to their clover, or other crop, to be hurdled 
during the night. 
There are millions of acres in the United 
States which may thus be profitably farmed, 
but in order to do this iu the most economical 
manner, those possessing rough ground, and 
especially such as abounds with rocks and 
rough stones, ought to combine to do away 
with fences, keep largo flocks together, have 
a shepherd and dogs to attend them as is more 
particularly practiced in the southern coun¬ 
ties of England, on the high hills and in the 
low valleys between them. 
Here the various breeds of what are called 
Down sheep are raised in immense numbers, 
a single county perhaps supporting several 
hundred tliousauds. It is these sheep which 
turn out such delicious mutton—leau, tender, 
and juicy—and if our people could be abun¬ 
dantly supplied with it, they would soon learn 
to generally prefer it, as people do iu Great 
Britain, to beef, and especially to pork; for 
it is infinitely more healthful than the latter, 
particularly iu hot weather. It is also more 
strengthening to the muscular system. 
Mutton, wool, wheat, aud other grain crops 
may be produced by this method of farming 
more economically than iu any way with 
which f am acquainted, on land that requires 
the application of manure to grow profitable 
crops; aud it may be practiced sueeo.sfully on 
small farms as well as large ones Roots are 
fed off in the same method iu Autumn and 
Winter: but the latter season with us being 
so much colder and frostier, we cannot do 
this. The Winters in England are like a mild, 
rainy November aud .March with us. Our 
Summers also are drier and hotter thau those 
there, and consequently less favorable for 
growing any sort of roots or tubers, except 
potatoes. But in place of these, we have In¬ 
dian corn, which cannot ripen well in the 
cool summer climate of Great Britain, and 
this in a great measure, with good hay, straw, 
and corn-stalks, supplies the place of roots. 
Indeed it is much better for fattening animals 
of all kinds. 
from Arizona, 18 feet in bight, which, planted 
near the center of the hall, rise up straight 
and symmetrical columns. A curious fact 
about the Echinos is, that most of them are 
edible both in plant and fruit. The grated 
pulp of these fleshy Echinos, mixed in a flour 
batter aud fried, makes excellent tortillas. 
The Mexican Soap Plant is a yucca with a 
large, thickened root-stalk, which makes a 
lather when mixed with water as well as 
Babbitt’s best. It is used by the poorer 
classes both for laundry aud toilet purposes. 
[From our observation, the poorer classes of 
Mexicans seldom use any soap plant or water, 
either in the laundry or for toilet.— Eds.] 
The Cereus senilis, or Old Man’s Beard, is 
covered with glistening, silvery hairs. A 
ing. It was news to me that the cochineal is 
abundantly found in Texas. They show some 
very fine agaves,two specimens of A. 8hewii(?) 
are very beautiful. A yucca, with very tube¬ 
rous roots, was pointed out as the plant from 
which the drink which rivals pulque in the 
national heart of Mexico, is produced. It re¬ 
sembles beer, and Is called uiezcat. [Mezcal 
is a liquor distilled from pulque, and instead 
of resembling beer, it is more intoxicating 
even than whisky. Eds.1 
These plants were gathered on the moun¬ 
tains, and table lands, or mesas, of Texas. 
They were brought down to San Antonio on 
the backs of the little burro3. [Pronounced 
burrows, the New Mexican name for the di¬ 
minutive species of the ass.— Eds ] 
v ; - 
I 
% 1# 
p&ypgi 
■ . i.-j 
ip 
'i 
- V 
M 
\\ 
. 
Indian Apple. Fig. 44. 
OR JHIDS, CACTI AND BULBS. 
A few' families of plants have a large re¬ 
presentation in the horticultural department. 
Central America and Mexico have an almost 
innumerable quantity of orchids. Very few 
of these singular plants are in bloom at pres¬ 
ent, aud 1 caunot say how many will prove 
interesting. As before mentioned, Texas and 
Mexico present very large collections of cacti, 
yuccas, agaves and aloes, plants particularly 
suited to arid ’regions. The Mexican plants 
form part of her government exhibit, and 
comprise some very tine specimens. Two 
large Spanish Daggers stand on either side of 
one of the main entrances of Horticultural 
Hall, aud are excellent examples of the yucca 
family. Many monster agaves, particularly 
of the species used for the manufacture of 
pulque, have beeu brought to the grounds l.y 
sea or rail; but in either case, the unwieldy 
bulk of the plants—some of them with the 
soil attached weigh a couple of tous each—aud 
the succulent nature of the leaves, made them 
so difficult to handle that they arrived iu a 
very unsightly condition. They are being 
used to some extent in the grounds; aud 
those entirely unlit for that purpose have, I 
think, been devoted to their national use, as I 
recently saw on exhibition two large bowls 
brimming with pulque; a frothiug liquid 
somewhat resembling old-fashioned home¬ 
brewed beer. 
Passing along by 12 long tables of Mexican 
plants, I was struck with the great diversity 
of forms, aud the almost endless number of 
species in the same genus. There were very 
many species of cactus; but the greater num¬ 
ber were included among the Opuntias, 
Mamillarioa, Echinos and Cereuses. One 
Echiuo, species unknown, with au oval head, 
about afuot in its longest diameter, was very 
conspicuously marked by its beautiful red 
spines. Another elegant specimen of this 
genus was diagonally striped in bauds of light 
and dark green. There were tall spikes of the 
PhyUoeaclus, used by the Mexicans for feuc- 
ng. The mealy-looking Opuntia cochinilli- 
fera looks precisely as though given over to 
the ravages of the mealy bug. Crush one of 
the little, woolly insects, which nearly cover 
the plant, aud you discover the dark-red 
coloring matter from which comes the cochi¬ 
neal of commerce. The Cereus ophiodes is a 
curiously grooved, low-growing plant, uuliko 
most species of that genus. There are some 
very good specimens of Cereus giganteus, but 
they look small beside two monster specimens 
Mamillaria that somewhat resembles it, is 
called Old Man’s Head, from being quite 
whiteon top. The agaves are in great variety, 
and present some very fine specimens. 
The display from Texas contrasts very fa 
vorably with that from Mexico. It has been 
very carefully selected, well handled, and is 
tastefully arranged. It is the work of pri¬ 
vate individuals, being the exhibit of the firm 
of J. H. Wbisuer & Co., Sau Antonio, 
Their display is very rich, especially in cacti, 
of which they offer 198 different sorts. They 
enter a group of 50 species, and another of 25 
as competitive exhibits. These represent 
about the same families and, in the main, the 
the same species as those iu the Mexican de¬ 
partment. 
They have some remarkable Echinos, 
particularly some mammoth specimens of 
Echlno Wislizenii (?) and E. Texensis. The 
latter, commonly called Turk’s Head, makes 
a delicious preserve when divested of its 
An out-of doors exhibit, which surpasses 
any other in its extent, is that of The Gene¬ 
ral Bulb Company, of Vogelenzang, Holland, 
for which Mr. J. A. de Veer, of 318 Broad¬ 
way, New York City, is the agent for the 
United States. [They have very fine bulbs, as 
we know by trial —Eds.] This company has 
devoted the enormous amount of 280,000 bulbs 
to the different designs it has planted here. 
Along the front of the main building are ten 
designs, occupying about 0,500 square feet of 
space, among which is a bed with the French, 
one with the Holland, aud an enormous 
shield-shaped bed, with the American flags. 
It took 20,000 hyacinths to plant this shield 
alone, representing a value of about $1,000. 
The 13 stripes are three feet wide and 80 feet 
Ioug. Each of the 88 stars in the blue field 
measures SO inches from point to point, and 
the whole bed covers a space of 1,700 square 
feet. At the west of the Horticultural Hall is a 
design of tulips 80 feet in diameter. The firm 
Indian Apple. Half Seetiou. Fig. 45. 
spiny covering aud boiled with sugar after 
tti6 manner of citron or watermelon. The 
Opuntia frutescens has a small bright red 
fruit? said to be edible. The Cereus ennra- 
ceuthus (?) called by the natives Potay ah, is also 
known as the Strawberry-bearing Cactus. It 
hus a delicious edible fruit somewhat larger 
thau a strawberry aud covered with spines. 
The above enterprising firm show also a great 
quantity of most diminutive species, many 
of them very curiously marked and interest- 
have used iu these designs 40,000 hyacinths, 
80,000 tulips, 25,000 crocuses, 10,000 ranun¬ 
culuses. and 10,000 miscellaneous bulbs. Be¬ 
sides this, they have a collective exhibit of 110 
named varieties of hyacinths, 120 of tulips, 40 
of narcissus, aud 20 of crocus. 
It is remarkable to note the effect of South¬ 
ern climute on these hardy bulbs. Hyacinths, 
which at the North would not have appeared 
above ground uutil April, sprouted here in 
two weeks. Some of the narcissus will bloom 
this month, and most of them promise to be in 
full glory before the end of February, m. t. e. 
iPfimfilxrgicai 
THE 1ND.AN APPLE. 
About the middle of last November we re¬ 
ceived from Albertson & Hobbs, Bridgeport, 
Ind., a box containing three apples, of which 
they write as follows: 
‘•The tree from which the apples sent you 
came, is 25 years old, and was grafted with 
cions from the original tree, which stood on 
tne banks of Lost River, near the site of an 
old Indian village in Orange County, Indiana. 
It died several years ago from age, as it was 
an old tree as far back as the memory of the 
oldest settlers can go. It is supposed to have 
been a seedling. In that neighborhood there 
are several trees from 25 to 50 years old, sound 
and healthy, producing good crops of fruit. 
The trees are hardy and entirely uninjured, 
though the temperature is sometimes SO® be¬ 
low zero. They are good straight growers. 
The young shoots are covered with a heavy 
dark down, or bloom, like chat on the Wal- 
bridge. As orchard trees they are open-head¬ 
ed and require but little pruning. The trees 
bear young and are productive.” 
As shown in Fig. 44, the fruit is large and 
conical; the stem is slender, about half an 
inch long, in a medium regular cavity; calyx 
closed in a slightly irregular shallow basin; 
color pale reddish yellow streaked with bright 
red. Core very small and filled with small, 
regular seeds. We show a cross-section at Fig. 
45. Flesh yellowish-white, a little pinkish in 
places next the stun; quality a little coarse, 
subacid, uot very juicy, but very tender 
—about good—eaten November 20th. 
Alberton & Hobbs say it usually keeps till 
mid-winter. We should think it a splendid 
apple for drying, as it must cook nicely, it is 
so very tender. 
NOTES ABOUT GRAFTING. 
Prof. Budd’s remarks about the care of 
stone fruit cions, in the Rural of December 
27, furnishes a text. His statement proves 
that cherry cions pacKed in dry leaves are 
better than those kept in damp moss. So far, 
good. But 1 have to relate, from my own ex¬ 
perience, a novel plan which works with en¬ 
tire success: whether it is due to the climate 
of California I have no means of determining. 
I used to procure my cions in the Fall, and 
put them away carefully iu the approved 
fashion; then 1 worked them in the Spring, 
subject to a percentage of loss. Some years 
ago, ruuuing short of prepared cions, 1 ven¬ 
tured to cut from a Prune d’Agen in the 
orchard, and within a few minutes the cions 
were securely grafted on au almond tree, 
where, to my great gratification, every one 
of them grew famously and bore fruit. The 
publication of this result caused the transfor¬ 
mation of many barren almond orchards into 
the French prune. Since theu this harum- 
scarum plan has worked so well that I make 
a point of getting fresh cion3 —apples, pears, 
plums, grapes, and so on—of neighbors and 
nurserymen when they have something new, 
and I put them in as soon as 1 reach home. I 
no longer liother about their preservation, 
and never procure the n until 1 am ready to 
graft. Possibly this is not news to your hor¬ 
ticulturists; but if fresh buds are worked suc¬ 
cessfully with you, why not cions? 
Sonoma, Cal. J. b. Armstrong. 
fUrkullitrul. 
RAYS. 
Nasturtiums in Winter.—I am now cut¬ 
ting some 200 nasturtium flowers a week from a 
few plants grown in large pots iu my Carnation 
House. The vines are trained to strings along 
the rafters only, aud in this way they do not 
shade the carnations much, if any. They were 
raised from cuttings last Summer, grown in 
pots plunged out-of -doors till Fall; theu repot¬ 
ted into large pots and very rich turfy earth, 
and taken indoors in time to escape frost Hav¬ 
ing had no check from the beginning, they 
grew freely aud have blossomed straight 
along, and will, I expect, as long as 1 keep 
them in Che greenhouse aud feed them with 
mauure mulchings and waterings But young 
plants raised from cuttings or seeds are better 
for Summer bloomiug out-of-doors or for 
next year’s winter work. The common an¬ 
nual sorts, dwarf or running, do well iu this; 
but 1 prefer the Lobbianum race, the flowers 
are so brilliant and effective, and most copi¬ 
ously produced, aud, when cut, last over a 
week. These nasturtiums will grow aud blos¬ 
som beautifully in sunny windows. 
*** 
Bouvardias.— During October, November 
and December, Bouvardia* are in their hay- 
