, 1865-03-17

time. No earth Is required. In a week the
gecn shoots will begin to appear, IN two
more the plant will be a. foot IN height, and
ard IN another week It will have put firth :
shower Of white blossoms With yellow cen
tree, which will fairly load the air Of n room
vitl, their heavy. ma gpolla-like perfume. The
Chinese manage to torture The plant n
srme cases into all sorts Of odd
shares, in order to carry out their idea OF
beauty, which requires that pothtng snail %
left strictly natural but 1t Is generally g,own
fn1o thc water Ike the beard Of goat, and
he plant rnsy be taken ont Of the bow! and
carried around like radfsh Or bunch OF tur-
nips, and replaced without injury Ihe plaot
continues ia bloom fer some time, but tn:nk
it requires to be planted In soft earth attes
the flower stalks are dead, to recupsrate and
produce new bulbs, By some sleight-ofhand
Trick, such as only Chlnaman knows how to
nerIeru, tho bulbs ore split along the sides
with q knife, and so denuded Of roots that
they will keep Tor years in dry place With
cut sp,outing. -.
Suara, which grows like the old fashioned
caudlebra with several branches running up
parallel With the main trunk. I have seen
ibis flfty or sixty feet in height in Arizona,
growing On the gcak OF batren mountain
where there was not blade of grass. or
kretp OF mower IL f2SHt+ oa11 Au0 SA%tua -
its thousand forms and varieties, the desert
sand and lonely mountains baking red hot
in The sun. The flower which IT puts forth
at Is summit is Of the most brilliant scarlet,
and beautiful in the extreme: The fruit has
@ pleasant scid taste, somewhat better ttlan
of ilc tops Of its branches rhy the Apaches
With a,1uws, the terrible spines Of the trunk
being perfect safe guard against climbing.
It must take many years to grow this cactus
to its full height, say q couple of thousand
at ltah, and 1dou't think yon will ever
sec it in peril ction in illinois. You Will sec
It described in Bartlett'a boundary Surveys.
The n, ,xt is package Of ths seeds Of the
negro.hecd cactus Of Arizona and Southern
California. It is Of o tomato ehnpe, say Of
the size Of good sized pumpkin, and cont
tains within it a soft pulp full Of water at all
seasons Of the year. The Wanderer On the
barren deserts when driven to extremity with
cactus to avoid it's long covered spsnes which
cover every part Of The plant so tlat you can
not touch the body with your finger to save
Tour Life, turns 1t. over and cuts through the
top royt to TIC water within: The desert
aaa aas % mnkes @ Els nest est insiae pi "0sia1e The
Moiave and other Indians of the Great Col
orado Valley, cut Oft the spincs Of this plant,
soften them in boiling waiter, bend them to
su@kt w A0SAA ~ eac SUI, aAA IAcA Ase tueAA
az fish hooks, Tor which thcy arc most excel
lekt substitutes. =
The last, is handful Of seeds Of the Iron
wood tree, another native Of the desert, d
description Of which you can hunt up. It at
fords hut little shade, aud although 1t will
stand heavy frost, I do not think itw0u1d
| lire through m Illinois wlntcr The seeds
were sent me by ny friend VIM Thompson.
! Superintendent Of the Great Central Mine Of
| A1izona-for distribution.
DEATH or AN OLD MLEo1slS.
| Walter s. Denlo, coiner in the United
| States Mint il San Francisco. and brother OF
Hon. Charles =. DEMO, now Master Mason at
| Galena, Illinois, died In this city on Saturday
morning, sf1er IN illnrss Of only three days,
| Of consumption Of the lungs. He was only
| 1hirfy-ssx ytnrs Of age, and unmarried. On
| .Wcdncs9ay last / met him on the streets In
| all The .viEor Of manly health and physical
beauty How suddenly men pass away here.
! For some r. reason, I know not what,
death BY heart disease Instantaneous
as Lightning, is Of every day occurrence in
/ San Francisco. Men in perfect health to ull
| appearance drop dead willie walking on tue
| streets. sitting in their chairs, at the table,
| In the Billiard saloon, On horseback, In car
riagee, at public meetings, or in their beds,
! without a amomentss warning. Congesh N OF
the brain and lungs arc also common and
very fatal complaints, and it is & noticeable
| fact that few men die here Of long, lingering
! disease, as in the Eastern States. We live
fast, md die suddenly in this community.
hare aheaJyepun this letter out long enough,
fear, aud 20 must close for to-day. ddios
| Senorsy ALTAMoNr,