Sir, - Pray permit me to direct the attention of all those who are interested in arboriculture to the splendid crop of cones which these trees are now bearing. All Cedars do not bear fruitful ones, but many contain excellent and numerous seeds. The cone of the Cedar is remarkably tough, and will not discharge its seeds by exposure to heat like those of other Firs. I have tried various methods of extracting the seeds, and find the following the most effectual: - Fix the cone in a vice and saw off about | in. top and bottom, then with a mallet and cold chisel divide the cone into quarters, which must be separated into smaller portions. Place these in the kitchen-screen for say twenty-four hours, and they can then be separated without much difficulty. If very tough, use a pair of wire-nippers to open them. A good cone contains from forty to sixty seeds. It is remarkable that, though the Cedar is so prolific this year, the Pinus Austriaca has no cones; but it bore so heavily the two previous years that I have not only young trees of this species growing from trees of my own planting, but have sent considerable quantities of seed to friends and some nurserymen. - Higford Burr (Aldermaston, Feb. 25).

[We are indebted to the courtesy of Mr Richards, assistant secretary of the R. H. S. of London, for this paragraph. - Ed].