against this method of propagating the carnation; even in England not more than one half of the pipings that are put in ever take root; and were it not that some of the best sorts make very little and very short shoots, and are also very brittle, and difficult to propagate by layers, I should recommend that the piping of carnations should be discontinued: but, as the most difficult sorts to propagate are generally the most valuable, I will make a quotation from Paxton, which appears to me to contain the best information on this subject. Prepare a slight hot-bed in an eastern aspect, and as soon as the heat is moderate, lay on about six inches thickness of light mould, sifted finely. No piping should have less than two or three complete joints. Take off the cutting horizontally, just below the second or third joint, and merely cut off the leaves from the joint that is to be inserted into the soil, but leave the others entire, except the tops, which cut off square, a little above the centre of the crown of the shoot. After giving the earth of the bed a moderate watering, place on a hand or bell glass to mark the boundaries in which the pipings are to be planted; plant the pipings half an inch deep, and at least an inch and a half or two inches distant from each other. Many authors, and among the number Paxton, say, not more than an inch apart. This I conceive to be an error, and one of the causes of failure in piping: by crowding too many pipings under the glass, they hold too much moisture, and damp off. After you have put in all your pipings, give them a gentle watering, to fix the soil closely about them; let them remain uncovered until the leaves are dry; then place on the glasses, and press them gently down to prevent the admission of air; give the pipings a little morning sun, but always shade them when the heat becomes strong, which may be done by covering the glasses with mats. It is necessary, after the first week, that the glasses be occasionally taken off to admit air, but this must never be done when the sun is powerful, but rather in cloudy weather, or early in the morning. When the pipings are watered, never place the glasses over them until the leaves are dry, and then not without first drying the glasses, or mildew will be the consequence; and this must be continued until the pipings are well rooted, which will be in about six weeks, when the glasses may be removed altogether. When there are any very choice varieties, I would recommend that they be piped with tumblers, and put only one piping under each glass. I have almost invariably succeeded in this manner, when the piping in mass has been nearly, if not quite, a failure.

The Cultivation and Propagation of the Garden Pink (Diánthus plumàrius).—The pink is more hardy than the carnation, and may be propagated with success, by dividing the roots in the spring; but as these divisions never make such good plants, or

bloom so fine as layers or pipings, it is a desideratum to raise new plants every year, either from layers or pipings, as one year old plants bloom very superior to those of any other age. When your pipings are prepared, make choice of a shady part of the garden; let the soil be light and sandy; put your pipings in after the same manner as recommended for the carnation, watering them with a fine rose watering-pot, until the soil is completely saturated; cover them with a hand glass, which should not be removed until they begin to grow; after that they may be exposed in the morning and evening, until they are able to bear the open air. The usual time for piping the pink is July; but I have succeeded much better when I have attempted it in September. Our dog-day weather is generally very much against the propagating of pinks by piping. The pink may be cultivated from seed in the same manner as the carnation, and in the same compost, with the addition of a little horse manure. Maddock gives the following as the criterion of a fine pink: "The stem should be strong and erect, and not less than twelve inches high; the calyx smallerand shorter than the carnation, but nearly similar in proportion, as well as in the formation of the flower, which should not be less than two inches and a half in diameter. The petals should be large, broad and substantial, and very fine fringed or serrated edges, free from notches or indentures; in short, they approach nearest to perfection when the fringe or edge is so fine as scarcely to be discernible; but if they could be obtained entire, it would be desirable. The broadest part of the lamina, or broad end of the petals, should be perfectly white, and distinct from the eye, unless it be a laced pink, that is, one ornamented with a continuation of the color of the eye round it, bold, clear, and distinct, having a considerable proportion of white in the centre, perfectly free from tinge or spot. The eye should consist of a bright or dark rich crimson or purple, resembling velvet, but the nearer it approaches to black, the more it is esteemed: its proportion should be about equal to that of the white, that it may neither appear too large nor too small."

The importation of the pink and carnation into this country, from England or from France, is very rarely successful: the close air and the scent of the ship is, in nine cases out of ten, fatal to the plants; hence these fine and odoriferous flowers are so little known or cultivated. We, indeed, find pinks and carnations of a certain sort, in almost every garden, but we rarely meet with a good one. I have met with specimens of the carnation, with high-sounding name, admired by its owner for its great size; but if the color of the petals had been green instead of "brick-dustred," it would have readily passed for a cabbage-sprout. With such specimens, how can we expect to enlist the cultivated mind and tasteful admirer of nature, in the cultivation of this lovely

flower? The average price of carnations and picotees, in England, is about three shillings sterling per pair-pinks, one shilling and sixpence per pair, with a few exceptions for new and scarce varieties, which vary from five to twenty shillings per pair. I mention these facts, to contrast the prices asked and received by a gardener in this vicinity for one hundred plants of the carnation, warranted fine and of colors various !—Price paid, and I believe all that was asked, was three cents each! The result is, the purchaser is disgusted with his bargain; and if he had not had an opportunity of seeing better things, he might have exclaimed, in reply to the following line of the poet,—

"And pinks of smell divinest,"

Carnations of shapes and colors vilest.

To engage our friends in the cause of Flora, we should supply them with good things at a fair price. Taste, like truth, does not lie at the bottom of a well, nor is it confined to the rich or the poor, to the citizen or the yeoman, but is found in all countries, and among all classes of society.

In conclusion, dear Sirs, I would remark, that some good varieties of the carnation and the pink are to be found in the vicinity of Boston. A few years since, I did not know of a first-rate pink in the state of Massachusetts. We have now some ten to fifteen varieties of the best sorts. Mr. Hill, of Boston, has long been successful in the cultivation of the carnation; and it gives me pleasure to add, that some choice varieties are now under the care of Mr. Haggerston, at the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq., at Watertown. A variety of fine pinks may be found at the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, under the care of Mr. W. E. Carter, and also at other gardens in the neighborhood. Among the best sorts cultivated in the vicinity of Boston, I would name Bow's Claudius, Major Shaw, Lady Cobbett, Lord Hamilton, Queen Caroline, Ford's fine seedling, Bow's Sir Isaac Newton, Navarino, Pettit's seedling, Hawkins's Beauty, a seedling raised by Col. Wilder, of Dorchester, and a seedling by the Messrs. Hovey, of Cambridgeport. The two latter I consider as possessing many, if not all, the properties which constitute a good pink. We may, therefore, hope soon to have more than one of our senses gratified; for

"Good scents do purify the brain,

Awake the fancy, and the wits refine."
Yours, &c.

Roxbury, Aug. 16, 1836.

S. WALKER.

ART. VI. Some Remarks on the Tree Peony (Paonia Moutan), including its history, introduction into England, the production of new seedling varieties, propagation, cultivation, &c. By the CONDUCTORS.

THE tree pæony, and its varieties, Pæònia Moútan of botanists, are among the most splendid plants of which our gardens can boast. They have long been cultivated in England, and have there become quite common-so much so, that there are, probably, but few gardens that lay any pretensions to beauty, which are not adorned by the gorgeous blossoms of this fine tribe. In this country they are yet unknown to country gardens, and, perhaps, with the exception of the amateur and nursery collections in and about our principal cities, few if any plants are to be found. The comparatively high price which they have commanded, and still command, may be, perhaps, one cause why they are less often seen; but we apprehend a better reason is, that they are almost unknown.

The common double red pæony,-the ornament of almost every garden, the treasured flower of the humble cottage-expanding its gay blossoms when but few other plants are in flower,

is too well known to need any description. When this was first introduced to England, it commanded an equally high price with that of the tree pæony at the present time, nor was it probably less admired; and although numerous varieties of it have been produced, there are but four or five that rival, and we may almost say, none that surpass it, in splendor. As common as this is, the idea of a tree pæony is quite noyel; and there are but few persons who have seen one in bloom, who were not greatly surprised to hear of such a plant. To see the latter grown side by side with the former, is part of the object of this paper; for though at present quite rare, we hope to see the time when every garden will be enriched by its truly magnificent blossoms.

Long before the plants were introduced into England, they were well known from the botanical and other works upon China and Japan, as also from the repeated representations on Chinese porcelain and paper hangings, and in their paintings, &c. Many varieties are said to exist in China, which have not yet been introduced to England, and the London Horticultural Society possess several paintings of kinds different from those at present to be found in gardens. The Chinese are so selfish in regard to all the plants they possess, that, whatever price is offered, they are reluctant to sell them, and oftentimes deceive purchasers, by

selling the most common kinds for those quite rare; and this, too, when the rare ones, to us, are as abundant in their gardens as the more common. So often have purchasers been deceived in this manner, that, from the hundreds of plants that have been imported into England, as yet, according to most writers, only five or six are, in reality, dissimilar. Mr. Sabine, however, in the Horticultural Transactions, enumerates seven; and in the Hortus Britannicus, eleven Chinese varieties are registered.

Perhaps it may not be uninteresting to notice some of the names and colors of the varieties which are said still to exist in the Chinese gardens. That there are a great number we have no reason to doubt. The Chinese are great lovers of beautiful plants, and, although they do not possess a knowledge of vegetable physiology, sufficient to enable them to procure new kinds with any certainty, yet they spare no exertions to do so as far as their knowledge extends, as we may infer from the number of kinds of camellias and other plants which have been introduced. Varicus travellers have made great statements in regard to the varieties of pæonies they possess; too great reliance is, however, not to be placed upon them, for perhaps they have been deceived. The only good evidence of any such existing is to be derived from the drawings which have been made by good artists, and who have colored them accurately from actually growing plants. Of such, five were executed at Canton, in 1806, for the library of the East India Company, and copies of them have been made. for the London Horticultural Society, Two of them are referable to the P. papaveràcea Bánksie and ròsea. The third is called the Tsú Moutan, the first name indicative of the color, and has fine purple blossoms. The fourth is the Pae Moutan, with double white flowers. The latter is of slender growth; it is very scarce and highly esteemed. Mr. Sabine, in a paper in the Horticultural Transactions, to which we are indebted for the information in regard to the history of the tree pæony, states, that one of the double purple Moutans was purchased (about the year 1820) by an American captain, in order to be carried home. But we have never heard of such a variety, and it was, in all probability, lost on the voyage. The fifth drawing is called the Hong Moutan Fa, and is said to be a yellow (?) flower. It is said to have been taken from a plant which flowered in the house of a mandarin at Canton, in February, 1810. This, however, was not believed when this statement was published, and the existence of a yellow variety is considered very doubtful. Stories are current at Canton, that they have them of all colors, even blue and black (?). Mr. Main, who went out to China in the year 1792, for Gilbert Slater, Esq., states, in a late paper, entitled "Reminiscences of a Voyage to and from China," in Pax