For the second best, to A. Bowditch, $1. For the best pair of mantel bouquets, to Hovey & Co., $2. For a large pyramidal bouquet, to Miss Russell, $2. A gratuity to Miss Russell for a basket of flowers, $1. FRUITS: From Messrs. Hovey & Co., Muscat Blanc Hatif, Pitmaston White Cluster, and Chasselas de Fontainebleau grapes; also, Lemercier, and Late Duke cherries. From J. F. Allen, Wilmot's Black Hamburgh, Victoria Hamburgh, Purple Muscat, and Black Hamburgh grapes; also, Sweet Montmorency cherries, Noblesse, Grosse Mignonne peaches, and figs. From O. Johnson, Black Hamburgh, Zinfindal, White Muscat of Alexandria, White Frontignan grapes; also, White Dutch currants. From W. Quant, Regne de Nice, Black Frontignan, Purple Muscat, Muscat Muscadine (?), Black Hamburgh, extra large berries, Muscat of Alexandria, White Frontignan grapes, very handsome. From John Washburn, Red Astrachan apples, From John Owen, Early Harvest apples. From A. D. Weld, Red and White currants, fine. From A. D. Williams & Son, Red and White currants, fine. From John Hovey, seedling gooseberries. From Mrs. Spalding, figs, extra large. VEGETABLES: From John Galvin, Newport, R. I., by Eben Wight, Roman Emperor cucumber. From S. H. Hunneman, Roxbury, by J. C. Hunneman, two large winter squashes, of last year's growth, perfectly sound. From A. D. Williams, new potatoes. HORTICULTURAL MEMORANDA FOR AUGUST. FRUIT DEPARTMENT. Grape Vines in the greenhouse or grapery will now be nearly ripe; some of the earlier kinds quite ripe, such as the White Chasselas, Macready's Early White, &c. Plenty of air should now be given, a little very early in the morning, and the floor should not be damped any longer. If any of the laterals push, they should be cut back again to the first eye. Vines in the cold house will need particular care, as this is the season for mildew : see that the house is closed early in cool windy weather, and do not allow great drafts of air at any time until they begin to color; keep the floor well damped in hot dry weather. Vines in the open air should be now looked after see that all the laterals are cut off two eyes beyond the fruit, which will prevent the shoots from becoming entangled; lay in the wood carefully for next year's bearing, and head in all that is not wanted for that purpose; this will throw the sap into the grapes, and mature a few leaves, which are better than a mass of young foliage for elaborating the sap. Strawberry beds may be made this month, after the first good rain, provided the ground has been duly prepared. Let the rows be two feet apart, and the plants a foot apart in the rows; alleys may be allowed at any distance, as the cultivator may fancy. Our plan is to set ten rows of Hovey's Seedling, leaving an alley four feet, and then ten rows of the Boston Pine; both are equally productive, and one fertilizes the other. Old beds should now be duly weeded, and if the old plants have not been dug in, it should be done without delay. New beds set out last spring should have the runners laid in, or if large fruit is the object, all cut off. Summer-pruning trees should yet be continued as advised in our last. Plum, Cherry, Pear, and Apple trees should be budded this month. Insects continue to attend to the destruction of these pests of the culti vator. FLOWER DEPARTMENT. Camellias should be potted immediately, if not already done; grafting should also be completed early in the month. Plants wanted for very early flowering should now be taken into the house and placed in a warm situation. Oxalis Hirta and Bowiei should be potted. Mignonette should be sown early in the month, and if a succession is wanted, another sowing should be made about the 25th. Roses should be budded and layered this month. Chrysanthemums should be layered this month, and if plants have been raised from cuttings, they should now be repotted for the last time, and the tops pinched off. Water occasionally with guano. Dahlias should all be staked in season, or one severe wind will destroy the expectations of the year. Prune off all superfluous laterals. Pansies may now be increased by cuttings or layers. Chinese Primroses raised last month from seed should now be potted off in small pots. Verbenas for keeping over winter should now be layered into small pots. Fuchsias should be repotted, if very large specimens are wanted. Cactuses should be repotted this month. Euphorbia jacquinaflora should be repotted, and the tops of all the strong shoots pinched off to make them bushy. Orange and Lemon trees should be budded now. Victoria, Ten Week, and other stocks should be sown now, if plants are wanted for flowering in the spring. Pelargoniums will now require attention. If the plants were not headed down last month, they should be done so now, and the cuttings put in as directed last month. Perennial plants, of many kinds, may be separated and transplanted the last part of the month. Nemophila insignis, schizanthuses, and other winter flowering annuals should be sown now. Petunias, of fine kinds, should now be propagated from cuttings or layers for a spring stock. Tree pæonies should be propagated by grafting. Greenhouse plants, of all kinds, should be repotted now, and put in order for the winter. THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. SEPTEMBER, 1847. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. ART. I. On the Importance of the Cultivation of the Oak and other valuable Timber Trees; with Observations on the Preservation of Ship Timber, and the Process of Decay in Wood. By A. MITCHELL, M. D., Portland. In a Letter to the HoN. H. A. S. DEARBORN. Communicated by Gen. Dearborn. MY DEAR SIR,The following article was communicated by me to Gen. Joseph M. Hernandez, of St. Augustine, Fl., and published in the Florida Herald. You will probably recollect that this gentleman has been, for many years, exclusively devoted to the science of Agriculture, and is one of the best systematic planters in that State. An Essay written by him on the Culture of the Tobacco Plant has been considered to be one of the most elaborate articles ever published on that subject. Reasoning from analogy on the soil and productions of the southern portion of our Union, we may attribute to Florida, as having within its domains as many natural advantages as any of the tropical regions in the cultivation of those plants that are indigenous to those countries, presenting an extensive surface, which as yet remains imperfectly explored-rich in the spontaneous growth of many esculent plants for the support of man, and the growth of domestic animals, and offering a wide field for the cultivation and introduction of many more for exportation and home consumption. Such are the tea-plant, coffee, tobacco, sugar cane, Turkish poppy, olivetree, cotton, indigo, saffron, grape, fig, &c. As we shall briefly descant, at present, on the vital importance of a community being well versed in agricultural science, in order to improve with advantage those rich fields which a bounteous Creator has spread out before us, we shall principally advert to the forest-growth of this peninsular portion of our United States, with some original observations on the preservation of ship timber, and the process of decay in these woods. As our navy may be considered the present and future bulwark of our safety as a commercial nation, it is not thought inappropriate to make a few remarks on those woods which are principally used in the construction of our ships of war and commerce. The process of decay termed dry rot has been a theme of scientific inquiries for many years among many of our most eminent chemists; and the most elaborate investigations have been made, both at home and abroad, in order to ascertain the chemical effects of air, heat, light, and moisture, on the same, as our oaks and various timbers that have been previously prepared and appropriated to use for ship-building. We do not, at present, have the presumption to offer any preservative means that would counteract the effects of this dreaded enemy to our national purse, but simply to throw out some hints that may, in the future, be useful as a rallying point to others that can claim a precedence over their more humble brothers in the profession of science. The modern use of iron in the construction of marine vessels has been thought, at a subsequent period, would supersede that of wood; we should then have oxides to contend with instead of fungi; but we do not believe the former will ever supersede that of the latter. As the grand engine of navigation is deteriorating every day from the causes of decay, it may be asked, what is the dry rot? and how long has it been known to affect the timbers of vessels, and the cause of this effect? Well, in answer to the former, the dry rot is caused by the spontaneous decomposition of the vegetable albumen which acts as a ferment on the other constituent principles that may be present in the wood, as sugar and starch, which disintegrates the fibres of the wood, and accelerates the growth of mushrooms by the formation of ammoniacal salts. Of these fungi, there are two species, -as the Xylostroma giganteum, which grows in the timber like a thin broad patch of yellow leather, and the Serpula distruens, which is not so large, of a reddish color, and white at the edge growing externally. As the cause of this dry rot proceeds from an excess of vegetable albumen in those woods that have been in modern use for ship-building, we may answer the latter question by saying that the primitive oaks of Great Britain, and those of our country, which were used in the early construction of their navies, were not so rich in albuminous matter as the oaks of secondary growths, and those of various locations, are now; therefore the dry rot and fungous growths in such timbers were not known, nor never would have been, had we the timber now of those primitive forests of our country, Europe, and Great Britain. It will appear, by these observations, that we intend to maintain that the cause of dry rot proceeds from the negligence and want of knowledge in the selection of those trees which resist the effects of time and exposure without the process of decay. Such is our position, and, without further comment, we proceed to illustrate many points connected with the subject under consideration, as it is one of the most important to which the attention of a maritime people. can be turned. The oaks of North America, as described by Andrew Michaux, consist of twenty-nine species and varieties, most of which are useful in ship-building; the one considered the most useful, and stands at the head of the list, is the live oak, Quércus virens. It is a perennial tree, of slow growth, like the rest of its congeners, and is common to Florida, where the most extensive forests of this tree are seen. It is generally found growing from latitude 37° to Florida, "and westward to the mouth of the Sabine River," but never more than 15 or 20 miles from the sea. This valuable tree can be said to contain less of the causes of decomposition, as albumen, sugar, and starch, than any of the species hitherto described; therefore, it is the most durable, and less liable to decay; and, with all this natural immunity against spontaneous decomposition, we should not overlook the locality of its growth, age, and season of cutting for ship-timber. This is a necessary precaution, which is applicable to the whole tribe of oaks that are used in the mechanics. The best localities for the |