with horBe-manure, and the Boil li«htened with 
Band. 
As soon aB the flowerB are fully opened, the 
bed is gone over, and every flower that is not up 
to the standard of “ doubleness ” is removed. 
Generally speaking, it is safe to judge of the 
entire plant by the first flowers, though Home- 
times Bubsequent flowers will develop more pe¬ 
tals than the first. We wish we could bring our 
readerB to an appreciation of the beauty of a bed 
of double Portulaca. They would not lament, 
under glass, fully ten inches across, and the 
petals almost meeting. Another of our bant¬ 
lings, Thomas Tennent, we have also had nearly 
the same size. The former is a beautiful violet, 
and the latter blush, bleaching to pure white. 
It has sometimes in spring as many as twenty- 
three petals and never lees than eight. It is a 
gem. We find the whole perfectly hardy here, 
and most of them are now flowering splendidly 
with us. We shall soon be sending out Rhodo¬ 
dendron Auckland! hybrids. This is, without 
doubt, the finest Rhododendron out. 
Yours, very truly, 
The Lawson Seed and Nursery Co. 
The followiug is the article referred to by the 
Lawson Co. : 
Four years ago we received this Clematis from 
the Lawson Company. Edinburgh. During the 
journey, which was provokingly extented by a 
fortnight's delay in our Custom House, it had 
made long, colorless shoots several feet iu 
length, so that when re-potted it was so weak¬ 
ened that two or three months passed ere we had 
hope* of its recovery. It was put out on the 
north side of a suimnor-houHe. where during the 
first, summer it became so well established that 
we trusted it out for the wintor, only coiling the 
stems upon the ground and covering them light¬ 
ly with straw and leaves. That winter proved 
one of the severest ever known iu our valley, the 
thermometer being one morning 28° below zero, 
and on a score of other days 10®, 12°, and 15° 
below that point. C. Henryi was, however, un¬ 
harmed, as indeed were C. Lawsouiana aud C. 
Symosiana. imported at the same time. 
C. Jack man ni is one of the few large-flowered 
Clematises that are well known here; and it is 
considered by rar the best. That it is still one of 
the best in England you—who value tho Clematis 
so highly—often admit while describing the latest 
and most improved varieties. But A we were 
obliged to choose between C. Jackmanni and 0. 
Henryi, we should choose the latter. Henryi 
bears'fewer flowers, it is true, but they are very 
largo. We have just counted thirty-one fully 
expanded, that average in diameter, from tip to 
tip of sepals, 7 in., whilo tho entire plant is per¬ 
mitted to cover a space only 2 ft. by 10 ft. Thus 
the flowers, if separated, would cover one-third 
of tho area occupied by the plant. One of the 
flowers, when not quite fully expanded, was 
placed in a goblet of water upon a mantel-shelf. 
It lasted eight days in perfection, the sepals 
spreading out perfectly flat, and measuring just 
in. iu diameter. Another small vase is now 
filled with three flowers interspersed with Fern 
fronds, forming a bouquet that is cooling aud 
refreshing to look upon. The habit of this Cle¬ 
matis, too, is excellent; the leaflets aro large, 
entire, of good substance, similar in shape, and 
together form as dense mass of foliage as need 
be ; the sepals, of which, there are usually eight, 
overlap, and though tinted with lavender at first, 
soon change to a lustrous silver-white. There 
are few hardy climbers that hear both beautiful 
flowers and foliage; we know of none that so 
conspicuously excel in either respect as many oi 
the Clematises. When the improved varieties 
come to be better known here, there can be little 
doubt that they will prove as popular with us as 
they aro in England—at least, those varieties 
hardy enough to stand the climate of New York 
without protection. English catalogues give 
July as the time of blooming for C. Henryi; 
ours began to flower on June 1 : it bloomed also 
last autumn until the buds were blighted by se¬ 
vere frosts. C. Lawsouiana has not yet flow¬ 
ered with us; it has never entirely recovered 
onus mingles w ^ the hardy *«temperate” 
riodendron in i» ppy 
The triangle j g w ith specimens of 
irennial I*b3r x — no ^ 0 f which we have of- 
i writ two, (m t HOod ]ing.t, raised during the past 
ree yenjr > f rom 0 ther seedlings, and those from 
3ers »' <r p 6 fhaps Nix generations back. From 
® mired seeds collected upon marked plants, 
* .ave sometimes failed to secure a variety 
itb naming or oven retaining, and, as the re- 
ult of all our Phlox seedling endeavors, we have 
NOTES FROM THE RURAL GROUNDS, 
July, 21 
As well as we were pleased with the weather a 
week or so ago, a little less rain and fewer clouds 
would now please us more. Peas have mildewed, 
Melons are running to vinos, when now tho fruit 
has attained a considerable size and needs dry¬ 
ness and sunshine. The late fruit of Raspber¬ 
ries, however, that usually dries up iu quantities 
about this time, is still ripening and prolonging 
the Raspberry season. Bo that it is an ill rain 
that rains no good. 
Speaking of Raspberries—we received this 
spring from a friend six plants of tho 
Thwack, 
with the request that, wo should try them, and 
report as soon as satisfied of their merits or de¬ 
merits. 
Perhaps wo should wait two or three years yet 
before venturing to express an opinion. People 
that are really wise can afford to bo cautious. 
They get the credit of knowing, all the same, 
whether they know or do not know. To look 
wise and keep one’s mouth shut, if one has a 
reputation, passes for wisdom as surely as to 
look wise aud koop one’s mouth shut, if one has 
no reputation, passes for ignorant pretension. 
In consideration of which wo haston to tell what 
we know, trusting to chances that the future may 
corroborate our statement made iu the best of 
faith. 
We were speaking of the Thwack Raspberry. 
The advertisement which introduces it to the 
public, claims that it is a new seedling from Mis¬ 
souri, ami a eroHB between tho Brandywine and 
tho Herstiue, possessing only the good qualities 
Of both parents. (Favored child, trulyI), It 
claims that it is a stout, upright grower, the 
canes attaining a height of bu,t three feet. Ba*d 
canes are without thorns, and require no supr 
port. It claims for the berry “ superior size, a 
red color, flavor and ripening qualities (?)—while 
the plant surpasses all others in hardiness, ip. 
prolific and long-continued bearing, and iu earlv 
H6S8." 
As to its hardiness—incautious as we. fair—w e 
can not bo expected to say one word. Tlite ectf or 
is “ red"—and the berry is of supc^n siztx " pi )C , 
canes have already attained a li^fit of; turn f ee t 
and they are " stout aud upright.," 'Jfh.UH f ar wc ’ 
thiuk wo are safe iu oe,rrobe^ting the advertise¬ 
ment. Now for the hazaifl It. is the fmr,as( red 
Raspberry we have ever handled, and we be¬ 
lieve, for this reason—if only the variety p rove 
hardy and even moderately prolific—that the 
Thwack “has OQrue,to stay." 
Wild Blackbibaies. 
We have known friends to procure their Black¬ 
berry plants from the woods rather than spend a 
email sine for theKitt&tumy. A little experience 
of this kind (though, in justice ta ourselvos. with 
a different motive,) inclines U s to the belief that 
the “game is not worth tho candle," Three 
years ago, while picking standard Blackberries in 
woods and fields, we chanced upon throe plants, 
which bore berries as large as Kittatinny, and 
sweeter. They wore marked, secured iu the 
fall, and planted in our own grounds with 
usual care. Those three wild Blackberries have 
sinoe ripened less than a dozen fruits, and those 
not half so largo as Kittatinny or half st> sweet. 
They ore notable but in two respects, viz., the 
ubiquitousuess of the roots and the omnipres¬ 
ence of their suckers. 
A “ Rural” Flower-Plot. 
The accompanying sketch represents a flower- 
b.TOd 
T xi’S RAILWAY 
,ei the tune andi tob ^ necessary to produce it. 
ie routs ei ( > ft jitofaug Horbonientds 
tlm middle, . W .« is now six feet high, with 
irp is i h < we- j petioles, and peltate leaves al- 
ost divvicd a>' } Hm t0 UmV!inoUh]y _ 
argmedW loboH . 
Lvei; w0 read of Mr Sargent's Ricinus, 
a co the wondrous Light (for this cli- 
a ■° . over twenty foot, wo have ourselves 
7 J7" mg, by the use of manures, pinching 
C itr c > I' r °duce something of the sort in 
e r kal Grounds. Upon one plant oommer- 
* V laimres were plentifully used. That is now 
four feet high, though the leaves are of the 
r gest and tho stems of the strongest. Upon 
-hers, cow and horse manures were used ; upon 
others, liquid manure also. The specimen we 
aro speaking of has been thus treated, aud it is, 
so far, the tallest, 
to-day less than a dozen distinct varieties. The 
triangular bed of Phlox is now in full bloom 
white, rose, lilac, salmon, several shades of deep 
red and striped, eyed and variegated. The plants 
are only about two to tbree feet higb, and the 
panicles arc. many of them, eight to ten inches 
In length, and nearly as much in diameter. 
The size of Portulaca bed (3) is 14 x 4 feet, 
the lattor measured through the figure 3, in a 
line with 2 and 4. 
The circle (2) is 7 % feet diameter. The tri¬ 
angle, altitude, 8 feet; base, 5 feet. The grass 
margins (4) are tbree feet wide. 
Tho whole plot is bounded by gravel or sand 
paths, three feet wide (A and G) ; B is a part of 
carriage drive. 
WHIFFS FROM CANADA 
It is not uuusual for the Ri- 
oiuus to begin to bloom when two or three feet 
high, especially when from drought or other 
causes, a cheek in growth has been experienced. 
It is desirable to pinch out the flower buds as 
soon aB they appear, else much of the vigor 
which would otherwise increase its bight, is ex¬ 
pended in the flowers and ripening the fruit. 
An examination of the Ricinus, now aud later, 
will assist tho beginner in botany to an under¬ 
standing of the word morueciOHS as distinguished 
from dioecious, lurmaplirodile and polygamous, 
wools now in Buch colloquial use that all who 
read horticultural writings Bhould be familiar 
with them. Tho flowers exist in racemes. The 
lower ones are males, having stamens only which 
aro much branched; and tho upper ones are fe¬ 
males, having pistils only, tho stigmas of which 
are feathery and of a purple color. Momccions 
is from two Greek words, signifying a single 
house, and iB a suggestive term, as applied to 
such plants as the Ricinus, which though the 
sexes aro in different flowers—the different flow¬ 
er's are upon the same plant, or, so to Bpcak, in 
the same house. Indian Corn gives another 
g'Sod illustration. What is called the “tassel" 
is tho panicle of male flowers at the top of the 
stalk: tho “silk” is the styles—the “kernel,” the 
ovary—tho “ ear ” is the spike—the “ cob ” is 
the rachia—the “ hnsk " is a foliaceous involu¬ 
cre—the * ‘ chaff ” the envelopes of the flower. 
Tho well-known vine, Akebia quinata, though 
past its blooming season now, will show at a 
glance which axe the pistillate—which the sta- 
miuato flowers, aud the difference they present 
in size, color and structure, forms one of its 
many attractions. 
Diezcious is from the Greek, meaning two 
houses or a double house. Of this the Hop, 
Willow aud Sassafras are familiar examples. 
H&naapitrodite flowers are those bearing per¬ 
fect stamens and pistils in tho same flower or 
within the same calyx. 
To return to our flower-bed. Around the 
Ricinus, aud, in fact, over the whole circle, 
Gladioli of all colors are planted, and near the 
perimeter of the circle many shades of seedling 
Ferbe/ui. This cirole is, therefore, well filled 
with foliage, and well carpeted with both foliage 
aud the brightest ol’ flowers. It combines, in 
one view’, the luxuriance of tropical verdure and 
the beauty of carpet-bedding, either system of 
which existing all alone is ever pitifully begging 
for the companionship of the other. 
At Fig. 5, grows a healthy Tulip Tree, with 
leaves twice—thrice as large as those of the for¬ 
est Tulips. It is cut back every year, aud thus 
is made to assume a form that, neither tree nor 
shrub—neither Magnolia nor Liriodendron^m , 
appearance, is more striking than either when 
left to itself. Occupying a situation just belaud 
the Ricinus, as viewed from the carriage drive 
(B,) the leaves meet, and the “ tropical ” tender . 
BY MRS. ANNIE L. JACK. 
asparagus. 
To-day Willie is sowing salt broadcast over 
the Asparagus field. Not the best time per¬ 
haps to do so, Vuit the season of greatest leisure 
to us; and this necessary food of the sea-shore 
plant, will bo washed into the ground by the 
autumn rains, and so improve the next year s 
crop. Nothing we have grown gives more satis¬ 
faction in profit, and tho work of cutting is a 
pleasaut task, performed in the early morning, 
before the heat of the sun comes on, for then, 
tho stalks are firmer and less liable to wilt. 
The children each take a row, the older aud 
more experienced alternating with the youuger 
oneH, and one ambitious little boy of seven is 
proud to bo able to cut as well as the girls, who 
are older, and to exhibit his basket, for criticism 
to papa who “ bunches.” The six weeks that are 
devoted to this labor, occupying tho morning 
hours from five o'clock until eight, bring from 
the area where it is planted, a clearer profit than 
from any other acre in our garden, for in tho 
absence of any expense for labor, an acre is 
worth on an average, about £400. The bunches 
are packed in our strawberry cases, holding 54 
each, aud in that condition go safely to market, 
where a good article, regularly sent, and honest¬ 
ly bunched, is sure to bring a fair price. 
Many market gardeners near the city, who 
ipay rent for their land, do not care to plant 
largely of this vegetable, having to wait two 
years for any return, besides being often unable 
to supply the heavy food the plant requires for 
its quick and siicoessf ul growth. Of late years, 
it has been employed as one of the numerous 
cures, being recommended by physicians in 
rheumatism, gravel aud kidney jdeseases. Sev- 
while. C. Symesiana lias already borne tw o oi 
its light blue flowers, which, though imbricated 
aud of fine form, are smaller than those of C. 
Henryi. _ _ _ 
Enclosed please find a few specimens of a 
late seedling Gooseberry, which I have named 
the Late Emerald. It keeps its bright green 
color until it drops off from ripeness, aud does 
not turn led when fully ripe, like Hoe s beedling. 
In tho size and abundance of the fruit, iu its 
comparative freedom from mildew, and in the 
vigor of tbe plants, I think it is quite equal to 
tho early seedling which was fully ripe some 
throe weeks since.—E. P. Roe. 
jThe “Late Emerald” is well named being 
late, certainly, and in color “ as green as grass,” 
speaking figuratively. The flavor is sweet aud 
pleasaut, aud the average length one inch.— 
Eds.] __ 
NOTES, 
Roses on their own Roots. — Mr. George 
Paul, at a llosariau meeting iu London, a short 
time since, objected to Roses on their own rootB. 
He preferred to bud low and plant deeply, by 
which he thinks a greater impetus is derived 
from the roots of the Btock, and further support 
and permanency from the natural roots after¬ 
wards produced from the budded portion. 
In salt meadows and brackish streams and riv- 
CLEMATISES, 
Edinburgh, Scotland, July 13, 1S7T. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker : — Our attention 
lias been called to an article of yours, iu the 
London Garden, respecting Clematis Henryi; 
and we take the liberty of writing you, as we 
had the pleasure of sending out this and some 
other fine Clematises. The largest variety we 
have grown is Lawsouiana, which wre have had, 
plot. To the portion marked 3, we have 
often referred; it is filled with double Porlu- 
laca. Some of tho blooms are larger than ever 
before, measuring three inches in diameter, and as 
double as Roses. The bed was, last fall, dressed 
