154 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
May, 
ded into Flakes and Bizarres; the former distinguished 
by having two colors, with their stripes running quite 
through and along the petals—the latter, striped with 
not fewer than three colors, and irregularly spotted, 
(fig- 2.) 
The Picotee is also a variety of D. caryophyllus, 
and is divided by florists into red edged , purple edged , 
rose and Scarlet edged , and yellow-ground Picotees, 
(fig. 3.) 
The Pink —Bianthus hortensis —is a distinct spe¬ 
cies of some botanists ; by others, it is considered only 
a variety of the preceding, while no less an authority 
than Decandolle claims the Bianthus plumarius, as 
its original type. Who can decide when doctors disa- 
greee ? Which is right, does not materially concern 
us at the present time; enough that it is the best of 
the three mentioned for standing hard usage, and must 
be badly treated indeed, not to give us at least a pret¬ 
ty border flower. 
The whole are readily propagated by layers about 
the middle or end of July, as also by pipings—that 
is, cuttings of the young grass, which should be insert¬ 
ed under bell or hand glasses in the open air, and sha¬ 
ded from the sun. Seed can also be procured of the 
principal seedsmen, and we have known instances of 
their coming exceeding double and pretty. It should 
be sown as soon as possible in a gentle heat, and kept 
in pots till all danger of spring frosts is over; then 
transferred to the flower border, or a piece of ground 
made good by copious additions of the top sod of a 
sandy loam, and some well rotted manure. By care¬ 
ful attention they will flower this reason, when the 
good may be selected and propagated from, and the 
worthless allowed to take their chance among other 
perennials. It may be sown in the natural ground the 
middle of April, but will scarcely flower the first sea¬ 
son. 
If it is desired to grow these gems to perfection, a 
border should be selected, and about six inches of turfy 
loam, dung and sand—one-half of the former, the rest 
of the two latter, placed on, and well incorporated with 
the garden soil. 
Plant the Carnations and Picotees 12 to 15 inches 
apart—the Pinks about 8 inches. 
At the approach of winter they should receive some 
protection; a few boards nailed together, and some 
sash placed on these would be best. Where that can 
not be done, some loose and light material should be 
carefully placed round about them, just leaving the 
crowns of the plants protruding, and the covering kept 
from blowing away by a few pegs. They should be 
uncovered in the spring as soon as all danger of frost 
is over. Edgar Sanders. Albany , March 20. 
Hon. J. S. Pettibone, of Manchester, Vt., has in¬ 
vented a very simple contrivance for sharpening sap 
spiles, by means of which the work can be done with 
great rapidity and ease. One of the instruments can 
be seen at the Agricultural Rooms in the old State 
Hall in this city. 
Market Apples. 
Eds. Co. Gentleman —It is my intention to set out 
a large orchard of apple trees in the spring, number¬ 
ing over 300 trees, but only of five kinds, and those to 
be all market kinds —two for summer, two for fall and 
one for winter. Be so kind as to name for me the five 
kinds according to your excellent judgment, and by 
which I shall be hereafter remunerated by crops. If 
you think the Gravenstein is worthy a place as a fall 
kind, taking all things into consideration, please name 
it as one of the kinds—not otherwise. Yours truly, 
Austin J. Roberts. Middleboro , Mass. 
In selecting sorts for profitable marketing, there is 
one indispensible requisite , without which no fruit, 
however excellent, will answer for adoption. This is a 
uniformly fair surface. If this can be combined with 
first rate quality, all the better; but if the highest 
flavor cannot be had, a lower standard must be admitted 
in order to secure a smooth exterior. This necessity is 
becoming more and more apparent, as apples of late 
years increase in scabbiness and imperfect form. 
Eor the two summer varieties, the Red Astrachan 
and Sops of Wine will probably prove best, unless the 
former should prove generally liable to attacks of the 
. curculio more than most other sorts, as has been found 
in some places. The Sops of Wine is remarkable for 
its fair form. The trees of both sorts are fine growers. 
The two fairest and most uniformly productive autumn 
apples, are probably the Lowell and Porter for mid¬ 
autumn, and the Late Strawberry for early autumn. 
The two first-named are rather slow growers; the 
Strawberry is a handsome and free grower, and pro¬ 
fusely productive. The productiveness of the Graven- 
stein for all places is yet to be proved—otherwise it 
would stand at the head of the autumn list. The 
Buchess of Oldenburgh is a good, and a very fair 
and handsome apple, and will probably be productive. 
For winter, the Rhode Island Greening and the 
Baldwin are unquestionably the two best market 
apples in America. The Greening is more uniform in 
quality, and the fruit more apt to be of good size and 
fair surface under all circumstances and all kinds of 
treatment, and in all localities; while the Baldwin is 
a handsomer grower, and a better bearer while young. 
With this information, our correspondent will be en-. 
abled to select such of the sorts we have named as may 
best suit his wishes. 
Early Cucumbers. 
Plant in hot-beds on pieces of inverted turf, that 
may be removed and set in the open ground, as soon 
as the weather will render it safe. Or plant in the 
shell of a rutabaga that has had its pulp sciaped out 
and then filled with rich mould. The shell will soon 
decay and the roots pass beyond. There are two good 
ways to keep off the bugs. One is to lay four bricks 
on edges round the plants and a pane of glass over 
them ; the other is to make wooden boxes six or eight 
inches square and cover with netting. About ninety- 
nine hundredths of all the plants that come up are 
eaten by these depredators in the country at large— 
either of these contrivances will save them all. 
