which to hold it. The first patent for a 
plow was grantediu 1720 to Joseph Foljambe 
of Rotherham, England. This, too, was 
made of wood, both the mold board and 
land-side, with wrought-irnn share and coul¬ 
ter. This was considered to be a great im¬ 
provement over those previously used, and it 
is said that all plows made similar to this, 
bore the name of Rotherham plow, for 
many years. The first cast-iron rnold-board 
was invented in the year 1740 by James 
Small of Berwickshire, Scotland, and he 
continued their manufacture for about fifty 
years ; but used tho wrought iron share. 
Robert Ransom of Ipswich, England, has 
the name of inventing the first cast iron 
share, in about tho year 1755, but it was not 
until 1808, that he made the improvement in 
chill-hardening the edges. 
Probably the first cast-iron plow that was 
made in America, tv as made by Charles 
Newbold of Burlington, New Jersey, and it 
was a plow with mold board, land side and 
share, all in one casting; Ids first patent was 
dated June 17, 1797, and it is said that Mr. 
Newbold spent 880,000 In a vain effort to get 
his plows into general use ; the farmers 
being so prejudiced against them, that he 
gave u p their manufacture fn despair, A bout 
the year 1800 Peter Cur ten as of New York 
City, advertised and kept for sale, cast iron 
plows. David Peacock of N. J., In 1807. 
bought out Newbold, (some of his patterns 
probably) and paid therefor one thousand 
dollars, in which he made some improve¬ 
ments such as casting the. parts separately, 
and adding a wrought iron share with sb’el 
edge. Edwin A. Stevens of Hoboken, N. J., 
in 1817, made improvements on Newbola’s 
plow, as chilling the cutting parts and edges, 
so as 1o be more lasting ; and also changed 
tho form to make the draft easier. His 
patent was dated 1821 ; this plow was spoken 
quite highly of : but as other engagements 
were pressing, he abandoned the business ; 
which might have been profitable to him. 
Josiah Dutcher in 1810, began to make a 
series of improvements to the cast-iron plow 
which proved to be of great, benefit to the 
farmers, and also to the manufacturers of 
plows ; but his name seems to be nearly for¬ 
gotten. Joel Nourse of Boston, has made 
aud sold as many plows as any roan in 
America probably ; and perhaps as many 
improvements have been made under ins 
supervision os that of any man. The im¬ 
mense plow business of Reggies, Nourse & 
Mason was made a success probably by the 
high si anding of Mr. Nourse as a plow manu¬ 
facturer. Tho celebrated Engle Plows were 
good in their time, and the firm of Ruggles, 
Nourse & Moson and their successors sold it 
is said, in a period of twenty years from 18-41 
to ISfil, twenty-five thousand per year. 
Prouty & Mears also manufactured plows 
quite largely, and many were used through¬ 
out the oountry, and the Hitchcock plow 
was considered a very good implement. Mr 
Mears of this firm was said to be a good 
mechanic and made many valuable improve¬ 
ments ; the center draught principle, per¬ 
haps, being the most important. 
From the earliest history of tho plow, to 
the present time, slow and steady has be n 
the march of improvement. Subsoil plows 
have also been invented and they have 
proved to be an important implement: and 
for soils free from rocks the one invented 
by Prof. Mapes of New York, is perhaps as 
good as any. Steam plows have also been 
invented ; one patented by Owen Re immd 
of Rochester, N. Y. Mr. Fawkes of Penn 
sylvania has invented one and it has been 
tried on the prairies of Illinois, bub with 
little success, 
If the plants are thrifty and have come to 
opening the blossom, topping should be done 
down to leaves six to eight inches wide, 
which will leave sixteen or eighteen leaves 
to a plant ; other growth-' will require to be 
varied according to circumstances. 
As to the time for topping, it should be 
clone in season so that there may be time for 
the leaves to ripen before early fall frosts, 
for a light frost injures unripe tobacco be¬ 
yond recovery; two weeks is little time 
enough for this. Every plant should be top¬ 
ped some days before cutting, whether it has 
attained the desired maturity or not, as it 
will continue to grow, if not topped, after 
hanging, and the upper leaves will never 
cure, are liable to freeze the first cold snap, 
and are a source of vexation in all after 
manipulations. Unripe tobacco, jut aud 
hung just before cold weather, ia liable to 
freeze, or cure a mottled, bad color ; so that 
it i3 always desirable to leave the whole 
plants mature, cut and hung before frosts oc¬ 
cur ; and this can only be done by early forc¬ 
ing, topping early and doing all the work 
seasonably and thoroughly. In topping, 
great care must be used in breaking off the 
stalk to make a clean, smooth break, or 
there is liability of the stem absorbing water 
of rains, rot, and the leaves become diseased 
and fall off. 
Topping is generally done in August and 
suckering commences a few days after, as 
the plant is not long lu throwing out these 
branches.— W. H. White, in N. E. Farmer. 
MISCELLANEA 
Tropical Hurricanes .—Some idea may be 
gained as to their effects by a statement In 
Mr. Horne’s report on tho Royal Botanic 
Garden, Mauritius, to 'ho effect that twenty 
extra laborers were occupied between six 
and eight weeks iu clearing away the debris 
of broken branches and leaves, which cov¬ 
ered the ground to a depth of three inches.— 
The Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
Lilium Qigante.um ,—A gentleman writing 
to the London Garden speaks of a. specimen 
of the above Lily, in bloom, 9 feet 1 inch in 
hight—(1 inches in circumference at 2 feet 
Horn the ground, bearing U flowers, 9 of 
which were fully developed and the others 
unfolding. 
TOPPING TOBACCO, 
The object in topping tobacco is to divert 
the growth from endeavoring to perpetuate 
its kind by producing seed, to the more full 
development and earlier maturity of the 
leaves; as the better growth and quality of 
the leaves, the more, valuable the product. 
A good-sized, perfect leaf is what all practi¬ 
cal growers desire to obtain, aud the fewer 
small, impjerfect or undeveloped ones, in pro¬ 
portion to the whole crop, the greater price 
it always brings; consequently the greater 
the profit, other things being equal. Cultiva¬ 
tors have, therefore, by experiment, found 
that to obtain tills desired end they must top 
their tobacco, and right here comes in the 
question at what point, time, &c., must this 
be done ? 
Arbitrary rules cannot be given here, as 
each parcel or piece of tobacco mu^t be a 
rule to itself, and the grower must depend 
upon his good judgement, governed by 
previous experience. If the tobacco is thrifty 
and forward, and the soil sufficiently fertil¬ 
ized and good, it will answer to top the 
FIELD NOTES, 
Insects Injuring Sweet Potato .— R. Bur¬ 
roughs. —The hairy larva of some kin 1 of 
beetle which you found eating sweet potato 
leaves were too much dried up whenreceived 
for identification. Watch for the mature 
insect or beetle and send us specimens, packed 
in a tin or small wooden box with a little 
sawdust intermixed to prevent breaking. 
Whenever worms or caterpillars are found 
destroying vines or other plants, the imagos 
of the same are pretty sure to be about. 
Orchard Grass .—This seed may be sown 
in the fall with winter wheator rye, if got in 
early enough to get a good root before severe 
weather comes on. So far South as Balti¬ 
more, whence our correspondent writes US, 
fall sowing would be preferable to spring, 
Mr. Fowler also invented one, 
which has some good points, and on large 
enclosures may yet be made a success. 
Lord Dunmore of England, invented one, 
which is said to be quite successful; it is a 
three-furrowed balance plow, with traction 
engine. It is said at the time of trial the 
land was in a wet state after a heavy rain¬ 
fall : and that, it cut straight furrows ten by 
six inches, and live acres per day, at r cost 
of about one dollar per sei e.— A. E. F aught, 
North Belgrade, Me,, in Maine Farmer. 
DRACAENA 8 
This attractive class of plants is well 
adapted to the sub-tropical garden, and they 
are frequently seen as central ornaments in 
baskets aud vases. But ttieir place is in the 
greenhouse or conservatory with collections 
of Palms, Masas, the variegated Caladiums, 
Aspidistras, and the like—-as only there, in a 
