FUNEREAL CYPRESS. an athletic arm. But this does not seem to have been a sufficient condensation of cold to injure trees, or we should have lost them all. If they could not withstand this degree of freezing, they would soon become extinct. They not only withstand the lowest temperature that occurs in this latitude, say from sixteen to twenty degrees below zero, as the lowest point, but in the neighborhood of the arctic regions they live and grow to an enormous size. on my left, while before me, as far as the eye could reach, the whole country seemed broken up into mountains and hills of all hights, with peaks of every form. While gazing with wonder and admiration on the scene, my attention was arrested by a solitary Pine-tree of great size, standing about a hundred yards from the gateway. No other trees of any size were near it. Its solitary position near the pass, and its great hight and beautiful symmetry, made it apSir John Franklin (whose sad fate is uni- pear more striking. "What could it be? was versally lamented) in his overland expedi- it new, or did we already possess it in Engtion to those regions, between the years land?" I must confess that for a few seconds 1823 and 1827, wintered where the strongest I had eyes for nothing else. Chairs, brandy froze solid in a few minutes upon coolies, and mountains, were all forgotten, exposure, and the ink with which he was writing frequently froze upon his pen, although using it immediately before a huge fire of logs; and yet in a climate giving this intense, long-protracted, and appalling cold, he gives an account of trees growing there whose circumference is larger than any we have heard of elsewhere. The trees, according to his statement, attain a hight of from 150 to upwards of 250 feet, varying from twenty to nearly sixty feet in circumference. The Funereal Cypress. THE most beautiful tree found in this dis I It was trict is a species of weeping Cypress, which The Cryptomeria Japonica. Never in my life had I seen such a view as this, so grand, so sublime. High ranges of mountains were towering on my right and and I believe, had the guard of Celestials attempted to prevent me from going into Fokien, the only boon I should have asked at their hands would have been to be allowed to go and inspect this noble Pine. The Chinese guard, however, had not the slightest intention of interfering with my movements, and, as the tree was on the roadside, I soon came up to it, and found it to be the Japan Cedar, (Cryptomeria japonica,) a tree which I had already introduced into England, and which, even in a young state, had been greatly admired there. I had never before seen such a noble specibeen something new, I yet felt proud of men, and, although I would rather it had having been the means of introducing into Europe a tree of such size, symmetry, and beauty. It was at least 120 feet high,—it might be much more,-as straight as a larch, and had its lower branches drooping to the ground. It had not been "lopped," like other Chinese trees, and was evidently preserved with great care. My Chinamen looked upon it with great admiration, and informed me it was the only specimen of the kind in this part of the country, and that it had been planted by some former emperor when he crossed the mountains. The sides of the mountains here were clothed with dense woods of the lance-leaved Pine, (Cunninghamia lanceolata.) This was the first time I had seen this Fir-tree of sufficient size to render it of value for its timber. Many of the specimens were at least 80 feet in hight, and perfectly straight. There was a richness too in the appearance of its foliage which I had never seen before; sometimes it was of a deep green color, while at others it was of a bluish tint., There | NOT A NATIVE OF VIRGINIA;" and, as the are, doubtless, many varieties of this tree article is rather brief, I will take the liberty amongst these hills.-Fortune's Wanderings to lay it before thee. in China. Correction. My good friend, DAVID THOMAS, has sent me the following correction in a point of history, inadvertently overlooked by O. Mussey, in the article on Potato, of last month : In the Western Horticultural Review, for last month, after expressing thy doubts of Solanum tuberosum being indigenous to Virginia, I observe the words "nor are we aware that heretofore it has ever been dis puted." Now if thou wilt turn to Genesee Farmer, volume 3, page 60, thee may find my remarks on that subject, written almost twenty years ago; and I will copy two paragraphs, as it may save thee the trouble of search. "I have long considered it a cause of wonder, how Sir Walter Raleigh could take home with him, from Virginia, the common potato. The best informed naturalists have never suspected it of being indigenous to any part of the United States; and there were no people to introduce it there except the Indians, who have not been credited with its cultivation. It is therefore improbable that he ever found it in Virginia." "The plant described by Heriot, is evidently not the common potato, which grows not in damp soils; neither do the tubers hang together as if fixed on a rope. But, in both these particulars, the description agrees exactly with the wild potato, (Glycine apios of Linnæus-Apios tuberosa of Pursh,) which is a native of Virginia. Elliott says it grows in damp rich soils, along the margins of swamps [in South Carolina;] and in this district I have found it near springs in rich vegetable mold; also along the wet but fertile lands near the Seneca and Niagara rivers." In the Albany Cultivator, for February, 1847, page 61, thee may also find a note with my signature, headed, "THE POTATO reply to Joseph Breck. It was written as a "Some years ago, I had an opportunity to read Gerard's Herbal, (edition of 1633,) and was aware of his assertion, before Í saw the extract relative to the potato in the last Cultivator, that he had 'received roots hereof from Virginia.' Probably he believed so; but very improbable that he did so. He has neither named the person from whom, nor the year in which he received them,things scarcely to be omitted, if they had been brought to him directly from that country. "At a time when newspapers were not published to correct the idle rumors of the day, it is not surprising that the native country of the POTATO should be mistaken; and however eminent Gerard was as an herbalist, his ignorance in some other matters was very remarkable. In his account of the African Marigold, (Tagetes erecta,) well known to have come originally from Mexico, he says-They grow everywhere almost in Africke of themselves, from whence we first had them, and that was when Charles the Fifth, Emperor of Rome [!!] made a famous conquest of Tunis.' "The author of the article on the POTATO, in the Library of Entertaining Knowledge, evidently mistook the wild potato (Apios tuberosa,) for the common potato, (Solanum tuberosum.) This would not have been the case, if Heriot had also described the common potato; and his not doing so, proves conclusively to me, that the early settlers never found it there. Neither have any of our botanists." Treatment of Tomatos and Lima Beans. DURING the early part of the growth of either of these crops, the surface of the soil should be frequently disturbed. When tomatos have set their fruit, they should be shortened-in, and it may be deferred until the largest of the fruit is of half size, when it may be readily observed that ninety inches of the ground, while ninety per cent. per cent. of the fruit is within eighteen of the vine or bush is beyond that distance. The vine, therefore, should be trimmed to FLOWERS AND FRUIT FOR CITIES. 9 within half an inch of the tomato nearest Professor Mapes, has previously mentioned the end of each branch; this will admit sun it with high praise. Those who agree that and air freely, and although ten per cent. of the tomatos that might have grown will be Sugar corn is the only kind fit for table use, taken away, still the remaining portion will will welcome a variety of it that may have be greater in weight and measure than if its season thus prolonged into the winter. the vine had not been shortened-in. Tom atos are also several days earlier by this treatment, and therefore bring a much higher price in the market. Lima bean vines are usually suffered to wind themselves round a pole twelve or fifteen feet high, and before the vine reaches the top of the pole, some beans, near its bottom, are already of a size to be pulled. Lima beans should be pinched-off when five and a half feet high, and they will readily throw out side shoots, well filled with pods, which will ripen before frost; whereas, when not shortened-in, the beans on the upper end of the vine can not perfect themselves in time to be saved. It is unfair to expect a gill of sap to travel through forty feet of vine wrapped around a pole, and make a perfect bean at the extreme end of it. The immense amount of imperfect and halfformed vine through which it has to travel, causes too great an evaporation of moisture before arriving at its point of destination. The Lima bean, 'with us, is an exotic, and its behavior during growth is very different from its habits where native, and therefore the mode of cultivation, as with the tomato, peach, etc., must compensate for these differences. Working Farmer. Stowell Sweet Corn. THIS new variety is most highly lauded in the East. After vain endeavors to procure some seed of the great novelty and desirable wonder, it was my good fortune to receive a small parcel, by mail, from my good friend Thos. Hancock, of the Ashton Nurseries, Burlington, N. J., to whom, for this and many other favors, my thanks are returned. Though late, it was carefully planted in a sequestered moat, separate from other corn, so that its product may continue pure and unmixed. The following mention of it is from the Working Farmer, whose editor, This is a new sort, and is every way superior to any other we have seen; for after being pulled from the ground, the stalks moisture, frost, or violent currents of air, may be placed in a dry, cool place, free from (to prevent drying,) and the grains will remain full and milky for many months. Or the ears may be pulled in August, and, by tying a string loosely around the small end, to pervent the husks from drying from the ears, they may be laid on shelves and kept moist, and suitable, for boiling, a year or more. This corn is hybrid, between the Menomoney soft corn and the Northern suStowell, of Burlington, New Jersey. We gar corn, and was first grown by Nathan purchased from Mr. S. a small number of ears dried for seed, and he presented us with a few ears surrounded by the husks leaves were in as green a state as when grown in the previous summer; the inner of the late fair of the American Institute, pulled the previous August. Near the close pulled in August, 1849, and twelve ears we presented the managers with two ears pulled in August, 1850. They were boiled and served up together, and appeared to be alike, and equal to corn fresh from the garden. The ears are longer than the usual sweet corn, and contain twelve rows. To save the seed, it is necessary to place them in strong currents of air, freed from most of the husks, and assisted slightly by fire heat, when nearly dry. In damp places, this corn soon molds and becomes worthless. The seed, when dry, is but little thicker than writingpaper, but is a sure grower. The stalks are very sweet and valuable as fodder. Flowers and Fruit for Cities. CAN not friends in the country be induced to take more pains to supply the city with flowers? As soon as the wild flowers begin can not children or others gather them, arto bloom, and as long as they continue, why range them in small and pretty bunches, and bring or send them to market? What we titude. Dirt may be plenty enough, but earth is hid, and water can only be obtained want are bouquets 3, 6 and 12 cents each. | meridian and is able to pierce the murky It would be more profitable to procure, do air that hovers above the self-doomed multhem up, and sell them at those rates, than to deal in dandelions, berries, or any of the common country contributions. There need be no fear of overstocking the market. at second hand. Thousands of persons would gladly avail themselves of such an opportunity of enjoy-abundance of bouquets offered daily in our In our own city we already have a great ing flowers at an easy rate. Not only would all the wild flowers com- markets, and at very low prices, but the mand a ready sale; the demand would suggestions of the Boston Editor are worthy increase with the supply. Common garden of consideration. In New York, also, it apflowers might be added. Many a family in the vicinity would do well by cultivating pears from the papers, they are driving a every variety, and forwarding low priced brisk business in the floral way. Why may bouquets to the city. Our great middle class we not increase this simple enjoyment among (in respect to pecuniary means) of citizens, who have a taste and love for flowers, are now almost wholly debarred from the possession of them by the limited supply and the consequent exorbitantly high prices demanded. If the whole neighboring country were made a garden, and its sweet, beautiful productions were showered daily upon the city, what a blessing it would be. Look at the waste land within ten miles of the City Hall; look at the idle hands in and around Boston; and say, can nothing be done to bring the two together to the clear advantage of both, and for the benefit of everybody and everything else? the people? Why are there not baskets of simple little cheap bouquets at our railroad stations? The possession of a flower would aid to while away the tedium of travel. Few persons are aware of the extent to which this traffic is carried on, and the large sums that have been realized by it. The nosegay season is at its hight just now, and we doubt not that the daily sales of flowers in this city amount to some thousand dollars. One of these floral peddlers, we are informed, has amassed nine thousand dollars by the sale of bouquets in the course of the last few seasons. Potato Rot. What we have said of flowers is equally true of fruit. Every variety of God's gifts, in the forms so agreeable and refreshing to our appetite and our well being throughout "Who shall decide when doctors disagree?" the summer, might be enjoyed by all classes, DR. WARDER:-As your work bears the as they are now by a few, were the cultivation of them extended, as it should be, and title of Horticultural Review, allow me to the city favored with a greatly increased review an article in your July number, supply. We hope a better day is coming page 456, headed "Rot in Potatos," etc.in these important particulars. A commu: It was copied from the Albany Cultivator, nity abundantly supplied with flowers and fruits would have a great deal to be thankful for. The steps that may lead to such a consummation are worthy of attention. Boston Transcript. REMARKS.-True, how true! these best blessings, flowers and fruits should indeed be plentifully supplied to the brick-cased, dust-fed denizens of our cities, many of whom can see or enjoy scarce one of the great elements, and that but darkly, or only when the great fountain of light rides the the editor of which chastises the editor of the Massachusetts Ploughman for giving it as his opinion that insects are the cause of the potato disease; and the editor (of the Albany Cultivator) asserts that "all parts of the potato plant have been often examined by the most powerful glasses in existence without finding any such insects." No one can claim much credit for earnestly desiring the elucidation of the truth, who can treat with contempt the opinions of others merely because such opinions differ tion of the sap, die either partially or enfrom his own. And if this be true in ordi- tirely. In this case the insect follows up nary cases, it derives especial force in ref- the leaves till only a few on the top of the erence to this, in which the protection and plant are left." In paragraph 281 he speaks preservation of one of the most useful veg- of the migratory habits of the insect, etc. etables is under consideration. Treat it with derision or contempt, who will, the question itself neither gains nor loses by this conduct, although this may be done by persons who are in a position to have made observations for themselves which would, perhaps, have led to opposite conclusions. If the editor of the Albany Cultivator is ignorant of the fact that insects have been discovered on the potato plant, and are the cause of the disease attributed to them, I would beg leave to call his attention to the following work on this subject: "The Potato Plant, its uses and properties, together with the cause of the present malady, the extension of that disease to other plants, etc.-by Alfred Smee, F. R. S. Illustrated with 10 Lithographs. London: Longman & Co. 1847." It is a book of 170 pages. Chapter xi is devoted to the description and history of the insect, Aphis Vastator, which, it is said, "comes upon the potato plant in the winged state, and then brings forth its young alive. After a short time the insect brings forth other young, which young themselves reproduce without any connection with the individuals of the other sex; and thus from a single specimen a plant may speedily become covered with insects. It has been proved by Reaumer that in five generations one Aphis may be the progenitor of 5,904,900,000 descendants, and it is supposed that in one year there may be twenty generations. I know no reason why the Vastator should be less prolific than its congen ers. The Vastator begins at the larger leaves of the potato plant, which after a short time becoming injured by the obstruc On the evening of February 6, 1847, Mr. Smee gave a soiree at his house in Finsbury Circus, London, to between two and three hundred of the leading scientific men, an account of which was inserted at the time in the Morning Advertiser, the Sunday and Morning Post. Specimens of diseased potatos and plants from three counties in England were exhibited-from Hampshire by the Right Honorable Speaker of the House of Commons, from Bicton Gardens in Devonshire, (Mr. Barnes, gardener,) and from the hot-houses, Peterborough House, Fulham. This last was growing, or rather dying, in a pot, and the Aphis Vastator was feeding upon it. An extensive collection of plants killed by the Aphis Vastator were shown, and the insect itself in all its stages exhibited by the microscope, twenty of the best instruments manufactured by Ross, Horne and other celebrated makers, being used for that purpose. So much for the editor of the Albany Cultivator's assertion that all parts of the potato plant have been often examined by the most powerful glasses in existence without finding any such insects. Burns says: "Facts are chiels that winna ding, And canna be disputed." I am, sir, yours, etc., RICH'D DAVIES, Landscape Gardener. LEBANON, Ohio. farm, twelve miles below the Sault, on Lake RASPBERRY JAM.-Mr. P. S. Church, at his Superior, is doing an extensive business in gathering and preserving the red raspberry. Recently the Indians of that vicinity brought in a barrel and a half of berries, and he has already made and put in jars about 1,000 pounds. and expects to make as much more before the season is over.-Exch. |