neighbors, the result is very pleasing. Whole beds may be filled with the dwarf kinds, and Mignonette growing among them will add the grace of an exquisite perfume to their own beauty. If a stock is kept in pots, they do admirably to fill up gaps, or to insert in places where earlier flowers have gone off. In fact, they are invaluable; and in addition to the remarks of last week, respecting propagation for next year, I would give a little advice as to the treatment of scarlet pelargoniums.

Having procured as many cuttings as possible, pot them thickly in pans or pots, and place them in a frame as directed before, care being taken to guard against damp, which is very fatal to their succulent stems. If the cuttings are allowed to dry over before the wounded part is inserted in the soil, the effect will be more sure. It has been found that these pelargoniums do well when potted as above, and kept in a room of a dwelling-house near the light. Indeed, as gardeners say, "they will grow like grass," and, in the winter, dryness is almost all they need to preserve them. In addition to the young plants made from cuttings, all the old roots may be taken up when the frosts come, and may be preserved by being cut down and potted; or they may be dried and hung up by the roots in an out-building, excluding frost and damp. Then again in the spring, the young shoots of those preserved in pots may be cut off and struck. There are numerous varieties of scarlet pelargoniums, some with variegated foliage, and as many as possible should be procured.-(Gard. Chron. 1847, p. 556.)

Pruning Fruit Trees.-I suspect that even the pruning of Paris will not do for this climate, and that, as regards pears and apples, at least bloom buds will not be obtained with certainty by the same means. I was in Paris two years ago, and took a lesson in pruning from M. Jamin. Nothing could be more perfectly trained than his pears and apples, and they were loaded with fruit. But I have either mistaken the precepts of my master, or his practice is not suitable for this damp climate. I find my memorandum of what he told me during a clinical lecture in his nursery. He is careful to thin out the branches (pears), and keeps thinning as the tree goes on, leaves the leader, and, in May or early in June, pinches off all wood shoots, and these so pinched he cuts back to one eighth of an inch in winter. These make bloom buds the next year, but those pinched off which are not strong make bloom buds the same year; some, of course, shoot after being pinched; these are again pinched, and, if no bloom buds are made, are cut off close, as before stated. The leader is shortened in winter. If this branch is well stored with bloom buds, he shortens to about six inches; if growing vigorously and no buds, he leaves it longer. He is against bending down the branches, and leaves no spurs; the branches about nine inches apart. After the leader attains about eight feet, he lets it grow on. In the main, he follows D'Albret's theory and practice of pruning fruit trees, 5th edit. I think you would do some service if you were to give us an abridgment of D'Albret's book as regards pruning. I attempted this, but find some difficulty in giving the proper equivalents for technical words, and so must leave it to some one more experienced in the art.-(Id. 1847, p. 557.)

Bottom Heat.-The following article, by Dr. Lindley, appeared in a late number of the Gardeners' Chronicle, and, although not quite so applicable to our climate as that of Great Britain, still the hints which it contains are of sufficient interest to claim the attention of all cultivators. Every gardener is aware of the importance of bottom heat in the growth of many kinds of plants; but the question is, how many other sorts are there to which it has not been applied, that may not be benefited by it?

One of the most important points to which modern gardeners have had their attention turned is that of bottom heat. It is, to a great extent, the cause of their eminent success in some branches of horticulture; and the time is coming when it will be looked upon as the foundation of all practice whatsoever. As matters now stand, the subject is only considered specially in a few cases, such as pine apples, melons and cucumbers, and in the operations of seed-sowing and cutting-striking. But it really concerns every plant that is known; more, perhaps, than even top-heat. Those for which it is so carefully studied are only extreme cases, but they point the way to general rules. We may be sure that, if one plant is so constituted that its roots require to lie in a medium of a particular temperature, all other plants will also have some temperature which suits their roots better than any other. This is acknowledged to be so with their branches and leaves; and it is certainly quite as true as respects their roots.

We might be certain that this opinion is well founded, even in the absence of direct proof, because we know that the aim of cultivation is to imitate, as exactly as possible in all respects, the conditions under which plants naturally grow. If in its natural state, where it arrives at the greatest perfection of which it is susceptible, a plant is continually exposed to a certain temperature of the earth, to another of the air, to a particular amount of light, of humidity, of atmospheric pressure, it cannot be doubted that the first business of the gardener is to imitate those peculiarities by all the means at his command; having done that, he may proceed to stall-feed his plants, till they resemble the bullocks at the Smithfield Club; but to cram them till he has secured their perfect health, is like overfeeding a savage debarred from his natural exercise and occupations.

A very interesting proof of the advantage of attending to this subject is to be found in our columns of last week, (p. 543.) It is there shown that, in Mr. Purdey's garden at Bayswater, a vinery has been filled with wood and fruit in little more than two years, by merely warming the border in which the vines grow. It is said that the latter made shoots thirty-seven feet long, strong, short-jointed, and well ripened in the first year. The grapes, which we have seen, are excellent, and were ripe in the beginning of August; so that they must have been forced in good time. We fully anticipate bunches from this house which shall equal the largest of Syria. Mr. Purdey has obtained this result by applying artificial heat to his vine-border, so as to insure its having a suitable temperature at the season of growth. In gen eral, vines are treated as a man would be, if exposed to a steam bath with his feet in ice. The manner of heating that has been adopted at Bayswater has the fault of being too expensive. Let Polmaise be substituted for it,

and the whole cost will consist in forming a cavity in which the warm moist air shall circulate when desired.

The necessity of providing some means of warming the borders of vines to be forced (we will even say grown) in a climate like this, will be obvious when we compare the temperature of the earth in the south of France and Great Britain. The mean temperature of the earth near London, in the three first months of the year, may be taken as 38°; that of Marseilles or Bourdeaux will be at least 65°. The mean teinperature of the earth, near London, in July and August, is 62°; that of Marseilles, about 78°, and of Bourdeaux, 77°. We will ask whether it is probable that such differences in the soil can be unimportant to the plants which grow in it. It would be a capital experiment to attempt to grow grapes in a house whose border should be in the inside the house, aud into which no other artificial source of heat should be admitted.

We have little idea in this part of the world of the temperature of the soil in some countries. Captain Newbold found the heat of the granitic soil in the vicinity of Bellary, at 2 P. M. in May, as high as 121°; that of the black soil, 122°.5; that of the air, in the shade, being 95°.5. At midnight the temperature of the black soil was still as high as 86°, that of the air being 80°. That of a bare rock of granite, in the same locality, at 2 P. M., was 120°.5; of black basaltic rock, 122°; that of the granite at midnight was 86°.5. Other examples are given in the "Theory of Horticulture."

But, in attempting to apply these principles to practice, gardeners are stopped at the threshold of their inquiry by the absence of evidence as to the temperature of soil in different countries. By a persevering search through books, they find, indeed, plenty of statements as to the temperature of the air, but that of the earth observers have almost invariably neglected. It is, therefore, interesting to inquire whether the temperature of the earth in which plants grow may not be inferred from that of the air which rests upon the surface. It has been shown, in the "Theory of Horticulture," (p. 96) that in October, near London, the mean temperature of the earth has been found 3° or 4° above that of the air, although in general the difference is not more than a degree or a degree and a half in favor of the earth. The permanent heat of the earth may therefore be regarded as being always higher than the mean of the air; but the amount of difference will be regulated by the temperature to which the earth is exposed, and by its own conducting qualities. It seems to us, however, that for gardening purposes the temperature of the earth may be taken as, on an average, 5° above the mean temperature of summer in warm countries; very often more, seldom less; so that if the mean temperature of Rome, in the hottest month, is 77°, it is probable that that of the soil, at the same time, will not be less than 82°. As we advance to the northward the difference diminishes, so that in London it is not more than 2° in favor of the earth.-(Id. 1847, p 555.)

Preparation of large Shrubs for removal.-We hold the early part of autumn to be the best time in the whole year for the removal of evergreens, and the month of November to be the best on the whole for that of deciduous trees, provided the soil to receive them has been duly prepared. The

reasons are obvious, and those who well understand the propagation of the cuttings of these two broad classes can easily appreciate them. Autumn possesses a less capricious atmosphere than spring, and there is a much greater amount of ground heat, which is a great essential; the trees, moreover, will endure the necessary check much better at this period, and if the operation is performed under proper conditions, they will be, in a great degree, recovered by the period of germination. It may not be generally known that much may be done by way of anticipation in preparing large trees for removal; and the course we have to recommend is, to perform the check by instalments. We advise, then, that a trench be immediately excavated to the bottom of the ball, in the case of evergreens, at about six inches farther from the main stem than the ultimate size of the ball intended to be removed. Those who have leisure may perform the operation at twice, doing one half the circle now, and the other half a fortnight hence. This will be found to have checked all propensity to late and immature growths, and to have accelerated the rest period, thus giving the tree a longer period for recovery. It will, moreover, induce the formation of a new set of small fibres in the interior of the ball, which will act immediately the tree is removed. Deciduous trees or shrubs should not undergo the operation until the beginning of September, and they will be in a fit state for removal by the last week of October; whereas the evergreens may be planted in the early part of that month.-(Id. 1847, p. 559.)

Preparing for Winter.-The time has arrived when every gardener who wishes to manifest an acquaintance with his profession will be looking round the sphere of his operations to see what is to be done in reference to the approaching cold season. His head must be employed, and his hands actively engaged from the present time up to Christmas, when probably rain and frosts may keep him in-doors. Neglect now will be productive of fatal results, for gardens in the present day are as full of exotics as of indigenous productions, and various differences of treatment are demanded for the preservation of the stock until another year. Begin your perambulations, then, at once, and let nothing escape you, in the kitchen garden, the flower garden, the shrubbery, and the greenhouse. Let your observation be extended to the future, and carefully mark what is to be done.

In the kitchen garden you must decide at once what plots of ground you will leave fallow, to be thrown up in ridges during the winter, that the soil may be pulverized and ready for early crops; and what portions you will plant and sow at once. Seed beds of cauliflowers, cabbages and lettuces should be finished immediately. According to your probable wants must be your supply of young cabbages, to be cut young, and others to remain till the spring and summer. Spinach may still be sown; also some onions. Some cultivators recommend parsnip sowing at this season in preference to the spring; and it would be well to try the experiment, if you have not done so. Do not neglect to leave a piece of ground for autumn-planted potatoes, as the advantages of the plan are so well attested, provided proper precautions are taken as to soil, mode of planting, &c. All broccolis and wintergreens must be earthed up as a means of promoting growth, and guarding

against frost. The blanching of celery should proceed gradually, about two inches at a time, care being taken to prevent the soil falling into the heart of the plant, and, at the same time, nʊt to crush and twist the tender tissues, as is often done by the rough grasp of the gardener. Finally, attend to cleanliness. Strawberry beds should be finished off now, and not left in a wild, rank state till the spring. Pea-sticks, and all decayed haulm, and all weeds, should be removed not only that neatness may give its charm to the garden, but also to prevent the rapid production of damp and mouldiness, which are quickly generated among masses of decaying vegetation.

In the flower garden you should consider what departments you intend devoting to bulbs, and the beds must be prepared for that purpose as soon as possible. A difficulty is felt in this case, on account of the beds being often occupied till late in the season by autumnal flowers, which we are, of course, unwilling to sacrifice before the frost commits its ravages. Here there is no remedy but to pot hyacinths and other bulbs, which ought to be growing, and then to have them out as soon as the beds are ready. Attention should now be given to taking up plants which it is desirable to preserve, a few at a time, so as not to leave gaps, or spoil the general appearance of the garden. Young fuchsias, pelargoniums and verbenas, if taken up carefully and placed in a shaded frame after being potted, will flag scarcely at all. They will form pretty window plants till Christmas, and, what is more important, will constitute a stock to propagate from in the spring. Tender greenhouse plants, which have been out of doors during the summer, must be watched, lest an unexpected frost should injure them. They need not be taken in, but the amateur should have his eye upon them, and, when the night is brilliant and frosty, the most sensitive should be put under shelter.

The cuttings prepared for next year should now be looked over, and if they are rooted may be potted, either singly or three or four together, according to their habits. Every piping of pinks and carnations must be in the ground or pots at once, if you wish them to stand the winter. The secret of preserving these beautiful plants is, to secure plenty of roots.—(ld. 1847, p. 605.)

ART. II. Domestic Notices.

Richards's Beurré Pear.-Last spring, a gentleman of Hingham gave us a very favorable account of a new pear, which had originated in western New York, scions of which had been sent to him, as one of the very finest pears, fully equal to the Swan's Orange; at the same time, he kindly offered to give us buds, should his few scions succeed. Subsequently to this, we saw a notice of it in the Horticulturist, where it was called the Richards's Beurré, and there stated to be better than Swan's Orange, and we were very desirous to secure a few buds; but, just as we were sending after them, a couple of specimens of the fruit came under our notice, and, to our ast nishment, they proved to be the old Summer Bon Chrétien, one of our oldest