formerly need by cabinet-makers to 6tain tbe op 
light-colored woods a dark brown, and any one of 
who has at any time hulled a quantity of the tb 
nuts, is thoroughly convinced of the lasting cl 
quality of this dye. The nap of the tree is said tl 
to contain a large percentage of saccharine tr 
matter, and in the Old World is occasionally con- vi 
verted into sugar, or distilled into spirits; but I di 
kno,w of no instance of its being in this way w 
tested in this country. The flesh or kernel of r< 
the nut is of a dark color, largely impregnated fc 
with oil, pleasant to the taste, but still they are d 
not as popular with consumers, as the Hickory or n 
Chestnut, and generally sell for about fifty a 
cents per bushel at wholesale. A bushel of b 
these nuts is estimated to w r eigh fifty pounds. j 1 
The Butter-nut, Juglaus cinerea, is a species C 
of the Walnut, but is not so extensively grown, s 
The wood, however, is even more valuable on a 
aooount of its peculiar beauty, and is used n 
chiefly by cabinet-makers. The bark possesses t 
considerable medicinal properties, and is used in i 
this oountry as a purgative. The sap contains a c 
larger proportion of saccharine matter than the 1 
Black Walnut, and NuttALL states that it con¬ 
tains as much as the Maple, and instances a 1 
case where four trees yielded, in one day. nine 1 
quarts of Bap) from which was made one and a 1 
quarter pounds of sugar. The fruit is oblong 
in shape, containing a kernel highly charged 
with oil, hence its name. Butter-nut, and, like 
butter, it will soon turn rancid on being exposed 
to the air. There iB but a limited demand for 
this nut, and it never makes its appearance in 
the New York markets in large quantities. It 
generally sells from $2.00 to $3.00 per barrel. 
The Hickory-nut is a native of our country, 
being, if I mistake not, confined to the country 
EaBt of the Rocky Mountains. As a timber, it 
ranks next to the Walnut in value, and is used 
largely by carriage builders, and manufacturers 
of handles for edge tools, and for various other 
purposes. The color of the wood is quite light, 
except tbe heart, the timber is very firm in tex¬ 
ture, susceptible of a polish, and when painted 
or oiled, it will resist the elements for many 
years. I believe the cultivation of it would im¬ 
prove the quality and increase the size of the 
nut fully fifty per cent. One can see the great 
difference in size aud shape of the nut by examin¬ 
ing those grown upon his own laud; for while 
some are small, round, and rough, with thick 
shells, others are oblong, graceful in proportion, 
with a thin shell, containing a plump, rich 
kernel. 
In our own State I know of but three varieties; 
the Bull, Shag or Shell-bark, ami tbe Pig-nut. 
Although the kernel of tho first named is sweet 
to the taste, the shell is very thick, and hard to 
crack, the kernel is removed only with difficulty. 
The second variety is the popular oue, aud the 
one from which 1 would recommend the grow¬ 
ers to obtain their seed, as choice stock only is 
desirable for cultivation. The last variety is so 
named from the fact that, owing to their very 
thin shells, pigs can eat them readily, but the 
kernel is too small for table use. 
A few days siuce a gentleman informed mo 
that in 1842 he was working on a farm in Now 
York State, and every morning for breakfast 
they were served with a drink called “coffee’’ 
made from Hickory-nuts, and they ah liked it 
very much. They would crack the nutB, roast 
them, kernels and shells, and pour on water the 
same as they would for the coffee-berry, using 
molasses for sweetening purposes instead of 
sugar. 
There is one feature connected with this nut 
that is practical and of the highest importance to 
those who gather them to ship to the city mar¬ 
kets. In order to get the highest price for them, 
it is necessary to preserve the shells bright and 
clean, for any discoloration reduces their value. 
They should, therefore, be gathered as soon as 
they fall, placed under shelter in thin layers to 
dry, then when fit to ship, they should be thor¬ 
oughly cleaned and all imperfect ones thrown 
out; for they are worth nothing when you ship- 
them, add to the expense of transportation, aud 
depreoiate the value of the good ones. Now 
Borne may think this is taking too much trouble 
for nut*, and will say, “Oh, nonsense! shovel 
them in, they are good enough aB they are.” 
But just stop and think a moment. You do not 
notice how many bad ones you are sending off or 
perhaps you don’t care. Remember, however, 
that every nut that is used, must be cracked, 
and each defective one is then detected aud re¬ 
jected, and when many are found, next time 
that person buys, he will refuse those among 
which are many imperfect ones, and take the 
best; consequently your imperfect or damaged 
nuts will not meet with ready sale. 
-♦-*-*- 
FREEZING OF SAP IN PLANTS. 
L. J. TEMFLIN. 
Fbom early childhood I have been familiar 
with facts bearing directly on this Bubject; hav¬ 
ing been raised principally on a farm and in 
close proximity to a forest where I had ample 
opportunity to make observations on subjects 
of this nature. Without any previous theory on g 
the subject, my observations led me to the con- e 
cluBion that the sap in vegetables exposed to c 
tbe weather and that survive the winter, does t 
freeze solid without in any way impairing their v 
vitality. Nor did I dream of tbe existence of a a 
different opinion till somo thirteen years ago t 
when I began to study the vegetable world in its 1 
relations to surrounding conditions, when I r 
found that the wise ones of the world had c 
differed very widely on this subject. This led l 
me to scrutinize the facts more closely ; and to c 
add to my interest in this investigation I was, a t 
few years ago, led into a discussion of this sub- j 
ject with Mr. Titos. Meehan, editor of the 1 
Gardeners’ Monthly, whom I consider without a < 
superior in the country, as a vegetable anatomist 
and physiologist. Differing with such men led 
me to doubt the correctness of my own views on 
the subject, so I turned to nature for a settle¬ 
ment of the question. The following are some 
of my observations and the conclusions drawn 
from them : 
I observed that forest trees became hard 
frozen during very cold weather. This is proven 
by the fact that, on cutting into the wood, it will 
be found changed in itB consistence and solidity 
from its former condition. Its resistance to cut¬ 
ting tools is such that in many cases it cannot be 
worked while in this condition. Every woodman 
knows this to be tbe case, and can tell on stick¬ 
ing an ax into a piece of timber whether it has 
been exposed to a freezing temperature long 
enough to be frozen, even though he were 
blind. To settle this matter in another way, I 
took a chip from a beech tree during a hard 
freeze and exposed a fresh surface of it under a 
microscope, when the frozen condition of the 
sap was plainly seen; and yet the tree from 
i which it was taken, even after being wounded 
• with the as, survived and flourished. As to the 
comparative amount of sap that remains in the 
tree during tbe winter, I have never determined 
l with caro, but that it is considerable doeH not 
- admit of a doubt. I have often noticed that if 
cions for grafting were cut and handled while 
j frozen, they were injured, but if permitted to 
t thaw on the tree, no injury resulted from the 
. freezing. 
} Observations were also made on herbaceous 
t plants, that proved to my mind that, in some 
f cases, at least, they may have their sap frozen 
i and yet survive. A cabbage plant that had 
failed to head, was left standing in tie* place 
■ where it had grown, and, though the winter was 
of average severity, it survived it all and grew 
t with vigor in the spring. Many times during 
a the winter - its leaves were frozen till they were 
like thin plates or sheets of ice. Many times I 
e have seen the leaves of beets aud other hardy 
■- plants frozen till they would break like plates of 
s glass, aud yet not only live hut grow afterwards, 
o Turnips, radishes, onions, cabbage, etc., may be 
y frozen as hard as our winters can freeze them, 
e but if slightly covered with soil or othdr pro¬ 
tecting material and not in any way disturbed 
.0 till fully thawed out, they will often come out in 
w the spring with their vitality apparently uuin- 
it jured and their vigor undiminished. Small 
tin-nips often stand in the ground all winter and 
it grow in the spring. If the sap in these plants 
ut does not freeze it is because either they have 
ie no sap, or it cannot he frozen by cold; neither 
g of which propositions can be entertained for a 
>f moment by one who knows anything about tho 
facts in the case. 
ii Hutchinson, Kan. 
WILD PLANTS AS GARDEN FLOWERS. 
WILLIAM FALCON EB. 
The variety and beauty of the Wild Flowers 
of the United States need no advocation, but it 
sometimes requires keen intercession to gain 
a place for them in our gardens, though many 
of them are genuinely worth the position. Yes, 
from the woods, meadows, and waste places of 
our individual neighborhoods we can exclusively 
furnish our gardens with trees, shrubs, aud 
herbs, iutriusicaily beautiful, and able to afford 
us flowers from April till November. But it is 
not this oontractedness that rivets admiration ; 
no, wo should get tho choicer plants of near 
and distant localities, which though charming 
enough by themselves, are much more so when 
associated with welcome foreigners. 
Indeed, we cannot fully appreciate our Wild 
Flowers till we grow them side by side with the 
finest foreign introductions; then our feelings 
warm towards home and we feel convinced that 
America’s meadow-blossoms are just as pretty 
as Europe's Alpine gems. Many and lovely 
are the flowers of our waysides, prairies, woods 
aud bogs.; why, therefore should we be without 
a garden when Nature’s nursery welcomes us ? 
The Alps and Appennines with transient lea 
glory in their floral treasure, and that garden- y,q 
empire Japan, draped and clothed in evergreen, en 
come to the aid of. but alone cannot fitly furnish th 
the garden lots around our homes. Our native sh 
wilds teem with beautiful plants, constitution- m i 
ally better fitted for home adornment tban are H e 
exotics, aud which with selection, perpetuation, w) 
hybridization, and extraordinary cultivation as 
may be made to far excel their primitive con- 9 t 
dition. Indeed when seen in their natural i 6 
habitats, most secondary is the beauty of many 
of our wildlings—bent, Btraggliug, broken, 0£ 
trampled under, starved, suffocated, riddled by ga 
iusects, nibbled by quadrupeds—oompared with a 
the luxuriance and perfection they attain as g j 
oared-for garden plants. ei 
Of course, different genera or species may fl, 
grow under different circumstances, but with p 
Borne knowledge of their nature, and suitable B i 
conditions in our gardens, we can accommodate tl 
all. Borne plants love bogs, others gravel banks, 0 
some like shady piaoes while others glory in 0 
sunny positions ; some grow on hill-tops while i< 
others prefer sheltered ravines; some grow t, 
among rocks, others in sand, some like loam, a 
others peat, some prefer lime-stone lands while T 
others despise such earth, and many grow in t 
saline soils, as by the sea-shore, which would be 
death to many others. Notwithstanding this di- g 
versity of conditions and partialities, side by side t 
in a little garden we can grow plants of tho most c 
divergent tastes, and that too often in the same * 
soil. 
Plants that enjoy lime or salt will grow flour- 1 
ishiugly without them, but on the other hand, ‘ 
plants that dislike those substances, if brought 
in contact with thorn, may show their aversion in 
decline or death. It does not necessarily follow 
that a bog-plant must be grown in a bog ; no, it 
may t hrive amazingly iu the ordinary garden bor- 
1 der as do the Lady’s Slipper, Cardinal Flower and 
’ Loosestrife ; but it would be absurdity to plant 
1 Cactuses iu swamps or Pickerel Weeds on dry 
1 gravel banks. 
Most plants indigenous to our woods, par- 
J ticukrly spring-bloomers, prefer shady places, 
> while many of our summer and fall bloomers 
5 and prairie flowers enjoy an open position. 
Bog plants growing in spongy swamp or ahal- 
3 low water, often enjoy a full sun exposure, 
3 and as the sunniest portions of onr gardens are 
1 usually tho driest we must modifly matters, by 
1 reserving a shady place for tbe inrnatos of bogs. 
B Water plants are and will be aquatics, for, as 
8 everybody knows, it would be folly to plant 
v Pond Lilies and Columbines in one common 
? plot. Many persons unless they find the Wild 
0 plants iu blossom cannot determine them. 
I whereas others can often identify the genus. 
y and sometimes the species by tbe loaves or 
f roots. It is the most certain and satisfactory 
l- method, however, where practicable and cou- 
e venient, to mark by a stiok, label or other means, 
>» the whereabouts of the plants, and thus leave 
»* them till the more appropriate season for traus- 
d planting them. 
D Boon after Spring Beauty, Smooth Lungwort, 
l * Wood Anemones, Bluets and Mandrake have 
II bloomed, their leaves die down and the where- 
A about* of the plants are lost unless previously 
* marked. Others again, as Twin-leaf , Soloman’s 
e Beal, Dicentras, and Violets, retain then’ leaves 
)r UR frost comes, By their persistent foliage 
a Mitrewort, Liver-leaf, Peutstemons, Helonias, 
10 Moss Pinks, Irises, and many others, can be 
detected at any time. As in the case of False 
Soloman’s Seal and Indian TnrnipB, the “ber- 
- rioa" mark their places when the leaves are gone. 
M..ny, as Asters and Sunflowers, are snrfaee- 
rooiing; the Grouud Nnt, has a sot of oliain- 
hko tubers that run two to eight inches under 
- ground: some Lupins, Columbines, and Monk¬ 
hoods have branchy tap-roots : the bulbs of 
Lilium snperbum bury themselves oue or two 
feet deep in our hogs, and Solauum Torreyannm, 
Euphorbia oorollata, and Man of tbe Earth 
Creeper send their roots deep into the earth 
rs penetrating some distance into tbe harcNpan or 
it sub-soil. Fibrous and surface-rooted plants 
in commonly transplant successfully almost at 
iy auj time; but tuberous and deep-rooting ones 
j seldom retain a ball of earth, consequently had 
or better be transposed in spring or fall. A spado, 
ly trowel, or strong knife is convenient for dig¬ 
it! giug with, and a basket, tin or wooden box or 
l( i pail for carrying the roots in. Wild plants may 
i B be gathered and transposed to the garden at 
\ ■ any practicable season during the year but 
ar preferably in fall or early spring. If done in sum- 
ig mar, it should be after a rain, as then a goodly 
3 u ball of earth aud intact roots is likely to bo sc¬ 
oured, and because of the atmospheric mois- 
,ld ture, the evaporation from the leaves will be 
he more moderate than would be the case in dry 
gs weathex. 
ia t Spring is tho best time to transplant autumn- 
ty bloomers. If speedily and carefully tians- 
fly planted in spring, even though plants be in 
,ds flower at the time, they may go ahead bloomiug 
,ut and growing as if nothing had happened. In fact, 
? I have gathered Birth-roots, Blood-roots, Twin- 
leafs, VioletB, Mandrakes, Hepatioas and others 
when in full bloom in April and May from all 
ends of the place and transplanted them, and 
they went along as kindly—without prematurely 
shedding a leaf or a petal—as if they had re¬ 
mained undisturbed. And what surprised my¬ 
self too, the Spring Beautys I transplanted 
when they were in full blossom and their roots 
as bare of earth as Croons oorrns in a seedsman’ s 
store, continued to bloom and perfeot their 
leaves as if they had been unmoved. 
Bummer planting is a matter of greater un¬ 
certainty, a convenience perhaps, hut can be 
safely practised in moist weather, say just after 
a rain. From lifting to setting out, the plants 
should he kept moist and shaded, and self-denial 
enough should be practised to cut off all the 
flower-stems. In the case of Andrew’s Gentian, 
Bell worts, Lilies, Coreopsis and tho like, the 
stems should only be cut over one-half or two- 
thirds their leugth. When planted, a mulohing 
of decayed leaves or old manure placed around, 
or a twig of Hemlock or other Spruce or any 
leafy branch stuck into tho ground beside, so as 
to lean over and Bhade the plants, helpB them 
along wonderfully. In very dry weather good 
waterings may bo beneficially givou, but drib- 
blings are worse than useless. 
Fall is the best time of the year to transplant 
spring and early summer-flowering herbs from 
the woods to the garden, and the earlier it is 
done after the first thorough autumn rain the 
stronger will tbe plants become. They take 
firm hold before severe weather sets iu, aud if 
protected iu winter by a thiu mulching of leaves, 
arise iu spring as bright and lovely as if they 
had been loft undisturbed in their native wilds. 
Lobelias, Asters, Cone Flowers, Goldon R ods, 
aud other summer and autumn bloomers, can 
also be transplanted with absolute certainty in 
. tho fall. 
1 Bad planting is a serious ovil and a great 
1 source of failure. A flat-bottomed oi basin- 
j shaped hole is the common practice, aud Buoh 
are prejudicial, as the roots therein after plaut- 
- ing are likely to be arranged in inverted um¬ 
brella-fashion, or the plants are often dumped 
s in with the rootlets bent aud orumpled under 
them like chickens under a hen, or matted on 
1 one side like a broom bent iu brushing, con¬ 
trary to nature and adverse to every principle 
e of good cultivation. The soil in the bottom of 
y the hole should be loosened with the spade, 
i. paoked gently with the hand or feet, raised a 
„ little iu mound-fashion, aud the roots disposed 
t on all sides with a horizontal to dowuward 
u tendency, and fine earth inter worked among 
(1 them to prevent their being matted together. 
, The planting should be firm and no deeper than 
4 . was the ease before. 
,r Some Wild Plants are very easy of cultivation, 
y in fact, many cf them merely require to be 
i- once planted and they will thenceforward tako 
care of themselves, but all are benefited and 
-e have their beauty intensified by good oultiva- 
3 . tion. The May Flower (Epigtea repens), so 
beautiful and plentiful in some of our woods, 
t is extremely difficult of cultivation in our gar- 
re dens, and the common Dogs-tooth Violet 
(Erythronium Americanitm) which grows so 
lv luxuriantly and blooms so profusely in our waste 
’« places, I find grows thriftily enough but 
as blooms sparingly as a garden flower. 
, 6 Our bogs and mountains, in proportion, 
a, yield us most of our prettiest Wild Plants; in- 
)e deed in a horticultural souse the Alleghauies 
30 and Rocky mountains are more to America than 
r- the Appennines, Pyrenees, and Alps are to 
e. Europe. 
e _ We have plants for almost all conditions and 
[j. ubos : Abronia fragrans, Phlox divaricata, ami 
er some others are sweetly scented; Evening 
l£_ Primroses, nocturnal; Cactuses, as Opuutia 
0 f vulgaris, Eafinesquii, and Missouriensis, and 
(r 0 Talinum teretifolum and parviflorum, Seduw 
u pulehollwn, S. ternataiu. B. Telephium, and B. 
th telepliioides, for dry and stony places; and 
th bog, P on d, climbing, and annual plants in 
or abuudance. As a silvery edging plant what 
jg can be prettier than the Rocky mountain, 
at Artemeaia frigida? Fur the subtropical garden 
eH few subjects aro more effective than young 
a ,l plants of the Kentucky Coffee Tree, Hercules 
l 0 Club, and Spikenard, with their immense and 
o' much divided leavos; somo of our army 
“. of Sunflowers, notably that umbrageous and 
ftV brilliantly floriferous giant, HeliantUus 
at argophyllus, aud tho neater, much smaller, 
at brighter and more profuse II. cucumerifoliua, 
tu. both annuals of Texas. Our Hibiscuses too, 
Hy Mosoheutos, mihtaris, and Californicus, will 
jo- maintain a first rank for the same purpose, 
is- H. coccineus of the Southern States with its 
bo upright noble habit, and many glowing oar- 
[ rv mine ten-inch-wido blossoms can scaroely bo sur. 
passed, but unfortunately it is not hardy North ; 
a- but it oau be safely wintered iu a cold pit. 
as - Golden Fumitory, Pursh, and some other® 
in bloom uninterruptedly from early spring tl a • 
Ut , Columbines from spring welcome summer, an 
ct Blue Lobelia, Cone-flowers, Grass-of-Parnassus, 
in- Hibiscus militaris, and others from summer 
