44 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Jan, 
! 
CD 
is a cross-section exhibiting the semi-oval form of 
the styles. The ends of the rounds turn on iron 
pins, slightly 
riveted outside. 
The rounds res¬ 
ting on shoul¬ 
ders, when the 
ladder is open¬ 
ed, render the 
whole stiff and 
firm. A ladder 
of this construc¬ 
tion is found ve¬ 
ry useful, not 
only in fruit - 
houses, where 
a common lad¬ 
der could not. be 
conveniently 
carried but in 
can be thrust 
Fig. 11 . 
pruning standard trees, because it 
through the branches like a round pole, without the 
least difficulty, and when once there, it is easily 
opened.* 
Autumnal Flowers. 
From an unpublished Address before the Aurora 
Hort. Society. By David Thomas, President. 
-The blossom is the tenderest part of the plant; 
and such as can long withstand severe frosts, are 
very rare. The Snow-drop indeed, often stands in 
the frozen soil—supposed to have thawed a passage 
through it by pressing up its head—and the flower 
remains unsubdued by all the lingering storms of 
winter. The Eranthis may also be given as ano¬ 
ther instance of great hardiness; but the most re¬ 
markable of these exceptions to a general rule is 
found in Helleborus niger from Austria, which 
blooms on the edge of winter; and I have seen the 
same flower come forth in the spring from under the 
snow, after a repose of four months. It is white on 
the inside, touched with red externally, and some¬ 
times nearly three inches in diameter. In England 
it is called the Christmas Rose, but it has no affinity 
to any other rose; and though very pretty, is consi¬ 
dered poisonous. This trait, however, is scarcely 
objectionable; it is selected for its beauty, like most 
other flowers, and not for its esculent qualities. 
Such plants indeed, may indirectly assist in the edu¬ 
cation of children, and even some of a larger 
growth, by having them taught to keep their fingers 
to themselves in strange places—a lesson highly use¬ 
ful in after life. 
From the milder climates of the Eastern conti¬ 
nent, we have several plants that always bloom in 
autumn —some earlier, some later—such as Cycla¬ 
men hederaefolium, several species of Colchicum, 
Yellow Amaryllis , and two species of Crocus —one 
yielding the genuine saffron of commerce. These 
are all bulbous or tuberous rooted, and never flower 
at any other season. There are late-blooming 
plants however, that require all the genial months 
to prepare their stems and flower buds,—as some 
of the.Wafers and Gentians; and this reason seems 
sufficient to account for their lateness; but what 
should cause the others to anticipate the spring, is a 
mystery not easily explained. That climate has had 
something to do with it, is highly probable,—for I 
know of no instance of the kind among American 
plants with bulbous or tuberous roots. The Witch 
Hazel indeed, flowers late in autumn ; but it stands 
apart and remote from the former class, and consti¬ 
tutes a remarkable exception to the general laws of 
vegetable life. At the very time that the sap ceas¬ 
es to nourish the leaves, and while they turn yellow 
and drop from the branches, which indicate in other 
trees a dormant state—those identical branches 
burst into bloom, and impart a cast of cheerfulness 
to the solitary woods. 
There are other plants from Europe, besides the 
former, that in mild, wet autumns begin to flower, 
although they commonly wait till the following year, 
such as the Auricula, the Primrose, and the dwarf 
•yellow Iris; but with withered leaves lying round 
them, and chilling winds blowing over them, they 
have less power to cheer and exhilarate, than when 
they shine out in spring. 
From a lower latitude than ours, where the au¬ 
tumnal sun dispenses a warmer ray, and continues 
longer above the horizon, the Chinese Chrysanthe¬ 
mum was brought to extend our season of flowers. 
I believe these numerous varieties have generally 
been treated as house plants; but they are said to do 
better in the open ground where they receive the 
reflected heat from a building, and are protected 
from those frosts that precede the approach of win¬ 
ter. Near Philadelphia, where the growing season 
is longer, such protection is less needed; and there 
I have seen them in great glory ; but even here the 
warmth of a small stove enclosed by a thick curtain, 
might carry them safely through this period of trial, 
—for we all know that after some severe weather 
in autumn, we have often many fine days, and some¬ 
times even weeks, in which such a mass of bloom, 
so varying in its tints—would gladden the heart of 
a florist. 
Connected with this subject—I mean the guarding 
of plants in frosty nights,—science was for a long 
time in the rear of practical knowledge. Within 
the present century, however, the radiation of heat 
has become better understood; and it is now known 
that every clod and stone ar.d plant,—exchanges 
heat with every other thing that a direct ray can 
reach, until, if not interrupted, the temperature be¬ 
tween them becomes equalized. A plant however, 
radiating to the open sky from which there is 
scarcely any return, will cool off in half the time 
that another will at the foot of a high wall, because 
half the.sky is shut out from the latter. Now if 
over this plant a tile project horizontally from the 
wall, a still greater portion of the sky is excluded; 
and in frosty nights, this shelter would often be suf¬ 
ficient to protect tender flowers ; but it would be an 
improvement to have a shelf with hinges—dropping 
down to admit the sun and rain, or spreading out to 
preserve the radiated heat. 
The value of such projections was known in the 
early part of the last century, perhaps earlier. 
Lawrence, in his volume on Gardening, printed 
more than 120 years ago, said u they were found to 
answer to a wonder,” and to secure the trained 
fruit wherever they were placed. In attempting to 
explain this result, however, he has given us a rar« 
specimen of philosophy. He says: 
u Most of our frosts and blasts, both in spring 
and autumn, fall perpendicularly ; and therefore, 
the more any thing lies open and exposed to this 
perpendicular descent of vapors, the more will it 
be subject to be frozen and blasted. When a fruit 
tree has been trained against a slope wall, [not up¬ 
right] we always find that that is the first and most 
blasted. This therefore being the true state of th« 
case, horizontal shelters are the best guard and de¬ 
fense against perpendicular blasts.” 
* Tins description is copied from the Am. Fruit Culturist. 
