CURRENT NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
It is useless now to send out our seeds or bulbs; neither 
■will prosper—but to all yearly subscribers received dur¬ 
ing the balance of the year, we will supply the premi¬ 
ums now being grown for l8S4's use. details of which 
will be given in the early fall. 
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It would be interesting to us to hear from every reader 
respecting the results obtained from planting our pre¬ 
mium seeds or bulbs, when the season has sufficiently 
advanced to determine the measure of success attained 
with them. 
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Roses and Strawberries were to have been the princi¬ 
pal features of the June (Semi-Annual) Exhibition this 
year, of the New York Horticultural Society, as for a 
number of years past. Great was the disappointment 
of the officer's and members, and greater the regret of 
the regular visitors, that, owing to the severe storm on 
,he morning of the opening day. the exhibition was 
almost a complete failure. Very nearly all the good 
Roses within a radius of twenty miles of the city were 
completely destroyed, so there was not a single entry 
that was creditable to either the Society or the Ex¬ 
hibitor. As usual, there were a few good plants sent 
in for exhibition only, that were of considerable inter¬ 
est: prominent among these was a noble specimen of 
the Dasylirion acrotrichune. from the conservatory of 
Chas. E. Pratt, Esq., of Brooklyn, N. Y., and the first 
time we have seen it on exhibition in Yew York. This 
plant belongs to the natural order, Bromilacecee, is a 
native of Mexico. In general appearance it resembles 
the Yucea, The flower stem was about ten feet high, 
the upper portion being crowded with a dense panicle 
of flowers, of a light lemon color, and produced in 
small calkins like those of the willow. It was well 
worth a visit to the hall, to see this remarkable plant, 
if there were no other objects of interest. 
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An article headed “Two Thousand Dollars for a 
Flower Bed,” has been going the rounds of the Yew 
York papers in which it is stated that at one of the vil¬ 
las of Yewport, R. I., there is planted this season in a 
single flower bed 20,000 of the ornamental leaved plants 
known as Altemanthera Paraclioides Major. This is 
one of the most beautiful of all the class of ornamental 
leaved plants, the colors being delicately blended in 
crimson, pink, and orange tints, which, when seen at 
certain angles against a green background, exceeds al¬ 
most any other foliage plant in beauty. It grows to a 
height of not more than five or six inches, and continues 
its brilliant coloring from June until October. This 
"plant is much used for lettering. The same firm who 
furnished this large quantity of plants for Newport 
(Peter Henderson & Co.), sold last year to one of the 
seaside hotels, 5,000 plants of this same variety which 
were used in marking the name of the hotel on the 
greensward. This system of lettering with ornamental 
foliage plants on the lawn is now very generally, prac¬ 
ticed. The first seen of it in this country to any extent 
was at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, in 
1876, where the plant Golden Feather was then only 
used for this purpose, but the Altemanthera, and par¬ 
ticularly the variety above named, is found to answer 
the purpose much better, its colors being more brilliant. 
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Flowers and fruit are always fit presents; flowers, 
because they are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty 
outvalues all the utilities of the world; fruits, because 
they are flowers of commodities, and admit of fantastic 
values being attached to them. 
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The grotesque Cactus is a subject of daily increasing 
interest. AA'lien their cultivation was first commenced, 
like most amateurs, 1 used just such soil as Pelargoni¬ 
ums delight in. aud consequently was much disappointed 
iu their growth, which in some species is marvellously 
rapid, aud in others provokingly slow. A few failures 
taught me my error, and now I find one-half good soil 
and one-half bricks broken up and mixed with white 
sand, epicurean food for them. 
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AVith a little care, the shady corners of our gardens, 
that have usually been left to rubbish, aud shady pas¬ 
sages also, can be made the prettiest places in the gar¬ 
den, by the use of a few Ferns—native ones from the 
woods will answer—and other plants like the Pansy and 
Daisy, and a few other things that delight in cool, 
shady spots. 
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The use of the Sunflower as a living stake for Tomato- 
plants continues to be recommended by those who have 
tried it, especially where fowls are kept—the Sunflower 
seeds being excellent feed for them. A little more room 
is left between hill and hill, as there are two plants to 
be fed instead of one, but, in a garden, about forty inches 
will do very well, as the Tomato-plant is kept strictly 
erect to the great advantage of the circulation and the 
fruit. The side branches are pinched at one leaf beyond 
the first bunch of blossoms on each, and the top as 
soon as enough of fruit is set to be sure of complete 
maturity. Tomatos, like Grapes, must have light and 
warm air to attain fine flavor, aud like Grapes, too, they 
do best if thinly screened from the direct blaze of the 
sunshine. Sunflower plants for this use should be ad¬ 
vanced in frames, the roots in blocks of roasted or scalded 
sod, so as to be quite as stout as the Tomato-plants when 
both are set together. 
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As early as the time of Alexander II. of Scotland, a 
man who let weeds go to seed on a farm was declared 
to be the King's enemy. In Denmark fanners are com¬ 
pelled to destroy all weeds on their premises. In France 
a man can prosecute his neighbor for damages who 
permits weeds to go to seed which may endanger neigh¬ 
boring lands. 
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The Jesuit missionary Camelli, returning to Spain 
from the Isle of Luzon, sought an audience of Queen 
Maria Theresa, and presented her with a mother-of- 
pearl vase, in which grew a small shrub with glossy 
green leaves, bearing two flowers of dazzling whiteness 
(the Camellia). Plucking the fair bloom, she ran to the 
