sured. This is particularly the case with P. maculata, suavèolens and var. serótina. A valuable hint may thus be acquired by some young or unexperienced amateur, of considerable advantage to him.

Mr. William Carter, who has the charge of the Botanic Gar'den in Cambridge, has succeeded in raising two or three very fine varieties of the species P. pyramidalis. One of these he lately pointed out, with very large flowers in a compact head, suggesting a trivial sub-specific-globosa. A very curious foreign variety, with white flowers and variegated foliage, was also quite attractive, from its peculiarity. Mr. C. evinces much zeal and taste in the culture of the phlox, and this garden perhaps possesses as good a collection of the species as any in the United States.

To grow the phlox to perfection, but one rule çan be given, true in this as in every other plant,-copy nature. This, we fear, is too much neglected; and the complicated artificial means of horticulture have heretofore reduced to one and the same treatment, species of widely differing habits. In general they all require more moisture and richer soils than are afforded them by the scanty provision which our florists furnish. I have now a single stem of P. paniculàta, planted in May last, in a moist, light and rich soil, mostly vegetable mould, and instead of a few depauperated flowers, a splendid panicle of great dimensions and of brilliant color has convinced me of the just and proper mode of its treatment.

ART. II. On the Repotting and Management of Chinese Roses. By J. W. RUSSELL.

As this is the season for repotting Chinese and all tender roses, I herewith send you a few brief remarks on the method of performing this kind of work.

For Chinese and tender roses a quantity of good fresh earth should be procured; preference should be given to that taken from an upland pasture field; the sod, with about four or five inches of earth adhering to it, is the very best part of the soil. If this has been procured three months before wanted for use, and turned over once or twice, breaking the whole and mixing the turf well with the soil, so much the better; however, if

the earth is to be obtained immediately when wanted, take a sharp spade, and pare off about an inch of the green sward, and take the under soil to the depth proposed, observing to break it pretty fine with the spade or trowel, but by no means to pass it through a riddle, for, by so doing, the most nutritive part of it is thrown away. When this is done, add about one half old hotbed manure, or, if this is not at hand, use any other kind of stable manure that is well decomposed, with a portion of sand, and mix the whole well together; this thoroughly done, the compost is ready for use.

Supposing the plant to be repotted is to be removed into a pot a size or two larger: in order to take the plant out of the pot with the ball entire, turn it upside down, and by giving the rim of it two or three gentle taps on the potting bench, the plant, with the ball of earth and roots, will, generally, immediately leave it; then trim off all the dry, matted, and mouldy fibres of the roots, which spread about the side and bottom of the ball, and, with a small sharp-pointed stick, scrape away very carefully a part of the old soil all round; this done, put in a few potsherds at the bottom of the new pot for drainage, and having first put a little of the coarsest of the compost on this, place the plant in, filling up all round the ball to within about half an inch of the top, observing to cover over the surface of the old ball about an inch with the new compost. A thin piece of stick may be used with good effect, to work down the soil at the sides of the pot; then, by giving the bottom of the pot two or three thumps on the potting bench, and a gentle watering afterwards, the operation is completely finished.

The

A similar compost is equally good for geraniums, only making use of half the quantity of manure specified for the roses. repotting and trimming of the roots, &c. is the same. It is also as good a compost as any that I have ever yet tried for orange and lemon trees.

Yours,

J. W. RUSSELL.

Mount Auburn, Cambridge, Sept. 13, 1836.

ART. III: Calendar of Plants and Shrubs in bloom from the month of May to October, inclusive. By the CONDUCTORS.

In the month of August the flower border is not so prolific of beautiful flowers (excepting the dahlia) as July. And unless

recourse is had to some particular plants, the latter part of the month will pass off, leaving the garden with a rather meagre aspect. For this emergency a judicious gardener will prepare himself in season: in the month of June, ten-week stocks, schizanthuses, &c. will have been sown and transplanted into pots, for the purpose of turning into the border as soon as the tops of the biennial and perennial plants are cut away after they have done blowing; these will flower beautifully until destroyed by frost. All the sorts of lobelias that have been brought forward in pots should be plunged in the border, where they will make a fine display with their brilliant blossoms. By pursuing some such system as this, the garden, in the month of August, where there is a good collection of dahlias, will present a gayer aspect than any other in the year.

On lawns may be placed, this month, pots of dahlias, which will flower profusely if properly treated and watered with liquid manure. Pots of Agapanthus umbellatus also have a fine appearance distributed about among the other plants.

In gardens where there is a good stock of the perpetual roses, they will continue to open their beautiful and fragrant blossoms; so popular will this tribe soon become, that no good garden will be without a number of the finest varieties; they certainly have double the claim to our admiration that many of the common sorts have; for they not only display their blossoms in the spring, and continue to do so until frost, but to their beauty add a delicious fragrance.

Dahlias are now the most fashionable flower: the great perfection to which the English florists have carried the production of new varieties certainly excites our wonder and admiration; the splendor of some, and the delicacy of others, of the newest sorts, surpasses any thing that can be imagined, and no garden can be said to be complete, unless a goodly number of the best varieties are cultivated. The dwarf kinds look well planted in the border among the other plants; but the taller and more free growing sorts look much the best grown in plats by themselves. They begin to bloom this month, and continue to flower until frost kills the plants.

August.-There are but few shrubs in bloom this month: some of the handsomest are Clethra alnifòlia, Spira`a tomentosa and salicifòlia, and the double and single althæas. The snowberry is beautiful with its fruit; of twining shrubs, the honeysuckles are in flower, and, towards the latter part of the month, Bignonia rádicans. Among the biennials and perennials are, Lobelia cardinalis, fúlgens, speciòsa and spléndens, Asclepias tuberòsa, Gaillardia aristàta and picta: Rudbeckia lasciniata and purpurea, the former very showy: Acónitum Hálleri and álbi

dum, Eryngium dichotomum, Campanula persicæfòlia flore pleno, and flore pleno álbo, Vonsoniana (?), álba pleno, alliarifòlia, liliiflòra, carpática, urticæfòlia, and lactiflòra: Dianthus supérbus, (exceedingly fragrant), Verónica exaltàta, virgínicum, and sibèrica, Verbascum pyramidàlis and phoeniceum, Enothera microcárpa, taraxacifòlia and missouriénsis: Epilobium angustifolium and spicatum, Antirrhinum màjus and its varieties: Dracocéphalum altaiénse, and virginiànum (both elegant), Coreopsis trípteris, lanceolata, and Atkinsoniana: Clématis flórida, and flore pleno, Thalictrum alpinum, Pentstèmon Richardsoni, Digitàlis, and speciosum, Digitàlis lùtea, Coronilla vimínea, Potentilla Russelliana, Mayiàna, and nepalénsis, Láthyrus grandiflorus, Monárda didyma and purpurea, Aster sibèrica and Novæ A'nglæ: Phlox pyramidalis rùbra, p. penduliflòra, and p. álba, Americàna, acuminata, maculàta, tardiflora, corymbosa, cárnea, suaveolens, cordàta, latifolia, fimbriàta, Wheeleriana, ròseum and decussàta álba: Liatris spicata, Euphorbia corollàta and Cyparissias, Reseda odorata var. frutéscens, Delphinium sinensis, Kitaibèlia vitifòlia, Gilia coronopifòlia Státice Gmelina and latifòlia: Lychnis grandiflora, Fúnkia subcordàta, A'nthemis nóbilis pleno, Achillæ a phoenicea pleno; Valeriana rùbra, Cássia marylándica, Chelone glabra, Lysimachia vulgàris, dahlias, hollyhocks, salvias, pinks, &c. Of bulbous roots, Gladiolus natalénsis, Lilium canadénse and tigrinum, and Tigridia pavonia and conchiflora are now in full bloom.

The annuals will be now mostly in flower, and will be a fine addition to the borders, particularly the double asters, new scarlet zinnia, new long-spiked amaranthus, &c. The new scarlet zinnia is exceedingly showy; among the annuals, the yellow sweet sultan is particularly deserving of notice: its blossoms are of a pure yellow, and exquisitely handsome. Lobelia bicolor and Clintonia élegans, somewhat similar in appearance, are charming plants, and form brilliant little patches of silver and blue when planted in a light rich soil.

For covering fences, and hiding disagreeable objects from the garden, we do not know of a better plant than the Clématis virginiana; though indigenous to our woods in the vicinity, yet it is particularly deserving of introduction into every garden for the object just mentioned; they are not only pretty, but the feathery appearance of the seeds is highly ornamental until the vines are killed by the chilling frosts of winter.

Bignonia rádicans must be protected during winter, or the shoots will, generally, be so much injured from the cold that they will not produce bloom.

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

(Continued from p. 338.)

THE tree pæonies are at once distinguished from the herbaceous ones by their suffrutescent stem; their shining pale green leaves, glaucous on the under side. The flowers appear earlier than the herbaceous species, and remain in beauty but a short time. We have never seen but three varieties in collections in this country, and we are not aware of any others existing, unless we except a seedling raised by the Messrs. Prince, nurserymen, Flushing, L. I., which is enumerated in their catalogue of plants. At what time the first plants were introduced to this country we have not the means of ascertaining; probably fifteen or twenty years ago. The first kind imported was undoubtedly the P. Moutan papaveracea var. Banksia, called the purple tree pæony; afterward the original species, P. Moútan papaveracea, and p. ròsea. None of the other kinds enumerated by Mr. Sabine, or registered in the Hortus Britannicus, have yet become sufficiently plenty in England to be in the trade; consequently, they have not yet found their way into our gardens.

Although but the three kinds above named, one species and two varieties, are in our gardens, it may be interesting to our readers for us to give some description of the others, in anticipation of their introduction. The great zeal which is manifested in the pursuit of floriculture at the present time, by many of our amateurs and nurserymen, will no doubt induce them to import plants as soon as they are purchasable of the English nurserymen; and all the varieties will, sooner or later, be found in our collections. The production of seedlings may be also looked for in our own gardens; numerous camellias have been produced from seeds, and we see no reason why this magnificent tribe, more valuable on one account than the former-its hardiness in resisting the effects of our long winters-should be neglected; we have not the least doubt ourselves but that, in a few years, the number of seedling varieties will be as great as those of the camellia a short time since.

In giving a description of the pæonies, we shall be much indebted to a paper in the Horticultural Transactions, from which much of the information in the previous part of this article was gathered, by Mr. Sabine. These descriptions are rather long, or we should give them entire, using his own language; we shall